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The battle between Hagun Academy and Akatsuki Academy ended in Hagun Academy's defeat.
With deliberate manipulation behind the scenes, the incident quickly stirred up a nationwide wave of public opinion, instantly becoming the center of attention across the country.
By the time Shinguuji Kurono and Saikyou Nene returned to Hagun Academy, it was already the next day.
The moment she arrived, Saikyou Nene rushed straight to the infirmary.
Including Ryoji, most of Hagun Academy's representative contestants were lying there.
Their external injuries had long been healed, but their psyches had all suffered significant damage.
Fortunately, Ryoji was already awake.
Seeing him unharmed, the "legal loli" finally let out a sigh of relief, the weight in her heart lifting at last.
"That was way too reckless! You actually fought the Twin Wings, are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
The moment her worry subsided, a surge of anger welled up inside Saikyou Nene, and she began scolding Ryoji.
From Arisuin Nagi, they had already learned what had happened.
Ryoji had taken the initiative to confront Edelweiss.
That was simply outrageous!
The "world's strongest" swordsman, even she would go out of her way to avoid her, like a mouse avoiding a cat. Yet he actually dared to attack her head-on?
He must have a death wish!
No one could imagine how worried she had been when she heard about it.
"If you'd come back earlier, I wouldn't have had to face her!"
Lying on the bed, Ryoji rolled his eyes in response.
"Oh, not necessarily. The other side had someone with a wish-fulfilling ability, probably not even the world's third could deal with him."
At the thought of Shinomiya Amane's terrifying ability, Ryoji felt a headache coming on.
Why would the world give birth to such a horrifying power?
And now that guy had set his sights on the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival, they would most likely face each other then. Ryoji had no idea how he was supposed to fight him.
"Tch, it's just fate manipulation. How could something like that affect me!"
Unexpectedly, the "legal loli" puffed out her chest, completely dismissing the so-called fate interference.
"You have a way to deal with it?" Ryoji was stunned.
As expected of a world-class expert, truly knowledgeable!
"I can't tell you."
But she suddenly pouted and turned her head away. No matter how much he pressed, she refused to reveal the method.
"I told you before, you'll understand once you reach that level!"
Annoyed by his persistence, she brushed him off with the usual vague answer.
"In short, as long as you reach that realm, you can avoid interference from other people's abilities to a certain extent… just think of it that way!"
Hmm?
In that case,
Back then, Edelweiss had also avoided his ability interference. Could it be the same thing?
"Has the Twin Wings reached that realm too?"
"Of course."
I see.
Ryoji completely understood.
As long as one reached that realm, they could evade interference from others' abilities!
Saikyou Nene had reached that realm. Edelweiss had reached that realm as well.
That's why both of them could avoid Ryoji's ability interference, and by the same logic, they could also evade Shinomiya Amane's ability.
In front of those two, Shinomiya Amane would be nothing more than an ordinary Blazer, someone they could easily handle!
"So how exactly do you reach that realm?"
Feeling as though he had glimpsed a path forward, Ryoji eagerly asked.
"Questions about that part are forbidden!"
Saikyou Nene crossed her arms in front of her chest, making a big X.
"Anyway, you just need to keep going as you are. When the time comes, you'll naturally understand my good intentions!"
Ryoji rolled his eyes.
Who's supposed to understand something like that?!
She's talking like some kind of riddle-maker!
"But speaking of which, if you can avoid fate interference, why didn't you make it back last night?"
Seeing how firm she was, Ryoji knew he wouldn't get an answer and simply changed the subject.
"I'll answer that."
The figure of a beautiful woman in men's attire appeared at the infirmary door.
"It wasn't because of fate interference that we couldn't return, but because we were deliberately held up."
Shinguuji Kurono glanced across the spacious infirmary.
Even after a night had passed, several people were still lying there asleep.
Among them were Toudou Touka and Kurogane Shizuku.
Her expression darkened slightly.
She was someone with a strong sense of responsibility, how could she not be angered by this scene?
"Last night, Nene quickly noticed the power of fate interference and broke free from it. But someone came to meet us, someone of such high status that we couldn't refuse. Thinking back now, that person was likely the mastermind behind this incident."
They had been entangled by that person the entire night.
It wasn't until late at night that they finally realized something was wrong and rushed back from Osaka.
Yes, ran back.
Flights were inexplicably delayed, trains just happened to be under maintenance, everything went wrong at the worst possible time. In the end, they had no choice but to rely on their own legs, spending the whole night running back.
But none of those "coincidences" bore traces of fate interference, only the mark of political manipulation.
"That person was the Prime Minister of Japan, right?"
Ryoji asked calmly, his expression unchanged.
"…How did you figure that out?"
Kurono looked at him in astonishment.
She never expected him to identify the true mastermind without any direct contact.
That's right,
The attack on Hagun Academy had been orchestrated by the top figure in Japan's political world, the Prime Minister, Tsukikage Bakuga!
"Kagami was investigating Akatsuki Academy's roster and found they all had the same sponsor. That's when she discovered they were funded by Tsukikage Moya, which led her to the mastermind…"
Ryoji explained calmly.
Kagami had made a tremendous contribution.
"She'll definitely become an excellent journalist someday."
Kurono praised her, then sighed.
"But who would have thought… that it would be the head of this nation targeting our school? Honestly, I still don't understand his reasons."
"You just don't want to understand."
Nene shot her a sarcastic look.
"Because he was your teacher back when you were a student, you don't think he's the kind of person who would do something like this. But if you think about it for a second, it's obvious, he's dissatisfied with the Blazer system, isn't he?"
Kurono fell silent.
In any country that joined the League, all matters concerning Blazers, education, management, and arbitration were handled exclusively by League-established branches. Governments and corporations were not allowed to interfere in the slightest.
That was precisely why the Prime Minister had taken action.
"Director, this is bad!"
Oreki Yuri appeared at the infirmary door, panting heavily, her face full of urgency.
"The Prime Minister just went on TV and announced that he's taking responsibility for the attack!"
(End of Chapter)