Chapter 257: Swordsmen and Those Who Use Swords!
After Nene ran off, Kurono briefly spoke to Luke and chased after her.
Luke, on the other hand, walked helplessly toward Stella and the others in the distance with a slight sense of disappointment.
"Yo, looks like you guys finished dealing with the matter on your end?"
Although Luke phrased it as a question, he knew the answer the moment he laid eyes on Ayatsuji Ayase.
"The one who came over with you guys is the stalker from before, right?"
"Have you reached a reconciliation now? Going from tailing to following openly and aboveboard?"
"Uh... it's not like that..."
Listening to his teasing, Ikki subconsciously retorted.
"When you put it like that, doesn't it sound like I'm keeping a stalker by my side..."
But after thinking for a moment and organizing his words to explain, he realized...
'It seems like Luke isn't wrong?!'
Temporarily at a loss for words, Ikki smiled somewhat awkwardly, and then silently changed the subject.
...
"I see. So this upperclassman tracked you because her father and teacher, Ayatsuji Kaito, is hospitalized in a coma, leaving her with no one to answer her questions when she encountered problems while practicing swordsmanship, right?"
While listening to Ikki's explanation, Luke also briefly observed this daughter of a master swordsmanship.
But to be honest... he was quite disappointed.
"Well, given your current popularity in the school, this is to be expected."
"Are you planning to guide her?"
"I wouldn't call it guiding... let's just consider it mutually sparring."
Ikki scratched his head modestly.
He didn't think he was currently great enough to become someone else's teacher.
Therefore, even though Ikki's strength was more than enough to be Ayase's teacher, he still insisted that this was mutual assistance.
"By the way, I actually wanted to ask for your thoughts, Luke."
"After all, it is the famous 'Ayatsuji Itto-ryu'. To be honest, I don't think I have the qualifications to make irresponsible remarks about Kaito-san's style."
"Luke, you should be much more suited for this than me..."
However, before Ikki could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Luke.
"Forget it. Right now, I have no interest in guiding a 'person who uses a sword' who can't even be considered a swordsman."
That's right, this was the reason for Luke's disappointment.
In his eyes, Ayatsuji Ayase couldn't be considered a swordsman at all; at best, she was just a Blazer who knew how to use a sword.
Luke didn't hate this type of person, but he wouldn't develop the extra interest he had for Stella and Ikki...
His rare opportunity to truly spar with a strong opponent had just flown away like that, so his mood wasn't exactly great right now.
"Besides, Ikki, you are actually more suited for the job of a 'guide' than I am."
This wasn't an excuse Luke used to shirk responsibility; he truly believed so.
Being strong didn't mean one knew how to teach.
In terms of strength and swordsmanship achievements, it was impossible for Ikki to catch up to Luke in a short time.
But when it came to teaching others, as long as it didn't exceed Ikki's capabilities, Ikki was definitely better at it compared to Luke.
The ability to deeply analyze and completely understand a person's essence in an extremely short time purely through observation—this 'abnormal' ability was something Luke did not possess.
Once this ability was applied to 'guiding,' it was in no way inferior to those so-called grandmasters of a generation.
However, Luke's 'cold' performance surprised everyone.
Stella and Ikki, who originally thought that the addition of a swordsman companion would make Luke happy, and even Shizuku and Arisuin, looked at him in astonishment.
Meanwhile, Ayatsuji Ayase, who was following behind the group and had witnessed with her own eyes the terrifying strength of Luke and Nene changing the terrain with a flip of their hands, was almost scared to tears at this moment.
Because on the way here, Ikki, Stella, and the others had described Luke as a powerful swordsman who treated people kindly and was very easy to get along with.
However, after meeting Luke in person, he was completely different from what Ikki and Stella had said.
Not believing that they would deceive her, Ayase's first thought was whether she had offended him somewhere.
Thus, the extremely nervous girl gave Luke a ninety-degree bow and said in a trembling tone:
"I-I-I-I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
At the same time, Stella beside them leaned in and asked curiously:
"Luke, do you have some sort of problem with Ayatsuji-senpai?"
"Has she offended you before?"
The reactions of Stella and the others made Luke blank out for a moment, and then he shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"You misunderstand, that's not what I meant."
"I don't have any problem with Ayatsuji-senpai, I just feel that our goals are different, that's all."
"...This isn't a suitable place to talk, let's change locations first."
Halfway through his words, Luke suddenly looked around at the desolate scenery.
This formerly normal clearing, having been ravaged by Nene's gravity field and swept by his sword aura, was now thoroughly filled with craters and completely unrecognizable.
Because Kurono was in a hurry to chase the fleeing Nene, she didn't have time to repair this place.
The sight of everyone standing here chatting was like bidding farewell on a battlefield, carrying an inexplicable sense of sorrow and desolation.
"It's just about time for dinner anyway, so let's find a place outside to eat and chat."
...
Just like that, under his suggestion, the group left the school gates, found a restaurant, and sat down.
As for why they didn't go to the student cafeteria...
This had to do with a certain time the cafeteria staff made a hoarse 'outcry,' as well as the ongoing 'special renovation targeting Luke and Stella' that had yet to be completed, among other reasons.
In short, it was currently quite inconvenient for two certain A-Rank Knights to appear in the student cafeteria.
After the group finished ordering their meals, Luke continued explaining the topic from earlier.
"Ikki and Stella should understand me a bit better. Imagine, if I were the one to provide guidance, what would I do?"
Luke's words sent the group into deep thought.
"...Teach swordsmanship... No matter how I think about it, there are no other possibilities."
The first to speak was Stella.
However, the girl's answer was not the result of careful consideration; she was merely making a snarky remark.
But it was precisely her remark that awakened Ikki.
"I see... Indeed, you might not be suitable to guide Ayatsuji-senpai..."
Ikki looked at Luke, then at Ayase, and finally let out a somewhat helpless sigh.
Seeing that someone understood, Luke no longer intended to keep them in suspense.
"Regardless of the motive, the reason Ayatsuji-senpai sought out Ikki is because she wants to become stronger, right?"
Luke looked at Ayase and asked.
"...Yes, I have a reason that requires me to become stronger no matter what!"
Ayase fell silent for a moment first, and then firmly replied to Luke.
"Then, do you intend to make yourself stronger? Or do you intend to make yourself stronger through 'Ayatsuji Itto-ryu'?"
"Or... do you want to prove the strength of 'Ayatsuji Itto-ryu'?"
(PS: Vote for more chapters this week. If this fanfic reaches 250 powerstones, I will upload 5 more chapters next. So, hurry up!)
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