Chapter 452: Delayed Yet Again!
"By the way… that was the Desperado realm, wasn't it?"
Kiriko's expression became more serious.
As a world-renowned doctor, she had treated an astonishingly diverse range of people and had naturally heard about world-class monsters like Desperados.
"I watched the recording of your match. You two really do deserve to be called monsters."
"The princess's changes weren't too severe this time."
"Rather than saying I fixed them, it would be more accurate to say her body recovered on its own."
Kiriko sighed before warning Luke.
"I don't know whether this is good or bad, but if you take another step forward, you might undergo similar changes."
"The princess's condition was mild this time, and she recovered naturally."
"But I can't guarantee she'll recover again next time."
"If you don't want to genuinely become a 'monster,' it would be better not to use that kind of power too often."
"This is only my speculation, but…"
"Once the changes reach a certain point, they may become irreversible."
Kiriko spoke somewhat vaguely, but Luke understood exactly what she meant.
Edelweiss had already warned him about this long ago.
They even had methods to deal with it.
So Luke was not particularly concerned.
He nodded to show that he understood, then asked curiously,
"What exactly changed with Stella?"
"Do I look like the kind of doctor who casually gossips about a patient's private information?!"
"I see… Stella asked you to keep it confidential. Then I guess there's nothing I can do."
"Uh… She herself actually said she didn't mind."
"…"
"If she doesn't mind, why do you? I can just ask Stella later and find out anyway."
"Then go ask her yourself!"
"Tch… I was just curious."
"Sigh… Fine."
Kiriko weakly covered her forehead.
"By the time I arrived, most of the changes had already receded, so I didn't see the worst of it."
"When I examined her, roughly a quarter of her back was covered in scales, and her hands had undergone slight deformation."
"The most serious change was…"
"She grew a tail."
"It wasn't very noticeable—only about the length of a finger."
"But after examining it, I could basically confirm that it was a dragon tail."
"It has completely disappeared now, though. There isn't a single trace left, and she says she doesn't feel anything unusual."
"Dragon scales, dragon claws, and a dragon tail…"
Luke recalled Stella throwing back her head and roaring toward the heavens.
Then he realized—
"That actually sounds like it would suit her pretty well?"
"Huh???"
Kiriko stared at him blankly.
She even reached out and touched Luke's forehead, apparently checking whether he had developed a fever.
"A girl's body was turning into a monster! How could that possibly look good?!"
Listening to Kiriko complain, Luke silently imagined Stella as a dragon girl.
Then he muttered,
"I think it might…"
Kiriko's fierce glare cut him off midway.
"What kind of taste is that? Seriously!"
After grumbling for a moment, Kiriko released the ability covering Luke's body.
A faint mist withdrew from him before dispersing into the air with a wave of her hand.
Throughout their conversation, Kiriko had been continuously examining Luke's condition.
Luke had noticed, so he simply lay there without resisting.
After confirming that his recovery was progressing well, Kiriko picked up the documents beside her, made a few notes, and stood.
"Alright. You're basically fine now."
"All you need is rest."
"Given your physical abilities, the weakness should disappear in less than half a day."
"Don't worry about the finals."
"I left your student handbook here. Check the announcement online yourself…"
"Though you can probably guess what happened."
"I'm heading out. I'll handle your discharge paperwork."
"Once you feel capable of moving around, you can leave on your own. I still need to check on the princess afterward."
After saying that, Kiriko turned toward the door without waiting for Luke's response.
Just before leaving, she seemed to remember something.
She looked back.
"We'll talk about what we agreed on after the tournament ends."
"I'll come find you then."
With that final reminder, Kiriko opened the door and left.
Luke did not stop her.
Instead, following her suggestion, he reached over for his student handbook and began searching for news and announcements about the Seven Star Sword Art Festival.
He found them easily.
The operating committee seemed to have anticipated everything.
An official announcement had been published almost immediately after Luke and Stella's match ended.
Yes.
Without any suspense whatsoever—The finals had been delayed yet again.
This time, the two of them had caused far more destruction than before.
Not only had the arena been melted into a sea of magma, but even the nearby harbor city had been… affected.
Well.
Let's call it "affected."
It was not as though Stella had intentionally split the harbor city in two…
Fortunately, there had been no casualties.
Luke and Stella already had a record of excessive destruction.
And as the teacher who had trained Stella recently, Nene understood her firepower fairly well.
Thanks to advance preparations, losses were reduced to the absolute minimum.
As for compensation for the environmental destruction…
China, the Vermillion Kingdom, the Seven Star Sword Art Festival operating committee, and League Headquarters ultimately agreed to split the cost.
Naturally, Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion's Noble Art, Dragon Spirit, was also placed on the League's official observation list.
Depending on future developments, it might eventually become a forbidden technique like Kurono's Shatter Space-Time and Nene's Tyrannical Heavenly Star.
As for Luke Ashburn—He did not fall under League jurisdiction, so there was little they could do.
The League had no particular intention of targeting him anyway.
After all, nearly everything he used consisted of swordsmanship and sword techniques.
He seemingly did not possess a single technique that genuinely qualified as a Noble Art.
Even if they wanted to ban something, what could they possibly ban?
They could hardly prohibit someone from making basic sword attacks.
Most importantly—Luke genuinely bore no responsibility for the destruction of the arena this time.
That had been entirely the princess's personal contribution.
So Luke did not even receive a notice about paying a fine.
...
Knock, knock, knock—!
While Luke was browsing the news and checking the notifications in his inbox, someone knocked on the door.
Then a familiar yet unexpected figure pushed it open.
"Director Kurono???"
Luke was genuinely surprised.
He had expected people to gradually come visit him.
But he absolutely had not expected Kurono to be the first.
"Shouldn't you be busy with the reconstruction—"
Click.
Luke felt cold sweat form as he swallowed the rest of his sentence.
A handgun was pressed directly against his forehead.
Kurono stared at Luke's deliberately exaggerated expression of fear and irritably tapped him on the head with the grip of her pistol.
…
…
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