Chapter 135: Concealing His Rank?
Shiro did not deliberately pay attention to other people's Blazer ranks when interacting with them.
He knew a Blazer's rank did not represent their true combat strength. Many low-ranked Mage-Knights could easily crush student knights whose registered ranks were higher.
Even so, through daily interaction, he could usually estimate someone's Blazer rank with reasonable accuracy.
Alice's true strength was definitely not the D-Rank Kagami had mentioned.
His seasoned way of handling situations and mastery over his ability were not things a mere D-Rank could possess.
In Shiro's mind, Alice was at least a B-Rank knight.
After Kagami left, he immediately took out his student handbook and searched for the Blazer information Alice had registered with Hagun Academy.
[Arisuin Nagi]
[Blazer Rank: D]
[Attack Power: E]
[Defense: D]
[Magic Capacity: D]
[Magic Control: C]
[Physical Ability: C]
[Luck: D]
Something was wrong.
Those stats seemed deliberately designed to tell everyone, "I'm completely ordinary, so don't pay attention to me."
Had Alice intentionally held back during his Blazer assessment?
But why would he conceal his true rank?
Could he be a spy sent by another academy to investigate Hagun's students?
Countless questions circled in Shiro's mind and refused to disappear.
It seemed this year's Seven Star Sword Art Festival was not as simple as he had imagined.
Screech—!
The piercing sound of tires rubbing against the road interrupted his thoughts.
A black sedan stopped at Hagun Academy's entrance.
"Oh my, I encountered the person I was searching for immediately. It seems my luck is quite good~"
The door opened, and an overweight middle-aged man in a crimson suit stepped out. A broad smile covered his fleshy face.
"Are you Torajirou Shiro-san? I am Akaza Mamoru, the current head of a branch family of the Kurogane clan."
The middle-aged man approached Shiro, handed him a business card, and introduced himself.
Perhaps out of respect for an A-Rank knight like Shiro, Mamoru adopted a rather humble attitude.
"You should have been informed in advance that Kurogane Itsuki-sama wishes to meet you."
"Of course, it's fine if you don't have time now. You may decide the exact date yourself."
"It's fine. Let's leave now."
He probably would not learn what Alice intended until the Seven Star Sword Art Festival officially began.
Even if Shiro confronted him now, Alice would most likely deny everything, so he could only watch and wait for the time being.
Besides, Shiro was interested in the "father" Ikki and Shizuku frequently mentioned.
Mamoru gestured politely toward the car and invited him inside.
...
After some time, the sedan stopped before an enormous Japanese-style estate.
Mamoru led Shiro through several winding corridors before stopping at a solid wooden door.
Knock, knock, knock—
"Kurogane-sama, I've brought Shiro-san."
"Come in."
A deep voice came from within.
After leading Shiro into Itsuki's usual office, Mamoru silently withdrew.
Taking the opportunity, Shiro examined the room's interior.
It resembled a study, with bookshelves lining every wall.
A large office desk stood in the center, covered in various documents. Shiro even saw photographs of Ikki and Shizuku among them.
Behind the desk sat a stern man who looked remarkably similar to Ikki.
No, rather than saying Itsuki resembled Ikki, it would be more accurate to say Ikki had inherited many of his features.
Even while merely sitting there, he radiated the pressure of someone accustomed to authority.
The two stared at each other for a long time before Itsuki finally broke the silence.
"First, allow me to thank you for taking care of Shizuku and Ikki."
"...?"
Shiro had heard descriptions of Itsuki's personality more than once.
Whether from Ikki or Shizuku, they always portrayed him as a heartless man.
According to Shizuku, after Ikki ran away from home, Itsuki had never once asked about him.
He even behaved as though Ikki's life or death had nothing to do with him.
But reality seemed different.
The photographs on his desk and his words of gratitude both proved that he had been following news of Ikki and Shizuku at Hagun Academy.
No matter how Shiro looked at him, Itsuki resembled an old father who simply did not know how to express his feelings.
Seeing Shiro's momentarily stunned expression, Itsuki raised the corners of his mouth in a stiff smile.
"What is it? Are you surprised?"
"Not exactly. You're simply very different from how Shizuku described you."
Itsuki raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? What did Shizuku say about me?"
"'A bastard father who doesn't care about his family.' Those were her exact words."
"I see... So that's what she thinks of me..."
The room abruptly fell silent.
"We can discuss family matters later. May I ask why you summoned me today, Kurogane-san?"
To break the awkward atmosphere, Shiro brought the conversation back to the purpose of his visit.
"My apologies for showing you such an unsightly side."
Itsuki slowly exhaled before continuing.
"Let us return to the matter at hand. I want you to defeat Ikki during Hagun Academy's selection matches and force him to abandon his goal of becoming a Mage-Knight."
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."
"If compensation is the issue, the Kurogane family will grant one request within the limits of our ability."
"This has nothing to do with compensation. I simply don't want to do it."
"Why?"
"I should be asking you that, Kurogane-san."
Shiro looked directly at him.
"You clearly care about Ikki and Shizuku. So why, after seeing how hard Ikki has worked to become a Mage-Knight, did you repeatedly obstruct him until you finally drove him away from home?"
Itsuki bore half the responsibility for Ikki's miserable life within the family.
In a clan of Blazers, Ikki, who possessed pitiful ability, was naturally treated as a "defective product" and "worthless trash" by his relatives.
Had Itsuki stopped those rumors and insults, then no matter how dissatisfied the others were, they would at least have treated Ikki as the Kurogane family's young master on the surface.
However, Itsuki chose to ignore everything.
Seeing the family head's attitude, the others assumed he approved of their abuse toward Ikki.
Even people who had never insulted Ikki gradually joined them.
As a result, every Blazer in the Kurogane family received martial arts instruction except Ikki, who could not find a single teacher willing to guide him.
As time passed, the family gradually ignored the very existence of the family head's son and treated him as though he were invisible.
On the day Ikki ran away, everyone aside from Shizuku either celebrated his disappearance or remained completely indifferent.
Yet after meeting Itsuki today, Shiro realized the man did not consider Ikki a disgrace to the family.
On the contrary, Itsuki had always been watching over his son in his own way.
Then why was Kurogane Itsuki so determined to prevent Ikki from becoming a Mage-Knight?
That question was the key to unraveling the conflict between father and son.
…
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