Chapter 136: Debut as an Idol!
"Because there's no need."
Itsuki stared into Shiro's golden eyes.
"Ikki has no need to become a Mage-Knight."
To persuade Shiro to help convince Ikki to abandon that path, Itsuki revealed his thoughts without reservation.
"If Ikki were merely doing it as a hobby, that would be fine. At worst, he would waste some time."
"But now, he's about to achieve results while carrying the reputation of a half-baked failure. That is precisely what I'm most unwilling to see."
"The Kurogane family has a long history. Since the era when Mage-Knights were still called 'samurai,' we have led this country's Blazers."
"And our family's duty is to unite those knights as one."
That was nearly impossible.
Everyone who possessed power believed they were special. As a result, Blazers were particularly prone to producing eccentric or conceited fools.
"We must treat groups possessing special power with great caution. The method chosen by the Kurogane family was to separate them through 'ranks.'"
"Each person receives authority corresponding to their rank. That encourages Blazers to remain in the position where they belong, preserving harmony within the organization."
Itsuki suddenly stopped and asked Shiro,
"What do you believe is the greatest difference between Blazers and ordinary people?"
"Their destructive power and ability to take action?"
Blazers possessed all kinds of supernatural abilities.
Whether applied to production or combat, those powers far surpassed ordinary people. Some individuals could even complete the work of dozens alone.
Likewise, the danger posed by those powers was much greater.
Anyone employing Blazers had to accept the risk that they might lose control and go berserk.
After hearing Shiro's answer, Itsuki nodded.
"Correct. If F-Rank knights see Ikki, another F-Rank knight, defeat an A-Rank, they may develop the illusion that they can do the same."
Ikki had forcibly achieved something that should never have been possible.
Once others learned of it, countless people would inevitably attempt to imitate him.
"What follows will be dissatisfaction with their treatment."
"Situations such as, 'I'm clearly no worse than an A-Rank knight, so why does that person have more authority than me?' will become common."
"With the unmatched destructive power and decisiveness of Blazers, that disorder will rapidly expand and cause the organization many unnecessary losses."
"Perhaps in your eyes, Ikki is merely advancing toward his dream through hard work."
"But his actions have constantly been destroying the order the Kurogane family has preserved over generations."
"So no matter what else he wishes to do, I will support him in my capacity as his father."
"But becoming a Mage-Knight is the sole exception."
"Before I am his father, I am the head of the Kurogane family. I must bear responsibility for the entire clan."
That was the choice made by the man named Kurogane Itsuki.
Before being Ikki's father, he was also the Kurogane family head. He carried the burden known as responsibility.
Beyond Ikki and Shizuku, he had to answer for the entire family.
Even if that required trampling upon Ikki's dream, he would preserve the order the Kurogane clan had maintained for generations.
"Besides, you understand, don't you? If people with distorted personalities reach that realm, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Shiro instantly understood what he meant.
People with twisted personalities often possessed deeper obsessions than ordinary individuals.
Their resolve to continue forward even if shattered into pieces made them more likely to reach the realm of [Desperado].
Even if only one [Desperado] appeared among several million people, once that person caused trouble, the matter could no longer be solved through the sacrifice of a few dozen lives.
In the worst case, it could become a disaster threatening the entire country.
"That is why I need a 'genius.'"
Itsuki's dark eyes stared seriously at Shiro.
A natural-born Desperado, an A-Rank knight, the possessor of terrifying Blazer statistics, and a fellow student knight.
No one was better suited to destroy Ikki's dream.
"If you defeat Ikki before the public and persuade him afterward to abandon becoming a Mage-Knight, our family can support the narrative through publicity."
"People will then attribute Ikki's previous success to 'luck.'"
Ikki's name could now be heard even outside Hagun Academy.
If news spread that an "F-Rank knight realized luck had limits after losing to an A-Rank and ultimately abandoned becoming a Mage-Knight," the impact could be minimized.
Only a small number of people taught by Ikki or those who had watched his matches would know the truth.
To the public, "an F-Rank overcoming countless trials and finally earning a place in the Seven Star Sword Art Festival" sounded far less believable.
"An F-Rank got lucky enough to reach the selection finals, only to encounter an A-Rank and be easily defeated" was much more reasonable and easier to accept.
"Please assist me in making my son, Kurogane Ikki, abandon his path as a Mage-Knight."
Speaking in his capacity as head of the Kurogane family, Itsuki extended his hand toward Shiro.
...
Inside Hagun Academy's cafeteria, Ikki and the others sat around a dining table.
"What has Shiro been doing lately? It feels like he disappears as soon as his match ends these past two days."
Stella gloomily poked the food in her bowl with her chopsticks.
Beside her, empty bowls were stacked into a small mountain.
Ever since realizing the truth of her ability, she felt her appetite growing larger every day.
"Eh? Didn't he say he was going to the Ayatsuji dojo today?"
Ikki answered indistinctly while chewing.
"He went there ages ago. Don't you read Hagun Academy's news board?"
The report about Kuraudo being severely injured had appeared around one or two in the afternoon.
Yet the sky was nearly dark, and Shiro was still nowhere to be seen.
"Maybe he had something else to do."
Shizuku answered casually.
However, Stella remembered a plot she had read in a book.
He cured someone's father, reclaimed her dojo, and then failed to return home that evening.
Could it be?!
'Are those two secretly on a date?!!'
Stella could no longer sit still.
She immediately pulled her student handbook from her pocket and prepared to call Shiro.
At that moment, the person they were discussing suddenly appeared at the cafeteria entrance.
"Ikki."
Shiro hurried to Ikki and slammed both hands heavily onto the table.
"Let's debut as idols!"
"Eh?!!"
…
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