Anime, Girlfriend Shokuhou Misaki.

“Next, I want to practice swordsmanship. Stella, could you accompany me for a bit?”

Accompanied by a burst of dazzling light, the long sword Rain Moon was already in Haramura Makoto's hand.

“Of course, I will.”

The crimson Lotus Wings instantly draped over Stella's body, and flames blazed around her.

“Come forth and serve me!”

Stella suddenly grabbed the rising flames in front of her.

“—Crimson Dragon 죄 Sword!”

……

Let's rewind to yesterday evening, Training Field Seven.

“Kid, do you know what other problems you have besides the big issues with your magical power application?”

Nishikyo Ninone leisurely sat on the chair, her opened folding fan maintaining about fifty times the gravity, suppressing Haramura Makoto.

“A…no…ther…pro…blem…”

Sweat poured down Haramura Makoto's body like heavy rain, and his black and white school uniform was completely soaked.

“It’s your swordsmanship, kid.”

“Speaking of which, how did you manage to be so extremely lopsided in your skills?”

Nishikyo Ninone had a mocking smile on her face.

“Regarding gunmanship, even Kurogane himself said that he can’t teach you anything more in that area.”

“Your technique with handguns is already very mature.”

“But why is your sword, which is also your Noble Art, so terrible?”

“In my opinion, you’re no different from a complete beginner.”

This was a question that was impossible to answer.

After all, Haramura Makoto had never touched a sword before. At most, he had only used a dagger as a close-quarters weapon.

Of course, he knew nothing about swords, so he could only respond to Nishikyo Ninone's question with silence.

“Well, that makes it easier to teach you.”

……

“Clang—”

A crisp sound of clashing rang out.

Facing the sweeping Crimson Dragon 죄 Sword, Haramura Makoto immediately swung a hasty strike to deflect Stella's sword.

“As expected, Stella’s sword is heavy.”

“Although I don’t know much about swordsmanship, the weight of Stella's sword is definitely transmitted to my hand.”

This time, Haramura Makoto did not choose to use his ability to enhance his speed.

He purely used his physical strength to wield the sword. Stella did the same, without releasing her flames, simply using the Crimson Dragon 죄 Sword to slash.

Both of them were using their Noble Arts in their Illusion Forms, so neither of them was afraid of accidentally injuring the other.

“Hmph, so you noticed.”

Stella was immediately a little happy.

From the moment she awakened her powers and was found to have the strongest magical power in the world, she had been given the title of genius.

Whenever she got stronger, whenever she won, she would be mocked by people in private as a genius.

It was as if she hadn't put in any effort and had become so strong on her talent alone.

But how could that be possible?

The effort she put in to control this powerful force far exceeded those who only talked about it.

Those people only attributed their laziness to her fault.

So she hated it, hated those who could only see her talent and not her efforts.

“In that case, I’ll continue to attack.”

Stella, who had been praised, was now even more energetic. She gripped the hilt with both hands and continuously swung the heavy sword like a whirlwind, like a heavy armored vehicle constantly charging forward, attacking Haramura Makoto.

“Hey, hey, hey, doesn’t that put even more pressure on me?”

The corners of Haramura Makoto's mouth twitched unnaturally. He took a step back and continuously parried with his sword.

“Clang, clang, clang, clang—”

Haramura Makoto and Stella, one defending, one attacking.

One constantly retreating, one constantly advancing.

They wielded their Noble Arts, causing the swords to frequently cross in the air, stirring up a continuous series of crisp sounds.

In terms of speed and strength, Haramura Makoto and Stella were now at a similar level.

But in terms of the subtlety of their moves, the difference between him and Stella was huge.

So he was always forced to defend.

Fortunately, because he had been practicing gunmanship, his dynamic vision was very good. Although it was a struggle, he could still keep up while Stella wasn't going all out.

“Haramura-kun, if you lower your waist another fifty centimeters, it should be easier for you to parry.”

The tense and exciting training continued, but at this moment, a strange male voice suddenly rang out.

But Haramura Makoto had no time to pay attention to who the owner of this voice was.

His body subconsciously did as he was told.

“Clang—”

Another crisp sound of metal clashing.

Stella used her strength with both hands, and the knight's greatsword that was being chopped down was perfectly blocked by Haramura Makoto.

Now, the two of them had no interest in continuing the sparring, and they both turned their attention to the source of the voice.

It was a boy standing in the bushes.

He was wearing sportswear and didn't look very strong, but he gave off a feeling of being lean and wiry.

The boy had short black hair and was probably about the same age as himself.

It was this man who had given Haramura Makoto the advice just now.

“Makoto, is this someone you know?”

Stella couldn't help but frown.

She thought the atmosphere just now was very good, but it was interrupted by someone speaking out.

That wonderful atmosphere was all wasted.

“No, in my memory, there is no memory of him.”

Haramura Makoto didn't even need to think back. He had only been in this world for a few days, and he could count the people he knew on his fingers.

“Sorry.”

“I couldn’t help but say something because I saw a problem. You two students definitely don’t know me, but I saw your battle at Training Field Ten yesterday. It was wonderful.”

Touching the back of his head, the boy responded with a friendly attitude.

“It’s okay, it’s okay!”

“The advice just now was very useful. I benefited a lot.”

Haramura Makoto didn't show a disgusted expression like Stella, but instead thanked the boy sincerely.

No one has an obligation to help you, but since you have been helped, at least a thank you is needed.

“My name is Haramura Makoto. I’m a freshman who just enrolled this year, first year.”

Haramura Makoto took a few steps forward and then held out his hand in front of the boy.

“My name is Kurogane Ikki. I’m a second-year student who repeated a year. Nice to meet you.”

Kurogane Ikki clearly showed a surprised expression, as if he was saying, why is Haramura Makoto's attitude so friendly to him?

But this surprise was only for a brief moment. He immediately reached out and shook Haramura Makoto's hand.

“Kurogane?”

Haramura Makoto couldn't help but be stunned and surprised.

“Hahaha…”

Kurogane Ikki seemed to know why Haramura Makoto would react like this, and he could only use this laughter to cover up his embarrassment.

This laughter, in a sense, could be said to be an affirmation.

Haramura Makoto was also certain of the answer in his heart.

“So it was you.”

“In that case, Kurogane Gen and your relationship is?”

As if making a final confirmation, Haramura Makoto made a final confirmation to him.

“Is my father.”

Kurogane Ikki looked more and more helpless, and there was nothing he could do but admit it.

Now, even Stella's gaze towards Kurogane Ikki changed.

Not because of anything else, but because the Kurogane surname has a very important position and meaning in Japan.

During World War II, because of the existence of a Blazer, Japan, a small country, was able to join the victorious countries and maintain its high position in the alliance.

What it relied on was the Blazer, Kurogane Ryoma, known as—『Samurai Ryoma』.

Stella admired Kurogane Ryoma.

She came to this Far Eastern country to study, emulating and wanting to become someone like Kurogane Ryoma.

But Haramura Makoto knew that Kurogane Ikki wasn't because of this.

It was because of the strange attitude that the Japanese branch manager, Kurogane Gen, showed to Shinguuji Kurono when he was testing his abilities yesterday.

However, this Kurogane Ikki senior is very famous in this school.

Despite being a member of the Kurogane family, his magic power level is only F-rank.

Because of this, this senior's academic career can be said to be quite difficult. In fact, this guy should have dropped out last semester.

But now he actually saw this senior in this school.

This showed one thing.

That is, the student who defeated her even though she let him win, as Shinguuji Kurono mentioned.

“Stella, I know you’re curious, but you need to introduce yourself at this time.”

Seeing Stella still looking at Kurogane Ikki with curious eyes, he knew that this princess must have seen Kurogane Ikki's low magic power level.

“Ah, I know.”

As if belatedly aware, Stella stood at Haramura Makoto's side and extended her hand in the same way.

“Stella Vermillion, a freshman who just enrolled this year. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you.”

For Kurogane Ikki, this was a very strange feeling.

Having become accustomed to accepting all kinds of ridicule and contempt, he thought that these two A-rank Knights would also despise him.

He didn't expect that these two would be able to treat him with a normal attitude.

“Kurogane-kun, are you proficient in swordsmanship?”

After the introductions were over, Haramura Makoto immediately asked Kurogane Ikki curiously.