"Representative contestant from Kyomon Academy?"
Touka looked at the delicate-featured boy before her with surprise.
"But we've been in joint training for so long—how come we've never seen you?"
Now that she thought about it, Kyomon Academy's team had always been one person short during daytime training sessions.
Could this boy named Amane Shinomiya be the missing member?
"Ahaha, I just arrived today, and I'll be leaving soon too."
Amane Shinomiya waved his hands somewhat awkwardly.
"I'm actually quite weak—I don't know martial arts, and I'm not very strong either. Plus, I'm not really interested in the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, so I didn't join the training with everyone else."
Judging from his reaction during the indiscriminate killing incident earlier, it did seem like he couldn't even handle an ordinary person.
Theoretically, as long as he had E-rank magic power, dealing with a regular person should have been effortless. Yet, he had been frightened into retreating several steps, rushing out without even thinking.
In that case, he really might be as weak as he claimed.
"Then how did you become a representative contestant?"
Eiji, looking down at the boy who was a head shorter than him, furrowed his brows in confusion.
"I just got lucky, really."
Amane Shinomiya smiled bashfully. "The others who were selected alongside me all got held up by various circumstances. And since my ability is a bit special, I ended up being chosen."
Kyomon Academy followed a tier-based system—as long as a Blazer's rank was high enough and their Noble Art was strong, they could be selected as a representative contestant.
Given his frail combat reflexes, his ability must be exceptionally powerful to have earned him one of the six spots.
In that case, it was probably due to his ability that he had seen through the random killer's disguise.
However, asking about an opponent's ability before potentially facing them in the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival would be unethical, so Eiji refrained from pressing further.
"Um, this might be sudden, but I actually brought a signature board because I thought I might run into Eiji-kun today!"
Amane Shinomiya suddenly remembered something and excitedly pulled out a signature board from his backpack, looking at Eiji with hopeful eyes.
"Could you sign this for me?"
"Sure thing."
Though he was a male fan, signing one more after already having done so earlier made little difference.
Eiji agreed readily and wrote his name in bold, flowing strokes on the board.
"Yes!"
Amane Shinomiya jumped three feet in the air with joy, cheering before carefully tucking the signed board into his backpack as if it were a priceless treasure.
"Still, Shinomiya-kun, if you don't have the means to subdue a criminal, it's best not to act recklessly. You could end up hurting yourself!"
Touka admonished him sternly. She had nearly rushed out herself upon seeing the earlier scene, but her junior had reacted much faster.
"Yeah, thank you for your concern, big sis! I really messed up—I panicked so much I even forgot to use my magic power. How careless of me!"
Amane Shinomiya hung his head in regret, but soon perked up again.
"But that's exactly why I got to meet Eiji-kun here! You were so cool just now! Taking down the criminal in an instant—it was like watching a hero from a movie!"
His face was filled with pure joy.
As if not a trace of gloom existed on him, he gave off an extremely simple and optimistic impression.
"He really is a huge fan of your junior," Touka muttered, her gaze softening considerably as she looked at the child.
"I absolutely adore Eiji-kun! Especially after learning about his past—I was deeply moved!"
Once he started talking about his admiration for Eiji, Amane Shinomiya immediately opened the floodgates, chattering away excitedly.
"Even though he was bedridden as a child, his body so fragile he could have died at any moment, he still lived with incredible strength and persistently trained himself. That never-give-up spirit is truly amazing!"
He looked at Eiji with starry eyes.
So that's how it was.
This kid wasn't a fan of his looks—he was a fan of his character.
Eiji found himself viewing him in a slightly different light.
"Though you might be exaggerating a bit. I actually often thought about giving up..."
"Really? But the fact that you persevered in the end just proves how amazing you are!"
Hmm.
That was the truth.
Nice to hear.
Say more!
"Exactly! I also think that's what makes my junior the coolest!"
Touka seemed to have found common ground, nodding enthusiastically at Amane's words, her face brimming with pride.
The two Eiji fans gathered together, showering him with endless praise.
Heh.
Eiji chuckled softly, almost starting to believe he was invincible.
Fortunately, he quickly reined in that arrogant vanity—he was still far from being among the world's best.
Forget the world's best—he didn't even have the confidence to win against someone like Yakushi Kiriko.
"Alright! I should probably get going now! I still have to finish buying the things everyone asked for!"
After about ten minutes, Amane Shinomiya stood up from the roadside bench and bid farewell to the two.
He had been sent to the city by his school seniors to deliver supplies to the training camp. Meeting Eiji had been a coincidence—he still had tasks to complete.
"Be careful on your way. Don't do anything reckless," Touka said, reluctantly standing up to see him off.
"Got it!"
Amane smiled in response, then turned to Eiji.
"Thank you for signing for me. I hope you overcome all obstacles and stand at the top of the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival. I'll be cheering for you wholeheartedly!"
It was a bit odd to have an opponent cheering for him, but Eiji was used to it by now.
"Thanks for the encouragement."
Eiji stood up and shook Amane's hand.
The moment their hands touched, Eiji's smile faltered slightly.
But he showed no other reaction, smiling as he saw Amane off.
"We'll meet again very soon!"
Amane looked thoroughly satisfied, leaving those words behind before striding away under their watchful gazes.
After leaving the park,
Amane Shinomiya turned into a narrow alley.
In the dimly lit night alley, the occasional cry of a stray cat echoed—no one else was around.
He took the signed board out of his backpack.
"What an incredible person. That never-say-die spirit, that relentless will to grow stronger... It's truly worth destroying!"
In an instant—
His face took on a pitch-black hue, his eyes turning as murky as a swamp, while the smile at his lips grew unnervingly twisted.
Bang!
A flash of silver light streaked past.
The autograph board shattered into pieces instantly.
"We'll meet again very soon, heh, hehahahahaha...!"
A bone-chilling laughter echoed through the night alley, as if emerging from the depths of hell.
"Terrible handwriting."
***
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