Chapter 119: The Legend of the Gatekeeper!
Winter had only passed a month ago, so the morning air still carried a slight chill.
Shiro and the other three waited in front of the academy's main gate for Shizuku to appear.
"She's so slow. What is she even doing...?"
"Stella, you need to be patient with girls."
Alice covered his mouth and laughed softly. However, that gesture looked awkward no matter how the others looked at it.
"Are you saying I don't look like a girl? No, wait. Why did you come along too?"
"Because someone asked me to~"
Ikki did not mind that another person had somehow joined their group. He looked toward the distant dormitory and said,
"It would've been nice if Shizuku were in the First Dorm too. Then we could've left together."
Shizuku's dorm was Hagun Academy's Second Student Dormitory.
Despite the name, it was separated from the First Dorm by an entire main school building. It was almost on the opposite end of the academy, which was why they had chosen the front gate as their meeting point.
"Sorry for making everyone wait."
Just as everyone was staring anxiously toward the Second Dorm, Shizuku finally appeared.
She had changed out of Hagun Academy's unchanging black-and-white uniform. In its place was a gothic lolita outfit that better highlighted her doll-like air.
Shizuku had also put on light makeup, allowing her to break free from everyone's fixed impression of "Ikki's little sister" or "a child."
After dressing up carefully, she stood among the four people in school uniforms and stood out immediately. Even Ikki's mouth opened slightly as he looked at his sister, who would attract attention even in a crowd.
Seemingly satisfied with Ikki's reaction, Shizuku's lips curved faintly. She walked over to Alice and spoke softly.
"Thank you for this, Alice."
"You're welcome. Helping a cute girl like you makes me very happy too~"
"You two know each other?"
Shiro asked in surprise. Whether in personality or hobbies, he really could not connect Alice and Shizuku together.
"Alice was my original roommate. In the end, the director considered the Kurogane family's reputation and didn't let us live together. I also asked him to help choose today's outfit."
Unexpectedly, Shizuku was the one who took the initiative to explain.
In truth, Shizuku had also heard rumors about Shiro at Hagun Academy. She originally thought he was only an ordinary person with decent eyes, but the strength he had shown these past two days was enough for her to view him differently.
However, when mentioning the Kurogane family's reputation, her eyes clearly carried a trace of resentment.
"Hehe. Shizuku is one of the rare people who didn't find it strange after learning my true gender, so I'm very happy to have made a friend like her."
"I don't really care about other people's gender."
Just as Ikki was feeling relieved over Shizuku's growth, Shiro suddenly cut in.
"Um, Ikki, I think Shizuku means she hates everyone equally."
Shizuku looked at Shiro in slight surprise.
"You understand me surprisingly well."
...
Near Hagun Academy, there was a nationwide super-large shopping mall.
Shiro and the others' destination was the movie theater on the fourth floor.
However, they did not go straight there. Instead, with Alice acting as their guide, they started walking around the mall.
"Wow~ This crepe tastes amazing~"
Stella praised the crepe shop Alice had recommended.
"As expected, asking Alice to guide us around was the right choice."
"Right? I did my research before going out. By the way, if you want ice cream, there's a pretty good shop on the third floor."
Alice acted as a good buffer between the two girls, whose personalities did not match. Under his guidance, Stella and Shizuku's relationship actually became more harmonious.
"Ikki, I'm starting to regret suggesting we go out."
Shiro weakly took a bite of his crepe, and the sweet taste of cream instantly filled his tongue.
His evaluation was simple.
'It's not as good as Edel-chan's.'
Perhaps Edelweiss had spoiled his mouth during that year. The desserts Alice considered quite good only tasted average to Shiro.
Without the joy of tasting good food, visiting dessert shops also became boring in his eyes. After all, he was the type who decided what to buy before going out and never looked at anything else along the way.
"Aren't we having fun?"
Ikki was actually enjoying shopping with friends.
For the him who had never had friends before, this was practically something he could only dream of.
"By the way, have you heard about that monster who suddenly appeared on the international stage recently?"
Alice was unexpectedly attentive in this regard. He keenly noticed that Shiro was not interested in desserts and changed the topic to something everyone would care about.
As expected, the moment words like "monster" came up, everyone perked up their ears.
As Blazers, none of them were uninterested in powerful people.
"It happened on Edelberg Mountain, where the legendary [Twin-Wings] is said to live. Around this time last year, a man appeared and guarded the middle of the path."
The moment [Twin-Wings] was mentioned, everyone's eyes focused on Alice.
In this world, no one was uninterested in [Twin-Wings].
"Because anyone who wanted to defeat [Twin-Wings] had to challenge him first, and because that person was as strong as a monster, the international world gave him the title [Gatekeeper]."
Alice continued telling them the information he had gotten from some unknown source.
"Internationally, many people are guessing why he guarded the road leading to [Twin-Wings]. Some say he didn't want anyone defeating her before him. Others say he was venting his frustration after being defeated by [Twin-Wings]."
'No. I was just fulfilling my promise and using them to practice my swordsmanship and ability.'
Shiro silently grumbled in his heart.
"But strangely, just a few days ago, [Twin-Wings] and the [Gatekeeper] disappeared together. Now the international community is guessing whether those two are about to cause some earth-shaking incident again."
"Maybe that [Gatekeeper] is [Twin-Wings]' friend? They went out to have fun?"
Gossip about world-class criminals was deadly attractive to young people. Ikki quickly expressed his own opinion on the matter.
"No, Brother. I think the situation here is more like they eloped."
Shizuku connected it to several romance novels she had read out of boredom in recent years.
"I think [Gatekeeper] and [Twin-Wings] definitely have some strange relationship. Shiro, don't you agree?"
While everyone was discussing the matter with great interest, Stella turned her head and noticed that Shiro's expression looked a little strange.
"Huh? Your face looks weird. Are you okay?"
"Ahaha. The movie is about to start. We should hurry over, or we won't be able to buy tickets if we're late."
Shiro said this while breaking out in cold sweat.
Even if they found out he was the so-called [Gatekeeper], it would not cause any major problem. But the fewer people who knew, the better.
After all, it was not exactly a good reputation. If word spread, who knew whether those people from the foot of the mountain would come knocking again?
However, Shiro, who was walking at the front, did not notice Stella's strange gaze behind him.
As Shiro's roommate, Stella had noticed some of his little habits during daily life. Whenever he did not want to answer something, he always relied on changing the topic to avoid it.
'Why is he avoiding answering this question?'
Thinking of the international rumors about [Twin-Wings] swordsmanship and the sword Shiro had used to defeat her that day, a bold guess appeared in Stella's heart.
…
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