Volume Zero - CH 1

Chapter 1: A Princess’ Foreign Culture (Hentai) Experience

In the school’s courtyard, there are five people attacking Ikki at the same time but they are unable to hit Ikki. In the end they collapse from exhaustion and Ikki didn’t sweat at all since he only used simple footsteps and dodged their blades by 10 cm. Ikki gave a martial arts performance to other students who are interested in it. Blazers normally would spend time on improving their Blazer abilities. The only ones who would also focus on martial arts like Ikki are similarly inferior students with few accomplishments or the truly strong ones who understood the truth. Ikki remembers all of the 126 sword styles he’s seen including Stella’s ‘Imperial Sword Style’ that he just recently stole. Some of the other students are also surprised that many sword styles still survive but Ikki replies there are some styles that don’t have proper dojo or only exist in documents. During middle school Ikki would use his free time to challenge any dojo he could find and doing research at libraries or such on sword skills that have disappeared in the past. Everyone else becomes dejected after hearing that but Ikki says they don’t have to learn sword skills as much as he does. Everyone else has better ability than Ikki and so learning how to handle their Device better than the average person should be enough to increase their range of fighting. After Ikki’s lecture is over 30 minutes later, the other students are standing on one foot to train their balance and Stella appears beside Ikki. He explains to her it’s important to be able to balance your body with one foot since more time is spent on applying force to one foot than to both feet when moving during battle. Stella points out that Ikki could end up help creating a strong rival but Ikki replies he would welcome such person and furthermore the other students may end up betting their lives in the future.

Shizuku then suddenly appears and hugging Ikki from the side, which annoys Stella. Shizuku brought a drink for Ikki but Stella also brought one for him too. It’s normal for Stella to bring a refreshment drink for her lover but right now her relationship with Ikki is being kept a secret even to Shizuku. Stella claims she brought two drinks for herself because she is so thirsty and Shizuku calls her a coward in a small voice. Shizuku then says she wants Ikki to teach her sword techniques because she stopped learning from the Kurogane's sword instructors after Ikki left home. The Kurogane also understood the importance of martial arts and their children were all trained in martial arts with their Devices. Ikki remembers the Kurogane’s kodachi techniques and so he can teach Shizuku if she’s fine with it. Stella then asks Ikki to teach her sword techniques too but Ikki says it’s not necessary. This angers Stella who thinks it’s unfair that Shizuku gets to be taught by Ikki and she then runs off. Shizuku asks why Ikki doesn’t want to teach Stella and he replies it’s because Stella has already learned all the necessary techniques long ago and their swordsmanship are fundamentally different. Ikki’s swordsmanship emphasizes on techniques but Stella’s emphasizes on crushing her opponent with absolute strength. Learning Ikki’s small skills would have negative effect on her sword and it would be boring. Ikki wants Stella to exceed his imagination because she is his rival. Shizuku thinks that it makes Ikki teaching her seems less meaningful and is thus dejected.

Stella is later walking through the corridor of the dormitory while angry and she then meets Alice and Kagami. Alice came to return the otome game called ‘Private Prince Academy’ that he borrowed. Kagami jokingly says that Galge and otome games are important part of Japan’s culture and there is a theory that they will help eradicate narcotics in South America someday. They recommend that Stella play the game and even one of the characters in the game resembles Ikki, causing Stella to become interested. Stella claims she’s not interested but will play the game as an opportunity to study Japan’s culture, not because one of the characters resembles Ikki. Kagami and Alice sarcastically say they understand that Stella’s acting is like a female Vegeta. Later, Stella is in her room playing the otome game with Alice. Because Stella has only played first-person shooting and racing games, Alice is showing her how to play it in the beginning. In the game Stella bumps into a character named Issei whose voice and face resemble Ikki. After Issei tells Stella to watch where she’s going and calls her ugly, Stella is asked to choose one of the options that appear. Stella immediately chooses the option of launching a German suplex on Issei and complains that the character Issei on the inside is completely different from Ikki. Alice is surprised of Stella choosing that option so fast but he says that it is the correct option. After getting up, the character Issei says he has been looking for someone who would straighten him up with German suplex and wants Stella to go out with him. Stella thinks that Issei is a pervert but Alice says Stella is amazing that she has entered Issei’s route in the first try. Alice is heading back because the game’s story from now on shouldn’t be difficult and it is best to play the game alone.

Stella actually doesn’t want to continue to play the game because the character’s personality doesn’t resemble Ikki at all. Stella is about to turn off the PS (Playing Station) console but the guy in the game suddenly says “Right now, I can’t look at anyone but you”. Stella thinks the guy resembles Ikki from the words he just said together with the expression he’s making. She then puts on a headphone and continues to play the game. In the game the guy talks about his past to her, making Stella understanding him better. Throughout the game’s story she and the guy are walking together, going to the amusement park during holiday, and going to the beach at night in secret during school trip. This Ikki always gazes towards Stella throughout the game (because that’s how it is in visual novels) and the story reaches up to the point where the guy says “I love you Stella. Even after graduating I want you to stay by my side and put my heart on a sleeper hold.” Stella’s cheeks become flushed after hearing the voice that resembles Ikki saying such words. Stella had been frustrated because she and Ikki haven’t done much ever since they became lovers recently. She wants to do various things with Ikki but couldn’t say it. So she thinks she can practice first with this game. She then presses the button and raises her voice, saying “I love you too, Ikki!! Marry me and always stay by my side!!” Suddenly, a noise from behind Stella can be heard even through the headphone. Stella turns around and sees that it’s Ikki near the room’s exit, unable to stand.

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“S, sorry. Uhm, I didn’t mean to peek. It’s just… there was noise inside but no one answered no matter how many times I knocked…. Uh, uhm, so is that a romance simulation game for girls? Ha, haha, what a surprise. I was suddenly asked things like marrying so my legs went out. But it was just a line from a game, huh. To think there is a character with the same name as mine, what an amazing coincidence.”

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“But for you to be so passionate about it that you'd say it out loud. It feels like I saw a whole new side of you. Ah, don’t mind me since I will leave immediately. I’m sorry for interrupting when it’s getting fun.”

“–––––––––––––––––––––––– n, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”