Chapter 18: Ikki Kurogane 1

After 20 kilometers of running, Tsukasa and Ikki stopped their morning workout.

Ikki looked at Tsukasa curiously since it was rare to see someone who did a morning workout like jogging in this academy. After all, most Blazers could strengthen themselves several times with just their magic, so no one would think to improve their physical ability by workout, and it was his first time to see someone running other than him in this school.

However, Ikki also could tell that Tsukasa might be a freshman, considering he hadn't seen him last year. After all, even though Tsukasa might wear a breathing mask, it might be his first time seeing someone as beautiful as him. Even if Tsukasa was a male, it made him blush somehow.

Tsukasa wasn't sure what Ikki was thinking, and he took off his breathing mask that emitted steam because of the hot temperature and the moisture that came out from his breathing that stuck into the mask throughout the workout session.

Tsukasa didn't talk with Ikki first and took a deep breath, trying to catch his breath. While his regenerative healing factor was nice and all, he could still die if he drowned.

His workout was tough, especially when he wore a breathing mask.

Ikki's physical ability wasn't worse than him, and Tsukasa didn't want to lose, so he forced himself slightly.

"Are you alright?" Ikki asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I just need a rest for a moment." Tsukasa sat on the bench, resting his body before drinking the special sports drink he had prepared. He was refreshed, and his dizziness also disappeared. He then looked up and observed Ikki for a moment before he said, "My name is Kugayama Tsukasa. I'm a freshman. Are you also a freshman?"

Hearing Tsukasa's introduction, Ikki smiled kindly and said, "Nice to meet you, Kugayama-kun. My name is Kurogane Ikki. While I might not be a freshman, I'm also in my first year."

"You're not a freshman, but you're a first-year?" Tsukasa asked with a confused expression. While he might know the cause, he still showed a confused expression.

"I should be in 2nd grade, but I have repeated my grade since I flunked," Ikki said with a kind smile.

"..."

Tsukasa looked at Ikki, and it became weird since there was no fluctuation on Ikki's face when Ikki told him that Ikki had flunked.

The way Ikki told him that he had flunked was as if he had just told him that he had gone to the convenience store. He said as if it was, was something normal, as if it was something that you would meet in everyday occurrence, but how could one not react awkwardly when someone told them that he had flunked?

Tsukasa observed Ikki's expression and thought that this young man must have gotten used to the pain so that everything became numb.

However, it had nothing to do with him since Tsukasa also had his own problem, and he wasn't a hero who would help everyone in need.

While Tsukasa might be a doctor, Ikki was healthy, and there was no need for him to treat him.

If Ikki could give up his path as a Blazer, Tsukasa was sure that Ikki wouldn't have trouble with his life and become a rich second generation, living a carefree life, but Ikki chose a thorny path where he was ridiculed every time because it was his dream.

Everyone was free to dream, but unlike dreaming while sleeping, when one had a dream, in reality, they needed to pay the price.

Tsukasa also had a dream, and he also knew that he needed to pay that price.

"...I'm not sure what to say." Tsukasa's expression was awkward, and he apologized. "Sorry."

"No, no, you don't need to. You don't need to think too much about it, Kugayama-kun," Ikki still said kindly with a gentle smile on his face. When he saw Tsukasa's awkward expression, he just couldn't handle it and quickly said those words.

While Tsukasa was, without a doubt, a man and a handsome one at that, his beauty was something that even a woman couldn't match. While he might be muscular, his muscles were slender, unlike those bodybuilders.

If Tsukasa were a woman's clothes, he might become the most beautiful woman on earth, and just his glance could make everybody that saw him fall in love.

Tsukasa wasn't sure whether his charm was part of his talent too, but since it had caused him many troubles, he hadn't included it in the previous chapter before.

"....."

Tsukasa was speechless by Ikki's good boy personality, but he ignored it and asked, "So what should I call you? Should I add "-senpai"?"

"No, it'll be awkward if you call me "-senpai" since we're in the same grade," Ikki said awkwardly.

"I'll call you Kurogane then. Is that alright?" Tsukasa asked. He knew how

"Okay." Ikki nodded with a smile

Frankly, Ikki didn't care whether Tsukasa added a suffix or not to him. Instead, it was better for Tsukasa not to add suffix since it felt closer that way, and he was happy when Tsukasa did so.

While Ikki might not realize it, he was lonely since almost all the students in this academy had avoided him after the incident last year. Even his friend from the same dorm last year also avoided him because this friend couldn't handle the pressure from the people who wanted him to stop becoming a mage-knight.

While Blazer is the name of one born with the ability to wield magic, a Mage-knight is a profession after a Blazer graduated from the Mage-Knight Academy and received a license from the League of Mage-Knights.

It might be hard to understand what kind of profession the mage-knight was.

However, if Tsukasa had to explain, then it was similar to a civil servant, but with higher income since the mage-knight used their lives to protect the life of everyone.

It was also the reason why many Blazers wanted to become the mage-knight since they could get a high-income profession as long as they graduated from the Mage-Knight Academy.

It might seem vulgar, but who could live without money?

"But Kurogane? It is quite a rare surname," Tsukasa asked curiously.

There were many surnames in this country, but Kurogane was quite a rare surname.

'Kugayama isn't much better, though.' Ikki thought inwardly, but his expression became awkward after Tsukasa mentioned his surname, but his personality had always been honest, so he nodded. "Yes, even though that family might not acknowledge me, I'm the descendant of the Great Hero, Kurogane Ryouma."

"...."

Tsukasa looked at Ikki speechless and thought that this guy was really awful at conversation.