When they returned, they had hoped for warm food, a nice bath, a comfortable bed, and rested happily.
However, who would have thought something was happening to Ikki Kurogane?
If Ikki was just a stranger, they might not care much, but Ikki was their friend, so Tsukasa and Stella quickly asked Shizuku and Arisuin, who stayed in their dorm. As for the members of the student councils, while they knew about Ikki, they weren't that familiar with him, and there were many things they had to take care of, considering the facility of the Hagun Academy had just been attacked previously.
Tsukasa also called Kagami since he knew this girl was the most familiar with the news that happened around them.
While Shizuku was in a bad mood, she knew that Tsukasa and Stella were Ikki's friends and the only few people who cared about her brother, so she truthfully told what had happened and showed the newspaper which wrote about Ikki's defamation.
"Scoundrel since the old days, even committing assault, theft, and blackmail." Stella listed Ikki's problems one by one in the newspaper and on the internet before she spat them out. "Isn't all of this just a fabrication?!" Even if she was blind, she didn't think Ikki would do all of that.
Unlike in the original story, where Stella and Ikki were in a relationship, neither of them had a relationship with each other now. Naturally, it was impossible to make gossip between the two.
Instead, Ikki could only be slandered with a clumsy lie in public.
However, it might be a clumsy lie, but when it was done in the media, it would turn into a different matter.
When it came to media, all the people in Tokyo, if not the entire country, would know about this matter. Whether it was a lie or truth, the people didn't really care since people would believe that media had a certain credibility.
Ikki was also only an F-rank Blazer, and while his popularity was quite high since he was able to win all the matches in the qualification match to choose the candidate to enter the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, the public didn't know him well.
After all, Tsukasa brought all the media attention.
Could Tsukasa be blamed?
No. After all, he didn't expect this situation at all.
"So what's wrong with him? What happened when we were gone?" Tsukasa asked since what had happened to Ikki was so quick that he couldn't react. If he was at the school, he might be able to stop, but he was at the training facility in Okutama mountain.
There was even a terrorist attack, and frankly, while it might be cruel, if Ikki wasn't his friend, Tsukasa might not care at all about this matter.
"He was caught by the head of the ethics committee for the League's Japanese branch." Nagi Arisuin sighed since he couldn't help at all when the head of the ethics committee for the League's Japanese branch came to catch Ikki.
The ethics committee for the League's Japanese branch might sound unfamiliar to some people, but it was an organization created for underage or blazers who were studying before they got a mage-knight license. They managed many things such as giving a passport when one wanted to go overseas, giving permission, and many others.
Still, after hearing this, what could Tsukasa say?
'Wait, if he remembers well, the head of the ethics committee should be...' Tsukasa frowned, then asked, "By the way, Shizuku, if I remember it well, the head of the ethics committee is..."
"Yes." Shizuku nodded with a tired sigh. "He's the head of the branch house of the Kurogane household. Mamoru Akaza."
"Huh? What's wrong with your family? Kurogane is your family, but he's caught by his own family?" Stella was even more dumbfounded. She might have heard the story about the Kurogane family from Tsukasa and Ikki, but when she heard that this family would catch their own family, she felt this family was messed up. "Won't your father or mother say something about this matter?"
"The one who ordered Onii-sama to be caught was my father." Shizuku lowered her head, and from her expression alone, it was easy to tell she was so gloomy at that moment. "I am not even surprised even if he did this." She just didn't know what was going on in the head of her father, but this action didn't surprise Tsukasa.
Tsukasa thought about Ikki's story where Ikki was shot by several arrows by Shizuya Kirihara and couldn't fight back since if he fought back, he would be judged as a delinquent that would cause trouble anywhere.
Tsukasa wondered why the Kurogane household didn't want Ikki to become mage-knight so much that they had caused Ikki so much trouble.
"Will Onii-sama be expelled?" Shizuku asked worriedly. If it was something that she was most worried about, it was the fact that Ikki might be expelled. However, she couldn't ask Arisuin, but it was different when it came to Tsukasa since she felt he knew about something.
"No." 2x
Whether it was Tsukasa and Kagami answered at the same time since they were sure Ikki wouldn't be expelled.
"Why?" Arisuin asked curiously, but the rest were also quite curious.
Tsukasa looked at Kagami and said, "Kagami, you can explain to them."
"Okay." Kagami nodded with a cute smile, telling everyone about Kuraudo.
"Kuraudo?" 3x
Kuraudo Kurashiki.
While they might not know the name, the notoriety of this Blazer was so loud. He was the perfect description of a delinquent since not only did he send many people to the hospital, he forced someone to fight, blackmail, and did many other things without a care.
Yet Kuraudo hadn't been expelled and was still a student of the Donrou Academy.
Compared to what Kuraudo did, Ikki's slander was still cute.
"....." Shizuku, Arisuin, and Stella.
However, this was normal since the League of Mage-Knights wouldn't revoke the qualification of the Blazers or expel students from the Mage-Knight Schools so easily since the only path for those Blazers who received such treatment was only to become a criminal.
However, it was normal since the Blazers usually didn't have many other skills besides fighting. They also had a power that enabled them to trample many people easily. The temptation of being a criminal was bigger than one thought.
It was also the reason why the League of Mage-Knights wouldn't let go of Kuraudo no matter what.
It might be his personal view, but the qualification which the League of Mage-Knights held was like a cage, and the Blazers were a beast. Instead, let them loose and do whatever they want. It was better to cage them so no one would cause trouble, right?
However, this was also the reason why they didn't think Ikki would be expelled since the treatment of the League of Mage-Knights toward such a case was extremely slow.
The Ethics Committee might be a strong organization, but it didn't have the qualification to take or expel a Blazer from the mage-knight schools. If they dared to do it, they might be sanctioned, and those people might be shot down by the organization.
Hearing those explanations, Shizuku sighed in relief.
"I'll do what I can to help, but I am sure that nothing is happening to him," Tsukasa said.
"Thank you." Shizuku was so grateful to Tsukasa since there was really nothing she could do to help Ikki, her older brother, and her lover.
"By the way, did your family announce your relationship?" Tsukasa asked curiously. After all, it was an open secret that Ikki and Shizuku were together, but he didn't see the news about it anywhere.
"No." Shizuku shook her head.
Tsukasa nodded and didn't feel surprised since if the Kurogane household dared to announce the relationship between Ikki and Shizuku, it wouldn't be Ikki or Shizuku who would be troubled. Instead, this scandal would affect the entire Kurogane family since if a brother and a sister could be together, their family wouldn't be able to escape the responsibility for why it happened.
Still, instead of being asked for an interview for a crime that Ikki had never done, Tsukasa knew the Ethics Committee would probably force Ikki to admit the crimes he had never committed.
'Well, since they love to play with the media, then let's fight it with the media.'
"......................"