One soul, two twins, the other half is Bronya

In the small dark room, without any reference points, the concept of time becomes blurred.

……

"You want Kurogane-kun to say something like 'I did something wrong' himself. This is the purpose of the inquiry, right?" Ning Yin sat in the chairman's office and talked with Kurono.

"After all, each country cannot deprive the "Magic Knight" of its qualifications. This is directly under the jurisdiction of the Alliance."

Heino put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray and spoke slowly.

"That's right, but that's exactly why that old fox Akaza resorted to such despicable tactics."

But Ning Yin wasn't in a rush this time. She couldn't intervene, but it wasn't like she had no one else to help. "This time, it's up to Xiaobai. He's sure there will be no problem."

"Bai Ye..."

Kurono had seen the previous training and knew that Byakuya had already surpassed the standards of a student knight!

"Indeed, he can already do a lot with his abilities, but we as teachers can't just stand by and watch."

"Xiaobai told me~"

Ning Yin appeared on Heinai's desk in a flash. Her petite body sat on it without any sense of incongruity. She leaned towards Heinai and said, "If Xiao Hei wants to help, you can..."

As for Bai Ye? He was still waiting. As soon as Yihui entered, something happened over there. Even a fool could tell that there was something wrong! This kind of thing can't be rushed.

Ikki was questioned as usual, and although he was not subjected to lynching, it still took a toll on his spirit.

On this day, Ikki was still handcuffed and taken to a venue - he was still a student knight, and his qualification for the sword fighting festival could not be revoked, so he had to be taken to participate.

Of course, it is in a specific closed venue, and even the communication between the two parties is restricted.

As expected, Ikki won and was sent to the dark room again. This went on for several days. Until...

"Click~"

The building's electrical system failed. In the small dark room, the flashing red dot on the surveillance camera went out of service, and the only light source went out.

A pure white yang lightning flashed, and soon Bai Ye's figure condensed in the corner of the room, and the vision dimmed again...

"You should be okay, Ikki~"

Bai Ye leaned against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. "I've said it before, but I've disappointed you. I guess at this moment, you'd rather see Stella, right?"

"You're still the same."

"Of course, I've always been like that."

In response, Bai Ye just smiled and said, "Don't you think those idiots are a bit too nosy? It's a matter of mutual consent between a man and a woman. What do they have to do with it?"

"And you're still talking about impure relationships? That's a joke! Since when did even being in a relationship become illegal?"

Even without a ray of light, Bai Ye's gaze from the darkness was still sharp. "It's easy to find a pretext to accuse someone of a crime. Are you being fooled?"

"Ahem, of course not." During the conversation with Bai Ye, Ikki gradually perked up.

"..."

There was a moment of silence. When Bai Ye spoke again, his tone was no longer as frivolous as before, but instead carried a hint of majesty—a temperament that had been cultivated bit by bit during his time in the Qin Dynasty!

"Ikki, there's something I need to tell you."

"..., what is it?"

He sat up straight unconsciously. His intuition told Yihui that what Bai Ye was going to say next must be far beyond his imagination!

"What happened these days..."

When he said this, Bai Ye paused for a moment, "Actually, I already knew it."

Seeing that Yihui didn't interrupt, Bai Ye nodded slightly and continued, "My eyes are quite special. I can see the future to a certain extent..."

"Although it's just a possibility." Of course, this part is pure deception.

It is time to introduce such a concept, "Remember what I said before? A person's three growths:

The third time was when I realized that some things are not just about right or wrong, but I still firmly did what I believed in and took responsibility for it.

"I saw your relationship with your father."

Bai Ye looked at Ikki in the darkness with a complicated expression. Although he himself did not advocate suffering, he had to admit that suffering made people grow.

"You've always thought that you were too weak, and that's why you couldn't get the recognition from your father, Kurotsuchi Yan. But in fact, this is wrong."

◆Black Iron

Compared with family affection, he pays more attention to maintaining "order", which is today's "hierarchy".

"Of course you are his son, but your magic power is too poor. In his eyes, you are a person without talent, Ikki."

"Yet you relied on your inferior magic power to strive towards becoming a higher-level Magic Knight, and even defeated him!"

Bai Ye paused for a moment, giving Yihui time to think, and after a while he asked, "So, what do you think you should look like in his eyes?"

"..."

There was a long silence. Ikki had already reacted. He was no fool and naturally understood the meaning of this.

“It’s a ‘challenger of the system’…”

Silence is meaningless. Bai Ye revealed the answer, "If you succeed like this, you will become a role model and a hope for those people."

"As you know, there are too many people with inferior magic power, which can even cause a shock to the social structure."

It should have been "nothing can be done", but at some point, someone actually succeeded!

Once this fact becomes known, everyone who has the ability will begin to try. After all...

——No one will be content with mediocrity!

This is peacetime, and if this were to happen, it would inevitably lead to bloodshed.

But even so, there will still be people who continue to pursue the illusory success that is rumored.

"It's the same as a lottery."

Bai Ye changed his words to something more understandable, "Everyone thinks there's no treasure in the prize pool, so no one will try to draw this prize."

"But once someone pulls out a treasure, countless others will follow suit and try."

"They only remember that someone succeeded, rather than asking...why was this person able to do it?"

Although Kurogane Yan was wrong about Ikki's issue, are the ideas he insisted on really unreasonable?

"That's the cruel truth."

I don't know when, Bai Ye has walked to Yihui's side, put a hand on Yihui's shoulder and slowly squatted down, "Your father has never had any expectations of you."

"In fact, on the contrary, he would rather you remain mediocre. You have always been his son, but that's all. So it comes back to the question..."

——"What exactly is it that you desire?"

28. Go become a [Demon]!

Those were the words an old man once said to him in the boundless snowstorm, and he still hasn't forgotten them:

"Are you not willing to accept the fact that you are the 'weakest', kid?"

"Then don't forget the regret you feel now."

"Because that's proof that you haven't given up your ego."

……

Yes, he originally wanted to prove to the old man... to prove that his vision was right!

But Kurogane Ryoma... is already dead.

"Ikki, do you remember Stella? Before leaving, she asked me to pass on a message to you."

Before Ikki's will could be weakened, Byakuya gave him a timely shot of adrenaline, "Do you still remember the promise? She's waiting for you in the finals."

Many figures flashed through Ikki's mind: Stella, Shizuku, Arisuin, Byakuya, Bronya... and so on, even Shinguji Kurono and Saikyo Nene were included.

"……,I see."

The hand that had been a little depressed suddenly burst into strength and grabbed Bai Ye's shoulder. Ikki slowly raised his head, and his dark eyes also bloomed with brilliance, "Thank you very much for this time, Bai Ye."

"It seems you are alive~"

Bai Ye smiled casually and patted Yihui's shoulder heavily, "So what's the situation? Is this the power of love?"

"Stop teasing me."

Ikki waved his hand, not wanting to pay any attention. This time, he truly saw himself clearly, and his will, tempered by the test, became even more brilliant.

"Hey, okay, okay, let's get down to business this time. Do you still want your father's recognition?"

"Okay, Bai Ye, I've figured it out..."

Yihui seemed to have let it go, and his tone was no longer so persistent. But suddenly, Yihui gradually realized, "Bai Ye, what did you mean just now?"

"Guess~"

"Hey!"

"Okay, okay, that's what you meant."

Patting Ikki's shoulder, Bai Ye stopped teasing him and said, "Do you think that maintaining order for Kurogane is just a responsibility? It's impossible for a person to be selfless."

"Except for true saints, of course. So, Ikki, what do you think he gained from this?"

"...power and status?" (Ikki)

"Perhaps it's not just one person, but the entire Kurogane family. Otherwise, why would he make his life so tiring?"

Bai Ye let go of Yi Hui's shoulder and sat down beside him by the wall. "To be honest, if you are willing to give up all this and go back to inherit the family property..."

"I'm sure you'll have a good life! With the power of the Black Iron Family, we'll definitely pave a smooth path for you. All you have to do is give up your identity as a Bladebreaker."

"But..." (Ikki)

"But you don't want to, do you?"

Bai Ye continued what Hui said, "Maybe at the beginning, you were just doing it for a certain purpose. But as time went by, it has become an indispensable part of your life."

【Become stronger! 】

Ikki silently clenched his fists. Daily training, swordplay... had become a completely ingrained part of his life; it was impossible for him to let it go!

"If it weren't for Stella, you might be lost. But when you truly look into your own heart, you will still strive in this direction, right?"

"..."

There was silence.

"It seems you feel deeply, Ikki."

Bai Ye stood up and said, "How about this, I'll give you some time to slowly experience it, and we can continue our conversation tomorrow?"

"white night!"

"Okay, okay, no more joking."

Bai Ye waved his hand and was pulled by Yihui to sit down, "I can tell you very clearly: when it comes to getting stronger, you must never stop!"

"Why...will there be danger in the future?"

"Well, who knows? After all, as I said before, my observations aren't accurate."

In the darkness, Bai Ye brought up another topic, "Also... haven't you seen it before?"

"Did you protect Stella from the puppeteer's attack? Strength is something that has two completely different concepts: having it and not using it, and not having it at all."

"So young man, work hard to become stronger!" He suddenly became unreliable again.

But Ikki was almost used to it... If he was too serious, it would not fit the image of Bai Ye in his mind. "Okay, Bai Ye, it's been so long... You still don't seem to get to the point?"

"Oh, nothing? What else did I miss? All the things I just mentioned are the key points."

"About my father."