Chapter 94

The day after the tumultuous Thousand Blades Festival, I was heading to the classroom of 1-A with Rea.

On the way,

“Yawn...”

We yawned almost simultaneously.

“Haha, Rea, that was a big yawn, wasn’t it?”

“Fufu, the same goes for you, Allen.”

We were both a bit sleep-deprived because we had participated in the victory celebration until late last night.

“Still... it’s a bit chilly today, isn’t it?”

Looking up at the sky, it was overcast. Dark clouds were gathering, making it seem like it could rain at any moment.

“Yeah... I think the winter uniforms start from October 1st, right?”

We talked about such things as we headed to 1-A.

When we opened the classroom door, a somewhat unusual scene unfolded. Rose, who was known for her weakness in the morning, was already in the classroom.

(She’s here so early... This is unusual...)

Rea and I put our bags at our respective desks and greeted Rose.

“Good morning, Rose.”

“Good morning, Rose. You’re early today.”

Then,

“Mm, ah... Good morning, Allen, Rea... Yawn...”

Rose, with her artistic bedhead, slowly turned her body towards us and yawned so widely that it almost made us yawn too.

“Haha, you look pretty sleepy.”

“From the looks of it, did you not sleep well last night?”

“Mm, ah... Last night, there was the victory celebration, and more than anything, I used <Crimson Cold Cherry> too much... My spirit power is drained... Yawn...”

Just as she yawned again, the classroom door opened, and an elderly male teacher entered.

(Oh, who is he...?)

He stood at the podium, cleared his throat, and began to speak.

“Um... I have an announcement for the students of 1-A. Um... The principal has been urgently summoned by the government and has gone to the Linguard Palace.”

The class started to buzz with chatter upon hearing this.

“Urgently summoned by the government...?”

“Isn’t it that time of year? The Black Organization...”

“Ah... The counter-meeting, right...”

After that, the male teacher took a sheet of paper from his pocket and read from it.

“Um... The following is a note left by the principal: ‘--- Gentlemen and ladies. I apologize, but due to an urgent schedule, today’s classes will be self-study. I have reserved the Soul Armor Field for the morning and afternoon, so please use it effectively. However, the use of Soul Armor training and Spirit Crystal Swords is prohibited. That’s all.’... That’s what it says. I will take my leave now.”

After delivering the announcement, the male teacher bowed deeply and left the classroom.

“Self-study, huh... This is the first time at the Thousand Blades Academy...”

At the Grand Sword Academy, every day was self-study, so it felt a bit nostalgic.

“Hmm... Since Soul Armor training is prohibited, we’ll focus on strength training...”

“Yawn... It’s perfect for waking up...”

And so, we headed to the Soul Armor Field as the morning bell rang.

Upon arriving at the Soul Armor Field, the students of 1-A started their respective self-study.

Rea read a swordsmanship guidebook near me, Rose reviewed the techniques of the Sakura Hua Itto-ryu, and Tessa meditated in the corner of the room.

Meanwhile, I concentrated my mind and performed suburi.

“--- Hiss! Chop! Swing!”

I took a stance and slowly raised my sword, then cut down. It was a simple and monotonous practice, but ultimately, this was the most effective.

‘A swordsman’s skill is determined by how many times he swings his sword’—that’s what the swordsmanship guidebook says.

And so, for about three hours in the morning, I continued to swing my sword without a break.

■

When the morning classes ended, it was time for lunch. Rea, Rose, and I headed to the student council room with our bento to attend the regular meeting.

After knocking on the door, the president’s voice, as usual, replied. We slowly opened the door, greeted her, and entered the room.

“--- Good morning.”

Then,

“Rea, Rose, good morning! And... good morning, Allen.”

The president greeted Rea and Rose enthusiastically but took a slightly cold attitude towards me.

...It seems she’s still holding a grudge over yesterday’s incident.

(Sigh... I wonder how I can make her happy...)

Just as I was struggling with the president’s attitude,

“...? What are you talking about?”

Rea tilted her head and spoke.

“Ah, actually, yesterday during poker—”

“--- Allen did something naughty to me.”

My words were cut off by the president, who said something outrageous.

“P, President...! What are you saying such nonsense for!?”

Just as I frantically tried to correct her,

“... Allen, is that true?”

“... Depending on the circumstances, it’s not forgivable.”

The light in Rea and Rose’s eyes disappeared.

There was no trace of their usual kindness. They just stared at me with blank expressions.

“It’s not true... It’s a nasty joke!”

Feeling a sense of danger, I immediately confronted the president.

“President, stop making such malicious jokes! We already resolved yesterday’s incident, didn’t we?”

In response to my little mischief, she sent many seniors to retaliate. That incident was supposed to be settled.

However,

“Because, Allen... You single-handedly defeated all the students I summoned... That doesn’t count as retaliation...”

The president pouted like a child.

“Such tyranny...”

Indeed, I defeated everyone, but...

I used a lot of energy, and it was enough as retaliation.

“Hmm... Then, how about you fulfill one of my requests next time?”

“... Alright. But only within reason.”

I can’t agree to all of the president’s ‘requests’. After all, there’s the Blood Diamond incident with the vice president.

“Yes, of course. This will make us even.”

With that, the president smiled.

(...I wonder what kind of ‘request’ will come...)

Just thinking about it made my stomach churn.

“Sigh... I’ll clear up the misunderstanding now, so President, please eat your lunch quietly.”

“Okay!”

Then, I explained the incident from last night to Rea and Rose in detail.

“So, that’s what it was... I’m relieved...”

“Indeed, I was quite surprised...”

The light returned to their eyes, and I sighed in relief.

Thus, the regular meeting, which was also a lunch gathering, finally began.

“By the way... Where are Lirim and Ferris?”

Rea opened her bento and looked around the room.

“They are resting due to fatigue from yesterday. They were severely beaten by Allen, and it might take a few days for them to recover...”

“A, ahaha... I feel a bit guilty...”

Lirim and Ferris kept getting up no matter how many times I defeated them.

Especially Lirim—she kept coming at me with all her might, saying, “I can’t lose to a junior!”

As a result, I used a lot of energy and had to rest, which led to the president’s ambush.

“--- Well, Lirim and Ferris are both quite strong, so there’s no need to worry.”

After summarizing, the president continued,

“--- By the way, everyone, how was the haunted house?”

After that, we talked about the Thousand Blades Festival.

The discussion about improving the quality of the haunted house for next year’s festival.

The talk about the swordsmanship club president, Jean Bael.

The strategy for winning the underground Thousand Blades Festival.

After the topics about the Thousand Blades Festival were exhausted and the conversation paused,

“--- By the way, Ms. Reia is on leave today. It seems she was urgently summoned by the government... Do you know anything about it, President?”

I asked about something that had been bothering me since this morning.

“Yes, I know. It’s an emergency meeting of the five academy principals—my father mentioned he would attend, I think.”

She said this while putting a piece of tamagoyaki from the corner of her bento into her mouth.

“Is the topic still the Black Organization...?”

“Yes. The government is really struggling with the Black Organization... They’re doing whatever they want, wherever they want... They attacked the Vesteria Kingdom, and the next day, they tried to provoke us... Recently, there’s a rumor that they offered a deal to the Poliesta Federation...”

As the heiress of the Arkstria family, she harbors strong animosity towards the Black Organization. The president spoke quickly.

“And... I recently found out that the Black Organization is searching for a rare creature called a ‘Phantom Spirit.’”

At that moment, Rea’s hand, which was holding her chopsticks, stopped.

“... What’s wrong, Rea? Did you choke?”

When I offered her a glass of water,

“U, um... I’m fine, don’t worry...”

She gave a stiff smile and shook her head.

“Okay, that’s good.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

While Rea and I were having this conversation, Rose, who usually avoids difficult topics, surprisingly joined in.

“About the emergency meeting of the five academy principals... Is the city’s defense secure?”

...Indeed, Rose has a point.

The principals of the five academies each possess immense power and ‘strength’. It seemed dangerous for them to leave the city all at once, even to a layman.

“Hmm, it’s a bit thin, but there’s no need to worry. The schedule for the emergency meeting is ultra-confidential. There’s no risk of information leakage, and it’s unlikely that the Black Organization would attack at such a perfect timing—”

Just as the president said that, a huge explosion echoed.

“Wha!?”

We hurriedly looked out the window and saw our gymnasium on fire.

And that wasn’t all.

A group of people in black cloaks were climbing over the outer walls and entering one after another.

“K, Black Organization...!?”

Just as the president shouted, the school’s intercom blared.

“Emergency announcement! Emergency announcement! Our academy is under attack by a mysterious group believed to be the Black Organization! Students, please engage in defense within your capabilities! I repeat, our academy is—”

The Thousand Blades Academy, caught off guard by the sudden attack, fell into unprecedented chaos.

“--- Allen, Rea, Rose, can you lend me your strength?”

“Yes, of course!”

“Yes!”

“Leave it to us.”

And so, we moved out together to repel the Black Organization, which had invaded the Thousand Blades Academy.