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432 p3. Noble Faction and New School Year [5]

「…Conquer the whole country… NOOOOOOO!」

Having almost recovered from his crushed state, he firmly grabbed me by the side collar with both arms and launched a head-on battle.

I wonder if this is power of determination

Mole-senpai’s spiritual power had become stronger than ever before.

(…Strong.)

It’s true that he’s strong… but in terms of total spiritual power, it doesn’t even reach the 13 Knights of the Oracle, let alone the Seven Holy Swords and the Emperor’s Four Knights.

(I was a little surprised… but it looks like I’ll be able to push through without any problems.)

When I raised my power output by one and was about to push through with sheer power, I suddenly saw Mole-senpai’s face.

「NUOOOOOOOOOOOOO!」

He was desperate.

He was undeniably at full power.

And above all, his power was honest and straightforward.

Swordsmanship and Judo. Swordsman and Judo Practitioners.

Even though we’re on different paths, we all have the same goal – “The Strongest’.

(This is wrong…)

At this point, it came to my mind that it would be wrong for the Student Council Vice-President Allen Rodore to destroy the future of the Thousand Blade Judo Club.

That’s why I decided.

(…Sometimes we have to do things like these.)

Immediately after that, there were two thuds in the Judo hall.

Mole-senpai and I collapsed at the exact same time. At the same time, the buzzer sounded, announcing the end of the match.

The judo hall was silent for a moment, and the referee declared the winner.

「–Draw!」

We ran out of time without any points.

In other words, it was a draw.

「WOSHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! I drawed with Allen Rodore himself!!」

As Mole-senpai roared, a whirlwind of joy swept through the Judo Club.

「Amazingggggg!」

「I cried. It was really close at the end!」

「We can do it! We will aim for the national championship this year!」

Besides the members, the new students who had heard the commotion and crowded the judo hall out of nowhere, were shocked.

「Soul dress was prohibited, but still, to draw with Allen-senpai himself……」

「W-Wow… amazing… I don’t really understand, but it was amazing!」

「Judo, huh? Maybe I should give it a try, even if it’s just trial joining…」

Afterwards, we bowed to each other and ended the match.

Due to the result of the draw, Mole-senpai did not quit the Judo Club, and the Judo Club was prohibited from excessive solicitation activities.

Rather than saying it was a compromise between the student council and the Judo Club, they simply decided to operate according to the original rules.

「Phew…I’m tired.」

When I returned to Ria and Rose after finishing the unexpected accident,

「Allen, why didn’t you push him down at the end?」

「If you just twisted him down in that position, wouldn’t you have won easily? Why did you choose a draw?」

Even if I could deceive everyone else’s eyes, it seems I couldn’t deceive these two.

「Hmmm, I don’t know what to say… I just thought that I shouldn’t win this match.」

「Fufu, how very Allen-like.」

「I really like that about you.」

Ria and Rose said so and smiled happily for some reason.

「Well then… I’ll go change my clothes.」

「Okay.」

「We’ll be waiting outside.」

「Alright, I’ll be right back.」

As I moved to the men’s changing room and changed into my uniform, I heard a voice from behind.

「Yo, great work out there.」

「Tessa?」

Dressed in his judo uniform, he threw a bottle at me.

「It’s a sports drink.」

「Oh, thanks.」

I was just feeling thirsty, so I’m grateful for that.

A sports drink at the end of the workout felt so refreshing and delicious.

「Our Mole-senpai was amazing, wasn’t he?」

「Yeah, he was strong. Far more than I expected.」

「Heh, thank you.」

A small silence descended, and Tessa scratched the back of his head.

「You took it into consideration.」

「What are you talking about?」

「Don’t be silly, you idiot. I’ve been chasing your back for the past year, you know? There’s no way the great Allen Rodore-sama would lose in a head-to-head battle of strength.」

Tessa said so and lightly chopped my head.

「Ah, uh… It’s true that I eased up, but I didn’t really mean to insult that match――」

「–It’s fine. I understand your intentions. So… thank you.」

「I see. Then what’s the matter?」

「Heh…」

We smiled wryly at each other, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

「Mole-senpai is as strict as a demon when practicing, and he can be unreasonable at times, but…he’s a really good person. When practice is over, he treats us to meals, gives us vegetables sent from his parent’s house, and gives advice to the juniors. He’s a truly kind man.」

「I see.」

The fact that vegetables are sent from his parents’ house means that his parents are farmers or something, right?

Thinking about it, I felt a sense of familiarity.

「Perhaps he’s in a panic too. The number of people who want to join the judo club is decreasing year by year, and if things continue like this, the club will be abolished in a few years. ……Even if we solicit normally, they can escape, and even if we launch a campaign to join the club, no one wants to join. It seems that this kind of thing has continued for many years and has ended in the current radical solicitation.―But this time, Allen taught him a good method.」

Tessa pointed to the judo hall outside the men’s changing room.

Some of the new students who were watching the match just now had the senpais from the judo club train them lightly. Perhaps they decided to try joining the club.

At the same time, I heard this conversation coming from the other side of the judo hall.

「Hmm… this method was completely unexpected.」

「We will conduct mock battles and display them for the new students to see… This way, spectators will gather because of the novelty, and we will be able to show them the fun of judo!」

「It’s said that no matter how good a product is, it won’t sell if it isn’t known…. Not bad, not bad at all! Then let’s strike while the iron is still hot!」

Apparently, they found a new method of soliciting.

「Thanks to Allen’s performance, he had a chance to show the beauty of judo. And above all, he learned the right way to solicit. So – thank you.」

Tessa said so and bowed to me deeply.

「Don’t worry about it. As the vice president of the student council, I was just doing what I was supposed to do.」

「…Goodness, you’re truly a serious to a fault kinda guy.」

With a wry smile, he patted my back.

「Let’s go eat together again next time. It’ll be on me.」

「In that case, I’m looking forward to it.」

After that, there were no major troubles, and today’s patrol activities ended without incident.

■

After the fierce New Recruitment period ended, we were holed up in the student council room for about ten days.

We made full use of our lunch break and after-school period. As a result of everyone working together, we were finally able to reorganize the yearly schedule for Thousand Blade Academy today.

「Thank you all for your hard work! Thanks to you, I think we’ll be able to do it again this year!」

As the president uttered words of appreciation,

「He, hehe… no more, I can’t move anymore, ge…」

「I feel like I’ve worked for a lifetime’s worth in the past week…」

Lilim-senpai and Ferris-senpai collapsed on the spot.

「It’s finally over.」

「We have done a great job.」

Ria and Rose were enjoying a sense of accomplishment and liberation.

While a soft and gentle atmosphere flowed,

「Ah, it’s about time!」

The president suddenly realized something and turned on the LCD monitor and put on a certain news program.

A telop in red letter on the screen read, 『Soon, the Sword King Festival Lot Drawing will begin!』.

「Phew, I almost missed it.」

She let out a sigh of relief and turned around.

「Today is the day of the lot drawing for the important Sword King Festival! Let’s all watch it together.」