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433 p2. Noble Faction and New School Year [6]

 

「President, is the Imperial Academy such a strong contestant?」

When I asked her this question, having almost zero knowledge about the Five Academy, the president nodded helplessly.

「The Imperial Academy is the oldest swordsmanship academy that was established first in the Ringuard Empire. In recent years, even the records of the prestigious White Lily Academy have been outclassed and kept them one step away from their desired title of “Strongest of the Five Academies”…」

「I see……」

It seems that we’re facing an unbelievable opponent right at the start.

「B-But well, if we’re aiming for the championship, we were going to meet them someday!」

「Yes, it’s as Allen says!」

「They are a wall that must be overcome eventually. It’s just a difference of either now or later.」

I, Ria, and Rose each tried to uplift the mood, but…

「…If we’re going to hit the wall anyway, at least the final stage would be nice.」

「Lilim Tsuorine will fall in the first match, huh…」

「There is only depression, though…」

The senpais’ morale remained at the bottom still.

「A-Anyway! There’s no point in being discouraged!」

After that, I ended the conversation a little forcefully, and disbanded today’s student council.

(But still, meeting the strongest of the Five Academies at the very start, huh…)

It seems like this year’s Sword King Festival will have a turbulent start.

■

The day after the finals selection draw for the Sword King Festival ended. After rigorous morning and afternoon classes, I decided to show up at the Swing Club for the first time in a while.

「Hey, look there. Allen-senpai is here!」

「It’s really him! Allen-senpai in the flesh!」

「Good afternoon, Allen-senpai!」

I slightly raised my hand to greet the new first-year students.

(Wow, this club has grown quite large…)

Although we didn’t do any solicitation activities, somehow more than 30 new students joined the club, and the total number of members exceeded 150. This club surpassed the Swordsmanship Club for the Rank 1, and before I knew it, it had become the largest activity group at Thousand Blade Academy.

Since our club allows joining other clubs concurrently, there may be some who joined the Swing Club for the time being.

(Well, thanks to that, we can use such a nice place, so it’s a blessing.)

When the club was first established, it was active in a corner of the school grounds, but as the scale expanded, it became possible to use other facilities, and now it was possible to use popular facilities such as the gymnasium and school grounds.

And coincidentally, we can use the schoolyard for the whole day today.

And so I embarked to the schoolyard in high spirits.

On a side note, it seems that Ria is going to the soul dress hall to interact with her spirit core, and Rose is going to a forest for her mental training.

(…Alright, this area should be fine.)

With few people around, I secured my own position and took a long, deep breath.

(Phew… I managed to make it in time.)

For the past two weeks, due to the sudden occurrence of student council duties, I have not been able to do my practice-swings sufficiently.

Of course, after returning to the dormitory, I swing my sword for about 5-6 hours until I almost fall asleep…

But that’s not enough to satisfy my craving to practice-swing.

Honestly, I was already at my limit.

If I had waited for another several hours―no, several minutes, I would have surely had withdrawal symptoms.

(Let’s do it.)

With trembling hands, I slowly pulled out my sword.

The feel of the accustomed hilt and the sound of the blade rubbing against the scabbard was indescribably comfortable.

From the Seigan stance, I slowly raised my sword, and swung it down with all my might.

「Fu!」

……This is the best.

As expected, the first swing always feels the best.

「Ha!」

I withdraw my previous statement, the second one also feels superb.

「Sei!」

The third one warmed up my body nicely, and the feeling of this swing was also beyond description.

As expected, practice-swinging is highly addictive.

I first started practice-swinging as a form of recreation… but in the end, I got caught in an endless loop of pleasure and before I knew it, I couldn’t stop swinging.

(… Ah, this feels so good…)

I just kept swinging my sword free of any thoughts under the clear blue sky.

Is there any happiness greater than this?

(Fufufu……fufufu……)

I enjoyed the moment of bliss, savoring the joy that welled up from the depths of my heart.

I wonder how much time has passed since then.

When the hands holding the sword became quite warmed up, both my arms felt a comfortable sense of fatigue, and the muscles on my back felt a good amount of tension―.

「–Gutter worm!」

Suddenly someone called out to me loudly from behind. As I turned around, I saw Claude-san standing there with a sullen look.

「Oh, Claude-san? You’re already back so soon?」

Claude-san was supposed to be in the Vesteria Kingdom for about ten days.

「Who cares about that! How many times must I call you before you respond!」

「S-Sorry. I didn’t notice you because I was concentrating on my practice-swinging.」

「What useless concentration power…」

「So what’s the matter?」

Claude-san hates me one-sidedly.

I wonder what happened for her to talk to me first?

「…Worm, I have something important to tell you.」

「Important?」

「It’s regarding Ria-sama’s body.」

As I tilted my head, Claude-san said something unbelievable with an unusually serious expression.

「What do you mean by Ria’s body!?」

「Shhh! You’re being too loud!」

With her index finger to her lips, she quickly glanced around the area.

「It’s too conspicuous here. Let’s change the place. Follow me.」

「Okay.」

I followed Claude-san through the vast grounds of Thousand Blade Academy.