Chapter 73 - Darkness and Sword King Festival [4] (2/2)

I was able to pull out a small amount of darkness by my own will.

And sensei who listened to all those stories quietly,

「Fumu, I see… In other words, you’re troubled by the『Black Sword』,『Spiritual Power』, and『Darkness』. How to train them and in what order.」

She put together exactly what I was worried about.

「Yes, that’s exactly it…」

Black sword, spiritual power, darkness; I’ve learned a lot of things at once over the last few days.

In order to manifest my soul dress, the black sword, I have to win against that guy in the world of the soul.

Sensei said that plain strength training is the best way to strengthen spiritual power.

And when it comes to manipulating darkness freely…

Honestly speaking… I don’t even know where to start.

And then,

「From the three of them. you should definitely start with『darkness』.」

Sensei declared.

「With darkness… Is it?」

「Aa, no doubt.」

Sensei explained the order of the training further.

「In your case, the first step is to be able to manipulate『darkness』freely. After that, strengthen your spiritual power, and increase the『amount of darkness』that can be manipulated. And finally, the black sword – the training to manifest your soul dress. This would be the best order.」

「I-I see…!」

First, master to control the darkness, and then train my spiritual power to increase the amount of darkness. Then, I raise my fighting prowess to the absolute limit, and defeat that guy at the end. Which would enable me to attain the black sword, meaning, manifest my soul dress.

Certainly, it makes good sense.

「It was very helpful, thank you sensei!」

「Fufu, you’re welcome. The Sword King Festival is right around the corner. I’m rooting for you behind the scenes.」

「Yes!」

After I answered cheerfully,

「Then, excuse me.」

「Aa, try not to push yourself too hard.」

I left the Director’s office.

■

After Allen exited the Director’s Office,

「…Yoshi, this should buy a little more time.」

With a heavy feeling of guilt in her chest, Leia said so.

And then,

「Are you sure that’s alright, Leia-sama…? You taught such a wrong training method.」

No.18, who was working on paperwork in the corner of the room, asked her as though confirming her decision.

「……」

Leia, on the other hand, fell silent with a bitter expression.

She was tormented by the pangs of conscience.

「Originally, you should aim for the manifestation of the black sword first. No matter how much that『darkness』grows, it is only a『by-product of the black sword』. No matter how much time he invests in it, it is ultimately just a sideroad. The main road which is the black sword, that is, the manifestation of soul dress, he will never reach it. You should already know that right, Leia-sama?」

In front of the exceedingly precise opinions of No.18, Leia shrugged her shoulders.

「…It’s unavoidable. To think that he could snatch power away from that guy so soon… No one could’ve imagined it.」

She sighed, as though『not knowing what to do』.

「Allen is… undoubtedly a『genius』. After all, he was able to make that monster yield with his mental strength. Fufu, with this, I don’t even know which one of them is the real monster.」

She laughed feebly and,

「Anyhow, we can’t let Allen standout any more than this. It would be dangerous if he caught the attention of the top brass of the Black Organization. Especially the『Thirteen Knights of The Oracle』. If those guys start moving, even I don’t know what would happen.」

She murmured with a difficult expression.

「I see, concealing Allen-dono is the top priority. Is that right?」

「Well, that’s what it is…」

「Understood, I will do as such. But then… Allen-dono will be participating in the Sword King Festival though…?」

「There is no way he could grow with such a bullshit training method. I’m sure we’d be utterly defeated by the other Five Academy. No, it would be troublesome if we don’t get defeated. The degree of attention on the Sword King Festival is incredibly high after all.」

She whispered with a complicated expression and,

「Now, let’s end this talk here! There is no point in chattering pointlessly. Go work, work!」

「U-Understood!」

She clapped her hand and ordered No.18 to resume his work.

But, on this occasion, Leia had already made a huge mistake.

She was so wary of Allen Rodore’s『talent』that she overlooked Allen Rodore’s『anomaly』.

And after this day, Allen single-mindedly trained『Darkness』.

Even while walking.

Even while taking classes.

Even while swinging.

Even while eating.

Even while taking a bath.

As long as he was awake, he single-mindedly trained『darkness』.

The『endurance』that he acquired at the end of a billion years made it possible.

Finally, it was the day of the Sword King Festival.