Chapter 77 - Darkness and Sword King Festival [8] (1/2)

77. Darkness and Sword King Festival [8]

After we broke through the qualifying rounds of the Sword King Festival, I went back to the dormitory with Ria after sharing the joy of victory with the president and everyone else from Thousand Blade Academy.

「Fuu… I’m a little tired…」

I took off my shoes at the door, and exhaled loudly.

「Fufu, good job. It was a big success today.」

「Thanks to Ria’s support.」

I put my sword down, and slouched onto the sofa.

(It was a really tense day…)

Today alone, I fought nearly ten swordsmen – against extremely talented swordsmen representing each academy.

I did not confront a single soul-dress user who excelled at long-range attacks, so I managed to win somehow.

(…I’m mentally tired.)

The match between swordsmen is a serious battle.

Just before the start of the match, I steeled myself and was tensed throughout the match.

It is only natural to be tired, because I repeated it nearly ten times.

(Let’s take a break… Just for a little bit…)

I decided to close my eyes on the sofa for a little while.

And then,

「Nee…, Al… Nee Allen, wake up.」

「Nn… Ah, Ri-Ria…?」

When I came to, Ria was shaking my shoulder.

「Mou… If you sleep in a place like this, you’ll catch a cold.」

「A-Aa, sorry…」

It seems that I fell asleep on the sofa.

「Nn…!」

In order to get rid of sleepiness, I stood up and stretched my body,

「Allen, the bath has been heated, but… What do you want to do? Would you like to eat first?」

Ria tilted her head saying so.

It seems that while I was asleep, she has been taking care of various things.

「Thank you, Ria. Let’s see… I’ll take a bath first.」

「I see. But don’t fall asleep in the bath, okay?」

「Aha, I know.」

Then I entered the bath which Ria prepared, ate her homemade Ramzac, and went to bed relatively early at 9pm.

「Fuwaa… Un… Good night, Ria.」

「Fufu… Good night, Allen.」

Feeling Ria next to me as usual, my consciousness slowly faded into slumber.

■

And the next day arrived.

Just like yesterday, I joined with the president and senpais before going to the National Holy Battlefield.

The National Holy Battlefield is an important cultural property designated by the government and is open to the public during the Sword King Festival and some other festivals.

The stone-like building had a similar historic vibe to Vesteria’s Great Arena. It was built with solemnity and presence.

「-I would like to end the greetings here. Thank you for your attention.」

At the end of the speech by the Sword King Festival Executive Committee, applause was sent from the full house venue.

From there, a woman in the commentary was in charge of advancing the festival.

「Today is the main rounds of the Sword King Festival! Grand battles to determine the pinnacle of Swordsmanship Academy is about to begin!」

At that moment,

Thunderous cheers, applause, support, and finger whistles broke out collectively.

(……!?)

I felt the『pressure of sound』for the first time in my life.

It was such a strange feeling, as though an electric shock was running through my skin.

「So let’s move on to the『lottery』to decide the match card!」

The commentator, who held the microphone in the front row of the audience seat, took out two large boxes.

On the surface of each box, the numbers『One』and『Two』were written.

「The lottery method is simple and clear! Boxes『One』and『Two』contain balls with the names of the Academies that broke through the first place and second place respectively! From now on, I’m going to take one ball out of each box. The academies listed on the balls will match against each other!」

She rolled up her right sleeve and put her hand in box『One』after stating the drawing method.

「Now, the first commemorative match! They came out right from the start! One of the Five Academy, Thousand Blade Academy!」

The commentator held up the ball which had『Thousand Blade Academy』written on it high.

「The first match itself, huh…」

「Right away it would seem… Let’s do our best!」

「Yoshaa! Let’s just do it!」

「Uwaa… If possible, the third or fourth match would’ve been better though…」

Tension ran through all four of us.

Then, the commentator put her hand in box『Two』with the same vigour.

「Now, from box『two』- It’s Snow Academy! But, Snow Academy was so exhausted in the qualifying rounds that there was a call this morning, saying that they’re『withdrawing from the main rounds』. Thus, it will be a default win for Thousand Blade Academy! Thousand Blade Academy, luck is with you today!」

「Wi-Withdrawing…?」

When I muttered to myself, the president gently added an explanation from the side.

「They probably exhausted themselves in the qualifying rounds. In the『main rounds』, one or two academies are like this every year.」

「I see… That’s what it was…」