Chapter 84 - Top Secret and Thousand Blade Festival [1] (2/2)

「D-Don’t misunderstand! I-I’m not afraid of a haunted house!」

「T-That’s right! D-Don’t be rude, Allen!」

They insisted that they were『not afraid』, and refused my help.

「By the way, the Year 2 Class A did a haunted house last year, too. At that time, more than ten people fainted.」

「Fufufu! Those who have experienced our haunted house will surely not be able to go to the bathroom alone at night!」

「I want you to tremble with fear though…」

「「……」」

Ria and Rose had a seriously troubled look after hearing that.

(If you’re afraid, you should just be honest about it…)

When I was smiling bitterly,

「Muu… Is Allen okay with scary things?」

「Hmm, you seem to be resistant to this kind of thing. Even when Sie cheated in the poker game, you schemed behind your gentle face and defeated her.」

「You are usually very calm, so I’d like to see your surprised look at least once though…」

The president and senpais’ target changed to me.

「Ahaha, it’s not that I don’t get afraid… I just don’t have much fear of ghosts.」

When I was still in Goza village, there were times when I couldn’t sleep all night after listening to bamboo geezer’s ghost stories, but…

It was around the time when I entered middle-school that I stopped believing in ghosts.

「Hee… You seem pretty confident.」

「This calmness of yours… is quite resolute.」

「I guess I’ll have to put a little more effort into scaring you though…」

For some reason the president and senpais were full of motivation.

「…Well, president. It’s about time.」

Looking at the clock, it was five minutes before the end of lunch break.

「Mou, time flies by when you’re having fun. Well then, Allen-kun, Ria-san, and Rose-san. See you tomorrow.」

After the regular meeting at lunch, we left the student council room and headed for the afternoon class.

■

After completing the afternoon classes, we returned to the classroom.

「Fuu… It was a good training.」

「Yes, I guess. My body feels beat up all over.」

「Leia-sensei’s classes are quite hard.」

As I was chatting idly with Ria and Rose, and preparing to return home – the doors of the classroom were opened vigorously.

「-Everyone, you did well through the tough classes today! It’s the last homeroom, but… No announcements! You can go home!」

Leia-sensei finished the last homeroom briefly, and

「-Allen, I need to talk to you for a little bit. Come to the Director’s office alone after this.」

She summoned me in a slightly stiff voice.

「Y-Yes, I understand.」

「Umu, I’ll be waiting for you.」

She nodded with satisfaction and left the classroom.

「…That was quite the serious look, considering Leia.」

「Why do you need to be『alone』?」

Ria and Rose tilted their heads with a suspicious expression on their faces.

「Well… For now, I’m going.」

「Un. We’ll be training in the usual place.」

「Come quickly once it’s over, okay?」

「Aa, I got it.」

Then, I separated from Ria and Rose and left the classroom.

I navigated through the long corridor and arrived at the director’s office.

I coughed once and slowly knocked on the black door.

「-Enter.」

Leia-sensei’s stiff voice replied.

「Excuse me.」

When I opened the door, there was the figure of sensei, with a serious expression while sitting on her work chair.

(…What’s going on? Did something bad happen?)

When I was thinking about that,

「Thanks for coming, Allen. Today I have a few things to talk to you about, but… First of all, placing fourth place in the Sword King Festival after defeating the White Lily Academy – This is a great achievement. Congratulations.」

Sensei smiled gently, saying so.

「Thank you very much. But this result is the combined effort of the president, Lilim-senpai, and Ferris-senpai.」

「Aa, that’s true of course, but you don’t have to be too humble. You’ve won all of your matches from qualifying to the main rounds. You achieved the most out of all the participating contestants and left the greatest impression. You’re strong – you should be more confident and puff your chest out with pride.」

She continued further.

「And here’s the main issue at hand. By defeating『Prodigy』Idol Luxmaria, your name is recognized at a『national level』.」

「I-Is that so?」

「Aa. Among『First-Year Swordsmen』, you are undoubtedly the one who is most talked about right now!」

Immediately after sensei declared as such,

「-That is why. There is one thing I must talk to you about no matter what.」

Sensei said, with unusual seriousness.

「W-What is it?」

I gulped down my saliva and waited for sensei’s next words.

A minute or two passes. Heavy silence loomed over the director’s office.

And finally, she slowly opened her mouth.

「-About that cursed『100 Million-Year Button』!」

「Wha?!」

100 Million Years Button. At the mention of those unbelievable words,

(W-Why… does sensei know about the 100 Million Years Button?!)

My eyes widened due to the excessive shock.