Chapter 85 - Top Secret and Thousand Blade Festival [2] (2/2)

「You don’t have to worry about it. I am the Director, and also your homeroom teacher, after all.」

She smiled gently and touched on a small subject at the end.

「From here on out, it’s a question of pure curiosity, but… Allen, how many years were you trapped in the『Prison of Time』?」

「Err, sorry. I don’t remember exactly how many years.」

「Just a rough estimate is good enough.」

「Let’s see… About a billion years, I think?」

As a result of continuing to loop through 100 million years over and over again, I didn’t keep count after the tenth loop.

At that time, I was not in the state of mind to keep count.

And then,

「HA?!」

Sensei petrified like a stone statue, hearing my reply.

「…S-Sorry, if it wasn’t my mishearing, I heard『a billion years』just now.」

「Yes. I was in that world for at least that much.」

But it most likely didn’t surpass 20 loops, I think.

「A-Absurd…」

She murmured something, with her mouth hanging wide-open.

「W-What on earth did you do for such an astronomical amount of time?」

「Let’s see… Mainly just practice-swings.」

There were times when I was developing various techniques – Flying Shadow, Hazy Moon, Dark Roar, Yatagarasu, and so on – but primarily I was always swinging.

「F-For more than a billion years, just continuously swinging!?」

「Y-Yeah…」

「I… see… You are a truly fearsome guy.」

Sensei said, as though astonished and exhaled loudly.

「Fuu… No, it’s nothing. Forget about that just now.」

「O-Okay…」

When I gave a half-hearted reply,

「Just in case – What I told you today is a top secret that is only known to a handful of people. Don’t speak a word of it to anyone, alright?」

「Yes, I understand.」

「All right, that’s all for now. I’m sorry it took so long.」

「No, I’m sorry too. Thank you very much.」

Then, I said「excuse me」and left the director’s office.

(Fuu… Anyway, to think even Leia-sensei pushed the 100 Million Years Button…)

The world is small.

I never imagined there would be someone else who had experienced that hell so close to me.

(However, the Black Organization might come to scout, huh…)

It is impossible for me to join the organization which kidnapped Ria.

(But they’re a large-scale criminal organization.)

The moment I turn down their invitation, it is conceivable enough that they will come at me in a frenzy.

In that sense, I should be cautious.

「Well… It’s time to go to where Ria and Rose are.」

Then, I went to the schoolyard which was the activity ground of the Practice-Swing Club.

■

Shortly after Allen left the director’s office,

「I-Impossible…」

Leia was greatly perplexed. Her face was completely pale.

「More than a billion years in that lonely, isolated world?! Even I was at my limit at 500 years! Just what kind of mental strength does he have?!」

Her voice echoed greatly in the spacious director’s office.

The name 100 Million Years Button, is only what the hermit of time calls it.

A person who actually spent 100 million years and returned alive to the real world does not exist – except for Allen.

If you can’t destroy that world – the prison of time – before that, you will become broken and fall towards the path of suicide.

In fact, even Leia, at the time of her 500th year, had she not smashed that world with her fists, she surely would have become broken and met a miserable end.

On record, the longest time someone was imprisoned in the Prison of Time is – 1000 years.

Of course, the number of digits exceeding『10,000』, much less『1, 000, 000, 000』, has never existed.

Therefore, she was frightened.

After spending over a billion years of hell, Allen’s normalness – was more frightening than anything else.

「Allen Rodore… Even after taking into consideration the mega-class spirit core that dwells in his soul – there is something strange about him as an individual.」

She was finally beginning to recognize the『Anomaly』that is Allen Rodore.

「Anyway, this is completely beyond expectations. I have to report it to Dahlia right away.」

Leia moved to get in touch with Allen’s mother, Dahlia Rodore.