Chapter 91 - Top Secret and Thousand Blade Festival [8] (2/2)

Just in case, I opened the door slowly so as not to make a loud noise, and entered the student council room.

「Fuu… I can finally catch my breath at last.」

And just when I exhaled,

「Welcome, Allen-kun.」

From the very back of the room, student council president, Sie Arcstria showed up.

She slowly walked up to me, illuminated by the moonlight, with a mysterious smile on her face.

「P-President?! Why are you here?!」

「Fufu, are you surprised? After continuous battles with Lilim and Ferris and the grand union of the second and third-years, the exhausted Allen-kun, will surely come to this place where no one else will bother to come.」

「I see… Sending the seniors to face me was all your handiwork…」

「Well, I wonder about that?」

She tilted her head slightly with a soft smile, playing dumb.

(Not denying means she is definitely behind it…)

We’re talking about the crafty president after all.

I’m sure she manipulated the seniors with sweet words, inciting them to attack Year 1 Class A.

(Well, that doesn’t really matter.)

Thousand Blade Shadow Festival is a『real battle』where anything goes. The art of conversation is also an “ability”.

However there was one thing that I was worried about.

「President. Just one thing, okay?」

「Yeah, what is it?」

She nodded and quietly waited for the question.

「Have you… been waiting here all this time?」

Nearly fifty minutes has already passed since the start of the Thousand Blade Shadow Festival.

And we’re in the middle of September now.

(Daytime is still warm due to the effect of lingering summer heat…)

But when it gets around 8pm, just wearing the uniform alone is a little chilly.

Without turning on the lights, and not moving her body – by motionlessly lying in wait here – she will definitely catch a cold.

Right then,

「Y-Yeah that’s right! What about it… A-A-Achoo!」

The president sneezed cutely at the perfect time.

「President, please think things through a little more…」I said, heaving a sigh.

「Y-You’re a hundred years too early to lecture onee-san!」

She flushed red and struck the desk.

(There are some parts of her which are a little wicked, but… the president is always somewhat cute…)

I can’t really bring myself to detest her. She’s like a cute imp.

「Haa… You don’t seem to be in good shape, so can you let me go this one time?」

I said modestly so as not to rub her the wrong way, but…

「Absolutely not!」she rejected me.

「But, your health might get worse if we fight…」

When I gently refused to fight, the president laughed with a smug expression for some reason.

「Fufu, Allen-kun… Haven’t you misunderstood something?」

「Misunderstood?」

「Yes. From now on, you and I will do battle, but… I haven’t said a word about a swordsmanship match, have I?」

「Haa… Is it something other than swordsmanship?」

I have a bad feeling.

It feels like an almost exact same situation occurred a few months ago.

「I don’t think I can win a one-on-one swordsmanship match against Allen-kun in the first place. So, we’ll do battle with this today!」

The president placed a deck of cards on her desk.

(As I expected…)

Apparently this hardcore sore loser, was still hung up on the previous defeat.

I glanced at the deck of cards.

「Is it a ”gimmick card” again?」

「Don’t underestimate me. I won’t use the same hand twice!」

She foolishly handed me the deck.

After checking the deck for a while, I inspected the back of the cards.

「…It certainly seems to be a normal deck.」

There seems to be no gimmick as last time.

It’s definitely an ordinary deck of cards that can be bought anywhere.

「Is poker okay with you?」I asked.

「Yes, of course. And I have one suggestion. Why don’t we change the dealer after every round?」

「Hou.」

It is a declaration of war with each other that this is a『battle of cheats』.

Perhaps the president has been practicing some new tricks since her last defeat.

I could read a strong hint of confidence from her eyes.

「Understood. Let’s start.」

I put on a smile, as fighting spirit burned in my heart.

Until now, I’ve been taught mah-jong, roulette, chinchiro and lots of other games from bamboo geezer.

It ranges from basic rules to applied tactics, as well as the technique of cheats, and how to break them.

And of all the games, my forte is “card games”.

I became so good that bamboo geezer even said, “I have nothing left to teach you.”

Looking at the clock, the time was already 7.50pm.

There’s only ten minutes left till the closing time. Perhaps this will be my last match of the Thousand Blade Shadow Festival.

「Fufu, shall we start?」

「Yes, I accept your challenge.」

This is how the quiet one-on-one battle with the president began in the student council room at night.