Chapter 28

After that week, I spent my days in class learning soul armor and practicing swings alone after school—I was living a fulfilling life.

During that time, I faced him many times and lost badly each time.

—But it’s not like I haven’t made any progress.

The guy, who seemed invincible, has started to dodge my slashes occasionally over the past few days.

(About once in a hundred times...?)

Sometimes, I can unleash a slash that I feel really good about.

And every time I do, he always dodges.

At first, I thought, "Is he just being whimsical?" But it doesn’t seem to be the case.

He usually takes all my slashes with his sturdy body, but...

He only dodges when I unleash a good slash.

(Probably... he’s decided that he can’t get away unscathed.)

When I think about it... I feel happy.

My heart races, and I get excited.

Something that couldn’t be cut before can now be cut.

The joy of feeling my own growth.

This feeling is just like...

When I first managed to cut a little bit of space in the Time Prison.

(If I keep training like this, I’m sure I’ll be able to defeat him someday. And if I do, I’ll be able to learn soul armor...!)

With such hopes in my heart, I was waiting for Reia at the entrance of my room when...

"Sorry, sorry! I’m so sorry, Allen. I overslept a bit..."

"It’s okay. We still have plenty of time."

There’s still half an hour before the first class starts.

Since this dormitory is inside the Thousand Blades Academy, we can make it even if we leave five minutes before the class starts—so we have plenty of time.

"...Are you okay? You’ve been having trouble sleeping lately, haven’t you?"

Probably since we started the soul armor classes.

Reia has been having trouble falling asleep recently.

Even after she falls asleep, she sometimes makes pained sounds and tosses and turns a lot.

When I asked her out of genuine concern...

"...! W-Well... I’d rather you didn’t look at my face while I’m sleeping..."

She blushed and said this while looking down.

"Ah, no, I’m sorry..."

Maybe that was a faux pas when talking to a girl of her age...

While I was wondering what to say next...

"...Did I look weird?"

Reia asked hesitantly.

"That’s not the case! You always look beautiful when you sleep!"

"Beautiful... Thanks..."

"You’re welcome..."

"..."

"..."

Reia fell silent, and I followed suit.

"..."

"..."

An awkward silence filled the air, and the ticking of the clock seemed unbearably loud.

(I, I’m so uncomfortable... But I have to do something to break this silence...)

(What should I do...? The atmosphere has become so awkward...!)

Then, I decided to break through with a loud voice and a strong push, even if it was a bit forceful.

"...S-So, let’s go!"

"Y-Yeah...! Sure!"

Thanks to Reia’s cooperation, we successfully broke the deadlock.

We then rushed out of the dormitory, maintaining an unusually high level of excitement.

When we arrived at the main building of the Thousand Blades Academy, we saw...

"Swimming Club! Want to join the swimming club?"

"Hey you, who wants to master swordsmanship! How about the Swordsmanship Club?"

"Run fast, Track and Field Club! New students! Join the Track and Field Club and feel the wind with us!"

Seniors in swimsuits, gi, and shorts were distributing a large number of flyers.

"What’s this...?"

"I don’t know either..."

As Reia and I stood there, dumbfounded by this unusual scene...

"Hey, you! You have a good build! How about joining the Judo Club?"

"Wow, a pretty girl! How about our Cheerleading Club? We have lots of cute uniforms!"

"Hey, you two! How about the Mountain Club? The view from the top of a steep mountain is irreplaceable!"

We were quickly surrounded by many seniors and handed a large number of flyers.

"W-W-What...!?"

"Let’s go, Reia!"

I pulled Reia’s hand and ran into the main building.

It seems they are not allowed to recruit inside the building, so they immediately moved on to their next target.

"Phew..."

"I was so surprised..."

My uniform pockets were stuffed with flyers, and Reia was holding a bunch of flyers in her free left hand.

"Is this... recruitment?"

"Probably..."

While talking about this, we headed to our classroom.

When we entered the classroom for 1-A, we saw our classmates looking exhausted.

"Everyone’s the same..."

"It seems so..."

From their exhausted state, it was clear that everyone had been subjected to intense recruitment.

When Reia and I sat in our usual seats, Tessa, a swordsman of the Zantei style, approached us with a haggard look.

"Hey, Allen... Did you get caught too?"

"Yeah, a little... But it looks like you got it pretty bad, Tessa..."

His face looked terrible, and the pile of flyers on his desk told the story of his ordeal.

"Hehe, pretty bad, huh? Most of these flyers are from the Judo Club... They say my build is perfect for judo..."

Tessa pointed to his desk and laughed painfully.

"That was intense... I was suddenly surrounded by ten sweaty seniors in judo gi... The intense masculinity and their pressure made me almost lose consciousness several times..."

"That must have been tough..."

Just imagining that situation is hell...

"Hey, Tessa, what’s with this crazy recruitment?"

"...Huh? You don’t know, Allen? Today marks the start of the one-week new student recruitment period."

"Since May? Isn’t it usually right after enrollment in April?"

At least, the Grand Swordsmanship Academy’s recruitment period was in April.

"Yeah, for a regular swordsmanship academy, that’s true. But the Five Academies are special. The first month after enrollment is dedicated to focusing on soul armor classes, so all recruitment activities are prohibited."

"I see... So the recruitment starts in May after the classes settle down..."

"That’s right. For the next week, you’ll be recruited when you arrive and leave school, and maybe during lunch breaks too. It’s going to be a tough week... Be prepared."

He said this and sat down at his desk, which had become a billboard for the Judo Club.

"This is going to be tough..."

"Yeah... I’ve heard that the recruitment at the Five Academies is intense, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad..."

A little while later, the door to 1-A opened with a creak, and a mass of flyers slowly entered the classroom.

Someone had clearly been through a serious ordeal...

The mass slowly approached and placed all the flyers on the desk in front of mine.

"...Phew"

The face that emerged from the pile was Rose, her beautiful silver hair, tinged with pink, tousled from bedhead.

She’s always weak in the morning.

She must have been walking dazedly and ended up like this before she knew it.

"Good morning, Rose. It looks like you had a tough time..."

"The amount of flyers... Probably the most in this class."

"...Good morning."

Her sleepiness seemed to outweigh the annoyance of the flyers.

She yawned widely, as usual, with her bedhead.

"Wow... The new student recruitment is intense..."

"Yeah, it was a shock."

"It was overwhelming."

"Which club are Allen and Reia joining?"

"Um... I haven’t decided yet."

"Me neither."

As part of the fun of student life, I want to join a club, but I haven’t decided which one yet.

I’m a bit interested in the Swordsmanship Club, just from the name.

"I haven’t decided either. Want to check them out after school?"

"Sure, I don’t mind."

"Agreed, let’s go together!"

So, the three of us decided to check out the clubs after school.

After that, we had soul armor classes from the first to the fifth period under Ms. Reia’s supervision.

"Phew, that was tough today..."

"Soul armor classes are more mentally exhausting than physically..."

"It’s a kind of lethargic feeling..."

We took a short break at our desks.

After drinking water, stretching, and recovering from the fatigue,

"Alright, let’s check out the clubs."

"Sure, let’s do that."

"Okay, let’s go."

We left the classroom of 1-A.

Since none of us knew much about the clubs at the Thousand Blades Academy, we decided to visit all of them.

First, we went to the Cheerleading Club, which was active right in front of the main building.

"Go, go, let’s go! Thousand Blades Academy! We are the best number one!"

Their powerful voices came from deep in their bellies.

Their dance was perfectly synchronized.

It must be the result of intense practice.

Their performance was so impressive that we wanted to applaud.

(But what’s a bit concerning is... the amount of skin exposure.)

Their outfits were very revealing, showing their backs and legs.

It’s a bit hard to know where to look.

"The Cheerleading Club is a bit... You know, the outfits..."

Reia quietly shook her head, probably feeling embarrassed about wearing such outfits.

"Really...?"

On the other hand, Rose didn’t seem to mind much.

(Come to think of it, Rose’s casual clothes are quite flashy...)

The first time we met at the Sword Festival, she was wearing a top that exposed her stomach and chest, and black low-rise hot pants.

(It was so revealing that I didn’t know where to look...)

For Rose, this level of exposure probably isn’t a problem.

Next, we went to the Swimming Club.

A 25-meter pool with seven lanes.

The depth exceeded three meters even at its shallowest point, and it was used for various purposes, such as snorkeling and water resistance training, as mentioned in the pamphlet we received at enrollment.

"Swimming... I used to compete with Old Bamboo in the river near Goza Village..."

There’s a large river near Goza Village.

The water was so clear that you could see the bottom, and we often swam there in the summer.

There were delicious fish, and I remember fishing with my mother.

While reminiscing about those old days,

"Swimming Club... It sounds fun!"

"I think it’s not bad."

Reia and Rose shared their thoughts.

After watching the Swimming Club for a while, we decided to move on to the next club.

"Alright, let’s go to the next club."

"Sure, let’s do that."

"Okay."

So, we visited various clubs one by one and finally arrived at the Swordsmanship Club, our top choice.

"Wow, so many people..."

"So many..."

The gym, where the Swordsmanship Club practices, had over a hundred members, all swinging their swords with all their might.

Indeed, it’s a lot.

Among all the clubs we’ve seen, this one definitely has the most members.

"Sei! Sei! Sei!"

The synchronized shouts and rhythm of over a hundred people swinging their swords at the same time looked a bit cramped.

"Next! Three consecutive strikes!"

"Hai!"

The large drum in the center of the gym was struck, and the practice routine changed.

"Umm..."

"Kind of..."

"Yep, it’s a bit stiff."

That’s right.

As Rose said, there was a certain stiffness to the Swordsmanship Club.

(I think swordsmanship should be more free, fun, and creative...)

It’s not about doing it because it’s on the practice menu, but because you want to do it, because you want to get stronger.

The approach and attitude towards swordsmanship seemed a bit different from mine.

"Let’s go back to the classroom for now."

"Sure, let’s take our time to think about it."

"We’ve seen everything now."

Just as we were about to return to 1-A,

"Hey? Aren’t you Allen?"

A voice called out from behind us.

Since we couldn’t ignore it, we slowly turned around.

"Ah, it is you! You’re interested in our club, right? I’m so happy! What did you think of our practice?"

"Ah, well... that..."

I couldn’t say, "I thought it was a bit different."

"Ah, sorry! I haven’t introduced myself yet! I’m the vice-captain of the Swordsmanship Club—Sylti Rosette. Nice to meet you, Allen Roadel!"

Sylti Rosette.

A lively girl with short, light brown hair.

Large, round eyes.

Healthy, sun-kissed skin with a good tone.

Her visible overbite gave her a wild, natural charm.

"I’m Allen Roadel from 1-A. Nice to meet you."

I bowed slightly, and Sylti-sempai grabbed my right hand and shook it energetically.

"Wow, what a strong hand! How many times do you have to swing a sword to get hands like this?"

She looked at my hardened, calloused hands with sparkling eyes.

"Um, since I was five, I guess."

"Wow, since you were so young! But, did you really get this strong in just ten years?"

Actually, it’s more like "billions of years and ten years"... But explaining that would be complicated, so I just smiled and nodded.

"Yep, that’s good! You’re really good, Allen! Hey, how about a sparring session with me?"

"Ah... I’m sorry, I have something to do today..."

It’s not a lie.

I need to discuss with Reia and Rose which club we liked best.

Then,

"Hey, how about a sparring session with me?"

She repeated the same words with a bright smile.

"Um, but I really...!"

As I tried to decline again, Sylti-sempai snapped her fingers.

Instantly, the gym’s entrances were blocked by Swordsmanship Club members.

"S-Sylti-sempai...?"

"Sorry, but I can’t let you go. After all, you’re a rare talent..."

She smiled, and her innocent, energetic expression turned into a seductive, mature smile.

(Sigh...)

I sighed inwardly.

It looks like I’m getting dragged into another troublesome situation...