Chapter 50

I decided to have the president sit down in a chair and calm down before hearing what happened.

"Um... So, what exactly happened, President?"

"Hey... Can you help me?"

The president, tilting her head while looking up at me, but of course, I couldn't just say "Sure" right away.

"It depends on the situation."

"...Cheapskate."

"I'm not being a cheapskate. ...Look, what happened? I can't help if you don't tell me."

Then, the president pointed to a corner of the student council room.

"...You can see the mountain of documents over there."

"Right."

The vice president's desk was piled high with documents, which Lirim-senpai had moved to the corner of the room, saying, "It's in the way!"

"Unfortunately, the vice president hasn't returned even after the summer break ended."

"It seems that's the case."

The vice president had gone to the Holy Roneria Empire, a country with a travel ban, to mine rare Blood Diamonds. It seems that the student council's work was mostly handled by the vice president, and now that she's gone, the work is piling up.

"Keen-eyed Lirim and Felis don't even come to the regular meetings—they've run away."

"...I see."

"If I try to do it all by myself, there's no way I can finish such a huge amount..."

Understanding what the president needed help with, I felt a sudden sense of fatigue.

"So, I'm asking you. Allen-kun... Can you help me with the document sorting?"

Saying this, she clasped her hands in front of her face and bowed slightly.

"...I'm sorry, President. Didn't we have a condition that I wouldn't have to do any work when I joined the student council?"

"That's one thing! This is another! Unforeseen circumstances are part of life, right? Lirim and Rose would agree, right...? ...Right...!?"

The president looked at Lirim and Rose for agreement, but...

"Um... Well..."

"This is your own doing..."

Their reactions were not very enthusiastic. After all, this situation was entirely due to the president's negligence.

"...What...!?"

Feeling isolated, the president said,

"Please, Allen-kun... It's really, really bad...!"

She pleaded earnestly without any tricks.

"Even if you say that... A promise is a promise..."

When I gently declined,

"Even when I'm this serious...! Don't you have any human blood in you!? Monster! Demon! Allen!"

The president stared at me intently and started throwing a tantrum like a child.

"Calm down, President. And 'Allen' isn't an insult..."

To help the president calm down, I suggested an alternative.

"If you're short on hands... How about taking the work home and getting help from your staff?"

The president's family, the Arcstria family, has a long history of government officials. There were even butlers at the summer retreat, so they should be able to handle it without our help.

"That's not possible. All the documents submitted to the student council are strictly not allowed to be taken out."

"You're serious about the wrong things..."

The president, who could easily cheat, was surprisingly strict about certain things.

"So, please, Allen-kun... Help me...! ...Right! I'll treat you to ice cream next time...!"

Saying this, the president shook my shoulders.

(No, you're not a little kid... It's unreasonable to try to bribe me with ice cream...)

Only someone like Lirim would be swayed by food.

(But if I refuse here...)

Like last time, during the club fee war, I might be called out over the intercom again.

(If it's going to be troublesome either way, it might be better to just finish the work...)

Even though it was a bit of a fluke, I am a member of the student council.

And most importantly, it's hard to refuse when someone is pleading so desperately.

"Alright... I'll help you, to the best of my ability."

"Really!?"

"Yes. But... no next time, okay?"

I made sure to emphasize this, but...

"Thank you! You're the best, Allen-kun! I'll treat you to delicious ice cream next time!"

The president, overjoyed, didn't seem to hear my warning.

(Sigh... She'll probably just pile up the work again...)

As I sighed,

"Alright... If Allen says so, I'll help too."

"I guess there's no choice..."

Lirim and Rose, reluctantly, also agreed to help the president.

"Great! With four of us, we can definitely get it done!"

The president, now full of energy, took out a bento box from her bag.

"Everyone! Let's eat lunch and then get started right away!"

After finishing our meal, the four of us divided the mountain of documents and started working.

Responding to the statements from various clubs.

Responding to the requests from the staff room.

Responding to the proposals from the discipline committee.

It was clear that the president couldn't handle all of this alone.

"Here, President. I've finished with this batch of documents."

"Thanks. But there's still a mountain of work, so keep going."

"Understood."

Despite her words, the president was the fastest at processing the backlog of work. She was, after all, the student council president—her basic capabilities were very high.

(If we keep this up, we might finish by tomorrow after school...)

While thinking this, I moved another pile of documents from the vice president's desk,

"Hmm?"

I noticed an intriguing poster.

"...One Year War?"

It read in bold letters, "August 8th, Grand Opening at the Underground Training Field!"

As I stared at the poster,

"Huh? Allen-kun, you don't know about it?"

The president, noticing my interest, leaned in closely.

"Um, no. What is this 'One Year War'?"

"The One Year War is a swordsmanship tournament where first-year students compete for the 'first-year slot' in the Sword King Festival!"

"A swordsmanship tournament for first-year students..."

I didn't know what the Sword King Festival was, but the idea of a "swordsmanship tournament" sounded appealing.

"They should start accepting applications soon... Maybe your homeroom teacher will mention it during the home room period today?"

Now that I think about it, Reia-sensei did say she would announce important matters during the home room period.

(I want to participate...)

I want to compete with Lirim, Rose, and the rest of Class A...

As I got excited, the president clapped her hands.

"Hey, hey! We need to focus on the work in front of us! Let's finish it quickly!"

"Right, you're right."

I suppressed my excitement and focused back on the work.

After ten or twenty minutes, with five minutes left before the end of lunch break,

"Alright... Let's call it a day for today."

"Right. We should wrap it up; the Soul Armor class is about to start."

"Phew... I'm getting sleepy..."

We decided to take a break.

"Hey, Allen, don't forget to come after school. It's a promise with me, okay!?"

After the president emphasized this, the three of us—Allen, Lirim, and Rose—headed to the afternoon classes.

■

After the afternoon classes, we returned to Class A from the Soul Armor field.

The Soul Armor class is mentally exhausting.

"Phew..."

As I sat down at my desk and took a deep breath,

"Are you okay, Allen? You look a bit tired..."

"Are you getting enough sleep? Rest is important for recovery."

Lirim and Rose kindly asked me.

"Thanks. I'll try to go to bed earlier today."

As we were talking, the classroom door opened, and Reia-sensei came in.

"Alright—let's start the home room period. There's an important announcement, so listen carefully!"

The teacher clapped her hands and began the announcement.

"Many of you may already know from your club seniors or the annual schedule, but next week, on August 8th, the 'One Year War' will begin."

The classroom was filled with tension at that moment.

"Let me explain what the One Year War is. Simply put, it's a duel among first-year students to win the right to participate in the Sword King Festival!"

The teacher's loud voice echoed throughout the classroom.

"The Sword King Festival is highly anticipated because it involves all the swordsmanship academies in the high school division. A good performance here can open the door to a glorious career, such as becoming a senior holy knight or a government officer. The One Year War is the first step to winning that right!"

Senior holy knights receive a higher and more stable salary than junior holy knights and have much better benefits.

(...Senior holy knight, huh...)

If I could become a senior holy knight, I could provide a comfortable life for my mother.

(This might be a good opportunity...)

While I was thinking this, the teacher continued.

"Participation in the One Year War is voluntary, but I strongly encourage all of you to participate. —Alright, raise your hand if you've already decided to participate in the One Year War!"

The moment the teacher said this, all the students in Class A raised their hands, regardless of gender.

"...Wow, all of you? That's quite unusual! This year's first-year class—no, this year's Class A is really motivated!"

The teacher nodded in satisfaction.

"Over the next week, train hard and prepare yourselves! —Dismissed!"

■

After that, I trained day and night to manifest my Soul Armor.

But even with my best efforts for a week, I couldn't achieve any significant results.

In the end, I faced the day of the One Year War, August 8th, without manifesting my Soul Armor.

The venue was the same underground training field as during the club fee war. A square stage was set up in the center, surrounded by spectator seats.

Reia-sensei, the principal of our academy, was giving a brief speech on the stage, and we, the participants of the One Year War, were listening from the wings.

(Ten, twenty, thirty, forty... There are about fifty participants.)

As I casually looked around, Reia-sensei finished her speech.

"Alright, let's skip the formalities. Many of this year's students have already manifested their Soul Armor! This year's competition will be more intense than ever! Lastly, I hope you all fight with honor and show the fruits of your daily training! —I hereby declare the opening of the One Year War!"

The moment the teacher said this,

"Yaaaaaah! Here we gooo!"

"Don't lose, Tessa!"

"Allen-kun! The door to the swordsmanship club is always open!"

The audience erupted in cheers. The strong, muscular seniors from the judo club were cheering loudly, and Sylti Rosette-senpai, the vice president of the swordsmanship club, whom I had once crossed swords with, was waving at me enthusiastically.

(The atmosphere is incredible...)

Maintaining a good balance of tension and excitement, Lirim and Rose stood in front of me.

"Allen, I'm going to settle the score for losing on the first day of school!"

"I messed up during the Sword Martial Festival, but I'll definitely win this time!"

Feeling their determined gazes, I felt very happy.

"Right, today we're enemies—let's give it our all!"

And so, the fierce battle among first-year students for the right to participate in the Sword King Festival—the One Year War—began.