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「Amazing! Amazing! As expected of Allen!」

「Umu! You wonderfully held down that mental interference-type soul dress! What tremendous mental strength!」

Ria and Leia-sensei showered me with praises.

「Thank you very much… However sensei, how did you know that Cain-san’s soul dress was a mental interference-type?」

「Oh, I’m actually quite accustomed to soul dress, you know? If you observe the other person’s soul dress carefully, you can quickly predict the type.」

「I see… That’s true.」

I wasn’t particularly surprised when I heard that Leia-sensei was accustomed to soul dress.

(There is no doubt, Leia-sensei is extremely powerful.)

During the practical test, she was the only one who had caught my Iai slash, which even a veteran measurer missed. The great pervert swordsman who destroyed iron bars with his bare hands and cut walls using disposable chopsticks as a sword – No.18-san didn’t even show the will to rebel in front of Leia-sensei.

And when she was a student of Thousand Blade Academy, she won every match at every competition – the golden generation.

(I wonder just how strong she is…)

To be honest, I was quite interested as a swordsman.

(When the Big Five Holy Festival is over, I’d like to request for a mock battle.)

When I was thinking about that, Rose pulled on my clothes.

「Allen… how were you able to use my technique?」

She asked with a look which seemed to say「unbelievable」.

「Err, about that…」

Then I told her the full particulars of the fight. I’ve been trapped in a different world for a hundred years by Cain-san’s〈Hell Hundred〉. There were minimum amount of supplies, and had no inconvenience to living. So, after earnestly swinging my sword in training, I remembered the fundamental principle, type, and essence of the schools which I learned from Class A friends. Only Rose’s Sakura Blossom One-Sword Style was learned by imitating from my memory because it had not been taught.

As I did,

「S-Sakura Blossom One-Sword Style that I learned from my father over the years… by simply watching and imitating…!?」

She bit her lower lip in frustration.

My heart ached for some reason even though I didn’t do anything particularly bad.

「Eh, ah… that’s uh! To be precise, that technique from a moment ago is a little different from the Sakura Blossom One-Sword Style Secret Technique – Mirrored Sakura Slash! It’s a combination of Eighth Sword-Yatagarasu! That’s why I wasn’t able to completely imitate it.」

「So, you had improved it. No wonder it was much sharper than mine…」

Although I tried to patch things up, I seem to have made it worse.

「……」

「……」

As Rose and I were silent, an uncomfortable air fell over us.

Ria and Leia-sensei stared at me, and silently conveyed「do something」with their eyes.

(W-What should I do…)

I desperately wracked my head and thought of a good idea that would bring Rose back to energy.

「U-Uh, that is… Oh, yes! I’ll teach you next time! The Mirrored Sakura Slash that I used a little while ago!」

And Rose raised her head.

「R-Really?」

「Aa, I mean, it was originally Rose’s technique.」

「T-Thank you…!」

She smiled cheerfully and thanked me.

(Fuu, I’m glad she’s back to normal…)

Then, when I finally put a rest to this scene,

「Everyone, we’ve made you wait for too long. From now on, the second match of Thousand Blade Academy vs. Ice King Academy will start!」

The announcement rang out.

「Good luck, Allen! I’m rooting for you!」

「Win just like before.」

「You are strong – go with confidence and pride in your chest!」

「Yes, thank you very much!」

With the support of Ria, Rose and Leia-sensei, I returned to the stage once again.

「Without further ado, the West Gate – Vanguard of Thousand Blade Academy, Allen-Rodore!」

The moment I set foot on the stage,

「HERE HE COMES! ALLEN!」

「Go and Wiiiiiin! Win this match, and it’s our win!」

「You can do it! Fight On!」

West side – The audience seating on the Thousand Blade Academy side were unusually excited. Perhaps the expectations has skyrocketed because I won the previous match.

「Continuing, East Gate – General of Ice King Academy, Sid-Euclius!」

Following announcement, Sid-san slowly emerged from the opposite side.

Sid Euclius. He was wearing a pure white uniform of Ice King Academy in an informal manner. His snow-like white hair was messy and he has brown skin. Huge sharp glaring eyes with black pupils. It is a fierce feature that makes him give off a ferocious vibe.

The moment he showed up, the audience on the east side – Ice King Academy’s side, fell completely silent. Cheering, encouragement, rooting – there was not a single supportive voice. On the contrary, no one even opened their mouth – to the point where it fell ominous. There was an astonishing difference in enthusiasm between the west and east side audience seating. Without paying attention to any of that, Sid-san proceeded to the middle of the stage.

Somehow… I understood.

(He is probably ridiculously strong – perhaps even the best I’ve ever faced)

I felt something like an exceptionally unique aura only the strong would have.

When we were both on the stage, the live commentator livened up the atmosphere.

「Because Ice King Academy didn’t register a vanguard at the beginning, contestant Sid is the General! In other words, this might even be the final battle! If contestant Allen wins this match, Thousand Blade Academy can finally escape from the lowest spot for the first time in over a decade!」

In response to the announcement, Thousand Blade Academy’s audience seating erupted in cheers.

「And according to the information that came in advance… Both of them are self-taught! They haven’t received the teaching of the sword from anyone! I’m sure they’ll show you an exciting match that’s unconventional!」

And when the commentator said so.

「Self taught in this day and age… bubuu, I’m sure it will be a low-level match…」

Some audiences ridiculed.

They were not related to the Thousand Blade Academy or Ice King Academy – probably the general public. To be honest, it’s frustrating, but… it’s natural for them to react like this. Even though it is a General battle, surely they would feel disappointed hearing both swordsmen are self-taught. That’s how coldly the public perceives『Self-taught』.

When I thought of that, Sid-san suddenly reached out to his chest pocket. Grabbed a survival knife lined up on the underside of his uniform – he threw it into the audience without any hesitation.

It was a genuine, powerful throw. The knife flew at a tremendous speed towards the man who ridiculed us earlier.

「Hi…Hii!?」

The targeted man bent down on the spot and fortunately avoided the knife. Looking closer, the knife stuck firmly into the wall, right down to its hilt. it had hit his head… he would definitely be dead.

「Tch, it missed」

Sid-san, who tried to commit murder all of a sudden, was seriously irritated that the knife had missed. In other words, he wasn’t trying to imitate or the like – he was seriously aiming for the man’s life.

(What a guy…?)

As the whole venue became noisy, Sid-san slowly spoke.

「Bastard… you just laughed at me, didn’t you?」

Sid-san probably he has sharp ears, as he said towards the man while glaring. The low and cold tone echoed throughout the venue.

「N-N-No, no! That’s not true at all!」

The man shook his head frantically, his teeth rattling with much fear.

「I’ve clearly remember your face, yeah? So, take care when walking down the street at night.」

「??!?」

Fearfully, the man ran away from the spot and left the venue. The venue fell silent in that sudden situation.

(Sid-san…)

There is no doubt that he is a sharp person.

(Not a compliment, but… that was a great throw.)

It was about a hundred meters from here to that spectator seat. Moreover, it was not completely windless. Given the conditions, that was a splendid throw that shot out exactly where he aimed. Sharp hearing, superhuman visual acuity, strong arm strength, and stubbornness – just by looking at the current act, I can tell that he has the skills necessary for a swordsman at a high level.

(He is no ordinary man after all…)

The feeling of pressure when facing each other – is far beyond Ria and Rose.

And then, the live commentator advanced along the Big Five Holy Festival with a slightly louder voice in order to liven up the atmosphere.

「Uh, umm… There was a little incident there, but let’s start again! Here, I would like to start the second match of the Big Five Holy Festival!」

It’s finally going to start. I reach for the hilt of my sword while maintaining moderate tension.

「Are both parties ready!? Well then – Begin!」

At the same time as the signal to start the match, I pulled out my sword and assumed the usual stance – Seigan no Kamae.

Sid-san, on the other hand, slowly pulled out the sword at his waist in an annoyed manner. Holding it loosely with his right hand, he took no stance and just stood there.

(I’ve seen various school forms, but this is the first time I’m seeing this…)

His stance was too peculiar, no matter how much of a self-taught he was. The tip of the sword was completely pointing down, like a drunken man’s carefree bag. Such a thing can by no means be called a『stance』.

(Are you luring me? Or… Are you underestimating me?)

Slight irritation boiled up in my chest…

「Fuuu…」

I took a deep breath and regained my cool.

(Leia-sensei was very cautious of Ferris-san. And Sid-san in front of me, is the swordsman that Ferris-san nominated as general.)

There must be something special in this stance that I can’t understand.

(If I rush in amateurly, I don’t know what kind of counter I’ll receive…)

Normally, if we continue to face-off against each other as is, we will fall into a state of stalemate. However, I have a convenient technique that I can use in situations like this.

「First Sword – Flying Shadow!」

If it’s Flying Shadow which I shoot unilaterally from a long distance without closing the distance, I can see how the opponent will react.

(Now, how will you respond…!?)

The slash that flew in a straight line towards him – suddenly disappeared.

「Wha!?」

My eyes widened reflexively.

(W-What happened…!?)

Sid-san hasn’t moved in the slightest from there. Despite that… my Flying Shadow suddenly disappeared without a trace.

(What does this mean…? What on earth did he do…?)

I firmly observed Sid-san but… even though he was in the middle of a match, he was yawning. There are no signs that he did anything at all.

(Maybe… he has already manifested some kind of soul dress!?)

That is more convincing. Soul dress has various abilities such as the〈Hell Hundred〉from before. There will surely be abilities that completely disable the kind of flying slashes and flying tools.

(Anyway… One more time!)

I readied my sword and swung it down stronger and faster than before.

「First Sword – Flying Shadow!」

A much sharper slash than before rushed towards Sid-san.

(Now, how will you deal with it…!?)

I observed firmly so as not to miss any movement he makes. Then he swung his hanging sword at an unstoppable speed and cut down Flying Shadow from the front. Yes, it was as simple as that.

(You’re kidding me, right…!?)