Chapter 89

Allen, having thoroughly enjoyed the special haunted house prepared by the student council, stretched widely.

“Mmm...”

Having been in a dim room for a long time, the sunlight coming in through the window was a bit blinding.

“—Well, I need to find Reia and Rose.”

I decided to go to places where the two of them might be.

(Reia is probably in the cafeteria, and Rose in the training hall...)

With a rough idea, I headed towards the cafeteria—when, a little further ahead, Reia and Rose came out of the girls' restroom.

It seems they didn’t run around aimlessly but gathered in one place.

“—Reia, Rose, I’m glad!”

I waved my hand and ran over to them.

Then,

“...We’re not crying.”

The two of them whispered something in a small voice.

“...Huh? Sorry, I didn’t hear that. Can you say it again?”

“...We said, we’re not crying...!”

This time, I heard it clearly.

“A, ah... I see... I understand...”

I knew Reia and Rose had been crying in the girls' restroom.

Their red, swollen eyes made it obvious at a glance.

“...Right.”

“...If that’s the case, it’s fine.”

The two of them turned away and fell silent.

“...”

“...”

“...”

An indescribable silence fell.

(Well, anyway... I need to cheer them up somehow...)

It’s the Chisen Festival, after all.

It would be a waste to spend the day in a gloomy mood.

I know one quick way to change the atmosphere in such situations.

“—Ah, right! By the way, I heard that there’s some delicious chocolate bananas in 2-F.”

At that moment, Reia’s eyebrows twitched.

(...Did it work?)

Reia has a weakness for food.

When she’s not feeling well, this kind of topic usually does the trick.

“Since I’m a bit hungry, how about we go and get some?”

When I pushed a little more,

“...I’ll eat.”

After a brief silence, Reia nodded.

“Alright, it’s settled! Rose, what about you? I think it would be a good change of pace to eat something...”

“Yeah... I’ll have one too.”

She agreed with my suggestion.

With our plan set, we headed to 2-F.

■

Avoiding the haunted house, we took a detour and walked down the long corridor until we reached our destination.

“Wow, it’s pretty busy.”

In front of the classroom, a long line of over ten people had formed.

Stretching a bit, I could see them making chocolate bananas.

They dipped bananas in melted chocolate and sprinkled colorful chocolate sprays in red, yellow, green, white, and black—completing the treat.

“Wow, that looks delicious...!”

Seeing this, Reia’s face lit up.

“Let’s join the line, then.”

“Yeah!”

We waited at the end of the line, and surprisingly, it was our turn before long.

“—Thank you for waiting. Welcome to the chocolate banana specialty shop, ‘Choco Banana’!”

A female student at the reception greeted us warmly.

“Um, I’d like one chocolate banana, please.”

“I’ll have one too.”

While I and Rose each ordered one,

“Hmm... I don’t know what other foods are available, so... I’ll take five, please.”

Reia held up five fingers and confidently placed her order.

“F-five...? Not just one...?”

The receptionist, overwhelmed by the quantity, asked for confirmation.

She probably thought it was a hearing mistake or a misstatement.

It’s understandable.

I never imagined she could eat so much.

“...? Yes, five, please.”

Reia tilted her head and repeated the same words.

She had no awareness of being a big eater and felt no particular emotion about ordering five chocolate bananas.

“U-understood...!”

Realizing it wasn’t a mistake, the receptionist hurriedly started making the chocolate bananas.

(...But, five for a start?)

As expected of Reia.

Even after feeling down from the haunted house, her appetite showed no signs of waning.

After receiving a total of seven chocolate bananas, we moved to a less crowded area.

Then—three of us bit into the chocolate bananas simultaneously.

“—Yeah, this is delicious.”

“Mmm...! The combination of chocolate and banana is just unfair...!”

“Ah, sweet things are indeed soothing.”

Reia and Rose happily munched on the chocolate bananas.

Watching them out of the corner of my eye, I sighed in relief.

(...They seem to be okay now.)

The scary memories from the haunted house seemed to have been washed away by the sweetness of the chocolate bananas.

(But... I need to stop them next year...)

The student council members are still sophomores—meaning they have one more Chisen Festival left.

(Especially the president... She’s a die-hard competitor...)

She will surely prepare an even more powerful haunted house next year.

If Reia and Rose say, “It’s not scary!” and try to enter the haunted house again, I’ll have to stop them using this experience as an example.

(...Still, life is really unpredictable.)

Just a few months ago, I was in a hellish place.

Hated, despised, ignored—no one needed me, no one cared.

The closed society of Gran Sword Academy.

I even went to Goza Village to confide in my mother about being bullied.

(But... I couldn’t say it.)

With mud-stained hands and large beads of sweat on my forehead, I couldn’t bear to trouble my mother, who worked so hard to pay for my tuition.

So, I returned to the dorm and went back to the hellish academy.

(But... how about now?)

I, a failed swordsman, am attending the famous Chisen Academy.

More importantly, I’ve made invaluable friends like Reia and Rose.

It’s not just that.

Tessa and the rest of Class A.

The student council president, Lilim-senpai, and Ferris-senpai.

And various other upperclassmen who are kind to me.

Before I knew it, I was surrounded by many friends.

(...It’s fun.)

I wish this time could last forever...

Recently, such old-age thoughts have been crossing my mind.

And then,

“—What’s wrong, Allen?”

Reia looked at me with a worried expression.

“Huh, ah, sorry... I was just spacing out.”

“Did something painful happen? You had a very sad look on your face.”

“...Sad look?”

...That’s strange.

I was just thinking about the happy and joyful present...

“...Do you want another one?”

She offered me one of her chocolate bananas.

(...It’s rare for Reia to offer her food.)

It seems I must have had a very pained expression just now.

“Thank you. But your intention is enough. —Rather, let’s enjoy the rest of the Chisen Festival! There are many other things to see.”

I tried to lighten the mood with a bright tone.

“Yeah, that’s right!”

“Yeah, let’s do that!”

After that, we enjoyed various attractions like ring toss, lottery, and stamp rally.

During this time, Reia ate everything she saw—candy apples, corn, hot dogs, and crepes.

I’m always amazed at how she can eat so much and still maintain such a beautiful figure.

“—Haha! It’s fun, Allen!”

“Indeed, festivals are great.”

Reia and Rose constantly smiled and genuinely enjoyed the Chisen Festival.

As we moved from one attraction to another,

“—What’s that?”

Reia pointed to a crowd that had formed in the middle of the schoolyard.

“Yeah, what is it...?”

At the center of the crowd was a raised stage, and two swordsmen were facing off.

“—Hmm, that’s the ‘Dojo Breaker’ event of 3-B, it seems.”

Rose muttered, looking at the pamphlet.

“‘Dojo Breaker’...?”

“Yes. Apparently, if you can beat the famous swordsman Jean-Bel of 3-B, you get a ‘luxury prize.’ It’s an event where you can experience a dojo breaker, in short.”

“I see...”

‘Famous swordsman’...

Hearing that phrase, my interest as a swordsman was piqued.

“Hmm... It sounds interesting. Let’s go check it out!”

“I’m curious about their skills...”

Reia and Rose’s eyes gleamed with the sharpness of swordsmen.

It seems they were also intrigued by the ‘famous swordsman.’

“Alright, let’s go see the Dojo Breaker next!”

“Yeah!”

“Yeah!”

We left the Chisen Academy building and arrived at the special stage in the center of the schoolyard.

Then,

“Gah...!?”

“—That’s enough! The winner is Jean-Bel!”

It seems a match had just ended.

“Wow... He’s won forty-nine out of forty-nine matches...”

“Strong... The title of ‘Sword Club President’ is well-deserved...”

“Damn, he never intended to give out the prize...!”

Amid the cheers of the audience, some complaints were mixed in.

The people who complained were all injured.

They must have challenged the Dojo Breaker and lost to Jean-Bel.

(But, forty-nine wins out of forty-nine matches...)

Unbeaten so far, and after such a long series of matches.

(It seems the ‘famous swordsman’ is not just a title.)

As I was thinking this,

“...Ah! Look, Allen!”

Reia suddenly pointed to a transparent box labeled ‘Luxury Prize’ behind the special stage.

Inside were various items, including gift cards and a sword that looked like a genuine weapon.

(I remember... The winner of the Dojo Breaker gets to choose one item from that box...)

While I was recalling this, I absentmindedly looked at the luxury prizes.

“...Ah, that one.”

I immediately understood what Reia was excited about.

“It’s a... hippopotamus...! A hippopotamus plushie!”

She tugged at my sleeve, breathing heavily.

“Haha, that’s right.”

Reia, despite appearances, has a weakness for cute things.

She especially loves plushies, and her private room is filled with them.

Sometimes I catch her talking to her favorite bear plushie...

When that happens, I pretend I didn’t see anything and quietly leave the dorm.

Then,

“Hey, Allen... Can you get that plushie...?”

Reia looked down and made a request.

“Hm? Can’t you get it yourself?”

Rose asked a very reasonable question.

“I want Allen to get it... I want it as a... p-present!”

Reia blushed and shouted loudly.

“Ahaha, okay, Reia. I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything.”

“...! Thank you!”

Then I pushed through the crowd and headed to the Dojo Breaker registration.

“Excuse me, I’d like to challenge the Dojo Breaker...”

When I spoke to the male student at the registration,

“Sure, let’s register you...! ? Wait, it’s you, Allen Roadel...!”

He widened his eyes and jumped back.

“...Huh?”

Confused by the situation, I was at a loss.

“President! He’s here to crush us...! It’s Allen Roadel!”

The registration student shouted loudly, and everyone’s eyes focused on me.

Then,

“...Hm, so you’ve come. As rumored, you’re quite greedy, aren’t you?”

The swordsman on the stage, Jean-Bel, glared at me.

(‘Greedy’...?)

Another ridiculous rumor...

My reputation is so exaggerated that it’s full of nonsense.

(At first, I tried to correct them...)

But recently, it’s become too much to handle, so I’ve completely ignored it.

“—Well, go up to the stage. Allen Roadel, I’ve wanted to cross swords with you.”

Jean looked me straight in the eye and said this.

As I was called out, I stepped onto the special stage, and the female commentator immediately raised her voice.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the moment we’ve been waiting for! The challenger is none other than the well-known Allen Roadel! He’s the one who defeated the prodigy of White Lily Girls’ Academy, Idra Luxmaria! Known as the ‘strongest first-year,’ he is now one of the representative swordsmen of Chisen Academy!”

She then moved on to introduce Jean.

“His opponent is from 3-B, the Sword Club President, Jean-Bel! He’s undefeated in forty-nine matches! A super skilled swordsman with overwhelming swordsmanship!”

After the introductions, the rules were briefly explained.

“The rules are simple! A one-on-one match with bamboo swords! However, for safety reasons, the use of soul armor is prohibited!”

After the explanation, a bamboo sword was handed to me from the registration.

“Are both sides ready? Then—begin!”

And so, the real match against the Sword Club President, Jean-Bel, began.