CHAPTER 4

Thousand Blade Academy & the Holy Festival

The next morning, Class 1-A gathered in the gymnasium for a practical exam.

“Man, I knew I was going to be cold in this uniform.”

The male gym uniform consisted of a white T-shirt and black shorts. It was light clothing for a brisk spring morning. The male students waited for the female students to finish changing, and the door to the women’s locker room finally opened.

“S-so cold…”

“My legs are freezing…”

“Why’d we have to do this so early in the morning?!”

By contrast, the girls were wearing white T-shirts and bottoms that looked more like underwear than gym shorts. Their legs were fully exposed, giving them much less protection from the cold than us.

The Elite Five Academies valued tradition and formality, and it was apparently an established rule that girls had to wear this black underwear as part of their gym uniform. Though female students weren’t fond of the garment, the academy was showing no signs of budging.

As I was staring into space at the edge of the gym, a girl ran up to me. It was Lia.

“Good morning, Allen.”

“Oh, good morning, Lia.”

Why did she come all the way here to the edge of the gym?

I waited for her to break the silence.

“So…how do I look?” Lia asked, blushing a little and looking down at her outfit.

I don’t know what to say to that…

I inspected her closely from top to bottom.

…It’s just a normal gym uniform. Not much to say about it.

There was nothing out of the ordinary—just the regular ensemble sold at the Thousand Blade Academy store. If I had to find something distinct to say about it, it would be the size of her chest through the uniform. It was hard to avoid looking at.

I know what to say in these situations, though, thanks to Ms. Paula.

She’d given me some advice about one year ago.

“Remember this, Allen. When a girl asks you for your opinion about her clothes, accessories, hair clip, or what have you—always tell her it looks great.”

Ms. Paula emphasized that it was a bad idea to share my honest opinion. “It’s a man’s job to give girls affirmation, no matter what.” That applied to the situation I was in now.

So just as she taught me, I grinned and answered:

“It looks great.”

“R-really? Ha-ha…thanks,” Lia said quietly before cheerfully returning to the rest of the girls.

…I don’t have the faintest inkling of what she wanted there.

Lia’s delighted reaction was proof enough that I gave her the right answer, though. I could always count on Ms. Paula.

Is Chairwoman Reia not here yet?

I rubbed my hands together and blew air into them as a small measure against the cold, and then Rose hurried up to me.

“Hey, Allen.”

“What is it?”

“How does mine look?” she inquired, grabbing the ends of her white shirt. She had the same question as Lia.

“It looks really great on you.”

I gave her the same response I gave Lia.

“O-okay…!”

Blushing a little, she returned to the girls, looking satisfied.

Is this some kind of ritual I’m unfamiliar with? I wondered, confused.

I heard the piercing sound of a whistle. Turning in the direction of the noise, I saw the chairwoman standing in the middle of the gym in her usual black suit.

“Gather up, Class 1-A!”

The chairwoman’s voice was much louder than the whistle.

She doesn’t need that at all…, I thought, jogging over to her.

When all of Class 1-A assembled around her, she began to speak.

“Now, I’m sure you’re all thinking prickly thoughts like She doesn’t need that whistle, but I won’t hear it! This is essential for setting the mood! What’s physical education without a whistle, am I right?!”

Well, I did see where Reia was coming from. At Grand Swordcraft Academy, someone was always blowing a whistle while we practiced our swings or ran during basic physical education.

She’s clearly a morning person… Where does she get this energy?

“Let’s get this practical exam started!”

She clapped her hands.

“Just so you know, the use of Soul Attire is forbidden. The purpose of this assessment is to measure your ability with the sword. Your speed will be tested in three categories—the draw strike, the ten-foe challenge, and the multistrike. We’ll begin with the draw strike! Please start setting up,” the chairwoman requested.

““Yes, ma’am!”” responded two young teachers energetically before promptly doing as they were told. Placing a pedestal on the floor, they set a stalk of bamboo of appropriate length within it and then repeated the process many more times.

Chairwoman Reia explained the first exercise as they set up for the exam.

“I’ll give you the gist of the draw-strike section in case you need it. You start by standing in front of one of those stalks of bamboo with your sword still in your scabbard. When you’re ready, remove your weapon and slice the bamboo in two. We’ll be measuring how long it takes you to cut the bamboo from the moment you flash your blade.”

This was the same explanation I’d received when I’d undertaken this test at Grand Swordcraft Academy.

“This gentleman here is the measurer, and he’ll be timing you during each section. He has been performing this job for fifty years, so please treat him with respect.”

The kind-looking measurer bowed.

The measurer was an occupation that elementary, middle, and high schools required for their practical exams. They had one duty—to take accurate readings during exams.

Being a measurer required visual acuity of 20/6 or better, reflexes within 0.2 seconds, and an ability to record time within a 0.01 second margin of error. As a result of these strict standards, there were never enough measurers to meet the great demand present throughout the country.

“For reference, the average time for our first-years is approximately 0.8 seconds. Just keep that in mind,” Chairwoman Reia noted.

She took a notebook and pen out of her chest pocket to record the results.

“Let’s get moving. First up—Lia Vesteria!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

After being called first, Lia stood in front of a stalk of bamboo and closed her eyes.

Silence filled the room for a few seconds.

“Hah!”

A sharp flash raced through the air, rending the bamboo in front of her in half.

Everyone turned to the measurer.

“That’s 0.5 seconds. Hoh-hoh, impressive.”

We billowed in a wave of excitement. Lia’s time surpassed the first-year average by 0.3 seconds.

“All right!”

Lia made a triumphant pose, then rejoined the rest of the students.

“Starting off with a time like that is a sign of good things to come! Next up is Rose Valencia!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Rose stood in front of the bamboo, bent down, and took a breath.

“Cherry Blossom Blade Style—Lightning Sakura!”

A flash as fast as lightning ran through the air and sliced the bamboo in half.

“That’s 0.3 seconds. Incredible!”

The students all shouted in excitement. Rose’s time surpassed Lia’s already impressive record by another 0.2 seconds.

“Ha…I win this round.”

“Grrr…”

Lia looked visibly upset as Rose boasted about her victory. They seemed like really good friends already.

“Your Cherry Blossom Blade Style never ceases to impress. That was an excellent strike. Next up—Allen Rodol!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

My turn had finally arrived. Standing in front of one of the pedestals that had a stalk of bamboo set inside, I took a deep breath to prepare.

The draw strike…

If I recalled correctly, the academy record at Grand Swordcraft Academy was 1.2 seconds. This used to be my worst section, but now that I’d spent over one billion years training, I was curious to see my progress.

After I’d calmed my breathing and cleared my mind of all intrusive thoughts, I quickly drew my sword.

“Yah!”

I performed the fastest strike I was presently capable of.

“Wow!” the chairwoman exclaimed in admiration off to the side.

That felt great!

My strike had to have made a good time. I waited to hear the result.

“…”

…Huh?

For some reason, the measurer wasn’t showing any signs of sharing it.

“E-excuse me, how fast was that?” I asked timidly.

“…Huh?” he replied, dumbstruck.

“Um…I’d like to learn what my time was…”

“I want to know, too. Can you please tell us? The suspense is killing me,” said Chairwoman Reia, asking for the result as well.

“I don’t understand. What are you two talking about? He hasn’t cut the bamboo yet,” responded the perplexed measurer.

“I did cut the bamboo, though…”

I gently poked the bamboo stalk above where I’d cut it diagonally, and the top half fell to the floor. My classmates, who had been watching in silence, all gasped in surprise.

“N-no way…?!”

“I didn’t see that at all…”

“When the heck did he cut it…?!”

Wide-eyed, the measurer raced over to the sliced bamboo.

“I-impossible! I’ve been working as a measurer for fifty years. How could I have not seen a draw strike?!”

Trembling, he repeatedly put the two halves of the bamboo together and then pulled them apart again… I might have been worried for his sanity had I not understood why he was doing so.

“I’m not sure what to do here. It seems my eyes can’t perceive that speed…”

The chairwoman put her hand to her chin and thought.

“Hmm… We only have one option here. Please do it again, Allen, but more slowly this time.”

“M-more slowly…?”

“Yes, please.”

“Okay… Yes, ma’am.”

I couldn’t believe they were asking me to perform a slower draw strike in an exam judged by speed.

Once again, I stood in front of a freshly set stalk of bamboo, but only moderately prepared myself this time.

“Hah!”

I intentionally drew the sword from my scabbard more slowly and severed the bamboo.

“That’s 0.1 seconds. If you were holding back this time…you’re an incredible swordsman.”

The proclamation of the best time so far sent another burst of excitement through the class.

“Great job, Allen!”

“S-so fast…”

I thought Lia looked proud, while Rose was chewing her lip in frustration.

“Hmm, let’s consider Allen’s time temporary for now. We know he can easily beat 0.1 seconds,” the chairwoman announced.

After that, the rest of the class performed the test, but no one surpassed 0.1 seconds.

The next test was the ten-foe challenge. That section measured how quickly we could slice apart ten dummies placed in a vertical line. I used First Style, Flying Shadow. At two seconds, it broke the academy record.

The final test was the multistrike. In this section, we were tasked with striking four human vital points—the jaw, the heart, the liver, and the solar plexus—on an anatomical model. I did it in one second using Eighth Style, Eight-Span Crow. This was yet another academy record, which greatly impressed the chairwoman.

“That brings today’s practical exam to a close! You all did well. The gym is open for the rest of the day, so feel free to take advantage of it for practice swings, mock duels, strengthening your posture, or whatever else. Dismissed!” she declared, before leaving the gym.

Phew…that was fun.

It made me happy to see my progress quantifiably recorded.

Relieved the exam was over, I stretched, then saw a male student walking up to me. I recognized him after a moment as the boy who used the Slice Iron Style the previous day.

“Hey, Allen. That move you used during the ten-foe challenge was called Flying Shadow, right?”

“Yeah…why do you ask?”

“Uh, well… I was wondering if you’d be willing to teach me how to do it? I’ll train you in my Slice Iron School of Swordcraft in exchange!”

“Oh…sorry. I’m not a good enough swordsman to teach other people yet,” I said, politely rejecting his request.

“Surely, there’s something you can instruct me on! Maybe just a few small tricks? I’m begging you!” he pleaded, putting his hands together.

“Hmm…”

It would be rude to refuse him after he asked so desperately. Besides, it wasn’t like I was keeping my technique behind Flying Shadow a secret. I actually thought it would be great if other people mimicked it and found ways to improve upon it.

“…Fine. I’m not very good at teaching, so don’t expect too much, okay?”

“Seriously?! Thank you, Allen! I love you!”

As if they had been eavesdropping on our conversation, a number of students gathered around us.

“Hey, what the hell?! Don’t try to get the jump on us!”

“Allen, show me your moves, too! I don’t know if this is worthy repayment, but I’ll teach you as many New Moon Style moves as you want!”

“I want to learn your techniques, too, Allen! I’ll teach you my Shimmering Water School of Swordcraft!”

“Sure, no problem,” I replied, gladly accepting everyone’s request.

“Wait, Allen, teach me, too!”

“Me too, please!”

Lia and Rose ran over a little later than the others and stood at my flanks.

We had a nice long chat about swordcraft, discussing how to use Flying Shadow, the essence of the Slice Iron Style, the basics of the New Moon Style, the movement of the Shimmering Water Style, a trick to speed up your draw strike a little, what I thought about when practicing my swings alone, and more. It was a great time, and we never ran out of swordcraft topics to discuss.

…Hey, this is what I’ve always wanted.

I was having a friendly conversation with everyone about the swordplay we all loved so much. This was a commonplace occurrence at swordcraft academies everywhere, something I’d always wanted more than anything to partake in myself.

During my three years at Grand Swordcraft Academy, I was always alone.

The horrible bullying I’d experienced had prevented me from chewing the fat about swordcraft with anyone. There hadn’t been even a single student I could call a friend. Yet now I was having a serious conversation about the art I loved, surrounded by friends.

Ah, I’m so happy… I’m so, so happy…

I lost myself thinking about the past and digesting the joy I’d finally obtained.

“…Allen, are you crying?” Lia asked, concerned.

I noticed that small tear droplets had formed in the corners of my eyes. It seemed I’d gotten a little too sentimental.

“Uh…no, I’m not. I just got a little dust in my eyes, is all.”

As I exaggeratedly rubbed my eyes, a boy asked a question while waving his blade around like a madman.

“Hey, Allen! How do you make a slash attack fly?”

“Ah-ha-ha. To perform Flying Shadow, you first have to hold your weapon like so—”

The joy I had longed for since childhood was finally in my hands.

The day after the practical exam was the anniversary of Thousand Blade Academy’s founding, so we had no classes. All the academy facilities were open despite the holiday. The training room and the practice facility were likely packed with students.

It was currently seven in the morning. I ate breakfast with Lia, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and took care of the rest of my morning routine. Lia sat in the chair by her dresser and used red ribbons to tie her long, beautiful blond hair into elegant pigtails.

I glanced out of the window and beheld the campus bathed in warm sunlight.

Nice weather today. Perfect for training.

It felt like it had been forever since the last time I’d been able to practice with my sword alone. Lately, I’d been going from one duel to another with Lia and the three boys, and I’d built up a strong urge to swing my blade.

All right, I’m going to train from dawn till dusk today!

I finished getting dressed, secured my weapon at my hip, then noticed I had forgotten my water bottle.

Phew, that was close.

I had just grabbed the water bottle I put in the fridge last night when Lia spoke to me.

“Hey, Allen, are you free today?” she inquired with a cheerful smile.

…I really wish she hadn’t asked me that way.

Whether or not I wanted to say I was free depended on what she was going to invite me to. I wished she’d told me her plans before posing the question.

How should I answer this…?

Judging from Lia’s cheery mood, she was definitely going to invite me somewhere. I wasn’t sure if it would be the training room or shopping in the capital, though.

I really don’t know how to answer this…

I struggled to figure out what to say.

“…Sorry, are you busy?” she apologized, looking dejected.

Practice is important…but so is spending time with Lia. Spending time with friends.

I would be able to swing my sword any time, any place. But I couldn’t say the same about hanging out with Lia.

She’s also a princess. Vesteria may call for her return at any point.

After much consideration, I smiled to put her at ease.

“I’m free. I don’t have anything planned today.”

She put her hands together happily.

“Yay! Then let’s go eat some ramzac!”

“Ram…what now?”

I felt like I’d heard that somewhere before…

“You already forgot? I just told you about it the other day. It’s a traditional dish in Vesteria!”

Oh yeah, I think I recall her telling me about that.

“There’s a delicious ramzac restaurant nearby, so let’s go there for lunch!”

“That sounds great.”

And thus, I had plans set for noon. I expected we would end up going shopping after we ate, too. Unfortunately, it would be hard to find time for serious training today.

Occasional days off are all right, though.

I cast a glance at Lia from the corner of my eyes. She looked really happy.

We relaxed in the apartment until it was time for lunch.

Noon arrived about three hours later. Lia and I left the apartment to go to the ramzac restaurant in Aurest.

We were both wearing our Thousand Blade Academy uniforms. It wasn’t that I preferred it to plain clothes; rather, Thousand Blade Academy recommended that students wear their uniforms when leaving campus. Apparently, it was so we would always keep in mind that we were students of one of the Elite Five Academies. They wanted us to convey our consistent excellence as swordcraft students to the world.

That strictness was no surprise, considering how highly the Elite Five Academies valued tradition and formality.

Well, it is a recommendation and not a requirement.

I would have been fine with casual clothes, but…

“Allen, let’s go in our uniforms today!”

…Lia really wanted us to wear our academy attire, so that’s what we did. She’d insisted that “the time we have in our lives to act carefree and wear uniforms is short.”

That was one way to think about it. We made our way to the main street.

“The weather is so nice today!” Lia beamed, holding her right hand up to the sun.

“Yeah, it’s a perfect day for trai—for going out.”

I nearly slipped after being overcome for a moment by a strong urge to train, but I hurriedly corrected myself.

“…Were you just about to say training?”

Lia glared at me, homing in on my mistake. In response, I looked her directly in the eyes without backing down.

“Must have been your imagination. Not even I would think about swordcraft when going somewhere with you, Lia.”

That wasn’t a lie. I really hadn’t been thinking about it at all. An image of me wielding my blade had just flashed through my mind for a moment.

As a possible side effect from swinging my sword single-mindedly for over a billion years, I tended to unconsciously desire getting practice swings in no matter where I was or what I was doing.

We stared each other down for four or five seconds.

“R-really…? Sorry for doubting you,” she muttered, blushing and diverting her eyes. She believed me.

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, are we going the right way?”

“Y-yeah, I’ve been here plenty of times already, so I know where I’m going!”

“Good.”

We made small talk as we headed for the ramzac restaurant, then ran into an unexpected face.

“““…Oh,””” we all said in unison.

It was Rose, who was also wearing her uniform.

“Allen, Lia?”

“Hello, Valencia. What a coincidence meeting you here.”

“What are you two doing together on your day off? You seem really close already…”

She was glaring at both of us. Something was bothering her.

“U-um… We’re going to eat at a ramzac restaurant,” I clarified.

“…What’s that?” Rose questioned, confused. It looked like she’d never heard of it, either.

“Ramzac is a traditional food from Lia’s home country of Vesteria. Would you like to come with us, Valencia?”

“Huh…?” replied Lia, sounding flustered.

“Sure,” Rose answered quickly before walking up to stand beside me.

“Are you…? Fine. Follow me. It’s this way,” huffed Lia. I wasn’t sure why, but she appeared to be in a bit of a bad mood.

Rose and I followed after her.

We twisted and turned through the streets of Aurest until Lia stopped before a restaurant.

“And we’re here. This is Vestland, my favorite restaurant!”

The restaurant was a brick building with a large chimney on top, giving it kind of a retro appearance.

“I like the vibe.”

“Yeah, it has a nice, quaint atmosphere.”

“Hmm-hmm, let’s go in.”

In a better mood now, Lia led us inside.

“Welcome. Is this a party of three?”

A female employee wearing a white chef’s hat greeted us as soon as we entered. Lia nodded in response.

“Understood. Please follow me.”

Fortunately, there were open seats available, and we were led directly to a four-person table. Lia sat to my right, and Rose sat across from me.

The woman quickly brought us three glasses of water.

“Please feel free to call out to us as soon as you’ve decided on your order,” she noted, bowing politely before returning to the kitchen.

I took a look around the restaurant. It was noon, so many of the customers were here with their families, which gave it a warm and lively atmosphere.

The employees are very polite, and it seems like they have a good customer base. What a nice restaurant.

“Look, this is ramzac!”

Lia pointed excitedly to a picture of the dish printed on the menu.

“Ooh, that does look really good,” I said.

“It doesn’t seem bad,” admitted Rose.

Going off this picture, ramzac appeared to be small triangles of piecrust stuffed with beef stew. Piecrust and beef stew—nothing sounded off-putting about that.

In fact, I was eager to try it.

“There’s a lot on the side menu, but do you two want to just get ramzac this time since you’ve never been here?”

“Yes, please,” I answered.

“Sure,” added Rose.

We both nodded, and Lia lifted her right hand.

“Excuse me!”

The employee heard her and came right out of the kitchen.

“Are you ready to order?” she asked.

“Yes. We’d like a Ramzac Platter for three, please,” said Lia.

“Sure thing! We’ll have it out for you shortly.”

The woman politely bowed, then rushed back to the kitchen.

“They pride themselves on the size of their ramzac dishes here! The food itself is delicious, too, of course!” explained Lia.

“Huh, sounds good,” I responded.

“I hope you like it!” she said.

After about ten minutes of small talk, the food arrived.

“Thank you for your patience! Here’s your Ramzac Platter,” the employee announced, placing a plate piled with the stuff on the table.

“Wh-what the…?!”

“That’s so many…!”

The plate was stacked with just over thirty ramzacs. However, the amount wasn’t the only thing that scared me.

What the heck…? These are waaay bigger than the one pictured on the menu!

The triangular pies were as big as two clenched fists put together, and they were each fit to burst with beef stew.

Normally, the real thing is smaller than the promotional photo…

The size of the pastries far exceeded my expectations. I wasn’t sure we could down thirty of these.

“Hmm-hmm, isn’t this amazing?” Lia asked, her eyes shining. Rose and I stared in dumbfounded amazement.

“Th-they do look delicious…but this is kind of a lot,” I responded.

“Yeah, they smell good…but this is a ton of food,” added Rose, sharing my sentiment.

“Let’s eat them while they’re hot!” exclaimed Lia.

We all put our hands together and gave our thanks for the food, then grabbed pieces and took a big mouthful.

“Mmm, this is heaven!” praised Lia.

“…This is delicious!” I added.

“It tastes amazing!” agreed Rose.

It was pleasantly chewy, and the beef was sweet. The thick stew was piping hot and rich in flavor, while the piecrust had a satisfyingly crisp texture. Ramzac was simply delicious.

“Right? It’s really popular all throughout Vesteria!”

Lia was overjoyed to see us enjoying a traditional dish from her home country. I continued stuffing my cheeks with ramzacs until I eventually reached my tenth.

Oh my god… This may be the end…

I felt like I was waging war on this platter, staring down an army of enemy ramzac soldiers. I almost fainted in the face of a particularly large one. My dear companion Rose and I had waged a brave battle, but we were in dire straits. She’d collapsed with her face on the table, tightly clutching a pastry in one hand.

“Mmm, this takes me back!”

Lia was scarfing them down so quickly that they may as well have been nothing but liquid.

…Yeah, I’m done.

Some things were beyond human capability. I knew it was time to give in and abandon my conquest of the ramzacs. This wasn’t fleeing in the face of the enemy—it was a tactical retreat. After abandoning the idea of doing my part to finish the plate, I let out a big sigh and locked eyes with Rose, who had just lifted her head.

“…”

“…”

We stared at each other without saying anything. It was…a little uncomfortable, to be honest. I racked my brain for a conversation topic, but she broke the silence first.

“Something’s been bothering me. Why do you call me by my last name? You’re not doing that with anyone else.”

“…Hmm, I’m not sure why.”

Now that I thought about it, Rose was the only person in my class I was calling by her last name.

…Why am I doing that?

It might have been because she acted so mature, so I wanted to be polite. Or maybe it was because I met her under special circumstances at the Sword Fighting Festival.

I wasn’t sure of the reason, but I’d been using Rose’s last name every time I addressed her.

“It makes us feel like strangers, so please stop,” she insisted, glaring at me.

If someone referred to everyone by their first name except for me, I’d definitely feel alienated, too.

“Got it, I’ll call you by your first name from now on.”

“Let me hear you say it.”

“O-okay…Rose.”

“There you go, Allen,” she encouraged, smiling kindly. Since she wasn’t typically very expressive, seeing her grin so suddenly really brought out her charm. We continued to stare at each other until Lia interrupted.

“That was delicious!” Lia proclaimed. I noticed there wasn’t a single ramzac left from the mountain we’d been given. The enemy had been soundly defeated.

“A-amazing…”

I sat there in stunned silence, unable to comprehend that she’d finished so much food on her own.

“Come on, let’s go to the next store!”

She got up and walked briskly over to the cashier. I didn’t know if it was my imagination, but it looked a little like her feelings had been hurt.

“Hey, wait up, Lia!”

“Tch…”

Rose and I chased after her.