Chapter 4: Unexpected Encounters at Summer Training Camp
CHAPTER 4 Unexpected Encounters at Summer Training Camp
It was the day after I joined the Student Council as a clerk. After morning classes, Lia, Rose, and I gathered in front of the Student Council room to attend the regular lunch meeting that they held every day. I knocked for the three of us.
“Come in.”
We heard the president’s melodic voice.
“Excuse us.”
We opened the door to find Shii, Lilim, and Tirith. They were sitting in their usual places with their lunches placed on their desk.
“Welcome, Allen, Lia, and Rose,” greeted Shii.
“Today’s meeting is very important. I hope you’re ready!” Lilim announced.
“All we’re doing is eating lunch like usual, though…,” Tirith noted.
They had prepared desks for the three of us, and each of them was marked by a plate displaying our name and position. After greeting them quickly, we sat down.
“Let’s start with some simple self-introductions!” announced Shii, looking at Lilim to her left.
“Huh? Ahem. I’m Lilim Chorine from Class 2-A. I’m the secretary, but only in name. I shove almost all my work onto the vice president! Let’s make this semester great!”
Lilim Chorine was an energetic girl with short brown hair, clear skin, and large, distinctive eyes. At about 160 centimeters, she was slightly shorter than the president.
“I’m Tirith Magdarote from Class 2-A. I’m the treasurer, but in name only. I shove all my responsibilities onto that dolt. I hope we can be friends…”
Tirith Magdarote’s dark-blue hair stopped just above her shoulders, and her bangs hid her right eye. In total contrast to Lilim, her features gave her serious downer vibes. At 165 centimeters, she was also slightly taller than Shii.
“I’m the Student Council president, Shii Arkstoria, also in Class 2-A. But this, too, is in name only. I entrust all my work to the vice president. I’m looking forward to having fun with you three!”
I was surprised to hear every one of them admit that their positions were just fronts.
Is it okay for them to foist everything on the vice president like that?
Suddenly, Chairwoman Reia and Eighteen’s relationship flashed before my mind.
The three of us also performed simple self-introductions.
“I’m Allen Rodol. I accepted the president’s invitation to join as a clerk. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m Lia Vesteria. I’m looking forward to getting to know you all over the next year!”
“I’m Rose Valencia. Nice to meet you.”
After we finished introducing ourselves, we ate lunch. Shii, Lilim, and Tirith were very good people, so it was a fun time.
One thing was bothering me, though.
These “regular meetings” are just simple lunch gatherings, aren’t they…?
Not one thing about Student Council work had come up yet.
…No, I’m probably being too harsh. This is our first meeting together. I bet they’re just trying to break the ice.
However, that expectation—that hope—was totally squashed in the end. For the next two-plus weeks, the Student Council truly accomplished nothing whatsoever. They piled important-looking documents from staff meetings, written requests from other clubs, committee reports, and more onto the vice president’s desk and left them untouched.
One day, Shii looked at the ever-growing mountain of documents on the vice president’s desk and muttered to herself.
“This is getting kind of bad. He’s taking much longer to return than I expected…”
If I recalled correctly, the announcer during the Club-Budget War had mentioned that the vice president was out of the country due to a “penalty game.” I had been wondering about that for a while, so I seized the moment to ask about it.
“I’ve heard that the vice president is out of the country, but where did he go?”
Shii’s answer was shocking.
“The mineral deposits under the Holy Ronelian Empire.”
“…Huh?”
The Holy Ronelian Empire was a corrupt dictatorship ruled by the cruel emperor Barel Ronelia. Liengard prohibited its citizens from traveling there. There was a rumor circulating recently that the Holy Ronelian Empire had created the Black Organization.
“Why did he go somewhere so dangerous?” I asked.
“For excavation.”
“For what now?”
“After I won our penalty game, I told him that I wanted a blood diamond, and the vice president said, ‘Leave it to me!’ and actually ran off to go find one…,” Shii revealed with a small sigh.
“He left to get a precious gem just like that?!” I gawked incredulously.
A blood diamond was a very rare mineral, a small amount of which could be mined deep underneath the Holy Ronelian Empire. It shone an intense shade of crimson, and it was beloved by royalty and nobility, owing to its beauty.
However, considering where blood diamonds were found, they didn’t make it to market very often. On the extremely rare occasion they appeared at auctions, they went for eye-popping prices and made the newspaper the next day.
From what I can tell, the vice president seems kind of unhinged.
“Now that I think about it, it’s been forever since he left. You don’t think he could’ve…died, do you?” asked Lilim, joining the conversation.
“I can’t imagine that imbecile kicking the bucket, though…,” Tirith responded.
“Ha-ha, that’s true!” laughed Lilim.
It seemed like the incredibly powerful members of the Student Council had complete faith in the vice president’s strength.
J-just what kind of person is he…?
I kind of wanted to meet him.
From then on, my days followed the same routine—I attended Soul Attire class in the morning, Student Council meetings at lunch, more Soul Attire class in the afternoon, and then spent all evening with the Practice-Swing Club after school. It was a very fulfilling school experience.
Time flew when you were having fun, and before I knew it, it was June 30—the last day of the first term at Thousand Blade Academy.
“Okay, your answer sheets have been all returned! Anyone with grading mistakes or questions, come to me!” Chairwoman Reia announced, clapping her hands.
We’d taken our end-of-term final the previous day, and Reia had just returned them to us.
“That’s about what I expected,” I mumbled to myself, looking at the answer sheets I’d just received.
I got a 68 in literature, a 78 in math, a 62 in geography, a 75 in chemistry, and an 85 in military science. I breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that I surpassed the failing mark of 40 on every test. Lia looked relieved as well when she saw my results.
“Good job, Allen! You did it!”
“Yeah, thank goodness.”
Students who failed had to take supplementary lessons over summer break, so I was glad to have avoided that.
“Wow. You did as amazing as ever, Lia.”
Lia finished with a 90 or higher on all her tests and got a 100 in military science. I had heard that she’d received a privileged education from a young age, but even then, this was an impressive result.
“Hee-hee, thanks.”
After confirming that neither of us failed, we both looked toward the person we were worried about—Rose.
She was surprisingly terrible at studying. One day, she’d admitted to Lia and me very seriously that she was “completely lost” with our material. I’d shuddered and told her that she was in serious trouble.
After that, Lia and I had helped Rose study right up until it was time to take the tests.
We did manage to get through everything that would be covered on them…
Despite that, she’d informed us that she felt no different than before she went through all our study sessions, so I was anxious to hear her results.
“How did you do, Rose?” I asked.
“D-did you pass?” asked Lia.
She turned around to face us.
“Ha, I did it!”
Rose proudly showed us her answer sheets; she scored in the 40s on every one of them, barely avoiding failing.
“Hey, good job!”
“That’s amazing! You worked really hard!”
“Thanks, guys, I really owe you one…”
We had all avoided failing any exams, which meant we would be able to go on the Student Council’s summer training camp.
After the chairwoman finished addressing any grading mistakes and questions, she began the final homeroom of the first term.
“Tomorrow is the day you’ve been waiting for! The start of summer break!” she announced.
Summer vacation at the Elite Five Academies was a little early compared with other swordcraft academies. It lasted one month, from July 1 to July 31. One of the chief reasons for the length was to give the exhausted first-years a rest from their harsh Soul Attire courses.
“This is your first high school summer vacation. I know you’re excited, but don’t party too hard! You’re dismissed!”
I’d made it through my first semester at Thousand Blade Academy.
The next day, I set out into Aurest with a map that Shii had given me. As per usual, Lia and Rose accompanied me.
“How close are we, Allen?” asked Lia.
“Hmm, according to the map, if we turn right here… There it is!”
We rounded the corner to find a large mansion with an expansive courtyard. There was a stone nameplate with the name ARKSTORIA carved into it. Since this was the spot on the map, it had to be the Student Council president’s home.
This is a really fancy place…
I stared at the grand, three-story residence.
“Ah, Allen! Over here!”
Shii hopped up and down in the middle of the yard and waved at us enthusiastically. Behind her were two other members of the student council.
“Good morning, President, Lilim, and Tirith,” I greeted.
“Morning, Allen,” Shii responded.
“Good morning, Allen! It’s a beautiful day!” exclaimed Lilim.
“Yawn… Mornin’…,” said Tirith.
The president and Lilim were their typical selves, but Tirith looked even more listless than usual. Judging from the way she was yawning and rubbing her eyes, she must have been bad in the mornings like Rose. They both looked like they could nod off at any moment.
“What do you think of my casual clothes, Allen?” Shii asked, tugging on my sleeve.
She was wearing a simple white dress. It gave her a slightly more grown-up feel; it suited her.
“It looks great on you,” I answered.
“Ha-ha, thanks.”
That put her in a fantastic mood, and she hummed as she started to walk toward a building that looked like a storehouse.
“Over here, everyone!”
We followed her into the building, where we found a large aircraft. It looked prepped for takeoff, and I could see three pilots in the cockpit.
“Ta-daa! This is my family’s private jet! We’re flying it all the way to Veneria Island!”
W-wow…she has a three-story manor and a private jet.
They had enough wealth to be mistaken for one of the Five Business Oligarchs living in Drestia.
“Um, are you from a noble family, President?” I asked.
“Hmm, not quite. The Arkstoria family has held important positions in the government for generations. Have you heard of my father, Rodis Arkstoria?”
“Now that you mention it, I have heard that name on the radio a lot…”
I couldn’t remember exactly who he was, but I was pretty sure he was a cabinet minister in some government agency.
“Well, that has enabled our family to live in some wealth. There are drawbacks, though,” she added, laughing with a grimace on her face. “Moving on…looks like they’re ready! Get in, get in!”
“I haven’t flown since spring break. I’m excited!” Lilim cheered.
“Yawn… I’m excited, too…,” Tirith announced drowsily.
The upperclassmen eagerly climbed into the jet, and Lia, Rose, and I followed.
The inside of the jet resembled a luxurious hotel room. It was furnished with a sofa, a bed, and even a kitchen complete with a fridge.
We enjoyed a comfortable flight and arrived at Veneria Island, a resort in the south of the country, in just a few hours. Veneria Island was one of the most popular tourist destinations in Liengard. I had heard that a great number of tourists from the surrounding nations also traveled to the island to bask in its beautiful water and beaches.
When we exited the plane, the sight of the endless sea greeted us.
“Look, Allen, look! It’s so pretty!”
“This is beautiful.”
Lia’s and Rose’s eyes lit up in excitement.
“Mmm, the wind is so nice!” exclaimed Shii.
“Echo!!!” shouted Lilim.
“Lilim, you’re supposed to shout that on a mountain…,” chided Tirith.
The upperclassmen breathed in the Veneria Island air.
I felt a flood of emotion.
This is the ocean…
I’d spent my early years in the inland Goza Village and had dedicated every spare moment in middle school at Grand Swordcraft Academy to swinging my sword. This was my first time witnessing the ocean.
The clear blue water extended as far as the eye could see, the air smelled salty, and the sand was pure white.
It’s all just as Mom said!
I was greatly moved at my first glimpse of the sea.
“All right, Lilim, Tirith, and I are gonna go clean up the villa. We haven’t used it in a while, so I’m sure it’s caked with dust,” announced Shii, proposing that we split up.
“We’ll help you out!” I offered.
She’d not only treated us to a luxurious flight in a private jet, but she was also even providing us with a place to sleep. The least I could do to pay her back was help with tidying up.
“I-it’s okay, we’re good! You don’t have to do that! We’ll handle everything ourselves! It’ll take no time at all!” Shii protested, shaking her head emphatically.
“Ah-ha-ha, Shii’s saying that ’cause her room is a mess! You wouldn’t believe where she puts her under— Brgh!”
The president interrupted Lilim by striking her with a quick, formidable karate chop that knocked her unconscious.
“They say the mouth is the source of all disaster…,” Tirith muttered, poking the motionless Lilim.
I could figure out what was really going on from that exchange.
She must have things scattered about that she doesn’t want us to see.
The president was cleaning it herself instead of leaving it to a servant. That left no room for doubt.
“…Ahem. Anyway! We’re gonna go take care of the villa! Hmm… How about you three kill time at the beach shack down that way?” Shii suggested.
“G-got it.”
Lia, Rose, and I headed in the direction she’d indicated. After a few minutes of walking on the beautiful sand, a large building came into view ahead of us.
“That has to be it,” I said.
“Wow, that place is huge,” observed Lia.
“Business must be booming,” added Rose.
The beach shack was a large wooden establishment that looked like three ordinary houses joined together. The right half was a shop that sold food like yakisoba and curry rice, and the left side featured a great variety of recreational toys, including beach balls and simple inflatable boats.
There’s so much to do here. Killing time won’t be hard at all.
We wandered around inside the shop, and something caught Lia’s attention.
“Watermelon splitting?”
She was looking at a “Watermelon Splitting Set,” which contained a watermelon, a stick, and some blindfolds.
“It’s a traditional game in this country where you try to split open a watermelon while your vision is obscured,” explained Rose.
“I-is it fun?” Lia asked curiously. They must not have played that in Vesteria.
“Ah-ha-ha, it might be nice to try it later,” I said.
We continued to enjoy browsing the various goods in the shop until an old man in front of us suddenly stabbed at Lia.
“Lia, get back!” I warned.
“Aaah!” she screamed.
I grabbed her with my right hand, drew my sword with my left, and managed to stop his dagger.
“Shit…you little brat…”
The old man had a mean scowl on his face after failing at his strike.
“That’s a cane-sword… Who are you?” I asked.
That wasn’t a random assault. He was clearly aiming to assassinate Lia.
“Haah, what did I tell ya? We should’ve all nailed them at once instead of wasting time on a surprise attack…”
“Princess Lia, I bear no grudge against you, but you die here today.”
Every customer in the shop drew a blade, cornering us.
There are forty, no, fifty of them…
Our summer vacation was off to a dangerous start.
After the strange group of assailants surrounded us, Rose leaped into action.
“Cherry Blossom Blade Style—Sakura Flash!”
“Huh—? Gwah!”
Rose thrust her sword forward, sending one of the goons flying outside the shop.
“We’re at a disadvantage indoors against this many foes! Let’s leave this place first!” she commanded, smoothly dashing out of the beach shack.
That’s our Rose.
She was probably able to take charge like this because of her experience as a witchblade. Her calm demeanor despite the abrupt nature of the battle was reassuring.
“Let’s go, Lia!”
“Okay!”
We slipped through the gap that Rose had opened in their mob and ran outside the shop.
“Hey, stop right there!!!”
Yelling, the seething assailants pursued us.
Once we escaped from the beach shack, we put our backs to one another to cover our blind spots.
“Goddamn kids… Form into assault groups and surround them! Go!”
“ “ “Yes, sir!” ” ”
On one man’s orders, the assailants gathered into squads of three.
“Haaaaah!”
“Take this!”
“Dieeeeee!”
They came at us with downward swipes, thrusts, and diagonal slashes. Our attackers took commands well and showed some semblance of swordcraft. They’d clearly studied the blade before. But they were no match for us.
“Eighth Style—Eight-Span Crow!”
“Cherry Blossom Blade Style—Lightning Sakura!”
“Hegemonic Style—Hard Strike!”
They were all unskilled.
“Ga-hah!”
“Gyaaa!”
“S-so strong!”
There was no way that some assailants who had no more than dabbled in swordcraft would stand a chance against prodigies like Lia and Rose, or even the Reject Swordsman.
“You’re finished. If you continue to fight, we’ll show no mercy,” I threatened, pointing my weapon at them.
“C-crap…”
Collapsed on the ground, they gritted their teeth in frustration. In just a few minutes, we’d succeeded in subduing the attackers.
“Rose, tell the beach-shack employees to call the holy knights.”
“S-sure.”
This was as much as we could do for now. We were better off letting the holy knights question and identify these miscreants.
“Those people… They were after me, weren’t they?” Lia mumbled, visibly worried.
“They said ‘Princess,’ so they probably were,” I answered.
Their actions had been well coordinated, so it was possible they were assassins sent by a country with an antagonistic relationship to Vesteria.
The fallen goons then began to speak.
“…I’m using it.”
“A-are you insane?!”
“Even if we make it back, we’ll be executed for failing our mission! We may as well take the chance!”
I couldn’t make sense of what they were saying.
“What are you all talking about…?”
Right after I asked that question, each one of them pulled a blue, glasslike object out of their pocket and tossed it into their mouth.
“Urgh… GAAAAAAHHH!”
“Hagh… Hagh… AAAAAHHHHH!”
They began rolling on the ground and screaming in anguish. Something was obviously wrong with them.
“Wh-what the…?!”
“They all just ingested some kind of pill!”
The three of us backed up to be safe and readied ourselves. The collection of assailants rose slowly, as pale as ghosts.
“Haaah-haaah… Heh-heh-heh… You brats are finished!”
Somehow, every one of them was wielding Soul Attire.
“Th-they can all use Soul Attire?”
“Something’s off about them, though…”
Just as Lia noticed, they seemed somehow unhinged.
These Soul Attires all look unstable…
The shape of each of their Soul Attires seemed to morph from one moment to the next. I’d never seen anything like it.
“W-we don’t have much time left… Let’s end this!” one of the men yelled.
“Urgh… GAAAAAAAAH!”
One of the attackers struck the beach with his large Soul Attire, kicking up a massive amount of sand. The world went white.
“ “ “Hiyaaaaah!” ” ”
The men all charged us at once.
“Huh?! How’d they get so fast?!”
They had become so swift that I could hardly believe they were the same people.
“Raaaaaah!”
“Wha—?!”
It wasn’t just their speed; their physical prowess had also increased significantly.
Do they all have self-strengthening Soul Attire?
No, that was too unlikely.
“What the heck did you all do?!” I asked.
“Haah… Haah… We took soul-crystal pills… It’s a powerful drug that causes your Spirit Core to enter a state of fury and produce a pseudo–Soul Attire…”
“What?!”
Doing something that reckless would place an enormous burden on yourself.
“S-stop right now! Your bodies won’t last!” I yelled.
“We know that… That’s why you’ll die right now!”
They struck at us again and again with blades that literally had their lives riding on them.
“Why are you going so far as to throw your own lives away to kill Lia?!” I asked.
“’Cause His Excellency the Emperor ordered us to eliminate the princess! Haaaaaah!” one of the men screamed, slashing at me diagonally with haphazard might.
“Grrr…”
I defended myself with my sword and then jumped far backward.
“This isn’t over yet!!!!”
“Die already!!!!”
“Goddamn brats!!!!”
The assailants yelled as they rushed toward me.
Despite their instability, their Soul Attire granted them enormous power. Their astounding physical strength surpassed human capability. And above all else, they were prepared to give up their lives.
This is bad…
But I had absolutely no intention of losing to opponents who’d abandoned swordcraft entirely to rely on physical prowess and unruly Soul Attire.
“Fifth Style—World Render!”
I decided to meet force with even greater force. Launching an attack that could tear through worlds, I easily overpowered their weapons.
“Ga-hah!”
“T-too strong…”
“S-sacrificing our lives wasn’t enough?!”
The ten goons I’d knocked down to the ground groaned, unable to get back up. Their bodies appeared to be past their physical limit.
“Haah… Haah… We can’t kill this monster! But we can murder the princess! Everyone, get her!!!!”
One man rallied the others, and the remaining forty assailants charged at Lia simultaneously.
“ “Huh?!” ”
This was a death charge with no consideration for their own defense.
Crap…
Clearing away that many people would be difficult even for Fafnir’s flames. And regardless of whether she could do it, Lia was far too kind to pull it off. She didn’t have it in her to go through with something so unfeeling and cruel.
“Run, Lia!”
“O-okay!”
Remaining composed, she chose to flee.
“Ah!”
A collapsed man near the princess grabbed her ankle.
“Heh, heh-heh… We’re gonna finish you off if nothing else!”
“L-let go of me!”
“Lia, look ahead! Defend yourself!” I yelled.
Eyes bloodshot, the criminals were rushing at her from up ahead.
“ “ “HAAAAAAAAH!!!” ” ” they all yelled.
“Eeeeeeek!” Lia screamed.
“ “ “DIEEEEEE!!!” ” ”
Forty men swung at her with their Soul Attire at once.
“How many people do you creeps need to take down one girl?”
An enormous wall of ice suddenly formed in front of Lia to protect her.
“I-it’s hard as steel!”
“Where did this come from?!”
“Is this from someone’s Soul Attire?!”
The ice wall was so sturdy that they couldn’t even put a crack in it with their overpowered Soul Attire.
“I—I know this skill!”
I opened my eyes wide in astonishment.
“Freezing Spear!”
Giant ice lances appeared in the air and fell like rain.
“GAAAH!”
“It hurts, it hurts!”
“What the hell?!”
An unfeeling and cruel attack that showed no mercy to its targets—I recognized this power, which was so cold that it could turn even a southern resort to midwinter.
“What the hell are you doing struggling against these shrimps, you piece of trash?”
I looked in the direction of the voice to find the ace of Ice King Academy—Shido Jukurius.
“Shido?! What are you doing here?!”
“Huh? Oh, it’s you—”
He was interrupted by a beach ball to the temple.
“Shido, put that away!”
“…What was that?!”
For a second, he looked like he was ready to hurt someone, but as soon as he realized that the person who’d thrown the ball was Ice King Academy’s chairwoman, Ferris Dorhein, he changed his tone.
“Sorry, madam.”
Surprisingly, he put Vanargand away obediently.
“Good grief, did you have to go and freeze this nice southern weather…? Wait, you’re Allen,” Ferris noted.
She was clad in a kimono, as per usual. Trailing behind her were a number of students in Ice King Academy uniforms.
“Hello, Shido and Ferris. What are you all doing here?” I asked.
“We’re here for our Student Council’s summer training camp,” she answered.
“Sh-Shido is in the Student Council?!” I exclaimed in astonishment.
“You got a problem with that?” he spat with a frigid glare.
”N-no…I was just a little surprised.”
Shido was aggressive and didn’t care for rules. He couldn’t seem any less suitable for a position in student government.
“Hee-hee, he’s smarter than he looks,” Ferris praised, patting him on the head.
“Madam, whaddaya mean ‘smarter than I look’…? I don’t look stupid,” he protested.
“Ha-ha, don’t worry. You’re adorable just the way you are.”
“I’m not cute, either…”
Shido’s typically adversarial personality softened before Ferris.
What kind of relationship do they have? I wondered.
“A-are you Lord Allen?!”
A male Ice King Academy student walked toward me, visibly trembling. He had black hair with bangs of moderate length. Tall and slender, he wore black-rimmed glasses. A silver pendant shaped like a cross hung from his neck. I took a second to remember his name.
“Um…your name was Cain, right?”
He widened his eyes in shock.
“Y-you remember me?! I am humbled beyond words. Yes, my name is Cain Material. Ah-ha, I’m in seventh heaven!”
“W-we met only three months ago.”
Just a short while had passed since that turbulent Elite Five Holy Festival.
The Holy Festival, our month as witchblades, encountering the Black Organization and dueling Dodriel, the Club-Budget War, our end-of-term tests—thinking back on it, that was a jam-packed three months.
Did Cain act anything like this when I first met him?
I felt like his personality used to be calmer.
“Haah…you’ve become such a creep,” barked Shido, glaring at Cain as if he were a maggot.
“Excuse me, Shido? There’s nothing creepy about me! Ah, but never mind that! Master Allen! You’re as wonderful in person as I expected you to be! Your demeanor is so dignified! Your body is so well-toned! Your eyes are so full of kindness and strength! The footage can’t hope to do you justice!” Cain bellowed, overcome by emotion. His gaze seemed to drink my entire body in.
“Th-thanks…”
There was clearly something wrong with him. His previously cool personality had totally melted away.
“Uh, how did Cain end up like this?” I asked Shido.
“Why the hell would the great Shido have to tell a piece of shit like you? You’re the enemy,” he answered.
“Y-you’re right, sorry…”
I couldn’t have picked a worse person to ask. Given how fiercely Shido despised me, there was no way he was going to be amicable and answer my question.
“…”
“…”
An awkward silence fell between us.
“…It happened soon after the Holy Festival,” he started slowly.
He’s actually answering me…
Despite being dangerous, Shido seemed to have a nice side that came out at surprising moments.
“Cain’s grief at his loss to you drove him insane… He said that ‘if Allen can overcome a century of imprisonment, then so can I!’ and cut his own finger with his Hundred Hellblade.”
Hundred Hellblade was Cain’s mental-manipulation Soul Attire. Anyone he slashed with his blade had their mind imprisoned in another world for a very brief period of one hundred years. Disappointingly, the world didn’t even have a loop feature to allow the target to spend another century there. It was clearly an inferior version of the 100-Million-Year Button.
“People like you, who can endure the Hundred-Year Hell with their monstrous mental fortitude, are few and far between… Cain was transported to the hospital immediately, and when he woke, he was like this.”
Shido shook his head in disgust.
“That’s exactly it! I was foolish enough to think that I could enter the same domain as God and paid for my mistake by spending a month unconscious in critical condition. However! It was due to my experience that I reawakened! I have not an ounce of regret!” Cain exclaimed.
“I—I see…,” I responded.
He had the eyes of a crazy person. I had to watch myself around Ice King Academy students.
“Lord Allen, do you mind if I ask you a question?” groveled Cain.
“No…go ahead.”
I didn’t want any part of this, but I couldn’t just ignore him.
“Thank you so much! I’ve been dying to know—what did you do during the long one hundred years you spent in that hellish world?”
“Hmm… I mainly just swung my sword.”
“Y-your sword?! You swung your sword for one hundred years?!”
“Y-yes.”
To be honest, I’d wanted to vary up my training a bit more, but as someone who’d spent over a billion years intently honing my swordcraft, one hundred years felt way too short. As a result, I ended up only having time for practice swings.
“Wow…what incredible mental resilience! What an earnest approach to swordcraft! You really are the greatest, Lord Allen!”
“I’d rather you stop calling me that…”
The Ice King Academy students had been observing me curiously during our conversation. I needed to nip any weird rumors in the bud.
“I—I apologize for my rudeness! I will refer to you as God instead!”
“Please, anything but that…”
Cain and I just couldn’t seem to get on the same wavelength. The next moment, the sight of a large helicopter hovering in the sky interrupted us. And I couldn’t believe what happened next—two people leaped out and began to descend.
“ “ “Huh?!” ” ”
They landed on the ground after plunging for hundreds of meters.
“Yo, how’s it goin’, guys?”
“Yes…yes, that would be much appreciated. Uh, yes… Thank you very much.”
It was Chairwoman Reia, who looked ready to have a great time, and Eighteen, who was absorbed in a phone call. I had no idea how their legs had managed it, but neither one of them seemed to feel the shock of plummeting to the ground.
“Ch-Chairwoman Reia? And Eighteen, too? What are you doing here?” I asked.
“What do you mean, ‘what am I doing here?’ How would you make it through the training camp without your adviser’s guidance?” the chairwoman responded.
“So you’re the Student Council’s adviser…”
“Indeed I am! Anyway, we’re at a resort! Let’s leave our exhausting duties behind and party till we dro— Ferris?! Why are you here?!”
The chairwoman’s cheerful mood quickly turned to frank displeasure when she saw Ferris.
“That’s my line. I was so looking forward to this summer training camp, and now I have to see your ugly mug… Haah, how depressing…”
“What was that, vixen?!”
They started to argue. Those two had been like cats and dogs since their school days.
“Hey, Allen, sorry that took so long… Huh? Who are all these people?”
“Oh, they’re from Ice King Academy!”
“Look behind them, though… There’s a big group of strange men collapsed on the ground… Something clearly happened here…”
Shii, Lilim, and Tirith had returned from cleaning the villa. Another group arrived at the same time as them.
“This is the Veneria holy knights!”
“The assailants are over there!”
“They’ve taken heavy injuries… Call the rescue squad!”
It was Rose, leading a large number of holy knights.
“Sorry that took so long. There was no phone in the beach shack, so I went to the nearby station,” she explained.
“Okay, thanks for taking the time to do that,” I said.
The holy knights worked the scene efficiently. Eventually, one of them strode briskly toward us.
“Those uniforms… Are you all students from Thousand Blade Academy and Ice King Academy? I’d like to ask some questions. Is there a teacher nearby?”
“Um…over there…,” I answered, looking toward Chairwoman Reia and Ferris.
“You’re one to talk, Crybaby Ferris! Want me to cave your face in like a potato again?!”
“Go ahead and try! I will get the upper hand, musclehead!”
The two chairwomen were busy hurling insults at each other. Yikes…this was mortifying.
“Is this a soul-crystal pill?!”
“So the Black Organization was involved in this after all…”
“We need the senior holy knights—contact headquarters!”
They began to move with haste.
“Hey, Shido! Come get some practice swings in with me! It’s the word of Lord Allen—of God!”
“Stay back, you four-eyed creep!”
Cain, who had been joyfully practicing slashes, was trying intently to get Shido to join him. Meanwhile…
“I just had a great idea! Why not turn this into a joint summer training camp with Ice King Academy?” suggested Shii.
“Ooh, I like that! That’ll motivate everyone for sure!” exclaimed Lilim.
“Oh, come on, you always suggest the most annoying things…”
…I overheard the Student Council president offer up a preposterous idea.
Things got out of hand really quickly here…
After a little discussion, the chairwomen decided that this trip would be made into a joint summer training camp between Thousand Blade Academy and Ice King Academy.
…Please let this end without incident.
While holding that hope in my chest, I let out a small sigh.
After the joint summer training camp had been settled on, the members of Thousand Blade Academy went back to Shii’s place, and the Ice King Academy students returned to Ferris’s villa. We were going to put our luggage away and change.
“Okay, time to head out,” I told myself.
Having put on my swimsuit, I headed for the reception room, where we’d agreed to meet. I was wearing a plain black pair of swim trunks and a white parka.
As I waited in the quiet, empty reception room, I thought back to the day’s incidents.
What in the world just happened…?
I was especially worried about the attack we’d suffered.
Before we left, the Holy Knights Association’s relief squad had arrived and performed first-aid treatment on the heavily injured assailants. The holy knights then arrested all fifty of them, took them to the station, and told Chairwoman Reia and Ferris that they would contact them as soon as they figured out the particulars of the case.
That group was clearly after Lia. They were probably assassins from a country or organization that is hostile toward Vesteria.
Though it was easy to forget about since we were together all the time, Lia was a princess of Vesteria Kingdom. A risk of assassination or abduction always followed her.
I want to help her if I can…
I continued to mull things over as I waited for everyone to change. Eventually, the door in the back right of the room opened.
“S-sorry for the wait…”
“How do I look, Allen?”
Lia and Rose emerged. Lia was blushing and slightly embarrassed, while Rose looked as dignified as ever.
“…”
My breath caught in my throat as soon as I saw them in their swimsuits.
Lia was wearing a halter-neck bikini with a lovely design consisting of white fabric and red frills. What caught my attention more than anything was the way it emphasized her chest… Needless to say, it was quite attractive.
Rose wore a simple black bikini and a thin, black wraparound skirt called a pareu. The black swimsuit contrasted beautifully with her pink-tinged silver hair, and her complexion gave her an attractive air of maturity.
“U-um…you both look good…,” I answered, darting my eyes away and answering honestly.
“Th-thanks…,” replied Lia.
“Ha-ha, I’m glad you like it,” responded Rose.
After I shared my thoughts, we all went quiet.
“ “ “…” ” ”
Lia was glancing at me repeatedly, Rose was standing perfectly still, and I could look neither of them in the eye because of their outfits. An awkward silence that none of us could break fell between us.
Would it be tactful for me to say something?
As I racked my brain for a topic to bring up, a voice cut me off.
“We’re here!”
The door in the back left of the room swung open to reveal the three upperclassmen in their swimsuits.
“Hey, Allen, whaddaya you think?” Shii asked.
The president was wearing a white bikini hemmed with blue, and a gray long-sleeved parka over it. The outerwear was open, greatly emphasizing her chest. To my surprise, she was bustier under her clothes than I’d anticipated.
“I—I think it suits you very well,” I answered with my eyes downcast.
Beautiful, swimsuit-clad women had surrounded me from all sides. I truly had no idea where to rest my gaze. Shii sensed my discomfort.
“Huh? Is something wrong, Allen?”
Smiling mischievously, she leaned forward deliberately and peered into my face.
“P-President…please stop messing with me,” I begged.
“Hmm-hmm, this is revenge for before,” she responded with a snort.
She apparently still hadn’t gotten over my little prank after cheating at poker.
“Well, everyone’s here—let’s get going!” she announced.
“Do we not need to wait for Chairwoman Reia?” I asked.
“She already got changed and left.”
“R-really?”
I couldn’t believe she’d gotten ready faster than me.
“C’mon! Today is the day we put Ice King Academy in their place!” Shii yelled excitedly.
Having finished putting on our swimsuits, we left for Ferris’s private beach.
After a discussion, Chariwoman Reia and Ferris decided that we would pit Thousand Blade Academy and Ice King Academy against each other in a variety of challenges.
The first match was beach volleyball. Lia and I represented Thousand Blade, while Shido and Cain represented Ice King. Coincidentally, it was a showdown of first-years.
Our match wound up being a fiercely contested, back-and-forth affair.
“You’re really good, Shido. I can’t believe how much ground you can cover by yourself…,” I complimented.
“Give up already, you amateur!” Shido yelled in response.
Lia and I moved together as one, scoring consistently thanks to our great teamwork. As for our opponents, Shido made use of his overwhelming physical might to score by fiercely attacking and blocking. Meanwhile, Cain focused entirely on receiving and passing.
“Allen, here!”
Lia gave me a perfect pass.
“Hah!”
I hit the ball, and it fell barely within the line on the other side.
“Goddamn it!” yelled Shido.
“L-Lord Allen is truly wonderful!” exalted Cain.
The score was now twenty to nineteen. One more point, and victory would be ours.
“Great shot, Allen!” beamed Lia.
“All thanks to your setup!” I responded.
We high-fived.
“God, you guys creep me out… No matter how good your teamwork is, trash is still trash! I’ll show you just how superior I am!” Shido exclaimed.
The air around him changed. I felt a brutal, fiendish aura that reminded me of our fight during the Holy Festival.
“Lia, this is match point!”
“Yeah, let’s finish this!”
She took a moment to exhale, then spun the ball in the palm of her hand.
“Hah!”
She served skillfully, sending the ball racing with a front spin for the edge of the court.
“Not a chance!”
However, Shido reached it easily with his astounding reflexes.
“Hit it up!” he commanded.
“Okay!” responded Cain.
He put the ball in the perfect position in the center of the court.
“Eat this—Vanar Ball!”
Shido’s spike was inhumanly fast, and it seemed to cause the ball to split into four.
“Shoot… Allen, get it!”
It slipped through Lia’s block.
“Cloudy Sky Style—Cirrocumulus Cloud!”
My four-part receive blocked the ball before it hit the ground.
“What the—?!” Shido shouted.
Then it traced a high arc and dropped deep within enemy territory.
“Twenty-one to nineteen! Thousand Blade Academy wins!”
The Ice King Academy student acting as the referee loudly announced the result.
“If there are four balls, the only thing you have to do is return all four,” I declared.
“You piece of shit…,” Shido fumed.
The beach-volleyball match came to an end, resulting in a spectacular victory for Thousand Blade Academy.
“I knew you could do it, Allen! That was amazing!” cheered Lia.
“Thanks, but I couldn’t have done it without you,” I responded.
Lia and I joyously basked in our victory.
“You were just as breathtaking as I thought you would be, Lord Allen! That was the greatest receive I’ve ever seen! I was so inspired, I couldn’t move a step!” Cain praised me profusely despite being on the opposing team.
“U-uh, thanks…,” I responded.
“Which side are you on, you four-eyed freak?!” Shido yelled.
“Ow!”
Shido walloped Cain.
“Hmm-hmm, it seems like we have the superior students this year, Ferris,” bragged Chairwoman Reia.
“Grrr…moving on! We’re playing beach flag next!” shouted Ferris, quickly announcing the start of the second match.
Beach flag is a staple beach game where the contestants compete to grab a flag that’s been placed in the sand twenty meters away. The players start lying facedown and turned away from the flag, and as soon as the whistle blows, they get up and sprint for it. The rules are simple—whoever grabs the flag first wins.
Rose, Shii, and I represented Thousand Blade.
“Getting off to a good start is everything,” I said.
“Good thing instantaneity is one of my strengths,” stated Rose.
“There’s no way we can lose!” exclaimed Shii.
The participants from Ice King Academy were Shido, Cain, and a female student from the Student Council.
“Don’t get in my way,” warned Shido.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” answered Cain.
“Do your best, Shido!” encouraged the female student.
We positioned ourselves facedown on the ground, and then the whistle blew. I stood up and whipped around to witness an astounding sight.
“Ha! You wimps are too slow!”
Shido was already bolting forward and running.
“H-how is he so fast?!”
His reaction time was off the charts. He effortlessly grabbed the flag.
“Ha-ha! My talent is unrivaled!” he boasted with a wicked smile.
He moved so quickly after the whistle, and then he ran like a gazelle. Shido really is on another level, I thought.
That little shit’s acceleration is catching up to mine. He’s gotten much stronger, too… Is this the influence of that monster? Or is it the result of some gross, boring-as-hell training? Either way, I can’t take him lightly, thought Shido.
The evenly matched clash between Thousand Blade and Ice King continued long into the day, eventually settling at a ten-to-ten tie. When Chairwoman Reia and Ferris pushed eagerly for one more bout to settle the score, the competition felt like it would never end.
“This is a joint training camp, so how about we leave it at a tie and finish this at the Royal Sword Festival after summer break?” Shii suggested.
The Student Council president, however, skillfully wrapped things up by guiding their attention to the next major battle. The first day of the joint training camp came to an end, and we headed back to our respective lodges.
The first thing we all did after returning to Shii’s villa was use its spacious baths to wash off our sweat and exhaustion. Once our minds and bodies were refreshed, we joined back up for a lively dinner.
That was so good…
The meal that the Arkstoria family’s personal chef prepared for us could only be described as exquisite. The meat melted in my mouth. The grilled fish was fatty and tasty. The vegetables were so good that I couldn’t believe Mother Nature had produced them. I was in heaven.
Currently, it was around ten at night. The members of the Student Council, Lia, Rose, and I were holding a snack party in a fifteen-square-meter traditional-style room that was complete with tatami mats and a low table.
“I think we were around five years old. There was some crazy loud thunder, and Shii suddenly started crying!”
“That’s so nostalgic! We asked her why she was crying, and she yelped, ‘What should we do? The god of thunder is going to steal our belly buttons!’ It was really cute, though…”
Lilim and Tirith laughed as they recounted that childhood memory.
“H-hey! Don’t tell embarrassing stories like that around those three!” the Student Council president fumed, blushing deep red and bonking the other two on the shoulders.
“Ah-ha-ha, that’s adorable,” I said, laughing.
“Hmm-hmm, I remember hearing about the god of thunder when I was a little kid,” reminisced Lia.
“You were only five; it’s understandable that would make you cry,” consoled Rose.
While wearing comfortable, loose-fitting yukata, we made small talk and indulged in the sweets we had placed on the table.
Chairwoman Reia and Eighteen were working in another room. I saw some holy knights coming in and out earlier, so I was sure they were still talking about the incident that had occurred this morning.
A little way into our party, I realized I needed to go to the bathroom. I must have had too much fruit juice.
“I’m gonna stop by the bathroom.”
I excused myself and left the room. After using the scrupulously clean toilet to take care of my business, I returned to the room to find Lia and the others heavily inebriated.
“Alleeeeen! Welcome baaack!” Lia shouted, waving.
Her speech was slurred, and her cheeks were tinged with red. There was something…amorous in the stare she gave me.
“Th-thanks…,” I replied reluctantly.
I quickly scanned the room and found something.
I see, that’s what did it…
There was an opened pack of champagne truffles on the table. They must have treated themselves to those alcohol-filled chocolates while I’d been in the restroom.
Two, four, six, eight, ten…geez, fourteen. They had a lot…
I took a quick glance at everyone to assess the damage.
“Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! Let’s see if you can handle my holy sword Excalibur!”
“My Aegis Shield blocks all attacks, you know…”
Lilim and Tirith were holding pillows and shouting complete nonsense.
Well…that’s normal behavior for them.
Their red faces indicated that they were drunk, but that was also how they always acted. It was probably fine to leave them alone.
Rose was sitting on her knees in front of the table, sipping tea. She looked totally unaffected; she might have been the only one not to have partaken in the alcoholic chocolates.
I then turned my gaze to the biggest problems—Lia and Shii. They were both flushed and talking to each other cheerfully…but something about their behavior was clearly abnormal and reeked of imminent danger.
Anyway, I should talk to Rose. She seems to have her head on straight…
I sat down next to her and started speaking.
“Hey, Rose, are the champagne truffles to blame for this?”
“Yeah. I didn’t expect them all to be this bad with alcohol… Things got out of hand quickly.”
“Did you not eat any, Rose?”
“No, I ate some. They were delicious. There are a lot of heavy drinkers in my family, so I hold my liquor extremely well.”
“W-wow…”
Our conversation was then interrupted.
“Allen, open wiiiiide! Lesh eat togetherrr!”
“Allen, you don’t want to miss out on these delicious chocolates. My head feels so light… Hmm-hmm, I’m having so much fun.”
Flushed, Lia and Shii both grabbed a champagne truffle each and held it in front of my mouth.
Oh my god…
The smell of alcohol and their sweet, girly scents tickled my nose and quickened my pulse.
Lia had let her pigtails down, which was already a fresh look; it combined with the effects of the liquor to give her an unspeakable allure.
On the other hand, the president’s snow-white skin was flushed slightly crimson, and her behavior was even warmer and friendlier than usual. She simultaneously had the beauty of a seductress and a loveliness that invited a desire to keep her safe.
And on top of that, they were crawling toward me on all fours in their loose-fitting yukata, exposing a significant amount of skin and even their bras. It was a sight I absolutely should not have been privy to.
Th-this is too much…
I felt like I wasn’t far from totally losing my mind.
“Allen, won’t you have one? For me?” pestered Lia.
“Open your mouth wide, Allen. Like this—aaah!” instructed Shii.
They were pressing me really hard…
“A-aaah…”
Feeling like I had no choice, I did as they commanded and opened my mouth. I felt their slim fingers touch my lips and place the champagne truffles on my tongue.
“Hmm-hmm. How ish it, Allen? Do you like it?” asked Lia.
“Isn’t it sweet and warm?” added Shii.
“Y-yeah, it’s delicious. Thank you.”
Honestly, I was too distracted by their lascivious behavior to notice the taste, but I told them what they wanted to hear in the hope that this would all come to an end.
“I’m glad!” the Student Council president said before suddenly jumping at me.
“P-President?!”
As she pressed her soft bosom against me, her sweet scent seemed to envelop my entire body.
“Stop that, P-President… Allen is my master!”
Undaunted, Lia joined Shii on top of me.
“Y-you too, Lia?!”
I was pinned to the floor with Lia on my right and Shii on my left.
“Eh-hee-hee, you smell so nice!” Lia exclaimed.
“Wow, you’re so muscular…,” Shii said, admiring me.
“…”
I couldn’t take any more. This was way too much for my brain to handle.
“R-Rose… Help me!”
I squeezed out the last of my fading strength to plead for rescue, but then I noticed something.
“Haaah…”
“Zzz…”
Lia and the Student Council president were both breathing softly in their sleep—the liquor had knocked them out.
It’s over…
Using my iron will to repress my bodily urges, I somehow managed to escape their clutches.
I glanced around to see Lilim and Tirith each holding a pillow and sleeping. They’d been drunk after all.
“Geez…I’m exhausted…” I sighed loudly.
“Ha, that was a catastrophe,” Rose said with a strained laugh.
She’d gotten up to help me out.
“Anyway, champagne truffles are banned starting today.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
Rose and I carried our wasted friends back to their rooms. Given the late hour, we decided to retire to our own as well.
“Phew… That was fun, but really rough at the end…”
I stretched and glanced at the clock on the wall after returning to my room.
“It’s already eleven… I need to hit the hay.”
Staying up too late would have a negative effect on my performance the following day. I got ready for bed, and right when I turned off the lights, someone knocked on my door.
Who could it be this late at night?
“Who is it?” I asked, opening the door.
“Hey, Allen, sorry for bothering you so late.”
It was Chairwoman Reia, crossing her arms and wearing a stern expression.
“What is it, Chairwoman?”
“I have some things to inform you concerning the group that attacked Lia this morning. I know it’s late, but could I have a moment of your time?”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
They must have uncovered something unnerving about the assailants.
I really just want to go to sleep, but I guess I have no choice…
A valuable friend of mine was in danger. If there was anything I could do to help her, I was going to do it.
I followed the chairwoman to her room. It was surprisingly orderly, without a single loose article of clothing or bottle of spirits in sight.
“I want you to take a look at this first. It’ll be faster than trying to explain it to you,” she said.
Reia pulled a brown envelope out of her desk that was labeled Important Document.
“What’s this?”
“This is a report that the holy knights delivered earlier tonight. It’s a bit long, so do your best to skim and pick out the crucial parts.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I took the report out of the opened brown envelope and began to read it.
Investigation into the Incident in Karlos District, Veneria Island
July 1, Afternoon: Upon investigation, it has been determined that the fifty individuals arrested are assassins from the Holy Ronelian Empire. An inspection of their confiscated weapons confirms this beyond a shadow of a doubt. The assassins all possessed soul-crystal pills, which explicitly connects the Holy Ronelian Empire to the Black Organization.
July 1, Evening: The condition of the criminals took a turn for the worse as a result of the side effects of the soul-crystal pills. Veneria Branch’s relief squad is incapable of treatment. We’ve decided to transfer them to a nearby hospital with the utmost security.
July 1, Night: During transport, an unknown actor slaughtered every one of the criminals, then scrupulously burned all fifty of their bodies. The assailant likely did this to conceal information about the soul-crystal pills that their corpses would have otherwise revealed.
“The whole group was murdered?”
“That’s right. They were assassins from either the Holy Ronelian Empire or the Black Organization. The holy knights who’d been guarding the transport were found knocked out.”
She shrugged and continued:
“An investigation of the scene of the initial crime found some unexplained footprints near the beach shack. It looks like there was a small group there that was separate from the one that attacked you.”
“Really?” I asked.
Chairwoman Reia nodded.
“This incident was almost certainly a combat experiment to test the soul-crystal pills. The enemy prepared two groups—one containing fifty sacrificial pawns, and the second to collect combat data.”
“S-sacrificial pawns… Do they really treat human lives so lightly?”
“That is how inhumane the masterminds behind this incident are. You need to watch yourself.”
The chairwoman brought the topic to a close with that warning.
“Why are you only telling me this? Shouldn’t we let Lia, Rose, and the others know?”
“Because you— Well, I’ve said enough.”
“…?”
“Just trust that I have my reasons. I decided that it was best to inform only you. I expect you to keep mum on what I’ve told you here.”
“R-really? Yes, ma’am…”
I didn’t like it, but it didn’t seem like she was willing to give me any more information, so I gave her my consent for now.
“That said, there’s no need to worry about it too much at present. Know that you’ll all be safe whenever I’m around. I’m much stronger than I look.”
“Thank you very much.”
I’d learned of many tales about Reia’s power lately. It was reassuring to hear her say that.
“That’s it for now. Sorry for summoning you so late. We still have a bit of training camp left, so make sure to rest up.”
“Yes, ma’am. Good night, Chairwoman.”
“Night.”
I left her room, then returned to mine and entered a deep sleep.
After a few more days of training sessions and matches between the Thousand Blade and Ice King students, the final day of our joint summer training camp arrive at last. We dragged our exhausted bodies to the usual gathering spot of Ferris’s private beach.
Chairwoman Reia, Ferris, and Shii stood in front of the students.
“Congratulations on making it through this exciting and challenging training camp!” announced Chairwoman Reia.
“You all have worked very hard,” added Ferris.
“Let’s take this time to enjoy ourselves!” proclaimed Shii.
We’d finally gotten a free day to spend on our last day of training camp.
“Whooo! We can finally get in the ocean!” yelled Lilim.
“This year’s training camp was really hard…,” complained Tirith.
“Hooray! Let’s go have some fun!” shouted an Ice King Academy student.
The students from both Thousand Blade and Ice King cheered loudly. Everyone was overjoyed. Or rather, everyone but me.
It’s already over… I wanted to keep practicing with everyone.
I enjoyed swinging my sword by myself, of course, but doing it with everyone else was more fun. It was the same as eating by yourself versus eating in the company of others. I had mixed emotions.
A couple of voices pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Hey, Allen! Do you have a moment?”
“It’s so impressive that you can compete with Shido as a first-year!”
Two female Ice King Academy students who looked like upperclassmen had surrounded me.
“Th-thank you.”
Bewildered, I was unsure of how to respond.
“Wow, you have such a nice body!”
“Your stomach is hard as a rock!”
Standing to either side of me, the girls started enthusiastically feeling my stomach.
“Huh? Wh-what are—?”
The feeling of their slim fingers touching my skin was so ticklish that I was struggling to speak. I had no idea what to do.
“H-hey, you’re clearly bothering Allen!”
“Don’t cling to him like that.”
Lia and Rose shoved them aside and came up beside me.
“Let’s go, Allen!”
“Let’s get in the water. It’ll be fun.”
“Y-yeah, sure.”
With both of them in a huff for reasons that had gone over my head, they led me to the beach.
Now that the rigid practice sessions of the last few days were over, I could once again appreciate the breathtaking beauty of the ocean.
The majority of the students on the trip were already enjoying themselves on the beach. Some were fishing by the shore, some were building sandcastles, and others were splashing water on one another in the shallows. Everyone was enjoying the final day of summer training camp to the fullest.
“What do you want to do?” I asked casually.
“I’ve given that some thought—how about this?” Lia asked, showing us three deflated swim rings. She had been carrying them under an arm. “I borrowed these from Shii this morning! I think floating on these in the ocean would be really fun!”
“The current is calm here, and the salty breeze will feel good,” said Rose.
They both looked to me for my agreement.
“Sure, sounds like a great idea.”
“Yay!”
“Let’s get these ready!”
We inflated the swim rings, then got in the water.
“Wow, this is so different from river water!” I observed.
It felt like the ocean was sticking slightly to my skin.
“Mmm, it’s cold!”
“Yeah, it feels so good.”
Since they’d both experienced the sea plenty of times before, they took more pleasure in its coldness than the way it felt. We had fun chatting as we rocked back and forth on the waves in our swim rings.
“You’ll never believe what happened next! My father mistook that letter for a confession, so he got all red in the face and shouted, ‘If you want my daughter’s hand, go prove that you’re the greatest swordsman in all the kingdom!’ ”
Lia was telling us a story about a hilarious misunderstanding that her father—the king of Vesteria—had made.
“Ah-ha-ha, that’s funny,” I said, chuckling.
“Hmm-hmm, that guy had no idea how to respond.”
Talking in this novel environment was so engrossing that I lost track of time. We floated for quite a while.
“…I want to get some practice swings in.”
Eventually, a desire to flourish my blade welled up from within me.
It could be interesting swinging my sword without having my feet on the ground.
How could I move my blade in order to achieve even sharper slashes? I wanted to experiment a bit to find out.
“Ha-ha, you really like waving your sword around,” said Lia.
“You think about swordcraft literally all the time,” added Rose.
“R-really? You’re making me blush…,” I responded.
“ “Don’t take that as a compliment!” ” they both yelled.
We enjoyed our fill of the ocean, until something unexpected happened.
“Eek!”
“H-huh?!”
A large object suddenly burst to the surface of the water, causing Lia and Rose’s swim rings to flip over.
“Wh-what the—?!”
I strained my eyes to see what it was.
“Ha-ha! I’ve caught today’s dinner!”
“That was incredible, Shido! I can’t believe you caught two fish with your bare hands!”
It was Shido and Cain. Shido was holding two fish in his hands, while Cain was gazing at him in awe.
“Shido, Cain?! What are you doing?!” I asked.
“Huh? …Oh, it’s you, Allen,” Shido responded.
“Lord Allen! I am so terribly sorry for surprising you. We’re free diving. It’s really fun!”
It sounded like they were just having a good time in the water.
“Wh-what is wrong with you two?! Can’t you come up more gently?!”
“You took us completely off guard!”
Lia and Rose both started grousing after climbing back onto their rings.
“Oh, shut up, you idiots! Speed is essential for catching fish!” Shido yelled.
“Now, now, Shido. That’s true when hunting, but that kind of velocity is totally unnecessary when surfacing. Let’s be more careful from now on,” Cain chided.
“Tch, it’s always something…,” Shido grumbled to himself. Despite his words, he bowed his head slightly. It seemed like his surprisingly gentle side was coming out again.
“Lord Allen, Lia, Rose. My humble apologies for bothering you. We will see you later,” Cain apologized.
“Bye,” added Shido.
The two of them went back underwater, enjoying the southern resort in their own unorthodox way.
Once we were done with our inflatables, we joined up with the upperclassmen from the Student Council and had a great rest of the day.
That night, we held a barbecue with everyone from Ice King Academy. The party was in front of Ferris’s villa at seven at night. After a day of fun, I headed there with my classmates.
“W-wow, check that out!” I exclaimed.
A grand assortment of luxurious foods had been set up, including thick marbled beef, healthily fattened fresh fish, colorful fruits and vegetables, and more.
“It looks delicious!” exclaimed Lia.
“This is going to be incredible!” agreed Rose.
They were both raring to go.
“That’s high-quality meat. It’s going to taste amazing grilled!” remarked Shii.
“I can’t wait for the roast fish! It’s the best grilled with salt!” gushed Lilim.
“The fruit seems crazy good…,” admired Tirith.
The upperclassmen also looked like they couldn’t wait to chow down.
Ferris, who’d been in charge of planning the barbecue, snapped her fan to get everyone’s attention.
“Welcome, guests from Thousand Blade Academy. All this is ready to go—so let’s dig in!”
Many of the students began to cheer.
“Hooray! Meat!”
“You’re the best, Chairwoman Ferris! I love you!”
“I’m gonna pig out today!”
Lia, Rose, and I thanked Ferris, then began to pick food off the table. Once we filled our plates, we went to a four-person table.
“All right.”
“Sorry, can you scoot over a bit?”
“S-sure…”
Confusingly, Lia and Rose both sat down next to me.
You aren’t supposed to cram three people on one side of this kind of table, but…whatever.
I pierced the marbled beef with a skewer, then placed it on the wire-mesh grill in the middle of the table.
That smells so good…
The fat of the meat sizzled on the grill, and the savory scent tickled my nostrils, fanning my appetite.
Turning to my side, I saw Lia working like an assembly line, filling skewer after skewer with meat and laying them on the grill. No surprises there.
Rose, on the other hand, had a very balanced approach. She put an equal amount of meat and vegetables on her skewers and was grilling a fish alongside them.
Two minutes later, the food looked finished. It was time to indulge.
“Let’s eat!”
“Yeah, they’re ready!”
“My mouth is watering.”
We each reached out for a skewer.
“Stop, you bastards!”
Shido, who happened to be passing by, suddenly snatched the fish skewer out of Lia’s hands.
“Sh-Shido?!”
“What the heck are you doing?!”
“What did you do that for?”
We were all taken aback.
“Geez, I knew it. This is menorkasago…”
He clicked his tongue and tossed the fish in the trash.
“M-menorkasago?!”
“Th-that’s extremely poisonous!”
“Stop, everyone! Don’t eat the fish!”
A commotion broke out among the students. I was pretty sure I’d heard that menorkasago was a fish with a deadly paralytic poison.
“Madam, how could you let this happen?!” Shido pressed Ferris.
“Th-that’s strange… I showed all our catch to a local fisherman, and he said that none of them were toxic…,” she muttered apologetically.
“Tch, can’t trust goddamn anybody… Hey, bring me all the fish! No one eats them without the Shido stamp of approval!”
He then set to rapidly checking each one of the many catches packed into the cooler.
“Shido knows a lot about seafood,” I remarked.
Cain overheard me and launched into an explanation.
“That he does. I would even go so far as to call him a fish expert. Shido apparently grew up in a very unique environment, where he gained an expansive knowledge of survival skills. If you could only take one thing to a deserted island, I recommend you take him.”
“I-interesting…”
I wondered what Shido’s childhood had been like. He was a mysterious person. But regardless, he’d saved us yet again.
“Thank you very much for saving Lia, Shido,” I said.
“Thanks, that was really close,” said Lia.
“You have my thanks as well,” added Rose.
The three of us gave our appreciation to him in turn.
“Geez, you guys give me the creeps. Don’t get the wrong idea, trash babies. I wasn’t out to save you; I just happened to see it.”
He responded in his typically standoffish manner and turned away in a huff. He was always foulmouthed, but I believed he was a good person deep down.
We all returned to our seats and restarted the barbecue after collecting ourselves. Shido was checking the seafood, so we ate the meat and vegetables.
“This is so good!”
“These onions are so sweet, and perfectly chewy!”
“This food was provided by the famed House Dorhein, after all. It’s top-notch grub through and through!”
As we enjoyed the meals together, a large firework suddenly burst in the night sky.
“Wow, a firework!”
“How beautiful…”
“It’s so elegant…”
The red, blue, and green multicolored firework was striking on the black canvas of the sky behind it.
“Allen, Rose, let’s go to summer training camp again next year,” insisted Lia.
“For sure,” I responded.
“Of course,” said Rose.
The joint summer training camp between Thousand Blade Academy and Ice King Academy certainly had its ups and downs, but we got through it just fine in the end.