13. Thousand Blade Academy and Big Five Holy Festival [3] – part 2

「「「Wha!?」」」

We immediately backed away from him for good this time.

「Prisoner number 0018 – So I call him No.18. Nice name, right?」

Sensei praised herself by saying「As expected, my naming sense is perfect!」

And Ria retorted.

「Ho-Hold up Leia! Just what are you doing, dragging out inmates?」

「Nn, didn’t I say that No.18 is my servant? Document preparation, communication, scheduling, etc – His work covers a wide range!」

She said so sonorously, without the slightest hesitation.

Apparently, she was always idle because she was throwing all her work to No.18-san.

This time, Rose asked a question.

「Sensei, what did No.18-san do? That he would be sentenced to 100 years of imprisonment with hard labour?」

「Umu, peeping.」

Sensei answered immediately without any hesitation.

In front of the unexpected response, I investigated further for confirmation and asked questions.

「B-By peeping… The one that takes place in the girls’ changing room or in the women’s bath – is it that kind of『peeping』?」

「Yeah, that’s right. This guy likes the female body – especially the bodies of teenage girls. The criminal act was repeated devotedly over many academies all over the country. According to testimonies, he has also peeped inside the Thousand Blade Academy public bath several times.」

Ria and Rose who heard that,

「Uwaa, the lowest…」

「The enemy of women.」

They looked at No.18-san with contempt as though looking at garbage.

In the middle of that, one thing caught my attention.

「Surely peeping is an unforgivable crime… but does that alone warrant imprisonment for one hundred years?」

A hundred years in prison is almost like a death sentence. I have never heard of a case where punishment for peeping was so heavy.

「Fumu, that was just a simple explanation… First of all, No.18 is an alumnus of Thousand Blade Academy. He’s quite the fine swordsman. So, even if his peeping was discovered, the average Holy Knight could not do anything. And by the time he was finally arrested, he had accumulated hundreds of crimes..」

Apparently, he seems to be a super-powerful peeper.

「Even if they managed to jail him after tons of struggles, this guy will break out immediately. By tearing off the prison bars with bare hands, or cutting down the walls using chopsticks from lunch for sword.」Leia-sensei shrugged her shoulders in a「good grief」manner.

「And by peeping and jailbreaking over and over again, his prison term has accumulated up to a 100years.」

「I-I see…」

For the time being, I learned that this person is a pervert who lives for peeping, in addition to being an excellent swordsman. And then,

「What are you doing leaving such a dangerous person unregulated!?」Ria hit sensei with a good question.

At the same time, Rose nodded in agreement.

Naturally, the girls of the target age, demonstrated a strong negative reaction to the fact that a peeping tom was allowed into the same academy.

「Don’t worry, No.18 is perfectly harmless. Because I educated him firmly… Right?」

Leia-sensei clapped the shoulders of No.18-san.

「O-Of course, Leia-sama!」

He, who had been silent until now, was now trembling all over, bowing over and over again, turning pale.

(J-Just how did she educate him…)

Although I was interested to know, I was too scared to ask. It is surely something that shouldn’t be known by people.

「Moreover, No.18 is also good with his head. He has a doctorate in three fields which are completely unrelated to each other. -Well, in short, I discovered this guy through this and that, and I summoned him here with the authority of director to help me with my work. As I said before, this guy is completely harmless. There is nothing for you students to be worried about.」

「I-Is that so…」

There are many things to be worried about, such as information leakage and escaping, in addition to peeping within the academy and so on… But if Leia-sensei, the director, says he is harmless, there is no other choice but to believe. Ria and Rose seemed unconvinced, but they no longer pressured No.18-san.

「Oops, the discussion has gone astray. And lunch break is almost over too, so let’s get to the main point already.」

Having said that, she cleared her throat.

「I think you might have already guessed, but the reason I called you three here is for nothing other than regarding the Big Five Holy Festival. As reported in today morning’s newspaper, our opponent for the first match – is that blasted Ice King Academy! Those bastards!」Sensei suddenly raised her voice and slammed her fist on the desk.

「Ouch!?」

She immediately took off her gloves and blew on her right hand.

「「「……」」」

It felt like watching a one-woman monodrama.

「A-Ahem… You guys who newly enrolled, wouldn’t know about the details of this academy’s history. I will touch on it during classes, but before that, let me explain a little. -First, ours and Ice King Academy had a beautiful rivalry for many years. In the past, Thousand Blade Academy was always the best, and Ice King Academy was the second best at various tournaments, including the Big Five Holy Festival. Especially during the three years when I was a student at Thousand Blade Academy. I won all the competitions – they even called us the golden generation…」

Sensei spoke nostalgically, with a distant look in her eyes.

(Was sensei, the OG around here…)

While we were still surprised by the facts, she continued to explain with a calmer tone.

「But times have changed – they really have changed. Due to various problems, Thousand Blade Academy fell, and as though in pursuit of that, Ice King Academy fell as well. The public – the media wanted it to be interesting and joined forces against us…. Fall of the Capital, Beginning of the End – such titles flew around rampant…」Sensei furrowed her eyebrows and clenched her fist.

I’m sure that as an OG, it’s a regrettable and vexing thought.

「Furthermore, our academy even lost to the Ice King Academy…. As you can see, at every tournament, Thousand Blade Academy is now at the bottom, and right above us is the Ice King Academy…」

Leia-sensei placed a piece of paper on the desk that summarized the results of various tournaments, including the Big Five Holy Festival.

(It’s as she says.)

As far as I can see, the upper three academies switch orders every year, but the lower two academies are always constant. For more than a decade, the last place has always been Thousand Blade Academy, and the fourth is Ice King Academy.

「The immortal prestige that monopolized the first and second place for many years -Thousand Blade Academy and Ice King Academy are now stories of the past…. And as we remained at the bottom for all this time, a problem occurred…」

After a breath, sensei continued without pause.

「Ice King Academy, which once had a beautiful rivalry with us, bared its fangs at us. As though venting their anger on always being second during our golden days, they started to fan flames towards us… Dulled Thousand Blade, Shame of Five Academy – such slander was thrown around. Those damn bastards, they revealed their true nature as soon as our weakness was displayed!」

And then,

「Unbelievable!」

「Unforgivable, Ice King Academy…!」

Not only Ria, but Rose also seemed somewhat frustrated.

After talking about it, sensei took a few breaths and summarized.

「-And well, this is why you can’t lose to Ice King Academy no matter what. What’s more, this Big Five Holy Festival is the first tournament since I took office. I want an overwhelming『result』that can beat the Ice King Academy!」

Ria and Rose nodded in response to sensei.

「There! This is the strongest line-up I created last night, without even a wink of sleep!」

Sensei slammed a piece of paper which read「list of participants」on the desk.

There, it was written – Vanguard Allen-Rodore, Center Rose-Valencia, General Ria-Vesteria.

(I see… a reasonable lineup for sensei.)

She seemed quite intense, so I was worried that she would lay down an unreasonable lineup, but… it seems that she kept a calm mind.

(As I can guess from this line-up, my role is to bring out the opponent’s battle style, technique, and behavior pattern…)

Of course, ideally we want to win. However, if that proved difficult, at the minimum, I must blind them from getting any information on us.

As for the center, Rose. The secret art of Sakura Blossom One-Sword Style, the legitimate successor, is in the position of『Ace』in this lineup. After I stop the enemy vanguard from gaining information, she can take advantage of the flow born there to subjugate the enemy center and leader. The battlefield will be greatly influenced by her success.

And lastly, the general, Ria. She is the only one who can summon soul dress. As such, she is the most suitable for the role of general in terms of both strength and overall capability. In fact, without her negligence and self-pride, she would be an overwhelming force.

(In other words, this is a very solid, strong-minded lineup where I, the vanguard, will exhaust the opponent as much as possible, and then center Rose and general Ria, who have been lying in wait, will deal the finishing blow.)

As I nodded in consent of the participant list,

「Nee, Leia. Why is Allen the vanguard? Normally, he should be the general, right?」

「That’s what I thought as well. The strongest fighting power should be the general, no?」

Ria and Rose put forth those questions.

(Nono, the general should be Ria. Either her or Rose, would be most appropriate…)

On one hand, the princess of the neighboring country who manipulates the soul dress〈Fafnir〉.

On the other, the legitimate successor of the secret art, Sakura Blossom One-Sword Style.

Disregarding those two people, and appointing a swordsman from Gran Swordsmanship Academy as general, there is surely something not right when you think about it.

Then, sensei laughed happily as though she had already predicted such questions would arise.

「Fufufu, did you notice – yes, this is my strategy!」

「「「Strategy?」」」

All three of us asked the exact same thing.

Sensei coughed「Ahem」, and began speaking, brimming with confidence.

「As I said before, I want a victory. However, not just any victory. A complete and overwhelming victory that would make those Ice King Academy guys a laughing stock…!」

Ria and Rose nodded with a serious expression, whereas I, had a bitter smile. Personally, I prefer a simple and certain victory over a flashy and overwhelming victory.

After that, sensei continued on in high spirits.

「As you all know, the Big Five Holy Festival is a three-vs-three winning through system. In other words, if our vanguard overcomes those three people – Ice King Academy, would be defeated without even getting a glance at our center and general」

「I see…」

「Certainly… If you’re aiming for an undefeated victory, Allen should set out as the vanguard.」

「Fufufu, no way those guys at Ice King Academy would have dreamed that our greatest fighting strength would come out first, and those guys who suffered three consecutive defeats, will think this -『If even the vanguard is this strong, then what kind of monsters are the center and general?!』!」

「Uh! You sure used your head, Leia! Way to go!」

「Ice King Academy will be frightened by the invisible illusion of Thousand Blade Academy in the future… not bad.」

Ria and Rose nodded consentingly.

(N-No no no, that’s absurd…)

I need to win three times in a row against three first-year representatives of one of the Five Academy, Ice King Academy?

(Impossible, that is just impossible…)

No matter how look at it, they’re overestimating me too much. At most, even one win would be a great accomplishment. Without realizing the bitter look on my face, sensei suddenly began laughing with a joyful expression.

「Fufu, I can already picture the sight of those guys trembling with their teeth rattling at the three consecutive losses…! Fufu, haha… fuhahahahahahahaha!」

■

And the day of the Big Five Holy Festival.

Leia, who looked at the list of participating contestants of Ice King Academy handed over by the Big Five Holy Festival organizer,

「Wha…!? D-Don’t fool around… What’s with this underestimating list…!?」

Her teeth rattled in frustration.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep