4. Dropout Swordsman and Swordsmanship Academy [2] – part 2

I sighed deeply after they were nowhere to be seen.

「Haa…」

It was a pain.

I don’t wanna get entangled with such a bunch.

(…Let’s move from here)

The world is huge.

There are some kind-hearted people like Paula-san. and there are weird ones such as Bubble.

I don’t have to waste time on such a weird bunch.

「Err, the reception… is over there.」

There was a long line right in front of the venue for the Sword Festival.

At the top of that was a sign board that reads,「Sword Festival Reception」.

The reception is definitely that way.

I stood at the back of the line and waited for my turn to come.

10 minutes later.

「Next person please」

「Yes」

It was finally my turn.

At the reception desk, a beautiful blonde-haired woman was carrying out the registration.

「Good morning. Are you sure you want to participate in the Sword Festival today?」

「Yes, please.」

「Certainly. The participation fee is 1000 gold.」

While thanking Paula-san in my heart, I took out the 1000 gold bill from my frog wallet and handed it to the receptionist.

「Thank you very much. Can you tell me your name and the school you belong to?」

「I am Allen Rodore. My school is, well…」

I never thought that I would be asked about my school.

「Allen Rodore-sama, which school are you from?」

I have been asked twice.

Apparently, I must give a school name.

「Th-That is… I don’t belong to any school… I am… self-taught」

Anti-climatically, I answered「self-taught」.

「Puh… self-taught, yes…? C-Certainly…!」

The receptionist desperately tried to suppress her laughter and proceeded with the registration work with trembling hands.

Almost all swordsmen belong to some sort of school.

Swordsmen who do not belong to any school are limited to those who are very eccentric or have no ability to enter a school.

It’s natural to be laughed at because this dropout is going to participate in this Sword Festival which aims to gather talented contestants.

After finishing the registration, I exited the line and sighed.

(Haa… that was a little embarrassing…)

No, it has already passed.

Don’t think any more about it and focus on the Sword Festival.

If I’m right, there should be about thirty minutes left before the festival starts.

「Ok, let’s do some practice-swings till then.」

After that, I found a suitable vacant spot and kept swinging my sword quietly.

■

Five minutes before the Sword Festival started.

I returned to the venue to attend the opening ceremony.

The venue for the Sword Festival is a large stone stage on a level ground.

And spectator seats surrounded that stone stage. It was such a simple arrangement.

At present, the person in charge of the Sword Festival explained the rules of the Sword Festival on the stage, and many participating swordsmen are listening quietly around the edge of the stage.

The battle format is a one-on-one duel.

If you fall from the stone stage, you lose.

The matching is determined by drawing lots just before the match starts.

The rules were that simple.

After finishing all the explanations, the Sword Festival began at last.

「Now we will decide the pair for the first match!」

The commentator woman for the Sword Festival drew two pieces of paper from the box filled with the names of the participants.

「The first match – Bubble Domingo vs. Allen Rodore! Please come to the stage promptly!」

「…The first match itself?」

Ideally, it would’ve been good to watch several other swordsmen fight before I was called.

However, there is no helping what has already been decided.

I got on the stage with my opponent, Bubble Domingo.

As I did,

「Oi Oi, just when I was wondering who it was, turns out to be the loser from before! I am surprised! Who would’ve thought you actually came to participate in the Sword Festival!」

On the stage, Bubble provoked me with a scoff.

(Hearing the name 『Bubble』, I thought it might be him… but for it to actually be true…)

As I ignored his cheap provocations, the commentator began to read the paper at hand.

「Well, according to this prior information, the school of Bubble is that Vajra style! Crushing the opponent with a powerful blow with a large sword as a weapon – it’s a refined traditional school! On the other hand, Allen is…puh puh… Allen is self-taught it seems!」

At that moment, the venue burst out laughing.

It was even easier to understand – they were scoffing me.

「Gyhahahaaha! Bubble, you just won the lottery! You easily got your first win!」

「Oi, lad! Be careful not to get trampled!」

「Puhpuhpuh…… Show us your proud 『self-taught』sword!」

Even Bubble was not an exception.

「Oi oi oi, give me a break! Self-taught – wouldn’t it seem like bullying this weak little frail child…! Gyahahahahaha!」

Bubble, exaggeratedly held his sides in laughter.

How frustrating.

Frustrating… but, he hasn’t said anything wrong.

I have certainly become stronger.

However, it is only within the small circle known as the Gran Swordsmanship Academy.

In fact, if you take a step into the outside world like this, there are mountains of such higher skilled swordsmen.

(I still have a long way to go…)

The world is vast – just learning this was worth coming to the Sword Festival.

Anyway, let’s fight with the intention of learning from this higher-rank opponent..

「-Please teach me.」

I said so and bowed, and waited for the match start signal.

『No matter how rude your opponent is, you must pay the minimum respect as a person. If not, you are no different from your opponent.』- is what my mother taught me.

After that, Bubble and I took our places at the match start.

「Are both participants ready? Well then, let the first match- START!」

At the same time as the commentator announced the match start, me and Bubble pulled out our swords.

I held the sword in front of my navel – Seigan no Kamae.

Whereas Bubble, raised his sword overhead.

(Just how much has my sword grown over that billion years of hell… I will ascertain it in this Sword Festival!)

For that purpose, I can’t be on the defensive.

At the very least, I have to proactively attack from the front with my own swordsmanship.

Therefore, this time, I decided to make the first move.

I quickly swung the sword vertically from Seigan no kamae stance.

「First Sword-Flying Shadow!」

It’s a flying slash I’ve honed for over a billion years of training.

The power is modest, but it’s quick to perform and can be shot while maintaining the distance, so it’s perfect to test out your opponent.

(Now… how will you react…!?)

Before the approaching slash, Bubble did not show any movement.

(I see… So he’s going to wait till the last minute and then evade it with minimal movement)

A rude guy but… he far excels me in regards to combat.

The very moment I thought that,

「ーNani!?」

Bubble was directly hit by the flying shadow on the bridge of his nose and was blown out of the stage.

「…Eh?」

As I stiffened at this unexpected situation,

「Wi-Winner! Allen Rodore!」

The commentator announced the result of the match loudly.

A big fuss happened between the audience and the many swordsmen who heard this result.

「Wh-What happened…?」

「For a moment, didn’t it seem like an insanely fast moving black object!?」

「Haa!? I didn’t see anything like that!」

I was dumbfounded at how soon it ended.

「N-No way.」

Perhaps I… have become way stronger than I imagined.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep