73. Darkness and Sword King Festival [4]

After the class in the second period, Ria, Rose and I, gathered in front of the student council room with our lunch boxes in hand.

It is to participate in a ”lunch party” called “regular meeting”.

When I knocked on the door,

「Enter.」

The president’s dignified voice returned.

When I opened the door slowly,

「Ah, Allen-kun, and Rose-san and… Ria-san!」

Seeing us, the president ran up to us.

「I’m really glad you’re safe…! I was relieved to hear that you had been rescued from a laboratory on the outskirts of Drestia last night…!」

As the president held Ria’s hand,

「It was a real disaster… Are you all right?」

「I was super shocked… I am really glad that you’re safe though…」

Lilim-senpai and Ferris-senpai, who were relaxing on the sofa in the back, also ran up to us.

「I have made everyone worry so much.」

When Ria bowed her head,

「No, Ria-san is not responsible for anything… I’m really sorry that my『House』allowed such dangerous people to invade…」

The president, the daughter of the House Arcstria, bowed deeply.

「President, you don’t have to apologize…! Please raise your head…!」

Ria hurriedly said that, but the president shook her head.

「National defense is one of the important duties of House Arcstria. I can’t make any excuses regarding this case.」

And she apologized again.

「And, Allen-kun, you were a great help. If something had happened to Ria-san… I’m sure it would’ve gone beyond simply being the problem of House Arcstria, and developed into an international issue.」

This time she thanked me instead.

「No, please don’t worry. I just helped my friend.」

Then the president briefly said “Thank you,” and began to talk about the current security system.

「Now, under the guidance of the swordsmen of House Arcstria, a much tighter security network than before has been built. In addition, we are planning to expand our personnel from next month onwards. Those guys should not be able to sneak in that easily in the future.」

And when the talks calmed down a little,

「Umu! Let’s end that talk there. Let’s have lunch now!」

「I’m already hungry though…」

Lilim-senpai and Ferris-senpai were attentive and tried to blow away the slightly heavy air.

「That’s right. I’m getting hungry too.」

I didn’t miss the opportunity and also tried to shift it into a fun lunch atmosphere.

「Yeah. Well then, as usual, let’s start the student council’s regular meeting!」

Understanding our intentions, the president smiled a little happily and signaled the start of the regular meeting in a cheerful voice.

After that, we enjoyed the lunch party as usual.

■

After the regular meeting at the student council and strength training in the afternoon, I went to the Director’s office alone.

When I knocked on the solemn black door,

「Enter.」

Leia-sensei’s stiff voice replied.

(This voice…)

I wonder if it’s because we have spent a lot of time together, but somehow, I understood.

(This stiff but somewhat bright voice… she’s definitely slacking off…)

I’m sure she pushed all her work onto No. 18-san and is happily reading Weekly Shounen Yaiba.

Thinking about that, I slowly opened the door. And there was the figure of Leia-sensei, seated at the luxurious black desk and had a complicated expression on her face.

「I’m tied up right now. Wait there a minute.」

Without looking at me, her gaze stayed planted on the document at hand, with a furrow between her eyebrows.

「Yes.」

I answered briefly and waited for sensei.

About three minutes had passed since then.

「Fuu…」

Sensei threw the document she had been reading carefully – the Weekly Shounen Yaiba – on her desk and exhaled loudly.

There was a hint of excitement on her face.

Apparently, the contents of this week’s issue were satisfactory enough.

「It was fun.」

Sensei murmured and drank the water placed on the desk vigorously.

「Well, what is it, Allen? It’s rare for you to come alone.」

She finally took the time to talk with me.

「Yes. Actually, I have something I would like to talk about.」

「Oo, I see… In that case, don’t hesitate to ask about anything. Fortunately, I’m free today.」

「Thank you very much. Well then…」

Then I told her about the various things I’m worried about right now.

The black sword which I was able to pull out in the laboratory could no longer be pulled out.

In the world of the soul, that guy said that my spiritual power was『completely empty』.

I was able to pull out a small amount of darkness by my own will.

And sensei who listened to all those stories quietly,

「Fumu, I see… In other words, you’re troubled by the『Black Sword』,『Spiritual Power』, and『Darkness』. How to train them and in what order.」

She put together exactly what I was worried about.

「Yes, that’s exactly it…」

Black sword, spiritual power, darkness; I’ve learned a lot of things at once over the last few days.

In order to manifest my soul dress, the black sword, I have to win against that guy in the world of the soul.

Sensei said that plain strength training is the best way to strengthen spiritual power.

And when it comes to manipulating darkness freely…

Honestly speaking… I don’t even know where to start.

And then,

「From the three of them. you should definitely start with『darkness』.」

Sensei declared.

「With darkness… Is it?」

「Aa, no doubt.」

Sensei explained the order of the training further.

「In your case, the first step is to be able to manipulate『darkness』freely. After that, strengthen your spiritual power, and increase the『amount of darkness』that can be manipulated. And finally, the black sword – the training to manifest your soul dress. This would be the best order.」

「I-I see…!」

First, master to control the darkness, and then train my spiritual power to increase the amount of darkness. Then, I raise my fighting prowess to the absolute limit, and defeat that guy at the end. Which would enable me to attain the black sword, meaning, manifest my soul dress.

Certainly, it makes good sense.

「It was very helpful, thank you sensei!」

「Fufu, you’re welcome. The Sword King Festival is right around the corner. I’m rooting for you behind the scenes.」

「Yes!」

After I answered cheerfully,

「Then, excuse me.」

「Aa, try not to push yourself too hard.」

I left the Director’s office.

■

After Allen exited the Director’s Office,

「…Yoshi, this should buy a little more time.」

With a heavy feeling of guilt in her chest, Leia said so.

And then,

「Are you sure that’s alright, Leia-sama…? You taught such a wrong training method.」

No.18, who was working on paperwork in the corner of the room, asked her as though confirming her decision.

「……」

Leia, on the other hand, fell silent with a bitter expression.

She was tormented by the pangs of conscience.

「Originally, you should aim for the manifestation of the black sword first. No matter how much that『darkness』grows, it is only a『by-product of the black sword』. No matter how much time he invests in it, it is ultimately just a sideroad. The main road which is the black sword, that is, the manifestation of soul dress, he will never reach it. You should already know that right, Leia-sama?」

In front of the exceedingly precise opinions of No.18, Leia shrugged her shoulders.

「…It’s unavoidable. To think that he could snatch power away from that guy so soon… No one could’ve imagined it.」

She sighed, as though『not knowing what to do』.

「Allen is… undoubtedly a『genius』. After all, he was able to make that monster yield with his mental strength. Fufu, with this, I don’t even know which one of them is the real monster.」

She laughed feebly and,

「Anyhow, we can’t let Allen standout any more than this. It would be dangerous if he caught the attention of the top brass of the Black Organization. Especially the『Thirteen Knights of The Oracle』. If those guys start moving, even I don’t know what would happen.」

She murmured with a difficult expression.

「I see, concealing Allen-dono is the top priority. Is that right?」

「Well, that’s what it is…」

「Understood, I will do as such. But then… Allen-dono will be participating in the Sword King Festival though…?」

「There is no way he could grow with such a bullshit training method. I’m sure we’d be utterly defeated by the other Five Academy. No, it would be troublesome if we don’t get defeated. The degree of attention on the Sword King Festival is incredibly high after all.」

She whispered with a complicated expression and,

「Now, let’s end this talk here! There is no point in chattering pointlessly. Go work, work!」

「U-Understood!」

She clapped her hand and ordered No.18 to resume his work.

But, on this occasion, Leia had already made a huge mistake.

She was so wary of Allen Rodore’s『talent』that she overlooked Allen Rodore’s『anomaly』.

And after this day, Allen single-mindedly trained『Darkness』.

Even while walking.

Even while taking classes.

Even while swinging.

Even while eating.

Even while taking a bath.

As long as he was awake, he single-mindedly trained『darkness』.

The『endurance』that he acquired at the end of a billion years made it possible.

Finally, it was the day of the Sword King Festival.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep