. Failed Swordsman and Swordsmanship Academy [4] – part 2
After returning to my hometown of Goza village and consulting with my mother, I decided to receive the recommended admission from Thousand Blade Academy.
But there was something unexpected here.
I thought that by accepting the recommended admission, I would be automatically treated the same as a passing candidate, but it seems that this is not the case.
Written and practical tests at the time of admission are exempted, but it seems that I definitely must attend an interview for eligibility examination.
I was very anxious, but I was a little relieved because the principal and vice-principal were saying「I have never heard the story of someone being dropped in an interview.」
And today is the day of the Thousand Blade Academy interview.
Because there was no specific dress code, I decided to attend in the uniform of Gran Swordsmanship Academy.
「Even so… there is a ridiculous amount of people…」
For the first time in my life, I stepped on the capital of this country – Orest.
Despite being astounded by the surprisingly heavy traffic of people and high-rise buildings, I managed to get to the main gate of Thousand Blade Academy.
「Fuu… I finally made it.」
Fifteen minutes before the scheduled interview time. Just about time.
I showed the person guarding the main gate my admission ticket, and he let me enter.
The interview venue is on the third floor of the third academy building – the reception room at the back.
(The third academy building… should be this building.)
The moment I entered the building, climbed the stairs and arrived on the third floor – I took a step back.
(Se-Seriously…?)
There were many students preparing for the exam there.
Perhaps they are not the recommended admission group, but the general entrance examination group.
I didn’t expect it to be on the same day, so I was a little surprised.
After that, I waited quietly for my name to be called.
「Examinee Number 1723, Allen-Rodore, please enter as soon as possible. I repeat. Examinee Number 1723, Allen-Rodore-」
The in-house broadcast rang out.
I immediately stood up, moved to the reception room at the end of the hallway, knocked and opened the door.
「Excuse me」
There were three interviewers sitting in the room, and a stool was placed opposite them.
The interview started as soon as I sat there.
「The interview will commence now. First, tell us your examinee number and name.」
「Examinee number 1723, Allen Rodore.」
As soon as I answered, another interviewer asked a question.
「Next, please tell us your strengths」
「My strength… is surely my perseverance」
That was the first thing that came to my mind as one of my strengths.
「Perseverance, is it? To what level would you say it is?」
「Let’s see… it’s at the level where I can continue swinging the sword for more than a billion years.」
「Well, a billion years, is it…? That’s… tremendously long…」
「Yes, It truly was a tremendous experience」
That was an earth-shattering experience. If I was asked「Would you do it again?」, that would certainly be distressful.
「So, what are your weaknesses?」
「My weak point…, My weak point is… being rash. At that time, if I had acted a little more calmly … No, this is nothing more than a what if. And I don’t regret my actions at that time.」
Yes, at that time-I pressed the 100 million years button without any thoughts. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage.
「Ha, haa… at that time, you say…?」
「Yes」
「…」
「…」
The interviewer was silent, perhaps he was thinking about the next question.
「E-Err…, well then, let’s continue. Please tell us the school you belong to. and, if possible, please demonstrate one of your special techniques on the dummy installed behind you.」
「As for my school… although it is embarrassing to admit, I am self-taught. But I do have a number of techniques, so I can demonstrate one of them.」
I stood up, and drew my sword.
And then,
「Eighth Sword – Yatagarasu!」
I successfully divided the dummy into eight equal parts.
This is not a special technique, but I chose it simply because it looks good.
「WHA!?」
「The slash, split into eight parts…!?」
「And… such a clean cut…!?」
The three interviewers reacted in three different ways.
I suppose I did good.
(Hell yeah, choosing Yatagarasu was the correct option.)
So when I sheath my sword back in its scabbard and sat on the round stool again,
「T-Thank you very much. This concludes the interview. A few days later, we will send you the results in an envelope, please confirm at that time. Well then, take care on your way back.」
The interview was finished successfully.
「Then, excuse me.」
After I thanked them for the last time, I left Thousand Blade Academy after leaving the reception room.
「Fuuuu…」
I was a little nervous.
However, I was able to answer satisfactorily from start to finish.
I did not make any mistakes either.
Also, the last demonstration was a good touch.
(For now, I will definitely pass.)
With a solid feedback, I went home to Paula-san’s dormitory.
■
In the interview room after Allen left, a subtle atmosphere drifted.
「…He was quite the odd student. I didn’t understand anything he said. Although it is a recommendation … Is it really okay to give him a pass?」
「Certainly, he didn’t make any sense… However, he is a student who the president wanted to directly recommend admission for… As expected, it’s not at our discretion…」
「Yeah, and he was also self-taught… With the right teacher, that boy will definitely transform …Honestly though, I didn’t understand a single word he said.」
The interviewer’s agreement were perfectly consistent, that they didn’t understand what Allen was saying.
■
A few days after the interview, I received an envelope from Thousand Blade Academy.
Since it arrived at this time, it is definitely about the passing result.
Was I able to pass safely – To be honest, my heart was throbbing.
「Fuuu…」
After taking a deep breath several times, I unsealed the envelope slowly so as not to tear the contents.
There was a large piece of paper inside, and there was a word written with huge font.
「…Pass」
That’s right, I passed.
「YEAH!」
I would naturally get admitted because it was a recommended admission, but still I was happy.
(It’s really true that I get to attend that prestigious Thousand Blade Academy… it feels like a dream!)
Just a month ago, I was ridiculed as Dropout Swordsman – I was worried for my future.
And a few months later – it’s finally time to say goodbye.
I gathered all my luggage and bowed deeply to Paula-san who came to see me off at the entrance.
「Paula-san, I am truly indebted to you for these three years.」
Yes.
I’m going to say goodbye to Paula-san and this dormitory where I’ve been living for three years.
The daily round trip from this dormitory to Thousand Blade Academy would be a painstaking routine.
In the first place, Thousand Blade Academy has it own dormitory system, thus I can’t live in a general dormitory without a special reason.
「Haa… you truly exaggerate every single thing. This isn’t our final farewell, you should leave with a little more bang.」
Although Paula-san said that, I wanted to properly convey my words of gratitude.
「Truly, no amount of gratitude will be enough. You gave me a shelter when I was broke penniless, came to wake me up every morning, made delicious rice, consoled me when I was in trouble, told a lot of fun stories – anyway, Thank you so much for all the happy moments…!」
Paula-san became teary-eyed.
「Oh, no, I…! Old age has loosened up my tear glands it seems…!」
Saying that, Paula-san rubbed her eyes with both hands.
「-Fine. Come here whenever you feel hungry! I will give you as much food as you want!」
「Yes! I will definitely come to eat your cooking again!」
Her dishes are a superb piece of work.
I will never forget those stimulating and hearty dishes.
「Well then, I’ll be leaving now.」
「I don’t know if it’s called the Thousand Blade Academy or Ten Thousand Blade Academy – but make sure to reach the summit!」
「Yes!」
In this way, the Dropout Swordsman Allen-Rodore of Gran Swordsmanship Academy successfully graduated, and from tomorrow onwards became – Swordsman Allen-Rodore of Thousand Blade Academy.
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