Thousand Blade Academy and the Big Five Holy Festival [7] – part 3
And then,
「Well, that’s not joint responsibility…」
「Un. To put it simply, it was completely sensei’s fault.」
Ria and Rose mercilessly retorted to sensei.
「Hahaha… That’s quite harsh.」
She glanced around, while scratching her head. Then, when the talk settled down, Ria asked with a slightly troubled face.
「But a month of suspension means, we have to stay in the dorm at all times?」
「That will really dull the body…」
Certainly… If we stay in the dormitory for a month, we will definitely become dull.
「Do not worry. That’s no problem because, No.18 has already thought about this issue.」
「S-Sensei didn’t come up with it on your own…」
「Fuuu, obviously. Because I can’t do brain work!」
For some reason, sensei said that with confidence, without any hesitation.
「Well, I’m going to have you be a『magic swordsman』for a month from now on.」
「Magic Swordsman…?」
Magic swordsmen are people who take requests from citizens and merchants and live their lives with the rewards. In the past, it was discriminated as an obscene profession as「using sacred swordsmanship as a tool for making money. However, the situation has changed in recent years, and there has been almost no discrimation. It is said that there is data that as many as 30% of the students who actually graduated from high-school become magic swordsman.
「Aa, however, instead of making money as a magic swordsman, you will take on requests for free. It’s like volunteering. It would be a good idea to choose something that is expected to be a little rough, such as beast extermination and escort of vips. With your abilities, there’s no danger – above all, this experience will surely serve you in the future.」
「But, if we, who were suspended from the academy, were walking outside brazenly, wouldn’t it be a problem?」
「No problem at all. I’m going to counter with『forced volunteering as punishment』. It is『punishment』that the director of Thousand Blade Academy gave to the students. Appeals against this would interfere with the government’s『Director’s Authority』 and would be strictly punished by the holy knights of the government. – Un un, as expected of No.18 . It was the right choice to pick him up!」sensei said, and nodded with satisfaction.
(I wonder if No.18-san is working all the time…)
His criminal act is by no means forgiven, but… I felt a little pity.
「Fuun, Magic Swordsman huh… I’ve been a little interested in it for a while now」
「It might be nice to get rid of some beasts.」
Ria and Rose seemed eager to work as a magic swordsman. It made me feel a little better.
Sensei coughed once, and gave us a small warning.
「As I told you, you will be working outside the academy as a magic swordsman – Be careful of the Black Organization.」
Black organization. It is a large-scale criminal organization that has become popular in recent years. Manufacturing and smuggling drugs, human trafficking, assassination of key people – they are involved in various criminal activities. The Holy Knights are working to eradicate the organization with their pride on the line, but… the results are not good. The fact is that we have no information at all, about their mastermind, headquarters, and purpose.
「Yes, understood.」
「Sure, I don’t want to get involved with them…」
「It’s alright, I understand.」
And when everyone took the advice, sensei clapped her hands together.
「For now, we wait until Allen’s health is fully restored. I’m going to have you start working as a magic swordsman as soon as he does, but… you have no objections, right?」
「Yes.」
「Of course!」
「Magic swordsman… feels a little nostalgic.」
Thus, my new life was about to begin, as a magic swordsman.
■
The capital of this country – east of Orest, is a huge town called Drestia. It’s also known as the『Merchant Town』where there are many wealthy merchants, and the streets are lined with street vendors with flashy signs. On the main street, people come and go day and night, and the lively touts echo constantly.
The time is after 2 o’clock in the middle of the night. In the back alley of Drestia, one man was laughing like crazy, and was single-mindedly kicking『something』.
「Aha, Ahahaha, Ahahahahaha!」
「……」
That something was a man who was once famed as the strongest of the Blooming Flower Style. However, he was already in a battered state, and even when kicked, he only gave a slight groan. The senior, who had finished the work, called out to the guy who was kicking.
「Oi, newcomer! That’s enough, you’re overdoing it! I’m going to bolt already!」
The man stopped kicking and expressed a friendly smile..
「Aha, sorry… It was finally getting fun…」
Surprisingly, the person who caused such a violent crime, apologized. His mouth was distorted in pleasure, but because he wore a black hood deep over his head, his expression could not be discerned precisely.
「This way, hurry up…!」
Then he rushed into the carriage that had been prepared in advance, along with ten other associates who were dressed in black. The furoshiki 1 they held with great care were packed with gold and silver treasure that gave off a dazzling glow.
The group of black cloaks was the end terminal of the『Black Organization』which caused unrest among the public. Clean up what was instructed from above and do the work as instructed – a disposable existence, like bullets. However, among them, there was an excellent bullet that returned to its original location every time.
「Aha… today is a good night…」
This man who was kicking the human body which had stopped moving, whilst laughing happily – No one at the end knows his identity. Except for one fact – that he was terrifyingly strong.
In the underground – that was all that mattered. With just that, he had established a fixed trust. He took out a single flower that he had picked before getting into the carriage and started to pluck the petals one by one.
「―Daisuki, Suki, Daisuki, Suki… Daisuki!」2
Satisfied with the results of the flower fortune-telling, he held himself with both hands. A gust of wind blew and the black hood came off. His distinctive blue hair was tied up behind him, and his face, illuminated by the moonlight, had a large sword scar. Except for the wound, his eyes and nose are in good order.
Originally, he had a neat face, and was also popular with the swordsmanship academy’s female students because he was born handsome. With the petal-less flower in his mouth, he lovingly stroked the large scar on his face with an ecstatic expression.
「Aha, that’s right… yeah! We’ve been tied by the red thread of fate since a long time ago… Aren!」
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