As soon as we finished our afternoon classes, which were focused on strengthening our Soul Attires, we set to work.
It was always on busy days like this that the most problems seemed to arise.
“Hold on, man! What do you mean, ‘Recruiting is in a week’?! We don’t even have a poster yet!”
“I’m sorry. The Student Council only learned of this today, so I would appreciate it if you could do your best to adjust,” I said.
I efficiently dealt with student complaints…
“Hey, the hell are you lookin’ at?!”
“You were the one staring at me!”
“Calm down. What are you two fighting about?”
…resolved conflicts between students…
“Help me, Allen. Eighteen collapsed with a fever. My work is gonna pile up without his help…”
“Please do your job, Chairwoman.”
…and denied a request for help from Chairwoman Reia. As I managed all kinds of issues, the Student Council chipped away at their tasks.
“Haah, haah… I’m about to collapse…,” Lilim said.
“Same…,” agreed Tirith.
Those two spent the whole time complaining.
“Hey, now. Stay strong. We can’t quit while our underclassmen are working so hard,” Shii said kindly, sending them back into the fray.
“Hey, Allen. Where’s the broadcasting room again?” Lia asked.
“Allen, do you think the way I assigned the facilities is fair?” Rose asked.
“Hey, maggot, where can I print the Recruiting posters?” Claude asked.
“Umm, let me think…,” I said, before politely answering them all.
…You know, this isn’t so bad. I loved spending entire days training, too, but working hard with my friends on a project was rewarding. It felt like something everyone should experience in their youth.
We spent a while longer working, each team immersed in its own tasks, until the bell chimed ding-dong-ding-dong. That meant it was six in the evening; time had flown by. I could see through the window that it was getting dark.
“That seems like a good place to stop. Let’s leave the rest of our work for tomorrow,” Shii said, clapping her hands. We all visibly relaxed.
“Phew… My shoulders are so stiff,” Lia commented.
“That was somehow just as exhausting as training,” Rose said.
“I must admit I’m a little tired, too,” Claude added.
The three of them stretched, relieved to be done.
“Geez, I feel dead… I can’t move an inch,” Lilim said.
“I’ve never used my brain so much in my life…,” Tirith grumbled.
They both collapsed forward onto their desks.
Unsurprisingly, we were all exhausted. Even I felt a little tired. I blinked repeatedly, probably because I’d been straining my eyes reading so many difficult documents with small text. I was gonna get back to the dorm and do some practice swings to wash away this fatigue.
“Whew…” I got up from my chair and stretched as wide as I could.
“Allen, your clothes are all messy,” Shii said. She approached and fixed my collar.
“Oh, thanks… Huh?”
I felt something drop into my uniform pocket.
“President…?”
“Shh.”
She put a finger to her lips and winked. She must have put a message in my pocket meant only for me.
“All right, let’s go home!” Shii said. “Thanks everyone for all your hard work! Get ready to do it again tomorrow!”
With that, we all left the room and returned to our respective dorms. When Lia and I got back, we washed our hands and met in the living room.
“What do you want for dinner, Allen?” Lia asked.
“Hmm… Something really filling with beef or pork.”
“You got it.”
“Thanks as always.”
After that exchange, I casually went to my room and locked the door. I checked my uniform pocket and found a letter that had been folded into a small size.
Shii sure likes doing this kind of thing.
I unfolded the letter and found a message written in Shii’s cute, curvy handwriting:
Dear Allen,
Please come to the Student Council room alone at nine o’clock.
Shii Arkstoria
After eating Lia’s homemade dinner, I got ready to go out like I did every night.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a bit,” I told her.
“Take care,” Lia replied.
I pretended like I was going out for my nightly training…but instead headed for the Student Council room on campus.
I feel bad about essentially lying to Lia… But Shii had expressly told me to come alone. That probably meant she didn’t want anyone else to know of our meeting—especially not someone from a foreign country like Lia or Claude.
I have a pretty good idea of what she wants to talk to me about, given the secretive nature of this meeting. I figured it must be about the imperial and noble factions.
I entered the main school building and walked down the long hallway.
Thousand Blade sure feels different at night… I reached the Student Council room, knocked, and heard Shii call out, “Come in.” I opened the door and saw her sitting in a chair.
“Good evening, Allen. You’re right on time,” she said.
“Good evening, President,” I responded.
“Just to make sure… You came alone, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good.”
Shii smiled gently and breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, what she had to tell me must have been highly confidential.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Shii said, gesturing toward one of the sofas.
“Thank you,” I said, sitting down.
“Do you want tea or coffee?”
“Tea, please.”
“You got it. Consider yourself lucky—this is my special recipe.”
“Ah-ha-ha, lucky me.”
Seeing her joke like that was a good sign. What she had to tell me probably wasn’t too serious.
“Here you go,” she said, setting a tea set for two on the table before me. Shii sat down on the opposite sofa.
“Thank you,” I said.
Steam rose from the teacup. Not wanting to be rude, I decided to start drinking while it was still warm.
“…Do you like it?” Shii asked.
“Yes. It has a nice, mild flavor. I don’t think I could ever get tired of it.”
“Hmm-hmm, I’m glad to hear that.” Shii smiled, looking satisfied. “Okay… Let’s talk about why I asked you here.”
She paused to give me a serious look.
“Allen, what did you think of the schedule change today?” she asked.
“Well, it was pretty sudden,” I said.
Changing the schedule for the entire academic year with so little warning was a little…or rather, very inconvenient.
“Yeah. Normally, I’d agree with you.”
Shii rummaged through the contents of the table.
“This is the reason for the sudden change,” she said, pulling out a thick bundle of papers. The top page said Top Secret in big red letters.
“‘Plan to Hold the Sword Master Festival Early’…?” I said, reading the title aloud.