We spent much of the next week after the intense Recruiting period holed up in the Student Council room. The academic schedule for this year at Thousand Blade needed to be revamped, and after devoting nearly every minute of our lunch and after-school time together to work on it, we were finally finished.
“Thanks for all your hard work, everyone!” Shii said gratefully. “This is gonna be another great year!”
“Heh, heh-heh… I can’t move…,” complained Lilim.
“I feel like I did a lifetime’s worth of work in the last week…,” said Tirith.
They both collapsed on the spot.
“We’re finally done…,” said Lia.
“We all worked so hard,” remarked Rose.
The relief was visible on both their faces. There was a sense of release in the room.
“Oh, it’s almost time!” Shii said as if she’d just remembered something.
She quickly turned on an LCD screen and switched it to a news channel. A large red headline read THE SWORD MASTER FESTIVAL LOTTERY WILL BE HELD MOMENTARILY!
“Phew, that was close,” Shii said with a sigh of relief before turning to face us. “We almost missed it. The draw for the Sword Master Festival is today! This is super important! Let’s watch it together.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot that from this year on, they’re doing the draw a few days before the knockout stage,” Lilim said.
“I think I heard they changed other things about the event, too…,” added Tirith.
Shii nodded. “That’s right… You know what, this might be a good opportunity. We still have a little time before the lottery starts, so why don’t we go over the changes that were made to this year’s Sword Master Festival?”
She paused to clear her throat.
“As you all know, the Sword Master Festival is being held very early this year. Three other important changes have also been made.” Shii held up her index finger. “First, the Elite Five Academies were given automatic qualification. The Elite Five Academies make it through the preliminaries nearly one hundred percent of the time, and this has always meant that any academy unlucky enough to draw one of them in the first round of the preliminaries is all but guaranteed to be knocked out early. That was a problem because the Sword Master Festival is the biggest stage for an academy to make a name for itself and gain national attention. People have been arguing for years that it’s unfair for an academy to lose that chance simply because it was unlucky with its first matchup, and that giving the Elite Five Academies a bye for the preliminaries would fix this. The Elite Five Academies automatically being advanced to the knockout stage this year was their way of addressing those complaints.”
I was pretty sure Chairwoman Reia had explained this to us in homeroom about a week ago. The Sword Master Festival’s preliminary stage had ended three days ago, leaving only the knockout stage and the championship. Thousand Blade was one of the Elite Five Academies, so we hadn’t had to fight in the preliminaries.
“Second, new measures were introduced to protect the swordcraft students. The Sword Master Festival has always been infamous for its very tight schedule. I don’t know whose dumb idea it was to hold the preliminaries, knockout stage, and championship all in just three days, but that harsh schedule placed too much of a burden on the contestants’ bodies, which led to the major problem of students breaking down and having to withdraw every year… We know the pain of that well.”
“Urgh, I’m still not over last year…,” groaned Lilim.
“Way to remind us…,” complained Tirith.
They both put a hand to their chests, looking pained. We had achieved a historic victory against White Lily Girls Academy during last year’s Sword Master Festival, but Shii, Lilim, and Tirith had been so fatigued that we’d been forced to withdraw.
“To ease the burden on the students’ still-developing bodies, the schedule was relaxed, and a reserve system was implemented. The changes to the schedule were simple: The preliminaries are now a week before the knockout stage, which is three days before the championship. That’ll give the participants time to recover,” Shii explained.
“That was a good idea,” said Lia.
“And much needed,” agreed Rose.
“Next is the new reserve system. Each swordcraft academy can now register up to two extra swordfighters. A reserve can be switched in for one of the participants at any point before a match. The goal of this system is to prevent academies from having to drop out.”
Both the extended schedule and the reserve system would go a long way to ensure the safety of the students. I thought they were both really good changes.
“And finally, the bracket for the knockout stage is being drawn beforehand instead of right before the event. This change was made to prevent confusion on the day of the tournament. Oh, it’s starting now. That was good timing,” Shii said, turning to face the screen.
It showed an enormous auditorium. An old man stood on the stage flanked by a man and woman. The space below the stage was packed with spectators and members of the media.
“All right everybody, the day has finally arrived!” announced the woman. “It’s time to perform the lottery for the Sword Master Festival’s knockout stage!”
“Eleven academies made it through the hard-fought preliminaries and will now join the stalwart Elite Five Academies to make a total of sixteen schools!” said the man. “Today, we find out where they will all sit on the bracket! There will be no easy path to the finals!”
Apparently, the man and woman on the stage were the hosts.
“And performing the draw is none other than…”
“The president of the Sword Master Festival Executive Committee, Duke Dafton Manay!”
“Thank you,” said the old man—Duke Dafton—bowing ever so slightly.
A large white box was carried toward him from one wing of the stage.
“In this box are sixteen balls, each marked with the name of an academy!” continued the woman.
“Duke Dafton will draw a school, which will then be added to the bracket!” said the man.
Just then, a giant bracket was lowered from above the stage.
“I always get so excited by events like this,” said Shii.
“I know, right?! My heart’s beating out of my chest!” exclaimed Lia.
Those two were both big fans of ceremony, and their eyes shone like children’s as they watched the screen.
“Now then, Duke Dafton, would you please begin the lottery?”
“Of course,” responded the duke, nodding in a dignified manner.
He reached a wrinkled hand into the box, rummaged through the balls, and pulled one out. I recognized the name immediately.
“The first school taking part in the first match is… Would you look at that! It’s Thousand Blade Academy!” announced the woman.
“Wow, an Elite Five Academy right off the bat!” said the man. “Duke Dafton is wasting no time today!”
“Thousand Blade is a true powerhouse. They have a formidable roster of swordfighters this year led by none other than the great Allen Rodol!”
“Trust me when I say that nobody wants to meet Thousand Blade in round one.”
“Mwa-ha-ha, that’s right!” cackled Lilim. “Our name inspires fear in the hearts of all!”
“We are pretty great, aren’t we?!” said Tirith.
The two of them puffed out their chests proudly.
“All right, let’s keep it going!”
“Which incredibly unlucky academy will be the one to face Thousand Blade in the first round? Drumroll, please!”
Urged on by the hosts, Duke Dafton drew the next ball.
There were two words on it: Divine Emperor.
“I—I can’t believe this! What a shocking development!”
“It’s another one of the Elite Five Academies, Divine Emperor Academy!”
My upperclassmen were visibly shocked.
“No way…,” said Shii.
“You gotta be kidding me…,” responded Lilim.
“Last year, we faced White Lily Girls Academy in the Elite Eight, and this year, we’re up against Divine Emperor Academy in the first round… We’re cursed,” complained Tirith.
The three of them all fell to their knees.
“Oh, wow… That’s a tough break for Thousand Blade…”
“All we can say at this point is ‘Our condolences.’”
The two hosts couldn’t even hide their pity.
“President, is Divine Emperor Academy really that good?” I asked. I knew almost nothing about the Elite Five Academies.
Shii nodded. “Divine Emperor Academy is the oldest swordcraft academy in Liengard. Not even White Lily Girls Academy has been able to match its success in recent years, giving it a firm hold over the title of the best of the Elite Five Academies…”
“I see…” It sounded like we’d drawn the worst possible opponent in the first round. “B-but if we wanted to win it all, we’d have to face them eventually!” I said.
“Yeah, Allen’s right!” agreed Lia.
“We have to overcome them. It was only ever a matter of when,” added Rose.
The three of us tried to lighten the mood…
“…If we had to face them, I would rather it have been at the championship.”
“I can’t believe the great Lilim Chorine is going to lose in the first round…”
“I’m so depressed…”
…but Shii, Lilim, and Tirith all remained down in the dumps.
“A-anyway, there’s no point in getting discouraged now! We need to keep our spirits up!” I said, forcing it a bit. With that, we split up for the day.
Still, I can’t believe we’re facing the best Elite Five Academy in the first round…
This year’s Sword Master Festival was going to start with a bang.