Even after the first semester classes ended, Ira and I continued our training days.

　Normally at this time of year, many of us return to our parents' homes in the countryside, but this year, due to the influence of the Sacred Martial Arts Festival, it seems that more than eighty percent of the students will remain in the royal capital.

''That's about it for today, shall we?

　Ira, breathing on her shoulder, wiped the sweat off her face.

''Huh, hmmm... okay.''

　The first training ground was boiling hot again today.
　Thanks to the sun going down, though, it's better now than it was when I started.
　After I finished cleaning up, I put my back to the wall and took a breath.

''Ira-san, your swords become more brilliant when you enter a linear trajectory, don't they?''

　With a clean smile, Ira wiped the sweat from his chin.

''Is that so?　Ehehe. It's nice to be praised.
In fact, there are moments when I'm in a knot and I'm very nervous about how I'll react.

　Her sword, which entered a straight trajectory, has the impression of increasing its speed and power by fifty percent.
　Maybe it's because it's a straight trajectory, but fifty percent is phenomenal.
　On the contrary, it's a big advantage that she's not bad at curved trajectories.
　I hope I can make use of this trait somewhere in the game....

　In order to win against the two chairmen and Cecily-san, you'll need to have some kind of plan.
　They are not opponents who can win by challenging them with no plan.
　In particular, we must take special measures against those two unique techniques.
　For now, if we can get it right, we'll be able to manage one of them--

I'm glad I asked Kurohiko to train with me.

　As I was thinking about it, Ira-san opened her mouth.

''When you say so, it's worth it for me to take on the task.
Lately, I've been able to get a solid sense of my strength. Before Kurohiko trained me, I wasn't sure if I was getting stronger or not...
From what I can see, Ira-san is definitely getting stronger.

　She's just learning how to be a training partner from Currier-san and Commander Sogut, and implementing the teachings, but the effect seems to be more than she expected.
　She was originally endowed with a talent.
　Until now, she just couldn't develop that talent greatly due to the absence of a suitable teacher.
　The existence of a mentor who is compatible with you is significant.
　I wouldn't have been able to reach my current strength without Currier-san and Commander Sogut.
　If I had only used the forbidden beast's "eating" power to raise the level of my strength, I would have become a more unbalanced fighter than I am now.
　The reason why the 《Souryu》 that I'm training now has a reasonable shape is probably because the groundwork for the sword was naturally cultivated through training with Currier-san.

''After this, is Kurohiko going to practice that technique again?''

　Ira-san has also seen the scene of 《Sanglong》 practice several times.

''Yes. Even if it's light, I think it's important to do it every day without fail.
You're a really hard worker.
'That goes for you too, Ira. But be careful not to try too hard, okay?
Yes, I'll be careful.

　If you spend all your time training, your mind and body will take a toll.
　The training is only meaningful if you can continue it.
　Therefore, we should try to enjoy our daily life in a reasonable manner.
　The harder the training is, the more you need to take a break once in a while.
　The health of the body is as important as the health of the mind.

Shall we go to the mess hall and drink some tonore water?
Yeah.

　After leaving the training grounds, we changed into our uniforms, met up and headed to the cafeteria.
　As we walked down the corridor, I looked out the window.

''It's getting closer, the Holy War Festival.''

　Although not visible to the eye, the Great Sanctuary is far ahead in the direction you are looking at.
　The Great Sacred Ground is a semi-circular structure that turns into a solid fortress in an emergency.
　It is said that many of the people of the royal capital took refuge in the Great Sanctuary even when the Four Deadly Wonders attacked.
　It is said that the Great Sacred Ground is also used for festivals, and this time, the Great Sacred Ground was the venue for the Holy War Festival.

The first semester's classes are over and the Seibu Festival is approaching, and the atmosphere of the candidates is getting better and better. To tell you the truth, I'm looking forward to it now. I can't wait to be able to fight with Cecily and the chairman and others.

　Aila's eyes, staring towards the Great Sacred Ground, have a light of expectation in them.

'They were all my goals and aspirations,'

　It reminds me of her determination.

　--I want to do my best to win until the Holy War Festival is over.

　I want to let her win.
　Now I feel that way.
　I want to put as much effort as possible into training and supporting her to get closer to victory.




　When we arrived at the cafeteria, we bought a bottle of tonore water and took our seats.

''Speaking of which, are you expecting Ruvel Argan and the Imperials to be here soon?''
I'm sure.

　It's been a long time since I've seen Shana-san.

''If we win, we'll fight in front of those people and the Holy King... if that happens, I think I'm going to go up.
Let's enjoy the tension. It's important to have fun on the big stage. That kind of mindset is also important for winning.
Well yeah, I guess so. Thanks, Kurohiko.

　It was just a word of advice that came out of my mouth, and it seems to have worked.
　Not long ago I never thought I would be in a position to give someone advice.
　Can we call this a change - a growth?

''Anyway, let's do our best until the Holy War Festival. I'll do my best to help you, too.

　Ira-san nodded emphatically, "Yeah," he said.




　I was walking with Currier-san down a corridor where the sunlight couldn't reach us.

　There were crystal lights set up at equal intervals on the walls, giving the corridor a kind of mystical atmosphere.

''It's finally tomorrow, the Holy War Festival.''
What do you think of Ira's finish?
'I've done all I can. How are you doing, Cecily?
'I guess a genius is still that kind of guy. It's just that Hibigami recognized his talent. I'm adamantly against sending Cecily to Doomsday Township, but if she had grown up in the same environment as me and survived in one piece, she would have become a better swordsman than I was.
More than Mr. Currier?
My ability to fight is a product of my environment and experience. In terms of quality of talent, I'm not as good as Cecily.

　I feel that continuing to gain experience without dying in the environment of the apocalypse is a talent in itself.

''Hm?　What's going on?
No I was just wondering what the neighbor's lawn is like.
?

　On this day before the Holy War Festival tomorrow, I had gone to the Great Sacred Ground with Currier-san for a preliminary inspection.

　It's the same size as the general dome stadium of the previous world, or even larger.
　It was a vault that allowed him to see the sky, but he could form a transparent ceiling with the power of a surgical machine.
　It is said that the surgical machine to generate a transparent ceiling membrane is very valuable, and if it breaks, it cannot be replaced.

　The membrane that completely covers the ceiling is said to be unable to be broken by a half-hearted impact, even if one tries to attack from the sky.
　This was also the reason why the Great Sacred Ground was used as a place of refuge.
　Once the membranes were in place, except for the bow and the retractable chambers that were used for the art form, there were only four points of entry, north, south, east, west, and north-south, which meant that even those four points could be protected.
　In other words, as long as those four points are protected, it is impossible to enter the interior.
　However, I didn't know until the very end whether that membrane was able to prevent Masso's fist from hovering in the air.

'It's amazing the construction technology that goes into making a building like this.
Yeah. I can swing a sword, but I can't build a building. I don't know what I'll do with this sword when I don't need it anymore.
Open a small restaurant with me?　Mr. Currier will be in charge of the cook, and I'll serve.
Hmmm, can you get people to come over for my cooking?
I can call you!
You seem awfully sure of yourself.
Because your food is so delicious.
M........................
I have to admit, I'd like to eat that for the rest of my life.
Uh-huh...
Oh, really?
'You're complimenting me on my cooking, okay, so.........here we go!

　His voice is rubbed upwards, and Currier-san goes ahead of him, tokatoka alone.
　I wonder if she was offended.
　However, from the sound of her voice, she didn't seem to be offended, but... ha!
　Hurriedly, I followed the swaying back of the silver hair.

''Well, wait........Currier-san!

　The Great Sacred Ground is not a place that is open to everyone, but as long as you follow the procedures, you can enter.
　The first game on the first day would be held at the school's various training grounds due to the very large number of matches.
　The matches from the second round onwards will be held at this great sacred ground.

　When I caught up with them, I asked, ''Speaking of which.

''Currier-san, have you seen the match list for the first round yet?''

　Earlier this morning, the combination of the first round of the Holy Martial Festival was posted in the school's square.

''Yeah, I saw it,''

　Looking at the list of matches, there is no way Ira and Cecily will match in the first round.
　By the way, the list of matches for the Seibu Festival is shuffled and posted for each of the first, second and third rounds, so it is impossible to predict the opponents ahead at the time of the first round.
　Even so - the remaining contestants for sure can be predicted to some extent, though.

''Ira-san and Cecily-san, I hope they can win each other over.
'Yeah. That Cecily guy, he keeps a cool face in front of everyone.......but he was hammering it in so hard that I was pressured during training.

　I noticed after the Holy Martial Arts Festival approached, but apparently Ira-san had moved to a different location and was training separately on his own after training with me was over.
　Due to the fatigue of that double training, it seems that she frequently overslept in the morning.

''I hope the efforts you two have made so far will pay off.
Yeah.

　Isla is resting in her quarters today to prepare for tomorrow.
　I heard that Cecily has also taken the day off.
　Most of the contestants, not just the two of them, must have taken today as a rest day.

　That's why I had some free time today.
　But since I was tired from my daily life, I cut off my self-training in the morning.
　And after finishing my training, I was going to go home and rest.

　But as I was passing by the girls' quarters on my way home, it occurred to me.
　If Cecily-san is also having a day off, wouldn't Currier-san be free today?
　So, on the pretext of previewing the Great Sanctuary, I invited Miss Currier to go out.

'I'm happy now,'

　When we got to the game field inside the Great Sanctuary, Mr. Currier said.

'I'm not sure I can be this happy. Before I go to sleep, I always find myself closing my eyes, wishing these days would last forever.

　The setting sun shone through the peeking sky and lit up Currier's face.
　Her silver hair glowed warmly in the orange light.
　The smile on her face made my heart skip a beat for an unknown number of times already.

'You gave me this happiness, Kurohiko.

　I was filled with unspeakable joy.
　But I couldn't think of anything witty to say in return.
　And if I tried to reply with a long, witty line, my voice was too shaky with happiness to say it well.

'To be continued, I'm sure,'

　So I returned that much shortly.

　There are no more four evil disasters.
　The concern in the personal sphere is the settlement with Hibigami.
　As far as this country is concerned, it's the resumption of the Imperial invasion of the East.

　But no matter what happens, I will protect you.
　Even if it's taken away from me for a while, I will get it back.
　And to those who have taken these days away from me...

I wish I could have more days like this.

　..................

　Then we both stood side by side and looked at the uninhabited, orange-tinted game field for a while.