The Failed Swordsman Who Became the Strongest After Spamming the 100 Million Years Button-Novel

89. Top Secret and Thousand Blade Festival [6] – part 1

I stretched my body greatly after enjoying the president’s special haunted house.

「Nn…」

I’ve been in a dim room for a long time, so the sunlight coming in through the window was a little dazzling.

「Well then, I have to find Ria and Rose.」

For now, let’s go to the place where they are likely to go.

(Ria would probably be the cafeteria, and Rose should be around the training area.)

When I turned towards the cafeteria, roughly guessing where they might be – I saw Ria and Rose walking out of the women’s restroom from a little away.

Apparently they gathered at the same place instead of running around aimlessly.

「-Ria, Rose, thank goodness!」

I waved my hand and ran up to them.

And then,

「「……I am not crying.」」

They murmured something.

「…Eh? My bad, I didn’t hear you. Say it again.」

「「Like I said, I’m not crying!」」

This time I heard it clearly.

「A-Aa… It’s okay, I know.」

I now know that Ria and Rose were crying in the women’s toilet.

It’s obvious, looking at their red, swollen eyes.

「…That’s right.」

「…That’s good.」

They turned away and kept silent.

「……」

「……」

「……」

An indescribable silence descended.

(A-Anyway… I have to cheer them up.)

It’s a festival after all.

It’s too wasteful to spend time with a depressed air.

I know one way to change the mood quickly at times like this.

「-Ah, that’s right! Now that I think about it, I heard that there is delicious choco banana in Year 2 Class F.」

At that moment, Ria’s eyebrows twitched.

(Did I hook her?)

Ria is a sucker for food.

When the atmosphere is bad, just shoot this subject.

「I’m feeling a little hungry, so why don’t we go out for a meal?」

I pressed one more time.

「……To eat.」

After a small silence, Ria nodded.

「Yoshi, it’s decided! What about Rose? I think it will be a good change of pace if you put something in your stomach.」

「I suppose… I’ll come too.」

She agreed.

Thus, we set our course towards Year 2 Class F.

■

We went the long way to avoid passing in front of the haunted house and walked down a long corridor for a while and arrived at our destination.

「Oh, it’s pretty crowded.」

There was a long line of more than ten people in front of the classroom.

As I stood on tiptoe, I could see that they were in the middle of making choco bananas.

The banana was coated with melted hot choco, and red, yellow, green, white, black, chocolate were sprinkled over, and completed.

「Looks so delicious…!」

When Ria saw it, her face shone brightly.

「Well then, let’s queue up for the time being.」

「Un!」

We waited for a little at the end of the line, and our turn came around surprisingly fast.

「-Sorry to have kept you waiting. Welcome to『Choco and Banana』, a choco banana specialty store!」

The female student in charge of the reception greeted us pleasantly.

「Um, I’d like a choco banana, please.」

「I’ll take one, too.」

While I and Rose ordered one each,

「Umm… I don’t know what kind of food stores are left, so… For the time being, I’d like five.」

Ria raised her five fingers and ordered with dignity.

「F,『Five』…? Not one?」

The receptionist, who had an overwhelming quantity posed in front of her, rehearsed the order.

Perhaps she thought it was her own mishearing or Ria’s mistake.

No wonder.

She would’ve never dreamed that Ria was such a glutton.

「…? Yes, five, please.」

Ria repeated the same order, tilting her head.

Ria has no awareness that she is a glutton, and didn’t think it was weird to order『five choco bananas』.

「U-Understood!」

The receptionist, who understood that it was neither a mishearing nor a misstatement, hurriedly began to make the choco bananas.

(However, five simply as a warm up huh…)

It’s Ria after all.

Even after feeling down experiencing a haunted house, there is no such thing as having a small appetite.

After that, we received a total of seven choco bananas and moved to a place where there were fewer people.

And the three of us bit into our choco banana at the same time.

「-Un, this is delicious.」

「U-n…! The combination of chocolate and banana is too much!」

「Aa, sweet things is good for calming down after all.」

Ria and Rose happily filled their mouths with choco bananas.

As I shot a sidelong glance at them, I took a breath of relief.

(…It looks like they’re okay now.)

The scary memories carved in the haunted house seem to have been blown away by the sweetness of the choco banana.

(But… I have to stop them properly next year.)

The president and senpais are still second year students – that is, their Thousand Blade Festival still remains for another year.

(Especially the president… She is a hard-core sore loser.)

I’m sure they’ll be preparing a more powerful haunted house next year.

If Ria and Rose put on a brave front saying『I’m not scared!』, and try to enter the haunted house next year – let’s take this as an example and stop them.

(…But you never really know how life will turn out.)

Until just a few months ago, I was in a hellish place.

Disliked, despised, ignored – not needed by anyone, not taken care of by anyone.

A closed society called Gran Swordsmanship Academy.

I once went to Goza village to open up to my mother that I was being bullied.

(But… I couldn’t.)

With her hands covered in mud and large beads of sweat trickling down her forehead – I couldn’t inconvenience my mother anymore. Not when she is working so hard to pay my academy fees. I turned back to the dorm and returned to the hellish academy again.

(And right now… It’s all different.)

A dropout swordsman like me goes to one of the famous『Five Academy』- Thousand Blade Academy.

And most of all, I’ve made irreplaceable and precious friends, Ria and Rose.

That’s not all.

Everyone in Class A, including Tessa.

The members of the student council – the president, Lilim-senpai, Ferris-senpai.

And also many other seniors who cheered me on.

Before I knew it, I was surrounded by a lot of friends.

(It’s fun.)

I wish times like this would continue forever.

Such old man-like thoughts have been crossing my mind as of late.