Editing Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut:Volume 5 Episode 3 (section)

===Part 2===

OOOOOOOOOOoooo!

The moment Lux exited the waiting room into the venue, cheers that shook the earth overwhelmed Lux.

Perhaps it should be said as expected from the All-Dragon Battle, even Lux who had participated in the mock battles here several times had never seen the place this bustling.

「It’s finally starting huh── our battle that is.」

When Lux sat down on the spectator seat for the participants, Krulcifer quietly took the seat besides him.

Krulcifer’s turn would be in the third battle, so she still had leeway for time.

Everyone else was spending their time tuning their Drag-Rides until the very last minute or heightening their focus for the match, but for Lux he wasn’t arranged to appear today.

Because he was still recovering, it was better to not force himself to participate. Or rather, that was the cover reason that Airi told to everyone, but in actuality it wasn’t the true reason.

From late at night tomorrow until dawn── he would do his best to accomplish his decoy role that was ordered to him from the government in order to obstruct the Imperial Capital Recapture Plan. That was the true reason.

It was kept secret from the other selection members so as to not make them worry, but Krulcifer had a sharp instinct and mind, so Lux was anxious whether he was seen through by her.

「Somehow, it feels difficult to fight against our allied country Ymir doesn’t it?」

「I wonder? I’m all right though. Because I’ve come to a clean decision about it.」

When Lux spoke while watching the battle, Krulcifer responded with a cool smile.

‘As expected’, Lux thought while smiling wryly inside his heart.

「It looks like a candidate for the Seven Dragon Paladins from Ymir is also participating. Though I don’t know the details as someone studying abroad in the New Kingdom.」

「Is that so?」

「Yes. I heard about it from my family’s butler, Alterize. This candidate is a powerful person that is the best by far even among the officer cadets, and that she is number one even through the successive generations.」

「……It’s that girl, isn’t it?」

Lux sent his gaze to the arena’s ring and asked.

It was a girl with platinum hair and a small stature that could be mistaken as a child.

「Mel Gizalut. She is the top student at the Faith Military Academy, a Drag-Knight who is crowned with the nickname of Subjugator.」

The girl Krulcifer talked about was maintaining a composed smile from start to end while cornering the New Kingdom’s selection member with skillful tactic.

The Drag-Ride she was using was EX Wyvern, but looking from her skill, it was certain that she also had the strength to skillfully use a Divine Drag-Ride.

「It seems that there was a bit of dissent between her house and my Einvolk house regarding the Ruin. Well, it’s something that is not really related to me who is shunned from my house though.」

「Such thing──」

Hearing that self-depreciation that was rare for Krulcifer made Lux spontaneously speak.

「But, even if someday a chance to fight with her came, I don’t have any intention to lose.」

「…………」

「Becoming a first class Drag-Ride. Continuing to be strong──even if I’m alone. Those are targets that I imposed on myself, because they are necessary for me to live.」

Krulcifer, the girl who was discovered inside the Ruin of the Ymir Theocracy.

Because she had such a past, she felt a sense of alienation towards her family and other people even after she was adopted by the Einvolk house, therefore, she was looking for accomplishments in order to be recognized by her family.

「I don’t plan to be like before anymore. And I have trained just for that.」

The before that she meant was about the battle at the Ark.

She must be talking about one of the Ragnarok, Yggdrasil.

「About that, it couldn’t be helped. Even I only managed just barely that time. That victory came because there were various coincidences and luck.」

「Perhaps that is so.」

Krulcifer agreed with Lux’s words once, before she suddenly smiled.

「But, it’s vexing. It doesn’t matter even if the opponent was a Ragnarok that a human couldn’t match, I cannot be satisfied with that result. Lux-kun, you see, even though I look like this I’m really a sore loser you know?」

「Is, is that so?」

Krulcifer slowly brought her face closer with a mischievous smile. Lux’s heart unconsciously jumped.

「More accurately speaking, I have several things that I absolutely don’t want to concede, and I really hate to lose in regards to them. That’s why, I have a request for you. At the country’s founding anniversary tomorrow, can you spend a bit of time with me?」

「Eh──?」

Lux raised a surprised voice because the talk was suddenly brought to a different direction.

「That’s my special request from your reward to me. Will you accept?」

「Tha, that’s, could it be──」

The request of Krulcifer to spend time together at tomorrow’s country founding anniversary.

So to speak, wasn’t this that thing called a date?

Thinking so, caused Lux’s heart to beat fast inside his chest.

「Tha, that……. It seems that our butler Alterize has also come here as one of the delegation leaders of Ymir. I want to show to her that it looks like our relationship is going well.」

「Ah, is, is that so. Then, perhaps it’s that thing again──that 『lover case』?」

「Ye, yes, that’s right.」

Krulcifer nodded while showing a somewhat embarrassed expression.

Once, in order to avoid the political marriage that her family the Einvolk house forced on her, she made a request of acting as 『Krulcifer’s lover』to him.

The eldest son of one of the four great nobles Balzeride lost his standing, and that case was safely washed away but──

「……But, in the end what happened with that? Alterize-san misunderstood us as real lovers, and she said that she will endorse me as Krulcifer-san’s fiancée but──」

「About that──it’s really not a problem. It’s going well, so it’s all right if Lux-kun doesn’t worry about it.」

「Is, is that so……」

Lux felt some kind of implication from Krulcifer’s tone, but perhaps it was just his imagination.

「And so, in order to make her believe that even now our relationship is continuing, that……it will help if you can act as though it’s a date between lovers.」

「……Right, I understand. I’m a bit nervous, but if it’s with Krulcifer-san I feel that it will be fun.」

「Is, is that so……? If you say that, then it’s also worth it for me to rely on you.」

Krulcifer averted her gaze and for some reason her cheeks were blushing.

The air felt embarrassing somehow, but when it flowed between the two──

 

OOOOOOOOOOOH!

 

A conspicuously loud cheer rose from the surrounding audience seats.

『The third one-on-one match is Ymir’s victory. With two wins and one loss, the first battle of block A is the Ymir Theocracy’s victory!』

A Drag-Ride commentator raised his voice using Drake’s function to magnify the voice.

It went mostly as expected, but all the same the defeat felt regrettable.

「Unfortunately, it looks like we lost.」

「Yes. How about we return for now before the next match begins?」

Lux and Krulcifer stood up from the venue’s audience seating where the enthusiasm was still continuing.

Their expressions had returned back into seriousness.

 

Although their first battle ended in defeat, the second battle against the Turkimes Confederation ended up safely in victory thanks to Celis and Philuffy’s great contributions.

And then, continuing to the third battle. Against the Blackened Kingdom, Krulcifer won the first match, then the pair of Lisha and Noct in the second match also progressed through their match dominantly, but midway a bit of an accident occurred.

The special armament of the Divine Drag-Ride Tiamat that Lisha controlled, Legion, one of it misaimed and flew towards the audience seats.

In front of each spectator stand there was a Drag-Ride stationed for defense. They deployed a wide range barrier, so that there was no particular damage, even so it was judged to be a dangerous act and Lisha received a warning.

After that the New Kingdom’s side advanced the match dominantly without any particular problem──and settled it.

『Because both the pair members of the Blackened Kingdom are unable to continue fighting, it’s the victory of the New Kingdom’s pair! Because they have obtained two wins, the third battle becomes the new kingdom’s win!』

The spectator stand at the New Kingdom’s side was greatly excited from the second victory of today.

Lux hurriedly went to the stone passage that connected towards the waiting room to welcome the pair.

「Thank you for your hard work, Lisha-sama.」

When Lux called like that to the two who had already dispelled their armor and walked towards him, Lisha responded 「Ye, yeah……」 with her expression looking bewildered.

「What’s the matter?」

「That, I think you also noticed but, in the middle of the match──my Drag-Ride’s control temporarily stopped working. I wondered what it was but……」

「Yes. I judged that surely Lisha-sama did that purposefully.」

「Are you stupid!? Even for luring the enemy, there is no way I’m going to do something like sending my Legion flying towards the audience seats even purposefully isn’t it!? Even I am── more or less the princess of this country after all.」

「Is that so……」

Lux who heard Lisha’s words whispered seriously.

Certainly he thought that it was an unnatural action, but it seemed that even Lisha herself didn’t understand the cause.

Tiamat was a Divine Drag-Ride, losing control because of the degree of difficulty piloting it and the intensity of exhaustion──the danger of 『rampage』 existed from the beginning.

But, recently Lisha’s control skill, physical ability, and her mental strength were increasing. Because of that something like rampage indication couldn’t be seen at all from her.

(Something, bothers me……)

「We, well, it doesn’t matter. Rather than that, I have something I want to talk with you for a bit……is it okay?」

Lisha looked up at Lux’s face looking somewhat discomposed.

「Aa……! Come to think of it, me too. Then, after returning once to the waiting room, let’s──」

「We, well then, after I change clothes……I’ll be waiting.」

Lisha said only that before leaving with a jog.

The first day of the All-Dragon Battle came to an end without a hitch like this.