Editing Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut:Volume 4 Episode 2 (section)

===Part 5===

On the night of the second day of the training camp when the afternoon practice was over, the atmosphere was calm compared to the boisterousness of the first day.

At the free time after dinner, there were also those who already headed to their rooms because of fatigue, but Lux did the chores of the boardinghouse by his own initiative.

「Doing work even though no one is asking you, Nii-san is already seriously ill……」

Lux was cleaning up the dishes and drew water that would be used for the next day while the exasperated Airi threw a retort at him.

After that, he went to look at the condition of Philuffy who was sleeping in her bedroom in order to rest.

So that he wouldn’t get caught in Relie’s trap, he carefully knocked before entering the room.

「Is your body all right, Phi-chan?」

「Yes. I’m fine.」

Philuffy nodded and answered concisely before her eyes dropped toward the book in her hand.

When Lux handed her a tea mixed with honey that he made in the kitchen, Philuffy said「Thank you」 and nodded with a small smile.

「Come to think of it, what are you reading there?」

Lux who was relieved at Philuffy’s good condition turned his gaze to her hand.

「Book of economy. Like the law of trade, various things」

「Eh……?」

Lux spontaneously leaked out a surprised voice hearing that slightly unexpected answer.

Hearing what Philuffy said, thinking back, certainly the Aingram family was a conglomerate that had continued since the era of the Old Empire. They were controlling several mercantile houses.

The way of making use of abundant capital, the procurement of merchandise, buying and selling.

And then, the understanding of the law that was related to trade.

Philuffy was also the second daughter of the Aingram family, someday she should be placed into an important position there.

In that case, there were a lot of things she had to learn while she was a student.

Thinking carefully, that was something that should be obvious for someone of her standing but──

(What’s this? I was arbitrarily thinking that there is no way Philuffy is like that based from her image……)

That was the impression he arbitrarily harbored about his childhood friend Philuffy, but people change.

Lux was feeling a bit complicated while he tried to change his feeling, it was then,

「……I think? What’s this book?」

「You don’t know!? Why are you asking me!?」

Philuffy tilted her head in puzzlement midway. Lux acted the straight man with all his heart in response.

「Lu-chan. It’s no good if you’re noisy at night, you know?」

「Ah……. So, sorry. I was loud──. Tha, that’s not it. That book, did you read it yesterday?」

「Yes. When I’m reading this book, I can sleep well.」

「The way you use it is wrong you know-!?」

Should he say that he was disappointed, or perhaps shocked, anyway as expected Philuffy was Philuffy.

「But, very soon I have to decide, about this kind of thing too.」

Philuffy was muttering so quietly with her usual mellow voice.

「You mean, about our career after graduating?」

「Yes. I too at least, have to think about it.」

「I see……」

Seeing Philuffy say that while drinking the tea in one gulp, Lux thought for a bit.

In the course of five years of life doing odd jobs and traveling to search for Fugil, who destroyed the Old Empire, he was admitted into this academy.

After that he became friends with several girls and overcame large incidents so far.

Because he had been fighting through battles where it wouldn’t be strange even if he died until now, putting aside about his own mission and objective, Lux had never thought about something like the future at all.

「Though Onee-chan, she told me『I want you to become my bodyguard and secretary』.」

「Is, is that so……」

No matter what, he couldn’t imagine Philuffy assisting Relie in matters of business, so he felt like that Philuffy would be perfectly suited only to become a bodyguard.

Unexpectedly Philuffy was also strong in unarmed hand-to-hand fighting, and she was even able to use a Divine Drag-Ride, because of that she must be qualified if she took the license as an official military officer.

「Lu-chan, do you have, something you want to do?」

「Err, I’m──」

He couldn’t reply right away.

Something he wanted to do.

‘In the past, what I wanted to do was──.’

『I’ll absolutely create it! A country where even girls like Phi-chan can feel safe, I will create it! I swear that I’ll absolutely change this empire! That’s why──』

At the time he was a young child, when he parted with his important childhood friend, they exchanged a promise.

In the end he couldn’t fulfill it by his own hands, and he chose the path of overthrowing the country.

Even that path found him mowed down midway and Lux’s determination became suspended in limbo.

「I don’t really have anything like that right now. If I can become the strength for everyone in the academy, then I’m satisfied with just that.」

「I see.」

Philuffy closed the book with a snap before she talked earnestly.

For a moment Lux was startled, wondering whether she would broach about the topic of the promise he said to her in the past.

「In that case, I’m relieved I think?」

「Eh……?」

Philuffy whose expression was absentminded as usual smiled softly at him.

What did she mean by that?

Lux didn’t understand at all. And when he was waiting for the continuation of her words──

 

*GOGOGOGOGOGOooOONn……!*

 

「-……!?」

Along with a terrific rumble in the ground, the earth along with the boarding house shook and he reflexively held his breath.

There was a mechanical sound of something moving like a Drag-Ride, in addition to the sound of huge water splashes.

(Even though earthquakes rarely occur in the New Kingdom, don’t tell me──!)

「Phi-chan, stay there and don’t move! I’m going to see the situation!」

Lux reflexively put his hand on the Sword Device on his hip and yelled so.

He rushed out from the bedroom into the living room. Relie was already there along with several students.

「My my, it’s faster than expected. I thought that it would take a bit more time though──」

While everyone was surprised and on their guard, it was only Relie who was smiling with a slight drunken intoxication.

「Headmaster. What in the world this──?」

Celis was the first to ask. Relie got up on her feet and she started walking towards the door.

「Everyone, come with me. I will teach you the true objective of this training camp now.」

When they went outside, the moon was floating in the sky.

The sea that was vibrantly blue in the afternoon now looked completely different. The sea was pitch black.

In the shadows of the raging waves that looked like the devil’s beckoning hand, the figure of a ship that was even more gigantic than the island could be seen.

Everyone climbed the only lighthouse in the island and they witnessed it.

A strangely shaped ship that was larger than any military ship Lux had ever seen before.

「This is, could it be……」

The moment Lisha whispered so, Relie nodded.

「Yes, one of the Ruins in the New Kingdom’s territory. What we call the third Ruin, the Ark.」

「────」

Even among the Syvalles, few had the experience of seeing the Ark.

Even Lux who had the experience of guarding the surrounding of a Ruin had only seen this Ark once from afar at a different place from this island.

It was a special Ruin that usually bobbed up and down in the ocean of the New Kingdom. It would change locations in a fixed period.

Due to its special characteristic of making its appearance mostly above the sea, he heard that the investigation of this Ruin was mostly not progressing.

「Headmaster. You said the true objective, don’t tell me──you mean this?」

「It helps that you guessed quickly.」

Relie returned a smile at Celis’s question.

「The investigation of the New Kingdom’s third Ruin, this Ark, that’s our mission this time. The gate keeper of the depths──the Ragnarok, Poseidon, that was said to be released from here by the Old Empire. Now that it had died in the battle at the practice ground before this, there is the possibility that the door towards the deepest level is opened. It’s the place where everyone in this generation hasn’t reached yet you see.」

「…………」

The students subconsciously held their breaths hearing the indifferent explanation of Relie.

The sound of raging waves that resulted from the appearance of the Ark was buried by that silence.

「The objective of our coming to this island other than having a training camp, is to accomplish a secret mission from the New Kingdom. This Ark will be mooring in the vicinity of this Ries Island for approximately a week. We will begin infiltrating to investigate starting from tomorrow afternoon. Do you understand, everyone?」

After the students nodded, everyone returned to the boardinghouse while they were still bewildered.

Because the night had grown late, they went to sleep right away.

Because there were three bedrooms for two people and two bedrooms for four people, it was just right for the number of members this time.

Through a natural conclusion or common sense decision, the siblings Lux and Airi shared a room, so everything was settled.

Even Lux somehow understood that everyone was being taciturn.

(The deepest floor of a Ruin that no one has reached before…… is it?)

The structures from ancient times that was still mostly inexplicable──the Ruins.

The weight of witnessing a yet unknown known legacy before anyone else in the world made everyone timid.

It was a secret investigation, that was why no one was told until they arrived on this island.

If the country massed the troops openly, it would attract attention from every other country, because of that this training camp was used as pretense to gather the elites for investigation.

It wasn’t like Lux didn’t understand about that kind of situation.

(But what’s this? This strange out of place feeling……)

「Is Nii-san also concerned?」

Airi asked inside the room that already had its lighting turned off.

「Concerned……it’s not to that degree though.」

「Then, I won’t say anything yet about that. I too am still unable to form my words.」

After ending it there, there was only the sound of calm breathing filling inside the room.

「…………」

Lux’s body was quite tired from the long journey and two days of training, but he wasn’t really able to sleep.

(How is that place right now I wonder……?)

The day of the coup d’etat five years ago.

His childhood friend Philuffy was taken away for the sake of medication experiments. Hearing that, Lux located this place and came to save her.

And then, he searched for her in the basement of a certain monastery── for some reason he couldn’t recall the memory after that no matter what.

(However──Philuffy should have been safe that time.)

A while after that, a letter that notified him of Philuffy’s safety reached him, besides──

Right now the girl was at Lux’s side in healthy shape after all.

 

The silent sound of waves was gradually filling his thoughts.

And then, Lux finally fell asleep.