Editing Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut:Volume 12 Episode 4 (section)

===Part 2===
「Nn……」

Lux who was waking up on the worn out sofa sobered up from the coldness of the early morning.

When he opened the pocket watch he had, the time was just about before sunrise.

「…………」

The door of the underground room wasn’t opened, but he became concerned about Soffice’s condition and peeked inside.

There wasn’t any suspicious signs.

In the first room among the four prison rooms, there was a brown skinned girl who had her four limbs chained.

「The chains shouldn’t be that tight but, it looks quite painful huh.」

Lux himself, due to his status as an imperial family member of the Old Empire, had experience of entering prison several times. He also could imagine the distress of being chained.

The fire in the fireplace had died, so he threw new firewood into the prison’s fireplace and made a fire.

(There should be a hut for serving outside the hangar, so let’s brew tea and bring it here.)

After observing Soffice inside the room, Lux went out of the underground room for a moment.

When he went back carrying a cup of tea on a tray, the chained girl raised a groan.

「U, u……」

「Are you awake?」

「This, place……. Where──」

When the girl raised her voice with slightly opened eyes, Lux smiled to her.

His objective was to lessen Soffice’s cautiousness, but of course she didn’t let her guard down.

「Good morning. Err, Soffice-san……can I call you that?」

「…………」

Silence with a serious look was returned to him in place of a reply.

For Lux, it was the most troubling reaction.

「Err, do you remember last night? You tried to protect Airi and got defeated by Captain Magialca, though──」

「…………」

Silence again.

「Err── I brought water and tea here, are you thirsty?」

「…………」

The silence didn’t change, but her gaze glanced briefly at above her head──toward the shackle restricting her.

「No, as expected I still cannot release that. I think it’s harsh but, it doesn’t hurt right?」

「Cold, I’m freezing to death.」

「Eh……?」

「This is just me talking to myself. I have nothing to say to the family of traitors.」

「…………」

Soffice averted her face aside while saying that with a serious look.

(Somehow, she is a particular girl huh……)

Philuffy and Noct were similarly taciturn, but compared to his childhood friend who went with her own pace and the calm and composed servant girl, Soffice was different somewhere.

「I get it. Here, drink slowly.」

It seemed she was desiring the tea, so Lux brought the cup of tea to her mouth. Perhaps her throat was dry because she sipped it in one go.

「-Tsuu……!」

「Wai-, don’t be so hurried, if you drink that fast──」

Because Soffice struggled from the heat of the tea, the tea splashed on her clothes.

Lux thought that, as expected, she couldn’t drink well from the chained posture and she might get burned, so he used one hand to take off the chain that was shackling up her arms above. It was at that moment──

「It’s, my win.」

「-……!?」

Soffice’s emotionless eyes shined. Right after that, the chain of the shackle that bound Soffice’s arm was entangled around Lux’s wrist.

Without pause she pulled him and tightened the chain around his neck tightly.

Her drinking too fast and spilling the tea was her acting.

「Ku, uh……」

Without delay Lux thrust up his arm and prevented his neck from getting completely choked, but the situation was bad.

Soffice seemed to be desperate too. She gritted her teeth and put strength into both her arms.

「Take off the manacles using your free hand. If you do that then I’ll at least spare your life.」

「I cannot……do that.」

「You will die if you are obstinate. You should recognize your defeat right away.」

「If you escape from here, there won’t be anymore chance to talk……I don’t want, both of us trying to kill each other.」

「What are you saying this late──」

The moment Soffice’s breathing was slightly thrown out of order, he swept up her foot.

「Ua……」

The moment strength left her arm due to the impact, Lux took off the constriction and pushed her on the wall.

Miraculously, thanks to the tough making of his criminal collar, his neck wasn’t completely constricted by the chain.

「Ku…… I blundered.」

「Haa, haa……I somehow managed.」

After that, Lux somehow sealed Soffice’s resistance while hanging up her hands with chain again.

He was resolved of her counterattacking, but it was more troublesome than he imagined.

Lux too had accepted various kind of chores until now, but as expected he had no experience of doing anything that was nearly as close to being a jailer.

While Lux was at a loss of what to ask about her story before persuading her, Soffice was watching the pondering Lux and for some reason her face went pale.

「This is bad. This flow, he will surely call his comrades to beat me up and lynch me……!」

*Shiver shiver*, her body was shaking along with her pilot suit that had a lot of exposure and she was starting to get scared.

「I won’t do anything like that. Or rather, right now it’s only me alone who is standing guard here──」

Lux noticed the slip of his tongue when saying that.

If he gave her such information, then the possibility of her trying to escape again would become higher.

「Ju, just one man, is keeping watch of me?」

But, perhaps Soffice sniffed out a different nuance from Lux’s words,

「Oh no. This is surely, a flow where I will receive lewd torture from this young man……!」

「I won’t! How can you reach that kind of conclusion!?」

Lux denied it in great panic, but Soffice was completely getting cold feet.

「……No, wait. Perhaps, yes, my seductive technique might be effective on him instead.」

「If you are going to trick me then try speaking in a smaller voice!」

「The young man over there, if you take off the chain, I will do something really amazing for you……perhaps?」

「What’s more it’s impossible by the time you can only mention the method so lackadaisically like that! There is no way I’ll be tempted even if you tell me that right after what just happened!」

「…………」

‘Haa, haa……’, after Lux retorted so loudly, Soffice hung her head down in a slump.

Until now he had met her several times in the meetings of the Seven Dragon Paladins, but she had never talked at all, so he didn’t understand her personality.

Of course, it was also possible that even now she was acting.

(As I thought, she is a particular girl huh……)

He really couldn’t see her as the girl who turned the world alliance into her enemy and led the world by the nose.

But, Lux was starting to think that there was ground for negotiation compared to before.

He mustn’t let his guard down, but there was also no way he could take too much time.

Rather, there was only one week until the time limit.

If Lux couldn’t persuade Soffice until then, Magialca would use her as hostage and begin negotiations with Re Plica by taking into account the possibility of battle.

Before that happened, he had to converse with her as much as possible.

「Hah……!」

「……What’s the matter?」

While Lux was thinking of such things, Soffice suddenly turned pale.

Lux thought whether she was imagining herself meeting a bad experience again, but her atmosphere was somewhat different from before.

If he had to sum it up in a few words, she seemed to be completely at her wits’ end.

「……Take off, the chain, now. I won’t escape anywhere so, quick!」

Her expression was serious like always, but sweat was starting to trickle from her forehead.

From her urgent voice, it looked like something was happening with her but──

(But, it’s possible this might be another trap……)

As expected there was no way Lux would get tricked the same way multiple times.

He was also standing watch over Soffice alternately with Airi, so she might come here soon.

He guessed it would be better for him to consult her at that time.

「Please, there is no time! Or rather, not just releasing me, I’ll be troubled if you don’t teach me the location!」

「Eh……?」

Seeing Soffice breathing roughly ‘haa haa’, Lux finally realized her intention.

From some time ago, she was rubbing her thighs together.

Thinking back, since she fainted last night, she hasn’t gone anywhere from this spot.

Besides──although the fireplace had fire burning until the middle, the underground room in the middle of winter was still cold.

Her suit also had a lot of skin exposure, naturally that kind of physical phenomenon would inevitably happen.

「Wa-, wait a bit! I will think of a way right now.」

However, what should he do in this situation?

He felt that in general there would be a chamber pot at the corner of the room, or a hole for doing that business, or perhaps someone could accompany the prisoner to go to toilet, but,

(If I’m constantly watching her, isn’t that also bad in its own way!?)

On the other hand, if he brought back a chamber pot here, it would be a bit dangerous to free both her hands. And it that case Lux would have to be the one lowering her pilot suit and taking of her underwear───

「I was bad! Quickly, please! I won’t escape!」

「Ca, calm down! I will let you go! But, wait a bit! I’m thinking of various ways to do it so──ah……!」

The motion of Soffice who was trembling all over with a pale face, abruptly stopped.

Looking closer, there were tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. Her face was bright red and she was stiff.

*Splash splash* Sound of water was echoing inside the dimly lit jail.

He was at a loss of what to say. He was reluctant to witness directly a girl of marriageable age doing that.

「Err, that, what do I say……sorry.」

「……Die. Someone like you, just die-!」

Soffice discarded the mask of composure she was wearing until now and glared at him with resentful teary eyes.

(Err, this is bad. What do I do? Even though I should be asking her story and make her open her heart somehow, somehow the worst development has……-!)

While Lux was also baffled and losing his head in shock, footsteps approached from outside the jail.

「Nii-san. How is Soffice-san doing? For the time being I’m bringing tea for when she is awake but──ah……」

*Clang*, Airi dropped the metallic tray she brought.

Fortunately the cup didn’t break, but after the place was filled with quiet silence, an awkward atmosphere flowed.

「Yo, you are wrong Airi!? This is, that, should I call it a bit of a misunderstanding, it wasn’t like I did anything──!」

「Please get out from here Nii-san.」

Airi said that with a wide smile and dark shadow covering her eyes.

Her not saying a single word of anger was terrifying instead.

Lux went out of the jail dejectedly and left everything to Airi.

Well, it was only Soffice’s lower body that got wet, so he only handed her the key for her legs’ chain and asked her to take care of it.

「Haa, I’ve done it now……」

The accident that happened coincidentally because he wasn’t used to the jailer role was an act of god.

Of course he had no bad intention, but he regretted that the worst result happened at the very beginning.

Lux returned to the girl’s dormitory for the moment, leaving the rest to Airi’s follow-up.