Editing Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut:Volume 3 Episode 2 (section)

===Part 2===


And, after school when he finished all of his classes.

“Phew…… With this, today’s jobs are over.”

As usual, Lux finished handling the requests sent by the academy and students and took a breather in the dormitory’s dining room.

As it was pointed out by Philphie, he had been feeling sleep deprived recently; so he moderated the odd jobs that he undertook to ten, moderate compared to the usual.

But alternatively, Lux felt a strange sense of incongruity that he did not have until yesterday.

(──It’s not my imagination, huh……)

He was being looked at.

The gazes from first- and second-year female students and instructors did not change.

But, a color of caution was slightly mixed in the gazes turned by the third-year students.

Though it was not to the extent of being called hostility, as expected the influence of Celis’s return was probably spreading among the third-year students.

While thinking about such a thing, Lux secretly headed to a certain place for the time being.

“…………”

The Drag-Ride’s Atelier located on the school premises.

He knocked on the backdoor of the brick- made building, and after saying “Sorry to have kept you waiting”, he calmly opened the door.

“Ok, it’s all right. Come in.”

As he went inside being invited by Lisha who showed up, several girls had already gathered there around a table put in the place of the usual large work table.

“……Wait, so many people came!? Even Airi──”

In addition to Lisha, the chief of the atelier, Krulcifer and Philphie, the three girls of the Triad and even his little sister Airi were already in the atelier, too.

“What do you mean by even me? I was worried because Nii-san is too unreliable.”

Being looked at with slightly amazed and reproachful eyes, Lux got flustered.

In the academy, Airi aspired to become a civil official and did the work of deciphering ancient documents of ruins.

Recently, she seemed to work on the deciphering of documents which were recently brought back from the previous ruins investigation; and partly because she was busy with it, they did not meet each other for several days.

“If you say that, I would want to reveal ''that'' to everyone, you know?”

Perhaps because she did not like Lux’s reaction, Airi suddenly said such a thing.

“''T-That'', don’t tell me……!”

“Yes, I know about ''that''. I wanted to see it, too. Nii-san’s……”

“Wait, stop!? Please, anything but that──!”

“Next time, will you properly consult me, too? Nii-san.”

As he nodded at Airi who whispered with a somewhat evil smile, his little sister finally forgave him.

“Then, I’ll forgive you.”

Looking at Lux who tried to stop Airi’s words in panic, Lisha and company, who knew nothing, looked puzzled all together.

“S-Somehow it bothers me, but…… Well, let’s leave it for later. More importantly, it’s the matter at hand. It’s fine, right?”

To Lisha’s steering, all the people present nodded.

“Then first, it’s the talk that we heard today from the members of the “Knight Squadron”, but──”

So, she spoke about the information that she gathered about Celis this time one by one.

The third-year students knew about Lux almost only by hearsay, but maybe because of the underclassmen’s persuasion, they did not have so much resistance towards Lux’s admission in itself.

But, if the man-hater Celis tried to drive Lux out, the great majority of the third years who kept quiet would end up supporting her.

“In other words, it’s up to her will how we, the third-year students, will move. Which means that everything will depend on what Celis thinks of Lux.”

Sharis, the only student at this place in the same year as Celis, summarized as such.

“Yes. Then, should we, who know Lux-san well, first try to persuade Celis-senpai?”

“No. I think we should probably stop it.”

Krulcifer calmly shook her head to Noct’s proposal.

“Until now, she has always brought this academy together with a strong conviction. At least, if she could feel shaken by our persuasion, it should have never turned into a situation like this to begin with.”

“In the first place, even if we, who support Lux-cchi, say it, there won’t be any persuasive power, eh~”

“Hmm……”, Lisha, the one directly responsible for Lux’s admission, groaned to Tillfarr’s sigh.

In the end, it would turn out like that.

As the talk changed topic of whether they should approve not the individual called Lux, but the existence called “man” or should they let all the students decide it, there was no doubt that they were at a disadvantage.

“…………”

But perhaps because she thought of an alternate plan, when everyone kept quiet,

“──Then, there may be nothing else to do other than having Nii-san himself do his best after all, huh.”

“Eh……?”

To the words suddenly uttered by Airi, Lux tilted his head to the side.

“I see, there’s that way.”

As Lux was absentminded, Sharis also nodded with her arms folded as is.

“Simply put, this means that it’ll be fine as long as Celis regards you as an exception. No matter how much one advocates justice, a human is a creature moved by his feelings in the end. If you make Celis herself take a liking to you, the problem will be solved. ──With that said, shall we try arguing this time in that direction?”

“N-No, isn’t that kind of impossible──”

Lux was not familiar enough with girls to think of a way of charming the man-hater girl.

“A method to make her take a liking to him, huh…… Let’s see, shall we try putting up the Drag-Ride’s parts that we have excavated from the ruins recently──”

“Would you please stop with your mania-like idea……? There are few girls who would be pleased with that.”

To Lisha’s words, Krulcifer put in a tsukkomi<ref>I assume you already know what this means. For those who don’t, it’s simply a retort of the sort.</ref> with an amazed face.

“Ugh……!? T-Then, what do you suggest to do!?”

In a place where a small dispute began, Krulcifer turned around to Lux.

“For that, first it’s necessary to have Lux-kun exhibit his ''weapons'', I guess. How about it? Have you experienced an odd job, which looks like it would make a girl happy, so far?”

“Err──”

He pondered for several seconds, but sadly nothing came into his mind.

During his five years of odd jobs life, the clients were various; in the first place he had no memory of having dealt with one long term work to the extent that he thoroughly investigated something.

When he began to write all the jobs he has done so far on a paper for the time being,

“Hmm, how about handmade accessories? In order to show his sincerity with a present? Lux-cchi, for the trial before the main performance, I don’t mind you making one for me, too, you know?!”

“No. Please, restrain yourself, Tillfarr. I judge that it’s merely you who wants a gift from Lux-san.”

In contrast with Tillfarr in high spirits, Noct, who was one grade below, coolly retorted.

“Hmm. We can always put her in danger and save her from it. Even I, who am Celis’ fellow third-year student, don’t know well what she dislikes other than men, but──. Ok, after mixing alcohol in juice and making her drink it, I shall kindly nurse the drunken target. While giving her a favor like this, I might end up reaching the destination as it is──”

“Um, a plan where we’ll all be expelled is a little……”

As Lux stopped Sharis’s proposal while sweating,

“Yes. In the first place, demanding resourcefulness in such a meaning from Lux seems to be a slightly severe judgment.”

“W-Well, that’s right; but it hurts, so please don’t say it too much!”

Although agreeing with Noct, Lux had his heart plainly gouged out.

“Indeed. Even when I made the request of being Lux’s lover, he was feeling quite restless the whole time. I hardly think that he can skillfully lead Celis-san who is older.”

“Could you please end with this topic already!?”

Being told that even by Krulcifer, Lux ended up being crestfallen.

“I’m sorry. It has been a little too fun teasing you.”

“…………”

With her usual cool smile, the girl turned her gaze to Lux.

Except the fact that she was an exchange student from another country, thinking about Krulcifer, who bore a certain mission and secret, and felt loneliness, it was a good tendency, but──.

(Since she’s a person who seems very noble-like more than the half-hearted me, I’m one-sidedly teased……)

When Lux was making a complicated face,

“Don’t you have any proposal? Philphie-san.”

As Airi remembered suddenly, she brought the subject to Philphie who was eating cookies.

“Hmm……”

Philphie tilted her head to the side for about a few seconds, and then responded with,

“Won’t it be fine if he acts like usual?”

Because she gave a normal answer, everyone fell silent.

“Was this airhead girl listening to the talk so far? Listen carefully, at this rate Lux will be expelled from the academy──”

“I think that my big sister will probably not let such a thing happen. So, I think that if a problem happens, we should just tell her that we don’t want Lu-chan to leave the academy.”

With an absentminded expression, Philphie indifferently muttered.

To her reply, the others pondered for a while,

“──She’s right. That may be the best for the moment.”

Airi nodded first.

“It’s a fact that there’s a person spreading bad rumors among the third-year students, but it’s only a person called Saniya and it’s not really like a problem has occurred. If we were to react to it and make a fuss, it might strengthen the opposition.”

“In other words, it’s important to unify the wills of the first- and second-year students who already accepted Lux-kun, huh.”

When Krulcifer answered so and the talk was about to complete the first stage,

<nowiki>*</nowiki>knock-knock*, a sound of the atelier’s door being knocked was heard.

“……What’s the matter? I’m busy now.”

“I’m sorry. Is Lux-kun here?”

When Lisha, who was the atelier’s chief, answered over the door, the voice of a girl who seemed to be a student returned.

“H-Hey, the dorm leader seemed to call for Lux-san, but──”

“He’s currently running an errand for me. I’ll tell him when the work is over. Tell the dorm leader that if she’s lucky, he may go there early.”

“I got it. Then, I’ll take my leave.”

“…………”

When everyone lowered their voices with dubious faces, the girl’s footsteps went away.

“I wonder if it was a nervous reaction. Even if the fact that Lux was there is exposed, the “opposition faction” should not be able to do anything about it──”

Lisha muttered so, but she could not be quite sure.

“But certainly── it’s dangerous to move stealthily too much. It’s already late today, so shall we call it a day for the time being?”

When Airi concluded so, everyone nodded and decided to do as such.

“Then, I’ll leave first. I seem to be called by the dorm leader. And also ── I thank everyone for having gathered tonight for my sake.”

Giving his thanks in the end with a smile, Lux left the atelier while looking out to the surrounding.

“…………”

A few minutes after Lux left the atelier.

Silence filled the room for a while, but Lisha sitting at the back muttered before long.

“U-Um…… I’ll say it now. But, having Lux curry favor from Celestia, personally I don’t want to do it, but──”

Looking at the blushing girl who was somehow irritated,

“Y-Yes, indeed. It’ll be good and all that her man-hating is cured, but ── there’s also no guarantee that both of them won’t really become serious. If that happens ── I’ll be troubled.”

Krulcifer too slightly blushed and said so.

“Haa, what troublesome girls.”

Airi, who looked at these two girls, breathed a small sigh; and the trio of the Triad showed a happy smile immediately after.

“I see; in other words, the reason why you said “you can’t lead Celis” to Lux-kun was because you didn’t want it to be like that, huh. You also have a cute side in you, eh, Krulcifer.”

To Sharis, who turned a broad grin, Krulcifer fell silent.

“Then, since the boy left, shall we try having occasionally such a talk? It seems pretty fun after all.”

Seeing Tillfarr, who bent herself forward further, Airi lightly clapped her hands.

“Let’s already call it a day. Everyone, please do not take my big brother as your plaything.”

Along with the slightly amazed voice, the girls’ meeting met its end.