Editing Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut:Volume 12 Episode 5 (section)

===Part 3===
「──Fuu. That was dangerous.」

Soffice, who quickly left from that place, let out a relieved sigh under her mask.

Although it was great and all that she managed to escape from the underground room of the Drag-Ride hangar, she was unable to escape without Vritra’s Sword Device, so she was searching for it.

She was also considering to steal a general purpose Drag-Ride from the hangar, but, as expected, even with the merrymaking of this festival, the inspection there was strict, so she gave up on that.

Or rather, as expected, she had a hunch that her Divine Drag-Ride, Vritra wasn’t in the hangar.

When she tried thinking from Lux’s point of view, it was dangerous to put Soffice’s Sword Device in the same building where its owner was being confined.

There, she sneaked into the girl’s dormitory next, where she luckily discovered costumes in the hall and borrowed one of them.

There were also makeup tools, but she didn’t think she would be able to use them well, so she dressed up as a ghost in the end.

「But, what should I do from here?」

It seemed the reality was that she had to move while assuming that her Sword Device was inside the school building or the girl’s dormitory.

And then in that case, it was preferable to first try looking in the rooms of Lux or Airi who were confining Soffice.

In the worst case, she had to threaten Lux or Airi in order to take back Vritra’s Sword Device, but that was the last resort.

「……I won’t hesitate, this time for sure.」

Soffice pilfered a knife for cutting a cake from a table in the courtyard and then she roamed inside the girl’s dormitory.

The moment she resolved herself like that, she discovered the figure of a person who she had seen somewhere before.

「Good grief, why is my appearance a bat!? I’m still a princess even like this!」

「Now now, Lisha-sama. For today all the students are leading actresses, and the type of outfit is also limited. Also, that’s a vampire, not a bat.」

The person with her blonde hair tied in a side tail that was swaying and prancing was a petite girl wearing a black outfit.

In front of her was a girl in a bunny outfit with a distinctive brown ponytail. She was the owner of the voice that Soffice heard before this in the underground prison.

Soffice had a faint recollection of seeing the two girls from somewhere.

「Can you two spare a bit of time? I want to ask where is the room of Lux Arcadia, or his little sister Airi.」

「Hm……what’s with you? What’s your business with Lux?」

「Lux-chi right now is being surrounded by cat girls y’knoow. Sharis and Noct are managing that place, while I’m taking a break──」

「…………I see, unfortunate.」

Soffice concluded that the young man named Lux was quite popular.

Soffice wasn’t asking about the person himself, she just wanted to know where his room was, but there was a risk that she might get found out if she asked too bluntly, so she didn’t pursue any further for an answer.

「More importantly, do you two know something about that man? Like, anything particular about him.」

And so, Soffice changed the question.

She thought that if she was lucky, she might understand the place he often visited, and from there she would be able to reach the storage place of her Sword Device.

「Who knows, even though the battle is just around the corner, because of this pact whatever I cannot call out to him now. And yet, he is coming and going inside the Drag-Ride hangar for some reason.」

「But, he came to check on Lisha-sama, right?」

「Well yeah.」

Lisha’s cheeks loosened hearing what Tillfur pointed out.

「That guy praised a princess like me whose only ability is to fiddle with Drag-Rides and fight, saying that I’m amazing, helping with my work.」

And then, she continued her words with her arms still folded, an earnest emotion vaguely coloring her tone.

「Even though he usually also has an idiotic side to him, but it feels like I’m losing when he is doing that kind of thing to me.」

「It feels like Lisha-sama is always losing though. Buut, I understand that feeling reaally well.」

「There’s no way──that’s true.」

「Eh……?」

The sudden words of the girl in the ghost costume shocked Lisha and Tillfur.

But, Soffice didn’t stop there and spoke in continuation.

「The Arcadia family of that Old Empire, they will only think of themselves. They are that type of creature. All of you are only tricked. He is working to be considered as a hero merely because he needs to do that in order to escape from the threat of the Abyss.」

Lisha blinked in puzzlement for a moment, then she sighed.

「That’s a nostalgic criticism. I thought this kind of fellow was no more, looks like I’m wrong.」

「Somehow, she is like Lisha-sama when Lux-chi first came to the Academy eeh.」

「Tha, that was only at the very beginning though……」

But, even so, the two weren’t swayed.

They just talked to Soffice about Lux as he was, betraying her imagination.

How he was a softhearted person who found it difficult to refuse someone else’s request.

But, he would put his life on the line with conviction in order to save everyone.

「Well, I agree that guy is more perverted than I thought. He was also like that when he peeked at me bathing the first time we met, and he also got a lot of further crimes──」

「I also agree with that. That young man is a deviant.」

Soffice who heard Lisha’s story immediately responded in agreement.

Then, it was Tillfur who tilted her head in confusion.

「Eeeeh? Did you also get something done to you by Lux-chin? Or rather, which grade are you from? It feels like you are a freshman though.」

「……This isn’t the time for this. I’ll go ahead.」

Soffice’s heart skipped a beat and she turned around in panic. Then she advanced through the corridor of the girl’s dormitory with a small run.

In order to put distance for now from Lisha and Tillfur, she headed to the Academy’s school building this time.

–

「Fuu, that was dangerous.」

Soffice was walking in the courtyard while continuing to search inside the Academy ground.

She had come here before during the Campus Festival, so she remembered the outline of the place in general, but she couldn’t recall the details.

Above the table that was set up for the standing buffet party, several baked sweets were placed. Soffice who hadn’t eaten very much reflexively reached out her hand.

「……Nn, tasty.」

The taste was delicious for something that students created.

Or perhaps, she was just feeling nostalgic because she hadn’t eaten sweet things for a long time.

Inside the Moon, thanks to synthesized meals, she was able to obtain balanced nutrition, but in general she was unable to eat meals that could be called as proper food.

It was to the degree that the meal Airi brought her inside the prison tasted delicious.

「Aaah, wait there. You are eating too much!」

「-……!? That’s, this is──!?」

Soffice who was stuffing herself under her mask became flustered, but it seemed she was misunderstanding.

「I’m not, eating too much……you know?」

The girl who was slightly behind her was eating a heap of piled up sweets.

Donuts, apple pie, crepe, cookies, cake, and so on, a girl with soft and fluffy pink hair was continuing to stuff her mouth silently with various sweets.

If she remembered right, this girl should also be someone close to Lux and a user of a Divine Drag-Ride.

Her appearance was lascivious with the rabbit ear hair band and black outfit that was clinging tightly on her skin that she was wearing, but it looked cute when coupled with her innocently childish expression.

「Geez Philuffy, don’t just eat, help out here too! Right now there is a talk that an intruder is inside the Academy. It could be that a molester is coming again──」

「……-!?」

Soffice’s body stiffened with a twitch hearing the voice that talked to Philuffy.

「On that topic, the girl over there, you are wearing a mask but, don’t tell me……you aren’t a man who came from outside right?」

「I wonder?」

*Jiii*, Philuffy’s sleepy looking eyes were directed on Soffice’s mask.

When Soffice tried to divert attention from her while slipping away from the side, she stepped on the fabric of her robe that was dangling until under her feet.

「Ah……!」

Soffice’s body that almost stumbled was lightly supported by a single arm.

And then, her mask was slowly shifted up, and eyes with golden pupils were absentmindedly peering onto Soffice’s face.

「…………」

A brief silence.

Wondering whether this was a fatal damage to her disguise, Soffice resolved herself inside her heart. Even so Philuffy returned her mask back to its original position as though nothing had happened and faced the other female students.

「This girl, isn’t a molester.」

「Is that so? Thanks.」

The girls who seemed to be searching for the intruder left with that.

Soffice was openmouthed in amazement under her mask, but then Philuffy’s gaze turned towards the sweets that she was carrying.

「The baked apple, looks tasty.」

「Could it be, you want to eat it?」

「…………」

*Nod*, the pink haired girl──nodded wordlessly to Soffice.

When Soffice handed it to her, Philuffy split it into half and gave it back.

「Thank you, ghost-san.」

「You’re welcome, rabbit-san.」

「…………」

She wondered what was with this situation.

Far from getting captured, was she overlooking her here?

Why wasn’t this girl getting suspicious of her?

「I want to ask for a bit. Do you know Lux Arcadia’s place?」

「Over there but, right now, I cannot go meet Lu-chan from my end.」

The girl was indifferently answering so while eating the baked apple.

「I see.」

「Yes. Lu-chan, is liked by everyone in the Academy after all.」

「…………」

「Because, now he has a lot of proper friends.」

「Friends……?」

「Yep. I am Lu-chan’s first friend.」

Soffice could perceive just a little bit of a soft smile from the expressionless face of Philuffy who muttered that.

『I want friends from the outside world.』

The face of her little sister──Uruk who said that emerged inside Soffice’s mind.