Editing Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut:Volume 8 Prologue (section)

===Part 2===

The autumn where the tree leaves were changing color.

At the early morning that wasn’t far from the day when the large event called the campus festival would be held.

Lux finished his Drag-Ride independent training in the practice ground inside the Academy site and he took a breather.

「Fuu……」

He had gotten used much to the Academy lifestyle, but when he was training using Drag-Ride alone like this, he suddenly recalled the past matter──the memory of his chores lifestyle during the last five years.

『Why are people become unable to put effort when they are aging?』

Once the boss of a smith where he was helping out at that time told him that inside a bar.

『There is also the simply factor of slacking off, but that ain’t all. When people saw their effort bear fruit to a certain degree, it’s gonna become harder for them to put in even more effort than that. They won’t notice with just their own thought and viewpoint. Even though there won’t be any problem if there is just one guy who get it watching over them when they got to be like that……』

‘I see’, Lux at that time nodded in agreement.

However currently, he was thinking that he didn’t want to be seen by anyone while like this alone he──,

「Now, then……」

He ended his rest before his body could cool down, wore his Drag-Ride once more, and resumed his training.

In the day when there was no practical class, it was Lux’s custom to feel his Drag-Ride even if just for a short time.

His body wouldn’t forget the control of Drag-Ride, but he would feel like the precision of his technique would fall without doing that.

After finishing the general things, at the end he took a deep breath, then he strongly grasped the Drag-Ride’s control stick.

He heaved up the pebbles he gathered into the air, then he released Bahamut’s Divine Raiment.

「──Reload on Fire.」

Compression strengthening──with this ability, the flow of time was decelerated until a fragment of the normal time, and after that time was super accelerated until several times over. He spread the ability until the range of several ml around him and activated it.

At the same time he also drove his Drag-Ride and used his great sword to lop off the slowly falling pebbles.

His own movement was also decelerated until a fragment of the normal, but the advantage was that he could confirm through his entire surrounding.

It was the application of Divine Raiment to cope with simultaneous attack from multiple directions as well as counterattack.

It wasn’t something so great that it could be called as a hidden technique, but it was a battle skill that could become his battle strength proportionate to that.

「Ku……!」

But, in the middle pain ran through Lux’s head, the Reload on Fire was undid and the technique failed.

As expected because it was originally a powerful Divine Raiment, activating it in wide range would put considerable burden to his mind and body.

Since five years ago he was just a step short of completing it, but it didn’t really go well.

『If you are able to grasp one more trick to it, you might be able to complete that technique. For example──』

He remembered receiving that advice at the end from Fugil, his eldest brother who observed this technique.

But, after that his childhood friend Philuffy was captured and the plan of the revolution was hastened, in the end Lux was unable to complete this technique.

He doubted the advice of his brother who betrayed him, wondering that 『it might be a trap』.

Even with the last key in his hand, he kept being unable to open the door and always stopped over there.

However──.

「You are working hard every day aren’t you, Lux.」

「Eh……?」

A voce called out to him right after he dispelled his armor. Lux turned around to behind him.

A blonde haired girl wearing costume that was fitting tightly to the body exclusively for use in Drag-Ride──a pilot suit, was staring toward him with a straightforward gaze.

The third year student who was a daughter of a duke who was one of the four great nobles, and the captain of the raid squad Syvalles.

The girl who was serving as the aide of Lux who became Seven Dragon Paladins, Celistia Ralgris.

She had glossy blonde hair that hung down until her waist, and well-featured looks.

Her figure that was clad in aloof elegance was so beautiful it caused him to hold his breath unconsciously.

Furthermore that bulge of her breasts that protruded out noticeably was so big it was disproportional even between that lean and toned body. When it was wrapped in pilot suit it became even more lascivious.

Surely Celis herself wasn’t aware of it, but for Lux who was pretty much a healthy boy in his puberty, it caused him to be a bit troubled of where to look.

「……Go, good morning. Celis-senpai.」

Lux greeted stiffly toward the older girl who had close relationship with him right now.

Lux became embarrassed that he was so immersed in his training to the degree he didn’t notice her existence and how he got fascinated with her appearance just now that he unconsciously averted his eyes.

「I’m sorry that I greeted you late. I’ve noticed you since some time ago, but I thought that I shouldn’t become nuisance to Lux.」

Celis communicated using courteous attitude even toward him who was her junior.

Celis also had clumsy and regrettable aspect to her, but as expected Lux thought that she was a splendid senior.

Looking at the sweat on her skin, she must have finished training too.

「I was practicing a combat style that I newly thought of. It made use of basic technique called Break PurgeDrag-Ride Release but……. As expected it cannot be completed with ordinary means.」

Lux turned his face while making such talk.

「What Lux did just now, was a development of new technique? It looked like a technique to oppose simultaneous long-range attacks from a large number of opponent but──」

As expected from the girl who was famous as the Academy’s strongest.

It seemed that she saw through Lux’s aim from a glance.

「Yes. I have attempted it since the past, but it’s not really going well──, as expected swinging my sword at full strength while also activating Divine Raiment in wide range is causing the output to be completely lacking.」

Lux smiled wryly while speaking out his own weak spot.

Then, Celis put her hand on her chin while thinking for a while, before long she lightly clapped her hands *pon*.

「That’s right. You are able to execute the technique itself, so how about increasing the precision and durability of your concentration?」

「──Eh?」

Lux was taken by surprise and raised his voice. Celis was nodding with ‘uh-huh’ in understanding before she took a stance with the Sword Device of Lindwurm that she was carrying.

「I am mainly heightening my concentration with training that has conditions attached. With the method of using a specific gesture as the switch, I pushed aside any idle thoughts and obtained the power to concentrate. I trained so I can do that anytime when I touch the handle of this Sword Device on my waist.」

Celis explained about the method that was taught to her from Wade, Lux’s grandfather and also her private tutor.

A practice method that doubled as light self suggestion.

When practicing in an environment where she could concentrate, she would touch the handle of her Sword Device beforehand as the initial signal.

By thoroughly imposing that act to become a habit, that act itself would become a switch to perform the conversion of mind so that she could instantly display her maximum strength, something like that.

It seemed that the forms in martial arts and the Passcode to summon Drag-Ride were also a variety of that. Surely the power of concentration that Celis possessed also thanks to that.

「After that, there is the padding of concentration by letting out voice. I don’t really use it, but it seems that even the output of muscle can also be increased temporarily by letting out voice you know? If several techniques are combined like that──」

「That’s, right. I think I will give it a try later.」

Celis was always practicing alone, so perhaps she was happy to be able to talk with Lux because she was strangely talkative with bright expression. Lux thought warmly of such Celis, but on the other hand for some reason he also felt a sense of discomfort.

Celis’s advice was accurate, and he thought that she spoke correctly.

In fact if he became able to do just as she said, he might be able to complete the technique just now.

In spite of that, some part inside his mind rejected it.

Even though he thought of it as correct, he didn’t want to accept it.

(Just, what am I thinking……? No, Celis-senpai’s advice, if I remember right in the past──)

He had recollection hearing it five years ago.

From the mouth of his brother, Fugil who was watching Lux’s training at that time──.

「Oi Lux! Also Celis, here, over here!」

When Lux was falling in thought, a familiar voice came down from above.

The one who appeared was the figure of a girl, clad in huge scarlet Divine Drag-Ride, Tiamat.

The princess of the new kingdom who Lux served as her knight, Lizsharte Atismata.

「Go, good morning, Lisha-sama. Today, you are unusually early aren’t──」

It was still around six o’clock of early morning, usually this was a time period where she would be still sleeping at the Drag-Ride’s atelier.

Lisha landed down beside Lux and Celis, then she dispelled the armor she was wearing.

It seemed she didn’t come for training, she was wearing her uniform with white gown on top of it.

「Fuh, I guess. Even I can at least wake up early sometimes──not that! An emergency contact came for us! It’s the war council that we heard from before. It seems that the schedule is changed. It will be held at this Cross Field throughout the morning.」

Lux and Celis looked at each other’s face seeing Lisha’s serious face.

The other day at the royal capital, someone who introduced themselves as the Lord──the ancient imperial family whose existence was described from the ancient document of Ruin appeared.

A meeting to decide countermeasure was planned to be held soon where two of the new kingdom’s chief vassal would also participate.

「──Understood. I will immediately change.」

Lux told her that and then started running to return toward his room in the dormitory.

「…………」

Right after seeing him off, Lisha called out to Celis who was similarly moving toward the waiting room to change.

「However, what were you two doing alone since the morning? I don’t think it’s possible but, it’s not anything indecent right?」

「Wha, what are you saying Lizsharte!? That’s disrespectful! I was merely catching sight of Lux’s training by chance──」

「I, I see. Then that’s fine. It’s, that ero woman──Yoruka told me just now though, it looks like recently that Krulcifer is doing suspicious movement see……」

Lisha’s cheeks slightly reddened and she muttered while entwining her fingers uneasily.

「What do you mean by suspicious?」

Celis tilted her head in puzzlement. Lisha’s face turned even redder and she yelled.

「Tha, that’s why you see. That, it looked like when coming back from Ymir Theocracy, she kissed Lux while whispering that she lo, loved him or something, she di, did that as she pleased without even any permission from me──」

「Ki, kiss──is it-!? Lux and Krulcifer were!?」

Celis reacted to that word and even her face instantly blushed.

In respond even Lisha also became even more panicked and flustered after Celis said that loudly.

「Do, don’t say it so loudly! Tha, that made even me embarrassed right!?」

After speaking with a troubled look, Lisha crawled her gaze on the practice ground’s floor and took a deep breath.

「We, well, this is just something that Yoruka──, that ero woman said though. Ho, however in the end, it looks like Lux doesn’t really thing anything about it, he also didn’t give back any answer anyway to Krulcifer. I think there is no problem but……anyway!」

Lisha deliberately let out a loud voice and straightened her back to pull herself together.

And then, she puffed out her breast that was quite large for her petite body and folded her arms and continued speaking with her cheeks still dyed red.

「You too, if you are Lux’s aide, pay attention so that Krulcifer won’t do anything uncalled-for. Because, that, it will be troubling if she make any strange pass at my knight. It will also adversely affect his duty in the future, besides, even though I’m planning……to say it to him properly, and yet──-……no, nothing-!」

At the end, Lisha said such thing with a voice so small it couldn’t be made out clearly.

「A, anyway that’s all! Then, a horse carriage is waiting outside so hurry!」

「Un, understood! I will also head there immediately……」

Celis responded with a slightly nervous voice and she too returned to the waiting room.

She wiped her skin with a towel, then she noticed the beating of her own heart that was pounding fast like an alarm bell.

「Krulcifer, kissed Lux……!? Even I, have that kind of knowledge, the act of ascertaining feeling between man and woman but……」

A face that she didn’t know, a face that was in a daze as though in fever was reflected on the mirror in front of her.

Celis too had heard some stories many times from her classmates and juniors in the Academy.

The love story of relatives and friends, or the evaluation toward the male instructors.

Because she was misunderstood by her surrounding as man hater for a long time, the girls around her had never made that kind of talk to her, but after Celis recognized Lux and his enlistment into Syvalles was formally decided, occasionally she would be asked about such topic from the students.

『The first boy that Celis-senpai recognized, as expected it means that you like him right? About him──』

『You said to Lux-kun that you want to be taught various things about boy but, what kind of thing you have him taught you?』

『I’m disappointed. Even though I thought that Celis-san is absolutely a person who like girl──!』

With the last one as exception, since then the people around her would sometimes talk to her about that kind of topic.

Each time she was teased about her relationship with Lux, Celis would say 「Tha, that kind of talk is not permitted!」 shyly and denied it decisively.

He thought of Lux as likeable as a junior, and she was also relying on him from the bottom of her heart as the first man who became close with her.

She was also healed when he would give her heartfelt consideration toward her who was always strongly disciplining herself as the captain of Syvalles.

Actually she wanted to show him her reliable aspect as the model senior, but when she was together with Lux, she somehow depended on him with honest feeling.

While thinking that it wasn’t really praiseworthy, that time was really pleasant for her.

In that kind of meaning, Lux was unmistakably a 『likable man』.

She was also a duke’s daughter, so by all rights she was at the age when the talk of marriage would flood in.

The rumor of 『man-hating』, and how she was an officer cadet while also possessing strength that would put even male from military to shame.

If only those two factors were nonexistent, her engagement might be decided already since a long time ago.

「Lux as someone of the opposite sex that I like……, is it?」

Celis still wasn’t conscious of Lux until that far.

But, hearing that Krulcifer was approaching Lux, the shock that she felt was surprising even to herself.

The young man who broke the shell of herself who was captured by 『rightness』 and 『duty』.

Just by imagining Lux having love relationship with someone would cause her to be seized by vague feeling of anxiety and irritation.

「Ju, just what in the world I am thinking──!?」

When she was thinking of Lux while wiping her body, her body was strangely turning hot and a throbbing impulse welled up.

She took a deep breath to calm herself down somehow, but her heart’s palpitation wouldn’t settle down, and she only leaked out feverish sigh.

「Krulcifer, toward Lux she……」

She became Lux’s aide till the end was only to support him who was her junior.

She went to Ymir Theocracy the other day as reinforcement was also like that.

However──was that really all there was to it?

「There is no such thing. Something like me using the position of aide as excuse because I merely want to stay at Lux’s side is──」

She thought that.

And yet, she wondered why her feeling wouldn’t calm down like this.

「It’s unrelated with the matter of Krulcifer. I’m not harboring that kind of wicked feeling toward Lux, that should be true. Isn’t that right, Wade-sensei?」

Celis muttered that toward her teacher who had passed away.

Even so her feeling was still somewhat restless while she changed her clothes. She then hurried to head toward the campus gate.

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