–
Part 1「Fua, aa……」
The Academy in Cross Field.
Lux was making a big yawn at a corner of that wide ground.
The time he woke up today was at five a.m., an hour earlier than usual.
At his hands were a long bamboo broom and several large buckets that got several sheets of dust clothes hanging on them.
His outfit wasn't his usual uniform, but a work clothes with burnt brown color.
The weather was clear, but perhaps because the autumn was almost over, the air felt chilly on the skin.
Lux's body s.h.i.+vered slightly from the blowing wind and then he lightly stretched his body.
「……Oops. I mustn't be half asleep, let's work properly.」
He lightly slapped his cheeks with his hands and put spirit into himself to make himself awake.
He was at a facility with round shape like an annual tree ring, where each circle was gradually getting higher the nearer they were to the outside.
Lux was standing on the empty audience stand of the practice ground.
The cleaning of Drag-Ride's practice ground was one of the large-scale requests that the Academy sometime made to him.
Because this facility possessed s.p.a.ciousness in the top category even inside the whole Academy's ground, it took time and effort to clean it.
Of course it was impossible to do it alone, so the area he was cleaning in the end was only a part of it, but Lux gave it his all by his own initiative and woke up early and did the ch.o.r.e diligently.
The basic of this job was to sweep and clean using bamboo broom, and lightly wiped the part that was especially dirty with damp cloth.
He would use soap at persistent dirty spot, but this time there wasn't so many spots like that.
Lux was really focused since he started working and performed the work, then──,
「……Eh?」
How much time had pa.s.sed?
Lux finally noticed that when he finished cleaning about half of the area that was a.s.signed to him.
At the center of the practice ground, on the ground that was surrounded by circular wall, a girl wearing pilot suit was standing.
「……Celis-senpai? This early in the morning.」
Lux muttered that, at the same time his eyes were stolen by the movement of the girl that was visible from the audience stand.
She had her rapier shaped Sword Device unsheathed, and she kicked on the ground almost at the same time.
She leaped through a distance of more than ten meter in one breath, at the same time she released several sharp thrusts forward.
Following that, she gathered light particles in high speed after drawing her sword and summoned──the form of Drag-Ride.
She instantly equipped a golden armor and unleashed an attack with her special armament, a huge lance, completing the sequence of forms.
From drawing out her sword until equipping Drag-Ride──while even attacking during that time, all of those actions were done quickly in three seconds, which caused a sudden gust to whirl at the surrounding.
「As expected, she is amazing……」
Even from the view point of Lux who possessed expert skill as Drag-Knight, the skillfulness of her technique caused him to unconsciously watch in fascination.
It was a feat that was only allowed for her who had polished her training of martial art and sword art until the extreme, making her able to perform several thousands of forms.
Celistia Ralgris.
She was the eldest daughter of a great feudal lord of the new kingdom──the Ralgris house, and the girl who served as the captain of the raid squad Syvalles.
Even more than her famed strength as the Academy's strongest, her dignity and beauty that were armed with her grace and strictness would attract anyone toward her.
Furthermore the personality that was brought about from the self-confidence and focus she was clad with──her characteristic aloof aura gave her a worthy charisma for a member of the four great n.o.bles.
「She is practicing Drag-Ride again from this early morning……」
Even though it still hadn't been that long since the campus festival and the deadly battle against the Sacred Eclipse, the strictness and the time spent for her training were increasing further.
Celis was able to do that exactly because she possessed stamina that would make male military officer to lose face and a powerful will.
(I need to be careful not to become nuisance for Celis-senpai……)
Lux cleaned up the place as quietly as possible while staring at her practice with a side glance.
She practiced skating midair and basic movements before moving to practice swinging with her weapon.
And then, she coordinated action from activating Divine Raiment until various kind of movements in a coordinated movements that linked from one motion to the next motion, displaying a complicated tactics.
After that thirty more minutes pa.s.sed. It appeared that she was concentrating on her training very much, she didn't notice Lux's existence until the very end and finished up her training.
Celis stopped moving to rest her body and dispelled her armor.
She sent a brief glance at the surrounding ring before she started walking toward the waiting room's direction.
「Aa……」
Lux's ch.o.r.e also coincidentally finished at that time, so he thought to at least greeted her, but she had left ahead of him.
He chased her back figure in hurry and saw her entering the waiting room that was a bit of distance away from the practice ground.
「──Wait, this is bad!!?」
Lux stopped his legs in front of the door and let out a sigh of relief.
He had already blundered several times in this Academy. There was no way he could do anymore act like peeping again.
He should wait until Celis finished changing and got out, or perhaps he should knock the door and called out.
Lux thought that and he leaned back on a tree nearby the shed, it was then──,
–
「Haa……. Unfortunately, it was a failure again this time.」
–
「──Eh?」
Celis's voice that suddenly came from the other side of the waiting room's wall caused Lux to tilt his head.
「……Yes, that's right. I was asked by two of my juniors from the second year for a coaching. I was cheerful from being relied on after so long, so the day before yesterday, I asked them to accompany me in my morning training but──」
It was indeed Celis's talking voice.
The people who were training at early morning was mostly limited to only Syvalles's members if he remembered right, but today he didn't saw 『anyone else』 other than Celis.
(Just who is she talking with──?)
It was when Lux felt dubious like that,
「──But, the two ran away in the middle. It's strange, I had already relatively lightened the practice content though. Perhaps it is just as I expected, I am really hated……it's depressing.」
「Er, Celis-senpai……?」
When Lux called out from the window of the waiting room, *bam* a sound came from inside and Celis quickly got out from the waiting room.
She had changed completely from her pilot suit into her uniform, so there was no problem, but shock was carved on her face.
「Lu, Lux-!? Why are you here!?」
Celis's cheeks reddened while looking unusually fl.u.s.tered.
When Lux quickly looked around at the surrounding, he saw a small bird that was on the window flew away.
「Aah, please wait! I still haven't finished──」
「…….Wait, was senpai talking with that bird just now!?」
As expected, there was no one except Celis inside the waiting room it seemed.
Different from herself in the past, it seemed she had resolved herself to speak more frankly about her worry to the people around her, but was she now back to taking her problem upon herself alone?
Lux retorted at this unexpected side from this girl who was normally dignified, in respond,
「Yo, you are wrong. Just now it was……, a, a doll. I was only talking to a doll that was decorating the room. It wasn't like I was unable to speak frankly about my worry to anyone and immersed myself in self-hatred, I didn't do such thing by any means so──」
「No, there is almost no difference whether it's a doll or a little bird though!? In a sense that feels excessively lonely you know!?」
It felt like her trying to lie was making it even more awful instead.
「……I, it doesn't matter so please just treat it like you haven't seen anything! Prying further is not permitted!」
The yell from the red faced Celis made Lux nodded.
After they took deep breath until both of them calmed down, Lux explained why he was here.
When he was cleaning up the practice ground, he happened to see Celis and chased after her to give his greeting. After he told her that, Celis showed a complicated looking smile.
「Is that so. I too am still immature, to be unable to detect your presence from the audience stand like that.」
She muttered that sounding slightly self-torturing.
Regarding that, it was also slightly unexpected for Lux.
Even if she was relaxing her attention because she was inside the safe Academy's ground, but for someone at Celis's level, she should have noticed Lux's presence.
「Could it be──, Celis-senpai has something weighing your mind?」
*Twitch*, Celis was shaken greatly hearing Lux's question.
「I, it's not something really──. No, I should talk about this to Lux. Before this, I caused trouble for you because I stayed quiet. And, I also trust you.」
Celis said such thing with her cheeks faintly blus.h.i.+ng.
The memory of the punishment game that was carried out after the campus festival the other day.
The sensation of that pa.s.sionate kiss was resurrected, causing Lux's body to ache heatedly.
「E, err──, yes!」
Lux himself also found it hard to look properly at Celis's face from the embarra.s.sment.
After Lux raised his voice to divert his mind from such hard pounding of his heart, Celis slowly began to talk.
「That's, I have the feeling as though my juniors are avoiding me. Even though I felt that I had become able to be more frank than before with everyone around me after much trouble, and yet now I wonder if it is no good as expected……?」
Celis hung her head down with a vaguely heavy dark aura enveloping her.
(Aa……, so it's the usual thing.)
Lux saw that and smiled wryly.
As the result of Celis's seriousness and strong sense of responsibility getting mixed with her slightly clumsy side, sometimes she would be dejected like this.
「Even though some juniors who I wasn't really acquainted with unusually relied on me, I was unable to coach them properly. I wonder if there is anything inadequate within me? I don't understand. It's sad. Now I ended up training by myself again……. It's lonely……ah, i, it's not like I'm feeling lonely or anything you know!? I am the captain of Syvalles after all, I'm completely all right.」
「No, senpai doesn't need to hide it anymore! It's making me unable to stay here further hearing that! More importantly──the reason why those junior girls stopped training together with Celis-senpai……what could it be?」
Those girls came by their own initiative to volunteer receiving training from Celis, so it was a bit strange that they would immediately stopped by themselves like that.
Surely Celis was worrying because she was unable to understand the reason, but──.
「Perhaps that was because, the training menu was harsh. I think that's all there is to it.」
Lux suddenly interrupted like that with a conviction from his instinct.
He had also thought this when they were training together at the summer training camp but, even the members of Syvalles threw in the towel from Celis's training amount. Based on that, there was no way that the average students could keep up with Celis.
Surely the junior girls understood that and backed out of the training.
Lux was quiet confident of that conjecture inside his mind, but,
「Tha, that shouldn't be true! I too was considerate at those girls who were accompanying my training for the first time, so I halved the training amount.」
「Eeerrr……」
Lux made a complicated expression in respond to Celis's yell and he was at loss of how to respond.
Most likely, those juniors were unable to endure even after that.
The stamina of Celis who had imposed to herself training that could even be called as severe since her childhood was far surpa.s.sing the stamina of the average people.
「As I thought, I believe there was a problem in how I act and behave. I wonder why my personality became like this. Haa……」
Seeing Celis getting dejected again, Lux thought.
With how Celis herself was losing confidence, it felt like the effect would be minor even if he persuaded her.
If Lux's conjecture was correct, those junior girls didn't hate Celis, it was only that the training was too harsh──.
「I guess. Then, how about if we do this?」
There Lux proposed a certain suggestion.
「I will accompany Celis-senpai doing your training menu for a while. If there is something that I noticed, I'll speak out my opinion. By doing that, won't Celis-senpai yourself notice just what did you do wrong this time?」
In other words, Lux would act the role of training partner for 『Celis's junior coaching』.
By using that as reference, he would make Celis herself to judge the reason of why she was avoided by her juniors.
Celis was listening to that in a daze for a while, but before long her eyes s.h.i.+ned fiercely and she took Lux's hand.
「That's an excellent plan! It will be a really excellent chance in order for me to learn where I'm inadequate at.」
Lux responded with a smile, but actually there was drawback to this suggestion.
(In the first place, there should be no way Celis-senpai has made any strange error……)
The problem was how Celis herself couldn't notice how the excessiveness of the training was exactly the problem.
Even if Lux pointed it out, she wouldn't be able to comprehend it fully, so it would be better if he conveyed it to her by making her feeling it for real throughout the process.
From his experience of training together normally with her, there was no problem with Celis's guidance and att.i.tude, there was no way she was behaving in a way that would make her got hated.
If Lux who possessed stamina could keep up with Celis's training until the end, he would be able to proof that.
「Then, can I please ask you of this right away starting from tomorrow for several days period?」
「Yes. It will be fine if trim on my time doing ch.o.r.es for a bit.」
Lux answered right away. Celis showed a relieved sigh with a smile hearing that.
「I understand. But, Lux is a boy, so you will be fine if your training amount is the same like mine right?」
「Euh……!?」
The moment she said that, a strange voice slipped out from Lux's throat.
Celis's stamina wasn't ordinary, so if Lux attempted to perform the same training menu like her, he would get crushed.
「As expected, a boy with stamina is heartening. That's right, this is a good chance so I will increase the training a bit more than usual to match Lux──」
「The usual is all right-! Thi, this time it's for the sake of confirming Celis-senpai's method in the end, that is my objective──!」
Lux said in panic. Celis pondered for a bit and,
「You're……right. I almost lost sight of our original purpose. The priority is to search the cause why those girls are avoiding me. Training with Lux──I'm looking forward to it.」
「Ah, yes……」
Lux was feeling relieved while promising to hear more about the menu later, then she parted from Celis for the moment.
「It's fine with this, right……?」
He would convey to Celis who was feeling down in her heart, that there was no problem with her personality and att.i.tude that would make her got avoided, and made her to recover her self-confidence.
In order to do that, Lux made that suggestion, but he wondered, would he too ended up like those aforementioned juniors and became unable to keep up with Celis?
However, in front of Celis who was looking so delighted like that, he couldn't withdraw his words.
「Just in case, I should think up a countermeasure……」
For caution's sake, after that he managed the requests in general from the headmaster, dorm mother, and the students for a while, then he headed to where his cla.s.smate Tillfur was at.
He asked her to cancel or postpone as much as possible the most recent requests that felt like it would take a bit more effort.
「What's left, is only to do it……huh.」
Lux took a deep breath and resolved himself.
「Well, I'll manage somehow, right……?」
Or rather, he prayed that he would really be able to manage somehow.
Lux talked to himself with that tone that was filled with wishful thinking.
–
Part 2「I, I was naïve……!」
The morning the next day, inside the cla.s.sroom where the cla.s.s lesson was going on.
Lux was listening to the teacher's lecture like usual while desperately holding himself back from falling prostrated on his table.
(Sleepy……, no, I'm too tired I cannot sleep……)
To think, that the training of Celis that he witnessed at yesterday morning was actually already starting from an hour before that. It was unexpected.
They started from early morning with running through the Academy's ground and muscle strength training.
After that they carried out training of performing forms of sword art and martial art at the practice ground, then they moved to Drag-Ride training.
Using Drag-Ride consecutively would cause burden, so every fifteen minutes they would take a break for five minutes in the form of calisthenics, they carried out three set of that.
They tidied up at seven o'clock. They wiped their sweat and changed into their uniform and headed to the dining hall.
There, finally the morning training menu was over.
He had no strength remaining for doing morning ch.o.r.es.
「Lux-chi, you okay? Somehow you look a bit, like your soul is leaving your body though……?」
「Barely……」
Tillfur called out to him worriedly when it was lunch break.
If he could say his true feeling, he was nearly at his limit.
Even more than the pure amount of the training, the density of the training itself was very much so.
After Lux responded like that with a dry smile, the door of the cla.s.sroom was knocked before it got opened right away.
「Lux, have you eaten lunch? I wish to start a light training in five more minutes──」
「Wait, we will also train at afternoon!?」
Lux reflexively yelled with his honest tone.
「It will be fine. It's only a simple training of mind control operation, so we will finish before the afternoon cla.s.s. There is no need to worry.」
Celis smiled brightly and said that without any malice.
「No, what I'm bothered with isn't the time──」
「Then, I will be waiting at the indoor practice ground, I'm looking forward to it.」
Celis said only that with a proud face before turning on her heel and left.
If he was told that she would be waiting, then he had to go.
Lux lifted up his body with a stagger and then exited the cla.s.sroom.
Honestly food couldn't even go through his throat, but he guessed he would manage somehow…….
「Lu-chan. You have to eat properly……, you know?」
Lux received a donut from Philuffy beside him while partic.i.p.ating somehow in the lunch break training too.
After that, the training also continued after school as though it was only natural, and it continued until the sun had completely set.
–
Part 3「So Lux, have you noticed anything? A problem in my att.i.tude and behavior──」
Early morning two days later.
They finished a two hours training and then took break in the waiting room. There Celis asked Lux like that with a voice that was tinged with nervousness.
「……Currently I don't see any particular problem, but」
To speak frankly, yesterday morning fatigue suddenly came down on him and it was the fact that he wished to stop, but he was able to continue somehow.
「Is there something, that is not good with me? It will be helpful if you can tell me clearly.」
Lus recalled the scenes of him training together with Celis in these two days.
If he had to say what bothered him, excluding the harshness of the independent training──.
「Let's see. I had this feeling when training before wearing the Drag-Ride, but……」
「……Ye, yes. Please say what I've done poorly without any reservation!」
「Err, when senpai is baring the chest part of your pilot suit when it got hot, it will help if you do it in a way that won't enter my sight. Honestly, that's, it was a bit awkward…….」
「It's about that-!? It's different from the answer that I was expecting!」
After Lux pointed out looking embarra.s.sed, Celis also turned red and got stupefied.
「I, I rarely trained together with the opposite s.e.x, so I didn't notice but──, as, as I thought, was Lux bothered?」
「Tha, that's a question that is really hard to answer for me but, that's, well……just a bit.」
Lux spoke ambiguously like that, but speaking frankly, it had gone far past being bothered.
Celis who was a top cla.s.s beauty even in this Academy was defenselessly baring that voluptuous and pointed b.r.e.a.s.t.s, that was why he would gulp looking at that whether he wanted it or not.
Besides, because of the incident before, Lux became strangely conscious of Celis who broke through his heart's wall.
「I, I understand. Is there──anything else?」
「Eerr, after that, it's, when I forgot my water flask, Celis-senpai shared your drink with me, I was very happy.」
Lux recalled the training yesterday while saying that. Celis puffed out her chest confidently hearing that.
「Doing that much is only natural. After all it will affect the body if you force yourself in the middle of training without water.」
At that time too Celis was also saying 「There is no need to be reserved, please drink water properly」, and she half forcefully made Lux drank the water inside her flask that was mixed with honey and lemon.
「Just, at that time, I was embarra.s.sed because we were putting our lips on the same flask though──」
The moment Celis heard Lux's words, she froze still.
「Yo, you don't need to notice even such things! Tha, that's, I too noticed that later on and it got stuck on my mind……」
Celis's face reddened while she confessed incoherently. Seeing that, Lux too became even more embarra.s.sed.
A gentle atmosphere that was causing heart to beat fast was flowing between the two.
–
Part 4「……Is that so, then in the end, Lux haven't discovered my flaw yet.」
A few minutes later.
Celis muttered with a tone that was vaguely relieved, and perhaps also somewhat vexed.
「It's all right. Celis-senpai is amazing and strong after all. Surely even this worry will also be solved somehow.」
「I am, amazing……?」
Celis looked a bit surprised at Lux's words.
「Yes. In the past I too did nothing but training with Drag-Ride alone, but it was difficult to continue doing so in a place where no one was watching. I think that Celis-senpai who keep doing it as though it's only natural is really strong and amazing.」
Those words came from Lux's true feeling.
But, Celis made a somewhat brittle smile and gazed at empty air with a lonely expression.
「──Such thing, is not true.」
「Eh……?」
「Perhaps what I'm doing is certainly requiring effort. But, the more important thing is to be able to become someone else's strength.」
Celis displayed a brittle face seen from the side and continued.
「Even when Wade-sensei……, Lux's grandfather taught me, that was the only thing I'm not good at. Simply defeating the enemy before my eyes, simply fighting in place of someone else……. If there is something like that it's easy to understand but, understanding someone and giving them strength is difficult.」
「Celis, senpai……」
「Keep it a secret from everyone else about how I'm whining like this okay? Even like this I'm the captain of Syvalles after all. Now, let's continue this after school. Because this afternoon we are requested to exterminate the Abyss that appeared near Cross Field──」
An Abyss appeared near Cross Field that should be quite far away from the Ruin.
Could this be also an influence from Sacred Eclipse that would end the world in half year more?
The moment Lux tried to stand up while thinking that, Lux's legs staggered.
「E, h……?」
The sky was shaking, and the ground was approaching from the side.
「Lux!?」
Celis's voice seemed far away.
'I'm fine', the words that he should whisper didn't come out from his throat, his consciousness was suddenly getting distant.
–
Part 5「N, nn……?」
When Lux opened his eyes, a familiar ceiling entered his sight.
It wasn't the medical room that he often visited, he was laid down on the bed of his dormitory room.
The hands of the clock were showing that it had only pa.s.sed through noon.
He recalled Celis lending him her shoulder until they returned to the dormitory, but after that it seemed a few hours had pa.s.sed.
「How are you feeling, Lux?」
The anxious expression of Celis who was looking down on him from the side made Lux to smile right away.
「……I'm sorry for making senpai worry. It looks like my sleep was a bit lacking.」
Lux slowly lifted up his upper body and ascertained his body's condition.
There wasn't anywhere that was particularly in bad condition, according to what Celis heard from the school doctor, it seemed that this was because of light anemia and overworking.
Nonetheless, it seemed he had recovered, so Lux was going to return to the cla.s.sroom for his cla.s.s.
「──I'm sorry, I didn't notice until it become like this.」
Celis suddenly spoke those words.
「Lux wasn't sleeping much because of the ch.o.r.es wasn't it? My consideration was lacking.」
She quietly looked down and said that.
(No, I think the cause is surely the training's intensity though……)
In any case, he didn't say it because it would be as though he was blaming her.
「I will nurse you, so please rest peacefully. If there is anything you want, you can say it whatever it is without reservation.」
Celis pulled herself together and straightened her back while saying that.
Celis's own worry hadn't been resolved, but if she was telling him gallantly like that, then he felt like he could rest easy.
「Thank you very much. I'm happy with just that consideration.」
Lux answered like that and stared at Celis who was sitting down beside the bed.
Then, Celis too was looking down at Lux who was lying down on the bed again with a gentle expression.
「Then, can I have an idle talk with you just for a bit? I was reflecting on myself why Lux fainted──and there was something that I faintly recalled.」
The way she was speaking was unusual for Celis, but Lux nodded.
'Thank you very much.' After beginning with that, she started talking quietly.
「It's a story about my mother. Even now my mother is living in Ralgris house in good health, but five years ago──until the old empire was changed into the new kingdom, she wasn't really able to come out in the open.」
According to Celis, her mother's body was weak, and giving birth to Celis alone was the best she could do.
Her inability to give birth to a son for Ralgris house that was a noted family of knight caused the surrounding relatives to treat her badly.
Within the culture and tendency of male chauvinism that the old empire carried out at the time──no, for a long time, several times more effort was necessary for Celis to be recognized as heir.
In other words, Celis's training and education that could even be called as excessive, everything was so that she could become a knight. She wholeheartedly didn't want her mother to feel bitter.
「But, it couldn't go well. I caused trouble for Wade-sensei, and after that I immersed myself in even more training, searching for righteousness──it would be great if there was other way to help mother, but the best I could do was only accomplis.h.i.+ng my own desire. Perhaps I was unable to see anything.」
Celis muttered with self-mockery.
Seeing that, Lux immediately lifted his body.
「I think, that's not it.」
「Eh……?」
Celis's eyes opened wide at Lux's words that he said out seriously.
「In the past, my mother died when I was a child, but if she is alive like Celis-senpai's mother, I would surely try to protect her no matter what──」
Lux paused for a moment, then he stared at Celis once more.
「I think Celis-senpai isn't mistaken or anything. But, now that you have become the strongest Drag-Knight in the Academy, I think it will be fine if Celis-senpai think about yourself more. At the very least that is what I think.」
A small silence filled inside the room.
Before long Celis sighed with a smile and slowly took a deep breath.
「Lux is a really mysterious boy. It's the first time someone said that to me, that someone is looking at me like that. As I thought, I, to you──」
Celis slowly approached in front of Lux who was in sitting position and she brought her face closer.
That beautiful face which was blus.h.i.+ng feverishly somewhat came right in front of Lux. The distance was shortened until it felt like their lips would touch.
Lux's heard jumped strongly in his chest──it was then he hallucinated that the window's gla.s.s seemed to shake.
Right after that, a shrill metallic sound that felt like splitting the head could be heard inside the room.
The sound resounded from the bell towers throughout the Cross Field ringing simultaneously.
It was the sound of bell that was warning the attack of Abyss.
When the two noticed that, tension ran through them.
「──Please rest here. I will go looking at the situation.」
「Please wait Celis-senpai! I too──」
When Lux tried to get up from the bed, Celis was already rushed outside the room.
–
Part 6「There is no horn flute sound, so this doesn't seem to be someone's scheme but──, something is strange.」
As a member of Syvalles, Celis who was wearing Divine Drag-Ride Lindwurm hurriedly moved toward the second block where the Abyss appeared.
The enemy was bird shaped Abyss that appeared from the Ruin Garden──Gryph.
It was a monster with atypical appearance of lower body of lion and upper body of eagle with large wings growing from its body.
Its torso had bright brown color. Only the area around its head that was emitting a sharp predatory eye glint that was covered with white feathers.
「Different from before, now Abyss is also appearing at other place than Ruin's surrounding. If this is also Sacred Eclipse's influence, then this is a dangerous omen.」
Originally this was an enemy where several Syvalles members were needed to face just one of it, but because right now was an unforeseen situation, Celis prioritized quickness in dealing with it.
「GUAAaAAAAH!」
That monster that seemed to be embodying fierceness was expressing its rage and hostility perhaps because it was being chased by the Drag-Knights of the new kingdom.
「As I thought it's more comfortable to be alone like this. I can finish this without dragging anyone into it.」
Celis calmly warded off the Abyss's threat and took a stance with her special armament Lightning Lance.
And then, she calmly looked forward and waited for the time of clas.h.i.+ng.
It was silent for a few seconds.
The back wings of the Abyss twitched, and sharp feathers that were like knife were fired.
When Celis burned down the countless feathers attacking her from the front with Lightning Lance, the Gryph moved.
Its legs that were several times larger compared to the average lion were attacking Celis with a sharp trajectory, then──,
「Divine Gate.」
A domain of light was instantly spread after Celis's quiet murmur.
It was the instant teleportation within a fixed distance by Lindwurm's Divine Raiment.
Celis dodged the attacking front legs of the Gryph and moved behind it. Then she pierced its back with her lance.
「GU, AaaAAAAAA-……!?」
The dazzling lightning that surged right after that instantly scorched the large body.
The Abyss that got its core pierced and burned exploded and dispersed.
「Fuu……」
Celis who ascertained that let out a relieved sigh and relaxed her stance.
At that moment, the sound of air getting torn roared from behind her.
「GUSHAAAAAH!」
There was one other Gryph hiding behind the cover of a high bell tower where it could look down on Cross Field.
It growled and leaped at Celis's back.
「……Watch out-!」
Lux who was flying in Wyvern hurriedly cut into the Abyss's...o...b..t, it was then──,
「──Lightning Flash.」
Celis rotated and thrust her lance. The lightning fired from the lance's tip burned the second Gryph and stopped its movement.
「Eh……?」
Lux was astonished by the reaction of Celis who should be completely taken by surprise and he hesitated slightly.
But, at that time his eyes met Celis's eyes.
「──Please finish it, Lux.」
「Yes!」
Lux moved to attack almost at the same time while replying.
He ran his blade at the shoulder of the bird beast that was enveloped in fierce blaze and broke the core through the shortest route.
「GUGYaaAaAAAH!」
The second Gryph screamed and vanished. The danger had left from the second block.
In the end, it appeared that Celis had also predicted the existence of the second Gryph, or perhaps even taken by surprise she would be able to immediately deal with it, in any case there wasn't any need for Lux to help her.
As was to be expected from someone who was called as the Academy's strongest.
「It looks like we are able to safely defeat them.」
「Ah, yes……」
They descended on a park from the air nearby the bell tower and dispelled their armor.
It was fine and all to save the town from the threat of Abyss, but Lux was somehow feeling troubled of what to say and he was at a loss for words.
「Say……」
「Eerr──」
After a few seconds like that, both of them simultaneously started to speak, it was then,
「──Ooooi. Wait, both of you.」
From the sky, Sharis of Triad was coming wearing Wyvern, while Noct and Tillfur came from the main street wearing Drake and Wyrm respectively.
「So you three also came here?」
「Naturally. We too are members of Syvalles you know? The princess and missy Philuffy are in the middle of Drag-Ride maintenance so they couldn't come though. Well, even so it's just as expected, from the beginning there wasn't any chance of us getting a turn here──」
Sharis said with a wry smile.
「That's why I said it already. Celis-senpai is totally enough against enemy of this level.」
「No. Carelessness is prohibited. No matter how strong Celis-senpai is, there is no guarantee that there won't be any ambush. Besides──making only the captain to take the initiative and exterminate the enemy will make us lose our position.」
Noct denied Tillfur's grief before she dispelled her Drake's armor.
She was looking at the Radar on her shoulder was surely because she was confirming that there was no Abyss reaction nearby.
「The mission is over. Let's go back home without wearing Drag-Ride in order to save our stamina.」
「Let's do that. I'll search for a coach, so Tillfur, you go look for sweets stall.」
「Roooger. Then, both of you just rest after doing all the work.」
Noct's suggestion was accepted by Sharis, and Tillfur finished up the talk.
The three temporarily left from that place. The tense situation was completely changed and it suddenly became a relaxed mood.
「I'm sorry. Even though Celis-senpai told me to rest, I came here instead.」
Lux was smiling wryly while scratching his head. Celis suddenly smiled and,
「No, you helped me.」
Unexpectedly, she spoke her grat.i.tude with earnest tone to him.
「I noticed that second Abyss, but thanks to you I was able to obtain some leeway. If the Triad also came, I think we would be able to determine the Abyss's position and number and defeat them more safely.」
「Lux, there is one thing that I want to ask. Why were you and also those three were rus.h.i.+ng here even though you all believed that I would be all right? As I thought, were you all worried about me? Even now after I had discarded my reservation with you──」
「……Surely that's because Celis-senpai is popular as expected, isn't that's why?」
Celis was astounded by Lux's words that he said jokingly.
「There is meaning in fighting at your side, that's why comrades who wished to follow senpai gathered to you. Senpai isn't alone. I too am one of those who wish to be at Celis-senpai's side after all.」
Celis was staring at Lux who said that with a bright smile with a dazed expression.
「Lux, is really unfair.」
「Eh……?」
「Even though originally it should be me who is being relied on as the senior, it is me who is relying on you. I'm acting spoiled to you. But, I want to accept it completely because it feels really pleasant.」
Celis's cheeks abruptly loosened while she was looking embarra.s.sed and vexed.
And then she slowly grasped Lux's hand.
「I was avoiding from making effort to talk with other so we can understand each other wasn't I? You, Sharis, and everyone else know about that personality of mine, even so you all stepped up to meet me halfway. I'm thinking that this time, I will be the one who approach those girls who are avoiding me, so that I will be able to understand them more. That's why──」
She cut off her words temporarily and stared at Lux with a straightforward expression.
「When I b.u.mped into another wall, will you listen and give me advice again? Though perhaps this will make me into an unreliable senior for asking help to a boy my junior so many times like this.」
「──Celis-senpai can do so anytime. I too will rely on senpai after all.」
When Lux responded with a soft smile, Celis's eyes turned round in surprise and she averted her gaze shyly.
「Then, I'll command you to return to your usual schedule tomorrow. There is no need to accompany me in my training. Thank you very much, Lux.」
It was a somewhat warm and awkward atmosphere.
He was happy that his relations.h.i.+p with Celis deepened once more.
「I too want to become someone who is able to guide everyone. I will understand those girls' feeling while giving early morning training──」
「No, that's why I'm saying, as long as that training with too high of a hurdle is just taken off the table, everyone will get close with senpai right away……」
Lux's retort that he said out while sweating spontaneously didn't seem to reach Celis whose eyes were sparkling.
Just as he thought, this seriousness and clumsiness had to be left alone somewhere.
「Bu, but, that's, is it also fine if I ask Lux to accompany my training sometimes? How should I say it, training together with Lux is really fun so……」
Celis muttered that with flushed cheeks a bit fretfully. Lux nodded.
「──Yes. If Celis-senpai is fine with me, then I'll gladly accept.」
Lux showed a smile from the bottom of his heart and a.s.serted that.
「Understood. Then, I'll especially prepare a training menu with my all for Lux's sake next time.」
「……Wait, eeeeh!?」
He wanted to refuse it very much, but in front of Celis's bright smile, Lux couldn't find it within himself to say it.
(As I thought, I too am quite a showoff huh……)
Perhaps the day Celis could guide her new juniors was still far off in the future.
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