Hello!
Wow, it sure feels nostalgic to post here after what... 2 months?
I took a break then worked quite a lot, but the desire of writing was strong as ever. I'm really pumped up for this one.
It may be one of the few on the site to be a complete Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut one...
As always, I try as much as possible to grasp the characters and their talking habits... as well as the universe. This one's quite hard but damn I love both the anime and novels so much.
Concerning the story, to make it simpler and not spoil people, it happens RIGHT AFTER the end of the anime.
It'll be as usual with me, quite a short one. I'm not good at handling long stories.
However I truly hope you'll like it.
Oh, for newcomers, rest assured, I never drop a story (the only case would be my death or incapacitation), you can safely begin this one.
Don't hesitate to share or review the story if you liked it, it really motivates as you know.
The Cross Field Academy was a school only for highborn daughters aiming to become Drag-Knights.
Drag-Knights designed the warriors who piloted Drag-Rides, powerful suits with powerful armaments and abilities.
Located in the first district of the city, it truly was a spacious and vast place, with its own training field and all the facilities the students needed.
The Academy recently welcomed its first male student, Lux Arcadia, a former prince of the fallen empire that had ruled the country for centuries.
Judged and condemned as a criminal, forced to wear a collar, Lux had been forced to pay a tremendous debt.
In order to collect it and atone for his sins, he accepted all sorts of odd jobs from everyone, earning the nickname of "Chore Prince".
Unbeknown to all the citizens who despised him and considered him as the last son of a tyrant family, Lux was also the Black Hero, the Drag-Knight responsible for the coup d'état that had overthrown the Arcadia Empire.
Only a very few knew about his condition, but even the Queen of the New Kingdom had been forced to condemn him not to confuse her people.
It was better for the common people to have a responsible to punish and a mysterious, hidden figure to adore.
The Arcadia Empire used to dictate a strong male chauvinism doctrine, where women had a place at the bottom of the society.
Therefore, when the Black Hero destroyed the 1 200 Drag-Knights of the Empire, it caused the country to lose almost all of its armed forces.
In order not to tempt the other countries and secure its future as well as to change this tendency, the New Kingdom decided to form young female elites to become Drag-Knights.
So, for years, the Cross Field Academy only welcomed girls… until Lux accidentally entered the girls' bath, involuntarily peeked on the New Kingdom's Princess naked body and causing a ruckus.
Despite this disastrous start, Lux slowly proved his valor and prowess against both the Abyss, the monsters lurking in the Ruins, but also the army of the fallen Arcadia Empire, seeking for revenge.
He earned the confidence (and admiration) of his fellows students and made several close friends.
Much to his surprise and delight, his childhood friend, Philuffy Aingram was also studying here, being the little sister of the headmaster, Relie Aingram; his little sister and only family left, Airi Arcadia as well.
Lux also became friend with the princess, Lizsharte Atismata and rumor said that he was betrothed to a beautiful exchange student from Ymir Theocracy, Krulcifer Einfolk.
An ancient Empire's assassin, as emotionless as devoted to the Arcadia bloodline, Yoruka Kirihime, swore to serve him with both her (beautiful) body and soul (not so beautiful).
Above all, it was murmured that Lux broke the shell of the rumored man-hater Celistia Ralgris, captain of Syvalles, girl of the Ralgris family, one of the Four Great Nobles' house.
After the recent events that involved the arms dealer Hayes, who shared the Arcadia bloodline, Lux and his friends managed to save the capital from the ancient Ruin Gigas and the Heiburg Republic, another country that was cooperating with Hayes to invade the New Kingdom.
Lux had been appointed as the personal knight of the princess Lizsharte and on top of that, as one of the Seven Dragon Paladins.
These elite Drag-Knights would represent their country and were deemed as the strongest in the world.
Each Dragon Paladin could appoint an aide of his or her choice.
Lux chose Celistia Ralgris to become his aide. Because she was his reliable senpai and the strongest of the Syvalles.
Of course, many people saw it as unofficial betrothal…
And so Lux and the girls went back to their daily life at the Cross Field Academy.
After all this time and trials, Lux was now known and accepted within the Academy as well as in the country.
Last male and heir of the Arcadia Empire, he had the characteristic silver hair and grey eyes of the Arcadia lineage.
His handsome features and kind character, as well as his ex-prince status made him very popular with the girls, common or nobles.
This, his "close harem" and him being dense as hell, contributed to make him very unpopular with males of his age. Truth to be told, Lux could not make any male friend because of this.
Lux was also a hard working person, willing to help anyone, which also earned him through time the trust and affection of the common people.
Of course, a lot kept despising him for what he was.
Even the nobles learned to recognize his valor, if not, his importance, because of his indirect influence on the common and his strength in battle after being appointed as one of the Seven Dragon Paladins.
Everything seemed to be going well.
But inside the very Academy's walls, darkness was lurking and would soon emerge.
The famous trio known as the Triad was the autoproclamed morals committee of the Academy, represented by Sharis, Noct and Tillfurr.
The three of them were childhood friends and their characters completed each other very well.
Sharis was well-balanced, teasing, Noct was calm and composed, Tillfur was carefree and always raising up the mood.
Currently, they were in a small storage room normally used for manuals or for punished students in detention, all clad in the Academy uniform.
"I did not think it would pile up like this…"
"Yes. We gravely underestimated the danger here."
"Guhh…"
Sharis, Noct and Tillfurr sighed once again.
The only desk of the room was buried under a mountain of papers.
Each of these papers represented a request addressed to Lux by a student of the Academy.
As everyone knew, Lux was still the Chore Prince, bound to help people to clear his debt. Many girls (in fact, all) in the Academy disputed his services, and requests of all kind were given to him.
The Triad's idea was first to put in place a request box so everyone could have their request read and fulfilled in time.
However, Lux prolonged absence because of the recent events and his stay in the Capital, with his actual convalescence, had for consequence the aberrant accumulation of requests.
Moreover, the highborn girls of the Academy, not used to privation, became hysteric because of their lack of Lux and started to fill more and more requests demands to increase their chances of spending time with him.
Noct often had to sort out pointless requests like "holding the door", "saying hello in the halls", "holding hands in the stairs to prevent a fall" and such.
Even so, requests piled up so much that the box soon became insufficient to its task. The Triad had to find a bigger one, but the same problem occurred, and they finally decided to simply stock the requests in a local, with headmaster Relie's permission… until it became like this.
Tillfur made a wry smile.
"Erm… should we borrow a Drag-Ride to move them to a bigger room? Or maybe we could ask Lux-chi…"
"Yes. It is only his fault if it has come to this."
When she heard Tillfur suggestion, Noct immediately replied.
Sharis sighed deeply.
"It's not like it's truly his fault… Besides, asking Lux-kun would be cruel…"
"Yes. I was joking. Lux-san does not deserve this. But to be honest, I am very impressed by the diversity of the requests here. To think he is able to do so many things…"
Noct muttered this, amazed.
"Eeeeeh, that's true. Lux-chi would make a perfect full time home husband with all his polished skills."
Tillfur smiled, picturing Lux in her mind, welcoming her home with a bright smile.
"Well, I can't deny that. Lux-kun is kind and pays attention to everyone, but he also respects us even as women."
Sharis closed her eyes and nodded.
Despite the Empire's fall, male chauvinism still prevailed in many places and women often had to fight to be recognized especially in the army.
"Yes. His innocence and modesty are also a bright side of him."
Noct also commented but suddenly the Triad fell silent, noticing their own feelings and words towards Lux.
They blushed for a moment and an awkward atmosphere ruled the room.
But at this moment, their thoughts were united as one.
"He truly is dangerous to inspire us such feelings without even being here."
"Alright, alright. Enough… we need to find a solution about this."
Sharis clapped her hands and pointed the mountain of papers.
Asking Lux to clean all of the requests did not seem reasonable. Besides, with his new responsibilities, he would surely be absent and busy again.
But they could not let the request pile up anymore, or a riot would emerge in the walls of the Academy.
"Maybe we should ask headmaster Relie about this, don't you think sooo?… last time, her idea of the red paper was really good. Even though I didn't win."
"Yes. The possibility of only us three solving this issue is likely very low."
Tillfur emitted a suggestion, almost instantly approved by Noct.
"You're right… but I have the feeling the solution will too, endanger Lux-kun…"
Sharis made a malicious smile.
One week later…
"Ah, as I thought, it will be really hard to get through it huh…"
Lux sighed with a broomstick in hand.
It was early in the morning but Lux was used to wake up at such hour, to get to his daily routine.
In fact, he did most of his usual chores the morning where everyone was still dozing; it basically included cleaning rooms of the Academy at Relie's request.
Lux would also from time to time clean the Academy training grounds, where he would often meet with Celis doing her morning training.
Presently, Lux was finishing his work in the cafeteria, collecting the dust and eventually wiping off the tables with wet cloth, so the students could have breakfast in proper conditions fit for ladies.
"B,but still…"
Lux muttered, lost in his thoughts even while working.
The thing that was bothering him at this moment was a question Lisha asked him the very night of his appointment as his personal knight.
Lux could remember the scene very well.
Lisha with her Sword Device pointing at him, asking him who was the one he loved.
Now that he was confronted to that question directly, Lux was quite lost.
He always found his close friends beautiful and deserving respect and admiration but he never thought of love and being loved in return, as a man and not as a friend.
Lisha.
Krulcifer.
Philuffy.
Celis.
Yoruka.
Each one of them was different to Lux, and he always felt at ease with them.
However, he never considered his own feelings toward them. There was simply no point to do so, to even allow himself to imagine a future with someone for him.
Because, they all deserved…
"…someone better than me."
Lux achieved his thought aloud, with a somewhat bitter smile.
Lux was a healthy young man, so, even for him, it was impossible to remain untouched by the presence of so many beautiful girls around him.
That was why he would always suppress his feelings, or any misplaced thought regarding them. He would simply force himself to see his friends as friends and nothing more.
Lux's self-esteem was very, very low to say the least. This was why, even if a girl would confess to him, he would kindly reject her and tell her that she would find someone better.
Lux already faced this kind of situation while doing his chores for the common people. Many girls invited him or confessed their feelings during these years.
But he never, ever considered accepting a proposal.
In Lux's mind, an invitation to date could lead to more dates and eventually to develop an intimate relationship.
For Lux was a man of honor, it was only natural for him to think that he should (if it were to happen) prove his feelings to the woman he would love by marrying her.
There was something the girls did not know about Lux, something he did not tell them.
He was wearing a criminal collar… and because of his status, he was not allowed to marry. Until the authorities of the New Kingdom would remove it, Lux would not, could not take a woman or even engage in betrothals.
On top of that, he still had a huge debt to repay, and this was something that could not be taken lightly. It would be a huge burden for the person he would marry.
And above all, Lux, from his point of view, was the prince of the old Empire, the one who could not save the country, the one who could not even foresee the betrayal of his older brother, Fugil.
Lux's feelings were simple.
His sins, his burden forbade him to lead a happy life. He had to pay for his mistakes and correct them by creating a better place for everyone to live.
It did not mean that Lux did not enjoy these moments spent with his friends. He cherished them and was thankful but there was something else.
Lux could not open his heart entirely to someone. Even his closest friends, even his sister.
Lux would trust them, rely on them… but for some reason, he was afraid to open his heart and to trust someone to the point he would tell him or her every last of his worries, fears and feelings.
Maybe, in the end, this was truly the cause for Lux not being able to accept his friends' feelings as well as his own.
He was aware of this fact but it did not help him. It pained him, at the contrary, to be unable to open to his friends.
And so, the mind occupied with such thoughts, Lux finished his morning chores.
Once done with the cleaning, Lux went to the training ground to do his daily exercises, with and without his Drag-Ride.
Surprisingly, he did not meet Celis at the training grounds. It was quite strange since his reliable senpai would always train every morning.
(Maybe she had an urgent task…)
This was Lux's genuine thought. After all, Celis was greatly respected and as the captain of Syvalles, she had many responsibilities.
Thus Lux did not pay it attention and did his training as usual.
Because of its intensity, his training would always leave him covered with sweat. Due to the early hour and his classes that would take place right after, Lux could not afford to take bath.
The main reason was that there was no male bath. Lux had to go to the girls' one. He could only do that late the evening when nobody would risk to cross paths with him and lead to an accident.
Because of this, Lux only changed clothes after his exercises, before going to classes, in the desert changing room of the training grounds.
Inside the changing room, Lux took off his pilot suit and his shirt, finding himself in underwear.
He then quickly wiped his sweaty body with a towel.
"Lux? Are you there?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice called him from the outside, startling Lux.
"Yes?..."
Lux answered without thinking.
A few seconds later when the door opened, he regretted it.
The silhouette of Celistia Ralgris appeared, her long, blonde hair shining with the morning sun, her breasts emphasized by her uniform.
"Good, good morning Lux. I was looking for yo–?!"
Celis, who was smiling and greeting him, stopped in her tracks, dumbstruck.
This was to be expected since before her very eyes, Lux was almost naked, just wearing his criminal collar and underwear.
The room was filled with his sweat scent, and the sight of his body made Celis dizzy for a few seconds.
In addition, Lux was clearly embarrassed of being seen like this, as told his flustered face.
Progressively, Celis seemed to regain consciousness and her face become bright red, to the point Lux expected steam to pop out of her ears.
"I,I am sorry!"
Celis yelled, closed her eyes, and dashed away, closing the door with so much force the entire room trembled.
"Wai,wait, Celis-senpai?!"
Lux called her with a desperate voice.
Out of reflex, he tried to catch up with her and opened the door, only to fall on an entire class of girls who was about to begin a practice lesson with Drag-Rides.
Of course, they just witnessed the entire scene.
Celistia Ralgris, the captain of Syvalles, the daughter of of a Great Noble, the aide of the Dragon Paladin Lux just left the changing room, flustered.
And seconds later, Lux himself exited the same room, almost naked and all sweaty.
"Kyaaah!"
"Is this for real?"
"I am dead and this is heavens, right?!"
"Lux-kun! Stay here so I can look for a photographer!"
"My?! What were you doing with Celis-senpai?!"
"Now that I have seen you like this, I cannot get married anymore! Take responsibility!"
The reactions of the girls who saw him were greatly different.
"E,everyone?! This is a misunderstanding?!"
Lux shouted in response, panicked, desperately trying to fix the incident.
However it was too late, the deed was done, and none of Lux's efforts would suffice to stop rumors to spread across the Academy.
But for once, the roles were reversed: it would be the first time Lux was accidentally peeked by a girl, and not the contrary…
"Why did it become like this…"
Lux murmured, his forehead against the desk of an almost empty classroom.
He was waiting for everyone to leave the classroom to get some rest. Honestly, Lux did not feel himself to endure the lunchtime with all of his classmates gazing at him and whispering, like they did during the morning classes.
The rumor spread like wildfire, becoming extravagant and exaggerated, especially since it involved the rumored man-hater Celis, and the only boy of the Academy, Lux.
At first, the girls only whispered the two of them were seen in a suspicious place, with Lux in underwear.
By the end of the morning classes, there were some girls categorically claiming that they heard cries of pleasure from a changing room and saw both of them running completely naked in the halls of the Academy.
During the lessons, Lux heard the whispers and moreover, he felt two gazes piercing him, filled with negative energy.
His childhood friend, Philuffy, did not seem to care about this issue, since she had the ability to detect lies.
"It doesn't matter since Lu-chan and I will do the same once married."
Philuffy only said that before leaving for the cafeteria, with her usual absent look.
(Maybe, this is worse than to be scolded), Lux thought.
As the last students left the classroom, Lux heard footsteps in his direction.
He could feel a terrible aura and immediately knew what was coming… or rather, who.
Mustering his strength, Lux raised his head from his desk. At his left, on the stairs of the amphitheater-like classroom, two girls were standing.
The princess of the New Kingdom whom he was the personal knight, Lizsharte Atismata, and the daughter of a noble of Ymir Theocracy, an exchange student (who also designed him as her fiancé), Krulcifer Einfolk.
Lisha was displaying a red, angry and flustered face, while Krulcifer had a smile colder than ice that contrasted with her beautiful features.
"Lu,Lux! What is the meaning of this?! Even though you're my knight, you…"
"Ara, ara, Lux-kun. I underestimated your carnal lust. I thought you would be able to restrain your low instinct until our official wedding."
"You, you got it wrong! It's not, what you think…"
His heart crushed by his friends' accusations, Lux retorted with cold sweat.
"Th,then, explain yourself!"
"My, I cannot wait to hear your version. Please go on."
"Even if you say this, why does it seem like you're about to murder me?!"
Lisha and Krulcifer's expressions grew scarier, if possible, rendering Lux even more helpless.
Doing his best to ignore their oppressive presence, Lux explained the incident to his friends.
After that, even if their anger seemed to be gone, their expressions remained mixed.
"Mmh. It seems I underestimated this girl. I'll have to be careful from now on…"
"Even though you're my knight… I didn't see you naked yet although you did see me…"
Krulcifer seemed thoughtful while Lisha remained flustered.
However both of them were glaring at him with a light in the eyes that made Lux worried.
He felt like, they were about to do something unreasonable…
"Err, I wanted to ask you, where have you been the past few days?"
Lux hurriedly tried to change the subject but he was genuinely curious.
The past week, his did not get to see Lisha, Krulcifer and Celis as much as usual for an unknown reason.
Surprisingly, at his innocent question, both Lisha and Krulcifer turned their heads as if it was an embarrassing thing to ask.
"… Studying."
"Yes. Studying."
Both gave the same answer after a short silence.
"Eh?"
Lux tilted his head at the unexpected reaction and answer.
They indeed had several tests the day before, but most of the students were learned enough to get good grades without effort.
So for them to study this much, especially Krulcifer who was basically always at the top of the ranking…
"That's, the truth! Why are you looking at us like this?!"
Lisha flared, her cheeks red.
"Errr, Lisha-sama, it's just… Unusual for you… especially Krulcifer-san to study…"
Lux managed to voice his doubts.
"Of course. I simply needed to make sure I would have the required grades for–"
"Lu,Lux? Excuse me?"
As Krulcifer was about to give a detailed explanation, a hesitating voice interrupted them.
Celis was standing at the door of the classroom, obviously embarrassed.
"Y,yes, Celis-senpai?!"
Lux immediately stood up and gulped. He was expecting another scolding (even though the morning's incident was not entirely his fault).
Celis was looking at him and seemed to remember the same thing, her face reddening all of sudden.
For a second, Lisha, Krulcifer and Lux thought she would dash and run away like used to do but she breathed in and put her hand on her Sword Device.
Celis instantly calmed down. It was a gesture she had learned to enter a focused state.
"… Forgive me, all of you. Headmaster Relie wishes to speak to Lux in private and charged me to bring him in her office."
"I, I see. It can't be helped…"
"Such a shame but I am sure we will have another opportunity. See you, Lux-kun."
"Ah, then, excuse me…"
Lisha and Krulcifer gave up and Lux took his leave.
He found himself alone with Celis in the halls of the Academy. The memory of the morning incident being still fresh, none of them dared to speak.
"Ce,Celis-senpai, what does Relie want to tell me?"
"Th,this, I do not know… In fact, I... I was supposed to bring you to her this morning, before the classes, but we… I…"
Celis tried to explain and fell silent but it was enough for Lux to understand.
"A,about that, I'm sorry!"
Lux apologized in a hurry.
Seeing his behavior, Celis smiled tenderly.
"No, it was my fault too. I should have knocked before entering… As I thought, I still have a long road ahead of me in order to become a reliable senpai, haa…"
Lux smiled wryly too when she displayed her honest yet clumsy behavior.
Celis was always strict with herself and at the same time trying to guide her kouhai like a true and respected senpai.
But this girl was just timid and clumsy. To Lux, it was not truly a problem since he found this side of her very cute.
"L,Lux-kun, why are you looking at me like this?! This, this is not permitted! People will think of strange things if they see us like this!"
Celis noticed her gaze and smile and immediately get flustered.
"Ah, excuse me. I just thought, I was very lucky to have you as a senpai."
Lux said that honestly.
Celis did not answer but her walking posture became very strange, as if she had turned into a robot.
"Th,then, excuse me. The headmaster wants only to talk to you. See you later, Lux."
"Thank you, Celis-senpai."
When they arrived in front of Relie's office door, Celis excused herself and left Lux.
Lux knocked on the door.
"Yes, come in."
Relie's voice answered.
Lux entered the dark office, to find Relie as usual behind her desk, with a smile on her face.
"Hello, Lux-kun. Thank you for coming. I heard you accomplished some feat this morning? Youth is such a great thing!"
"Relie-san, please…"
Relie teased him and Lux sighed.
"My, my, I was just joking. Let us not waste time. I have a very important mission for you, Lux-kun. Or to be exact, a mission I can only entrust to you."
Relie stopped her jesting and suddenly became serious.
How was it? I'd be very happy it you liked this first chapter.
For once I have a selfish request, if you can review or share the story, It'd be greatly appreciated.
I don't really care about having 100000 followers, since it's a very special place/reading for people who like it, but knowing persons read and enjoyed my work is awesome and motivates me a lot.
However do not mouthservice, if you found it bad in anyway, you can go on too, as it may help me to become better.
That's it for now. Thank you for reading me, and see you!