BXBX NOVEL Chapter 74
- Cross Bonalt – Captain of 537th SAB, adjutant to Razé. Liked looking after others. Specialty was flame. He sacrificed his arms during the riot caused by Razé’s engagement proposal.
- Victor – Razé’s subordinate. Still a low rank officer. An aristocrat. Hadn’t joined 537th SAB for long. Admired Razé (Wolf Fang).
- Harul Ducard – Lieutenant of 537th Joined the military at the same year with Bonalt. Liked fighting. Looked up to Razé because she let him fight as he liked.
- Sergio Habermas – An engineer. He was said to be the most talented person in making tools using magic stones. Also known as ‘Grim Reaper’s Toymaker’. He made the screens for Battle Fiesta for Razé.
In a room inside the military facilities.
Cross Bonalt was working in Razé Orphan’s office, handling her job during her absence as her adjutant. It had been one and a half year since Razé joined the academy. He had become accustomed to this current routine.
Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door and saw Victor.
Victor: “Captain! There’s a letter from Leader!”
Victor looked excited as he entered the office and passed him an envelope. Bonalt chuckled at Victor, who was acting fidgety.
Bonalt: “Thank you.”
He carefully opened the envelope that was slightly larger than the one that she had always sent. Inside the envelope, there was a letter and a couple of tickets. It has been a while since his superior had sent him a letter.
He first read the letter. If you have time, I would love it if you could come. But please don’t force yourself.
He realized what the tickets were for.
Bonalt: “It’s the invitation card for the school festival!”
Victor: “Huh?!”
Bonalt immediately checked the tickets in the envelope while Victor was waiting eagerly. It seemed that he wouldn’t leave the office until he found out any news.
Bonalt counted the ticket and murmured to himself, “… Two tickets.”
“Captain.” Victor could access the situation instantly. He didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
Bonalt decided to ignore him because he could guess that Victor wouldn’t come up with anything good.
“I know what you’re thinking, Captain. You must be worried that something will happen because of these tickets,” Victor said while nodding his head.
Bonalt was reminded of the riot caused by Razé’s engagement proposal and involuntarily stroked his healed arm.
Victor: “Since there are only two tickets, let’s keep it as a secret between the two of us.”
I knew he would say it, Bonalt thought as he looked at Victor.
Bonalt: “Victor, you…”
Victor, who looked anxious when he first entered the room, now looked like a villain.
Victor: “Don’t worry. If someone finds out, we can just say that Leader specifically send the tickets for us.”
Bonalt wondered why was this guy so energetic only during time like this. He put the tickets back into the envelope. At that time, another person came into the office without knocking.
Ducard: “Captain～. Let’s go for lunch. Oh, Victor’s here too?”
Bonalt: “Harul… Knock the door before you enter.”
Bonalt desperately tried to keep his calm and pretended to act normal as he put the envelope down. Unfortunately, Ducard never missed anything suspicious.
Ducard: “What’s that? Is it from Leader?”
Ducard walked into the room and approached Bonalt. Victor was watching Bonalt calmly, perhaps to avoid being suspicious. Bonalt saw the look on his face and wanted to tell him not to look with such a pitiful face.
Ducard saw the sender’s name on the envelope. “Hey, it is from Leader. What did she say?”
Bonalt knew that it wouldn’t do him any good to keep it as a secret. “It’s about the school festival.”
Ducard: “Oh. Is it about the wristband that we tested before?”
Bonalt: “Yeah. And she also sent two invitation tickets for the festival.”
Right after he said those words, Victor collapsed to the ground. Ducard was shocked and exclaimed, “Hey! You scared me.”
“It’s over… I won’t get a chance to see Leader at the academy again this time.” Victor laid bare his heart.
Seeing his reaction, Ducard and Bonalt turned and looked at each other. Ducard bewilderedly asked, “You really want to see Leader that bad?”
Victor started his long speech. “Can you imagine Leader- that Wolf Fang goes to school wearing a cute uniform? Of course it would make me curious. I wished I could watch her match live at the arena. I wonder why I was not chosen to help with the security for the previous tournament. From the bottom of my heart, I really envy the students who get to study with her. I also want to spend my school life with Leader, and get her to teach me various things. I’m sure every day will feel like a new experience. Well, I’m grateful to just be in the same space with her…”
Looking at him got caught up in his own world, Ducard and Bonalt turned to each other.
Ducard: “I forgot. This guy joined our battalion because he wants to meet Leader.”
Bonalt: “I forgot too. You’re right.”
Ducard: “I felt sorry for him.”
Bonalt: “We’re not involved with the backup security for the festival. If he wants to go, he needs the ticket.”
“That’s right!!” Victor suddenly interrupted their conversation. “Why are the knights the only one who get to back up the security for the festival?! Are they that worried about public appearance?!”
Bonalt: “… Don’t get so worked up. Try to imagine what it’s like if the military helps with the security at an aristocratic academy without Leader there.”
The room fell silent. Bonalt looked at Ducard and asked, “Why are you quiet too?”
Ducard: “Now that you mention it, I realized isn’t it the same for the tournament…?”
Victor: “All the more reason for me to grab the ticket.”
Bonalt scratched his head seeing Victor at a loss. “It can’t be helped. Everyone wants to go too. Let’s have a proper match before someone goes on a rampage.”
Ducard could guess his real meaning in an instant. “Now you are talking,” he said with a grin.
“Hmm?” Victor tilted his head.
* * *
Two men were seething with murderous aura as they gripped each other’s hands.
Victor: “Woaaaa!”
Ducard: “Just give up!”
Victor: “Lieutenant, you’re the one who should give up!”
When the balance of power was gone, the game was over. “Yeah!!” Ducard screamed as he pushed Victor’s hand down on the table.
“Woooo!!!” Ducard screamed with joy while Victor exclaimed in despair, “Damn it!”
At that time, Sergio Habermas – the Toymaker came into the dining hall and saw the commotion. “… What are you guys doing?”
Razé’s subordinates froze when they heard the familiar voice. Bonalt went to greet him in a hurry.
Bonalt: “Habermas-sama!?”
Sergio: “… Razé’s team? What’s the commotion about?”
The men realized that a dangerous person had come and they all looked at Bonalt with pity.
Bonalt: “… Actually, we received tickets from Leader…”
Bonalt had won the arm wrestling tournament and managed to grab one of the tickets for the school festival. He had decided to hold this match so that they could fight fairly without anyone getting injured. Now that Sergio was here, he was extremely worried of his fate.
Bonalt was speaking hesitantly but Sergio managed to understand the situation. “Oh, the school festival? Don’t worry, I also have a ticket.” Sergio said boastfully as he looked down at Victor. The team members prayed for Victor in their heart.
Sergio grinned and went closer to Victor who had lost the game.
Victor thought Sergio had come to laugh at him. What a mean guy, he cursed inwardly. He put on an annoying face and asked, “… What is it?”
Sergio: “Actually, I have a lot of influence because I created the wristband.”
Victor changed his attitude in a flash. “I really want to go to the school festival, Habermas-sama!!”
Bonalt and Ducard were watching from the side and was impressed by their junior.
Ducard: “This kid is a street-smart person.”
Bonalt: “I hope he can make fast judgement calls during real battle too.”
The team members who had lost the arm wrestling tournament were relieved when they realized Sergio was not going on a rampage this time.
“You’re so lucky, Victor.”
“Aa-, I want to see Leader too.”
“That school festival event sounds fun.”
“I know the security team are not having an easy job but don’t you think two tickets per student is too little?”
Sergio was involved with the security management for the school festival and he was well aware about this matter. He replied, “I heard that the two tickets are for friends or acquaintance. The parents have their own tickets.”
The team members finally realized that Razé only had this two quota to invite someone to this festival.
* * *
A few days later.
“… Why are they sending so many things? Did something happen?”
Razé had received a lot of gifts from her subordinates. All of them were essential items, so it didn’t cause her any trouble. Although she felt suspicious, she accepted the gift with a grateful feeling. And she never found out what made her subordinates acted this way.