I own nothing.

"Ah- Well then, this is the special transfer student Amagiri Makoto. Please get along well with everyone."

Makoto was currently standing in his classroom. The ruckus this morning came to an end thanks to the interference of the Student Council President, Claudia Enfield.

Makoto was a little unhappy about this. He was not a battle maniac, but he still enjoyed a good fight with a good opponent, and that Julis was considered a good opponent. Another thing Makoto was unhappy about was Claudia. She always tried to tease him whenever she got a chance, which annoyed Makoto. He knew she was scheming something involving him, but he would keep it in his head only.

Makoto was also unhappy about his objective for coming to this school was shut down completely. All he gathered were that she entered five years ago, departing after just half a year for personal reasons. Her name, birthdate, background; almost nothing remains. The reason he knew this is his sister information was her only remaining photo.

He smelled something fishy about this. Maybe Claudia still hid something important from him. He would investigate more about this later, secretly of course.

"It's your turn now."

His musings were cut short by his homeroom teacher, Yatsuzaki Kyouko. She was rather tall, with a gaze best described as penetrating...or perhaps ferocious, and a tone and an attitude utterly unsuited to being a teacher. That said, that was not what was most surprising, which would be the nailed bat she held in her hands.

"Hey, hurry it up."

"Ah, yes. I'm Amagiri Makoto. Pleased to meet you all!"

Every gaze in the room centered on him. There were students who were intrigued, students who couldn't care less, students who seemed to stare deeply, and students who were on guard. Transfer students were always the subject of attention, but this was rather excessive. Just one girl stared at Makoto with a complicated expression, the reasoning for which Makoto was only too aware.

"Seat, hmm… Ah, why don't you sit with the person you were playing with fire with. It just so happens to be empty, perfect."

"Who, who did you say was playing with fire with that guy?!"

The person Kyouko had referenced, Julis, stood up, her face reddening.

"Hmm, who other than you, Riessfeld? This morning, you were too unrestrained."

"Gu..."

Julis reluctantly sat back down in her seat, located in the second row from the back. Luckily, there were empty seats on either side of her.

"I'd never have guessed we'd be classmates."

Makoto said jokingly as he walked towards his seat.

"…I'm not laughing."

"Listen… I'm grateful to you for saving me this morning."

Julis's voice waked Makoto out of his sleep. Liked usual, he slept throughout the class.

"Oh, sure… So, you're not still mad, are you?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that I'm not mad but the fact is, you saved me. Therefore, let's say that I own you one."

"Own me?"

"That's right. If you so wish, I shall come to your aid just once. But I have no intention of consorting with you otherwise!"

Julis turned around and walked out of the classroom, leaving Makoto dumbfounded. Still being sleepy, he couldn't comprehend what the girl was saying, he just answered out of reflex. At least he still got the main point that this girl owned him a favor.

"Somebody just got dumped!"

From behind drifted over a comment half sympathetic, half exclamatory. Makoto turned around. He saw a young man with lean facial features, a sympathetic expression on his face, extending a hand toward him.

"Well, you are dealing with the Princess, after all. My name's Yabuki Eishirou. We're roommates."

"Roommates?"

Makoto grasped the young man's hand, which he shook vigorously.

"Nice to meet you!"

"Hey, you mention 'princess' before, is that a nickname?"

"Nope. She is a bona fide princess, that girl. After the Ember Tears, the nations of Europe returned to being monarchies. While true control over both government and economics was grasped by the Integrated Enterprise Foundation, they found it convenient to place puppet monarchs on the throne. The first princess of one of those countries, Lieseltania, is that Princess. Her full name is Julis Alexia Marie Florentia Renate van Riessfeld. Her name is recorded on Europe's list of royalty."

"Don't you know a little too much?"

"Oh, this is just purchased information. Provided by the Newspaper Club, incidentally."

He smiled brazenly.

"Why was a Princess at a place like this?"

"Well, that's what we all wonder. She's decidedly lovely, fiercely strong, and a real princess to boot. It's obvious that she'd be the center of attention. Since joining our class last year, she hasn't just caught the eye of others; they stirred themselves into a fanatic fervor as her 'guards'. Not long ago, she issued them a command 'Quiet! Shut up! I'm not a freak show!'"

"I can see her doing that."

"The majority ran off, but as expected, this completely normal response left some very unhappy. The Princess responded by challenging each of them to a duel in turn, and one by one, defeating them handily. Not long after, the Princess soon achieved a position as one of the Top Twelve."

That was to be expected. Having fought Julis himself, Makoto was very aware that her strength was anything but a sham. Even here at the War-Academy City, Asterisk, there were likely only a handful of individuals stronger than her.

"That's why, there's no one capable of approaching that Princess. Until today, there hasn't been a single person able to work up the courage to simply talk to her like that."

"I see. And here, this is yours, right?"

Makoto tossed something to him. Eishirou caught the item with a surprised look on his face. Inspecting it more carefully, he laughed.

"So you noticed."

"Yes. Your voice is too obvious."

What he'd thrown was the Lux activation tool from this morning.

"You're something, man."

With this, Eishirou left the room with a lively gait.

Tomorrow morning, in Makoto's classroom.

"….Morning, Julis."

"Morning."

Makoto tiredly greeted his neighbor, who, cheek resting on her hand, greeted him in turn.

In an instant, the previously noisy classroom was filled with silence.

"Hey, did you just hear that...?"

"Did that princess actually return someone's greeting?"

Seeing the uproar which had taken ahold of their class, Julis slammed her hands on her desk and rose.

"H-How rude is that, you wretches?! Even I'm known to return greetings, too!"

In spite of Julis' sullen expression, the clamor didn't lessen one bit.

It all thanked to yesterday, after Eishirou left., Makoto decided to take a tour around the campus. He had to spend a few years in this school, so he wanted to be familiar with this place as soon as possible.

After a few minutes of sight-seeing, a young man's voice caught his attention. He decided to hide in the shadow of a nearby tree. Positioned in front of him was a pavilion, within which stood three male students. The most noticeable of the three was the one in the center, of large stature and, evident even from Makoto's location, an overbearing manner. The other two, one skinny and one slightly overweight, trailed slightly behind, almost like younger brothers.

They seemed to be arguing about the event this morning, or more precisely, about him. The large man, Lester MacPhail, wasn't happy about Julis dueling with Makoto, not with him. When thing started heating up, he made himseft noticed. Lester wanted to fight Makoto but one of his men prevented him from making a ruckus in public. Lester then walked away from the scene, leaving Makoto alone with Julis.

Thanks to his charisma, Makoto managed to befriend with the princess and understand more about her. She also promised to show me around the academy afterschool and the city tomorrow.

A familiar voice on his left cut him off his musings. About musings, he really did that a lot lately. He wondered why.

He looked at the seat on left, which was empty yesterday, had been filled by a young girl with beautiful blue hair.

"Saya?"

"Makoto?"

True enough, it was Sasamiya Saya, Makoto's childhood friend.

"What's this, what's this? You two know each other?"

Eishirou's voice came from behind.

"You could say that." Makoto confirmed. "I haven't seen you since you moved overseas."

"Yeah. I'm totally in shock."

Even after recognizing Makoto, Saya's expression has barely changed. Well, Makoto is the same, the stoic expression still adorned on his face.

"By the way, how is your dad doing?"

Saya's father was a meteoric engineering researcher, specializing in the development of Lux weapons. The reason the Sasamiya family had left the country six years prior was because of his career.

"He's almost doing too well. I wish he'd slow down. The reason I came here is because dad told me to."

Saya said while averting her eyes. It seemed something happened to her dad, but he would not pry on this matter. Saya showed that she didn't want to talk about this.

"Hmm?"

"He told me to get some exposure for the gun he invented."

"I see."

After class, that same day.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Oh, Julis. I am. Pleas lead the way."

"I have no choice. A promise is a promise after all."

Julis deliberately turned away, although she continued to watch Makoto out of the corner of her eye. Outwardly, she wore an unhurried expression which radiated calm. But inside, her heart was a raging storm.

"…Promise?"

Overhearing their words, Saya asked in surprise.

"Julis's going to give me a tour of the academy today."

"Riessfeld? Why?"

"Well, it's complicated. Either way, it has nothing to do with you, Sasamiya."

"...Grr-"

Saya frowned unhappily.

"Come on, let's go."

"Okay."

"...Wait just a moment. If that's all he needs, then I'll be the one to show him around."

"What!?"

"Huh?"

This abrupt declaration left both Makoto and Julis speechless.

"I'm sorry, but we'll have to decline that offer. I refuse to back out on a promise."

"...Given how little you seem to want to show Makoto around, it seems best that I do so instead."

"W-who said anything about not wanting to show him around?! For starters, Sasamiya, you've only been a student here for a year. In comparison, I've been here since junior high. Which one of us is more appropriate should be obvious."

Sparks seemed to fly between the two of them.

Makoto sighed tiredly. He wondered why they were so worked up for a simple tour.

"Oh, well if that's how we're judging things, then I'm clearly the most suited for the job."

Having appeared at some unknown point in time, Claudia spoke, as she stuck her head out from behind Makoto. She held Makoto in her arms, her breasts pressed directly against his back. At the sight of this scene, Julis and Saya's expressions grew more horrifying yet.

"Julis only transferred here in her third year of junior high. I started here."

"...Who're you?"

"What're you doing here?"

"Personal space, Claudia."

Makoto simply talked in a low tone.

"Oh my. How terribly cold. It's such a rare opportunity, why don't I join in?"

"...No thanks."

"I decline."

"Ara, how unfortunate. Well then, there's the matter of the task for which I came. Everyone else, please stand back."

Claudia looked quite disappointed as she left her position on Makoto's back, instead handing him a file.

"Your appointment for Ogre Lux selection and compatibility testing has been determined. It will take place tomorrow. Please read over this document, and if you agree, sign here."

"Oh, that."

The appointment day was tomorrow, which was a good thing for Makoto. It was a good opportunity to verify for himself whether or not the Ogre Lux in question had really been used by his sister, so he wanted to do it as soon as possible. Furthermore, Makoto had a personal interest in the weapon itself.

"The student council president herself is hand-delivering paperwork; it almost makes one think how leisurely the student council must be."

"Yep. This way we can ensure that all of our students are growing up to be good boys and girls."

Claudia cleverly dealt with Julis' sarcasm.

"Are you two friends?"

"Just so."

"100% wrong."

At the simultaneous, yet completely constrasting answers, Makoto tilted his head in confusion.

"My, how terribly distant."

"We met a few times at the Wiener Opernball. That's it. End of story. Now that your task is complete, please leave."

"…Shoo, shoo"

"I wish everyone a delightful day. Since I will monopolize Makoto for all of tomorrow, allow me to first apologize to everyone."

Claudia curtsied, and left. Julis and Saya stared daggers at her back until it disappeared into the distance.

"I can't stand that fox! Just because her breasts are a little bit big, she thinks she can do whatever she wants...It's just useless fat anyway!"

"...I agree."

Saya nodded her agreement of Julis' words. The former atmosphere of mutual hostility seemed like an illusion, giving way instead to mutual agreement.

"Why don't the two of you show me around together?"

"The two of us...?"

"..."

Julis and Saya stared at one another for a moment, before giving a grudging, wry smile.

"...I understand."

"Fine. Continuing to argue would just be a waste of time."

Makoto sighed in relief. He could finally do the thing he wanted without wasting more time.

The next day, Makoto made his way to the student council room in preparation for his Ogre Lux compatibility testing.

"I hear you had quite a time yesterday, Makoto."

The matter regarding yesterday's ambush on Julis had been reported to the disciplinary committee. It was hardly surprising that the news had reached Claudia as well. Although the incident had found its way online as; "Julis defeats mysterious attackers". Saya's name had been left out. It looked like no one cared about those who weren't members of the Top Twelve. That was really only to be expected, though.

"How is the investigation?"

"The disciplinary committee's already investigated the matter quite thoroughly, but the other party seems to have been careful enough not to have left any evidence behind."

"Then why don't we…"

"Yes, Asterisk does have its own police force, but its jurisdiction doesn't extend to the school grounds. If only Julis was a bit more cooperative, there'd be measures that we could take."

She'd reported the incident to the disciplinary committee, but had refused all concern over her well-being. Even the bodyguards that the disciplinary committee had offered her had been turned down, with the reason being that she hadn't wanted any bodyguard who was "weaker than herself".

"In order to protect those things that are important to her, she'll go all out. When something new presents itself, she worries about losing all that she's already gained."

At this moment a hurried knock on the door sounded.

"...My apologies, I'd forgotten there was another guest today besides yourself. Let's continue this conversation at a later time."

Claudia opened the door remotely via the console beside her, and in walked a most unexpected individual.

The other party, catching sight of Makoto, was no less shocked.

"Requests to use Ogre Lux weapons require a nightmarish amount of paperwork. If at all possible, it's best to do it all in one go. Right then, allow me to introduce you. This is––"

Claudia, smiling, began an unneeded introduction. The simple reason was that those newly entering the room were none other than Lester and his two flunkies.

Startled by the sudden change in atmosphere, Claudia tilted her head in puzzlement.

"It seems you've already been introduced?"

"You could say that."

"W-why are you here?"

The plump yes-man, Randy, pointed at Makoto, stunned. Lester also cast a suspicious glance in his direction before quickly looking away.

"Oh, yes. We know each other."

The skinnier follower, Silas, nodded his head over and over.

"Let's hurry it up. I'd like to avoid wasting my time."

"How very rushed. In any case, it's true that time is precious. Please follow me."

Saying this, Claudia rose, and led them out of the student council room.

"So, what's the process for renting out a Lux?"

Makoto raised a question while waiting for his turn.

"It's simple. We measure your compatibility with the Lux you're requesting, and if it's over 80%, you can check it out."

"Truly simple."

"What's this? Macphail-kun has chosen Ser-Veresta? My goodness…"

If Makoto remembered correctly, it'd be his sister's Lux.

Lester removed the activation body from within, carrying it with him to the center of the room, where he turned to face the window. Makoto couldn't help but stare at the weapon in his hand.

"All right, let's go!"

Lester activated the weapon, and it slowly began to materialize. Gradually manifesting itself, before long, its hilt appeared in its entirety, from which sprang forth a blade of light.

Seemingly running contradictory to its naming, the Demon Sword of the Black Furnace was armed with a blade of white light. Furthermore, it wasn't simply a bladed edge, but rather an enormous blade of light.

As Makoto watched the blade form, his heart began to pound. He felt as though he was witnessing the birth of an unprecedented monster, and his senses tingled. The feeling lasted but a moment, however, and was gone.

'What was that...?' Makoto pondered, before being broken out of his reverie by the sounding of the intercom.

"Compatibility testing is ready to go. Please begin."

With permission to begin, Lester gripped Ser-Versta tightly, and loosed a primal roar.

"Uuoooooooooh!"

Makoto could feel Prana gathering, but Ser-Versta evidenced no change.

"Current compatibility is 32%."

The announcement caused the expression on Lester's face to change.

"DON'T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON MEEEEEEEEE!"

The muscles on his arm rippled and he bit down on his lips, displaying forth an iron determination to overcome, no matter what.

Alas, Ser-Versta appeared none too taken with his approach, and seemingly warranting this present wielder beneath contempt; it flashed with a violent burst of light that flung Lester away.

"Uwaaaah!"

Operating via some unknown force, Ser-Versta hovered in the air, seemingly looking down upon Lester in scorn.

"He's been rejected." Claudia murmured.

"So this is what it means to have a will of their own."

"I'm not done yet!"

Lester, who had been thrown into the far wall, picked himself up, and grabbed Ser-Versta once more. But Ser-Versta turned him into a human bullet once again.

"Damn you! Why won't you obey me?!"

"Now, this doesn't look good."

Claudia noted as the comparability rating hit 0.8%.

"You'll do as I say, dammit!"

His howl availed him not. This time, Ser-Versta threw him yet farther still. Having again been flung into the wall, no matter how you looked at it, this was a failure.

'Finally out. This incompetent really wastes my time.' Makoto thought quietly.

"The compatibility rate's slipped into negative territory! Proceeding any further would be dangerous! Please withdraw immediately!"

Ser-Veresta's tip pointed toward him. It looked like it'd selected Makoto as its target.

"Makoto!"

"Guess it's my turn then."

Makoto stepped inside the barrier. Ser-Versta met Makoto's stare, before suddenly rushing forward in a surprise attack.

"Sukukaja."

Makoto, with a burst of speed, twisted his body to dodge it and grabbed its hilt as it flew past him.

"Sorry but you'll be under my control now!"

Makoto shouted as he stabbed it into the ground. Ser-Versta was now completely silent, as if its former actions were all an illusion. Everyone was left too stunned to react, except for Claudia, who applauded.

"Just what I'd expect of you, Makoto. That was masterful."

"C-Compatibility… 97%! Condition… all green!"

"So, now this thing will be mine, right?"

Makoto asked the stunned audience and an amused Claudia.

I decided to rush thing a bit until I finish the second arc so that Makoto can show off his skills more.