CHAPTER 51: SERENA-FEVER

XENON WINGATE

1 ½ YEARS AGO

“Senpai… What should I wear?” 

It’s a bright and sunny morning, and this is the first thing I heard from my dragonoid the moment I woke up. This is the day where we will challenge our third Pentagram Knight, and this is the first time Serena is troubled on what she would wear for this battle. Right now, she’s equipped with her white-and-gold kimono, frilly short skirt, and thigh-high black boots. This is her normal battle gear, so I don’t know what’s the problem on her.

“Just wear what you always wear during battles.” I uncaringly said as I put on my furry dark blue jacket. I went to the side of the kitchen and fetched my shield, and checked it if it has hidden defects.

“That won’t do, Senpai!” Serena cried like a needy princess. “My fans and my girl band will be watching me on this fight. I also had the three major news channels to cover my battle against our third Pentagram Knight. I need to have a different impression than before! In fact, I need to be more beautiful! The whole nation… no, the whole world will be watching me!”

Serena’s popularity right now is off the charts. I thought the Serena-fever would reach its peak when we became war heroes during the time we put down the terrorist group Arcadia, but I was completely wrong. News spread about us defeating two Pentagram Knight challenges, so we are now a well-decorated dragon-and-knight figure all over the country. 

Actually, she’s not just popular with retarded girls and perverted boys, but she’s also popular with the kids. I’ve seen toys that resemble Serena’s Nexus Dragon form which can be interchanged into her other forms, such as Nexus Barrier, Nexus Archer, and Nexus Saber. I knew all this because I pre-ordered one from the internet. I just don’t want her to know that I ordered an action figure of her dragon form. She’ll mock me and think of me as a weird person.

Suddenly, Serena raised her hand, her index finger pointed upward. Magical glitters sprouted from it like a fountain as she bathed herself with magic.

“Forge!”

Her kimono transformed into a sparkling pink idol dress, with knee-high silver boots and a large cute red ribbon on top of her head. She’s exposing her midriff and her cleavage, not to mention her white thighs and flawless armpits.

“How about this, Senpai?” Serena jollily asked.

“Serena, you’re going to fight a battle, not to sing in a concert.” I wearingly said.

“Rejected then,” Serena said. Then she raised her hand again as she spun herself in glitters. “Forge!”

Her clothes transformed into a judo suit which is way more conservative than all the clothes I’ve seen her wear. I have no problems with her current apparel, but I still have something to complain about it.

“What’s with that karate clothes? Do you even know martial arts?” I asked with a smirk on my face.

“Of course!” Serena pumped her fists. Then, she hopped and made one, two, three consecutive kicks in the air. “Hyaaa! Ha! Haaaa!” On the third kick, her rubber shoe was ejected from her feet, and it flew straight to my face.

“Ack!” I cried. Now there’s a single footstep marked on my forehead all the way to my chin.

“I can move freely with this, but I don’t think my fans will be pleased,” Serena mumbled sadly, fully ignoring the fact that she accidentally hit me with her shoe. Turning her lightbulb on inside her head, Serena raised her hand and spun again. “Forge!”

Her next apparel is the sexiest one I’ve ever seen. She’s now wearing a pinkish white nurse uniform which is partly unbuttoned, which reveals her cleavage again. Her short skirt also reveals the most hidden parts of her thighs. The nurse’s hat with a red cross logo looks adorable on top of her head and coupled with her fashionista glasses, every man would fall for her. 

“Serena, that’s way too much,” I said with a blush on my face.

“Teehee~” Serena winked as she made a V-sign straight to my face. “I would like to wear this for pure fanservice, but if my Senpai doesn't want me to wear it, then I will not wear it.”

Serena raised her hand again and conducted her final magical transformation. Her next apparel is the cutest one I’ve ever seen just yet. It gave me back some nostalgia on my most peaceful days, back when I’m still innocent and not a soldier who is an expert at killing people.

Serena is wearing a high school uniform, the very same uniform that she wore during our high school days. White and blue sailor uniform with a red necktie, blue pleated short skirt, white socks, and brown leather shoes. It’s simple yet adorable. Coupled with her headband that has a golden star on each side, her silky-smooth black hair falls flawlessly all the way to her waist. Having little to no make-up, the natural beauty of her face is emphasized. She’s the same Serena Maizono I first met. The only thing different on her is that she’s wearing set fingerless gloves to keep her transformation intact.

“S-Senpai…” Serena turned away with a blush when she realized that I’ve been stunned by her simple yet gorgeous appearance. “H-How was it?”

“I-It’s good.” I turned away, trying to hide my cheeks. For some reason, I can’t feel but to get awkward and let my mouth do all the talking without consulting my brain. “A-Anyway, aren’t you a little old to wear that? No one wears a sailor uniform at your age anymore.”

“I-It’s called having a nostalgia!” Serena immediately turned red and I can see steam coming out of her ears. Literally. I think she’ll breathe flames from her nose or mouth any moment. “Hmph!” She pouted.

“No, that’s not what I meant. I-”

“Shut up, Senpai! Let’s go defeat that Pentagram Knight already!” Serena burst out as she walked towards the door.

Oh my, I guess I made Serena upset. I wanted to tell her that her high school uniform is a little bit short now that she has grown taller. Her pleated skirt is now too short to cover her legs, and her sailor uniform reveals her midriff every time she moves. Though I think this will give her the fanservice she wants.

“Serena, you-” I tried to reach her, but then, a single sight of her face made me stop talking. I even stopped breathing or blinking. I think my heart skipped a beat. 

All of those happen because of a single smile. Not a cute innocent smile she always wears, but a grim chaotic smile, that is silently telling me that I’m going to die if I ever bring the topic about her high-school uniform again. Her crimson eyes are even flaming, which makes it clear that she’s using my Avenger’s Wrath.

“Start zipping your mouth, or else…” Serena’s tone is pure kindness, which is contradictory to her devilish smile.

“Y-Yes… Will do.” I bowed down like a scared puppy.

“Good.” Serena exited the house. 

I made a deep sigh. That is the scariest Serena I’ve ever seen. Well, she’s a Dragon Queen, and she killed an undead demon. She even has access to all the magic I possess. I should be wary of what I would say to her from now on. To be more specific, I will never talk about a woman’s age from now on, or else I’ll get killed. Lesson learned.

Five minutes of walk, and we finally reached the Dragon Knight Academy’s arena. For the first time since I challenged the Pentagram Knights, the arena gave me a lot more pressure. Not because I’ll be facing one of the most powerful dragon knights in Alterra, but because there are hundreds of thousands of people watching us.

The crowd went wild as they saw me and my dragonoid take an entrance to the dusty battlefield. Right now, the stage is all ours. The Pentagram Knight we’ll be challenging has yet to make his appearance, so I’m pretty sure the people are all getting nuts for Serena.

I can’t believe it. This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen. There are too many people. I think I’d rather have Eldritch and Trystgade watch my fight than have this too many noisy idiots. Of course, the usual Serenatics Fanclub is here. But instead of a handful of girls, the annoying Fanclub now has boys wearing a cheerleading suit as if they are cross-dressing for fun. There are about hundreds of them, and some are holding flags and banners that have the face of Serena on it.

“Serena! Serena! L-O-V-E!!! Serena!!!” The retarded fans cried.

Serena looked at them and made a flying kiss. As a result, all the boys and girls alike made a high-pitched scream as they are about to die. They shouted something like “Kyaaaaa! Serena kissed me!!!” and “I love you forever, Serena! You’re so kawaii!!!”. Seriously, these guys are overreacting.

Aside from the annoying fans club, there are cameramen and reporters all over the place. The annoying flashes of the camera made my eyes ache. I averted my gaze and saw Alphonse, Z, Danielle, and Nathaniel on the audience’s seat. Alphonse and Danielle seemed to be smirking at me, making me think that they are entertained just by watching me get annoyed.

“Hahaha! Look at that poor fucker.” Alphonse said.

“Oui. I know he’ll get used to it.” Danielle sassily commented.

I ignored them as I tried to scan for some more people I expected to watch me. For some reason, Emperor Sirius Elkyria is not here to watch my fight. I thought he’ll be checking me if I deserve to get an army, but it seems that he has more matters on his hand. Not even the dragon knight generals or other Pentagram Knights are present.

“Yo! Good luck, Serena!” A familiar gentle voice of a man irritated me with his cheer. When I looked at the western part of the arena, I saw the handsome duke I met back at the conference. I think he’s Duke Marcus Carousel or Corasell, I don’t know. I don’t care about his name at all. Just seeing him here to watch my dragonoid Serena makes me pissed.

“Duke Corasell! Thanks!” Serena’s smile is pure and wide. “I’ll do my best!”

“Godspeed to you too, Sir Xenon Wingate!” The duke cheered.

“Fuck off, will you,” I mumbled to the duke. Of course, it’s noisy so he failed to hear it. Only Serena was able to hear it.

“Um, Senpai…” Serena went in front of me and looked me in the eyes. “Please be a little kinder to Duke Corasell. He’s sponsoring this battle so that it will be aired to the whole empire.”

“Oh, so Duke Carousel is not only good in spinning horses but spinning people too. Hahaha!” I made a sarcastic laugh.

Serena frowned, and the mere glimpse of it made me stop my chuckle. Her eyes became a lot more serious but charming and a little bit begging. It’s like she wants me to accept all these things in front of me.

Serena gently caressed my hand. “You’ll understand, right?”

“What?”

“You understand why I’m doing this. This is not just for my career and selfish ambitions. This is for my dream, to give a smile to every person. All this exposure is to promote the Dragonoid Rights Bill so that all dragonoids can smile like humans. That is the reason why I have to invite Duke Corasell.”

I was stunned by Serena’s words. The way she told me that made me feel how selfish I really am. I am an idiot for not realizing that Serena is doing all of this for her selfless ambitions. She’s way more different than me, who’s only desire is to kill for revenge.

Indeed, Serena has a pure heart. She’s taking her responsibility of having the royal blood of the dragon by making a peaceful way to end the conflict between humans and dragonoids.

Suddenly, Serena turned into a teasing smile. “Don’t worry, Senpai. I don’t have a thing for married people. I’m pretty sure Duke Corasell doesn’t have a thing for me too. Our relationship is purely professional. So please don’t get jealous, okay~” She made a charming wink.

“I-It’s not like I’m jealous or something, idiot! Of course, you’re my precious underclassman and my dragonoid. You are free to love whoever you want! Hmph!” I turned my reddish face away.

I can’t believe Serena can also turn me into a full-fledged tsundere.

Suddenly, the platform at the center of the arena opened, revealing the Pentagram Knight we will be fighting against.