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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume3 Chapter10

2015-04-17T17:27:42Z

50.201.176.19: verb choice was awkward

===Chapter Ten: The Void ===

News of the declaration of war had reached the Tristain Academy of Magic the following day. Contact had been delayed due to the chaos in the palace.

Louise, along with Saito, were waiting at the entrance of the Academy of Magic for a carriage from the palace. The carriage was to take them to Germania. However, only a breathless messenger arrived at the academy that hazy morning.

The messenger asked them where Osman’s room was, and dashed away quickly after receiving the answer. The unusual scene caused Louise and Saito to look at each other. Sensing something had happened in the palace, the two of them rushed after the messenger.

Osman was occupied with the preparations for the wedding ceremony. He would be leaving the academy for a week and so he was organizing various documents and packing his luggage.

A loud knock came at the door.

“Who is it?”

The messenger from the palace burst into the room before Osman had finished talking.

“Reporting from the palace! Albion has declared war on Tristain! The princess’ wedding has been postponed until further notice! Soldiers are currently heading towards La Rochelle! For safety reasons an order was issued stating that all students and staff are to be confined to the castle!”

Osman’s face grew pale.

“A declaration of war? There’s going to be a battle?”

“Yes! Enemy forces have set up camp in the fields of Tarbes and are glaring at our forces nearby La Rochelle.”

“The Albion forces must be very strong.”

The messenger replied sorrowfully.

“The enemy forces are a dozen in number led by a huge warship called the Lexington. The total number of troops is estimated to be around three thousand. Our main fleet has already been destroyed and counting all our troops, we only have around two thousand. We weren’t prepared for a war, so that was all we could field. However, the worst is that they have complete aerial dominance. Our troops will surely be decimated by their cannons."

“What’s the current situation?”

“The enemy dragoons are setting fire to the village of Tarbes… We requested aid from Germania, but they say the soonest they can arrive is in three weeks…”

Osman sighed and said, “… They’re planning to abandon us. During that period, Tristain’s towns will fall readily into the hands of the enemy.”

With their ears pressed against the door of the principal’s room, Louise and Saito looked at each other. Louise’s face had become pale at the mention of war, and Saito’s at the mention of Tarbes. ''Isn’t that Siesta’s village?'' Saito dashed off. Louise panicked and followed him.

Saito reached the courtyard and started climbing into the Zero fighter. Louise hugged his waist from behind.

“Where are you going?!”

“To Tarbes!”

“Why?!”

“Isn’t it obvious?! I’m going to go save Siesta!”

Louise grabbed his arm and tried to shake him off, but he firmly clung on.

“You can’t! It’s a war! Even if you went, it wouldn't make a difference!”

“I have this Zero fighter. The enemy is attacking with those airships right? This can fly too. I’ll figure something out.”

“What can you do with a toy like this?!”

“This isn’t a toy.”

Saito grabbed the Zero fighter’s wing with his left hand. His runes shone.

“This is a weapon from my world. It’s a tool for killing people. It’s not a toy.”

Louise shook her head.

“Regardless, whether this is a weapon from your world or not, there’s no way you can win against those large warships! Don’t you understand? You can’t make a difference! Just leave it to the soldiers!” said Louise, looking straight into Saito’s face.

''This guy… this reckless familiar doesn’t know anything about war,'' Louise thought. This was different from the journey they took to Albion. The battlefield was a place filled with death and destruction. If a novice went, it would result only in his death.

“He said that Tristain’s fleet had been wiped out didn’t he?”

Saito slowly patted Louise on the head and spoke in a low voice.

“It might not amount to anything. I can’t imagine beating those warships. But…”

“But what?”

“I don’t fully understand, but I’ve received these legendary familiar powers. If I were just a normal, regular person, I wouldn’t have thought of going to save them. But it’s different. I have Gandálfr’s power. I might be able to save them. I can perhaps save Siesta… and those villagers.”

“The probability is almost zero.”

“I know. But, it’s not zero. So, I’ll do it.”

Surprised, Louise replied.

“Are you an idiot!? You want to return to your own world right? How is dying here going to help?!”

“Siesta treated me kindly. You too, Louise.”

Louise’s face turned red.

“I’m not from this world. I don’t necessarily have to care what happens to this world, but I want to at least protect the people who have treated me well.”

Louise noticed that Saito’s hands were shaking. Raising her head, she said, “Aren’t you scared? You idiot. Stop trying to act cool if you’re scared!”

“I am scared. I’m even reluctant to do this. But that prince said, the importance of protecting something, will make you forget the fear of death. I think he’s right. That time, when fifty thousand Albion soldiers came charging towards us… I wasn’t scared. I was busy thinking of protecting you, so I wasn’t scared. I’m not lying.”

“What are you saying? You’re just a commoner. You aren’t a courageous prince or anything.”

“I know. It’s got nothing to do with whether I’m a prince or a commoner. Which country you were born in, the time period… even which world, is irrelevant. If you are a man, then you would surely think the same way.”

Louise’s face started to distort as she tried to hold back her tears. 

“If you die, what will I do…? No… I, if you die…”

“I won’t die. I will come back. If I die, I won’t be able to protect you right?”

“I’m going as well.”

“No. You’re staying here.”

“No, I’m going as well.”

“You can’t.”

As his hard-found courage was about to escape him, Saito separated himself from Louise and climbed into the cockpit from the wing.

Suddenly he realized. He hadn’t refueled the plane.

Saito left Louise there and rushed off to Colbert’s laboratory. With her fists tightly clenched, she groaned. Why was he so stubborn! ''Even though I said it would be dangerous…'' Louise bit her lip and held back her tears. Nothing would come from crying. Louise looked at the Zero fighter.

“What chance does this thing have of winning against Albion’s forces!?”

Saito woke up the sleeping Colbert.

“Huh? What?”

“Mr. Colbert! Have you made the gasoline?”

“Huh? Yes, I’ve made the amount you needed. It’s over there.”

“Then help me carry it! Quickly!”

Colbert carried the gasoline for Saito. Colbert, who was still partially asleep, didn’t know about the war. Saito didn’t bother explaining.

“You’re going to fly it so early in the morning? At least let me freshen up.”

“We don’t have time for that.”

Louise was nowhere to be seen. He was relieved. If Louise had pleaded him to not go once more, his determination would fade. There was no reason why he wouldn’t be scared. The prince did say that the importance of protecting something would make the fear of death go away, but… nope. It was still scary.

Even then, Saito sat in the cockpit and performed the necessary operations to start the engine. Colbert then used his magic like before and the engine started to run. The engine started with a loud noise and the propellers started to spin.

He checked the gauges. The runes on his left hand told him that everything was normal. He checked the machine gun in front of him. Bullets were loaded. The machine guns on the wings were also loaded.

Releasing the brakes, the Zero fighter started moving. He looked to the front and headed in the direction of the best take-off spot. “Austri” was not a small courtyard but his Gándalfr runes told him that it was a bit short for a runway. At that moment, Derflinger, who was leaning in the cockpit, said, “Partner, tell the noble to use wind to propel you from the back.”

“Wind?”

“Yes, so that this thing can take off even with the shortened distance.”

“How do you know that? You don’t know a thing about airplanes.”

“This is a ‘weapon’ right? I’m with you all the time, I know about it in general. Have you forgotten? I’m ‘legendary’.”

Saito popped his head out from the windshield and called out to Colbert. His voice didn’t reach him. He tried some gestures, signaling him to cause wind to blow from the back. Colbert was quick witted. He understood Saito’s gestures and nodded.

As the incantation for the spell finished, a strong gust of wind came from the back. He put on the goggles Siesta entrusted him and relaxed the pressure on the brake. He opened the cowl flaps and adjusted the propeller’s pitch lever. He further released the brakes and he pushed the throttle lever down.

Like a spring, the Zero fighter accelerated forward with great force. He pushed the control stick slightly forward. The tail had left the ground. The Zero fighter was gliding. It approached the academy’s walls. Saito gulped.

“Partner! Now!”

Just as they were about to hit the wall, he pulled the control stick. The Zero fighter flew up in an instant. Grazing the wall slightly, the zero fighter flew in the air. He retracted the landing gear. The indicator light, bottom left from the gauges turned from green to red.

The zero fighter continued to ascend. Saito looked at the runes with a relieved expression.

“Wow! It’s flying! This is pretty interesting!” Derflinger said excitedly.

“Of course it is. It was made to fly.”

Under the bright sun, the zero fighter split the winds, and rose up into the sky of another world. 

The fire consuming Tarbes had calmed but the area had changed into a cruel battlefield. Battalions had been assembled in the field and were awaiting the moment they would clash with Tristain troops in the port city La Rochelle. Protecting them above were the Lexington's dragons. The Tristain dragoons would attack sporadically, but they had all been forced to retreat.

Before the battle, Albion's command decided that they would use the cannons of the warships to deal with the Tristain troops. And so, the fleet prepared its cannons.

One dragoon on the lookout above Tarbes noticed an enemy dragoon was approaching from above, about two thousand five hundred meters away. The dragoon had the dragon cry out, alerting the others that an enemy was approaching.

Saito looked out from the windshield and saw Tarbes below him. There was no trace of that simple, beautiful village he had seen before. The houses were scorched with black smoke rising from them. He clenched his teeth. He remembered how recently he and Siesta were looking out at the field. Siesta’s words replayed in his head.

“Isn’t this field beautiful? This is what I wanted to show Saito.”

A dragoon unit breathed fire at the forest located at the outskirts of the village. The forest was instantly set ablaze.

Saito bit his lip. He could taste the blood in his mouth.

“I’ll kill you.” He said in a low voice.

Saito pushed the control stick to the bottom left while pressing the throttle firmly. The Zero fighter started to swoop down towards Tarbes.

“What could one dragoon possibly do?” muttered the ascending dragoons as they prepared to attack.

However, it had an unusual figure. It had two horizontal wings stretched out, as if the wings were fixed and didn’t flap. It also made a thunderous roar they had never heard of before.

Did such a dragon exist in Halkeginia?

However… no matter what dragon it was, it would be finished off with a single breath from the Albion fire dragons, just like the rest. When its wings were burnt it would probably go down. Using this strategy, they had already killed two of Tristain’s dragoons.

“This is the third,” said a dragoon awaiting the descending enemy, with the corner of his mouth bending into a smile.
[[Image:ZnT03-231.JPG|thumb]]

He was surprised. It was fast. Faster than any dragon.

Panicking, the dragoon made the dragon breathe fire. At that moment, the wing of the descending enemy flashed. Countless number of shining white things were flying towards him. Large holes appeared on the wings and the body of the dragon. A round entered the dragon’s mouth. A fire dragon has pockets of oil for strong combustion in its throat. The autocannon shell caught one of the oil pockets. The fire dragon exploded.

Slipping by the dragon that had exploded in midair, Saito continued to descend in the Zero fighter. The fighter’s machine gun range was tens of times than that of the dragon’s breaths. Letting his rage take control of him, he fired the 20mm autocannon shells and the 7.7mm machine gun on both wings at the dragoons.

Four more dragons fluttered in the skies above the village. They had seen the dragon which exploded from the enemy’s attack. The attack wasn’t a breath. Which meant that it was probably a magic based attack. Whatever attack it may have been, one dragoon alone can’t do anything. Three dragoons ascended to attack.

“Three more are coming from the bottom left,” said Derflinger in his usual tone.

Three dragoons were spread out below him and ascending.

“Don’t get hit by their breath. You’ll get burnt to ashes in an instant.”

Saito nodded. He did a hundred and eighty degrees turn above the dragoons. Drawing a path similar to spiraling down a funnel in a bottle, he ended up behind the dragoons. The dragoons couldn’t catch up. The speed of the fire dragons was about 150km/hr. The zero fighter’s speed was close to 400km/hr. It was like attacking something that wasn’t moving.

By the time the panicking dragoons had turned around, they had already been clearly targeted. Saito readied the pointer on the glass pane of the sighting device and pressed the throttle lever’s fire button.

With a dull sound followed by the shaking of the plane, the autocannons on both wings opened fire. The wings of the fire dragons broke, and they went spiraling down. In the next instant, Saito had put his foot down on the right foot bar and glided the Zero fighter, taking aim at the next dragon. Saito fired again. Taking numerous hits from the autocannon on its torso, the fire dragon shrieked in pain and dropped towards the ground.

When the third had suddenly dived in an attempt to escape, the 7.7mm machine gun filled its body with punctured holes. The fire dragon died and dropped straight down.

Saito quickly made the airplane ascend, controlling the plane naturally. He switched the velocity level to high. Against dragons, the Zero fighter which had a reciprocating engine, had the most advantage at those speeds. As the Zero fighter descended, the velocity would increase. The first thing to do was to control the area above the enemy. With the shining runes on his left hand, he maneuvered the Zero fighter like a veteran.

Derflinger, who was looking out for him, told him his next target. Just as he was about direct the plane there, he heard a voice behind him.

“T-T-T-That’s incredible! These Albion dragons are reputed to be unrivaled yet they’re dropping like flies!”

Startled, Saito looked backwards. Louise’s head popped out from the gap between the seat and the rest of plane. Behind the seat was originally a stupidly big radio, but since this world didn’t have anyone who could contact through him the radio, he had removed it while he was adjusting the plane. After taking that off, only the wires connected to the rudder were left. Louise had slipped in there.

“You were here all this time!? Get off!”

“There’s no way I can get off now!”

Louise’s hands held the Founder’s Prayer Book. It seems like she didn’t go anywhere like he had thought and instead slipped inside the plane.

“It’s dangerous! You idiot!”

Louise firmly wrung his neck.

“Don’t forget!"

"You. Are. My. Familiar. So. Don’t. Just. Go. Do. What. You. Want! I. Will. Not. Forgive. You. Understand!?”

As the engine drowned out her voice, she shouted in his ears.

“I’m your master! If the master doesn't lead the way, then the familiar won’t listen! And I would hate that!”

Saito drooped his shoulders, sighing heavily. It seems that saying things like “It’s dangerous, don’t come” had absolutely no effect on Louise.

“What happens if you die?!”

“Then try harder! Even if you or I die, I will still find some way to kill you!” She shouted at Saito with her eyes open.

Saito felt a headache coming from the absurd things coming out of her mouth.

“Partner, sorry for interrupting but…”

“What?”

“Ten from the right have just arrived.”

The fire dragon’s breath came flying to them. At that instant, he pushed the control stick quickly to the left. The plane rolled and dodged the breath of the dragon. Louise fell down in the plane with a small cry.

“Control it more elegantly!”

Saito shouted, “Don’t say ridiculous things!”, and made the plane descend. The dragoons couldn’t follow his movements. Taking advantage of this moment, he made the plane ascend, and at its peak he turned it around. With the sun behind him, he descended again. Aiming at the dragoons who were chasing him before, he fired the autocannons and the machine guns at them.

Louise, who had fallen down in the plane, was about to cry from the terror. “Perhaps I really shouldn’t have come?” Her fear asked her. She bit her lip and grasped the Founder’s Prayer Book tightly. ''Didn’t I sneak on because I couldn’t let Saito die? Hey, don’t pretend as if you’re fighting alone, I’m also fighting!''

Even so, she couldn’t do anything. It was always like this, but this time she felt a tinge of regret.

But nevertheless, losing to your fear won’t accomplish anything.

She searched her pockets for the Water Ruby ring Henrietta gave her, and put it on. She grasped that finger tightly.

“Princess, please protect us…” she whispered.

She patted the Founder’s Prayer Book in her right hand softly.

In the end, she hadn’t finished the edict. She cursed her own lack of poetic talent. She was hoping to think of the edict on the carriage to Germania.

''That’s right. I was going to go to Henrietta’s wedding ceremony. I was waiting outside the academy’s gates for the carriage to arrive. I then learned war had broken out. Destiny is a cynical thing.'' She opened the Founder’s Prayer Book while muttering to herself. She was planning to pray to the Founder for their safety. She opened the book and flipped to a random page. The Water Ruby and the Founder’s Prayer Book suddenly shone, taking Louise by surprise.

“They got… wiped out? In only twelve minutes they got wiped out?”

Sir Johnston, the supreme commander of the invasion force, who was on the afterdeck of the flagship, Lexington, looking over the preparations of the bombardment attack with the ship’s cannons, turned pale at the report.

“How many enemy units were there? A hundred? Tristain has that many dragoons left?”

“Sir. A-According to the report, only one.”

“A single unit?”

Johnston stood motionless with a dumbfounded expression. He threw his hat to the ground.

“Nonsense! Twenty dragoons taken out by a single enemy unit? Surely you jest!”

Frightened at the supreme commander’s attitude, the messenger took a step back.

“According to the report, the enemy dragoon had incredible speed and agility, and also had strong, long ranged, magic based attacks. Our units were killed one by one…”

Johnston grabbed the messenger.

“What about Wardes?! Wardes, who was given command of the dragoons, what about him?! What happened to that cocky Tristainian?! Was he also killed?!”

“The viscount’s wind dragon was not included in the list of casualties. But… it seems like he wasn’t seen around…”

“So he betrayed us! Or otherwise he was too much of a coward! Whichever it was, we can’t trust him…”

Quietly reaching out his hands, Bowood said, “Reacting like that in front of all the soldiers will lower their morale, commander in chief.”

Enraged, Johnston took his anger out on Bowood.

“What are you saying?! It’s your fault that the dragoons got wiped out! Your lack of competence was just asking for our precious dragoons to be destroyed! I will report this to His Excellency. I will report it!” Johnston yelled as he reached out to grab Bowood.

Bowood drew his wand and jabbed Johnston’s stomach. The white of his eyes showing, Johnston fainted to the ground. He ordered the soldiers to carry him away.

''Should have just made him sleep in the first place'', Bowood thought.

Noise apart from that of explosions and cannons only agitated the troops. A single decision could be the difference between victory and defeat, especially during battle.

Bowood turned to the messenger who was staring at him with a worried expression. He spoke with a calm, composed voice.

“Even though the dragoon force has been wiped out, the Lexington is still undamaged. Also, Wardes has probably devised a plan. Don’t worry about it, just put effort in what you’re doing.”

“A single unit killing twenty units? A hero, eh…” Bowood whispered.

But at most a hero. And thus only an individual. No matter how much power an individual holds, there’ll be things he can change and things he can’t change.

“And this ship is the latter,” Bowood whispered.

He issued orders.

“Advance the entire fleet. Prepare the left cannons.”

After a while, far away, at the other end of the field of Tarbes, the battle array of Tristain’s troops, situated in La Rochelle, which was a natural stronghold due to the mountains around it, could be seen.

“All fleets advance slowly. Ship to starboard.”

The fleet turned so that the Tristain forces would be facing their left side.

“Fire the left cannons. Continue firing until further orders.”

“Upper part and the lower part, prepare the right cannons. Use grapeshot.”

Five hundred meters in front of the Tristain troops crowded within La Rochelle, the enemy force could be seen. It had the three colored Reconquista flag, and was approaching quietly. Having never actually seen an enemy before, Henrietta, mounted on a unicorn, was shaking. She closed her eyes to offer a prayer so that the soldiers around her wouldn’t see her shaking in fear.

But… her fear did not stop so easily.

Henrietta looked up at the large enemy fleet and turned pale. It was Albion’s fleet. The side of the fleet flashed. It was enemy fire. The cannon shells accelerated by gravity were flying towards Tristain’s troops.

Impact.

Hundred of cannon shells dropped down on the troops in La Rochelle. Rocks, horses and people were thrown together, sent flying through the air. The troops were trying to flee from the overwhelming might before them. The place was drowned by the sound of thunderous roars.

“Calm down! Everyone calm down!” Henrietta shouted, driven by her fear.

Mazarini whispered in Henrietta’s ear.

“You need to calm down first. If the general is distraught, there’ll be chaos in the blink of an eye.”

Mazarini quickly whispered to the generals nearby. While Tristain was a small country, it was one filled with history. Its history included many righteous nobles. Of all the Halkaganian nations, the Tristain army had the highest percentage of mages within it's ranks.

By Mazarini’s command, the nobles created barriers of air within the openings of the mountains. The shells would hit them and break. But some of the shells got through. Screams could be heard with rocks and blood scattering.

“As soon as the enemy stops their bombardment, they will most likely stage an all out assault. There’s no other way but to face them,” whispered Mazarini.

“Is there a chance of being victorious?”

Mazarini noticed that the soldiers were starting to tremble before the enemy bombardment. They had advanced with great vigor but… there are limits to people’s courage. He did not want to tell the truth to the princess who had made him remember something he had forgotten.

“We’re evenly matched.”

Impact. The ground below them shook like an earthquake.

Marzarini sorrowfully understood the situation.

Three thousand strong troops formed the enemy's numbers, while their forces, crumbling from the bombardment, only numbered two thousand.

They had no chance.

Louise looked at the letters that appeared in the light.

It was… written in ancient runes. As Louise took lessons seriously, she could read the ancient language.

Louise chased the letters in the light.

''Foreword.''

''Henceforth, I shall record the truth I know. All materials in the world are comprised of fine grains. The four branches intervene with these fine grains and apply an influence, which transform them into spells. This was how “Fire”, “Water”, “Wind” and “Earth” were formed.''

Louise was filled with curiosity. With an impatient feeling, she turned the page.

''The gods bestowed upon me a greater strength. The fine grains, which the four branches bore influence over, are comprised of even finer grains. The power bestowed upon me by the gods, does not belong to any of the four. The branch I wield intervenes with even finer grains and applies an influence, transforming them into spells. A Zero that belongs to neither of the four. This so-called Zero is “Void”. I name the Zero the gods have bestowed upon me “Void”.''

“The branch of Void… Isn’t that a legend? Isn’t that the legendary branch?!”

Whispering to herself, Louise turned the page. Her pulse was racing.

Saito, who had wiped out the dragoon fleet, looked over the sky. Above the fields, he spotted the large warship between the gaps of the clouds, far away. Below that ship, was the port city La Rochelle.

“Partner, that’s the head. No matter how many small fry you take down, if you don’t take it down… nothing will change…”

“I know.”

“It’s impossible.”

Saito remained silent and opened the throttle of the zero fighter. It was at full boost. The zero fighter ascended towards the large warship.

“It’s impossible, partner. No matter how much you try, it is impossible.”

Derflinger, who had evaluated the power difference, told Saito in his usual tone. However, Saito did not respond.

“I understand… but your partner is an idiot.”

Saito brought the Zero fighter closer.

The right side of the ship shone. Aimed at Saito’s zero fighter, something was flying towards him. They were countless numbers of lead bullets. They pierced the plane with holes while shaking it. Breaking the windshield, a shard grazed Saito’s cheek. A trickle of blood ran down his face.

“Don’t go near it! They're using grapeshot!” yelled Derflinger.

Saito made the Zero fighter do a sudden dive, avoiding the second round of fire.

“Damn, they put small bullets in those large cannons!”

Saito bit his lip.

He couldn't even get close to the ship, much less sink it.

Behind the seat, Louise had lost herself in reading the Founder’s Prayer book. The thunderous noises did not reach her ears. She could only hear her own pulse getting louder and louder.

''The one who is able to read this, will inherit my deeds, thoughts and objectives. They will become the bearer of this power. Be mindful, wielder of this power. For my brethren and I, who have died unfulfilled, you should strive towards retaking the “Holy Lands” stolen by heathens. “Void” is powerful. Yet, the incantations are of great length and consume much energy. Take heed, incantator. At times, your life will diminish depending on the power. Thus, I choose the reader of this book. Even when one not qualified wears the ring, they cannot open this book. Only when the chosen reader wears a ring of “The four branches” can they open this book.''

''Brimir Ru Rumiru Yuru Viri Vee Varutori'' (ブリミル・ル・ルミル・ユル・ヴィリ・ヴェー・ヴァルトリ) 

''Following, are my recordings of the “Void” spells I used. The first step of the very beginning. “Explosion”.''

A spell in the ancient language followed after that. Dumbfounded, Louise whispered, “Founder Brimir, aren’t you forgetting something? If I wasn’t wearing this ring, I wouldn’t be able to read the Founder’s Prayer Book right? The stuff about the chosen reader… and the “take heed” section has no meaning then.”

And then she realized. Chosen reader… that means…

''I’m the chosen reader?''

''I don’t really understand but… I can read the words. If I can read it, I can probably perform this spell written here. Louise remembered how every time she recited an incantation, an explosion would result. That’s… in other words, that’s the “Void” written about here?''

When she thought about it, no one could tell her the reason why she made things explode. Her parents, her sisters, her teachers… her friends as well… they only laughed at her for being a “failure”. They didn’t think anything of the explosions.

''Perhaps I really am the chosen reader.''

''I can’t really believe it, but I perhaps am the chosen reader.''

''This might be worth trying out.''

''And also… There’s nothing else to fall back on now.''

She was calm and cool. The runes she had just looked at were on the tip of her tongue as if they had greeted one another many times.

Like the lullabies she had heard in the past, the spell’s tune was somewhat similar.

''I’m going to try it.''

Louise stood up.

From behind the seat, she started making her way to the front through the gap.

“What are you doing?! Just stay still! Argh! I can’t see in front of me! Hey!”

Like a snake, she slipped through with the gap with her small body. She made her way to the front of the seat, where Saito was sitting. She sat her small bottom down in between Saito’s widened legs.

“…I can’t believe it but… I can’t really say it but… I might have been chosen. This could be some mistake though.” Louise muttered.

“Hah?”

“Just listen to me. Fly near the warship. It might just be a hoax… but trying it out is better than not doing anything. Besides, there’s no other way to sink that warship…. The only way is for me to do it. I understand. I’ll try it.”

Saito was dumbfounded by Louise’s ramble to herself.

“Are you alright? You’ve finally gone crazy from being scared?”

Louise shouted at Saito.

“I told you to go near it didn’t I?! I’m your master! Familiars obey their master’s orders obediently!”

It was useless to oppose Louise when she used that threatening attitude. Saito reluctantly approached the large warship.

The grapeshot flew towards them. Going around to the left side would probably have the same result. The ship also had cannons sticking out from the bottom as well. The Lexington was like a porcupine with cannons.

“What are you doing?!”

“It’s impossible! I can’t get near it!”

As if suddenly thinking of something, Derflinger opened its mouth.

“Partner, go straight above the ship.”

“Eh?”

“There’s a blind spot there. It’s where the cannons can’t reach.”

Saito rose above the Lexington like he was told.

Louise straddled Saito’s shoulders. She opened the canopy. A strong wind blew across her face.

“Hey what are you doing?! Close it!”

“Until I give you the signal, keep circling around here.”

Louise took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Then, as if she were flaring up, she opened her eyes and started to read the runes written in the Founder’s Prayer Book.

She read the spell amongst the roar of the engine. Saito was circling above the Lexington in the Zero fighter like he was told.

It was at that moment.

“Partner, behind you!”

Quickly looking behind, a dragoon could be seen flying towards them like a gale.

It was Wardes.

Mounted on top of the wind dragon, Wardes grinned. He had been hidden amongst the clouds above the Lexington, waiting for his chance to strike. So this was the mysterious dragoon who had crushed all the fire dragons. Wardes didn’t have much chance of winning if he faced him front on. Which is why he had to aim for a weak spot.

His plan hinged on the warship. The enemy’s aim would definitely be this warship. And if he was a skilled enemy, he would be able to find its blind spot. Thus, hiding nearby and waiting was the best option. Wardes' prediction was right.

His target started to dive.

''I see… he avoided the fire dragons like that.

But, my wind dragon’s speed is greater than that of the fire dragons.''

Wardes steadily shortened the distance separating them.

With deep interest, he looked at the Zero fighter.

It’s not a dragon. That’s… not something made from Halkeginia’s logic… the “Holy Lands”?

He saw a familiar face, with pinkish blond hair, inside the cockpit. The grin on Wardes' face grew larger.

''So you’re alive.''

Then the one controlling the psuedo-dragon would be…  

The left arm he had once lost throbbed.

His wind dragon’s breath wasn’t of any use, but he had his powerful spells. Gripping the reins with his artificial left hand, Wardes cast a spell. 'Air Spear'. The air solidified to form a spear to skewer them.

Saito couldn’t lose the dragon that was following them.
With Louise riding his shoulders, Saito was beginning to feel frustrated.
''But… if I die here, I won’t be able to protect Louise or Siesta.'' The runes on Saito’s left hand shone brightly.

He set the throttle to minimum and opened all the flaps. As if something had grabbed the Zero fighter, its speed dropped.

He pushed the control stick to the bottom left. At the same time, he stepped on the foot bar. The vivid earth and sky rotated before them.

The Zero fighter had disappeared from Wardes' sight, who had just finished casting his spell. He looked around him restlessly. They weren't anywhere to be seen. However, sensing a tinge of a murderous intent from behind , Wardes' turned around. The Zero fighter was smoothly spiraling down as if tracing a path inside a bottle. It quickly got behind Wardes’ wind dragon. Followed by a bright light, the machine gun bullets tore through the wind dragon, which had thinner scales than the fire dragons. Wardes was hit in the shoulder and back and his face distorted in pain. The wind dragon gave out a shriek. As if slowly gliding down, the dragon Wardes rode crashed to the ground.

Saito ascended the Zero fighter once more. Even while he did those maneuvers Louise straddled onto Saito’s shoulders firmly. Then again, Louise was very skilled at horse riding. Louise continued her incantation in a low voice. ''What the heck is she doing'', Saito thought.

"Eoruu Suunu Firu Yarunsakusa" 

A rhythm had started pulsating through Louise. She felt as though knew the rhythm from somewhere. With every word of the incantation, the rhythm grew stronger. It sharpened her senses, while not a single noise around reached her ears. It was as if something within her body was born, and was searching for a destination… Louise remembered what she was told once. When you recite an incantation of your own branch, a feeling similar to what she was feeling would be felt. Is it really what I’m feeling? Me, who has always been despised for being a zero. Me, who was said to have no talent in magic by teachers, parents, sisters and students. Is this the real me?  

"Osu Suunu Uryu Ru Rado" 

She could feel a wave being born inside of her, slowly swelling.

"Beoozusu Yuru Suvyueru Kano Oshera" 

The wave inside her, searching for a destination, went berserk. Louise gave Saito a signal with her leg. Saito nodded and pushed the control stick down. The Zero fighter began to swoop down at the Lexington below them. Opening her eyes, she timed her incantation.

“Void”

''The legendary branch of magic.

I wonder how powerful it is?

No one knows.

Of course, there’d be no reason I’d know.''

This was supposedly beyond legendary.

"Jera Isa Unjyuu Hagaru Beookun Iru…" 

After the long incantation, the spell was complete. At that moment, Louise understood the power of the spell. It would swallow everyone. Every person in her vision, would be swallowed by her spell. There were two options. Kill, or don’t kill. What was she meant to destroy? With the winds blowing against her face, she looked down. A large warship appeared before her eyes. The Lexington. Following her impulse, she aimed at a single point and swung her wand down.

An unbelievable scene unfolded before Henrietta’s eyes. The warship that had been bombarding them… A ball of light had appeared in the sky. It was like a smaller version of the sun, and it expanded. And… it swallowed it. It had swallowed the warship in the sky. The light continued to expand until it was all she could see. There was complete silence. Henrietta suddenly closed her eyes. The light of the sphere was so intense that anyone would think that their eyes would burn from staring at it. And then… after the light had faded, the whole fleet was on fire. The fleet led by the Lexington had all their sails and decks burning. As if it were a lie, the head of the fleet that had been tormenting the Tristain troops, sank to the ground.

A tremor in the earth could be felt. The fleet had come crashing down. Henrietta was dumbfounded. Complete silence overcame them. Everyone stared at the unbelievable scene.

The first one to come to his senses was Cardinal Mazarini. He was looking at the silvery wings, shining under the sun in the sky. It was Saito’s zero fighter.

Mazarini cried out, “People! Look! The enemy fleet has been destroyed by the legendary Phoenix!”

“Phoenix? The immortal bird?”

A commotion spread through the troops.

“Look at that bird flying in the sky! That’s the legendary bird that’s said to come at Tristain’s hour of need! The Phoenix! The Founder have blessed us!”

Shouts of joy could be heard everywhere.

“Long live Tristain! Long live the Phoenix!”

Henrietta asked Mazarini quietly, “Cardinal, the Phoenix… was it the truth? I haven’t heard of anything called the legendary Phoenix…”

Mazarini mischievously smiled.

“It’s a big lie. But, everyone’s sense of judgement is lost at the moment. They can’t believe the scene they saw. Neither can I. However, the truth is that there was an unfamiliar bird fluttering about after the enemy fleet had fallen. There was no choice but to use it.”

“Hah…”

“What? No one cares if what I said was the truth or a lie. What they do care about is whether they’re dead or alive. In other words, victory or defeat.”

Mazarini peered into the princess’s eyes.

“You must use everything that you can use. It’s one of the basics of politics and war. Remember it well, Princess. Because from today onwards, you are the ruler of Tristain.”

Henrietta nodded. It was just as the Cardinal had said. The thinking… could come later.

“The enemy’s morale will be low and they will no doubt be trying to flee. Their supporting fleet is now gone. There’s not a better chance to strike.”

“Yes.”

“Princess. Shall we go forwards to victory?” asked Mazarini.

Henrietta nodded strongly once again. She held up her shining crystal wand.

“All troops, charge! Royal troops, follow me!”

Tired, Louise cuddled with Saito.

“Hey Louise.”

“Hm?” replied Louise, absentmindedly.

[[Image:ZnT03-257.JPG|thumb]]

A feeling of fatigue overcame her. But this was a nice tired feeling. It was fatigue that came with the satisfaction of accomplishing something.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah.”

“What was that just then?”

“It’s a legend.”

“Legend?”

“I’ll explain later. I’m tired.”

Saito nodded and smiled. He patted Louise gently on the head.

Below them, the Tristain troops had just charged at the Albion forces. The vigor of the Tristain troops was obvious even to a novice. It was vigor that even would triumph against enemies that outnumbered them.

“Yeah, later is fine.”

Looking at the scorched and blackened village, Saito wondered if Siesta was alright.

That evening…
With her siblings, Siesta timidly came out of the forest. News that the Albion troops had been defeated reached the village people who had taken shelter in the forest.

Albion's troops were crushed by Tristain’s charge, and many had surrendered. Well, there weren’t any Albion soldiers strutting along the village around noon. The angry bellows, the clash of arms and the explosions had ended. Black smoke rose from the field, but the battle had ended.

A thunderous noise could be heard in the skies above. After looking up, a familiar object was flying in the sky. It was the “Dragon’s Raiment”. Siesta’s face brightened.

When the Zero fighter landed on the field, Saito opened the canopy. Someone from the forest, south of the village, came running towards him. It was Siesta. Saito jumped off the Zero fighter and ran towards her.

Louise watched Saito as he was running off and sighed. "Well, I guess it’s good that that girl is still alive, but couldn’t he spend more time consoling me? The spell just then… “Explosion” of the Void magic branch. It seems like it didn't happen. Perhaps it doesn't feel real because it was Void magic. Am I really the “User of Void magic”? Is there some misunderstanding? But it explained how I was able to give Saito the legendary Gandálfr familiar powers. There are lots of legends, aren’t there," she whispered.

"In any case, it’ll probably be busy from here on. I really feel as if this didn't happened… and I can’t believe that I’m the one mentioned in the legend…" Louise sighed. ''If this were a dream, I would be so relieved. But I’ve decided not to think too much about it. I should learn from that idiot familiar of mine. Although he’s the legendary familiar, he doesn’t seem like it at all. But perhaps that is for the best. Anyway, this “legend” stuff is too much for me.''

“Hey, legendary mage.”

“What, legendary sword?”

Derflinger had called out to Louise in a teasing tone.

“It’s okay to be stubborn… but if you don’t go after him, he’ll get taken by that village girl.”

Louise’s cheeks went red.

“I don't mind.”

“Really?” whispered Derflinger.

Giving a cry of frustration Louise hopped out of the cockpit and chased after Saito. Derflinger watched Louise’s running figure and said in large voice.

“And she even understands that she’s the one mentioned in the legend… Perhaps her love life is more important to her. Humans around this age are beyond help."

While running, a stream of thoughts ran through her mind. When she looked at Saito’s back, her pulse hastened. Her mind would go blank. It was weird. ''That idiot. He even kissed me. Is that girl really that good? She might be cute. She’s good at cooking as well. I know boys like girls like that. But, I…I…''

The Founder’s Prayer Book, the Void magic branch… they completely left Louise’s mind for the time being.

If I don’t go after that familiar of mine, he’ll be gone somewhere.

If I don’t open my eyes wide and run, I’ll be left behind.

But, if it’s going to be like that… I’ll just continue chasing him.

I’ll chase him wherever he goes… and when he turns around, I’ll hit him good.

<noinclude>
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| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume3_Chapter9|Back to Chapter 9]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume4_Prologue|Forward to Volume 4]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume2 Chapter6

2015-04-13T12:16:44Z

50.201.176.19: corrected translation

===Chapter Six: The White Country===

After making sure Saito and company were running, Kirche commanded Guiche, “Now then, it’s time to begin. Guiche, there’s a pot filled with oil in the kitchen somewhere, right?”

“You mean those frying pots?”

“Yep. Bring them over with your golems.”

“No sweat.” Guiche hid behind a table, waving his rose, which was his wand. The petals fell slowly and female bronze warriors sprouted from the ground. The golems headed towards the kitchen, even though arrows were aimed at them.

The steel arrowheads burrowed into soft copper, causing the statues to wobble. Guiche laughed, as the statues finally reached the kitchen behind the counter, and picked up the frying pot.

“Can you throw that at the entrance?” Kirche put on make up looking at a mirror while talking.

“You’re putting on make up now, of all times?” Guiche said, a shocked look on his face, but still commanded his statue to throw the pot at the entrance as he was told.

Kirche brandished her wand and stood up.

“Because the play is about to begin, and if the female lead has no make up on...”

She waved her wand at the oil, now sprinkled in the air.

“...wouldn’t that be embarrassing?”

Kirche’s magic lit up the oil, spreading flames all over the Goddess’s Temple, making a loud noise. In an instant, a group of mercenaries, once bent on advancing, retreated from the sudden fire.

Kirche seductively sang a spell, waving her wand again. The flames burned even fiercer, spreading towards the mercenaries at the entrance, enveloping them and causing them to roll around in pain. Kirche stood and elegantly flicked her hair before raising her wand. Although all the arrows flew towards her, Tabitha’s wind magic parried them all.

“Dear unnamed mercenaries, although I have no idea why you’re attacking us,” Kirche smiled and bowed in the rain of arrows, “please let me, Kirche the Ardent, graciously be your opponent!”

Sitting on her enormous earth golem’s shoulder, Fouquet bit her lip in annoyance. The group she just ordered to attack instantly came back in confusion after being surrounded with fire. She turned to the hooded masked noble sitting beside her. “Geez, making a fuss just because of this level of fire... hired hands just aren’t dependable.”

“That’s enough anyway.”

“But you can’t beat them like this!”

“It’s alright even if they can’t. All they have to do is separate them.”

“Even if you say so, I won’t let this go on. I took so much humiliation because of them.”

The hooded man did not answer, instead standing up as if he heard nothing, and talking to Fouquet, “Alright, I’m going after the Vallière girl.”

“Then what am I going to do?” Fouquet answered in shock.

“Whatever you like. Burn or cook the rest, whatever. We’ll meet up at the usual restaurant.” He casually jumped off the golem’s shoulder, disappearing into the darkness like the midnight wind, soft and chilling.

“Geez...what a laidback guy. Can’t tell me anything he’s thinking about.” Fouquet spoke silently in disgust.

Moans came from the men below. Strong winds came from inside the temple, spreading and strengthening the violent flames. Even the archers hiding in the darkness felt the burn.

Fouquet yelled below her, “Dammit, that’s enough! You’re all useless! Get out of my way!”

The golem rose with a thundering noise, and moved towards the entrance, raising its fists over its head as it advanced.

Kirche and Tabitha controlled the flames in the hall, forcefully tormenting the mercenaries outside.  The group of archers outside also fled from the fire spread by Tabitha’s wind, leaving their bows behind.

“Ohhhhohohohoho! Oho! Ohohoho!” Kirche laughed victoriously. “You see it? You get it now? The power of my flames! If you don’t want to get burned, you better run home now! Ahahaha!”

“Alright, my turn!” after making an untimely appearance, just as Guiche aimed at the retreating enemies in between the gaps of the flames for his “Valkyrie” spell...

In a loud, thunderous noise, the entrance and beyond disappeared.

“Eh?”

A huge golem emerged from the flying dust, and easily kicked away Guiche’s statues.

“Oh, I forgot. That tough missy’s still here.” Kirche said silently, sticking out her tongue.

“Don’t be too arrogant, kids! I’ll finish you off!” Fouquet yelled in anger, standing on her golem’s shoulder.

“What do we do now?” Kirche turned to Tabitha’s direction. Her friend laid out both hands and shook her head.

Guiche took one look at the enormous golem, and sank into a fervent panic, yelling, “Everyone! Attack! I say, ATTACK! Now is the time for them to see the spirit of all Tristainian nobility! Watch me, father! Guiche will become a man!”

Tabitha tripped him with her staff, sending him crashing on the ground.

“What are you doing?! Let me be a man! In the name of Her Royal Highness, let my rose wither here!”

“Alright, we got to go.”

“No! I will not run!”

“...you know, you’re exactly the type that would die in any battle first.”

Tabitha looked at the approaching golem, and suddenly seemed to reach an idea. She then pulled on Guiche’s sleeve.

“What?”

“Rose.” Tabitha pointed at Guiche’s fake rose, making a waving motion in the process. “A lot. Of petals.”

“What do you want with those petals?!” Guiche yelled, only to have his ear pulled by Kirche.

“Just do what Tabitha says!”

Guiche waved his rose wand in annoyance, sending large amounts of petals flying in the air. Tabitha sang a spell. Under her wind’s direction, the petals stuck onto the golem.

“And what does sticking petals all over the golem do?! Sure it’s pretty!” Guiche yelled back.

Tabitha concisely ordered Guiche. “Alchemy.”

On the golem’s shoulder, Fouquet, seeing her creation stuck all over with petals, annoyingly complained, “What’s this? A present? I’m not letting this up even if you decorate my golem with petals!”

The golem raised a fist, and smashed the table that shielded Kirche, Tabitha, and Guiche in one blow.

At that moment, the tangled petals all turned into liquid. The smell of oil crept up to her. As a master of the “earth” element, Fouquet instantly realized the reason. A spell known as “Alchemy.”

They just used “Alchemy” to turn the petals on the golem into oil.

She was too late to realize that something was wrong. Kirche’s fireball was already flying towards her golem.

In an instant, the huge golem was covered in fire. Unable to withstand the heat and flames, the golem fell on its knees.

Seeing their employer in a losing position, the mercenaries fled like spiders. Kirche, Tabitha, and Guiche held their hands in joy.

“We did it! We won!”

“I... I won with alchemy! Father! Your Majesty! Guiche has triumphed!”

“That’s all because of Tabitha’s plan!” Kirche poked on Guiche’s head.

A hideous Fouquet stood up in front of her burned golem. “H... how dare you... beat me, Fouquet, twice, with earth magic...” She looked pitiful. With her long, beautiful hair burned away, her robes singed with holes everywhere, and her face charred a dark black, the beauty had left her.

“Aha, that’s some nice make up you have on. You know, lady, this heavy make up kinda suits you! I mean... you’re pretty old already!” As Kirche finished, she waved her wand at Fouquet. However, she seemed to have depleted her energy with all the spells she used in battle. Suddenly, a small, weak flame flew out, and disappeared in an instant.

“Eh? That’s it?” Kirche scratched her head.

Tabitha and Guiche seemed to have the same effect. But not Fouquet. She didn’t try any spells, and simply moved straight at them.

“Call me old?! Girl, I’m only 23!” Fouquet tightened her fists, and punched at Kirche, who retaliated much the same way without hesitation. And so the two fought completely unlike themselves.

Tabitha sat down, and, with absolutely no interest in the fight in front of her, started reading.

Guiche watched the two beautiful women fighting, a mild blush on his face. He seemed indifferent to his clothes being a total mess.

Watching from far away, the mercenaries began betting on the match.

As Kirche and Fouquet beat up each other, Saito and company ran towards the harbor, their road illuminated by the bright moon. Wardes ran towards a certain building’s long stairs, and began walking up them.

“Aren’t we heading towards some ‘harbor’? Why are we climbing a hill?” Asked Saito. Wardes did not answer.

After climbing a long flight of stairs, they arrived on top of a small hill. Seeing everything in front of him, Saito gasped.

It was a huge tree, branching out in every direction. It had the size of a mountain. How tall was it? The night covered its top, but it had considerable height. Saito looked at the tree as if it was Tokyo Tower.

And then... taking a closer look between the branches, the tree seemed to be holding something even larger. A huge fruit? He was wrong. It was a ship. It looked like a zeppelin, stuck between the trees.

“This is the ‘harbor’? And... that’s the ‘ship’?” Saito asked in shock.

Louise replied in surprise. “Yeah... isn’t your world like that?”

“Harbors and ships all stay on water in my world.”

“If there are ships that sail on water, there are ships that sail in the air.” Louise said matter-of-factly.

Wardes ran to the tree’s roots, which were as big and spacious as a skyscraper’s lobby. They probably dug the middle out of a dead tree to make this.

It was night, so they couldn’t see anyone. Between each flight of stairs were metal panels, with writing of some sort on them. ''Maybe station signs or something,'' Saito thought.

Wardes began climbing the stairs in front of him.

One flight of wooden stairs was connected to another. There were scaffolding and supports on them, but they still looked worryingly dangerous. One could see La Rochelle’s lights in the spaces between each flight of stairs.

In a rest stop midway, Saito heard footsteps behind them. He turned around, and a shadow jumped, flying over him and landed behind Louise.

It was the white-masked man on Fouquet’s golem.

Saito pulled out his sword and cried, “LOUISE!”

Louise turned around. The man picked her up the next instant.

“Ahhhh-----!” Louise screamed. Saito raised his sword. ''But if I just slash it like that, I’ll hit Louise.'' The man carried Louise and jumped much like a acrobat would, his body moving wherever he wished.

Saito stood still. Beside him, Wardes waved his staff. The masked man, like Saito a while ago, was blown away, hit by Wardes’ air hammer, and let Louise go. He held on to a support, but Louise fell towards the ground.

In an instant, Wardes jumped off from the platform, and dove towards Louise like a grebe<ref>A grebe is a species of freshwater diving bird. They dive their beaks into the water to snatch fish as prey.</ref>. He caught up with her and floated in the air while carrying her.

The masked man bent around, jumped on the platform, and faced Saito. His build was not too different from Wardes’. He pulled out a staff from his waist. It was a black staff.

After making sure Louise was safe, Saito went on guard, remembering his battle against Wardes. Swinging the sword around is outright dangerous, but he couldn’t foresee what magic his opponent would use against him.

The man waved his staff. The air above him began to cool. Freezing air irritated Saito’s skin. ''What is he doing?''

He continued to chant a spell. Saito raised his sword, but Derflinger yelled, “Get on guard, partner!” 

As Saito got on guard, the air shook. There was a crack. Lightning emanated from the man and hit Saito directly.

“‘Lightning Cloud’!” Derflinger cried, recognising the spell. A strong current went through Saito’s body and he fell from the platform.

“Gaaaahhh---!” Saito cried in pain. His left wrist felt like it was scorched and burned as if he had touched a red-hot branding iron. The current left a trail, burning his clothes. He fainted from the pain and fright.

Wardes, holding Louise, chanted the “Fly” spell, safely landing Saito on the ground.

“SAITO!” Louise cried, watching her familiar fall. Wardes bit his lip, turned to the masked man, and waved his staff. It was the air hammer. The air around him solidified into invisible blocks, striking the masked man. He fell off the platform and towards the ground.

Louise struggled out of Wardes' grip and ran to Saito. A gash from the current continued to burn Saito’s left hand, where he held his sword, from the sleeve straight up to his elbow. She frantically put her ear at his chest. His heart was beating, and she breathed a sigh of relief. He took a very heavy current, but seems to have survived, moaning in pain.

Saito opened his eyes, and painfully stood up. “W-what... that guy... but, it hurts... gah!”

Derflinger spoke in concern, “That was ‘Lightning Cloud’. Very strong wind magic. That guy looks like an expert to me.”

“Ah! Ugh!” Saito’s face twisted in pain.

Wardes looked to Saito’s condition. “But he was lucky to survive with just his wrist injured. This spell usually kills. Hmm... looks like your sword neutralized some of the current, but I’m not sure why. Isn’t the sword made of metal?”

“No idea. I forgot.” Derflinger replied.

“An intelligent sword, huh. Rare stuff.”

Saito bit his lip hard. His injured wrist hurt, but the fact that he could do nothing to save Louise hurt more. Plus, he let Wardes steal the whole show. He couldn’t let Louise look at him like this anymore. He barely stood up, and sheathed Derflinger.

“Let's go. I-it doesn’t matter now.”

Behind the last flight of stairs was a branch. On that branch, a ship... just docked there. It was shaped more like a yacht, perhaps to let it fly. There were wings on the sides. From the ship dangled who-knows-how-many ropes, all tied onto the branches. The branch they were standing on extended all the way to the ship’s deck.

They stepped on board, and a sailor sleeping on the deck climbed up. “Hey you! What are you doing?!”

“Where’s the captain?”

“He’s sleeping. Come back in the morning.” The man replied frostily and drunkenly, and drank from his rum bottle.

Wardes did not answer, and pulled his staff out. “You want a noble to repeat what he just said? I said get the captain!”

“A n-noble!!” The sailor stood up immediately and ran for the captain’s quarters.

After a while, he brought back a sleepy, fifty-something old man with a hat on. He seemed to be the captain. “What do you want?” He looked at Wardes suspiciously.

“Leader of Her Majesty’s Mage Guard, Captain Wardes.”

The captain’s eyes bulged, and he switched to more formal words after learning Wardes' identity as a noble of high caliber. “Oh, uh... then, what services may this ship perform for you...”

“Take us to Albion. Depart now.”

“Madness!”

“This is upon Her Majesty’s orders. Are you going against the Royal Court?”

“I don’t know what you’re going to Albion for, but we can’t depart until morning!”

“Why?”

“Albion’s the closest to Tristainia in the morning! We don’t have enough wind stones to get there from here right now.”

“Wind stones?” asked Saito.

The captain gave him a 'you-don’t-know-what-a-wind-stone-is?' look and answered, “Stones that store wind magic. This ship can’t fly without them.” He then turned to Wardes. “Your Excellency, this ship only has enough wind stones in store to travel the shortest distance to Albion. If we had more, we could have gone earlier. But for now, we cannot depart. We’ll drop out of the sky while halfway there.”

“I’ll make up for however much you lack in wind stones. I’m a square wind mage.”

The captain and his sailors looked at each other. The captain then turned to Wardes and nodded. “Then that’s fine. You will have to pay, though.”

“What’s the cargo?”

“Sulfur. Right now, it’s worth its weight in gold. The nobles have increased the price in desperation for security. To have that, gunpowder and fire elements are a must.”

“Sell all of that to me at that price.”

The captain nodded, perhaps with a devious smile. With the deal done, the captain made one order after another. “Leave port! Untie anchors! Set sail!”

The sailors followed orders, all the while complaining under their breath, expertly removing the ropes from the branches, climbing to the securing ropes on both sides, and released the sails.

Without the ties, the ship suddenly sank, and then floated again with the power of the wind stones.

“When can we reach Albion?” Wardes asked.

“We’ll arrive at Scarborough Port tomorrow at noon.” The captain replied.

Saito looked at the ground from the port side. The “harbor” could be seen between the huge tree’s branches. La Rochelle’s lights soon faded into darkness. They seemed to be traveling rather fast.

Louise approached Saito, and put a hand on his shoulder. “Saito, are you okay?” She worriedly looked at him.

“Don’t touch me.” He pushed her hand away. Louise’s face reddened.

“What?! And I was worried about you!” Louise went mad, seeing as Saito wouldn’t even look at her. ''"And I got all worried about you... what’s with that attitude?"'' She thought.

Saito was depressed. He couldn’t do a thing when Louise was about to be taken away by that white-masked man. He couldn’t face her. He remembered what Wardes told him a few days ago, ''“In other words, you are unable to protect Louise.”''

''Is that so?'' He sank.

Wardes approached them. “From what I heard from the captain, the Albion Royal Army near Newcastle was completely surrounded and is fighting an uphill battle.”

Louise, clearly scared, asked, “What about Prince Wales?”

Wardes shook his head. “I’m not sure. He seems to be alive.....”

“Wait... isn’t the harbor completely taken over by the rebels?”

“Yeah.”

“Then how can we contact the Royal Family?”

“We’ll just have to fight our way out. It takes only a day on horseback from Scarborough to Newcastle.”

“Fighting out of the rebels?”

“Right. That’s the only choice we have. They can’t really openly attack the Tristainian nobility, I think. We’ll have to find a chance to break out of their circle and run straight for Newcastle. All we have to think about then is riding in the dark.”

Louise anxiously nodded, and asked, “Speaking of which, Wardes, where’s your griffin?”

Wardes smiled. He leaned out portside, and whistled. From right under the ship came the sound of the griffin’s wings. It landed onto the deck, scaring some of the sailors.

“Can’t we just get to Albion on the griffin instead of the ship?” asked Saito.

“It’s not a dragon. It can’t fly that far.” Louise answered.

Saito sat near the mast and closed his eyes. ''Looks like we’ll be in danger again soon. Oh well... I’ll just go to sleep.'' he thought. With the talk between Louise and Wardes like a lullaby, he fell asleep.


Saito woke up to the sailors’ noises and blinding light, and a bright, blue sky in front of him. Looking down the ship, he could see floating clouds. The ship sailed right above them.

“Albion in sight!” the lookout bellowed.

Saito rubbed his sleepy eyes, and looked down again. All there was were clouds. Ground was nowhere to be seen.

Louise, who seemed to have been sleeping beside him, stood up.

“I can’t see ground anywhere.” Saito complained.

“There!” She pointed up towards the sky.

“Huh?” He followed where she pointed, and gasped in shock. A huge... well, nothing but huge sight greeted his eyes.

From between the clouds he could see dark land. It continued to expand under them. Mountains carved the landscape, and rivers flowed down them.

[[Image:ZnT02-173.jpg|thumb]]
“Did that frighten you?” Louise asked him.

“Ah... I’ve... never seen anything like this before.” Saito’s jaw dropped as he stood gaping.

“Albion, the floating island. It floats in the air, just like that, usually over oceans. However, it passes by over the Halkeginian continent a few times every month. It’s about the size of Tristainia, and it’s nicknamed ‘The White Country’.”

“Why ‘The White Country’?”

Louise pointed towards the island. “The water from the rivers flows off the island into the air, and while doing so becomes white fog, covering the bottom part of the island. The fog turns into clouds, which give Halkeginia its rainfall,” Louise explained.

The lookout yelled again, “Ship approaching starboard side!”

Saito looked towards that direction. A ship was, as he said, approaching, and it was many measures larger than the one they’re on. Cannons jutted out of holes on its portside.

“Ah... they even have cannons.” Saito spoke his thoughts.

Louise frowned.

“Not good. A rebel... or is that a noble vessel?” Behind deck, Wardes and the captain looked at where the lookout was pointing.

Black paint signaled that the ship was made for war. Twenty or so cannons aimed at them.

“Albionian nobility? Tell us if they ship cargo like we do.”

The lookout hoisted the signal flags as the captain told. The black ship did not respond.

The co-captain entered running, his face pale, and reported to the captain, “That ship doesn’t have any nationality flags!”

“Then... are they pirates?”

“Can’t be wrong! I heard they got really active after the rebellion began...”

“Run! Full speed!” The captain wanted to run from them as quickly as possible, but they were too late. The black ship began to sail parallel to them, and fired a shot directly ahead of them.

'''BANG!''' The cannonball disappeared into the clouds. The black ship’s mast then hoisted a four-color signal.

“They’re ordering us to stop, captain.”

The captain winced in his decision. It’s not like his ship was completely unarmed, but all they had were three movable cannons on deck, which were no more useful than decorations when up against a full broadside of over twenty pointed at them. The captain looked at Wardes for help.

“All my magic’s used on the ship. We can only do what they say.” Wardes answered calmly.

The captain mouthed, “There goes my fortune,” and gave the order.

“Wrap sails. Stop the ship.”

Louise, seeing the black ship fire a shot, closing in on them, and their ship stopping, held close to Saito, who only uneasily watched the black ship.

“We are pirates! Do not resist!” a man onboard the black ship yelled with a horn.

“Pirates?” Louise was shocked.

On the black ship’s port, men lined up with bows and rifles. They aimed and shot hooked lines, grabbing onto their ship’s starboard. More strong men, about ten of them wielding axes and curved sabers, slid over the ropes and onto the ship.

Saito held his sword, but his wrist still hurt from the previous night’s battle, and he couldn’t use his strength.

“Saito...” Louise said silently. He heard her, and tried to hold onto his sword harder. The marks on the back of his left hand glowed. However, Wardes, who somehow appeared behind him, put his hand on his shoulder.

“They’re not just armed barbarians, Saito. They have a lot of cannons pointed at us. If you want to live on the battlefield, you’ve got to accurately measure their strength and yours. They might even have mages on their side.”

Wardes’ griffin, which was sitting on front of the deck, was also frightened of the pirates and growled. Its head was then covered with blue-white smoke, and it fell onto the deck, fast asleep.

“A sleeping spell... so they do have mages.”

At an order, the pirates landed on their ship. One of them was dressed quite exquisitely. He wore a shirt that looked like it used to be white, but was dirtied black from sweat and lubricant. One could see his strong and well-tanned chest muscles in the shirt’s openings. A patch covered his left eye. This man seemed to be the pirates’ leader.

“Where’s the captain?” He commanded in a rough tone, looking around him.

“Me.” The captain, shaking but still trying to keep composure, raised his hand.

The leader walked to him in large steps, took out his saber and rapped it at the captain’s face. “What’s the ship’s name and what does it carry?”

“Tristainia’s ''Marie Galante''. The cargo is sulfur.”

A gasp came from the pirates. The leader sniggered, picking up the captain’s hat and putting it on his head.

“I’m buying everything on this ship then... the price being your lives!”

The captain shook in shame. Then, the leader noticed Louise and Wardes standing on deck.

“Oho, we have noble guests!” The leader approached Louise and raised her chin with his hand. “We have a beauty here. Would you like to be our dishwasher?”

The men made rough, low laughs. Louise slapped his hand, and glared at him like she was about to explode into flames. “Get off me, you low-life!”

“Oh, she called us low-lives! I’m so scared now!” The men laughed loudly.

Saito wanted to take out his sword, but Wardes stopped him, whispering, “Hey, familiar. You look like you just can’t quiet down.”

“B-but... Louise...”

“What’s the use in raising a racket now? Their cannons and arrows would just turn Louise, you, and all of us into swiss cheese.”

Saito was shocked.

“Don’t you care about Louise’s safety one bit?”

Saito sank in despair and remorse. ''I’m useless. I can’t ever match up with this guy. Louise... will be better off marrying with this guy.'' He thought.

“Alright, boys, take them all away. We can get a hell lot of ransom for this!”

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==Translator's Notes and References==
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