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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume10 Chapter6

2009-07-20T01:14:29Z

Kumichael: /* Chapter 6: The Imprisoned Six */

===Chapter 6: The Imprisoned Six===

Saito noticed the sunlight which shone through the gap between the metal grills. Beside him, Louise's head was on his shoulder, and she was breathing gently. Guiche and Malicorne lied down side by side on the bed, snoring.

“It's morning, huh......”

In the end, because he was worrying too much, he did not manage to sleep at all.

''Funya funya'', with her mouth half-opened, Louise was muttering something.

“What...a...pity... Princess was lonely, after all. Funya......”

''What on earth is she dreaming about? Being trapped within these grills, now is not the time to oversleep. We have to leave to save Tabitha quickly......''

“Aren't you stupid? Being rejected by Princess, we can face our opponents......”

Saito nudged Louise.

“Funya......”

Louise, who was not fully awakened yet, probably could not differentiate between her dream and reality. She saw Saito and yelled angrily at him.

“Treating me as a spare tire for Princess! You're cruel! Or, whoever you want is fine! That's right! Who is the best, s-ss-say it!!”

“......What're you talking about?”

Astonished, Saito said that, and she realized that this place was not the dream world, but the real world.

Her face crimsoned, and started striking at Saito repeatedly.

“It's only something I dreamed! A dream!”

“Don't hit me!”

“Although it's a dream, it is still you! So be responsible for it!”

Continuing in her state of embarrassment, Louise turned away. Because he couldn't, Saito let out a huge sigh.

“You......you still have the mood to dream, huh...”

“What?”

“Surely, if you had persuaded Princess cleverly, we would have been heading towards Gallia to save Tabitha by now......”

“So you mean to say that I am bad?”

“You are the one who said we have to come here to report to Princess, ''weren't you''?”

“Ain't it obvious?”

“We are saving someone! If we didn't come here to report, and instead hasten there straight away, such a thing would not have happened!”

Upon which, Louise gazed at Saito with a solemn look.

“Saito. That is wrong. Because precisely we are saving someone, we must go through the proper way.”

“Why!?”

“Say if we had lost. What would we do then? Gallia would think that we are Tristain's spy, right? Because I am the Princess' court lady, and you're an Assistant Commanding Officer of the Imperial Guards. It would be terrible if that were to happen. Gallia would go against Tristain, and object strongly, right? It would probably become the excuse for a war. That's probably their objective.”

“How could this be......”

“What did you want to say? Although we don't know if that would be the case, but above not abandoning this probability, we must think that “there is” and act accordingly. How many times more cruel than this would the method employed by the kingdom of Gallia to capture us? We don't know what they would do. After that, we would probably bring trouble to Princess, even as far as Tristain. Because of that, it is possible that people who have nothing to do with us, to get hurt. Even I wanted to save Tabitha. But, I cannot bring problems to anyone. That action is exactly what someone who has lost their head would take.”

Embarrassed, Saito cast his eyes down.

“Sorry......But I still have to do it! Logically, I know what you said is true, but...because of that, what I can probably do, I naturally can't do it at this rate......Aaaah, damn it! I am really anxious!”

“Yeah huh......I thought Princess would probably understand, but......looks like I was too naïve.”

“We really can't get out of here?”

Absent-minded, Saito gazed at the metal grills.

“With your “Void,” is it possible?”

“Impossible. I don't know if 'Dispel' would work, but in the first place, I don't have my wand.”

“You can't use it, huh...”

“If you don't have your sword, you are just an ordinary human, right?”

“I can't use it...”

This time, he said so to himself. However, with a look as if he hadn't thrown away his wish yet,

“......Anyway, when we escape from here, I intend to go to Gallia, but don't worry. What you said about bringing trouble to Tristain - it won't happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“Yesterday, didn't I quit being the Assistant Commanding Officer? I'm just a normal person now.”

“You are really naïve, huh...”

Whilst sighing, Louise said.

“What do you mean!”

“You're thinking that the enemy would believe us? Stop being a knight alone is not enough! At least until you become a wanted person, then only you can be said to have cut all connections!”

“But can you actually stop being a noble? At least until be the same as me, your cheekiness......”

At that point, Saito noticed Louise's appearance for the first time. Because she was uneasy, he didn't know, but......

“Your mantle and your tie clip, what happened to them!”

“I have returned them to Her Majesty The Queen.”

“Returned...you......”

“Shaddap! With this, I'm just the normal Louise! Same as you, a commoner! Com-mon-er! Thank you very much! I have thrown away both my family name and my pride! So don't just showing off like that!”

Saito was very touched, more than he had ever been ever since meeting Louise.

''This pink-haired female magic user whose pride is supposed to be high; my master......She had been so obsessive over the “noble” title, and now she had thrown it away easily.''

''For a girl like Louise, that was probably something which needed a huge a mount of courage.''

''If she didn't have the determination to throw away the life she had built up until now, she could not have done such a thing. That's because, as far as Louise is concerned, her status as a noble was her everything.''

“Y-You......”

“What-a-waste! You like high-class woman very much riggghhhtt? Becoming the familiar of an ordinary girl, you're really disappointed right!”

“N-No way......I...I'm really touched......You would do something as far as that......”

“LIAR! Yesterday night, you stole glances at Princess, and your face turned red! I don't believe you! You like nobles and princesses right! Though you're a dog! That's so funny!”

As she was yelling that, Louise felt the anxiety Siesta talked about expand within her heart.

''What if the “like” he has towards me is but his feeling as a familiar?''

''What if Saito's real feeling is towards Henrietta......but are stopped by this “like” he has as a familiar?''

''Then Saito's shaking off Henrietta's request yesterday night can be understood.''

''The contract I have given him has probably distorted Saito's true feelings......''

''Anyway, Saito's feeling now is probably towards Henrietta. The thing which is stopping him, is the fake feeling I gave him......''

“I don't really fancy nobles or princesses!!”

Saito said disappointedly.

“I dunno such things!” 

To shake off the indescribable anxiety, Louise raised her voice.

“Why are you so mad? I have already said, haven't I? I like......”

“Don't say it!”

Covering her ears, Louise crouched down. As if his hand was hurt, Saito withdrew his hand.

“Okay, okay. I won't say it any more.”

If she doesn't want him to say such things, he couldn't do anything else. Louise became tearful.

Hearing someone clearing his throat, both of them looked forward.

In front of them, Guiche and Malicorne had woken up without them noticing; and weren't they staring motionlessly at the sensitive conversation between Louise and Saito?

Louise's ears became red.

They were seeing everything of the conversation right now.

“N-No! It's not what you think!”

“Err, I don't really mind, but Malicorne......”

Beside Guiche, Malicorne was trembling all over with anger.

“Heeey, Guiche......I'm already at my limittt......Such an envious love game in front of my eyes......?”

Malicorne leaped towards them, and at that instant, Louise pushed Saito forward. Both of them tumbled over and wrestled with each other.

“If it's gonna end like this, you win. Hug me.”

Having given up, Malicorne said that with a faraway look. Saito became sad.

“Hug me!”

“Aaah, haiz......now is not the time to be doing such things!”

The moment Saito let out a sigh and said that......

From outside the window, a flash of light and a loud noise could be heard.

“......Huh?”

Guiche and Louise leaped up and stretched their heads at the window. Outside, a surprising scenery was unfolding.

With the huge wings gleaming, the ''Ostland'' was flying at a low altitude, and was scattering something.

“Wh-Why is that thing......”

From the ''Ostland'', a voice which was magnified by the showy music and magic could be heard.

“To all ladies and gentlemen of Tristain. To all ladies and gentlemen of Tristain. This is the debut of the latest steam-run vessel of the Von Zerbst family of Tristain. Everyone walking at the streets, or those in the palace, please come to have a look.”

“Isn't that Montmorency's voice!?”

Sure enough, that was the voice of Montmorency, who was supposed to be waiting for the group's return on the ''Ostland''.

In the courtyard of the palace, be it the escorting knights, the soldiers, or the nobles who were walking at the streets, everyone was looking up to the sky.

A few dragon knights approached them, and flew around the ''Ostland''. ''Do it somewhere else! Get back!'' They were warning them. Yet, without the slightest indication that they were worried, the ''Ostland'' continued circling it.

The sentinels who were standing outside the prison in which Saito and the rest were locked up, were exchanging glances, worried by the spectacle outside.

“Those guys......what do they plan to do?”

“I wonder what they're thinking about...”

As she revealed her feelings, from outside the door, ''Donggg!'' The sound of the sentinels falling could be heard. Turning back, Saito and the others gulped.

“Kirche!”

Sure enough, the figures which could be seen from between the lattice of the narrow window, were the red-haired dazzling Kirche and......

“Teacher! Teacher Colbert!”

With his bald head gleaming, it was Colbert. Towards the imprisoned four who had rushed to the door, Kirche lifted a finger.

“Shh, quiet.”

Colbert took the bunch of keys from the waist of the defeated sentinels, and inserted that into the keyhole of the door.

Not being able to find the key which fitted, he couldn't make any progress.

At that moment, ''clack!'' With a sound, the door opened.

“Kirche, teacher!”

The four of them stepped out onto the corridor, and Colbert smiled.

“Exultation and explanation after this. Hurry!”

Because this tower was built to lock nobles up, there was a small room right beside to specially safeguard their personal belongings. Colbert moved as if he was very familiar with the layout of this tower, and located Saito's Derflinger and the others' respective wands inside the small room.

Kirche spread a robe over each of the four who were grasping their wands tightly. Putting that on and following Colbert and Kirche, the group ran down the staircase.

On their way down, every guard was already defeated.

“Did you both do this as well?”

“They're just asleep.”

Kirche replied as if she was having fun. ''How on earth did they manage to do that?'' As he was thinking how strange it was, with mage guards as their lead, some soldiers came up form below. It was a group of soldiers who noticed the anomaly in the tower.

“You bastards! What are you doing!?”

As soon as he said that, Colbert who was leading them, reacted. Within a short time, he recited a spell, and held his wand out. A torrent of wind blew away the guard who looked like the leader.

“Wh-!?”

Another guard almost rushed at Colbert's chest, but he delivered a blow into the guard's stomach with his wand. The group of guards who came up could not reach Colbert because of the previous two who was knocked down.

Whilst rushing head-on, Colbert recited another spell. From above the guards who tried to flee, a cloud-shaped green fog broke out. Because of the cloud of slumber, the guards dropped one by one like puppets whose strings were cut.

At Colbert's deftness, Saito and the others were shocked. ''Could it be that Colbert is so strong...?'' As for Louise and Guiche who would have surely thought Colbert as being someone insignificant, they merely stared at that flabbergasting turn of events.

Using his wand itself to hit the enemy, reciting spells so fast as if his lips could not be read, it wasn't the fighting skills of the usual nobles.

“The quality of the guards at the palace had dropped, huh......”

Murmuring that, Colbert broke off into a run again. When they exited into the courtyard, the people there were watching the flying ''Ostland'' in a daze.

Apparently, it was a rescue mission matching with the ''Ostland''.

The security check for the people entering and exiting the palace was loose. Colbert showed them his Academy of Magic identity card, and they easily passed the gate. The group rushed to the castle town.

“T-Teacher, you're awesome......”

Hardly able to calm down, Saito said. For some reasons, a melancholic expression was on his face.

Under Kirche's guidance, the group which sneaked out of the palace, headed towards the “Charming Fairies” Inn at which they had worked before. Surprisingly, horses and traveling equipment were already prepared there.

“You're going to save your friends right? I want to help<nowiki>~~~</nowiki>.”

Bending his body forwards, the owner of the “Charming Fairies” Inn, Scarron, smiled at them.

“The preparations are great......Who on earth informed you that we were caught?”

The moment Saito asked Kirche, from a corner of the bar, a somewhat embarrassed Reynal and the other members of the knight corps who he thought had gone back, came towards him.

“You guys. Didn't you all go back to the Academy?”

Lifting his glasses unconsciously, Reynal responded,

“We thought that you would be refused and would give up after that, and waited secretly for your return at the courtyard. And then, after seeing you all being arrested and taken away......”

“They told us who were waiting on the ship. Then, Jann and I devised a plan, and sought help from this Charming Fairies Inn.”

Triumphantly, Kirche said.

Saito was overjoyed. The knight corps did not just disperse just like that. Just like that, they were comrades who help them in times of need.

Saito bowed at Kirche and the rest.

“S-Sry...... Getting caught when we said we would go to rescue Tabitha...Guess that can't be helped, huh...”

Colbert tapped Saito's shoulder.

“As for the apologies, leave it until Miss Tabitha is rescued. There is no time to be relieved. Well then, the real thing is after this.”

Colbert then spread out a map on top of Derflinger. Everyone present became anxious, and looked at the map.

Colbert traced along one of the streets.

“We go to Gallia via a land route.”

“Can't we go using the ship?”

“Once your escape has been discovered, the first thing they would suspect is the ''Ostland'' which is sailing in the air now. Anyway, we have come here to Tristania using that ship. The pursuers would probably think that we have escaped on that ship. That's why we use it against them. The ''Ostland'' would attract enough attention, and then head towards the opposite direction, Germania. The people in the royal palace would then think we are trying to enter Gallia via Germania.”

“I see.”

Kirche explained the remaining reasoning.

“Besides that, if we cross the country frontier in such a huge ship, won't we be discovered by the Gallian army immediately? After landing at Gallia, what do we do after that? Waiting aboard in the skies on standby? If we are discovered by the Gallian dragon knights, we would just be sunken like that!”

“Anyway, I don't want to use the ship for dangerous things. After rescuing Miss Tabitha, we will use the ship to travel east. Right?”

With a teasing-like smile on his face, Colbert looked at Saito. ''Yes!'' Touched, Saito nodded.

“Because of that, we would cross the country border on horses, and head towards the old Orleans residence at the shore of Ragdorian Lake, which Miss Zerbst knew about. That is where Miss Tabitha's home is. Maybe there is some clue over there. Well then, for the time being, this is the plan. Everyone, any questions?”

“Can I ask one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Why do you help us so much? As a teacher, you should have your own stand right?”

''Why do you ask such a thing?'' Colbert showed a strange look.

“Miss Tabitha is my student. A teacher helping his student. Isn't that natural?”

When Tabitha woke up, she was in a dream country.

She was on a bed with a canopy, right at the center of a spacious room.

She was dressed in a luxurious pyjamas which she had never worn before, not even during her times as a princess.

Tabitha looked for her glasses, and then noticed a pair of glasses studded with precious stones on a small table beside the bed. It was lying there, on the table.

“............”

Putting that on, she checked her body. She could not feel anything strange at all. Looking around, just like the bed and the accessories, the furnitures around her were luxurious as well. It was the furniture of the previous Capet dynasty. The generation during which Gallia had thoroughly achieved the artistic, military, greatest splendor.

“Have you woken up?”

Tabitha turned towards where the voice came from, and there was the tall elf. Sitting on a couch near the entrance to the room, he was reading a book. Instantly, she looked around for her wand, but it could not be found anywhere. ''If this is the case, I have no way to fight against him.''

Tabitha got down from the bed slowly. ''This place is definitely not a dream country. Since the elf who had defeated me so easily is here, this is but the prolongation of the fact.''

“Who are you?”

“Member of the Old Council of Neftes......no, right now, I am but the Bidashal of Sahara.”

“Where is this place?”

“Alhambra Castle.”

The knowledgeable Tabitha knew the name of this castle. An old castle near the national border with Sahara, the elves' land. Its position was at the direct opposite of Ragdorian Lake. Looks like she was brought here whilst she was still unconscious.

“Where did you put my mother?”

Tabitha repeated the same question as the other day. The tall elf replied her instantly.

“She's in a room beside here.”

Tabitha rushed out. Although she had run up to the door, the elf did not stop her. The room in which Tabitha was sleeping at, was apparently a room designed to give shelter to nobles. Opposite the door, there was a small room for servants. Her mother was lying on a bed there.

“Mother.”

Whispering that, she rushed up to her. Her mother was snoring softly. Although Tabitha called out to her, she did not wake up. Evidently, she was deeply asleep.

At the mirror stand at the corner of the room, there was the doll Tabitha's mother thought to be her daughter. A doll she once bought for Tabitha. During that time, she named that doll “Tabitha”.

Mentally ill now, her mother called that doll “Charlotte”.

Since then, she called herself “Tabitha”. The doll which was like her other self, was lying casually on the mirror stand.

With great loathing, Tabitha glared at Bidashal who had peeked in from the door. In a crystal-clear voice, he said to Tabitha.

“You're creating a ruckus, please let her sleep.”

“What do you plan to do with us?”

As if he was looking at a desert rat he captured for experimental purposes, with eyes that contained little pity, Bidashal gazed at Tabitha.

“There are two answers to that.”

With Bidashal's words, Tabitha understood that her fate would be different from her mother's.

“What are you going to do with my mother?”

Firstly, Tabitha asked how her mother would be dealt with.

“Nothing at all. I was only ordered to 'guard' her.”

“What about me?”

After hesitating for a moment, Bidashal continued in the same tone some time ago.

“With the power of the Water Spirit, let you part with your heart. After that, I am ordered to 'guard' you.”

Tabitha understood instantly. This elf was saying that she would be made to be just like her mother.

“Now?”

“It is a special drug. Its preparation takes about ten days. You better enjoy the time left for you to the fullest.”

“You people made the drug which drove my mother crazy?”

Bidashal nodded.

“That drug which is so strong; we are not able to prepare it. Well then, although I pity you, I am also a captive-like being as well. I think this is the will of 'The Great Purpose' too, so give up.”

Tabitha stood up, and went towards a window in the room.

Under the radiant sun, the collapsed castle walls could be seen. Alhambra was supposed to be an abandoned castle, but when she looked at the furnished noble room, she thought that Joseph had probably renovated it.

Blocked by the castle walls, the courtyard until the outside of the castle could not be seen, but she was able to look down at the huge entrance protruding from the castle keep. Soldiers wielding lances and rifles were standing there. Although she did not know how many armed soldiers they were, since she did not have her wand, it was impossible to escape with her mother.

“My familiar?”

Realizing that Sylphid was not anywhere there, she asked.

“That rhyme dragon? It escaped.”

Apparently, he was able to see through Sylphid's true identity with just a look. It should have been a piece of cake for that tall elf.

''It escaped''. Tabitha was relieved that she was told that, but......Sylphid would surely inform those people at the Academy of Magic that Tabitha was captured.

Tabitha bit her lips.

Kirche and Saito's faces came to her mind.

She did not want them to think of things like trying their best to save them. Because she did not want to be a bother, she did not tell anyone about her departure at all.

''But......it should be okay not to worry about that.'' Anyhow, the one who had captured Tabitha was Gallia. Coming to save her would be the same as looking for a brawling with the whole country. ''Kirche or Saito would not think of taking such a risk. Especially Saito, isn't he a knight of the Imperial Guards now......?''

''But, if it's Saito, he probably won't mind taking such risks. Anyway, when it comes to that Saito, during that time when he fought the death match with me, without reconsidering his probable death, he had let me off.''

At her straying thoughts......Tabitha shook her head slightly.

''Thinking about things like coming and going in such a way, huh...''

''Perhaps, I want them to come to rescue me.''

''How could it be?''

''I have always been doing things alone.''

''Besides......it is useless, whoever it is. The time left for me is only a little. After that, I will lose my heart due to the elf's drug. The Ancient Magic of the elves; humans can't do anything about it.''

Although she was about to lose her heart, Tabitha was strangely calm.

''No matter how I struggle against this elf, I definitely cannot win. Even when I had my wand, I could not succeed, so being unarmed now......our difference is probably like that of an ant and an elephant.''

Having went through countless battles until now as a Knight of the Northern Parterre, Tabitha excelled in analyzing battle abilities. Her excellent sense as a warrior told her the foolishness of resisting. Tabitha's cold heart was enveloped in a sense of helplessness she had never felt before. That sense of helplessness ripped off even the last bit of emotion Tabitha had- anger.

Wearing this soft, resigned garment in her heart, Tabitha softly bit her lips.

''“Being controlled by the feeling of such strange things, she could go to the same place as her mother.”'' She felt this wee bit of relief.

Then, Bidashal told Tabitha.

“If you are bored, read a book. I have brought a few here.”

Bidashal pointed at the few books stacked in a tow which was apparently brought from the mansion of Orleans.

“This ''The Hero of Ivaldi'' book is really of great interest.”

Taking the book he was indulged in at the old mansion of Orleans, Bidashal murmured.

''The Hero of Ivaldi'' is the most popular epic tale in Halkeginia.

Receiving the divine protection of Founder Brimir, Ivaldi the Hero used ''swords'' and ''spears'' and defeated various enemies- dragons, demons, demihumans...Because the original script no longer existed, besides the plot and the characters, it had branched off into innumerable variations - folklores, traditions, poems, plays, puppet shows......

Because the main character isn't a noble mage, it is a popular work mainly among commoners.

“We elves have a legend which has a similar hero. Saint 'Anubis'. He is considered to have saved our land, Sahara during the 'great calamity'. According to this book, the hero Ivaldi's left hand could shine. Our 'Anubis' had a sacred left hand as well. Elves and humans are different, but this is a deeply interesting similarity.”

The tale “Hero of Ivaldi”, which was meant for the commoners, was not properly accepted in Halkeginia. Those who researched it were labeled “heretics” and “fools”, and it could not stand at the public stage of either theology or literature. There was even a period when it went through the painful experience of book burning. After all, this fairy-tale was said to have been made by the commoners who were then not pleased with the nobles' reign. It does not mean that all the “Hero of Ivaldi” stories which were conveyed had a left hand which could shine. There were some in which the hero is a female, and some, male. There were also times when he was the son of god, or when it was his wife instead. He was also said to be just an ordinary human. It was a group of vague stories.

Bidashal handed the “Hero of Ivaldi” book to Tabitha.

Obediently receiving the book, Tabitha sat down at the bed on which her mother was sleeping. Bidashal nodded, and left the room.

After sitting down by the bed and gazing at her mother's face......Tabitha recalled her childhood days. ''To lull the fretful me to sleep, my mother had read a book to me at the bedside, just like this.''

''During that time, the book which was read the most time, wasn't it the “Hero of Ivaldi”?''

Slowly, Tabitha started flipping the pages of the book.

Although this would never be her object of research, the “Hero of Ivaldi” was interesting. Because of that, it was popular and widely read. She would not choose a moral and straightforward story. When she was small, Tabitha had engrossed herself in reading it before as well. Her interest would shift to other things eventually......Although she did not open the book after that, the thing which had taught her the fun of reading was this “Hero of Ivaldi” book.

The sounds of pages of a book being flipped could be heard in the quiet room.

While she flipped the pages, Tabitha read it out.

Just like how her mother did it last time.

''Ivaldi was stopped by Choment and other villagers. That is because he said he would go to the dragon's cave to save the feudal lord's daughter who had been harassing the villagers.''

Casually looking at her mother, she noticed that her mother had awakened without her realizing it. And yet she did not wake up when she called out to her just now......Tabitha tried to go and get the doll which was on the mirror stand. If her mother did not have the doll, she would be very upset. However......she noticed that her mother's behavior was different from usual.

She was staring at Tabitha with an astonished face. Usually, she would start making a fuss about “Return my daughter to me!” Yet, showing no interest at the doll on the mirror stand, she stared fixedly at Tabitha.

''Maybe this passage from the “Hero of Ivaldi” made mother recall a little about the former days.'' Tabitha had given up, but now, within her heart, a small ray of hope shone through. Perhaps it would just be a hope that would be a disappointment. But still, that hope was just like a stick of candle in the dark, glowing gently.

Tabitha continued reading out.

''Choment asked Ivaldi,''

''“Oh, Ivaldi! Why are you heading towards the dragon's den? That girl had harassed you so much!”''

''Ivaldi answered,''

''“I don't know. Why? I don't know as well. Just that there's something inside me which kept pulling me there steadily.”''

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume10_Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume10_Chapter7|Chapter 7]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume10 Chapter6

2009-06-08T02:49:04Z

Kumichael: /* Chapter 6- The Imprisoned Six */

===Chapter 6- The Imprisoned Six===

Saito noticed the sunlight which shone through the gap between the metal grills. Beside him, Louise's head was on his shoulder, and she was breathing gently. Guiche and Malicorne lied down side by side on the bed, snoring.

“It's morning huh......”

In the end, because he was worrying too much, he did not manage to sleep at all.

''Funya funya'', with her mouth half-opened, Louise was muttering something.

“What.....a....pity.... Princess was lonely, after all. Funya......”

''What on earth is she dreaming about? Being trapped within these grills, now is not the time to oversleep. We have to leave to save Tabitha quickly......''

“Aren't you stupid? Being rejected by Princess, we can face our opponents......”

Saito nudged Louise.

“Funya......”

Probably Louise who was not fully awakened yet, could not differentiate between her dream and the reality. She saw Saito and yelled angrily at him.

“Treating me as a spare tire for Princess! You're cruel! Or, whoever you want is fine! That's right! Who is the best, s-ss-say it!!”

“......What're you talking about?”

Astonished, Saito said that, and she realized that this place was not the dream world, but the real world.

Her face crimsoned, and started striking at Saito repeatedly.

“It's only something I dreamed! A dream!”

“Don't hit me!”

“Although it's a dream, it is still you! So be responsible for it!”

Continuing in her state of embarrassment, Louise turned away. Because he couldn't, Saito let out a huge sigh.

“You......you still have the mood to dream, huh...”

“What?”

“Surely, if you have persuaded Princess cleverly, we would have been heading towards Gallia to save Tabitha by now......”

“So you mean to say that I am bad?”

“You are the one who said we have to come here to report to Princess, ''weren't you''?”

“Ain't it obvious?”

“We are saving someone! If we didn't come here to report, and instead hasten there straight away, such a thing would not have happened!”

Upon which, Louise gazed at Saito with a solemn look.

“Saito. That is wrong. Because precisely we are saving someone, we must go through the proper way.”

“Why!?”

“Say if we had lost. What would we do then? Gallia would think that we are Tristain's spy, right? Because I am the Princess' court lady, and you're the Assistant Commanding Officer of the Imperial Guards. It would be terrible if that were to happen. Gallia would go against Tristain, and object strongly, right? It would probably become the excuse for a war. That's probably their objective.”

“How could this be......”

“What did you want to say? Although we don't know if that would be the case, but above not abandoning this probability, we must think that “there is” and act accordingly. How many times more cruel than this would the method employed by Gallia kingdom to capture us? We don't know what they would do. After that, we would probably bring trouble to Princess, even as far as Tristain. Because of that, it is possible that people who have nothing to do with us, to get hurt. Even I wanted to save Tabitha. But, I cannot bring problems to anyone. That action is exactly what someone who has lost their head would take.”

Embarrassed, Saito cast his eyes down.

“Sorry......But I still have to do it! Logically, I know what you said is true, but...because of that, what I can probably do, I naturally can't do it at this rate......Aaaah, dammit! I am really anxious!”

“Yeah huh......I thought Princess would probably understand, but......looks like I was too naïve.”

“We really can't get out of here?”

Absent-minded, Saito gazed at the metal grills.

“With your “Void,” is it possible?”

“Impossible. I don't know if “Dispel” would work, but in the first place, I don't have my wand.”

“You can't use it huh...”

“If you don't have your sword, you are just an ordinary human, right?”

“I can't use it...”

This time, he said so to himself. However, with a look as if he hadn't thrown away his wish yet,

“......Anyway, when we escape from here, I intend to go to Gallia, but don't worry. What you said about bringing trouble to Tristain- it won't happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“Yesterday, didn't I quit being the Assistant Commanding Officer? I'm just a normal person now.”

“You are really naïve, huh...”

Whilst sighing, Louise said.

“What do you mean!”

“You're thinking that the enemy would believe us? Stop being a knight alone is not enough! At least until you become a wanted person, then only you can be said to have cut all connections!”

“But can you actually stop being a noble? At least until be the same as me, your cheekiness......”

At that point, Saito noticed Louise's appearance for the first time. Because she was uneasy, he didn't know, but......

“Your mantle and your tie clip, what happened to them!”

“I have returned them to Her Majesty The Queen.”

“Returned...you......”

“Shaddap! With this, I'm just the normal Louise! Same as you, a commoner! Com-mon-er! Thank you very much! I have thrown away both my family name and my pride! So don't just showing off like that!”

Saito was very touched, more than he had ever been ever since meeting Louise.

''This pink-haired female magic user whose pride is supposed to be high; my master......She had been so obsessive over the “noble” title, and now she had thrown it away easily.''

''For a girl like Louise, that was probably something which needed a huge a mount of courage.''

''If she didn't have the determination to throw away the life she had built up until now, she could not have done such a thing. That's because, as far as Louise is concerned, her status as a noble was her everything.''

“Y-you......”

“What-a-waste! You like high-class woman very much riggghhhtt? Becoming the familiar of an ordinary girl, you're really disappointed right!”

“N-no way......I...I'm really touched......You would do something as far as that......”

“LIAR! Yesterday night, you stole glances at Princess, and your face turned red! I don't believe you! You like nobles and princesses right! Though you're a dog! That's so funny!”

As she was yelling that, Louise felt the anxiety Siesta talked about expand within her heart.

''What if the “like” he has towards me is but his feeling as a familiar?''

''What if Saito's real feeling is towards Henrietta......but are stopped by this “like” he has as a familiar?''

''Then Saito's shaking off Henrietta's request yesterday night can be understood.''

''The contract I have given him has probably distorted Saito's true feelings......''

''Anyway, Saito's feeling now is probably towards Henrietta. The thing which is stopping him, is the fake feeling I gave him......''

“I don't really fancy nobles or princesses!!”

Saito said disappointedly.

“I dunno such things!” 

To shake off the indescribable anxiety, Louise raised her voice.

“Why are you so mad? I have already said, haven't I? I like......”

“Don't say it!”

Covering her ears, Louise crouched down. As if his hand was hurt, Saito withdrew his hand.

“Ok ok. I won't say it any more.”

If she doesn't want him to say such things, he couldn't do anything else. Louise became tearful.

Hearing someone clearing his throat, both of them looked to the front.

Over there, Guiche and Malicorne had woke up without them noticing; and weren't they staring motionlessly at the sensitive conversation between Louise and Saito?

Louise's ears became red.

They were seeing everything of the conversation right now.

“N-no! It's not what you think!”

“Err, I don't really mind, but Malicorne......”

Beside Guiche, Malicorne was trembling all over with anger.

“Heeey, Guiche......I'm already at my limittt......Such an envious love game in front of my eyes......?”

Malicorne leaped towards them, and at that instant, Louise pushed Saito forward. Both of them tumbled over and wrestled with each other.

“If it's gonna end like this, you win. Hug me.”

Having given up, Malicorne said that with a faraway look. Saito became sad.

“Hug me!”

“Aaah, haiz......now is not the time to be doing such things!”

The moment Saito let out a sigh and said that......

From outside the window, a flash of light and a loud noise could be heard.

“......Huh?”

Guiche and Louise leaped up and stretched their heads at the window. Outside, a surprising scenery was unfolding.

With the huge wings gleaming, the ''Ostland'' was flying at a low altitude, and was scattering something.

“Wh-why is that thing......”

From the ''Ostland'', a voice which was magnified by the showy music and magic could be heard.

“To all ladies and gentlemen of Tristain. To all ladies and gentlemen of Tristain. This is the debut of the latest steam-run vessel of the Von Zerbst family of Tristain. Everyone walking at the streets, or those in the palace, please come to have a look.”

“Isn't that Montmorency's voice!?”

Sure enough, that was the voice of Montmorency who was supposed to be waiting for the group's return on the ''Ostland''.

In the courtyard of the palace, be it the escorting knights, the soldiers, or the nobles who were walking at the streets, everyone was looking up to the sky.

A few dragon knights approached them, and flew around the ''Ostland''. ''Do it somewhere else! Get back!'' They were warning them. Yet, without the slightest indication that they were worried, the ''Ostland'' continued circling it.

The sentinels who were standing outside the prison in which Saito and the rest were locked up, were exchanging glances, worried by the spectacle outside.

“Those guys......what do they plan to do?”

“I wonder what they're thinking about...”

As she revealed her feelings, from outside the door, ''Donggg!'' The sound of the sentinels falling could be heard. Turning back, Saito and the others gulped.

“Kirche!”

Sure enough, the figures which could be seen from between the lattice of the narrow window, were the red-haired dazzling Kirche and......

“Teacher! Teacher Colbert!”

With his bald head gleaming, it was Colbert. Towards the imprisoned four who had rushed to the door, Kirche lifted a finger.

“Shh, quiet.”

Colbert took the bunch of keys from the waist of the defeated sentinels, and inserted that into the keyhole of the door.

Not being able to find the key which fitted, he couldn't make any progress.

At that moment, ''clack!'' With a sound, the door opened.

“Kirche, teacher!”

The four of them stepped out onto the corridor, and Colbert smiled.

“Exultation and explanation after this. Hurry!”

Because this tower was built to lock nobles up, there was a small room right beside to specially safekeep their personal belongings. Colbert moved as if he was very familiar with the layout of this tower, and located Saito's Derflinger and the others' respective wands inside the small room.

Kirche spread a robe over each of the four who were grasping their wands tightly. Putting that on and following Colbert and Kirche, the group ran down the staircase.

On their way down, every guard was already defeated.

“Did you both do this as well?”

“They're just asleep.”

Kirche replied as if she was having fun. ''How on earth did they manage to do that?'' As he was thinking how strange it was, with mage guards as their lead, some soldiers came up form below. It was a group of soldiers who noticed the anomaly in the tower.

“You bastards! What are you doing!?”

As soon as he said that, Colbert who was leading them, reacted. Within a short time, he recited a spell, and held his wand out. A torrent of wind blew away the guard who looked like the leader.

“Wh-!?”

Another guard almost rushed at Colbert's chest, but he delivered a blow into the guard's stomach with his wand. The group of guards who came up could not reach Colbert because of the previous two who was knocked down.

Whilst rushing head-on, Colbert recited another spell. From the top of the guards who tried to flee, a cloud-shaped green fog broke out. Because of the cloud of slumber, the guards dropped one by one like puppets whose strings were cut.

At Colbert's deftness, Saito and the others were shocked. ''Could it be that Colbert is so strong...?'' As for Louise and Guiche who would have surely thought Colbert as being someone insignificant, they merely stared at that flabbergasting turn of events.

Using his wand itself to hit the enemy, reciting spells so fast as if his lips could not be read, it wasn't the fighting skills of the usual nobles.

“The quality of the guards at the palace had dropped huh......”

Murmuring that, Colbert broke off into a run again. When they exited into the courtyard, the people there were watching the flying ''Ostland'' in a daze.

Apparently, it was a rescue mission matching with the ''Ostland''.

The security check for the people entering and exiting the palace was loose. Colbert showed them his Magic Academy identity card, and they easily passed the gate. The group rushed to the castle town.

“T-teacher, you're awesome......”

Hardly able to calm down, Saito said. For some reasons, a melancholic expression was on his face.

Under Kirche's guidance, the group which sneaked out of the palace, headed towards the “Charming Fairies Inn” at which they had worked before. Surprisingly, horses and travelling equipments were already prepared there.

“You're going to save your friends right? I want to help<nowiki>~~~</nowiki>.”

Bending his body forwards, the owner of the “Charming Fairies Inn”, Scarron, smiled at them.

“The preparations are great......Who on earth informed you that we were caught?”

The moment Saito asked Kirche, from a corner of the bar, a somewhat embarrassed Reynal and the other members of the knight corps who he thought had gone back, came towards him.

“You guys. Didn't you all go back to the Academy?”

Lifting his glasses unconsciously, Reynal said.

“We thought that you would be refused and would give up after that, and waited secretly for your return at the courtyard. And then, after seeing you all being arrested and brought away......”

“They told us who were waiting on the ship. Then, Jann and I devised a plan, and sought help from this Charming Fairies Inn.”

Triumphantly, Kirche said.

Saito was overjoyed. The knight corps did not just disperse just like that. Just like that, they were comrades who help them in times of need.

Saito bowed at Kirche and the rest.

“S-sry...... Getting caught when we have said we would go to rescue Tabitha...Guess that can't be helped huh...”

Colbert tapped Saito's shoulder.

“As for the apologies, leave it until Miss Tabitha is rescued. There is no time to be relieved. Well then, the real thing is after this.”

Colbert then spread out a map on top of Derflinger. Everyone present became anxious, and looked at the map.

Colbert traced along one of the streets.

“We go to Gallia via a land route.”

“Can't we go using the ship?”

“Once your escape have been found out, the first thing they would suspect is the ''Ostland'' which is sailing in the air now. Anyway, we have come here to Tristania using that ship. The pursuers would probably think that we have escaped on that ship. That's why we use it against them. The ''Ostland'' would attract enough attention, and then head towards the opposite direction, Germania. The people in the royal palace would then think we are trying to enter Gallia via Germania.”

“I see.”

Kirche explained the remaining reasoning.

“Besides that, if we cross the country frontier in such a huge ship, won't we be discovered by the Gallian army immediately? After landing at Gallia, what do we do after that? Waiting aboard in the skies on standby? If we are discovered by the Gallian dragon knights, we would just be sunken like that!”

“Anyway, I don't want to use the ship for dangerous things. After rescuing Miss Tabitha, we would use the ship to travel east. Right?”

With a teasing-like smile on his face, Colbert looked at Saito. ''Yes!'' Touched, Saito nodded.

“Because of that, we would cross the country border on horses, and head towards the old Orleans residence at the shore of Ragdorian Lake, which Miss Zerbst knew about. That is where Miss Tabitha's home is. Maybe there is some clue over there. Well then, for the time being, this is the plan. Everyone, any questions?”

“Can I ask one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Why do you help us so much? As a teacher, you should have your own stand right?”

''Why do you ask such a thing?'' Colbert showed a strange look.

“Miss Tabitha is my student. A teacher helping his student. Isn't that natural?”

When Tabitha woke up, she was in a dream country.

She was on a bed with a canopy, right at the center of a spacious room.

She was dressed in a luxurious pyjamas which she had never worn before, not even during her times as a princess.

Tabitha looked for her glasses, and saw noticed a pair of pair of glasses studded with precious stones on a small table beside the bed. It was lying there, on the table.

“............”

Putting that on, she checked her body. She could not feel anything strange at all. Looking around, just like the bed and the accessories, the furnitures around her were luxurious as well. It was the furniture of the previous Capet dynasty. The generation during which Gallia had thoroughly achieved the artistic, military, greatest spendor.

“Have you woke up?”

Tabitha turned towards where the voice came from, and there was the tall elf. Sitting on a couch near the entrance to the room, he was reading a book. Instantly, she looked around for her wand, but it could not be found anywhere. ''If this is the case, I have no way to fight against him.''

Tabitha got down from the bed slowly. ''This place is definitely not a dream country. Since the elf who had defeated me so easily is here, this is but the prolongation of the fact.''

“Who are you?”

“Member of the Old Council of Neftes......no, right now, I am but the Bidashal of Sahara.”

“Where is this place?”

“Alhambra Castle.”

The knowledgeable Tabitha knew the name of this castle. An old castle near the national border with Sahara, the elves' land. Its position was at the direct opposite of Ragdorian Lake. Looks like she was brought here whilst she was still unconscious.

“Where did you put my mother?”

Tabitha repeated the same question as the other day. The tall elf replied her instantly.

“She's in a room beside here.”

Tabitha rushed out. Although she had run up to the door, the elf did not stop her. The room in which Tabitha was sleeping at, was apparently a room designed to give shelter to nobles. Opposite the door, there was a small room for servants. Her mother was lying on a bed there.

“Mother.”

Whispering that, she rushed up to her. Her mother was snoring softly. Although Tabitha called out to her, she did not wake up. Evidently, she was deeply asleep.

At the mirror stand at the corner of the room, there was the doll Tabitha's mother thought to be her daughter. A doll she once bought for Tabitha. During that time, she named that doll “Tabitha”.

Mentally ill now, her mother called that doll “Charlotte”.

And then, she called herself “Tabitha” now. The doll which was like her other self, was lying casually on the mirror stand.

Loathingly, Tabitha glared at Bidashal who had peeked in from the door. In a crystal-clear voice, he said to Tabitha.

“You're creating a ruckus, please let her sleep.”

“What do you plan to do with us?”

As if he was looking at a desert rat he captured for experimental purposed, with eyes that contained little pity, Bidashal gazed at Tabitha.

“There are two answers to that.”

With Bidashal's words, Tabitha understood that her fate would be different from her mother's.

“What are you going to do with my mother?”

Firstly, Tabitha asked how her mother would be dealt with.

“Nothing at all. I was only ordered to “guard” her.”

“What about me?”

After hesitating for a moment, Bidashal continued in the same tone some time ago.

“With the power of the Water Spirit, let you part with your heart. After that, I am ordered to “guard” you.”

Tabitha understood instantly. This elf was saying that she would be made to be just like her mother.

“Now?”

“It is a special drug. Its preparation takes about ten days. You better enjoy the time left for you to the fullest.”

“You people made the drug which drove my mother crazy?”

Bidashal nodded.

“That drug which is so strong; we are not able to prepare it. Well then, although I pity you, I am also a captive-like being as well. I think this is the will of “The Great Purpose” too, so give up.”

Tabitha stood up, and went to the window of the room.

Under the radiant sun, the collapsed castle walls could be seen. Alhambra was supposed to be an abandoned castle, but when she looked at the furnished noble room, she thought that Joseph had probably renovated it.

Blocked by the castle walls, the courtyard until the outside of the castle could not be seen, but she was able to look down at the huge entrance protruding from the castle keep. Soldiers wielding lances and rifles were standing there. Although she did not know how many armed soldiers they were, since she did not have her wand, it was impossible to escape with her mother.

“My familiar?”

Realizing that Sylphid was not anywhere there, she asked.

“That Rhyme Dragon? It escaped.”

Apparently, he was able to see through Sylphid's true identity with just a look. It should have been a piece of cake for that tall elf.

''It escaped''. Tabitha was relieved that she was told that, but......Sylphid would surely inform those people at the Academy of Magic that Tabitha was captured.

Tabitha bit her lips.

Kirche and Saito's faces came to her mind.

She did not want them to think of things like trying their best to save them. Because she did not want to be a bother, she did not tell anyone about her departure at all.

''But......it should be okay not to worry about that.'' Anyhow, the one who had captured Tabitha was Gallia. Coming to save her would be the same as looking for a brawling with the whole country. ''Kirche or Saito would not think of taking such a risk. Especially Saito, isn't he a knight of the Imperial Guards now......?''

''But, if it's Saito, he probably won't mind taking such risks. Anyway, when it comes to that Saito, during that time when he fought the deathmatch with me, without reconsidering his probable death, he had let me off.''

At her straying thoughts......Tabitha shook her head slightly.

''Thinking about things like coming and going in such a way, huh...''

''Perhaps, I want them to come to rescue me.''

''How could it be?''

''I have always been doing things alone.''

''Besides......it is useless, whoever it is. The time left for me is only a little. After that, I will lose my heart due to the elf's drug. The Ancient Magic of the elves, humans can't do anything about it.''

Although she was about to lose her heart, Tabitha was strangely calm.

''No matter how I struggle against this elf, I definitely cannot win. Even when I had my wand, I could not succeed, so being unarmed now......our difference is probably like that of an ant and an elephant.''

Having went through countless battle until now as the Knight of the Northern Parterre, Tabitha excelled in analyzing battle abilities. Her excellent sense as a warrior told her the foolishness of resisting. Tabitha's cold heart was enveloped in a sense of helplessness she had never felt before. That sense of helplessness ripped off even the last bit of emotion Tabitha had- anger.

Wearing this soft, resigned garment in her heart, Tabitha softly bit her lips.

“Being controlled by the feeling of such strange things, she could go to the same place as her mother.” She felt this wee bit of relief.

Then, Bidashal told Tabitha.

“If you are bored, read a book. I have brought a few here.”

Bidashal pointed at the few books stacked in a tow which was apparently brought from the mansion of Orleans.

“This ''“The Hero of Ivaldi”'' book is really of great interest.”

Taking the book he was indulged in at the old mansion of Orleans, Bidashal murmured.

''“The Hero of Ivaldi”'' is the most popular epic tale in Halkeginia.

Receiving the divine protection of Founder Brimir, Ivaldi the Hero used ''swords'' and ''spears'' and defeated various enemies- dragons, demons, demihumans...Because the original script no longer existed, besides the plot and the characters, it had branched off into innumerable variations- folklores, traditions, poems, plays, puppet shows......

Because the main character isn't a noble mage, it is a popular work mainly among commoners.

“We elves have a legend which has a similar hero. Saint “Anubis”. He is considered to have saved our land, Sahara during the “great calamity”. According to this book, the hero Ivaldi's left hand could shine. Our “Anubis” had a sacred left hand as well. Elves and humans are different, but this is a deeply interesting similarity.”

The tale “Hero of Ivaldi” which was meant for the commoners, was not properly accepted in Halkeginia. Those who researched it were labelled “heresy” and “fools”, and it could not stand at the public stage of either theology or literature. There was even a period when it went through the painful experience of book burning. After all, this fairy-tale was said to have been made by the commoners who were then not pleased with the nobles' reign. It does not mean that all the “Hero of Ivaldi” stories which were conveyed had a left hand which could shine. There were some in which the hero is a female, and some, male. There were also times when he was the son of god, or when it was his wife instead. He was also said to be just an ordinary human. It was a group of vague stories.

Bidashal handed the “Hero of Ivaldi” book to Tabitha.

Obediently receiving the book, Tabitha sat down at the bed on which her mother was sleeping. Bidashal nodded, and left the room.

After sitting down by the bed and gazing at her mother's face......Tabitha recalled her childhood days. ''To lull the fretful me to sleep, my mother had read a book to me at the bedside, just like this.''

''During that time, the book which was read the most time, wasn't it the “Hero of Ivaldi”?''

Slowly, Tabitha started flipping the pages of the book.

Although this would never be her object of research, the “Hero of Ivaldi” was interesting. Because of that, it was popular and widely read. She would not choose a moral and straightforward story. When she was small, Tabitha had engrossed in reading it before as well. Her interest would shift to other things eventually......Although she did not open the book after that, the thing which had taught her the fun of reading was this “Hero of Ivaldi” book.

The sounds of pages of a book being flipped could be heard in the quiet room.

While she flipped the pages, Tabitha read it out.

Just like how her mother did it last time.

''Ivaldi was stopped by Choment and other villagers. That is because he said he would go to the dragon's cave to save the feudal lord's daughter who had been harassing the villagers.''

Casually looking at her mother, she noticed that her mother had awakened without her realizing it. And yet she did not wake up when she called out to her just now......Tabitha tried to go and get the doll which was on the mirror stand. If her mother did not have the doll, she would be very upset. However......she noticed that her mother's behavior was different from usual.

She was staring at Tabitha with an astonished face. Usually, she would start making a fuss about “Return my daughter to me!” Yet, showing no interest at the doll on the mirror stand, she stared fixedly at Tabitha.

''Maybe this passage from the “Hero of Ivaldi” made mother recall a little about the former days.'' Tabitha had given up, but now, within her heart, a small ray of hope shone through. Perhaps it would just be a hope that would be a disappointment. But still, that hope was just like a stick of candle in the dark, glowing gently.

Tabitha continued reading out.

''Choment asked Ivaldi.''

''“Oh, Ivaldi! Why are you heading towards the dragon's den? That girl had harassed you so much!”''

''Ivaldi answered.''

''“I don't know. Why? I don't know as well. Just that there's something inside me which kept pulling me there steadily.”''

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume10_Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume10_Chapter7|Chapter 7]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume10 Chapter1

2009-05-04T03:31:58Z

Kumichael: /* Chapter 1: The Ostland */

===Chapter 1: The ''Ostland''===

“Huh...”

Louise let out a deep sigh. She was at the deck of the ''Ostland''. In front of her eyes, led by Guiche and Malicorne, the students of the Academy of Magic were creating a commotion.

Colbert was in the center of the circle. Previously, they heard how he had died during the attack by a group of mercenaries from the Albion army; but he was actually alive, and apparently, Kirche had secretly brought him back to Germania.

It was a mystery why Kirche did that. Louise inclined her head.

“Oh my, Louise. How is this ship my Jan made?”

Her hand went around Louise, and Kirche smiled sweetly.

Louise stared at the wings of the ''Ostland'' which were protruding from its deck. They are enormous wings, which were about three times larger than the ones of normal ships. Usually, wings which are set up in ships were wood, like the support, with a spreading sail. But this ship is different. To achieve that strength, instead of wood, tall iron masts are used. Reaching 100 mails tall, these straight iron masts could not be produced in Tristain.

In the middle of the wings, there is an engine room with huge propellers! It looks like the “steam engine” Colbert prided in. Apparently, it is something Colbert and the Zerbst family made using the “Happy Serpent” some time ago as a model. From their outer appearance, they look like two long, huge iron boxes with massive chimneys. With the energy from the steam which is generated from the combustion of coal and the heating of water, these huge propellers revolve- this is its mechanism.

Those two things were the product of Germanian mechanics who were excellent metallurgists.

“What a great ship.”

Louise expressed her thoughts briefly, and...

“To manufacture iron which could be of use to make such long and strong masts in Tristain is impossible! Louise, do you understand? For the sake of turning my Jan's design into reality, the fire technology of Germania is indispensable! It was a just like a fated meeting between the fire Zerbst and the Flame Serpent! In other words, the fruits of love!”

Unabashed, Kirche combed her hair back. Disgusted at Kirche who had now caught a teacher, calling him “My Jan," Louise said,

“So it's a teacher this time? You are really really someone who falls in love irrationally, huh?”

“It is my personality to be attracted to great gentlemen. I am only faithful to that.”

“Then why did you do things like lying that he had died and took him away?”

Louise asked. At her words, Kirche displayed a somewhat lonesome look. Yet, she smiled immediately.

“There are a lot of reasons for adults. Complicated reasons.”

While waving her hand, she rushed over to Colbert.

Colbert was explaining the ''Ostland'' to the students.

“With the buoyancy acquired using these huge wings, the consumption of wind stones is minimized, and this ship should be able to travel for a long distance...uwa!”

Suddenly embraced by Kirche, Colbert let out a shout. Laughter escaped from the students. Saito was amongst the students. He was laughing quite innocently.

''I know you are happy that he is still alive, but...'' Louise pouted.

''Explain properly your kiss with princess.''

''Although when I was kissed during the drop, I thought, 'Well, it's fine...' the kiss between Saito and Henrietta was still an uncommon relationship.'' Louise did not miss the hot atmosphere which drifted between the two. ''Although I had questioned Henrietta, I still did not know whether that feeling was real or not...'' Louise declared. ''Oh no! Because he had stopped the army of seventy thousand and became the hero of Tristain, looks like Henrietta's eyes are clouded as well.''

''How would Saito react towards the Queen's feelings? Is Henrietta still better after all?''

Louise recalled their kiss. ''Henrietta and Saito were just like characters of a soap opera, having something hot residing in their looks. What eyes! Looks which were as if they had just noticed the sudden destiny which came to them without them knowing it.''

''You had said so many times you like me that much, and yet what is thisssss~!'' Completely agitated, ''Pong!'' Louise kicked recklessly into the side of the ship.

“You are in a bad mood huh?”

Louise looked around, and saw Siesta standing there, holding a tray.

“Why are you here?”

With a voice similar to a snarl, Louise said. Nowadays, Siesta was Saito's exclusive maid. Right now, she was supposed to be cleaning the room.

“Because the students who had gathered said that they wanted to have their lunch on the ship. The workers carrying the meal are not enough, so I was called as well. Anyways, this is really an awesome ship, right? This is my first time seeing a ship with such long wings.”

Siesta was not aware of the incident involving Louise's attack by Myozunitonirun last night. And looks like she did not recognize this great ship, ''Ostland,'' which was made by Colbert who was living at Germania for some reasons, at all. With an innocent expression, her view shifted around restlessly from the deck to the mast and the wings.

The meal which was on the tray consisted of sliced bread, ham, and vegetables- a light meal. Louise took one of them, and started stuffing her mouth quietly.

Siesta whispered near Louise's ears,

“Was Miss Valliere found by Saito-san during the ball?”

''Ugh!'' the bread she was eating got stuck at her throat. At her reactions, Siesta narrowed her eyes and whispered,

“Soooooo what's the maaatter? Oh my oh my oh my. Looking at that expression, looks like he did not, huh? If that's the case, I won the bet. If I won, that means......”

Siesta's face shone brightly.

“So I will borrow Saito-san for one day, right? As for Miss Valliere, please say that you have things to do and leave the room. It's all right! I won't do anything strange like what Miss Valliere is thinking. I'll just practice a play, only that. A novel with the title 'A Maid's Afternoon,' just only practice one scene. So......”

However, Louise did not reply. Whilst trembling, she was staring intently at a dot.

“Are you listening? Miss...”

Siesta recognized the target of Louise's gaze, and her eyes bulged.

“Isn't that Her Majesty, The Queen!?”

Just as she said, taking along some guards, Henrietta was about to go towards the students. In order for her to attend the Ball of Sleipnir, she had to stay at the Academy of Magic. Cheers could be heard from amongst the students who had gathered at the deck. Noticing Henrietta who had appeared suddenly, Colbert bowed deeply.

“A magnificent ship, right? Mister.”

“Thank you.”

Looking at the conversation between Colbert and Henrietta, Siesta sighed. The beauty of Henrietta which was described as “The Flower of Tristain” would stand out even amongst other noble ladies. The noble atmosphere drifted even to Siesta, a commoner, pressurizing her.

However...... despite being in such a position, Henrietta still had this amiable feeling. Usually, noble ladies would always appear to be puffed up and aloof. Yet, Henrietta who reigned at the top did not make one feel like that. Was it because no one rivalled her?

“This is the first time I've seen Her Majesty, The Queen, so closely. If my family in my home town heard about this, they will definitely be envious......”

Yet, Louise did not respond. Motionless, her gaze was fixated straight ahead at Henrietta. ''What on earth is wrong with Miss Valliere?'' Siesta inclined her head. Eventually, her face lightened up. The person she liked was pushing his way among the crowd.

“Saito-san......”

Sure enough, it was Saito, wearing an Ondine mantle. Although Guiche's figure could be seen beside him, Siesta's eyes were only on Saito.

Guiche came up to Henrietta's front, and bowed elegantly. Saito who was standing half a step behind followed suit, bowing down in an unrefined manner of a knight. The clumsiness which was brought up from amongst the commoners made Siesta's heart beat more.

“Your Majesty, the preparation of the coach is already done.”

With a respectful bow, Guiche said. Because of his delight of directly serving the queen he admired, he showed a proud look never seen before this. It was a contrast to Saito who looked embarrassed somehow.

“Thank you for the trouble.”

She said so, and as if rewarding their work, held out her right hand. At such an action, Guiche froze.

“Guiche-san?”

“Oi......”

Saito prodded him lightly. Because of that, Guiche fell sidewards. Surprised, Henrietta took a step back.

“Wh-what happened?”

“He fainted.”

Saito said wistfully, and the other students who had gathered exploded into laughter.

Looks like Guiche was overcome by emotion and had lost his consciousness.

“Well then, I will just express my gratitude to the Assistant Commanding Officer instead.”
[[Image:ZnT10-019.jpg|thumb]]
Henrietta said in a slightly anxious tone. Around her, tension spread rapidly. Although Saito is a chevalier, he is still of a commoner origin (the truth is that he is a person of a different world). Previously, despite knowing that he was permitted to kiss Her Majesty's hand at Tristain, for him to do so right now before everyone's eyes, was something he could not even imagine, and this made him dizzy.

Saito involuntarily looked up at Henrietta's face, and blushed, lowering his head slightly. The surrounding noble students thought, ''Aren't you a little too nervous in kissing the queen's hand?'', but that thing was reflected in Siesta's eyes as well. Squinting her eyes, she stared at the queen's and Saito's faces alternately.

“......Eh?”

From Siesta's mouth, a surprised sound leaked out. As might be expected of a girl in love, Siesta did not miss the hot feeling glimmering in Henrietta's eyes, even if it was only for a moment.

“Ho-how could this be? Don't tell me......”

''Impossible'', while thinking that, she turned towards Louise. Something grave was happening here as well. Clenching her fists tightly, with her face looking down, standing stiffly, she was murmuring something continuously.

“Miss? Miss?”

Siesta hastily shook Louise. From the Louise's mouth which was mumbling something, curse-like words could be heard.

“Though you're a dog though you're are dog what are you thinking about that is impossible, so there is nothing more dreadful than this or is it Princess-sama is Princess-sama there is nothing less honorable than this you're not serious right you're joking right you don't know what this feeling is an unforgivable dog is really unforgivable yet you and the queen? How amusing...”

“Miss! Miss!”

Paling, Siesta shook Louise harder.

“What!?”

“......That! That, what does it mean!?”

Whilst whispering softly, Siesta pointed at Henrietta and Saito.

“No matter whether it means like this sort or that sort of thing, what you see is true.”

Siesta dropped to the ground clumsily.

“I can't believe it.”

“Even I don't believe it.”

Looks like Henrietta noticed Louise. Displaying a smile devoid of any ill will, she drew near her.

Behind her, with an expression as if he had done something wrong, Saito came as well. Guiche, who had come to, tagged along as well. Louise turned her back roughly against Saito's face, and greeted Henrietta awkwardly.

“I am going back to the palace after this...... Before that, I would like to have a meal with you. Is it okay?”

“Be it okay or not okay, no objections. Just do as Your Majesty wishes.”

Henrietta laughed sweetly, after which she turned towards Saito.

“Would you like to join us as well?”

“That, that is...Gladly! Yes!” Guiche replied, standing stiffly. If Montmorency were present at that time, she definitely would not have hesitated to punish him with her magic.

Saito, however, shook his head apologetically.

“Sorry......I'm afraid I have some things to do for a bit.”

From the students who were watching him attentively, amazed voices could be heard. It was generally unimaginable for someone to turn down the invitation of a queen. Especially a lunch with the queen, a privilege which could not be acquired even if nobles were to wish for it.

Henrietta displayed a seemingly lonely look for an instant, but immediately changed that with a smile.

“It's alright. After becoming a knight, you would be busy with various things.”

The queen and those invited for the lunch descended the ''Ostland'' successively. Guiche, Louise, Henrietta......Feeling that the help of a waiter was necessary, Siesta followed behind Louise as well.

After that, Saito, who was left behind, looked up towards Kirche and Colbert.

The people surrounding the two of them until a while ago could not really attend the lunch as well, but still followed the queen's party. Thanks to them, Colbert was released with difficulties.

“What's the matter, Saito? Why did you turn down the queen's invitation? Aren't you too proud?”

“I have something I would like to ask.”

“Yeah yeah. I have something I want to ask as well. Who were both of you attacked by last night? Who was that?”

“I don't really know as well.”

“What is that? After that, what happened to Tabitha? She had been with you guys last night, but today I didn't see her figure at all......”

"What I want to ask is Tabitha.”

Saito told Kirche what happened last night.

Louise was attacked by a mysterious lady who called herself “Myozunitonirun,” and she was abducted. He had tried to go along to save her, and somehow Tabitha started attacking him.

“Really?”

Kirche's eyes bulged.

“Yeah. But I could not hurt her. When I realized, I had already pointed the tip of my sword away. Though I received a blow at my stomach, she could not aim at my weak spots. So it was not a fatal wound.”

Saito removed his shirt, and showed the wound Tabitha inflicted on him last night. Thanks to the users of Water of the Knight Corps, the wound had closed up......but there are still traces left by the “Javelin” incantations.

“I don't know why she had a change of heart......but after that, she attacked that ally of hers until then. So, we rode on Sylphid together, and chased after the enemy which had carried Louise off, and were saved by the teacher.”

Kirche seemingly pondered on it......and turned her face around swiftly. And then, she started to run away.

“Kirche, where are you going?”

Saito and Colbert exchanged glances, and followed Kirche.

Kirche's destination was Tabitha's room in the tower of the dormitory.

Nonetheless, that was an empty shell. Tabitha's figure could not be seen anywhere at all. Kirche folded her arms, and started pondering about it. After that, she asked Saito, with a serious look,

“That girl, when did she come back to the academy?”

“Umm......ten days ago I think.”

Kirche frowned.

“Damn......If it's that girl, she won't say anything at all. Really fishy, huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“That girl went to Germania together with me, but......after confirming Jan's safety, she said “I'm going back,” and really came back.”

“Oi oi! But, she just came back around ten days ago!”

“That's why! During that period, she must have received some 'mission' again. Dammit......”

“What do you mean by 'mission'!? Isn't she a quiet person? Oh yeah, she had also said......'I'll tell you the reasons after this fight.' Hey, Kirche! Tell me!”

''Nnnnn~'' Kirche placed her hand at her forehead.

“Well... It's inevitable that this fact is hidden from you for such a long time. Do you know that she is a Gallian?”

Saito nodded. He had heard it directly from Tabitha during their invitation for her to join the Knight Corps.

“She is not just a normal noble. That girl is a Gallian royalty.”

“Hah!? Royalty?”

“That's right.”

Kirche explained to Saito. The whole sad story of Tabitha studying abroad at Tristain Academy of Magic......

The Orleans officials of the younger brother of the ruling king, who is Tabitha's father, was killed by people of the ruling king. To protect Tabitha, Tabitha's mother drank poison, and became mentally ill.

And then, Tabitha was being sent to Tristain to study abroad, as if getting rid of her......

“But, what is the thing the Gallian royal family don't allow......?”

Kirche bit her lips. In her usually taunting look, as if she was made to recollect that family line, fiery anger could be seen on her face.

“While treating her so poorly, troublesome incidents happened, forcing that girl.”

“......Troublesome incidents?”

“Still remember the Ragdorian incident?”

Saito recalled the incident at that beautiful Ragdorian lake. Depressing memories were revived. Wales' death......Henrietta's tears. And, the promise with the water spirit......

''I had forgotten about the ring......'' After murmuring that, Saito lifted his face.

“Yeah, I remember. The fight with both of you.”

“That was also the command of the Gallian royal family.”

“Then, the attack on us yesterday......”

“Should be an order from the Gallian royal family as well.”

Anger surged up to Saito's face.

“Unforgivable!!”

“Before that, shouldn't we worry about Miss Tabitha first?”

Colbert, who had been listening to their words silently until then, frowned seriously and spoke.

“She isn't in her room, could it mean that she was kidnapped......?”

Equally worried, Saito said. But Kirche shook her head.

“That girl won't be so stupid to be caught. She must've hidden herself, I think. Not bothering anybody. That girl is like that.”

“But still......”

“Eventually she'll get in touch with us, I think. It's best that we don't move around. Let's believe in her and wait.”

Staring outside the window, Kirche said. Saito was moved by the complete faith in her heart.

“Is it okay to tell Louise?”

Saito asked, and Kirche nodded.

“It's better to tell her. That girl is involved as well. Really respect her, becoming a legendary user...... That Valliere carries too heavy a responsibility. 'Void', huh? Damn...”

“You knew it!?”

In a shocked voice, Saito cried out.

“During that time, when that handsome Albion prince was revived and abducted Princess-sama, Saito, didn't you say it yourself? 'I am just mimicking the legend.' But that incantation which Louise chanted to nullify the magic used to revive the dead...... was not of the Four Elements of Magic. Legendary......and a magic not of the Four Elements. Isn't it 'Void'......? But looking at your behavior, seems that it is true.”

Kirche squinted her eyes, and smiled.

During that time, the queen and her party were having lunch at Louise's room. Although the staff of the academy with Old Osman as their lead suggested using the canteen, Henrietta refused by saying, “It's a personal affair.”

With that, a big table was hurriedly prepared in Louise's room, and seats specially for the queen's lunch were prepared.

At the prepared table, at the seat of honor with its back facing the window, was Henrietta; at her right was Louise, followed by Guiche. As a waitress, Siesta stood behind, displaying a nervous expression. Things like serving the queen was something she had never even dreamed of. Siesta stole quick glances at Henrietta's face occasionally.

Recalling that burning look Henrietta had towards Saito some time ago......she rolled her eyes. Seemingly, until now she still could not believe it.

Though she felt that Henrietta was listening to Guiche's words, apparently enjoyably, Henrietta would shoot an occasional, quick glance outside the window, and let out wistful sighs.

''From such a look, doesn't Henrietta's affection look fairly deep?'' Suspicion was stirred within Louise's heart.

''Yesterday night, I had accidentally blown my top and hit her...... because I was not sure whether Henrietta's feeling was real or not. I was distressed for a while......to the extent that I thought I could not help but to strike her. Yet, what if that wasn't the case?''

''What if Henrietta's feelings were real?''

''What should I do?''

For Louise who had believed since young that “Following Henrietta's will is a must”, thinking about that made her head go blank. Her brain refused to think about such things.

Troubled in such a manner, she noticed the things mixed in her food. The cuisine was a bird meat which was wrapped in a perfectly made pie crust, but when she cut it up with a knife, a slip of paper came out quickly.

“Please confirm the thing which I still don't believe until now.”

She turned around, and saw Siesta standing behind with a nervous expression. Apparently, the one who had concealed this note was this maid. Louise let out a sigh. She would probably want to know better whether Henrietta was serious or not. “I don't get it,” Louise murmured softly.

After her mutter, ''The monologue right now, can Princess-sama hear it?'' She became anxious. She stole a quick glance at the queen's face secretly. Henrietta was happy, but her mind had drifted far away. And Guiche was gazing at Henrietta's melancholic expression, like he was in a dream.

Fidgeting restlessly, as if urging Louise, Siesta unintentionally poked her back. Whenever that happened, Louise would turn back. Siesta was still obstinate, and Louise stepped on her foot.

“Ouch!”

Siesta jumped.

“What's the matter?”

With a bewildered look, Henrietta stared at Louise and Siesta.

“No-nothing at all!”

Louise crumpled the note Siesta wrote, and put into her pocket. Upon which, ''claaannggg!'', Siesta dropped her tray.

When Henrietta who was thinking that the maid was up to something looked at her, pretending to pick up the tray, Siesta dived underneath the table, lifted up the tablecloth, and showed her face between Louise's legs.

Those lips moved slowly.

“P-l-e-a-s-e c-o-n-f-i-r-m i-t.”

Louise closed her thighs on Siesta's cheeks.

“Ugh, uh, ug, uhh, uughh......”

Henrietta's attention turned back to Louise again.

“What's wrong?”

In a tone as if she did not notice the disappearance of the maid at all, she said.

“Re-really, nothing's wrong.......” Whilst pinning Siesta's face with her thighs, Louise broke out in cold sweat.

Once again, Henrietta gazed wistfully outside the window. At a look, she barely touched her food. Ah, Henrietta looked deeply in love.

Louise heaved a deep sigh.

''Well then, what about Saito? When his lips met Henrietta's, Saito's expression brightened up. His looks were...feverish......Whether he will look at me with the same expression or not, right now I have not such self-confidence. What if Saito prefer Princess-sama over me......''

Louise felt an outburst of anger.

''Hey, Louise Françoise.''

''Don't you get it?''

''That dog had said he liked you he liked you, yet he betrayed his master, and wagged his tail at other girls.''

''Moreover, that person is Princess-sama.''

''Of everyone else, that person is my most valuable Henrietta, Her Majesty The Queen.''

''This is be-be-be-betr-betrayal!''

''As I thought, am I not deceived by a kiss?''

Be it this or that, she had become increasingly irritated. Unintentionally, she tightened her grip at Siesta with her thighs, at which Siesta let out an agonizing moan.

“Mi-miss......A, ah......It hurts......”

At that moment,

The door opened, and a serious-looking Saito entered.

“Saito.”

“Saito-dono.”

“Saito-san.”

With different greetings and expressions due to his social positions, the three girls welcomed the sudden guest.

With furious eyes, Louise glared at Saito.

Appearing from under the table, with craving and loneliness blended together, Siesta greeted him with a very complicated-looking face. The feelings of the two ladies who are beings exalted beyond the clouds...... Towards Saito who had obtained those, they felt both proud and incredulous....... and also that their distance was pulled further apart.

“What's wrong? Don't you have some things to do?”

In this situation, the only person who did not welcome Saito's intrusion, Guiche, spoke. He had finally managed to dine with Her Majesty The Queen, to have Saito disrupting the atmosphere.

Ignoring Guiche, Saito bowed at Henrietta once.

“Princess-sama.”

“What is it?”

Taken by surprise, even now, Henrietta's cheek reddened slightly, although it was to an extent which was imperceptible apart from Louise and Siesta...... Henrietta sensed the trembling in her heart, and closed her lips tight into a straight line.

However, at Saito's next words, Henrietta's blushed disappeared from her cheeks, which paled instantly.

“I know the identity of Louise's attackers.”

“WHAT!?”

Everyone in the room opened their eyes wide.

Saito relayed the words he heard from Kirche some time ago to everyone in the room. As for the parts with insufficient explanations, Kirche and Colbert who had come along with Saito, provided further clarification.

“How can this be? Gallia......”

As if stating her disbelief, Henrietta shook her head.

“But unmistakably, this seems like the doing of Gallia. So we have to......”

Painfully, Saito added.

“Because there's no way Tabitha would attack me.”

“That girl went through a lot of hardships as well......” Kirche shook her head.

Henrietta was pale. Prime Minister Mazarin's words rang in her head again.

''“We have to be careful with Gallia's attitude.”''

The reason Gallia was satisfied with only a harbor during the division of the lands of Albion, was now understood. Gallia's true target was “Void," the legendary ability.

She did not know what Gallia planned to do once they acquire the power of “Void." Was it a scheme of King Joseph? Or was it the dogma of some influential nobles......? Either way, it was indubitably a bad scheme.

With anger in his eyes, Saito told Henrietta.

“Princess-sama. Please let me go to Gallia.”

“Saito.”

Louise tried to reprove him, but Saito continued his words without listening.

“I don't know who did this and where they're from, yet there are these people who did such cruel things to Tabitha, abducted Louise, and tried to kill me, right? I will find them, and teach them to never even think about repeating such things!”

Guiche let out an astonished voice.

“Embark on a journey to Gallia!? Oi oi, this will become a war!”

“What is this, Guiche!? You are the Commanding Officer right? The Assistant Commanding Officer was injured, won't you go and take revenge?”

Dissatisfied, Saito said.

“Well, take revenge is uhh, I am not reluctant but......the other side is a foreign country. When we, the Knight Corps, go there, it would not be so easy to clear up by mere fighting.”

At Guiche's words, Henrietta nodded as well.

“Saito-dono, I understand your feelings......but what Guiche-dono said is true. Now you are Tristain's knight. This looks like a trap into which you will fall in easily.”

“But......”

Seemingly frustrated, Saito bit his lips.

“For the time being, please leave this to me. I wonder if we have anything to be served as evidence......”

“There are fragments from the gargoyles.”

Louise held out her hands. It was a fragment from the gargoyle which had attacked Saito and her last night. That was something which was scattered about the garden of the academy and the outdoor field.

“Right. If we get a proof that that is something made in Gallia, I would call the ambassador and protest strongly.”

“How could this be? And I have gotten hold of the true identity of the enemy with such troubles!”

Saito persisted further. Henrietta grasped Saito's hands tightly.

“Please. I do not want to let you people experience anything dangerous. The person someone values the most......I can't bear to see that person injured again. When you understand that, you'll see that this nation as a whole is protecting you people from Gallia, who's plotting evil schemes.”

As if being struck at the heart by Henrietta's words, Guiche knelt reverentially.

“Your Highness......I consecrate this life of mine to Your Highness. Your Highness' childhood friend, Miss Louise, is the same as well. Even if I have to exchange my life, I would not let the enemy lay even a finger on both of you.”

“Thank you very much, Guiche-dono.”

Henrietta smiled, after which she turned towards Saito.

“Please promise as well. By no means, never do anything dangerous.”

There was something solemn mixed in that voice.

Saito noticed that Henrietta's eyes were a little wet. ''Don't pay attention to that!......'' Saito murmured in his thoughts.

He looked at the Henrietta's eyes which were about to overflow with tears......and he felt as if he must stay beside her to protect her, and that he must do what she says. And to think that he had been thinking of proceeding to get Louise's attackers after clearly identifying the true identity of the enemy.

His flaming fervor was splashed with cold water. Saito bit his teeth hard. As if asking for help, he looked at Louise......Louise puffed her cheeks up, and avoided Saito's eyes.

''Looks like she was still very cross with what happened last night. Well, it is understandable, since she had witnessed the touching of lips between Henrietta, the one she adores, and me, her familiar.''

''But......does Louise have any right to be angry at me?''

Saito's heart denied strongly. ''No, not at all.''

Saito had said he liked her to such an extent, and yet Louise had never said “I like you” even once. He had said he liked her so many times, even if there was once when he lied, but that's still alright.

''As I thought, in Albion, when she said 'Reward,' did she really mean it?'' Saito was hurt. ''A sweet bait in order to fasten I, her familiar, to herself......''

''Where is the sweet bait?'' Looking at Louise's body which had little humps, Saito whispered in his heart.

''Sweet bait huh......'' As he was thinking about this, he noticed Henrietta who was before his eyes. Covered by her dress, Henrietta's body was rich with absolutely ladylike humps. Although it was not to Tiffania's extent, her cleavage which peeked out of the sufficiently large breasts, flew into his sight. The feeling of that cleavage still remained at his hands.

At the same time, Saito remembered the kiss, and his cheeks reddened.

His usual firm expression......and his ecstatic expression when he sought girls- these gaps became the mainstream of appeal, which engulfed him.

At that......No matter what, Saito's heart confused. ''I love Louise. That truth is supposed to be unshakable......''Unintentionally, Henrietta's face floated into his mind.

''To lose someone you love, do you feel only loneliness?''

''If one thinks about it calmly, that's the case.''

''Yet......what if, what if that was not the case?''

''How did her heart change at that time? Even she did not know. But......there is only one thing I am sure of.''

''Nobody knows Henrietta's true self.''

''There is no being who knows the true self of this young queen with her firmness broken down.''

''No one knows her extremely weak true self as a young lady.''

''Even if it is Louise......she probably didn't know it as well.''

''The real Henrietta is merely an ordinary girl dressed in multiple-layered and pricey chiffon. If she kisses, she would blush; if she embraces, she would bury her face in the other party's chest. Her breasts and cheeks, all of them are soft... She is this fragile lady.''

''More...... I want to see her former face more. Her face before the kiss, what on earth does it look like?'' Such a notion flashed pass his mind...... but Saito shook his head.

Somehow, he thought that it was something very wrong.

But still, this guilty conscience was also because of Henrietta's charm. Although he felt that it was wrong, he still drowned in it- this queen had such a charm. He felt like if he kept on looking, he would be beside himself. Saito averted his eyes.

Standing at a place slightly further away, with cold eyes, Louise and Siesta were staring intently at Saito and Henrietta, who had their heads down. Siesta seemingly felt too overcome by jealousy.

“To-to win Her Majesty The Queen's heart, as I thought, Saito-san is cool.......”

Siesta said such things because of her fascination, and Louise tread her feet.

“Hyaaa!”

“Don't say unnecessary things.”

“But, Her Majesty The Queen's face......That is the expression of someone in love. Even I, as a girl, am fascinated by her charm. I am involuntarily captivated......Ouch!”

Siesta was pinched by Louise at her cheek, and she shrieked.

“Princess-sama is only deluded.”

“Deluded......?”

“That's right. Newly born ducklings would regard the first thing they see as their parent.”

“Interesting words.”

“Princess-sama is the same. When she had lost Wales-sama and became depressed, she had coincidentally met that dog, only that. Because of this, by all means, I must save Princess-sama from the hands of this PERVERTED dog.”

“You are not frank huh......If you honestly say you don't want him to be taken away, Miss Valliere would be a little cuter......Ouch!”

Siesta was pinched harder by Louise at the cheek.

“Don't you get it? That dog, after kissing, he would be bad and lewd. That time when we were on the boat, after touching my buttocks, and with those hand movements, he even ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-caressed me to the top. When I imagine him doing that to Princess-sama, somehow the entire world is unforgivable. Because I would never allow him to contaminate my Princess-sama. By any chance, if he had contaminated her, that day would be the day he dies.”

“Hand movements? I still remember them well......Hyaaa!”

The ending was, Louise pinched Siesta's ass. ''Hyaah!'' ''Aagghh!'' Whilst groaning, Siesta jumped up into air, but Saito and Henrietta were engrossed in their own world, and did not notice her. The ever joyous Guiche mistook Henrietta's furiously blushing face as a response to his loyalty, and, overcame by emotion, had fainted long ago.

Kirche leaned flirtatiously against Colbert and said.

“It's really peaceful, rrrriiiigggghht? Jan.”

Staring at the scene before him with a troubled face, Colbert perspired.

“Oh well, after all, this is a brief rest. Isn't it good? By the way, Miss Zerbst, umm......can you not use 'Jan,' please?”

Smiling sweetly, Kirche kissed Colbert at his cheek.

“N.O. And yeah, I have already asked many times. Just call me 'Kirche.'”

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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume12 Story1 Chapter1

2009-01-31T02:32:48Z

Kumichael: /* Part 1 */

===Chapter 1, New Student from the White Country (Albion) ===

====Part 1====

After class period in Tristain Magic Academy, it is a daily routine for most female students to hang out in the terrace drinking tea after leaving the dining hall.

Louise, Montmorency, and Kirche. The three of them are occupying a round table, they were chatting and enjoy the tea.

At that time, Kirche was leading the conversation, meanwhile, Montmorentcy was acting the listeners part. Speaking about Louise, her eyes were in a bloodshot state. She was concentrating on writing something. Sometimes when sleepy, "Fuaaah," she was yawning.

“Hey Louise, while I'm talking, it's impolite to yawn, isn't it?”

“You are being annoying.“

Kirche was talking about the adventure they did from one week before.

“By the way Louise, for serious, that gigantic Golem was super sturdy, wasn't it?”

Kirche's speaking tone showed indication she was enjoying this from the bottom of her heart, but instead Louise is knitting her eyebrows.

Watching the two of them, Montmorentcy continued to stare.

“Hey, what are you talking about? What do you mean by 'golem?' I'm seriously wondering what kind of adventure you were having at Albion.”

Montmorentcy, who was not accompanying them during the the trip to Albion, obviously didn't know anything. Of course that includes the true shape of Tiffania.

“That I can't tell you in detail......., because it is highly classified information.”

Kirche felt more and more superior, Montmorentcy's face turned sullen a bit.

“It's okay, doesn't mean I want to know. I don't want my mind to penetrate in a government-related concern.”

She was bluffing.

Following, by swinging her long curly hair. Her vision shifted to the direction of the wide courtyard past the terrace. The timing just right, she saw the golden-haired Tiffania as she passed.

Tiffania was walking restlessly, just behind her countless number of male students were following in succession. In the middle of those followers, Guiche was seen, Montmorentcy's expression grew unpleasant.

“That guy! Even I had hurt him to such an extent! It seems he has not learned anything!”

With those words, at once Louise changed from a sleepy state to a face with sparkling eyes. When she knew Saito was not among the Tiffania stalkers, she was pondering for a bit with her eyes closed.

And then her eyes returned to the notes for the second time.

“Hey Louise, who is actually the girl that your companion brought here? I don't have any interest in politic matters, but I have interest in that girl only! Not removing her hat while indoors, absolutely I want to conduct an investigation about her!”

“About why her breasts are so big?”

Kirche was trying to provoke Montmorency with an enticing tone.

“Screw that! It must be a counterfeit! More over, it is vulgar! Using such techniques to the boys is cowardice!”

Just when Montmorentcy gave her opinion, Louise stood up.

“Eh, is something wrong Louise?”

“I'm returning to my room.”

Louise was murmuring with her eyes both blazing and glittering. Inside those eyes she kept a chilled anger of a water tempest with a whirlpool.

Kirche was smiling with narrowed eyes.

“Please take good care of Saito.”

With merely those words, Louise left, shoulder sounds clunking, it is moving slightly. At the same time, she barely moved her right shoulder as if having a cramp. This slight vibration gradually turned more frequent, until her whole body began to shake.

Awkwardly and clumsily walking away. She was heading to the dormitory tower. She was angry, but she stopped her movement not long after that.

Louise was in the courtyard, from here on out the boys from the Knight Corps of the Water Spirit will be practicing, they were heading here. It's not like she was expecting them, but Saito was among them of course.

Clamorous sound and the talking from the crowd become more apparent, they were drawing closer.

Louise halted. She didn't want to see Saito's face directly. That's why she peeked from the side. If she straightly saw him, for sure she will blow him up. That's what she felt.

Apparently Saito also noticed Louise presence. However, he was averting her gaze, that can be seen clearly in his face. When she realized it from the side glance that she was peeking at Saito face from, that made her blood rage. She can't take anymore than this, at this state she was completely trembling. But........., she can't blow him directly while everyone was watching ahead. That was because her nobles' pride won't permit it.

Louise took a deep breath, gash! She struck her butt. She was running intensely. A while later, when she can repress her anger, Louise once again returned to the clumsy walking manner.

Someone, but it's not Saito, it is Malicourne from beside him called for her.

“Yo, Louise! We are practicing right now, may we borrow your familiar?”

“P, Pe, PEPEPEPEPEPEPEPEPEPE.”

“Pe?”

Malicourne's face suddenly turned pale.

“PEPEPEPE, Please use as you wish.”

Louise replied with a shaking tone. Saito too, his clear face still took a glance at Louise.

Watching the two of them staring each other, Malicourne leaned his neck a bit.

“What's happened between you? Having a quarrel again?”

“Quarrel? Hahaha! That can't of possibly happened! Now gentlemen, let's hurry up. The time for training is short!”

Saito was walking away, his mysterious gait called for Malicourne. Either Malicourne or each members of the knight corps followed Saito with twisted necks.

Louise was dumbfounded, her face was seeing off the back of him. Her face instantly turned red and she was trembling all over her body. Louise took a note from her pocket. (sketch sketch), she was writing something. After that was finished, she put the note back in her pocket and walked away...

That night........

Inside one of the rooms in the female dormitory, Siesta served the wine to Saito and Louise with modesty. Siesta poured wine to the two of them and spoke with a cheerful tone,

“The other day I receive this wine from Marto. By all means, this wine is one that won second prize in the Galia wine fair. Too bad I forgot the name........... ”

However, both Saito and Louise were silent, their minds sunk to the wine.

Siesta watched the two with a face full of dubiousness.

Ever since returning from Albion, the two of them have had this mood. They're roughly not speaking to each other. Somehow, they were angry, so they kept the silence, even their eyes did not meet.

There is another thing, in the middle of the night, Miss Louise would go somewhere. I wonder what she could of did in that place? When she returned, her gaze was downward, but even with that threatening attitude she didn't say anything. I once asked Saito about this matter. “Maybe Louise has much things she wants to think about,” He replied with a strange expression without looking back.

I'm troubled, I don't know the meaning of the attitude between the two of them at all.

Because of this atmosphere, Siesta especially, through hard work, obtained this wine. .......But even this good wine and pleasant mood set up could not give much merit.

“It's time to sleep soon.”

Siesta prepared the bed and invited the two of them. It seems today in the middle of the night Louise won't take a stroll. Squirmly, Saito and Louise entered the bed. Their backs were facing each other; the two of them rolled up. Siesta was changing to pajamas, and after that, slid next to Saito.

Siesta was about to place her face into Saito's back, but suddenly... she felt an odd aura. That aura was emitted from the back of Louise.

(Don don)..... the aura of Louise's back was wriggling and accumulating, pressuring Siesta.

Siesta withdrew her hand that reached for Saito.

For some reason, she felt she shouldn't do that.

With her cheeks facing Saito's back, she was hesitating for a moment....... Her body entrapped in fatigue because of the daily work...... Soon Siesta fell to the slumber.

Noticing Siesta was fast asleep, Louise began to move her body.

She was rolling to Saito.

Saito was awake, glancing from aside, he was watching Louise.

With her voice expressing anger, Louise muttered.

“Why during the day you ignored me ?”


She has many questions she wanted to ask, but she couldn't ask thoroughly. So for now, she charged him about his attitude during the day.

With a calm voice, Saito replied,

“Eh? Wasn't it because you ignored me?”

“Don't distract me from the subject that I'm talking with you right now!”

A smile surfaced from Saito when Louise said that. Somehow, the smile felt lukewarm.

“Don't put reasoning to satisfy yourself. See, you are acting selfish now, Louise. Tomorrow we must wake early, now go to sleep.”

Saito was closing his eyes with his face facing Siesta's direction. As for Louise, she was mumbling with a declined face, fiercely struggling inside the blanket. Somehow, she was looking very pathetic.

“You are forbidden to face that way.”

She was unconsciously pulling Saito sleeve.

But, without any sympathy, Saito responded,

“Good night.”

“You have to face this way!”

However, Saito still pointed at Siesta's direction.

“Okay, if that's what you want... I don't know that kind of familiar of anymore!”

Louise covered herself with the blanket. However...... Soon she grew anxious. In secret, she examined the situation by showing half of her face from the blanket.

Even so, no change indication from Saito's back.

Louise was half-crying, as if someone in a mortifying state. Uuuu, that was sounds of moaning from her. Nevertheless, whatever she did, Saito not turned to her.

Soon, Saito's sleeping breath can be heard. He is fast asleep.

Louise was trembling as if in fear.

''What's wrong with you!? This whole week you have been keeping that attitude. Tell me about it!

What about the thing when we rode that ship, you were offering palm of your hand to me?

I can't believe it!''

Inside the blanket, Louise was rolling around with anger.

''You always said you loved me before. Could it be a lie?

Was it possible that one hour event on that Albion ship was an Illusion?''

For some interval of time, Louise struggling inside the blanket, bit by bit grew more violent....... but she knew she can't do that.

''Why did he show a cold attitude? Thinking calmly, more or less, I pretty much understand it. Saito always said 'love' to me...... but not once have I returned that feeling.''

''But, but, but... It can't be helped.''

''I have determined to return his feeling when he is about to return home!''

''That's why I hastened the action for finding him a way to go home; meanwhile this idiot is always indecisive. Well, pretty much I can understand the reason, but still...
''
''I'm a Void user whose being targeted by Galia.''

''There is another concern with Tabitha's mother which has not settled yet.''

''Besides, abandoning them to go home, Saito's sense of responsibility won't permit it.''

''He is bestowed by Gandalf's power, the reason he came here. That is a not a fake sense of responsibility. It is Saito's own responsible feeling........''
''
But since you had come here, could you act a little gentle? Why did you neglect me all this time?''

''What's with 'insolent pink-haired girl!?' Wasn't it that you like the pink-haired one!?''

Those words not even yet to be said, but the next words have been drifting in her mind, being both in anger and confusing state, Louise was trembling. Now it has reached this state, it doesn't matter anymore if the words have been said or not, it has already in her head; Louise grew more irritated.

In the middle of her irritation, anxiously, gradually resurfacing in Louise.

''The most foolish thing perhaps........ is my feeling that told “When a way to return home has been found, I will return his feelings.” It is okay to decided like this, but what if before that happens, Saito has a change of mind?''

''If by any chance he falls to another woman, not me... “I'm glad I came here,” what would I do if that's the case?''

Each respective woman that she felt charming was floating in her mind.

''It is somehow tolerable for the princess for acting strange in past occasions....... Currently, Saito and I are not close enough yet. I can't let my guard down, there are many other women like that.''

''For instance, the figure whom was sleeping right there, the daring Siesta.''

''Another instance, the one who put so much devotion to Saito, Tabitha.''

''But whatever comes to me, not even once I will put my guard down..............''

The accident during the day was being recalled in Louise's mind. She is the one who was brought here from Albion, the one who has fascinating golden hair, that person right now is surfacing in the back of Louise eyelids.

The one that was seen with ridiculous big breasts.

''Among her group of stalkers, my familiar was not among them, but that doesn't mean there is a guarantee. Saito always said 'love' to me, it's only his personality that acted based on his whim. I'm the most familiar with him, so I knew about that.''

Now that I think about it, that fellow, previously he was always captivated with women that have big breasts.

Anxiety was being born within Louise, she was in helpless situation.

''Strange ones. Smaller than me! This is the best! Now feeling like in trance because of what I just said, the important thing is there is no certainty anymore.''

''What if before a way home has been found, that kind of possibility really happens?

What if before I can say my feeling, Saito has changed his feelings?''

''If that's the case, my name will be engraved in the history of Halkeginia as the most block-headed person.''

''The more I think about this, will make my mind closer to breaking.''

Eventually, Louise grew tired of thinking........ she can't defy drowsiness' temptation any longer........... Louise's sleeping sounds begun to be heard. [[Image:ZnT12-047.jpg|thumb]]

When he noticed Louise has fallen asleep, Saito opened his eyes.

To make certain if she was really asleep, cyun cyun, he was poked her nose. Kyuuuu, a cute sleeping breath resounded. Seems like she was really asleep.

Saito sung a victory song in his mind.

''Because Louise's behavior is close to a cat, if not the same, seems like I was not mistaken with my judgment.''

''When I drew closer, the manner Louise would behave... that will be most likely the attitude similar with an insolent angle, and staring at me with eyes full of passion, “No, being as cute is you is a sin”. I am pleased to say I'm fine with that (sarcasm).''

''But see...... what about if we treat her a bit cold, what will happen?''

First, she will respond by distancing herself while watching the situation. That is the time when she took a night stroll.

''Even so, don't follow her....... it will become impatient while still observing us, thereafter, it will draw closer eventually. Yes, this is exactly like that.''

''Wonderful, I'm really genius........''

''Now I understand perfectly, composure is important after all.'' Saito was motivating his inner self. ''Because of my composure, Louise became the same as the fallen women whom think of me as if I'm the core of the world.''

''Nevertheless, watching her sleeping face like this, Louise is looking really cute.''

His nose grew longer .... and his long eyelash bent up, the shape of his eyes were closing..... his lips faintly switched to the kissing pose.

Unintentionally, his lips drew closer..... but when it was close enough, Saito shook his head.

''It's not yet the time.

It's not the time yet, Saito.''

''Just a little longer, and Louise will completely fall to you. If you offer your hand right now, Louise will be victorious with a smile floating on her face.''

'' 'No, mole! After all, you want to touch me! I wonder what I should do? Aaaah! I know, if you want to touch me, go praise me until the quantity is enough to make one volume of a book. Just kidding! I won't give you anything. Never.'' '

''Looking all important, she would declare that.''

''Do you think I will lose?'' Saito strongly gripped his right wrist.

''Bear with it, Saito. The sweetness of victory just lies ahead. If you were tempted here, you'll lose. What I did until now...... for instance, did my best to come home from Albion. All will be just like bubbles in water.''

However, looking here and there, Louise is cute. Reach for her lips, retreat, reach for her lips, retreat, it's a repetitive event, until a voice could be heard from behind.

“What are you doing?”

It was Siesta voice.

When he turned, she was grinning with a smile.

“Did I awake you?”

“Because of certain rustling sound, I awoken.”

Siesta tried to hold her laugh.

“So, sorry...”

When Saito replied, Siesta shook her head.

“Why did you take no attempt to find a way to return?”

That sudden question startled Saito.

“...Eh?”

“Miss Valliere always says: 'That idiot, when will he take action to find a way home?'”

There was a crunching sound in Saito's head.

“About that, I want to go home, of course.”

“Then why?”

Giuut, Siesta's body drew closer.

“The people that I was in the care of still have unsettled problems. If I move too rashly, it will only leave a bad aftertaste.”

When Saito answered with a serious tone, Siesta smiled.

“I was right about you after all, I have decided it will be you.”

“Eh?”

He responded by his whole face reddening.

“But surely someday you will go home..... when that time comes, will we part?

A solemn air instantly surrounded the two.

“About that....”「わたし、イヤですからね。そんなの」

“I, don't want it, that kind of thing.”

Saito kept silent.

''True, If someday I find a way home........

Honestly speaking, it will be my parting with the people from here.''

''Can I bare to be parted with Louise?''

''Even if I think about how find a way home, not much progress will occur. I want to return, but at the same time, I don't want part with Louise.''

Being tore between two wishes, Saito was in a swayed state.

When he was thinking that, Siesta showed a delicate smile.

“Please don't seriously think about it, when that times comes, we will think about it.”

Siesta was speaking like a breeze of wind.......... but because of it, a vortex that seems dwelling in his chest since he returned from Albion has now vanished.

“Siesta, it's good to have a wise trait.”

''That's really what I thought.''

''Don't even start thinking about it..''

''I'm sure I can give the proper answer when that time comes. For now, just think only what lies ahead.''

“For now, if I'm not happy, it will be a loss. That's why I will enjoy the present to the fullest. If there is a moment when such help needed, no matter what lies ahead, no matter how many times, I will help.”

(sfx when hugging), Saito almost fainted when Siesta hugged him with mere strength equal to the situation with her soft breasts pressed against him.

Siesta was staring Saito straight in the eyes with burning passion, without hesitation, she pressed her lips.

“Wa, wait.....”

“Shhh...... Miss Valliere will awaken!”

She was surfacing a teasing smile. She had kissed Saito lightly and fixed her hot eyes on Saito. When she was finished, she said,

“It is okay to enjoy this, but you don't do this with the other woman.”

“O...kay.”

“Well, with Miss Valliere, it can't be helped. For example, the girl you just brought here from Albion.”

“Tifa? It won't be! We are just friends.”

“You might be thinking like that, but what if her feelings are not the same?”

When Siesta said it, Saito made a pondering expression.

“Wha, what do you mean?”

However, Siesta did not answer. Covering herself in the blanket, she said good night; she closed her eyes.

“Siesta, please wait for a moment, just now ....what is it, damn!”

Received a shock to his head. Looking nervously, Saito inquired.

“Uuah...”

Still in sleeping mode, Louise widening both of her arms. Apparently, she was half asleep. She was unconsciously attacking Saito's head.

A hand in a spear shape struck Saito lips. The moment following that, he received continuous attacks from Louise on the head. The moment following that, with her voice sounding in an odd tune, Louise returned to the bed.

Placing both her arms on the back of his head above the pillow, Saito closed his eyes.

Siesta's words still resounded in his minds.

''Now I'm thinking about it, from Albion suddenly brought to a foreign place, she must be troubled.''

''Based on her circumstances during the day, will it be okay if I'm don't concern myself?''

''Apparently, she has become a pretty popular person....''

''It is understandable if they want to talk with her, but wasn't it she had too many stalkers? It is tolerable if they want visits to her room even during night, but certainly she wants time to be alone.''

''Besides...... at any rate, she has kept too many secrets. No matter what, those secrets can't be revealed. The more I think, it is a similar case with me more or less. Having achieved an extraordinary feat, having his rank upgraded from commoner to noble. I don't know if it would be for better or worse, but here I'm a popular person. Saito has became familiar with it, but the treatment that girl received, what is it? This is what I felt.''

''Nevertheless, I should visit her soon, that's what Saito thought. From the Westwood village suddenly living in a foreign country which Tiffania knew nothing about it. No doubt, this kind of situation would make her stressed. No matter how much her wish goes along with the promise from the person in question “I will show you the world past this boundary”, it does not correlate at all with stress.''

''Tomorrow I will talk to her.''

With the same thought, Saito embarked on a voyage the dream world.

CubexCursedxCurious:Volume1 Chapter2

2009-01-24T21:17:29Z

Kumichael: /* Chapter Two: When the Contents of the Cube are Exposed */

===Chapter Two: When the Contents of the Cube are Exposed===

"Look at your plate when you're eating! The morsels are falling off the plate!"

Fear answered yes. Again. She'd answered the same word several times already but her eyes were fixed upon the square box that was placed on the corner of the room.

"Hmmmm. I'd thought that you'd say something cliched like, 'What are those small people doing inside that box?!'."

"D-Don't take me for a fool. I know how that thing works. This box just shows a place far from here. And the power of electricity makes it possible to record the past.
It's true that this is the first time I actually saw it but, uh, just like what I imagined. There wasn't much surprise with it, ahaha-haha-haha..."

She let out a false laugh while making a serious face. Her fork wandered around her plate, though it was empty.
The news caster on the television said, "Good morning, everyone! Let's do our best for this day!" and fear answered, "Yes. I don't know you but I wish you luck," with unnecessary
politeness.

"Hey, Fear, try this one out. I'll teach you how to operate the television."

"What is that thing?"

"Try pushing that prominent red button. Face it towards the television."

Fear recieved the remote control. She looked a bit tense as she tried to pudh the red button just as she was told.

"Wha---! The image disappeared!"

She looked astounded as she reported what happened to Haruaki. He told her to try pushing the button again.

"I-It, I mean, the image restored!"

She reported again with exactly the same expression.

"That's the On/Off button. Keep the television off when you're not using it. There are lot of other buttons but you don't have to use them. The only buttons that you could
touch are the buttons with numbers written on it. "

"Are you sure it's alright? I'm gonna push it? You hear me, I'm going to!"

The channel changed to a different news program doing a report about sports. It was about the F1 Race so F1 cars passed in front of the camera.
Fear, being a bit ignorant about these things, shouted "It's coming towards us! Look out!" and crouched on the floor. It was just as how Haruaki expected her to react.

"So, that's how it is. If you push the buttons, the channel would change. Whatever happens, the images won't come out from the television so you don't need to worry."

"I-I knew that! It's just that... er... yes! It's just that you have to be prepared for the unexpected! No one knows what'll happen next, uh-huh."

Fear tried pushing other buttons. Haruaki noticed that a faint pink shaded her white cheeks.
She only stopped pushing different buttons when the channel switched to a weather report. Her finger went still and her eyes stared at the television in awe.

"Is that the... sea?"

Haruaki answered affirmatively and she whispered softly, her eyes still fixed on the monitor,

"...I never had a chance to see it. I didn't think that it would be so big."

Different shades were behind those eyes. There was the shade of admiration... and there was also a bit of disappointment.

"It looks a lot colder and darker than what I expected..."

"That's because there are some rain clouds over there. It's completely different in summer."

"Is that so."

"We also have that here in our town. It's on the opposite side though. You could go someday if you want to."

Fear shook her head in a vague manner. Haruaki wasn't able to decide whether it was an affirmation or a rejection.

The doorbell rang and Haruaki went to the front door carrying his bag. Konoha was waiting behind the door, smiling.
Konoha usually went to school together with him when she didn't have work on student council or club activities.

"Good morning!"

"Okay, let's go."

"Hmmm... What's the meaning of this?"

"We're going to school. Didn't I tell you that we have to go to school during weekdays?"

"With her?"

"Well, yeah. We're in the same year level, after all."

Haruaki finished putting on his shoes, stood up and pointed at Fear.

"I have an order for you today. It's about your work while I'm away at school."

"...Tell me."

"First, turn the television on like I told you earlier. Watch any program that you like. When you get hungry, there are some food in the kitchen. When you feel sleepy,
go sleep. That would be all. I wish you luck."

"Only that?!"

"Yeah. Hey, I'm gonna teach you household chores later so be patient for today, okay?"

Fear expanded her cheeks like a balloon. Haruaki was puzzled. He can't think of any reason why Fear would be dissatisfied with his order.
Konoha peeked over the front door, smiling like a saint.

"Don't tell me you can't take care of yourself alone because you're lonely?"

"W-Why you?! Who told you that I'm lonely?! I'd be glad that there won't be any more annoyance like you two! Oh, I'm so excited. The world on the television is waiting for me now!"

"You'll be fine alone then. Great. Splendid. Well, let's go now, Haruaki-kun. To the happy place called school. TOGETHER."

"A happy place you say? Hmph! I'd bet that you'll just use those great tits of yours to flirt with him! How shameless! C'mon, go now, go! I can't wait to be alone, you know!"

"Er--- I'm kinda worried about Fear but I'll be late for school at this rate. It can't be helped. Let's go, Konoha."

They went out of the gate, towards the road. Konoha moved with light steps and Haruaki scratched his head.
Fear was letting out a fierce snort as she watched their backs disappear from her vision. When she felt that they were gone, she let out a deep sigh.
She sat down in front of the door.
It was silent. Everything around her was unmoving. The wooden ornament above the shoe rack. The patterns on the wooden ceiling. The mirror on the wall. The Calendar besides it.
She felt that the cold silence of those inanimate objects welcomed her---As if they knew that she used to be an inanimate object just like them.

She embraced her knees and slightly bowed her head. She looked at her silver hair as she observed it sliding between her knees, while she whispered with an empty voice.

"Fool... Did you really have to leave me alone...?"

<center>* * *</center>

He was used to taking up weird passengers. It was natural since he worked in a place where different people come and go. He was a taxi driver stationed in front of the airport.
In the past, he had black passengers who used the word FUCK in almost every sentense they used. He also had chinese people who carried imitations of popular game consoles. He
even had a passengers of Japanese family who asked to be brought to a forest or swamp where no one else lived. If he were to think back about every passenger he had, it would
take forever.
But---This passenger was the weirdest among all the passengers he had.
The driver moved his eye over the back mirror to check again at the lady passenger he picked up earlier.
She was a blonde caucasian beauty who wore an elegant gown. That was normal. But, other than that, everything else about her was strange. Too strange. He wondered
how she was able to board a public plane wearing THAT thing.

"I have this feeling that I am being watched."

The woman who mouthed a thin cigarette spoke in a fluent japanese while she kept her view toward the window. He wondered if the woman was intentionally ignoring the "No Smoking"
sign on the glass. The woman shrugged, and faint sound of creaking metal echoed.

"Er, excuse me, miss...?"

"Oh. Not you too."

Who else was she talking about? There wasn't anyone else in the taxi but them two. The driver trembled lightly as he taught about his passenger looking more ominous as the
time passed by.
There was still some distance from the hotel that they were heading for. The driver thought that he had to make a lighter atmosphere for both of them. After all, she was still
a customer despite her eerie impression.

"You speak Japanese language very well. I've had many passengers from different countries but you're the most---"

"Weirdest passenger?"

The driver felt as if an icicle passed through his body, from his mouth out to his anus. Somehow, he was able to regain his composure and replied.

"Aside from the fact that you're the best Japanese language speaker among the passengers that I've had, you're also the, um---most beautiful, ma'am."

"Hmm. I wonder if all the taxi drivers in this country are all educated about etiquette. I say it is just what you may expect from Japan, the polite country. It is indeed a
great thing."

It seemed that the driver answered right. He calmed down a bit hearing the soft laughter coming from his passenger.

"It's not just a flattery, ma'am, not at all."

"Haha, I don't really mind if it was a flattery. My favorite author said in one of his books that 'You should bear in mind that lie is the key to every happiness,
benefit, reputation, and wealth.'---It is an anti-social statement though."

"Er, never heard of it before, ma'am... I suppose he's a foreign author?"

"Indeed. Duke Jonathan Alphonse Francois de Sadd is known for his anti-socialism."

After the passenger explained that to the driver, she started to laugh again. The driver wondered what was so funny.

"Did you come here to Japan for a vacation?"

"Unfortunately, no. It is about a matter concerning my work."

"I see that you're dedicated to your work, ma'am. May I ask about your occupation?"

The strange beauty raised her face, looked at the driver through the back mirror, and smiled.
That moment when the driver's eye met the passenger's, all the calm that he accumulated during their recent conversations vanished.
A strong need to get far away as soon as possible from this passenger made the driver kick the accelerator hard.
It was, after all, just as he thought. There was no way that woman having that kind of eyes is sane. Those eyes filled with cold disdain, as if it was used to looking down upon
the people around her...

"Oh, my work? I came here for a little trash-cleaning."

<center>* * *</center>

A few hours had passed since Fear was left alone in the house. She quickly lost interest in watching television.

"Phew, I have nothing else to do... ."

It was the same word that she said yesterday. A thought suddenly came into her mind. If she was bored inside the house, She should go outside.
She wore the sandals that was left on the porch and walked around the garden.

"....boring."

Fear walked around the outside of the house few times, making a wry face. The outer building of the house where Konoha was staying came into her view. The ground floor was
covered with silver shutter. She thought that it was a garage or something. Her eyes went up to the second floor window, and she remembered what happened this morning.

"Er what can I say...Isn't Haruaki being a little bit biased to that cowtits? That shameless brat...I also don't like the fact that cowtits got her own proper room while I have
none. Talk about being unfair. Doesn't he even think that I also have things that I wanted to do? He always say 'Don't do this' and 'Don't do that'..."

She mumbled complaints and started to walk back toward the main house---but stopped.

"Oh yeah, he didn't say that I shouldn't do THAT. Hmm, I suppose there's no problem with me doing THAT so he didn't mention anything about it. Yes, it must be so."

Fear nodded to herself. But, there was one little problem.

"So, what should I do now...?"

Fear looked up at the sky and tried to think about what she had to do. The next moment, she realized that the answer was simple. She grinned.

She looked up again at the outer building. There she saw the vast sky...and the little window on the second floor of the outer building, peeking from the corner of her eyes.

Taizo came back from his trip to the nearest vending machine to buy their drinks since he lost in the rock-scissors-paper game. But, he came back without carrying any
juice, shadowed by his dark expression. Haruaki who was having his lunch with the usual members looked up to ask Taizo what happened.

"Is there a problem, Taizo?"

"Hey, Haruaki... I know it's not good. But I can't help myself---I know that this line is too cliched to use nowadays...But, I just have to say it! Tell me, Haruaki, can
I say the words that are meant to be said in a situation like this?!"

"W-What are you saying...?"

Haruaki sent Taizo a blank stare. Suddenly, Taizo grabbed Haruaki by his neck.

"Why! Is it! Always you!"

"Argh, Ergh?! What do you think you're doing, idiot! Tell me what happened!"

"Ask that to yourself, Bastard! Aren't you contented with Konoha-san?!"

"I'm telling you, I don't know what you're talking ab---ooooooooogh!"

"Eeew! Gross!"

"Hey, Yachi! Something came out from your mouth!"

Haruaki forgot to apologize to Kana and Kirika. He couldn't believe what he was seeing right at that moment.
It was---a silver-haired head peeking out from the room's rear door.

"Hey you over there! Didn't you say you'll tell me where...Ah, so there you are."

Fear approached him with a self-possessed calm. For some reason, she was wearing a school uniform.

"Hehehe. I came here just as you wished, Haruaki."

Fear held her head high and told Haruaki triumphantly---When the atmosphere in the classroom became tense.

"Fear?! What are you doing here?!"

"You're asking me why I'm here. Well, you didn't say that I shouldn't go out or shouldn't come here. So, that means I can go to any place I want to."

"I didn't tell you anything because I thought that it was obviou---argh!"

Kana who was sitting beside Haruaki grabbed his head and pressed it against his lunch box. Kana used that as a force to stand up, her eyes shining bright with interest.
She went beside Fear and started hugging her.

"Wow! She's so beautiful! How cute!"

"Er, woman. Stop touching me."

"Oh, I love how you speak! So, your name's Fear, huh? Where did you come from? What kind of relationship do you have with Akki...uh, I mean, Haruaki-kun?"

[[Image:C3 01-065.jpg|thumb]]
"What kind of relationship, you say....I wonder too. Basically, I live in his house."

"Are-you-two-living-together?!"

"My old man! I mean, she's the daughter of my old man's friend that he made abroad! That's why I have to take care of her in place of my old man!"

"Hmm... So you two are staying in the same house. Looks like...there are some things that needs to be confirmed. As the class representative, of course."

Kirika stood up with strange vigor. Soon, all the other people in the class started to gather around them.
Haruaki dropped his shoulder in defeat. He just gave Fear a look that said she musn't say anything unnecessary. Fear just nodded.
It seemed that people around them thought that Fear was a girl who came from abroad visiting the school because she had nothing much to do.
Needless to say, news about Fear quickly spread outside Haruaki's class.

"H-hey?!"

Haruaki looked at the direction where that voice came from and saw pale-faced Konoha staring at Fear.
She must have been on her way back to her class from the school's shop since she was carrying a handful of sandwiches.

"Why is she...?"

"She came here by herself. I'm going to lose my consciousness now. I'll leave the rest to you, Konoha..."

"What do you want me to do?!"

User talk:Zyzzyva165

2009-01-24T21:06:16Z

Kumichael:

Oh, that's what you meant. It should be "Void," because the rest of the sentence is "'Void,' huh?" and the comma should be within the quotes, not outside. In reality, it COULD be outside of the quotes, because not much people would care, however I'm one of the people who would :). It's you're choice whether to change it or not, but it really SHOULD be within the quotes. -Kumichael

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume12 Story1 Chapter1

2009-01-24T00:40:11Z

Kumichael:

===Chapter 1, New Student from the White Country (Albion) ===

====Part 1====

After class period in Tristain Magic Academy, it is a daily routine for most female students to hang out in the terrace drinking tea after leaving the dining hall.

Louise, Montmorency, and Kirche. The three of them are occupying a round table, they were chatting and enjoy the tea.

At that time, Kirche was leading the conversation, meanwhile, Montmorentcy was acting the listeners part. Speaking about Louise, her eyes were in a bloodshot state. She was concentrating on writing something. Sometimes when sleepy, "Fuaaah," she was yawning.

“Hey Louise, while I'm talking, it's impolite to yawn, isn't it?”

“You are being annoying.“

Kirche was talking about the adventure they did from one week before.

“By the way Louise, for serious, that gigantic Golem was super sturdy, wasn't it?”

Kirche's speaking tone showed indication she was enjoying this from the bottom of her heart, but instead Louise is knitting her eyebrows.

Watching the two of them, Montmorentcy continued to stare.

“Hey, what are you talking about? What do you mean by 'golem?' I'm seriously wondering what kind of adventure you were having at Albion.”

Montmorentcy, who was not accompanying them during the the trip to Albion, obviously didn't know anything. Of course that includes the true shape of Tiffania.

“That I can't tell you in detail......., because it is highly classified information.”

Kirche felt more and more superior, Montmorentcy's face turned sullen a bit.

“It's okay, doesn't mean I want to know. I don't want my mind to penetrate in a government-related concern.”

She was bluffing.

Following, by swinging her long curly hair. Her vision shifted to the direction of the wide courtyard past the terrace. The timing just right, she saw the golden-haired Tiffania as she passed.

Tiffania was walking restlessly, just behind her countless number of male students were following in succession. In the middle of those followers, Guiche was seen, Montmorentcy's expression grew unpleasant.

“That guy! Even I had hurt him to such an extent! It seems he has not learned anything!”

With those words, at once Louise changed from a sleepy state to a face with sparkling eyes. When she knew Saito was not among the Tiffania stalkers, she was pondering for a bit with her eyes closed.

And then her eyes returned to the notes for the second time.

“Hey Louise, who is actually the girl that your companion brought here? I don't have any interest in politic matters, but I have interest in that girl only! Not removing her hat while indoors, absolutely I want to conduct an investigation about her!”

“About why her breasts are so big?”

Kirche was trying to provoke Montmorency with an enticing tone.

“Screw that! It must be a counterfeit! More over, it is vulgar! Using such techniques to the boys is cowardice!”

Just when Montmorentcy gave her opinion, Louise stood up.

“Eh, is something wrong Louise?”

“I'm returning to my room.”

Louise was murmuring with her eyes both blazing and glittering. Inside those eyes she kept a chilled anger of a water tempest with a whirlpool.

Kirche was smiling with narrowed eyes.

“Please take good care of Saito.”

With merely those words, Louise left, shoulder sounds clunking, it is moving slightly. At the same time, she barely moved her right shoulder as if having a cramp. This slight vibration gradually turned more frequent, until her whole body began to shake.

Awkwardly and clumsily walking away. She was heading to the dormitory tower. She was angry, but she stopped her movement not long after that.

Louise was in the courtyard, from here on out the boys from the Knight Corps of the Water Spirit will be practicing, they were heading here. It's not like she was expecting them, but Saito was among them of course.

Clamorous sound and the talking from the crowd become more apparent, they were drawing closer.

Louise halted. She didn't want to see Saito's face directly. That's why she peeked from the side. If she straightly saw him, for sure she will blow him up. That's what she felt.

Apparently Saito also noticed Louise presence. However, he was averting her gaze, that can be seen clearly in his face. When she realized it from the side glance that she was peeking at Saito face from, that made her blood rage. She can't take anymore than this, at this state she was completely trembling. But........., she can't blow him directly while everyone was watching ahead. That was because her nobles' pride won't permit it.

Louise took a deep breath, gash! She struck her butt. She was running intensely. A while later, when she can repress her anger, Louise once again returned to the clumsy walking manner.

Someone, but it's not Saito, it is Malicourne from beside him called for her.

“Yo, Louise! We are practicing right now, may we borrow your familiar?”

“P, Pe, PEPEPEPEPEPEPEPEPEPE.”

“Pe?”

Malicourne's face suddenly turned pale.

“PEPEPEPE, Please use as you wish.”

Louise replied with a shaking tone. Saito too, his clear face still took a glance at Louise.

Watching the two of them staring each other, Malicourne leaned his neck a bit.

“What's happened between you? Having a quarrel again?”

“Quarrel? Hahaha! That can't of possibly happened! Now gentlemen, let's hurry up. The time for training is short!”

Saito was walking away, his mysterious gait called for Malicourne. Either Malicourne or each members of the knight corps followed Saito with twisted necks.

Louise was dumbfounded, her face was seeing off the back of him. Her face instantly turned red and she was trembling all over her body. Louise took a note from her pocket. (sketch sketch), she was writing something. After that was finished, she put the note back in her pocket and walked away...

That night........

Inside one of the rooms in the female dormitory, Siesta served the wine to Saito and Louise with modesty. Siesta poured wine to the two of them and spoke with a cheerful tone,

“The other day I receive this wine from Marto. By all means, this wine is one that won second prize in the Galia wine fair. Too bad I forgot the name........... ”

However, both Saito and Louise were silent, their minds sunk to the wine.

Siesta watched the two with a face full of dubiousness.

Ever since returning from Albion, the two of them have had this mood. They're roughly not speaking to each other. Somehow, they were angry, so they kept the silence, even their eyes did not meet.

There is another thing, in the middle of the night, Miss Louise would go somewhere. I wonder what she could of did in that place? When she returned, her gaze was downward, but even with that threatening attitude she didn't say anything. I once asked Saito about this matter. “Maybe Louise has much things she wants to think about,” He replied with a strange expression without looking back.

I'm troubled, I don't know the meaning of the attitude between the two of them at all.

Because of this atmosphere, Siesta especially, through hard work, obtained this wine. .......But even this good wine and pleasant mood set up could not give much merit.

“It's time to sleep soon.”

Siesta prepared the bed and invited the two of them. It seems today in the middle of the night Louise won't take a stroll. Squirmly, Saito and Louise entered the bed. Their backs were facing each other; the two of them rolled up. Siesta was changing to pajamas, and after that, slid next to Saito.

Siesta was about to place her face into Saito's back, but suddenly... she felt an odd aura. That aura was emitted from the back of Louise.

(Don don)..... the aura of Louise's back was wriggling and accumulating, pressuring Siesta.

Siesta withdrew her hand that reached for Saito.

For some reason, she felt she shouldn't do that.

With her cheeks facing Saito's back, she was hesitating for a moment....... Her body entrapped in fatigue because of the daily work...... Soon Siesta fell to the slumber.

Noticing Siesta was fast asleep, Louise began to move her body.

She was rolling to Saito.

Saito was awake, glancing from aside, he was watching Louise.

With her voice expressing anger, Louise muttered.

“Why during the day you ignored me ?”


She has many questions she wanted to ask, but she couldn't ask thoroughly. So for now, she charged him about his attitude during the day.

With a calm voice, Saito replied,

“Eh? Wasn't it because you ignored me?”

“Don't distract me from the subject that I'm talking with you right now!”

A smile surfaced from Saito when Louise said that. Somehow, the smile felt lukewarm.

“Don't put reasoning to satisfy yourself. See, you are acting selfish now, Louise. Tomorrow we must wake early, now go to sleep.”

Saito was closing his eyes with his face facing Siesta's direction. As for Louise, she was mumbling with a declined face, fiercely struggling inside the blanket. Somehow, she was looking very pathetic.

“You are forbidden to face that way.”

She was unconsciously pulling Saito sleeve.

But, without any sympathy, Saito responded,

“Good night.”

“You have to face this way!”

However, Saito still pointed at Siesta's direction.

“Okay, if that's what you want... I don't know that kind of familiar of anymore!”

Louise covered herself with the blanket. However...... Soon she grew anxious. In secret, she examined the situation by showing half of her face from the blanket.

Even so, no change indication from Saito's back.

Louise was half-crying, as if someone in a mortifying state. Uuuu, that was sounds of moaning from her. Nevertheless, whatever she did, Saito not turned to her.

Soon, Saito's sleeping breath can be heard. He is fast asleep.

Louise was trembling as if in fear.

''What's wrong with you!? This whole week you have been keeping that attitude. Tell me about it!

What about the thing when we rode that ship, you were offering palm of your hand to me?

I can't believe it!''

Inside the blanket, Louise was rolling around with anger.

''You always said you loved me before. Could it be a lie?

Was it possible that one hour event on that Albion ship was an Illusion?''

For some interval of time, Louise struggling inside the blanket, bit by bit grew more violent....... but she knew she can't do that.

''Why did he show a cold attitude? Thinking calmly, more or less, I pretty much understand it. Saito always said 'love' to me...... but not once have I returned that feeling.''

''But, but, but... It can't be helped.''

''I have determined to return his feeling when he is about to return home!''

''That's why I hastened the action for finding him a way to go home; meanwhile this idiot is always indecisive. Well, pretty much I can understand the reason, but still...
''
''I'm a Void user whose being targeted by Galia.''

''There is another concern with Tabitha's mother which has not settled yet.''

''Besides, abandoning them to go home, Saito's sense of responsibility won't permit it.''

''He is bestowed by Gandalf's power, the reason he came here. That is a not a fake sense of responsibility. It is Saito's own responsible feeling........''
''
But since you had come here, could you act a little gentle? Why did you neglect me all this time?''

''What's with 'insolent pink-haired girl!?' Wasn't it that you like the pink-haired one!?''

Those words not even yet to be said, but the next words have been drifting in her mind, being both in anger and confusing state, Louise was trembling. Now it has reached this state, it doesn't matter anymore if the words have been said or not, it has already in her head; Louise grew more irritated.

In the middle of her irritation, anxiously, gradually resurfacing in Louise.

''The most foolish thing perhaps........ is my feeling that told “When a way to return home has been found, I will return his feelings.” It is okay to decided like this, but what if before that happens, Saito has a change of mind?''

''If by any chance he falls to another woman, not me... “I'm glad I came here,” what would I do if that's the case?''

Each respective woman that she felt charming was floating in her mind.

''It is somehow tolerable for the princess for acting strange in past occasions....... Currently, Saito and I are not close enough yet. I can't let my guard down, there are many other women like that.''

''For instance, the figure whom was sleeping right there, the daring Siesta.''

''Another instance, the one who put so much devotion to Saito, Tabitha.''

''But whatever comes to me, not even once I will put my guard down..............''

The accident during the day was being recalled in Louise's mind. She is the one who was brought here from Albion, the one who has fascinating golden hair, that person right now is surfacing in the back of Louise eyelids.

The one that was seen with ridiculous big breasts.

''Among her group of stalkers, my familiar was not among them, but that doesn't mean there is a guarantee. Saito always said 'love' to me, it's only his personality that acted based on his whim. I'm the most familiar with him, so I knew about that.''

Now that I think about it, that fellow, previously he was always captivated with women that have big breasts.

Anxiety was being born within Louise, she was in helpless situation.

''Strange ones. Smaller than me! This is the best! Now feeling like in trance because of what I just said, the important thing is there is no certainty anymore.''

''What if before a way home has been found, that kind of possibility really happens?

What if before I can say my feeling, Saito has changed his feelings?''

''If that's the case, my name will be engraved in the history of Halkeginia as the most block-headed person.''

''The more I think about this, will make my mind closer to breaking.''

Eventually, Louise grew tired of thinking........ she can't defy drowsiness' temptation any longer........... Louise's sleeping sounds begun to be heard. [[Image:ZnT12-047.jpg|thumb]]

When he noticed Louise has fallen asleep, Saito opened his eyes.

To make certain if she was really asleep, cyun cyun, he was poked her nose. Kyuuuu, a cute sleeping breath resounded. Seems like she was really asleep.

Saito sung a victory song in his mind.

''Because Louise's behavior is close to a cat, if not the same, seems like I was not mistaken with my judgment.''

''When I drew closer, the manner Louise would behave... that will be most likely the attitude similar with an insolent angle, and staring at me with eyes full of passion, “No, being as cute is you is a sin”. I am pleased to say I'm fine with that (sarcasm).''

''But see...... what about if we treat her a bit cold, what will happen?''

First, she will respond by distancing herself while watching the situation. That is the time when she took a night stroll.

''Even so, don't follow her....... it will become impatient while still observing us, thereafter, it will draw closer eventually. Yes, this is exactly like that.''

''Wonderful, I'm really genius........''

''Now I understand perfectly, composure is important after all.'' Saito was motivating his inner self. ''Because of my composure, Louise became the same as the fallen women whom think of me as if I'm the core of the world.''

''Nevertheless, watching her sleeping face like this, Louise is looking really cute.''

His nose grew longer .... and his long eyelash bent up, the shape of his eyes were closing..... his lips faintly switched to the kissing pose.

Unintentionally, his lips drew closer..... but when it was close enough, Saito shook his head.

''It's not yet the time.

It's not the time yet, Saito.''

''Just a little longer, and Louise will completely fall to you. If you offer your hand right now, Louise will be victorious with a smile floating on her face.''

'' 'No, mole! After all, you want to touch me! I wonder what I should do? Aaaah! I know, if you want to touch me, go praise me until the quantity is enough to make one volume of a book. Just kidding! I won't give you anything. Never.'' '

''Looking all important, she would declare that.''

''Do you think I will lose?'' Saito strongly gripped his right wrist.

''Bear with it, Saito. The sweetness of victory just lies ahead. If you were tempted here, you'll lose. What I did until now...... for instance, did my best to come home from Albion. All will be just like bubbles in water.''

However, looking here and there, Louise is cute. Reach for her lips, retreat, reach for her lips, retreat, it's a repetitive event, until a voice could be heard from behind.

“What are you doing?”

It was Siesta voice.

When he turned, she was grinning with a smile.

“Did I awake you?”

“Because of certain rustling sound, I awoken.”

Siesta tried to hold her laugh.

“So, sorry...”

When Saito replied, Siesta shook her head.

“Why did you take no attempt to find a way to return?”

That sudden question startled Saito.

“...Eh?”

“Miss Valliere always says: 'That idiot, when will he take action to find a way home?'”

There was a crunching sound in Saito's head.

“About that, I want to go home, of course.”

“Then why?”

Giuut, Siesta's body drew closer.

“The people that I was in the care of still have unsettled problems. If I move too rashly, it will only leave a bad aftertaste.”

When Saito answered with a serious tone, Siesta smiled.

“I was right about you after all, I have decided it will be you.”

“Eh?”

He responded by his whole face reddening.

“But surely someday you will go home..... when that time comes, will we part?

A solemn air instantly surrounded the two.

“About that....”「わたし、イヤですからね。そんなの」

“I, don't want it, that kind of thing.”

Saito kept silent.

''True, If someday I find a way home........

Honestly speaking, it will be my parting with the people from here.''

''Can I bare to be parted with Louise?''

''Even if I think about how find a way home, not much progress will occur. I want to return, but at the same time, I don't want part with Louise.''

Being tore between two wishes, Saito was in a swayed state.

When he was thinking that, Siesta showed a delicate smile.

“Please don't seriously think about it, when that times comes, we will think about it.”

Siesta was speaking like a breeze of wind.......... but because of it, a vortex that seems dwelling in his chest since he returned from Albion has now vanished.

“Siesta, it's good to have a wise trait.”

''That's really what I thought.''

''Don't even start thinking about it..''

''I'm sure I can give the proper answer when that time comes. For now, just think only what lies ahead.''

“For now, if I'm not happy, it will be a loss. That's why I will enjoy the present to the fullest. If there is a moment when such help needed, no matter what lies ahead, no matter how many times, I will help.”

(sfx when hugging), Saito almost fainted when Siesta hugged him with mere strength equal to the situation with her soft breasts pressed against him.

Siesta was staring Saito straight in the eyes with burning passion, without hesitation, she pressed her lips.

“Wa, wait.....”

“Shhh......, Miss Valliere will awaken!”

She was surfacing a teasing smile. She had kissed Saito lightly and fixed her hot eyes on Saito. When she was finished, she said,

“It is okay to enjoy this, but you don't do this with the other woman.”

“O...kay”.

“Well, with Miss Valliere, it can't be helped. For example, the girl you just brought here from Albion.”

“Tifa? It won't be! We are just friends.”

“You might be thinking like that, but what if her feelings are not the same?”

When Siesta said it. Saito made a pondering expression.

“Wha, what do you mean?”

However, Siesta did not answer. Covering herself in the blanket, she said good night; she closed her eyes.

“Siesta, please wait for a moment, just now ....what is it, damn!”

Received a shock to his head. Looking nervously, Saito inquired.

“Uuah...”

Still in sleeping mode, Louise widening both of her arms. Apparently, she was half asleep. She was unconsciously attacking Saito's head.

A hand in a spear shape struck Saito lips. The moment following that, he received continuous attacks from Louise on the head. The moment following that, with her voice sounding in an odd tune, Louise returned to the bed.

Placing both her arms on the back of his head above the pillow, Saito closed his eyes.

Siesta's words still resounded in his minds.

''Now I'm thinking about it, from Albion suddenly brought to a foreign place, she must be troubled.''

''Based on her circumstances during the day, will it be okay if I'm don't concern myself?''

''Apparently, she has become a pretty popular person....''

''It is understandable if they want to talk with her, but wasn't it she had too many stalkers? It is tolerable if they want visits to her room even during night, but certainly she wants time to be alone.''

''Besides...... at any rate, she has kept too many secrets. No matter what, those secrets can't be revealed. The more I think, it is a similar case with me more or less. Having achieved an extraordinary feat, having his rank upgraded from commoner to noble. I don't know if it would be for better or worse, but here I'm a popular person. Saito has became familiar with it, but the treatment that girl received, what is it? This is what I felt.''

''Nevertheless, I should visit her soon, that's what Saito thought. From the Westwood village suddenly living in a foreign country which Tiffania knew nothing about it. No doubt, this kind of situation would make her stressed. No matter how much her wish goes along with the promise from the person in question “I will show you the world past this boundary”, it does not correlate at all with stress.''

''Tomorrow I will talk to her.''

With the same thought, Saito embarked on a voyage the dream world.

User talk:Zyzzyva165

2009-01-24T00:18:48Z

Kumichael:

tell me what chapter i put the "Void," in and i'll fix it.

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume10 Chapter1

2009-01-22T03:15:30Z

Kumichael: /* Chapter 1: The Ostland */

===Chapter 1: The ''Ostland''===

“Huh...”

Louise let out a deep sigh. She was at the deck of the ''Ostland''. In front of her eyes, led by Guiche and Malicorne, the students of the Academy of Magic were creating a commotion.

Colbert was in the center of the circle. Previously, they heard how he had died during the attack of the group of mercenaries from the Albion army; but he was actually alive, and apparently, Kirche had secretly brought him back to Germania.

It was a mystery why Kirche did that. Louise inclined her head.

“Oh my, Louise. How is this ship my Jan made?”

Her hand went around Louise, and Kirche smiled sweetly.

Louise stared at the wings of ''Ostland'' which were protruding from its deck. They are enormous wings, which should be three times larger that the ones of normal ships. Usually, wings which are set up in ships were wood, as the support, with a spreading sail. But this ship is different. To achieve that strength, instead of wood, tall iron masts are used. Amounting to even 100 mails, these straight iron masts could not be produced in Tristain.

In the middle of the wings, there is an engine room with huge propellers! It looks like the “steam engine” Colbert prided in. Apparently, it is something Colbert and the Zerbst family made using the “Happy Serpent” some time ago as a model. From the outer appearance, they look like two long, huge iron boxes with huge chimneys. With the energy from the steam which is generated from the combustion of coals and the heating of water, these huge propellers revolve- this is its mechanism.

Those two things were the product of Germanian mechanics who were excellent metallurgists.

“What a great ship.”

Louise expressed her thoughts briefly, and...

“To manufacture iron which could be of use to make such long and strong masts in Tristain is impossible! Louise, do you understand? For the sake of turning my Jan's design into reality, the fire technology of Germania is indispensable! It was a just like a fated meeting between the fire Zerbst and the Flaming Serpent! In other words, the fruits of love!”

Unabashed, Kirche combed her hair back. Disgusted at Kirche who had now caught a teacher, calling him “My Jan," Louise said,

“So it's a teacher this time? You are really really someone who falls in love irrationally, huh?”

“It is my personality to be attracted to great gentlemen. I am only faithful to that.”

“Then why did you do things like lying that he had died and took him away?”

Louise asked. At her words, Kirche displayed a somewhat lonesome look. Yet, she smiled immediately.

“There are a lot of reasons for adults. Complicated reasons.”

While she was waving her hand, she rushed over to Colbert.

Colbert was explaining the ''Ostland'' to the students.

“With the buoyancy acquired using these huge wings, the consumption of wind stoned is minimized, and this ship should be able to travel for a long distance......uwa!”

Suddenly embraced by Kirche, Colbert let out a shout. Laughter escaped from the students. Saito was amongst the students. He was laughing quite innocently.

''I know you are happy that he is still alive, but......'' Louise pouted.

''Explain properly your kiss with princess.''

''Although when I was kissed during the drop, I thought, 'Well, it's fine......,' the kiss between Saito and Henrietta was still an uncommon relationship.'' Louise did not miss the hot atmosphere which was drifting between the two. ''Although I had questioned Henrietta, I still did not know whether that feeling was real or not......'' Louise declared. ''Oh no! Because he had stopped the seventy thousand and became the hero of Tristain, looks like Henrietta's eyes are clouded as well.''

''How would Saito react towards the queen's feelings? Is Henrietta still better after all?''

Louise recalled their kiss. ''Henrietta and Saito were just like characters of a soap opera, having something hot residing in their looks. What eyes! Looks which were as if they had just noticed the sudden destiny which came to them without them knowing it.''

''You had said so many times you like me that much, and yet what is thisssss~!'' Completely agitated, ''Pong!'' Louise kicked recklessly into the side of the ship.

“You are in a bad mood huh?”

Louise looked around, and saw Siesta standing there, holding a tray.

“Why are you here?”

With a voice similar to a snarl, Louise said. Nowadays, Siesta was Saito's exclusive maid. Right now, she was supposed to be cleaning the room.

“Because the students who had gathered had said they wanted to have their lunch on the ship. The workers carrying the meal are not enough, so I was called as well. Nevertheless, this is really an awesome ship, right? This is my first time seeing a ship with such long wings.”

Siesta was not aware of the incident of Louise's attack by Myozunitonirun last night. And looks like she did not recognize this great ship, ''Ostland,'' which was made by Colbert who was living at Germania for some reasons, at all. With an innocent expression, her view shifted around restlessly from the deck to the mast and the wings.

The meal which was on the tray consisted of sliced bread, ham, and vegetables- a light meal. Louise took one of them, and started stuffing her mouth quietly.

Siesta whispered near Louise's ears,

“Was Miss Valliere found by Saito-san during the ball?”

''Ugh!'' the bread she was eating got stuck at her throat. At her reactions, Siesta narrowed her eyes and whispered,

“Soooooo what's the maaatter? Oh my oh my oh my. Looking at that expression, looks like he did not, huh? If that's the case, I won the bet. If I won, that means......”

Siesta's face shone brightly.

“So I will borrow Saito-san for one day, right? As for Miss Valliere, please say that you have things to do and leave the room. It's all right! I won't do anything strange like what Miss Valliere is thinking. I'll just practice a play, only that. A novel with the title 'A Maid's Afternoon,' just only practice one scene. So......”

However, Louise did not reply. Whilst trembling, she was staring intently at a dot.

“Are you listening? Miss...”

Siesta recognized the target of Louise's gaze, and her eyes bulged.

“Isn't that Her Majesty, The Queen!?”

Just as she said, taking along some guards, Henrietta was about to go towards the students. In order for her to attend the Ball of Sleipnir, she had to stay at the Academy of Magic. Cheers could be heard from amongst the students who had gathered at the deck. Noticing Henrietta who had appeared suddenly, Colbert bowed deeply.

“A magnificent ship, right? Mister.”

“Thank you.”

Looking at the conversation between Colbert and Henrietta, Siesta sighed. The beauty of Henrietta which was described as “The Flower of Tristain” would stand out even amongst other noble ladies. The noble atmosphere drifted even to Siesta, a commoner, pressurizing her.

However...... despite being in such a position, Henrietta still had this amiable feeling. Usually, noble ladies would always appear to be puffed up and aloof. Yet, Henrietta who reigned at the top did not make one feel like that. Was it because no one rivalled her?

“This is the first time I've seen Her Majesty, The Queen, so closely. If my family in my home town heard about this, they will definitely be envious......”

Yet, Louise did not respond. Motionless, her gaze was fixated straight ahead at Henrietta. ''What on earth is wrong with Miss Valliere?'' Siesta inclined her head. Eventually, her face lightened up. The person she liked was pushing his way among the crowd.

“Saito-san......”

Sure enough, it was Saito, wearing an Ondine mantle. Although Guiche's figure could be seen beside him, Siesta's eyes were only on Saito.

Guiche came up to Henrietta's front, and bowed elegantly. Saito who was standing half a step behind followed suit, bowing down in an unrefined manner of a knight. The clumsiness which was brought up from amongst the commoners made Siesta's heart beat more.

“Your Majesty, the preparation of the coach is already done.”

With a respectful bow, Guiche said. Because of his delight of directly serving the queen he admired, he showed a proud look never seen before this. It was a contrast to Saito who looked embarrassed somehow.

“Thank you for the trouble.”

She said so, and as if rewarding their work, held out her right hand. At such an action, Guiche froze.

“Guiche-san?”

“Oi......”

Saito prodded him lightly. Because of that, Guiche fell sidewards. Surprised, Henrietta took a step back.

“Wh-what happened?”

“He fainted.”

Saito said wistfully, and the other students who had gathered exploded into laughter.

Looks like Guiche was overcome by emotion and had lost his consciousness.

“Well then, I will just express my gratitude to the Assistant Commanding Officer instead.”
[[Image:ZnT10-019.jpg|thumb]]
Henrietta said in a slightly anxious tone. Around her, tension spread rapidly. Although Saito is a chevalier, he is still of a commoner origin (the truth is that he is a person of a different world). Previously, despite knowing that he was permitted to kiss Her Majesty's hand at Tristain, for him to do so right now before everyone's eyes, was something he could not even imagine, and this made him dizzy.

Saito involuntarily looked up at Henrietta's face, and blushed, lowering his head slightly. The surrounding noble students thought, ''Aren't you a little too nervous in kissing the queen's hand?'', but that thing was reflected in Siesta's eyes as well. Squinting her eyes, she stared at the queen's and Saito's faces alternately.

“......Eh?”

From Siesta's mouth, a surprised sound leaked out. As might be expected of a girl in love, Siesta did not miss the hot feeling glimmering in Henrietta's eyes, even if it was only for a moment.

“Ho-how could this be? Don't tell me......”

''Impossible'', while thinking that, she turned towards Louise. Something grave was happening here as well. Clenching her fists tightly, with her face looking down, standing stiffly, she was murmuring something continuously.

“Miss? Miss?”

Siesta hastily shook Louise. From the Louise's mouth which was mumbling something, curse-like words could be heard.

“Though you're a dog though you're are dog what are you thinking about that is impossible so there is nothing more dreadful than this or is it Princess-sama is Princess-sama there is nothing less honorable than this you're not serious right you're joking right you don't know what this feeling is an unforgivable dog is really unforgivable yet you and the queen? How amusing...”

“Miss! Miss!”

Paling, Siesta shook Louise harder.

“What!?”

“......That! That, what does it mean!?”

Whilst whispering softly, Siesta pointed at Henrietta and Saito.

“No matter whether it means like this sort or that sort of thing, what you see is true.”

Siesta dropped to the ground clumsily.

“I can't believe it.”

“Even I don't believe it.”

Looks like Henrietta noticed Louise. Displaying a smile devoid of any ill will, she drew near her.

Behind her, with an expression as if he had done something wrong, Saito came as well. Guiche, who had came to, tag along as well. Louise turned her back roughly against Saito's face, and greeted Henrietta awkwardly.

“I am going back to the palace after this...... Before that, I would like to have a meal with you. Is it okay?”

“Be it okay or not okay, no objections. Just do as Your Majesty wishes.”

Henrietta laughed sweetly, after which she turned towards Saito.

“Would you like to join us as well?”

“That, that is...Gladly! Yes!” Guiche replied, standing stiffly. If Montmorency were present at that time, she definitely would not have hesitated to punish him with her magic.

Saito, however, shook his head apologetically.

“Sorry......I'm afraid I have some things to do for a bit.”

From the students who were watching him attentively, amazed voices could be heard. It was generally unimaginable for someone to turn down the invitation of a queen. Especially a lunch with the queen, a privilege which could not be acquired even if nobles were to wish for it.

Henrietta displayed a seemingly lonely look for an instant, but immediately changed that with a smile.

“It's alright. After becoming a knight, you would be busy with various things.”

The queen and those invited for the lunch descended the ''Ostland'' successively. Guiche, Louise, Henrietta......Feeling that the help of a waiter was necessary, Siesta followed behind Louise as well.

After that, Saito, who was left behind, looked up towards Kirche and Colbert.

The people surrounding the two of them until a while ago could not really attend the lunch as well, but still followed the queen's party. Thanks to them, Colbert was released with difficulties.

“What's the matter, Saito? Why did you turn down the queen's invitation? Aren't you too proud?”

“I have something I would like to ask.”

“Yeah yeah. I have something I want to ask as well. Who were both of you attacked by last night? Who was that?”

“I don't really know as well.”

“What is that? After that, what happened to Tabitha? She had been with you guys last night, but today I didn't see her figure at all......”

"What I want to ask is Tabitha.”

Saito told Kirche what happened last night.

Louise was attacked by a mysterious lady who called herself “Myozunitonirun,” and she was abducted. He had tried to go along to save her, and somehow Tabitha started attacking him.

“Really?”

Kirche's eyes bulged.

“Yeah. But I could not hurt her. When I realized, I had already pointed the tip of my sword away. Though I received a blow at my stomach, she could not aim at my weak spots. So it was not a fatal wound.”

Saito removed his shirt, and showed the wound Tabitha inflicted on him last night. Thanks to the users of Water of the Knight Corps, the wound had closed up......but there are still traces left by the “Javelin” incantations.

“I don't know why she had a change of heart......but after that, she attacked that ally of hers until then. So, we rode on Sylphid together, and chased after the enemy which had carried Louise off, and were saved by the teacher.”

Kirche seemingly pondered on it......and turned her face around swiftly. And then, she started to run away.

“Kirche, where are you going?”

Saito and Colbert exchanged glances, and followed Kirche.

Kirche's destination was Tabitha's room in the tower of the dormitory.

Nonetheless, that was an empty shell. Tabitha's figure could not be seen anywhere at all. Kirche folded her arms, and started pondering about it. After that, she asked Saito, with a serious look,

“That girl, when did she come back to the academy?”

“Umm......ten days ago I think.”

Kirche frowned.

“Damn......If it's that girl, she won't say anything at all. Really fishy, huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“That girl went to Germania together with me, but......after confirming Jan's safety, she said “I'm going back,” and really came back.”

“Oi oi! But, she just came back around ten days ago!”

“That's why! During that period, she must have received some 'mission' again. Dammit......”

“What do you mean by 'mission'!? Isn't she a quiet person? Oh yeah, she had also said......'I'll tell you the reasons after this fight.' Hey, Kirche! Tell me!”

''Nnnnn~'' Kirche placed her hand at her forehead.

“Well... It's inevitable that this fact is hidden from you for such a long time. Do you know that she is a Gallian?”

Saito nodded. He had heard it directly from Tabitha during their invitation for her to join the Knight Corps.

“She is not just a normal noble. That girl is a Gallian royalty.”

“Hah!? Royalty?”

“That's right.”

Kirche explained to Saito. The whole sad story of Tabitha studying abroad at Tristain Academy of Magic......

The Orleans officials of the younger brother of the ruling king, who is Tabitha's father, was killed by people of the ruling king. To protect Tabitha, Tabitha's mother drank poison, and became mentally ill.

And then, Tabitha was being sent to Tristain to study abroad, as if getting rid of her......

“But, what is the thing the Gallian royal family don't allow......?”

Kirche bit her lips. In her usually taunting look, as if she was made to recollect that family line, fiery anger could be seen on her face.

“While treating her so poorly, troublesome incidents happened, forcing that girl.”

“......Troublesome incidents?”

“Still remember the Ragdorian incident?”

Saito recalled the incident at that beautiful Ragdorian lake. Depressing memories were revived. Wales' death......Henrietta's tears. And, the promise with the water spirit......

''I had forgotten about the ring......'' After murmuring that, Saito lifted his face.

“Yeah, I remember. The fight with both of you.”

“That was also the command of the Gallian royal family.”

“Then, the attack on us yesterday......”

“Should be an order from the Gallian royal family as well.”

Anger surged up to Saito's face.

“Unforgivable!!”

“Before that, shouldn't we worry about Miss Tabitha first?”

Colbert, who had been listening to their words silently until then, frowned seriously and spoke.

“She isn't in her room, could it mean that she was kidnapped......?”

Equally worried, Saito said. But Kirche shook her head.

“That girl won't be so stupid to be caught. She must've hidden herself, I think. Not bothering anybody. That girl is like that.”

“But still......”

“Eventually she'll get in touch with us, I think. It's best that we don't move around. Let's believe in her and wait.”

Staring outside the window, Kirche said. Saito was moved by the complete faith in her heart.

“Is it okay to tell Louise?”

Saito asked, and Kirche nodded.

“It's better to tell her. That girl is involved as well. Really respect her, becoming a legendary user...... That Valliere carries too heavy a responsibility. 'Void,' huh? Damn...”

“You knew it!?”

In a shocked voice, Saito cried out.

“During that time, when that handsome Albion prince was revived and abducted Princess-sama, Saito, didn't you say it yourself? 'I am just mimicking the legend.' But that incantation which Louise chanted to nullify the magic used to revive the dead...... was not of the Four Elements of Magic. Legendary......and a magic not of the Four Elements. Isn't it 'Void'......? But looking at your behavior, seems that it is true.”

Kirche squinted her eyes, and smiled.

During that time, the queen and her party were having lunch at Louise's room. Although the staff of the academy with Old Osman as their lead suggested using the canteen, Henrietta refused by saying, “It's a personal affair.”

With that, a big table was hurriedly prepared in Louise's room, and seats specially for the queen's lunch were prepared.

At the prepared table, at the seat of honor with its back facing the window, was Henrietta; at her right was Louise, followed by Guiche. As a waitress, Siesta stood behind, displaying a nervous expression. Things like serving the queen was something she had never even dreamed of. Siesta stole quick glances at Henrietta's face occasionally.

Recalling that burning look Henrietta had towards Saito some time ago......she rolled her eyes. Seemingly, until now she still could not believe it.

Though she felt that Henrietta was listening to Guiche's words, apparently enjoyably, Henrietta would shoot an occasional, quick glance outside the window, and let out wistful sighs.

''From such a look, doesn't Henrietta's affection look fairly deep?'' Suspicion was stirred within Louise's heart.

''Yesterday night, I had accidentally blown my top and hit her...... because I was not sure whether Henrietta's feeling was real or not. I was distressed for a while......to the extent that I thought I could not help but to strike her. Yet, what if that wasn't the case?''

''What if Henrietta's feelings were real?''

''What should I do?''

For Louise who had believed since young that “Following Henrietta's will is a must”, thinking about that made her head go blank. Her brain refused to think about such things.

Troubled in such a manner, she noticed the things mixed in her food. The cuisine was a bird meat which was wrapped in a perfectly made pie crust, but when she cut it up with a knife, a slip of paper came out quickly.

“Please confirm the thing which I still don't believe until now.”

She turned around, and saw Siesta standing behind with a nervous expression. Apparently, the one who had concealed this note was this maid. Louise let out a sigh. She would probably want to know better whether Henrietta was serious or not. “I don't get it,” Louise murmured softly.

After her mutter, ''The monologue right now, can Princess-sama hear it?'' She became anxious. She stole a quick glance at the queen's face secretly. Henrietta was happy, but her mind had drifted far away. And Guiche was gazing at Henrietta's melancholic expression, like he was in a dream.

Fidgeting restlessly, as if urging Louise, Siesta unintentionally poked her back. Whenever that happened, Louise would turn back. Siesta was still obstinate, and Louise stepped on her foot.

“Ouch!”

Siesta jumped.

“What's the matter?”

With a bewildered look, Henrietta stared at Louise and Siesta.

“No-nothing at all!”

Louise crumpled the note Siesta wrote, and put into her pocket. Upon which, ''claaannggg!'', Siesta dropped her tray.

When Henrietta who was thinking that the maid was up to something looked at her, pretending to pick up the tray, Siesta dived underneath the table, lifted up the tablecloth, and showed her face between Louise's legs.

Those lips moved slowly.

“P-l-e-a-s-e c-o-n-f-i-r-m i-t.”

Louise closed her thighs on Siesta's cheeks.

“Ugh, uh, ug, uhh, uughh......”

Henrietta's attention turned back to Louise again.

“What's wrong?”

In a tone as if she did not notice the disappearance of the maid at all, she said.

“Re-really, nothing's wrong.......” Whilst pinning Siesta's face with her thighs, Louise broke out in cold sweat.

Once again, Henrietta gazed wistfully outside the window. At a look, she barely touched her food. Ah, Henrietta looked deeply in love.

Louise heaved a deep sigh.

''Well then, what about Saito? When his lips met Henrietta's, Saito's expression brightened up. His looks were...feverish......Whether he will look at me with the same expression or not, right now I have not such self-confidence. What if Saito prefer Princess-sama over me......''

Louise felt an outburst of anger.

''Hey, Louise Françoise.''

''Don't you get it?''

''That dog had said he liked you he liked you, yet he betrayed his master, and wagged his tail at other girls.''

''Moreover, that person is Princess-sama.''

''Of everyone else, that person is my most valuable Henrietta, Her Majesty The Queen.''

''This is be-be-be-betr-betrayal!''

''As I thought, am I not deceived by a kiss?''

Be it this or that, she had become increasingly irritated. Unintentionally, she tightened her grip at Siesta with her thighs, at which Siesta let out an agonizing moan.

“Mi-miss......A, ah......It hurts......”

At that moment,

The door opened, and a serious-looking Saito entered.

“Saito.”

“Saito-dono.”

“Saito-san.”

With different greetings and expressions due to his social positions, the three girls welcomed the sudden guest.

With furious eyes, Louise glared at Saito.

Appearing from under the table, with craving and loneliness blended together, Siesta greeted him with a very complicated-looking face. The feelings of the two ladies who are beings exalted beyond the clouds...... Towards Saito who had obtained those, they felt both proud and incredulous....... and also that their distance was pulled further apart.

“What's wrong? Don't you have some things to do?”

In this situation, the only person who did not welcome Saito's intrusion, Guiche, spoke. He had finally managed to dine with Her Majesty The Queen, to have Saito disrupting the atmosphere.

Ignoring Guiche, Saito bowed at Henrietta once.

“Princess-sama.”

“What is it?”

Taken by surprise, even now, Henrietta's cheek reddened slightly, although it was to an extent which was imperceptible apart from Louise and Siesta...... Henrietta sensed the trembling in her heart, and closed her lips tight into a straight line.

However, at Saito's next words, Henrietta's blushed disappeared from her cheeks, which paled instantly.

“I know the identity of Louise's attackers.”

“WHAT!?”

Everyone in the room opened their eyes wide.

Saito related the words he heard from Kirche some time ago to everyone in the room. As for the parts with insufficient explanations, Kirche and Colbert who had come along with Saito, provided further clarification.

“How can this be? Gallia......”

As if stating her disbelief, Henrietta shook her head.

“But unmistakably, this seems like the doing of Gallia. So we have to......”

Painfully, Saito added.

“Because there's no way Tabitha would attack me.”

“That girl went through a lot of hardships as well......” Kirche shook her head.

Henrietta was pale. Prime Minister Mazarin's words rang in her head again.

''“We have to be careful with Gallia's attitude.”''

The reason Gallia was satisfied with only a harbor during the division of the lands of Albion, was now understood. Gallia's true target was “Void," the legendary ability.

She did not know what Gallia planned to do once they acquire the power of “Void." Was it a scheme of King Joseph? Or was it the dogma of some influential nobles......? Either way, it was indubitably a bad scheme.

With anger in his eyes, Saito told Henrietta.

“Princess-sama. Please let me go to Gallia.”

“Saito.”

Louise tried to reprove him, but Saito continued his words without listening.

“I don't know who did this and where they're from, yet there are these people who did such cruel things to Tabitha, abducted Louise, and tried to kill me right? I will find them, and teach them to never even think about repeating such things!”

Guiche let out an astonished voice.

“Embark on a journey to Gallia!? Oi oi, this will become a war!”

“What is this Guiche!? You are the Commanding Officer right? The Assistant Commanding Officer was injured, won't you go and take revenge?”

Dissatisfied, Saito said.

“Well, take revenge is uhh, I am not reluctant but......the other side is a foreign country. When we, the Knight Corps, go there, it would not be so easy to clear up by mere fighting.”

At Guiche's words, Henrietta nodded as well.

“Saito-dono, I understand your feelings......but what Guiche-dono said is true. Now you are Tristain's knight. This looks like a trap into which you will fall in easily.”

“But......”

Seemingly frustrated, Saito bit his lips.

“For the time being, please leave this to me. I wonder if we have anything to be served as an evidence......”

“There are fragments from the gargoyles.”

Louise held out her hands. It was a fragment from the gargoyle which had attacked Saito and her last night. That was something which was scattered about the garden of the academy and the outdoor field.

“Right. If we get a proof that that is something made in Gallia, I would call the ambassador and protest strongly.”

“How could this be? And I have gotten hold of the true identity of the enemy with such troubles!”

Saito persisted further. Henrietta grasped Saito's hands tightly.

“Please. I do not want to let you people experience anything dangerous. The person someone values the most......I can't bear to see that person injured again. When you understand that, you'll see that this nation as a whole is protecting you people from Gallia who's plotting evil schemes.”

As if being struck at the heart by Henrietta's words, Guiche knelt reverentially.

“Your Highness......I consecrate this life of mine to Your Highness. Your Highness' childhood friend, Miss Louise, is the same as well. Even if I have to exchange my life, I would not let the enemy lay even a finger on both of you.”

“Thank you very much, Guiche-dono.”

Henrietta smiled, after which she turned towards Saito.

“Please promise as well. By no means, never do anything dangerous.”

There was something solemn mixed in that voice.

Saito noticed that Henrietta's eyes were a little wet. ''Don't pay attention to that!......'' Saito murmured in his thoughts.

He looked at the Henrietta's eyes which were about to overflow with tears......and he felt as if he must stay beside her to protect her, and that he must do what she says. And to think that he had been thinking of proceeding to get Louise's attackers after clearly identifying the true identity of the enemy.

His flaming fervor was splashed with cold water. Saito bit his teeth hard. As if asking for help, he looked at Louise......Louise puffed her cheeks up, and avoided Saito's eyes.

''Looks like she was still very cross with what happened last night. Well, it is understandable, since she had witnessed the touching of lips between Henrietta, the one she adores, and me, her familiar.''

''But......do I have any right to be angry at Louise?''

Saito's heart denied strongly. ''No, not at all.''

Saito had said he liked her to such an extent, and yet Louise had never said “I like you” even once. He had said he liked her so many times, even if there was once when he lied, but that's still alright.

''As I thought, in Albion, when she said 'Reward,' did she really mean it?'' Saito was hurt. ''A sweet bait in order to fasten I, her familiar, to herself......''

''Where is the sweet bait?'' Looking at Louise's body which had little humps, Saito whispered in his heart.

''Sweet bait huh......'' As he was thinking about this, he noticed Henrietta who was before his eyes. Covered by her dress, Henrietta's body was rich with absolutely ladylike humps. Although it was not to Tiffania's extent, her cleavage which peeked out of the sufficiently large breasts, flew into his sight. The feeling of that cleavage still remained at his hands.

At the same time, Saito remembered the kiss, and his cheeks reddened.

His usual firm expression......and his ecstatic expression when he sought girls- these gaps became the mainstream of appeal, which engulfed him.

At that......No matter what, Saito's heart confused. ''I love Louise. That truth is supposed to be unshakable......''Unintentionally, Henrietta's face floated into his mind.

''To lose someone you love, do you feel only loneliness?''

''If one thinks about it calmly, that's the case.''

''Yet......what if, what if that was not the case?''

''How did her heart change at that time? Even she did not know. But......there is only one thing I am sure.''

''Nobody knows Henrietta's true self.''

''There is no being who knows the true self of this young queen with her firmness broken down.''

''No one knows her extremely weak true self as a young lady.''

''Even if it is Louise......she probably didn't know it as well.''

''The real Henrietta is merely an ordinary girl dressed in multiple-layered and pricey chiffon. If she kisses, she would blush; if she embraces, she would bury her face in the other party's chest. Her breasts and cheeks, all of them are soft... She is this fragile lady.''

''More...... I want to see her former face more. Her face before the hiss, what on earth does it look like?'' Such a notion flashed pass his mind...... but Saito shook his head.

Somehow, he thought that it was something very wrong.

But still, this guilty conscience was also because of Henrietta's charm. Although he felt that it was wrong, he still drowned in it- this queen had such a charm. He felt like if he kept on looking, he would be beside himself. Saito averted his eyes.

Standing at a place slightly further away, with cold eyes, Louise and Siesta were staring intently at Saito and Henrietta who had their heads down. Siesta seemingly felt too overcome by jealousy.

“To-to win Her Majesty The Queen's heart, as I thought, Saito-san is cool.......”

Siesta said such things because of her fascination, and Louise tread her feet.

“Hyaaa!”

“Don't say unnecessary things.”

“But, Her Majesty The Queen's face......That is the expression of someone in love. Even I as a girl is fascinated by her charm. I am involuntarily captivated......Ouch!”

Siesta was pinched by Louise at her cheek, and she shrieked.

“Princess-sama is only deluded.”

“Deluded......?”

“That's right. Newly born ducklings would regard the first thing they see as their parent.”

“Interesting words.”

“Princess-sama is the same. When she had lost Wales-sama and became depressed, she had coincidentally met that dog, only that. Because of this, by all means, I must save Princess-sama from this PERVERTED dog.”

“You are not frank huh......If you honestly say you don't want him to be taken away, Miss Valliere would be a little cuter......Ouch!”

Siesta was pinched harder by Louise at the cheek.

“Don't you get it? That dog, after kissing, he would be bad and lewd. That time when we were on the boat, after touching my buttocks, and with those hand movements, he even ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-caressed me to the top. When I imagine him doing that to Princess-sama, somehow the entire world is unforgivable. Because I would never allow him to contaminate my Princess-sama. By any chance, if he had contaminated her, that day would be the day he die.”

“Hand movements? I still remember them well......Hyaaa!”

The ending was, Louise pinched Siesta's ass. ''Hyaah!'' ''Aagghh!'' Whilst groaning, Siesta jumped up into air, but Saito and Henrietta were engrossed in their own world, and did not notice her. The ever joyous Guiche mistook Henrietta's furiously blushing face as a response to his loyalty, and, overcame by emotion, had fainted long ago.

Kirche leaned flirtatiously against Colbert and said.

“It's really peaceful, rrrriiiigggghht? Jan.”

Staring at the scene before him with a troubled face, Colbert perspired.

“Oh well, after all, this is a brief rest. Isn't it good? By the way, Miss Zerbst, umm......can you not use 'Jan,' please?”

Smiling sweetly, Kirche kissed Colbert at his cheek.

“N.O. And yeah, I have already asked many times. Just call me 'Kirche.'”

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume12 Story3 Chapter2

2009-01-21T04:51:37Z

Kumichael:

===Chapter Two===


Siesta stood in the kitchen of the women's servant quarters, as she was being
constantly attacked by her co-workers.

"Wait! Didn't I say I'm busy?"

"Hey, hey, Siesta, try these spices! He will certainly be delighted!"

It is a world with no T.V. 

The love of others was their best form of entertainment.

CubexCursedxCurious:Volume1 Chapter2

2009-01-19T16:47:54Z

Kumichael:

CubexCursedxCurious:Volume1 Chapter2

2009-01-19T04:11:13Z

Kumichael: what is "F1 race?" is it some sort of a specific race? (sorry, i'm not a "car fanatic.")

"Look at your plate when you're eating! The morsels are falling off the plate!"

Fear answered yes. Again. She'd answered the same word several times already but her eyes were fixed upon the square box that was placed on the corner of the room.

"Hmmmm. I'd thought that you'd say something cliched like, 'What are those small people doing inside that box?!'."

"D-Don't take me for a fool. I know how that thing works. This box just shows a place far from here. And the power of electricity makes it possible to record the past.
It's true that this is the first time I actually saw it but, uh, just like like what I imagined. There wasn't much surprise with it, ahaha-haha-haha..."

She let out a false laugh while making a serious face. Her fork wandered around her plate, though it was empty.
The news caster on the television said, "Good morning, everyone! Let's do our best for this day!" and fear answered, "Yes. I don't know you but I wish you luck," with unnecessary
politeness.

"Hey, Fear, try this one out. I'll teach you how to operate the television."

"What is that thing?"

"Try pushing that prominent red button. Face it towards the television."

Fear recieved the remote control. She looked a bit tense as she tried to pudh the red button just as she was told.

"Wha---! The image disappeared!"

She looked astounded as she reported what happened to Haruaki. He told her to try pushing the button again.

"I-It the image restored!"

She reported again with exactly same expression.

"That's the On/Off button. Keep the television off when you're not using it. There are lot of other buttons but you don't have to use them. The only buttons that you could
touch are the buttons with numbers written on it. "

"Are you sure its alright? I'm gonna push it? You hear me, I'm going to!"

The channel changed to a different news program doing a report about sports. It was about the F1 Race so F1 cars passed in front of the camera.
Fear, being a bit ignorant about these things, shouted "It's coming towards us! look out!" and crouched on the floor. It was just as how Haruaki expected her to react.

"So, that's how it is. If you push the buttons, the channel would change. Whatever happens, the images won't come out from the television so you don't need to worry."

"I-I knew that! It's just that... er... yes! It's just that you have to be prepared for the unexpected! No one knows what'll happen next, uh-huh."

Fear tried pushing other buttons. Haruaki noticed that a faint pink shaded her white cheeks.
She only stopped pushing different buttons when the channel switched to a weather report. Her finger went still and her eyes stared at the television in awe.

"Is that the... sea?"

Haruaki answered affirmative and she whispered softly, her eyes still fixed on the monitor,

"...I never had a chance to see it. I didn't think that it would be so big."

Different shades were behind those eyes. There was the shade of admiration... and there was also a bit of disappointment.

"It looks a lot colder and darker than what I expected..."

"That's because there are some rain clouds over there. It's completely different in summer."

"Is that so."

"We also have that here in our town. It's on the oppoite though. You could go someday if you want to."

Fear shook her head in a vague manner. Haruaki wasn't able to decide wether it was an affirmation or a rejection.

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The doorbell rang and Haruaki went to the front door carrying his bag. Konoha was waiting behind the door, smiling.
Konoha usually went to school together with him when she didn't have work on student council or club activities.

"Good morning!"

"Okay, let's go."

"Hmmm... What's the meaning of this?"

"We're going to school. Didn't I tell do that we have to go to school during weekdays?"

"With her?"

"Well, yeah. We're in the same year level, after all."

Haruaki finished putting on his shoes, stood up and pointed at Fear.

"I have an order for you today. It's about your work while I'm away at school."

"...Tell me."

"First, turn the television on like I told you earlier. Watch any program that you like. When you get hungry, there are some food in the kitchen. When you feel sleepy,
go sleep. That would be all. I wish you luck."

"Only that?!"

"Yeah. Hey, I'm gonna teach you house hold chores later so be patient for today, got that?"

Fear expanded her cheeks like a balloon. Haruaki was puzzled. He can't think of any reason why Fear would be dissatisfied with his order.
Konoha peeked over the front door, smiling like a saint.

"Don't tell me you can't take care of yourself alone because you're lonely?"

"W-Why you?! Who told you that I'm lonely?! I'd be glad that there won't be any more annoyance like you two! Oh, I'm so excited. The world on the television is waiting for now!"

"You'll be fine alone then. Great. Splendid. Well, let's go now, Haruaki-kun. To the happy place called school. TOGETHER."

"A happy place you say? Hmph! I'd bet that you'll just use those great tits of yours to flirt with him! How shameless! C'mon, go now, go! I can't wait to be alone, you know!"

"Er--- I'm kinda worried about Fear but I'll be late for school at this rate. It can't be helped. Let's go Konoha."

They went out of the gate, towards the road. Konoha moved with light steps and Haruaki scratched his head.
Fear was letting out a fierce snort as she watched their backs disappear from her vision. When she felt that she they were gone, she let out a deep sigh.
She sat down in front of the door.
It was silent. Everything around her was unmoving. The wooden ornament above the shoe rack. The patterns on the wooden ceiling. The mirror on the wall. The Calendar besides it.
She felt that the cold silence of those inanimate objects welcomed her---As if they knew that she used to be an inanimate object just like them.

She embraced her knees and slightly bowed her head. She looked at her silver hair as she observed it sliding between her knees, while she whispered with an empty voice.

"Fool... Did you really have to leave me alone...?"

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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume10 Chapter1

2009-01-19T00:41:33Z

Kumichael:

===Chapter 1: The ''Ostland''===

“Huh...”

Louise let out a deep sigh. She was at the deck of the ''Ostland''. In front of her eyes, led by Guiche and Malicorne, the students of the Academy of Magic were creating a commotion.

Colbert was in the center of the circle. Previously, they heard how he had died during the attack of the group of mercenaries from the Albion army; but he was actually alive, and apparently, Kirche had secretly brought him back to Germania.

It was a mystery why Kirche did that. Louise inclined her head.

“Oh my, Louise. How is this ship my Jan made?”

Her hand went around Louise, and Kirche smiled sweetly.

Louise stared at the wings of ''Ostland'' which were protruding from its deck. They are enormous wings, which should be three times larger that the ones of normal ships. Usually, wings which are set up in ships were wood, as the support, with a spreading sail. But this ship is different. To achieve that strength, instead of wood, tall iron masts are used. Amounting to even 100 mails, these straight iron masts could not be produced in Tristain.

In the middle of the wings, there is an engine room with huge propellers! It looks like the “steam engine” Colbert prided in. Apparently, it is something Colbert and the Zerbst family made using the “Happy Serpent” some time ago as a model. From the outer appearance, they look like two long, huge iron boxes with huge chimneys. With the energy from the steam which is generated from the combustion of coals and the heating of water, these huge propellers revolve- this is its mechanism.

Those two things were the product of Germanian mechanics who were excellent metallurgists.

“What a great ship.”

Louise expressed her thoughts briefly, and...

“To manufacture iron which could be of use to make such long and strong masts in Tristain is impossible! Louise, do you understand? For the sake of turning my Jan's design into reality, the fire technology of Germania is indispensable! It was a just like a fated meeting between the fire Zerbst and the Flaming Serpent! In other words, the fruits of love!”

Unabashed, Kirche combed her hair back. Disgusted at Kirche who had now caught a teacher, calling him “My Jan," Louise said,

“So it's a teacher this time? You are really really someone who falls in love irrationally, huh?”

“It is my personality to be attracted to great gentlemen. I am only faithful to that.”

“Then why did you do things like lying that he had died and took him away?”

Louise asked. At her words, Kirche displayed a somewhat lonesome look. Yet, she smiled immediately.

“There are a lot of reasons for adults. Complicated reasons.”

While she was waving her hand, she rushed over to Colbert.

Colbert was explaining the ''Ostland'' to the students.

“With the buoyancy acquired using these huge wings, the consumption of wind stoned is minimized, and this ship should be able to travel for a long distance......uwa!”

Suddenly embraced by Kirche, Colbert let out a shout. Laughter escaped from the students. Saito was amongst the students. He was laughing quite innocently.

''I know you are happy that he is still alive, but......'' Louise pouted.

''Explain properly your kiss with princess.''

''Although when I was kissed during the drop, I thought, 'Well, it's fine......,' the kiss between Saito and Henrietta was still an uncommon relationship.'' Louise did not miss the hot atmosphere which was drifting between the two. ''Although I had questioned Henrietta, I still did not know whether that feeling was real or not......'' Louise declared. ''Oh no! Because he had stopped the seventy thousand and became the hero of Tristain, looks like Henrietta's eyes are clouded as well.''

''How would Saito react towards the queen's feelings? Is Henrietta still better after all?''

Louise recalled their kiss. ''Henrietta and Saito were just like characters of a soap opera, having something hot residing in their looks. What eyes! Looks which were as if they had just noticed the sudden destiny which came to them without them knowing it.''

''You had said so many times you like me that much, and yet what is thisssss~!'' Completely agitated, ''Pong!'' Louise kicked recklessly into the side of the ship.

“You are in a bad mood huh?”

Louise looked around, and saw Siesta standing there, holding a tray.

“Why are you here?”

With a voice similar to a snarl, Louise said. Nowadays, Siesta was Saito's exclusive maid. Right now, she was supposed to be cleaning the room.

“Because the students who had gathered had said they wanted to have their lunch on the ship. The workers carrying the meal are not enough, so I was called as well. Nevertheless, this is really an awesome ship, right? This is my first time seeing a ship with such long wings.”

Siesta was not aware of the incident of Louise's attack by Myozunitonirun last night. And looks like she did not recognize this great ship, ''Ostland,'' which was made by Colbert who was living at Germania for some reasons, at all. With an innocent expression, her view shifted around restlessly from the deck to the mast and the wings.

The meal which was on the tray consisted of sliced bread, ham, and vegetables- a light meal. Louise took one of them, and started stuffing her mouth quietly.

Siesta whispered near Louise's ears,

“Was Miss Valliere found by Saito-san during the ball?”

''Ugh!'' the bread she was eating got stuck at her throat. At her reactions, Siesta narrowed her eyes and whispered,

“Soooooo what's the maaatter? Oh my oh my oh my. Looking at that expression, looks like he did not, huh? If that's the case, I won the bet. If I won, that means......”

Siesta's face shone brightly.

“So I will borrow Saito-san for one day, right? As for Miss Valliere, please say that you have things to do and leave the room. It's all right! I won't do anything strange like what Miss Valliere is thinking. I'll just practice a play, only that. A novel with the title 'A Maid's Afternoon,' just only practice one scene. So......”

However, Louise did not reply. Whilst trembling, she was staring intently at a dot.

“Are you listening? Miss...”

Siesta recognized the target of Louise's gaze, and her eyes bulged.

“Isn't that Her Majesty, The Queen!?”

Just as she said, taking along some guards, Henrietta was about to go towards the students. In order for her to attend the Ball of Sleipnir, she had to stay at the Academy of Magic. Cheers could be heard from amongst the students who had gathered at the deck. Noticing Henrietta who had appeared suddenly, Colbert bowed deeply.

“A magnificent ship, right? Mister.”

“Thank you.”

Looking at the conversation between Colbert and Henrietta, Siesta sighed. The beauty of Henrietta which was described as “The Flower of Tristain” would stand out even amongst other noble ladies. The noble atmosphere drifted even to Siesta, a commoner, pressurizing her.

However...... despite being in such a position, Henrietta still had this amiable feeling. Usually, noble ladies would always appear to be puffed up and aloof. Yet, Henrietta who reigned at the top did not make one feel like that. Was it because no one rivalled her?

“This is the first time I've seen Her Majesty, The Queen, so closely. If my family in my home town heard about this, they will definitely be envious......”

Yet, Louise did not respond. Motionless, her gaze was fixated straight ahead at Henrietta. ''What on earth is wrong with Miss Valliere?'' Siesta inclined her head. Eventually, her face lightened up. The person she liked was pushing his way among the crowd.

“Saito-san......”

Sure enough, it was Saito, wearing an Ondine mantle. Although Guiche's figure could be seen beside him, Siesta's eyes were only on Saito.

Guiche came up to Henrietta's front, and bowed elegantly. Saito who was standing half a step behind followed suit, bowing down in an unrefined manner of a knight. The clumsiness which was brought up from amongst the commoners made Siesta's heart beat more.

“Your Majesty, the preparation of the coach is already done.”

With a respectful bow, Guiche said. Because of his delight of directly serving the queen he admired, he showed a proud look never seen before this. It was a contrast to Saito who looked embarrassed somehow.

“Thank you for the trouble.”

She said so, and as if rewarding their work, held out her right hand. At such an action, Guiche froze.

“Guiche-san?”

“Oi......”

Saito prodded him lightly. Because of that, Guiche fell sidewards. Surprised, Henrietta took a step back.

“Wh-what happened?”

“He fainted.”

Saito said wistfully, and the other students who had gathered exploded into laughter.

Looks like Guiche was overcome by emotion and had lost his consciousness.

“Well then, I will just express my gratitude to the Assistant Commanding Officer instead.”
[[Image:ZnT10-019.jpg|thumb]]
Henrietta said in a slightly anxious tone. Around her, tension spread rapidly. Although Saito is a chevalier, he is still of a commoner origin (the truth is that he is a person of a different world). Previously, despite knowing that he was permitted to kiss Her Majesty's hand at Tristain, for him to do so right now before everyone's eyes, was something he could not even imagine, and this made him dizzy.

Saito involuntarily looked up at Henrietta's face, and blushed, lowering his head slightly. The surrounding noble students thought, ''Aren't you a little too nervous in kissing the queen's hand?'', but that thing was reflected in Siesta's eyes as well. Squinting her eyes, she stared at the queen's and Saito's faces alternately.

“......Eh?”

From Siesta's mouth, a surprised sound leaked out. As might be expected of a girl in love, Siesta did not miss the hot feeling glimmering in Henrietta's eyes, even if it was only for a moment.

“Ho-how could this be? Don't tell me......”

''Impossible'', while thinking that, she turned towards Louise. Something grave was happening here as well. Clenching her fists tightly, with her face looking down, standing stiffly, she was murmuring something continuously.

“Miss? Miss?”

Siesta hastily shook Louise. From the Louise's mouth which was mumbling something, curse-like words could be heard.

“Though you're a dog though you're are dog what are you thinking about that is impossible so there is nothing more dreadful than this or is it Princess-sama is Princess-sama there is nothing less honorable than this you're not serious right you're joking right you don't know what this feeling is an unforgivable dog is really unforgivable yet you and the queen? How amusing...”

“Miss! Miss!”

Paling, Siesta shook Louise harder.

“What!?”

“......That! That, what does it mean!?”

Whilst whispering softly, Siesta pointed at Henrietta and Saito.

“No matter whether it means like this sort or that sort of thing, what you see is true.”

Siesta dropped to the ground clumsily.

“I can't believe it.”

“Even I don't believe it.”

Looks like Henrietta noticed Louise. Displaying a smile devoid of any ill will, she drew near her.

Behind her, with an expression as if he had done something wrong, Saito came as well. Guiche, who had came to, tag along as well. Louise turned her back roughly against Saito's face, and greeted Henrietta awkwardly.

“I am going back to the palace after this...... Before that, I would like to have a meal with you. Is it okay?”

“Be it okay or not okay, no objections. Just do as Your Majesty wishes.”

Henrietta laughed sweetly, after which she turned towards Saito.

“Would you like to join us as well?”

“That, that is...Gladly! Yes!” Guiche replied, standing stiffly. If Montmorency were present at that time, she definitely would not have hesitated to punish him with her magic.

Saito, however, shook his head apologetically.

“Sorry......I'm afraid I have some things to do for a bit.”

From the students who were watching him attentively, amazed voices could be heard. It was generally unimaginable for someone to turn down the invitation of a queen. Especially a lunch with the queen, a privilege which could not be acquired even if nobles were to wish for it.

Henrietta displayed a seemingly lonely look for an instant, but immediately changed that with a smile.

“It's alright. After becoming a knight, you would be busy with various things.”

The queen and those invited for the lunch descended the ''Ostland'' successively. Guiche, Louise, Henrietta......Feeling that the help of a waiter was necessary, Siesta followed behind Louise as well.

After that, Saito, who was left behind, looked up towards Kirche and Colbert.

The people surrounding the two of them until a while ago could not really attend the lunch as well, but still followed the queen's party. Thanks to them, Colbert was released with difficulties.

“What's the matter, Saito? Why did you turn down the queen's invitation? Aren't you too proud?”

“I have something I would like to ask.”

“Yeah yeah. I have something I want to ask as well. Who were both of you attacked by last night? Who was that?”

“I don't really know as well.”

“What is that? After that, what happened to Tabitha? She had been with you guys last night, but today I didn't see her figure at all......”

"What I want to ask is Tabitha.”

Saito told Kirche what happened last night.

Louise was attacked by a mysterious lady who called herself “Myozunitonirun,” and she was abducted. He had tried to go along to save her, and somehow Tabitha started attacking him.

“Really?”

Kirche's eyes bulged.

“Yeah. But I could not hurt her. When I realized, I had already pointed the tip of my sword away. Though I received a blow at my stomach, she could not aim at my weak spots. So it was not a fatal wound.”

Saito removed his shirt, and showed the wound Tabitha inflicted on him last night. Thanks to the users of Water of the Knight Corps, the wound had closed up......but there are still traces left by the “Javelin” incantations.

“I don't know why she had a change of heart......but after that, she attacked that ally of hers until then. So, we rode on Sylphid together, and chased after the enemy which had carried Louise off, and were saved by the teacher.”

Kirche seemingly pondered on it......and turned her face around swiftly. And then, she started to run away.

“Kirche, where are you going?”

Saito and Colbert exchanged glances, and followed Kirche.

Kirche's destination was Tabitha's room in the tower of the dormitory.

Nonetheless, that was an empty shell. Tabitha's figure could not be seen anywhere at all. Kirche folded her arms, and started pondering about it. After that, she asked Saito, with a serious look,

“That girl, when did she come back to the academy?”

“Umm......ten days ago I think.”

Kirche frowned.

“Damn......If it's that girl, she won't say anything at all. Really fishy, huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“That girl went to Germania together with me, but......after confirming Jan's safety, she said “I'm going back,” and really came back.”

“Oi oi! But, she just came back around ten days ago!”

“That's why! During that period, she must have received some 'mission' again. Dammit......”

“What do you mean by 'mission'!? Isn't she a quiet person? Oh yeah, she had also said......'I'll tell you the reasons after this fight.' Hey, Kirche! Tell me!”

''Nnnnn~'' Kirche placed her hand at her forehead.

“Well... It's inevitable that this fact is hidden from you for such a long time. Do you know that she is a Gallian?”

Saito nodded. He had heard it directly from Tabitha during their invitation for her to join the Knight Corps.

“She is not just a normal noble. That girl is a Gallian royalty.”

“Hah!? Royalty?”

“That's right.”

Kirche explained to Saito. The whole sad story of Tabitha studying abroad at Tristain Academy of Magic......

The Orleans officials of the younger brother of the ruling king, who is Tabitha's father, was killed by people of the ruling king. To protect Tabitha, Tabitha's mother drank poison, and became mentally ill.

And then, Tabitha was being sent to Tristain to study abroad, as if getting rid of her......

“But, what is the thing the Gallian royal family don't allow......?”

Kirche bit her lips. In her usually taunting look, as if she was made to recollect that family line, fiery anger could be seen on her face.

“While treating her so poorly, troublesome incidents happened, forcing that girl.”

“......Troublesome incidents?”

“Still remember the Ragdorian incident?”

Saito recalled the incident at that beautiful Ragdorian lake. Depressing memories were revived. Wales' death......Henrietta's tears. And, the promise with the water spirit......

''I had forgotten about the ring......'' After murmuring that, Saito lifted his face.

“Yeah, I remember. The fight with both of you.”

“That was also the command of the Gallian royal family.”

“Then, the attack on us yesterday......”

“Should be an order from the Gallian royal family as well.”

Anger surged up to Saito's face.

“Unforgivable!!”

“Before that, shouldn't we worry about Miss Tabitha first?”

Colbert, who had been listening to their words silently until then, frowned seriously and spoke.

“She isn't in her room, could it mean that she was kidnapped......?”

Equally worried, Saito said. But Kirche shook her head.

“That girl won't be so stupid to be caught. She must've hidden herself, I think. Not bothering anybody. That girl is like that.”

“But still......”

“Eventually she'll get in touch with us, I think. It's best that we don't move around. Let's believe in her and wait.”

Staring outside the window, Kirche said. Saito was moved by the complete faith in her heart.

“Is it okay to tell Louise?”

Saito asked, and Kirche nodded.

“It's better to tell her. That girl is involved as well. Really respect her, becoming a legendary user...... That Valliere carries too heavy a responsibility. 'Void,' huh? Damn...”

“You knew it!?”

In a shocked voice, Saito cried out.

“During that time, when that handsome Albion prince was revived and abducted Princess-sama, Saito, didn't you say it yourself? 'I am just mimicking the legend.' But that incantation which Louise chanted to nullify the magic used to revive the dead...... was not of the Four Elements of Magic. Legendary......and a magic not of the Four Elements. Isn't it 'Void'......? But looking at your behavior, seems that it is true.”

Kirche squinted her eyes, and smiled.

During that time, the queen and her party were having lunch at Louise's room. Although the staff of the academy with Old Osman as their lead suggested using the canteen, Henrietta refused by saying, “It's a personal affair.”

With that, a big table was hurriedly prepared in Louise's room, and seats specially for the queen's lunch were prepared.

At the prepared table, at the seat of honor with its back facing the window, was Henrietta; at her right was Louise, followed by Guiche. As a waitress, Siesta stood behind, displaying a nervous expression. Things like serving the queen was something she had never even dreamed of. Siesta stole quick glances at Henrietta's face occasionally.

Recalling that burning look Henrietta had towards Saito some time ago......she rolled her eyes. Seemingly, until now she still could not believe it.

Though she felt that Henrietta was listening to Guiche's words, apparently enjoyably, Henrietta would shoot an occasional, quick glance outside the window, and let out wistful sighs.

''From such a look, doesn't Henrietta's affection look fairly deep?'' Suspicion was stirred within Louise's heart.

''Yesterday night, I had accidentally blown my top and hit her...... because I was not sure whether Henrietta's feeling was real or not. I was distressed for a while......to the extent that I thought I could not help but to strike her. Yet, what if that wasn't the case?''

''What if Henrietta's feelings were real?''

''What should I do?''

For Louise who had believed since young that “Following Henrietta's will is a must”, thinking about that made her head go blank. Her brain refused to think about such things.

Troubled in such a manner, she noticed the things mixed in her food. The cuisine was a bird meat which was wrapped in a perfectly made pie crust, but when she cut it up with a knife, a slip of paper came out quickly.

“Please confirm the thing which I still don't believe until now.”

She turned around, and saw Siesta standing behind with a nervous expression. Apparently, the one who had concealed this note was this maid. Louise let out a sigh. She would probably want to know better whether Henrietta was serious or not. “I don't get it,” Louise murmured softly.

After her mutter, ''The monologue right now, can Princess-sama hear it?'' She became anxious. She stole a quick glance at the queen's face secretly. Henrietta was happy, but her mind had drifted far away. And Guiche was gazing at Henrietta's melancholic expression, like he was in a dream.

Fidgeting restlessly, as if urging Louise, Siesta unintentionally poked her back. Whenever that happened, Louise would turn back. Siesta was still obstinate, and Louise stepped on her foot.

“Ouch!”

Siesta jumped.

“What's the matter?”

With a bewildered look, Henrietta stared at Louise and Siesta.

“No-nothing at all!”

Louise crumpled the note Siesta wrote, and put into her pocket. Upon which, ''claaannggg!'', Siesta dropped her tray.

When Henrietta who was thinking that the maid was up to something looked at her, pretending to pick up the tray, Siesta dived underneath the table, lifted up the tablecloth, and showed her face between Louise's legs.

Those lips moved slowly.

“P-l-e-a-s-e c-o-n-f-i-r-m i-t.”

Louise closed her thighs on Siesta's cheeks.

“Ugh, uh, ug, uhh, uughh......”

Henrietta's attention turned back to Louise again.

“What's wrong?”

In a tone as if she did not notice the disappearance of the maid at all, she said.

“Re-really, nothing's wrong.......” Whilst pinning Siesta's face with her thighs, Louise broke out in cold sweat.

Once again, Henrietta gazed wistfully outside the window. At a look, she barely touched her food. Ah, Henrietta looked deeply in love.

Louise heaved a deep sigh.

''Well then, what about Saito? When his lips met Henrietta's, Saito's expression brightened up. His looks were...feverish......Whether he will look at me with the same expression or not, right now I have not such self-confidence. What if Saito prefer Princess-sama over me......''

Louise felt an outburst of anger.

''Hey, Louise Françoise.''

''Don't you get it?''

''That dog had said he liked you he liked you, yet he betrayed his master, and wagged his tail at other girls.''

''Moreover, that person is Princess-sama.''

''Of everyone else, that person is my most valuable Henrietta, Her Majesty The Queen.''

''This is be-be-be-betr-betrayal!''

''As I thought, am I not deceived by a kiss?''

Be it this or that, she had become increasingly irritated. Unintentionally, she tightened her grip at Siesta with her thighs, at which Siesta let out an agonizing moan.

“Mi-miss......A, ah......It hurts......”

At that moment,

The door opened, and a serious-looking Saito entered.

“Saito.”

“Saito-dono.”

“Saito-san.”

With different greetings and expressions due to his social positions, the three girls welcomed the sudden guest.

With furious eyes, Louise glared at Saito.

Appearing from under the table, with craving and loneliness blended together, Siesta greeted him with a very complicated-looking face. The feelings of the two ladies who are beings exalted beyond the clouds...... Towards Saito who had obtained those, they felt both proud and incredulous....... and also that their distance was pulled further apart.

“What's wrong? Don't you have some things to do?”

In this situation, the only person who did not welcome Saito's intrusion, Guiche, spoke. He had finally managed to dine with Her Majesty The Queen, to have Saito disrupting the atmosphere.

Ignoring Guiche, Saito bowed at Henrietta once.

“Princess-sama.”

“What is it?”

Taken by surprise, even now, Henrietta's cheek reddened slightly, although it was to an extent which was imperceptible apart from Louise and Siesta...... Henrietta sensed the trembling in her heart, and closed her lips tight into a straight line.

However, at Saito's next words, Henrietta's blushed disappeared from her cheeks, which paled instantly.

“I know the identity of Louise's attackers.”

“WHAT!?”

Everyone in the room opened their eyes wide.

CubexCursedxCurious:Volume1 Chapter1

2009-01-17T20:51:08Z

Kumichael:

===Chapter One: Night of Rubik's Cube===

"....What is this? A custard pudding?"

The girl said as she poked the yellowish-white object in front of her with sulky expression.

"Have a taste and you'll know."

"Hmmm... hm?! T-this...."

She guided the spoon into her mouth, then froze up.

"It's not sweet! This is a fake! What a nasty food... When you say a soft pedestal and a black sauce, it's just have to be a pudding!"

"Don't say nasty to the food. It's just tofu, a solidified soybean soup. You didn't like it?"

Haruaki sat just opposite of the girl after removing the apron he had on.
The girl's ill temper was obvious as she chewed the Yakko-Doufu. She was now wearing a borrowed shirt and hot pants.

"Hmph, it's not bad. It's inferior to the crunchy snack I was munching earlier, though."

"Poor tofu, being compared to a rice-cracker."

"So, that was called a rice-cracker. Now, that one had a unique food texture. It was sweet but spicy at the same time, and that feeling while crunching at it... h-huh?
Why are you looking at me?"

Haruaki simply answered that it was nothing, and looked away from the face that said she was caught off-guard. He started eating, too. Haruaki thought that this situation was
just like what the old sayings wanted to share; to eat while you can, since you can't fight a war with empty stomach.
The girl who sat opposite him unnecessarily checked that the food in front of her was a fish, looking at the broiled mackerel pike as if she had never seen it before.
After her thorough observation, she placed down the spoon and fork she was holding. Haruaki imagined what she was going to do and initiated a warning before the girl's
bare hands got the mackerel.

"Wait. You'll have to go over my dead body first before you could eat something with bare hands in front of me."

Haruaki reached for the mackerel plate to prevent her hands from it, but for some reason the girl suddenly backed-off from the tatami space she was sitting at.

"Hey wait. I just misunderstood things earlier. I was a little confused at first but I'm alright now. I even lent you those clothes didn't I?"

"I-I'm not sure.... I mean, you just played with THAT part of the body earlier in front of the gate..."

"But I didn't know I was touching THAT part of your body. Oh hell, I'm sorry anyway. Just forgive me already, 'kay?"

Haruaki asked her a cliched apology while he started on the mackerel pike with his chop sticks.

"Watch me how to dismantle this mackerel. Just do it first like this then grab its head then pull it away with those nasty fishbones. It's easy, isn't it?"

The girl watched with interest for a while but she quickly recovered her wary face. After a few seconds, she snorted with ill temper as she sat back on front of the table.

"By the way, What's your name?"

"...I'm called Fear."

Fear quickly shut her mouth, as if she was surprised that she'd told him her name.

"Fear, is it?"

"Well, yes. It's none of your business though... you can just call me what you want."

"Unfortunately, you're part of my business now. You just became my top priority. In fact, the way you became my top priority was almost a foul play. So, what are you anyway?
What kind of box are you?"

"Er..."

"Er?"

Without a warning, she raised her eyebrows in outrage and she started making holes on the broiled mackerel. It was just after Haruaki raised a question mark at her answer.

"Shut up! It's none of your business, you fool!"

"Whoa! What kind of cursing was that?! I haven't heard them for a while. Anyway, are you a brat having an outburst like that?!"

"W-Why you?!"

"I haven't heard that for a while too... wha, hey! Stop attacking that mackerel and close your mouth!"

"Digging up on a lady's past like that! You should learn some respect, you shameless brat!"

Haruaki thought that he didn't want to hear that from HER. But being the sensible one, he decided to give up.

"Whew.... Well, I won't push you if you don't want to tell me about your past. I know its not exactly filled with happy memories."

It seemed that her temper cooled down some because of Haruaki's honest words. She was at a loss for words and turned her face down.

"I... hate that appearance. I wouldn't want to turn into that form unless its absolutely necessary. Someone told me that coming here would be easier with that form so
I had no choice but to give up..."

"Who told you? My old man?"

"He said his name was Honatsu... Are you his son?"

"Yeah. And my name's Haruaki. How's my old man doing?"

"I don't know. He said that he still had something to do over there."

"As much of a freeman as usual, I see. Geez, I'm tired of complaining about him though. As long as he keeps sending money for my living, I'll keep up with his game."

"I don't understand you two... I mean, you and your father. I thought an ordinary man wouldn't try to understand the likes of me."

"We've been receiving cursed tools like you since I was a kid. Usually, tools that we accept are those with slight curse in it, but there are rare occasions where a tool who
could assume human form like you comes here for help."

After a brief silence, Fear let out a sigh and placed down the fork she was holding. Her serious gaze pierced Haruaki as she looked up, her silver hair swaying slightly.

"I'm going to say something serious."

"....Go ahead."

"I....I was placed in some dark dungeon, thrown away long ago by my last owner. Yachi Honatsu came one day and found me. He tried to talk to me and I told him my wish."

"A wish?"

Haruaki already had an idea what her wish was. But, cursed tools who came here with its own will were often the ones who needed to confirm the purpose of their existence
by putting them into words. Knowing that, he chose to let her say it out loud from her own mouth.

The girl who was not a human answered in a whisper, biting her lips softly,

"I want to free myself from my curse."

"How much do you know...? About the curse, and about tools like me?"

"Well, here's what I know; First, a tool changes its quality into negative direction if it continues to receive negative thoughts.
Secondly, a tool that receives negative thoughts often affect the owner and the people around it.
And for the third, in exchange with the negative effect it brings upon the people around it, It may show mysterious charm and function..."

"Is that all?"

Haruaki narrowed his eyes and looked at Fear, who was speaking with her eyes looking down at the table.

"To add one more, I know that at the end of receiving all the negative thoughts and curses from humans, an item would be... something that's in front of me right now."

Yes. A tool which received too much grudge from humans will earn a human quality----

Haruaki didn't know the specific details but he knew that an item gains a personal thought which affects its essence as a tool. It was a result of being grudged by people
over and over again. In the end, they'll possess their own mind, soul, and an ability to change forms with its own will.

"That's right. It started with a single grudge. I was made to harm people and because of it, I have received much hatred, grievances, and murderous intents. From those grudges,
I was branded with an abominable curse of [driving my owner into insanity.]"

Haruaki noticed that the girl was gripping her hands tightly. He thought it was better not to ask more about her about concrete details of the tool that she was and
about what she meant by driving her owner into insanity.

"My curse doesn't end there. The grudge I received gave me [human qualities] and my own will. To me, who was nothing but a tool in the beginning. Let me correct, I was not given;
I was forced to have those capabilities. Have you ever thought about how bad was the affinity between a will and a curse? I envy those tools which only have slight curse. They won't
realize by themselves that they were burdened by a curse. How fortunate that it's blessed with ignorance!"

For a moment, she took a deep breath.

"I came here believing in Honatsu's words that I can free my curse here in this place. That's the reason why I came, but I was not told about details of what I have to do. Tell me
honestly---- Will I, will I be able to lift the curse from myself without affecting the people around me? Remember that Honatsu sent me to you so that makes you my current owner. If you're
just lying about here being a place to free one's self from a curse, you would be the first to receive the harmful effects that comes with it."

Her eyes looked straight into his. But those eyes reflected undeniable fright and doubt.
That was why Haruaki simply told her,

"Yes, you can."

"....Huh?"

"I said you can free yourself from your curse here. You see, I don't have strong spiritual sense or special ability like my father but it seems that I have a unique body constitution which
repel curses, which makes me unaffected by them. So, whatever your curse is, it doesn't work on me. Hahaha! Be afraid of me, you violent little girl!"

"What the...?! Wait, you said that I could lift my curse here, but how?"

"I'm not sure about the detailed mechanics but this place had been a very pure land for a long time, and the area where this house was built was the center of the pure energy that comes from the land.
That's why just being here would fill you with positive energy. They say that this place is protected by some kind of force field, though the rate of cleansing is kinda slow. Just leaving the tools here would eventually lift the curse."

Haruaki remembered the woman who set the force field around the house. Her outfit caught much eyes, and she said that the force field would last for the next hundred years. He supposed that
there won't be a chance to see her again, if the force field would really last that long.

"And, there's another way of lifting a curse. The mechanic is simple; if a curse comes from negative thoughts, you just have to receive positive thoughts by helping people around you. If you keep on
receiving them, the curse will be neutralized eventually."

"What do you mean?"

"I meant to say that you have to vaguely perform acts that will be thankful for people, I suppose. You just have to live here and work as a part-timer or volunteer for public events... I think?"

"W-Wait, why was there a question mark in the end?"

Fear leaned forward, which sent the mackerel bits flying at Haruaki's face. He wondered if Fear did that on purpose.

"Well, its not like I actually experienced trying to lift a curse from myself. That was just what I heard."

She puffed out her cheeks like a child, making a sullen expression.

"I can't believe it... I mean, I don't think that simply sleeping or working here would lift the curse. Besides, I doubt that my curse could be lifted in leisurely phase..."

"You're right about going leisurely. Being able to assume human form would mean that much curse had been gathered in your body so it would take years to free yourself. I don't know any
other way of lifting a curse so maybe you'll just have to be patient about it."

"Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I still can't believe it."

"Don't worry much about it. Even if you can't believe for----"

Ding dong. The door bell rung suddenly. Fear seemed to be frightened by it so Haruaki told her that it was just a bell that said there was a visitor. He stood up and pointed at the table.

"The food'll grow cold, so eat it now. Especially the mackerel pike."

<center>* * *</center>

"Good evening, Haruaki-kun."

A familiar smile greeted Haruaki as he opened the entrance. The smiling girl was wearing a big round glasses like ones that you'd see in a manga. She had an apron around her well-endowed
body and it was impressionable. The pot that she was holding reinforced the familial impression that shrouded her.

"Hey, Konoha. What is it?"

"I've made too much Nikujaga for myself so I thought that I'd share you some. Its a bit late already so maybe you can have it for your breakfast tomorrow."

"That'll be a great help. I was just having my dinner right now... Oh yeah, its just great that you came now. I have to ask you some favor."

Konoha slanted her head in question. At that exact moment, Haruaki heard footsteps coming toward him.

"Hey, Haruaki. The food was kind of lacking in quantity. Aren't there any left? I would like to request for a rice-cracker if there's still some left."

"You eat too fast!"

Needless to say, the person who came behind Haruaki was Fear.

"Um, Haruaki-kun? Who is that child?"

"Oh yeah, the favor I was going to ask you was about---"

An openly belligerent voice came from Fear as she broke into the conversation.

"Hey, you there! We've just met and you started calling me a child. How dare you speak to me like that, you unfortunate-looking Woman!"

"Unfortunate-looking....?!"

Konoha was still smiling but Haruaki sensed a dangerous aura coming out from her. Fear stood behind him with arms crossed, looking aggressively at Konoha.
Haruaki thought he saw a lightning shaft running between Konoha and Fear.

"You two there. Why are you raising a hostile aura in front of my house?"

"I think you're just imagining things. I'm not angry, really. After all, they're just words of a CHILD."

At that moment, Haruaki felt violent aura rising behind him. He sensed danger so he quickly changed the topic.

"Er....Oh yeah! Hey Konoha, have you made anything else besides this? I mean, have you eaten your dinner? Why don't you eat here for a change? It's been long time since last time you've eaten here.
It seems that I have to cook more food anyway."

"Well, if you say so... I think I will. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since last time we ate together, Haruaki-kun."

"My cooking skills haven't improved though."

"It had been great since past so don't worry. I think I'm getting hungry just thinking about the dishes you make."

Konoha smiled and entered the house. Suddenly, an insulting snort came out from no where.

"Go ahead, and eat. Hah, I think that being able to send all the nutrients you eat to your breasts is some kind of talent. I bet that your brain's very light."

Haruaki heard a clashing metal sound. Almost at the same time, he saw konoha kneeling on the floor, catching the pot that almost fell out from her hands.
He looked at the floor and saw the handle of the pot, which was cut cleanly into a half.

"....I think its very sad when a person eat but the nutrients doesn't go to one's breasts... Oh, I was just talking to myself."

"W-Why you?!"

"Ahahaha-- I'll go ahead now."

Konoha let out a feigned laugh and went into the living room. Fear was staring at her back and was murmuring with hatred;

"What kind of character does that woman have...! Maybe I should curse her!"

"She not usually like that. In fact, I have this feeling that you were the one who started the fight. Why are you being so hostile anyway?"

"It's none of your business! I just didn't like what she said when she saw me. That's enough reason for my hostility. Besides..."

A weird smile came from her angry expression.

"I just realized now that bullying that cow-tits woman will going to be fun. She'll see, I won't lose the next time...!"

Fear went back into the living room, letting out an evil snort as she walked to the living room.

Haruaki was worried about what could happen if he let those two together in the living room. But, he had to cook some food for Konoha and the hungry juvenile so he had
no choice but to let those two together in the living room.
Haruaki made a plate full of easy saute dish. Together with rice and miso soup for Konoha, He brought the food into the living room.
He was greeted by a view of two girls throwing dry laughs at each other. Only God knows what happened while he was in the kitchen. He didn't even want to know.

"I only sauted what was left in the fridge. Is that okay for you?"

"No problem. I've made quite lot of Nikujaga anyway."

With a "Ta-da" sound effect, Konoha lifted the lid of the pot she brought with her.
Inside the pot was a steaming soup of brownish broth and beef, letting out a fragrant smell of soy sauce. To put it simply, It looked delicious.
If you'll take a good look at it, you'll notice that excessive amount of beef was covering all the other ingredients like potatoes. The beef formed a great pile,
just like a mountain sitting on a pot. If you ask me, It's more of a Niku-Niku-Nikujaga instead of a simple Nikujaga.

"Um, so, doesn't that look good?"

"It looks delicious, just as always."

Meat-demon Konoha's face lit up with a smile.

"I see, this definitely looks delicious. You can easily see that it was made by a Gluttonous incarnate of appetite."

With that remark, the round lid that Konoha was holding fell on the table, cut into half. Without a word, she picked up the half circles and threw them behind her.
After that, Konoha mouthed an Itadakimasu and started eating with a cheerful (that was how Haruaki interpreted Konoha's expression) face.

"I've no clue why this how this meal have turned into a tense atmosphere, but I guess I have to make an easy introduction at least. Konoha, our visitor here is called Fear.
As you might guess, she was sent by my old man."

Konoha sent a look at Fear while she took loads of beef from the pot. Fear, on the other hand, completely ignored her.

"Fear, this is Konoha. Well, what can I say... er, she lives in the room inside the house's outer building, and we're also in the same school level though our classes are different.
She'd been like a childhood friend since I was a kid and----"

"And she's not human."

Fear said without a pretense. It was followed by few seconds of silence and,

".... That's right. She's like your sempai here in this place."

"I thought so. A lid would never break into half by itself. I know that tools who could assume human form could usually keep the nature of their original form even if they turn
into human form----I suppose you're some kind of blade aren't you?"

"Would you answer me if I asked what was your original form?"

Konoha asked with a smile pasted on her face. Fear replied with a snort.
Uncomfortable silence went on as they ate their dinner. All of their plates were almost empty when Fear spoke to Haruaki.

"So, you wanted to say earlier that I could believe what you said because there's a precedent."

"Er....Yeah. that's right. Konoha did a lot of helpful things like working part-time since when she first came here."

"He's right. Thanks to my deeds, I'm almost free from all of my curses."

"Almost, you say. What would happen if you become completely free from curse?"

"Tools with only a slight curse would just turn back into a normal tool. But according to my old man, the negative energy that built up inside the tools who could assume human form
went over the original nature that it had so even if you were able to neutralize those negative thoughts, their human form will be kept. That means that you two will just be
free from the curse that you have."

"So, I won't turn back into my original form..... I see."

"To be honest, I don't know much about it. Just ask my old man once he came back."

Fear wasn't even listening to Haruaki. She just kept silent and nodded, murmuring "I see... I wouldn't...I see..." as she did.
It was as if she was trying to hide the expression of relief on her face.
Fear finished up the remaining food on her plate and asked a question to Konoha.

"Haruaki said earlier that you've been together with him for more than ten years now. Does it really take that much time?"

"I think it also depends on the degree of your curse, but..."

Two empty plates covered the table. For a moment, two eyes----one silent and one with a hint of hostility----looked at each other.

"The amount of grudge that we accumulated within ourselves are so great that whatever you do, we can't easily forget, throw away, or repent for them... You get into my nerves
but at least, in that aspect, we could have something in common. This is something that could be shared between you and me, as a same ruined state of mind."

Fear started to say something, but just looked away and said;

"....It's the same for me you know, you get into my nerves too...."

"Well, you just have to take it easy. I think there's nothing I could help with though."

It was a composed statement of a senior. Konoha said said those words with much ease. Fear, of course, just snorted.

After that, Haruaki also finished his meal so he cleaned up the table with Konoha and went to the kitchen to wash them. When he came back, Fear was hugging her knees and was looking up
at the ceiling with blank stare. He brought an after-dinner tea so he handed one to Fear and started drinking it.

"Oh yeah, Konoha, could you bring some of your old clothes? I wouldn't say right now but I just thought that it would be better if Fear had something to wear. I know that the size won't fit though."

"....Sorry for having small breasts!"

"I didn't mention any part of your body that wouldn't fit!"

Haruaki almost dropped the yunomi that came from the opposite side of the table.

"I guess that can't be helped.... Alright, I'll bring some as soon as I can."

"I'm counting on it."

"Say, what are you going to do for tonight, like where'd she sleep?"

"Huh? Well, I suppose she's gonna spend her night here. I'll just lend her one of the Japanese rooms."

"S-She'll be staying here?! Isn't that a bad idea, since I think it is!"

"But you see, the outer building's already full... Kuroe isn't home and her room is locked."

The outer building was made like an apartment, with two rooms inside. Konoha was living there with another house-mate but she was always away about half a month so Konoha
didn't really feel that she had a house-mate living next door.

"By the way, make the guest room as luxurious as possible. That way, you could compensate for what you did to me."

"Compensate?"

Haruaki asked Fear and he received a reply with a threatening attitude.

"Don't say you already forgot what you did to my body earlier! Playing with my body like that... I've never had someone put his finger [there]! My face was burning with
embarassment!"

Haruaki was about to say that Fear was just a box at that time, when he heard a sound of yunomi rolling off on the tatami. He saw that Konoha was trembling as she stood up.
False smile covered her expression for a while but it eventually broke into tears.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I can't believe it! Have you two already done THOSE kind of things?!"

Konoha ran away from the living room covering her face with her hands.
They just heard the violent sound of the entrance door being shut. Fear just nodded with content and said,

"I'm not sure what happened but I've won. I feel great."

<center>* * *</center>

Dull-colored stone floor was all that there was. The room smelled of metal and of metal-like stink. The air was congested but it wasn't stagnant.
The air was clear. Clear like the air inside a tomb or a casket.
There wasn't anything that could tell time. There was only a dead space, without a trace of any living things.
The only thing that you could feel from there was the constancy and blockade.
The mass of steel that was left there didn't have anything to do other than to whisper the same words over and over again.
It wasn't even said aloud. It just made circles within its mind. Like an endless loop.
When it's awake, while it's asleep, when it opened its mind, and when it closed its mind.
It's freezing, it's cold, it's dark, it's freezing, it's cold, it's dark, it's freezing, it's cold, it's dark, it's freezing, it's cold, it's dark.
It went on and on-----

She opened her eyes. There was nothing inside the Japanese room. She raked up and embraced the futon that was given to her. There was only the sound of scraping futon.
There was some warmth left in the futon but it was a false warmth... It was just an accumulated heat from covering someone. So, it was the same as having no warmth at all.
Shards of her dream sent a chill down her spine. She knew that there was a difference between this room and the dungeon room where she was kept.
But, however there was a slight warmth and sound inside this room, She couldn't help thinking that this room was the same as the place where she was kept.
She silently opened the sliding door and walked along the porch. Moon light illuminated the her path as she arrived in front of another room. She entered.
A boy was sleeping. He was laying in an odd position and his futon came off below his waist. A slight snort came from a faintly smiling face.
The girl kneeled down before the rolled-up futon and slowly reached for it. She stroked it for a while, then she brought it up to her cheeks.
It was someone else's smell.
Someone else's warmth.
That, perhaps, was the first time that she felt those things.

Next day, during lunch break at school. Haruaki opened the lid of his lunch box and thoughts about the problem he left alone in his house came to his mind.

(I wonder If she'll be alright alone. I did left her a note and some leftovers from my lunch box, but... Wait, what if she can't read?)

When Haruaki visited the girl in her room this morning, she was still sound asleep with a happy expression. He tried to wake her but she didn't wake up
so he just left her a note that says he's going to school and he'd left her some food.
Haruaki wondered if she was still asleep. When he woke up this morning, his futon was gone. When he entered the girl's room, he saw that the girl was covered
with HIS futon while hers was abondened on the corner of her room. How it happened was still a mystery to him.

"Hey Haruaki! What's with you? You petrified all of a sudden after you opened your lunch box... Maybe you should be moving your body more, not just for cooking and housework.
Baseball is great, if you'd just give it a try!"

A classmate whom Haruaki always had his lunch with spoke to him. His name was Hakuto Taizo.

"His withered expression is nothing new, but it does have a different glow compared to his usual expression. Maybe---- he made some girl pregnant? Hahaha!"

"Kana! Enough of your vulgar jokes!"

A girl with healthy sun-kissed skin, Miyama Kana, followed Taizo's teasing with her own.
The class rep, Ueno Kirika, remonstrated Kana about her vulgar remark.

Kirika let out a disgusted sigh and turned to face Haruaki.

"Forget Kana's reckless remark. But, I too think that you lack the concentration that you usually have. Is there some thing that makes you anxious?"

"Huh? No, no, I don't have any problem. Maybe I caught a chill last night."

"Did you hear that Taizo-san? Kirika-chan just said something like this: I'm always looking at Yachi so I know something's wrong with him! Ohh, If there was something I
could do to comfort him..."

"What a villain you are Haruaki! Since when did you stole class rep's heart? Did you save a princess? Have you set a fire to a forged bill factory? Did you kill someone
in clocktower with pair of scissors?"

"Both of you! Stop s-saying nonsense! How foolish!"

Taizo and Kana had been Haruaki's friend since his junior high years while Kirika became his friend in high school.

Kirika was a formidable class rep. She was calm and composed at all times and her grades were top-notch. She always wore a knee-length long skirt, which gave her a impression
that she was born two decades later than she should have. She also hated to expose much of her skin, and was always wearing a jersey during physical education classes and
even at summer, she wore a long-sleeved blouse.
Because of this, only few people tried to get close to her and she was often alone during her first few days. It was only Kana, who was friendly to everyone, who forcefully
brought Kirika with them.
There was a specific reason though, why Kirika started to take her lunch together with them.

"Setting aside those worthless remarks, let us proceed to our daily showdown. I'm confident with my fried eggs today. I'll get back for all my previous losses! I'm counting
on you two for the judge."

Kirika opened her lunch box and brought it to Taizo and Kana's table.

"So, Kirika-chan. Do you think you have a chance of success today?"

"I've tasted it several times. Plus, I got hold of the fact that Yachi might have caught a cold... that means his taste organ might not be working well. I decided that today
is the day."

A spirited glare pierced Haruaki.

"Oh...where is she getting all that motivation...?"

"Well, they say that maintaining health is part of the battle. We only care about the taste, so don't worry. After all, we are the judges. Alright, here I go---!"

"I'll have this first! ------Wow Kirika-chan! These fried eggs are just great! I love the crunchy bacon bits!"

"Really now? So, It's great huh? Hehehehe.....!"

Kirika saw the two gave her food a good evaluation and smirked. But, that smirk was off her face immediately since the battle was still ongoing.
The judges reached for Haruaki's lunch box and-----

"Akki's fried eggs are delicious too! It's soooo good! .... Hmm I wonder where this strange taste comes from?"

"Haruaki, what did you add to your fried eggs?"

"I've put some avocadoes in it. Hehe, I based it from an old cooking manga."

Taizo and Kana looked at each other and nodded. They grabbed the winner's lunchbox and raised it above their heads, looking like a funny symmetrical statues holding a
lunch box.

"Um, the tastes were both great but we decided that Haruaki won for his novel idea!"

In that moment, Kirika lowered her head, her both hands shaking.

"Ugh....! Novelty.... They're right. My attention was tied to the taste and I failed to give a thought about an original idea....! So I learned today that conservative
idea alone is not enough to go against the ever-changing idea these days!"

".....Hey, class rep, I keep telling you that you shouldn't be THAT serious with the battles."

Haruaki tried to reassure. Kirika raised her head and said;

"I can't keep on losing to a man especially when it's about cooking! I'll win for sure next time!"

He'd already heard that line many times. But, telling that now to the class rep would be suicidal so he kept his mouth shut and just returned a bitter smile.

After that, they proceeded on having their own lunch for a while.
Little later, Haruaki heard a classmate calling out to him that he had a visitor. He looked at the door and saw a familiar face.

"It's Konoha-san! She's just as...well, you know, as always! Damn it Haruaki, please tell her that I, Taizo, send my appreciation for her being as beautiful as
a belladonna!"

"I don'k know why Hakuto would choose a poisonous flower to compare to her. It's plain stupid."

Haruaki ignored the conversation behind him and walked over to the door. It was his first time seeing konoha in school today.

"What's up?"

"There's nothing important, really... It's just that I worry about that girl..."

"I tried to wake her up but she won't so I just left her alone with a note."

"What?"

She froze.

"Was it ok to leave her alone?"

"From what I saw last night, I think that she's harmless enough but, hmmm... now that you mentioned it, I started to worry about her. After all, we didn't talk that much."

"Have you seen her.... original form?"

"Just a little bit, when I saw her for the first time. She was a big mysterious box."

He started to think about something for a moment but decided that he had no idea what she was and shook his head in surrender.

"Well, if you say that she's alright, I guess she is. I suppose there's nothing to worry about."

Konoha bowed her head in good bye and went back to her classroom.

(She said there's nothing to worry about, but....)

When a person starts to worry, it won't leave him until he checked on what was worrying him. It was like having second thoughts about your answer in an examination when you
checked it over for a correction. Haruaki had no choice but to stare at the slow-moving clock inside the classroom and wait for the time to go home.

After the classes, Haruaki and Konoha met in front of the school entrance.

"Don't you have a student council meeting today?"

"I've passed for today. I felt like it."

There was an understanding between the two. Haruaki hurried back to his house together with Konoha who was publicly known as his related cousin.
They arrived at the gate, opened it quickly, then entered the house. There they saw----

"What the?!"

They saw that the inside was horrible. Turned back table was standing in a slant position, its leg piercing the sliding door. The cabinets turned over. On the floor was
unnecessary things that should have been inside the closet scattered all over.

....Just in a half day, his place of rest became a place of chaos. Something extraordinary must have happened here.

Haruaki searched for the silver-haired girl, his heart beating wildly. He found her immediately.
She was lying face-down on the porch. Not a movement from her. He kneeled over her and picked her up.
He tried to talk to her while he shook her body. Her eyes opened and she blinked with a blank stare.
Konoha went to the kitchen to get some water but hurriedly came back.

"We've got a problem! The kitchen too is in wretched condition!"

"Just what in the world happened here... Fear! Come on, Fear!"

"Ugh...... Stop shaking me... I'm alright..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Oh, you just don't know what I've been through."

Fear sat up and held her head. Her head was drooped as she breathed in and out, as if saying that she was about to say something very important. She raised her head and said;

"Listen... A light green-colored alien with three legs came here a while ago and----"

"Haaaa!"

Before Fear could finish, Haruaki's hand went to the back of her head. A good sound came out from his strike.

"W-what are you doing all of a sudden?! You want me to curse you?!"

"I should be the one asking you what were you doing! I get it, you had nothing to do so you tried to destroy the house didn't you? Look at what you did!"

"Y-you're wrong..."

Fear faced away.

"Then how can you explain my collection of rare dishes being sucked by the vaccuum cleaner?! I could only take it as a presentation of malice against me! Have I done anything
to you?!"

Haruaki cornered her. Fear just made a sullen face and glared at Haruaki.

"Shut up! I don't care what you say about me! I'm feeling sleepy so I'll go get a sleep! Don't even try bothering me!"

She ran away to her room. Haruaki was taken back by her sudden outburst and lost the will power to follow her.

"That little... tsk, she should try to be the one who'll fix these things up! So this is how'd she repay me for my kindness!"

"...Um, excuse me?"

Konoha was the one who was poking my shoulder. She said to Haruaki in an awkward manner;

"I think that in that situation, you have some faults too, you know."

"Whay? I can't explain what she did other than playing a prank against me."

"Well, if you try to look at things around you, maybe you'll see what I mean. Try to look over there on the garden. Or at the kitchen"

I tried to look at where she pointed out. It was totally different from how I left them this morning. I still couldn't see anything other than Fear trying to play a-----

"....Huh?.... That girl... was she trying to...?"

<center>* * *</center>

What Fear did first when she entered her room was to mount on a pillow and punch it to get some stress out of her body. The moment she got out of breath, she took the futon out
and covered herself with it. But, that didn't completely took out her anger.

"Hmph....Hmph! That idiot, that shameless brat....! He doesn't have to be so..."

He didn't even try to listen to my explanation. How annoying.
Well, to tell the truth, she wasn't that enthusiastic about trying to explain things to him...

"There's no way I could tell him what I've been up to."

She can't explain THAT to him. It was too embarassing and too disappointing. She had that much pride, at least. She couldn't help it but----it was annoying.
After letting out a big snort. She rearranged the futon and covered her head again.

For the few days that Fear spent together with Honatsu, she was taught by him the basic japanese reading and writing, as well as the common knowledges about modern world.
That was why Fear was able to read the note that Haruaki left for her. She thought that leaving her alone here was impertinent but there wasn't anything she could do about
it so she just ate the breakfast/lunch that Haruaki left for her. After the meal, Fear murmured to her self.

"..... Phew. How boring."

She was sitting at the porch and looking up at the sky. That was when the "urge" hit her. It was a refreshing experience since it was her first time, but it was kind of
embarassing thinking about it------The call of nature.

"Being a human wasn't as comfortable as I thought."

She went to the washroom, making a face. After a few moments, her mission was completed.

"Now that was convenient. Haruaki said that it was called a faucet. I was quite amazed."

Fear stood before the wash stand, washing her hands and thinking about the great changes of the world around her. She mastered the use of faucet. Though she was amazed
sometimes at the technology, she taught that it was not enough to make her afraid.
While she was shaking the water off her hands, something inside the room caught her eye.

"Hm. I know that machine. It's called a "Washing machine". You put water and detergent to it and it will wash the clothes automatically."

Fear remembered what Haruaki said last night. She had to do something that [people would be thankful for] in order to lift her curse. Now, she thought about her current
condition. She had nothing to do. Maybe she should start doing something that would be helpful for people. Haruaki also said that it would take a lot of time to lift the
curse. If so, she should start early to finish earlier than it will originally take.

"....Hehehe. Thank me for what I'm going to do. And marvel at my true capacity...!"

First of all, she grabbed the clothes in the laundry basket and put them inside the washing machine. Next, she searched for a box of laundry detergent and found a box of powder
besides the washing machine. She tried to smell and it smelled like soap. She thought with confidence that this was the laundry detergent. Finally, she put the detergent inside
the washing machine-----one whole box of it. After the procedure, she tried to push different buttons and saw that the machine started to operate.

"I can do this...hehehe. I'm amazed by my adaptation ability. Well, maybe I should clean the house next!"

The thing that she needed was called a vacuum cleaner. According to Haruaki, it was a box with long nose attached to it. She found the vaccuum cleaner inside the closet.

"I know too that this machine requires electricity. There should be a nose-like hole on the walls. Hm, this should be it. It does look like a nose hole. But, hmmmm this
fork at the back of the vaccuum machine won't reach those holes......Wha?!"

The cord extended as she played with the plug. She was surprised by the unexpected movement.
She coughed, held her head high, and looked at her left and right.

"......It was just a feint. I knew about that."

She inserted the plug into the consent and tried to push all the buttons of the vaccuum cleaner. It revved up and started to suck in dust. Perfect.
Fear slowly moved the vaccuum and cleaned the whole room. She started to enjoy using the vacuum, so she proceeded on cleaning anywhere that she pleased.
She gradually got used to it and became faster as she cleaned. Though, there were some unknown phenomenon where the cord became heavier and crashing sounds resounded
behind her. Fear tried to look back but something more important entered her sight. It was a black eight-legged insect that was crawling above the tatami.

"A s-spider?!"

Goose bumps rose all over her. Fear asked herself why did it have to appear in front of her.
She vilificated her luck and tried to run away but she quickly turned back in self denial, thinking that she shouldn't back off against a spider.
Grabbing the vaccuum cleaner, Fear rushed to the spider. The machine she was holding wasn't a convenient vacuum cleaner anymore. It was an advanced weapon that could
send that wretched spider into another dimension.

"Turn into ash with the power of electricity!"

The spider quickly changed its direction and was able to evade the attack. It went inside the open closet where the vacuum cleaner was placed.
Fear couldn't hold back so she inserted the vaccuum inside the closet and tried to suck in the spider. The vaccuum hit other things inside the closet while
fear was maneuvering it. They came crashing out of the closet.
The vaccuum must have sucked in something big since the vaccum suddenly stopped working after raising a weird sound.

"What the?!"

She was the one attacking a while ago but now the table was turned against her. She backed a few steps and quickly shut the closet door. She sat down, let out a sigh and
thought of letting go of the closet door.
What should I do? Should I attack again? No, there's no need. he won't be able to get out unless I open this door. That's right, I'll just keep it shut. I'll just have
Haruaki terminate it when he came home.

"I didn't saw anything..... Yes, that's how it is."

Fear saw an object familiar to her rolling near her feet. It must have come from the closet. It was a cube with size where one could hold inside his palm, having a surface of
3x3 tiles. Every tile was painted with different colors.
She slanted her head and tried moving the cube. The colored tile shifted. She thought that if the tiles are moved right, the color on surface of the cube would be uniform.

"...... ...... ...... Oh! I forgot that there are things that I should be doing right now."

Fear placed the cube back on the floor. That moment, she heard a buzzing sound coming from the washing machine. She remembered that she was washing clothes.

"....Well, it certainly is showy. I wonder if it was necessary to do that much."

Bubbles were bursting ot from the washing machine like a mountain. Not only that, the overflowed water made a pool on the floor.
Anyway, If there was a washed clothes, it must be hung to let it dry.
Fear rescued the washed clothes out of the washing machine and placed them in a basket. She got out into the garden and went to the drying pole. The garden was carpeted
with green grass and it felt good to her bare feet.
Fear stood before the drying pole, wrung the clothes and set them on the pole to dry. There were triangular beak-like things on the pole but she didn't know what its used for
so she put them away. Maybe it was a charm or something.

"This is the last....one. Phew. It's perfect."

The clothes waved like a flag. Thinking that she was the one who did it caused a strange sense of fullfillment course through her.

It came when she tried to turn back, confident about her victorious feat-----A gust of wind.

There was no way she could go after it, and the towel went up over the roof. She made a wry face and jumped high onto the roof.
She heard a sound of something breaking below her but the towel was more important at that moment. She collected the towel and jumped down to the ground.
At that moment, another gust of wind came, as if it was playing a prank against her. Because of this, some of the clothes flew high up onto the branch of a tall tree.
She clucked and placed the collected towel on the pole. The moment she let go of the towel, the gust carried it up again, on to the tree branch. Damn. It was endless.

"..... Er, well. Clothes will dry faster if there was a wind to dry it. That means that those clothes over there on branch will dry faster. When viewed from a broad
perspective, it was better that it went up there on the tree.... or at least, I think that way."

She forcefully convinced herself and turned back to the house's direction, trying not to look at the waving clothes on the tree.
Strange thing came into her view. And it was....

First, there was the living room. The cabinets were turned over and the table on the center was slanted into a weird position. Its foot pierced through the sliding door.
The cord constricted around the table. She didn't noticed because of the appearance of the spider and the cubic toy. Somehow, she tought she knew what that caused weird phenomenon earlier.
Adding to that, many things which came from the closet were scattered on the floor and the vaccuum cleaner was lying dead on the floor.
Fear also noticed that something fell from the roof and saw that it was a gray-colored roof tile. It must have been the breaking sound she heard when she jumped over to the roof.

It was the first time that fear thought that something was strange. It seemed that the house became disarranged, more than before she started cleaning. In fact. she had a
feeling that it was completely wretched. She wondered why.

"Could it be that I have done something wrong?"

Two people's footsteps answered her question.
Fear slowly went over the porch and layed on her stomach, thinking.
A poltergeist or an alien. Which would be more credible if she were to reason out?

"Hmmmmmmmmm. I have this feeling that what she tried to do was too predictable but, could it be really...?"

Haruaki murmured to himself while looking up at the laundered clothes swaying on the branches of the tree located in the garden.

"If she was just playing around, she wouldn't think to put a laundry detergent into the washing machine.... Except for the amount she put in it. If you go to the washing machine
right now, you'll see for yourself that it's throwing out bubbles like a crab."

Konoha raised her hands and formed a "scissors", trying to imitate a crab. Haruaki picked up the rubik's cube that was laying on the floor.

"Really. Where did she find this thing?"

"Um, Haruaki-kun...? Do you remember the time when I first came here?"

"I can't remember much of the details, but I do. You did some strange things back then."

She came to this house when Haruaki was about to enter grade school. Of course, he didn't remember the clear details but he could still remeber Konoha's impression.

"I thought so. Well, I wanted you to forget all about it at first but thinking about it it now, I'm glad that you still remember how I used to be."

"Why?"

"Hehe. You just have to tell Fear-san what you told me back when we first met. With that, I bet all the problems will be solved."

"I don't remember what I told you. What did I say back then?"

"Well, Haruaki-kun didn't change a bit so you just have to tell her what's on your mind right now."

After that, Konoha offered to help cleaning up the house but Haruaki politely refused. He felt that it was something he had to do, and not anyone else. Konoha didn't argue
with him.
Later, after konoha went back to the outer building, Haruaki left the rubik's cube on the table and looked up at the ceiling.

"Oh hell. What am I supposed to do...."

<center>* * *</center>

In that evening.

"Hey. Are you awake?"

He waited patiently for the answer. After few moments, it came to him.

"Shut up. I'm asleep."

"No you're not. You answered my question."

"Shut up and be silent if you don't wanna be cursed."

"Alright, alright. So, don't you have something to say?"

After an interlude of silence, Fear replied that she didn't have anything to say to him. Haruaki said never mind and sighed. Talk about being stubborn.

"You might not have anything to say to me, but I do. Well, er... I'm sorry."

There was no reply. There wasn't anything he could do for her silence so he just continued speaking.

"I already knew what I should have done, but I forgot. You look like a human but you aren't-----but in reality, you're a human so you might have some difficulties at first. There might
be things that you wouldn't understand, and there might be times where you bother other people. There also might be times where you have a quarrel with someone. Konoha also
went through all of that."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about but don't compare me to that cowtits. It's unpleasant."

"Yeah, okay. Well, what I want to say is... that you don't have to hurry trying to lift your curse. And, if there was something that you don't know, just ask me and I'll teach you
so long as it was something that I know. I left your dinner at the kitchen so you can have it when you get hungry. I'll be going now. Oh, I forgot, here's my present for you.
Take it."

Haruaki left the paper bag he was carrying onto the floor in front of the sliding door. After that, he went back to his room, yawning as he walked away.
After a few minutes, the sliding door silently opened. After some minutes of observation, a white hand came out and took the paper bag. The sliding door moved silently as the
sliding door closed.

<center>* * *</center>

Inside the paper bag was some clothes. They were kind of big but most of them were universally fitting one pieces. There was also new underwears that was wrapped in a plastic.
A note fell from it saying "Only underwear should be brand new for infants"....

"Drop dead!"

Fear threw the note on the floor by reflex. She noticed that behind the paper was another note addressed to her. It said, "If you want a bra, try to work part-time and buy it yourself. You'll be able to do so when you get used to living here..... We'll, we're cursed tools so our body won't grow. That means that there won't be a need to, I mean, it would
be just a waste of time if you...."

A heel drop struck the paper before Fear could finish reading.
There were other things inside the paper bag other than the clothes. It was the cubic toy from earlier. And, there was also...

"....a rice cracker."

Her stomach growled. Haruaki said that she ate all the stock so he must have bought it for her.

"H-Hmph. I won't be bribed that easily. Does he think I'm such a child that I'll fall to his scheme?"

Despite her muttered complaints, her hands opened the snack and dug-in to the treat. Her other hand played with the rubik's cube. Sound of creaking plastic filled the room.

"Hm. Sesame seeds. It's coated with sesame seeds. How fragrant..."

Fear thought about Haruaki while two sounds resounded inside her room.
Well, I'll forgive that shameless brat for now. He should thank my merciful heart. First things first-----I should ask him where this wonderful snack is being sold.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[CubexCursedxCurious:Volume1_Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[CubexCursedxCurious|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[CubexCursedxCurious:Volume1_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

CubexCursedxCurious:Volume1 Chapter1

2009-01-17T17:11:12Z

Kumichael: my many thanks for authorizing this!

===Chapter One: Night of Rubik's Cube===

"....What is this? A custard pudding?"

The girl said as she poked the yellowish-white object in front of her with sulky expression.

"Have a taste and you'll know."

"Hmmm... hm?! T-this...."

She guided the spoon into her mouth, then froze up.

"It's not sweet! This is a fake! What a nasty food... When you say a soft pedestal and a black sauce, it's just have to be a pudding!"

"Don't say nasty to the food. It's just tofu, a solidified soybean soup. You didn't like it?"

Haruaki sat just opposite of the girl after removing the apron he had on.
The girl's ill temper was obvious as she chewed the Yakko-Doufu. She was now wearing a borrowed shirt and hot pants.

"Hmph, it's not bad. It's inferior to the crunchy snack I was munching earlier, though."

"Poor tofu, being compared to a rice-cracker."

"So, that was called a rice-cracker. Now, that one had a unique food texture. It was sweet but spicy at the same time, and that feeling while crunching at it... h-huh?
Why are you looking at me?"

Haruaki simply answered that it was nothing, and looked away from the face that said she was caught off-guard. He started eating, too. Haruaki thought that this situation was
just like what the old sayings wanted to share; to eat while you can, since you can't fight a war with empty stomach.
The girl who sat opposite him unnecessarily checked that the food in front of her was a fish, looking at the broiled mackerel pike as if she had never seen it before.
After her thorough observation, she placed down the spoon and fork she was holding. Haruaki imagined what she was going to do and initiated a warning before the girl's
bare hands got the mackerel.

"Wait. You'll have to go over my dead body first before you could eat something with bare hands in front of me."

Haruaki reached for the mackerel plate to prevent her hands from it, but for some reason the girl suddenly backed-off from the tatami space she was sitting at.

"Hey wait. I just misunderstood things earlier. I was a little confused at first but I'm alright now. I even lent you those clothes didn't I?"

"I-I'm not sure.... I mean, you just played with THAT part of the body earlier in front of the gate..."

"But I didn't know I was touching THAT part of your body. Oh hell, I'm sorry anyway. Just forgive me already, 'kay?"

Haruaki asked her a cliched apology while he started on the mackerel pike with his chop sticks.

"Watch me how to dismantle this mackerel. Just do it first like this then grab its head then pull it away with those nasty fishbones. It's easy, isn't it?"

The girl watched with interest for a while but she quickly recovered her wary face. After a few seconds, she snorted with ill temper as she sat back on front of the table.

"By the way, What's your name?"

"...I'm called Fear."

Fear quickly shut her mouth, as if she was surprised that she'd told him her name.

"Fear, is it?"

"Well, yes. It's none of your business though... you can just call me what you want."

"Unfortunately, you're part of my business now. You just became my top priority. In fact, the way you became my top priority was almost a foul play. So, what are you anyway?
What kind of box are you?"

"Er..."

"Er?"

Without a warning, she raised her eyebrows in outrage and she started making holes on the broiled mackerel. It was just after Haruaki raised a question mark at her answer.

"Shut up! It's none of your business, you fool!"

"Whoa! What kind of cursing was that?! I haven't heard them for a while. Anyway, are you a brat having an outburst like that?!"

"W-Why you?!"

"I haven't heard that for a while too... wha, hey! Stop attacking that mackerel and close your mouth!"

"Digging up on a lady's past like that! You should learn some respect, you shameless brat!"

Haruaki thought that he didn't want to hear that from HER. But being the sensible one, he decided to give up.

"Whew.... Well, I won't push you if you don't want to tell me about your past. I know its not exactly filled with happy memories."

It seemed that her temper cooled down some because of Haruaki's honest words. She was at a loss for words and turned her face down.

"I... hate that appearance. I wouldn't want to turn into that form unless its absolutely necessary. Someone told me that coming here would be easier with that form so
I had no choice but to give up..."

"Who told you? My old man?"

"He said his name was Honatsu... Are you his son?"

"Yeah. And my name's Haruaki. How's my old man doing?"

"I don't know. He said that he still had something to do over there."

"As much of a freeman as usual, I see. Geez, I'm tired of complaining about him though. As long as he keeps sending money for my living, I'll keep up with his game."

"I don't understand you two... I mean, you and your father. I thought an ordinary man wouldn't try to understand the likes of me."

"We've been receiving cursed tools like you since I was a kid. Usually, tools that we accept are those with slight curse in it, but there are rare occasions where a tool who
could assume human form like you comes here for help."

After a brief silence, Fear let out a sigh and placed down the fork she was holding. Her serious gaze pierced Haruaki as she looked up, her silver hair swaying slightly.

"I'm going to say something serious."

"....Go ahead."

"I....I was placed in some dark dungeon, thrown away long ago by my last owner. Yachi Honatsu came one day and found me. He tried to talk to me and I told him my wish."

"A wish?"

Haruaki already had an idea what her wish was. But, cursed tools who came here with its own will were often the ones who needed to confirm the purpose of their existence
by putting them into words. Knowing that, he chose to let her say it out loud from her own mouth.

The girl who was not a human answered in a whisper, biting her lips softly,

"I want to free myself from my curse."

"How much do you know...? About the curse, and about tools like me?"

"Well, here's what I know; First, a tool changes its quality into negative direction if it continues to receive negative thoughts.
Secondly, a tool that receives negative thoughts often affect the owner and the people around it.
And for the third, in exchange with the negative effect it brings upon the people around it, It may show mysterious charm and function..."

"Is that all?"

Haruaki narrowed his eyes and looked at Fear, who was speaking with her eyes looking down at the table.

"To add one more, I know that at the end of receiving all the negative thoughts and curses from humans, an item would be... something that's in front of me right now."

Yes. A tool which received too much grudge from humans will earn a human quality----

Haruaki didn't know the specific details but he knew that an item gains a personal thought which affects its essence as a tool. It was a result of being grudged by people
over and over again. In the end, they'll possess their own mind, soul, and an ability to change forms with its own will.

"That's right. It started with a single grudge. I was made to harm people and because of it, I have received much hatred, grievances, and murderous intents. From those grudges,
I was branded with an abominable curse of [driving my owner into insanity.]"

Haruaki noticed that the girl was gripping her hands tightly. He thought it was better not to ask more about her about concrete details of the tool that she was and
about what she meant by driving her owner into insanity.

"My curse doesn't end there. The grudge I received gave me [human qualities] and my own will. To me, who was nothing but a tool in the beginning. Let me correct, I was not given;
I was forced to have those capabilities. Have you ever thought about how bad was the affinity between a will and a curse? I envy those tools which only have slight curse. They won't
realize by themselves that they were burdened by a curse. How fortunate that it's blessed with ignorance!"

For a moment, she took a deep breath.

"I came here believing in Honatsu's words that I can free my curse here in this place. That's the reason why I came, but I was not told about details of what I have to do. Tell me
honestly---- Will I, will I be able to lift the curse from myself without affecting the people around me? Remember that Honatsu sent me to you so that makes you my current owner. If you're
just lying about here being a place to free one's self from a curse, you would be the first to receive the harmful effects that comes with it."

Her eyes looked straight into his. But those eyes reflected undeniable fright and doubt.
That was why Haruaki simply told her,

"Yes, you can."

"....Huh?"

"I said you can free yourself from your curse here. You see, I don't have strong spiritual sense or special ability like my father but it seems that I have a unique body constitution which
repel curses, which makes me unaffected by them. So, whatever your curse is, it doesn't work on me. Hahaha! Be afraid of me, you violent little girl!"

"What the...?! Wait, you said that I could lift my curse here, but how?"

"I'm not sure about the detailed mechanics but this place had been a very pure land for a long time, and the area where this house was built was the center of the pure energy that comes from the land.
That's why just being here would fill you with positive energy. They say that this place is protected by some kind of force field, though the rate of cleansing is kinda slow. Just leaving the tools here would eventually lift the curse."

Haruaki remembered the woman who set the force field around the house. Her outfit caught much eyes, and she said that the force field would last for the next hundred years. He supposed that
there won't be a chance to see her again, if the force field would really last that long.

"And, there's another way of lifting a curse. The mechanic is simple; if a curse comes from negative thoughts, you just have to receive positive thoughts by helping people around you. If you keep on
receiving them, the curse will be neutralized eventually."

"What do you mean?"

"I meant to say that you have to vaguely perform acts that will be thankful for people, I suppose. You just have to live here and work as a part-timer or volunteer for public events... I think?"

"W-Wait, why was there a question mark in the end?"

Fear leaned forward, which sent the mackerel bits flying at Haruaki's face. He wondered if Fear did that on purpose.

"Well, its not like I actually experienced trying to lift a curse from myself. That was just what I heard."

She puffed out her cheeks like a child, making a sullen expression.

"I can't believe it... I mean, I don't think that simply sleeping or working here would lift the curse. Besides, I doubt that my curse could be lifted in leisurely phase..."

"You're right about going leisurely. Being able to assume human form would mean that much curse had been gathered in your body so it would take years to free yourself. I don't know any
other way of lifting a curse so maybe you'll just have to be patient about it."

"Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I still can't believe it."

"Don't worry much about it. Even if you can't believe for----"

Ding dong. The door bell rung suddenly. Fear seemed to be frightened by it so Haruaki told her that it was just a bell that said there was a visitor. He stood up and pointed at the table.

"The food'll grow cold, so eat it now. Especially the mackerel pike."

<center>* * *</center>

"Good evening, Haruaki-kun."

A familiar smile greeted Haruaki as he opened the entrance. The smiling girl was wearing a big round glasses like ones that you'd see in a manga. She had an apron around her well-endowed
body and it was impressionable. The pot that she was holding reinforced the familial impression that shrouded her.

"Hey, Konoha. What is it?"

"I've made too much Nikujaga for myself so I thought that I'd share you some. Its a bit late already so maybe you can have it for your breakfast tomorrow."

"That'll be a great help. I was just having my dinner right now... Oh yeah, its just great that you came now. I have to ask you some favor."

Konoha slanted her head in question. At that exact moment, Haruaki heard footsteps coming toward him.

"Hey, Haruaki. The food was kind of lacking in quantity. Aren't there any left? I would like to request for a rice-cracker if there's still some left."

"You eat too fast!"

Needless to say, the person who came behind Haruaki was Fear.

"Um, Haruaki-kun? Who is that child?"

"Oh yeah, the favor I was going to ask you was about---"

An openly belligerent voice came from Fear as she broke into the conversation.

"Hey, you there! We've just met and you started calling me a child. How dare you speak to me like that, you unfortunate-looking Woman!"

"Unfortunate-looking....?!"

Konoha was still smiling but Haruaki sensed a dangerous aura coming out from her. Fear stood behind him with arms crossed, looking aggressively at Konoha.
Haruaki thought he saw a lightning shaft running between Konoha and Fear.

"You two there. Why are you raising a hostile aura in front of my house?"

"I think you're just imagining things. I'm not angry, really. After all, they're just words of a CHILD."

At that moment, Haruaki felt violent aura rising behind him. He sensed danger so he quickly changed the topic.

"Er....Oh yeah! Hey Konoha, have you made anything else besides this? I mean, have you eaten your dinner? Why don't you eat here for a change? It's been long time since last time you've eaten here.
It seems that I have to cook more food anyway."

"Well, if you say so... I think I will. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since last time we ate together, Haruaki-kun."

"My cooking skills haven't improved though."

"It had been great since past so don't worry. I think I'm getting hungry just thinking about the dishes you make."

Konoha smiled and entered the house. Suddenly, an insulting snort came out from no where.

"Go ahead, and eat. Hah, I think that being able to send all the nutrients you eat to your breasts is some kind of talent. I bet that your brain's very light."

Haruaki heard a clashing metal sound. Almost at the same time, he saw konoha kneeling on the floor, catching the pot that almost fell out from her hands.
He looked at the floor and saw the handle of the pot, which was cut cleanly into a half.

"....I think its very sad when a person eat but the nutrients doesn't go to one's breasts... Oh, I was just talking to myself."

"W-Why you?!"

"Ahahaha-- I'll go ahead now."

Konoha let out a feigned laugh and went into the living room. Fear was staring at her back and was murmuring with hatred;

"What kind of character does that woman have...! Maybe I should curse her!"

"She not usually like that. In fact, I have this feeling that you were the one who started the fight. Why are you being so hostile anyway?"

"It's none of your business! I just didn't like what she said when she saw me. That's enough reason for my hostility. Besides..."

A weird smile came from her angry expression.

"I just realized now that bullying that cow-tits woman will going to be fun. She'll see, I won't lose the next time...!"

Fear went back into the living room, letting out an evil snort as she walked to the living room.

Haruaki was worried about what could happen if he let those two together in the living room. But, he had to cook some food for Konoha and the hungry juvenile so he had
no choice but to let those two together in the living room.
Haruaki made a plate full of easy saute dish. Together with rice and miso soup for Konoha, He brought the food into the living room.
He was greeted by a view of two girls throwing dry laughs at each other. Only God knows what happened while he was in the kitchen. He didn't even want to know.

"I only sauted what was left in the fridge. Is that okay for you?"

"No problem. I've made quite lot of Nikujaga anyway."

With a "Ta-da" sound effect, Konoha lifted the lid of the pot she brought with her.
Inside the pot was a steaming soup of brownish broth and beef, letting out a fragrant smell of soy sauce. To put it simply, It looked delicious.
If you'll take a good look at it, you'll notice that excessive amount of beef was covering all the other ingredients like potatoes. The beef formed a great pile,
just like a mountain sitting on a pot. If you ask me, It's more of a Niku-Niku-Nikujaga instead of a simple Nikujaga.

"Um, so, doesn't that look good?"

"It looks delicious, just as always."

Meat-demon Konoha's face lit up with a smile.

"I see, this definitely looks delicious. You can easily see that it was made by a Gluttonous incarnate of appetite."

With that remark, the round lid that Konoha was holding fell on the table, cut into half. Without a word, she picked up the half circles and threw them behind her.
After that, Konoha mouthed an Itadakimasu and started eating with a cheerful (that was how Haruaki interpreted Konoha's expression) face.

"I've no clue why this how this meal have turned into a tense atmosphere, but I guess I have to make an easy introduction at least. Konoha, our visitor here is called Fear.
As you might guess, she was sent by my old man."

Konoha sent a look at Fear while she took loads of beef from the pot. Fear, on the other hand, completely ignored her.

"Fear, this is Konoha. Well, what can I say... er, she lives in the room inside the house's outer building, and we're also in the same school level though our classes are different.
She'd been like a childhood friend since I was a kid and----"

"And she's not human."

Fear said without a pretense. It was followed by few seconds of silence and,

".... That's right. She's like your sempai here in this place."

"I thought so. A lid would never break into half by itself. I know that tools who could assume human form could usually keep the nature of their original form even if they turn
into human form----I suppose you're some kind of blade aren't you?"

"Would you answer me if I asked what was your original form?"

Konoha asked with a smile pasted on her face. Fear replied with a snort.
Uncomfortable silence went on as they ate their dinner. All of their plates were almost empty when Fear spoke to Haruaki.

"So, you wanted to say earlier that I could believe what you said because there's a precedent."

"Er....Yeah. that's right. Konoha did a lot of helpful things like working part-time since when she first came here."

"He's right. Thanks to my deeds, I'm almost free from all of my curses."

"Almost, you say. What would happen if you become completely free from curse?"

"Tools with only a slight curse would just turn back into a normal tool. But according to my old man, the negative energy that built up inside the tools who could assume human form
went over the original nature that it had so even if you were able to neutralize those negative thoughts, their human form will be kept. That means that you two will just be
free from the curse that you have."

"So, I won't turn back into my original form..... I see."

"To be honest, I don't know much about it. Just ask my old man once he came back."

Fear wasn't even listening to Haruaki. She just kept silent and nodded, murmuring "I see... I wouldn't...I see..." as she did.
It was as if she was trying to hide the expression of relief on her face.
Fear finished up the remaining food on her plate and asked a question to Konoha.

"Haruaki said earlier that you've been together with him for more than ten years now. Does it really take that much time?"

"I think it also depends on the degree of your curse, but..."

Two empty plates covered the table. For a moment, two eyes----one silent and one with a hint of hostility----looked at each other.

"The amount of grudge that we accumulated within ourselves are so great that whatever you do, we can't easily forget, throw away, or repent for them... You get into my nerves
but at least, in that aspect, we could have something in common. This is something that could be shared between you and me, as a same ruined state of mind."

Fear started to say something, but just looked away and said;

"....It's the same for me you know, you get into my nerves too...."

"Well, you just have to take it easy. I think there's nothing I could help with though."

It was a composed statement of a senior. Konoha said said those words with much ease. Fear, of course, just snorted.

After that, Haruaki also finished his meal so he cleaned up the table with Konoha and went to the kitchen to wash them. When he came back, Fear was hugging her knees and was looking up
at the ceiling with blank stare. He brought an after-dinner tea so he handed one to Fear and started drinking it.

"Oh yeah, Konoha, could you bring some of your old clothes? I wouldn't say right now but I just thought that it would be better if Fear had something to wear. I know that the size won't fit though."

"....Sorry for having small breasts!"

"I didn't mention any part of your body that wouldn't fit!"

Haruaki almost dropped the yunomi that came from the opposite side of the table.

"I guess that can't be helped.... Alright, I'll bring some as soon as I can."

"I'm counting on it."

"Say, what are you going to do for tonight, like where'd she sleep?"

"Huh? Well, I suppose she's gonna spend her night here. I'll just lend her one of the Japanese rooms."

"S-She'll be staying here?! Isn't that a bad idea, since I think it is!"

"But you see, the outer building's already full... Kuroe isn't home and her room is locked."

The outer building was made like an apartment, with two rooms inside. Konoha was living there with another house-mate but she was always away about half a month so Konoha
didn't really feel that she had a house-mate living next door.

"By the way, make the guest room as luxurious as possible. That way, you could compensate for what you did to me."

"Compensate?"

Haruaki asked Fear and he received a reply with a threatening attitude.

"Don't say you already forgot what you did to my body earlier! Playing with my body like that... I've never had someone put his finger [there]! My face was burning with
embarassment!"

Haruaki was about to say that Fear was just a box at that time, when he heard a sound of yunomi rolling off on the tatami. He saw that Konoha was trembling as she stood up.
False smile covered her expression for a while but it eventually broke into tears.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I can't believe it! Have you two already done THOSE kind of things?!"

Konoha ran away from the living room covering her face with her hands.
They just heard the violent sound of the entrance door being shut. Fear just nodded with content and said,

"I'm not sure what happened but I've won. I feel great."

<center>* * *</center>

Dull-colored stone floor was all that there was. The room smelled of metal and of metal-like stink. The air was congested but it wasn't stagnant.
The air was clear. Clear like the air inside a tomb or a casket.
There wasn't anything that could tell time. There was only a dead space, without a trace of any living things.
The only thing that you could feel from there was the constancy and blockade.
The mass of steel that was left there didn't have anything to do other than to whisper the same words over and over again.
It wasn't even said aloud. It just made circles within its mind. Like an endless loop.
When it's awake, while it's asleep, when it opened its mind, and when it closed its mind.
It's freezing, it's cold, it's dark, it's freezing, it's cold, it's dark, it's freezing, it's cold, it's dark, it's freezing, it's cold, it's dark.
It went on and on-----

She opened her eyes. There was nothing inside the Japanese room. She raked up and embraced the futon that was given to her. There was only the sound of scraping futon.
There was some warmth left in the futon but it was a false warmth... It was just an accumulated heat from covering someone. So, it was the same as having no warmth at all.
Shards of her dream sent a chill down her spine. She knew that there was a difference between this room and the dungeon room where she was kept.
But, however there was a slight warmth and sound inside this room, She couldn't help thinking that this room was the same as the place where she was kept.
She silently opened the sliding door and walked along the porch. Moon light illuminated the her path as she arrived in front of another room. She entered.
A boy was sleeping. He was laying in an odd position and his futon came off below his waist. A slight snort came from a faintly smiling face.
The girl kneeled down before the rolled-up futon and slowly reached for it. She stroked it for a while, then she brought it up to her cheeks.
It was someone else's smell.
Someone else's warmth.
That, perhaps, was the first time that she felt those things.

Next day, during lunch break at school. Haruaki opened the lid of his lunch box and thoughts about the problem he left alone in his house came to his mind.

(I wonder If she'll be alright alone. I did left her a note and some leftovers from my lunch box, but... Wait, what if she can't read?)

When Haruaki visited the girl in her room this morning, she was still sound asleep with a happy expression. He tried to wake her but she didn't wake up
so he just left her a note that says he's going to school and he'd left her some food.
Haruaki wondered if she was still asleep. When he woke up this morning, his futon was gone. When he entered the girl's room, he saw that the girl was covered
with HIS futon while hers was abondened on the corner of her room. How it happened was still a mystery to him.

"Hey Haruaki! What's with you? You petrified all of a sudden after you opened your lunch box... Maybe you should be moving your body more, not just for cooking and housework.
Baseball is great, if you'd just give it a try!"

A classmate whom Haruaki always had his lunch with spoke to him. His name was Hakuto Taizo.

"His withered expression is nothing new, but it does have a different glow compared to his usual expression. Maybe---- he made some girl pregnant? Hahaha!"

"Kana! Enough of your vulgar jokes!"

A girl with healthy sun-kissed skin, Miyama Kana, followed Taizo's teasing with her own.
The class rep, Ueno Kirika, remonstrated Kana about her vulgar remark.

Kirika let out a disgusted sigh and turned to face Haruaki.

"Forget Kana's reckless remark. But, I too think that you lack the concentration that you usually have. Is there some thing that makes you anxious?"

"Huh? No, no, I don't have any problem. Maybe I caught a chill last night."

"Did you hear that Taizo-san? Kirika-chan just said something like this: I'm always looking at Yachi so I know something's wrong with him! Ohh, If there was something I
could do to comfort him..."

"What a villain you are Haruaki! Since when did you stole class rep's heart? Did you save a princess? Have you set a fire to a forged bill factory? Did you kill someone
in clocktower with pair of scissors?"

"Both of you! Stop s-saying nonsense! How foolish!"

Taizo and Kana had been Haruaki's friend since his junior high years while Kirika became his friend in high school.

Kirika was a formidable class rep. She was calm and composed at all times and her grades were top-notch. She always wore a knee-length long skirt, which gave her a impression
that she was born two decades later than she should have. She also hated to expose much of her skin, and was always wearing a jersey during physical education classes and
even at summer, she wore a long-sleeved blouse.
Because of this, only few people tried to get close to her and she was often alone during her first few days. It was only Kana, who was friendly to everyone, who forcefully
brought Kirika with them.
There was a specific reason though, why Kirika started to take her lunch together with them.

"Setting aside those worthless remarks, let us proceed to our daily showdown. I'm confident with my fried eggs today. I'll get back for all my previous losses! I'm counting
on you two for the judge."

Kirika opened her lunch box and brought it to Taizo and Kana's table.

"So, Kirika-chan. Do you think you have a chance of success today?"

"I've tasted it several times. Plus, I got hold of the fact that Yachi might have caught a cold... that means his taste organ might not be working well. I decided that today
is the day."

A spirited glare pierced Haruaki.

"Oh...where is she getting all that motivation...?"

"Well, they say that maintaining health is part of the battle. We only care about the taste, so don't worry. After all, we are the judges. Alright, here I go---!"

"I'll have this first! ------Wow Kirika-chan! These fried eggs are just great! I love the crunchy bacon bits!"

"Really now? So, It's great huh? Hehehehe.....!"

Kirika saw the two gave her food a good evaluation and smirked. But, that smirk was off her face immediately since the battle was still ongoing.
The judges reached for Haruaki's lunch box and-----

"Akki's fried eggs are delicious too! It's soooo good! .... Hmm I wonder where this strange taste comes from?"

"Haruaki, what did you add to your fried eggs?"

"I've put some avocadoes in it. Hehe, I based it from an old cooking manga."

Taizo and Kana looked at each other and nodded. They grabbed the winner's lunchbox and raised it above their heads, looking like a funny symmetrical statues holding a
lunch box.

"Um, the tastes were both great but we decided that Haruaki won for his novel idea!"

In that moment, Kirika lowered her head, her both hands shaking.

"Ugh....! Novelty.... They're right. My attention was tied to the taste and I failed to give a thought about an original idea....! So I learned today that conservative
idea alone is not enough to go against the ever-changing idea these days!"

".....Hey, class rep, I keep telling you that you shouldn't be THAT serious with the battles."

Haruaki tried to reassure. Kirika raised her head and said;

"I can't keep on losing to a man especially when it's about cooking! I'll win for sure next time!"

He'd already heard that line many times. But, telling that now to the class rep would be suicidal so he kept his mouth shut and just returned a bitter smile.

After that, they proceeded on having their own lunch for a while.
Little later, Haruaki heard a classmate calling out to him that he had a visitor. He looked at the door and saw a familiar face.

"It's Konoha-san! She's just as...well, you know, as always! Damn it Haruaki, please tell her that I, Taizo, send my appreciation for her being as beautiful as
a belladonna!"

"I don'k know why Hakuto would choose a poisonous flower to compare to her. It's plain stupid."

Haruaki ignored the conversation behind him and walked over to the door. It was his first time seeing konoha in school today.

"What's up?"

"There's nothing important, really... It's just that I worry about that girl..."

"I tried to wake her up but she won't so I just left her alone with a note."

"What?"

She froze.

"Was it ok to leave her alone?"

"From what I saw last night, I think that she's harmless enough but, hmmm... now that you mentioned it, I started to worry about her. After all, we didn't talk that much."

"Have you seen her.... original form?"

"Just a little bit, when I saw her for the first time. She was a big mysterious box."

He started to think about something for a moment but decided that he had no idea what she was and shook his head in surrender.

"Well, if you say that she's alright, I guess she is. I suppose there's nothing to worry about."

Konoha bowed her head in good bye and went back to her classroom.

(She said there's nothing to worry about, but....)

When a person starts to worry, it won't leave him until he checked on what was worrying him. It was like having second thoughts about your answer in an examination when you
checked it over for a correction. Haruaki had no choice but to stare at the slow-moving clock inside the classroom and wait for the time to go home.

After the classes, Haruaki and Konoha met in front of the school entrance.

"Don't you have a student council meeting today?"

"I've passed for today. I felt like it."

There was an understanding between the two. Haruaki hurried back to his house together with Konoha who was publicly known as his related cousin.
They arrived at the gate, opened it quickly, then entered the house. There they saw----

"What the?!"

They saw that the inside was horrible. Turned back table was standing in a slant position, its leg piercing the sliding door. The cabinets turned over. On the floor was
unnecessary things that should have been inside the closet scattered all over.

....Just in a half day, his place of rest became a place of chaos. Something extraordinary must have happened here.

Haruaki searched for the silver-haired girl, his heart beating wildly. He found her immediately.
She was lying face-down on the porch. Not a movement from her. He kneeled over her and picked her up.
He tried to talk to her while he shook her body. Her eyes opened and she blinked with a blank stare.
Konoha went to the kitchen to get some water but hurriedly came back.

"We've got a problem! The kitchen too is in wretched condition!"

"Just what in the world happened here... Fear! Come on, Fear!"

"Ugh...... Stop shaking me... I'm alright..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Oh, you just don't know what I've been through."

Fear sat up and held her head. Her head was drooped as she breathed in and out, as if saying that she was about to say something very important. She raised her head and said;

"Listen... A light green-colored alien with three legs came here a while ago and----"

"Haaaa!"

Before Fear could finish, Haruaki's hand went to the back of her head. A good sound came out from his strike.

"W-what are you doing all of a sudden?! You want me to curse you?!"

"I should be the one asking you what were you doing! I get it, you had nothing to do so you tried to destroy the house didn't you? Look at what you did!"

"Y-you're wrong..."

Fear faced away.

"Then how can you explain my collection of rare dishes being sucked by the vaccuum cleaner?! I could only take it as a presentation of malice against me! Have I done anything
to you?!"

Haruaki cornered her. Fear just made a sullen face and glared at Haruaki.

"Shut up! I don't care what you say about me! I'm feeling sleepy so I'll go get a sleep! Don't even try bothering me!"

She ran away to her room. Haruaki was taken back by her sudden outburst and lost the will power to follow her.

"That little... tsk, she should try to be the one who'll fix these things up! So this is how'd she repay me for my kindness!"

"...Um, excuse me?"

Konoha was the one who was poking my shoulder. She said to Haruaki in an awkward manner;

"I think that in that situation, you have some faults too, you know."

"Whay? I can't explain what she did other than playing a prank against me."

"Well, if you try to look at things around you, maybe you'll see what I mean. Try to look over there on the garden. Or at the kitchen"

I tried to look at where she pointed out. It was totally different from how I left them this morning. I still couldn't see anything other than Fear trying to play a-----

"....Huh?.... That girl... was she trying to...?"

<center>* * *</center>

What Fear did first when she entered her room was to mount on a pillow and punch it to get some stress out of her body. The moment she got out of breath, she took the futon out
and covered herself with it. But, that didn't completely took out her anger.

"Hmph....Hmph! That idiot, that shameless brat....! He doesn't have to be so..."

He didn't even try to listen to my explanation. How annoying.
Well, to tell the truth, she wasn't that enthusiastic about trying to explain things to him...

"There's no way I could tell him what I've been up to."

She can't explain THAT to him. It was too embarassing and too disappointing. She had that much pride, at least. She couldn't help it but----it was annoying.
After letting out a big snort. She rearranged the futon and covered her head again.

For the few days that Fear spent together with Honatsu, she was taught by him the basic japanese reading and writing, as well as the common knowledges about modern world.
That was why Fear was able to read the note that Haruaki left for her. She thought that leaving her alone here was impertinent but there wasn't anything she could do about
it so she just ate the breakfast/lunch that Haruaki left for her. After the meal, Fear murmured to her self.

"..... Phew. How boring."

She was sitting at the porch and looking up at the sky. That was when the "urge" hit her. It was a refreshing experience since it was her first time, but it was kind of
embarassing thinking about it------The call of nature.

"Being a human wasn't as comfortable as I thought."

She went to the washroom, making a face. After a few moments, her mission was completed.

"Now that was convenient. Haruaki said that it was called a faucet. I was quite amazed."

Fear stood before the wash stand, washing her hands and thinking about the great changes of the world around her. She mastered the use of faucet. Though she was amazed
sometimes at the technology, she taught that it was not enough to make her afraid.
While she was shaking the water off her hands, something inside the room caught her eye.

"Hm. I know that machine. It's called a "Washing machine". You put water and detergent to it and it will wash the clothes automatically."

Fear remembered what Haruaki said last night. She had to do something that [people would be thankful for] in order to lift her curse. Now, she thought about her current
condition. She had nothing to do. Maybe she should start doing something that would be helpful for people. Haruaki also said that it would take a lot of time to lift the
curse. If so, she should start early to finish earlier than it will originally take.

"....Hehehe. Thank me for what I'm going to do. And marvel at my true capacity...!"

First of all, she grabbed the clothes in the laundry basket and put them inside the washing machine. Next, she searched for a box of laundry detergent and found a box of powder
besides the washing machine. She tried to smell and it smelled like soap. She thought with confidence that this was the laundry detergent. Finally, she put the detergent inside
the washing machine-----one whole box of it. After the procedure, she tried to push different buttons and saw that the machine started to operate.

"I can do this...hehehe. I'm amazed by my adaptation ability. Well, maybe I should clean the house next!"

The thing that she needed was called a vacuum cleaner. According to Haruaki, it was a box with long nose attached to it. She found the vaccuum cleaner inside the closet.

"I know too that this machine requires electricity. There should be a nose-like hole on the walls. Hm, this should be it. It does look like a nose hole. But, hmmmm this
fork at the back of the vaccuum machine won't reach those holes......Wha?!"

The cord extended as she played with the plug. She was surprised by the unexpected movement.
She coughed, held her head high, and looked at her left and right.

"......It was just a feint. I knew about that."

She inserted the plug into the consent and tried to push all the buttons of the vaccuum cleaner. It revved up and started to suck in dust. Perfect.
Fear slowly moved the vaccuum and cleaned the whole room. She started to enjoy using the vacuum, so she proceeded on cleaning anywhere that she pleased.
She gradually got used to it and became faster as she cleaned. Though, there were some unknown phenomenon where the cord became heavier and crashing sounds resounded
behind her. Fear tried to look back but something more important entered her sight. It was a black eight-legged insect that was crawling above the tatami.

"A s-spider?!"

Goose bumps rose all over her. Fear asked herself why did it have to appear in front of her.
She vilificated her luck and tried to run away but she quickly turned back in self denial, thinking that she shouldn't back off against a spider.
Grabbing the vaccuum cleaner, Fear rushed to the spider. The machine she was holding wasn't a convenient vacuum cleaner anymore. It was an advanced weapon that could
send that wretched spider into another dimension.

"Turn into ash with the power of electricity!"

The spider quickly changed its direction and was able to evade the attack. It went inside the open closet where the vacuum cleaner was placed.
Fear couldn't hold back so she inserted the vaccuum inside the closet and tried to suck in the spider. The vaccuum hit other things inside the closet while
fear was maneuvering it. They came crashing out of the closet.
The vaccuum must have sucked in something big since the vaccum suddenly stopped working after raising a weird sound.

"What the?!"

She was the one attacking a while ago but now the table was turned against her. She backed a few steps and quickly shut the closet door. She sat down, let out a sigh and
thought of letting go of the closet door.
What should I do? Should I attack again? No, there's no need. he won't be able to get out unless I open this door. That's right, I'll just keep it shut. I'll just have
Haruaki terminate it when he came home.

"I didn't saw anything..... Yes, that's how it is."

Fear saw an object familiar to her rolling near her feet. It must have come from the closet. It was a cube with size where one could hold inside his palm, having a surface of
3x3 tiles. Every tile was painted with different colors.
She slanted her head and tried moving the cube. The colored tile shifted. She thought that if the tiles are moved right, the color on surface of the cube would be uniform.

"...... ...... ...... Oh! I forgot that there are things that I should be doing right now."

Fear placed the cube back on the floor. That moment, she heard a buzzing sound coming from the washing machine. She remembered that she was washing clothes.

"....Well, it certainly is showy. I wonder if it was necessary to do that much."

Bubbles were bursting ot from the washing machine like a mountain. Not only that, the overflowed water made a pool on the floor.
Anyway, If there was a washed clothes, it must be hung to let it dry.
Fear rescued the washed clothes out of the washing machine and placed them in a basket. She got out into the garden and went to the drying pole. The garden was carpeted
with green grass and it felt good to her bare feet.
Fear stood before the drying pole, wrung the clothes and set them on the pole to dry. There were triangular beak-like things on the pole but she didn't know what its used for
so she put them away. Maybe it was a charm or something.

"This is the last....one. Phew. It's perfect."

The clothes waved like a flag. Thinking that she was the one who did it caused a strange sense of fullfillment course through her.

It came when she tried to turn back, confident about her victorious feat-----A gust of wind.

There was no way she could go after it, and the towel went up over the roof. She made a wry face and jumped high onto the roof.
She heard a sound of something breaking below her but the towel was more important at that moment. She collected the towel and jumped down to the ground.
At that moment, another gust of wind came, as if it was playing a prank against her. Because of this, some of the clothes flew high up onto the branch of a tall tree.
She clucked and placed the collected towel on the pole. The moment she let go of the towel, the gust carried it up again, on to the tree branch. Damn. It was endless.

"..... Er, well. Clothes will dry faster if there was a wind to dry it. That means that those clothes over there on branch will dry faster. When viewed from a broad
perspective, it was better that it went up there on the tree.... or at least, I think that way."

She forcefully convinced herself and turned back to the house's direction, trying not to look at the waving clothes on the tree.
Strange thing came into her view. And it was....

First, there was the living room. The cabinets were turned over and the table on the center was slanted into a weird position. Its foot pierced through the sliding door.
The cord constricted around the table. She didn't noticed because of the appearance of the spider and the cubic toy. Somehow, she tought she knew what that caused weird phenomenon earlier.
Adding to that, many things which came from the closet were scattered on the floor and the vaccuum cleaner was lying dead on the floor.
Fear also noticed that something fell from the roof and saw that it was a gray-colored roof tile. It must have been the breaking sound she heard when she jumped over to the roof.

It was the first time that fear thought that something was strange. It seemed that the house became disarranged, more than before she started cleaning. In fact. she had a
feeling that it was completely wretched. She wondered why.

"Could it be that I have done something wrong?"

Two people's footsteps answered her question.
Fear slowly went over the porch and layed on her stomach, thinking.
A poltergeist or an alien. Which would be more credible if she were to reason out?

"Hmmmmmmmmm. I have this feeling that what she tried to do was too predictable but, could it be really...?"

Haruaki murmured to himself while looking up at the laundered clothes swaying on the branches of the tree located in the garden.

"If she was just playing around, she wouldn't think to put a laundry detergent into the washing machine.... Except for the amount she put in it. If you go to the washing machine
right now, you'll see for yourself that it's throwing out bubbles like a crab."

Konoha raised her hands and formed a "scissors", trying to imitate a crab. Haruaki picked up the rubik's cube that was laying on the floor.

"Really. Where did she find this thing?"

"Um, Haruaki-kun...? Do you remember the time when I first came here?"

"I can't remember much of the details, but I do. You did some strange things back then."

She came to this house when Haruaki was about to enter grade school. Of course, he didn't remember the clear details but he could still remeber Konoha's impression.

"I thought so. Well, I wanted you to forget all about it at first but thinking about it it now, I'm glad that you still remember how I used to be."

"Why?"

"Hehe. You just have to tell Fear-san what you told me back when we first met. With that, I bet all the problems will be solved."

"I don't remember what I told you. What did I say back then?"

"Well, Haruaki-kun didn't change a bit so you just have to tell her what's on your mind right now."

After that, Konoha offered to help cleaning up the house but Haruaki politely refused. He felt that it was something he had to do, and not anyone else. Konoha didn't argue
with him.
Later, after konoha went back to the outer building, Haruaki left the rubik's cube on the table and looked up at the ceiling.

"Oh hell. What am I supposed to do...."

<center>* * *</center>

In that evening.

"Hey. Are you awake?"

He waited patiently for the answer. After few moments, it came to him.

"Shut up. I'm asleep."

"No you're not. You answered my question."

"Shut up and be silent if you don't wanna be cursed."

"Alright, alright. So, don't you have something to say?"

After an interlude of silence, Fear replied that she didn't have anything to say to him. Haruaki said never mind and sighed. Talk about being stubborn.

"You might not have anything to say to me, but I do. Well, er... I'm sorry."

There was no reply. There wasn't anything he could do for her silence so he just continued speaking.

"I already knew what I should have done, but I forgot. You look like a human but you aren't-----but in reality, you're a human so you might have some difficulties at first. There might
be things that you wouldn't understand, and there might be times where you bother other people. There also might be times where you have a quarrel with someone. Konoha also
went through all of that."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about but don't compare me to that cowtits. It's unpleasant."

"Yeah, ok. Well, what I want to say is... that you don't have to hurry trying to lift your curse. And, if there was something that you don't know, just ask me and I'll teach you
so long as it was something that I know. I left your dinner at the kitchen so you can have it when you get hungry. I'll be going now. Oh, I forgot, here's my present for you.
Take it."

Haruaki left the paper bag he was carrying onto the floor in front of the sliding door. After that, he went back to his room, yawning as he walked away.
After a few minutes, the sliding door silently opened. After some minutes of observation, a white hand came out and took the paper bag. The sliding door moved silently as the
sliding door closed.

<center>* * *</center>

Inside the paper bag was some clothes. They were kind of big but most of them were universally fitting one pieces. There was also new underwears that was wrapped in a plastic.
A note fell from it saying "Only underwear should be brand new for infants"....

"Drop dead!"

Fear threw the note on the floor by reflex. She noticed that behind the paper was another note addressed to her. It said, "If you want a bra, try to work part-time and buy it yourself. You'll be able to do so when you get used to living here..... We'll, we're cursed tools so our body won't grow. That means that there won't be a need to, I mean, it would
be just a waste of time if you...."

A heel drop struck the paper before Fear could finish reading.
There were other things inside the paper bag other than the clothes. It was the cubic toy from earlier. And, there was also...

"....a rice cracker."

Her stomach growled. Haruaki said that she ate all the stock so he must have bought it for her.

"H-Hmph. I won't be bribed that easily. Does he think I'm such a child that I'll fall to his scheme?"

Despite her muttered complaints, her hands opened the snack and dug-in to the treat. Her other hand played with the rubik's cube. Sound of creaking plastic filled the room.

"Hm. Sesame seeds. It's coated with sesame seeds. How fragrant..."

Fear thought about Haruaki while two sounds resounded inside her room.
Well, I'll forgive that shameless brat for now. He should thank my merciful heart. First things first-----I should ask him where this wonderful snack is being sold.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[CubexCursedxCurious:Volume1_Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[CubexCursedxCurious|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[CubexCursedxCurious:Volume1_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Category:Pending Authorisation

2009-01-17T02:33:29Z

Kumichael: "authorized" is spelled wrong... someone should change the link name under "category" to the left

Projects here are classified as Pending.

Unauthorized projects should be tagged with:

:*{{[[Template:Warning:ATP|Warning:ATP]]}}

You are urged to comply with the [http://www.baka-tsuki.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1822 New Project Start-up Guidelines]

This project will be deleted within ONE WEEK from the creation date if you do not fulfil the terms in the above guidelines for starting new alternative language projects.

This can be, but not limited to:

* Lack of communication from start-up Translator to Baka-Tsuki Administration staff
* Lack of a Main Page and a Registration Page
* Lack of one complete translated chapter defined by the project

CubexCursedxCurious:Volume1 Prologue

2009-01-17T02:31:18Z

Kumichael: wish this was an authorized project... SOMEONE GO AUTHORIZE IT!!! thank you :)

I. A tool changes its quality into negative direction if it continues to receive negative thoughts.

II. A tool that receives negative thoughts often affects the owner and the people around it.

III. In exchange with the negative effect it brings upon the people around it, it may show mysterious charm and function.

IV. At the end of receiving all the negative thoughts and curses from humans, an item will obtain human qualities.

'''Prologue:'''

A black cube.
It was the only description for it if you'll have one look at the object. A side of its surface was about 1 meter long, and there was no Idea how the object was used.
Yachi Haruaki was staring at it with a look of disbelief apperent on his face.

"Excuse me sir, can I have the sign?"

"Oh, yes, sure."

Haruaki checked the receipt. It was written in English since it was sent from abroad but the name written for the sender was just as he expected.
(Another one of THOSE, you stupid old man?!), Haruaki groaned silently within himself.

"Thank you sir! Phew, I've had hard time carrying this. It was so heavy! Well, may I ask what thing this is, sir?"

"Er, you see, my father loves to collect antique objects and he's sending those objects he bought from abroad once in a while... hmmm I'm also wondering what this is!"

Haruaki tried to evade the question. It was no lie though. It was just that he wasn't sure how weird this particular object that his father sent this time.
Of courese, he didn't bother to explain that to the delivery man.

After the delivery man had driven away, Haruaki looked down again at the strange box laying in front of his gate.

"What is this really? Well, it was my old man who sent it so it's got to be something troublesome for sure."

The important question was how much of a trouble it was. Haruaki cautiously touched the cube, feeling the cold sensation of a steel. It had no lid so he supposed that it was a boxed-shaped
"something", rather than a box to put "something" in. He observed the surface well and noticed that there were numerous lines and curves that hinted a joint seam.

"Is it some kind of puzzle box? maybe it had to go under a certain process to activate or something...? Hmmmm, maybe I'm just thinking too much. I suppose these kind of things are the ones
which doesn't have specific usage, if you think about it well. I made I up mind! It's nothing important, I'm sure. My peaceful life will go on just as it was...!"

Haruaki told himself while he played with the seams.
He thought he heard a surprised wail.
He stopped his movement and closed his eyes. After he calmed down, he told himself;

"...That was an auditory hallucination."

While he was trying to convince himself, the cube let out a sound of a grazing steel and a part of its surface moved. Haruaki peeked at the space visible from the part of the cube
that looked like a popped-out CD tray. He saw metal parts with different shapes looking like cogs that was entangled inside. He tried to trace it with his finger but all did it was
to move. Nothing had happened except for the low moan that he thought he heard.

"Oh, another auditory hallucination! That's it, uh-huh. Well, it's none of my business anyway! Since it has nothing to do with me, the best thing to do is to leave it alone!"

He avoided further inquiry for the moment.
But still, it wouldn't do any good if he left the cube at the front of his gate so he brought it to the room where other objects that his father sent was being stored.

"Oh.....god....! It's so damn heavy!"

He started to walk toward the main buliding of his house.
On his way, he thought heard a dissatisfied snort but of course, he decided it was another one of those auditory hallucinations.

Haruaki woke up inside his 6-tatami japanese room. He hurriedly checked the clock and it was already past 7:00 PM. It was already dark outside the window.
He only planned to take a nap after carrying the black cube to the storage room but ended up sleeping until now. Maybe it was because he wasn't able to sleep well last night.

(Oh hell, my stomach's already complaining in hunger but I still haven't made anything to eat...)

He did have a housemate living in a separate building, but he was basically alone, so it was unlikely that he'd find a cooked meal. Beside, the package that his father sent came right after
he came home from school, so he didn't get any chance to prepare something to eat.
Haruaki got out of the bed and was thinking about the chores he was going to do when he heard faint sounds.
Sound of someone's footsteps; sound of someone scavenging inside the cabinet; and finally, an unknown crunching sound.

(Could it be... Konoha?)

Haruaki looked out at the window and checked the second floor of the other building. There were two windows and one of them had lights on.
That meant that his housemate was there.

His whole body tensed. This traditional Japanese house was old and wide. It was an excellent prey for burglars.
Haruaki opened the sliding door and was walking silently in the hallway.
The sound came from the kitchen. He killed his breath and silently walked towards the kitchen, feeling like a burglar himself.

The moonlight illuminated a small figure crouching in front of the cabinet. It also reflected a long silver hair.
Observing from the figure's shadow, Haruaki decided that it was a female. Her hand was stretching alternately to her mouth and to the plastic bag she was holding.
The unknown crunching sound was coming from there.
His calm observation ended when he realized the amazing view in front of him. Without a thought, he shouted at the female figure, pointing his finger at her.

"A naked rice-cracker thief?!"

"Huh?"

The girl stared back at Haruaki. She had long silver hair and fair white skin, slender body and beautiful face. It was shrouded with grace and strong will, contradicting qualities playing
in her expression like a trick art. A fragment of rice-cracker in her mouth fell as she, too, pointed her finger towards Haruaki and shouted,

"Wha..?! Hey! You're that impudent man from earlier!"

The girl looked down at her body and red shade crawled all over her face.

"Don't tell me your planning to play with my body again?! What a shameless man!"

She knelt down and started to throw every object that was around her; a tray, wooden plate, teapot, etc.
She did it with great control. I slipped from the object that I accidentally stepped on, trying to parry the flying projectiles.
objects started to pile above me.

"Ouch! h-hold on for a second! ow! If you come near me, i'll---"

The girl crossed her arms in front of her conservative breasts, her hands still holding the round shaped rice-crackers.
Haruaki lost his voice as he froze up seeing the unpredictable expression on her face. The girl tensed for a moment and shouted at him.

"....I, I'll put a curse on you!"

Haruaki understood from the words she said that SHE was the box that he received this afternoon.
Tension left his shoulders and he dropped them as he thought;

(I knew it. That stupid old man... He did it agin.)
(He sent another Cursed Tool again!)

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume10 Chapter1

2009-01-16T02:19:43Z

Kumichael:

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume10 Chapter1

2009-01-15T00:59:56Z

Kumichael:

7 Nights:Prologue

2009-01-12T05:46:50Z

Kumichael: yeah no kidding it hasn't edited yet... i got some questions for the translator, if he/she wants this edited anytime soon...

~Prologue~ ‘SE = Sound effect’ (note: please think of a good SE for those parts)

SE: *FSSSSHHH* (swinging/slashing sword - Burning monster as well)

In the darkness, the white-blue shining tip of the blade slashed through the monster, burning away it's outer shell.

SE: *GRRAAAAH!* (slashing through a monster)

The monster moaned, but only for an instant. It swung its serrated scythe-shaped claw towards us at full speed!

“Heh…”

I quickly dodged the attack. The claw slashed through the air, crushing the asphalt, and creating a huge hole in the ground.

I am tired... but I make sure not to show it. Keeping my distance from the monster and my eyes focused on the prey. Inside my hand is a metallic cylinder-shaped handle, and coming out of it is a shining blade, creating rays of blue and white light.

“Gii… Gigigi!” (Not sure what this is? -TGM)(Think up a better noise a pray mantis would make -Bucket)

I point my ‘Laser Blade’ at the monster who is taking its time pulling the claw out of the caved in asphalt. Its head resembles an upside-down triangular shape, with multiple eyes on each side of its face. It glared at me. The wound I gave it must have made it angrier; As it was gritting its jaws so hard that I could hear it clearly. The monster turned its disgusting body to face me, 4 legs coming out of its torso allowing it to stand up.

Illuminated by the lights of the neon signs, this monster, if you describe it as a normal insect, is the closest to a praying mantis. Although, calling it a ‘praying mantis’ when it’s over 3 meters tall, is a bit of a stretch.

“A small praying mantis is scary enough, but this isn’t fair!”

I remember when I was a kid watching the scene of a praying mantis feast. Just like how the grasshopper got devoured, will I have my body ripped apart piece by piece by this monster? You are kidding me! This has got to be a joke!

“___Gi!!!”

Suddenly the monster lunged forward! The gigantic figure covering the distance within seconds. It was fast! Even if I back away, it will still catch up to me. All I can do is stay and fight... Can I do it?!

“Giguiiii~!!!”

The monster jumped with no wasteful movements and lashed out at me with its deadly claws! I managed to avoid a direct hit, but there was a burning pain in my left shoulder. The serrated, scythe-like claws must have ripped into the meat. No matter! Without hesitation, I kicked off the ground and launched myself straight at the monster. Gripping the Laser Blade tightly… (Does this sword have a name? -TGM)(lightsaber? -anon)

“Hiyaaaah!!!”

I stabbed the monster in the torso, landing a deadly blow!

“Gi…Giyuuuuu!”

The monster let out an ear-splitting screech. I thrust the shining blade deeper into its chest cavity. The dying noises were just as bad as the smell that came from its burning insides.

“a…Haa… haa… haa…”

It seems this shall be my victory. Now to make this screeching to stop. I pushed the blade in up to the hilt.

“Ga!”

As soon as the monster noticed the drop in my guard, it quickly got its claw hooked in the back of my leg.

“Arghh!”

With the claw firmly embedded, it gave a strong jerk. Losing grip of the sword I started to plummet towards the ground. Unfortunately for me, the monster's other claw was waiting for me! I was suddenly impaled and lifted into the air. I already stabbed it! I stabbed its chest already with my own two hands! Why is it still moving? Why, why is it still alive?! How much vitality does this creature have? This isn’t fair!

“Guh… Puh…!”

I spat out some blood… The stomach acid tasted sour and burned my throat. The smell of my escaping internal organs and blood mixed together to make my nostrils go numb.

“You…Get… Get off me!”

The praying mantis’s ‘feast’ had started. Its scythe-like claws and sharp fangs were only used for dismembering their prey. The larger jaws were chattering away, while the smaller jaws were preparing to eat. As if I was some French dish, it started to cut the meat into pieces and place them into its mouth.

“u..chi…gachi…guchu…” (Does this guy have a speech problem? =\ -TGM)

Without even taking a break, it kept feasting off of me. I think I’m gonna go crazy. Being eaten alive… This is torture!!! I shook my blood filled thoughts away and tried to reach the Laser Blade that was lying uselessly on the ground. But, as I watched blood slowly flow down my arm, I realized it was just out of reach.

“Argh… Arghhhhhhhh!!!”

Extreme pain ran across my entire body, and I started to lose my grip on consciousness. What was that…!? I didn't want to watch a praying mantis monster happily chewing apart my body… And, I sensed that, it was about to reach my ‘vital’ parts… This is bad! Anymore and I was going to get killed! I didn't want to die like this! But, I couldn’t do anything about it… It had completely disabled my movement...

“Ju!... Gijigiji…”
Ouch! No! It hurts! No! It hurts it hurts it hurts!!!
“Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

---*BANG!!!*

The sound echoed the area. In an instant, its entire body has been smashed by something rock-hard.
And the pain that has been killing me has reduced down.
“Giuuuuuuuuuu!”
The monster screeches. The half closed eyelids have now completely opened up, and if I look at it even with my blurred sight, I see a pray mantis jumping and screaming and rolling around like crazy. From the stomach area and below had been blown off.

I think ‘back-up’ has finally arrived. I have been released by the monster, and had been dropped to the ground.
“Guh…Cough…!Heh…”
Then something pops in my head. I swallow in all the blood whirling in my mouth, stretch my hand to reach and grab the toy blade.

Despite my shaking body, I stand up, but I’m wobbling unbalanced. Then I focus my mind onto the ‘toy blade’, and the plastic object turns into a sharp metallic blade. The object starts to shine blue and white. This isn’t enough! I must put in more energy!
“Wuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”
I focus even more. I use all my will power and sharpen my consciousness. The lighting blade shines stronger, and starts to become gold. All the power causes the air around me to mix in and creates many explosion noises!

The pray mantis, having half its body blown off, is still crawling around using its scythe-like arms and is trying to get up. It done well for an insect, I can say I’m impressed. But…
“It’s over now!”
I dived to the pray mantis! But that moment I felt the biggest pain come back right into my entire body… But, that doesn’t matter!
As if drawing a semicircle I swing down my blade towards right in front of me…
“Gi…”
The pray mantis head flies off! My blade keeps cutting through and chops its arms off.
The monsters body with no base drops to the ground.
I, so exhausted myself, fall to the ground also.
“I… I beat it…”
I was panting really hard, panting really fast without a break. The dry ground, absorbs all my blood streaming out of my body. It’s okay that I defeat that monster, but at this rate, I’m gonna die… Well, at least it’s a lot better than being eaten alive by a pray mantis…

“Sakuya!!!”

My mind that was floating away quickly came back to place because of that loud voice calling me.

“Sakuya! Are you alright? Sakuya!”
A girl in school uniform speaks to me. A girl, who is usually aggressive, is unusually caring about me. She is leaning over me. In the girls hand is a Hand Gun. That is what saved my life.
“! You have a terrible wound…”
The girl, not worrying about the blood staining her clothes, puts her gun on the ground and leans over my head.
“Akeno…”
My voice which mumbled the girl’s voice was a lot worse than I thought.
“Thanks for that. You saved my life. Are you okay yourself, Akeno? Have you received any wounds?”
“You should worry about yourself, not me! Sakuya… What should we do? This terrible wound…”
“It’s okay, this is just a dream, just a nightmare… I won’t die, probably…”
“‘Probably’, isn’t good enough! If you die, who’s going to protect me!?”
Akeno frowns at me. I’m glad because it’s just like Akeno to add extra irrelevant words into everything she says. Even if her voice is trembling and tears are running down her eyes.
“W… Why are you smiling? I’m seriously worried about you!”
“I know… I am glad that you’re worried about me, but…”
“But… What?”
“You’re usually tsun-tsun (snobbish) so… Your worried face is cute… Kinda…”
“Wha-”
Akeno looked surprised, maybe if the situation wasn’t the situation she would’ve blushed… I think I just did a confusing thing.
“You… You idiot! Even if you compliment me like that I’m not happy! You have a bad personality!”
“May…Arghh*cough*!”
“Sa-Sakuya!?”
I coughed blood out again. I’ve lost so much blood already… There’s still more!? I think I’ve lost too much… Thanks to that I don’t have any blood in the edges of my body… So I don’t feel anything on my fingers and even my head… It feels weird… If I realize the pain has gone too…

“Just wait a sec… I’ll give you treatment!”
“Yes... Please…”
I’m becoming tired and sleepy, I can’t keep my eyes open and I’m getting so tired it’s hard for me to even talk.
“Let… Let me rest… o… ra…”
“No! You can’t sleep! Open your eyes! Please!”
Akeno’s voice starts to fade away. I can tell she’s shaking my body. But… Give me a break… I’m so tired… I really need to sleep… It… It feels really good like this…

“G…Night…Ake…o…”

I just managed to say that sentence, and then I had rested my body into a deep, deep sleep.

(NOT EDITED YET)

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Epilogue

2009-01-07T05:12:31Z

Kumichael: /* Epilogue */

===Epilogue===

The next morning......

Students and teachers from the Academy of Magic who had gathered and were surrounding the ''Ostland'', which was parked at a grassland a distance away from the Academy of Magic, were staring at it.

At one look, it was just like a gigantic ship.

The diameter of the wings was roughly 150 mails. Although the hull of the ship was the same as the ones in Halkeginia, the huge propellers which were installed at its back, together with its huge wings, caused the ship to emanate a bizarre atmosphere. The propellers were installed one by one beside the extending wings.

“The wings which amounted to 3 revolutions cause the driving force of this ship to increase by a few times. The power which causes the revolving wings to operate......is acquired from the pressure of the steam which originates from water heated by coals. I call this a 'steam engine.' This is a design which resembled the installed power devices from that 'Dragon's Raiment.'”

Colbert explained to Mr. Osman who was standing beside him.

“What an awesome ship......Why did you install such huge wings?”

“To travel to the east. To work hard to travel long distances......we must by all means minimize the expenditure of wind stones. With those huge wings, the ship can get the buoyancy it needs to float, gliding and flying at the same time. Its principles are the same as the Albatross and the Oscar.

Mr. Osman rubbed his white beard.

“Well, this is splendid. If this is applied in warships, what type of air force would be able to be formed......?”

“I do not have the intention to use this as a warship. In the end, this is still an 'exploring ship.' Weapons needed to defend itself have been installed......but I have no intention to hand it over to the king's army. The expenses to construct this ship has been paid for by Miss Zerbst's family. So the ship belongs to Germania, no matter what. If the Tristain government inspects this ship, it would become a diplomatic issue. Well...no matter what...besides me, no one else can move this ship.”

Mr. Osman nodded, satisfied.

“If that's the case, I have nothing else to say. Believe in yourself, just like that, and decide your own path, Flaming Serpent.”

Colbert smiled, and nodded.

At a place far away from that conversation, students were there watching attentively.

Kirche, Guiche, Montmorency, and Saito.

Montmorency muttered in a dispirited voice.

“That teacher is still alive huh......or should I say, why did you lie that he had died?”

Kirche combed her hair upwards triumphantly and replied.

“That's because......I had to lie to that scary onee-san of the musketeer squad, right? At that rate, my Jan would be killed.”

“What do you mean by 'my Jan'?”

“Hey, isn't that his name?”

Apparently embarrassed, Kirche wriggled her body and murmured.

“Haaa? His name?”

“Yeah. What a lovely name......”

Absentmindedly, Kirche replied.

Montmorency who had realized Kirche's feelings from her look, asked in a amazed tone.

“You......don't tell me......”

“Yeah, that is it. But my Jan, he's so powerful, yet never showing off his powers, a knowledgeable person, and able to make such a magnificent thing like this ship!”

The expenses of the construction of the ship were apparently forked out by Kirche, or Kirche's family. The Zerbst of family of Kirche is wealthy and famous, but that's not the way to use it......How dreadful it is for someone who fell completely in love! Montmorency thought.

“What is your age gap?”

“For me, age gap is not an obstacle at all.”

“What about his bald head?”

“Just like the sun. The symbol of passion.”

At that moment, Colbert called out to Kirche.

“Miss Zerbst.”

“Yeeeessss! Just call me Kirche! I've already told you many times! No way, my Jan!”

As if she skipped and tread, Kirche leaped to his side energetically. She clung onto him, and Colbert grimaced, looking troubled.

Montmorency muttered.

“Sigh......Things which must at a certain time happen will happen, huh?"

Guiche extended his arm towards Montmorency's shoulder.

“I don't really get it......but let us let things which must happen at a certain time to happen......with love."

Montmorency pinched the back of Guiche's hand and raised her eyebrows.

“It hurts!”

“You, while Saito and the others were in danger, what were you doing?”

“Ummm, in the ball......”

“And you formed the knight corps! You, get down to work! You're the Commanding Officer, right!?”

“Gyagya!” Guiche yelled, and dropped his shoulders, dejected.

During that time......Louise was at her room, confronting Henrietta.

Henrietta was finding out about the ones who had attacked Louise.

But she did not understand the details.

What she had confirmed was something like their opponent was Myozunitonirun, the opponent of the 'familiar of Zero'.

She planned to call Saito later to listen to the whole incident again.

“Because of my rash actions......I had exposed you to danger again......My apologies.”

“No......It was not really Princess's fault......”

Louise replied in an unpleasant-like voice.

Both of them exchanged glances, and fell silent.

Louise tried to ask Henrietta about the things which filled her head.

Yet......those words could not come out.

Ask Henrietta about those things......means that her relationship with Henrietta would crack.

Louise was troubled.

Should she ask or not.

No......the answer was already out.

Though their friendship since a young age would be broken apart, she had to ascertain it.

What she lacked was the courage to take the first step out.

“Princess, there's something I want to ask.”

“Wh-what is it?”

“Princess's actions in the ball, were they from your true feelings?”

Henrietta shook her head in a sad-looking face.

“Supposing those were from my true feelings......what would you do?”

Louise who was distressed for a moment......

“I don't know.”

...said honestly.

Henrietta became anxious. She looked far into the distance, and bit her fingernails for a moment.

Louise realized that Henrietta's manner was like she did not consider her state at all.

Evidently, this princess...... was as if she did not realize Louise's feelings at all.

In contrast to friends or any other people, she did not appear to be anyone of them.

Instead of anger, Louise was shocked.

It could not be helped that she was a true princess. For her to conjecture things like other people's feelings, she could not do it at all. So it was inevitable for Louise to get mad at her.

I was like that during those days as well, huh?

“What's wrong? What's so funny? Louise. I haven't said anything funny......”

Henrietta looked nervous.

Whilst smiling bitterly, Louise said.

“No......Princess is only innocent. Sometimes, looks like there are situations when the people around you could not agree with your innocence, no matter what.”

“I see......”

Depressed, Henrietta dropped her shoulders.

Henrietta was after all, still a human.

Same as herself, Henrietta gets troubled by trivial things......becomes weak and helpless, her feelings hurt due to petty matters......falls in love......She is just a normal girl like that.

Until then, Louise kept regarding the things Henrietta did as absolute. Since the start, she believed that they were correct. However, that was not the case. Henrietta makes mistake as well. She falls in love. And sometimes......there should be incidents when she snatches away the one she loves.

She thought that......and somehow felt that this was like the first time she could understand Henrietta.

“That's okay. Princess's feelings are Princess's feelings. Please guard that valuable thing gently. To take it out, or to leave it locked all the time, this is Princess's freedom. I do not find any fault with it.”

“I don't get it. I......what is that? Really, what do you mean......?”

Henrietta who was perplexed like that, appeared to be just like a childish kid.

[[Image:ZnT09-255.jpg|thumb]]
Louise bowed at Henrietta once.

“Louise?”

“Please forgive me for my discourtesy.”

With a serious look, Louise slapped the left cheek of Henrietta who was taken aback.

''Paaaaannnggg!'' The dry sound echoed in the room.

“Y-, you......”

Next, just like before, she landed another slap at the dumbstruck Henrietta's right cheek.

''Paaaaaaaaannnggg!''

In that instant, Henrietta could not understand what happened......She just stared fixedly at Louise. Since she was born, she never had any experience with things like being slapped by someone else.

Louise knelt at Henrietta's feet.

“I have been very rude. However, that is my familiar. Since you were prepared to strike, please have and deal with the suitable readiness as well.”

Louise looked up at Henrietta. Anger and possessiveness were swimming in those eyes.

“Please be aware of that. Next time, if I use my flat hand again, I beg your pardon.”

In a daze, Henrietta stroked her cheek......after which she displayed a smile slowly.

She squatted, and hugged Louise's shoulders.

“Yeah. For a mage, his familiar is the most valuable existence; just like the two moons in the night sky, a relationship which could not be severed. I will be aware of it. When I meet you, I will approach you with the suitable readiness.”

The other royal lass was......

...in her own room, with a letter spread out in front.

A brand new letter without any signature or stamp.

Nevertheless, she understood the sender's intent, painfully.

The gist was simply......the deprivation of her 'Chevalier' title, and the arrest of her confined mother at the shore of Ragdorian lake. A short, two-line letter.

After finished reading the letter, Tabitha tore it up into shreds......and let it out of the window.

Gazing at the paper shreds which scattered like snowflakes, Tabitha thought to herself.

I did not regret my conduct.

Anyhow, my mother is already an imprisoned body.

Her residence has merely changed.

I would retrieve my mum with my own hands.

That day is not far.

No, I have no plans to make it far.

After the scattered letter shreds had been blown by wind till they disappeared......Tabitha faced the window, and whistled.

From the sky, Sylphid descended.

Jumping onto its back, Tabitha muttered a short sentence.

“To Gallia.”

After Mr. Osman joined Kirche and explained something, Colbert turned towards Saito for the first time.

Saito became very nervous.

Meeting Colbert whom he had been thinking all this while to be dead......what's the best thing to say first?

There were many things to say.

The war at Albion.

Many people had died.

The air battle of the dragon knights.

The occupation of the city of South Gotha.

And the escape.

His standing at the rear, stopping the 70 000 army.

Because of the achievement, the conferment of the title 'Chevalier'......

But......the moment he saw Colbert who was walking towards him, those could not be turned into words. He merely held back his tears as if he did not cried, with his lips shut tight.

He did not spend that long a time with Colbert.

But the value of a human is not decided through the length of time spent together.

Saito gazed at the middle-aged man of this world who appreciated him.

Someone who understood him significantly better than Louise.

In a familiar voice as if he met him in the academy, courtyard, or laboratory, Colbert spoke.

“Yo! Saito-kun. Long time no see, huh? During my absence, looks like you had gone through troubles and hardships.”

Saito hesitated, not knowing what to say.

He wanted to say something complicated, to show that he had grown.

Yet, those words could not come out.

Mixed with tears, a sad voice came out.

“Teacher......I......I kept thinking that you are dead......”

“My death, huh? No, my probable death, huh? I was going to ask you for a request. To show me your world.”

The tears which Saito had been fighting back overflowed.

“Why do you cry? What a worrisome pupil you are! Come now, shouldn't we go together now? To the ''Ostland''!”

Colbert clapped Saito's shoulder.

Saito was shedding tears of joy.

While he was shedding tears of joy......a question arose.

''What is the true motive of the Myozunitonirun who had appeared again?''

''Henrietta said that she would look into it, but......I can't wait any longer. I would find out her true motive somehow, and make her not able to meddle with my affairs anymore. If I can't work out a plan......''

And it seemed like Tabitha and that Myozunitonirun had some sort of connection.

There were many things he was worrying right now. ''Where is Tabitha now?''

''I would speak to her afterwards''......but her figure could not be seen.

Passing through the academy gate, Louise went outside......and in front of her, an amazing scene was spread out.

The ship which possessed those huge wings, was parked at the grasslands.

The mast was of Germania......and the flag of the Von Zerbst family was fluttering. Apparently, they were saved by the ship of the Von Zerbst family of Germania.

Surrounding it were students and teachers who were admiring that ship and laughing.

Amongst them, she discovered Saito's figure......and Louise rushed over.

She must continue the incident yesterday night.

At that time, she had planned to hit him many more times......but she could not do it.

“No way.”

Louise muttered.

''Somehow that IDIOT began to stand out......and because of that, gathering attention to himself. Anyhow, he had even fascinated Henrietta...''

''How many times should I be fretting over him?''

Leaving that aside, there was something else she was dissatisfied about.

''After this, I would be irritated many more times, right?''

''I would also get upset many times in my anger as well, right?''

But still, whenever that happened......

“How could I be deluded with a kiss?”

That was her dissatisfaction.

''Somehow, with only a kiss......with only a gentle embrace, ''nngh''......that 'me' who would just think that 'Never mind, it's okay.' is unforgivable......''

As she was growing increasingly impatient, an angry-looking appearance surfaced, and Louise sped down the path towards that grassland.

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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter9

2009-01-06T05:27:45Z

Kumichael: /* Chapter Nine- Confrontation with The Mysterious Bird */

===Chapter Nine- Confrontation with The Mysterious Bird===

Saito exited the main tower and went to Louise's room for a look at once. However, she did not come back. "Anyway, if I could not find Louise..." That was the only thing on his mind.

He had never seen Louise so sad before.

He made her become like that......no matter what, that was unforgivable.

He wanted to meet her and apologize.

Whilst he was running, Saito imagined Louise's feelings. She saw the princess she esteemed and......the familiar whom she always thought to be faithful, hugging each other as if they were lovers; how much were her feelings hurt?

Although they were not lovers......, Louise had seen him allowing Henrietta as far as kissing, what a pain it had been to her! By only thinking about this, Saito's heart hurt.

Leaping out of the room, he ran to the courtyard of the academy at night immediately.

In the midst of the almost pitch-black darkness......Louise's figure could not be seen anywhere.

When he was going towards the Vestri courtyard......

The clouds cleared, and the moonlight revealed a figure; a shadow which was sitting on the bench could be seen.

“Louise!”

He unintentionally shouted and rushed forward, only to find that he was mistaken.

“What? Oh, it's you......”

It was Tabitha. Not even attending the ball at such a night, reading a book at a bench to which no one would come; it was really typical of her.

“Hey, did you see Louise?”

Tabitha did not respond.

Staring fixedly at the book, just like that, her body did not stir an inch.

She didn't hear it? He thought, and repeated himself.

“Don't you know where Louise is?”

The face which was illuminated by the moonlight, was completely pale.

At that moment......Saito realized that there was a shadow circling in mid-air with its back against the moon.

“What's that? It's not a bird......and it's got legs?”

With the figure of a human and flapping wings, it appeared to be a strange creature. It was just like the figure of demons he saw in manga and televisions in the former days.

“Gargoyle.”

Briefly, Tabitha said.

“You......!” At that moment when he said that, Tabitha waved her wand.

''Buoo!'' The air in front of him expanded, and Saito was blown off.

“What are you......!”

Not even having the time to shout, ice arrows aimed at Saito and flew towards him.

At a place somewhat far from the Academy of Magic, Louise was crying ceaselessly.

“Cruel......too cruel......why, why!”

Pitch black darkness was around her.

It was as if she was left behind all alone in this world. Yet, right now she was not fearful of the darkness. Rather, Louise felt that part of her heart was the same as well.

“Unforgivable......Cruel......absolutely unforgivable......”

Words and tears overflowed together, unstoppable. Her miserable feelings kept reproducing.

She muttered that many, many times, and......

“What is unforgivable?”

In the midst of the darkness, a voice could be heard.

Louise who was in a state of confusion , felt that reverberating inside her heart.

“I was betrayed. That's why, unforgivable.”

“By whom were you betrayed?”

“By someone who was valuable to me......”

“Well then, you must take revenge.”

“Revenge?”

“Unforgivable right? If that's the case, you must take revenge. You can do it. User of the great Void.”

At that, Louise came to her senses.

“......Who are you?”

“One of your friends. Since a long time ago......one who serves you people.”

“Who are you! Come out!”

Louise shouted into the darkness. Then she remembered that incident in Albion before this.

“Myozunitonirun?”

“You got it, but you're still wrong.”

She focused her eyes......and a winged shadow came into sight.

“......Gargoyle?”

As Louise was about to stand up,

“Don't worry. I will not harm you.”

The gargoyle which had appeared from the dark headed towards Louise's feet and crouched down reverentially.

“What......what's your intention! Myozunitonirun! You said you won't harm me! Then come out! Let me be your opponent!”

However, the gargoyle opened its mouth.

“For the things that had happened before this, I apologize. But, that was a so-called test. To determine whether you deserve to be our ally or not.”

“Speak properly! You think I would believe such words?”

“Well then, ask yourself. In this world, what is worth believing in?”

Louise was speechless. Just a while ago......wasn't she just betrayed by those two?

“My master can teach you that.”

“Lie......that's a lie!”

Louise's voice was becoming increasingly softer.

“The one who can truly understand you......is only a fellow user of Void. We want you to lend us your power.”

“......My power?”

“It's natural for you to be cautious. Yet, excessive caution would turn your eyes away from the truth.”

Whether or not it was magic, but the gargoyle's voice was enchanting.

Gradually, Louise's caution disappeared.

Louise who was confused because of her grief, did not know that she was falling for that trick.

“You, are you really my friend?”

“Of course.”

“My friend? You won't betray me?”

“I will definitely not betray you.”

The gargoyle slowly turned around, and showed Louise it's back.

“Please ride on me. One of our great masters.”

Louise could not resist that voice any more.

She felt the gargoyle's back......and Louise's senses flew away. Slowly, as if she was falling asleep, Louise lay down on the gargoyle's back.

''Gaa!''

''Gagaa!''

''Gagagagagaaa!''

With perpetual Windy Icicles striking him, Saito tumbled sideways to avoid them.

Clearly, it was an attack whose aim was to......kill Saito.

If he had not undergone Agnes' trainings, he should not be able to evade them.

“What the heck! What do you want to do!”

Saito yelled in anger. He did not understand the reason behind those attack at all.

“Oi! Tabitha! You, what the hell......wh-!”

The response was magic.

Tabitha scattered the Windy Icicles in all directions, got him surrounded, and released them.

''Bashushushushushuuu!''

After the smokescreen of water vapor produced by the countless Windy Icicles cleared up......

Contrary to her expectations that a skewered figure would come into sight, Saito was standing there with Derflinger unsheathed. The Windy Icicles were absorbed by Derflinger, while the remaining ones were swiped away by Saito with the blade.

“What on earth, what's your reason? Why did you attack me? Say it!”

Tabitha lifted her wand.

“Because of a command.”

“Command? Who commanded you!”

As expected, her reply was magic.

Saito gripped Derflinger tightly and leaped. He planned to shortened their distance in one breath......and knock down the wand Tabitha was holding. But Tabitha reacted to Saito's movements, and leaped, passing by him. Her body moved agilely, just like the traditional 'Wind' which she prided in.

As if she were a clockwork puppet, Tabitha combined her body skills and magic to dodge the sword Saito brandished.

“!?”

She was jumping up and down, evading the sword, and at the same time,

“Deru Bagaraasu.”

She chanted the spell, and subsequently, used magic to fly past him. Very slowly, as if she was chasing cotton wool.

And then, sometimes, she would utter incantations which would cause attacks like bee stings.

The air was distorted, and it attacked Saito.

“Air Hammer.”

At that instant the sword was already set up, but, taken by surprise, Derflinger could not absorb it.

Receiving the full blow, Saito was hurled into air.

“Dam......”

However, that attack did not carry strong powers.

It seems that both sides lacked decisive blows. To match with Gandálfr's speed only, she had to put in a lot of effort.

Because she did not have enough time for her chants, she could not use strong incantations. Naturally, the Windy Icicles and Air Blades were quite weak.

Yet, Tabitha was fast.

With a small and light body, her movements were faster than Wardes whom he fought before this.

“This fellow is that. The movements of an assassin.”

Derflinger revealed its feelings.

“Assassin?”

“Yeah. Avoiding direct battles, and when the opponent reveals his weakness, deciding the victor in an instant. That girl's one by one strikes are not very strong. Her moves and speed are extraordinary though.”

“......To compare us, isn't that she has a wand?”

“Partner's heart is shaking, that's why.”

“That's very true! Why am I fighting her......!”

Saito could not even display half of his usual powers.

In his state of not understanding the reason, he could not fight Tabitha.

Before he knew, in his defensive battle, Saito was driven to a corner. No......Even if he could utilise Gandálfr's full power, Saito should not be able to fight Tabitha seriously. Now, he only drew his sword to try his best to knock off Tabitha's wand. Saito was a person like that.

The offence and defence continued for many times......

Saito and Tabitha were confronting each other within a distance of 15 mails.

It was scarcely an interval.

Instantly, Saito retreated slightly out of the distance which he could plunge forward towards her immediately.

A distance at which Tabitha could avoid if he were to plunge forward towards her......

That was the same for Saito as well. Even if Tabitha uttered any spell......he had the confidence to deal with it from this distance.

“Oi! It's about time you say the reason......”

At that moment,

“What's your problem in dealing with him?”

As if it was reverberating in their heads, a voice could be heard from above the sky.

The gargoyle which they had seen since some time ago, was carrying something behind it and circling them.

It was a shadow.

At the moonlight, pink hair shone.

“LOUISE!”

At the back of the gargoyle, as if entrusting her body completely to it, she had lost her spirit.

He instinctively dashed towards the place directly under it......but before he could do that, Tabitha blocked his way.

“You......step aside!”

With eyes that revealed no emotions as usual, Tabitha glared at Saito.

“There is no reason for her to step aside. This child is the Knight of the North Flowerbed. Our loyal watchdog.”

“Watchdog?”

“Something interesting eh? Chevalier versus Chevalier. A combination for which my master would be jumping with delight.”

Tabitha bent her body slightly and set up her wand.

Heavily......

The surrounding air appeared to have turned heavy abruptly.

Her magical powers changed into an aura, which drifted about around Tabitha, like a heat haze. Under the illumination of the moonlight, that aura squirmed about bewitchingly.

Blue.

An aura which was like the manifestation of Tabitha's power.

Saito gulped.

This fellow's magic power was not for show.

“Oi, Tabitha. Since Louise is involved, I'll be serious.”

“............”

“Because you are strong, I can't go easy on you.”

Tabitha started to recite spells.

“Hey, Gandálfr. If you don't be serious, you'll get hurt. Do you get it? If you keep continuing like this, you can't save your valuable master.”

“Step aside! Just step aside!”

[[Image:ZnT09-229.jpg|thumb]]

At his angry yell......Tabitha continued reciting her spell.

“Raguuzu Vootaru Isu Iisa Hagaraasu.”

Matching her aria, Tabitha swung her wand simultaneously.

Ice spears revolved around her body like serpents.

Guided by the wand......the ice spears rotated.

Whilst rotating, they swelled......larger, sharper, and the blue radiance kept increasing.

Derflinger muttered.

“Those are 'javelins'. Their destructive power is strong. Don't get hit, partner.”

“Oi Tabitha! To save Louise I'll kill you! Do you get it!?”

The gargoyle's shout reverberated.

“That is the same for this child as well.”

“Do it! Partner!”

Saito shook his head as if giving up, and jumped.

Simultaneously, Tabitha swung her wand downwards.

Along with the wand, the 'Javelins' aimed and fired towards Saito.

The sword and the Javelins crossed each other.

The Javelins were slashed, and smashed to pieces.

The glittering ice splinters which were like smashed glass, attacked Saito.

“Wai-!”

From the gap between the ice splinters, Tabitha appeared to have lifted her wand over her head to fire another round of javelins.

“The first round was a decoy!”

Derflinger shouted.

Tabitha had created two rounds of javelins at the same time just now.

“Uooooooo...!”

Together with his scream, Saito's left hand shone.

In the split of a second, he rushed over and knocked Tabitha down.

Horse-riding that petite body, he pointed his sword at her.

But Tabitha would not release her wand.

“Put your wand down!”

Saito thrust his sword fiercely over her head, and shouted.

Tabitha stared at Saito motionlessly.

Those eyes were......completely cold. Whatever emotions could not be seen at all.

The only thing was, 'Kill the enemy'.

Because he was there.

He could only read as far as that from those eyes.

At Tabitha's wand, large Javelins entangled around it. By only swinging the wand down.......the spears would be unleashed, and would probably pierce through Saito's body.

Without the slightest hesitation, Tabitha waved her wand.

“Stop!!”

Saito yelled, and swung his sword downward.

The Javelins were activated, and 'Bang!', were enveloped by water vapor.

Tabitha gazed at Saito, dumbfounded.

Saito's sword was stabbed into the ground beside Tabitha's face.

Tabitha's 'Javelins' which shone with a blue white color......pierced Saito's side. Red blood flowed from Saito's wound.......and dripped onto Tabitha's cheeks.

The snow white cheeks were stained in red.

“......Why?”

Without the slightest stir, Tabitha asked Saito.

Saito ought to impale me by now.

Yet, Saito pointed his sword away.

“Dunno......I pointed it away reflexively. How shameful......And I have to protect Louise...why did I spare the enemy......? I......”

Saito murmured with an anguish-looking face.

“But......You had saved us so many times, I suppose I can't kill you......”

“............”

“To protect the most valuable person of my life......even so, how could I sacrifice such a person......?”

Tabitha's eyes opened big.

After that......from the inside of the transparent, blue eyes, tears welled up, overflowed from the side of her eyes......and trailed down her cheeks.

“What's the matter? What are you crying for? Your task hasn't finished yet. Deliver the finishing blow quickly!”

Tabitha sprang up, and with 'Wind Break', blew the falling Saito off.

“Ouch!”

Tumbled over, Saito tried to stand up......but the side of his stomach hurt, and his body went numb- he could not move.

Tabitha waved her wand for a few times.

“Gou!” She chanted, and wind which furiously revolved around Tabitha enveloped her.

In the midst of that, snow fragments glistened sparklingly.

Would I be hurt by those beautiful snows......? In a daze, he thought......

Tabitha did not aim her wand at Saito, but at the gargoyle, and waved it.

Mixed with snowflakes, the tempestuous wind attacked the gargoyle with sheer force, cutting off its wings. It dropped to the ground, at the same time, throwing Louise off.

Tabitha turned her face towards Saito.

“Finish it off.”

Enduring the pain at the side of his stomach, Saito stood up and struggled to pierce his sword at the gargoyle.

“Oh my......Knight-dono of The North Flowerbed. A pet dog defying its master?”

Tabitha lifted up her wand in readiness.

“......Don't misunderstand. I had never sworn loyalty to both of you, not even once.”

Glaring at the gargoyle, she declared in a soft voice.

“I will report your treachery. Besides, I have already received my prey nicely.”

The instant she said that......

From the sky, a huge shadow descended.

The diameter of it should have been around 30 miles......It was a gigantic gargoyle.

“Hu-huge!!”

This gargoyle was a few times bigger than the one before.

Catching the unconscious Louise with its left hand, it rose up in one breath.

By a mere flap of its the wings of the gigantic gargoyle, Saito and Tabitha were blown off and hit the ground hard.

Tabitha who had risen up whistled.

Roaring, Sylphid flew and landed in front of Tabitha.

Nimbly, Tabitha extended over to Saito and urged him.

“Get on.”

Whilst holding the side of his stomach, Saito climbed onto Sylphid's back. Tabitha held out her hand, and helped him up.

“Chase them.”

At Tabitha's brief command, with a ''Kyui!'' purr, Sylphid soared into the sky.

Saito and Tabitha were riding Sylphid on its back, pursuing the huge gargoyle. Was Myozunitonirun controlling the gargoyles from somewhere......? Her figure could not be seen on its back.

“Hey Tabitha. Tell me. Why did you attack me? Who are those fellows?”

Tabitha was staring straight forward......and muttered.

“We'll talk afterwards.”

“Got it.”

Saito nodded. Indeed, now wasn't the occasion to listen to the reasons.

Flapping its wings, the speed of the gargoyle was not that fast. Tabitha's Sylphid managed to catch up with it easily.

Flying under the moonlight, that monstrous figure became distinct.

Before he realized, Saito recalled the rumor he heard in the dining hall.

A dragon knight was sighted on the skies of Tristania, with huge wings......

Its figure must have been mistaken to be the mysterious bird.

Its true appearance had to be this one.

The saying that the diameter of its wings was 150 mails, no matter what, had to be an exaggeration.......The size should have appeared to be bigger by a few times due to the darkness and the terror.

“Go nearer! After that I'll somehow do it!”

Tabitha nodded, and ordered Sylphid.

“Go nearer.”

''Kyui'', at that moment when Sylphid purred......

In the sky, a small back dot started to appear gradually.

“Wh-what is that.......?”

Those were gargoyles.

Like a flock of ravens, in a number which covered the sky, the gargoyles advanced on them.

Moving by magic, the gargoyles' yellow eyes shone. They started to surround Sylphid.

“Shit!”

There were about tens of them.

To stop them from approaching the huge one carrying Louise, they attacked with their claws and fangs.

“Kyui, kyui!”

Sylphid let out a terrified sound.

Tabitha chanted Windy Icicle again......only one of them dropped down. Because of her previous battle with Saito, it seemed like her willpower had depleted.

Saito grind his teeth.

Not possessing any firearm, Gandálfr was powerless in such a situation.

“Damn it all!…… What Gandálfr! Without any weapon I can't do anything at all!”

Be it a knight or a Chevalier, he was shameful of himself who was once celebrated.

At that time......Tabitha informed Saito softly.

“Up there.”

He looked up......The thing which was spreading out......was an enormous shadow.

“Wh-what is that.......”

Truly enormous......besides that, nothing else could describe it. It was flying with its black wings.

That appearance was like a demon spreading its wings......

''Shushushushushu''......A unique sound could be heard from it.

The dragon knight's report was not wrong.

Its overall width was more than 150 mails.

“This thing is so big......Does it really exist?”

Compared to the flock of gargoyles and the one carrying Louise, that was about 50 times bigger. Apparently, it was an ultra big gargoyle......

No matter how you think of it, going against such an opponent was unreasonable.

If they didn't want to die, they had to escape from there.

In spite of that, Tabitha did not try to make Sylphid retreat.

On the contrary, she stopped dodging the enemy, and made Sylphid fly at the same level as it.

“Oi Tabitha! That reckless!”

Tabitha stared straight at the gargoyle who was holding Louise.

To stop Tabitha, the gargoyles rushed from the front and prepared to rip Sylphid's wings.

There was 7 of them.

It exceeded the number Saito could deal with.

“Run Tabitha! You will die!”

“You helped me.”

“Eh?”

“I offer this life to you.”

For him, Tabitha was going as far as sacrificing her life. At his helplessness, Saito grind his teeth hard.

“Damn it all!!”

Like revolving lanterns, Louise's face, Siesta's face, and Mr. Colbert's face flitted across his mind.

''What succeeding teacher's wish!''

''What the things I can do!''

''Protecting the one girl I love......I can't even do it!''

“Teacher! The things you did, I can't even do half of them......no, not even a tenth of them!”

Facing the sky, Saito yelled.

The 7 gargoyles were approaching them from the front......

At that instant when they intersected each other, Tabitha, Sylphid, and he himself......should be torn up into pieces by those huge claws. At that instant when he was thinking that he would be struck and fall......

From the gigantic. Dark shadow on top, flames spread.

That was......a roaring flame.

Like a planted snake, it encircled the gargoyles which were trying to strike them......and reduced them to ashes.

Saito and Tabitha were taken aback, and looked up to the sky.

“Why?”

“Ally......?”

Voices could be heard.

“'Not even a tenth of them.', what do you mean?”

From the skies, that voice reverberated.

As if it was transmitted through a megaphone or something else, it strangely echoed.

Nevertheless, that voice rang a bell.

In the laboratory, in the classrooms, in the courtyard......a voice he had heard many times.

“Teacher?”

Saito murmured.

He shook his head after that. It was a hallucination. But, teacher was supposed to have died.

It was merely an imaginary voice he heard at his wit's end.

The gargoyles' assaults continued. Sylphid began to dodge the attacks frantically again. Because of this, Tabitha and Saito could only cling onto it with all their might. They could not counterattack at all.

“You are not me right? That isn't something to be ashamed of.”

That voice could be heard again.

Saito lifted his face, and yelled.

“Teacher!!”

He had not heard wrongly. It was Colbert's voice.

His heart grew with joy and astonishment.

''Guonguonguon''......The sky sounded.

''Shushushushushushu''......The sound became louder.

The ultra big shadow descended slowly, and approached them who were being attacked by the gargoyles.

Saito's mouth was wide open.

The thing which appeared to be like a demon, or a mysterious bird......was the huge wings.

Yeah.

Those had to be wings. Huge wings which had a diameter of approximately 150 mails. Behind the wings, huge propellers revolved a few times.

That was a flying object which had wings of the shape of an isosceles triangle, and huge propellers with strong driving force......

Quite different from the mysterious bird, this was the true thing.

When he saw those propellers......Saito's hope turned into belief.

“You're alive......”

After that, a lady's voice which contained excellent, sensual charm which hadn't been heard for a long time echoed.

“You guys, what are you doing? Looks very fun, doesn't it? Since when did you manage to make friends with gargoyles?”

At that voice, Tabitha lifted her face.

“I was thinking of secretly arriving at the academy, and display this ''Ostland'' to surprise you all. But recently, we made a mistake and accidentally sailed to the sky of Tristania, after which we turned back frantically.”

“Kirche!”

Sure enough, that was the voice of Kirche who had not shown herself at the academy since taking Colbert's remains to Germania.

Next, Colbert's voice could be heard.

“Anyway......the 'Flying Serpents' are about to move, so be careful.”

Saito yelled at Tabitha.

“Dive down!”

Tabitha nodded. Sylphid lowered her head, and escaped downwards in a breath.

''Baraaa...barabararararararaaaaa!'' Many shots were released from the gun barrels from the bottom of the ''Ostland''.

From behind of the dropping shells, igniting blazes shone.

After that, ''shupooooo!'' The sound which he head heard while he was being pursued by the dragon knights in Albion the other day, reverberated from the sky.

Like fireworks which shot out in the night sky, Colbert's Flying Serpents were ignited completely.

The tip of the Flying Serpents were equipped with a magic device which transmits 'Detect Magic'. That magic device would react excitedly at the gargoyles, and the Flying Serpents would dash towards them swiftly.

Generally, there were about two or three 'Flying Serpents' pursuing each gargoyle.

At a point-blank range near the gargoyles, the Flying Serpents would explode into pieces, which would scatter at the gargoyles, smashing them to pieces.

The gargoyles could not even think about escaping. One by one, they continually dropped to the ground.

One of them reacted to Tabitha's magic, and flew towards her.

Saito jumped from the top of Sylphid, and slashed it.

Before he knew it, he could not feel even the pain at the side of his stomach.

''The teacher is alive.''

''The person who recognizes me......is still alive.''

''The person who had helped me many times is still alive.''

''And again......he is trying to save me.''

That fact gave Saito courage.

“I'm not alone.”

The runes on his left hand shone.

Using the explosion just now, grasping Derflinger with his left hand, Saito caught one of the Flying Serpents in the air.

Clinging onto it which had a height about the same as Saito's, he forcibly turned the head of the Flying Serpent to fly towards the gargoyle which was holding Louise. The magic device which had Detect Magic in it, sensed that gargoyle, and rushed swiftly towards it.

On top of the Flying Serpent, Saito adopted the stance of crouching on top of a surfboard.

He approached the gargoyle in a furious speed.

He timed it properly.

Precisely a second before the collision, Saito leaped from the top of the Serpent, and sliced through the arm which was seizing Louise. Just like that, he caught Louise in the sky.

Almost simultaneously, an explosion occurred behind that 'Serpent', and the gargoyle whose arm was sliced through was blasted into smithereens.

They were lifted up by the blast......but Saito did not part with Louise.

The fragments shot into his body, sending intense pain to him.

In spite of that, Saito did not part with Louise.

They were blown off by the explosion to the top, and dropped due to gravity.

There were traces of tears in Louise's eyes.

Gazing at that, Saito began to think of thoughts which pressed his heart hard. Has she broken free from the magical hypnotism due to the gargoyle......? Those eyes opened quickly.

“Yo, yo...”

Saito said, and...

“Release me!”

Louise began to struggle.

“I-idiot! We are falling down now! Don't struggle!”

“I don't care! That's enough, let me off! I hate you the most!! Just die! I hate you and princess the most!! Both of you lied to me together! Definitely unforgivable!!”

“I've said already, that was what it turned out to be......”

Even though Saito tried frantically to sooth her, Louise was still bawling and struggled with her hands. Perhaps she would be accidentally released like this. It would be terrible if they were to separate during the fall. I must somehow sooth her.

“I hate you! Let me off! That's enough!”
[[Image:ZnT09-245.jpg|thumb]]
Looking at the bawling Louise......Saito knew that he could not make her understand through words.

Wh-what should I do......?

He could not help but to be troubled. Saito looked straight at Louise, and said.

“I love you, Louise. Only you!”

“Liar! I don't believe you! I HATE you!”

Louise ran amok increasingly.

There is no other way. Damn, if things become like this......

Saito hugged the raging Louise tightly. Louise was kicking and struggling, but he pressed his lips hard against hers. Louise who had been struggling for quite a while......eventually, ''ngu''......she murmured, and became quiet.

But we would die if we drop just like that! ......Whilst he was thinking about that, ''buon!'' Its voice could be heard, as Tabitha's Sylphid scooped them up.

Hugging the still weeping Louise, he looked up to the sky......

In the midst of the moonlight, traveling grandly in the sky, the ''Ostland'' on which Colbert and Kirche were riding could be seen.

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| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume9 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter9

2009-01-06T05:24:46Z

Kumichael: /* Chapter Nine- Confrontation with The Mysterious Bird */

===Chapter Nine- Confrontation with The Mysterious Bird===

Saito exited the main tower and went to Louise's room for a look at once. However, she did not come back. "Anyway, if I could not find Louise..." That was the only thing on his mind.

He had never seen Louise so sad before.

He made her become like that......no matter what, that was unforgivable.

He wanted to meet her and apologize.

Whilst he was running, Saito imagined Louise's feelings. She saw the princess she esteemed and......the familiar whom she always thought to be faithful, hugging each other as if they were lovers; how much were her feelings hurt?

Although they were not lovers......, Louise had seen him allowing Henrietta as far as kissing, what a pain it had been to her! By only thinking about this, Saito's heart hurt.

Leaping out of the room, he ran to the courtyard of the academy at night immediately.

In the midst of the almost pitch-black darkness......Louise's figure could not be seen anywhere.

When he was going towards the Vestri courtyard......

The clouds cleared, and the moonlight revealed a figure; a shadow which was sitting on the bench could be seen.

“Louise!”

He unintentionally shouted and rushed forward, only to find that he was mistaken.

“What? Oh, it's you......”

It was Tabitha. Not even attending the ball at such a night, reading a book at a bench to which no one would come; it was really typical of her.

“Hey, did you see Louise?”

Tabitha did not respond.

Staring fixedly at the book, just like that, her body did not stir an inch.

She didn't hear it? He thought, and repeated himself.

“Don't you know where Louise is?”

The face which was illuminated by the moonlight, was completely pale.

At that moment......Saito realized that there was a shadow circling in mid-air with its back against the moon.

“What's that? It's not a bird......and it's got legs?”

With the figure of a human and flapping wings, it appeared to be a strange creature. It was just like the figure of demons he saw in manga and televisions in the former days.

“Gargoyle.”

Briefly, Tabitha said.

“You......!” At that moment when he said that, Tabitha waved her wand.

''Buoo!'' The air in front of him expanded, and Saito was blown off.

“What are you......!”

Not even having the time to shout, ice arrows aimed at Saito and flew towards him.

At a place somewhat far from the Academy of Magic, Louise was crying ceaselessly.

“Cruel......too cruel......why, why!”

Pitch black darkness was around her.

It was as if she was left behind all alone in this world. Yet, right now she was not fearful of the darkness. Rather, Louise felt that part of her heart was the same as well.

“Unforgivable......Cruel......absolutely unforgivable......”

Words and tears overflowed together, unstoppable. Her miserable feelings kept reproducing.

She muttered that many, many times, and......

“What is unforgivable?”

In the midst of the darkness, a voice could be heard.

Louise who was in a state of confusion , felt that reverberating inside her heart.

“I was betrayed. That's why, unforgivable.”

“By whom were you betrayed?”

“By someone who was valuable to me......”

“Well then, you must take revenge.”

“Revenge?”

“Unforgivable right? If that's the case, you must take revenge. You can do it. User of the great Void.”

At that, Louise came to her senses.

“......Who are you?”

“One of your friends. Since a long time ago......one who serves you people.”

“Who are you! Come out!”

Louise shouted into the darkness. Then she remembered that incident in Albion before this.

“Myozunitonirun?”

“You got it, but you're still wrong.”

She focused her eyes......and a winged shadow came into sight.

“......Gargoyle?”

As Louise was about to stand up,

“Don't worry. I will not harm you.”

The gargoyle which had appeared from the dark headed towards Louise's feet and crouched down reverentially.

“What......what's your intention! Myozunitonirun! You said you won't harm me! Then come out! Let me be your opponent!”

However, the gargoyle opened its mouth.

“For the things that had happened before this, I apologize. But, that was a so-called test. To determine whether you deserve to be our ally or not.”

“Speak properly! You think I would believe such words?”

“Well then, ask yourself. In this world, what is worth believing in?”

Louise was speechless. Just a while ago......wasn't she just betrayed by those two?

“My master can teach you that.”

“Lie......that's a lie!”

Louise's voice was becoming increasingly softer.

“The one who can truly understand you......is only a fellow user of Void. We want you to lend us your power.”

“......My power?”

“It's natural for you to be cautious. Yet, excessive caution would turn your eyes away from the truth.”

Whether or not it was magic, but the gargoyle's voice was enchanting.

Gradually, Louise's caution disappeared.

Louise who was confused because of her grief, did not know that she was falling for that trick.

“You, are you really my friend?”

“Of course.”

“My friend? You won't betray me?”

“I will definitely not betray you.”

The gargoyle slowly turned around, and showed Louise it's back.

“Please ride on me. One of our great masters.”

Louise could not resist that voice any more.

She felt the gargoyle's back......and Louise's senses flew away. Slowly, as if she was falling asleep, Louise lay down on the gargoyle's back.

''Gaa!''

''Gagaa!''

''Gagagagagaaa!''

With perpetual Windy Icicles striking him, Saito tumbled sideways to avoid them.

Clearly, it was an attack whose aim was to......kill Saito.

If he had not undergone Agnes' trainings, he should not be able to evade them.

“What the heck! What do you want to do!”

Saito yelled in anger. He did not understand the reason behind those attack at all.

“Oi! Tabitha! You, what the hell......wh-!”

The response was magic.

Tabitha scattered the Windy Icicles in all directions, got him surrounded, and released them.

''Bashushushushushuuu!''

After the smokescreen of water vapor produced by the countless Windy Icicles cleared up......

Contrary to her expectations that a skewered figure would come into sight, Saito was standing there with Derflinger unsheathed. The Windy Icicles were absorbed by Derflinger, while the remaining ones were swiped away by Saito with the blade.

“What on earth, what's your reason? Why did you attack me? Say it!”

Tabitha lifted her wand.

“Because of a command.”

“Command? Who commanded you!”

As expected, her reply was magic.

Saito gripped Derflinger tightly and leaped. He planned to shortened their distance in one breath......and knock down the wand Tabitha was holding. But Tabitha reacted to Saito's movements, and leaped, passing by him. Her body moved agilely, just like the traditional 'Wind' which she prided in.

As if she were a clockwork puppet, Tabitha combined her body skills and magic to dodge the sword Saito brandished.

“!?”

She was jumping up and down, evading the sword, and at the same time,

“Deru Bagaraasu.”

She chanted the spell, and subsequently, used magic to fly past him. Very slowly, as if she was chasing cotton wool.

And then, sometimes, she would utter incantations which would cause attacks like bee stings.

The air was distorted, and it attacked Saito.

“Air Hammer.”

At that instant the sword was already set up, but, taken by surprise, Derflinger could not absorb it.

Receiving the full blow, Saito was hurled into air.

“Dam......”

However, that attack did not carry strong powers.

It seems that both sides lacked decisive blows. To match with Gandálfr's speed only, she had to put in a lot of effort.

Because she did not have enough time for her chants, she could not use strong incantations. Naturally, the Windy Icicles and Air Blades were quite weak.

Yet, Tabitha was fast.

With a small and light body, her movements were faster than Wardes whom he fought before this.

“This fellow is that. The movements of an assassin.”

Derflinger revealed its feelings.

“Assassin?”

“Yeah. Avoiding direct battles, and when the opponent reveals his weakness, deciding the victor in an instant. That girl's one by one strikes are not very strong. Her moves and speed are extraordinary though.”

“......To compare us, isn't that she has a wand?”

“Partner's heart is shaking, that's why.”

“That's very true! Why am I fighting her......!”

Saito could not even display half of his usual powers.

In his state of not understanding the reason, he could not fight Tabitha.

Before he knew, in his defensive battle, Saito was driven to a corner. No......Even if he could utilise Gandálfr's full power, Saito should not be able to fight Tabitha seriously. Now, he only drew his sword to try his best to knock off Tabitha's wand. Saito was a person like that.

The offence and defence continued for many times......

Saito and Tabitha were confronting each other within a distance of 15 mails.

It was scarcely an interval.

Instantly, Saito retreated slightly out of the distance which he could plunge forward towards her immediately.

A distance at which Tabitha could avoid if he were to plunge forward towards her......

That was the same for Saito as well. Even if Tabitha uttered any spell......he had the confidence to deal with it from this distance.

“Oi! It's about time you say the reason......”

At that moment,

“What's your problem in dealing with him?”

As if it was reverberating in their heads, a voice could be heard from above the sky.

The gargoyle which they had seen since some time ago, was carrying something behind it and circling them.

It was a shadow.

At the moonlight, pink hair shone.

“LOUISE!”

At the back of the gargoyle, as if entrusting her body completely to it, she had lost her spirit.

He instinctively dashed towards the place directly under it......but before he could do that, Tabitha blocked his way.

“You......step aside!”

With eyes that revealed no emotions as usual, Tabitha glared at Saito.

“There is no reason for her to step aside. This child is the Knight of the North Flowerbed. Our loyal watchdog.”

“Watchdog?”

“Something interesting eh? Chevalier versus Chevalier. A combination for which my master would be jumping with delight.”

Tabitha bent her body slightly and set up her wand.

Heavily......

The surrounding air appeared to have turned heavy abruptly.

Her magical powers changed into an aura, which drifted about around Tabitha, like a heat haze. Under the illumination of the moonlight, that aura squirmed about bewitchingly.

Blue.

An aura which was like the manifestation of Tabitha's power.

Saito gulped.

This fellow's magic power was not for show.

“Oi, Tabitha. Since Louise is involved, I'll be serious.”

“............”

“Because you are strong, I can't go easy on you.”

Tabitha started to recite spells.

“Hey, Gandálfr. If you don't be serious, you'll get hurt. Do you get it? If you keep continuing like this, you can't save your valuable master.”

“Step aside! Just step aside!”

[[Image:ZnT09-229.jpg|thumb]]

At his angry yell......Tabitha continued reciting her spell.

“Raguuzu Vootaru Isu Iisa Hagaraasu.”

Matching her aria, Tabitha swung her wand simultaneously.

Ice spears revolved around her body like serpents.

Guided by the wand......the ice spears rotated.

Whilst rotating, they swelled......larger, sharper, and the blue radiance kept increasing.

Derflinger muttered.

“Those are 'javelins'. Their destructive power is strong. Don't get hit, partner.”

“Oi Tabitha! To save Louise I'll kill you! Do you get it!?”

The gargoyle's shout reverberated.

“That is the same for this child as well.”

“Do it! Partner!”

Saito shook his head as if giving up, and jumped.

Simultaneously, Tabitha swung her wand downwards.

Along with the wand, the 'Javelins' aimed and fired towards Saito.

The sword and the Javelins crossed each other.

The Javelins were slashed, and smashed to pieces.

The glittering ice splinters which were like smashed glass, attacked Saito.

“Wai-!”

From the gap between the ice splinters, Tabitha appeared to have lifted her wand over her head to fire another round of javelins.

“The first round was a decoy!”

Derflinger shouted.

Tabitha had created two rounds of javelins at the same time just now.

“Uooooooo...!”

Together with his scream, Saito's left hand shone.

In the split of a second, he rushed over and knocked Tabitha down.

Horse-riding that petite body, he pointed his sword at her.

But Tabitha would not release her wand.

“Put your wand down!”

Saito thrust his sword fiercely over her head, and shouted.

Tabitha stared at Saito motionlessly.

Those eyes were......completely cold. Whatever emotions could not be seen at all.

The only thing was, 'Kill the enemy'.

Because he was there.

He could only read as far as that from those eyes.

At Tabitha's wand, large Javelins entangled around it. By only swinging the wand down.......the spears would be unleashed, and would probably pierce through Saito's body.

Without the slightest hesitation, Tabitha waved her wand.

“Stop!!”

Saito yelled, and swung his sword downward.

The Javelins were activated, and 'Bang!', were enveloped by water vapor.

Tabitha gazed at Saito, dumbfounded.

Saito's sword was stabbed into the ground beside Tabitha's face.

Tabitha's 'Javelins' which shone with a blue white color......pierced Saito's side. Red blood flowed from Saito's wound.......and dripped onto Tabitha's cheeks.

The snow white cheeks were stained in red.

“......Why?”

Without the slightest stir, Tabitha asked Saito.

Saito ought to impale me by now.

Yet, Saito pointed his sword away.

“Dunno......I pointed it away reflexively. How shameful......And I have to protect Louise...why did I spare the enemy......? I......”

Saito murmured with an anguish-looking face.

“But......You had saved us so many times, I suppose I can't kill you......”

“............”

“To protect the most valuable person of my life......even so, how could I sacrifice such a person......?”

Tabitha's eyes opened big.

After that......from the inside of the transparent, blue eyes, tears welled up, overflowed from the side of her eyes......and trailed down her cheeks.

“What's the matter? What are you crying for? Your task hasn't finished yet. Deliver the finishing blow quickly!”

Tabitha sprang up, and with 'Wind Break', blew the falling Saito off.

“Ouch!”

Tumbled over, Saito tried to stand up......but the side of his stomach hurt, and his body went numb- he could not move.

Tabitha waved her wand for a few times.

“Gou!” She chanted, and wind which furiously revolved around Tabitha enveloped her.

In the midst of that, snow fragments glistened sparklingly.

Would I be hurt by those beautiful snows......? In a daze, he thought......

Tabitha did not aim her wand at Saito, but at the gargoyle, and waved it.

Mixed with snowflakes, the tempestuous wind attacked the gargoyle with sheer force, cutting off its wings. It dropped to the ground, at the same time, throwing Louise off.

Tabitha turned her face towards Saito.

“Finish it off.”

Enduring the pain at the side of his stomach, Saito stood up and struggled to pierce his sword at the gargoyle.

“Oh my......Knight-dono of The North Flowerbed. A pet dog defying its master?”

Tabitha lifted up her wand in readiness.

“......Don't misunderstand. I had never sworn loyalty to both of you, not even once.”

Glaring at the gargoyle, she declared in a soft voice.

“I will report your treachery. Besides, I have already received my prey nicely.”

The instant she said that......

From the sky, a huge shadow descended.

The diameter of its should have been around 30 mails......It was a gigantic gargoyle.

“Hu-huge!!”

This gargoyle was a few times bigger than the one before.

Catching the unconscious Louise with its left hand, it rose up in one breath.

By a mere flap of its the wings of the gigantic gargoyle, Saito and Tabitha were blown off and hit the ground hard.

Tabitha who had risen up whistled.

Roaring, Sylphid flew and landed in front of Tabitha.

Nimbly, Tabitha extended over to Saito and urged him.

“Get on.”

Whilst holding the side of his stomach, Saito climbed onto Sylphid's back. Tabitha held out her hand, and helped him up.

“Chase them.”

At Tabitha's brief command, with a ''Kyui!'' purr, Sylphid soared into the sky.

Saito and Tabitha were riding Sylphid on its back, pursuing the huge gargoyle. Was Myozunitonirun controlling the gargoyles from somewhere......? Her figure could not be seen on its back.

“Hey Tabitha. Tell me. Why did you attack me? Who are those fellows?”

Tabitha was staring straight forward......and muttered.

“We'll talk afterwards.”

“Got it.”

Saito nodded. Indeed, now wasn't the occasion to listen to the reasons.

Flapping its wings, the speed of the gargoyle was not that fast. Tabitha's Sylphid managed to catch up with it easily.

Flying under the moonlight, that monstrous figure became distinct.

Before he realized, Saito recalled the rumor he heard in the dining hall.

A dragon knight was sighted on the skies of Tristania, with huge wings......

Its figure must have been mistaken to be the mysterious bird.

Its true appearance had to be this one.

The saying that the diameter of its wings was 150 mails, no matter what, had to be an exaggeration.......The size should have appeared to be bigger by a few times due to the darkness and the terror.

“Go nearer! After that I'll somehow do it!”

Tabitha nodded, and ordered Sylphid.

“Go nearer.”

''Kyui'', at that moment when Sylphid purred......

In the sky, a small back dot started to appear gradually.

“Wh-what is that.......?”

Those were gargoyles.

Like a flock of ravens, in a number which covered the sky, the gargoyles advanced on them.

Moving by magic, the gargoyles' yellow eyes shone. They started to surround Sylphid.

“Shit!”

There were about tens of them.

To stop them from approaching the huge one carrying Louise, they attacked with their claws and fangs.

“Kyui, kyui!”

Sylphid let out a terrified sound.

Tabitha chanted Windy Icicle again......only one of them dropped down. Because of her previous battle with Saito, it seemed like her willpower had depleted.

Saito grind his teeth.

Not possessing any firearm, Gandálfr was powerless in such a situation.

“Damn it all!…… What Gandálfr! Without any weapon I can't do anything at all!”

Be it a knight or a Chevalier, he was shameful of himself who was once celebrated.

At that time......Tabitha informed Saito softly.

“Up there.”

He looked up......The thing which was spreading out......was an enormous shadow.

“Wh-what is that.......”

Truly enormous......besides that, nothing else could describe it. It was flying with its black wings.

That appearance was like a demon spreading its wings......

''Shushushushushu''......A unique sound could be heard from it.

The dragon knight's report was not wrong.

Its overall width was more than 150 mails.

“This thing is so big......Does it really exist?”

Compared to the flock of gargoyles and the one carrying Louise, that was about 50 times bigger. Apparently, it was an ultra big gargoyle......

No matter how you think of it, going against such an opponent was unreasonable.

If they didn't want to die, they had to escape from there.

In spite of that, Tabitha did not try to make Sylphid retreat.

On the contrary, she stopped dodging the enemy, and made Sylphid fly at the same level as it.

“Oi Tabitha! That reckless!”

Tabitha stared straight at the gargoyle who was holding Louise.

To stop Tabitha, the gargoyles rushed from the front and prepared to rip Sylphid's wings.

There was 7 of them.

It exceeded the number Saito could deal with.

“Run Tabitha! You will die!”

“You helped me.”

“Eh?”

“I offer this life to you.”

For him, Tabitha was going as far as sacrificing her life. At his helplessness, Saito grind his teeth hard.

“Damn it all!!”

Like revolving lanterns, Louise's face, Siesta's face, and Mr. Colbert's face flitted across his mind.

''What succeeding teacher's wish!''

''What the things I can do!''

''Protecting the one girl I love......I can't even do it!''

“Teacher! The things you did, I can't even do half of them......no, not even a tenth of them!”

Facing the sky, Saito yelled.

The 7 gargoyles were approaching them from the front......

At that instant when they intersected each other, Tabitha, Sylphid, and he himself......should be torn up into pieces by those huge claws. At that instant when he was thinking that he would be struck and fall......

From the gigantic. Dark shadow on top, flames spread.

That was......a roaring flame.

Like a planted snake, it encircled the gargoyles which were trying to strike them......and reduced them to ashes.

Saito and Tabitha were taken aback, and looked up to the sky.

“Why?”

“Ally......?”

Voices could be heard.

“'Not even a tenth of them.', what do you mean?”

From the skies, that voice reverberated.

As if it was transmitted through a megaphone or something else, it strangely echoed.

Nevertheless, that voice rang a bell.

In the laboratory, in the classrooms, in the courtyard......a voice he had heard many times.

“Teacher?”

Saito murmured.

He shook his head after that. It was a hallucination. But, teacher was supposed to have died.

It was merely an imaginary voice he heard at his wit's end.

The gargoyles' assaults continued. Sylphid began to dodge the attacks frantically again. Because of this, Tabitha and Saito could only cling onto it with all their might. They could not counterattack at all.

“You are not me right? That isn't something to be ashamed of.”

That voice could be heard again.

Saito lifted his face, and yelled.

“Teacher!!”

He had not heard wrongly. It was Colbert's voice.

His heart grew with joy and astonishment.

''Guonguonguon''......The sky sounded.

''Shushushushushushu''......The sound became louder.

The ultra big shadow descended slowly, and approached them who were being attacked by the gargoyles.

Saito's mouth was wide open.

The thing which appeared to be like a demon, or a mysterious bird......was the huge wings.

Yeah.

Those had to be wings. Huge wings which had a diameter of approximately 150 mails. Behind the wings, huge propellers revolved a few times.

That was a flying object which had wings of the shape of an isosceles triangle, and huge propellers with strong driving force......

Quite different from the mysterious bird, this was the true thing.

When he saw those propellers......Saito's hope turned into belief.

“You're alive......”

After that, a lady's voice which contained excellent, sensual charm which hadn't been heard for a long time echoed.

“You guys, what are you doing? Looks very fun, doesn't it? Since when did you manage to make friends with gargoyles?”

At that voice, Tabitha lifted her face.

“I was thinking of secretly arriving at the academy, and display this ''Ostland'' to surprise you all. But recently, we made a mistake and accidentally sailed to the sky of Tristania, after which we turned back frantically.”

“Kirche!”

Sure enough, that was the voice of Kirche who had not shown herself at the academy since taking Colbert's remains to Germania.

Next, Colbert's voice could be heard.

“Anyway......the 'Flying Serpents' are about to move, so be careful.”

Saito yelled at Tabitha.

“Dive down!”

Tabitha nodded. Sylphid lowered her head, and escaped downwards in a breath.

''Baraaa...barabararararararaaaaa!'' Many shots were released from the gun barrels from the bottom of the ''Ostland''.

From behind of the dropping shells, igniting blazes shone.

After that, ''shupooooo!'' The sound which he head heard while he was being pursued by the dragon knights in Albion the other day, reverberated from the sky.

Like fireworks which shot out in the night sky, Colbert's Flying Serpents were ignited completely.

The tip of the Flying Serpents were equipped with a magic device which transmits 'Detect Magic'. That magic device would react excitedly at the gargoyles, and the Flying Serpents would dash towards them swiftly.

Generally, there were about two or three 'Flying Serpents' pursuing each gargoyle.

At a point-blank range near the gargoyles, the Flying Serpents would explode into pieces, which would scatter at the gargoyles, smashing them to pieces.

The gargoyles could not even think about escaping. One by one, they continually dropped to the ground.

One of them reacted to Tabitha's magic, and flew towards her.

Saito jumped from the top of Sylphid, and slashed it.

Before he knew it, he could not feel even the pain at the side of his stomach.

''The teacher is alive.''

''The person who recognizes me......is still alive.''

''The person who had helped me many times is still alive.''

''And again......he is trying to save me.''

That fact gave Saito courage.

“I'm not alone.”

The runes on his left hand shone.

Using the explosion just now, grasping Derflinger with his left hand, Saito caught one of the Flying Serpents in the air.

Clinging onto it which had a height about the same as Saito's, he forcibly turned the head of the Flying Serpent to fly towards the gargoyle which was holding Louise. The magic device which had Detect Magic in it, sensed that gargoyle, and rushed swiftly towards it.

On top of the Flying Serpent, Saito adopted the stance of crouching on top of a surfboard.

He approached the gargoyle in a furious speed.

He timed it properly.

Precisely a second before the collision, Saito leaped from the top of the Serpent, and sliced through the arm which was seizing Louise. Just like that, he caught Louise in the sky.

Almost simultaneously, an explosion occurred behind that 'Serpent', and the gargoyle whose arm was sliced through was blasted into smithereens.

They were lifted up by the blast......but Saito did not part with Louise.

The fragments shot into his body, sending intense pain to him.

In spite of that, Saito did not part with Louise.

They were blown off by the explosion to the top, and dropped due to gravity.

There were traces of tears in Louise's eyes.

Gazing at that, Saito began to think of thoughts which pressed his heart hard. Has she broken free from the magical hypnotism due to the gargoyle......? Those eyes opened quickly.

“Yo, yo...”

Saito said, and...

“Release me!”

Louise began to struggle.

“I-idiot! We are falling down now! Don't struggle!”

“I don't care! That's enough, let me off! I hate you the most!! Just die! I hate you and princess the most!! Both of you lied to me together! Definitely unforgivable!!”

“I've said already, that was what it turned out to be......”

Even though Saito tried frantically to sooth her, Louise was still bawling and struggled with her hands. Perhaps she would be accidentally released like this. It would be terrible if they were to separate during the fall. I must somehow sooth her.

“I hate you! Let me off! That's enough!”
[[Image:ZnT09-245.jpg|thumb]]
Looking at the bawling Louise......Saito knew that he could not make her understand through words.

Wh-what should I do......?

He could not help but to be troubled. Saito looked straight at Louise, and said.

“I love you, Louise. Only you!”

“Liar! I don't believe you! I HATE you!”

Louise ran amok increasingly.

There is no other way. Damn, if things become like this......

Saito hugged the raging Louise tightly. Louise was kicking and struggling, but he pressed his lips hard against hers. Louise who had been struggling for quite a while......eventually, ''ngu''......she murmured, and became quiet.

But we would die if we drop just like that! ......Whilst he was thinking about that, ''buon!'' Its voice could be heard, as Tabitha's Sylphid scooped them up.

Hugging the still weeping Louise, he looked up to the sky......

In the midst of the moonlight, traveling grandly in the sky, the ''Ostland'' on which Colbert and Kirche were riding could be seen.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter8|Chapter 8]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume9 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter8

2009-01-06T03:06:20Z

Kumichael:

===Chapter Eight: The Ball of Sleipnir ===

A week later, on the Day of the Void.

The Ball of Sleipnir was finally going to be held today.

It was supposed to be a day of rest, but the students of the magic academy were restless all morning, even during breakfast.

"Who are you going as?"

"I'll try that."

It was all the conversations were about.

Guiche crossed his legs, as proud as a peacock.

“I wonder who I should become? But, for someone as handsome as myself, is it not better to just remain as I am? Don't you think so too, Saito?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Saito replied idly, regarding Guiche as something that was little more than the breeze of the wind. Sitting opposite him was Malicorne, who was hugging himself. 

“What should I do... If it remains like this, it looks like I'm going to have to become a beautiful girl."

“Just do that already."

“Sigh... What should I do? Isn't that a crime?"

“Of course it's a crime. I reckon that it warrants a death sentence."

“Haa... A death sentence... Ha... Ha..."

Malicorne stammered as he held his trembling body together.

Imagining the fat boy acting in the manner of a young girl almost made Saito throw up his breakfast.

''However... To get so excited over some masquerade ball, these people sure were easy to please.''

''It's only putting on a little disguise, did it really require so much thought?''

Saito thought to himself, not knowing that they would be disguising themselves using magic.

It really only required a little bit of thought to realize that the Magic Academy would never hold an ordinary masquerade ball... but, being completely uninterested in the matter, Saito never considered this.

Siesta was cleaning the room when Saito returned after breakfast.

“Welcome home, Saito.”

“Yeah, I'm back."

Siesta was cleaning the room with a bright smile on her face.

“Today's the day of The Ball of Sleipnir.”

“Is Siesta going too?” Saito asked.

“I'm going...because they are shorthanded..." Siesta replied shyly with her head down for some reason.

“I see..."

''So, should I go or not?'' Saito pondered.

Siesta walked towards Saito and looked into his eyes.

"Umm..."

“Ah, yes?"

“I've been reading a book lately." Siesta said, as she pulled out a book.

“What's it about?"

''Siesta can read as well'', Saito thought.

“Oh, I forgot Saito can't read."

Siesta blushed as she explained the story to Saito.

“The name of the book is ‘Housemaid’s Afternoon.'”

“Uh huh.”

“It's a story about a young maid serving in an aristocrat's residence. And the master of that residence is a man who is corrupted to the core.”

“Uh huh.”

“Every night, he would coerce the maid into doing unpleasant things with him."

“Unpleasant things?”

Siesta muttered something into Saito’s ear.

A painful sensation tingled in his nose, and a torrent of blood flowed out. Five seconds later, he finally held it in.

“...What sort of books do you read?"

“W-What do you mean by that? It's from a girl in my dorm. She let me borrow it!"

Siesta blushed as her hands shook.

''So, this is the stuff Siesta and the maids read in their spare time... But, then again, the girl magazines in my world are pretty risque as well...''

Saito accepted this with his strange justification.

“Well...?”

“I’d hate it if a person like the master from the story were to touch me like that… but, if it were Saito…”

“What are you-”

Siesta covered her blushing face with her hands.

“N-never mind! I was only joking!”

“O-of course…” Saito laughed.

Then, Siesta tilted her head towards Saito with a curious glint in her eyes.

“But… how about we give it a try?”

“Huh?”

“A little trying won't hurt.”

Shocked and confused, Saito remained planted where he stood, as Siesta ran over to Saito with a look of distress, looking as though she had broken something.

“Ah! Oh no, I broke master’s cup!”

“…”

“It's Saito’s turn now.” Siesta said in a serious tone.

“W-what am I supposed to do?”

Walking up to Saito’s side, Siesta began to mutter in a slight whisper.

Pshhh~~ [--- Sound of nosebleed. Please replace with something better =P ---]

In that instant, blood spurted from Saito’s nose.

“S-Siesta?”

“Please punish me! I wish to be punished by Saito! L-Like this!”

With a cry, Siesta melodramatically fell onto the floor. She tilted her head up towards Saito, her face as red as a ripe apple. An intense aura of abuse and neglect seemed to emanate from her.

Siesta gently lifted up the hem of her skirt.

“M-Master, please punish me as you see fit…"

[[Image:ZnT09-193.jpg|thumb]]

''What is that maid rambling on about… and what’s a guy like me supposed to do…''

Only meaningless words passed through Saito’s lips.

At the same time, Louise was quickly approaching by horse.

Saito hesitantly went to the shelf where the horse whip was hidden. Nearly fainting from all the blood rushing to his head, Saito could resist no longer.

At that instant, Louise opened the door.

In front of her eyes was Siesta, collapsed on the floor with her skirt pulled up and saying something about waiting for her master’s punishment, and Saito, with the whip from the shelf in his hand. Louise promptly spun around and landed a kick directly on Saito’s crotch.

“The two of you, stop this at once!”

Saito collapsed onto the ground with his hands between his legs. Louise planted her foot on his face and ordered:

“Maid! Familiar! The two of you, listen!”

“Yes!” Saito and Siesta replied in unison.

“There better not be a next time... You may be an incompetent familiar, but, your master has a task for you.”

“W-what is it?”

“The Ball of Sleipnir is today. You know that, right?”

“Uh huh.”

“Do you know what kind of ball it is?”

“Well, umm… is it a masquerade ball?”

“That’s right. A ball where you ‘masquerade’ as your ideal. S-so, y-you must find me during the ball.”

“Huh…?”

''What is the meaning of this?''

Siesta and Louise glanced at each other.

''Huh—it looked like they were plotting something.’’

''Women sure are so superficial…'' Saito thought. ''The war had only ended not long ago, and already they are engrossed in something like a ball. Shouldn’t they be more concerned about contributing to society or something?''

“The two of you…”

Saito sighed, removing Louise’s leg and pulling himself up, silently brushing off the dirt on him.

“Ehh? What?”

“Yes?”

“The two of you, sit here.”

“What is it?”

“Listen up.”

The two of them looked at each other before reluctantly sitting on the bed.

Saito faced the two of them.

“You two should be more concerned about this world and the people in it!”

Louise was shocked.

''It seemed that a desire to help the world had suddenly awakened in Saito. It was probably because of Colbert. That teacher had always pursued his research for this same reason… Was he trying to succeed his dying wish? It seemed so.''

''So that's why he was so willing to pour everything into his duty in the Knight Corps.''

In Louise’s view, however, it was never his duty to begin with.

''What Saito should be doing… is to find a way to return to his world.''

''It was only after doing this could Saito seriously consider the matters of this world. Whether to remain or not was up to him… Plus, even if there is a way, would one be able to travel freely between the two worlds?''

Her mind raced back and forth.

“To change the world through the Knight Corps? Are you a fool?”

Louise spat out, angering Saito.

“What? Why do you insist I’m a fool?”

“There are other things you should be doing!”

“Like protecting you? Didn’t I already tell you I’ll do that too?"

“It’s not that!” Louise yelled.

“T-Then what is it?”

“It’s to finding a way for you to return to your world, of course. To send you home, and relieve your family.”

''Idiot...'' But Saito had nothing to say.

“Looking at the you right now, it just doesn’t feel natural. The matters of this world should just be left to the people of this world."

“B-but…”

“If we were to take the duty of the Knight Corps, for example, all there is to it is war, that, or protecting Her Majesty the Queen. Sure, it is without a doubt a duty of the utmost importance, but it is not one for you to take. Why are you so intent on this?”

''...'' Saito lowered his head.

Everything no longer looked clear to Saito.

True, Saito had wanted to accomplish something.

Up until now, he had always lived a simple, ordinary life... And that’s why now he wished to accomplish everything that he could. But it would be too difficult to explain this to Louise.

Louise sighed.

“Regardless of what happens... you must attend the ball today. You haven’t forgotten what I said earlier, right?”

“Yeah, yeah."

Just when it seemed like she was done, Louise began to blush.

“If you do…”

“If I do…?”

“Then… I’ll let you finish what you started that night, back in Albion…”

Siesta glared at Louise.

“To use such seductive methods...”

Louise angrily turned her face away, and left the room.

Left where he was, Saito slowly collapsed, his nose spouting blood like a geyser.

“Keep yourself together, Saito!” Siesta urged as she tended to him.

<center>* * *</center>

When evening came, “The Mirror of Truth” was drawn out from the treasure vault onto entrance of the dance hall in the second floor. A black curtain was pulled around the magic mirror. No one could tell what form the person within would transform into.

Miss Chevruse [---Literally, Teacher Chevruse ---], wearing a butterfly mask, stood at the side of the curtain.

“Noblemen and Noble ladies, tonight I will guide you into a world of fantasy.”

She enthusiastically announced<!-she is making an announcement, not an introduction--> to the line of students. Louise, who was also in the queue, was pondering who to transform into.

Doubt began to creep into her mind.

''Would Saito recognise me after I've changed?''

''He should be able to…''

It was Louise’s turn. She walked through the curtains. There was only a mirror inside, which was roughly two meters high, installed on a simple frame, and covered by a cloth.

Miss Chevruse’s voice echoed from outside,

“Please listen well. You must think only of the person you wish to become the most and not be distracted by anything else. This mirror will look into your heart’s deepest desires, and grant you that form. Once you’ve prepared yourself, please remove the cloth.”

Louise took a deep breath. "Okay." She lifted the cloth from the mirror.

A beautiful mirrored surface emerged from beneath it, radiating all the colours of the rainbow.

The reflection that graced the mirror’s surface was gradually enveloped by the radiant glow.

The flowing lights suddenly disappeared, once again returning her surroundings to darkness.

However, it was no longer Louise in the mirror.

What had appeared instead was the reflection of a gentle, warm, pink-haired, twenty-three-year-old lady.

It was the figure of Louise’s second sister, Cattleya.

Cattleya was her ideal. Her sister, who was kinder than anyone else… Louise gently placed her hands on her breasts.

<center>* * *</center>

Walking into the hall, it was filled with all kinds of people: heroes of legend, famous royals, renowned nobles, as well as old gentlemen and ladies. ''They're probably the students’ parents.'' There were even fellow students, but they were probably not the actual people.

''I didn’t think there would be this many Henriettas.'' Louise smiled wryly.

It was only on this day that it was practically impossible to tell who was who. To wish to dance with a promised date, there was little else one could do apart from telling the other who you would become.

''Saito should be able to find me, right?'' Louise sighed to herself.

''I think he should be able to recognise me. After all, I took on Cattleya’s appearance.’’

Seeing that all the students were more or less present, Principal Osmand walked onto the platform.

“Greetings, everyone. I would like to welcome you all. Tonight, we hold a ball to help our new students deepen their relationships and friendships. This ball is, of course, anonymous. This is so that not one person should be afraid to be discriminated against because of their family, status or nationality. It is also to let everyone know that everyone is equal within the walls of this academy. And I hope it will leave such an impression on you, as if it does not, it would become impossible for you all to study and develop harmoniously as one.”

Osmand then made a dense cough.

“If you wish to introduce yourself to your partner, simply introduce yourself politely. Do not be caught up in the other’s appearance or status, or feel a need to introduce yourself in a dignified manner. This is one step of the decorum in the noble’s code we do not need to follow.”

The students who had gathered nodded their heads.

“Because of the alarm it might have caused everyone, it has yet to be announced... that Her Majesty, Queen Henrietta, is also here tonight.”

The hearts of the students leapt.

“Moreover, in the spirit of this ball, Her Majesty herself has also changed. Let us all try to guess who Her Majesty is… I think this will be quite interesting.”

The students grew restless. An opportunity to converse with the Queen like this does not come very often. There were already many people who were glancing left and right to spot any likely candidates.

Louise was surprised too. ''If you were coming, would it hurt to tell me first?'' Louise fumed silently.

“Carrying on… I would like to speak about the aim of this ball. Everyone, listen well. You have all now become an image of your ideal. I hope that in getting closer to achieving your ideals, you are not daunted by it, but rather are willing to study hard in the new term, so that you may one day become outstanding nobles that others will aspire to. That... is all."

The hall resounded with thunderous applause.

Principal Osmand, with a grim face, left and passed through the mirror, then returned. He had transformed into a young, dangerously seductive young woman. Striking a pose, the woman declared:

“I’m Little Osmand~~"

The students, still captivated by the speech earlier, instantly fell into a stunned silence, like a flame that was just doused. The teachers silently grabbed both of Osmand’s arms and dragged him aside.

“E-everyone, make sure you enjoy the ball!”

The struggling Osmand was swiftly escorted from the hall.

Music began to play…the Masquerade Ball had finally started.

Louise looked left and right, but could not see anyone who could be Saito.

''It looks like it’ll be a while before he gets here…'' Louise sighed as she leaned against the wall.

<center>* * *</center>

When Saito had arrived at the assembly hall, the ball had already started. It was because he had to take care<!-missing word--> of his horse that he was late. He had experienced how difficult it was to feed an animal, and wasted no short amount of time doing so.

As he walked past the curtain at the entrance, he didn't notice the mirror within it. Rather, it would be more accurate to say that he was completely unaware that the mirror had something to do with the disguises.

Saito walked into the grand hall, and was about to be questioned by the guard at the entrance before he noticed the Chevalier badge on Saito’s mantle and nervously saluted him.

It was dim inside the hall, making it difficult to see clearly.

Saito remembered what Louise had told him earlier:

''I’ll let you finish what you started that night back in Albion.''

They were such moving words…

''To actually say such a thing… if I were to not find her after that…'' Without any time to waste, Saito frantically searched for Louise.

However, she was nowhere to be seen.

''Since it’s a masquerade ball, maybe she put on a mask? That's what I would think, except there isn’t a single person here who's wearing one. And, there isn't anyone I recognise in the crowd, apart from the few students mingled within.'' Everywhere you looked, there were seemingly important people dancing and conversing.

Saito finally found Louise standing next to a wall and enthusiastically ran towards her.

Raising her head to see Saito running towards her, Louise blushed.

''A promise is a promise.'' Saito began blushing as well.

“Didn’t I find you pretty quickly? So... is it okay… to fulfill that promise?”

Louise squirmed nervously.

“…Promise?”

“What, have you already forgotten?” Saito asked back.

“I’m sorry, dear...”

“Dear? But you've always called me…”

“Saito-san.”

“That’s right.”

Louise’s face blushed and became redder. ''What’s wrong with her… Did she fry her brain?'' But, it only made Louise even cuter.

“About what you said before... What were you trying to say?”

“What I said before?”

“Quit acting like you don’t know! Isn’t that what you said?”

“…What kind of promise was it?”

''Why was she speaking in such an excessively polite manner… Is she just messing with me?'' Saito exasperated.

At that moment, the orchestra began to play a vigorous melody.

“It’s so noisy… Let’s go outside.”

Saito, grabbing Louise’s hands, led her to the veranda outside.

“…Ah!” Louise cried out in surprise, but, she obediently followed Saito.

Arriving at the veranda, Saito faced Louise:

“Geez… didn’t I already tell you not to joke about those kinds of things? Did you think I wouldn't take them seriously?”

“…I-I’m sorry.”

Louise appeared even more endearing as she apologized, making Saito want to just grab and hold her in his arms. ''I’ll just think of it as revenge for everything she’s put me through.''

“If you won’t apologize properly, I’m going to kiss you right here.”

Louise silently lowered her head, but Saito raised it with his hand.

“… Ah.”

Louise looked up at Saito, her eyes glistening. Such an expression seemed to stop his heart, drawing his breath away...

And, passionately wishing to place his lips upon hers, Saito tightly embraced Louise in his arms; Louise leaned her body against his.

It was like this that Louise was pressed against the wall of the veranda.

''Although there was no one else on the veranda, if someone were to see this, it would become quite troublesome.''

Saito decided to slowly separate himself from her.

“Nn…!”

But today’s Louise was strangely assertive, continually pressing her body against Saito’s.

“Louise…”

''Could it be that Louise… has always been this lonely?''

Saito’s heart overflowed at Louise’s act of affection. Unknowingly, Saito already had his hands on Louise’s chest.

Completely unlike the Louise from the past, she did not express any displeasure.

''‘It was only a reward!’''... When Louise had said that, my heart was deeply hurt… But, now I realise that it wasn’t just a reward! To Louise, I am…''

“Louise—“

Saito tightly embraced Louise. A warm sigh escaped Louise’s mouth… ''Saito forgot me.''

<center>* * *</center>

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the hall, the guard stationed there was questioning a very suspicious looking woman. Wearing a long black robe with long strands of black hair flowing from the opening of her hood, no matter how you looked at her, she didn’t look like a student or teacher.

“Who are you?”

“I was sent from the Royal Palace to attend this ball.”

“Royal Palace? Well…”

The guard began searching through the list of attendees.

“I’m afraid you won’t find my name written on that list.”

Before he could question her, the woman quickly revealed a small bell from her bosom.

“That’s…”

''I had seen this when I was patrolling the treasure vault…''

“The Bell of Slumber? Why-”

Just as he suspected something was wrong, the small bell rang out. ''Cling…'' The sound made a clear echo.

A deep drowsiness overcame the guard.

''Going to fall asleep… was ambushed against…'' But the guard was unable to resist.

His body fell against a wall, sliding slowly downwards along it… And he fell into a deep sleep.

“It ''was'' the Royal Palace… just not Tristain’s.”

After confirming that the guard had fallen asleep, the long-robed woman walked into the curtain, and, noticing the Mirror of Truth within, revealed a wide grin.

She lifted the cloth and gently touched the mirror…

The mirror emitted a bright light, and, at the same time, the long-robed woman's forehead glowed.

''If I can’t tell how they look like, this mission would be impossible.''

Ancient runes began to shine on the woman’s forehead...

She is Mjothvitnir…

<center>* * *</center>

Saito kissed Louise’s lips.

''Nn… Ah… it's like I'm in a dream…'' Standing on the tips of her toes, Louise wrapped her arms around Saito’s neck.

''She's different… more assertive than the usual Louise.''

''To actually be so…''

A desire to love her even more emerged from within his heart.

Instinctively, he slipped his hand… onto Louise’s small breasts.

“…Wha—?”

Saito immediately froze.

''Her chest… Was not small at all.''

''Actually it was… huge!''

The full, soft and warm mound shifted and moved under Saito’s palm. And each time he grasped it, Louise would pant ever louder…

“When did it become…”

Saito opened his eyes.

He gasped in surprise… in front of him was…

“Your Highness!?”

It was Henrietta.

''What the— when did they change places with each other? The person I’m hugging is the Princess?''

The frantic voices of students echoed from the hall.

“What the-!? The magic was dispelled!?”

“But the ball hasn’t ended yet!”

Saito finally understood that this was no ordinary ball, but a masquerade ball, where one could transform into another person through magic.

''Does that mean Henrietta became Louise?''

“But, why did you become Louise…?”

Henrietta shamefully lowered her head when asked.

“Today is the ball where you could become your ideal.”

“Your ideal?”

He still didn’t understand.

“But, why Louise?”

“Well, that is – that is because I’ve always admired that girl… A girl who's always acted with her heart… A pure girl with a heart and mind no one can possibly taint… To possess the virtues I have none of... I’ve always envied her from deep within my heart.”

“…”

“What kind of person am I, to tremble and waver, while that girl maintains her beliefs through thick and thin - her faith unshaken. I envy that about her. If I were to have even one-tenth of her courage, perhaps I wouldn’t have committed those sins.”

Seeing the pained look on Henrietta, Saito, wishing to comfort her no matter what, said:

“Sins…? Your Highness, you have done no wrong. So please don’t talk about things like sinning.”

“No… Just for my own personal revenge, I actually started a war. How many people paid with their lives because of that?”

“But it was inevitable anyway, that’s just how war is!”

“So many died because of it!”

Saito recalled that the Expeditionary Army was practically made up of nobles and mercenaries. Furthermore, there were no citizens who participated.

“Even if you were to say so, but, still…no one was forced to go. Everyone went because of their own wishes to do so; Some for glory, others for gold. Therefore, you shouldn’t worry yourself so much, Princess."

''It was perhaps a cruel thing to say - to dishonour the dead like that - but, although there were exceptions, it wasn't wrong to say that the majority were either mercenaries who fought for gold or noble officers who cried out for glory… So, perhaps it wasn’t too harsh in the end.'' Saito rationalised to justify his earlier words.

Henrietta was unresponsive.

To change the topic, Saito prepared to talk about Louise instead.

“So, why are you here today? Was it to find Louise? I’m looking for her too. Seriously, where did she run off to…”

Henrietta shook her head.

“I came here to see you.”

“…Me?”

“I don’t know why… but, whenever I hear your name… whenever I lay my eyes upon your face… for some reason, my heart... begins to…”

Henrietta looked up, the tears in her eyes slowly welling up.

“Do you still remember? That incident… that night at the small inn in Tristainia…”

Saito nodded. That night, they actually pressed their lips together twice. Even now, his heart would race when he recalled it.

“Ever since that evening… every time I think of you, my heart aches. The heartache steadily grew deeper and deeper… by the time I noticed it, it had already grown to the point I could not worry about it… It was always lingering in my heart… I didn't know what to do about it anymore.”

“…”

“In the midst of all the frantic frenzy and arduous planning, it was only your warmth that protected me. When I found your name amongst the list of those killed in battle… the grief was almost too much to bear. After that... when I found out it was you who had stopped the army of seventy-thousand, do you know how much of a redemption it was for me?”

''For someone of Henrietta’s eminence to so frankly express her feelings…'' Saito was at a loss, thinking ‘what a frail person she was’.

But, it was because of this same vulnerability that Henrietta emanated a charm completely unlike Louise’s.

Just as he was about to be overcome by that charm, Saito turned his face away and gently pushed Henrietta away from him.

“If we were to be seen like this here… nothing good will come to Your Highness and me.”

Unexpectedly, Henrietta dragged Saito into the curtains, concealing them both within its shadows.

“Princess…”

“I understand that as well. But… even if it's only for a little while, all I wish is to spend a few more moments of happiness with you. Is that too much to ask? Are you not able to give me even this little bit of your time?”

“…”

“And, even though it will only be for a little while that I can experience happier times... If it was possible, I would remain by your side forever.”

Henrietta cried like any ordinary girl. ''The once resolute Queen was actually shedding tears for my sake...'' Saito was dumbstruck.

''Furthermore… Henrietta was more beautiful than anyone else in the world. Even Louise couldn’t compare.''

Henrietta once again lifted her face, edging ever closer to Saito.

Saito was utterly unable to resist those lips… and their lips pressed together.

After feeling out the kiss, Saito pressed his entire body onto Henrietta, pressing her against the wall.

As Henrietta panted tenderly, Saito slowly drew back his lips, watching her intently.

“Princess…”

Henrietta kissed Saito’s neck.

As though he had been struck by lightning, a shock coursed through his body.

Saito tightly embraced Henrietta.

It was at that instant…

In a small opening in the curtain, Saito saw strands of pink hair and the brown eyes below them.

“Louise…”

He felt the blood drain from his body. Henrietta also turned to look.

Louise’s entire body trembled as she watched the two of them behind the curtain, before suddenly running away, her hands covering the tears streaming down her face.

As Saito chased after her, he knocked into the students beside the curtain.

“Hey, that hurts!”

“Sorry! Excuse me! I’m in a hurry!”

However, not a glimpse of Louise could be seen within the crowd.

Because no one knew who dispelled the effects of The Mirror of Truth, the hall was in an uproar.

"What the hell?!"

"Did the Mirror of Truth’s magic backfire?""

Afterwards, Henrietta, her face visibly pale, also exited from behind the blinds.

The surrounding students at once exclaimed “Your Highness!” before rushing over to her.

Before he ran off, Saito glanced over at Henrietta to signal that he was going to chase after Louise.

<center>* * *</center>

Louise dashed out from the main tower, running in the night through the Academy grounds.

The pain and the shock tore her apart.

''Saito and the Princess?''

''Why?''

It was after they entered the curtains that Louise saw them. Having noticed them through the opening in the curtains by chance, she had walked over…

Remembering what they had said, the tears flowed down without end.

''The two of them were so passionate… just like a pair of lovers as they made their vows''.

''And then… their lips met like long-separated lovers.''

''Don’t tell me they’ve had such a relationship since a long time ago? Could it be they’ve been lying to me all this time?''

''To be betrayed by Henrietta, whom I had trusted so…''

Louise could no longer trust anyone ever again.

''That means... Henrietta had only knighted Saito to a Chevalier and swore him in as a Knight Captain so that she could be by the side of her lover.''

''During the last mission in Tristaini, Saito had said he had kissed Henrietta. Of course, I was angry at the time… but, it was only for the sake of the mission. I didn’t mind it much. But, it seems I was wrong.''

''Perhaps the two of them had kept this secret since that time.''

“It’s too cruel! It’s too cruel! It’s too cruel!” Louise kept shouting.

''You've always been lying to me, what ‘I like you.’? It was all a lie!''

What Louise couldn’t forgive the most was, ''The promise he made to me, the time we spent together, that sweet kiss… the things I had always trusted completely… were all lies he had made to me.''

''The things I most valued in my heart; the memories I most treasure in my heart… were nothing more than lies.''

''And the one to do this wasn’t just anybody… but Henrietta, the person I had always held in the highest regard.''

To be doubly betrayed like that, Louise couldn’t bear it anymore.

Regardless, she couldn’t remain here.

Louise slowly snuck out the gates of the Magic Academy, before bolting outwards in a full sprint.

The guards that normally monitored the entrance, due to the commotion caused by the dispelling of the Mirror of Truth’s magic, had all rushed to the hall. As a result, the place was empty. Without anyone to stop and question her, Louise headed along the small road leading to the city.

''I don’t want to stay here.''

''I want to go somewhere far away.''

''I want to go to a place where no one will recognise me.''

With her heart bearing such thoughts, Louise kept running forward without any regard.

Running till she was out of breath, Louise kneeled and collapsed onto the ground, her face covered by the ground and tears flowing down her cheeks…

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| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume9_Chapter9|Chapter 9]]
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter5

2009-01-02T16:22:48Z

Kumichael: /* Chapter 5 – Ondine ・ Knight Corps of The Water Spirit */

===Chapter 5 – Ondine ・ Knight Corps of The Water Spirit===

Saito was publicly made into a noble, but his life did not change very much.

Because the 'Chevalier' title comes with an annuity, his financial status became somewhat more stable, although his life did not change drastically.

Despite the different places, the living expenses in Tristain per person was 120 Ecu. The sum of annuity Saito receives is 500 Ecu. It was a sum with which a commoner's family of four could live quite comfortably. It was something like the income of the lower class nobles without any lands.

At the start of every month, he would receive a sum of money which amounts to one twelfth of his annuity from the finance office. Therefore, every month, Saito had to bring his “Chevalier” letter of appointment, and squeeze with the other lower class nobles who would be trying to take their salary or annuity at the Tristain's finance office's counter.

The place he lives in was still unchanged- Louise's room. Although there were other rooms available if he wanted to rent a room, Louise disliked the notion. Aren't you wasting your extra money? Louise said.

For the time being, according to Louise's suggestion that it is indispensable in his service to the knight corps, Saito borrowed the annuity in advance and bought a horse.

It was grey and sleek-looking, and was quite a good army horse.

And influenced by Louise's advice that a good rider needs not just a good horse but also a good harness, he bought a good harness as well. His two months' annuity almost disappeared just like that. Because an angry Louise would not cease to bother him and let him win, Saito bought the horse and the harness reluctantly.

But, he was not satisfied, and at the beginning, Saito named the horse “Louise.”

“Louise. If you want a carrot, neigh.”

“Yo! Louise. We're having a long ride today, hang on there, run! If you're slow, I'll punish you! Get it?”

While he was mimicking Louise's mouth, his releasing his small resentments was quickly discovered.

“I prohibit you to name the horse 'Louise'!”

His cheek was twice its size after being hit by Louise, so Saito changed the name of the horse.

As for the rest of the money, to put the Zero Fighter, which was taken down from the ''Varsenda,'' a hangar......  was built beside Colbert's laboratory using wood and metal sheets for protection from rains.

He thought of visiting Colbert teacher's grave, but looks like Kirche had brought the corpse of the teacher who did not have any relatives to her parents home. Tabitha had gone along as well. He did not understand the reason Kirche did so, but for now, once she comes back from Germania, he would ask her about the location of the grave, and would visit him someday, Saito thought.

Well then, regarding Louise's familiar who had become a noble suddenly, the people at the Academy of Magic had different responses.

The headmaster, Osman, was delighted.

“You can bury your bones in this world, huh?” His eyes narrowed. “I don't have the intention to do so,” when Saito explained, “In the future you'd say that because you don't have a wife, so to commemorate your becoming a noble, why don't you marry my niece and fortify your body? Although she married four times, failed them, and is forty-years old, she is still not bad.” At those words, Saito ran away.

As for Chevreuse the Red Clay teacher, “Well...”, he narrowed his eyes and was pleased.

Miss Vallière was also proud at this, as her feelings leaked out. “Are you taking classes here as well? If you are, buy this book and this book and that book. Although they are expensive, they are useful.” She started recommending her books which were used as textbooks. Saito ran away again.

Well then, the ones amongst the teachers who were happy were only those two. The rest did not look very happy. Just like how they were before, they ignored Saito like the air. There were also teachers who whispered, “I don't agree with his promotion.” As expected, the ones who were angered because Saito, who was once their companions, was now their superior, just ignored him.

The students' reactions were different as well.

Making fun of the ascent of a commoner, their minds did not think properly. Things like being afraid to approach Saito because of his war achievements, indifference.......

''That incident is fabricated, he is just a commoner, don't be so proud,'' et cetera... Students who did thus consisted of about half of the total ones. “Well, it's okay if you want to challenge me,” whenever Saito said that, duels would be provoked.

Well, they were at Guiche's level for him to defeat, at most. “I stopped the 70 000, there's no mistake about it.” Saito caused them to change their opinion about his ability after they tasted defeat from him.

He had beaten the hell out of at most three persons simultaneously at Vestri Court, and they did not insult him anymore.

A fortnight after Saito became a noble.......

In the midst of the morning haze, at the Vestri Court, one by one, students appeared. They were all participants in the Albion war in one way or another.

With easily nervous-looking appearances, they stared at the two persons who were standing in front of them.

In a black mantle, Guiche; and Saito.

Whether or not it was due to nervousness, Guiche stiffened.

Saito poked Guiche's elbow.

“Wh-what?”

“Aren't you the Commanding Officer? Address them properly!”

“Uu......”

Guiche groaned.

“What's the problem!?”

“My stomach hu-hurts......”

The students who gathered exploded in laughter.

“......Hang in there!” Mixed with sighs, Saito said.

“As I thought, isn't it better for you to become Commanding Officer? I am too heavy a baggage to be the Commanding Officer of Ondine ・ Knight Corps of the Water Spirit.”

Troubled, Guiche said.

Ondine......

Under the prodding of Henrietta, this Imperial Guards corps was formed 3 days after Saito returned to the Academy of Magic. After making his resolution, he immediately went to Henrietta's and was informed of his assuming the position of Commanding Officer of the knights. After that, Henrietta
suggested the forming of a new knight corps, and this was carried out.

The legendary Imperial Guards had a glory which existed in the past. That knight corps, which was capped with the name of the water spirit in the deep waters of the Tristain royal family and its surrounding, was established more than thousands of years ago.

However, during the political disorder a few hundred years ago, it was abolished, until now...when Henrietta picked that name again.

“Don't care what type of history it has.”

Saito said to Guiche.

Guiche and the others thought that it was possibly the name of the legendary knight corps, but, as for Saito, when he thought about it, he neither had awe nor yearning.

“B-but......though I am the commanding officer of the legendary knight corps, it means...umm......”

Guiche rolled his eyes in difficulty.

At first, Saito thought he would be the Commanding Officer, but...... “Someone who was promoted from a commoner to suddenly become a commanding officer, he'd be under a lot of pressure.” Listening to Agnes' words, he abandoned his plans. He did not want to provoke needless jealousy.

Eventually, after discussions with Louise, for the time being, Guiche would be the Commanding Officer, and Saito the Assistant Commanding Officer.

Henrietta wanted Saito to be the Commanding Officer, but, as expected, Saito was not well-rehearsed with the rules of this world, not a mage, and a formally strange human who could not do things.

Guiche had made some achievements at the City of South Gotha, had received a medal, and besides, his father was a general of the army. Although his appearance, ability or experience might be insufficient, based on his lineage and war achievements, there would be no objections to his becoming the Commanding Officer of the knight corps.

“Oi, Guiche! Saito! Until when do you want to talk? Start the training! Don't you all want to train us until we're exhausted!?”

At these two slowpokes, the students who had become the members of the knight corps, shouted.

One who looked around could tell that Ondine was made up of the students of the Academy of Magic. Henrietta had established the third Imperial Guard Corps after the Magic Imperial Guards and the Musketeer Corps with youths who were not from the factions of the society or the palace.

“Hey, because you are slow, shouldn't you not complain?”

Saito spoke whilst poking Guiche's cheek. Guiche answered back undauntedly as well.

“Aren't it you the one who does nothing but complain?”

“Because you are pathetic!”

“That's why I've said that you should become the Commanding Officer!”

Both of them glared at each other. Suddenly, Saito turned his face away, and declared in a slightly contemptuous tone,

“......Damn. Because of that, Monmon did not forgive you, isn't it?”

At that instant, Guiche cut in.

“My affairs with Monmon had nooooooothing tooooo doooooo wiiiiiiith yoooooouuuuu!”

Half weeping, Guiche pulled out his wand.

“Interesting... Oh right, I haven't settled the score with you the other time!”

Saito let out a bellow and grasped Derfliner with his hand. The runes on his left hand shone. Guiche out down  his wand and clenched his fist. Chevalier Saito was the man who stopped the 70 000. When he has a weapon, I have no chance to win.

“Because you can't use magic, too bad! Let's fight bare-handed!”

Saito released Derflinger, and leaped towards Guiche.

The gathered students was ecstatic as well.

“Get him! Punish that impertinent commoner! Guiche!”

“Oi, Saito! Go get that prideful Guiche!”

From a bench a distance away, two girls were watching the begin of the loud scuffle between Saito and Guiche. They were Louise and Montmorency. For some reason or another, every morning before breakfast, they would watch the scenery of Saito and the others' trainings.

“Geez. After the war, now it's make-believe knights? No matter how you think about it, looks like it's a quarrel this time. Huh, boys... Guess it really can't be helped, huh?”

Montmorency said in an amazed voice.

Speaking of Louise, since some time ago, she was doing something with an unusually nervous look.

“......What are you doing?”

With a slightly irritated voice, Louise replied.

“Mending something.”

At one look, it was indeed the T-shirt Saito wore. Holes where everywhere all over it. Louise was mending it somehow with great difficulty. But...no matter what, she was unskillful. With her thread entangled in a complicated way, the holes which were supposed to be mended were conversely bigger.

“Aren't you making it worse?”

“Sh't up.”

“To mend something, isn't it better to call a maid to do it?”

“It's alright. I'll do it.”

Whilst Louise was groaning ''mmm...,'' she started mending the shirt again.

“Louise, you haven't changed at all, huh?”

“Why?”

“Nope......mending a torn boy's shirt......girls who fall in love change, huh? I wonder.”

Louise lifted her face hastily. Her face reddened.

“Love, neeeevvvveeeerrrrr! T-torn shirt is pi-pipi-pitiable, so I s-sew it. That's all!”

“You're so disorientated. As if you had admitted it yourself.”

“Truthfully, I don't want to do it! Aaahh, sorry! Geez!”

While she said that, she was moving the needle painstakingly.

Louise was thinking to somehow help Saito, who was engrossed in the knight corps. But, she was not a member of the knight corps... No matter how much she thought about the things she could do, she did not know of any at all. For the time being, she would just mend his shirt.

When it comes to Saito, like an idiot, he became engrossed in striving for the organization and the trainings of the knight corps. Because of that, the moment classes ended, he would train them. Returning to the room after he was worn out, he would sleep after that. Every morning, just like that, since dusk, he'd be very busy with gathering with the other knight trainees, swinging their swords, practicing using magic all at once, and sparring.

He practically left Louise alone.

It was just like an attitude of “I don't need your help.”

That is, well...maybe because Louise was not a member of the knight corps, to which nothing could be done.

''Huhhh...'' Louise let out a small sigh.

She could not amuse Saito well, and could not help him as well. As she thought of that, her self-confidence wavered even more.

''As I thought, I can't do it, huh......?'' Tears welled in her eyes. With the sharpness of the user of Water, Montmorency noticed Louise's agony, and narrowed her eyes.

“Whhhhat? Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Well, a lover who neglects you and engross himself in other things, so you become dispirited huh?”

“Haah? What are you talking about? What lover? Stop it!”

“Am I wrong? Weelll, is it a secret crush then? Naturally, you towards Saito.”

“Wrong! Absolutely wrong! Completely different from love! I never think of him at all!”

Blushing deeply, Louise protested.

“It's fine. But let me give you a warning.”

“What is it!?”

“Although you like him, you cannot allow him immediately.”

“Haaaa! What are you saying!? Isn't that stupid!?”

[[Image:ZnT09-123.jpg|thumb]]
“A person like you appears to be firm on the outside, but you flow according to the ambiance easily. Listen. Men are all unfaithful beings. ''A little bit is okay'', when you unintentionally allow him too much, he'll lose interest in you and go find other girls.”

“Stu-stupid! There's no reason to allow them! Allow what!?”

Ignoring the things she did in the past, Louise yelled.

“Your voice is shaking. When you are struck at the bull's eye, you would be shaky immediately, eh? But you don't have to worry. Lately you are left aside by him, right? A completely frustrated woman is a no-no. Because of only little things, you get irritated, huh?”

“Haaaaahhhh!? The one's who's left aside, isn't it you!? Montmorency The Flood. What are you doing at such a place? To lookout for Guiche? That idiot had unexpectedly received a medal, and now he's getting more attention than before, eh? The girls who like him even like that, should have increased, right!?”

''Chonchon.'' Montmorency hit Louise's shoulder, and pointed towards Saito's direction.

She looked, and noticed that the scuffle had ended before they realized.

“Eh?”

Louise stared, pop-eyed.

A certain girl wearing a light brown mantle was handing something to Saito.

“Looks like the one getting the attention isn't Saito, eh?”

“What's wrong?”

Saito asked the girl in front of him.

The one in front of him with her cheeks crimson red was the girl who had once two-timed with Guiche......Katie. Beside them were a few fellow academy female students who were staring at Saito with similar expressions. All of them were wearing light brown mantle......which meant that they were first-year students.

“Um-umm......do you want to read this?”

With a bashfully radiant face, the long-haired, lovely Katie took out something which looked like a letter.

“I-I wrote it as well.”

“Please look at it.”

The other female students handed their letters to Saito one by one as well.

“Letter?”

“Umm......I wrote a poem. By all means, please read it.”

With his mouth agape, he asked the girls of the lower grade.

“......Why me?”

The girls exchanged glances and nodded in unison.

“Because, you are so cool. You could stop 70 000 military troops alone right?”

“Next time when you are free, could you please tell us more about it?”

From behind, Guiche's bitter voice could be heard.

“Wh-what about me? No letters for me!?”

“Guiche-sama already has Montmorency-sama right?”

Aloof, Katie declared clearly.

“You girls are always the best, all the time! Montmorency is Montmorency, you are you! I say! A valorous man only has love for courage and achievements! Please understand!”

Shouting that, Guiche bit on his rose and put on airs. But at that moment, a cluster of water enveloped Guiche's body.

“Ugh! Aargh! I-I! I can't br-breath...ughhh...”

In the water column, Guiche was in agony. Before they noticed it, Montmorency was already on her feet, wielding her wand. Expressionless, and very frightening-looking.

“Uuuuuwwwaaaaa, Monmon is scarrrryyyyy.” While she was saying shakily, Katie quickly handed over a package to him.

“Umm......I'm not sure whether it fits your taste or not, but I baked these biscuits myself. Please try them.”

“Biscuit?”

A gently and softly luscious smell from the bag was hanging in the air.

Apparently delicious, involuntarily he extended his hand......and a small hand stretched out from beside him.

That hand tore up that bag, and removed the biscuits from the inside.

''Gnash....''

''Aumaumaumaum...''

He timidly looked beside him, and saw Louise's face which was as if the biscuits were extremely awful.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“What is this? It tastes awful.”

“I did so hard in making them!”

“Don't give pet feeds to other people's pet dog.”

“What 'pet dog'!? Saito-sama is a hero!”

“Hero? Who?”

Without thinking, Saito puffed up his chest.

“I am!”

The next moment, Louise's knee struck his stomach, and Saito tumbled to the ground. Louise placed her feet firmly on Saito's face. In a completely typical style, Louise yelled.

“You had merely stopped the 70 000, what are you so proud of? It's just like stopping a farmer's cattle. What's so great about it!?”

Next, Louise trampled Saito's groin, delivering the finishing blow. ''Oouucchhh!'' Saito groaned, and became silent.

Everyone at that place thought that Louise was great. She had referred to the 70 000 military troops as farmer's cattle. The female students were frightened of such a person with unusual strength, and ran away, dispersed.

Louise seized Saito who had fainted in agony by the legs, and dragged him along.

With his hands and legs tied by ice loops, Guiche was taken away by the floating Montmorency.

With the Commanding Officer and Assistant Commanding Officer absent, the assembled male trainees exchanged troubled glances. Malicorne let out a sigh, and said.

“Isn't it great if Louise and Montmorency become our Commanding Officers?”

The male trainees nodded their heads unanimously.

In the room, Louise who had been dragging him all along, ''thump!'', chucked him onto the bed.

Saito came to, and shouted angrily at Louise.

“What the heck are you doing?”

Louise's cheeks puffed, and she folded her arms.

“There's no problem being enthusiastic about it. I thought it's good for you to let you do as you please, but......”

“But what?”

Louise became silent.

“What's the problem?”

At his inquiry, ''huhh...''. Louise let off a weak sigh, and slipped into her bed.

“......Damn. You just carry on with your busy life.”

Saito was hit by those words. Evidently, because he was too busy lately and did not care about Louise, she was sulking now.

That was inevitable. His recent self was somehow full with fervor.

New position, new events which he had not experienced before......

Such things made his heart beat in excitement. Naturally, the time he spent with Louise decreased as well; nothing could be done about that.

Besides, those guys who attacked us the other day......

“Those guys who attacked us before this......it would be troublesome if they strike again right? Isn't it good to have more allies now?”

''Well, that's true, but...'' Louise pursed her lips.

“But during the other time, you managed to win by your own.”

“That could not be told at all!”

Saito bellowed angrily, but Louise was more displeased with his not spending more time with her than that incident.

“Which means that you can't spend time with your master-sama, eh?”

Louise kicked her legs around under the blanket, and complained.

“Why that displeased look?”

“Nothing......but that means that I don't have to call you Master-sama now.”

“Why!?”

“Well, I'm a noble now right!? We are equal now right!”

“Haaah? What the heck are you talking about!? I've said already! Don't confuse a mere 'Chevalier' with the Duke La Valliere's position! We had only risen from the status of a human with a dog to a human with a MONKEY! That's all! Don't get the wrong idea!”

Louise combed her hair up and declared.

“Ah, I see......” Saito was further unamused.

And he had been thinking for a while that he could be equal to Louise. Looks like that wasn't the case at all.

Saito became quiet, and looking bored, Louise crawled into her bed......and pulled the blanket over her head.

Louise was not seriously thinking that they were ''not equal''. In other words, she did not care about the difference in their social status. Saito is Saito. That's all that matters.

It was simply that she did not know her feelings, and felt that Saito who was engrossed in the knight corps was a little unforgivable; at which she unintentionally insulted the Chevalier title.

At Saito's silence, Louise poked her head out from the blanket.

“............”

Like a rabbit, the face which was peeking from the hole stared at Saito, after which it slipped back again.

“Think about what you should do to improve your master's mood.”

“Although you say that.”

Seemingly troubled, Saito scratched his head. From the bed, Louise extended her hand, with a finger pointing up

“Hug me tightly? A-and whisper at my ears 'I would like to serve you.'...or something like that.”

''What do you mean by “Hug me tightly”!?'' Saito was a little angry inside.

''So you want to tie me down using that bait......?'' He was thinking that, but not unwillingly, he still hugged Louise from on top the blanket.

Under the blanket, Louise became quiet like a cat.

Louise......unconsciously relaxed her face.

'No.....Being hugged by a boy one likes somehow feels good. Although it is from the top of a blanket.''

''If it was possible, I want it like this all the time. But I cannot permit that. Aah, but what should I do if he request that? If I allow him once, will he really be unfaithful as Montmorency said? What should I do?'' As she was thinking about that......Saito opened his mouth.

“Hey Louise.”

“Wh-what......?”

“Is that enough?”

“Heh?”

In the blanket, Louise squinted her eyes.

“How do I say it? Everyone is waiting for me. Since I am an Assistant Commanding Officer......if I skip practice, how could I discipline them?”

Leaving those words behind, Saito left the bed immediately, and went out of the room.

Left behind, Louise was in a daze for a little while, and she shook......

She sprang up from the bed swiftly, and started kicking the wall.

“What's that!? What does he mean! All my pride is shattered now!”

After kicking the wall for a while, Louise muttered whilst panting.

“You just wait and see......When I am serious......Be it a maid or an elf...All of them would wag their tails and run away!”

The next day......After school, Saito went to the kitchen to greet those over there.

He remembered that he had not seen Siesta's face for a while. He ought to inform her about his becoming a noble properly with his own mouth.

Siesta's figure could not be seen. Saito asked her boss, Marteau, who was tasting a stew.

“Do you know where Siesta is?”

At his question, Marteau glared fiercely at Saito.

“I won't tell someone who has been wagging his tail at nobles.”

He declared. As if having the same opinion as their master, the other cooks who once praised Saito so much, were now watching him with cold eyes.

Compared to the times when he was insulted by the students, Saito was many times sadder now.

Being told such words by such kind people, Saito gradually broke out in tears. Subsequently, Head Chef Marteau panicked.

“Oi oi! You had taken all the trouble to become a noble, and now you're crying?”

“But......you all were so kind to me......and you had changed......but I didn't change at all......”

“Don't cry! Geez, for God's sake, why on earth did you want to become a noble!?”

Saito bit his lips.

“I could not say properly, but......somehow I wanted it. Hey uncle, you can touch people's hearts through your cooking. So you became a chef, and this is somewhere you would be. Am I wrong?”

“Hmm, well......now that you say that, maybe that's true.”

“I am like that as well. I want a place I belong to, a place where I can have a go at the things I can do. I believe that my position as a noble would make it easier for me to do so. It doesn't mean that I specially wanted to become a noble. If that place is near the thing I want to do......I would use that place conversely, I think.”

At his words, Marteau the head chef shrugged.

“I don't have much knowledge. You tell me difficult things, but I don't get it. Just that, didn't you become haughty......?”

Seemingly embarrassed, Marteau Head Chef muttered.

“Haughty? I don't have such intention at all!! Please treat me the same way as before! If you think I'm unreasonable and detest me, then don't say anything.”

Marteau head chef snorted. After that, he promptly hugged Saito.

“So-sorry......To tell you the truth, I am jealous of you......To become a noble from a commoner, that is as hard as a human becoming God! But hearing your words, I am now relieved. You are you. Right? “Our Sword”!”

“Although I don't really understand, I am glad to become your sword, as always!”

''Guriguri'', Marteau head chef stroked Saito's head.

“Tell Siesta the same thing! That girl is feeling really down now......”

At that instant,

''Bang!'', The kitchen door was opened hard. ''Thump thump thump'' Siesta rushed in.

“Waaaah waaaaah! This is bad! Waaah, waaah!”

It was a somewhat huge pandemonium.

“What is wrong?”

Marteau head chef asked.

“I! I have been transferred! Aargh!”

“Transferred?”

Saito and Marteau head chef exchanged glances. Then Siesta noticed Saito's presence at that place, and blushed furiously.

“Saito-san......I, I......”

Filled with emotion, Siesta murmured.

“Wh-what on earth......aren't you feeling really down now?”

“You're right. I am a bit down. Because Saito-san had become a noble. I thought after you become a noble, you would forget about me.”

“I won't forget!”

“But it's alright now.”

“What the heck is going on!?”

Marteau head chef asked, and Siesta lowered her head.

“Thank you very much for the taking good care of me so far.”

“Haaaah?”

Siesta showed a paper she was holding to the blank head chef.

“Isn't this the signature of the queen?”

Sure enough, that was an official document on which Henrietta's name was written. Underneath it, there was Old Osman's signature as well.

“What, what? To Mr. Saito Chevalier de Hiraga: You can choose a servant from within the academy to serve you. What is this?”

“This morning, this letter from the royal palace arrived at Osman-sama's. After that, he ordered the head of maids to choose someone. But the head of maids chose me. To wait on him, someone who's close to him would be better, which is me.”

Not understanding why it happened, Saito became nervous, and Siesta quickly bowed her head.

“Because of that, please treat me well."

During that time, Louise......was trying to carry out the strategy which she had been scheming secretly for the past two days.

“Until now, the way to do things is wrong.”

“How is it wrong?”

The one asking Louise who was murmuring continually was Derflinger. As usual, Louise had appointed the intelligent sword as her fellow staff in her operation plans.

“How should I say it? I had been trying to win at places outside my field. Be it a black cat appearance, or a maid-like appearance......anyway, these are not things nobles do.”

“That's possible.”

“For the time being, whilst satisfying my pride, I would go back to basics.”

Louise exaggerated. The clothes she was wearing to was......that legendary “sailor uniform”. Some time ago, she had bowed her head low and borrow it from Montmorency. It was a present Guiche gave her after he had received the remains from Saito. It was tailored to fit the lean body of Montmorency, but somehow it fitted Louise as well. Obviously there was a lot of space left in front of her breasts, and the clothes were too long as well......but Louise held it together using pins.

“Basics?”

“Yes. It is useless parading in weird stuffs. The ears of the cat were overdone. Anyway, after confirming that your ideas are out of the question, I will win by using my own thoughts and my inspirations. That is what a real noble would do.”

Louise folded her arms, and peered into the mirror, satisfied.

With her body wearing the baggy sailor uniform, Louise turned around the spot. Her pink hair, scarf, and the pleated skirt of her uniform flew up simultaneously.

“Aren't you imitating that maid?”

[[Image:ZnT09-137.jpg|thumb]]
“Shut up. Between the maid and I, our power vary a lot!”

“Aren't you the weaker one? It is somewhat fatter......”

Inhaling a deep breath, Louise reached out for the wand on top of the small desk beside her. Derflinger's attitude changed completely.

“Nope, stronger.”

“Obviously!”

With a triumphant face, Louise posed before the mirror.

Holding the hem of her skirt up, Louise put her little finger into her mouth. At her look, Derflinger put in.

“Anyway, if partner like such things......how about if you're more frank? Don't turn around, isn't it good just to say 'I'll do the same'? It's over.”

“NO!”

“Why is that so?”

“Well......if I do that, won't he get carried away? It is not like the other time. As I said, he groped those breasts, so I put him down. He is unforgivable.”

“You're not honest.”

“Or perhaps I should say.”

Louise gripped the sword, and peered into the hilt part with a scary face.

“I did not like him specially.”

“Yes.”

With a voice of complete disbelief, Derflinger muttered.

After that, ''Haaaaaa......'', let off a deep sigh.

“What's the matter?”

“I am still cute after all. This is, another sin.”

“......My dear, you are really calm huh.”

“After seeing such a tidy and cute me, that insect would have to fall on his knees.”

“Really?”

“Fufu. Fufufufufufu.”

“Sorry, I'm scared.”

“He will surely feel like this eh?”

Carried away, Louise crawled at the bed. Under Derflinger's amazed scrutiny, Louise's favourite monodrama of late began.

<nowiki>“Louise~~~, Louise~~~You are so cute......Your appearance is better than the time you wore maid clothes~~~ I had fallen madly in love with Louise~~~!”

After that, Louise stood up quickly.

“Hmph! Isn't this obvious! Now you notice my charm? Aah, I can't do anything about it!”

Again, Louise knelt at the floor.

“I'm sorry~~~Sorry for ignoring you~~~I got carried away after becoming a noble, sorry for that~~~Sorry for engrossing in the knight thingy~~~Sorry for looking for at the maid~~~Sorry for groping that half-elf's ridiculous breasts~~~!”</nowiki>

Louise stood straight.

“If you want to apologize, you know how to treat me right?”

Flat on the ground, Louise licked dust.

“Yes! I am a humble dog......Louise-sama's vile pet dog......I would do anything......Please let me stay by your side......”

Standing up, Louise folded her arms. She was carried away excitedly, as if her familiar was just right there. With a smile full of bizarrely swelling excitement an a victory boast, she looked down on the imaginary familiar.

“If you understand, li-lili-lick my sh-shsh-shoes.”

“Yeeess! I will lick it! This Saito dog will lick it!”

Louise cringed down and lowered her head.

“Hey lady.”

“What!? Now's the climax! Don't disturb! It's really exciting after this!”

“The door is......”

“What's with the door!? What happened to the door!”

Louise turned around. With eyes as if they were looking at a miserable creature, Siesta and Saito who were present there were staring at her. Louise's face paled.

Siesta rushed over to Louise, and held those hands.

“Let's go to a place with free medical treatment, okay? You're affected from the warm spell of spring huh......It's all right. You be healed quickly.”

Saito approached her, and peered into Louise's face.

“Say honestly. What did you eat?”

Strongly, Louise shook both of them off, and went to the window. From there, she tried to jump down.

“Wa-wait!”

“Louise! Oi! This is the third floor!”

Siesta and Saito ran after her. Louise yelled frantically.

“Leave me! Please, leave me alone!”

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter5

2009-01-02T16:17:51Z

Kumichael: /* Chapter 5 – Ondine ・ Knight Corps of The Water Spirit */

===Chapter 5 – Ondine ・ Knight Corps of The Water Spirit===

Saito was publicly made into a noble, but his life did not change very much.

Because the 'Chevalier' title comes with an annuity, his financial status became somewhat more stable, although his life did not change drastically.

Despite the different places, the living expenses in Tristain per person was 120 Ecu. The sum of annuity Saito receives is 500 Ecu. It was a sum with which a commoner's family of four could live quite comfortably. It was something like the income of the lower class nobles without any lands.

At the start of every month, he would receive a sum of money which amounts to one twelfth of his annuity from the finance office. Therefore, every month, Saito had to bring his “Chevalier” letter of appointment, and squeeze with the other lower class nobles who would be trying to take their salary or annuity at the Tristain's finance office's counter.

The place he lives in was still unchanged- Louise's room. Although there were other rooms available if he wanted to rent a room, Louise disliked the notion. Aren't you wasting your extra money? Louise said.

For the time being, according to Louise's suggestion that it is indispensable in his service to the knight corps, Saito borrowed the annuity in advance and bought a horse.

It was grey and sleek-looking, and was quite a good army horse.

And influenced by Louise's advice that a good rider needs not just a good horse but also a good harness, he bought a good harness as well. His two months' annuity almost disappeared just like that. Because an angry Louise would not cease to bother him and let him win, Saito bought the horse and the harness reluctantly.

But, he was not satisfied, and at the beginning, Saito named the horse “Louise”.

“Louise. If you want a carrot, neigh.”

“Yo! Louise. We're having a long ride today, hang on there, run! If you're slow, I'll punish you! Get it?”

While he was mimicking Louise's mouth, his releasing his small resentments was quickly discovered.

“I prohibit you to name the horse 'Louise'!”

His cheek was twice its size after being hit by Louise, so Saito changed the name of the horse.

As for the rest of the money, to put the Zero Fighter which was taken down from the ''Varsenda'', a hangar......was built beside Colbert's laboratory using wood and metal sheets for protection from rains.

He thought of visiting Colbert teacher's grave, but looks like Kirche had brought the corpse of the teacher who did not have any relatives to her parents home. Tabitha had gone along as well. He did not understand the reason Kirche did so, but for now, once she comes back from Germania, he would ask her about the location of the grave, and would visit him someday, Saito thought.

Well then, regarding Louise's familiar who had become a noble suddenly, the people at the Academy of Magic had different responses.

The headmaster Osman was delighted.

“You can bury your bones in this world, huh?” His eyes narrowed. “I don't have the intention to do so,” when Saito explained, “In the future you'd say that because you don't have a wife, so to commemorate your becoming a noble, why don't you marry my niece and fortify your body? Although she married four times, failed them, and is forty-years old, she is still not bad.” At those words, Saito ran away.

As for Chevreuse the Red Clay teacher, “Well...”, he narrowed his eyes and was pleased.

Miss Vallière was also proud at this, as her feelings leaked out. “Are you taking classes here as well? If you are, buy this book and this book and that book. Although they are expensive, they are useful.” She started recommending her books which were used as textbooks. Saito ran away again.

Well then, the ones amongst the teachers who were happy were only those two. The rest looked not very happy. Just like how they were before, they ignored Saito like the air. There were also teachers who whispered, “I don't agree with his promotion.” As expected, the ones who were angered because Saito, who was once their companions, was now their superior, just ignored him.

The students' reactions were different as well.

Making fun of the ascent of a commoner, their minds did not think properly. Things like being afraid to approach Saito because of his war achievements, indifference.......

''That incident is fabricated, he is just a commoner, don't be so proud'', et cetera... Students who did thus consisted of about half of the total ones. “Well, it's okay if you want to challenge me,” whenever Saito said that, duels would be provoked.

Well, they were at Guiche's level for him to defeat, at most. “I stopped the 70 000, there's no mistake about it.” Saito caused them to change their opinion about his ability after they tasted defeat from him.

He had beaten the hell out of at most three persons simultaneously at Vestri Court, and they did not insult him anymore.

A fortnight after Saito became a noble.......

In the midst of the morning haze, at the Vestri Court, one by one, students appeared. They were all participants in the Albion war in one way or another.

With easily nervous-looking appearances, they stared at the two persons who were standing in front of them.

In a black mantle, Guiche; and Saito.

Whether or not it was due to nervousness, Guiche stiffened.

Saito poked Guiche's elbow.

“Wh-what?”

“Aren't you the Commanding Officer? Address them properly!”

“Uu......”

Guiche groaned.

“What's the problem!?”

“My stomach hu-hurts......”

The students who gathered exploded in laughter.

“......Hang in there!” Mixed with sighs, Saito said.

“As I thought, isn't it better for you to become Commanding Officer? I am too heavy a baggage to be the Commanding Officer of Ondine ・ Knight Corps of the Water Spirit.”

Troubled, Guiche said.

Ondine......

Under the prodding of Henrietta, this Imperial Guards corps was formed 3 days after Saito returned to the Academy of Magic. After making his resolution, he immediately went to Henrietta's and was informed of his assuming the position of Commanding Officer of the knights. After that, Henrietta
suggested the forming of a new knight corps, and this was carried out.

The legendary Imperial Guards had a glory which existed in the past. That knight corps, which was capped with the name of the water spirit in the deep waters of the Tristain royal family and its surrounding, was established more than thousands of years ago.

However, during the political disorder a few hundred years ago, it was abolished, until now...when Henrietta picked that name again.

“Don't care what type of history it has.”

Saito said to Guiche.

Guiche and the others thought that it was possibly the name of the legendary knight corps, but, as for Saito, when he thought about it, he neither had awe nor yearning.

“B-but......though I am the commanding officer of the legendary knight corps, it means...umm......”

Guiche rolled his eyes in difficulty.

At first, Saito thought he would be the Commanding Officer, but...... “Someone who was promoted from a commoner to suddenly become a commanding officer, he'd be under a lot of pressure.” Listening to Agnes' words, he abandoned his plans. He did not want to provoke needless jealousy.

Eventually, after discussions with Louise, for the time being, Guiche would be the Commanding Officer, and Saito the Assistant Commanding Officer.

Henrietta wanted Saito to be the Commanding Officer, but, as expected, Saito was not well-rehearsed with the rules of this world, not a mage, and a formally strange human who could not do things.

Guiche had made some achievements at the City of South Gotha, had received a medal, and besides, his father was a general of the army. Although his appearance, ability or experience might be insufficient, based on his lineage and war achievements, there would be no objections to his becoming the Commanding Officer of the knight corps.

“Oi, Guiche! Saito! Until when do you want to talk? Start the training! Don't you all want to train us until we're exhausted!?”

At these two slowpokes, the students who had become the members of the knight corps, shouted.

One who looked around could tell that Ondine was made up of the students of the Academy of Magic. Henrietta had established the third Imperial Guard Corps after the Magic Imperial Guards and the Musketeer Corps with youths who were not from the factions of the society or the palace.

“Hey, because you are slow, shouldn't you not complain?”

Saito spoke whilst poking Guiche's cheek. Guiche answered back undauntedly as well.

“Aren't it you the one who does nothing but complain?”

“Because you are pathetic!”

“That's why I've said that you should become the Commanding Officer!”

Both of them glared at each other. Suddenly, Saito turned his face away, and declared in a slightly contemptuous tone,

“......Damn. Because of that, Monmon did not forgive you, isn't it?”

At that instant, Guiche cut in.

“My affairs with Monmon had nooooooothing tooooo doooooo wiiiiiiith yoooooouuuuu!”

Half weeping, Guiche pulled out his wand.

“Interesting... Oh right, I haven't settled the score with you the other time!”

Saito let out a bellow and grasped Derfliner with his hand. The runes on his left hand shone. Guiche out down  his wand and clenched his fist. Chevalier Saito was the man who stopped the 70 000. When he has a weapon, I have no chance to win.

“Because you can't use magic, too bad! Let's fight bare-handed!”

Saito released Derflinger, and leaped towards Guiche.

The gathered students was ecstatic as well.

“Get him! Punish that impertinent commoner! Guiche!”

“Oi, Saito! Go get that prideful Guiche!”

From a bench a distance away, two girls were watching the begin of the loud scuffle between Saito and Guiche. They were Louise and Montmorency. For some reason or another, every morning before breakfast, they would watch the scenery of Saito and the others' trainings.

“Geez. After the war, now it's make-believe knights? No matter how you think about it, looks like it's a quarrel this time. Huh, boys... Guess it really can't be helped, huh?”

Montmorency said in an amazed voice.

Speaking of Louise, since some time ago, she was doing something with an unusually nervous look.

“......What are you doing?”

With a slightly irritated voice, Louise replied.

“Mending something.”

At one look, it was indeed the T-shirt Saito wore. Holes where everywhere all over it. Louise was mending it somehow with great difficulty. But...no matter what, she was unskillful. With her thread entangled in a complicated way, the holes which were supposed to be mended were conversely bigger.

“Aren't you making it worse?”

“Sh't up.”

“To mend something, isn't it better to call a maid to do it?”

“It's alright. I'll do it.”

Whilst Louise was groaning ''mmm...,'' she started mending the shirt again.

“Louise, you haven't changed at all, huh?”

“Why?”

“Nope......mending a torn boy's shirt......girls who fall in love change, huh? I wonder.”

Louise lifted her face hastily. Her face reddened.

“Love, neeeevvvveeeerrrrr! T-torn shirt is pi-pipi-pitiable, so I s-sew it. That's all!”

“You're so disorientated. As if you had admitted it yourself.”

“Truthfully, I don't want to do it! Aaahh, sorry! Geez!”

While she said that, she was moving the needle painstakingly.

Louise was thinking to somehow help Saito, who was engrossed in the knight corps. But, she was not a member of the knight corps... No matter how much she thought about the things she could do, she did not know of any at all. For the time being, she would just mend his shirt.

When it comes to Saito, like an idiot, he became engrossed in striving for the organization and the trainings of the knight corps. Because of that, the moment classes ended, he would train them. Returning to the room after he was worn out, he would sleep after that. Every morning, just like that, since dusk, he'd be very busy with gathering with the other knight trainees, swinging their swords, practicing using magic all at once, and sparring.

He practically left Louise alone.

It was just like an attitude of “I don't need your help.”

That is, well...maybe because Louise was not a member of the knight corps, to which nothing could be done.

''Huhhh...'' Louise let out a small sigh.

She could not amuse Saito well, and could not help him as well. As she thought of that, her self-confidence wavered even more.

''As I thought, I can't do it, huh......?'' Tears welled in her eyes. With the sharpness of the user of Water, Montmorency noticed Louise's agony, and narrowed her eyes.

“Whhhhat? Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Well, a lover who neglects you and engross himself in other things, so you become dispirited huh?”

“Haah? What are you talking about? What lover? Stop it!”

“Am I wrong? Weelll, is it a secret crush then? Naturally, you towards Saito.”

“Wrong! Absolutely wrong! Completely different from love! I never think of him at all!”

Blushing deeply, Louise protested.

“It's fine. But let me give you a warning.”

“What is it!?”

“Although you like him, you cannot allow him immediately.”

“Haaaa! What are you saying!? Isn't that stupid!?”

[[Image:ZnT09-123.jpg|thumb]]
“A person like you appears to be firm on the outside, but you flow according to the ambiance easily. Listen. Men are all unfaithful beings. ''A little bit is okay'', when you unintentionally allow him too much, he'll lose interest in you and go find other girls.”

“Stu-stupid! There's no reason to allow them! Allow what!?”

Ignoring the things she did in the past, Louise yelled.

“Your voice is shaking. When you are struck at the bull's eye, you would be shaky immediately, eh? But you don't have to worry. Lately you are left aside by him, right? A completely frustrated woman is a no-no. Because of only little things, you get irritated, huh?”

“Haaaaahhhh!? The one's who's left aside, isn't it you!? Montmorency The Flood. What are you doing at such a place? To lookout for Guiche? That idiot had unexpectedly received a medal, and now he's getting more attention than before, eh? The girls who like him even like that, should have increased, right!?”

''Chonchon.'' Montmorency hit Louise's shoulder, and pointed towards Saito's direction.

She looked, and noticed that the scuffle had ended before they realized.

“Eh?”

Louise stared, pop-eyed.

A certain girl wearing a light brown mantle was handing something to Saito.

“Looks like the one getting the attention isn't Saito, eh?”

“What's wrong?”

Saito asked the girl in front of him.

The one in front of him with her cheeks crimson red was the girl who had once two-timed with Guiche......Katie. Beside them were a few fellow academy female students who were staring at Saito with similar expressions. All of them were wearing light brown mantle......which meant that they were first-year students.

“Um-umm......do you want to read this?”

With a bashfully radiant face, the long-haired, lovely Katie took out something which looked like a letter.

“I-I wrote it as well.”

“Please look at it.”

The other female students handed their letters to Saito one by one as well.

“Letter?”

“Umm......I wrote a poem. By all means, please read it.”

With his mouth agape, he asked the girls of the lower grade.

“......Why me?”

The girls exchanged glances and nodded in unison.

“Because, you are so cool. You could stop 70 000 military troops alone right?”

“Next time when you are free, could you please tell us more about it?”

From behind, Guiche's bitter voice could be heard.

“Wh-what about me? No letters for me!?”

“Guiche-sama already has Montmorency-sama right?”

Aloof, Katie declared clearly.

“You girls are always the best, all the time! Montmorency is Montmorency, you are you! I say! A valorous man only has love for courage and achievements! Please understand!”

Shouting that, Guiche bit on his rose and put on airs. But at that moment, a cluster of water enveloped Guiche's body.

“Ugh! Aargh! I-I! I can't br-breath...ughhh...”

In the water column, Guiche was in agony. Before they noticed it, Montmorency was already on her feet, wielding her wand. Expressionless, and very frightening-looking.

“Uuuuuwwwaaaaa, Monmon is scarrrryyyyy.” While she was saying shakily, Katie quickly handed over a package to him.

“Umm......I'm not sure whether it fits your taste or not, but I baked these biscuits myself. Please try them.”

“Biscuit?”

A gently and softly luscious smell from the bag was hanging in the air.

Apparently delicious, involuntarily he extended his hand......and a small hand stretched out from beside him.

That hand tore up that bag, and removed the biscuits from the inside.

''Gnash....''

''Aumaumaumaum...''

He timidly looked beside him, and saw Louise's face which was as if the biscuits were extremely awful.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“What is this? It tastes awful.”

“I did so hard in making them!”

“Don't give pet feeds to other people's pet dog.”

“What 'pet dog'!? Saito-sama is a hero!”

“Hero? Who?”

Without thinking, Saito puffed up his chest.

“I am!”

The next moment, Louise's knee struck his stomach, and Saito tumbled to the ground. Louise placed her feet firmly on Saito's face. In a completely typical style, Louise yelled.

“You had merely stopped the 70 000, what are you so proud of? It's just like stopping a farmer's cattle. What's so great about it!?”

Next, Louise trampled Saito's groin, delivering the finishing blow. ''Oouucchhh!'' Saito groaned, and became silent.

Everyone at that place thought that Louise was great. She had referred to the 70 000 military troops as farmer's cattle. The female students were frightened of such a person with unusual strength, and ran away, dispersed.

Louise seized Saito who had fainted in agony by the legs, and dragged him along.

With his hands and legs tied by ice loops, Guiche was taken away by the floating Montmorency.

With the Commanding Officer and Assistant Commanding Officer absent, the assembled male trainees exchanged troubled glances. Malicorne let out a sigh, and said.

“Isn't it great if Louise and Montmorency become our Commanding Officers?”

The male trainees nodded their heads unanimously.

In the room, Louise who had been dragging him all along, ''thump!'', chucked him onto the bed.

Saito came to, and shouted angrily at Louise.

“What the heck are you doing?”

Louise's cheeks puffed, and she folded her arms.

“There's no problem being enthusiastic about it. I thought it's good for you to let you do as you please, but......”

“But what?”

Louise became silent.

“What's the problem?”

At his inquiry, ''huhh...''. Louise let off a weak sigh, and slipped into her bed.

“......Damn. You just carry on with your busy life.”

Saito was hit by those words. Evidently, because he was too busy lately and did not care about Louise, she was sulking now.

That was inevitable. His recent self was somehow full with fervor.

New position, new events which he had not experienced before......

Such things made his heart beat in excitement. Naturally, the time he spent with Louise decreased as well; nothing could be done about that.

Besides, those guys who attacked us the other day......

“Those guys who attacked us before this......it would be troublesome if they strike again right? Isn't it good to have more allies now?”

''Well, that's true, but...'' Louise pursed her lips.

“But during the other time, you managed to win by your own.”

“That could not be told at all!”

Saito bellowed angrily, but Louise was more displeased with his not spending more time with her than that incident.

“Which means that you can't spend time with your master-sama, eh?”

Louise kicked her legs around under the blanket, and complained.

“Why that displeased look?”

“Nothing......but that means that I don't have to call you Master-sama now.”

“Why!?”

“Well, I'm a noble now right!? We are equal now right!”

“Haaah? What the heck are you talking about!? I've said already! Don't confuse a mere 'Chevalier' with the Duke La Valliere's position! We had only risen from the status of a human with a dog to a human with a MONKEY! That's all! Don't get the wrong idea!”

Louise combed her hair up and declared.

“Ah, I see......” Saito was further unamused.

And he had been thinking for a while that he could be equal to Louise. Looks like that wasn't the case at all.

Saito became quiet, and looking bored, Louise crawled into her bed......and pulled the blanket over her head.

Louise was not seriously thinking that they were ''not equal''. In other words, she did not care about the difference in their social status. Saito is Saito. That's all that matters.

It was simply that she did not know her feelings, and felt that Saito who was engrossed in the knight corps was a little unforgivable; at which she unintentionally insulted the Chevalier title.

At Saito's silence, Louise poked her head out from the blanket.

“............”

Like a rabbit, the face which was peeking from the hole stared at Saito, after which it slipped back again.

“Think about what you should do to improve your master's mood.”

“Although you say that.”

Seemingly troubled, Saito scratched his head. From the bed, Louise extended her hand, with a finger pointing up

“Hug me tightly? A-and whisper at my ears 'I would like to serve you.'...or something like that.”

''What do you mean by “Hug me tightly”!?'' Saito was a little angry inside.

''So you want to tie me down using that bait......?'' He was thinking that, but not unwillingly, he still hugged Louise from on top the blanket.

Under the blanket, Louise became quiet like a cat.

Louise......unconsciously relaxed her face.

'No.....Being hugged by a boy one likes somehow feels good. Although it is from the top of a blanket.''

''If it was possible, I want it like this all the time. But I cannot permit that. Aah, but what should I do if he request that? If I allow him once, will he really be unfaithful as Montmorency said? What should I do?'' As she was thinking about that......Saito opened his mouth.

“Hey Louise.”

“Wh-what......?”

“Is that enough?”

“Heh?”

In the blanket, Louise squinted her eyes.

“How do I say it? Everyone is waiting for me. Since I am an Assistant Commanding Officer......if I skip practice, how could I discipline them?”

Leaving those words behind, Saito left the bed immediately, and went out of the room.

Left behind, Louise was in a daze for a little while, and she shook......

She sprang up from the bed swiftly, and started kicking the wall.

“What's that!? What does he mean! All my pride is shattered now!”

After kicking the wall for a while, Louise muttered whilst panting.

“You just wait and see......When I am serious......Be it a maid or an elf...All of them would wag their tails and run away!”

The next day......After school, Saito went to the kitchen to greet those over there.

He remembered that he had not seen Siesta's face for a while. He ought to inform her about his becoming a noble properly with his own mouth.

Siesta's figure could not be seen. Saito asked her boss, Marteau, who was tasting a stew.

“Do you know where Siesta is?”

At his question, Marteau glared fiercely at Saito.

“I won't tell someone who has been wagging his tail at nobles.”

He declared. As if having the same opinion as their master, the other cooks who once praised Saito so much, were now watching him with cold eyes.

Compared to the times when he was insulted by the students, Saito was many times sadder now.

Being told such words by such kind people, Saito gradually broke out in tears. Subsequently, Head Chef Marteau panicked.

“Oi oi! You had taken all the trouble to become a noble, and now you're crying?”

“But......you all were so kind to me......and you had changed......but I didn't change at all......”

“Don't cry! Geez, for God's sake, why on earth did you want to become a noble!?”

Saito bit his lips.

“I could not say properly, but......somehow I wanted it. Hey uncle, you can touch people's hearts through your cooking. So you became a chef, and this is somewhere you would be. Am I wrong?”

“Hmm, well......now that you say that, maybe that's true.”

“I am like that as well. I want a place I belong to, a place where I can have a go at the things I can do. I believe that my position as a noble would make it easier for me to do so. It doesn't mean that I specially wanted to become a noble. If that place is near the thing I want to do......I would use that place conversely, I think.”

At his words, Marteau the head chef shrugged.

“I don't have much knowledge. You tell me difficult things, but I don't get it. Just that, didn't you become haughty......?”

Seemingly embarrassed, Marteau Head Chef muttered.

“Haughty? I don't have such intention at all!! Please treat me the same way as before! If you think I'm unreasonable and detest me, then don't say anything.”

Marteau head chef snorted. After that, he promptly hugged Saito.

“So-sorry......To tell you the truth, I am jealous of you......To become a noble from a commoner, that is as hard as a human becoming God! But hearing your words, I am now relieved. You are you. Right? “Our Sword”!”

“Although I don't really understand, I am glad to become your sword, as always!”

''Guriguri'', Marteau head chef stroked Saito's head.

“Tell Siesta the same thing! That girl is feeling really down now......”

At that instant,

''Bang!'', The kitchen door was opened hard. ''Thump thump thump'' Siesta rushed in.

“Waaaah waaaaah! This is bad! Waaah, waaah!”

It was a somewhat huge pandemonium.

“What is wrong?”

Marteau head chef asked.

“I! I have been transferred! Aargh!”

“Transferred?”

Saito and Marteau head chef exchanged glances. Then Siesta noticed Saito's presence at that place, and blushed furiously.

“Saito-san......I, I......”

Filled with emotion, Siesta murmured.

“Wh-what on earth......aren't you feeling really down now?”

“You're right. I am a bit down. Because Saito-san had become a noble. I thought after you become a noble, you would forget about me.”

“I won't forget!”

“But it's alright now.”

“What the heck is going on!?”

Marteau head chef asked, and Siesta lowered her head.

“Thank you very much for the taking good care of me so far.”

“Haaaah?”

Siesta showed a paper she was holding to the blank head chef.

“Isn't this the signature of the queen?”

Sure enough, that was an official document on which Henrietta's name was written. Underneath it, there was Old Osman's signature as well.

“What, what? To Mr. Saito Chevalier de Hiraga: You can choose a servant from within the academy to serve you. What is this?”

“This morning, this letter from the royal palace arrived at Osman-sama's. After that, he ordered the head of maids to choose someone. But the head of maids chose me. To wait on him, someone who's close to him would be better, which is me.”

Not understanding why it happened, Saito became nervous, and Siesta quickly bowed her head.

“Because of that, please treat me well."

During that time, Louise......was trying to carry out the strategy which she had been scheming secretly for the past two days.

“Until now, the way to do things is wrong.”

“How is it wrong?”

The one asking Louise who was murmuring continually was Derflinger. As usual, Louise had appointed the intelligent sword as her fellow staff in her operation plans.

“How should I say it? I had been trying to win at places outside my field. Be it a black cat appearance, or a maid-like appearance......anyway, these are not things nobles do.”

“That's possible.”

“For the time being, whilst satisfying my pride, I would go back to basics.”

Louise exaggerated. The clothes she was wearing to was......that legendary “sailor uniform”. Some time ago, she had bowed her head low and borrow it from Montmorency. It was a present Guiche gave her after he had received the remains from Saito. It was tailored to fit the lean body of Montmorency, but somehow it fitted Louise as well. Obviously there was a lot of space left in front of her breasts, and the clothes were too long as well......but Louise held it together using pins.

“Basics?”

“Yes. It is useless parading in weird stuffs. The ears of the cat were overdone. Anyway, after confirming that your ideas are out of the question, I will win by using my own thoughts and my inspirations. That is what a real noble would do.”

Louise folded her arms, and peered into the mirror, satisfied.

With her body wearing the baggy sailor uniform, Louise turned around the spot. Her pink hair, scarf, and the pleated skirt of her uniform flew up simultaneously.

“Aren't you imitating that maid?”

[[Image:ZnT09-137.jpg|thumb]]
“Shut up. Between the maid and I, our power vary a lot!”

“Aren't you the weaker one? It is somewhat fatter......”

Inhaling a deep breath, Louise reached out for the wand on top of the small desk beside her. Derflinger's attitude changed completely.

“Nope, stronger.”

“Obviously!”

With a triumphant face, Louise posed before the mirror.

Holding the hem of her skirt up, Louise put her little finger into her mouth. At her look, Derflinger put in.

“Anyway, if partner like such things......how about if you're more frank? Don't turn around, isn't it good just to say 'I'll do the same'? It's over.”

“NO!”

“Why is that so?”

“Well......if I do that, won't he get carried away? It is not like the other time. As I said, he groped those breasts, so I put him down. He is unforgivable.”

“You're not honest.”

“Or perhaps I should say.”

Louise gripped the sword, and peered into the hilt part with a scary face.

“I did not like him specially.”

“Yes.”

With a voice of complete disbelief, Derflinger muttered.

After that, ''Haaaaaa......'', let off a deep sigh.

“What's the matter?”

“I am still cute after all. This is, another sin.”

“......My dear, you are really calm huh.”

“After seeing such a tidy and cute me, that insect would have to fall on his knees.”

“Really?”

“Fufu. Fufufufufufu.”

“Sorry, I'm scared.”

“He will surely feel like this eh?”

Carried away, Louise crawled at the bed. Under Derflinger's amazed scrutiny, Louise's favourite monodrama of late began.

<nowiki>“Louise~~~, Louise~~~You are so cute......Your appearance is better than the time you wore maid clothes~~~ I had fallen madly in love with Louise~~~!”

After that, Louise stood up quickly.

“Hmph! Isn't this obvious! Now you notice my charm? Aah, I can't do anything about it!”

Again, Louise knelt at the floor.

“I'm sorry~~~Sorry for ignoring you~~~I got carried away after becoming a noble, sorry for that~~~Sorry for engrossing in the knight thingy~~~Sorry for looking for at the maid~~~Sorry for groping that half-elf's ridiculous breasts~~~!”</nowiki>

Louise stood straight.

“If you want to apologize, you know how to treat me right?”

Flat on the ground, Louise licked dust.

“Yes! I am a humble dog......Louise-sama's vile pet dog......I would do anything......Please let me stay by your side......”

Standing up, Louise folded her arms. She was carried away excitedly, as if her familiar was just right there. With a smile full of bizarrely swelling excitement an a victory boast, she looked down on the imaginary familiar.

“If you understand, li-lili-lick my sh-shsh-shoes.”

“Yeeess! I will lick it! This Saito dog will lick it!”

Louise cringed down and lowered her head.

“Hey lady.”

“What!? Now's the climax! Don't disturb! It's really exciting after this!”

“The door is......”

“What's with the door!? What happened to the door!”

Louise turned around. With eyes as if they were looking at a miserable creature, Siesta and Saito who were present there were staring at her. Louise's face paled.

Siesta rushed over to Louise, and held those hands.

“Let's go to a place with free medical treatment, okay? You're affected from the warm spell of spring huh......It's all right. You be healed quickly.”

Saito approached her, and peered into Louise's face.

“Say honestly. What did you eat?”

Strongly, Louise shook both of them off, and went to the window. From there, she tried to jump down.

“Wa-wait!”

“Louise! Oi! This is the third floor!”

Siesta and Saito ran after her. Louise yelled frantically.

“Leave me! Please, leave me alone!”

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume12 Prologue

2008-12-25T15:38:19Z

Kumichael: merry christmas guys! ill (finish this later)

=== Prologue ===


Magic academy, Alvis dining hall.

In Tristain Magic Academy, it was a custom for young nobles who commute here to eat here during morning, noon, and evening for three meals times a day.

A week has been passed since the day when Henrietta requested to bring Tiffania from Albion.

Henceforth, it's only natural for Saito's group, just like the other days, to eat breakfast here in the table provided for third year students.

The long dining hall table, if we see it from the entrance, we can see three separates table rows. The left side is for third year students, the middle for second year students, and the right side for first year students.

“She is really popular.“

Saito stopped the movement of the knife just when he was about to cut the meat. A light, ignorant voice replied,

“What? Popular?”

Immediately in front of him sat Guiche, whose eyes wide-eyed turning. Surrounding the two of them, all member of Knight Corps of the Water Spirit is assembled. It is still daytime, but most of them has been drunk. Saito and Guiche, whose eyes turned red, were facing the same direction.

At that direction......, a figure of dazzling fairy with golden hair and slender charming body, however her facial expression signing she was quite bewildered.

It was Tiffania.

With Henrietta as mediator, about one month needed to take care of the admission so Tiffania could enlisted as first year class in this school. Soon a single rumor had wide-spread among academy peoples in this academy.

Not to mention, the result of mixing of elf blood and Albion royal blood made her beautiful face more dazzling like a fined art.

Of course......., both of her bloodline were concealed. The few ones who knew her true colors are Henrietta, principle Osman, Saito, Louise. Including, Tabitha, Kirche, and Guiche. Outside this circle, none are knew about this secret.

The two secrets which wrapped Tiffania, one side of the secret peoples could figured out by just looking....., to conceal that, she put a hat to cover her ears.

The truth is by putting that appearance, she would be forbidden to participated in class. But Tiffania with such ostensible reason “her body is extremely week tothe sun ray”, permission has been granted wear hat indoor. “If sunlight reached her fragile skin from the window her skin will be sunburned”, that's the reason Henrietta as Tiffania guardian comes up in front of principles Osman, teachers staff, and students.

Naturally, no one would be tricked by this lie, no doubt about it.

However........, even any noble girl students would retreat if confronted by the chance Tiffania white skin were to be sunburned. Whoever has seen tiffania white skin, would also thought this girl could not resist sun ray.

Like a flickering faint blueish moon light, that flickering does not suit with her unbalances body, added with the rumours that she is some outstanding Albion nobles......

With those three characteristics, an unknown fascinating aura seems emanating from her. Surrounding Tiffania was couples of boy students who have fallen completely to her.

Tiffania body covered with magic academy uniform, ten guys with their eyes color changed was surrounding him like a group of ants which crowding over a candy.

“She is popular, to be more precise highly popular.”

Absentmindedly opened his mouth while gazing at Tiffania, Guiche muttered.
[[Image:ZnT12-015.jpg|thumb]]

“Those guys, what could be in their mind. Their action seems like a servant to a princess.”

In the right seat beside Guiche, who bear the same duty as member of Knight Corps of the Water Spirit, Renard. While raised his glasses replied.

I see, it's just like Renard said.

Not only blueish clothes of 1st years, but brownish clothes of second year, and dark mantle of 3rd year can be seen around.
To those guys, Tiffania was a tea which drank in one gulp and requested another one to be filled, Tiffania was an smörgåsbord that if eaten could make yourselves to continue devour it, or Tiffania was a meat whose someone hand reach for in and cut to the last piece, or some kind like that..

Tiffania was troubled. Not less than ten persons of waiter alike attitude simultaneously offered his services to this golden haired beauty, competing bluntly by showing each other special talents. That is the complicated circumstances where one can't say a words carelessly, this stalemate is continued.

The crowded boys students eyes were focused at some visual points, her transparent white skin, her outrageous beauty face, and one another point that were moving right now.

When that part was moved, Guiche feeling overflowed.

“You know, since returns from the Albion trip, I always thinking deeply. There's only one conclusion that can be reached”.

Just left of Guiche was Malicorne, whose lips outer edge is raising, surfacing a nihilist smile.

“Guiche, Please let this windward hears your conclusion.”
　
Like a class debate, full of confidence wtih his opinion with excellent expression tone, Guiche replied.

“Very well, the result of my conclusion. That Tiffania lady breasts, the true shape of those two round object, that made half of world populations insane, it is magic weapons”.

“So you mean, half of world populations meaning .......”

“You are a man. Aren't you?”

Malicorne placing a finger in his chin thought deeply. A few moments later, seriously opened his mouth.

“Weapon in other words, you mean lust for sex?”

“No doubt, it is lust for sex.”　

Saito who was watching The foolishness of the two also nodded as if agreeing “it is reasonable”.

“You are genius, Guiche.”

“Even so this is just a half assed conclusion. My hypothesis, still need to be proven.”

Gulp, Guiche swallowed a whole wine cup.

“Now, come!”

“Bang, Guiche stood. Malicorne too made a grand gesture raise. Now are granted an audience with her Majesty, that kind of act. The two began arranging their appearance.”
　
The two fools nodded showed sign of readiness, slowly approaching the table of 1st year students. 　

Renard is asking Saito.

“Those two, what could be in their minds?”

“Intoxicated with stupidness. Leave them for the time being!”

All members of Knight Corps of the Water Spirit watching Guiche and Malicorne with worried face.

Like a drunken man, the two make a way pushed off the 1st year students that were swarmed around Tiffania. Defense squad of 3rd years students was throwing complain, while 1st years students keep their mouth shut. Their formation were scattered, the path to Tiffania has been completed.

Guiche and Malicorne, walked over the path warped straight to the breast.

Guiche stood beside Tiffania, Filled with nervous furthermore felt inferior, she was bowed deeply.

The next instant “that” was happened.

Without saying, to the double raging magic weapons Guiche ....... hand reach the breast. Felt distortion Tiffania expression sharpened. That instant, the dining hall atmosphere suddenly froze.

“That idiot.”

Saito stood up.

But the next seconds, Guiche body was wrapped by a huge waterspout that suddenly materialized. Resembled an underwater flower. In the middle of the waterspout, Guiche body is wriggling. Look further behind, as usual Montmorentcy stood. Expressionlessly swinging her staff.
Zerrt. The air inside the dining hall frozen. The waterspout synchronizing with the movement of the staff, she bring it outside.

A dining hall scenery couldn't be felt anymore, as if couldn't transformed to a dead space, Waterspout then sounding burst. The next seconds, a voice was vibrating, Guiche screamed.

“Wait, I just want to make sure!, because that thing if being seen, my science curiosity accumulated, it's become bigger, bigger, and bigger until the point I can't resist it! I! Uaa! whuarrgI!”

Swing swing, a large amount of water assault reached Saito ears.

Like a raging water sound, continued to raging......, after a while the hall turned silent.

Saito leak a sigh, once again help the foods. To that Saito, Renard whispered.

“Incomprehensible isn't it?”

“I think it's the usual them, getting drunk and going crazy........ touched anything ahead, until feel satisfied.”

“That's not what I mean, I'm talking about you.”

“Me?”

Saito looking blankly, he was starring Renard.

“The usual you would be accompany them.”

“About making sure whether Tiffania breast was real or not?, If I do that extent, wasn't I an Idiot. Don't put me in the same class as them.”

Renard was fixing his glasses, starred at Saito.

Certainly, there is possibility you were being a shy person, let's say we are feigning ignorance to your drunkenness extent. In the middle of the day when there's something out of ordinary, didn't you want to make sure......, like your hand were itching and you were being uncomfortable in your seat so you attempted to fixed your waist, something like that.

It's Sharped, Renard analysis.

“Event though you are like that, what's wrong. With that attitude of you.....”

“Whatever just eat, it's going to cold”

Saito put up a cool face, starting to ear the food. The next instant......, several girls gathered, surrounded Saito. The first on list was the 2nd year Katie. The rest of them, was a flock of first year girls.

“Sir Saito!, Would you mind to eat this pudding as your dessert?”.

The pudding was made from milk and fruits utilizing cold magic, make it appetizingly cool and delicious. With clear composed attitude, “Thank you”, Saito nodded received the gift.

Each members of Knight Corps of the Water Spirit were watching Saito, their face filled with enviousness.

“Saito is really dignified, I mean it.”

“That does not like it.”

With light affectionate attitude, Saito mimicking Guiche, grouped his feet. But even with that appearance, create an oblate illusion in the girls mind to the extent make them cheering.

“Coool!, after all sir Saito is big different than sir Guiche.”

Katie, with cold eyes throwed a glance at Guiche direction.

“That's not it. I'm not change at all. You might say, it's just them turned fools. Ahhahaha.”

As if being in trance, the girls continue starred at Saito.

“Really......, Sir Saito is really a wonderful person.”

“It's not only that. But also super powerful.”

“That's right!, Somehow a person who could stopped Albion army by himself alone.”

Being fully absorbed, Katie said that.

“If it's Sir Saito, even that rascal Sky Armored Knight Corps would be beaten completely!.”

“I see Katie, do you hate that knights from Kreudenhorve house too?”

A question was asked to that girl, Katie.

“Of course, because that group always followed me whenever I take a stroll, to the place I usually goes!. Do you want to pick a flower?, What a kind of talk is that!.“

“What a rascal!”

“I agreed!, It is Big different with with Sir Saito!” 

Kyaa kyaa, that was the commotion created by the crowd of girls.

Being starred like that, Saito was thinking.

Composure is important After all.

Not guts, but composure attitude, like felt like a flower which being sucked by a bees (girls).

Ahh, had I ever experienced this breeze mood before?

Siesta once cheers kyaa kyaa, but......, that's not too often.

Large number of girls, yelled kyaa kyaa. This sensation yet, make one feeling filled with happiness.....

Louise magic, “The reason to come here” when I was under that influence, this kind of reality won't make me feeling enjoy. The encouragement from the flock of girls, would like distant sounds, that kind of circumstances. This could be a hallucination.... . But see, I'm a simple minded person..................

Whatever it will turned out, for now better enjoy it to the fullest.

Only sound of “kyaa” resounding from the girls voice, sweet internal secretion fluid in the brain penetrating.

While the the still sound vibrates kyaa kyaa, Saito peek a glance at Louise table. There, Louise face can be seen clearly, she continue to eat breakfast.

However he knew....., once in a while she peek this way with glittering eyes. With the same glittering eyes, once in a while Louise boisterously use the fork to serve the plate.

Saito nasal cavity widen, absorbed a lot sense of superiority in his chest.

Now, now. Now is the time to finish what have left, on that ship.

He whispered that words inside his mind.

Now let's stop for a moment, why Saito feeling victorious like this?.

Whats with the real intention of “Composure is important” that Saito declared?.

What could be the meaning of cat like attitude that Louise acted?

The answer from all of that, lies in the the return trip from Albion, on that ship there exist the root of misunderstanding.

During the journey from Albion, on that ship that Saito rides....., inside that certain cabin, pressed against Louise lips.

Transmitted the feeling to Louise, it was a hot kiss.

Even this few heat was straining, they were exchanging kiss each other, naturally of course Saito hand reach to Louise. Louise state is quite burned, consequently because of that she was reaching his hand.

That was Saito judgment.

But instead, when Louise was laid down looking embarrassed,......, she was turned down Saito reaching hand. And with silent vanishing tone muttered something.

“......That's why, I don't want.”

Saito was hurt by that rejection. He couldn't believe, even you were this heat, why?. This is the Saito inner talking.

“W, wh, why?”

Louise reacting by shouted with anger.

“I won't repeat it for the second time.”

Actually Louise said that reacted against the Kirche sound that slipped from the room just beside.

“What's the matter? Louise.”

“No, nothing!”

Somehow, this indecisive situation was ended, …......the sweet atmosphere that was drifting along had gone to somewhere, Their face is looking each other, with each other face dyed red they slip to the bed.

A moment later, closed the eyes the were sleeping.

That time, Saito didn't notice....., Louise was not actually means to reject Saito.

Only, the place chosen was not suitable.

The words Louise uttered with small tone before was lost, the first parts of the words did not reach Saito ears.

“...That's why, I don't want to.”

The word just before that, “Because inside the ship” actually existed.

“Because inside the ship......, I don't want.”

Louise once said that.

It doesn't really means, she was rejecting Saito.

However....., Saito was feeling down already, he did not notice that, on the bed inside that cabin room, Louise words was echoed several times, the hard to understand conclusion flies away.

Love of both of us should be enough.

Certainly, Louise feeling directing towards me.

But still......., in the end her high pride did not permitted it, I'm sure of it.

What I supposed to do?.

Suddenly that instant....., An idea come flashed in Saito mind.

The time when Louise wore black cat clothes being recalled.

I see now, Louise is a cat from all side.

Large fluid of tears transformed to small object spinning in his eyes, just like trifling with Saito on a whim.

Now, for cat, to tame that animal, what's supposed to do?.

I know.

Cat, when it noticed we draw closer, it ran.

And then it eyes clearly disregard us.

That's totally Louise alike.

Then, what about if we ignored it, what will happens?

When that happened cat is, first it will observed situation......, Even so it would continue to ignored, eventually it will become impatient and drawing closer.

In the end, sounding meong meong, cuddle its face against us...........

This is it, this is it!

In the middle of the bed it is the only conclusion comes to his mind, he was merely nodded.

Li li, no licking, you insolent cheeky pink haired girl.......... whose make fun on a whim ...... The moment when you cuddle your face against me, Huhuhu, I will catch the scruff your neck. Huhu, I expecting that moment.

The conclusion is, that was the only thought in the bottom of Saito mind.

For now, let's utterly ignored Saito whose hold tight his paranoid misunderstanding. In the midnight of the day after return from Albion, Louise whose looking charming entered the bath, she thoroughly wash her body. After that she proceeded to the altar room and did a long long confession to Founder Brimir.

Founder brimir....., before marriage, that's, how should I say it, the thing that shouldn't be said, that's, what's it called, I mean, the thing I want to do, that's, please forgive me, but because it's not I can't help it, that fellow for sure, I won't forgive it if the other woman, I mean, no seriously, helpless against the empty brain maid, or, once acting strange with the respective princess, or lose him self to the strange breast of half elf woman whose been here lately or maybe not, true, not only to the woman that have comparatively nice body, even to the small blue haired princess of Galia, I mean, it's not he really have the feeling to that woman, but between 1000 to 1 chance, it does not matter small or big anymore, just the dangerous objects has increased, in any case that's the situation, please forgive me. Amen.

The confession somehow confusing, somehow spit out words that doesn't make sense, Louise right hand and left foot that moved simultaneously was entered the room. 　

What kind of expression Saito will show I wonder. I wonder if he nervous, while thinking that she entered the room. However her familiar attitude instead is quite calm, he is drinking a tea.

Even though I'm greeting this special night with tense, his attitude doesn't changed. On the contrary, with eyes narrowed, “Yo, Louise. Isn't tonight a bright night”, he said that incomprehensible words.

What's with that?, Louise entered the bed with that thought.

Next, followed by Saito.

Next, followed by the maid.

Why in this room there are three persons, without me noticing it this bed engraved a stream of characters for sleep. It has became a habit completely.

Louise quite tense, as if being in trance. But, it's still too soon. Saito himself is not an idiot. Until Siesta fall asleep, that what is it, I have to act that, after thought that, with all might she was feigning sleep.

Soon, Siesta sleeping breath can be heard.

Louise nervous reach it's peek. She was quite tense, grasp the blanked tightly, bite it as if wanting to rip.

Next calmly......, Saito hand is placed on Louise shoulder.

Shiver shiver, her whole body was trembled.

“........Idiot, Si, Siesta is still her, see. Despite that to your master you re, re reach your hand. What could be you thinking”

Beyond doubt, Louise speak with small voice. I thought be we will go to somewhere private such as warehouse. No I mean as expected some good room ideal room. However, In this bed just next to the Siesta that was sleeping. How could this familiar be so bold!

She was surprised, but it's not about Siesta, it's about the over helming superiority sense in Louise because his hand reach to her. Louise heart was overflowed.

Even though it's just next to Siesta.........

Even though the maid just beside......

Despite this foolish maid beside! Is! here!

That's right maid.

How dare you until now......, well whatever....., the victory......., is mine?. With this this is my winning!

But, as I thought to do that in front of the other girl....somehow.

Haa.

That instant Saito hand slip into the center of Louise negligee, her moaning voice was leaked through her throat. Louise mind inside filled with white.

Although the maid is here! Even though the maid is here, despite the main is here......., pyun!

Saito hand moved daringly, rolled the negligee exposed Louise thin breast. Louise eyes was closed, her face dyed red. Both her breath and her pulse run rough.

At this rate, I couldn't think straight much longer.

But I can still think one reasoning......, the pulse beating fast in my heart, this is the first time I feel it.

Saito not yet Said anything from his mouth but, many kind of imagination speak have been drifted along in Louise mind.

Could it be the orthodox one, “I will treat you gently”.

Or perhaps, “Don't be afraid?”.

What could it be. Hey you, what will you said at this time. I can't think. It must be the words she will said to me. “Let's forget ourselves in this moment. The embarrassment just don't forget the sensation. Ah, I can't thing…....

However......, the first words slip from Saito mouth was,

“Gu.....”

Louise expectation could even exceed the soar of fire dragon mountain.

What just said just now?

Was that a sleeping breath?

No, that couldn't be.......

“Guu guu”.

His natural sleeping breath can be heard. Louise turned impatient.

Did he fall asleep?, why?

She hold Saito hand that slipped in her breast to make sure. No response at all. On the contrary, the hand swiftly fell from the center of her negligee.

“Uhh, uh”.

Louise turned with fearful anger.

In that direction he found Saito sleeping face. His face filled with happiness, wasn't a droll just dripped from his mouth?.

Louise face turns blue, at the same time reddened. The other side of her lips is raising. leaked the sound “ku ku”.

Should we punished him with death.

Will it suffice, the standard death punishment.

What should it be?

Despite all preparation has been made, despite this cute master just lying beside. Putting a sleeping breath is really something.

She get the staff. For the time being let's convert to ash. But after though that.

Hhhh. Perhaps he's really tired.......

With futon covered Louise closed her eyes. Quite a sleepless night began.

The next day, Louise was thinking. After all....., do that just beside the sleeping maid is unpleasant. Feel like being in another person room.......that kind of feeling. Of course that applies to nobles too.

Therefore Louise was, when Saito muttered “It's time to sleep” and then fell to bed, Stood awkwardly from the chair.

“W, wa, wa”

“Wa?”

“Walk, I think I will take walk for sometime!”

“How refined. Tonight is quite cold. You'll be going to catch a cold”.

Saito laughed, when he utters that nonsense. Being gone too far to step back, Louise slipped out wearing negligee.

She was waited for two hours, but Saito didn't came. When she come back to the room....., his mouth opened widely, sleeping. Today too, let's turned to ash. Instinctively hold tightly her staff but a sense return to his mind.

Perhaps he is really tired. For sure.

The next day, Louise once again took a stroll. This time she waited for four hours, but Saito still didn't come. When returned to the room, Saito was crawling on the bed with a deep sleeping breath.

The same thing happened the next day.

For three consecutive days, Louise stubbornly taken a stroll.

After waiting for a long time, Saito really didn't come. So to kill her time Louise took a tree branch and sketched some drawing on the ground. The content of the drawing, the thickheaded Saito was kneeling before this wonderful noble Miss Vallière asking for forgiveness.

When the morning came. The drawing has turned to an artistic masterpiece.

Gradually this has become a habit, the next morning Louise took a stroll too.

Still, Saito didn't come.

Half crying, Louise began to draw some sketch, the subject of the sketch was the idiot familiar being judged by the noble Miss Vallière herself, he was swiftly being hanged. When the morning arrive, the sketch has became an epic tale.

This consecutive event, happened for the whole one week.

Between these interval, Louise sketch added day by day, Saito in the center of the sketch twenty two times being whipped, twenty times being hanged, eight times throw to the hell, four times being reincarnated as insect to be trampled by Louise.

At this rate Louise anger has reach it's peak, she barely keeping his sanity, and then chilling exposure covering Louise.

Nevertheless, the thing is just a thing, she can't showed that face of anger.

Because Louise pride that more solid than diamond won't permitted it.

Suppress the anger with her last power, Louise was trembling, shivering, and his face turned blue. Meanwhile Saito made comment “my goodness”.

But the fact instead was the complete opposite. The way Saito behave was indicated he did not notice at all.

Saito thickheaded is the genuine one.

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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume13 Chapter8

2008-12-24T00:07:28Z

Kumichael: /* translation by: SeiryuuChan */

===Chapter 8, The meaning of the Smile===
====translation by: SeiryuuChan====

Saito woke up in Mister Colbert’s room. Laying down on the table, he was covered by a blanket. It seemed that the one who put the blanket on him was Mister Colbert, who was in bed, asleep.

It seems Saito fell asleep before he noticed it. Streams of the morning light shone through the window. 

"Now I remember. Yesterday, I was so tired from crying that I fell asleep."While thinking that, Saito stared at the display of his notebook computer. It seemed like the power supply had been taken off.

I was thinking about asking Mister Colbert to reconnect my notebook to the electricity, but decided against it. 

I memorized it last time, so I am able to recall it..., so it is not necessary to do it for a second time.

From the window, he gazed up at the sky.

Somehow, this world was connected to Earth, one way or another.

What could it be that connected these two worlds together?

Looking at the fact that tank and aircraft could come to this world, it should be normal for an electro-magnetic waves to enter. 

"Ah, that seems to be the case." Saito looked around absent-mindedly as he thought that.

"After all, I was a weak man." He thought.

I have comrades, so I think I can do something, since that's the situation I can accept if one way or another, to live in this world. Nevertheless, when I read the mail, I am suddenly overcome by the feelings of homesickness.

Described in simple words, I am a weak man.

It can't be helped since I suddenly read the mail. thinking this Saito left his notebook computer behind in Mister Colbert’s room.

Saito felt depressed.
While he trudged through the corridor he muttered.

"Tomorrow will be a troublesome day. The three year anniversary of the coronation of the pope..., My spirit must not be like this."

At any rate, my mood must be kept hidden from Louise.

I don't want her to get depressed again.

I should be thinking about the immediate danger first. Saito positively thought.

Okay, Let's hide this depressed face of mine. While forcibly doing that, Saito opened the door to the living room.

"Louise, forgive me for not coming back yesterday. I was drinking with Mr. Colbert in his room and collapsed..."

Louise was sitting in the chair looking at the mirror. But it seems that she wasn't going to scold Saito. Instead she smiled back, almost like a trap.

"Good morning."

Louise’s sudden smile, surprised him.

"What the...? What with your clothes......"

"Eh, this? Last evening, I went out to buy this."

Louise wasn’t her usual Tristain academy uniform, But a cute blouse with short deep blue silk skirt, and a red ribbon which seemingly leap in the collar. (no idea about the last part)

"Why?"

Saito being amazed, asked? From all the days today is. No, even if is this is a joke in Romalia's great cathedral. Saito still couldn't understand the reason.

"Oh I understand, for tomorrow’s ceremony isn't it? But, is it okay to be wearing that?"

Then Louise smiled pleasantly and said.

"No, for the sake to be going to town to buy things with you today."

"Мe, why?"

"In the town, there is a festival for the celebration of his holiness the pope’s third anniversary. In noble society there are festivals, here in street it seems like they have festivals too. Now, I want to go to the festival with you."

"But tomorrow......, shouldn't be we use time we have today to prepare ourselves?"

"No it's okay. Doing practice right now would not change the result, an effortless action. Besides, sometimes, relaxation is an important too."

Looking innocent, Louise grabbed Saito’s arm.

"Okay, let's go?"

In the end attracted by Louise’s unusually cute behavior, Saito was going to town. Louise was glued to Saito’s arm. What, something wrong? He turned for a moment to Louise. Louise only smiled back.

As expected, I have(had) a bad feeling about this.
Saito asked Louise.

"Hey Louise?"

"Yes."

"What are you scheming?"

But Louise was, kyahaha, laughing.

Kyahaha? Louise was laughing? Saito's head was full of questions, jerkily Louise remained glued to Saito arm.

"I'm not scheming anything."

"Lie!"

"It's not a lie. Honestly, for today I just want to take a stroll with you through town. That's all."

Looking at it from all sides her smile was not a scheming smile. Still, there is something hidden, Saito though. Then Louise pointed something.

"Eh that's right, for today I will listen for anything you request."

"Huh?"

"Really I'm serious. So, don't be polite, okay?"

Smiling and leaning to him. Saito felt more and more suspicious. For the sake of testing, he said.

"Then, show me your underpants."

He thought he was going to be kicked, so he prepared for that.

But, neither kick, punch, nor magic attack was launched. Instead, Louise shyly began to slowly lift up her skirt.

"Okay."

It's been a while since I last saw Louise's underpants. He thought.

She doesn't seem to be angry.

Meaning..? “Hey, this is the middle of the street, there’s a lot of people here.” Saito said while furiously trying stop her.

"Stop it, People can see that."

With a smile, Louise returned the skirt to it’s original position.

Too suspicious.

Is this really the real Louise?

Could it be that someone transformed her?

Right, for example, Myozunitonirun’s magical tool...

Saito though, that was an acting. The tension began to get higher with his next words.

"Ah, then, Allow me to touch your breast."

"Go ahead."

Louise nodded almost instantly, with a smiling face.

"Ok, then I will not hold back."

Gulp, Saito swallowed his saliva and began to touch her small breast. Rustle, rustle. (I guess that this is the sound being made, don’t know where to put it)

Even with her small breasts, touching her there, Saito’s tension began to raise. ( I have no idea what to replace tension with)

When he looked back at her, she was still smiling brightly. A face with a color of happiness. Prepared for death, Saito started to shake. If this is the real Louise, let's try that. He thought.

"И..., is this a breast?"(not sure what the И means)

"Yes, that's right."

she positively nodded with a smile.

This was absolutely not Louise! another thing!

"Nah, too small, compared to Tiffania."

"It's okay with me."

That instant Saito jumped, took posture. (?)

"Who or what are you!"

"Just like I keep saying, I am me. Please believe me."

"Why you aren't angry?"

"Because, that's...."

She hesitantly said those words, and when she figured out something, she raised her face.

"Yes! You see, tomorrow there’s going to be a fierce battle. The enemy seems to be Myozunitonirun, right? So this is some kind of reward! yes that's it!"

Seems enjoyed it, Louise said that. (?)

You would normally, even in a situation such as this, object.

In the end, Louise seems to have changed her way of thinking. Perhaps because the noble pride within her, and the princess. Saito had an reached understanding.

"You want to touch more?"
"..."
"it’s alright! Go ahead! Believe me! Please!"
"..."
"Thank you."

For the ninth time, she smiled again. O well, if she is enjoying this the I should too. Saito thought. This leisureous situation, is not a reckless action. Besides, there is possibility one of us may be lost tomorrow. Anyhow,however bad the situation turns out to be we will survive.

Tomorrow is, the commemoration of pope’s coronation, things are busy in this Romalian street. Of course, it shouldn't differ too much with the festivals usually held in Tristania.

As expected of the street stalls and the performances, the atmosphere here feels busy. Even in Romalia, in every place around here, pilgrims can be seen crowding merchants. The various goods brought by them were put in the front of the stall.

Louise was stood in front of clothes shelves that was showed in the front of a stall. Doing her best to search for something.

"What, do you really want scarf that much?, I will buy it for you, so go ahead to choose something better."

Even with that said, Louise only shook her head. And then determined to choose a plain scarf, she requested this one.

"...Hey Louise, what do you plan to do with a scarf of that color?"

The scarf’s color didn’t fit with women's tastes. A black one, with lattice pattern embroidery. But Louise just answered by shaking her head.

"See this black color, it suits you."

"What, did you buy that for me?"

"Yes"

Louise smiled sweetly.

"Could it be that you somehow accidentally drank a love potion again?"

"That's not it. It's okay don't mind me. Like I said a reward."

I see, so this is a reward too, Saito murmured.

For the time being for today I will accompany Louise, Saito thought.

Saito and Louise loitered around the street. Around noon, priests went out too to drink and sung war song with their comrades in arms.

The impression that I had, when first entering this place, though it's quite strict, it is still not too different with other town in Halkeginia. In the middle, was dance party provided by a band using of flute and drum to perform.

Louise pulled Saito. Bring him to the center.

"Let's dance."

With Cheerful rhythm accompanying them . Louise and Saito danced. A pleasant want(waltz). Louise was dancing, and Saito was trying to follow her lead.

After they were satisfied they went to the tavern that they were chased into by the Templar knights.

When they entered the tavern, the table was replaced by high class looking sparkling one. Seems the money Kirche gave as compensation was quite sufficient to repair all the damage. The window, and stand counter had been replaced with a glass one.

This tavern was really different from the previous one. The one that stood right now was a first class tavern.

The shopkeeper too was wearing first class brand new polished clothes. When he saw the two of them, he threw a smiled.

When they entered, the shopkeeper recognized Louise and Saito. And looked awkward.

Until this time many trouble has been happened(?). He grinned at Saito and without saying anything the shopkeeper started to send foods one by one to both of them.

And then he whispered silently to Saito ear.

"I will be dependent on you for the next year too."

Meanwhile, Louise was still smiling.

When the food has been served in the table, Louise offered some soup to Saito.

"Еh?"

Б, a----a・(?, maybe aah( as in say aah))

With Louise started to say that, Saito still felt little troubled. Even if this was a reward. It's still too much.

"Hey Louise, please tell me the truth, I won't get angry. Did you by accident, destroy the zero fighter. So you are trying to make me feel better."

"That's not it, for today, I wanted to look cute. I want you to see the cute side of me. Please believe me, that’s the only reason."

When he heard that he was dumbfounded and couldn’t say anything. Looking happy, Louise just smiled.

Once again, they walked through town, Louise gazed at Saito, and lightly said "let's go there"

"Hey let's kiss" She said.
[[Image:ZnT13-244.jpg|300px|thumb|she fixed her gaze on Saito's face, and stood there on her tippy toes. Full of passion the two pressed their lips together.]]
"Еh? Right here?"

Something outrageous had been said, even her face looked shy. Is it possible she wants to do that in a place where there are less people. Looking flustered, Louise suddenly started to push Saito into the nearest alley.

After, she fixed her gaze on Saito's face, and stood there on her tippy toes. Full of passion the two of them pressed their lips together. It was a deep kiss.

For a moment, they pressed each other’s lips together, after satisfying themselves the two of them separated. Once again Louise showed him an extraordinary smile.

Saito could not understand the meaning behind her smiles, but Saito too tried to smiles back vaguely.

while the two of them were walking, Saito would take a peek at Louise, when she would noticed that. She would return a smile, a very lovely one. In the end they continued walking. Saito thought, for Louise, he would do anything to protect her.

But it couldn't be helped, sometimes he would remember his mother’s face. When that happened his chest would hurt.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing at all, don't mind me."

The instant that happened, Saito forced a smile. Cooling his head.(?)

Full heartedly, the two of them spent their time together, when the night drew near they returned to the room. In the end Saito, was with her the whole day. Calmly thinking, from whatever aspect, it was too suspicious.

"Here drink some water, you must be tired?"

Louise poured water into a cup, and gave it to Saito. After taking a breath he drank it, Saito asked.

"Hey Louise!"

"Yes"

".....You see, I’m still wondering, why are you smiling so much?"

"Can't I?"

Once more Louise smiled a sweet smile.

"its very strange you know!, As long as I remember this whole year you only smiled twice! However, today you smiled 72 times."

"I'm very happy you counted. Thank you."

Once again, she smiled. An angelic smile, a lovely smile.

"That's why I will smile continuously this last minute."

"What?"

"Оnly twice a year huh. But from now on, the time we could spend together, twenty years, forty years?, or even fifty years....., I would smile whenever I could."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, I won’t smile again for the rest of my life."

Even with her smiles still surfacing, tears began to flow down Louise face.

"Louise?"

"For the rest of my life I won't be loved by anyone anymore. But you must not be like me, Please love whoever, anyone you love. Just like me, you can watch over that person, from your world."

Tears continued to flow and made lines on her cheeks from her eyes to her chin. That kind of form.(Huh, I don’t get that last part)

"Еh?, What?"

Having said that, Saito suddenly became very drowsy.

"Еh?"

It is Magic. But the moment he noticed that, the magic had already taken effect.

"Louise... you.... the water before...."

Loosing strength, Louise hugged Saito, touched his face with her hands, Pressed her lips against his.

Strength completely left Saito’s body.

The water before, just like as Saito said, a sleeping potion had been put in beforehand.

While gently embracing Saito, Louise whispered,

"Good bye my gentle person......, Good bye my chevalier(knight)."

Hick. (sounds of crying from Louise)

After embracing Saito for a while, she put Saito in the bed. After a moment, she stood up.

"...It's okay now."

A moment after that, the door behind her opened, Julio was standing there with smile surfacing on his face.

"Are you really sure about this?"

With no expression, Louise nodded.

"Yes, for the sake of Saito too, to open the [Door world]."

"Then for that sake too, you will......"

"With all my pleasure, I will give you my cooperation. Whether to capture Myozunirum, or to take back the holy land....., All of it. Not only that. For the sake of Halkeginia’s ideals, I will give my life, my void ability and my noble status."

Julio nodded.

"Seems like a saint has been born. Then, let's go immediately. We will explain, the modification to our plain for tomorrow since he won't be here anymore."

Just a moment before she left the room, Louise turned her head once more. Endless tears still flowed on her cheeks. Wiping those tears, Louise whispered,

"Good bye my most important person in the world."

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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter6

2008-12-19T01:09:08Z

Kumichael: /* Chapter 6: The Feelings of The Queen */

===Chapter 6: The Feelings of The Queen===

As time flowed, winter had passed, and spring came along.

Tristain was embracing the warm season.

Was it because of the reaction of the end of the war which had prolonged for 8 months? Be it in the streets or the royal palace, a somewhat gentle atmosphere was hanging in the air. The sentinels who were standing guard at the gate of the royal palace unintentionally yawned. The officers who should find fault with them were also gazing absent-mindedly at the sky, showing relieved expressions.

People walking down the streets brimming with liveliness. Although Tarbes was burned down completely, most of the territory of Tristain was not involved in the war. The atmosphere due to the war was improving, various things started to overflow in the streets. As if to enjoy the transient festive, merchants at the streets shouted at the top of their voice, and all the customers fished for and bought goods from Albion or imported ones.

At Bourdonné Street which was crowded with people walking about, a pure white carriage sped past them.

Caught in between black coaches in front and at the back, with a grand procession of knights making its way, the crowd knew that it had to be a majestic, high-class gentleman or lady.

Recognizing the lily crest across the coachman seat of the carriage, the citizens of Tristain rejoiced loudly.

“Her Majesty The Queen! Long live Her Majesty The Queen!”

It was the carriage of the queen of Tristain, Henrietta.

She was just returning from the luncheon with the King of Germania at the frontier city.

In the carriage, Henrietta opened the small window, and waved to the people outside. Having won the war, Henrietta was the popular focus of the citizens right now. These selfish citizens who were complaining due to Henrietta's heavy taxation; after the tax cut accompanying the end of the war, their lives started becoming more comfortable, and they started supporting Henrietta once again.

“Long live Queen Henrietta of [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Translator's Notes#Honorable Poverty|Honorable Poverty]]!”

One of the crowd shouted, and that cheer spread all over in a flash.

“Long live Queen Henrietta of honorable poverty! Long live Tristain!”

Being called 'Queen of Honorable Poverty' every time, Henrietta's face darkened a little. For the sake of easing the poverty of the country, she had abandoned all the personal belongings of the royal family- this move had made Henrietta even more famous. Henrietta hated to announce that to the people......but Mazarini who had heard this from the finance minister had spread the report out without hesitating.

Her face left the window......The curtains were closed, and Henrietta mumbled to Mazarini beside her,

“Isn't this is just like......a cheap play sold to flatter the people?”

“Is this not good? No one is going to lose from it, after all.”

Mazarini said with a composed face.

“I do not want to use such things to garner popularity.”

With ladylike fastidiousness, Henrietta muttered. But she did not say it out, it was merely her lips moving slightly.

“I have been saying this all the while.”

“''Using whatever things which can be used is the basis of politics'', right? Do you still remember it?”

“If that's the case, fine.”

Henrietta closed her eyes. Even my kind heart had to be use as a tool to rule over the people......This world I plunged into, what a foul place it is.

Despite the fact that the war had ended, Henrietta didn't have any leisure time because of it. Instead, in the present time at which international relations flourished compared to the former days, she was pursued by affairs which were more than the war time.

Uu......Henrietta lightly clasped her mouth. Apparently worried, Mazirini looked into her face.

“Your Majesty, what's wrong?”

“No......I feel a little......”

“Should I summon the water healers?”

With a seemingly anxious face, Mazarini asked. Henrietta shook her head.

“I'm fine. Sorry for making you worried.”

Her heart gradually could not stand the affairs and the pressure, and started shrieking. I want to take a break somewhere, even if she thought that, living as a queen, that could not be done.

During the war, she was sustained by the word 'revenge.' But it had ended......and what's left was only time with a gaping wide hole. Pressures were merely pressures, it could only be buried with time, nothing else.

At any rate, Henrietta was completely exhausted.

The townspeople's cheer towards a certain person continuously flew into the ears of the queen. By merely hearing that name, the gloom inside her heart cleared......Henrietta's cheeks lightly colored.

Ondine • The Knight Corps of The Water Spirit which were being led by Guiche and Saito was also given the duty of escorting the return journey of the queen from the luncheon.

Although it was an 'escort', it contained a substantially formal factor. In short, it was the debut of the newly established knight corps.

At the gate of Tristain, they combined with the Henrietta's troops, according to the plan they planned some time ago, and marched to the palace together.

In accordance to the hierarchy of the royal palace, that array of troops was at the end of the queen's troupe, but the group members were full of vigor.

The head of the line was Guiche, the commanding officer. Saito's horse was in the line with the distance of a horse's head from the front.

“Ah......But this is...huh...”

Lining at both sides of the road, Saito looked at the figures of the citizens, whispering. A chevalier's crest......Clad in the dazzling mantle on which a silver embroidery was sewn, with his features, Saito appeared to be an extremely weird existence. The people at the street stared intently at Saito who was carrying a sword at his shoulder instead of a wand and for some reasons, spreading rumors sneakily together.

Beside him, Guiche turned towards Saito.

“What's the matter? Assistant Commanding Officer.”

“None of your business.”

Blushing, Saito muttered. Changing suddenly from when they practiced, at this sort of place where everyone's attention was focused on them, Guiche became more unreserved. An exhibition of his showing off character.

“Just like this. Look!”

Saying that, Guiche waved his rose. The dancing, dropping petals fluttered in the air, drifting about......Afterwards, they transformed into doves. Rustling, the doves flew about in the air.

Cheers spread forth from the spectators along the street.

Triumphant, Guiche inclined his head. Upon which one of the onlookers shouted.

“Isn't that gentleman the fourth son of the Gramont household, Guiche-sama?”

At which someone 'uhuh-ed' in approval.

“That's right! The one who achieve the huge feat of capturing some city, the commanding officer of the knight corps who is being inaugurated!”

Cheers rose from everywhere, subsequently Guiche's name was called out repeatedly.

“Long live Gramont family, Long live Guiche!”

At those cheers, Guiche waved his hand at them. And for this, he had specially prepared sakura flowers.

But......after all, the scattering golden flowers which had acquired cheers, at the next moment, was replaced by something else. All the eyes focused at Saito beside Guiche, who was carrying a sword at his back.

“Who is that guy? Isn't he carrying a sword at his back? A commoner?”

“A normal commoner like that, why is he mingling with the knight corps?”

Gossips started to fly about everywhere.

Eventually, an audacious feminine voice could be heard.

“What nonsense are you talking about! Everyone! Isn't that boy SAITO-KUN! Because he held back the seventy thousand army alone, the allies were saved!”

It was Scarron. Swaggering, he looked towards Saito and waved at him. At one look, Jessica and the other girls of the 'Charming Fairies' Inn was beside him, in a line. Scarron who was running a bar business had probably heard this rumor from the officers who went to his bar for a drink. Or maybe it could be Siesta who had told him.

Anyway, at Scarron's words, the stir in the midst of the onlookers subsided.

Almost all the people knew about the evacuating allied forces and how they got rescued by Gallia army who had suddenly participated in the war. And the fact that before Gallia's participation, someone stopped the onslaught of the 70,000 army which was like a raging billow......

Which unit of the soldiers stopped them? Or was it some magic soldiers who participated in secret? Or was it the reluctant bodyguards of Germania? Or was it really a knight who had stopped it, and that he was an elf? And it went on. All kinds of rumors flew about.

But how could it be that it was that youth who did that......?

Sniggers escaped from among the onlookers.

“But, for a swordsman to become a knight......he must have achieved quite some feat!”

At that voice, the laughter lessened. Upon which, noisy and boastful arguments rose.

“Impossible! No matter how you think of it, he is just a commoner. He could not have done such a great thing!”

“Recently Anies-sama who had become the commanding officer of the musketeer squad, wasn't she of a commoner's origin!”

At the townspeople's dispute, the owner of the white carriage decided to settle it.

A soldier who was waiting on the queen beside it went near the window, and looked like he received a message......He rushed over to Saito, whispering something, two words, three words, and Saito who was in the maelstorm nodded.

He approached the white carriage with a tensed look.

As the attention of the onlookers and the escorting guards focused on it, from the window, a white and graceful hand held out. It was Queen Henrietta's hand.

Saito took that hand, and awkwardly kissed it.

A commotion rose from the onlookers.

As expected, that hearsay was really correct. If he did not achieve something like that deed, it was impossible for the queen to allow a guard from amidst the commoners to kiss her hand.

The onlookers' started shouting repeatingly.

“Long live Chevalier Saito!”

Receiving the cheering voices from the townspeople, Saito displayed a bewildered look. After returning to the rank of troops, Guiche whispered in Saito's ears.

“Hey, hey! Everyone is praising you right? You have to be up to their expectations!”

Nervously, Saito waved his hand.

At which the shouts of joy became louder still.

“I give up......If this is the case, I won't even step out to the streets.”

“Whhhaaat. The people would be weary of this soon. Tomorrow, they may somehow forgot about you.”

Guiche whispered, as if he understood.

Henrietta, who closed the window, stared at the of her back of her hand at which she had allowed Saito to kiss some time ago, and at that moment, heaved a sigh. Looking at Mazarini who was taken aback, as if she was tired sitting inside the carriage, starting to twitch. Henrietta's teacher was no longer matching. Henrietta had fixed the ageing prime minister's round hat.

I have to be more firm. Firmer, firmer.

Her heart was suffering from this heavy pressure again......Gazing at the back of her hand, her faint courage sprung up.

They arrived at the palace, and except for one part which was on duty, the rest of the escorting knight corps dispersed. Unconsciously, she was searching for the Ondine with her eyes.

The Imperial Guard corps which was established by Henrietta not long ago was having a friendly chat at a corner of the palace. Having just completed their debut, they were going to return to the Academy after that. Because it was planned that they had to undergo a year's training period before taking up any formal duty in the royal palace, they were not going to linger in the palace.

Amongst the knight corps, she discovered the black hair of Saito whom she permitted a kiss at her hand. She was driven by the unexpected approach of that urge, but she changed her mind.

Cabinet ministers and servants welcomed Henrietta who had arrived.

Without losing the dignity of a queen, she displayed a smiling face, and thanked their efforts.

While Henrietta walked down the corridor of the palace at which ministers were standing in a line, she gave each one his or her approval. In the middle of walking up, duties befell upon her. No matter how pressurizing her work as a queen was, Henrietta had come to her duties, if not accustomed to them.

She approached one of the court ladies.

“A visitor is waiting.”

“Visitor? Any visitor, no, be it an emperor or the Pope, invite them to the waiting room.”

At Henrietta's ears, the court lady whispered something. Hearing that name, Henrietta displayed a smile of relief.

When Henrietta saw the person who was waiting in the living room, Henrietta's face brightened up suddenly. A smile which was rarely seen lately was displayed, and Henrietta tightly embraced the visitor who was waiting for her since some time ago.

“Aah, Louise! Louise! You should come once in a while to show me your face!”

“I want to do that very much as well. But Princess-sama is busy, I think......”

“If it's you, I grant you the privilege to come to this room at any time you want, Louise. Isn't that natural? You are my friend.”

Louise surveyed the room which had nothing.

“Everything here had really been sold, huh?”

She said in a lonesome voice.

“Yeah, that's right. For the duties of a queen, a place to sleep and a desk are enough.”

She said that, but the bed was left behind because of the Finance Minister's insistence that “he would oppose her sleeping on the floor, as expected.”

Louise realized the absence of the glittering 'Wind Ruby' on Henrietta's finger, and her eyes bulged.

“Princess-sama. What happened to the 'Wind Ruby'?”

“Ah, I have sold it.”

“What!”

“Because when I looked at it, I recall things......Because of the feelings in the ring, I was spurred to go into a war. Therefore, now that the war had ended, so I release......”

“What do you mean!”

Louise let out a shocked voice.

“What's the matter? Louise.”

“That ring is...... a ring necessary for the “Bearer of Void”.”

“What do you mean?”

“Once I insert the ring, I become able to read the Founder's Prayer Book.”

“Aren't you the only one who could do that?”

While saying those words, Henrietta paled.

“Recently, didn't you receive a notice? At Albion, we were attacked by a 'familiar of Void', and we met another 'Bearer of Void'. There is a possibility for other 'Bearers of Void' to exist. And that person is unlikely to have a pure heart. If the ring goes to the hands of those who has a reason to use the power of Void......”

Henrietta was distraught.

“Aa, what should I do! If it's me!”

“Is it possible to go into the hands of anyone?”

The one to which this was passed was Finance Minister De Muri. Henrietta quickly summoned him.

“Did you call me? Your Majesty.”

It seemed that he sensed something unusual about Henrietta's expression. It was an anxious voice.

“Finance Minister, the ring I pass to you......”

The Finance Minister grinned.

“Is it that ring? The memento of the Albion royal family, 'Wind Ruby'?”

“That's it! The one I command you to sell, the 'Wind Ruby' I handed to you. Do you remember who you sold it to?”

The Finance Minister produced a small box from his breast pocket.

“Is it this?”

The thing which appeared from the small box was the 'Wind Ruby' as expected.

“When your majesty handed this to me, your majesty's face was not normal. Because of that, I held onto it. At any rate, I wanted to return this to your majesty some time.”

“......Aah, you are a splendid person, De Muri minister.”

“No......Because that is something filled with memories, I will never sell such a valuable thing. This is just like a part of the body.”

Leaving those words, the Finance Minister withdrew.

Henrietta gazed at the 'Wind Ruby' which had returned to her hand once again. From those eyes, a drop of tear trailed down her cheek. From that moment when it was going to appear, Henrietta displayed a befuddled look.

After realizing that she was overflowing with tears, Henrietta hid her face with both her hands.

“What am I......After my tears fell, only I realized that I was relieved.”

Louise face became serious, and placed her hand at Henrietta's shoulder.

“Princess-sama, you are getting tired. Just once more, if you could relaxingly rest......”

“Thank you. The one who would call me to 'rest' is only you alone. But, I cannot do that. If I were to rest for a day, it is just as if some part of the country has stopped.”

Henrietta said, while patting Louise's hair.

“You make me envious, Louise.”

“What are you talking about? Princess-sama, don't you own everything else I don't possess?”

“It is for sure that someone who doesn't have anything is a few times happier than those who owned everything. Looking at this ring, I really think so.”

Henrietta gazed at the 'Wind Ruby' in her hand and said. For a short while, she gazed at it......

“I haven't listened to the reason you came here for.”

Louise looked hesitating as if it became difficult for her to speak, before displaying a resoluted expression.

“Um......It's about Saito.”

Henrietta, who was taken aback for a moment, returned to normal immediately.

“Even today, I have borrowed him. He is good and hardworking. A magnificent, gallant man. Aah, I should offer him an expression of gratitude......”

“It is about that gratitude. To receive Saito alone, sending the Varsenda vessel; conferring the rank of 'Chevalier'...... giving the instructions for him to be your servant, and allowing him to kiss your hand in the middle of the city......”

“............”

“Although this might not be appropriate......as a treatment to a mere chevalier, this is too kind. Your majesty treating him like that, do you have any other ulterior motives? This is what I am suspicious of.”

“......For example?”

“Using him for some dangerous duties......”

Dumbfounded, Henrietta stared at Louise.

“I? Using him for dangerous duties!? Never! How could I do such a thing! He is your valuable familiar right? Even if he becomes a noble, that would not change. The valuable person of you who are valuable to me, there's no way I would make him do dangerous things.”

“If that's the case, then it's fine, but......”

Henrietta hugged Louise tightly.

“As I thought, you are a gentle child, right? Same as during those days. He is......a great person, to me and the country......Yeah, he had displayed unparalleled loyalty. As a queen, I should reward this loyalty.”

“......But, Saito is someone from a different world. Someone who has to leave here sooner or later. Is it a good thing granting such an important task to such a person?”

“.......That is something he had decided, Louise. To me, he is a necessary......errr, oh yeah, a necessary person. Because of that, I had done what I could. Even if he had accepted them, he has the freedom to repudiate them. When he was conferred the title of a knight, I had already said that.”

Louise nodded. During the ceremony in which Saito was conferred the title of a knight, he swore allegiance to Henrietta and the mother country. So to speak, he was a free knight......if those words were the case......At any rate, Saito was not an ordinary knight.

Anyway, if he won't be going through anything dangerous, she had no objections any more. Louise bowed her head quickly, and withdrew.

“Aren't you returning together with Saito-dono? Now, he might possibly still be in the courtyard.”

Louise shook her head.

“No......because I did not told him that I was coming. So I return alone as well.”

“I see. Take care. When you are free, come visit again.”

With a respectful bow, Louise withdrew.

When Henrietta sat down on her chair, she lifted her hand. Gazing at the Wind Ruby at the center of her palm, the exhausted, young queen murmured,

“......Go love somebody else, you had said that. I had thought that I would not love anyone ever again. But......”

Mixed with sighs, Henrietta muttered,

“Whether this is love or not, I don't know. Just that, sometimes when I think of this, in my chest, a little fire is lit up.”

The door was knocked.

“Who is it?”

“It is me.”

It was the voice of the secretary who manages Henrietta's schedule. "Please enter," she prompted. A lady in her thirties with her hair tied into a bun and a glasses on her face entered the room.

“I would like to have the privilege of confirming your majesty's plans for the next two weeks......”

“Please.”

The secretary read out the plans one by one. The worst ones were back to back plans. Not being able to catch my breath, surely I would be like that. One of these days my sleeping time would be scrape off as well, she muttered in her heart.

“Well then, in Freya's Day of the first week, there is a dining meeting with the ambassador of Romalia......In this occasion, please put on the Romalian formal dress. Consequently, within thirty minutes, please change your clothes.”

“Yes.”

Henrietta heaved a sigh, restrained her feelings, and as if she was not feeling even the tiniest speck of fatigue, answered.

“For the next day, the Day of Void......what do you plan to do?”

The secretary lifted up her spectacles, displaying a worried gesture.

“What do you mean, 'What do you plan to do?'”

“Umm......The plan is to attend the Ball of Sleipnir......should we cancel it?”

“Is it okay?”

With a tone as if feeling relieved, Henrietta asked. A resting day was more valuable than gold,

“Yeah. Because it is just the welcome party of the new students of the Academy of Magic. Besides, your visitor had invited your majesty...... Mr. Osman had probably misunderstood between the affairs of the Academy and those of the country.”

A ball in the Academy of Magic......

Moreover, the Ball of Sleipnir was not an ordinary ball. Participants would masquerade as others. Further still, it was not disguise by means of a mask and costumes.

Henrietta lifted her face.

“I will attend. Please plan it that way.”

“If Your Majesty could attend it, certainly everyone would be happy......but if you take the day off as rest-”

The secretary, who knew above anyone else how heavy Henrietta's work was, said in a seemingly worried expresison.

“The Academy of Magic is the place where the younger generation of nobles who carry the future of the country is educated......For those freshmen, there is a need to encourage them as well.”

She said this, and the secretary did not have any disagreements after that.

"So it will be done that way."

With those words, she withdrew.

Henrietta sat on her chair once again, lifting up her hand. She touched her reddened cheek with her hand, and bit her fingernails.

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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter6

2008-12-18T00:25:02Z

Kumichael: /* Chapter 6: The Feelings of The Queen */

===Chapter 6: The Feelings of The Queen===

As time flowed, winter had passed, and spring came along.

Tristain was embracing the warm season.

Was it because of the reaction of the end of the war which had prolonged for 8 months? Be it in the streets or the royal palace, a somewhat gentle atmosphere was hanging in the air. The sentinels who were standing guard at the gate of the royal palace unintentionally yawned. The officers who should find fault with them were also gazing absent-mindedly at the sky, showing relieved expressions.

People walking down the streets brimming with liveliness. Although Tarbes was burned down completely, most of the territory of Tristain was not involved in the war. The atmosphere due to the war was improving, various things started to overflow in the streets. As if to enjoy the transient festive, merchants at the streets shouted at the top of their voice, and all the customers fished for and bought goods from Albion or imported ones.

At the street of Brudan which was crowded with people walking about, a pure white carriage sped past them.

Caught in between black coaches in front and at the back, with a grand procession of knights making its way, the crowd knew that it had to be a majestic, high-class gentleman or lady.

Recognizing the lily crest across the coachman seat of the carriage, the citizens of Tristain rejoiced loudly.

“Her Majesty The Queen! Long live Her Majesty The Queen!”

It was the carriage of the queen of Tristain, Henrietta.

She was just returning from the luncheon with the King of Germania at the frontier city.

In the carriage, Henrietta opened the small window, and waved to the people outside. Having won the war, Henrietta was the popular focus of the citizens right now. These selfish citizens who were complaining due to Henrietta's heavy taxation; after the tax cut accompanying the end of the war, their lives started becoming more comfortable, and they started supporting Henrietta once again.

“Long live Queen Henrietta of [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Translator's Notes#Honorable Poverty|Honorable Poverty]]!”

One of the crowd shouted, and that cheer spread all over in a flash.

“Long live Queen Henrietta of honorable poverty! Long live Tristain!”

Being called 'Queen of Honorable Poverty' every time, Henrietta's face darkened a little. For the sake of easing the poverty of the country, she had abandoned all the personal belongings of the royal family- this move had made Henrietta even more famous. Henrietta hated to announce that to the people......but Mazarini who had heard this from the finance minister had spread the report out without hesitating.

Her face left the window......The curtains were closed, and Henrietta mumbled to Mazarini beside her,

“Isn't this is just like......a cheap play sold to flatter the people?”

“Is this not good? No one is going to lose from it, after all.”

Mazarini said with a composed face.

“I do not want to use such things to garner popularity.”

With ladylike fastidiousness, Henrietta muttered. But she did not say it out, it was merely her lips moving slightly.

“I have been saying this all the while.”

“''Using whatever things which can be used is the basis of politics'', right? Do you still remember it?”

“If that's the case, fine.”

Henrietta closed her eyes. Even my kind heart had to be use as a tool to rule over the people......This world I plunged into, what a foul place it is.

Despite the fact that the war had ended, Henrietta didn't have any leisure time because of it. Instead, in the present time at which international relations flourished compared to the former days, she was pursued by affairs which were more than the war time.

Uu......Henrietta lightly clasped her mouth. Apparently worried, Mazirini looked into her face.

“Your Majesty, what's wrong?”

“No......I feel a little......”

“Should I summon the water healers?”

With a seemingly anxious face, Mazarini asked. Henrietta shook her head.

“I'm fine. Sorry for making you worried.”

Her heart gradually could not stand the affairs and the pressure, and started shrieking. I want to take a break somewhere, even if she thought that, living as a queen, that could not be done.

During the war, she was sustained by the word 'revenge.' But it had ended......and what's left was only time with a gaping wide hole. Pressures were merely pressures, it could only be buried with time, nothing else.

At any rate, Henrietta was completely exhausted.

The townspeople's cheer towards a certain person continuously flew into the ears of the queen. By merely hearing that name, the gloom inside her heart cleared......Henrietta's cheeks lightly colored.

Ondine • The Knight Corps of The Water Spirit which were being led by Guiche and Saito was also given the duty of escorting the return journey of the queen from the luncheon.

Although it was an 'escort', it contained a substantially formal factor. In short, it was the debut of the newly established knight corps.

At the gate of Tristain, they combined with the Henrietta's troops, according to the plan they planned some time ago, and marched to the palace together.

In accordance to the hierarchy of the royal palace, that array of troops was at the end of the queen's troupe, but the group members were full of vigor.

The head of the line was Guiche, the commanding officer. Saito's horse was in the line with the distance of a horse's head from the front.

“Ah......But this is...huh...”

Lining at both sides of the road, Saito looked at the figures of the citizens, whispering. A chevalier's crest......Clad in the dazzling mantle on which a silver embroidery was sewn, with his features, Saito appeared to be an extremely weird existence. The people at the street stared intently at Saito who was carrying a sword at his shoulder instead of a wand and for some reasons, spreading rumors sneakily together.

Beside him, Guiche turned towards Saito.

“What's the matter? Assistant Commanding Officer.”

“None of your business.”

Blushing, Saito muttered. Changing suddenly from when they practiced, at this sort of place where everyone's attention was focused on them, Guiche became more unreserved. An exhibition of his showing off character.

“Just like this. Look!”

Saying that, Guiche waved his rose. The dancing, dropping petals fluttered in the air, drifting about......Afterwards, they transformed into doves. Rustling, the doves flew about in the air.

Cheers spread forth from the spectators along the street.

Triumphant, Guiche inclined his head. Upon which one of the onlookers shouted.

“Isn't that gentleman the fourth son of the Gramont household, Guiche-sama?”

At which someone 'uhuh-ed' in approval.

“That's right! The one who achieve the huge feat of capturing some city, the commanding officer of the knight corps who is being inaugurated!”

Cheers rose from everywhere, subsequently Guiche's name was called out repeatedly.

“Long live Gramont family, Long live Guiche!”

At those cheers, Guiche waved his hand at them. And for this, he had specially prepared sakura flowers.

But......after all, the scattering golden flowers which had acquired cheers, at the next moment, was replaced by something else. All the eyes focused at Saito beside Guiche, who was carrying a sword at his back.

“Who is that guy? Isn't he carrying a sword at his back? A commoner?”

“A normal commoner like that, why is he mingling with the knight corps?”

Gossips started to fly about everywhere.

Eventually, an audacious feminine voice could be heard.

“What nonsense are you talking about! Everyone! Isn't that boy SAITO-KUN! Because he held back the seventy thousand army alone, the allies were saved!”

It was Scarron. Swaggering, he looked towards Saito and waved at him. At one look, Jessica and the other girls of the 'Charming Fairies' Inn was beside him, in a line. Scarron who was running a bar business had probably heard this rumor from the officers who went to his bar for a drink. Or maybe it could be Siesta who had told him.

Anyway, at Scarron's words, the stir in the midst of the onlookers subsided.

Almost all the people knew about the evacuating allied forces and how they got rescued by Gallia army who had suddenly participated in the war. And the fact that before Gallia's participation, someone stopped the onslaught of the 70,000 army which was like a raging billow......

Which unit of the soldiers stopped them? Or was it some magic soldiers who participated in secret? Or was it the reluctant bodyguards of Germania? Or was it really a knight who had stopped it, and that he was an elf? And it went on. All kinds of rumors flew about.

But how could it be that it was that youth who did that......?

Sniggers escaped from among the onlookers.

“But, for a swordsman to become a knight......he must have achieved quite some feat!”

At that voice, the laughter lessened. Upon which, noisy and boastful arguments rose.

“Impossible! No matter how you think of it, he is just a commoner. He could not have done such a great thing!”

“Recently Anies-sama who had become the commanding officer of the musketeer squad, wasn't she of a commoner's origin!”

At the townspeople's dispute, the owner of the white carriage decided to settle it.

A soldier who was waiting on the queen beside it went near the window, and looked like he received a message......He rushed over to Saito, whispering something, two words, three words, and Saito who was in the maelstorm nodded.

He approached the white carriage with a tensed look.

As the attention of the onlookers and the escorting guards focused on it, from the window, a white and graceful hand held out. It was Queen Henrietta's hand.

Saito took that hand, and awkwardly kissed it.

A commotion rose from the onlookers.

As expected, that hearsay was really correct. If he did not achieve something like that deed, it was impossible for the queen to allow a guard from amidst the commoners to kiss her hand.

The onlookers' started shouting repeatingly.

“Long live Chevalier Saito!”

Receiving the cheering voices from the townspeople, Saito displayed a bewildered look. After returning to the rank of troops, Guiche whispered in Saito's ears.

“Hey, hey! Everyone is praising you right? You have to be up to their expectations!”

Nervously, Saito waved his hand.

At which the shouts of joy became louder still.

“I give up......If this is the case, I won't even step out to the streets.”

“Whhhaaat. The people would be weary of this soon. Tomorrow, they may somehow forgot about you.”

Guiche whispered, as if he understood.

Henrietta, who closed the window, stared at the of her back of her hand at which she had allowed Saito to kiss some time ago, and at that moment, heaved a sigh. Looking at Mazarini who was taken aback, as if she was tired sitting inside the carriage, starting to twitch. Henrietta's teacher was no longer matching. Henrietta had fixed the ageing prime minister's round hat.

I have to be more firm. Firmer, firmer.

Her heart was suffering from this heavy pressure again......Gazing at the back of her hand, her faint courage sprung up.

They arrived at the palace, and except for one part which was on duty, the rest of the escorting knight corps dispersed. Unconsciously, she was searching for the Ondine with her eyes.

The Imperial Guard corps which was established by Henrietta not long ago was having a friendly chat at a corner of the palace. Having just completed their debut, they were going to return to the Academy after that. Because it was planned that they had to undergo a year's training period before taking up any formal duty in the royal palace, they were not going to linger in the palace.

Amongst the knight corps, she discovered the black hair of Saito whom she permitted a kiss at her hand. She was driven by the unexpected approach of that urge, but she changed her mind.

Cabinet ministers and servants welcomed Henrietta who had arrived.

Without losing the dignity of a queen, she displayed a smiling face, and thanked their efforts.

While Henrietta walked down the corridor of the palace at which ministers were standing in a line, she gave each one his or her approval. In the middle of walking up, duties befell upon her. No matter how pressurizing her work as a queen was, Henrietta had come to her duties, if not accustomed to them.

She approached one of the court ladies.

“A visitor is waiting.”

“Visitor? Any visitor, no, be it an emperor or the Pope, invite them to the waiting room.”

At Henrietta's ears, the court lady whispered something. Hearing that name, Henrietta displayed a smile of relief.

When Henrietta saw the person who was waiting in the living room, Henrietta's face brightened up suddenly. A smile which was rarely seen lately was displayed, and Henrietta tightly embraced the visitor who was waiting for her since some time ago.

“Aah, Louise! Louise! You should come once in a while to show me your face!”

“I want to do that very much as well. But Princess-sama is busy, I think......”

“If it's you, I grant you the privilege to come to this room at any time you want, Louise. Isn't that natural? You are my friend.”

Louise surveyed the room which had nothing.

“Everything here had really been sold, huh?”

She said in a lonesome voice.

“Yeah, that's right. For the duties of a queen, a place to sleep and a desk are enough.”

She said that, but the bed was left behind because of the Finance Minister's insistence that “he would oppose her sleeping on the floor, as expected.”

Louise realized the absence of the glittering 'Wind Ruby' on Henrietta's finger, and her eyes bulged.

“Princess-sama. What happened to the 'Wind Ruby'?”

“Ah, I have sold it.”

“What!”

“Because when I looked at it, I recall things......Because of the feelings in the ring, I was spurred to go into a war. Therefore, now that the war had ended, so I release......”

“What do you mean!”

Louise let out a shocked voice.

“What's the matter? Louise.”

“That ring is...... a ring necessary for the “Bearer of Void”.”

“What do you mean?”

“Once I insert the ring, I become able to read the Founder's Prayer Book.”

“Aren't you the only one who could do that?”

While saying those words, Henrietta paled.

“Recently, didn't you receive a notice? At Albion, we were attacked by a 'familiar of Void', and we met another 'Bearer of Void'. There is a possibility for other 'Bearers of Void' to exist. And that person is unlikely to have a pure heart. If the ring goes to the hands of those who has a reason to use the power of Void......”

Henrietta was distraught.

“Aa, what should I do! If it's me!”

“Is it possible to go into the hands of anyone?”

The one to which this was passed was Finance Minister De Muri. Henrietta quickly summoned him.

“Did you call me? Your Majesty.”

It seemed that he sensed something unusual about Henrietta's expression. It was an anxious voice.

“Finance Minister, the ring I pass to you......”

The Finance Minister grinned.

“Is it that ring? The memento of the Albion royal family, 'Wind Ruby'?”

“That's it! The one I command you to sell, the 'Wind Ruby' I handed to you. Do you remember who you sold it to?”

The Finance Minister produced a small box from his breast pocket.

“Is it this?”

The thing which appeared from the small box was the 'Wind Ruby' as expected.

“When your majesty handed this to me, your majesty's face was not normal. Because of that, I held onto it. At any rate, I wanted to return this to your majesty some time.”

“......Aah, you are a splendid person, De Muri minister.”

“No......Because that is something filled with memories, I will never sell such a valuable thing. This is just like a part of the body.”

Leaving those words, the Finance Minister withdrew.

Henrietta gazed at the 'Wind Ruby' which had returned to her hand once again. From those eyes, a drop of tear trailed down her cheek. From that moment when it was going to appear, Henrietta displayed a befuddled look.

After realizing that she was overflowing with tears, Henrietta hid her face with both her hands.

“What am I......After my tears fell, only I realized that I was relieved.”

Louise face became serious, and placed her hand at Henrietta's shoulder.

“Princess-sama, you are getting tired. Just once more, if you could relaxingly rest......”

“Thank you. The one who would call me to 'rest' is only you alone. But, I cannot do that. If I were to rest for a day, it is just as if some part of the country has stopped.”

Henrietta said, while patting Louise's hair.

“You make me envious, Louise.”

“What are you talking about? Princess-sama, don't you own everything else I don't possess?”

“It is for sure that someone who doesn't have anything is a few times happier than those who owned everything. Looking at this ring, I really think so.”

Henrietta gazed at the 'Wind Ruby' in her hand and said. For a short while, she gazed at it......

“I haven't listened to the reason you came here for.”

Louise looked hesitating as if it became difficult for her to speak, before displaying a resoluted expression.

“Um......It's about Saito.”

Henrietta, who was taken aback for a moment, returned to normal immediately.

“Even today, I have borrowed him. He is good and hardworking. A magnificent, gallant man. Aah, I should offer him an expression of gratitude......”

“It is about that gratitude. To receive Saito alone, sending the Varsenda vessel; conferring the rank of 'Chevalier'...... giving the instructions for him to be your servant, and allowing him to kiss your hand in the middle of the city......”

“............”

“Although this might not be appropriate......as a treatment to a mere chevalier, this is too kind. Your majesty treating him like that, do you have any other ulterior motives? This is what I am suspicious of.”

“......For example?”

“Using him for some dangerous duties......”

Dumbfounded, Henrietta stared at Louise.

“I? Using him for dangerous duties!? Never! How could I do such a thing! He is your valuable familiar right? Even if he becomes a noble, that would not change. The valuable person of you who are valuable to me, there's no way I would make him do dangerous things.”

“If that's the case, then it's fine, but......”

Henrietta hugged Louise tightly.

“As I thought, you are a gentle child, right? Same as during those days. He is......a great person, to me and the country......Yeah, he had displayed unparalleled loyalty. As a queen, I should reward this loyalty.”

“......But, Saito is someone from a different world. Someone who has to leave here sooner or later. Is it a good thing granting such an important task to such a person?”

“.......That is something he had decided, Louise. To me, he is a necessary......errr, oh yeah, a necessary person. Because of that, I had done what I could. Even if he had accepted them, he has the freedom to repudiate them. When he was conferred the title of a knight, I had already said that.”

Louise nodded. During the ceremony in which Saito was conferred the title of a knight, he swore allegiance to Henrietta and the mother country. So to speak, he was a free knight......if those words were the case......At any rate, Saito was not an ordinary knight.

Anyway, if he won't be going through anything dangerous, she had no objections any more. Louise bowed her head quickly, and withdrew.

“Aren't you returning together with Saito-dono? Now, he might possibly still be in the courtyard.”

Louise shook her head.

“No......because I did not told him that I was coming. So I return alone as well.”

“I see. Take care. When you are free, come visit again.”

With a respectful bow, Louise withdrew.

When Henrietta sat down on her chair, she lifted her hand. Gazing at the Wind Ruby at the center of her palm, the exhausted, young queen murmured,

“......Go love somebody else, you had said that. I had thought that I would not love anyone ever again. But......”

Mixed with sighs, Henrietta muttered,

“Whether this is love or not, I don't know. Just that, sometimes when I think of this, in my chest, a little fire is lit up.”

The door was knocked.

“Who is it?”

“It is me.”

It was the voice of the secretary who manages Henrietta's schedule. "Please enter," She prompted. A lady in her thirties with her hair tied into a bun and a glasses on her face entered the room.

“I would like to have the privilege of confirming your majesty's plans for the next two weeks......”

“Please.”

The secretary read out the plans one by one. The worst ones were back to back plans. Not being able to catch my breath, surely I would be like that. One of these days my sleeping time would be scrape off as well, she muttered in her heart.

“Well then, in Freya's Day of the first week, there is a dining meeting with the ambassador of Romalia......In this occasion, please put on the Romalian formal dress. Consequently, within thirty minutes, please change your clothes.”

“Yes.”

Henrietta heaved a sigh, restrained her feelings, and as if she was not feeling even the tiniest speck of fatigue, answered.

“For the next day, the Day of Void......what do you plan to do?”

The secretary lifted up her spectacles, displaying a worried gesture.

“What do you mean, 'What do you plan to do?'”

“Umm......The plan is to attend the Ball of Sleipnir......should we cancel it?”

“Is it okay?”

With a tone as if feeling relieved, Henrietta asked. A resting day was more valuable than gold,

“Yeah. Because it is just the welcome party of the new students of the Academy of Magic. Besides, your visitor had invited your majesty...... Mr. Osman had probably misunderstood between the affairs of the Academy and those of the country.”

A ball in the Academy of Magic......

Moreover, the Ball of Sleipnir was not an ordinary ball. Participants would masquerade as others. Further still, it was not disguise by means of a mask and costumes.

Henrietta lifted her face.

“I will attend. Please plan it that way.”

“If Your Majesty could attend it, certainly everyone would be happy......but if you take the day off as rest-”

The secretary, who knew above anyone else how heavy Henrietta's work was, said in a seemingly worried expresison.

“The Academy of Magic is the place where the younger generation of nobles who carry the future of the country is educated......For those freshmen, there is a need to encourage them as well.”

She said this, and the secretary did not have any disagreements after that.

"So it will be done that way."

With those words, she withdrew.

Henrietta sat on her chair once again, lifting up her hand. She touched her reddened cheek with her hand, and bit her fingernails.

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter4 - MTL

2008-12-16T01:43:46Z

Kumichael:

In the royal palace work room, Henrietta was waiting for the guest's arrival impatiently.　

All schedules for the afternoon were canceled today. That’s why Mazarini, who usually complains about her working too hard every day, didn’t scold her.

It was an empty work room, as besides the riches, all the furniture was sold off. As might be expected, the desk that was used for the paper look-over was not present either. There was a worn-out desk, which was bought in the town’s second-hand articles shop instead.

There was also one old book-shelf standing lonesome in the corner of the room. If she was not wearing a crown, the visitor coming to the room would have never been able to guess that it was a queen’s work room.

“The wind dragon should be here from La Rochelle by now…”

Henrietta muttered, lifelessly placing her elbows on the desk.

Once a guard appeared, she asked the same question, “Are they here yet?” Henrietta repeated the same question many times over and over again, during the last few hours.

“Agnes-sama has not come yet.”

The guard gave the same answer again and again.

Henrietta bit her fingernails, a habit she picked up when she was a kid. Though she was criticized and eventually corrected, it revived recently again.

But that time after asking if they arrived yet… the guard reported.

“Musketeer commander Agnes-sama, arrived!”

“Please invite her at once.”

Henrietta stood up while saying that.

“We returned just now.”

Agnes, who entered the work room, bowed deeply. Seeing Louise and Saito waiting behind, like a rose, a smile bloomed on Henrietta’s lips. A sincere smile after a long time.

“I sought and brought back Miss Valliere’s familiar.”

Saito and Louise bowed with a strained expression on their faces. They separated in La Rochelle from Siesta who returned back to the academy, while the two came to the royal palace together with Agnes on a a wind dragon.

There was nothing in this deserted, lonely room. Louise looked around unsure.

“Aah, sold all my furniture. Surprised?”

“Yeah…”

“There was no other way. Because the treasury became empty due to the war…”

Henrietta took Louise's hands.

“Louise, first of all, I have to apologize myself before you.”

“Princess…”

“The generals… Yes, I interrogated the generals who had taken charge of the command of the Albion invasion army. They seemed to have made unreasonable demands of you, Louise… Above all… They ordered you to hold back the enemy army. I’m sorry. It’s because of me. Your ‘Void’ was used under my command.”

With a painful expression on her face, Henrietta held Louise’s hands.

“I am sorry. I am a cruel woman. I am a helpless, sinful woman. I not only used your power for something I started myself, but I sent you away to that place to die.”

Agnes corrected Henrietta's words.

“The ones that forced Miss La Valliere to stay using your words were the generals and not Your Majesty herself. Her Majesty also, as far as I remember, never was for such duty.”

Henrietta shook her head.

“No… it’s my responsibility. It was me who decided about the war. The possibility of such instructions being issued should have also been taken into consideration. Really, you are alive. I'm sorry Louise. What words I have to say can't apologize enough…”

Feelings overtook Henrietta, and she began to weep.

“Pardon me, no, these are not the words for me to say.”

Seeing Henrietta like that, Louise instinctively became doleful as well.

“Princess-sama, please do not worry. Louise Francoise dedicated herself to Her Majesty. It includes her death too. Therefore…”

''Actually, it was me going to death,'' Saito thought, yet, of course, he did not say it aloud. With somewhat cold eyes, he watched the two girls embrace each other and sob.

After holding each other for a while, Louise remembered that she still had something to tell Henrietta about and separated herself.

“Princess… I have to tell an awful thing to you, just for your ears.”

“Oh dear! Sounds frightening! Please do! No, I must hear it. I have to listen to everything. Even if it is a dreadful thing that crushes the mind… now, please tell.”

And Louise told Henrietta.

She told about another familiar of Void that attacked them – a woman named Sheffield

And how they met another Void user…

“Besides you, there are other Void users?”

Though Louise hesitated for a while, she also told Henrietta about Tiffania. That she was a half-elf. And that she could use a "Void" spell…

“Such a thing. Maybe you should bring her here as fast as possible.”

Louise shook her head.

“She hopes to live quietly. That spell is useful for defending oneself… in either case, what happened happened - she wanted to be left alone."

“Oh well… this does not necessarily imply that I'm not safe… You know, Louise, I did not want for you to do it by yourself. Yet, I do not have the Void. Neither did I want it for selfish purposes.“

Henrietta knew that Louise’s Void influenced the whole Albion invasion company quite a bit.

“I now understand; having such power can easily make one overly ambitious. I will be careful, to not let such a thing ever happen. And I will make sure that others will be as well. Aah, if only I could do better. I want to leave you out of this whole mess. Really. Yes…”

Louise told Henrietta about the thing she learned from Derflinger.

“As for the Void's users… assuming just from the number of royal family's treasures… there should be four people overall.”

“What?! Four people bearing Founder’s power?!”

“Among them, obviously, there are a few hostile ones.“

Henrietta gazed at Louise.

“Don’t worry Louise. I will personally make sure that no one lays a single finger on you… That’s an absolute must.”

Louise looked doubtful.

“A must?”

Not troubled, Henrietta tapped Louise’s shoulder while separating herself and then looked at Saito.

“Familiar-san. It was you, instead of Louise, who saved my retreating army.”

“Eh?”

“I heard it from the Albion general. He told me about everything.”

“Well, that, it just happened…”

“Thank you. Those words are not enough to express the gratitude I feel now. Really, thank you.”

Henrietta’s crowned head bowed many times. Saito, for the first time seeing a crown moving up and down, started to panic.

“W-well… don’t lower your head. The Queen should not lower her head to anyone…”

“No… you are the hero. The hero who saved the mother country – Tristain. If not for you, my army would have been annihilated.”

Henrietta continued bowing a lot, which made Saito glad. At the same time, the pleasure that has not been felt until now, sprung out of the bottom of his heart.

Surely, back in Japan, he had never dreamed about being appreciated by a Queen this much.

“Though it is small, this is to show my gratitude. Please receive it.”

Gratitude? What could it be? Some gold coins again? Or…

Saito recalled the event in the cheap hotel at one time. That night… Henrietta’s lips touched mine. Well, could He calmly ask to kiss her back - Saito grew expectant and ashamed.

However, the words that Henrietta uttered, were beyond Saito's imagination.

“Please accept it.”

“Paper?”

It was a single parchment. It had a Tristain royal family arm imprinted on the left corner. Though it obviously was some kind of official document, Saito could neither write nor read. Louise protruded her face at his side and looked into the a paper – her eyes widened.

“It says you are consecrated to be the commander of the imperial guard knight corps!”

“Consecrated?”

Saito, who cannot grasp the importance of such a thing, blankly asked.

“It is so. It started since the war of Tarbes, and in the past you helped me many times. That alone would be reason enough to make you an aristocrat. The withdrawal in Albion led to the success at that time. The contribution that you brought to our country is one of a kind and unparalleled. You are a hero who should go down into history.”

Being called a hero by Henrietta made Saito glow. Still, Henrietta kept on persuading him.

“A hero has to be given an honor that matches his exploits. That’s what general that confronted you said to me… and I think so as well. Thus I ask you – please lend me your power. You are important for me… no, for all people of Tristain.”

Saito finally understood the true feeling of VIP treatment. Being sought by Agnes, having a ship sent just for you - the purpose was not only to show appreciation for Saito's pains. I was admitted as a necessary human for Tristain, that’s what such a big warship was given for.

“But Princess-sama, consecrating Saito, who is not a noble, with the duty of commander of the imperial guard knight corps? This cannot be allowed!”

Louise rattled in haste.

“Then why not make him a noble, Louise?”

“Well, because Saito is a commoner, thus being said…”

“Because he is a human that comes from the different world? I heard it from Osman.”

“So why make such a person into a noble?”

“Doesn‘t he have the qualifications of the a noble? After all, a position in the kingdom's government gives noble position. Regardless of the position, the skillful ones should be consecrated. This is for Tristain's future. That‘s how I think.“

Henrietta said in admonished tone.

“But Saito is my familiar…”

“Yes. Of course, that thing doesn't change. In fact, if he becomes a noble, it will be easier for him to help you. You disagree?”
“But, but, my Void should remain a secret…”

“Of course, that secret will be kept. The fact that he is the familiar Gandalfr is known only by me, Agnes, academy’s director Osman, and top management of the country. Currently, he is just a soldier with excellent behavior and weapon-using skills.”

Louise could not object to such words any longer.

“However, this way I will not be able to find a way to return home…” Saito objected weakly, but Henrietta still stood her ground.

“The title of the knight commander will be useful while looking for the way to return.”

Saito dwelled on it.

…It might be as she said. If his position in this world goes up, there would be no limits for him. Saito knew that from spending quite some time with the nobles already.

“What do you say, Hiragasaito?” 

Being called by his full name, Saito felt nervous. Otherwise, he was not interested in a noble’s position. However… being admitted amongst people – that’s what Saito desired. Being needed by Henrietta, consequently, means being needed by this entire country. Moreover, it will be easy to look for a way to return.

Aah, it was kind of similar to a test taken with his mind set. Like studying during old times… though he was rather stupid, he still was glad when he was praised for the marks. The pleasure of that time, just now 100, 1000 times more intense, caught Saito.

However… A knight commander? Wasn’t that sort of responsibility from some standpoints impossible? But it was attractive. Promotion, promotion… such charm could not be disputed easily.

“…Let me think about it for a moment.”

Louise watched Saito with an insecure face.

Henrietta smiled.

“I see. Taking the position of the commander of the imperial guard knight corps should be taken after one becomes determined. However, you cannot refuse me giving you the title of Chevalier. If you were to refuse it, then I would be disgraced myself.”

Saito shyly looked at Louise.

Yet Louise seemed to be at a loss herself.

Henrietta kept persuading further.

“I can’t allow Louise’s Void to be targeted by other users. For the name of the deed, a knight that will protect Louise is needed. Consequently, I would be defended as well.”

After hearing her say so, Louise nodded.

“You understand. I am glad, Louise.”

Then aiming at Saito, Henrietta pointed out a wand with a big light blue crystal at the end of it.

“Though it is informal… In such place accolade can be done as well. Please kneel.”

Once Henrietta’s tone switched to a majestic Queen’s, Saito knelt down instinctively.

“Please close your eyes.”

As told, he closed his eyes. The tension ran through the body. It was wrapped in exhilarating heat.

No way, I’m becoming a noble…

He never dreamed of such a thing, really.

“Bow your head down.”

Saito bowed. Though he was not really mentally prepared, the ceremony advanced indifferently.

Then he felt something heavy being placed on his right shoulder.

The wand. It was Henrietta's wand placed on his right shoulder.

As if words of prayer, the royal edict of promoting to knighthood, came out of Henrietta's mouth.

“I, Queen of Tristain Henrietta, give my blessings and the title of Knight to this person. This person is an owner of a noble soul, which is unmatched with no equals. Do you swear unwavering loyalty to me, the country, and the founder?”

Saito was silent. Could he really make an oath for such loyalty? After all, it was unpalatable to tell a lie during an important ceremony. Noticing Saito’s feelings, Henrietta smiled.

“It’s all right. You are a human that came from another place. Loyalty that doesn't exist in the mind cannot be sworn. I will take it as conceded thing.”

[[Image:ZnT09-099.jpg|thumb]]

“Princess-sama.”

Louise instinctively opened her mouth. She never heard of such accolade.

“It’s all right. It was me who made the request to begin with. I asked him to become a knight.“

Henrietta‘s face became solemn again as she continued the words.

“Owner of noble soul, that is unmatched with no equals, do you swear fidelity to the place where your heart is, the place that your soul desires?”

Though he still did not understand it well… but this meant that Saito could leave. Thus, there were no problems anymore.

”…I swear.”

“Good. Then in the name of Founder Brimir, I consecrate you into the knights.”

Henrietta first tapped Saito’s right shoulder twice, then the left one.

That’s how simply Saito was consecrated into knights.

After the consecration ended, Henrietta let Saito stand up.

“After this, lend a little bit of your power to this weak Queen as well, Chevalier Saito-dono.”

<center>* * *</center>

Tired from travel, Louise and Saito spent one night in the royal palace. Because of tiredness, they both fell soundly asleep.　

Henrietta, once the couple left, dwelled on the two countries' problems… she ordered an investigation about Galia’s and Romalia’s Void users, who tried to harm the two. As soon as something became clear, she would tell them both.

For now, both Saito and Louise were released. In case another country would decide to attack from the back. As usual they will be at the Academy of Magic. A nest of mages to speak with, and even the Void user and her partner will remain at a hand.

The next morning, when the wind dragon brought them back to Tristain‘s school, Saito strengthened his grip on the mantle given by Henrietta. On the velvet-black fabric, a small, blue Lily crest was placed - the symbol of the"Chevalier" title, that was attached on the chest for all Tristain to see. Seeing that, Agnes muttered,

“Wear it.“

Saito nodded and put the mantle on. It was placed on his worn-out parka that had big holes in it. Now I just want new clothes… he mused, not thinking about it as a symbol of Halkeginia’s nobility.

“It suits you well, doesn’t it?”

Agnes said in the voice of a teacher, who was proud with a student's promotion. However, Louise, who sat next to Saito, turned her sullen face away, not looking at him.

“Now I am a chevalier. How about it?”

In a little excited voice he said to Louise sitting next to him.

“What about you, though it might be easier to do various things now.”

Louise pointed her lip, and muttered sulkily.

Really… what about becoming a Chevalier.

Haven’t I said before. I want to find a way for you to return home.

It is just a title, so why I am feeling down?

“Anyway, now I am finally equal to you, Louise.” Such a thing said with a smile ticked Louise off.

“Huh? Equal to whom? Comparing chevalier with the La Valliere House is like comparing a lizard to a noble. No, a lizard is too much – a bug at most!”

Saito sulkily turned away. "Haah" Louise let out a sigh.

My feelings contradicted my words.

Though I should be thinking how to find a way to bring Saito back home… I was happy about Saito becoming a chevalier for different reasons.

I thought that when a partner is a chevalier, then admitting my relationship to my father, a duke, was possible.

Louise, trembling, shook her head.

Haven’t I already decided to ‘look for a way to bring him home’, but what kind of thing I am happy for?

It’s no good to have my feelings impede with my decisions, I cannot permit that, strangely thought the serious Louise.

And as if her struggling with her own consciousness was not enough, Saito was so carefree and happy with the mantle. Human nature is a mystery… Louise bit her lips.

Besides, somehow, there were feelings of insecurity too.

Now when he is a Chevalier… new girls could try to approach, right? A rival who is stronger than the housemaid might show up

I wonder whether I can beat such competition?

Having a ‘zero’ of a girl’s charms, could she still attract her familiar against such a girl’s charms? Such uneasiness, mixed with the feelings of self-blame, made her say such stinging words a little while ago… of course, Saito did not see what was going on Louise's mind.

Can’t you understand my feeling a little, Louise gave out another sigh.

<center>* * *</center>

The wind dragon arrived at Tristain's Academy of Magic after one hour of flight.　

Upon seeing the shapes of five towers in the distance, Saito felt nostalgic feelings swelling. Louise had similar feelings as well. Gradually, their eyes could see the whole Academy of Magic.

Somehow, the feeling was like returning back to a hometown.

Though because he was from different world, there were no hometowns here… Saito wondered about these feelings.

When the wind dragon landed on to the Ausutori plaza, tens of students ran up.

Once Saito started wondering about it, a boy with blond hair cried out slowly.

“Saito! You are alive! I am glad!”

It was Guiche.

“Uwaaa! Wh-what?!”

“Yesterday came a report to the school from the royal palace.”

Next to Guiche, with a smile, stood the plumpy Malicorne.

“From the royal palace?”

“Aye. That you were alive.”

“That… did you really stop 70,000 troops of the Albion army?!”

Guiche, who has gotten excited, talked volubly. Apparently Henrietta gave out information even about such event.

“The ones that gathered here participated in the Albion campaign as student officers, the colleagues that survived thanks to you.”

Students, with expressions of gratitude, said loudly to Saito,

“My corps were the last ones to get on the ship. What would have happened to us if you hadn’t stopped them!”

“You are a person to whom I owe my life. To tell the truth, I thought it was the end.”

Surrounded by tens of noble students, Saito‘s discomfort worsened. Whats to say, he was embarrassed to be given gratitude in such a way.

Guiche said with a clarified face,

“Yet I… I believed. That you were still alive.”

“Weren’t you making a bronze statue while thinking of his death?”

Montmorency came out from the mass of people and said.

“You are all right. I am glad. When Louise said - ‘He is absolutely alive!’ I thought she has gone crazy.”

Montmorency noticed the mantle that Saito wore. After that, she gave the crest on his chest a long, hard look.

“Can’t be – you are a chevalier!”

“Whaaat?!”

Guiche was surprised as well and inventively watched the five blossoms of argent sewed onto the mantle.

“It is true. Great, isn’t it?! Everyone! Look! Saito is a Chevalier!”

“Oooh!“ shouts of joy boiled.

“Noo, I knew it was going to happen some day. He was the man my golems had troubles to corner.”

“Did they corner him? Weren’t you defeated?”

Mercilessly said Montmorency in a stony voice, Guiche shook his head.

“It might be so. I cannot remembered it so well. Aahahaha!”

Among this noise, Saito recalled a certain thing.

“That is right! I haven’t thanked the teacher yet!”

It is so.

It was necessary to thank Colbert who added the classified weapons to the Zero fighter while preparing it for the Varsenda ship. Thanks to those classified weapons, the amphibious landing succeeded. He wanted to report on his promotion. Since it was Colbert, he will certainly be happy, pleased possibly.

“The teacher?”

“Teacher?”

Guiche was dumbstruck.

“Colbert-sensei.”

Students who gathered around, simultaneously pulled away.

Guiche awkwardly stole a glance at Montmorency’s face.

“Wh-what?”

Sensing a strange atmosphere, Saito asked.

“Ah, can you do it tomorrow? I guess you must be dead tired today.”

“Yeah. That’s a good idea.”

“What is going on here?”

“At least tomorrow…“

Saito shouted gripping Guiche's shoulder.

“Hey!”

<center>* * *</center>

In the laboratory of Colbert, built in the artillery tower, Saito was quietly sitting on a chair.　

He did not stir.

…However, sometimes, his body shook.

Behind him, with worried expressions on their faces, Guiche and Montmorency stood. The figure of Malicorne could be seen as well.

Slight dust covered the laboratory as several months have passed since the master was gone. Taking up the beaker, which already turned darker inside, Saito muttered,

“It’s not true.”

Montmorency explained in a sinking voice.

“The school was attacked by thieves… He confronted them to help us… Though we foolishly kept calling him a coward…”

Guiche silently held Montmorency's shoulders. The couple went out drawing close to each other. Malicorne quietly chased after them.

Saito wordlessly watched the beaker and muttered.

“I… when Princess-sama said that I will be promoted to a Chevalier, I was glad. I thought, that I am finally admitted… A long time ago, when I was in Japan, there was no such thing, but it was difficult. Though I was praised by a great person, I was not admitted. Therefore, I was glad. The teacher always admitted me. He always listened attentively to my words. I, I was happy. Even though I was commoner, I was not being looked down upon… I was happy. He was only a teacher. Yet he treated me equally to the other nobles in this school…”

From Saito's eyes, tears started to fall. Tears, like water, rolled down his cheeks and chin.

“Teacher, I am a knight too. A chevalier too. Smile. And then the teacher praises. Like you always said and did.“

Saito, while crying, muttered many times.

“…I, I wanted teacher's praise.”

Louise watched Saito from the entrance. Though she started approaching… her foot steps stopped on their own.

What could I say to comfort him?

Colbert and Saito surpassed the differences of the worlds, Louise remembered them getting along well. For Saito… he must have been a person who he was able to trust in.

What I could ever say to comfort Saito who lost such important person?

Louis closed her eyes.

She was as much saddened by seeing Saito tapped into sadness as by Colbert’s death itself.

It was late at night… when Saito returned to their room. Not being able to bear Saito being like that anymore, Louise, who returned back to the room some time ago, pushed her head out of sheets. Saito was silently sitting on a chair.　

Still… like before, not knowing what to say, Louise quietly watched Saito.

Scrubbing his red eyes, Saito opened his mouth.

And muttered in soliloquy,

“…Teacher said some day… ‘I would be happy to make fire’s power work for people.’. Teacher, it is too tough to do that alone.“

“…”

“I… I do not think I can do that. Of course, teacher and I are different. I thought I can do magic… ‘using any weapon’, but I lost it recently… But there must be some things that even I can do. Can I do anything in this world? I do have that power, right? Power for something… as you said power ‘for something big’, I want to use it.”

“…”

“I do not want to have any regrets when returning to my former world. Of course, I will protect you, and the princess that you value, I will defend her. That’s something I can do, right? I think so… I will try to be a commander of the knight corps. Good?“

Louise nodded.

Once in bed again, Louise was aimless tossing herself on sheets, thinking.

Though she was going to find the way for Saito to return… Saito became Chevalier, and consequently, as he said, he will become a knight commander.

In other words, Saito will try to find his world this way.

Am I happy for Saito because of that?

I do not know for sure.

The way I am changing, Saito is changing too.

And I do not know if it’s good or not.

To be honest, it's not like she opposes Saito’s words of becoming a chevalier. But this position needs some obligations, too. Can Saito do it?

Remembering Colbert, Saito started to cry again.

I am useless; Louise was ashamed of her own powerlessness. Though she feels sorry for Saito so much… she cannot do a single thing to comfort him.

The inferiority complex gradually gripped Louise's heart.

Yet, I am a Void user… can’t the owner of the legendary element do anything?

Maybe, I wonder myself, if I could help Saito in this world?

I think so.

Louise shook her head, and looked up.

I have to be confident now. She tried to persuade herself.

I have to do something for Saito, who lies next to me without turning.

…But, she did not know what.

Louise looked up at the night sky.

Two moons were drawing close, as if comforting them, pouring their gentle light into the room.

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| Back to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume9_Chapter3_%7EPreview%7E|Chapter 3]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume9_Chapter5_%7EPreview%7E|Chapter 5]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter4 - MTL

2008-12-14T20:54:39Z

Kumichael:

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter4 - MTL

2008-12-14T20:46:32Z

Kumichael:

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter4 - MTL

2008-12-14T20:44:24Z

Kumichael:

Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume1 The First Question

2008-12-13T23:34:13Z

Kumichael:

“Eh---”

“What's wrong?”

“What Yuuji said just now, it's the Taika Reform, right?”

“You're a third year now, and you still don't know this? Shouko, you really are stupid.”

“We haven't been taught about that part yet, Yuuji you're just too smart.”

“It's easy to memorize, just remember: 'Accident Free Reform'[http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Baka_to_Tesuto_to_Syokanju:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Question_1]”

“Accident Free?”

“It's because no accidents occurred during the Taika Reform; make sure you remember that.”

“Okay.”

“It happened in the year 625.”

“Alright, I memorized it.”

“Good, make sure you remember.”

“Don't worry, I won't forget.”

------

First Question

Please answer the following questions:

When manufacturing a frying pan, magnesium is used as the raw material to reduce the weight of the pan. However, an accident occurs when it is used in cooking. Describe what happens, and name an alloy that could be used to replace magnesium.

Mizuki Himeji's Answer

“Using a flame to heat up magnesium will cause a violent chemical reaction, in which the magnesium catches fire; aluminum may be used to replace magnesium.”

Teacher's Comment:

Correct. The question asks for an alloy, so you can't answer “iron”. You weren't tricked.

Kouta Tsuchiya's Answer

“Because the gas bill wasn't paid.”

Teacher's Comment:

That is not the point of this question.

Akihisa Yoshii's Answer

“An alloy made in the future can be used (Because it is very hard).”

Teacher's Comment:

Even if it is very hard, you can't find it now, can you?

------

We were welcoming the arrival of the second spring since we started at Fumitsuki Gakuen.

To welcome new students, both sides of the slope leading to the school building were filled with dazzling, flowering cherry blossoms. Even though I was not an elegant person who could appreciate flowers, I couldn't stop myself from being attracted to the beautiful scenery before me.

However, it was only for a very short time.

My mind was filled with thoughts of spring, not of cherry blossoms, but of the new classroom and students who will be with me throughout the year. In another words, it was all about my new class after the class divisions.

“Yoshii, you're late.”

In front of the entrance, a strong low voice called me. I turned my head and looked towards the source. An athletic man with light dark skin and short hair was standing there.

“Ah, Iron... no, Nishimura-sensei[http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Baka_to_Tesuto_to_Syokanju:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Question_1], good morning!”

“You almost called me 'Iron Man' just now, didn't you?”

“Ha ha, you're thinking too much.”

“Oh, am I?”

That was close; I nearly called him "Iron Man," just like before.

By the way, Nishimura-sensei got his nickname "Iron Man" because of his hobby of entering triathlons. Of course, his habit of wearing short sleeves during winter also contributed to the name.

“A normal person shouldn't say 'good morning' in this situation!”

“Ah, I am sorry. Err... Your skin is very dark today as well.”

“What! Is my skin color more important than you being late for school?”

“I see, you're talking about that... Sorry I'm late.”

“You... you just never learn your lesson.”

He sighed and mumbled. From what he said, you would think I was usually late for school.

“Sensei, I'm not usually late, am I?”

Nishimura-sensei was our homeroom teacher last year, so he should know that I was very punctual.

“Forget it, just take this.”

He took an envelope out of a box and handed it over to me. My name, Akihisa Yoshii, was clearly written on it.

“Ah, thank you.”

I simply nodded and took the envelope.

“But why does the school need to post the class divisions in such a troublesome way? Isn't posting it on the announcement board a better idea?”

Putting the results into individual envelopes, and handing them out one by one seemed very inconvenient.

“It is troublesome, but our school uses the most advanced system in the world, and this is required for it.”

“I see.”

I answered him and tried to open the envelope. Which class would I be placed in? I started to get a little nervous.

Here at Fumitsuki Gakuen, starting from second year, students are allocated into different classes, from class A to class F, depending on the class division examinations. To put it simply, geniuses would study in class A, and idiots would study in class F, with everyone else in between. You would know how smart someone is just by knowing his or her class placement. To protect my pride, I must not be placed into class F.

“Yoshii, to tell you the truth...”

“What?”

The envelope was glued shut, and I was still working on opening it.

“After observing you, I've been wondering: 'Could it be that Yoshii is an idiot?'.”

“Sensei, you can't be serious. If you are, you should change your nickname to 'Moron'.”

It's not that I was overconfident. Though I didn't work very hard, I still did pretty well in the class division examination last year. I assumed that when he saw my results he would immediately change his opinion.

“Have you seen my results? I feel pretty good about it.”

“I do hope I was wrong.”

I gave up on opening it neatly, so after it was opened with a smooth tearing sound, I found a folded piece of paper inside.

Which class will I be in? Is it class D? Maybe class C?

“Yoshii, you should be glad right? My opinion is really correct.”

As I unfolded the paper, I read the all-important result:

“Akihisa Yoshii... ... ... class F”

“You really are an idiot.”

And so, my sorrowful school life began.

PuiPui:Volume1 Chapter1

2008-12-11T05:57:56Z

Kumichael: zzz... tired...

'''Chapter 1: To Become A Master'''

The spring breeze blew refreshingly over the wide river's surface. The wonderful month of April was ending, and warm sunlight was breaking the glass surface of the water, glittering and shining across it.

Along the bank, soft green grass swayed in the wind. On the road above, a high-class convertible sparkled in the light as it drove past.

In the back seat of the convertible, wearing the elite Harusha's Private Academy Uniform, sat class 1-2's Zadou Sierra. Her long hair fluttered in the spring breeze as she sat upright, looking like a glass statue with her hands placed softly above her lap. She was the daughter of a prominent family.

The driver wore a black jacket and had a hat pulled low over the eyes. Next to Sierra, a middle school girl sat with a tense facial expression.

"Si... Sierra-sama's car, it really does feel nice to ride in, doesn't it?"

"Of course. Is your leg injury okay yet?"

Sierra smiled sweetly. With a smiling face like a blooming flower, her inner friendliness, elegance, and grace came forth.

"Yeah..... or rather, it's just a scrape...."

The school girl who had an adhesive bandage stuck to her knee lowered her gaze apologetically.

"Negligence is forbidden. I think if you overdo a little injury, it'll get worse and cause a bigger problem."

"B-but, because Sierra-sama took me, I feel sorry for everyone in class."

"Everyone in class?"

"Because, Sierra-sama is admired by everyone...."

"Okay, then please. Take it as this upperclassman's selfishness, will you let me take you?"

Sierra put both of her hands together, entreating the school girl to comply while staring fixedly at her. With a pop, the girl's face turned red.

"Ah, Uhm, uhm, uhm, uhm...."

The clearly flustered school girl just shrugged her shoulders in embarrassment, finally answering in a small voice,

"Ye, Yes....please do."

"Good. Then, please just relax. Would you like a pastry?"

Sierra reached into a velvet box, pulling out a high-class chocolate truffle. The girl had the opposite reaction however, instead becoming more nervous as her face flushed a deeper red, while her heart beat tightly against her chest.

Sierra's car continued along the road, while on the embankment below..... Araki Jin, in his school uniform, was lying down amidst the tall swaying grass. His clearly determined eyes and taut, well-tanned skin gave off a sort of hot and dry impression, like that of the desert wind.

As Jin used his school bag as a pillow, he read an archaeology book held closely to his lips. It contained pictures of a clay tablet with wedge-shaped characters engraved on it.

Utada Yuuya, Jin's classmate, also sat nearby. His skin and hair were weak in color, while he had a thin, frail frame. He wore headphones over his ears, with his slender eyes narrowed as he absentmindedly listened to the music.

"Ah...... it's the Zadou's car."

Sierra's car continued driving on, while Yuuya blinked in an unfocused manner, muttering in happiness.

"Aaah, such a secluded young woman...... She lives on a completely different level in this world, and there are a great deal of people who want to confess to her, but she's like that flower on the top of a mountain, oh how bittersweet."

"Ehh. Beautiful flowers can grow from plants on high mountains."

Jin's gaze was directed at his book, so he only responded in a simple manner. Yuuya lifted his eyebrow like the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/katakana katakana] character "ha," and took his headphones off from his ears, resting it on his neck.

"Flower on a high cliff, you don't even get it! We're talking about Zadou Sierra here."

"The name of this flower sure sounds like a human."

"You're slow and you're only making a shallow point. Zadou is a beauty and a celebrity who's very kind, she's a flawless Ojou-sama. Everyday, guys at the academy talk about how they want to confess to her, but since they're too scared to confess, they can only admire her from afar. Isn't it unbelievable that you don't know her?"

"My shoulder's been hurting since yesterday. Wonder what I should do."

So, without caring, Jin rubbed his left shoulder. He hadn't listened at all to the speech; Yuuya was stunned.

"Someone's talking here! Besides, it's because you read books all the time, that's why your shoulder's hurting. You're like an old man."

"It's near the collarbone, and it feels like there is a chestnut in there grinding heavily."

"That's an inflamed lymph node you know...... hey, why are promising students like us talking about such a depressing topic?"

"Yesterday, my shoulder finally reached an intolerable level. It felt like parasites underneath my skin were eating my flesh."

"How can you say that with such a calm expression? Surely it's because they come from inside the books stacked around our room. No joke, I've actually been hearing some rustling sounds at night as well. Don't you think it would be better if you went to the hospital?"

"Hnn...... This cuneiform seems to be written in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer Sumer] writing style."

"You're not listenin' to me again!"

"If you do that, then these symbols make......S-L-M-N..........Solomon?! Perhaps this clay tablet holds the key to 'Solomon's Treasure'?"

"What are you talking about Solomon's Treasure for?"

"I'm going back to my room, there's some stuff I want to check on."

Yuuya's words went unheeded as Jin stood up, grasped the book in his hands, and ran along the embankment path. Yuuya became confused as Jin had left his bag behind.

"Hey! Wait a minute! You forgot your bag!"

But Jin never heard those words. Half wanting to give up, Yuuya nevertheless picked up both their school bags, clutching them to his chest as he chased after Jin.

<center>* * *</center>

Jin traveled one kilometer from the academy in order to reach Harushiya Academy's male dormitory, "Tachibana." The two-story dormitory gave off an old, historic feel, as the roof was built with wooden roof tiles. Each room was set up so that two people from the same year would board together. Jin and Yuuya were roommates.

Their room had a bunk bed, an old-fashioned desk, and mountains of books burying cardboard boxes; so many that there wasn't even enough room to put one's feet on the ground. Digging into the mountain of boxes and books, Jin was searching for something.

"Well then...... it must be buried somewhere around here."

"This is just like excavating."

Yuuya had just about given up after going through and classifying a bunch of books underneath the bunk bed.

"Geez......this room should be a place to relax."

"Ah, found it. The reference book to the Sumer characters......"

Jin gave a big pull on one book in the center of a mountain of books. The mountain of books swayed and wobbled, before tumbling on top of Yuuya.

"Gaaaah! It's an avalanche of booooks!"

Underneath the bunk bed, books had piled up. Jin ignored the "Ah", and without doing anything special, expressionlessly pulled a book out from under the bed.

"Hey, are you alive?"

As he extracted the book, a cloud of dust was released. Crawling out from inside the dust cloud, Yuuya coughed.

"Move it! By the way, where did all these boxes even come from! The only way they could have entered this dorm, is one by one."

Yuuya's body continued to struggle with the dust. But as Yuuya grew angrier, Jin, at his own pace, looked around the inside of the room without any emotion on his face.

"Even if you say that......all of these are important reference books."

"Then you should at least organize them!"

"I don't know about that. You think after they're organized, they wouldn't fall around like this?"

"It wouldn't be this bad if you had organized them!"

In Yuuya's madness, he pushed Jin's face down into the pile of books.

"I can't take it anymore! I can't live in a room like this!"

Yuuya picked up from the top of the desk, and held in his hand a small gadget......an MP3 Player, and after moving his headphones from around his neck, he stormed out into the corridor with heavy footsteps.

This normally calm and carefree guy was seriously upset.

"I'm going to the lounge, so you have one hour to organize this room. If you don't, I'm going to take a bunch of your things that are against the dormitory rules to the dorm supervisor and have a nice chat with him."

"How can you even make that kind of horrible joke?"

"You think I care! Forget about that, and hurry up with the sorting!"

Slaam! Yuuya had forcefully closed the door behind him. A bit thickheaded, all Jin could do was tilt his head to the side.

"What a wierd guy. Why's he so mad?"

Jin lifted his gaze to the mountain of books. There was no way to clean all of this in an hour.

"Well......for now I'll just do what I can. If I'm kicked out of here, I don't have any place to go..."

Slowly, Jin began opening the cardboard boxes. Inside, there were things like Arabic newspapers, clay pots, and fragments of pottery. Looking at all of that, Jin began to feel very tired.

"Haah. So Dad and the others didn't even try to organize any of it......Anyway, I'll start by separating things I need and don't need, and then I'll throw out the junk......"

Jin took out the newspapers from inside the boxes, spreading them out in stacks and tying them with cord into bundles. However, even while steadily tying the newspapers into an increasing number of bundles, the cardboard boxes did not seem to diminish. Even before he started with this tedious work, Jin had already been somewhat tired.

"......Geez, why do I have to keep doing this?"

Jin kicked a nearby box into the air. After the cardboard box collapsed on landing, the contents spilled out into the room. Amongst the fragments of broken earthenware and bricks, there lay a dully shining golden object. The strange metallic vessel looked like an water pitcher with an attached leg.

<center>* * *</center>

Around the same time, Sierra had gone to the woman's dormitory, called "Sakura Dormitory," to drop off the middle school girl, after which she returned to her home.

Sierra's house was located in a very exclusive residential area, and was a quite noticeably large, stately mansion. Ten-thousand square meters had been used as the site for the construction of the large home. In the back of the property, there was a large tennis court, pool, and even a rose garden where exquisite flowers bloomed.

The automatic gate opened with the approach of the car. Just then, from within the mansion ten maids came flying out, rolling out a red carpet in welcome.

"A most welcome return, Ojou-sama!"

The employees in the mansion were all live-in workers. The maids wore lengthy, deep blue apron dresses with black tights, and wore loafers for footwear, while a headdress was affixed to the hair......the maid's uniform was old-fashioned and quite reserved. Circling the car as Sierra exited, they took her school bag.

"Now then, I will put the car into the garage. Until next time."

The driver bowed his head deeply. Giving an elegant smile, Sierra also bowed her head.

"Okay, Nicolai. Thank you for your hard work every day."

"Not at all. It is for Ojou-sama's sake."

The driver then took the car and brought it into the spacious garage by the side of the mansion. In the garage, some ten other high grade automobiles were parked. As Sierra walked atop the red carpet, the maids followed, rolling up the carpet as they went. The maids were all addressing Sierra in unison.

"You must be quite tired. Would you like an afternoon snack?"

"Thank you. I am alright for now."

"Is there any homework that you may have?"

"For home economics, my homework is to hand in an embroidered handkerchief."

"Understood. Then we shall call the world class designer from Paris shortly."

"Paris......that reminds me, how is Mother?"

Just then Sierra passed through the entry way to the mansion. The entry hall also had red carpeting, reaching up to the large stairwell. Along either side of the red carpet, another twenty maids and employees were lined up.

"A most welcome return, Ojou-sama!"

Said within the interval of a second, there had been no one off mark, as the twenty people spoke and bowed their heads in unison. After ascertaining that her mother was not within the arrayed group, Sierra inquired again.

"Marie. Is Mother still shopping in Paris?"

"She isn't. Today she went to watch an opera...... she took the private jet when she left."

The head maid, Marie Savant, was respectfully bowing her head. Older than the other maids, she still had the appearance of being in her twenties, and her movements had the standard elegance of an Englishwoman, with no flaws in their perfection.

"What about Father?"

"He is in his room."

"I see. He's probably busy earning "money" again."

Huffing, Sierra took a deep breath. Within a moment, her expression returned to that of a big smile. However, Marie didn't miss the change......realizing, but pretending not to have noticed, she maintained a poker face with her response.

"Ojou-sama, would you like to have some afternoon tea?"

"Eh?......no, why do you ask me?"

Not sure why Marie would want her to take tea, Sierra could only tilt her head to the side in puzzlement. Seeing the maids off, Sierra started up the great staircase. At the top of the large staircase, the driver from earlier was waiting and, having taken off the black coat and hat, now wore a tailcoat.

"A most welcome return, Ojou-sama."

He, Nicolai Pavurof, was the Zadou House's Butler. Even though he was a butler, he was only in his twenties, and had an appearance that was tall and thin, with firm shoulders. He gave off an icy feel with his glinting blue eyes and platinum blond hair.

Standing atop the staiwell, Nicolai had not missed observing Sierra's thoughts and had seen her hasty smile.

"Ojou-sama. Are you at all tired?"

"No, but I should be saying that to you......I apologize for having you make another stop today. Looking after Father's health must also be very tiring."

"Not at all. Being a driver is a job that I enjoy very much after all."

As Sierra headed towards her room, Nicolai followed along at her pace. Sierra's emotions were weaving.

"Why are you following, Nicolai?"

"I had assumed it was Ojou-sama's intention that I should follow."

"I didn't really mean that......"

"Ah......then I deeply apologize. It's a course of upbringing."

Nicolai, in a small movement, quickly bowed his head.

"By the way, Ojou-sama......would you like some Russian Tea?"

"Marie also tried to give me some tea. Do you really want me to drink tea that much?"

"April's winds are still known to be quite cold."

Nicolai had tried to modestly hide from view his facial expression. However, Sierra had noticed his worry for her.

"That's true. Well then......I will gladly have some."

Sierra's expression changed. After confirming that, Nicolai bowed his head very deeply.

"Well then, I shall put the charcoal in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samovar Samovar Teakettle]."

With that, Sierra turned back to her room.

The room was like an ultra high-class Hotel Suite in all its splendor. It had a bedroom and a living room, where in the bedroom was a queen sized bed with a canopy, while in the living there were three one-hundred inch plasma screen TV's. One was for television, another for games, and a third for videos.

Sierra tossed herself down on the sofa in front of the TV, starring absent-mindedly up at the ceiling. It was boring, with nothing to do. She thought about how she hadn't seen her parent's faces all week.

"Father, Mother......"

Facing up, she realized she was crying. Sierra quickly sat upright on the couch, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

Suddenly, something strange happened. Looking at her hand, Sierra noticed an unfamiliar white glove.

"Huh? When......did I, put on a glove?"

At that instant, Sierra's entire body was swallowed by a golden light.

Nicolai, with a silver Samovar Teakettle from the Romanov Dynasty, and a porcelain tea set, was pushing them down the corridor on top of a cart.

"Ojou-sama, excuse my impoliteness."

Nicolai knocked on Sierra's door. But, no reply came.

"......Ojou-sama. Sierra Ojou-sama?"

He called again, but there still was no reply. Pushing gently, he opened the door. Inside the room, strewn about atop the sofa, was a school uniform and a pair of shoes. It looked as if a body had simply vanished from within the clothes, while in the middle of sleep.

"It seems the uniform was removed. Well, that must mean......"

Nicolai turned his gaze to face the inner shower room. His normally stark white face, turned bright red.

"M, My most humblest of apologies!"

Nicolai hurriedly flew back into the corridor. He had thought Sierra was taking a shower. Rushing out, he caught his foot on the cart, smacking his face on the cart as he collapsed.

"......Mister Pavlov, what are you doing?"

In the middle of patrolling the mansion to supervise the maids in their work, Mary had stopped to inquire while glancing down suspiciously at Nicolai, who looked like a car-squashed frog lying on the floor. Sierra was nowhere to be found.

<center>* * *</center>

Sierra was in an unfamiliar room.

Dust was piled on a great deal of old books, and there were boxes of bowls and heaps of newpapers.

"Wha, what is this....some kind of warehouse? How did I, come to this kind of place?"

"Y....you, who are you?"

Sierra turned her suprised eyes towards the bewildered voice. She was met with flashing eyes, which belonged to Jin. In front of him, a dull golden container in the shape of an water pitcher tumbled away.

"Y, you're, Araki Jin! Why, are you here?"

"Why you ask, this is my room!"

"Eh....your room? W, why....?"

"By the way, how come you know my name?"

"What was that? We're in the same class, so it's obvious right?"

"Eh....the same class?"

"No way, you don't know me? Me?"

"I transferred here from another high school, that's why."

"That's not the problem! April is over and yet you still don't know the names of the girls in your same class? I mean, how does someone in the academy not know me?"

Sierra angrily slapped her hand against her hip, then suddenly narrowed her eyes.

"......Ah, I see. This must mean, your eyes are bad? I thought it was strange. It's because you can't see me, that's why you're not making a fuss. Then it's agreed."

"Nope. Both my eyes are one/five."

"Hah? What's that, I don't believe it!"

"Why, when my eyes are so good, are you getting so mad. By the way, who are you really?"

"They're plain clothes, but when you look at this uniform, you still don't understand?"

"Uniform? It's okay but, our school prohibits part-time work."

"Part-time work? You, ever since before you've been saying things that I don't understand."

"But, isn't that an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara Akiba] Maid uniform?"

"Maid you say!? Even suggesting that I would ever be a maid is the biggest insult ever! Now apologize!"

Angrily facing Jin, Sierra glanced at her hands and became shocked. On her hand, she wore a white glove. Realizing something also felt different about her hair, Sierra lifted her hand to the top of her head. A lace headress was pinned in her hair.

"W......what is this?"

Losing her calm, Sierra looked down at her body. She was wearing a mini apron dress, with long knee socks. There was also a mini skirt, just revealing her white bottom. Normally Sierra was a very conservatively dressed Ojou-sama, so wearing the mini skirt caused her to blush a deep scarlet. She tried to pull tighter with both hands and managed to conceal her bottom a bit more.

"What's......with these clothes! Why am I wearing maid clothes!?"

"Idiot, you're too loud! After coming here, do you want everybody around to see you?"

[[Image:Puipui_vol01_027.jpg|200px|thumb|"W......what is this?"]]

"Besides caring if someone sees, why am I even here, I have no idea how I got here myself!"

"Stop yelling so loud! In this dorm, the rules are that no girls or pets are allowed. If they find you, I'll get evicted."

"Myse....don't compare myself to an animal! I didn't realize until just now, but I've had enough of your impoliteness!"

"I said your voice is too loud!"

"Could I request of you a little manners?"

"I'm begging you, please lower your voice."

"Will you do something for me?"

"If I can do it."

"Then die apologizing!"

"Sorry but, I think that exceeds the limits of what I'm capable of."

Jin said this in a harsh voice, devoid of emotion.

"Anyway, before somebody sees you, hurry up and get out of here."

"Until you die apologizing, I'm not moving."

Sierra seated herself in traditional Japanese style, with her face looking straight forward.

"Geez. Seriously, just give me a break."

Shifting impatiently, Jin finally accepted it and dropped his shoulders. Quickly, Sierra jabbed her finger at Jin.

"Guess there's no helping it, then I'll forgive you if you committ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/seppuku seppuku]."

"That's not even different from earlier. You're so selfish, what kind of '-sama' are you?"

"Zadou Sierra!"

"That's a pretty straight reply......Wait, Zadou? Maybe it's, the one from the same class?"

Jin remembered what Yuuya had been talking about back at the embankment. Somehow having heard some of it, he recalled, they had been talking about an Ojou-sama.

"Isn't that what I said a while ago! Did Miso-chan enter into the brain in that head of yours?"

"Nope. It's just that you, differ from what I thought an Ojou-sama was."

"What was that?"

"It's just that, I didn't think an Ojou-sama would have such a bad mouth."

"None of your buisness! Appearing like a cat is so bothersome!"

"Wearing an anime character's clothes......I don't really understand society."

"Idiot, appearing like a cat is a metaphor. As a commoner, do you even understand?"

"It's because, you're wearing Akiba type clothes, it's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cosplay cosplay] right?"

Taken aback, Sierra dropped her gaze to her clothes, covering herself with both arms.

"I forgot......I was wearing maid clothes."

Standing up in sudden fury, Sierra began fervently scanning the inside of the room.

"Where's the exit? Someone like me wearing maid clothes, if someone came into this common room of yours that I knew, it would be the embarrasment of a lifetime!"

"Sorry for it being so common."

"I'd die of embarrasment from everyone's shock!"

"To each his own. But I've had enough of dying for now."

"If you can say that, then hurry up and tell me how to get out!"

"So nobody will see you when you leave, you'll have to exit through the window."

Jin pointed towards the window. With the window open wide, dust was blowing up from the books.

"What floor is this?"

"The second floor..."

"......There's no helping it then."

Pressing her lips tightly together, Sierra put her leg on the window. To Jin's astonishment, Sierra concentrated with her arms held at her back.

"Oi, you serious? The second floor is actually quite high."

"It's better than being embarrased!"

"Yeah but everyone has something they're embarrased about."

"Speaking of which, what's with your hand?"

Jin had crossed his hands in front of Sierra, holding her tight. He was dazed......as her body was unbelieveably soft for being so thin. Taking that chance, Sierra moved to the window and prepared to exit, when she felt something similar to an electric shock, which resulted in her falling back into the room with a loud crash.

"Kyaaa!!"

Sierra tumbled, landing with her bottom on top of the floor. Her skirt lifted up revealingly, and the flustered Sierra hastily pressed it down, sitting in traditional Japanese style. Kneeling next to Sierra, Jin wondered what had happened.

"Is it, fun to play by yourself?"

"W, Why couldn't I get outside?"

Sierra feverishly began scanning the room. Finding a door, she ran towards it. Confused, Jin could only stay still.

"Oi, wait, people will see you if you go into the corridor!"

Sierra grabbed the doorknob with her hand. But, again the same electric shock ran through her hand. Grimmacing, she looked at her hand. Why couldn't she even open the door?

"Why......"

At that moment, pouring out from the water pitcher's spout, a violet smoke was rising upwards.

"Kyaa, it's poison gas!"

Sierra grabbed onto Jin, terrified. He gave a painful grimace.

The violet smoke began to take on the form of a human. A man wrapped in a red silk gown, holding a brandy glass in one hand, was spinning upwards. Wearing a ring on one finger, a necklace, and an earing, Jin's eyes reflected all the sparking jewelery.

"Wh......what's with this flashy old guy?"

Still hanging onto Jin, Sierra's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Fa......Father?"

"Eh, your father?"

Understanding less and less, Jin furiously rubbed his eyes.

"So your fashion sense, it's hereditary?"

"I'm not wearing the maid set because I like it! That and, what's some commoner doing, being so overly farmiliar!"

Sierra was flushed deep red, as she thrust Jin forcibly aside. Pushed aside, Jin just raised his eyebrows.

"Obviously, I wasn't the one touching you right?"

Picking up the water pitcher, and with a friendly expression, Sierra's father extended his hand out to Jin.

"So, you're the new master huh. I'm counting on you."

"Wha......? Is it because of my weak understanding, that I have no idea what you just said?"

With all his strength, Jin glared hard at Sierra's father. Sierra was doing the same, as she snapped.

"What the heck are you saying that for, father! Bowing your head to a commoner, I can't believe it!"

Sierra's father, wagging his index finger back and forth, showed Sierra the water pitcher.

"Sierra, do you have any idea what this is?"

"It's a pot used to make curry sauce."

"Ah. So that was the name of the thing you put curry into."

A hand slapped Jin from behind. Sierra was moving around, with scornful eyes.

"It's because a commoner doesn't have one in his house, that's why you don't know it's real name."

"Quit with the commoner thing! Even I know that the word for the laddle you use with shredded ice is called a 'kanrojyakushi'.

"Shredded ice you say? Ah, how distasteful. The upper class term is a frappe."

"Regardless, how did a parent and child like you get into this dorm?"

"It's not a pot to make curry sauce. This, is a lamp," Sierra's father said. Without interest, Jin gave a weak aknowledgment.

"I see, like a lamp that has a flame."

"It doesn't have a flame."

"Then it's just junk."

"It doesn't have a flame, but the lamp does have a genie."

Sierra's father had drawn very close to Jin's face, speaking in a serious tone. For a word like that, it took Jin awhile to have it register in his brain.

"......right now, listen to this strange story."

So, Jin used a finger to clear his ears. Sierra had also anxiously turned her eyes towards her father.

"Father......what will you do if there are losses in your share trading?"

"Sierra. Until now, why is it that I never had to go to work to earn money.....it's different than the explanation about trading stocks."

"Eh? Father, you weren't buying and selling stocks on the internet?"

"The things in our house, the white personal jet, all of these I used magic to make appear!"

Sierra's father beat his own chest. For several seconds, both Jin and Sierra were completely silent.

"......But even so, the official name has to be 'curry pot.'"

"'Kanrojyakushi' I didn't know that one......"

<center>* * *</center>

"Oi Oi Oi! Don't leave me out!"

Grabbing Sierra's back, her father turned her around.

"The Genie of the Lamp really does come out, just like in 'Arabian Nights.' As a part of our family heritage, the Zadou House has the blood of that Genie of the Lamp!"

"Eeeh."

"I'm serious! The Genie of the Lamp, using magic, can make all sorts of things appear!"

"Yeah, I see. It's just like Papa says."

"Don't stare at me with such a pitiable expression!"

"That's because, who could believe something like that?"

"But it's true! The abilities of a Genie of the Lamp are handed down to the next generation. And when the next generation finds their "master", the parents lose their abilities."

"Master?"

Sierra's face stiffened as she turned her eyes towards Jin. He was taken aback, as Sierra's father pointed at the lamp in his possession.

"Then maybe......that's a magic lamp?"

"What slow comprehension..."

"Yeah but, I was just cleaning my room."

"But you rubbed the lamp at that time?"

"That's because it was dirty."

"Then that's why you are officially Sierra's Master."

"I don't believe it! Why do I have to be the servant of this commoner!"

Sierra's father turned her around with the flat of his palm,

"Sierra. Put you hand in your apron's pocket."

He said, while pointing at her pocket. Thrusting her hand into her pocket, Sierra pulled out a thin book, resting it on her palm. She blinked in surprise.

"This book, what is it?"

"It's a magic tome which has been handed down in our family for generations. It seems you are a magic maid."

The front cover of the book had the design of an arabesque of the Arabian Wind, while the inside was blank. Turning the pages, Sierra knit her eyes in confusion.

"There's nothing written here."

"Because the ability of the Genie of the Lamp transferred to you, the magic book I was holding moved to your working clothes, where at that moment, all the information stored was reset. As you level up, the skill of your magic will increase. And when you reach the status of a full-fledged Genie of the Lamp, you will be released from your Master, and will no longer have to wear your working outfit, and you will be able to always keep the magic book with you."

"Level up?"

"So make sure you fulfill all of the wishes of this boy's heart."

"W......why, does someone like me have to do that!"

"I refuse as well, don't force your own selfishness on someone to be some kind of servant. The rules of this dorm are really strict, people can't have too many personal possessions around, and women and pets aren't allowed here."

Desperately, Sierra was glaring at Jin.

"That's what's rude! Comparing me and pets on the same level!"

"Well I'll get evicted if I break any of the rules!"

"Father, I can't even believe you'd want me to work for this rude commoner!"

"You have become a magic maid have you not?"

"I don't want to be some kind of maid who uses magic for any length of time! Let's go home!"

With her feet making loud stomping noises, Sierra began to leave the room. But, Sierra's father grabbed her by the nape of her neck, pulling her back to her place.

"Wait wait wait, Just wait a moment! Because you haven't used magic yet, It could be troublesome!"

"What is it. There's no need for magic, we can buy anything with the money we have."

"That-is-why! That money, all of it was conjured by magic!"

"Eh!"

Sierra's face was in the prime of utter fury. As she stood dumbfounded, her father just nodded his head at her.

"Looks like you finally get it."

"So......you can't use magic anymore which means, there is no money anymore?"

"As of this minute, it's over."

"Nooo! S......So I'll have to become this commoners companion!?"

Sierra underwent a violent shock, collapsing onto the flooring. Jin turned his astonished gaze towards the jangling jewelry of the father.

"It's not really a problem. But the fact that your father's jewelry hasn't disappeared, must mean that, the conjured items won't just disappear, right?"

"But, after spending the money, it's gone! Without hiring any employees, how is my hair going to get combed every morning!?"

"Use a brush, and comb it yourself."

"Your reply, why is it always so [[PuiPui:Volume1_Translator's_Notes|abzurd!]]"

"I don't have the self confidence to win against your absurdity......"

Jin was tired of Sierra's previous panic, yet wasn't very stressed.

"Anyway, just take that ring to a pawnshop and trade it for some money, after that just start being thrifty."

"PAWNSHOP! THRIFTY!"

Raising her head, Sierra had screamed in a high pitched voice.

"I swear upon my pride as an idol, to never accept such a commoner's proposal!"

"Exactly, just like I did, all you have to do is conjure money and you can level up!"

"As I thought, money drives people crazy."

Jin muttered, taking a breath. Sierra turned her gaze towards him.

"B, but......he'll end up with nothing."

"Don't listen to him."

"The Genie of the Lamp doesn't get to choose the master. Well, don't feel too disappointed."

Puffing his cheeks out, Sierra's Father tried to comfort her, clapping his hand on her shoulder.

"Also, before someone can really become the Genie of the Lamp and get released, it's necessary to serve the Master. Doing that takes patience."

"Before someone reaches that point, about how long does it take?"

Sierra asked, clinging onto her father. His responded by simply shrugging his shoulders.

"Who knows?"

"How can you be so relaxed?"

"For my father and I, it took hundreds of years before the Genie of the Lamp was called out to do something."

"Ehhh?"

"Most likely, the lamp was buried or something. This time, your Master called you out which means the Magic Book was reset hundreds of years."

Listening to that, Jin stopped, dropping his chin to his hand.

"......But, isn't it weird that the Genie of the Magic Lamp is in Japan?"

"Hmpf. The studying of commoners is insufficient."

"Apart from your daughter, for an adult to have that kind of tone, it really annoys me."

"Did you learn how in the eighth century the silk road was used to transport articles of clothing and such? In the past, Japan and Persia traded as well. Back and forth from Persia along the silk road, the Magic Lamp finally made it here to Japan."

"I don't believe it! Why am I being pulled into poverty!?"

Clenching both fists, Sierra had snapped at her father. He turned around, defiant.

"Don't think you're the only victim here! Because I can't use magic, I'm also in quite a bind!"

"So father, does that mean you're still a servant?"

"I used a sacrifice to separate. To the end, you will be this little falcon's servant, so do your best because the fate of the Zadou House's finances rests on your shoulders, Sierra."

"Yeah but......what is it I have to......"

Sierra was still hesitating. Jin was trying to appeal to her father.

"Oi, don't disregard what I have to say! Why aren't you listening to people? You can't be here, because this is a dormitory!"

"You're still young. Just blow off the rules the adults have!"

"Saying stuff with an expression like that, if you don't want to get chased, don't say things like that."

"My circumstances aren't great either. You don't have an agreeable personality, boy."

"Why am I a problem child?"

"That's enough, boy!"

Sierra's father brought his face in very close to Jin's chest, with a startling expression.

"When I got married, I promised my wife that I would provide her with money forever. Since there's no more money, there'll be a divorce."

"So you can buy love with money?"

"Well, if you pay a lot."

"That's like, fake then."

"Quit talking! Because the divorce is your fault, I hope your whole life is cursed!"

"How selfish......"

Jin was astonished at the pressuring force exerted by Sierra's father. With a frantic appearance, Sierra tapped on her father's shoulder.

"Father, is it true you'll get a divorce? That's awful!"

"Well then, let this be a secret for just the three of us. My wife can never know about this."

Glaring at Jin, Sierra jabbed her finger at him.

"Commoner! From today on you will be my Master! I'm going to level up, and return back to being a regular idol!"

"D, don't go deciding things on your own! I keep saying girls aren't allowed in here, even so, who would want
someone as selfish as you......!"

"Now, tell me your wish! Spit it out!"

Ignoring Jin's objection, Sierra grabbed both of his shoulders, and pushed him over the top of the mountain of
books. Long hair went over Jin's face, tickling him. It was extremely painful with his back pushed into the books.

"Th, that's not the attitude you should have towards your Master!"

"Shut up, you only have the status of a commoner!"

"Wait a minute, Seirra. You need to gauge your Masters satisfaction if you want to level up, so don't be so rough."

"'Satisfaction Gauge'...what's that?"

"It's just like it sounds."

Grabbing Jin's arm, Sierra's Father helped him up.

"Boy, boy. All you have to do is say 'ChiChinPuiPui'."

"Sorry but, I'm not that kind of happy careless person with no hobbies."

"You sure have a lot of pride, huh...."

"I don't have much pride, but it's normal to not say that right?"

"It's fine just say it."

"I'd rather die than say it!"

"What a troublesome guy! You want to eat the ingredients of a canape!"

"Let's just have a fashionable cooking party with an idol."

"You'll say it; so say it!"

Sierra's father had drawn himself up. A little more and he would have added two centimeters to his height. Jin broke under his stature.

"......Can't get out of it so...ChiChinPui......pui......"

As expected of throwing away his dignity, Jin's last word was very small. Sierra's father then took his hand, and
placed it on top of Sierra's head, making rubbing motions.

"......Eh."

At that moment, Sierra was wondering what was happening. In the next moment, a high pitched scream arose, as Jin's hand moved around.

"Kyaaaaaaa! What is your filthy commoner's hand doing on my head! Someone's going to have use shampoo to disinfect it!"

"It's true I should wash my hands, but you don't have to go that far......"

Jin muttered in a hard voice. The headress Sierra was wearing was giving off a weak shine. Sierra's Father gave a heavy sigh.

"Look. You're making the Master extremely displeased, as the satisfaction gauge hasn't gone up even a little."

"Why, why is it shining?"

"As the satisfaction gauge goes up, the intensity level of the light will go up."

"Father, could you explain it normally?"

"Look, if you want a Master's mood to change, start by going into the kitchen and calling out "Master!"."

"Huhm......"

Sierra turned her puzzled eyes towards Jin.

"T......to this commoner, I have to......"

"Look here, if you keep up with that depressing face, your Masters satisfaction level is going to go down even
further. Practice saying, 'Did you call me, Master?'."

Like a musical conductor, Sierra's Father raised his finger with a wave. Jin then unexpectedly yelled.

"Don't call out something like that! Just go home!"

"Ca......call out, you say......"

Sierra's face was flushed deep red, as she had one hand closed into a fist on her chest, while shaking. Sierra's
father laughed, nodding in satisfaction.

"Good, one more time. Next say, 'Master'!"

"M......ma......mast......"

Sierra sounded like a broken CD replaying, but she finally lost her patience, screaming out,

"Ahh geeez! Why do I have to say something like this!"

Steadily, something sounded against the wall. In shock, Jin turned his face. It had come from the wall of the next
room over.

"Hey, Araki, it's Yutada. You're too loud!"

"Ah......s, sorry."

Jin apologized quickly, and putting his finger to his lips, made a "Shhhh" sound.

"You can't make noise! It'll be a problem if a girl was found in here, so just get out already!"

"Can't do that. Until something is done for the Master, it's impossible to leave."

Listening to what her father said, Sierra remembered how when she had tried to leave the room before, she had somehow been unable to leave the room.

"I can't......go home......?"

"No way......! Yuuya will be coming back any time now, what do we do!"

"That's what I should be asking! With these embarrasing clothes that make me look like a common servant to you, if I was ever found in this dirty room I would be so embarrased that there's no way I could go to school!"

"I'm troubled as well! If the Genie of the Lamp's secret was ever found out, my wife......my wife......!"

Sierra was in a rage, while her father was worrying heavily. Jin hid the picture of his shock.

"The two of you really don't get what I'm saying."

"A, anyway, the job dictates that something has to be done before we can go back!"

While Sierra was talking, she had begun taking the books that were lying in piles on the floor, and tossing them
into the trash bin. With Sierra doing this all of a sudden, Jin became surprised.

"Heey! What do you think you're doing!"

"It's filthy trash, so I'm throwing it away."

"If you'd recognize this stuff, you'd see that none of it's trash; these are all things sent from my Father and his team's excavation."

"Excavation?"

"My father and his group are in the Middle East for Solomon's......no, that has nothing to do with this!"

"So it doesn't look like garbage. Commoners, they really don't throw anything out do they."

"It's not my fault! Anyway, don't touch!"

"It's because, without any work, the Genie of the Lamp won't be able to level up! It's because you don't have a wish, so it can't be helped!"

"Then, do something to heal my shoulder."

"Have you gone to a Hospital?"

"You're not really helpful."

"Shut up! Commoners really should be quiet!"

On the other hand, Sierra had picked up a cardboard box. At that moment, holding the box with the her hands, some kind of furry thing sprung up; as an animal with red and black spots scurried to run away:

"KYAAAAAAAA!"

With a scream, Sierra scrambled to the top of a pile of books. With her voice filling the region with half the level of
ultrasonic waves, Jin spontaneously plugged his ears. Sierra screamed while looking at Jin from the top of the books.

"Spider! A spider came out!"

"What are you saying, this is something you can do."

"Disgusting, things like spiders are disgusting! Just, hurry up and exterminate it!"

"Why are you giving your Master an order!"

Jin yelled at Sierra. Again, someone beat against the wall.

"Araki! Quit being so loud! Just now, that almost sounded like a girl's voice!"

"A, Ah, it's because a spider appeared."

Jin replied automatically, with a loud voice. The response that came next sounded disdainful.

"Screaming like that because of a spider, what a weak person!"

"What's wrong with calling out like a weak person?"

With a jolt Jin turned his face towards Sierra's father. Sierra's father was in shock, hiding behind a pile of books, as
his entire neck shivered.

"I, it's not like Sierra won't level up if I don't help!"

"......Geez. The both of you, just what did you come here for."

Jin slumped his shoulders in exhaustion, as he picked up the spider. Goosebumps sprang up all over Sierra, as she
put her hands to her face, yelling.

"Kyaaa! I can't believe you actually picked it up!"

"Spiders are good creatures that eat harmful bugs, but people still kill them."

Jin opened the window, tossing the spider outside. The spider started a thread from the second floor window, and descended like a drop of water into the yard below. Closing the window, Jin turned his voice to Sierra.

"Look, it's not chasing you anymore."

"Wa, wait, what are you going to do with that hand!?"

"What about my hands?"

"The spider was moving around on your hand! Use soap and clean your hands!"

Sierra bellowed from the top of the mountain of books. Thinking "my gosh," Jin followed the nagging order, went
over to the washbasin in the room, and cleaned his hands.

"Look, they're clean. Now hurry and get down from there."

Shaking the water from his hands, Jin spoke in a careful voice. However Sierra was still shaking.

"No way, it's not like the spider can't walk back into this place! Kill it with a rag or something!"

"That's it, actually kill it the second time, boy!"

"Quit with the stupid orders! I don't know who the servant is anymoooore, just go back already!"

With a headache, Jin continued to look at Sierra continue to stay on top of the books. She was crying.

"Bu......but that's just it, until I do a job I can't go back!"

"And, like Sierra, I can't go back until she goes back."

"I didn't ask that!......By the way, eh? Why can't you go back either?"

"When Sierra came through the lamp, the dimension space remained open for a while, allowing things to cross over. I came through that gate, but the gate has already closed."

"Even if the gate's closed, just walk home."

"I don't have shoes."

Sierra's father spoke, while showing off his feet. He was only wearing slippers. Having come from inside his own house to Jin's room, he hadn't even changed his footwear. Jin's next words were biting.

"Go back in your slippers!"

"Wait, if Papa goes back, what do I do!"

Sierra had put her anger aside, and with anxiety showed a face that looked close to crying. Her lips were trembling.

"You want to clean the floor?"

"I'd die first!"

"Then what should we do."

Jin turned his gaze towards a clock on the wall. The hands pointed to five-thirty.

''When Yuuya went to the lounge, he had said he would return in and hour......it's already been almost an hour.''

"Can't be helped....you, what are you able to do?"

"I can sing. Would you like me to give you my opera performance?"

"It would be bad if you were to use a loud voice and be found out, don't you get this yet?"

"Then, shall I give this room a flower arrangement?"

"Thanks. That's really problematic."

"What a selfish commoner!"

"Neither are good! Anyway, just get off the books for now!"

Jin had lifted his gaze to Sierra standing atop the mountain of books, when, at that moment, all movement stopped. From below, he had seen under the skirt, to the ruffling frills and lace that were part of the petticoat. Jin stiffened in that moment of realization, as Sierra descended from atop the mountain.

"W, what are you looking at, you lowly commoner!"

"It just happened! Besides, didn't I tell you to get off already."

Sierra and Jin glared at each other. When all of a sudden a knocking came from the door. Jin was shocked.

"Ooi, Jin, is everything in order?"

"Crap......Yuuya's back already."

Jin pushed a hand against his brow, breathing heavily. Sierra just looked at Jin in anxiety.

"Yuuya......Utada Yuuya from class? He's coming into this room?"

"He's my roommate that's why. This isn't good......"

"Th, this isn't good is all you can say! What are we gonna do?"

Sierra had become quite pale. A key wasn't needed to open the door. Thinking hard, Jin franticly rushed to gather
cardboard boxes which he set in front of the door.

"Wait a bit, Yuuya! There's alot of stuff in front of door right now!"

"Ehh?"

His voice showed dissatisfaction, Yuuya turned the door knob. But because of the barricade blocking the door, the
door didn't open. For the moment Jin let out a sigh from his chest.

"What is it, is the room still not put in order? Do you want me to talk to the dorm leader after all?"

"Wait wait wait! Just a bit more and I'm done, seriously!"

"Really~?"

Sierra's father was looking around the room. In the middle of blocking the entrance, and not having tidied up before, the room was in a terrific state. Moving around, Jin glared at him.

"And who's fault is it!"

"It's fine if there's only a little more to go, so just let me in. Because the radio program is about to start."

In a hurry, Yuuya banged on the door. Jin turned his eyes towards the top of Yuuya's desk. Textbooks were all lined up along a bookstand, across from which there was a CD Player.

"You listening, Jin? Open up right now, open up!"

Yuuya was making a rucus beating on the door, and from the surrounding rooms other boarding students began emerging.

"Utada, what are you doing?"

"Jin's shut himself up in the room."

"Oi, Araki! How long have you been doing this!?"

The corridor was filled with people talking. Sierra was waving both hands in all directions.

"Wh, what are we going to do! If all those people set their eyes in here, no way......!"

"Whatever happens, because the room isn't organized, I'm going to get evicted from the dorm. I can't take anymore......"

In a depressed mood, Jin sat down where he was. With a desperate expression Sierra grabbed his chest, bringing it close to her face. Surrounding Sierra was a pleasant, soapy scent.

"You need to pull yourself together, I can't leave until that happens! Hurry up and just tell me to do something! You're the Master aren't you!"

"At any rate, I'll just say something bad again."

"Then, I won't disagree with whatever job you give me!"

"That's the spirit of a servant!"

"Jin, they're going to come in!"

Yuuya heaved his body against the door, causing a deep sound to ring out.

"Yeah, help me out!"

"One~Two~Three!"

Saying that, the boarding students all together rammed against the door. Made of wood, the entire old dormitory shuddered as the glass rang with the sound. Surprised, Sierra's face began to shed tears.

"It......it's no use anymore. It's no use."

Losing all the overbearing might she had up until now, Sierra sat down in despair. She had such high pride, but until now she had never gone through such a humiliating experience. She looked like a small trembling bird, and Jin couldn't help but start to pity her.

"......It can't be helped. It's all right, I'll think of something."

"Really you will?"

As Jin looked into Sierra's eyes, he noticed her brimming tears. He relied on those eyes. Heavy pressure began building in Jin's chest. He started to regret having said that, as Sierra clasped both of her hands to her chest in hopeful dependence, appearing as if she were praying. But there's no way he could betray her now.

As the frame of the door continued to be pounded against, and the loud sounds created continued on, Jin began getting frantic, but continued to think. Suddenly, a light flashed on inside his head. "Because the radio program is about to start." With a flashback Jin remembered Yuuya's words.

"That's it! This isn't something difficult, so you should be able to do it."

Jin gestured towards the CD Player on top of Yuuya's desk.

"Zadou. Could you turn the radio cassette on."

"Radio?"

Sierra worriedly had her hand by her mouth, and relying on this she was looking around.

"What's a radio cassette?

"The thing over there!"

Pushing his forehead in exasperation, Jin dragged Sierra over.

"The mechanism on top of the desk! Press the blue switch!"

"Blue switch? W, wonder if it's this."

"Sierra, since you're a Genie of the Lamp, say "Leave it to me, Master" over there!"

Sierra's father spoke to her from behind. Jin quickly ran over and plugged up his mouth.

"You're going to confuse her even more, so don't say useless things!"

"Uhmm.......blue Master......"

"Look, you confused her!"

Jin put him in a stranglehold for having spoken to her.

"The blue switch! It's the one furthest to the right!"

"Ah, t, this one?"

With a slender finger Sierra pushed the button. With a red LED light showing that power was connected, a DJ's voice came flying out with strength.

"Hey ma~n! It's Chekira! To all you listeners, you ready Yo! Until Nine o'clock today, it's Chekira~Uto!"

"Ah! It's on!"

Sierra unintentionally smashed her hand. Jin also slapped his hand to his chest. Also feeling the same relief as Sierra, her father pushed her in front of Jin.

"Now, Sierra! Don't hesitate! Before your Masters satisfaction goes back down, measure the satisfaction gauge!"

"Ah, y, yeah. Just, hurry up and lightly brush my head!"

Sierra seemed to have changed, she was now moving in on Jin. Acting like this so suddenly, Jin was bewildered.

"So, why are you acting like a beggar this time?"

"Forget it and hurry up! That guy is going to come in here any time now!"

Sierra had previously shown such pride, so what she was doing now showed just how desperate she was. Jin reluctantly moved his hand to her head. Earlier having said "Dirty hands of a commoner" with dislike, and not wanting to be touched, Jin was now gently stroking her head.

"Boy, right there say "ChiChinPuiPui♪"!"

"I, I got it! ChiChinPuiPui!"

Becoming desperate, Jin recited the incantation nearly screaming. Then, Sierra's headdress atop her head, began shining brightly. Her eyes showing surprise, Sierra touched the headdress.

"......Wait. This is it?"

"The indispensible satisfaction gauge hasn't even leveled up above ten percent."

With a sigh, Sierra's father took a deep breath. Angry, Sierra grabed hold of Jin, screaming at him.

"Wait! What's with this? Be more grateful!"

"All you did was push in a switch on a radio cassette, and you get this violent, you look like you drank a boiled dirty fingernail."

"I didn't have to push the switch you know! Someone like me should be telling a commoner like you to do it for me!"

"A~h Gee~z, just shut it! And go home!"

"Telling me to shut it, what an impertinent commoner! Fine then, I'm going back! I don't want to stay in this spider infested place any longer!"

The moment Sierra shouted, the lamp began to shine. Sierra's figure was surrounded by smoke, and in the next moment, all was sucked into the lamp. The lamp lit up the surroundings, revealing a vague, circular type illusion giving off light. With a look of glee, Sierra's father jumped into the circle.

"Finally, I can go back with this! Boy, next time show Sierra more appreciation!"

"I'll bet you 1,000,000 peso's I don't."

Jin muttered, as Sierra's father disappeared.

"Let me in, Jin! The radio program has already started you know!"

From outside the door, Yuuya raised his voice. The door was opening easily, little by little all the boarding students
were pushing against it, as the barricade of cardboard boxes started crumbling down. They would break in shortly, so in that case......Sierra had been swept into the rainbow colored space. Yuuya had told the dorm head that the boarding students were trying to break down a barricade to see what was going on in a room, and that person would definitely come through the entrance way. Whatever happened, he wouldn't be able to stay in the dorm any longer.

"Well then....from tomorrow on, wonder where I should sleep."

Having given up and satting down in a sulking mood, he dropped a book to the ground. Suddenly, that book was pulled into the rainbow colored circle, vanishing with a swish. Jin opened his eyes wide. "When Sierra came through the lamp, the dimension space remained open for a while, allowing things to cross over."...Jin remembered what Sierra's father had said.

"That's it!"

Jin leaped up, grabbing every box and tossing it into the rainbow dimension space. The cardboard boxes all vanished with a pretty swooshing sound.

"All right, now everythings been removed from here."

Feeling a hundred times more energetic, Jin was surprised with the horsepower he exerted, as both the books and carboard boxes had by now all gone into the rainbow space. Until now, he had been quite depressed, but as each box vanished with a swoosh, Jin would gloat, until finally the entire room was clean. From the corridor, all the boarding students' voices could be heard. It was definitely heating up out there.

"Next time hit it with everything you've got everybody!"

"Yeah! One, Two~, Three!"

All the boarding students rammed into the door with all their might. However, he had already removed the barricade.

"KYAAAA!"

With a crash, the ten boarding students and their leader crashed in through the door that wouldn't open earlier. Inside the clean and sparkling room, Jin's put on a straight face.

"Didn't I tell you. just a little more and I'd be done."

"Ow ow ow ow ow, why did that take so much effort."

Numbering one of many, Yuuya lifted his pale face.

"......Woah. It really got cleaned up."

Yuuya looked around with his eyes squinted as thin as a thread.

"Yo, ma~n! It's time for requests Yo, It's radio name "Aitzu Wakahotsu" Yo! Chekira!"

Within the silent room, only the bustling radio made any sound.

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume13 Chapter8

2008-12-10T05:54:52Z

Kumichael: should do something about the narrative...

===Chapter 8, The meaning of the Smile===
====by: SeiryuuChan====

Saito woke up in Mister Colbert’s room. Laying down on the table, he was covered by a blanket. It seemed that the one who put the blanket on him was Mister Colbert, who was in bed, asleep.

It seems Saito himself fell asleep before he noticed it. Streams of the morning's light through the window. 

''Now I remember. Yesterday, I was so tired from crying continuously that I fell asleep.'' While thinking that, Saito stared at the display of his notebook computer. It seemed like the power supply had been taken off.

I was thinking about asking Mister Colbert to connect my notebook to the electricity, but decided against it. 

I memorized it last time, so I am able to recall it..., so it is not necessary to do it for a second time.

From the window, I gazed up at the sky.

Somehow, this was world connected to Earth, one way or another.

What could it be that connected these two worlds together?

Looking at the fact that tank and aircraft could come to this world, it should be normal for an electro-magnetic wave to enter. 

''Ah, that seems to be the case.'' Saito looked around absent-mindedly as he thought that.

''After all, I was a weak man.'' He thought.

I have comrades, so I think I can do something, since that's the situation I can accept if one way or another, to live in this world. Nevertheless, when I read the mail, I am suddenly overcome by the feelings of homesickness.

Described in simple words, I am a weak man.

It can't be helped since I suddenly read the mail. thinking this Saito left his notebook computer behind in Mister Colbert’s room.

Saito felt depressed.
While he trudged through the corridor he muttered.

"Tomorrow would be a troubling day. The three year anniversary of the coronation of the pope..., My spirit must not be like this."

At any rate, my mood must be kept hidden from Louise.

I don't want her to get depressed again.

I should be thinking about the immediate danger first. Saito positively thought.

Okay, Let's cover this depressed face of mine. While forcibly doing that, Saito opened the door to the living room.

"Louise, forgive me for not coming back yesterday. I was drinking with Mr. Colbert in his room and collapsed..."

Louise was sitting in the chair looking at the mirror. But it seems that she wasn't going to scold Saito. Instead she smiled back, almost like a trap.

"Good morning."

Louise’s sudden smile, surprised him.

"What the...? What with your clothes......"

"Eh, this? Last evening, I went out to buy this."

Louise wasn’t her usual Tristain academy uniform, But a cute blouse with short deep blue silk skirt, and a red ribbon which seemingly leap in the collar. (no idea about the last part)

"Why?"

Saito being amazed, asked? From all the days today is. No, even if is this is a joke in Romalia great cathedral. Saito still couldn't understand the reason.

"Oh I understand, for tomorrow’s ceremony isn't it? But, is it okay to be wearing that?"

Then Louise smiled pleasantly and said.

"No, for the sake to be going to town to buy things with you today."

"Мe, why?"

In the town, there is a festival for the celebration of his holiness the pope’s third anniversary. In noble society there are festivals, here in street it seems like they have festivals too. Now, I want to go to the festival with you.・

"But tomorrow......, shouldn't be we use time we have today to prepare ourselves?"

"No it's okay. Doing practice right now would not change the result, an effortless action. Besides, sometimes, relaxation is an important thing too."

Looking innocent, Louise grabbed Saito’s arm.

"Okay, let's go?"

In the end attracted by Louise’s unusually cute behavior, Saito was going to town. Louise was glued to Saito’s arm. What, something wrong? He turned for a moment to Louise. Louise only smiled back.

As expected, I have a bad feeling about this.
Saito asked Louise.

"Hey Louise?"

"Yes."

"What are you scheming?"

But Louise was, kyahaha, laughing.

Kyahaha? Louise was laughing? Saito head was full of questions, jerkily Louise remained glued to Saito arm.

"I'm not scheming anything."

"Lie!"

"It's not a lie. Honestly, for today I just want to take a stroll with you through town. That's all."

Looking at it from all sides her smile was not a scheming smile. Still, there is something hidden, Saito though. Then Louise pointed something.

"Eh that's right, for today I will listen for anything you request."

"Huh?"

"Really I'm serious. So, don't be polite, okay?"

Smiling and leaning to him. Saito feelt more and more suspicious. For the sake of testing, he said.

"Then, show me your underpants."

He thought he was going to be kicked, so he prepared for that.

But, neither kick, punch, nor magic attack was launched. Instead, Louise shyly began to slowly lift up her skirt.

"Okay."

It's been a while since I last saw Louise underpants. He thought.

She doesn't seem to be angry.

Meaning..? “Hey, this is the middle of the street, there’s a lot of people here.” Saito said while furiously trying stop her.

"Stop it, People can see that."

With a smile, Louise returned the skirt to it’s original position.

Too suspicious.

Is this really the real Louise?

Could it be that someone transformed her?

Right, for example, Myozunitonirun’s magical tool...

Saito though, that was an acting. The tension began to get higher with his next words.

"Ah, then, Allow me to touch your breast."

"Go ahead."

Louise nodded almost instantly, with a smiling face.

"Ok, then I will not hold back."

Gulp, Saito swallowed his saliva and began to touch her small breast. Rustle, rustle. (I guess that this is the sound being made, don’t know where to put it)

Even with her small breasts, touching her there, Saito’s tension began to raise. ( I have no idea what to replace tension with)

When he looked back at her, she was still smiling brightly. A face with a color of happiness. Prepared for death, Saito started to shake. If this is the real Louise, let's try that. He thought.

"И..., is this a breast?"(not sure what the И means)

"Yes, that's right."

she positively nodded with a smile.

This was absolutely not Louise! another thing!

"Nah, too small, compared to Tiffania."

"It's okay with me."

That instant Saito jumped, took posture. (?)

"Who or what are you!"

"Just like I keep saying, I am me. Please believe me."

"Why you aren't angry?"

"Because, that's...."

She hesitantly said those words, and when she figured out something, she raised her face.

"Yes! You see, tomorrow there’s going to be a fierce battle. The enemy seems to be Myozunitonirun, right? So this is some kind of reward! yes that's it!"

Seems enjoyed it, Louise said that. (?)

You would normally, even in a situation such as this, object.

In the end, Louise seems to have changed her way of thinking. Perhaps because the noble pride within her, and the princess. Saito had an reached understanding.

"You want to touch more?"
(I assume he must have made some kind of face)
"it’s alright! Go ahead! Believe me! Please!"
(He must have shown some sign of concession)
"Thank you."

For the ninth time, she smiled again. O well, if she is enjoying this the I should too. Saito thought. This leisureous situation, is not a reckless action. Besides, there is possibility one of us may be lost tomorrow. Anyhow, whatever bad the situation turns out to be we will survive.

Tomorrow is, the commemoration of pope’s coronation, things are busy in this Romalian street. Of course, it shouldn't differ too much with the festivals usually held in Tristania.

As expected of the street stalls and the performances, the atmosphere here feels busy. Even in Romalia, in every place around here, pilgrims can be seen crowding merchants. The various goods brought by them were put in the front of the stall.

Louise was stood in front of clothes shelves that was showed in the front of a stall. Doing her best to search for something.

"What, do you really want scarf that much?, I will buy it for you, so go ahead to choose something better."

Even with that said, Louise only shook her head. And then determined to choose a plain scarf, she requested this one.

"...Hey Louise, what do you plan to do with a scarf of that color?"

The scarf’s color didn’t fit with women's tastes. A black one, with lattice pattern embroidery. But Louise just answer by shaking her head.

"See this black color, it suits you."

"What, did you buy that for me?"

"Yes"

Louise smiled sweetly.

"Could it be that you somehow accidentally drank a love potion again?"

"That's not it. It's okay don't mind me. Like I said a reward."

I see, so this is a reward too, Saito murmured.

For the time being for today I will accompany Louise, Saito thought.

Saito and Louise loitered around the street. Around noon, priests went out too to drink and sung war song with their comrades in arm.

The impression that I had, when first entering this place, though it's quite strict, it is still not too different with other town in Halkeginia. In the middle, was dance party provided by a band using of flute and drum to perform.

Louise pulled Saito. Bring him to the center.

"Let's dance."

With Cheerful rhythm accompanying them . Louise and Saito danced. A pleasant want. Louise dancing, Saito too followed her, trying to follow Louise’s lead.

After they were satisfied they went to the tavern that they were chased into by the Templar knights.

When they entered the tavern, the table was replaced by high class looked sparkling one. Seems the money Kirche gave as compensation quite sufficient to repair all the damage. The window, and stand counter had been replaced with a glass one.

This tavern was really different from the previous one. The one that stood right now was a first class tavern.

The shopkeeper too was wearing first class brand new polished clothes. When he saw the two of them, he threw a smiled.

When they entered, the shopkeeper recognized Louise and Saito. And looked awkward.

Until this time many trouble has been happened(?). He grinned at Saito and without saying anything the shopkeeper started to send foods one by one to both of them.

And then he whispered silently to Saito ear.

"I will be dependent on you for the next year too."

Meanwhile, Louise was still smiling.

When the food has been served in the table, Louise offered some soup to Saito.

"Еh?"

Б, a----a・(?, maybe aah( as in say aah))

With Louise started to say that, Saito still felt little troubled. Even if this was a reward. It's still too much.

"Hey Louise, please tell me the truth, I won't get angry. Did you by accident, destroy the zero fighter. So you tried to make me feel better."

"That's not it, for today, I wanted to look cute. I want you to see the cute side of me. Please believe me, that’s the only that reason."

When he heard that he was dumbfounded and couldn’t say anything. Looking happy, Louise just smiled.

Once again, they walked through town, Louise gazed at Saito, and lightly said "let's go there"

"Hey let's kiss" She said.

"Еh? Right here?"

Something outrageous had been said, even her face looked shy. Is it possible she wants to do that in a place where there are less people. Looking flustered, Louise suddenly started to push Saito into the nearest alley.

After, she fixed her gaze on Saito face, and stood there on her tippy toes. Full of passion the two of them pressed their lips together. It was a deep kiss.

For a moment, they pressed each other’s lips together, after satisfying themselves the two of them separated. Once again Louise showed him an extraordinary smile.

Saito could not understand the meaning behind her smiles, but Saito too tried to smiles back vaguely.

while the two of them were walking, Saito would take a peek at Louise, and she would noticed that. She would return a smile, a very lovely one. In the end they continued walking. Saito thought, for Louise, he would do anything to protect her.

But it couldn't be helped, sometimes he would remember his mother’s face. When that happened his chest would hurt.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing at all, don't mind me."

The instant that happened, Saito forced a smile. Cooling his head.(?)

Full heartedly, the two of them spent their time together, when the night drew near they returned to the room. In the end Saito, was with her the whole day. Calmly thinking, from whatever aspect, it was too suspicious.

"Here drink water, you must be tired?"

Louise poured water to a cup, and gave it to Saito. After taking a breath he drank it, Saito asked.

"Hey Louise!"

"Yes"

".....You see, I’m still wondering, why are you smiling so much?"

"Can't I?"

Once more Louise smiled a sweet smile.

"its very strange you know!, As long as I remember this whole year you only smiled twice! However, today you smiled 72 times."

"I'm very happy you counted. Thank you."

Once again, she smiled. An angelic smile, a lovely smile.

"That's why I will smile continuously this last minute."

"What?"

"Оnly twice a year huh. But from now on, the time we could spend together, twenty years, forty years?, or even fifty years....., I would smile whenever I could."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, I won’t smile again for the rest of my life."

Even with her smiles still surfacing, tears began to flow down Louise face.

"Louise?"

For the rest of my life I won't be loved by anyone anymore. But you must not be like me, Please love whoever, anyone you love. Just like me, you can watch over that person, from your world.・

Tears continued to flow and made lines on her cheeks from her eyes to her chin. That kind of form.(Huh, I don’t get that last part)

"Еh?, What?"

Having said that, Saito suddenly became very drowsy.

"Еh?"

It is Magic. But the moment he noticed that, the magic had already taken effect.

"Louise... you.... the water before...."

Loosing strength, Louise hugged Saito, touched his face with her hands, Pressed her lips against his.

Strength completely left Saito’s body.

The water before, just like as Saito said, a sleeping potion had been put in beforehand.

While gently embracing Saito, Louise whispered.

"Good bye my gentle person......, Good bye my chevalier(knight)."

Hick. (sounds of crying from Louise)

After embracing Saito for a while, she put Saito in the bed. After a moment. She stood up.

"...It's okay now."

A moment after that, The door in behind opened, Julio was standing there with smile surfacing in his face.

"Are you really sure about this?"

With no expression, Louise nodded.

"Yes, for the sake of Saito too, to open the [Door world]."

"Then for that sake too, you will......"

"With all my pleasure, I will give you my cooperation. Whether to capture Myozunirum, or to take back the holy land....., All of it. Not only that. For the sake of Halkeginia’s ideals, I will give my life, my void ability and my noble status."

Julio nodded.

"Seems like a saint has been born. Then, let's go immediately. We will explain, the modification of our plain for tomorrow since he won't be here anymore."

Just a moment before she left the room, Louise turned her head once more. Endless tears still flowed on her cheeks, weeping those tears Louise whispered.

"good bye my most important person in the world."

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume7 Chapter9 - MTL

2008-12-10T05:46:17Z

Kumichael:

{{Template:PREVIEW}}

===Chapter Nine: Rout===

It was the tenth day of the Advent Festival, and everything looked like usual.

Thanks to the continuous snow, the town turned into a world of silver.

A group of two Tristain soldiers was patrolling in town, and currently one soldier called to the other,

“Hey, aren’t they from Rossa’s patrolling unit?"

“Indeed. But what are they doing here?”

One of the patrolling colleagues group was standing in front the inn and doing something in an surreptitious manner.

“Hey!” one called out. However, there was no answer. They just kept on working silently.

“Isn’t that a bag of gunpowder?”

One muttered in a hasty voice. And indeed a few sacks of gunpowder were placed there.

Rossa’s patrolling unit soldiers were carrying bags to the inn.

“Hey! It’s a hotel not a warehouse. Navarre’s unit soldiers are staying in there. It’s too dangerous to bring such easily explosive things inside.”

He approached and tapped soldier's shoulder. But the face that turned around shocked him. It was an expressionless and soulless face. Sensing something evil in that face, the guard set up a spear.

“Hey! Put the bag! Put!”

At that moment, another soldier pulled out a pistol from his belt and shot the guard down.

Another guard tried to ran away, screaming. But a dagger, thrown by the first soldier, sank into his back. The guard fell down with a thump.

Then they silently returned back to placing bags into a hotel.

Then a match cord was inserted and ignited with a flint.

After a few seconds, with a huge, explosing sound, the inn and all resident soldiers were blown off.

<center>* * *</center>

Located in the city's prime block, on the second floor of the inn coalition, forces leaders were discussing the future strategy of the invasion.　

“The truce will end tomorrow. Carrying the replenishment goods must be finished by tonight.”

Chief of the general staff Wimpffen reported while looking at the parchment on the table.

“It will be on time. But I thought that during the truce Albion would try a surprise attack…”

“You think the other side does not have the same problems? They needed to buy time because enemy preparations were not complete. That’s why they settled for the truce so easily…”

Marquis Handenburg said gloomily. Wimpffen gave him a piercing glare. De Poitiers stepped between the two. As the main commander he understood the necessity to buffer subordinate generals’ conflicts.

But then… someone knocked against the door.

“Who? We are in a military council,” said Wimmpfen.

“A delivery from royal family. It came this morning.”

The delivered goods were a gorgeous punnet where royal arms have been carved. A letter with financial minister’s stamp was attached to it. The moment he saw it, the complexion of De Poitiers changed. He started to read the letter voraciously. After finishing reading, De Poitiers muttered cheerfully.

“Finances minister congratulates with premonition!”

De Poitiers with his digit opened the box top. Wimpffen and Handenburg looked into it as well. Once seeing what was lying in the box, both of their eyes popped wide.

“Ooooooooooh! Field marshal’s cane!”

Indeed, it was a splendid field marshal cane that was carved from the ebony with golden royal family's crest on it. Staring at his own reflection on it, De Poiters gave a joyful cry.

“Normally, there should be official regulations to pass. ‘This cane is reminder of the successful victories under your command.’ With a congratulation note from finances minister. Though the war has not ended yet, Allied Forces had successive string of victories now. The enemy army shuts itself up in the capital and did not come out. Encircling and winning a final victory was only a matter of time. The last decisive battle and it is said, and confirmed by finance minister’s signature, that I will command with the field marshal cane.”

“Congratulations, Your Excellency.” Handenburg and Wimpffen shook hands.

“Well… with all what has been said it is all in my grip. We cannot get too careless now, no carelessness!”

De Poitiers said, but could not hide a wide grin on his face.

Booom! Boom!

At that moment sounds of loud explosions resounded behind the window.

“What’s happening?”

With a suspicious expression on his face, De Poitiers approached the window, still gripping the field marshal cane.

The window was facing the plaza. There soldiers ran around pointing fingers at something. He noticed emblems on their capes.

“Aren’t they from the La Shien unit?”

It was eastern block, while these patrolling units were responsible for the western side of the town. Why they are here? Moreover, why they are fully armed…

Marquis Handenburg stepped next to De Poitiers as well.

“They mustn't be soldiers from my army either. I did not gave an order to march…”

Then they both looked at each other…

Soldiers turned their guns aiming towards the two people standing at the window.

And then a sudden volley came.

The last thing that De Poitiers saw was a sight of the field marshal cane riddled by bullets, shattering it into small pieces.

Frozen from shock, Wimpffen saw De Poitiers and marquis Handenburg, who stood by the window, fell. He could not understand what was happening.

The next moment officers jumped into the room.

“Revolt! Revolt started!”

“Revolt?”

“Rossa’s unit, La Shien’s unit and part of Germania’s army stationed in towns Sai district caused the revolt! Their clashes with our army are happening in various places! It’s too dangerous to stay here!”

Then officer saw shattered pieces of window and lying bodies of De Poitiers and marquis Handenburg, and stood upright in front of Wimpffen.

“Y-your orders, Supreme Commander!“

<center>* * *</center>

The breaking down of Allied Forces stationed it in City of South Gotha happened fast.

Commanders were surprised by the sudden revolt. Or one maybe one should say that the cause of the revolt was what made them confused. More so, because there were no reports about discontent rumblings from soldiers, nor disorders.

It’s as if revolt really started from nothing.

Soldiers were at a loss as well. Comrades-in-arms, with whom they fought and celebrated victories together until the other day now attacked them with lifeless expressions and weapons in hands.

“Shoot!”

Even if the commanders shouted so musketeers could not pull a trigger, bowmen could not shoot the arrows, spearmen could not throw spears.

“…We c-cannot shoot, sir!”

“No! You idiots! Revolts are part of the enemy king’s army!”

Though the commander tried to cast a spell at slowly approaching expressionless soldiers… he saw a commander in their front lines and shook his head.

“Maurco! It’s me! Maurice! What are you doing! Why are you turning your wand at us!”

The only answer was a bullet. It hit the ground at his feet, and the commander ordered to retreat.

“Damn! Retreat! Retreat now!”

“W-where to retreat?..”

“As if I know! Retreat anyway!”

In the morn, the defensive lines was broken by the king’s army. [Editor's Note: I wonder what that 'morn' means]

And…finally, a redoubtable report was brought by the dragon knight scout.

It said that Albion’s main army of Londonium began to move, aiming straight to the City of South Gotha.

On the outskirts of the city's temporary headquarters Wimpffen took a decision. Obviously, as he was now the main commander of all operations.

“We‘ll retreat to Rosais. It‘s no use to stay here.“

And the order to retreat was given to the whole army under his command.

<center>* * *</center>

The army excited over the victory that marched forward now returned as a defeated army, reduced to 30,000 people due to revolt. All faces looked exhausted and the mood of despair floated around.

General De Poitiers was a betrayer and organized the revolt, no, the general was killed, they all were manipulated by an unknown magic and were made to kill - within the defeated army, the truth mixed with various rumors.

However for commanding officers and soldiers such rumors helped to survive. Only animal-like survival instinct whirled in heads of men who ran away.

The confusion became even bigger once it became clear that Albion’s main army joined the revolts in pursue.

Troops of Allied Forces postponed in thin and long groups retreated down the highway that lead to Rosais.

Among them, there were Louise and Saito too.

With a sword over his shoulder, Saito called out Louise who was trudging next to him. He hasn’t talked to Louise since the second morning of advent festival when he returned to their room. But even though they haven’t talked to each other for almost ten days… only poignant words came out.

“So where is this honor of the war?”

Louise looked down.

“Look around.“

A group of the officers rode pass them on horses at a full speed shouting “Out of the way! Out of the way!”. Infantry unit, surprised, stood by the side of the road. Musketeer and spearman showed no reaction though. Everyone discarded their heavy weapons as they were escaping.

Long live the king's military victory, we have to win an absolute justice, to honor fallen soldiers have made

“Now they do not think they can survive. Yesterday they all were shouting 'Long live the king’s military victory! We have to win for the absolute justice to honor the fallen soldiers!', and now they are enraged at their own colleagues?”

“I hope Guiche and Rene are alright…”

Saito said looking distant.

Saito woke up with the shouts “Revolt! Revolt!”. He want to a temporary command headquarters… it was already gone. All members ran away. After the messenger with an order to retreat came, they immediately left their weapons.

Saito turned around. Scarron , Jessica, Siesta and all girls from 'Charming Fairies' inn followed after him.

Why such uproar and why the order was given to retreat? He ran after Siesta and other people from the inn followed him.

“Sure I am a honorable royal army man. I do have to encourage the people to escape abandoning me, it is the highest honor.”

Louise kept on trudging.

“Do you understand now where the true honor lies? Do you now understand the meaning behind teachers words? They all did… they just wanted to live, that’s why they tried so hard to escape.

Saito rattled with an aura of superiority. Mostly because he felt too depressed to talk about anything else.

“Disgrace.”

Louise finally opened her mouth.

“Disgrace? I like it that way. The honor of victory! Justice! Made a lot of noise, but in the end nature showed the truth and made them be honest.”

<center>* * *</center>

Allied Forces including Wimpffen who arrived first to Rosais asked for permission to return to their home country. The answer from the monarchic government prefecture that could not swallow the circumstances was short “Withdrawal permission not given. Explain the circumstances in higher detail.”

Half the number of Allied Forces were killed and turned to the other side, De Poitiers was killed? The fact seems not to sound sane. They seemed to doubt if it was a fake report. Is it not a fake report? Wimpffen could not blame home government for that. Perhaps, even I, after hearing such a report will not be able to send permission and to believe it spontaneously.

The defeated army was concentrating in Rosais.

Wimpffen began negotiation with his own country.

He insisted many times repeatedly that the way the things were going they were heading to annihilation.

With much effort he gained the permission to retreat… after a half day. Very valuable half day. The half day that could be fatal for Allied Forces.

When the defeated army begun embarking… further bad news reached from the dragon knight scout. The Albion’s main army from Londonium is moving faster than expected

The way things were going…

“At tomorrow’s daytime, the enemies main army will burst into Rosais.”

He looked at the map and asked the subordinate.

“How long it would take for an army to fully embark?”

The logistics staff answered.

“Until the morning of the day after tomorrow. Though Rosais has giant port facilities for ships, on the land, there can be only a limited number of soldiers at the same time.“

Wimpffen was worried. When you think about it – he needed to start withdrawal preparation before it was permitted. However, Wimpffen was scared for his own neck and did not want to be hanged by the war tribunal.

“It is necessary to stop enemy army’s pace first.”

“40.000…No, with the revolts the number is far greater. Where can we find an army to withstand it?”

In addition, the bombardment from the air, would pull the withdrawal line to the fleet. Besides ship guns would not help to adjourn the army marching.

Moreover, in order to gain more time, soldiers, who ran away at full speed, lost all they heavy-amour.

Wimpffen thought.

And… suddenly he had an idea..

“…That’s right. Let’s use ‘it’.”

“It?”

“The trump card! The trump card of my army! Now it’s the time to use it! Messenger!”

<center>* * *</center>

The messenger came to Louise when she waited for the withdrawal embarkation in the tent.

It was evening’s time.

“Me?”

The older soldier seemed to have been in a very great hurry. He was like a living embodiment of the whole Allied Forces – always in a hurry.

“Miss Valliere! Commander Wimpffen calls!”

Only now Louise understood that general De Poitiers and marquis Handenburg were killed. The confusion within Allied Forces was considerable.

Louise went to face the commander, while Saito was sticking around. He had a bad premonition.

After taking the instructions, Louise came out of the commander tent ghostly white.

‘What’s wrong? What were the orders?”

Even though he asked, she did not answer.

She looked straight ahead…and began walking towards the other end of Rosais. But not towards the embarkation tent.

She came to the Buddhist temple on the side of the town…. and received a horse from a horse keeper. Then the horse keeper bowed to Louise who tried to ride away.

Saito grabbed the hand of Louise.

“Hey! Where are you going?! It’s not safe leaving the city!”

“Let go”

Louise muttered in a lifeless voice. Feeling that something is not right, Saito shouted at Louise.

“Talk! What were the orders given to you! Hey!”

Louise did not answer. She just kept on biting her lips.

With the other hand Saito took the order parchment from Louise. Since he could not read the letters the only thing he understood was a map.

“Can’t read. What is written in there?”

Louise bit her lip again.

“Talk! What is written in there!”

Derflinger, on his shoulder, read it instead of Louise.

“Aaah, a backup. Not very honorable.”

“Backup?”

“Fufu, buying time for the main force to escape. Alone against enemy army of 70,000. Wonderful, isn’t it?”

Saito turned pale. He muttered blankly.

“What?”

“Quite detailed instructions actually. Hoho, wait on the hill 50 leagues on the left from here.Wait with 'Void' spells ready. Face towards the land route to see the enemy first and keep casting spells until you run out of magic. Neither withdrawal nor surrender are permitted. Haah, in other words, its an order 'defend till the end'. To put it briefly – fight against enemy until you die. That‘s what is this order about.“

“...Hey, what is that - a joke?“

Saito said grabbing Louise’s shoulders.

“No one is joking. It’s the truth.”

“Really, are you an idiot? You would die just because our generals told you to? They are treating you like a tool. No, a backup tool. Don’t do that! Don’t do that!”

“Stop being hasty.”

Saito was amazed.

Ahh, this look in her eyes… I remember it

Louise hasn’t changed since the day they met.

Louise still wanted to be recognized.

She entered into this war against her parents’ will because… she wanted to be recognized.

She was nicknamed as a zero-zero, idiot Louise.

Since those days… Louise's dreamed to be recognized by her parents and her classmates. That’s why she applied for the Fouquet search.

However… once the legendary void elements power awoke in her it changed.

She wanted to be recognized for more than just this.

Saito could not really understand it well. Neither could Louise. Therefore he tried to persuade her.

“Be reasonable. For your pride's sake? Look, it is not a safe inn, you are going to die here…Understand? Stop it all right. You are great. I know that. But let's run away. Ok? Disregard such orders and flee. Ok?”

“Where would you run? It’s an enemy's territory.”

“Stop being so prideful!”

Louise looked straight at Saito and said clearly.

“It’s not because of pride. What would happen if I were to run away? Allies will be annihilated. Your maid, all from the ‘Charmin Faeries’ inn… Guiche, Rene – everyone. They might be killed. They might be shamed.”

Saito frowned, realizing that too.

The reason why Louise is so determined… is not just because of her pride.

“I do not want to die. But I do not want for my friends to die either. That is…the true meaning of a word honor. Hey Saito, you kept on saying that honor is stupid but about what ‘honor’ you were talking about? It’s not because of a great honor that one die for others. It is different.”

She explained. But Saito desperately kept on trying to persuade her.

“Then, do I also die? Just like you? Would you sacrifice me to save everyone?”

Familiar’s oath surely must be different from this!

Louise sadly watched Saito for a while… and shook her head.

“You run away. Don’t stay with me.”

“What?”

“Return back to Varsenda ship and take your flying machine. Then you and your maid can fly to the east.”

Louise's eyes began to moisten. Louise’s voice sounded like she was about to cry.

“You… recently asked if you are just a tool for me. Don’t be stupid. If you thought I think you to be a tool you misunderstood me. You are you. A free boy from a different world where he should return back. You are not a tool for me.”

“Louise…”

Saito looked away and said in a determined voice.

“I understand. I will not try to stop you anymore. However, I have one request before you leave.”

“Eh?”

“In my world there is a tradition to drink toasts before separation. You still have some time left, right?”

“Yeah, a little…”

Saito looked around and next to the Buddhist temple he noticed a box of supplies. It must be one of the supplies that was meant to be sent to the South Gotha city, but ended up being left behind. It was a box of wine. He instantly recalled Scarron’s complaints about Albion beer.

Saito took one bottle out.

“It will be stolen by the enemy anyway.”

Meanwhile Louise stared at the Buddhist temple nearby. Then, she turned to Saito. Her cheeks suddenly turned crimson.

“Hey, Saito…”

“What?”

“Since we are making toasts anyway, I have one request as well.”

“Tell me. Ask anything you wish.”

But Louise’s request… surpassed all Saito’s expectations.

“Marry me.”

“…Huh?”

Louise, now red from head to toes, shouted.

“D-don’t misunderstand! It is not like I l-love you or anything! However… dying before being able to marry is unpleasant. I just want to marry!

<center>* * *</center>

It was an empty buddhist temple - there were no one inside. When Allied Forces occupied it, all shinto priests, who were in there, ran away.　

Leaving the horse tied to the gate, two people entered inside.

It was clean and well swept.

The setting sun reflected through the stained glass, created an solemn atmosphere

Surrounded by this serene silence, Louise stood in front of the altar.

“You don’t like marrying in the Albion?”

Louise puckered up her brows.

“It just brings unpleasant memories.”

“You did this before, right?”

Louise nodded.

“Yes. However, at that time, I did not give my oath.”

“I see…”

Louise looked up at Founder's image. Surrounded by the somewhat solemn atmosphere, she knelt before it and offered a silent prayer.

Louise thought while praying.

''Why did I think about a wedding at such time?

Do I want it?

Just between me and Saito, without anyone else….

After all, I did not give a proper answer to Saito’s confession, there was no time to answer it either.

As this is the end, I am not afraid to show my feelings anymore.

But what are my feelings and why I thought about wedding out of sudden…''

Her mind feel in disorder and she could not find an answer.

When she finished a prayer and opened eyes… Saito stood there with a glass of wine.

“Where is this glass from?”

“It was decoration the altar. And I thought God would not mind me borrowing it for such an occasion.”

Louise smiled, taking the glass.

“That’s the second time.”

Saito said.

“What?”

“You smiled to me. Now and the time we went shopping, it makes it two times, right? Even though you don’t really want to marry me”

Louise felt happy. Saito was counting her smiles.

“That’s right.”

However, she cannot tell it directly. Straightforward words don’t come easy to her. This is frustrating.

But today’s her is different.

Louise matched Saito’s cup.

“I’m sorry that we won’t be able to search for the way to return to your world together.”

“Don’t worry.”

Two people drank their wine.

From the alcohol and embarrassment, Louise’s cheeks turned crimson.

“So how do we get married?”

“I don’t really know myself.”

[[Image:ZnT07-229.jpg|thumb]]

“Is it all right? It won’t be done properly.”

“It’s all right. It’s you anyway.”

Not really knowing what to do, Louise clasped Saito’s hands.

“Now, give an oath.”

“But, there is no Shinto priest.”

“Stop complaining. Or do I have to do it for you."

Saito looked straight at Louise and said,

“I love you, Louise.”

“Wha-…W-what….S-stupid. It’s no good if you do not swear.”

Being told ‘I love you’ so suddenly, Louise blushed furiously. Her body trembled with happiness.

“I am not lying. I am glad I was able to meet you. Really.”

Louise cast her eyes slightly down. I have to say it, now or never, she thought.

“I-I too…”

However, when she was about say that… a sudden drowsiness hit her.

“T-that? I…”

Suddenly the drowsiness became stronger. She could not see anything.

“You, wine…”

She was not able to finish it. Strength and thoughts left Louise's body.

Saito caught falling Louise. He took a small jar out of his pocket. It was the magical sleeping medicine, which Siesta gave him the other day.

“As expected. Magic is strong.”

He muttered stepping outside with Louise in his hands. The evening sun almost finished setting and the surroundings became dim.

“Cold…” muttered a voice nearby.

“Aah, familiar-kun.”

Next to the gates of the buddhist temple a beautiful boy with blond, nearly white, hair stood supporting himself against the wall with his arms crossed. His blue eyes shone reflecting the setting sun.

It was Romalia’s Shinto priest and dragon knight Julio.

“You were spying on us again. What a bad hobby you have.”

“No, I just came here to pray. I am a priest after all.”

Julio answered, not dropping his smile.

“Anyway, take care of Louise.”

He was carefully hugging Louise close to his chest with his both hands, as if she was a fragile object, and said to Julio.

“Please go. And return safely to the ship.”

Saito placed her on Julio’s dragon.

“Thank you. Well then.”

Julio called Saito to stop.

“Where are you going?”

Saito answered in a nonchalant voice

“I’m running away.”

“You are going in a wrong direction. Albion’s army is that way.”

“I know.”

Saito carelessly jumped on a horse, but Jullio called him to stop again.

“There’s only one thing I want to know”

Saito answered.

“What?”

“Why are you going there? Surely you aren’t that foolish to die for honor, right?

Saito thought for a moment … then puckered up his brows feeling relieved and shook the head.

“Because…”

“Well?”

“Because of love.”　

Julio began laughing loudly.

“Aahaha, you sound like true Romalian!”

With a scowl, Saito crossed his arms.

“No, it’s not because of love for a woman, but because my inner feeling tells me so.”

“Please teach me that meaning if you can.”

Saito looks straight up ahead and said.

“I cannot, putting it to words are already a lie. Words can always lie. Only my feelings cannot let me lie about it.”

Julio made a funny gesture with his finger.

“Am I saying such strange things?”

“You are not a noble, just like me, right?”

“Yes.”

“Yet you think just like a noble.”

“Are you trying to get under my skin?”

Saito took the reins in his hands, gripped them tightly and kicked the horse’s sides.

And rode towards the darkening road.

Watching his back, Julio smiled and muttered softly,

“You are very clumsy, Gandalfr.”

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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume7 Chapter9 - MTL

2008-12-10T05:44:22Z

Kumichael:

{{Template:PREVIEW}}

===Chapter Nine: Rout===

It was the tenth day of the Advent Festival, and everything looked like usual.

Thanks to the continuous snow, the town turned into a world of silver.

A group of two Tristain soldiers was patrolling in town, and currently one soldier called to the other,

“Hey, aren’t they from Rossa’s patrolling unit?"

“Indeed. But what are they doing here?”

One of the patrolling colleagues group was standing in front the inn and doing something in an surreptitious manner.

“Hey!” one called out. However, there was no answer. They just kept on working silently.

“Isn’t that a bag of gunpowder?”

One muttered in a hasty voice. And indeed a few sacks of gunpowder were placed there.

Rossa’s patrolling unit soldiers were carrying bags to the inn.

“Hey! It’s a hotel not a warehouse. Navarre’s unit soldiers are staying in there. It’s too dangerous to bring such easily explosive things inside.”

He approached and tapped soldier's shoulder. But the face that turned around shocked him. It was an expressionless and soulless face. Sensing something evil in that face, the guard set up a spear.

“Hey! Put the bag! Put!”

At that moment, another soldier pulled out a pistol from his belt and shot the guard down.

Another guard tried to ran away screaming. But a dagger, thrown by the first soldier, sank into his back. The guard fell down with a thump.

Then they silently returned back to placing bags into a hotel.

Then a match cord was inserted and ignited with a flint.

After a few seconds, with a huge explosive sound, the inn and all resident soldiers were blown off.

<center>* * *</center>

Located in the city's prime block, on the second floor of the inn coalition, forces leaders were discussing the future strategy of the invasion.　

“The truce will end tomorrow. Carrying the replenishment goods must be finished by tonight.”

Chief of the general staff Wimpffen reported while looking at the parchment on the table.

“It will be on time. But I thought that during the truce Albion would try a surprise attack…”

“You think the other side does not have the same problems? They needed to buy time because enemy preparations were not complete. That’s why they settled for the truce so easily…”

Marquis Handenburg said gloomily. Wimpffen gave him a piercing glare. De Poitiers stepped between the two. As the main commander he understood the necessity to buffer subordinate generals’ conflicts.

But then…someone knocked against the door.

“Who? We are in a military council.” Said Wimmpfen.

“A delivery from royal family. It came this morning.”

The delivered goods were a gorgeous punnet where royal arms have been carved. A letter with financial minister’s stamp was attached to it. The moment he saw it, the complexion of De Poitiers changed. He started to read the letter voraciously. After finishing reading, De Poitiers muttered cheerfully.

“Finances minister congratulates with premonition!”

De Poitiers with his digit opened the box top. Wimpffen and Handenburg looked into it as well. Once seeing what was lying in the box, both of their eyes popped wide.

“Ooooooooooh! Field marshal’s cane!”

Indeed, it was a splendid field marshal cane that was carved from the ebony with golden royal family's crest on it. Staring at his own reflection on it, De Poiters gave a joyful cry.

“Normally, there should be official regulations to pass. ‘This cane is reminder of the successful victories under your command.’ With a congratulation note from finances minister. Though the war has not ended yet, Allied Forces had successive string of victories now. The enemy army shuts itself up in the capital and did not come out. Encircling and winning a final victory was only a matter of time. The last decisive battle and it is said, and confirmed by finance minister’s signature, that I will command with the field marshal cane.”

“Congratulations, Your Excellency.” Handenburg and Wimpffen shook hands.

“Well… with all what has been said it is all in my grip. We cannot get too careless now, no carelessness!”

De Poitiers said, but could not hide a wide grin on his face.

Booom! Boom!

At that moment sounds of loud explosions resounded behind the window.

“What’s happening?”

With a suspicious expression on his face, De Poitiers approached the window, still gripping the field marshal cane.

The window was facing the plaza. There soldiers ran around pointing fingers at something. He noticed emblems on their capes.

“Aren’t they from the La Shien unit?”

It was eastern block, while these patrolling units were responsible for the western side of the town. Why they are here? Moreover, why they are fully armed…

Marquis Handenburg stepped next to De Poitiers as well.

“They mustn't be soldiers from my army either. I did not gave an order to march…”

Then they both looked at each other…

Soldiers turned their guns aiming towards the two people standing at the window.

And then a sudden volley came.

The last thing that De Poitiers saw was a sight of the field marshal cane riddled by bullets, shattering it into small pieces.

Frozen from shock, Wimpffen saw De Poitiers and marquis Handenburg, who stood by the window, fell. He could not understand what was happening.

The next moment officers jumped into the room.

“Revolt! Revolt started!”

“Revolt?”

“Rossa’s unit, La Shien’s unit and part of Germania’s army stationed in towns Sai district caused the revolt! Their clashes with our army are happening in various places! It’s too dangerous to stay here!”

Then officer saw shattered pieces of window and lying bodies of De Poitiers and marquis Handenburg, and stood upright in front of Wimpffen.

“Y-your orders, Supreme Commander!“

<center>* * *</center>

The breaking down of Allied Forces stationed it in City of South Gotha happened fast.

Commanders were surprised by the sudden revolt. Or one maybe one should say that the cause of the revolt was what made them confused. More so, because there were no reports about discontent rumblings from soldiers, nor disorders.

It’s as if revolt really started from nothing.

Soldiers were at a loss as well. Comrades-in-arms, with whom they fought and celebrated victories together until the other day now attacked them with lifeless expressions and weapons in hands.

“Shoot!”

Even if the commanders shouted so musketeers could not pull a trigger, bowmen could not shoot the arrows, spearmen could not throw spears.

“…We c-cannot shoot, sir!”

“No! You idiots! Revolts are part of the enemy king’s army!”

Though the commander tried to cast a spell at slowly approaching expressionless soldiers… he saw a commander in their front lines and shook his head.

“Maurco! It’s me! Maurice! What are you doing! Why are you turning your wand at us!”

The only answer was a bullet. It hit the ground at his feet, and the commander ordered to retreat.

“Damn! Retreat! Retreat now!”

“W-where to retreat?..”

“As if I know! Retreat anyway!”

In the morn, the defensive lines was broken by the king’s army. [Editor's Note: I wonder what that 'morn' means]

And…finally, a redoubtable report was brought by the dragon knight scout.

It said that Albion’s main army of Londonium began to move, aiming straight to the City of South Gotha.

On the outskirts of the city's temporary headquarters Wimpffen took a decision. Obviously, as he was now the main commander of all operations.

“We‘ll retreat to Rosais. It‘s no use to stay here.“

And the order to retreat was given to the whole army under his command.

<center>* * *</center>

The army excited over the victory that marched forward now returned as a defeated army, reduced to 30,000 people due to revolt. All faces looked exhausted and the mood of despair floated around.

General De Poitiers was a betrayer and organized the revolt, no, the general was killed, they all were manipulated by an unknown magic and were made to kill - within the defeated army, the truth mixed with various rumors.

However for commanding officers and soldiers such rumors helped to survive. Only animal-like survival instinct whirled in heads of men who ran away.

The confusion became even bigger once it became clear that Albion’s main army joined the revolts in pursue.

Troops of Allied Forces postponed in thin and long groups retreated down the highway that lead to Rosais.

Among them, there were Louise and Saito too.

With a sword over his shoulder, Saito called out Louise who was trudging next to him. He hasn’t talked to Louise since the second morning of advent festival when he returned to their room. But even though they haven’t talked to each other for almost ten days… only poignant words came out.

“So where is this honor of the war?”

Louise looked down.

“Look around.“

A group of the officers rode pass them on horses at a full speed shouting “Out of the way! Out of the way!”. Infantry unit, surprised, stood by the side of the road. Musketeer and spearman showed no reaction though. Everyone discarded their heavy weapons as they were escaping.

Long live the king's military victory, we have to win an absolute justice, to honor fallen soldiers have made

“Now they do not think they can survive. Yesterday they all were shouting 'Long live the king’s military victory! We have to win for the absolute justice to honor the fallen soldiers!', and now they are enraged at their own colleagues?”

“I hope Guiche and Rene are alright…”

Saito said looking distant.

Saito woke up with the shouts “Revolt! Revolt!”. He want to a temporary command headquarters… it was already gone. All members ran away. After the messenger with an order to retreat came, they immediately left their weapons.

Saito turned around. Scarron , Jessica, Siesta and all girls from 'Charming Fairies' inn followed after him.

Why such uproar and why the order was given to retreat? He ran after Siesta and other people from the inn followed him.

“Sure I am a honorable royal army man. I do have to encourage the people to escape abandoning me, it is the highest honor.”

Louise kept on trudging.

“Do you understand now where the true honor lies? Do you now understand the meaning behind teachers words? They all did… they just wanted to live, that’s why they tried so hard to escape.

Saito rattled with an aura of superiority. Mostly because he felt too depressed to talk about anything else.

“Disgrace.”

Louise finally opened her mouth.

“Disgrace? I like it that way. The honor of victory! Justice! Made a lot of noise, but in the end nature showed the truth and made them be honest.”

<center>* * *</center>

Allied Forces including Wimpffen who arrived first to Rosais asked for permission to return to their home country. The answer from the monarchic government prefecture that could not swallow the circumstances was short “Withdrawal permission not given. Explain the circumstances in higher detail.”

Half the number of Allied Forces were killed and turned to the other side, De Poitiers was killed? The fact seems not to sound sane. They seemed to doubt if it was a fake report. Is it not a fake report? Wimpffen could not blame home government for that. Perhaps, even I, after hearing such a report will not be able to send permission and to believe it spontaneously.

The defeated army was concentrating in Rosais.

Wimpffen began negotiation with his own country.

He insisted many times repeatedly that the way the things were going they were heading to annihilation.

With much effort he gained the permission to retreat… after a half day. Very valuable half day. The half day that could be fatal for Allied Forces.

When the defeated army begun embarking… further bad news reached from the dragon knight scout. The Albion’s main army from Londonium is moving faster than expected

The way things were going…

“At tomorrow’s daytime, the enemies main army will burst into Rosais.”

He looked at the map and asked the subordinate.

“How long it would take for an army to fully embark?”

The logistics staff answered.

“Until the morning of the day after tomorrow. Though Rosais has giant port facilities for ships, on the land, there can be only a limited number of soldiers at the same time.“

Wimpffen was worried. When you think about it – he needed to start withdrawal preparation before it was permitted. However, Wimpffen was scared for his own neck and did not want to be hanged by the war tribunal.

“It is necessary to stop enemy army’s pace first.”

“40.000…No, with the revolts the number is far greater. Where can we find an army to withstand it?”

In addition, the bombardment from the air, would pull the withdrawal line to the fleet. Besides ship guns would not help to adjourn the army marching.

Moreover, in order to gain more time, soldiers, who ran away at full speed, lost all they heavy-amour.

Wimpffen thought.

And… suddenly he had an idea..

“…That’s right. Let’s use ‘it’.”

“It?”

“The trump card! The trump card of my army! Now it’s the time to use it! Messenger!”

<center>* * *</center>

The messenger came to Louise when she waited for the withdrawal embarkation in the tent.

It was evening’s time.

“Me?”

The older soldier seemed to have been in a very great hurry. He was like a living embodiment of the whole Allied Forces – always in a hurry.

“Miss Valliere! Commander Wimpffen calls!”

Only now Louise understood that general De Poitiers and marquis Handenburg were killed. The confusion within Allied Forces was considerable.

Louise went to face the commander, while Saito was sticking around. He had a bad premonition.

After taking the instructions, Louise came out of the commander tent ghostly white.

‘What’s wrong? What were the orders?”

Even though he asked, she did not answer.

She looked straight ahead…and began walking towards the other end of Rosais. But not towards the embarkation tent.

She came to the Buddhist temple on the side of the town…. and received a horse from a horse keeper. Then the horse keeper bowed to Louise who tried to ride away.

Saito grabbed the hand of Louise.

“Hey! Where are you going?! It’s not safe leaving the city!”

“Let go”

Louise muttered in a lifeless voice. Feeling that something is not right, Saito shouted at Louise.

“Talk! What were the orders given to you! Hey!”

Louise did not answer. She just kept on biting her lips.

With the other hand Saito took the order parchment from Louise. Since he could not read the letters the only thing he understood was a map.

“Can’t read. What is written in there?”

Louise bit her lip again.

“Talk! What is written in there!”

Derflinger, on his shoulder, read it instead of Louise.

“Aaah, a backup. Not very honorable.”

“Backup?”

“Fufu, buying time for the main force to escape. Alone against enemy army of 70,000. Wonderful, isn’t it?”

Saito turned pale. He muttered blankly.

“What?”

“Quite detailed instructions actually. Hoho, wait on the hill 50 leagues on the left from here.Wait with 'Void' spells ready. Face towards the land route to see the enemy first and keep casting spells until you run out of magic. Neither withdrawal nor surrender are permitted. Haah, in other words, its an order 'defend till the end'. To put it briefly – fight against enemy until you die. That‘s what is this order about.“

“...Hey, what is that - a joke?“

Saito said grabbing Louise’s shoulders.

“No one is joking. It’s the truth.”

“Really, are you an idiot? You would die just because our generals told you to? They are treating you like a tool. No, a backup tool. Don’t do that! Don’t do that!”

“Stop being hasty.”

Saito was amazed.

Ahh, this look in her eyes… I remember it

Louise hasn’t changed since the day they met.

Louise still wanted to be recognized.

She entered into this war against her parents’ will because… she wanted to be recognized.

She was nicknamed as a zero-zero, idiot Louise.

Since those days… Louise's dreamed to be recognized by her parents and her classmates. That’s why she applied for the Fouquet search.

However… once the legendary void elements power awoke in her it changed.

She wanted to be recognized for more than just this.

Saito could not really understand it well. Neither could Louise. Therefore he tried to persuade her.

“Be reasonable. For your pride's sake? Look, it is not a safe inn, you are going to die here…Understand? Stop it all right. You are great. I know that. But let's run away. Ok? Disregard such orders and flee. Ok?”

“Where would you run? It’s an enemy's territory.”

“Stop being so prideful!”

Louise looked straight at Saito and said clearly.

“It’s not because of pride. What would happen if I were to run away? Allies will be annihilated. Your maid, all from the ‘Charmin Faeries’ inn… Guiche, Rene – everyone. They might be killed. They might be shamed.”

Saito frowned, realizing that too.

The reason why Louise is so determined… is not just because of her pride.

“I do not want to die. But I do not want for my friends to die either. That is…the true meaning of a word honor. Hey Saito, you kept on saying that honor is stupid but about what ‘honor’ you were talking about? It’s not because of a great honor that one die for others. It is different.”

She explained. But Saito desperately kept on trying to persuade her.

“Then, do I also die? Just like you? Would you sacrifice me to save everyone?”

Familiar’s oath surely must be different from this!

Louise sadly watched Saito for a while… and shook her head.

“You run away. Don’t stay with me.”

“What?”

“Return back to Varsenda ship and take your flying machine. Then you and your maid can fly to the east.”

Louise's eyes began to moisten. Louise’s voice sounded like she was about to cry.

“You… recently asked if you are just a tool for me. Don’t be stupid. If you thought I think you to be a tool you misunderstood me. You are you. A free boy from a different world where he should return back. You are not a tool for me.”

“Louise…”

Saito looked away and said in a determined voice.

“I understand. I will not try to stop you anymore. However, I have one request before you leave.”

“Eh?”

“In my world there is a tradition to drink toasts before separation. You still have some time left, right?”

“Yeah, a little…”

Saito looked around and next to the Buddhist temple he noticed a box of supplies. It must be one of the supplies that was meant to be sent to the South Gotha city, but ended up being left behind. It was a box of wine. He instantly recalled Scarron’s complaints about Albion beer.

Saito took one bottle out.

“It will be stolen by the enemy anyway.”

Meanwhile Louise stared at the Buddhist temple nearby. Then, she turned to Saito. Her cheeks suddenly turned crimson.

“Hey, Saito…”

“What?”

“Since we are making toasts anyway, I have one request as well.”

“Tell me. Ask anything you wish.”

But Louise’s request… surpassed all Saito’s expectations.

“Marry me.”

“…Huh?”

Louise, now red from head to toes, shouted.

“D-don’t misunderstand! It is not like I l-love you or anything! However… dying before being able to marry is unpleasant. I just want to marry!

<center>* * *</center>

It was an empty buddhist temple - there were no one inside. When Allied Forces occupied it, all shinto priests, who were in there, ran away.　

Leaving the horse tied to the gate, two people entered inside.

It was clean and well swept.

The setting sun reflected through the stained glass, created an solemn atmosphere

Surrounded by this serene silence, Louise stood in front of the altar.

“You don’t like marrying in the Albion?”

Louise puckered up her brows.

“It just brings unpleasant memories.”

“You did this before, right?”

Louise nodded.

“Yes. However, at that time, I did not give my oath.”

“I see…”

Louise looked up at Founder's image. Surrounded by the somewhat solemn atmosphere, she knelt before it and offered a silent prayer.

Louise thought while praying.

''Why did I think about a wedding at such time?

Do I want it?

Just between me and Saito, without anyone else….

After all, I did not give a proper answer to Saito’s confession, there was no time to answer it either.

As this is the end, I am not afraid to show my feelings anymore.

But what are my feelings and why I thought about wedding out of sudden…''

Her mind feel in disorder and she could not find an answer.

When she finished a prayer and opened eyes… Saito stood there with a glass of wine.

“Where is this glass from?”

“It was decoration the altar. And I thought God would not mind me borrowing it for such an occasion.”

Louise smiled, taking the glass.

“That’s the second time.”

Saito said.

“What?”

“You smiled to me. Now and the time we went shopping, it makes it two times, right? Even though you don’t really want to marry me”

Louise felt happy. Saito was counting her smiles.

“That’s right.”

However, she cannot tell it directly. Straightforward words don’t come easy to her. This is frustrating.

But today’s her is different.

Louise matched Saito’s cup.

“I’m sorry that we won’t be able to search for the way to return to your world together.”

“Don’t worry.”

Two people drank their wine.

From the alcohol and embarrassment, Louise’s cheeks turned crimson.

“So how do we get married?”

“I don’t really know myself.”

[[Image:ZnT07-229.jpg|thumb]]

“Is it all right? It won’t be done properly.”

“It’s all right. It’s you anyway.”

Not really knowing what to do, Louise clasped Saito’s hands.

“Now, give an oath.”

“But, there is no Shinto priest.”

“Stop complaining. Or do I have to do it for you."

Saito looked straight at Louise and said,

“I love you, Louise.”

“Wha-…W-what….S-stupid. It’s no good if you do not swear.”

Being told ‘I love you’ so suddenly, Louise blushed furiously. Her body trembled with happiness.

“I am not lying. I am glad I was able to meet you. Really.”

Louise cast her eyes slightly down. I have to say it, now or never, she thought.

“I-I too…”

However, when she was about say that… a sudden drowsiness hit her.

“T-that? I…”

Suddenly the drowsiness became stronger. She could not see anything.

“You, wine…”

She was not able to finish it. Strength and thoughts left Louise's body.

Saito caught falling Louise. He took a small jar out of his pocket. It was the magical sleeping medicine, which Siesta gave him the other day.

“As expected. Magic is strong.”

He muttered stepping outside with Louise in his hands. The evening sun almost finished setting and the surroundings became dim.

“Cold…” muttered a voice nearby.

“Aah, familiar-kun.”

Next to the gates of the buddhist temple a beautiful boy with blond, nearly white, hair stood supporting himself against the wall with his arms crossed. His blue eyes shone reflecting the setting sun.

It was Romalia’s Shinto priest and dragon knight Julio.

“You were spying on us again. What a bad hobby you have.”

“No, I just came here to pray. I am a priest after all.”

Julio answered, not dropping his smile.

“Anyway, take care of Louise.”

He was carefully hugging Louise close to his chest with his both hands, as if she was a fragile object, and said to Julio.

“Please go. And return safely to the ship.”

Saito placed her on Julio’s dragon.

“Thank you. Well then.”

Julio called Saito to stop.

“Where are you going?”

Saito answered in a nonchalant voice

“I’m running away.”

“You are going in a wrong direction. Albion’s army is that way.”

“I know.”

Saito carelessly jumped on a horse, but Jullio called him to stop again.

“There’s only one thing I want to know”

Saito answered.

“What?”

“Why are you going there? Surely you aren’t that foolish to die for honor, right?

Saito thought for a moment … then puckered up his brows feeling relieved and shook the head.

“Because…”

“Well?”

“Because of love.”　

Julio began laughing loudly.

“Aahaha, you sound like true Romalian!”

With a scowl, Saito crossed his arms.

“No, it’s not because of love for a woman, but because my inner feeling tells me so.”

“Please teach me that meaning if you can.”

Saito looks straight up ahead and said.

“I cannot, putting it to words are already a lie. Words can always lie. Only my feelings cannot let me lie about it.”

Julio made a funny gesture with his finger.

“Am I saying such strange things?”

“You are not a noble, just like me, right?”

“Yes.”

“Yet you think just like a noble.”

“Are you trying to get under my skin?”

Saito took the reins in his hands, gripped them tightly and kicked the horse’s sides.

And rode towards the darkening road.

Watching his back, Julio smiled and muttered softly,

“You are very clumsy, Gandalfr.”

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
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| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Chapter8_%7EPreview%7E|Back to Chapter 8]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Chapter10|Forward to Chapter 10]]
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume7 Chapter9 - MTL

2008-12-10T05:42:02Z

Kumichael: still tired, i'll probably finish this later... night all who read this...

{{Template:PREVIEW}}

===Chapter Nine: Rout===

It was the tenth day of the advent festival, and everything looked like usual.

Thanks to the continuous snow, the town turned into a world of silver.

Groups of two Tristain soldiers were patrolling in town, and currently one of the soldier called the other.

“Hey, aren’t they from Rossa’s patrolling unit?"

“Indeed. But what are they doing here?”

One of the patrolling colleagues group was standing in front the inn and doing something in an surreptitious manner.

“Hey!” one called out. However, there was no answer. They just kept on working silently.

“Isn’t that a bag of gunpowder?”

One muttered in a hasty voice. And indeed a few sacks of gunpowder were placed there.

Rossa’s patrolling unit soldiers were carrying bags to the inn.

“Hey! It’s a hotel not a warehouse. Navarre’s unit soldiers are staying in there. It’s too dangerous to bring such easily explosive things inside.”

He approached and tapped soldier's shoulder. But the face that turned around shocked him. It was an expressionless and soulless face. Sensing something evil in that face, the guard set up a spear.

“Hey! Put the bag! Put!”

At that moment, another soldier pulled out a pistol from his belt and shot the guard down.

Another guard tried to ran away screaming. But a dagger, thrown by the first soldier, sank into his back. The guard fell down with a thump.

Then they silently returned back to placing bags into a hotel.

Then a match cord was inserted and ignited with a flint.

After a few seconds, with a huge explosive sound, the inn and all resident soldiers were blown off.

<center>* * *</center>

Located in the city's prime block, on the second floor of the inn coalition, forces leaders were discussing the future strategy of the invasion.　

“The truce will end tomorrow. Carrying the replenishment goods must be finished by tonight.”

Chief of the general staff Wimpffen reported while looking at the parchment on the table.

“It will be on time. But I thought that during the truce Albion would try a surprise attack…”

“You think the other side does not have the same problems? They needed to buy time because enemy preparations were not complete. That’s why they settled for the truce so easily…”

Marquis Handenburg said gloomily. Wimpffen gave him a piercing glare. De Poitiers stepped between the two. As the main commander he understood the necessity to buffer subordinate generals’ conflicts.

But then…someone knocked against the door.

“Who? We are in a military council.” Said Wimmpfen.

“A delivery from royal family. It came this morning.”

The delivered goods were a gorgeous punnet where royal arms have been carved. A letter with financial minister’s stamp was attached to it. The moment he saw it, the complexion of De Poitiers changed. He started to read the letter voraciously. After finishing reading, De Poitiers muttered cheerfully.

“Finances minister congratulates with premonition!”

De Poitiers with his digit opened the box top. Wimpffen and Handenburg looked into it as well. Once seeing what was lying in the box, both of their eyes popped wide.

“Ooooooooooh! Field marshal’s cane!”

Indeed, it was a splendid field marshal cane that was carved from the ebony with golden royal family's crest on it. Staring at his own reflection on it, De Poiters gave a joyful cry.

“Normally, there should be official regulations to pass. ‘This cane is reminder of the successful victories under your command.’ With a congratulation note from finances minister. Though the war has not ended yet, Allied Forces had successive string of victories now. The enemy army shuts itself up in the capital and did not come out. Encircling and winning a final victory was only a matter of time. The last decisive battle and it is said, and confirmed by finance minister’s signature, that I will command with the field marshal cane.”

“Congratulations, Your Excellency.” Handenburg and Wimpffen shook hands.

“Well… with all what has been said it is all in my grip. We cannot get too careless now, no carelessness!”

De Poitiers said, but could not hide a wide grin on his face.

Booom! Boom!

At that moment sounds of loud explosions resounded behind the window.

“What’s happening?”

With a suspicious expression on his face, De Poitiers approached the window, still gripping the field marshal cane.

The window was facing the plaza. There soldiers ran around pointing fingers at something. He noticed emblems on their capes.

“Aren’t they from the La Shien unit?”

It was eastern block, while these patrolling units were responsible for the western side of the town. Why they are here? Moreover, why they are fully armed…

Marquis Handenburg stepped next to De Poitiers as well.

“They mustn't be soldiers from my army either. I did not gave an order to march…”

Then they both looked at each other…

Soldiers turned their guns aiming towards the two people standing at the window.

And then a sudden volley came.

The last thing that De Poitiers saw was a sight of the field marshal cane riddled by bullets, shattering it into small pieces.

Frozen from shock, Wimpffen saw De Poitiers and marquis Handenburg, who stood by the window, fell. He could not understand what was happening.

The next moment officers jumped into the room.

“Revolt! Revolt started!”

“Revolt?”

“Rossa’s unit, La Shien’s unit and part of Germania’s army stationed in towns Sai district caused the revolt! Their clashes with our army are happening in various places! It’s too dangerous to stay here!”

Then officer saw shattered pieces of window and lying bodies of De Poitiers and marquis Handenburg, and stood upright in front of Wimpffen.

“Y-your orders, Supreme Commander!“

<center>* * *</center>

The breaking down of Allied Forces stationed it in City of South Gotha happened fast.

Commanders were surprised by the sudden revolt. Or one maybe one should say that the cause of the revolt was what made them confused. More so, because there were no reports about discontent rumblings from soldiers, nor disorders.

It’s as if revolt really started from nothing.

Soldiers were at a loss as well. Comrades-in-arms, with whom they fought and celebrated victories together until the other day now attacked them with lifeless expressions and weapons in hands.

“Shoot!”

Even if the commanders shouted so musketeers could not pull a trigger, bowmen could not shoot the arrows, spearmen could not throw spears.

“…We c-cannot shoot, sir!”

“No! You idiots! Revolts are part of the enemy king’s army!”

Though the commander tried to cast a spell at slowly approaching expressionless soldiers… he saw a commander in their front lines and shook his head.

“Maurco! It’s me! Maurice! What are you doing! Why are you turning your wand at us!”

The only answer was a bullet. It hit the ground at his feet, and the commander ordered to retreat.

“Damn! Retreat! Retreat now!”

“W-where to retreat?..”

“As if I know! Retreat anyway!”

In the morn, the defensive lines was broken by the king’s army. [Editor's Note: I wonder what that 'morn' means]

And…finally, a redoubtable report was brought by the dragon knight scout.

It said that Albion’s main army of Londonium began to move, aiming straight to the City of South Gotha.

On the outskirts of the city's temporary headquarters Wimpffen took a decision. Obviously, as he was now the main commander of all operations.

“We‘ll retreat to Rosais. It‘s no use to stay here.“

And the order to retreat was given to the whole army under his command.

<center>* * *</center>

The army excited over the victory that marched forward now returned as a defeated army, reduced to 30,000 people due to revolt. All faces looked exhausted and the mood of despair floated around.

General De Poitiers was a betrayer and organized the revolt, no, the general was killed, they all were manipulated by an unknown magic and were made to kill - within the defeated army, the truth mixed with various rumors.

However for commanding officers and soldiers such rumors helped to survive. Only animal-like survival instinct whirled in heads of men who ran away.

The confusion became even bigger once it became clear that Albion’s main army joined the revolts in pursue.

Troops of Allied Forces postponed in thin and long groups retreated down the highway that lead to Rosais.

Among them, there were Louise and Saito too.

With a sword over his shoulder, Saito called out Louise who was trudging next to him. He hasn’t talked to Louise since the second morning of advent festival when he returned to their room. But even though they haven’t talked to each other for almost ten days… only poignant words came out.

“So where is this honor of the war?”

Louise looked down.

“Look around.“

A group of the officers rode pass them on horses at a full speed shouting “Out of the way! Out of the way!”. Infantry unit, surprised, stood by the side of the road. Musketeer and spearman showed no reaction though. Everyone discarded their heavy weapons as they were escaping.

Long live the king's military victory, we have to win an absolute justice, to honor fallen soldiers have made

“Now they do not think they can survive. Yesterday they all were shouting 'Long live the king’s military victory! We have to win for the absolute justice to honor the fallen soldiers!', and now they are enraged at their own colleagues?”

“I hope Guiche and Rene are alright…”

Saito said looking distant.

Saito woke up with the shouts “Revolt! Revolt!”. He want to a temporary command headquarters… it was already gone. All members ran away. After the messenger with an order to retreat came, they immediately left their weapons.

Saito turned around. Scarron , Jessica, Siesta and all girls from 'Charming Fairies' inn followed after him.

Why such uproar and why the order was given to retreat? He ran after Siesta and other people from the inn followed him.

“Sure I am a honorable royal army man. I do have to encourage the people to escape abandoning me, it is the highest honor.”

Louise kept on trudging.

“Do you understand now where the true honor lies? Do you now understand the meaning behind teachers words? They all did… they just wanted to live, that’s why they tried so hard to escape.

Saito rattled with an aura of superiority. Mostly because he felt too depressed to talk about anything else.

“Disgrace.”

Louise finally opened her mouth.

“Disgrace? I like it that way. The honor of victory! Justice! Made a lot of noise, but in the end nature showed the truth and made them be honest.”

<center>* * *</center>

Allied Forces including Wimpffen who arrived first to Rosais asked for permission to return to their home country. The answer from the monarchic government prefecture that could not swallow the circumstances was short “Withdrawal permission not given. Explain the circumstances in higher detail.”

Half the number of Allied Forces were killed and turned to the other side, De Poitiers was killed? The fact seems not to sound sane. They seemed to doubt if it was a fake report. Is it not a fake report? Wimpffen could not blame home government for that. Perhaps, even I, after hearing such a report will not be able to send permission and to believe it spontaneously.

The defeated army was concentrating in Rosais.

Wimpffen began negotiation with his own country.

He insisted many times repeatedly that the way the things were going they were heading to annihilation.

With much effort he gained the permission to retreat… after a half day. Very valuable half day. The half day that could be fatal for Allied Forces.

When the defeated army begun embarking… further bad news reached from the dragon knight scout. The Albion’s main army from Londonium is moving faster than expected

The way things were going…

“At tomorrow’s daytime, the enemies main army will burst into Rosais.”

He looked at the map and asked the subordinate.

“How long it would take for an army to fully embark?”

The logistics staff answered.

“Until the morning of the day after tomorrow. Though Rosais has giant port facilities for ships, on the land, there can be only a limited number of soldiers at the same time.“

Wimpffen was worried. When you think about it – he needed to start withdrawal preparation before it was permitted. However, Wimpffen was scared for his own neck and did not want to be hanged by the war tribunal.

“It is necessary to stop enemy army’s pace first.”

“40.000…No, with the revolts the number is far greater. Where can we find an army to withstand it?”

In addition, the bombardment from the air, would pull the withdrawal line to the fleet. Besides ship guns would not help to adjourn the army marching.

Moreover, in order to gain more time, soldiers, who ran away at full speed, lost all they heavy-amour.

Wimpffen thought.

And… suddenly he had an idea..

“…That’s right. Let’s use ‘it’.”

“It?”

“The trump card! The trump card of my army! Now it’s the time to use it! Messenger!”

<center>* * *</center>

The messenger came to Louise when she waited for the withdrawal embarkation in the tent.

It was evening’s time.

“Me?”

The older soldier seemed to have been in a very great hurry. He was like a living embodiment of the whole Allied Forces – always in a hurry.

“Miss Valliere! Commander Wimpffen calls!”

Only now Louise understood that general De Poitiers and marquis Handenburg were killed. The confusion within Allied Forces was considerable.

Louise went to face the commander, while Saito was sticking around. He had a bad premonition.

After taking the instructions, Louise came out of the commander tent ghostly white.

‘What’s wrong? What were the orders?”

Even though he asked, she did not answer.

She looked straight ahead…and began walking towards the other end of Rosais. But not towards the embarkation tent.

She came to the Buddhist temple on the side of the town…. and received a horse from a horse keeper. Then the horse keeper bowed to Louise who tried to ride away.

Saito grabbed the hand of Louise.

“Hey! Where are you going?! It’s not safe leaving the city!”

“Let go”

Louise muttered in a lifeless voice. Feeling that something is not right, Saito shouted at Louise.

“Talk! What were the orders given to you! Hey!”

Louise did not answer. She just kept on biting her lips.

With the other hand Saito took the order parchment from Louise. Since he could not read the letters the only thing he understood was a map.

“Can’t read. What is written in there?”

Louise bit her lip again.

“Talk! What is written in there!”

Derflinger, on his shoulder, read it instead of Louise.

“Aaah, a backup. Not very honorable.”

“Backup?”

“Fufu, buying time for the main force to escape. Alone against enemy army of 70,000. Wonderful, isn’t it?”

Saito turned pale. He muttered blankly.

“What?”

“Quite detailed instructions actually. Hoho, wait on the hill 50 leagues on the left from here.Wait with 'Void' spells ready. Face towards the land route to see the enemy first and keep casting spells until you run out of magic. Neither withdrawal nor surrender are permitted. Haah, in other words, its an order 'defend till the end'. To put it briefly – fight against enemy until you die. That‘s what is this order about.“

“...Hey, what is that - a joke?“

Saito said grabbing Louise’s shoulders.

“No one is joking. It’s the truth.”

“Really, are you an idiot? You would die just because our generals told you to? They are treating you like a tool. No, a backup tool. Don’t do that! Don’t do that!”

“Stop being hasty.”

Saito was amazed.

Ahh, this look in her eyes… I remember it

Louise hasn’t changed since the day they met.

Louise still wanted to be recognized.

She entered into this war against her parents’ will because… she wanted to be recognized.

She was nicknamed as a zero-zero, idiot Louise.

Since those days… Louise's dreamed to be recognized by her parents and her classmates. That’s why she applied for the Fouquet search.

However… once the legendary void elements power awoke in her it changed.

She wanted to be recognized for more than just this.

Saito could not really understand it well. Neither could Louise. Therefore he tried to persuade her.

“Be reasonable. For your pride's sake? Look, it is not a safe inn, you are going to die here…Understand? Stop it all right. You are great. I know that. But let's run away. Ok? Disregard such orders and flee. Ok?”

“Where would you run? It’s an enemy's territory.”

“Stop being so prideful!”

Louise looked straight at Saito and said clearly.

“It’s not because of pride. What would happen if I were to run away? Allies will be annihilated. Your maid, all from the ‘Charmin Faeries’ inn… Guiche, Rene – everyone. They might be killed. They might be shamed.”

Saito frowned, realizing that too.

The reason why Louise is so determined… is not just because of her pride.

“I do not want to die. But I do not want for my friends to die either. That is…the true meaning of a word honor. Hey Saito, you kept on saying that honor is stupid but about what ‘honor’ you were talking about? It’s not because of a great honor that one die for others. It is different.”

She explained. But Saito desperately kept on trying to persuade her.

“Then, do I also die? Just like you? Would you sacrifice me to save everyone?”

Familiar’s oath surely must be different from this!

Louise sadly watched Saito for a while… and shook her head.

“You run away. Don’t stay with me.”

“What?”

“Return back to Varsenda ship and take your flying machine. Then you and your maid can fly to the east.”

Louise's eyes began to moisten. Louise’s voice sounded like she was about to cry.

“You… recently asked if you are just a tool for me. Don’t be stupid. If you thought I think you to be a tool you misunderstood me. You are you. A free boy from a different world where he should return back. You are not a tool for me.”

“Louise…”

Saito looked away and said in a determined voice.

“I understand. I will not try to stop you anymore. However, I have one request before you leave.”

“Eh?”

“In my world there is a tradition to drink toasts before separation. You still have some time left, right?”

“Yeah, a little…”

Saito looked around and next to the Buddhist temple he noticed a box of supplies. It must be one of the supplies that was meant to be sent to the South Gotha city, but ended up being left behind. It was a box of wine. He instantly recalled Scarron’s complaints about Albion beer.

Saito took one bottle out.

“It will be stolen by the enemy anyway.”

Meanwhile Louise stared at the Buddhist temple nearby. Then, she turned to Saito. Her cheeks suddenly turned crimson.

“Hey, Saito…”

“What?”

“Since we are making toasts anyway, I have one request as well.”

“Tell me. Ask anything you wish.”

But Louise’s request… surpassed all Saito’s expectations.

“Marry me.”

“…Huh?”

Louise, now red from head to toes, shouted.

“D-don’t misunderstand! It is not like I l-love you or anything! However… dying before being able to marry is unpleasant. I just want to marry!

<center>* * *</center>

It was an empty buddhist temple - there were no one inside. When Allied Forces occupied it, all shinto priests, who were in there, ran away.　

Leaving the horse tied to the gate, two people entered inside.

It was clean and well swept.

The setting sun reflected through the stained glass, created an solemn atmosphere

Surrounded by this serene silence, Louise stood in front of the altar.

“You don’t like marrying in the Albion?”

Louise puckered up her brows.

“It just brings unpleasant memories.”

“You did this before, right?”

Louise nodded.

“Yes. However, at that time, I did not give my oath.”

“I see…”

Louise looked up at Founder's image. Surrounded by the somewhat solemn atmosphere, she knelt before it and offered a silent prayer.

Louise thought while praying.

''Why did I think about a wedding at such time?

Do I want it?

Just between me and Saito, without anyone else….

After all, I did not give a proper answer to Saito’s confession, there was no time to answer it either.

As this is the end, I am not afraid to show my feelings anymore.

But what are my feelings and why I thought about wedding out of sudden…''

Her mind feel in disorder and she could not find an answer.

When she finished a prayer and opened eyes… Saito stood there with a glass of wine.

“Where is this glass from?”

“It was decoration the altar. And I thought God would not mind me borrowing it for such an occasion.”

Louise smiled, taking the glass.

“That’s the second time.”

Saito said.

“What?”

“You smiled to me. Now and the time we went shopping, it makes it two times, right? Even though you don’t really want to marry me”

Louise felt happy. Saito was counting her smiles.

“That’s right.”

However, she cannot tell it directly. Straightforward words don’t come easy to her. This is frustrating.

But today’s her is different.

Louise matched Saito’s cup.

“I’m sorry that we won’t be able to search for the way to return to your world together.”

“Don’t worry.”

Two people drank their wine.

From the alcohol and embarrassment, Louise’s cheeks turned crimson.

“So how do we get married?”

“I don’t really know myself.”

[[Image:ZnT07-229.jpg|thumb]]

“Is it all right? It won’t be done properly.”

“It’s all right. It’s you anyway.”

Not really knowing what to do, Louise clasped Saito’s hands.

“Now, give an oath.”

“But, there is no Shinto priest.”

“Stop complaining. Or do I have to do it for you."

Saito looked straight at Louise and said,

“I love you, Louise.”

“Wha-…W-what….S-stupid. It’s no good if you do not swear.”

Being told ‘I love you’ so suddenly, Louise blushed furiously. Her body trembled with happiness.

“I am not lying. I am glad I was able to meet you. Really.”

Louise cast her eyes slightly down. I have to say it, now or never, she thought.

“I-I too…”

However, when she was about say that… a sudden drowsiness hit her.

“T-that? I…”

Suddenly the drowsiness became stronger. She could not see anything.

“You, wine…”

She was not able to finish it. Strength and thoughts left Louise's body.

Saito caught falling Louise. He took a small jar out of his pocket. It was the magical sleeping medicine, which Siesta gave him the other day.

“As expected. Magic is strong.”

He muttered stepping outside with Louise in his hands. The evening sun almost finished setting and the surroundings became dim.

“Cold…” muttered a voice nearby.

“Aah, familiar-kun.”

Next to the gates of the buddhist temple a beautiful boy with blond, nearly white, hair stood supporting himself against the wall with his arms crossed. His blue eyes shone reflecting the setting sun.

It was Romalia’s Shinto priest and dragon knight Julio.

“You were spying on us again. What a bad hobby you have.”

“No, I just came here to pray. I am a priest after all.”

Julio answered, not dropping his smile.

“Anyway, take care of Louise.”

He was carefully hugging Louise close to his chest with his both hands, as if she was a fragile object, and said to Julio.

“Please go. And return safely to the ship.”

Saito placed her on Julio’s dragon.

“Thank you. Well then.”

Julio called Saito to stop.

“Where are you going?”

Saito answered in a nonchalant voice

“I’m running away.”

“You are going in a wrong direction. Albion’s army is that way.”

“I know.”

Saito carelessly jumped on a horse, but Jullio called him to stop again.

“There’s only one thing I want to know”

Saito answered.

“What?”

“Why are you going there? Surely you aren’t that foolish to die for honor, right?

Saito thought for a moment … then puckered up his brows feeling relieved and shook the head.

“Because…”

“Well?”

“Because of love.”　

Julio began laughing loudly.

“Aahaha, you sound like true Romalian!”

With a scowl, Saito crossed his arms.

“No, it’s not because of love for a woman, but because my inner feeling tells me so.”

“Please teach me that meaning if you can.”

Saito looks straight up ahead and said.

“I cannot, putting it to words are already a lie. Words can always lie. Only my feelings cannot let me lie about it.”

Julio made a funny gesture with his finger.

“Am I saying such strange things?”

“You are not a noble, just like me, right?”

“Yes.”

“Yet you think just like a noble.”

“Are you trying to get under my skin?”

Saito took the reins in his hands, gripped them tightly and kicked the horse’s sides.

And rode towards the darkening road.

Watching his back, Julio smiled and muttered softly,

“You are very clumsy, Gandalfr.”

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Chapter8_%7EPreview%7E|Back to Chapter 8]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Chapter10|Forward to Chapter 10]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume7 Chapter8 - MTL

2008-12-10T05:32:32Z

Kumichael: meh... too tired to finish the rest.

{{Template:PREVIEW}}

===Chapter Eight: King Of Gallia===

Gallia kingdom - the large country that has the highest population in Halkeginia. The population is about 15 million people. Gallia is an advanced country in magic… there are a lot of nobles too. Its main capital Lytts was the biggest city in all Halkeginia.

The city is positioned on the banks of Shire river that disgorges into the ocean. The so called “Old Town” developed significantly. However, the political center of Lytts, is not located there now.

It is located on the left bank of the river, rather away from the city, in a huge palace of Versailles. Not only the palace, but also the garden of Versailles was elegant and complex, creating various shaped lines in front of the building.

This garden and building were expanded by the hands of the architects and the gardening masters invited from all over the world. All the growing cultures were used to change the outlook of Versailles.

Inside the Versailles palace, there was a building of particularly great dimensions. The royal Gallia’s family had unusual blue hair color. In order to imitate this color of the hair, the building called Grand Tower was made from blue bricks.

In that Grand Tower lived a man who had control over the 15 million lives of Gallia’s kingdom.

He was Joseph – king of Gallia.

His blue hair and blue beard framed his face, making it look breathtakingly beautiful. Tall and muscular he looked like a living statue. Though he was 45 years of age, he looked youthful in every way as if only hitting 30.

This beautiful face of a handsome man had a strange look on it.

Surrounded by two pages, he looked rather bizarre.

Lady’s voice came from the other side of the damask.

“Your Majesty…Your Majesty! The one which you looked for was found and came!”

Joseph elbows his way towards the entrance in the room. A beautiful lady stood there surrounded by the blooming roses. Joseph’s face started to glow.

“Mrs. Molliere! Mrs. Molliere! You are the best!”

The lady who was called Mrs. Molliere presented a box to Joseph.

“Besides His Majesty’s Troops.”

With eyes sparkling like boys, Joseph opened the box. Once looking inside, his face glowed even more.

“This! This is ancient Kaap period’s heavy magic knight! Such an excellent article! Mrs. Molliere, you are a wonderful person!”

Taking out the about 20 centimeters sized knight doll out of the box, Joseph gave a joyful voice.

After that, he took Mrs. Molliere's hand and guided her to the center of the room.

“Saahsaah, I want you to look at this! It’s ‘My World’!”

All over the room was made into one huge miniature garden. Mrs. Molliere pop-eyed.

It looked like a map imitating Halkeginia. A huge model.

“Oh dear! What a beautiful miniature garden! It is wonderful!”

“The work masters from the whole country were called to make it! It took as much as one month to complete!”

“Is this a latest play model? Have you gotten tired of the chess?

“Nononono. I am not tired!”

“Oh dear! May I ask what is it? I always thought it was strange for it to be fun.”

“Why?”

“Because, there is no opponent hand. Enemy's horse and ally's horse move according to you, what fun is there in that?”

“Sadly as you can see there are no opponents around here.”

Mrs. Molliere laughed bitterly. Though the king was rich and had pretty face he was often despised because he was not skillful in magic. He was called an imbecile and stupid. Therefore…the king who spent an obscure boyhood, became crazy in the solitaire. He highly devoted himself to the chess.

“The chess, have no changes from the original formula, it follows a certain pattern to focus on. But this play is different!“

Joseph said, pointing at the miniature garden.

“Geographical features are made following reality - the horses, spearmen, bowmen, musketeers, knights, dragon knights, artillerymen, warships… all made imitating the original army, fights as well! To decide cavalry’s victory or defeat dice is used! As a result the outcome is always different and gives you a feeling of an actual combat!”

Mrs. Molliere was interested in playing the war together that the king spoke so fondly about, though she couldn’t really understand it… She was glad seeing his happy face.

“Then can I too be one of Your Majesty’s bodyguard troop?”

“With pleasure. Knight of the flower bed. You‘ll make a splendid knight.“

Joseph placed the knight doll that Mrs. Molliere has brought on the miniature garden. Jokingly, Mrs. Molliere bowed.

“Oh dear! Honorable Gallia knight of flower bed? I will be begrudged by everyone!”

“A toast for the most beautiful knight leader in the world!”

Joseph lifted up the cup at his side. A page ran up and filled it with wine. Then the page filled Mrs Molliere’s cup as well and passed it to her.

“And in this play, Your Majesty will be both - friend and foe?”

The woman asked gracefully drinking from the cup.

“Obviously. Haven't I told you? In this Halkeginia game I am not a figure. I and setting up of the strategy… A clever, exact strategy! That’s how it is. Oneself who is triumphant is crushed by the hand of oneself… Like I said I am setting a play for this sandplay stage, like a playwright.”

“Oh dear, this miniature garden is really precise.”

Mrs. Molliere who was taking a long look at it felt admiration. Hills, mountains, rivers…Ups and downs are applied to match real geographical features, even the small buildings in the city and the village are detailed. On a pass stood a soldier doll.

“What kind of drama unfolds here? Please explain it to me more."

“Currently, that single blue army occupied this city.”

Joseph pointed at the city in a round rampart.

“Now it and the Red Army, which shut itself up in a city here, watch each others movements.”

He said pointing at the city standing on left from there. The city was lined with the building models of great dimensions. Many doll soldiers were placed there. There were also placed a few monster and dragon figurines. There were also ship models.

“Now that’s where it gets interesting. A blue army is reveling to a victory! But Red Army uses an unexpected ‘Trump Card’ and reverses it!”

Such a child, Mrs. Molliere muttered in her mind. Domestic affairs and diplomacy were neglected due to king’s craziness… These are the rumors. And they were not wrong.

Joseph smiled and took the doll from the miniature garden.

It was a tall and slim female figure with dark hair.

Joseph placed the doll to his ear.

And, as if the doll spoke to him, Joseph nodded many times.

After that, Joseph spoke to the doll.

”That's right! Oh yes! Plans are underway! This is a colorful and fun plan indeed! Oh Muse! Muse's more than cute! Take a reward! However, now it's "stuffed"! I want to grab the toys, dolls, even more than I already have! I think it's time to get the plan underway!“

The look that Mrs. Molliere gave the Joseph who was talking to the doll was full of pity. He was not a king, he was not an owner of the pining pretty face, it was an eccentric behavior of the one whose heart never was never loved.

Compared to his younger brother who was good at everything... he was exposed to throne threats... to the whirlpools of political strife...which troubled Joseph mind eventually.

“You Majesty, Your Majesty… Aah, Your Poor Majesty…”

Mrs. Molliere with a theatrical gesture patted Joseph's mandible. Joseph gently embraced Mrs. Molliere.

“Aah, Your Majesty… stop with the pranks…”

“Well, you see a dramatic reversal, is the attempt to end the game. It must be decided – victory or defeat.“

While watching at the two cities Joseph mutters… and called the page.

“Throw it.”

Page nodded and threw two dices. Joseph looked at the fallen eyes and nodded.

“Oooh, seven! Delicate number! Hmmm… In this case…”

After meditating for a while, Joseph called the minister.

“Minister. The imperial rescript.”

From the shadows a small man showed up and bowed.

Joseph lightheartedly informed the minister moved the horse in the miniature garden.

“Summon the fleet. Blow off Albion’s enemies. You have three days to prepare.”

“As you wish.” Not showing any emotions, the minister bowed and left.

Mrs. Molliere started trembling while watching the display in utter shock.

It wasn’t a miniature garden play anymore.

Just now, the instruction to a real war was given.

“What’s wrong, Mrs. Molliere? Are you cold? Page, put more wood in the fireplace. The madam shivers.” Joseph ordered page in a steady voice.

“Your Majesty… Ooh, Your Majesty…”

“What is wrong madam? The leader of the Gallia flower bed knight corps cannot embarrass herself with such cowardice."

<center>* * *</center>

On the day when advent festival started… thirty leagues away from the snowy South Gotha city, figures, wrapped up in dark clothes, walked.

“I’m getting used to…mountain walks.”

Muttered a tall man. A dauntless face peeped from the opening of a deep hood.

It was Wardes. Fouquet's face popped up next to him.

They were sent here as Sheffield’s guards.

However, Fouquet had another reason to be here.

“Matilda of Sauth Gotha - I think I heard this place’s name from somewhere before.”

Wardes said to Fouquet, who answered back while stepping briskly.

“So nostalgic. I never thought I will be walking through this mountain path again.” She gave out a white exhalation.

“Is it still a territory of South Gotha?”

“The ‘City’ also includes this mountain range.”

“This land belonged to you as your home?”

“City council has been in the rule. Sort of like viceregal.“

“Still, it’s considerable.”

“I am guiding to the land from where I was driven out long time ago. Such irony.”

“Your father, I know that he somehow shended Albion’s royal family… But why was this land and the tittle taken from you and your father?

“That’s royal’s family lies.”

“Lies?’

“Indeed. My father dutifully served to Albion’s royal family… But once royal family told ‘Give it’ and he didn’t.

“Haah, and what was that?”

Fouquet laughed teasingly and looked into man's face.

“I’ll tell you only when you’ll tell me your mother’s story.”

Then Wardes turned his face away. Fouquet snuffled in dissatisfaction.

“Hey, Jean-Jacques Wardes, whom do you love more – me or your mother?”

But then Sheffield, who was walking behind, called them.

“How close is the nearest river?”

Fouquet stopped, squat down, elbowing away the snow…and touched the soil. Fouquet, who was a triangular earth element mage, understood the soil well. Besides, because she grew up in here, she understood the earth here even better.

“Far. But it is not the only water source… 1/3 of City wells take the water from the mountains.”

“That would be enough.”

Fouquet elbowed her way through bush… and reached an cracked rock. Though the snow covered it, the water was visible from the crack. Luckily the center was not frozen.

Sheffield took out the ring from the pocket. Wardes and Fouquet recognized the ring from the first sight.

“That… isn’t it Cromwell’s ring?’

Fouquet muttered. Sheffield shook her head.

“No, it is different from Cromwell’s ring.”

A secretary calling emperor by the name? Wardes and Fouquet exchanged the looks.

“What are you going to do with the ring?”

Sheffield smiled. Because it was the first time they saw her smile, Wardes and Fouquet were perplexed.

“Water is considered a living thing and the ring of Andvari has power to control it… as it’s an element that looks like water spirit. Or should I say it’s almost identical.”

“Hmm.”

“Water Spirit’s tears are expensive material used in making various potions. The power of water rules the composition of the body… with a potion, one can manipulate both – body and mind.”

“It’s a nice lecture. Now then, tell what on earth you are going to do with it?”

“The power of water to condensate… In other words, I can manipulate the a single town with this…”

Sheffield’s body began to glow

Wardes remembered this light. The left hand of the Louise's boy familiar glowed in such light as well. Immediately after that … his left arm was chopped off.

On Sheffield’s forehead, half covered with hair and ancient rune glowed.

Wardes screwed up his eyes.

“What are you doing?”

Sheffield did not answer anymore. She seemed to have been concentrating herself. She thrust out the hand with the ring towards the water. Gradually, the ring began to shine… and melt.

It looked as if… it was melted by the heat of Sheffield’s body.

A melting drops of Andvari ring began to trickle down… and then a strong stream of water broke through the crack and flowed towards the city of South Gotha.

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| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Chapter7_%7EPreview%7E|Back to Chapter 7]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Chapter9_%7EPreview%7E|Forward to Chapter 9]]
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume7 Chapter7 - MTL

2008-12-10T05:14:58Z

Kumichael:

{{Template:PREVIEW}}

===Chapter Seven: The Reason To Fight===

Full-bloomed fireworks went up, illuminating the night sky.

From under the many tents placed in South Gotha City Plaza, people shouted with joy.

Because Allied Forces were stationed here, the town was filled up with almost twice as many tents. There were only a limited number of lodging houses that soldiers could rent. Merchants came from various places to sell soldiers various things. The City of South Gotha was wrapped in an unprecedented vigor.

And, heralding the beginning of the Yarra month, today was twice as vigorous than the first day of the first week. 

The biggest festival in Halkeginia, The Advent Festival, started. For Ten days starting today, one can drink, sing, and cause the fuss every day.

Louise and Saito drank alcohol in the grand tent of the "Charming Fairies" inn, which was opened in the plaza.

Surrounding Rene, there was everyone from the Dragon Knight Secondary Division, too. Every main officer, including Guiche, could have been seen in here as well. Both senior military officers and soldiers were prohibited from eating and drinking in the inns of South Gotha. They got drunk, causing residents trouble – thus it is easier to observe them if they are held together. Because of that, the inn, which made a business trip from Tristain, was full.

After the black cat clothes were seen, except when necessary, Louise did not talk at all. She was very embarrassed. She was silently sipping her drink alone.

Because Louise is weak to alcohol, only a little bit of wine were poured in her glass. The rest of her drink consisted of fruit juices, honey, and water. She kept on drinking it little by little. Still, her face was already red.

She was casting glances at Saito though the corner of her eyes.

Saito was drinking with the Rene party, and with Guiche, whom he met again a little while ago. Differently from that time with Louise, he was relatively happy. Seeing that, Louise poured in more wine.

Bleary-eyed Louise rose her glass.

“Seconds!”

Louise saw a waitress running-up to her, turned her face away, and tried to call another one.

“Someone service me. Someone.”

“Place your order,” Siesta, with a calm expression, called out Louise.

“I haven’t called you.”

Louise glared at Siesta. And then, muttered,

"Running around… like an idiot.”

Siesta, keeping on a cheerful face, said,

“I do extra, for not being dressed in a black cat’s suit.”

Louise blushed. Siesta quietly drew her face to Louise’s, and murmured, while smiling,

“You are my master for today.”

Louise jumped up, shaking.

But then she had a second thought. ''There’s no time to rival with the maid. Besides, I know the outcome of this war anyway. I’ll tell her '''that'''.'' She chuckled in her mind. Louise put on a nice face and muttered,

“I-I was confessed to.”

Siesta’s eyebrows moved up. Louise did not miss her love rival’s reaction. That’s because Louise is a girl. She doesn’t have what I do. I won, after all! Louise became happy, and in order to sweeten her victory, she pressed Siesta on.

“That’s right. He said he favors me. 'What to do I wonder, I cannot stop thinking of you,' he said. Really, such an impertinent familiar.”

Siesta listened to it with a smile.

“Heee. I am glad to hear that,” she said, though her eyes were not smiling at all.

“Besides, he pushed me down. Of course, I did not permit it! I mean, I do not like things like that. It's not natural!“

“Flirt is repulsive but not selling.”

Siesta said. Louise caught a glance at the forehead and answered back.

“Not you.”

Two people continued to stare at each other.

That time… a muted sound of something hitting the tent was heard.

“N?”

“The snow! Snow!” voices rang outside.

Indeed, through the entrance of the tent, one could see it snowing..

“Advent Festival of Snow…” Louise muttered.

“I dreamed of the Advent Festival of Snow…” Siesta murmured with an enchanted expression.

“Really?”

“Yes. In Tarbes, it is warm even during the winter. Without too much snow…”

With her eyes sparkling like child’s, Siesta watched the snow outside the tent.

Then Siesta noticed Louise looking at her. The pair look at each other, blushing. Then returned back to watching the snow. 

Louise said, hiding her awkwardness,

“…It is calm somehow. Maybe we should also make truce for the Advent Festival.”

“Right.”

“Sit here.“

[[Image:ZnT07-169.jpg|thumb]]

Louise urged Siesta to sit. Yes, Siesta sat demurely next to Louise with a nod.

Accepting Louise’s pre-offered drink, Siesta bowed.

“Cheers!“

Feeling strange, the pair let their cups clink.

“Nice,” Siesta said, with a blush from the alcohol on her cheeks.

“Feels like really being a noble.”

They watched the snow falling through the opening of the tent by the snow.

“Beautiful… Snow covering the buildings… like sugar” Siesta muttered.

“Well...”

“Though it’s such a beautiful land, why there is a war…”

Siesta said, while looking at Louise.

“S-sorry… I am not blaming Miss Valliere… I know you work hard for the country.”

Louise cast her eyes down.

Siesta muttered, staring at the wine in the bottom of her glass,

“… To tell you the truth, I hate this war. Many people die. For what reason?”

“For what reason?”

“Why do you fight? Father… said that the reason is money. Capture of the enemy country can also be beneficial for a ruler to establish one's self. Is that it? Do you kill others for such reason?”

Louise thought. It might be true considering surrounding ministers. However, Henrietta is different. Because of the time they both spent together during their childhood, Louise understood her well. For Henrietta, this war was about revenge. To defeat a hateful enemy who deprived a beloved person. This was the only intent in Henrietta’s mind.

Siesta asked Louise, who was lost in thought,

“Why is Miss Valliere fighting?”

“Me?”

“That’s right.”

Is it because I wanted to help Henrietta? A little bit. But not really that.

For Louise, this fight…

Seeing Louise being silent, Siesta looked down.

“I’m sorry. Its not a thing for me to listen, but…”

At that moment… a loud yell coming from Saito’s table could be heard.

“Really! Don’t be a fool!”

Louise and Siesta, startled by the voice, turned around.

“Ha! Who is a fool! What is so foolish about it!”

Guiche roared, while standing up.

Saito also stood up and pointed his finger at Guiche.

“What are you telling me! You are just doing it to get some points in Montmorency’s eyes. Fool! If you would die, Monmon would be really sad!”

“A-are you insulting my actions!”

Guiche brandished the artificial rose.

Seems like it was a quarrel. Rene, who was drinking with them, said,

“Yeah, because you are a commoner, pride does not matter for you, but it is different for us.”

Saito stared at Rene and said,

“Honor this, honor that – it's just foolishness. Didn’t Dragon Knight Unit die once already? Fear it a little! It’s weird! Aren’t you afraid of dying for honor? That’s stupid. Only fools thing that way. Honor? It’s not worth dying for. Such a thing that you are doing – I think it’s silly.”

“Saito!”

At that moment… Saito’s name was suddenly shouted. It wasn’t Rene or Guiche. It was Louise, who stood there, shaking in anger.

Saito slowly turned towards Louise.

“What?”

“You, apologize. Apologize to Guiche and Rene!”

“Whaat?”

“Insulting ‘Honor’ cannot be permitted.”

Louise said while trembling.

And Saito was the reason behind that.

I am being misunderstood…The things she thought to be important, had completely no importance to Saito, which made her annoyed.

Because of Saito’s fight… she completely forgot about her bad mood. Only Saito’s "Failed a mission, so what?" came into her mind right now.

Saito answered back in an angry voice,

“The ones that you defend are them and not me?”

“Defend, what are you talking about? To me, honor is more important than life. If I were to lose it, I would not be a noble anymore. And if I am not a noble, then I am not me, either. That’s why I can’t stand remarks denying honor right in front of me.”

Louise said clearly.

On the other hand, Saito noticed it, too.

Saito knew that from the look of Louise’s eyes. When she was almost crushed by Fouquet’s golem, Louise showed the same expression as well.

At that time, Louise shouted “I will not run away from the enemy, because I am a noble!”

At that time, he thought such a Louise to be marvelous, but it was different now.

Aah, Saito understood.

He remembered Louise’s recent words.

“A death is sad, however… They died with a honor … Honor… They died for a great victory. Therefore, don’t feel sorry for them.”

Saito understood the true reason why he was sulky. Julio wasn’t the reason that separated them.

For Louise was this duty… this word "honor" really that important? Because he felt so, he got depressed so much.

Therefore, he made remarks about Guiche a little while ago.

What is it?

Is this honor so important?

“Then, you…”

Saito stared at Louise.

“You?"

“If you were ordered to die, would you die like these unreasonable guys?”

Saito said, pointing at Rene and others.

Louise bit her lip.

“Isn’t it unreasonable? Such impertinent…” Louise interrupted before he could finish,

“Die. I would.”

Her voice trembled.

“You…”

Saito was shocked. Louise, completely composed, said,

“F-for Princess-sama and for the mother country. If ordered, I would give it away with pleasure.”

This Louise made Saito clink.

She said she would be ready to die so thoughtlessly.

And what about teacher’s Colbert letter. To be accustomed to death because of war! Seeing people die, the words resounded.

It all came back now. Really, is honor more important than us?

Saito pressed Louise on.

“Then what about me?”

“Heh?”

“If you are ordered to die, then should I die as well?”

Louise, looking perplexed, muttered, misunderstanding,

“Wh-what… are you so afraid of death?”

“Whatareyo-“

“Coward! Everyone is ready to die, when agreeing to coming here!”

“Am I determined? Wasn’t I brought here by force as your attendant?”

“Then why haven’t you said so!”

“I haven’t been given a time to think! It was just – go here, go there, all the time!”

The two people shouted at each other in angry voices. People, eating and drinking within the tent, dumbfounded, watched such exchange of words between them.

“That… could you ease up little now?” Rene, standing next to Guiche, finally brought Louise back to her senses.

She shook her head, and calmly informed Saito.

“Well… it’s embarrassing. Now, Saito, return to your room and have some rest. After that, we can calmly clear things out… This kind of anger won’t give anything.”

What… the talk isn’t over, and yet, she still feels uneasy in front others?

The moment he thought so…Saito realized one more thing.

He did not wanted to think about for a long time…
　
Distance felt in Louise, the true reason behind this sense of incompatibility….

Could it be what Louise thinks of me?

He though that this question and the sense of distance between them was related.

Generals… used Louise’s ‘Void’ as a tool…

I am only “tool” for Louise as well.　

Legendary familiar, Gandalfr.

His purpose of existence is only to defend the master while he or she casts a spell…

In other words, I am an important tool on her road of defending honor….

Then, she surely needs to take care of his mood. Giving an occasional touch, as a reward.

“Then you are the same as those generals.”

Saito muttered.

“Ha! That, what are you saying…”

“I am just a ‘tool,’ right? A familiar.”

Then he thrust Louise aside and walked out of the tent.

“Hey, wait!” she shouted, but Saito did not stop.

Siesta, who was sitting near by, stood up and ran after Saito. Then Louise angrily grabbed the jar of wine and poured her glass full, instead of honey and fruit juice, and drank up it up in one gulp.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito meandered through the snowing town. Though it is called an old town, the stones were perfectly shaped, without cracks or misses. Though it was hard to believe, the town stayed the same for thousands of years, because the "Fixation" spell was placed on it a long time ago.

It was a white town, because of the snow. The walls around the town and ramparts were all covered with scattering white snow that danced in the sky.

And so he passed through such a burningly, white street, when, he was called from behind.

“Saito-san.”

Turning around, he saw a sad Siesta standing. She wore black clothes and an apron which design was different from the one seen an the Academy of Magic. The design of her dress had a slightly revealing neckline as well. This could be a preference of the "Charming Fairies" inn.

“Siesta.”

Siesta ran up to Saito and clasped his hand.

“S-s…”

With a blush on her cheeks, she hesitatingly tried to say something.

“S?”

“S-snowing, y-you’ll catch cold…”

“Cold? Not really…”

When he said so, Siesta started to weep.

“It’s bad. You will catch a bad cold…”

The passers-by watched the couple with curious expressions. Saito panicked.

“S-Siesta… T-that…”

“Making a girl cry! Lady-killer!”

“What, going after a country girl?”

People on the street started hooting.

Saito was embarrassed.

“Siesta, for now, let’s change the surroundings…”

He began to walk while holding the crying Siesta’s shoulder.

<center>* * *</center>

Since they could not return to , because Louise rented the room, nor to “Charming Fairies’ inn, Saito and Siesta had to rent a room at a distant inn instead. In the town that was over flown with the soldiers and merchants, it was very hard to find an empty room, but somehow, in the basement of one tattered tavern, they were able to find a room and entered it.

“Taking one Ecu for such a shabby room.”

Saito complained while taking a seat on the bed. It was dim because the room was windowless. Though Siesta was still crying badly, she stopped once Saito gentle hand  patted her head.

“I'm sorry.”

Siesta said while biting her lower lip.

“What’s wrong?”

Saito asked.

“Poor Saito–san… Though he works hard, he gets such cold words…It is very saddening…”

“It’s all right.”

Saito said, in hopes to lighten up the mood for moment.

Siesta started to shiver.

The unheated room grew colder. Saito stood up and threw a few pieces of firewood into the fireplace. They were given some when booking the room. Other heating conveniences were not invented in Halkeginia yet. He stared blowing to make the firewood burn more… and was silently hugged by Siesta from behind. Instinctively, he held his breath.

“I’m sorry…” Siesta said in tearful voice.

“Eh? No, it’s okay… I had no use of the money anyway…”

He though she was grateful about booking the room, but he was wrong.

“Running off to such place… is troublesome.”

Siesta tightened her hug.

The fire spread upon the firewood… burning brightly. The room was half way underground, so the window still provided some of the light up. Facing towards the street, one could see feet of passers-by.

“Am I a nuisance?”

“Not at all. Feels very good.”

Siesta muttered in a weeping voice again,

“Even so, isn’t this a war? If something happened to Saito-san, I, I… I hated not being able to see you again, so I decided to come. Thus, I went with Jessica and others to Albion…”

While speaking, she gave in to her emotions.

Siesta began to weep raggedly again.

“I wanted to see you so much. And I am happy to see you, yet I cannot express myself. When speaking, I am blathering about various, non-important things. Terrible.”

Siesta pressed her wet from tears cheek against his back.

“Well…”

“…I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for crying.” Siesta muttered over and over again.

Saito turned around, taking off Siesta's hand and patting her head with his left hand and wiping away the tears with the fingers of his right.

“Poor Saito-san. Brought from another world, yet keeps working hard without complaints. Cruel. It is so cruel. M-my important person… used as a tool…”

Saying so, while sobbing, Siesta looked at Saito’s face. Then, suddenly, Siesta tried to bring her lips close to his… but once he noticed what she is attempting to do, he tried to pull away.

But Saito could not pull his hand from her cheek. ''I do not want to separate,'' he thought.

Siesta, noticing the hesitation of Saito’s hand, wrapped her arms around Saito’s neck and quickly kissed him.

Being the first time that Siesta kissed me, her lips felt warm. Like everything about Siesta – warm and soft. Just like that bread that she allowed me to eat in the kitchen.

[[Image:ZnT07-185.jpg|thumb]]

Siesta pulled away for a moment and looked at Saito's face through moistened eyes.

And then, she pressed her lips fiercely again. Using her body weight, Siesta pinned Saito to the floor.

Siesta’s black hair looked slightly red from the fireplace. Her cheeks glowed as well.

She was a gentle girl who was always near.

Siesta, with determined look in her eyes, pushed back the black hood and tried to remove her robe completely.

He wanted to say, “W-wait,” but was silenced by the kiss.

The kiss was both – sweet and fierce at the same time, while blushing Siesta, placed a hand on her breasts. Such way, leaning herself upon him, Siesta traced Saito’s lips with her own over and over again.

Slightly separating their lips, she muttered.

“I love you.”

All light up by the burning flames, Siesta looked pretty and wild, she was very tempting. Even when they shared a bath together, she did not look as tempting.

Love and kisses must be what made her so tempting.

Capturing like a flame it makes a girl look better.

Siesta herself was not aware of her coquettish charms.

Still, not noticing that Saito stiffened, Siesta puckered up her lips.

“Jessica said – when you’ll meet a boy that you like you will do everything for him. I think it might be true, as right now I am ready to do everything.”

“T-t-that’s not…”

Saito tried to squeeze words out of his seemingly dry throat.

“So, please touch me.”

Because of the way she was clasping hands, the valley of her breast peeping out of her black dress was clearly visible, Saito turned his face away. Siesta gave a confused look.

“Do you hate it?”

She asked, Saito shook his head.

“It isn’t so. It isn’t why.”

Saito said in a tensed voice. He was a healthy boy. It was hard to endure. Almost dead-hard. Such cute Siesta embracing him tightly… he wanted to make her his. But at the same time… he thought that it would be a lie. He would be lying about something important.

Therefore, Saito shook his head.

“... Saying that, it would feel like a lie.”

“A lie?’

“Yes. Because Siesta is an important person to me… That’s why that… I am not saying that…” he started stammering incoherently.

Did it reach her what he wanted to say?

Siesta thought for a moment… and then smiled.

“Saito-san, remember?”

“…Eh?”

“In Tarbes… some time ago. You promised me to take me back to the other world where I come from.”

“…Yes.”

“What you said that time was not a lie, because I still believe it.”

“Siesta.”

“Then I will wait. It will not be a lie when your feelings will grow… Though it could never happen… I’ll wait. Then…me…”

Saying that Siesta was so lovable, that Saito couldn’t help himself and embraced her tightly.

Siesta looked at Saito with puppy eyes and said,

“For only tonight. Hug me tightly…and kiss me. Is it all right? Would it also be a lie?

“About the k-kiss...”

“Then skip the kiss part.”

Because there was no need to hold himself back now, he embraced her.

Such words of Siesta, should not be said when being rejected. When Siesta reposed herself on a bed, Saito looked down at her. There were no sign of tears on her face. Just a simple melancholy.

Then Saito embraced the girl, who said that she loves him, tightly.

<center>* * *</center>

Siesta had a very nice aura around her. Different from Louise, it was tender, it was an aura of a tender girl. Saito, holding her firmly, spoke about everything and nothing.

About being lost in a forest as a kid.

About his favorite syrup for the pancakes.

About taking a whole-day nap during the holidays.

When he ran out of topics, Siesta piled up her lips.

Then… Siesta passed a small jar to Saito.

“What is it?”

“Magical medicine. I bought it from my saved money. ‘Sleeping pills.’”

“Sleeping pills?”

“Right. If you were to drink those with wine, you would fall into a deep sleep.”

“I can fall asleep without those things.”

He said, but Siesta shook her head.

“I did not buy it for the Saito-san.”

“Then why?”

Siesta lowered her voice.

“It’s for, for Miss Valliere… if she would make Saito-san to do something dangerous… then make her drink it and escape while she’s asleep.”

Saito laughed spontaneously.

“Muu… stop laughing already… I am serious!”

“Well, I do not think it's dangerous," Saito said.

The war is a winning battle. Scaring the enemy's main force and making them shut themselves up in the capital without going out… it is said that there should be a lot of soldiers who could revolt, too. It was an easy victory for the generals, the officers, the soldiers – for everyone.

“It is said that, after losing Londonium, enemy morale dropped as well.”

Though Louise has been strangely sent to a dangerous duty… since they failed the other day, there might be no more of that. Besides… Louise does not expect much from me either. So, I do not think that generals will entrust us with an important assignment again.

“But I am worried. My younger brother… my younger brother will also go to the war soon. My brother also said not to worry. But I am worried. And if I start thinking about Saito-san, I become worried too. I can’t leave while being so worried…”

Siesta looked like she was about to burst into tears again.

“Everything is all right.”

“… I have a bad premonition. If something not good were to happen to Saito-san, then I, I…”

Saito firmly held Siesta close.

“Saito-san…”

“Siesta, calm down. It’s all right. Everything is all right. When you’ll return back to the school, please make the stew for me again.”

Siesta nodded "Yes" and smiled.

The flame of the fireplace trembled gently.

The snow was falling outside, reflected in the moonlight it bathed the world in silver light

“…An argent Advent Festival,” Siesta said.

“What is this festival enshrining?”

“Founder Brimir - the festival celebrates the day when he landed on this ground.”

“But today marks… the start of a new year. Does this festival enshrine New Year's as well?”

“Indeed. The day when Founder Brimir landed on this ground became New Year's Day, too.”

He remembered Louise.

The user of the Founder’s element "Void"…

Why such great magic power was given to a human… was it a blessing or a curse, contemplated Saito.

<center>* * *</center>

In her own rented room, with a blanket over the head, Louise was waiting for her familiar’s return. Though it was a middle of the night… Saito was not returning.

Outside the window… the snow stopped falling a while ago…

Thick layers of snow, illuminated by the two moons, dyed a whole town in silver.

The thought of the two people together watching at this beautiful scenery right now made her body burn with jealousy.

“Muu, I don’t want to know,” she muttered, hugging her knees.

I can’t permit Saito to hurt me this much.

*Knock knock* someone knocked against the room doors. He came back, she lifted her head. Her face softened.

However… it wasn’t Saito’s voice that came from the other side of the door.

“It’s me, Miss Valliere. Can I come in?”

It was Romalia’s Shinto priest, Julio’s voice.

“Did something happen? It’s midnight already.”

“I have to talk with you about something.”

Once the door was opened, the handsome Julio was standing there with a smile on his face.

When entering the room, Julio gracefully bowed.

“Something to talk about?”

Julio silently took Louise's hand. Her body started to tremble spontaneously.

“Relax. I won’t do anything strange. The Royal Ring is what interests me.”

Louise looked doubtful… but, deciding not to refuse, she thrust her finger out.

On the ring finger of the right hand, the ruby of the water, given by Henrietta, started to shine. A legendary ring, used to read the Founder's Prayer Book…

“Beautiful blue… Have you wondered?”

Louise tilted her head. What was he talking about?

“Why is it such a blue ruby?”

“That…” Louise faltered. Once asked about, it indeed was mysterious.

“It is called ‘The Ruby of Water’ gem, I know.”

Startled, Louise looked at Julio.

“Julio, you…”

“The Ruby of Water is vivid blue, the Ruby of Wind is transparent, the Ruby of Earth is brown…”

Louise set up the wand.

“Who are you?”

“I’m a Shinto priest. Really, just a Shinto priest of Romalia. Pope messenger. Well, I‘ll continue the lecture. The legendary gems are called rubies... even though they are not really red. It‘s because they are said to be made from the Founder's blood. However, it is unknown if it‘s true or not.“

“It’s very detailed.”

“Aah. We study a lot of things for divine purposes in Romalia. One with nature and learning. It makes me be me. The gems were given to Halkeginia a long, long time ago... Water to Tristain, Wind to Albion, Rarth to Galia... and Fire to Romalia.“

“Eh?”

“I’m searching for Romalia’s Ruby of Fire. As the name suggests, it’s a red gem that looks like fire. There is a strange story concerning this ruby. It was stolen from Romalia… and rumors said that Tristain had a hand to it. Have you heard about it?”

Louise shook her head. She never seen nor heard about such thing.

“You are not lying?”

“Yes. I cannot stand lying.“

“Then I guess that’s the way it is.”

Julio gave up suddenly and sat on the bed.

“Are there more stories left to tell?”

“Your story.”

“My story?”

“I'm very interested“

He gave a charming smile. A smile that makes every girl helpless. However, Louise was not in a mood today and did not want to see that handsome smile at all.

“This late? I’m sleepy.”

“We could sleep together.”

Such over confident attitude ticked Louise off.

“It’s arrogant.”

“Julio Cesar is not my real name. It’s a name of an ancient great king of Romalia.”

“Why did you take the name?”

“I was abandoned. I grew up in the orphanage. I was a leader among other kids, therefore, I was nicknamed after the great king Julio Cesar. Because it was troublesome, I introduced myself this way as well. Arrogance is inborn.”

“Will you leave already?”

Julio stood up.

“Surely, sooner or later… You will be interested in me. I promise.”

Louise pointed to the door. After bowing, Julio left the room.

“… Why are all men so arrogant?”

Louise lie in bed, waiting for her familiar return.

However, Saito did not come back.

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| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Chapter6_%7EPreview%7E|Back to Chapter 6]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Chapter8_%7EPreview%7E|Forward to Chapter 8]]
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume7 Chapter7 - MTL

2008-12-10T05:13:46Z

Kumichael: finished the rest of it... enjoy

{{Template:PREVIEW}}

===Chapter Seven: The Reason To Fight===

Full-bloomed fireworks went up, illuminating the night sky.

From under the many tents placed in South Gotha City Plaza, people shouted with joy.

Because Allied Forces were stationed here, the town was filled up with almost twice as many tents. There were only a limited number of lodging houses that soldiers could rent. Merchants came from various places to sell soldiers various things. The City of South Gotha was wrapped in an unprecedented vigor.

And, heralding the beginning of the Yarra month, today was twice as vigorous than the first day of the first week. 

The biggest festival in Halkeginia, The Advent Festival, started. For Ten days starting today, one can drink, sing, and cause the fuss every day.

Louise and Saito drank alcohol in the grand tent of the "Charming Fairies" inn, which was opened in the plaza.

Surrounding Rene, there was everyone from the Dragon Knight Secondary Division, too. Every main officer, including Guiche, could have been seen in here as well. Both senior military officers and soldiers were prohibited from eating and drinking in the inns of South Gotha. They got drunk, causing residents trouble – thus it is easier to observe them if they are held together. Because of that, the inn, which made a business trip from Tristain, was full.

After the black cat clothes were seen, except when necessary, Louise did not talk at all. She was very embarrassed. She was silently sipping her drink alone.

Because Louise is weak to alcohol, only a little bit of wine were poured in her glass. The rest of her drink consisted of fruit juices, honey, and water. She kept on drinking it little by little. Still, her face was already red.

She was casting glances at Saito though the corner of her eyes.

Saito was drinking with the Rene party, and with Guiche, whom he met again a little while ago. Differently from that time with Louise, he was relatively happy. Seeing that, Louise poured in more wine.

Bleary-eyed Louise rose her glass.

“Seconds!”

Louise saw a waitress running-up to her, turned her face away, and tried to call another one.

“Someone service me. Someone.”

“Place your order,” Siesta, with a calm expression, called out Louise.

“I haven’t called you.”

Louise glared at Siesta. And then, muttered,

"Running around… like an idiot.”

Siesta, keeping on a cheerful face, said,

“I do extra, for not being dressed in a black cat’s suit.”

Louise blushed. Siesta quietly drew her face to Louise’s, and murmured, while smiling,

“You are my master for today.”

Louise jumped up, shaking.

But then she had a second thought. ''There’s no time to rival with the maid. Besides, I know the outcome of this war anyway. I’ll tell her '''that'''.'' She chuckled in her mind. Louise put on a nice face and muttered,

“I-I was confessed to.”

Siesta’s eyebrows moved up. Louise did not miss her love rival’s reaction. That’s because Louise is a girl. She doesn’t have what I do. I won, after all! Louise became happy, and in order to sweeten her victory, she pressed Siesta on.

“That’s right. He said he favors me. 'What to do I wonder, I cannot stop thinking of you,' he said. Really, such an impertinent familiar.”

Siesta listened to it with a smile.

“Heee. I am glad to hear that,” she said, though her eyes were not smiling at all.

“Besides, he pushed me down. Of course, I did not permit it! I mean, I do not like things like that. It's not natural!“

“Flirt is repulsive but not selling.”

Siesta said. Louise caught a glance at the forehead and answered back.

“Not you.”

Two people continued to stare at each other.

That time… a muted sound of something hitting the tent was heard.

“N?”

“The snow! Snow!” voices rang outside.

Indeed, through the entrance of the tent, one could see it snowing..

“Advent Festival of Snow…” Louise muttered.

“I dreamed of the Advent Festival of Snow…” Siesta murmured with an enchanted expression.

“Really?”

“Yes. In Tarbes, it is warm even during the winter. Without too much snow…”

With her eyes sparkling like child’s, Siesta watched the snow outside the tent.

Then Siesta noticed Louise looking at her. The pair look at each other, blushing. Then returned back to watching the snow. 

Louise said, hiding her awkwardness,

“…It is calm somehow. Maybe we should also make truce for the Advent Festival.”

“Right.”

“Sit here.“

[[Image:ZnT07-169.jpg|thumb]]

Louise urged Siesta to sit. Yes, Siesta sat demurely next to Louise with a nod.

Accepting Louise’s pre-offered drink, Siesta bowed.

“Cheers!“

Feeling strange, the pair let their cups clink.

“Nice,” Siesta said, with a blush from the alcohol on her cheeks.

“Feels like really being a noble.”

They watched the snow falling through the opening of the tent by the snow.

“Beautiful… Snow covering the buildings… like sugar” Siesta muttered.

“Well...”

“Though it’s such a beautiful land, why there is a war…”

Siesta said, while looking at Louise.

“S-sorry… I am not blaming Miss Valliere… I know you work hard for the country.”

Louise cast her eyes down.

Siesta muttered, staring at the wine in the bottom of her glass,

“… To tell you the truth, I hate this war. Many people die. For what reason?”

“For what reason?”

“Why do you fight? Father… said that the reason is money. Capture of the enemy country can also be beneficial for a ruler to establish one's self. Is that it? Do you kill others for such reason?”

Louise thought. It might be true considering surrounding ministers. However, Henrietta is different. Because of the time they both spent together during their childhood, Louise understood her well. For Henrietta, this war was about revenge. To defeat a hateful enemy who deprived a beloved person. This was the only intent in Henrietta’s mind.

Siesta asked Louise, who was lost in thought,

“Why is Miss Valliere fighting?”

“Me?”

“That’s right.”

Is it because I wanted to help Henrietta? A little bit. But not really that.

For Louise, this fight…

Seeing Louise being silent, Siesta looked down.

“I’m sorry. Its not a thing for me to listen, but…”

At that moment… a loud yell coming from Saito’s table could be heard.

“Really! Don’t be a fool!”

Louise and Siesta, startled by the voice, turned around.

“Ha! Who is a fool! What is so foolish about it!”

Guiche roared, while standing up.

Saito also stood up and pointed his finger at Guiche.

“What are you telling me! You are just doing it to get some points in Montmorency’s eyes. Fool! If you would die, Monmon would be really sad!”

“A-are you insulting my actions!”

Guiche brandished the artificial rose.

Seems like it was a quarrel. Rene, who was drinking with them, said,

“Yeah, because you are a commoner, pride does not matter for you, but it is different for us.”

Saito stared at Rene and said,

“Honor this, honor that – it's just foolishness. Didn’t Dragon Knight Unit die once already? Fear it a little! It’s weird! Aren’t you afraid of dying for honor? That’s stupid. Only fools thing that way. Honor? It’s not worth dying for. Such a thing that you are doing – I think it’s silly.”

“Saito!”

At that moment… Saito’s name was suddenly shouted. It wasn’t Rene or Guiche. It was Louise, who stood there, shaking in anger.

Saito slowly turned towards Louise.

“What?”

“You, apologize. Apologize to Guiche and Rene!”

“Whaat?”

“Insulting ‘Honor’ cannot be permitted.”

Louise said while trembling.

And Saito was the reason behind that.

I am being misunderstood…The things she thought to be important, had completely no importance to Saito, which made her annoyed.

Because of Saito’s fight… she completely forgot about her bad mood. Only Saito’s "Failed a mission, so what?" came into her mind right now.

Saito answered back in an angry voice,

“The ones that you defend are them and not me?”

“Defend, what are you talking about? To me, honor is more important than life. If I were to lose it, I would not be a noble anymore. And if I am not a noble, then I am not me, either. That’s why I can’t stand remarks denying honor right in front of me.”

Louise said clearly.

On the other hand, Saito noticed it, too.

Saito knew that from the look of Louise’s eyes. When she was almost crushed by Fouquet’s golem, Louise showed the same expression as well.

At that time, Louise shouted “I will not run away from the enemy, because I am a noble!”

At that time, he thought such a Louise to be marvelous, but it was different now.

Aah, Saito understood.

He remembered Louise’s recent words.

“A death is sad, however… They died with a honor … Honor… They died for a great victory. Therefore, don’t feel sorry for them.”

Saito understood the true reason why he was sulky. Julio wasn’t the reason that separated them.

For Louise was this duty… this word "honor" really that important? Because he felt so, he got depressed so much.

Therefore, he made remarks about Guiche a little while ago.

What is it?

Is this honor so important?

“Then, you…”

Saito stared at Louise.

“You?"

“If you were ordered to die, would you die like these unreasonable guys?”

Saito said, pointing at Rene and others.

Louise bit her lip.

“Isn’t it unreasonable? Such impertinent…” Louise interrupted before he could finish,

“Die. I would.”

Her voice trembled.

“You…”

Saito was shocked. Louise, completely composed, said,

“F-for Princess-sama and for the mother country. If ordered, I would give it away with pleasure.”

This Louise made Saito clink.

She said she would be ready to die so thoughtlessly.

And what about teacher’s Colbert letter. To be accustomed to death because of war! Seeing people die, the words resounded.

It all came back now. Really, is honor more important than us?

Saito pressed Louise on.

“Then what about me?”

“Heh?”

“If you are ordered to die, then should I die as well?”

Louise, looking perplexed, muttered, misunderstanding,

“Wh-what… are you so afraid of death?”

“Whatareyo-“

“Coward! Everyone is ready to die, when agreeing to coming here!”

“Am I determined? Wasn’t I brought here by force as your attendant?”

“Then why haven’t you said so!”

“I haven’t been given a time to think! It was just – go here, go there, all the time!”

The two people shouted at each other in angry voices. People, eating and drinking within the tent, dumbfounded, watched such exchange of words between them.

“That… could you ease up little now?” Rene, standing next to Guiche, finally brought Louise back to her senses.

She shook her head, and calmly informed Saito.

“Well… it’s embarrassing. Now, Saito, return to your room and have some rest. After that, we can calmly clear things out… This kind of anger won’t give anything.”

What… the talk isn’t over, and yet, she still feels uneasy in front others?

The moment he thought so…Saito realized one more thing.

He did not wanted to think about for a long time…
　
Distance felt in Louise, the true reason behind this sense of incompatibility….

Could it be what Louise thinks of me?

He though that this question and the sense of distance between them was related.

Generals… used Louise’s ‘Void’ as a tool…

I am only “tool” for Louise as well.　

Legendary familiar, Gandalfr.

His purpose of existence is only to defend the master while he or she casts a spell…

In other words, I am an important tool on her road of defending honor….

Then, she surely needs to take care of his mood. Giving an occasional touch, as a reward.

“Then you are the same as those generals.”

Saito muttered.

“Ha! That, what are you saying…”

“I am just a ‘tool,’ right? A familiar.”

Then he thrust Louise aside and walked out of the tent.

“Hey, wait!” she shouted, but Saito did not stop.

Siesta, who was sitting near by, stood up and ran after Saito. Then Louise angrily grabbed the jar of wine and poured her glass full, instead of honey and fruit juice, and drank up it up in one gulp.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito meandered through the snowing town. Though it is called an old town, the stones were perfectly shaped, without cracks or misses. Though it was hard to believe, the town stayed the same for thousands of years, because the "Fixation" spell was placed on it a long time ago.

It was a white town, because of the snow. The walls around the town and ramparts were all covered with scattering white snow that danced in the sky.

And so he passed through such a burningly, white street, when, he was called from behind.

“Saito-san.”

Turning around, he saw a sad Siesta standing. She wore black clothes and an apron which design was different from the one seen an the Academy of Magic. The design of her dress had a slightly revealing neckline as well. This could be a preference of the "Charming Fairies" inn.

“Siesta.”

Siesta ran up to Saito and clasped his hand.

“S-s…”

With a blush on her cheeks, she hesitatingly tried to say something.

“S?”

“S-snowing, y-you’ll catch cold…”

“Cold? Not really…”

When he said so, Siesta started to weep.

“It’s bad. You will catch a bad cold…”

The passers-by watched the couple with curious expressions. Saito panicked.

“S-Siesta… T-that…”

“Making a girl cry! Lady-killer!”

“What, going after a country girl?”

People on the street started hooting.

Saito was embarrassed.

“Siesta, for now, let’s change the surroundings…”

He began to walk while holding the crying Siesta’s shoulder.

<center>* * *</center>

Since they could not return to , because Louise rented the room, nor to “Charming Fairies’ inn, Saito and Siesta had to rent a room at a distant inn instead. In the town that was over flown with the soldiers and merchants, it was very hard to find an empty room, but somehow, in the basement of one tattered tavern, they were able to find a room and entered it.

“Taking one Ecu for such a shabby room.”

Saito complained while taking a seat on the bed. It was dim because the room was windowless. Though Siesta was still crying badly, she stopped once Saito gentle hand  patted her head.

“I'm sorry.”

Siesta said while biting her lower lip.

“What’s wrong?”

Saito asked.

“Poor Saito–san… Though he works hard, he gets such cold words…It is very saddening…”

“It’s all right.”

Saito said, in hopes to lighten up the mood for moment.

Siesta started to shiver.

The unheated room grew colder. Saito stood up and threw a few pieces of firewood into the fireplace. They were given some when booking the room. Other heating conveniences were not invented in Halkeginia yet. He stared blowing to make the firewood burn more… and was silently hugged by Siesta from behind. Instinctively, he held his breath.

“I’m sorry…” Siesta said in tearful voice.

“Eh? No, it’s okay… I had no use of the money anyway…”

He though she was grateful about booking the room, but he was wrong.

“Running off to such place… is troublesome.”

Siesta tightened her hug.

The fire spread upon the firewood… burning brightly. The room was half way underground, so the window still provided some of the light up. Facing towards the street, one could see feet of passers-by.

“Am I a nuisance?”

“Not at all. Feels very good.”

Siesta muttered in a weeping voice again,

“Even so, isn’t this a war? If something happened to Saito-san, I, I… I hated not being able to see you again, so I decided to come. Thus, I went with Jessica and others to Albion…”

While speaking, she gave in to her emotions.

Siesta began to weep raggedly again.

“I wanted to see you so much. And I am happy to see you, yet I cannot express myself. When speaking, I am blathering about various, non-important things. Terrible.”

Siesta pressed her wet from tears cheek against his back.

“Well…”

“…I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for crying.” Siesta muttered over and over again.

Saito turned around, taking off Siesta's hand and patting her head with his left hand and wiping away the tears with the fingers of his right.

“Poor Saito-san. Brought from another world, yet keeps working hard without complaints. Cruel. It is so cruel. M-my important person… used as a tool…”

Saying so, while sobbing, Siesta looked at Saito’s face. Then, suddenly, Siesta tried to bring her lips close to his… but once he noticed what she is attempting to do, he tried to pull away.

But Saito could not pull his hand from her cheek. ''I do not want to separate,'' he thought.

Siesta, noticing the hesitation of Saito’s hand, wrapped her arms around Saito’s neck and quickly kissed him.

Being the first time that Siesta kissed me, her lips felt warm. Like everything about Siesta – warm and soft. Just like that bread that she allowed me to eat in the kitchen.

[[Image:ZnT07-185.jpg|thumb]]

Siesta pulled away for a moment and looked at Saito's face through moistened eyes.

And then, she pressed her lips fiercely again. Using her body weight, Siesta pinned Saito to the floor.

Siesta’s black hair looked slightly red from the fireplace. Her cheeks glowed as well.

She was a gentle girl who was always near.

Siesta, with determined look in her eyes, pushed back the black hood and tried to remove her robe completely.

He wanted to say, “W-wait,” but was silenced by the kiss.

The kiss was both – sweet and fierce at the same time, while blushing Siesta, placed a hand on her breasts. Such way, leaning herself upon him, Siesta traced Saito’s lips with her own over and over again.

Slightly separating their lips, she muttered.

“I love you.”

All light up by the burning flames, Siesta looked pretty and wild, she was very tempting. Even when they shared a bath together, she did not look as tempting.

Love and kisses must be what made her so tempting.

Capturing like a flame it makes a girl look better.

Siesta herself was not aware of her coquettish charms.

Still, not noticing that Saito stiffened, Siesta puckered up her lips.

“Jessica said – when you’ll meet a boy that you like you will do everything for him. I think it might be true, as right now I am ready to do everything.”

“T-t-that’s not…”

Saito tried to squeeze words out of his seemingly dry throat.

“So, please touch me.”

Because of the way she was clasping hands, the valley of her breast peeping out of her black dress was clearly visible, Saito turned his face away. Siesta gave a confused look.

“Do you hate it?”

She asked, Saito shook his head.

“It isn’t so. It isn’t why.”

Saito said in a tensed voice. He was a healthy boy. It was hard to endure. Almost dead-hard. Such cute Siesta embracing him tightly… he wanted to make her his. But at the same time… he thought that it would be a lie. He would be lying about something important.

Therefore, Saito shook his head.

“... Saying that, it would feel like a lie.”

“A lie?’

“Yes. Because Siesta is an important person to me… That’s why that… I am not saying that…” he started stammering incoherently.

Did it reach her what he wanted to say?

Siesta thought for a moment… and then smiled.

“Saito-san, remember?”

“…Eh?”

“In Tarbes… some time ago. You promised me to take me back to the other world where I come from.”

“…Yes.”

“What you said that time was not a lie, because I still believe it.”

“Siesta.”

“Then I will wait. It will not be a lie when your feelings will grow… Though it could never happen… I’ll wait. Then…me…”

Saying that Siesta was so lovable, that Saito couldn’t help himself and embraced her tightly.

Siesta looked at Saito with puppy eyes and said,

“For only tonight. Hug me tightly…and kiss me. Is it all right? Would it also be a lie?

“About the k-kiss...”

“Then skip the kiss part.”

Because there was no need to hold himself back now, he embraced her.

Such words of Siesta, should not be said when being rejected. When Siesta reposed herself on a bed, Saito looked down at her. There were no sign of tears on her face. Just a simple melancholy.

Then Saito embraced the girl, who said that she loves him, tightly.

<center>* * *</center>

Siesta had a very nice aura around her. Different from Louise, it was tender, it was an aura of a tender girl. Saito, holding her firmly, spoke about everything and nothing.

About being lost in a forest as a kid.

About his favorite syrup for the pancakes.

About taking a whole-day nap during the holidays.

When he ran out of topics, Siesta piled up her lips.

Then… Siesta passed a small jar to Saito.

“What is it?”

“Magical medicine. I bought it from my saved money. ‘Sleeping pills.’”

“Sleeping pills?”

“Right. If you were to drink those with wine, you would fall into a deep sleep.”

“I can fall asleep without those things.”

He said, but Siesta shook her head.

“I did not buy it for the Saito-san.”

“Then why?”

Siesta lowered her voice.

“It’s for, for Miss Valliere… if she would make Saito-san to do something dangerous… then make her drink it and escape while she’s asleep.”

Saito laughed spontaneously.

“Muu… stop laughing already… I am serious!”

“Well, I do not think it's dangerous," Saito said.

The war is a winning battle. Scaring the enemy's main force and making them shut themselves up in the capital without going out… it is said that there should be a lot of soldiers who could revolt, too. It was an easy victory for the generals, the officers, the soldiers – for everyone.

“It is said that, after losing Londonium, enemy morale dropped as well.”

Though Louise has been strangely sent to a dangerous duty… since they failed the other day, there might be no more of that. Besides… Louise does not expect much from me either. So, I do not think that generals will entrust us with an important assignment again.

“But I am worried. My younger brother… my younger brother will also go to the war soon. My brother also said not to worry. But I am worried. And if I start thinking about Saito-san, I become worried too. I can’t leave while being so worried…”

Siesta looked like she was about to burst into tears again.

“Everything is all right.”

“… I have a bad premonition. If something not good were to happen to Saito-san, then I, I…”

Saito firmly held Siesta close.

“Saito-san…”

“Siesta, calm down. It’s all right. Everything is all right. When you’ll return back to the school, please make the stew for me again.”

Siesta nodded "Yes" and smiled.

The flame of the fireplace trembled gently.

The snow was falling outside, reflected in the moonlight it bathed the world in silver light

“…An argent Advent Festival,” Siesta said.

“What is this festival enshrining?”

“Founder Brimir - the festival celebrates the day when he landed on this ground.”

“But today marks… the start of a new year. Does this festival enshrine New Year's as well?”

“Indeed. The day when Founder Brimir landed on this ground became New Year's Day, too.”

He remembered Louise.

The user of the Founder’s element "Void"…

Why such great magic power was given to a human… was it a blessing or a curse, contemplated Saito.

<center>* * *</center>

In her own rented room, with a blanket over the head, Louise was waiting for her familiar’s return. Though it was a middle of the night… Saito was not returning.

Outside the window… the snow stopped falling a while ago…

Thick layers of snow, illuminated by the two moons, dyed a whole town in silver.

The thought of the two people together watching at this beautiful scenery right now made her body burn with jealousy.

“Muu, I don’t want to know,” she muttered, hugging her knees.

I can’t permit Saito to hurt me this much.

*Knock knock* someone knocked against the room doors. He came back, she lifted her head. Her face softened.

However… it wasn’t Saito’s voice that came from the other side of the door.

“It’s me, Miss Valliere. Can I come in?”

It was Romalia’s Shinto priest, Julio’s voice.

“Did something happen? It’s midnight already.”

“I have to talk with you about something.”

Once the door was opened, the handsome Julio was standing there with a smile on his face.

When entering the room, Julio gracefully bowed.

“Something to talk about?”

Julio silently took Louise's hand. Her body started to tremble spontaneously.

“Relax. I won’t do anything strange. The Royal Ring is what interests me.”

Louise looked doubtful… but, deciding not to refuse, she thrust her finger out.

On the ring finger of the right hand, the ruby of the water, given by Henrietta, started to shine. A legendary ring, used to read the Founder's Prayer Book…

“Beautiful blue… Have you wondered?”

Louise tilted her head. What was he talking about?

“Why is it such a blue ruby?”

“That…” Louise faltered. Once asked about, it indeed was mysterious.

“It is called ‘The Ruby of Water’ gem, I know.”

Startled, Louise looked at Julio.

“Julio, you…”

“The Ruby of Water is vivid blue, the Ruby of Wind is transparent, the Ruby of Earth is brown…”

Louise set up the wand.

“Who are you?”

“I’m a Shinto priest. Really, just a Shinto priest of Romalia. Pope messenger. Well, I‘ll continue the lecture. The legendary gems are called rubies... even though they are not really red. It‘s because they are said to be made from the Founder's blood. However, it is unknown if it‘s true or not.“

“It’s very detailed.”

“Aah. We study a lot of things for divine purposes in Romalia. One with nature and learning. It makes me be me. The gems were given to Halkeginia a long, long time ago... Water to Tristain, Wind to Albion, Rarth to Galia... and Fire to Romalia.“

“Eh?”

“I’m searching for Romalia’s Ruby of Fire. As the name suggests, it’s a red gem that looks like fire. There is a strange story concerning this ruby. It was stolen from Romalia… and rumors said that Tristain had a hand to it. Have you heard about it?”

Louise shook her head. She never seen nor heard about such thing.

“You are not lying?”

“Yes. I cannot stand lying.“

“Then I guess that’s the way it is.”

Julio gave up suddenly and sat on the bed.

“Are there more stories left to tell?”

“Your story.”

“My story?”

“I'm very interested“

He gave a charming smile. A smile that makes every girl helpless. However, Louise was not in a mood today and did not want to see that handsome smile at all.

“This late? I’m sleepy.”

“We could sleep together.”

Such over confident attitude ticked Louise off.

“It’s arrogant.”

“Julio Cesar is not my real name. It’s a name of an ancient great king of Romalia.”

“Why did you take the name?”

“I was abandoned. I grew up in the orphanage. I was a leader among other kids, therefore, I was nicknamed after the great king Julio Cesar. Because it was troublesome, I introduced myself this way as well. Arrogance is inborn.”

“Will you leave already?”

Julio stood up.

“Surely, sooner or later… You will be interested in me. I promise.”

Louise pointed to the door. After bowing, Julio left the room.

“… Why are all men so arrogant?”

Louise lay back to bed and waited for her familiar return.

However, Saito did not come back.

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| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Chapter6_%7EPreview%7E|Back to Chapter 6]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Chapter8_%7EPreview%7E|Forward to Chapter 8]]
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume7 Chapter7 - MTL

2008-12-10T04:56:19Z

Kumichael: ill finish the rest in a bit...

{{Template:PREVIEW}}

===Chapter Seven: The Reason To Fight===

Full-bloomed fireworks went up, illuminating the night sky.

From under the many tents placed in South Gotha City Plaza, people shouted with joy.

Because Allied Forces were stationed here, the town was filled up with almost twice as many tents. There were only a limited number of lodging houses that soldiers could rent. Merchants came from various places to sell soldiers various things. The City of South Gotha was wrapped in an unprecedented vigor.

And, heralding the beginning of the Yarra month, today was twice as vigorous than the first day of the first week. 

The biggest festival in Halkeginia, The Advent Festival, started. For Ten days starting today, one can drink, sing, and cause the fuss every day.

Louise and Saito drank alcohol in the grand tent of the "Charming Fairies" inn, which was opened in the plaza.

Surrounding Rene, there was everyone from the Dragon Knight Secondary Division, too. Every main officer, including Guiche, could have been seen in here as well. Both senior military officers and soldiers were prohibited from eating and drinking in the inns of South Gotha. They got drunk, causing residents trouble – thus it is easier to observe them if they are held together. Because of that, the inn, which made a business trip from Tristain, was full.

After the black cat clothes were seen, except when necessary, Louise did not talk at all. She was very embarrassed. She was silently sipping her drink alone.

Because Louise is weak to alcohol, only a little bit of wine were poured in her glass. The rest of her drink consisted of fruit juices, honey, and water. She kept on drinking it little by little. Still, her face was already red.

She was casting glances at Saito though the corner of her eyes.

Saito was drinking with the Rene party, and with Guiche, whom he met again a little while ago. Differently from that time with Louise, he was relatively happy. Seeing that, Louise poured in more wine.

Bleary-eyed Louise rose her glass.

“Seconds!”

Louise saw a waitress running-up to her, turned her face away, and tried to call another one.

“Someone service me. Someone.”

“Place your order,” Siesta, with a calm expression, called out Louise.

“I haven’t called you.”

Louise glared at Siesta. And then, muttered,

"Running around… like an idiot.”

Siesta, keeping on a cheerful face, said,

“I do extra, for not being dressed in a black cat’s suit.”

Louise blushed. Siesta quietly drew her face to Louise’s, and murmured, while smiling,

“You are my master for today.”

Louise jumped up, shaking.

But then she had a second thought. ''There’s no time to rival with the maid. Besides, I know the outcome of this war anyway. I’ll tell her '''that'''.'' She chuckled in her mind. Louise put on a nice face and muttered,

“I-I was confessed to.”

Siesta’s eyebrows moved up. Louise did not miss her love rival’s reaction. That’s because Louise is a girl. She doesn’t have what I do. I won, after all! Louise became happy, and in order to sweeten her victory, she pressed Siesta on.

“That’s right. He said he favors me. 'What to do I wonder, I cannot stop thinking of you,' he said. Really, such an impertinent familiar.”

Siesta listened to it with a smile.

“Heee. I am glad to hear that,” she said, though her eyes were not smiling at all.

“Besides, he pushed me down. Of course, I did not permit it! I mean, I do not like things like that. It's not natural!“

“Flirt is repulsive but not selling.”

Siesta said. Louise caught a glance at the forehead and answered back.

“Not you.”

Two people continued to stare at each other.

That time… a muted sound of something hitting the tent was heard.

“N?”

“The snow! Snow!” voices rang outside.

Indeed, through the entrance of the tent, one could see it snowing..

“Advent Festival of Snow…” Louise muttered.

“I dreamed of the Advent Festival of Snow…” Siesta murmured with an enchanted expression.

“Really?”

“Yes. In Tarbes, it is warm even during the winter. Without too much snow…”

With her eyes sparkling like child’s, Siesta watched the snow outside the tent.

Then Siesta noticed Louise looking at her. The pair look at each other, blushing. Then returned back to watching the snow. 

Louise said, hiding her awkwardness,

“…It is calm somehow. Maybe we should also make truce for the Advent Festival.”

“Right.”

“Sit here.“

[[Image:ZnT07-169.jpg|thumb]]

Louise urged Siesta to sit. Yes, Siesta sat demurely next to Louise with a nod.

Accepting Louise’s pre-offered drink, Siesta bowed.

“Cheers!“

Feeling strange, the pair let their cups clink.

“Nice,” Siesta said, with a blush from the alcohol on her cheeks.

“Feels like really being a noble.”

They watched the snow falling through the opening of the tent by the snow.

“Beautiful… Snow covering the buildings… like sugar” Siesta muttered.

“Well...”

“Though it’s such a beautiful land, why there is a war…”

Siesta said, while looking at Louise.

“S-sorry… I am not blaming Miss Valliere… I know you work hard for the country.”

Louise cast her eyes down.

Siesta muttered, staring at the wine in the bottom of her glass,

“… To tell you the truth, I hate this war. Many people die. For what reason?”

“For what reason?”

“Why do you fight? Father… said that the reason is money. Capture of the enemy country can also be beneficial for a ruler to establish one's self. Is that it? Do you kill others for such reason?”

Louise thought. It might be true considering surrounding ministers. However, Henrietta is different. Because of the time they both spent together during their childhood, Louise understood her well. For Henrietta, this war was about revenge. To defeat a hateful enemy who deprived a beloved person. This was the only intent in Henrietta’s mind.

Siesta asked Louise, who was lost in thought,

“Why is Miss Valliere fighting?”

“Me?”

“That’s right.”

Is it because I wanted to help Henrietta? A little bit. But not really that.

For Louise, this fight…

Seeing Louise being silent, Siesta looked down.

“I’m sorry. Its not a thing for me to listen, but…”

At that moment… a loud yell coming from Saito’s table could be heard.

“Really! Don’t be a fool!”

Louise and Siesta, startled by the voice, turned around.

“Ha! Who is a fool! What is so foolish about it!”

Guiche roared, while standing up.

Saito also stood up and pointed his finger at Guiche.

“What are you telling me! You are just doing it to get some points in Montmorency’s eyes. Fool! If you would die, Monmon would be really sad!”

“A-are you insulting my actions!”

Guiche brandished the artificial rose.

Seems like it was a quarrel. Rene, who was drinking with them, said,

“Yeah, because you are a commoner, pride does not matter for you, but it is different for us.”

Saito stared at Rene and said,

“Honor this, honor that – it's just foolishness. Didn’t Dragon Knight Unit die once already? Fear it a little! It’s weird! Aren’t you afraid of dying for honor? That’s stupid. Only fools thing that way. Honor? It’s not worth dying for. Such a thing that you are doing – I think it’s silly.”

“Saito!”

At that moment… Saito’s name was suddenly shouted. It wasn’t Rene or Guiche. It was Louise, who stood there, shaking in anger.

Saito slowly turned towards Louise.

“What?”

“You, apologize. Apologize to Guiche and Rene!”

“Whaat?”

“Insulting ‘Honor’ cannot be permitted.”

Louise said while trembling.

And Saito was the reason behind that.

I am being misunderstood…The things she thought to be important, had completely no importance to Saito, which made her annoyed.

Because of Saito’s fight… she completely forgot about her bad mood. Only Saito’s "Failed a mission, so what?" came into her mind right now.

Saito answered back in an angry voice,

“The ones that you defend are them and not me?”

“Defend, what are you talking about? To me, honor is more important than life. If I were to lose it, I would not be a noble anymore. And if I am not a noble, then I am not me, either. That’s why I can’t stand remarks denying honor right in front of me.”

Louise said clearly.

On the other hand, Saito noticed it, too.

Saito knew that from the look of Louise’s eyes. When she was almost crushed by Fouquet’s golem, Louise showed the same expression as well.

At that time, Louise shouted “I will not run away from the enemy, because I am a noble!”

At that time, he thought such a Louise to be marvelous, but it was different now.

Aah, Saito understood.

He remembered Louise’s recent words.

“A death is sad, however… They died with a honor … Honor… They died for a great victory. Therefore, don’t feel sorry for them.”

Saito understood the true reason why he was sulky. Julio wasn’t the reason that separated them.

For Louise was this duty… this word "honor" really that important? Because he felt so, he got depressed so much.

Therefore, he made remarks about Guiche a little while ago.

What is it?

Is this honor so important?

“Then, you…”

Saito stared at Louise.

“You?"

“If you were ordered to die, would you die like these unreasonable guys?”

Saito said, pointing at Rene and others.

Louise bit her lip.

“Isn’t it unreasonable? Such impertinent…” Louise interrupted before he could finish,

“Die. I would.”

Her voice trembled.

“You…”

Saito was shocked. Louise, completely composed, said,

“F-for Princess-sama and for the mother country. If ordered, I would give it away with pleasure.”

This Louise made Saito clink.

She said she would be ready to die so thoughtlessly.

And what about teacher’s Colbert letter. To be accustomed to death because of war! Seeing people die, the words resounded.

It all came back now. Really, is honor more important than us?

Saito pressed Louise on.

“Then what about me?”

“Heh?”

“If you are ordered to die, then should I die as well?”

Louise, looking perplexed, muttered, misunderstanding,

“Wh-what… are you so afraid of death?”

“Whatareyo-“

“Coward! Everyone is ready to die, when agreeing to coming here!”

“Am I determined? Wasn’t I brought here by force as your attendant?”

“Then why haven’t you said so!”

“I haven’t been given a time to think! It was just – go here, go there, all the time!”

The two people shouted at each other in angry voices. People, eating and drinking within the tent, dumbfounded, watched such exchange of words between them.

“That… could you ease up little now?” Rene, standing next to Guiche, finally brought Louise back to her senses.

She shook her head, and calmly informed Saito.

“Well… it’s embarrassing. Now, Saito, return to your room and have some rest. After that, we can calmly clear things out… This kind of anger won’t give anything.”

What… the talk isn’t over, and yet, she still feels uneasy in front others?

The moment he thought so…Saito realized one more thing.

He did not wanted to think about for a long time…
　
Distance felt in Louise, the true reason behind this sense of incompatibility….

Could it be what Louise thinks of me?

He though that this question and the sense of distance between them was related.

Generals… used Louise’s ‘Void’ as a tool…

I am only “tool” for Louise as well.　

Legendary familiar, Gandalfr.

His purpose of existence is only to defend the master while he or she casts a spell…

In other words, I am an important tool on her road of defending honor….

Then, she surely needs to take care of his mood. Giving an occasional touch, as a reward.

“Then you are the same as those generals.”

Saito muttered.

“Ha! That, what are you saying…”

“I am just a ‘tool,’ right? A familiar.”

Then he thrust Louise aside and walked out of the tent.

“Hey, wait!” she shouted, but Saito did not stop.

Siesta, who was sitting near by, stood up and ran after Saito. Then Louise angrily grabbed the jar of wine and poured her glass full, instead of honey and fruit juice, and drank up it up in one gulp.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito meandered through the snowing town. Though it is called an old town, the stones were perfectly shaped, without cracks or misses. Though it was hard to believe, the town stayed the same for thousands of years, because the "Fixation" spell was placed on it a long time ago.

It was a white town, because of the snow. The walls around the town and ramparts were all covered with scattering white snow that danced in the sky.

And so he passed through such a burningly, white street, when, he was called from behind.

“Saito-san.”

Turning around, he saw a sad Siesta standing. She wore black clothes and an apron which design was different from the one seen an the Academy of Magic. The design of her dress had a slightly revealing neckline as well. This could be a preference of the "Charming Fairies" inn.

“Siesta.”

Siesta ran up to Saito and clasped his hand.

“S-s…”

With a blush on her cheeks, she hesitatingly tried to say something.

“S?”

“S-snowing, y-you’ll catch cold…”

“Cold? Not really…”

When he said so, Siesta started to weep.

“It’s bad. You will catch a bad cold…”

The passers-by watched the couple with curious expressions. Saito panicked.

“S-Siesta… T-that…”

“Making a girl cry! Lady-killer!”

“What, going after a country girl?”

People on the street started hooting.

Saito was embarrassed.

“Siesta, for now, let’s change the surroundings…”

He began to walk while holding the crying Siesta’s shoulder.

<center>* * *</center>

Since they could not return to , because Louise rented the room, nor to “Charming Fairies’ inn, Saito and Siesta had to rent a room at a distant inn instead. In the town that was over flown with the soldiers and merchants, it was very hard to find an empty room, but somehow, in the basement of one tattered tavern, they were able to find a room and entered it.

“Taking one Ecu for such a shabby room.”

Saito complained while taking a seat on the bed. It was dim because the room was windowless. Though Siesta was still crying badly, she stopped once Saito gentle hand  patted her head.

“I'm sorry.”

Siesta said while biting her lower lip.

“What’s wrong?”

Saito asked.

“Poor Saito–san… Though he works hard, he gets such cold words…It is very saddening…”

“It’s all right.”

Saito said, in hopes to lighten up the mood for moment.

Siesta started to shiver.

The unheated room grew colder. Saito stood up and threw a few pieces of firewood into the fireplace. They were given some when booking the room. Other heating conveniences were not invented in Halkeginia yet. He stared blowing to make the firewood burn more… and was silently hugged by Siesta from behind. Instinctively, he held his breath.

“I’m sorry…” Siesta said in tearful voice.

“Eh? No, it’s okay… I had no use of the money anyway…”

He though she was grateful about booking the room, but he was wrong.

“Running off to such place… is troublesome.”

Siesta tightened her hug.

The fire spread upon the firewood… burning brightly. The room was half way underground, so the window still provided some of the light up. Facing towards the street, one could see feet of passers-by.

“Am I a nuisance?”

“Not at all. Feels very good.”

Siesta muttered in a weeping voice again,

“Even so, isn’t this a war? If something happened to Saito-san, I, I… I hated not being able to see you again, so I decided to come. Thus, I went with Jessica and others to Albion…”

While speaking, she gave in to her emotions.

Siesta began to weep raggedly again.

“I wanted to see you so much. And I am happy to see you, yet I cannot express myself. When speaking, I am blathering about various, non-important things. Terrible.”

Siesta pressed her wet from tears cheek against his back.

“Well…”

“…I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for crying.” Siesta muttered over and over again.

Saito turned around, taking off Siesta's hand and patting her head with his left hand and wiping away the tears with the fingers of his right.

“Poor Saito-san. Brought from another world, yet keeps working hard without complaints. Cruel. It is so cruel. M-my important person…used as a tool…”

Saying so, while sobbing, Siesta looked at Saito’s face. Then, suddenly, Siesta tried to bring her lips close to his… but once he noticed what she is attempting to do, he tried to pull away.

But Saito could not pull his hand from her cheek. I do not want to separate, he thought.

Siesta, noticing the hesitation of Saito’s hand, wrapped her arms around Saito’s neck and quickly kissed him.

Being the first time that Siesta kissed me, her lips felt warm. Like everything about Siesta – warm and soft. Just like that bread that she allowed me to eat in the kitchen.

[[Image:ZnT07-185.jpg|thumb]]

Siesta pulled away for a moment and looked at Saito's face through moistened eyes.

And then, she pressed her lips fiercely again. Using her body weight, Siesta pinned Saito to the floor.

Siesta’s black hair looked slightly red from the fireplace. Her cheeks glowed as well.

She was a gentle girl who was always near.

Siesta, with determined look in her eyes, pushed back the black hood and tried to remove her robe completely.

He wanted to say “W-wait”, but was silenced by the kiss.

The kiss was both – sweet and fierce at the same time, while blushing Siesta, placed a hand on her breasts. Such way, leaning herself upon him, Siesta traced Saito’s lips with her own over and over again.

Slightly separating their lips, she muttered.

“I love you.”

All light up by the burning flames, Siesta looked pretty and wild, she was very tempting. Even when they shared a bath together she did not look as tempting.

Love and kisses must be what made her so tempting.

Capturing like a flame it makes a girl look better.

Siesta herself was not aware of her coquettish charms.

Still, not noticing that Saito stiffened, Siesta puckered up her lips.

“Jessica said – when you’ll meet a boy that you like you will do everything for him. I think it might be true, as right now I am ready to do everything.”

“T-t-that’s not…”

Saito tried to squeeze words out of his seemingly dry throat.

“So, please touch me.”

Because of the way she was clasping hands, the valley of her breast peeping out of her black dress was clearly visible, Saito turned his face away. Siesta gave a confused look.

“Do you hate it?”

She asked, Saito shook his head.

“It isn’t so. It isn’t why.”

Saito said in a tensed voice. He was a healthy boy. It was hard to endure. Almost dead-hard. Such cute Siesta embracing him tightly… he wanted to make her his. But at the same time…he thought that it would be a lie. He would be lying about something important.

Therefore, Saito shook his head.

“..saying that, it would feel like a lie.”

“A lie?’

“Yes. Because Siesta is an important person for me… That’s why that…I am not saying that…” he started stammering incoherently.

Did it reach her what he wanted to say?

Siesta thought for a moment… and then smiled.

“Saito-san, remember?”

“…Eh?”

“In Tarbes… some time ago. You promised me to take me back to the other world where I come from.”

“…Yes.”

“What you said that time was not a lie, because I still believe it.”

“Siesta.”

“Then I will wait. It will not be a lie when your feelings will grow…though it could never happen… I’ll wait. Then…me…”

Saying that Siesta was so lovable, that Saito couldn’t help himself and embraced her tightly.

Siesta looked at Saito with puppy eyes and said.

“For only tonight. Hug me tightly…and kiss me. Is it all right? Would it also be a lie?

“About the k-kiss...”

“Then skip the kiss part.”

Because there was no need to hold himself back now, he embraced her.

Such words of Siesta, should not be said when being rejected. When Siesta reposed herself on a bed, Saito looked down at her. There were no sign of tears on her face. Just a simple melancholy.

Then Saito embraced the girl, who said that she loves him, tightly.

<center>* * *</center>

Siesta had a very nice aura around her. Different from Louise, it was tender, it was an aura of a tender girl. Saito, holding her firmly, spoke about everything and nothing.

About being lost in a forest as a kid.

About his favorite syrup for the pancakes.

About taking a whole-day nap during the holidays.

When he ran out of topics, Siesta piled up her lips.

Then… Siesta passed a small jar to Saito.

“What is it?”

“Magical medicine. I bought it from my saved money. ‘Sleeping pills’”

“Sleeping pills?”

“Right. If you were to drink those with wine, you would fall into a deep sleep.”

“I can fall asleep without those things.”

He said, but Siesta shook her head.

“I did not buy it for the Saito-san.”

“Then why?”

Siesta lowered her voice.

“It’s for, for Miss Valliere… if she would make Saito-san to do something dangerous… then make her drink it and escape while she’s asleep.”

Saito laughed spontaneously.

“Muu… stop laughing already… I am serious!”

“Well, I do not think it's dangerous" Saito said.

The war is a winning battle. Scaring the enemy's main force and making them shut themselves up in the capital without going out… it is said that there should be a lot of soldiers who could revolt too. It was an easy victory for the generals, the officers, the soldiers – for everyone.

“It is said that after losing Londonium enemy morale dropped as well.”

Though Louise has been strangely sent to a dangerous duty… since they failed the other day, there might be no more of that. Besides… Louise does not expect much from me either. So, I do not think that generals will entrust us with an important assignment again.

“But I am worried. My younger brother… my younger brother will also go to the war soon. My brother also said not to worry. But I am worried. And if I start thinking about Saito-san, I become worried too. I can’t leave while being so worried…”

Siesta looked like she was about to burst into tears again.

“Everything is all right.”

“… I have a bad premonition. If something not good were to happen to Saito-san, then I, I…”

Saito firmly held Siesta close.

“Saito-san…”

“Siesta, calm down. It’s all right. Everything is all right. When you’ll return back to the school, please make the stew for me again.”

Siesta nodded ‘Yes’ and smiled.

The flame of the fireplace trembled gently.

The snow was falling outside, reflected in the moonlight it bathed the world in silver light

“…An argent advent festival.” Siesta said.

“What is this festival enshrining?”

“Founder Brimir - the festival celebrates the day when he landed on this ground.”

“But today marks… the start of a New Year. Does this festival enshrines New year as well?”

“Indeed. The day when founder Brimir landed on this ground became a New Year day too.”

He remembered Louise.

The user of founder’s element ‘Void’…

Why such great magic power was given to a human… was it a blessing or a curse, contemplated Saito.

<center>* * *</center>

In her own rented room, with a blanket over the head, Louise was waiting for the familiar’s return. Though it was a middle of the night… Saito was not returning.

Outside the window…the snow stopped falling a while ago…

Thick layers of snow, illuminated by the two moons, dyed a whole town in silver.

The thought of the two people together watching at this beautiful scenery right now made her body burn with jealousy.

“Muu, I don’t want to know.” she muttered hugging her knees.

I can’t permit Saito to hurt me this much.

*Knock knock* someone knocked against the room doors. He came back, she lifted her head. Her face softened.

However… it wasn’t Saito’s voice that came from the other side of the door.

“It’s me, Miss Valliere. Can I come in?”

It was Romalia’s Shinto priest, Julio’s voice.

“Did something happen? It’s midnight already.”

“I have to talk with you about something.”

Once the door was opened, the handsome Julio was standing there with a smile on his face.

When entering the room, Julio gracefully bowed.

“Something to talk about?”

Julio silently took Louise's hand. Her body started to tremble spontaneously.

“Relax. I won’t do anything strange. Royal ring is what interests me.”

Louise looked doubtful… but, deciding not to refuse, she thrust her finger out.

On the ring finger of the right hand, the ruby of the water, given by Henrietta, started to shine. Legendary ring, used to read founders prayer book…

“Beautiful blue… Have you wondered?”

Louise tilted her head. What was he talking about?

“Why it is such blue ruby?”

“That…” Louise faltered. Once asked about, it indeed was mysterious.

“It is called ‘The ruby of water’ gem, I know.”

Startled Louise looked at Julio.

“Julio, you…”

“The ruby of water is vivid blue, the ruby of wind is transparent, the ruby of earth is brown…”

Louise set up the wand.

“Who are you?”

“I’m a Shinto priest. Really, just a Shinto priest of Romalia. Pope messenger. Well, I‘ll continue the lecture. The legendary gems are called rubies... even though they are not really red. It‘s because they are said to be made from Founders blood. However, it is unknown, if it‘s true or not.“

“It’s very detailed.”

“Aah. We study a lot of things for divine purposes in Romalia. One with nature and learning. It makes me be me. The gems were given to Halkeginia long long time ago... Water to Tristain, wind to Albion, earth to Galia... and fire to Romalia.“

“Eh?”

“I’m searching for Romalia’s ruby of fire. As the name suggests, it’s a red gem that looks like fire. There is a strange story concerning this ruby. It was stolen from Romalia… and rumors said that Tristain had a hand to it. Have you heard about it?”

Louise shook her head. She never seen nor heard about such thing.

“You are not lying?”

“Yes. I can not stand lying.“

“Then I guess that’s the way it is.”

Julio gave up suddenly and sat on the bed.

“Are there more stories left to tell?”

“Your story.”

“My story?”

“I'm very interested“

He gave a charming smile. A smile that makes every girl helpless. However, Louise was not in a mood today and did not want to see that handsome smile at all.

“This late? I’m sleepy.”

“We could sleep together.”

Such over confident attitude ticked Louise off.

“It’s arrogant.”

“Julio Cesar is not my real name. It’s a name of an ancient great king of Romalia.”

“Why did you take the name?”

“I was abandoned. I grew up in the orphanage. I was a leader among other kids, therefore, I was nicknamed after the great king Julio Cesar. Because it was troublesome, I introduced myself this way as well. Arrogance is inborn.”

“Will you leave already?”

Julio stood up.

“Surely, sooner or later… You will be interested in me. I promise.”

Louise pointed to the door. After bowing, Julio left the room.

“…why are all men so arrogant?”

Louise lay back to bed and waited for her familiar return.

However, Saito did not come back.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Chapter6_%7EPreview%7E|Back to Chapter 6]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Chapter8_%7EPreview%7E|Forward to Chapter 8]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

User talk:Sleeppig

2008-12-10T03:54:07Z

Kumichael:

No problem :) as long as the project is being worked on, I don't necessarily care. - Kumichael

User talk:Sleeppig

2008-12-09T03:29:18Z

Kumichael:

ill help '''edit''' your project... if you want me to... AKA i'd be an editor, if needed. - Kumichael

User talk:Sleeppig

2008-12-09T03:28:39Z

Kumichael:

ill help '''edit''' your project... if you want me to... AKA i'd help edit, if needed. - Kumichael

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story2 Chapter5

2008-12-08T05:45:35Z

Kumichael: /* Chapter Eight: The Staff of Destruction */

===Chapter Eight: The Staff of Destruction===

The next morning…

At the Tristain Academy of Magic, there was much commotion from last night's events, just as though a wasp’s nest had been stirred.

Why? Because the Staff of Destruction had been stolen.

And it was brazenly stolen by using an Earth Golem to break through the wall of the vault.

The teachers of the Academy of Magic gathered inside the vault were speechless when they saw the gaping hole in the wall.

The inscription on the wall etched by Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt said it all:

[I have acquired the Staff of Destruction. Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt]

At this point in time, all the teachers at the academy could do was gripe and whine

“It’s that thief who had looted the nobles clean, Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt! How daring of him (1) to target the academy!”

“What were the guards doing?”

“Even if the guards are around, they’re useless! They’re only commoners! Speaking of which, which noble was supposed to be on duty last night?”

Mrs. Chevreuse felt anxious. She was supposed to be on duty last night. “But who would steal from the academy?” she thought while sleeping soundly in her own room instead of being next to the vault door like all nobles on watch duty must do.

One of the teachers immediately pointed out and said, “Mrs. Chevreuse! You were supposed to be on duty last night! Am I right?”

Mrs. Chevreuse broke into tears, ”I’m very sorry… Very sorry…”

“Even if you cried your heart out, would it come back? Or are you going to pay for it?”

“But… but I just finished paying for my house.” Mrs. Chevreuse knelt down on the floor and wept.

Just then, Old Osman arrived. “Erm… This is not the best time to be hard on the ladies, right?”

The fellow teacher who reprimanded Mrs. Chevreuse retorted, “But Osman, Mrs. Chevreuse failed in her duty! She was sleeping soundly in her bed when she was supposed to be on watch!”

Old Osman gently stroke his long beard while looking at the very shaken and stirred teacher.

“Erm… What’s your name again?”

“It’s Gimli! Have you forgotten?”

“Oh, right! Gimli! Well, Mr. Gimli, don’t get angry. Honestly speaking, how many of you here can say that you’re always vigilant throughout your tour of duty?” Old Osman replied.

The teachers looked at each other and hung their heads in shame. There was silence.

“Well, that’s the situation that we’re in now. Talking about responsibility, I think all of us, including myself, have to be held accountable for this incident. Why did we think that a thief could never infiltrate the academy? Is it because of the number of mages we have in the academy here that gives us the assurance that we won’t be attacked? This type of thinking is wrong from the beginning.”

Old Osman gazed at the hole in the wall and continued, “It’s our complacency that has gave Fouquet the courage to trespass, and steal the Staff of Destruction. We’re all at fault.”

Mrs. Chevreuse looked upon Old Osman with gratitude and said, “Oh! Osman, Mr. Osman! Thank you for your benevolence. From now on I’ll look upon you as though you’re my father.”

“Well, that… Hehe… Miss…” Old Osman started to stroke Mrs. Chevreuse’s bottom.

“If that’s okay with you… It’s up to the headmaster then.”

Old Osman, not wanting to put the blame on anybody, decided that was the best way to loosen the uptight atmosphere. After that he proceeded to clear his throat, with everybody remaining solemn waiting for him to speak.

“Well then, who were the ones who witnessed the theft?” Osman asked.

“It was these three.” said Mr. Colbert while pointing to the three people behind him.

It was Louise, Kirche and Tabitha. Saito was also present but due to the fact that he’s a familiar, he wasn't counted as a “person”.

“Oh… It’s you guys…” Osman said as he looked at Saito with great interest.

Saito did not know why he was being stared at, but remained courteous nonetheless.

“Please tell us about the event in depth.”

Louise stepped forward and described what she saw. “Mm… A great clay golem appeared and broke the wall. The hooded magician standing on its shoulder went in and took something… I think it most probably was the Staff of Destruction... After that the hooded mage rode on the golem and escaped beyond the school walls… The golem became a big mound of earth in the end.”

“After that, what happened?”

”Later, all we saw was a mound of earth, with no sign of the hooded mage.”

“So… that is what happened…” Osman said while stroking his beard.

“Even though we wanted to carry on the chase, but without any leads we couldn't. So…”

At this point in time Old Osman suddenly remembered a question to ask Mr. Colbert, ”Ah, Where is Miss Longueville?”

“I’m not sure, I haven’t seen her since morning.”

“Where could she have gone to during these trying times?”

“That’s right, where could she be?"

In the midst of those mutterings, Miss Longueville finally appeared.

“Miss Longueville! Where have you been? Something terrible has happened!” said Mr. Colbert anxiously.

Miss Longueville spoke to Old Osman in a very cool and calm manner. “I’m extremely sorry to be late! I was doing some investigations. So…”

“Investigations?”

“Yes. When I woke up this morning there was already a lot of commotion happening, so then I went to the vault and saw the inscription on the wall made by Fouquet. I knew that the thief infamous throughout the land had struck again. Therefore, I immediately started investigations.”

“You’re really very efficient, Miss Longueville.” Mr. Colbert then asked again in an urgent manner, “But in the end, did you find out anything?”

“Yes, I have gotten hold of the whereabouts of Fouquet.”

“What!?” Mr. Colbert spoke with amazement. “Where did you get this information from Miss Longueville?”

“According to the commoners around the area, they saw what seemed to be like a person wearing a black hooded cloak entering an abandoned house in the nearby forest. I think that the person is most probably Fouquet and that abandoned house is most probably his hideout.”

Louise upon hearing that exclaimed, “A black hooded cloak? Unmistakable, that must be Fouquet!”

Old Osman too got psyched up and asked Miss Longueville, “How far is it from here?”

“By foot it takes half a day, by horse it should only take four hours.”

“We must report this to the Imperial Court right away! We must seek reinforcements from the imperial army!” Mr. Colbert shouted yet again.

Old Osman shook his head and stared at Colbert and with a vigor unfitting for an old man and shouted, “You fool! By the time we report this to the imperial court, Fouquet would have gotten away Scott free! Besides, if we can’t even handle such a small problem on our own, we’re not fit to be called nobles! Since the staff was stolen from the academy, then it’s the academy’s responsibility to get back the staff ourselves!”

Miss Longueville smiled, as though she was waiting for this answer all along.

Old Osman coughed for a while, and then started recruiting volunteers. “Now, we’re going to organize a search team to find Fouquet. Those willing to join, please rise up your wands.”

All of the nobles looked at each other awkwardly, not one raised a wand.

“No one? That’s peculiar. No one wants to be known as the hero who caught Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt?”

Louise was among those who lowered their heads but she decided to raise her wand.

“Miss Valliere!” Mrs. Chevreuse exclaimed in surprise. “You mustn’t do this! You’re still a student! Please leave this to the teachers!”

“But none of you are willing to help…” Louise muttered.

Saito looked at Louise with his mouth wide open. The rather serious look on Louise coupled with her gently biting her lips looked so stunning that it had captivated Saito.

Seeing that Louise had raised her wand, Kirche too raised her wand, with a little reluctance though.

Mr. Colbert even more surprised, exclaimed; “Miss Zerbst! Aren’t you a student too?”

Kirche replied nonchalantly, ”Well, I simply cannot lose to the Vallière family.”

Seeing Kirche raising her wand, Tabitha did the same.

“Tabitha! You need not do this! This does not concern you at all!” Kirche said.

Tabitha just answered, ”I’m worried.”

Feeling touched, Kirche looked at Tabitha with gratitude.

Louise at the same time also muttered, ”Thank you… Tabitha.”

Seeing the three of them, Old Osman laughed and said, “Well then, it’s all up to you three now.”

“Sir! Headmaster Osman! I strongly object! We must not put the life of a student in danger!”

“Well, would you then go in their stead, Mrs. Chevreuse?”

“Ah... Erm… Well… I’m not feeling very well recently, so…”

“They have seen Fouquet before plus, even though Miss Tabitha here is very young, I have heard that she has already been conferred the title of chevalier (2), am I right?”

Tabitha did not answer and just stood quietly.

All the teachers looked at Tabitha in astonishment.

“Is that true, Tabitha?” asked Kirche in similar astonishment.

Even though chevalier is the lowest title that the Imperial family can confer to a person, Kirche was still amazed that Tabitha could attain it at such a young age. If it’s a title of “Baron” or even “Marquis”, the titles could be obtained by purchasing large amounts of land. However for a person to be called a chevalier, the only way is to render great service for the country. It’s a title that can only be conferred by merit.

Once again, there was great commotion inside the vault.

Old Osman went on and looked on Kirche and said, ”Miss Zerbst from Germania comes from a family of distinguished war heroes, and she herself has a very strong background in fire magic."

Kirche flicked her hair with confidence.

Louise, thinking that it was time for her to be praised too, cutely stood to attention.

Old Osman was now in a pinch. There was almost nothing to praise about Louise…

“Ahem!” Clearing his throat, Osman veered his sight clear of Louise and said; ”That... Miss Vallière comes from the prestigious Vallière Family, a family renowned for their mages. And… She’ll be a promising one in the future… and as for her familiar…”

Placing his gaze on Saito, Osman continued saying; ”Even though he’s a commoner, he has defeated General Gramont’s son, Guiche de Gramont in battle." Old Osman thought to himself: and if he really is the legendary Gandálfr… "Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt should not be a match for him."

Mr. Colbert also enthusiastically added; “Yes! Yes! Because he is the legendary Gand…”

Old Osman hastily covered Mr. Colbert’s mouth before he could finish his sentence. “A.. Hahaha… He’s talking nonsense! Haha!...”

Then there was silence again.

Then Headmaster Osman in a solemn tone spoke, “If anyone thinks that they're more capable than the mentioned three, please step forward.”

No one stepped forward.

Therefore Old Osman turned to the group of four and said, ”The academy awaits the capture of Fouquet then!”

Louise, Kirche and Tabitha stood to attention and said, ”We swear upon our wands to capture Fouquet!”

After that they pulled the edges of their skirts and made a curtsy. Saito also hastily followed. As he wasn't wearing a skirt, he pulled the end of his jacket.

“Well then, ready the carriage and set off right away. You must conserve your energy before you reach your destination.”

“Miss Longueville, could you go with them, too?”

“Yes, Headmaster Old Osman. I had wanted to go with them as well,” said Miss Longueville.

<center>* * *</center>

So under the lead of Miss Longueville, the four quickly set off.

Even though it was considered a carriage, in actual fact it was just a cart with wooden planks attached as a seat. The good thing about it though was that if they were attacked, they could easily jump out of the carriage right way.

Miss Longueville was in charge of driving the carriage.

Kirche asked the silent Longueville who was concentrating on the reins, “Miss Longueville, this type of job could be done by a commoner. Why do you have to do it yourself?”

Miss Longueville smiled and answered; “It’s all right. I’m not a noble anyway.”

Kirche paused for a while, and asked again, “But aren’t you Headmaster Osman’s secretary?”

“Yes, I am. But Old Osman isn’t a person who is concerned by a person’s status when looking for help. Whether if he’s a noble or commoner.”

“If it’s possible, tell me in depth how you lost your status, please.”

But Miss Longueville just smiled at Kirche. It seemed like she did not want to speak anymore.

“Just tell me please, even if it’s just a little.” Kirche pestered as she began leaning closer to Miss Longueville. Just then she felt someone grabbing her shoulder. It was Louise. Kirche then turned around and said, “What is it that you want, Vallière?”

“Forget it. Stop raking up someone’s past.”

“Humph, I’m bored, that’s why I needed some one to talk to”. Kirche replied while placing her hands behind her head and laying against the side of the carriage.

“I do not know if this applies to your country, but in Tristain, it’s a shameful act to force someone to reveal something that he or she does not want to say.”

Kirche did not answer her. She got up and sat in a cross legged position and began saying, “It’s all because of your impetuous that got me into this mess. Capturing Fouquet…”

Louise gave an angry stare at Kirche, “What do you mean by that? Didn’t you volunteer yourself in?”

“If you had came alone, wouldn’t Saito be in danger, too? Am I right, Louise the Zero?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Anyways, if that large golem appeared again, you would surely run to the rear and let Saito do all the fighting, right?"

“Who would I run away? I would use my magic, you’ll see!”

“You, using magic? What a joke!”

The two started bickering again. Tabitha continued reading her book.

“That’s enough! Would you both please stop it?” Saito interrupted.

Kirche did a gesture and said, “Humph, I’ll stop. I’m not the one at fault anyway.”

Louise bit her lips.

“Well then darling, this is for you.” Kirche looked at Saito seductively, and then placed in his arms the sword that she had bought for him.

“Wow! Thanks!” Saito said while taking the sword.

“I won that time round, or do you have something to say? Louise the Zero?”

Louise stared at the both of them, but kept quiet.

Suddenly, it turned dark. The carriage had entered the forest. The darkness and the weird smell present in the forest sent shivers down their spines.

“We’ll have to walk from here onwards.” Miss Longueville said. The group then disembarked from the carriage, and proceeded to the small path into the forest.

“I’m afraid of the dark and don’t like the feeling around here…” Kirche said while wrapping her arms around Saito’s.

“Could you not keep so close to me?”

“But I’m afraid!” Kirche said with exaggerated reaction. Anyone could tell that she was lying…

Saito, worried about Louise, glanced at her.

Louise turned her head away. “Humph”

The group reached a clearing in the forest. It was roughly the size of the Vestri Court and in the middle was an abandoned house. The house was built from wood with a corroded stove. Next to it was a completely rundown warehouse.

The group hid behind the bushes and observed the house.

Miss Longueville pointed to the house and said, “From the information I’ve gathered, that should be the place.”

“Looks like no one is inside. Is Fouquet really hiding there?”

The group started discussing, using sticks to draw their battle plan on the ground. They all agreed that ambushing him was the best way. All the better if he was sleeping.

Firstly, they would need to scout around the house and know what is going inside. After that if Fouquet is inside, the scout will draw him out, because there is not enough earth inside the house for him to create an earth golem. Once outside, the rest would all cast their magic against him, without letting him have a chance to summon his golem.

“So who is going to lure him out?” Saito asked.

Tabitha replied, “The one with the best reflexes.”

All stared at Saito.

“Me?” Saito sighed. He drew out the sword that Kirche gave to him.

The runes on his left hand started glowing. At the same time Saito felt his body becoming as light as a feather.

Saito moved closer to the house and peered through the window in the house. There was only one room in the whole house, with a table and a reclining chair that were both covered in dust. There was also a bottle of wine on the table and in one corner of the room there was firewood.

There was no one inside and there did not seem to be any place to hide inside the house either.

Had he already left this place?

But their opponent is Fouquet, a triangle mage. So he may still be hiding inside even though there did not seem to be a hiding place inside.

So Saito decided to call everyone over.

Saito used his hand to make an “X” sign on top of his head, a sign that means the house is empty.

The rest of the group who were hiding carefully approached the house.

“There’s no one inside,” Saito said while pointing at the window.

Tabitha waved her staff at near the door and muttered, “There’s no trap.” She then opened the door and went inside the house.

Kirche and Saito followed suit and entered the house.

Louise told the rest she would stand guard and stayed behind.

Miss Longueville said that she would investigate the area around the forest and disappeared.

Saito’s group went into the house and started to look for any clues to Fouquet's whereabouts.

Then, Tabitha found inside a box... The Staff of Destruction.

“The Staff of Destruction.” Tabitha said while waving it around.

“Isn’t this too easy?” Kirche exclaimed.

Saito looked at the Staff of Destruction and said with astonishment, “Kirche, is this really the Staff of Destruction?”

Kirche nodded and said, “Unmistakably, I saw it once during my tour of the treasure vault.

Saito brought the staff closer and examined it closely. “If I’m not wrong this is a …”

Just then, Louise who was standing guard outside gave a chilling shriek. “Ahhhh!!!”’

“What happened, Louise?!”

Just as everyone looked outside the house, a loud sound could be heard. Crack!
Suddenly the house was without a roof and everyone looked up.

In place of the roof was a giant earth golem.

“It’s an earth golem!” Kirche screamed.

Tabitha was the first to react. Waving her staff, she started chanting her magical inscriptions. A whirlwind appeared out of her staff and struck the golem.

After the whirlwind dissipated, the golem remained unscathed.

Following Tabitha, Kirche took out her wand hidden in her cleavage and started chanting.

A fireball shot out of her wand and engulfed the golem. Even though the whole golem was on fire, it did not seem to be affected by the fire at all.

“It’s too tough for the few of us!” Kirche shouted.

“Retreat” Tabitha said softly.

Kirche and Tabitha went different ways and ran out of the house.

Meanwhile, Saito was looking for Louise.

“Over there!”

Louise stood behind the golem, chanted something and pointed her wand towards the golem.

Something exploded on the surface of the golem. It was Louise’s magic! The golem realized this, turned around and faced Louise.

Saito, standing near the door of the house 20 meters away from Louise shouted, “Run! Louise!”

Louise refused, “No! If I subdue this, no one will ever call me Louise the Zero ever again.” Louise appeared to be very serious. The golem tilted its head, pondering whether to deal with Louise or Kirche and Tabitha who were escaping.

“Look at the size difference between you and the golem! You can’t possibly win!”

“You’ll never know if you don’t try.”

“It’s too hard! It’s impossible!”

Louise stared at Saito and said, “Haven’t you said this before?”

“What?”

“When you were badly beaten by Guiche’s Valkyries, when you kept standing up and said, you did not want to lower your head, and you never will.”

“Yes... I did say that… but…”

“I feel the same way. Even though I cannot accomplish anything, this is a matter of pride. If I run away now, people will say, ‘because she’s Louise the Zero, that’s why she ran away’."

“Does it matter? Let people say whatever they want!”

“But I’m a noble. Nobles are people that can use magic.” Louise tightened her grip on her wand. “And nobles never turn their backs on their enemies.”

The golem decided that it would deal with Louise first, it raised its leg, preparing to crush her.

Louise raised her wand towards the golem and started chanting again…

But it failed, even though Louise used ‘fireball’.

Then a small explosion occurred on the golem’s chest and small fragments of earth fell out from its chest. The golem was not affected by the attack at all.

Saito grabbed his sword and dashed towards Louise.

Louise saw the golem’s foot getting nearer and nearer. She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.

At this instant, Saito approached her at the speed of a whirlwind, grabbed her and rolled away from the golem’s stomp.

Saito gave a slap on Louise’s face. Pak!

“Do you really wish to die?”

Louise looked at Saito, stunned.

“To hell with your noble’s pride! Once you die, nothing really matters anymore! Idiot!”

Tears began to flow out of Louise’s eyes like a waterfall.

“Please don’t cry!”

“But… but I cannot take this lying down… I’m always being treated like a fool by others…”

Looking at the crying Louise, Saito felt hapless.

Being constantly called “Zero”, being treated like an idiot, no one could take that lying down. He recalled his fight with Guiche. Louise cried that time, too. Even though Louise is stubborn and haughty, in reality she actually hates fighting and she’s not good at it either.

She’s only a girl… Louise’s beautiful face was now covered in tears, just like a crying child.

But this was not the time to console her. Saito turned his head over and saw the golem raising its fists, ready to pound them.

“Can’t you even console me a little?” Louise protested as Saito carried her and escaped.

The golem chased after them, even though the golem was nowhere near agile, its speed was still on par with Saito.

Tabitha's Wind Dragon landed in front of Saito to help in their escape.

“Get on.” Tabitha said.

Saito placed Louise on the dragon’s back.

“You too, quickly!” Tabitha said to Saito with urgency unlike her normal self.

But Saito did not get on, instead he ran towards the golem.

“Saito!” Louise shouted.

“Fly away now!” Saito shouted.

Tabitha stared at Saito emotionlessly for a while, and was forced to make Sylphid fly up as the golem was approaching them.

Bang!

The golem’s fist smashed onto the place Saito stood on. Just in the nick of time, Saito jumped and evaded the blow. The golem removed its fist from the ground and a crater a meter wide was formed.

Saito mumbled to himself, ”Don’t cry if you can’t take it lying down. Stupid! This really makes me feel like doing something for you!” Saito faced the golem and said, “You better not look down on me! You’re just a pile of dirt!”

He grabbed hold on his sword and said, “I’m Louise’s familiar!”

“Saito!” Louise attempted to jump down from Sylphid which was in mid air, but was grabbed by Tabitha.

“Please save Saito!” Louise pleaded.

Tabitha shook her head.

“Impossible to get near.”

Whenever Sylphid tried to get near, the golem would try to attack it. So Tabitha was not able to approach Saito at all.

“Saito!” Louise shouted again.

Louise saw Saito wielding his sword in a stand off against the golem.

The golem moved and threw a punch. In mid-flight the fist morphed into steel. (3)

Saito saw this, and parried the attack with his sword.

Pang! The sword broke from the hilt upon impact.

Saito was stunned. Was this sword really made by the famous Germanian Alchemist Lord Shupei? It’s totally useless!

Without a weapon, all Saito could do was evade the golem’s attack.

Seeing Saito in a pinch, Louise was desperate. Wasn’t there anyway to help him? Just then, Louise noticed the “Staff of Destruction” held by Tabitha.

“Tabitha! Pass that to me!”

She nodded and passed the Staff of Destruction of Louise.

The Staff of Destruction had an unusual shape that Louise had never seen before.

But since Louise’s magic did not work, all she could depend on now was the Staff of Destruction.

Louise closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Opening her eyes again she said, “Tabitha! Use levitation on me.” And jumped off the Sylphid’s back. Tabitha hastily casted “Levitation” on Louise.

Under the effect of the spell, Louise slowly descended and facing Saito and the golem, waved the Staff of Destruction.

Nothing happened at all. There was no response from the Staff of Destruction.

“Is this really a magical staff?” Louise shouted urgently.

Were there any special requirements in order to activate it?

Saito looked at the descending Louise and was shocked. Why did she come back? It would have been better for her to stay on the dragon!

At the same time, Saito saw the Staff of Destruction that Louise was holding.

''Looks like Louise did not know how to use the staff and she was just waving it around…''

Saito rushed towards Louise.

''If we could use this, maybe we could defeat the golem!''

“Saito!” Louise shouted to Saito who was running towards her.

Saito grabbed the Staff of Destruction away from Louise.

“I don’t know how to use this!”

“It’s to be used like this!”

Saito grabbed hold of the Staff of Destruction, took out the arming handle, opened the rear cover and pulled out and extended the inner tube.

''… Why do I know how to do this?''

But now this is not the time to think.

He flipped up the telescope sight on the tube and aimed.

Seeing his proficiency in handling the Staff of Destruction, Louise was too shocked to say anything.

Saito placed the Staff of Destruction on his shoulder and pointed the front of the staff towards the golem.[[Image:Znt B1 C8 01.JPG|thumb|''Saito placed the Staff of Destruction on his shoulder and pointed the front of the staff towards the golem.'']]

Due to the short distance between him and the golem, Saito decided to aim directly at the golem.

''As the distance was very close, the arming range (4) might not be attained and therefore even if hit directly, it might not explode.''

''Forget about that, just try it!'' Saito thought while shouting at Louise, “Don’t stand behind the staff, there will be a back blast!”

Louise hurriedly moved out of the way.

The golem approached closer and closer to Saito.

Saito released the safety latch and fired the weapon.

Immediately, a loud thunder came from the staff and a projectile with wings flew towards the golem.

The projectile met with the golem with a terrific explosion.

Saito instinctively closed his eyes.

A deafening roar occurred and the upper body of the golem pulverized and flew out in all directions, causing a rain of earth.

Saito slowly opened his eyes.

As the smoke from the explosion cleared, only the lower body of the golem was left standing.

What was left, took one last step forward before it finally stopped moving, and knelt down.

Then slowly from the waist, it crumbled… and returned into what it originally was – dirt.

Just like last time, the golem was reduced into a mound of earth.

Louise, who witnessed everything, felt her legs weaken and sat on the floor.

Kirche, who was hiding near the bushes, came running out.

Saito finally gave a sigh of relief.

Kirche hugged Saito and said, “Saito, My darling! You did it!”

Sylphid, who was carrying Tabitha, descended. Tabitha looked at the mound of earth and asked, “Where is Miss Longueville?”

Just then everyone realized that Miss Longueville was missing.

Just then Miss Longueville came out from the forest.

“Miss Longueville! Did you find out where Fouquet was controlling the golem from?” Kirche asked.

Miss Longueville shook her head.

The four of them started searching the mound of earth for clues. Saito looked at them, and then looked at the Staff of Destruction, thinking to himself: ''Why did this thing appear in this world?''

Just as he was thinking, Miss Longueville took the Staff of Destruction away from Saito.

“Miss Longueville?” said the puzzled Saito.

Miss Longueville widened the distance between the group and then said, “Great job, people!”

“Miss Longueville!” Kirche shouted. “What’s the meaning of this?”

Louise stared at Miss Longueville, too shocked to say anything.

“The one controlling the golem was me all along.”

“What? That means… You’re…”

Miss Longueville removed her glasses, her once gentle expression had changed into one full of killing intent.

“Yes, I am Fouquet of the Crumbling Dirt. The Staff of Destruction is really powerful; it actually can defeat my golem in just one hit!”

Fouquet held the Staff of Destruction on her shoulders like Saito did just now.

Tabitha waved her staff and began chanting.

“All of you don’t move! I have the Staff of Destruction pointed towards you. Drop your wands now.”

They had no choice but to obey. Without their wands, they could not cast any magic.

“Mr. Agile Familiar, please drop your broken sword too. You’re a threat to me if you’re holding a weapon.”

Saito obeyed her orders and dropped the sword.

“Why?” Louise asked angrily.

“Hmm… I’d better explain to you all in order for you all to rest in peace.” Fouquet said with a coquettish smile on her face.

“I had gotten hold of the Staff of Destruction, but I did not know how to use it.”

“The way to use it?”

“Yes. No matter how I waved the staff or applied my magic on it, there was no response at all. That frustrated me. After all, if I do not know how to use it, it would be just as useful as a decorative item. Wouldn’t it?”

Louise wanted to dash out towards Fouquet, but was stopped by Saito.

“Saito!”

“Let her finish.”

“How considerate of you, Mr. Familiar. Then I would continue. Since I did not know how to use it, the only way was to let other people show me how to use it.”

“So therefore you brought us here.”

“If it’s the students from the academy, there may be a chance that someone knows how to use the staff.”

“If none of us knew how to use the Staff of Destruction, what would you do?”

“If that was the case, you all would be crushed by my golem. After that I would bring the next group of students here. But thanks to you, I finally know how to use the Staff of Destruction.”

Fouquet smiled and said, “Even though the time spent with you all was short, I’m really happy. Goodbye.”

Kirche feeling hopeless, closed her eyes.

Tabitha and Louise closed their eyes, too.

But Saito did not.

“You’re really brave.”

“Well, actually it’s not bravery.” Saito replied.

Fouquet pressed the trigger as Saito had done before.

But the magic that happened before did not happen again.

“Huh? Why?” Fouquet pressed the trigger again.

“It has only one shot; it won’t be able to fire again.”

“What you mean one shot?” Fouquet shouted deliriously.

“Even if I explained, you would not be able to understand. That is not a magical staff from your world.”

“What did you say?” Fouquet dropped the Staff of Destruction and took out her own wand.

Saito moved as fast as lightning, delivering a blow to Fouquet’s stomach with the hilt of his sword.

“This is a weapon from my world. Hmm… To be precise, it’s called an M72 rocket launcher (5).”

Fouquet fell onto the ground.

Saito then picked up the Staff of Destruction.

“Saito?” Louise and the other two all stared at Saito.

Saito answered, “We’ve caught Fouquet and retrieved the Staff of Destruction.”

Louise, Kirche and Tabitha looked at each other, and then ran towards Saito.

Saito, with mixed feelings, hugged the three of them together.

<center>* * *</center>

Inside the headmaster’s office, Headmaster Osman listened to the group’s account of what happened.

“Hmm… So Miss Longueville is Fouquet of the Crumbling dirt… Because she’s such a beauty I did not think twice about hiring her as my secretary.”

“How did you go about hiring her?” Mr. Colbert who was also present asked.

“In a tavern. I was a customer while she was a waitress there. Where I slowly caressed her from her hands down to her buttocks…”

“Then what happened?” Mr. Colbert asked again.

Headmaster Osman embarrassingly confessed, “Because she wasn’t angry at all after what I did, I asked her whether she wanted to become my secretary or not.”

“Why?” The bewildered Mr. Colbert continued asking.

“Anyways!” Headmaster Osman cried out using vigor unfitting for an old man.

Osman started coughing. And said sedately, “And she could use magic, too.”

“Yeah, magic that could kill.” Mr. Colbert mumbled to himself.

Headmaster Osman coughed again then told Mr. Colbert in a prudent manner, “Come to think of it, the reason that Fouquet allowed me to touch her all over the place, served me wine happily, and praised that I was handsome man, while I was in the tavern, was just to infiltrate the academy. All those praises were most probably just lies…”

Mr. Colbert upon hearing that immediately remembered that he was also bewitched by Fouquet once, and had revealed the weakness of the vault walls to her.

Mr. Colbert decided that he would take that secret with him to his grave.

“Yes. Beautiful women are deadly mages.”

“I couldn’t agree more with you, Colbert.”

Saito, Louise, Kirche and Tabitha stared blankly at the two.

Realizing that the students had given them the cold stare, the embarrassed Osman cleared his throat and regained his solemn composure.

“A job well done for all of you, you have returned the Staff of Destruction and captured Fouquet.”

The three besides Saito acknowledged proudly.

“Fouquet will be handed over to the town guards, and the Staff of Destruction will be returned back to the treasure vault. Finally the case is closed.”

Gently caressing each of the trio's heads, Osman said, “I have requested the imperial court to confer upon you the title of Chevalier, I believe that we should have news of it soon. And since Tabitha already has the title of chevalier, I have requested that she be given the Elven Medallion.”

The trio’s faces brightened up upon hearing the news.

“Really?” Kirche said astoundingly.

“Yes. You have done more than enough to deserve this title. Haven’t you?”

Louise gazed at Saito who was listless since they entered the office.

“Headmaster Osman, Saito… won't get anything?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so. Because he’s not a noble…”

Saito replied, “I don’t need anything.”

Headmaster Osman gently clapped his hands and said, ”I almost forgot, Tonight’s Ball of Frigg will resume as planned since we have gotten back the Staff of Destruction.

Kirche’s face brightened up. “That’s right. Let’s forget about Fouquet and dance all night long!”

“The main attraction of the ball will be you three. So go get ready and dress up!”

The three bowed, and left through the door.

Louise stopped and looked at Saito.

“You go first.” Saito told Louise.

Even though Louise was still worried, she nodded and left the room.

Osman turned to Saito and said, “You have something to ask me?”

Saito nodded.

“Please ask. I’ll try to answer your question to the best of my abilities. Even though I couldn’t confer you a title, this is the least I can do to show my appreciation.”

Immediately after, he asked Mr. Colbert to leave the room. Mr. Colbert, who was waiting for Saito to speak, was expressing displeasure as he exited the room.

After Mr. Colbert left, Saito said, “That, the Staff of Destruction was originally from my world.”

Osman’s eyes gleamed. “Originally from your world?”

“I’m not from this world.”

“Is this true?”

“It’s true. I was transported to this world due to Louise’s summoning.”

“I see. If that’s the case…” Osman squinted his eyes.

“The Staff of Destruction was a weapon from my world. Who was the person who brought it to this world?”

Osman sighed and said, ”The one who gave the Staff of Destruction was my savior.”

“Where is the person now? That person is definitely from the same world as me.”

“He died. That was over thirty years ago…”

“What did you say?”

“Thirty years ago, while I was strolling inside the forest, I was attacked by a two headed dragon. The one who saved me was the owner of the Staff of Destruction. He used another Staff of Destruction to kill the two headed dragon and then collapsed. He was already injured at that time. I transported him to the academy and treated his wounds. But to no avail…”

“And he died?”

Headmaster Osman nodded.

“I buried the Staff of Destruction that he had used to save me along with him in his grave, the other one I named the Staff of Destruction and kept it inside the vault in order to commemorate my savior…”

Osman gazed far away and said, ”While he was resting on the bed till the day he died, he kept saying repeatedly ‘Where is this place? I want to go back to my world.’ I guess that he must be from the same world as yours.”

“Who was the one who brought him to this world then?”

“I don’t know. Right till the end, I still had no idea how he ended up here.”

“Damn it! Just when I thought that I had a clue.” Saito lamented. The clue had led him into a dead end. Osman’s savior was most probably a soldier of ''that'' country. But how did he end up in this world? Even though Saito wanted to know badly, there was no way to know anymore.

Osman held Saito’s left hand, ”The runes on your hand…”

“Oh yes. I wanted to ask about that, too. Once the runes glow, I can use any weapon proficiently. Not just swords, even the weapons from my world too…”

Osman pondered for a moment and said, “…That I know. That is the runes of “Gandálfr”, the legendary familiar.”

“The runes of the legendary familiar?”

“Yes. Gandálfr was a legendary familiar who could use any weapon at will. That is most likely the reason that you could use the Staff of Destruction.”

Saito was confused. “…Then, why am I the legendary familiar?”

“I don’t know.” Osman quickly replied.

“I’m sorry. But there is a possibility that the runes of Gandálfr are related to you being transported to this world.”

“Haiz…” Saito sighed.

Saito thought that he could get the answers that he wanted from the headmaster, but apparently he did not know much either…

“I’m sorry that I could not be of much help. I’ll always be on your side, Gandálfr!” Osman hugged Saito. “I must thank you once again for bringing back the possession of my benefactor.”

“It’s all right…” Saito said tiredly.

“I tried to find out for you how you arrived in this world but…”

“But what?”

“But I could not find anything, please do not be dismayed. You’ll get used to this world as time goes by. Maybe by then you could find a wife here too…”

Saito sighed again. The clue to return to his original world slipped through his fingers just like that.

<center>* * *</center>

On top of Alvíss Dining Hall, there is a great hall. That is where the ball was being held. Saito leaned on the railings of the balcony and looked at the grand reception.

The students and teachers who were dressed grandly gathered around tables filled with exquisite food and chatted amongst themselves. Saito arrived there through a flight of stairs leading up to the balcony. Seeing them, Saito felt that he would not fit in at all and therefore, decided not to enter.

Next to Saito were some food and a bottle of wine that Siesta had brought for him earlier. Saito poured for himself a glass of wine and drank it.

“Eh, haven’t you got a drop too much?” said Derflinger which was leaning on the balcony worryingly. As the sword that Kirche gave to Saito broke during the ordeal, Saito brought Derflinger for protection. As usual it had a rotten tongue but it still had a happy go lucky personality so having him for company still had its merits.

“You’re noisy. To think that I had found the way to go back home, in the end it’s just a dream… can’t I drink to drown away my sorrow?”

Just before the ball started Kirche, who was beautifully dressed in an evening gown was accompanying Saito. But as soon as the ball started she was nowhere to be seen.

Saito had no choice but to use Derflinger as a companion to drive away boredom.

In the middle of the dance floor, Kirche was surrounded by a group of young males, talking and laughing. Even though Kirche promised to dance with him, it would be quite some time before Saito had his chance.

Tabitha dressed in a black gown feasted away on the sumptuous food on the table.

Looks like everyone is enjoying the dance to the fullest…

The doors to the great hall opened and Louise appeared.

The guards at the door notified everyone on Louise’s arrival. "The daughter of Duke Vallière, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de la Vallière arrives!”

Saito held his breath. Louise was dressed in a white evening gown with her long, strawberry blonde hair tied up into a pony tail. Her hands were covered by pure white gloves which adorned her grandeur. Her petite face along with her low cut evening gown made her sparkle like a gem.

After confirming that the guest had arrived, the musicians started playing music that was extremely soothing to the ears. All around Louise were males that were captivated by Louise’s beauty asking for a dance with her. Before this, no one ever realized Louise’s beauty and only thought of her as “Louise the Zero.” Now, that same group of males were trying to win her heart.

The nobles started dancing gracefully on the dance floor. Louise turned down everyone’s invitation for a dance, saw Saito on the balcony and headed over. Louise stood in front of the slightly drunk Saito and placed her arms on her waist, “Looks like you’re enjoying yourself” She said.

“Not really…” Saito moved his gaze away from the dazzling Louise, thinking to himself that it was lucky he had drank some wine, so Louise would not realize that he was blushing.

Derflinger looked at Louise and said, ”Haha. Clothes really do make the man!”

“None of your business.” Louise stared at the sword and crossed her arms.

“Aren’t you going to dance?” Saito asked while avoiding Louise’s gaze.

“I have no dance partner.” Louise replied.

“Didn’t a lot of people ask you for a dance just now?” Saito asked.

Louise did not answer and extended her hand.

“Huh?”

“Even though you’re just a familiar, I could make an exception.” The blushing Louise said while avoiding Saito’s gaze.

“Don’t you mean ‘Could I have this dance?’?” Saito said while trying to avoid Louise’s gaze too.

After a moment of silence, Louise sighed.

“Only for today!” she said.

Louise then held the ends of her dress and made a curtsy.

“May I have a dance, sir?”

These actions made the bashful Louise look even more cute and alluring than ever before.

Saito, trembling held Louise’s hands and together, they walked towards the dance floor.

“I have never danced before.” Saito said.

“Just follow my rhythm,” Louise said, and then gently held onto Saito’s hand. Saito imitated Louise’s actions and followed her rhythm. Louise did not seem to mind Saito’s stiff actions at all and concentrated on dancing.
“Saito, I believe you now,” She said.
[[Image:Znt B1 C8 02.JPG|thumb|''"Saito, I believe you now."'']]

“What?”

“…You said that you were from another world,” Louise replied while dancing gracefully.

“Huh? Didn’t you believe me already before that?”

“I originally only took what you said with a pinch of salt… but the Staff of Destruction… It’s a weapon from your world isn’t it? When I saw that, all I could do was to believe,” Louise lowered her head and asked, “Do you wish to go back?”

“Yes. I want to go back, but since there’s no way to go back yet, I’ll have to get used to life here for a while.”

“You’re right…” Louise muttered to herself then continued dancing.

After that, Louise was still blushing and did not dare look at Saito. “Thank you.” She abruptly uttered.

Hearing that, Saito was puzzled. Why is she acting so funny today?

“Well… Didn’t you save me when I was almost crushed by Fouquet’s golem?” Louise replied.

The musicians played an even more encouraging tune. Slowly bit by bit, Saito was cheering up. ''Someday… I will be able to finally return back home… but being here isn’t really that bad either.''

''Louise is really very dainty today, I should be satisfied.''

“You’re welcome. That’s what I’m supposed to do.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m your familiar.”

Louise smiled.

Derflinger which was still leaning on the balcony looked at the both of them, ”Unbelievable!” it said to itself.

The twin moons in the sky shone onto the dance floor, and along with the candle lights, created a romantic atmosphere on the dance floor.

“Partner! You amaze me!”

Looking at his partner dancing with his master, “A familiar dancing with his Master? That’s the first time I’ve seen this happening!”

----

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| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume1_Chapter7|Back to Chapter 7]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume2_Chapter1|Forward to Volume 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume1 The Third Question

2008-12-06T17:41:05Z

Kumichael: /* Third Question */

===Third Question===

'''Please translate the following sentence into English'''[http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Baka_to_Tesuto_to_Syokanju:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Question_3]:

これは私の祖母が愛用していた本棚です。

'''Himeji Mizuki's Answer'''

“This is the bookshelf that my grandmother had used regularly.”

'''Teacher's Comment:'''

Correct answer. Himeji is really hard working!

[[Image:BTS vol 01 037.jpg|thumb]]

'''Kouta Tsuchiya's Answer'''

“My grandmother”

'''Teacher's Comment:'''

You only know how to translate 私の祖母?

'''Akihisa Yoshii's Answer'''

“☆●◆∇┐♪*×”

'''Teacher's Comment:'''

Please use a human language to answer the question.

Declare a war against Class A.

This suggestion sounded too unrealistic for Class F.

“It is impossible to win!”

“I don't want to get even worse facilities.”

“I am satisfied as long as I have Himeji in the class.”

Cries like this were filling up the room.

Well, even a blind man could see the difference in fighting ability between Class A and Class F.

It had been four years since Fumitsuki Gakkuen adopted the examination system without the highest score limited to 100.
Under this system, students could answer as many question as they could in an hour. As a result, there was no limit to how many marks a student could score. As long as the student was smart enough, the score could increase indefinitely.

Besides that, there was a 'Syokanju[http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Baka_to_Tesuto_to_Syokanju:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Question_3] Summoning System' which was accidentally created by combining the science and supernatural power. Under the teachers' supervisions, students could summon their syokanju with the power equal to their result and fight against each other.

Nowadays, the overall result was really bad, and this was the latest system invented to encourage the students to study. With this system as the core, students were allowed to have an inter-class war, called 'Test Summoning War,' which used the syokanjus to fight against each other.

The result of this test was very important in the war. However, the difference in result between Class A and Class F was huge. If we fought head on, one student from Class A could probably have beaten three students from Class F at the same time. Actually, if the student was good enough, he or she might be able to take four or five of us out at the same time.

“We will win for sure. No, I will show you that we will win.”

Knowing that the difference in our fighting ability was huge, Yuuji still confidently declared that we would win.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“That's impossible, right?”

“What make you so sure about this?”

Objections came from every corner of the room.

Well, no matter how you looked at it, this was not a winnable war. I couldn't deny that, although I promised Yuuji to start the war together. But I wouldn't give up just because we would definitely lose!

“Of course I have my theory. I said that because we have every factor that can make us win the war in this class.”

The whole class were on rage after Yuuji said that.

Was it possible that we could win? Even though we were Class F, the worst class in Year 2?

“Let me explain it.”

My bad friend stood on the podium and showed a daring smile on his face; overlooked us from above the ground.

“Kouta, stop leaning on the tatami and peeping Himeji's underwear. Come here for a while.”

“!(kept shaking his head)”

“What!”

The male student called Tsuchiya Kouta desperately shook both his head and hands, trying to show that he didn't commit such crime.
Himeji pressed down her skirt and hid far away; that male student hid the mark of tatami on his face, and walked towards the podium.
He was simply amazing. He was the only person who dared to use that shameless and inappropriate pose to peep girl's underwear; this was at a higher level from someone like me who could only think of using a small mirror to peep.

“Tsuchiya Kouta, this guy is the famous 'Silent Pervert'.”

“!(fiercely shaking his head)”

Tsuchiya Kouta might not be a very well-known name, but 'Silent Pervert' was different. This name held the respect and fear from the male students; the despise and disdain by the female student.

“He is THE silent pervert...”

“How's that possible? The silent pervert looks like THIS?”

“But there is the evidence that he was brazenly peeping!”

“Well, he does live up to his name!”

He was hiding the mark of tatami on his face using his hand, with a sorrowful look on his face. I heard he never admitted what he had done under every circumstance. Well, one eyewitness was better than ten hearsays.

“?”

Himeji looked like she had a lot of question marks above her head.

Could it be that she didn't know where the nickname 'Silent Pervert' came from? Should I explain it to her?

“As for Himeji, there is no need for explanation, right? Everyone should know how good she is.”

“Yes? Are you talking about me?”

“Yeah, you are our main force; I am looking forward to your performance!”

If we were really going to start the Test Summoning War, I thought nobody would be more trustworthy than her.

“You are right; we have Himeji on our side!”

“If she is here, we won't lose to those nerds from Class A.”

“Nothing matters anymore as long as Himeji is here.”

Who was it? Who was the person that kept sending love messages to Himeji?

“We also have Kinoshita Hideyoshi.”

Kinoshita Hideyoshi, although his result was not very outstanding, he was very famous in other areas, such as the star of drama club, had a twin sister etc.

“Oooo....”

“He is Kinoshita Yuuko's ...”

“Of course I will give it my best shot.”

“I know you are the guy who meant what he said.”

“Wasn't Sakamoto called 'Whiz Kid' when he was in primary school?”

“So that means he is not feeling well during class division examination like Himeji?”

“Then we have two people with Class A ability in our class.”

We might be able to win! This kind of atmosphere was roaming in the class now.
That's right; somehow the morale of the class had increased a lot.

“Also, we have Yoshii Akihisa.”

Total silence.

Then the morale dramatically dropped.

What! Was my name so destructive? Also, I didn't see why my name should be mentioned now!

“Wait a second, Yuuji! Why do you want to mention my name now! There is no need for it!”

“Yoshii Akihisa? Who is it?”

“Never heard of it.”

“You see! The morale that you hardly raise is gone now. I am different from Yuuji and the others, I am just a normal peasant. Please treat me as how you treat normal person---Wait, why staring at me? It is not my fault that the morale drops!”

(Sigh) Even if someone in the class had heard of my name, it would not be anything good anyway. Since they didn't know about me, I didn't have to purposely make things worse.

“If you don't know, then let me tell you! His title is the ‘Kansatsu Shobunsha’[http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Baka_to_Tesuto_to_Syokanju:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Question_3].”

Oh no, he said it.

“Isn't it another word for idiot?”
Someone in the class gave a fatal opinion.

“N... No! That is just a small nick name for a sixteen years old mischievous teenager.”

“Yes, it is another word for idiot.”

“Can you please don't agree so surely, idiot Yuuji!”

"Kansatsu Shobunsha" was a punishment given to those students who had some small problem in studying. Actually I was one of them. But, it was only because I was not as good in studying as others!

“Excuse me; may I know what does it mean?”
Himeji slightly leaned her head one side, looked like she was confused. To the students who always stood at the top of the pyramid like her, it was reasonable that she was unfamiliar with this title.

“To put it simpler, it is a student that helps the teacher to do miscellaneous work. Their syokanju have the privilege to touch other objects, and can be used to do those tiring task.”

That was right; normally a syokanju could not touch any normal objects. All they could touch or interact with were the other syokanjus; In other words, it was the same as a phantom. By the way, the floor in the school had been specially made, so the syokanju could stand on the ground.
But my syokanju was different. Just as what Yuuji said, it was a special version that could touch normal objects.

“Oh I see, that's magnificent! I heard that the syokanjus have incredible powers aside from their cute outlook, being able to touch normal object will be very convenient.”
Himeji gazed at me using her shiny eyes with admiration and respect; to tell the truth, it made me feel itchy all over my body.

“Ha ha, that's nothing special!”
Anyway, I denied her thought by waving my hand.

Actually, this really was nothing special. If I could order my syokanju freely, that would really be a convenient skill to have. That was because even the syokanju that was summoned by a person with bad result like me, had much stronger power than a normal person could have. If I wished to, crushing a rock was as easy as ABC.
However, my life had never been able to be benefited by this special ability; it was actually totally the opposite.
It was because the syokanju could only be used under the teacher's supervision. In other words, I could summon it to help me do stuff whenever I wanted. Teachers would only call me when they needed to use the syokanju to do heavy task, and let me summoned it to help them. That was the truth. And to me, there was no benefit at all. Since it was under teacher's supervision, I almost never use the syokanju to do anything that benefited me.

Besides, part of the effort that the syokanju spent in doing the work, would be transferred onto me. For example, my syokanju carried a heavy object and ran around in the school; part of its tiredness would be transferred to me. Also if the heavy object dropped onto my syokanju leg while working, the pain would also be transferred to me. Not only it couldn't be used for personal advantages, the pain and tiredness would be transferred to me as well, it was just plain punishment.

Therefore being a 'Kansatsu Shobunsha' was nothing that worth to be proud of, and made nothing more convenient. It was just given to those students with bad results and lacked the will to study as punishment. This was why it was treated as another word for idiot.

“Wait a minute, since he is the 'Kansatsu Shobunsha,' then, if he was beaten in the war, he would suffer as well, right?”

“That's right, and then we will lose one fighter immediately.”

They found out now. That was why I didn't really want to join the fight. It was because if my syokanju was beaten up badly, I would feel the pain as well!

“Don't worry about it, having or losing a worthless lowlife like him will not change the result.”

“Yuuji, is that what you should say to help me?”

“Anyway, to show our ability, I plan to conquer Class D first.”

“What! You are actually ignoring me like this!”
We were standing so close together, and my dissatisfaction just couldn't reach his heart, that was so hateful!

“Everyone is unsatisfied with the current treatment, right?”

“What we want is the systematic tables and chairs from Class A, not the Japanese style table!”

“Of course!”

“Then everyone take your pen in your hand, we are preparing to go to battle!”

“Ooo----”

“Oo,oo...”

Affected by the astonishing momentum in the class, Himeji also raised her small knuckles. Looking at her, I had a will of protecting her. But, it should be me being protected by her right?

“Akihisa, you can be a messenger and declare war to Class D, you must succeed it, even if it means your life.”
Yuuji words were so caring! If it was that important, why didn't he do it himself?

“But the lower rank class messenger will be beaten up badly, right?”

“No worry, they won't hurt you, you just do it as being cheated by me.”

“Really?”

“Of course, who do you think I am?”
Yuuji gave an unchangeable conclusion without hesitation.

That was right, although Yuuji loved to joke around, he was not a person who like to lie.

“Don't worry, believe in me. I never tell lies to my friend.”
That was a very encouraging sentence.
In that case, I still thought he was up to something, but I could only believe in him now, I just had to do it.

“OK, leave the messenger job to me.”

“I am counting on you.”

The classmates' cheers and applauses sent me out of the classroom; I left the classroom and headed toward Class D with a solemn and stirring atmosphere around me.

<center>☆</center>

“I am tricked!”

I escaped and ran in the corridor for my life, eventually rolled and crawled back into the classroom.
Nearly, I was nearly killed! Those bastards in Class D, they were rushing towards me with scary momentum! I sat on the ground without energy, tried to catch my breath and stared at Yuuji.

“It is just as I thought.”

You dared to say this so calmly? You bastard, I would cut you into pieces!

“What does it mean by just as I thought?! You knew the messenger would be treated like that, right?”

“Of course, else how can I be a class leader?”

“At least feel guilty about it!”
Although I had known him since last spring, I still didn't quite understand him now.

“Yoshii, are you alright?”
Himeji quickly ran towards me when she saw my clothes were scattered apart.

“Yeah, I am fine; it is just some small wounds.”

Shimada also came close to me. Even though I was in immense pain now, being cared about by others did make me feel good.

“Oh, I see, that's good ...... There are still places that I can punch.”

“Ahh! Give me a break! I am dying!”

I quickly held my hand around my chest and rolled around on the ground. I really couldn't be careless with Shimada even though she was a girl.

“Don't bother about him, we are having a meeting now.”

Yuuji opened the door and walked out of the room after he finished speaking, it seemed like he was going to find another location to have a meeting. You should at least show some concern to your friend you knew? Come to think of it, was Yuuji really my friend? This question was asked from a long time ago, I would think about it up to seven times every week.

“If you still feel painful, please let me know.”
Himeji said and quickly followed Yuuji's pace.

“You still feel very painful, right?”
A guy with a small body, might make people think that he was a young girl----Hideyoshi, tapped on my shoulder and walked out.

“.....(walking sound)”

Silent Pervert rubbed his face and walked towards me.

“Silent Pervert, have the mark of tatami left over from peeping disappear?”

“....(kept shaking his head)”

“There is no use denying it now, I knew you are a pervert.”

“....(kept shaking his head)”

“In some sense, it is quite impressive that you can deny it under this circumstance.”

“....(kept shaking his head)”

“What colour is it?”

“....(kept shaking his head)”

“Sky blue.”

He answered it instantly.

“Silent Pervert, you really lived up to your name.”

“....(kept shaking his head)”

Just when I was casually talking cock with the silent pervert in the classroom---

“Yoshii, you need to go as well.”

Shimada grabbed my wrist with huge force and dragged me out.
Here I was thinking it was a good chance to be lazy.

“Yes, yes, yes”

“Once is enough.”

“Yes madam.”

“One day I will ''Das Brechen'' you, how should I say it in Japanese?”
Shimada's mouth suddenly slowed down.

What was ''Das Brechen?'' I think that's German, right?

“...train”

[[Image:BTS vol 01 051.jpg|thumb]]
Silent Pervert's voice came from the side.

“That's right. I need to train you.”

“Train? Shouldn't you use words like 'educate' or 'tutor?'” 

“Then I will pick the middle value, and use ''Züchtigung'' then.”

“... I don't know what it means.”

“In Japanese, I think it should be... 'Torture?'”

“That's even worse.”

“Is it?”
How come she didn't know many normal words and knew these kinds of strange words?

“By the way, Silent Pervert. Why you know the word 'train' in German?”

“... learnt from normal life and moral principles.”

Weren't your moral principles too abnormal? Which moral principles made you learn about words like 'torture'?

“Silent pervert, you never change! Your brain is only rich in knowledge related to sex.”

“....(kept shaking his head)”

We continued this useless conversation and walked around in the school, Yuuji who was walking in front of the team had reached the top floor, he opened the door and got under the sun.

The sunlight was dazzling, shining from the cloudless sky.

The blinding sunlight and the wind in spring made everyone besides the silent pervert cover their eyes, silent pervert didn't do so because he was busy staring at Himeji's skirt which was blown by the wind.

“Akihisa, you already declared war with Class D, right?”

Yuuji sat on the stairs in front of the iron fence.

“Generally I have told them that we will start attacking this afternoon.”

“So we need to have lunch first, right?”

“That's right, Akihisa, can you please eat something normal this afternoon?”

“If you really think so, then treat me to bread.”

I was a person who could put anything into my stomach, anything besides feeling, of course.

“Huh? Yoshii never eats lunch?”

Himeji looked at me in shock. Her life must be really regular, and it seemed that she grew up well because of that.

“Of course I will eat something for lunch!”

“Does that counts eating something?”

Yuuji cut into the conversation.

“What are you trying to say?”

“Well I mean, isn't your main food-----just salt and water?”

Yuuji's sound filled with sorrow and sympathy.

That was so rude. There was a limit to how you treat me as an idiot you know!

“I do eat sugar every meal as well!”

“Yoshii, for water and sugar, you shouldn't use 'eat' as the verb.”

“That's right, you should use 'lick.'”

Everyone was looking at me with a strange gentleness, but it didn't make me feel good.

“Who told you not to plan before spending money, serves you right.”

“That's because the- the money I have for living expenses is too little!”

Actually, my parents were working overseas, so I was living alone. Of course they would send money to me every month.... it was just that most of the money were spent on games and manga. Hobbies really cost a lot of money!

“Well, if you don't mind, let me make lunch for you.”

“Eh?”

The gentle words came so suddenly and I couldn't help thinking that I heard something wrong.

Lunch? From a girl? Handmade?

“Really? I haven't eaten anything other than salt and sugar for a long time.”

“Yeah. If you don't mind, I will start tomorrow.”

“That's great, Akihisa. That's handmade lunch with love, right?”

“Yeah!”

In a situation like this, I needed to honestly show that I was glad. Even if Yuuji's tease was pleasant to hear now.

“.....Haha. Mizuki, you are so nice, making lunch ONLY for Akihisa.”

I was not sure why Shimada used a boring voice and said something a little bit spiteful. What if Himeji said, “I won't do it then,” or something like that, how were you going to compensate me?

“Ah, no! Actually, I can make it for everyone...”

“We can have it as well? Really?”

“Yes, if you don't mind.”

Ooo, even Yuuji had it as well, she was too kind. However, I felt a bit sad that I couldn't enjoy it alone.

“... (nod)”

“... Let me see how good you are at cooking!”

Now including Himeji herself, she had to make six people's lunches, it must be tiring.

“Okay, then I will bring everyone's lunch to school.”

Even in situation like this, she never showed any bit of unwillingness on her face.

“Himeji is very kind.”

This was coming from the bottom of my heart. It was really difficult just to bring the lunch for six people to school; I simply couldn't understand this action.

What a selfless and attractive person she was!

“There, there's nothing like...”

“Although I am saying this so late, but when I first saw you in class, I felt like I----”

“Oi, Akihisa, if you are dumped now, you won't have any lunch tomorrow.”

“---- have known you before”

Successfully avoided being dumped. Luckily I changed "I fall in love with you" before I finished the sentence. My judgement was simply amazing.

“Akihisa, confessing because of own desire, like you, is an action of a normal pervert.”

I hated my judgement now.

“Akihisa, sometimes you will do something out of my imagination.”

“But... lunch with love...”

That was just an action necessary for me to live. It was all because of poverty!

“That's off the topic for a while; let's continue discussing about the Test Summoning War now!”

Oh that was right. I had completely forgotten about our purpose of being here.

“Yuuji, I have a question. Why do we fight Class D? If we are fighting in order, our first target should be Class E, right? If we want to fight once and for all, shouldn't we pick Class A?”

“Now that you mention it, it is really like what you said!”

“That's true! But I have a different plan.”

Yuuji boldly nodded his head.

“What plan?”

“Although there are a lot of reasons, but the reason for not attacking Class E is simple. It's just because it's not worth our time fighting with them.”

“Huh? But they are at a higher rank than us, right?”

Since the class division was based on the result, then of course Class E would be better than we Class F, right? Why did he say it was not worth our time fighting with them?

“Ha, that's true according to class division examination result, but the actual situation is different. Have a look, who do you have around you?”

“Er....”

I did as Yuuji said, looked around the partners around me. Hmm, who we had here now were----

“Two beautiful girls, two idiots, and a silent pervert.”

“Who are the beautiful girls you referring to?”

“What? Yuuji, you are reacting to the words beautiful girls?”

“......(face getting red)”

“Silent pervert, not you as well? What should I do? I can't correct their thinking all by myself.”

“Everyone, calm down! Just let the silent pervert represent it.”

“That. That's right.”

“Wait a minute, before we continue the meeting, I want to protest that beautiful girls are affecting people's mind.”

“Anyway.”

Yuuji cleared his throat, and continued his explanation. Was he trying to ignore my existence?

“If Himeji can perform normally, Class E is not our match even if we fight them head on. Since our final target is Class A, it is meaningless to waste our time fighting with Class E.”

“Then how about fighting Class D head on?”

“That, we don't have a hundred percent chance of winning.”

“If that's the case, we should target Class A in the beginning.”

My target was Class A, not Class D. My aim for having this Test Summoning War was different from Yuuji's.

“That's because it's our first battle, you guys want to have a great fight, and grab everyone's attention, right? Also, as I said just now, this is what we need to defeat Class A.”

This was the plan for wining Class A? But Yuuji didn't want to let us know the details of his plan.

“Ex... Excuse me!”

It was not often you see Himeji used such a loud voice to speak. What was going on?

“Himeji? What's wrong?”

“Err, that... what you are talking just now was the Test Summoning War that Yoshii and Sakamoto discussed about before, right?”

“Oh, you are talking about that. Just now, Akihisa come to talk to me for you Himeji about---”

“So that means!”

To stop Yuuji continuing his needless speech, I purposely raised my voice.

“If we can't win Class D, then what we said before is meaningless.”

Facing my doubt, Yuuji laughed out loud.

“With all of you helping me, we can definitely win against Class D.”

Win against Class D? With our help? In the Test Summoning War?

This was a strange feeling.

The words just gave us the momentum to do things even though there was no proof for them.

Yuuji's words seemed to have this kind of magical power.

“Great. It looks like it is going to get interesting!”

“Let us pull those proud nerds in Class A down to earth!”

“....(praise)”

“I... I will try my best.”

Defeat Class A.

It might sound crazy; it might be a dream that would never come true.

But, if we never do anything, dreams would never come true.

Since we were allocated in the same class, it was not bad to just try to do something together.

“All right, let me explain the battle strategy!”

We stayed at the top floor, enjoyed the cozy wind, and listened to the strategy that would bring us to victory.

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| Back to [[Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume1_The_Second_Question|The Second Question]]
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| Forward to [[Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume1_The_Fourth_Question|The Fourth Question]]
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Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume1 The First Question

2008-12-06T06:17:00Z

Kumichael: just a note: when it says "Class (letter)," capitalize "class." ie: "class F" to "Class F"

“Eh---”

“What's wrong?”

“What Yuuji said just now, it's the Taika Reform, right?”

“You're a third year now, and you still don't know this? Shouko, you really are stupid.”

“We haven't been taught about that part yet, Yuuji you're just too smart.”

“It's easy to memorize, just remember: 'Accident Free Reform'[http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Baka_to_Tesuto_to_Syokanju:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Question_1]”

“Accident Free?”

“It's because no accidents occurred during the Taika Reform; make sure you remember that.”

“Okay.”

“It happened in the year 625.”

“Alright, I memorized it.”

“Good, make sure you remember.”

“Don't worry, I won't forget.”

------

First Question

Please answer the following questions:

When manufacturing a frying pan, magnesium is used as the raw material to reduce the weight of the pan. However, an accident occurs when it is used in cooking. Describe what happens, and name an alloy that could be used to replace magnesium.

Mizuki Himeji's Answer

“Using a flame to heat up magnesium will cause a violent chemical reaction, in which the magnesium catches fire; aluminum may be used to replace magnesium.”

Teacher's Comment:

Correct. The question asks for an alloy, so you can't answer “iron”. You weren't tricked.

Kouta Tsuchiya's Answer

“Because the gas bill wasn't paid.”

Teacher's Comment:

That is not the point of this question.

Akihisa Yoshii's Answer

“An alloy made in the future can be used (Because it is very hard).”

Teacher's Comment:

Even if it is very hard, you can't find it now, can you?

------

We were welcoming the arrival of the second spring since we started at Fumitsuki Gakuen.

To welcome new students, both sides of the slope leading to the school building were filled with dazzling, flowering cherry blossoms. Even though I was not an elegant person who could appreciate flowers, I couldn't stop myself from being attracted to the beautiful scenery before me.

However, it was only for a very short time.

My mind was filled with thoughts of spring, not of cherry blossoms, but of the new classroom and students who will be with me throughout the year. In another words, it was all about my new class after the class divisions.

“Yoshii, you're late.”

In front of the entrance, a strong low voice called me. I turned my head and looked towards the source. An athletic man with light dark skin and short hair was standing there.

“Ah, Iron... no, Nishimura-sensei[http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Baka_to_Tesuto_to_Syokanju:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Question_1]. good morning!”

“You almost called me 'Iron Man' just now, didn't you?”

“Ha ha, you're thinking too much.”

“Oh, am I?”

That was close; I nearly called him "Iron Man," just like before.

By the way, Nishimura-sensei got his nickname "Iron Man" was because of his hobby of entering triathlons. Of course, his habit of wearing short sleeves during winter also contributed to the name.

“A normal person shouldn't say 'good morning' in this situation!”

“Ah, I am sorry. Err...Your skin is very dark today as well.”

“What! Is my skin color more important than you being late for school?”

“I see, you're talking about that... Sorry I'm late.”

“You... you just never learn your lesson.”

He sighed and mumbled. From what he said, you would think I was usually late for school.

“Sir, I'm not usually late for school, am I?”

Nishimura-sensei was our homeroom teacher last year, so he should know that I was very punctual.

“Forget it, just take this.”

He took an envelope out of a box and handed it over to me. My name, “Akihisa Yoshii”, was clearly written on it.

“Ah, thank you.”

I simply nodded and took the envelope.

“But why does the school need to post the class divisions in such a troublesome way? Isn't posting it on the announcement board a better idea?”

Putting the results into individual envelopes, and handing them out one by one seemed very inconvenient.

“It is troublesome, but our school uses the most advanced system in the world, and this is required for it.”

“I see.”

I answered him and tried to open the envelope. Which class would I be placed in? I started to get a little nervous.

Here at Fumitsuki Gakuen, starting from second year, students are allocated into different classes, from Class A to Class F, depending on the class division examinations. To put it simply, geniuses would study in Class A, and idiots would study in Class F, with everyone else in between. You would know how smart someone is just by knowing his or her class placement. To protect my pride, I must not be placed into Class F.

“Yoshii, to tell you the truth...”

“What?”

The envelope was glued shut, and I was still working on opening it.

“After observing you, I've been wondering: 'Could it be that Yoshii is an idiot?'.”

“Sir, you can't be serious. If you are, you should change your nickname to 'Moron'.”

It's not that I was overconfident. Though I didn't work very hard, I still did pretty well in the class division examination last year. I assumed that when he saw my results he would immediately change his opinion.

“Have you seen my results? I feel pretty good about it.”

“I do hope I was wrong.”

I gave up on opening it neatly, so after it was opened with a smooth tearing sound, I found a folded piece of paper inside.

Which class will I be in? Is it Class D? Maybe Class C?

“Yoshii, you should be glad right? My opinion is really correct.”

As I unfolded the paper, I read the all-important result:

“Akihisa Yoshii... ... ... Class F”

“You really are an idiot.”

And so, my sorrowful school life began.