Baka-Tsuki - User contributions [en]

User:The naming game/simple.css

2007-11-18T13:22:20Z

The naming game: usercss experiment

@import url("http://testserver/usercss/btsimple.css");

User:The naming game/myskin.css

2007-11-18T13:21:44Z

The naming game: usercss experiment

@import url("http://testserver/usercss/btmyskin.css");

User:The naming game/standard.css

2007-11-18T13:20:16Z

The naming game: usercss experiment

@import url("http://testserver/usercss/btstandard.css");

User:The naming game/monobook.css

2007-11-18T13:06:05Z

The naming game: usercss experiment

@import url("http://testserver/usercss/btmonobook.css");

Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Chapter2

2007-08-05T16:12:45Z

The naming game: /* 1 */ Ayano uses "Otou-sama" for Juugo + changed Juugo's "Otou-sama" to "Chichi-ue" ... should we just make it "Father"?

== Chapter Two - The sudden disaster ==

=== 1 ===
“Not ready yet? How much longer do we have to wait, Hyoue?”

“— — Please wait a little longer,” Hyoue replied to the seemingly impatient person.

Then, that person closed his eyes pensively and walked away. The wind was blowing against Hyoue. Within the blowing wind was the air full of the ki of youma, passing beneath Hyoue’s palm. The ki of youma that passed beneath this palms was like an air that would swallow anyone, no matter whom.

By the time the shredded remains of the three people were discovered, it was already dawn. This unbelievably serious situation completely shocked the entire Kannagi clan.

The Kannagi clan was astonished; this is an undeniable fact. Faster than human reflexes, the 3 defensively alert people were killed without anyone being alerted.

In order to better understand this situation, the Fuuga clan was summoned. Because of this, Hyoue himself gathered the youma ki to understand who the enemy was. “Hmm, T—, This is….”

Sounds of concentration. Hyoue gathered the youma ki in this palms without missing any. It was a very cold air. Even for very powerful practitioners, the ki provided sufficient reason to fear it.

“This was caused by fuujutsu, and was created by a practitioner that is on a completely different category from us, the Fuuga clan. It trapped the three people in the wind “kekkai” and then killed them.”

Hyoue’s report wasn’t anything beneficial and could be easily understood from the setting of the place.

“I understand, but who did it?!”

“If you require a detailed report, I hope more time is allowed,” Hyoue replied indistinctly, facing this inquiry.

“Then do it quickly, you and your clan can act...”

“Everyone be quiet!”

At Juugo's angry voice, everyone present became silent; substituted only by the sound of Juugo's condoling voice.

“Is it like that, good job, you can retire. — — Right, how’s the health of Ryuuya?"

At that moment, Hyoue appeared surprised due to the Suzerain’s concern over his son’s health.

“Yes… If he quietly recuperates, there shouldn’t be any problems. He can no longer recover to the level of working for the Kannagi clan anymore. This unworthy son is really an embarrassment.”

Given Juugo’s words of gratitude, Hyoue bows.

“Yes… Thank you very much. I will go give instructions to my subordinates, for I will retire….”

“Then please, I await your reply, Hyoue.”
The head of the Fuuga clan bows silently and leaves.

The enemy is a fuujutsu practitioner that loathes the Kannagi clan. Everyone naturally thinks of a certain person who had, coincidentally, just returned to Japan.

“It’s Kazuma! He obtained strength for revenge, and returned to Japan! My fellow clan members, let us destroy the traitor Kazuma. Find him without delay and kill him!”

The person that made such an aggressive comment was the previous suzerain, Yorimichi. Even though he is retired, he still has an air of a suzerain. The entire clan strongly dislikes him, but he is the only one who is ignorant of this fact. .

“[[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Chichi-ue|Chichi-ue]], to clarify, we don’t have enough evidence to prove that Kazuma did this.”
Juugo said this seriously to stop Yorimichi's tirade.

“You! Who but Kazuma could have done this…”

“Yorimichi, please hold your tongue. When you talk like that, it becomes impossible for us to discuss the issue.”

Genma coolly interrupted Yorimichi, who was shouting in an ear-shattering voice. In a way that didn't try to hide the scorn expressed in his eyes, Genma coldly looked on.

Facing this person who had no strength except for scheming and was chosen as the suzerain, Genma looked down on him from the depth of his heart.

In Yorimichi’s thirty years as suzerain, the strength of the Kannagi Clan had hit rock bottom. Given Yorimichi's inability to control the representative sword of the Kannagi Clan, and his incapacity of passing the sword to someone else, resulted in it being deeply buried in the warehouse before Juugo’s accession to the suzerain position.

Of course, Gemna was not thinking about such a foolish item.
Genma thought that the strongest practitioner should be the one that succeeds the position of suzerain. Because of this, Genma did not hate the current suzerain, Juugo. He only thought that his own strength wasn’t enough in comparison.

Previously, he had wanted to prepare his son so be the next suzerain. This was not really a scheme, he just wanted to train and prepare Kazuma to give him the strength to become the next suzerain.

Yorimichi didn’t really have any beliefs like Genma’s; he only had the ambition for power. This is what Genma thought. Therefore, no matter how Genma tried to hide his thoughts, those thoughts were revealed when he further enrages Yorimichi.

Even though they had a close family/blood relationship of uncle and nephew, the hatred between the two had deepened again.

“Y, You want to shield Kazuma? No, should I say that this is your scheme? Allow Kazuma to go outside the country to learn jutsu to kill Juugo and Ayano, and then allow Ren to succeed the position of suzerain?

Yorimichi turned the accusing finger towards Genma. This kind of bad will was almost materializing like, “sticky things connecting items together,” allowing the crowd to be agitated.

“That kind of idea would only come from someone with "little conscience." 
It was almost an insulting provocation for Yorimichi to say such things. Genma didn’t contradict, because if he did, the reply would have been extremely disrespectful.

“Chichi-ue, that’s enough!”

Juugo wouldn’t allow the continuation of such and insulting diatribe. In order to stop it, he forcefully made the people take Yorimichi away.

“Yorimichi, you must be tired. Please return to your room to rest.”

“Wait, Juugo! Genma cannot be trusted! If you don’t listen to me now, you will end up regretting it sooner of later!”
Yorimichi was hauled away like luggage. His harsh voice slowly decreased in volume until nothing could be heard.

“I really am sorry for the insulting diatribes of my father. With regards to me please forgive him.”

Juugo puts both of his hands on the tatami in a slight bow. Genma replied indifferently, “I didn’t pay attention; the reason for such words is that the previous suzurain cares deeply about the Kannagi Clan.”

With an exchange of looks, understating each others reasoning, they smiled at the same time. And with that, they understood that the time for chatting was over, and it was now time to discuss more serious matters.

“As the previous suzerain said, the timing is too much of a coincidence. It is better for us to meet again and talk.”

Genma maintained his silence from the start, possible because he did not want to discuss his own son.

“Would Kazuma submit to our instructions willingly?”

“If he won’t submit, we will have to use force to bring him here. Even though he has gained strength, he is still Kazuma. Two or three people will be more than enough to capture him.”

“….That’s good then. The selection of persons in charge of this assignment will be your responsibility. No matter what, it is necessary to bring back Kazuma quickly.”
“Understood.”

Even though Genma received an order to capture his own son, Genma was tranquil when compared to others.

“Ayano-sama has returned!”

The serious expression on Juugo’s face started to relax, and Genma wore a highly energetic and fierce look.
Without even waiting a second, she appeared.

“pah,” and she pulled the sliding door open, and caught everyone’s attention.

“I’m home, Otou-sama! Ehh… What’s going on?” 
Appearing on the scene was an assertive young teenage girl, who asked this question when she saw the group's mood. That black hair that almost reaches the back, flowing straight and sideways created by the movements of her head, simply represented the blooming of a [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Bishoujo|bishoujo]]. At that moment, the “dark and cold” atmosphere had completely vanished. That is a spiritual energy that emerges from oneself, in one breath cleansing the room's atmosphere

The appearance of an unclear enemy who killed some people at home. Those people that have been discussing this situation nonstop, are now facing a blinding light, that uncomfortable and distressing feeling has completely vanished.

As if before the rays of the sun, all movements in the dark ceased to exist. The one in the doorway was the person who had the ability to vanquish the dark with spiritual powers not beneath the powers for light, suzerain in waiting and owner of Enraiha, is Juugo’s daughter, Kannagi Ayano.

“How’s the report, Ayano?”
Juugo was testing his daughter with a serious expression, like when he asks other people. This is the best way for a father to guide his daughter, in Juugo’s opinion. 

“Excuse me.”
Ayano at that moment finished bowing.
“The youma that released was completely vanquished.”

“Hmm, good job.”
Finishing her report to the suzerain as a practitioner, Ayano innocently continued her questioning.
“So, what actually happened, Otou-sama?”

“Hmm—— earlier, three people had been killed without notice. This is a serious situation!"

Although they were distant relatives, Ayano quieted after hearing that three people from the family had been killed. “A serious situation” wasn’t that “three people have been killed” instead it was because it was “without notice.”

This was not some callous sentiment, but it was an understanding of what is of primary importance. For a girl of only sixteen years of age, who has such a strong will and discipline, it is surprising.

“Nobody saw that [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Fuujutsu-Shi|fuujutsu-shi]]?”
“Of course, there is a suspect.”

Faced with Ayano’s questioning, Juugo replied heavily.
“It’s Kazuma.”

“Who’s that? That’s…”

Faced with this kind of close and revealing speech, Juugo’s “sun vein” furrowed.

“Think carefully about your older cousin’s name. “Successor Ceremony” betting Enraiha who fought with you.”

“Older cousin… Could it be the Kazuma that left the family 4 years ago? Could that be labeled as a fight?”

Given his daughter’s direct words, Juugo secretly spied on Genma’s expression to see if there were any changes. Even though the inner feelings are not apparent, the outer unreadable appearance of Genma had no change at all.

“Right, I heard that he left the country… and trained there. Later he became a fuujutsu-shi?”

“That’s how it is, he supposedly returned to Japan recently, and changed his name to Yagami Kazuma. Yesterday, he met with the killed Shinji during a job, where he beautifully completed it. It seems like he trained very hard in those 4 years.

“Kazuma… Looks like he hates us…”
Finally remembering, Ayano said looking towards a distant place.

“It could be like that”
Genma replied with a void of facial expression.

“But, even though it is like that, we can’t easily kill him. If it was done by him, we need to use his life to pay for the crimes.”

“If?...”

Ayano turned her glance toward Genma, Genma without any change accepted Ayano’s look. The one that disinherited Kazuma and the one that provided the reason for the disinheritance crossed their gazes.

The first to avoid looking was Ayano. Without regards to strength as practitioners, life experience is immensely surpassed. In reality, even with careful searching (she’s) still void of self-confidence in order to win.

After stopping the unsatisfied challenge/look , Ayano looked towards Juugo.

“Then, what will be done? Defeat him?

“Now we haven’t decided whether it was done by Kazuma, anyways, we would like to meet with him and discuss it.”

Faced with his daughter’s simplistic and dangerous words, Genma deeply felt the danger.
Even though she has the Enraiha’s overwhelming power, Ayano tends to resort to violence in anything she does. Genma frequently hopes that as she is the next suzerain she would have a less impulsive way of thinking.

“Now is not time for you, wait until there are other missions to be done.”

“…Yes”

Faced with a barely compliant daughter, Juugo said condolingly.

“You have just finished a mission, you must be tired, get a good rest for today.”

“… I understand.”

Even though it seems like it is not acceptable, Ayano still obeys what her father has said. After “bowing”, she rapidly leaves the room. Until the “door” closed, Juugo didn’t blink, releasing a deeply unhappy expression about her.

“……………This stubborn daughter.”

Juugo seemingly says “not acceptable” and sighs deeply. Even though he uses this kind of strict manner of speech, no matter what, the care and love for his daughter is hard to hide. 

These two people have said the sayings for many times. To put it correctly, Shingo, due to his younger brother’s death, has a burning fire for revenge. Takeya, no matter how many times you tell him to pay attention to his orders will still forget it, said he was nagging 

They are waiting for the report, and then immediately go towards Kazuma’s direction. 

=== 2 ===
For the Kannagi Clan's information network to find the place Kazuma was staying was really simple.

To find him the next morning did not really require any special methods, because he used his own name to register at the hotel.

So given Genma’s command, two practitioners were sent.

Yuuki Shingo and Oogami Takeya were the strongest practitioners of the branch families. Even though they have opposing personalities, they are great friends. This combination excluding the main family can be said to be without rivals.

From Genma viewpoint, he has thrown in the two strongest cards on hand. But, possibly the selection of oldest son of the Yuuki family can be said as deadly mistake. Why, because this man has absolutely no desire to convince Kazuma.

“Kazuma, you “bastard”, I will cut you (into) ten-thousand pieces.” (Note: there is one character, I think in Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean that is equal to ten-thousand. Historically ten-thousand is also a big number, can also be infinite.)

“If he is dead, it will become problematic. At least leave him with the ability to talk when we take him back.”

As they wait for the upcoming report, they will directly head towards Kazuma’s direction. Of course, they have absolutely no desire to persuade him. At least they didn’t have this kind of desire, but what they never contemplated was that they would be ones assaulted.

“Still not ready yet?”

“It’s going to be ready soon.”

This kind of discussion cannot satisfy them at all; don’t know how many times they have repeatedly asked. Given that the two of them are waiting to receive the same report, they should know it doesn’t matter how they ask… .

“What the hell are they doing, that useless Fuuga clan! It’s only that one person Kazuma, can’t they easily bring him over!”

Shingo reprimanded angrily, in reality they have turn the arrowhead towards the Fuuga clan.

“This is worrying, Fuuga clan might even be connected to this situation.”
Takeya forcefully said some pretty words to sway Shingo, Fuuga shielding him isn’t impossible, using words that attack them, in order to change the attention of Shingo is certainly welcomed.

Thinking momentarily, Shingo grinded his teeth angrily and said.

“Damn, they only have slightly sharper senses, what is there to be complacent about.”

“Don’t say it like that; they are just a bunch of sad people with non-discussable/nil fighting power. Even failing to do something simple, are they not very pathetic?”

“That’s right, hahaahahahahahaaaaa…”

Just like Takeya have wished, Shingo have completely forgotten about the issue to reprimand. Hearing this sudden liberated laughter, Takeya has a thought — — Not like what was heard 10 seconds ago “Still not ready yet?” Similarly he feels very slow and lengthy.

“Incoming, in the area right head about 500 meters, looks like he hasn’t noticed.”

Suddenly, amidst the conversation between the two a voice appears. This is a jutsu used by Fuuga clan called “Method of Summoning/Calling Spirits” used for sending the voice.
This allows the wind to carry the voice, even works for large distances.

“Coming, won’t leave him no limbs, neither legs nor arms, burn it all. Let’s attack!”

This was not voiced for anybody to hear, only Shingo’s mumblings to himself. This can be seen from the hatred-filled eyes; certainly really problematic.

Even though they didn’t continue their discussion how to punish, at least put up some resistance, that’s how he thinks. Until he’s half dead, could slowly torture him besides what was mentioned before, there’s plenty more. 

Takeya slightly separated himself and quickly glanced, being with someone this dangerous, his thoughts from inner self a certain divide. 

Just like that a divide in the friendship, appears Kazuma.

Facing that with no alertness, completely nonchalant——viewed from their perspective—— walks along Kazuma, Takeya in order to alert him shouted.

“Long time no see, Kazuma!”

“Ah, the successor from the Oogami?”

At that instance, to connect your recollection and present needs time. But, Takeya is waiting for that instance.

It’s this kind of prideful self-elevation that results in lagging concentration.

“Know why we are looking for you?”

Takeya pressures that Shingo with blood-filled eyes ready to release fireballs, using a condescending method of speech.

“Nope, I completely don’t know.”

Kazuma reply could be described as “couldn’t be more direct”, but also apparently has some percentage of challenge. By crunching his head and neck and making a certain exaggerating and sarcastic action, then shook his head in denial, predictably piss Takeya off enough for veins to be showing.
Takeya succeeded in controlling his anger, and recovering his cool begins to explain.

“Yesterday night, Kannagi Clan had three practitioners killed.

“uhmm ——, and?

And like with all the authority Kazuma asked pressuringly.

“The one that killed was a fuujutsu practitioner.

“……………………..”

“……………………..”

The surroundings was covered by silence. Warm wind blowing through the dusk “Tree-Shadow” Road  , the red leaves lightly started to dance, shining upon by crimson sun the red leaves are dyed even a darker shade of red, this is the beauty that appears before the darkness controlled world.

“……………..”

The first to open his mouth was Kazuma’s side, compared to silence, it seems like he further detest being stared by men.

“So what is the matter?”

“The suzerain has things to ask you, follow!”

“It wasn’t me! Finished!”

The instance after saying such words and was thinking to leave, Kazuma suddenly bounced horizontally
outwards, an instance before in the space where Kazuma existed, without touching anything appeared a fireball.

Kazuma —— doesn’t know why Takeya —— looks towards Shingo , consequently Shingo using a deep, like a natural born deep voiced snigger.

“Hmhmhm, what’s the matter, you finally did it? Then, there is no other way besides using power to suppress!”

At the same time of the shout, surrounding Shingo tongues of crimson begin to burn and dance.
The flames that appear at the same time as the yell, even though connected to Shingo’s body, the clothes were not burnt. Shingo had surprisingly unthought-of carefulness. 

Like the flames that continue to move on his body, Shingo was so happy that his lips were slanted, and said in like a proclamation.

“If you can’t speak about it then it is questionable, I'll burn off your arms and legs! Lessening the weight will make it easier to transport around! Won’t kill you now, but you can’t continue living in such a humiliating condition? After the suzerain finishes his questioning I’ll be nice and kill you! Within one week! Use this time for you to fully regret living. I want you to know! Killing Shinji, absolutely cannot allow you to continue living untroubled!”

Assuming the future will be like that was his words were saying. But, Kazuma facing crazily laughing Shingo, looked as if he was watching some rare animal, asked very seriously. 

“Kannagi Clan has recently given food to this kind of thing?”

“—No, Ahh….hu….”

Takeya really had no reply. Considering himself to be normal, did want to recognize that the thing with him is the same kind.

“That person usually adores Shinji, now he hates you who killed Shinji is quite within reason.”

“That’s why I said it wasn’t me.”

“Then please go and clarify everything with the suzerain.”

“I am no longer part of the Kannagi Clan; if he has business with me tell him to come look for me himself, please pass it like that to him.”

“… Negotiation is broken then, it seems.”

In order to make good the words, Takeya raised his ki. He then directed the surrounding dancing fire spirits to dance with his self-conscious.

The surrounding temperature was raised enough to be felt by the skin. Even though the fire spirits haven’t materialize, the surroundings have evidently changes in physics.

Seems like frightened in faced of such elevated fighting spirit, scores of red leaves continually fluttered down, the bright red leaves before touching Takeya’s body instantly changes to ashes and floated off.

Still Kazuma, like before, stood there with hands in the leather jacket watched the two of them. It seems like he has no desire to confront the Kannagi Clan, of course it is hard to see from that kind of pose.

“This is the last opportunity; yield humbly to us, Kazuma.”

Faced with Takeya last ultimatum, Kazuma raises his middle finger and says.

“Take a good look at yourselves before coming.”

“Die!!!!!”

“You idiot!”

At the instance of starting the jutsus, the two believed that victory would be certain. Because in the clan the two of the strongest class attacking at the same time. No matter what kind of strategy Kazuma had, face with kind of massive power is useless.

But——

Poou! 

The fireball from Takeya hand, suddenly instanteously explodes. Above the sound, the fireball in his credulity had such a big categorical runaway explosion.

The fireball that left Takeya’s control, was like a wild animal with its tooth pulled. Even with the protection of the fire spirit, it is still no possible to shield the crash of the explosion’s force.
Instantly the force of the explosion hits the entire body, Takeya was simply KO-ed.

(W,What? What had happened…? Shit, Shingo, leave….)

Even though “Leave the rest to you” this kind of saying, but Shingo similarly lost his conscious, because on his face the black and blue continuously pulsed.

Kazuma returns his hands back in the pockets of the leather jacket; lowering his head at the two people. After releasing a condescending grin, he walked right by the two unconscious persons' side.

Even though it seems like he wanted to directly leave, at that time Kazuma stops his footsteps. Then as if he felt something, looked towards the trees where no one is at.

“If you want to pick a fight with me, I won’t be merciful!?”

At the same time of this warning, one of the trees separated. Without any noise from the chopped tree following the break slowly slid down.

Already forgetting to hide the body, stood dumbly staring at Kazuma, then Kazuma turns to leave. The guarding practitioner was fearful. The one that was lured was himself? The prey we were hunting is this frightening thing——?

=== 3 ===
“Seriously, Father worries too much. I alone is enough don’t know how many times this has been repeated. When will he acknowledge me? Am I this untrustworthy?”

“The suzerain acknowledges Young Mistress' abilities, only as a father he simply worries about his daughter.”

Confronted with the disgruntled Ayano, the man in his forties cajoled.

At this time, Ayano was ordered to a certain temple in the city of Yokohama Yamate, to strengthen the weakening seal inside. The day before the accident, encountered the employer of Kazuma —— of course, single mindedness heading to location to vanquish the spirits, and not understand the reason. '''! '''

Upon arrival to the location and discovering that the seal has deteriorated to point beyond the previously assumed limits, Ayano immediately destroys the idea of the resealing, and instead decided to eliminate it. Then without any testing she immediately ripped off the seal.

Popular saying was. “This method is faster.” 

People without significant confidence in ones own ability would not say something like that, certainly the two men that accompanied her also know that she has the necessary ability to go along with such self-confidence.

Certainly, Juugo also knows that she has this kind of ability, but such worries of a father are within reason. Even describing Juugo as stupid or foolish, most of times he sends two or more people to protect her.

“Don’t mix the work with private life, is frequently lectured no matter when. Don’t follow your own desires and do things, Uncle Masato?” 

Still discharging her annoyances, Ayano faced that guy —— the younger brother of the Yuuki family head, complaining to Masato.
“Because he is the suzerain, he cannot mull over such minor issues.”
In this manner on Masato’s thin face appeared a smile and laughter. As a member of the branch families, he certainly wasn’t thinking about the consequences. But, it seems like Ayano hasn’t really noticed or cared.

This man——Oogami Masato, although possessing a strength greater than his older brother, disliked scheming for the position of family head, so went off to Tibet to train like a eccentric person.

When he returned to Japan he was given the “Protect Ayano” mission. Juugo has a high regard of him, and from the first time Ayano went on a mission he continually was responsible for this kind of protecting job.

Certainly, Ayano also has good feelings about this easy-going relative. Due to the surrounding people’s princess like treatment of her, faced with Masato’s kind of causal attitude is quite refreshing for her, furthermore it feels very good.

Consequently “Uncle Masato, ojo-sama this kind of terminology, is like a real family without any separation.

“Maybe it is to allow the younger practitioner to learn, this kind of reasoning is still possible. Isn’t that, Takeshi… Takeshi?”

“Ahh, Yes!?”

The young practitioner using admiring eyes staring at Ayano —— Oogami Takeshi’s uncle hollered many times before he finally paid attention.

“Did you not hear… Stopping staring stupidly at Ojo-sama, be prepared, it is not known when the seal will be released.”
“Yes, I have understood! Just like what Uncle have said! To be allowed to watch Ayano-sama striking fighting method is really a great honor!”

In order to not screw-up in front of Ayano, Takeshi uselessly shouts in a loud voice. In that stare at Ayano, appears compared to respect, has more admiration and reverence. For Takeshi’s generation of practitioners, Ayano has existence of a goddess. Hoping to watch her striking manner from close by guarding is something everyone will accept.

“Yes——It’s——like——this?”
“Yes, it’s like that!”

The exhilaration to be able to talk to Ayano is something seen through Takeshi’s entire body language. Of course, Ayano doesn’t like being seen like that. Seems like herself is being separated from being “normal”, changed to something she can’t wait.

No matter what, no matter how it is explained is useless. That’s only Takeshi’s simple, compared to himself much stronger and beautiful existence, means of showing deference.

“Ah, forget it. … It’s about time.”

Ayano sensing the expanding ki of the youma, relaxingly turns herself towards the main hall. Mini-skirt starting to flutter and dance.

Now recalling, why would Ayano be wearing her high school uniform.

This is not only to allow her to normally attend a high school.

Because if you think about it, the best suited outfit for a high school student is the uniform. So Juugo, especially focused on this point, used within his the range of abilities added the best class of defensive spells.

The material, in order to allow better transpiration, was the best type of silk. That is during the process of fabrication air is mixed in, furthermore everything is made from expensive materials.

A result by inputting great amounts of money and time, a high school uniform; it is not wrong to say that it is a work of art. Its cost could be comparable. It could be said that is enough to buy a car, no, not really, correctly said it can buy a luxury house without being wrong.

Of course Ayano pays attention to this outfit —— not towards its capabilities —— because it is a gift given by her father —— so she frequently wears this outfit in combat.

Wearing this outfit that can be said as the world’s most expensive combat outfit, protecting Ayano, watching as the seal is about to be broken, took a deep breath, then moving and warming-up her own inner strength.

Pah!

The clear sound of clapping starts to vibrate the space. When the two close palms were opened, in between the two palms appears a flaming line. Then Ayano grasp it with her right hand, making a horizontal outwards swinging motion.

The around 1 meter burning line, at that instance materializes, a crimson red sword.

This is a no blunt side, having two edges bright crimson red sword. The [body] of the sword is surrounded by a golden flame, releasing vivid beauty of a light. Just like that, as beautiful as one will imagine. 

That sword is the Kannagi Clan’s supreme treasure, Enraiha. That is Kannagi Clan founder, [huh], rewarded by King of the Flame Spirits passed down defeating devils/evil of treasured sword. '''!'''

Ayano lifts upwards the Enraiha, then adds her left hand to grasp the sword making a downward stroke. Along the path of the stroke, appear spreading golden pieces. Then instantly and prettily stopping the sword before her eyes, no matter if it is done ten-thousands times or hundred thousand times, it is a beautiful motion that can be forgiven.

A vase that has already approached its limits, with a “pong” bursts open. Even faster than the falling pieces, a white light shoots towards Ayano.

Ayano from the front makes a downward stroke with Enraiha, and then goes forward to attack. Attacking that white object that produces a sound “like the sound produce when the water is evaporated by a flat frying pan”.

“Sticky stuff…!?” 
Ayano faced with the string that was smashed by her and said mumbling.
Then changed her vision to the inside of the main hall, there was a few points like something like lights. That thing slowly moves forward, and then reveals its own appearance.

“Wah…”

Ayano inadvertently surprised, that thing that appeared is ——

Having multiple eyes, beyond eight feet, the entire body covered with dirty yet rigid fur, a segmented animal producing sounds, “kulah, kulah”, as its legs moved. When you see its full appearance, no matter whom, will feel shivers not due to cold. Really is a horrify spider freak.

“Earth Spider huh... Need help?”

“Not necessary”

Ayano immediately replies. Even though it produces a very disgusting feeling, but now is not the time for complaints. Seems like she’s more afraid of disappointing her otou-san, compared to that, fighting against spiders or cockroaches is nothing in comparison.

(Come here…)

Summoning fire spirits do not need chants and such. As if following Ayano’s thinking, fire spirits itself assemble, flying into Enraiha. Along the sword blade the flame, the light transformed to even brighter.

With the range that’s reachable by her awareness, Ayano continuously summoning spirits. Juugo don’t know how many times instructed her many times, don’t be like other practitioners, it is not commanding the spirits, you can’t be too arrogant.

“They and we have same level of existence.” 

This saying is frequently repeated by Juugo, spirits are the means to safeguard the existence of the world’s order. Because the Kannagi Clan have contract with the spirit king, therefore the spirits are only helpers.

Of course Ayano also understands, her own strength is borrowed. Only to seal or vanquish the inconsistencies in the world’s order that the power is gifted for a short period of time.

That’s why it isn’t ordering them. Because knowing such matters are not necessary. If the known the correct way of thinking, fire spirits will certainly answer.

Like having respect for the world, it’s not in order to obtain huge powers and being arrogant, Ayano no matter when always calls like this: “Please, lend me your strength….”

“V… Very formidable….”

Takeshi watches dumbfounded, this enormous number of spirits gathering on Ayano’s body, the amount of spirits he can manage is only one small portion of this in comparison. For him it’s the first time seeing the main family’s power, the difference is between the sky and the ground.

“Ah, formidable, right!?”

Just like show off his own condition, Masato said smiling.

“Even though we recently said it, no matter how hard we work, we won’t be able to reach such levels.”

Already forgotten his uncle’s reply, Takeshi one again looks at Ayano.

Ayano holding the Enraiha, continues to confront the earth spider.

(What should be done… looks like can’t get close…)

Even though enough spirits are already summoned to destroy the earth spider, but given this long distance really don’t have the confidence. Even though Enraiha is an ancient sword for [summoning], but to using a sword it is necessary to employ it to its fullest potential.

In other words get close, from a close distance to puncture or split the earth spider, then from inside its body burn it completely.

(Of course if that was done, certainly from the cut’s aperture will fly out adhesive matter… after the explosion fragments will all fly towards the body… if it’s female, after opening its skin, there might be hundreds of spiders coming out… No———!)

Just thinking about it makes the hairs stand, inside Ayano starts complaining bitter. If Takeshi could read Ayano’s inner thoughts then, maybe the thoughts of reverence might be corrected can even be said. 

The earth spider seems to capture the currently mulling Ayano’s openings; “palapala” using the long legs changed his body moving forwards.

“You want to escape!?”

Suddenly towards the chasing Ayano, from the tail spits out white silk, at the same time Ayano pulls up Enraiha to face it.

From Enraiha emerges an golden flame, even though it burned the spider’s web, but because of the blockage by the silk, Ayano still could not get close to the earth spider.

Then Ayano only could stop, focus her mind. Then she took a deep breath tuning her ki, calmed down.

(This kind of things can’t do any kind of obstruction, kill it in couple seconds.)

Then bringing up the Enraiha, then with her full strength performed a downwards swing. Golden Flame ——the highest level of fire of purification, not only completely burned the earth spider’s web, then closed-in directly at the earth spider itself.

Pong!!

With the sounds of explosion, the in the explosion earth spider is surrounded by flames.

“Got…Gotcha…?”

But as Ayano dubiously mumbles while looking into the flames, appearing into her vision was only a white cocoon-like object. What really surprised Ayano, the “pishpiish” sound that splits open.

Pang!

Just like a thin layer of glass shattering, from the middle the cocoon splits open, that earth spider completely without harm again appears.

Probably the web contained some special component that could block spiritual energies, then using that covering its body to hide, avoiding the purifying powers to be completely purified.

“It’s, it’s quite formidable, hu…”

Ayano said using a sing-song voice. At first glance seems very calm, but carefully studying will discover her “sun-vein”  has already risen.

Even though this was not a full strength strike, but was completely deflected, Ayano’s self-confidence certainly was hurting a lot.

“Only a little bug don’t be so haughty ——!!”

Resonating Ayano’s anger, an even greater amount of fire spirits was gathered, even though there is no materialization, but in the vicinity, already gathered the equal spirits to a volcano opening.

“Then… regretting it now?”

Accompanying anger, Ayano already entered selfless state. Composure has completely been commanded by anger, and then transformed into strength.

Continously summoning stronger, even stronger spirits. This time it isn’t directed releasing towards one area, but given immovable strength of mind, at the same time directly releasing in one direction. 

This time Ayano holds Enraiha in a direction perpendicular to her body, then seriously chasing it, took a deep breath, then with sharp kiai releasing it.

“Haa!!”

At that instance, the flame flew into the earth spider’s body. Then the abdomen expanded and exploded, changed it into a miniature torch.

In this seemly small torch, can be described as gathering the entire area’s fire spirits. The explosion of the fireball became even bigger, this time the earth spider is certainly transformed to ashes.

Afterwards nothing was left, spider’s body pieces and the youma spirit around was completed purified. Right now, the temple where the youma was vanquished was full on a “special air” that only temples have.

If attacking from the outside can be defended, then simply attack from the inside. Even though describing is easy, to actually do it is close to something impossible.

This is like what the world’s own close relationship with the spirits. That’s right, like the life force/life activity of living beings.

In the body living beings that have water, cannot be uninfluenced by the water spirits, and those living beings that have heat, within the body resides fire spirits.

For example, just like the youma, even though it materializes, it can’t escape this rule.

In ordinary circumstances, to control the spirit residing within the body is impossible.

These kind of infinitely close to a living beings’ survival instinct involves enormous willpower, the origin of life can be said to not allow anyone to control.

Even for a genius, can’t control it so easily according to one’s likings. But, in this world, no matter when there are people entire day saying “logical boundaries” foolish and sad humans.

“Heh. It’s this kind of thing.”

Ayano releasing a pleasing smile, turn around in order to go back.

“Then, let’s go!...”

During this dialogue that couldn’t continue, Ayano stupidly stares at the two’s body language. Probably the bigger body is Masato, on his left is Takeshi. From the clothes it should be right.

But——

(How come there’s no head…?)

These two guys, the taller one both hands still in the pockets, the other one seems not able to control his exhilaration, in front of his chest holding a fist, standing naturally.

When you look at it and there’s no head, doesn’t seem like an odd situation.

So Ayano looks toward the ground, there is two round objects entering her eyes. Ayano stumbling, seems like about to fall, close in and kneeled, then lifted it onto her knees. Even though it’s quite heavy, but as Ayano smelled the odor of the guy that she really liked, smiled. Ayano, from very young fought together, taught her the ways of survival/existence, hugged the head. Quietly mumbles.

“Uncle… head… fell down… uh…’

On Ayano appears sad smile, and then tries to put Masato’s head back on. Although thinking by doing this, he will return to life, stubbornly forcing the head back in.

Like mocking Ayano this kind of useless actions, hidden an unseen sword blade, lightly carves Masato’s body. In one second, this big body was separated into hundreds or even thousands slices of meat.

Because the heart has stopped pumping a while ago, so the fresh blood did not fly out from the sharp cuts.

But, although there is no sound of blood flow, nor the sounds of flesh breaking, still abnormally gives a person a feeling of reality.

Under the blowing of the wind, Masato’s body without sound was taken apart. Like gone through a paper shredder the pieces of meat, like flower petals dancing in the sky.

In the instance of the image, Ayano watched as if frozen.

Drop.

Accompaning the like water droplet sound something drops on the face, Ayano unconsciously tries to remove it.

That is a bright red piece, still has some remaining warmth of a meat slice. When understood what is carried on here fingers, Ayano’s consciousness seem to be passed through a filter, small amount of recovering.

“No.”

That is once a part belonging on Masato’s body. But those miserable remains no longer can be described as a corpse.

“Don’t want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

At this moment, Ayano screams as far as can be heard.

“Kukuku—————“

That sound, even though it can vibrate the air, this snigger sound, it wasn’t directly sent into the brain. If you want to describe it, accompany this “snigger” are the strong feelings. This kind of derision towards one opponent’s “awareness”, seems like it provoked Ayano, it’s just that annoying.

Faced with situation of the appearance of the enemy, normally frequently training the body and the spirit, Ayano, instantly enters fighting mode.

Then burying deep within the feelings of anguish, substituting a feeling of animation and anticipation.

Changing the arrowhead of the anger towards the opponent, and especially challenging the opponent.

“Come out!”

Already surpassing the limits of anger, on the face of humans that already cannot be expressed. But Ayano seems to determine it can, looks upwards.

There exists ''that thing''. In the front on a branch where a huge tree stands a human shadow completely not fearing dangers, right hand in the pockets of his clothing.

Because that is place of little light, was not able to clearly see the opponents face, but it doesn’t really matter anymore. The out flowing evil ki already told her “This is the enemy.”

Ayano silently swings Enraiha upwards.

There is no need to know who, nor the need to accumulate strength. Only calmly mix in the killing intention, and then kill it in one strike. This kind of sharpened killing intention transformed into a flaming sword blade running upwards.

Lightly, clearly moving without regards to weight, ''that thing'' avoids the flaming sword blade. Then flew onto the roof (with a leap?). Afterwards, ''that thing'' looks towards Ayano, ''that thing'' slowly moves the body. Seems to say chase away.

This is clearly a trap and Ayano bravely accepts this kind of provocation.

(Even it is a trap, it doesn't matter, I will absolutely annihilate you.)

Deep within submitting to such type of anger, Ayano has already changed into a rampage for revenge.

=== 4 ===
In the sky suddenly appears ki of youma.

“Hmm…”

Kazuma suddenly looks towards the sky, it seems like in order for the strength to not spread, it is gathering bit by bit in the sky. Suddenly a wind blade flashes, there really is no time to even defend, and even flying backwards to escape took the full effort.

The wind blade passes right by the still rolling Kazuma, then slightly corrects its angle, with one stroke separated into two pieces the Fuuga practitioner, Shingo, Takeya the three of them.

“Wait, Wait a second!!”

Kazuma without thinking yelled, this would changed the situation into something unthought-of.

(I, I was actually ambushed?)

To face an ambush situation, actually is first time this had happened. Further, it was an ambush by a wind spirit? No matter who had summoned it, gathering this degree of wind spirit, it is impossible that Kazuma didn’t feel it. No matter how great of a fuujutsu-shi, using fuu-jutsu cannot deceive Kazuma. This question is not simply the difference in distance in abilities, but the rules are simply that this.

But, now occurred an impossible situation. Kazuma immediately broke off his thoughts, focus towards the thing in the sky.

“What’s… that thing...?”

Really small, maybe a thing smaller than 20 mm, was floating in the sky about 20-30 meters above. Nearby five risen things fly out.

“One’s hand…? Doesn’t seem so, red leaf…?

No matter how you look it doesn’t seem like it’s flying in the sky, it’s not controlling the wind. In a questioning look, suddenly Kazuma discovers what that thing really is.

It’s a human hand. A strange human hand is flying in the sky. Even recognizing it doesn’t solve anything, still can’t change that 3 people have been killed.

(Anyway, first let’s defeat it!)

Using only a voice that can be hear by himself mumbles, what looks like a hand flies into the upper sky —— then disappears.

“Wait! What are you actually thinking!?”

Kazuma then protested towards the wind spirit, this is clearly against the agreement. But, the spirit only has uncertain sound, and couldn’t tell Kazuma the actual place of the disappeared hand.

“What is going on…”

The miserable condition in front of his eyes —— the divided into two portion Fuuga practitioner and the separated corpses of Shingo and Takeya —— if like this, it seems just like it was done by Kazuma.

Spirit disobeyed the covenant? —— impossible.

To Kazuma, if he heard this kind of situation from someone else, would be quite skeptical of the correct mindset of the opponent. That’s why what just happened is a very irregular situation. 

Spirit does have cognizant qualities. [Initial Principle] —— it’s when the world was first created, don’t know by whom, towards this existential world created immutable laws—— and to obey it, allowing this world to remain this kind of shape and reality. Just like the bees have to live in a beehive, just like one part of itself recognizes him, one part even though it has intelligence is still impossible that it thinks. Of course, it’s impossible for it to have the type of free will to break a covenant.

If the spirits had the free will to move about, then the laws of science will be broken. The world will be destroyed within 3 days.

All the wind spirits will obey Kazuma. [What belongs to Him] This kind of covenant certainly reflects this kind of meaning. For example—— 
“That’s impossible…”

Kazuma thinking of the worst scenario, weakly sighs saying.

(There’s someone like me? No way…)

Just thinking about it brings shivers not from cold, but it can’t be said as good luck —— no matter what, Kazuma doesn’t want to think that—— but right now it’s not the best time to stop and think.

Because he sensed a huge fire spirits coming towards here.

(This time even Infrit has come? Crap, when has Japan become world of youma!? Note: Infrit is the name of fire god.)

Even before finishing talking, appeared a situation that Kazuma could not have predicted.

Appearing is a shoujo. Accompanying the red fire and eyes where resides that hatred-filled fire, holding in the right hand accumulated power is ——

“Kazuma —— !!”

The strength of the fire spirits gathered in the right hand has already crystallized. Ayano seems to in that instance made up her mind.

Chop!!

Entering the rapidly retreating Kazuma’s eyes is, Ayano swings the red sword. For his clan, more important compared to everything else. Also the thing that made his life very chaotic.

Kazuma, when faced with the godly sword no matter what would like to escape, sees this, yells.

“Enraiha !? Are you, Ayano!”

Only answer is a sword flash from the Enraiha, faced with filled with killing intent and not listening to anything Ayano, tries really hard to explain.

“Hey, hey wait a moment, misunderstanding! Wasn’t killed by me… hey, you should listen to what other people are saying!”

Flaming white fireballs continuously approaching, Kazuma continuously dodging and saying, but Ayano seems like completely not hearing it.

Because the esteemed Masato got killed, Ayano is already too angry and has already forgotten herself. Really have no time to listen to people talking. Furthermore, given what her otou-san told her that this is guy is quite suspicious.

Dang!!

“Hey!!!”

Believing already evading the fireball suddenly together it explodes, then blocking Kazuma’s retreat. Then noticed, Ayano using the explosion time sealing off the way, appears in front of his eyes swinging the Enraiha.

“Uncle’s revenge !!”

“!!”

That motion a two part strike which wants to split Kazuma like a bamboo, escapes by shifting his body sideways, then from the top using his palm pressuring the sword handle. Facing Ayano who’s with fiery anger, face filling with blood yells.

“Otou-san —— Genma died?”

But before finishing saying such, figured out there was a mistake, even though Ayano and Genma’s relationship isn’t so bad that it can been seen from the outside, certainly if Genma were to die, Ayano would not be getting revenge for him.

A person appears in his head, a man, “uncle”, from the Oogami family that Ayano is very close to.

The name probably was —— like !!

“—— pong” 

Suddenly Ayano butted her head upwards, and then heavily hit his chin. Because of his pondering, his reflexes are slower, even though it was quickly evaded, but still the hit caused his head to be dizzy and painful.

Even though dizzy, but he still calmly asked.

“Oogami Masato died?

But Ayano faced became even more somber, further forcefully focus more strength into the Enraiha in her hand, from a distance it can be clearly seen.

(Seems like the opposite effect is done…)

Shruggin his shoulders, faced with a person filled with anger, having no more questions to ask. Faced with this confused by anger little girl no matter what is done is useless.

But, she can’t be killed. If he hurt her, probably the fool’s father, Juugo, would completely recognize him as an enemy. This needs to be avoided. 

This is not because he fears Juugo, who is the Kannagi clan’s historically strongest practitioner. But it is because as “Kannagi Kazuma”, Juugo can be said to be his only friend. In order not to not create sorrow to him, so there is only one method.

“Ah—— Ayano-chan? I’m —— leaving then, the issue with cleaning up the corpses will be left to you. Then see-ya.”

Prettily avoiding the completely tenacious approaching flames, Kazuma decides to escape.

“——Wait, Wait a second!”

Kazuma with his back towards Ayano who wants to stop him leaps up, then surrounded by wind flying upwards about 10 meters, then suddenly disappears.

“What—— where at?”

Right on top of, the still looking around, Kazuma floats along.

Employing the air to change the reflection rate of light, becoming see-through just like wearing a transparent robe. If look closely one can see the parts where there’s waves created by high heat, but for Ayano, who is being controlled by anger and has forgotten herself, she didn’t noticed.

But Kazuma didn’t take pleasure in watching the troubled Ayano, but was thinking about what to do later on.

What is realizable now is that the guilty person who killed Shingo and Takeya no matter how you described it is Kazuma, furthermore also killing Oogami Masato.

(They want to enter complete war with the Kannagi clan? If that’s the case it might be quite interesting, allows people to get excited… then, how will it progress?)

hehe, hmmhmmhmm.

Kazuma burst out laughing. Kannagi clan and the mysterious fuujutsu-shi, two strong things already assaulting his life, of course Kazuma cannot ignore this.

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Translator's Notes

2007-08-04T21:38:18Z

The naming game: /* Otou-san */ The term used on p.39 in my version is Chichi-ue. I have changed the note accordingly.

<center>Translator's Notes and References for 
<big>第一巻: 風の聖痕</big> 
Volume 1: Kaze no Stigma</center>

== Chapter 1 ==

=== Golden Carp ===

A mythical carp with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, which is an auspicious protector of well-being.

=== Practitioner ===

Term to denote someone who practices a jutsu. In Japanese, "jutsu-sha" (術者), which literally means "technique/art person."

=== Enjutsu ===

Literally means "Fire Technique." This will be used from here on.

=== Ukemi ===

Ukemi comes from Uke. Uke is a form of martial arts where one learns how to "receive" a technique. Basically, a Ukemi is when you learn how to take a throw or a fall without injuring yourself.

Here is the Wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukemi

=== Youma ===

Youma, depending on the context can mean different things. Some definitions are demons, monsters, and spirits. In most cases, youma has a negative connotation.

=== Jutsu ===

Jutsu can mean different things in different contexts. In this context, it would mean something like technique or skill.

=== Taijutsu ===

Literally "Body Arts." This is a very broad term for classical martial arts or fighting arts in general.

Here is the Wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taijutsu

=== Kekkai ===

Kekkai means barrier, and is typically magical or spiritual.

Here is the Wikipedia article. Please look at the bottom paragraph. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kekkai

=== Soushu ===

Literally means ‘Head of Sect’, but here it means ‘Head of the Kannagi House/Clan’.

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 2 ==

=== Bishoujo ===

Bishoujo literally means, "beautiful young girl." As the literal translation implies, it refers to most beautiful young girls.

Here is the Wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishoujo

=== Chichi-ue ===

Chichi-ue 父上 is a polite, archaic term for "father" that was prevalent in samurai families.

=== Fuujutsu-Shi ===

Fuujutsu-shi (風術師) literally means, "wind arts expert." In practice, the sense of "expert" doesn't show directly, and the meaning would simply be "practitioner of the wind arts."  

"Jutsu-shi" (術師) is similar to, but is NOT the same as "jutsu-sha" (術者), which has a less honorific, more mundane feel. The kanji meanings may help make the distinction clear: 者 - "person."; 師 - "expert, teacher, master."

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 3 ==

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 4 ==

===Warring States Period===
Warring States Period (戦国時代) was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict in Japan that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. (source Wiki)
===Jodan no Kamae===
This is a posture in which you face the enemy squarely and suppress him with your spirit. You overpower his mind and control his movement so that he has no opportunity to attack you. The first gap in his mental awareness and physical defense is seized upon. The essence of this posture is to cut down with your whole mind, spirit and body. This posture is not usually advantageous against an enemy of greater skill.
Hidari Jodan no Kamae:
• advance the left foot about half a step.
• hold the sword high above your head, pointing to your right rear
• the body is held in the same way as in Seigan except
• the heel of the rear foot touches the floor
Migi Jodan no Kamae:
• advance the right foot about a half step
• the sword is held high, pointing to your left rear
• the rest is the same as Hidari Jodan
(from http://www.newyorkbudokai.net/technique.html)

===Samadhi Flame===

Samadhi Flame (三昧真火) - a mythical fire that surpasses this world that has purify powers. Found in Buddhism and Hinduism (Sources needed.)

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 5 ==

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 6 ==

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter6|Chapter 6]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Epilogue ==

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Translator's Notes

2007-08-04T21:03:04Z

The naming game: /* Fuujutsu-Shi */ Adjusted definition, and added a small explanation on jutsu-sha 術者 vs. jutsu-shi 術師

<center>Translator's Notes and References for 
<big>第一巻: 風の聖痕</big> 
Volume 1: Kaze no Stigma</center>

== Chapter 1 ==

=== Golden Carp ===

A mythical carp with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, which is an auspicious protector of well-being.

=== Practitioner ===

Term to denote someone who practices a jutsu. In Japanese, "jutsu-sha" (術者), which literally means "technique/art person."

=== Enjutsu ===

Literally means "Fire Technique." This will be used from here on.

=== Ukemi ===

Ukemi comes from Uke. Uke is a form of martial arts where one learns how to "receive" a technique. Basically, a Ukemi is when you learn how to take a throw or a fall without injuring yourself.

Here is the Wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukemi

=== Youma ===

Youma, depending on the context can mean different things. Some definitions are demons, monsters, and spirits. In most cases, youma has a negative connotation.

=== Jutsu ===

Jutsu can mean different things in different contexts. In this context, it would mean something like technique or skill.

=== Taijutsu ===

Literally "Body Arts." This is a very broad term for classical martial arts or fighting arts in general.

Here is the Wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taijutsu

=== Kekkai ===

Kekkai means barrier, and is typically magical or spiritual.

Here is the Wikipedia article. Please look at the bottom paragraph. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kekkai

=== Soushu ===

Literally means ‘Head of Sect’, but here it means ‘Head of the Kannagi House/Clan’.

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 2 ==

=== Bishoujo ===

Bishoujo literally means, "beautiful young girl." As the literal translation implies, it refers to most beautiful young girls.

Here is the Wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishoujo

=== Otou-san ===

Otou-san means "dad." The "-san" makes the term more formal. Although this is more formal, there are more formal terms than Otou-san (an example would be "otou-sama"), so dad would be a more accurate translation.

=== Fuujutsu-Shi ===

Fuujutsu-shi (風術師) literally means, "wind arts expert." In practice, the sense of "expert" doesn't show directly, and the meaning would simply be "practitioner of the wind arts."  

"Jutsu-shi" (術師) is similar to, but is NOT the same as "jutsu-sha" (術者), which has a less honorific, more mundane feel. The kanji meanings may help make the distinction clear: 者 - "person."; 師 - "expert, teacher, master."

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 3 ==

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 4 ==

===Warring States Period===
Warring States Period (戦国時代) was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict in Japan that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. (source Wiki)
===Jodan no Kamae===
This is a posture in which you face the enemy squarely and suppress him with your spirit. You overpower his mind and control his movement so that he has no opportunity to attack you. The first gap in his mental awareness and physical defense is seized upon. The essence of this posture is to cut down with your whole mind, spirit and body. This posture is not usually advantageous against an enemy of greater skill.
Hidari Jodan no Kamae:
• advance the left foot about half a step.
• hold the sword high above your head, pointing to your right rear
• the body is held in the same way as in Seigan except
• the heel of the rear foot touches the floor
Migi Jodan no Kamae:
• advance the right foot about a half step
• the sword is held high, pointing to your left rear
• the rest is the same as Hidari Jodan
(from http://www.newyorkbudokai.net/technique.html)

===Samadhi Flame===

Samadhi Flame (三昧真火) - a mythical fire that surpasses this world that has purify powers. Found in Buddhism and Hinduism (Sources needed.)

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 5 ==

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 6 ==

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter6|Chapter 6]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Epilogue ==

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Translator's Notes

2007-08-04T20:58:17Z

The naming game: /* Practitioner */ note: jutsu-sha 術者 is NOT the same as jutsu-shi 術師

<center>Translator's Notes and References for 
<big>第一巻: 風の聖痕</big> 
Volume 1: Kaze no Stigma</center>

== Chapter 1 ==

=== Golden Carp ===

A mythical carp with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, which is an auspicious protector of well-being.

=== Practitioner ===

Term to denote someone who practices a jutsu. In Japanese, "jutsu-sha" (術者), which literally means "technique/art person."

=== Enjutsu ===

Literally means "Fire Technique." This will be used from here on.

=== Ukemi ===

Ukemi comes from Uke. Uke is a form of martial arts where one learns how to "receive" a technique. Basically, a Ukemi is when you learn how to take a throw or a fall without injuring yourself.

Here is the Wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukemi

=== Youma ===

Youma, depending on the context can mean different things. Some definitions are demons, monsters, and spirits. In most cases, youma has a negative connotation.

=== Jutsu ===

Jutsu can mean different things in different contexts. In this context, it would mean something like technique or skill.

=== Taijutsu ===

Literally "Body Arts." This is a very broad term for classical martial arts or fighting arts in general.

Here is the Wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taijutsu

=== Kekkai ===

Kekkai means barrier, and is typically magical or spiritual.

Here is the Wikipedia article. Please look at the bottom paragraph. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kekkai

=== Soushu ===

Literally means ‘Head of Sect’, but here it means ‘Head of the Kannagi House/Clan’.

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 2 ==

=== Bishoujo ===

Bishoujo literally means, "beautiful young girl." As the literal translation implies, it refers to most beautiful young girls.

Here is the Wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishoujo

=== Otou-san ===

Otou-san means "dad." The "-san" makes the term more formal. Although this is more formal, there are more formal terms than Otou-san (an example would be "otou-sama"), so dad would be a more accurate translation.

=== Fuujutsu-Shi ===

Fuujutsu-shi literally means, "wind jutsu user." A fuujutsu-shi would be a wind user. 

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 3 ==

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 4 ==

===Warring States Period===
Warring States Period (戦国時代) was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict in Japan that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. (source Wiki)
===Jodan no Kamae===
This is a posture in which you face the enemy squarely and suppress him with your spirit. You overpower his mind and control his movement so that he has no opportunity to attack you. The first gap in his mental awareness and physical defense is seized upon. The essence of this posture is to cut down with your whole mind, spirit and body. This posture is not usually advantageous against an enemy of greater skill.
Hidari Jodan no Kamae:
• advance the left foot about half a step.
• hold the sword high above your head, pointing to your right rear
• the body is held in the same way as in Seigan except
• the heel of the rear foot touches the floor
Migi Jodan no Kamae:
• advance the right foot about a half step
• the sword is held high, pointing to your left rear
• the rest is the same as Hidari Jodan
(from http://www.newyorkbudokai.net/technique.html)

===Samadhi Flame===

Samadhi Flame (三昧真火) - a mythical fire that surpasses this world that has purify powers. Found in Buddhism and Hinduism (Sources needed.)

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 5 ==

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Chapter 6 ==

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter6|Chapter 6]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

== Epilogue ==

<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;"
|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Jump to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma

2007-06-03T12:02:13Z

The naming game: /* ''Kaze no Stigma'' / 風の聖痕 */ ch1 complete, confirmed. the_naming_game, tends to be lazy with this kind of thing, confirmed. (go go SR)

Kaze no Stigma (風の聖痕, Kaze no Stigma lit. Stigma of the Wind)

== Story Synopsis ==

Four years ago, Kannagi Kazuma was defeated by his cousin Kannagi Ayano for the right to be the successor of Enraiha, a sword passed down in the Kannagi family. His defeat, along with his lack of talent for En-Jutsu, the fire jutsu, the Kannagis' specialty, resulted in his banishment from the family. Now, Kazuma returns as Kazuma Yagami, a skilled master of Fū-Jutsu, the wind arts. At the same time, a number of murders at the Kannagi residence perpetrated by a powerful Fū-Jutsushi cast suspicion on him. (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaze_no_Stigma)

== Translation ==

=== Help Needed ===
'''If you are interested in this series and would like to help, feel free to join. We urgently need more Translators, Editors, and Staff. So please help.''' (Pop a message at the forums.)

=== Format Standards ===
'''Every Chapter (after editing) must conform to the agreed points highlighted in the below guidelines'''
*[[Format_guideline|General Format/Style Guideline]]

Some of these chapters are translations of the '''Chinese edition''' of the novels, which are known to have some minor mistakes compared to the original Japanese text. If you have access to the originals and you spot an error, '''please feel free to make the corrections yourself''' - this is a Wiki which means it's meant for anyone to fix things (and if you screw up, we can revert back your changes if all deem necessary). We can see the corrections you make, so just go ahead instead of hiding or waiting for permission.

== Updates ==

*May 28, 2007
**Just Started

== The ''Kaze no Stigma'' series, by [[Takahiro Yamato]] ==
These are the main story novels.

===''Kaze no Stigma'' / 風の聖痕 ===
::*[[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter1|Chapter 1 - The disinherited son returns]]
::*[[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter2|Chapter 2 - The sudden disaster]] (~50%)
::*Chapter 3 - Clash with the Past
::*Chapter 4
::*Chapter 5 - Rescue
::*Chapter 6 - Decisive Battle
::*Epilogue

===''Kaze no Stigma 2: The Price of a Soul'' / 風の聖痕2 -魂の値段 ===

===''Kaze no Stigma 3: The Confession under the moon '' / 風の聖痕3 -月下の告白 ===

===''Kaze no Stigma 4: '' / 風の聖痕4 -瑠璃色の残影 ===

===''Kaze no Stigma 5: '' / 風の聖痕5 -緋色の誓約 ===

===''Kaze no Stigma 6: '' / 風の聖痕6 -疾風の槍 ===

== ''Kaze no Stigma - Ignition '' ==
These are the side stories of the novel.

===綾乃ちゃんの災難 ===

===僕だけのマドンナ ===

===煉くんの受難===

== Project Staff ==

*Project Administrator:
*Project Supervisor:

=== Translators ===
::*[[user:The naming game|The naming game]]
::*erehwon

User who wish to contribute partially translated scripts but wish not to continue with the whole chapter i.e. become a fully fledged Project Translator therefore expected to contribute regularly.
Please inform [[user:onizuka-gto|onizuka-gto]] before submitting, this includes both Anonymous & Registered Users.

'''Translators are asked to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Registration Page|register]] which chapters they're working on''' (see [[Format_guideline#Translators|the Guideline page]] for usage rules).

=== Editors ===
This is the Project Editorial Team.

Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Chapter1

2007-06-01T14:15:20Z

The naming game: /* 1 */ translation fixes; point in particular: Kazuma's not that chivalrous...

== Chapter One - The Disinherited Son Returns ==

=== 1 ===

　　"What bad taste……"

　　That was the first impression he had of the client. Incidentally, it should also be noted, that this is an impression that did not change in the slightest all the way to the end.

　　In this hilly high-class residential area, the mansion was sitting arrogantly on display. With a design that completely disregarded the harmony of its surroundings, there were plenty of reasons to doubt the owner's true character.

　　If one were to disregard the bad taste thus far, one might have to say it was rather magnificent. Climbing up Governor's Hill, about as close by as the famous Catholic girl's school, was the mansion. When he saw it, he was honestly, completely stunned.

　　(Did Turkish harems have this feel?)

　　Yagami Kazuma didn't seem to be joking when he thought that. "Don't paint the walls of a Japanese house in such wild colors!" he wanted to preach, while grabbing that person's collar; it was that kind of house.

　　This could probably be considered the place of origin of Japan's Westernization movement. The first gaslight was lit here; ice cream was put on sale here first. One would have expected it to be a stylish, refined town with a distinguished history.

　　(Considering that, this is probably some kind of breach of contract……)

　　He saw a decorated golden carp on the roof, and let out a sigh. The image that was held dear in Yokohama, had crumbled away completely, with a clattering sound.

　　When he had accepted the job at the agency, he was given not only an address, but also a detailed map. It had been completely unnecessary, however. By asking the neighborhood residents, "What's the house with the poorest taste around here?" probably even a monkey could manage to find his way here.

　　A structure that was painful to the eyes —— he didn't want to call that a house —— that upon viewing, made Kazuma look up to the sky, begging. The sky was empty and blue.

　　"Hey, at least it's work……"

　　He muttered to convince himself.

　　However, this is the same Kazuma whose look probably couldn't by any means be called appropriate for work.

　　Jeans and sneakers, a checkered shirt and a black jacket. His youth, at 22 years old, and his relaxed facial expression made him seem, no matter how you looked at it, no different from a student from the nearby university.

　　He was completely blind to his own faults. While continuing his observations, he noticed something strange.

　　The darkness covering the mansion was thicker than he had been told. Because of this, maybe even an ordinary person with no spirit sight would sense darkness in the mansion's surroundings.

　　(Maybe I'll just go back……)

　　Nagged by a horribly bad premonition, Kazuma was halfway seriously thinking about that.

　　The darkness that covered the mansion —— it was something more unearthly than he had expected, but it wasn't so much that he couldn't deal with it. For this reason, this premonition was a bad omen. There was something else up.

　　Judging from his experiences up to now, it was a credible and important premonition. However, he couldn't just throw away work on that alone.

　　This was his first assignment in Japan. If he broke off the arrangement with only a "For some reason or another," he probably wouldn't be able to get jobs in the future.

　　With heavy steps, he made his way toward the mansion. He stopped once more, in front of a nonsensically huge gate.

　　While standing in front of the doorbell, Kazuma was still unsure. Danger signals were bombarding his instincts. He couldn't help wanting to run away. However ——

　　"Yagami-sama, I presume."

　　Without any warning, a voice came from the intercom, and completely disrupted Kazuma's thinking. He jumped back with a start, and stood guarded; the voice continued from before, without concern for this.

　　"You have been expected. Kindly enter through the auxiliary entrance on the side, please."

　　Click.

　　Simultaneous with those words, a small door to the ride side of the gate unlocked. Apparently he was supposed to just go in.

　　(Compared with that "You have been expected", that's some rude treatment…)

　　He was feeling uncomfortable, but he was dealing with a customer. As instructed, he entered through the side door.

　　Inside the fence was awash with a large number of security cameras and sensors. They must live a very shadowy life.

　　Upon walking into the entrance way, multiple cameras followed him. With an irritation almost to the point of wanting to kill whoever was putting him under this rude surveillance, Kazuma somehow repressed himself.

　　"Eeek……"

　　That's what he'd intended, but apparently it had shown on his face. The face of the maid who had come to greet him, was filled with a fear akin to having come across a man-eating bear. Kazuma smoothed over his expression hurriedly.

　　"Welcome, please come this way."

　　She went from a horrible face, as if she were being picked up and eaten, to a overly bright smile.

　　It didn't seem possible for someone to change their expression that dramatically, forgetting their suspicions, but the maid smiled as if nothing had happened. A pro.

　　As the maid walked ahead, Kazuma observed her gratifyingly swaying bottom, while going to the living room to wait.

　　(It would have been better if I'd left……)

　　As soon as he was guided into the living room, Kazuma felt deep regret at his choice. There inside, was a thin little man, self-importantly lying back, legs outstretched —— the master of the mansion, and client, Sakamoto Nanigashi —— but he wasn't alone. There was one practitioner, a face he knew well.

　　That practitioner, upon recognizing Kazuma, showed fear on his face for a moment, and then immediately twisted his lips into a sneer, glaring at Kazuma with a face full of scorn.

　　"What, the other practitioner was you, Kazuma? You became a disinherited child of the Kannagi's because of your incompetence, and now you dare to call yourself a practitioner?"

　　Probably, those explanatory words were for Sakamoto to hear. Practitioner —— Kannagi. The youngest child of the branch family Yuuki, Shinji truly took great pleasure in abusing Kazuma.

　　Sakamoto showed the response Shinji had expected. His expression changed, and he approached Kazuma.

　　"So this is true, then? Isn't this different from what you said? You said you were a top class spritual practitioner, so I hired you!"

　　Kazuma calmly —— while retreating the same distance as the other advanced —— answered.

　　"I don't know what the person at the agency said. But if you're dissatisfied, perhaps I should leave?"

　　"Hmmph, that's right."

　　Sakamoto's eyes showed a faintly cunning light. Kazuma's, even at the best of times, scarce desire to work, quickly neared zero.

　　"Mmmm, how about this? Why don't you both try the exorcism, and only the successful one gets paid. Ahh, naturally I won't tell the loser to return the advance payment."

　　"Good idea, yeah."

　　They had been flippant words, but Shinji had immediately accepted them. And then, with the face of someone who has been completely made a fool of, he asked Kazuma.

　　"And what are you going to do?"

　　"I'm out."

　　Kazuma gave an immediate reply. In the scornful stares of the two, not even one muscle of an eyebrow moved.

　　"Hmmph, coward, sucking your finger. I'll show you a model example of Enjutsu."

　　"Model example, eh. Didn't you say that? Just like the youngest child of the branch family."

　　"Y, You!"

　　Having the one he looked down upon, in return looking down upon him, Shinji was enraged. He completely forgot about being in front of a client, tightened a fist, and struck out.

　　It was a fist intent on crushing the skull, which Kazuma handled by opening his body to the left.

　　In the instant that Shinji's right thrust was dodged, without stopping the rotation of his hips, he transferred the movement energy to his left leg.

　　In reaction to the shift in center of gravity, his left leg flew up in a rotating kick from Kazuma's blind spot, aiming for his temple.

　　However, Kazuma, as if he had seen it, lightly bent back his head. The heel of the left leg passed by a few millimeters in front of his eyes.

　　Kazuma's movements were like the leaves of a tree swaying in the wind, without hesitation. Into the space the kicking foot had left, he entered, with complete spontaneity, and lightly swept Shinji's pivot leg. Shinji, his left leg still floating in the air, under the power of his own rotational power, violently slammed into the floor.

　　"Sh-shit!"

　　Shinji had just barely managed to do ukemi, and quickly got back up. Incorrigibly, he assumed a fighting posture.

　　"You — thinking you could beat me in Taijutsu? Even four years ago, you weren't a match for me. There's no way you could be an opponent for my current self."

　　"Sh, shut up!"

　　Kazuma showed not the least bit of triumph; he chided disinterestedly, as if facing a defiant child. Being looked down upon from such a securely elevated position, Shinji's reason made a sound and broke.

　　"Stop it right there, you two."

　　However, just then, a restraining voice spoke, and the two turned at the same time to the voice's owner. Sakamoto showed great satisfaction at having gotten their attention, and in a tone as if he were an extremely important person, he scolded them.

　　"I didn't call you here to have a fight. The furnishings in this room, no matter which one you look at, are each more expensive than what I'm paying you. Any kind of rough behavior would be troublesome, okay?"

　　Suddenly, around the vicinity of the money talk, there was a scumbag. The person in question was probably attempting to flaunt his assets, but for the ones made to listen, it was nothing but the stink of the nouveau riche pushed up their noses.

　　(Maybe I'll leave…… since I still get the advance payment.)

　　With the discomfort index continuing to rise, with no end in sight, Kazuma's desire to work had already dropped into minus territory. He couldn't help feeling that even being in this place was agony.

　　"Mm……?"

　　However, without warning, the unearthly presence began to converge, heralding a new development.

　　"——It's coming."

　　The unearthly presence that had been spread throughout the mansion, directed its focus to one point in the living room. Kazuma moved casually, putting Sakamoto and Shinji in between himself and that presence.

　　"What's that? What just……"

　　The unearthly presence had solidified into something black. Shinji, over 10 seconds slower than Kazuma, had finally noticed it as well.

　　"Mmmm, so it came out?"

　　"Wh-what? What's wrong?"

　　Hesitatingly breaking the suddenly tense atmosphere, Sakamoto shouted in a shrill voice.

　　Kazuma answered in place of Shinji, who was already beginning to focus his mind for the use of jutsu.

　　"It's work time. The 'evil spirit' or whatever you've been struggling with just came out."

　　While giving that offhand explanation, Kazuma felt a beyond-ordinary sense of unease.

　　(That's no evil spirit. What kind of thing is it?)

　　When Kazuma had first accepted the assignment, the person at the agency had said "Just a normal evil spirit exorcism."

　　—— Hey, your first job should be one of these, right? If you're as good as the rumors say, you should be able to take that evil spirit with one hand ——

　　A superficial seeming man, but with definite achievements, he had heard. Their kind of work was, in some sense, even more than for practitioners, something where confidence was life. Making a mistake this big was extremely unlikely. It wasn't an easy business, that that kind of irresponsible agency person could survive.

　　(Was I set up? Well, fine. Should I just observe his skill?)

　　Kazuma learned against the wall, crossed his arms, and looked about as if sightseeing.

　　Preparing himself for the appearance of the "evil spirit," Shinji was focusing his mind.

　　It seemed he was planning to burn it away as soon as it appeared. It was clear to see in his expression.

　　Suddenly, the space in front turned dark and thick. Shinji faced both his palms towards each other, in order to set up a transparent ball in front of his chest. A small fire was held between those palms.

　　Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooon……

　　A voice full of resentment shook the air; the evil spirit showed itself. A melted-away face projected an infinite hatred to all living beings.


　　"Eeep"

　　"HAAAA!!"

　　Paying no attention to the screaming Sakamoto, Shinji released a devastating flame, along with a sharp kiai. The evil spirit became cleansed due to the fire; it had disappeared without a trace —— or so Shinji believed.

　　However——

　　"Idiot"

　　Gioooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo……

　　While the evil spirit's cries of agony echoed, and Shinji was snickering —

　　Flame exploded.

　　"Gahhhhhhhhhh!?"

　　Shinji screamed, wrapped in flame. The uselessly large living room, in a moment, became a sea of flame.

　　"Kakakakakakakakakakakakakakakaka"

　　Shinji's flame had been eclipsed by the evil spirit. It had been completely devoured. The youma began to laugh sneeringly.

=== 2 ===

　　The Kannagi family is, even among the "Enjutsu users" who can freely manipulate fire, the strongest and most famous family. It is not simply just because their power is great. There is a special ability in the family's blood; the reason surely lies there. The flame that they manipulate, is not through the physical phenomenon of the simple acceleration of molecular motion; it possesses the power to burn away impurities, and destroy evil.

　　Because of this "purifying flame", the Kannagi family's practitioners hold absolute dominance over youma, evil spirits, and all beings that transgress the law. However, even with the ability given by blood, to the extent that that blood is diluted, it is inevitable that that power will again deteriorate.

　　Already, the branch family's practitioners had long lost the highest rank of "gold". If a youma with fire attributes was the opponent, the released flame would, on the contrary, even be likely to be absorbed.

　　For example, like just now —— the living room had been turned into a purgatory. The high class furniture, the shag carpet, were already carbonizing. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling; its glass had melted, turning into some grotesque art object.

　　"Wonder if he's dead?"

　　Kazuma muttered with a refreshed-looking face. A cool breeze wrapped around Kazuma; the raging flame wasn't even allowed to get close to him. Even the heat was sealed off; not a drop of sweat was apparent.

　　"H-help……"

　　A frail voice stimulated his eardrums. Kazuma looked down at the blackish object at his feet.

　　What had rolled screaming into the kekkai, was the former client, Sakamoto. He was burned here and there, but he didn't seem to be dead.

　　"Aaaaaa, he, help me!"

　　Sakamoto screamed while clinging onto Kazuma's legs. However Kazuma heartlessly kicked away his former client.

　　Thud!

　　Sakamoto's face began writhing in a new kind of pain, as it was mercilessly trampled upon. Since he didn't want to touch with anything beyond slippers, instead of stepping on him, he brang down his heel. It seemed like you could the skull making a creaking sound, but that wasn't a big problem.

　　Kazuma, trampled, grinding on Sakamoto's head, and clearly stated:

　　"You're not a client, and I don't have the habit of saving middle-aged men."

　　"If it's money, I'll pay. Twice as much, or so……"

　　"Twice? Your life's worth only one million?

　　Kazuma took a cigarette from his pocket. He gently stretched out his hand, only exposing the cigarette's tip to the outside of the kekkai. He filled his lungs with the tobacco smoke, and slowly let it out.

　　Sakamoto didn't have the leisure to be that relaxed. Whether on purpose, or by chance, only around Sakamoto, were there holes in the kekkai; the tongues of flame were beginning to lick him.

　　"Hot-, Ee, Eeee, Help! I'll pay 10 million!"

　　"Thanks for your business."

　　Upon tossing away his cigarette, Kazuma changed suddenly, smiling brightly. The smile of a demon who'd made a profitable deal.

　　"Alright now. Then, won't you please stand back?"

　　Kazuma kicked Sakamoto in the rear, sending him rolling, and as if it were obvious, proclaimed:

　　"You're in the way."

　　He began muttering in a staccato voice, and waved his right hand sideways in a mowing motion. As if being squeezed out by the hand, the raging fire was taken care of, expelled out the window.

　　The fire didn't spread to the grass and trees in the garden, but scattered and vanished.

　　And then, inside the room, a distorted face attached to a fireball — only the youma's true body remained.

　　Hyuuoou-

　　In place of the extinguished fire, wind raged around the room. Kazuma stood quietly. With his hand still in his jacket pocket, he did not move a finger. And yet, the wind followed Kazuma's intentions, and erased the flame.

　　Already, the fight was over. In front of Kazuma's overwhelming power, the youma wasn't even able to put up any resistance as it was torn to pieces, All that was left to do was wait for its annihilation.

　　"And with this…"

　　Kazuma slowly raised his right hand. For someone with soul sight, the density of spirits crowding that hand would have been terrifying.

　　"…the end!"

　　Ten times faster than it came up, the hand swung down. In a straight line extension from the right hand, an invisible blade that cut even air molecules, cleaved the youma precisely in two.

　　Without sound, without any spirit framents remaining, Kazuma regarded the destroyed youma with a calm look.

　　"Finished."

　　Kazuma pronounced this to Sakamoto, who was still lying on the floor, dumbfounded.

　　"Pay the money in 3 days. Otherwise, would you like to regret having ever been born?"

　　They were completely like a criminal's words. Even if that was a mistake, it wasn't the way you'd speak to a customer.

　　However, Sakamoto, realizing the horror of going against Kazuma, did not complain.

　　"Y, yes. Understood. But something terrible has happened to Yuuki-kun. I never thought something so serious would happen."

　　Kazuma wordlessly came closer to what appeared to be the ashes of Shinji's remains, and despairingly trampled on them. As expected, Sakamoto also raised his voice.

　　"Wh-what are you doing!? I don't know whatever happened between you two, but you still shouldn't desecrate a corpse, right!?"

　　"He's not dead."

　　Kazuma spat the words out dryly, and then continued to kick him again and again.

　　Upon doing so, the ash covering the surface began to fall off, and almost unscalded skin appeared.

　　"Wh-wha……?"

　　Sakamoto doubted his eyes, with this unbelievable scene. Kazuma gave an offhand explanation.

　　"All of Kannagi's people receive the divine protection of fire spirits. Even people from the branch family wouldn't die in this degree of fire."

　　Kazuma curled his lips in self-derision, and added,

　　"I'm the exception though."

　　"Uu……Guu……"

　　Upon doing that, Shinji woke up. Upon looking out around him, he confirmed that the youma had already been destroyed.

　　"You did this?"

　　"It's just like you saw."

　　Who do you think you are, saying whatever you please? —— Kazuma answered with that kind of tone. He had already seen through, that Shinji had kept his consciousness; Shinji hurriedly attempted an explanation.

　　"So you noticed……? But I couldn't help. I honestly couldn't move."

　　"I don't want to hear your excuses."

　　Kazuma coldly spoke that over his shoulder, as he turned his back. Shinji called out to the unhesitating figure leaving. There was still something that had to be said.

　　"Why did you return?"

　　"Must have been for something, I guess"

　　At that play-dumb answer, thinking he was being evaded, Shinji's gaze became sharp.

　　"'for something' …. Do you think the elders are going to understand that?"

　　"I was only disinherited, I wasn't deported. Where I am is my business."

　　"What are you planning?"

　　"Nothing in particular."

　　Kazuma answered curtly, shrugging his shoulders.

　　"Are you returning to the Kannagi?"

　　"Idiotic talk. Not even if I die."

　　He answered as if spitting out the words, and then Kazuma, this time, without hesitating, walked off.

　　Shinji was driven by an unease he couldn't stop. He continued to stare at Kazuma.

　　(I have to tell this to the suzerain as soon as possible……)

　　Shinji's unease was, in a sense, on the mark. A war to push the Kannagi into an abyss of ruin, was currently, from this moment, beginning.

===3===

　　"Did you hear of it? It seems Kazuma has returned to Japan."

　　"What, that incompetent has? It must be dead simple to be a fuujutsu practitioner.

　　"Nope, 'I am a dark magician' is what I heard. For him to become a practitioner, he'd have to sell his soul to the devil, right?"

　　"Ah, that's true, probably."

　　"Ahahahahaha……"

　　That day, rumors of Kazuma were the talk of the Kannagi main house. Of the elders — the general term for one retired from active service, and now overseeing the management of the practitioners — having heard Shinji's report, only one wasn't jokingly spreading around nonsense.

　　For the offense of the aforesaid Shinji's failure in his duty, he was currently under probation. Tail fin, dorsal fin, belly fins, all being wildly added to the rumor, until it grew to maturity, and not one person tried to stop it.

　　The source of the rumors, the elders, appeared to be in complete delight. The kind of people called elders, if you excepted the extremely serious exceptions, were basically men of leisure. "Looking important is work" and so on, was the gossip that some attacked with.

　　When there was no work, all day, they would drink tea, and amuse themselves talking about various topics. Obviously, they could not resist something interesting to talk about.

　　Upon hearing Shinji's news, they were dancing for joy inside. The elders, when they passed the verdict of probation on the dejected Shinji, had even something of a skipping type of light gait, while they drank tea and turned back to each other. They haphazardly began talking like this:

　　"Ohh, did you know……?"

　　The elders were, during this work time, like different people, in energetic activity.

　　Inside of one hour, there was almost nobody in the huge mansion who had not heard of Kazuma's return to the country. It certainly reached the servants, and then all kinds of people heard about it.

　　It was, in short, a situation where almost nobody knew the true facts, but it wasn't a big problem for the elders, since "If it's interesting, who cares what happens later!" was the elders' basic attitude.

　　And so, news of Kazuma spread — the exact opposite direction that Shinji was hoping for,

　　To wit——

　　"Kazuma returned as a dark magician."

　　"Kazuma was secretly murdered; he's buried in the back garden."

　　"Kazuma clashed with Shinji during work, and killed him suddenly."

　　"Kazuma made a contract with the wind spirits. An evil demon."

　　The truth was subtly mixed in, but having come this far, nobody could really interpret it. Obviously, no one feared Kazuma's retribution.

　　The main family's failure had left all his talent in his mother's womb, like liquid skimmed off the top, had somewhat found a preferable power to take in, it seemed. Nobody laughed at that.

　　However, there were a small number of exceptions. One of those was the current suzerain, Kannagi Juugo. During supper, in the humorous talk that was being told, there was one item that Juugo was interested in.

　　"Ohhhh? Kazuma chose fuujutsu? Did you know that, Genma?"

　　Juugo spoke to his cousin sitting next to him. For some reason, as if harboring some ill will, he smiled a hating smile.

　　"……Oh"

　　Genma answered in brief. The rumor having apparently already reached his ears, and he didn't appear disturbed.

　　However, it was clear that he wasn't happy about the rumor either. The saying "like someone chewing up a bitter bug" perfectly described his frown, as he gripped a tight fist.

　　If Kazuma was in front of him, I'd want to strangle him to death. It was that kind of face.

　　"It's shameful."

　　"It's not especially shameful."

　　Juugo answered lightly, and then gave a command to a servant.

　　"I would like to hear a detailed account. Call Shinji."

　　"Certainly."

　　Shinji went as far as scraping down to the tatami in his prostration. His tension was great, sweat floated on his forehead, and his breathing was disordered.

　　Regarding the Kannagi family, it would be fitting to say that the difference between the main family and the branch family's status was absolute. To even dream of a revolution was foolish.

　　Tradition, social status —— it wasn't a system based on that kind of abstract idea. The thing separating the two was only, only the overwhelming difference in power.

　　If all the practitioners of the branch family were to fight, if it was with someone like Juugo or Genma, they could be smashed by the wiggle of a little finger. Because of that kind of hopeless power difference, no thoughts of rebellion were harbored.

　　You could say it was understandable that Shinji would be under such tension. In front of Juugo, who had something similar to a god's absolute superiority, and having to recount his clumsy failure. This was definitely worse than the original feeling.

　　"Raise your face. You don't have to humble yourself like that."
　　
Juugo spoke in a friendly manner, but to look into the suzerain's face and speak, was far too overwhelming for Shinji. In the end, he raised his face, but his eyes still stared towards the tatami, as he submitted his report.

　　"A-and, I now have the privilege of being allowed to give this report."

　　"……I see."

　　When Shinji had finished recounting everything, Juugo said that, and was silent for awhile.

　　"……I see."

　　As if to confirm, he repeated it one more time. He closed his eyes lightly, and remnisced back to when his nephew — to be accurate, the relation was more separated than that, but he used that label since it was too much trouble — had left 4 years ago.

　　(——What a poor child he was.)

　　If he had been born to any but the Kannagi family, he would have been considered a superior child, probably. Excellent intellect, good reflexes too, and he also showed great promise in learning the jutsu. Except for one; only if you excepted the ability to manipulate fire.

　　However, that was certainly, for the Kannagi family, the most necessary ability.

　　Someone with no talent for manipulating fire, no matter what else he was proficient at, was treated as an incompetent. As a result of that, Kazuma was no longer part of the Kannagi.

　　Yet —— Juugo thought.

　　(Why didn't you ask me for help, Kazuma. There was no need to disown you from the family. If it was me, I would have made a place for you. Whatever Genma said, I wouldn't have cared about the Enjutsu, I would have made use of your talent, yet despite that…..)

　　Juugo looked down upon his right leg. That right leg was a thing made of metal and plastic. If that accident hadn't happened, and the "rule of inheritance" hadn't been rushed, maybe Kazuma would be here right now?

　　However, it was far too late. Kazuma had thrown away the family, the family name, all that was Kannagi, and had left Japan. This was reality. "The past", a thing that could never be changed.

　　"……Suzerain?"

　　That uncertain sounding voice brought Juugo back to reality. Upon looking around, he found everyone in an uncomfortable silence. It wasn't surprising. Among these, there were almost none who had not tormented Kazuma.

　　However, the one who had driven Kazuma out was calm. That person —— Genma, spoke out, without a single change in his expression.

　　"Suzerain. Kazuma is already someone without any connection to the Kannagi. There is no need to worry about him."

　　"Genma, you would, of your own son ——"

　　"I have only one son, Ren."

　　Genma spoke coolly, interrupting the suzerain's words. Juugo tried to say something else in reply, but disliking unproductive battles, he put other, safer words into his mouth.

　　"It's fine then. After all, Kazuma has become successful with fuujutsu. Maybe it was best that he left the Kannagi. Or maybe, Hyoue, if he had been entrusted to your place, he would have become skilled and powerful?"

　　"Perhaps."

　　Sitting at a lower seat, the head of the Fuuga clan answered sullenly. 

　　At that, Genma again cut in with an objection.

　　"We are afraid, yet Fuujutsu and such, are after all, lower arts. The most they are capable of is acting as assistants to Enjutsu. Even supposing 4 years ago, we knew of Kazuma's talent for Fuujutsu, for us to leave him to people like the Fuuga clan, clearly, we would still have to disinherit him."

　　Hearing his art publicly insulted, Hyoue twisted his face in humiliation. However, nobody paid any attention to Hyoue, nor to his face.

　　For the Kannagi family, who only noticed the value of fighting power, the Fuuga clan, having been given the reconnaisance and battle support duties, were limited to a lower status. Genma's words were not reckless. They weren't anything beyond the normal beliefs of the other Kannagi.

　　"……We will go no further with this talk. Dinner will become unpleasant."

　　At Juugo's words, everyone showed clearly relieved expressions on their faces. As if on cue, cheerful talk began, and they rolled around laughing at silly jokes.

　　Though awkwardly, the usual dining hall atmosphere returned.

　　And so, nobody noticed the dark light harbored in Hyoue's eyes. He repressed the expression on his face, and murmured in a voice so small that it did not reach even his own ears.

　　"I will not forget this disgrace, Genma……"

=== 4 ===

　　"Kannagi……no, Yagami Kazuma……? You came back at a very good time!"

　　Huo-huo-huo……

　　In a darkness-filled single room, without even one streak of light in it, a hoarse laugh broke into the strained silence.

　　"And……?"

　　"Yes, it's better if everyone hears this. Finally the time has come. The time when we must dispell the disgrace that has lasted 300 years. Now is the time for us to get back the power we lost, and return to our previous glorious position."

　　"Ohhhhhhhhh…………"

　　A stifled commotion filled the air. No one shouted. Afraid of being discovered, they kept their breaths in check, keeping their tension locked in themselves.

　　"Oh, when you finally realize it, you Kannagi. We will overthrow you, and leave not a single one remaining……Kukuku……"

　　A low and gloomy voice echoed with a resentment darker than darkness.

　　"U, uwaaaaaaaaaaaa! Wha, what, what are you doing-!"

　　That same day, late at night, Shinji screamed out. Nearby were two freshly severed heads, and two headless corpses tumbled down. And then, standing before him, a —— human?

　　Shinji wasn't able to say for certain. By outward appearance, there was nothing different from a human, but that unearthliness was something a person could not possibly have.

　　The two who had been living up until 30 seconds ago, had been captured in a kekkai without even any chance to prepare themselves, and had been immediately decapitated.

　　The mysterious person had not moved a single finger. And yet, Shinji had clearly witnessed two heads being sliced off with incredible force, as if it was nothing. Or rather, had been forced to witness.

　　Shinji was the only person left living, even though the other two surpassed him in skill. It wasn't because of luck. Shinji realized this more than anyone else.

　　He was being toyed with. This demon in human shape was feeding on Shinji's fear and hopelessness. For a moment, it held off killing him, playing with him lazily, enjoying his empty resistance.

　　"What the hell! What did I do……?"

　　"That thing" gave no answers. Without even footsteps, it came near, taking its time.

　　"That thing" was completely silent. Not even the hint of a sound, as it drew closer. wielding an invisible sword.

　　Even when those heads had been severed, silence. The two blood-covered heads rolling on the ground seemed not to have noticed their own deaths, still with drunken, relaxed, slack smiles.

　　Shinji knew of only one person who could do what "that thing" could do. He had just met him yesterday. In addition, that man had a motive to kill them.

　　Shinji became frantic, begging "that thing" for forgiveness. His voice did a complete about-face.

　　"Ka-Kazuma? You're Kazuma, right? Forgive me, it was my fault, I'm regretting it, so please, forgive meeee"

　　The only reply was the flash of the wind-blade. It severed his right arm at the base. The blade formed of a high density of spirits, cut through meat and bone as if it were tofu.

　　"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"

　　While screaming, Shinji threw himself fully into starting Enjutsu. The intense concentration from being so close to death, brought forth the greatest power of his 25 years of life.

　　"That thing" was covered in golden flame. Destroying any and all demons, the highest level of purification. The flame burned through the darkness.

　　"Y-yeah! I think I——"

　　Suddenly, "that thing", now changed into a huge torch, began to move. Shinji's face, full of hope, froze.

　　"That thing" stretched out a hand, easily taking hold of the golden flame, and in one movement, tore it from its body! 

　　"That thing" had escaped from the flame's restraints, completely uninjured. To say nothing of its body, not even the clothes showed any sign of having been burned.

　　"That thing" slowly turned to Shinji and began walking. Underneath the freezing moonlight, without a sound, it came closer, an ominous shadow.

　　This was in some ways, twisted. There was something there that the eye could not help being fascinated by. A scene filled with beauty that one had to admit was of the spirit world.

　　"Hee, heehee, heeheeeeheeheehee-, kyahahahaha, ahahahaha!"

　　Suddenly, Shinji began laughing in a strange voice.

　　From an overload of fear, apparently his mental equilibrium had snapped. Even when the wind blade soundlessly sliced through his body, splitting it, without even showing a reaction, he tumbled over laughing.

　　Perhaps "that thing" had tired of Shinji's lack of response. As if throwing away an unwanted toy, it casually sliced off his head.

　　There was a dull thunk. The third head rolled on the ground.

　　Even having finished killing everyone alive, "that thing" was still dissatisfied. It persistently continued slicing up the bodies. Though it was only a few minutes, the three bodies had been turned into many small pieces. To not even speak of the parents being able to recognize them, they wouldn't even be able to tell what kind of flesh it was.

　　The raw stink of blood and meat drifted through the kekkai. "That thing" laughed cruelly, and as if melting into the air, vanished.

　　Afterwards, three severed heads remained. In contrast to the bodies, there was not one injury on those heads.

　　Somehow, the three heads had ended up in a straight line to the gate, each had a strange smile, as if to say to anyone coming through that gate,

　　"Welcome to a nightmare world."

　　Words that appeared to be delivered smilingly.

　　And so the tragedy began——

Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Chapter1

2007-05-31T05:42:49Z

The naming game: ch1 finished; some unusual descriptive language this update.

== Chapter One - The Disinherited Son Returns ==

=== 1 ===

　　"What bad taste……"

　　That was the first impression he had of the client. It should also be noted, that this is an impression that did not change in the slightest all the way to the end.

　　In this hilly high-class residential area, the mansion was sitting arrogantly on display. With a design that completely disregarded the harmony of its surroundings, there were plenty of reasons to doubt the owner's true character.

　　If one were to disregard the bad taste thus far, one might have to say it was rather magnificent. Climbing up Governor's Hill, about as close by as the famous Catholic girl's school, was the mansion. When he saw it, he was honestly, completely stunned.

　　(Did Turkish harems have this feel?)

　　Yagami Kazuma didn't seem to be joking when he thought that. "Don't paint the walls of a Japanese house in such wild colors!" he wanted to preach, while grabbing that person's collar; it was that kind of house.

　　This could probably be considered the place of origin of Japan's westernization movement. The first gaslight was lit here; ice cream was put on sale here first. One would have expected to find a refined town with style of excellent pedigree.

　　(Considering that, this is probably some kind of breach of contract……)

　　He saw a decorated golden carp on the roof, and let out a sigh. The image that was held dear in Yokohama, had crumbled away completely, with a clattering sound.

　　When he had accepted the job at the agency, he was given not only an address, but also a detailed map. The map was completely unnecessary. By asking the neighborhood residents, "What's the house with the poorest taste around here?" probably even a monkey could manage to find his way here.

　　A structure that was painful to the eyes —— he didn't want to call that a house —— that upon viewing, made Kazuma look up to the sky, begging. The sky was empty and blue.

　　"Hey, at least it's work……"

　　He muttered to convince himself.

　　However, Kazuma's look probably couldn't by any means be called appropriate for work.

　　Jeans and sneakers, a checkered shirt and a black jacket. His youth, at 22 years old, and his relaxed facial expression made him seem, no matter how you looked at it, no different from a student from the nearby university.

　　He was completely blind to his own faults. While continuing his observations, he noticed something strange.

　　The darkness covering the mansion was thicker than he had been told. Because of this, maybe even an ordinary person with no spirit sight would sense darkness in the mansion's surroundings.

　　(Maybe I'll just go back……)

　　Nagged by a horribly bad premonition, Kazuma was halfway seriously thinking about that.

　　The darkness that covered the mansion was more unearthly than he had expected, but it wasn't so much that he couldn't deal with it. For this reason, this premonition was a bad omen. There was something else up.

　　Judging from his experiences up to now, it was a credible and important premonition. However, he couldn't just throw away work on that alone.

　　This was his first assignment in Japan. If he broke off the arrangement with only a "For some reason or another," he probably wouldn't be able to get jobs in the future.

　　With heavy steps, he made his way toward the mansion. He stopped once more, in front of a nonsensically huge gate.

　　While standing in front of the doorbell, Kazuma was still unsure. Danger signals were bombarding his instincts. He couldn't help wanting to run away. However ——

　　"Yagami-sama, I presume."

　　Without any warning, a voice came from the intercom, and completely disrupted Kazuma's thinking. He jumped back with a start, and stood guarded; the voice continued from before, without concern for this.

　　"You have been expected. Kindly enter through the auxiliary entrance on the side, please."

　　Click.

　　Simultaneous with those words, a small door to the ride side of the gate unlocked. Apparently he was supposed to just go in.

　　(Compared with that "You have been expected", that's some rude treatment…)

　　He was feeling uncomfortable, but he was dealing with a customer. As instructed, he entered through the side door.

　　Inside the fence was awash with a large number of security cameras and sensors. They must live a very shadowy life.

　　Upon walking into the entrance way, multiple cameras followed him. With an irritation almost to the point of wanting to kill whoever was putting him under this rude surveillance, Kazuma somehow repressed himself.

　　"Eeek……"

　　That's what he'd intended, but apparently it had shown on his face. The face of the maid who had come to greet him, was filled with a fear akin to having come across a man-eating bear. Kazuma smoothed over his expression hurriedly.

　　"Welcome, please come this way."

　　She went from a horrible face, as if she were being picked up and eaten, to a overly bright smile.

　　It didn't seem possible for someone to change their expression that dramatically, forgetting their suspicions, but the maid smiled as if nothing had happened. A pro.

　　As the maid walked ahead, Kazuma observed her gratifyingly swaying bottom, while going to the living room to wait.

　　(It would have been better if I'd left……)

　　As soon as he was guided into the living room, Kazuma felt deep regret at his choice. There inside, was a thin little man, self-importantly lying back, legs outstretched —— the master of the mansion, and client, Sakamoto Nanigashi —— but he wasn't alone. There was one practitioner, a face he knew well.

　　That practitioner, upon recognizing Kazuma, showed fear on his face for a moment, and then immediately twisted his lips into a sneer, glaring at Kazuma with a face full of scorn.

　　"What, the other practitioner was you, Kazuma? You became a disinherited child of the Kannagi's because of your incompetence, and now you dare to call yourself a practitioner?"

　　Probably, those explanatory words were for Sakamoto to hear. Practitioner —— Kannagi. The youngest child of the branch family Yuuki, Shinji truly took great pleasure in abusing Kazuma.

　　Sakamoto showed the response Shinji had expected. His expression changed, and he approached Kazuma.

　　"So this is true, then? Isn't this different from what you said? You said you were a top class spritual practitioner, so I hired you!"

　　Kazuma calmly —— while retreating the same distance as the other advanced —— answered.

　　"I don't know what the person at the agency said. But if you're dissatisfied, perhaps I should leave?"

　　"Hmmph, that's right."

　　Sakamoto's eyes showed a faintly cunning light. Kazuma's, even at the best of times, scarce desire to work, quickly neared zero.

　　"Mmmm, how about this? Why don't you both try the exorcism, and only the successful one gets paid. Ahh, naturally I won't tell the loser to return the advance payment."

　　"Good idea, yeah."

　　They had been flippant words, but Shinji had immediately accepted them. And then, with the face of someone who has been completely made a fool of, he asked Kazuma.

　　"And what are you going to do?"

　　"I'm out."

　　Kazuma gave an immediate reply. In the scornful stares of the two, not even one muscle of an eyebrow moved.

　　"Hmmph, coward, sucking your finger. I'll show you a model example of Enjutsu."

　　"Model example, eh. Didn't you say that? Just like the youngest child of the branch family."

　　"Y, You!"

　　Having the one he looked down upon, in return looking down upon him, Shinji was enraged. He completely forgot about being in front of a client, tightened a fist, and attacked.

　　It was a fist intent on crushing the skull, which Kazuma handled by opening his body to the left.

　　In the instant that Shinji's right thrust was dodged, without stopping the rotation of his hips, he transferred the movement energy to his left leg.

　　In reaction to the shift in center of gravity, his left leg flew up in a rotating kick from Kazuma's blind spot, aiming for his temple.

　　However, Kazuma, as if he had seen it, lightly bent back his head. The heel of the left leg passed by a few millimeters in front of his eyes.

　　Kazuma's movements were like the leaves of a tree swaying in the wind, without hesitation. Into the space the kicking foot had left, he entered, with complete spontaneity, and lightly swept Shinji's pivot leg. Shinji, his left leg still floating in the air, under the power of his own rotational power, violently slammed into the floor.

　　"Sh-shit!"

　　Shinji had just barely managed to do ukemi, and quickly got back up. Incorrigibly, he assumed a fighting posture.

　　"You — thinking you could beat me in Taijutsu? Even four years ago, you weren't a match for me. There's no way you could be an opponent for my current self."

　　"Sh, shut up!"

　　Kazuma showed not the least bit of triumph; he chided disinterestedly, as if facing a defiant child. Being looked down upon from such a securely elevated position, Shinji's reason made a sound and broke.

　　"Stop it right there, you two."

　　However, just then, a restraining voice spoke, and the two turned at the same time to the voice's owner. Sakamoto showed great satisfaction at having gotten their attention, and in a tone as if he were an extremely important person, he scolded them.

　　"I didn't call you here to have a fight. The furnishings in this room, no matter which one you look at, are each more expensive than what I'm paying you. Any kind of rough behavior would be troublesome, okay?"

　　Suddenly, around the vicinity of the money talk, there was a scumbag. The person in question was probably attempting to flaunt his assets, but for the ones made to listen, it was nothing but the stink of the nouveau riche pushed up their noses.

　　(Maybe I'll leave…… since I get the advance payment.)

　　With the discomfort index continuing to rise, with no end in sight, Kazuma's desire to work had already dropped into minus territory. He couldn't help feeling that even being in this place was agony.

　　"Mm……?"

　　However, without warning, the unearthly presence began to converge, heralding a new development.

　　"——It's coming."

　　The unearthly presence that had been spread throughout the mansion, tied its focus to one point in the living room. Kazuma calmly moved, putting himself between that presence and the other two.

　　"What's that? What just……"

　　Slower than Kazuma by over 10 seconds, the unearthly presence had materialized into something black, before Shinji, too, gradually began to notice.

　　"Mmmm, so it came out?"

　　"Wh-what? What's wrong?"

　　Hesitatingly breaking the suddenly tense atmosphere, Sakamoto shouted in a shrill voice.

　　Kazuma answered in place of Shinji, who was already beginning to focus his mind for the use of jutsu.

　　"It's work time. The 'evil spirit' or whatever you've been struggling with just came out."

　　While giving that offhand explanation, Kazuma felt a beyond-ordinary sense of unease.

　　(That's no evil spirit. What kind of thing is it?)

　　When Kazuma had first accepted the assignment, the person at the agency had said "Just a normal evil spirit exorcism."

　　—— Hey, your first job should be one of these, right? If you're as good as the rumors say, you should be able to take that evil spirit with one hand ——

　　A superficial seeming man, but with definite achievements, he had heard. Their kind of work was, in some sense, even more than for practitioners, something where confidence was life. Making a mistake this big was extremely unlikely. It wasn't an easy business, that that kind of irresponsible agency person could survive.

　　(Was I set up? Well, fine. Should I just observe his skill?)

　　Kazuma learned against the wall, crossed his arms, and looked about as if sightseeing.

　　Preparing himself for the appearance of the "evil spirit," Shinji was focusing his mind.

　　It seemed he was planning to burn it away as soon as it appeared. It was clear to see in his expression.

　　Suddenly, the space in front turned dark and thick. Shinji faced both his palms towards each other, in order to set up a transparent ball in front of his chest. A small fire was held between those palms.

　　Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooon……

　　A voice full of resentment shook the air; the evil spirit showed itself. It had a melted-away face that projected an infinite hatred to all living beings.

　　"Eeep"

　　"HAAAA!!"

　　Paying no attention to the screaming Sakamoto, Shinji released a devastating flame, along with a sharp kiai. The evil spirit became cleansed due to the fire; it had disappeared without a trace —— or so Shinji believed.

　　However——

　　"Idiot"

　　Gioooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo……

　　While the evil spirit's cries of agony echoed, and Shinji was snickering —

　　Flame exploded.

　　"Gahhhhhhhhhh!?"

　　Shinji screamed, wrapped in flame. The uselessly large living room, in a moment, became a sea of flame.

　　"Kakakakakakakakakakakakakakakaka"

　　Confined in its shadow, Shinji's flame had been eaten up. The youma began to laugh sneeringly.

=== 2 ===

　　The Kannagi family is, even among the "Enjutsu users" who can freely manipulate fire, the strongest and most famous family. It is not simply just because their power is great. There is a special ability in the family's blood; the reason surely lies there. The flame that they manipulate, is not through the physical phenomenon of the simple acceleration of molecular motion; it possesses the power to burn away impurities, and destroy evil.

　　Because of this "purifying flame", the Kannagi family's practitioners hold absolute dominance over youma, evil spirits, and all beings that transgress the law. However, even with the ability given by blood, to the extent that that blood is diluted, it is inevitable that that power will again deteriorate.

　　Already, the branch family's practitioners had long lost the highest rank of "gold". If a youma with fire attributes was the opponent, the released flame would, on the contrary, even be likely to be absorbed.

　　For example, like just now —— the living room had been turned into a purgatory. The high class furniture, the shag carpet, were already carbonizing. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling; its glass had melted, turning into some grotesque art object.

　　"Wonder if he's dead?"

　　Kazuma muttered with a refreshed-looking face. A cool breeze wrapped around Kazuma; the raging flame wasn't even allowed to get close to him. Even the heat was sealed off; not a drop of sweat was apparent.

　　"H-help……"

　　A frail voice stimulated his eardrums. Kazuma looked down at the blackish object at his feet.

　　What had rolled screaming into the kekkai, was the former client, Sakamoto. He was burned here and there, but he didn't seem to be dead.

　　"Aaaaaa, he, help me!"

　　Sakamoto screamed while clinging onto Kazuma's legs. However Kazuma heartlessly kicked away his former client.

　　Thud!

　　Sakamoto's face began writhing in a new kind of pain, as it was mercilessly trampled upon. Since he didn't want to touch with anything beyond slippers, instead of stepping on him, he brang down his heel. It seemed like you could the skull making a creaking sound, but that wasn't a big problem.

　　Kazuma, trampled, grinding on Sakamoto's head, and clearly stated:

　　"You're not a client, and I don't have the habit of saving middle-aged men."

　　"If it's money, I'll pay. Twice as much, or so……"

　　"Twice? Your life's worth only one million?

　　Kazuma took a cigarette from his pocket. He gently stretched out his hand, only exposing the cigarette's tip to the outside of the kekkai. He filled his lungs with the tobacco smoke, and slowly let it out.

　　Sakamoto didn't have the leisure to be that relaxed. Whether on purpose, or by chance, only around Sakamoto, were there holes in the kekkai; the tongues of flame were beginning to lick him.

　　"Hot-, Ee, Eeee, Help! I'll pay 10 million!"

　　"Thanks for your business."

　　Upon tossing away his cigarette, Kazuma changed suddenly, smiling brightly. The smile of a demon who'd made a profitable deal.

　　"Alright now. Then, won't you please stand back?"

　　Kazuma kicked Sakamoto in the rear, sending him rolling, and as if it were obvious, proclaimed:

　　"You're in the way."

　　He began muttering in a staccato voice, and waved his right hand sideways in a mowing motion. As if being squeezed out by the hand, the raging fire was taken care of, expelled out the window.

　　The fire didn't spread to the grass and trees in the garden, but scattered and vanished.

　　And then, inside the room, a distorted face attached to a fireball — only the youma's true body remained.

　　Hyuuoou-

　　In place of the extinguished fire, wind raged around the room. Kazuma stood quietly. With his hand still in his jacket pocket, he did not move a finger. And yet, the wind followed Kazuma's intentions, and erased the flame.

　　Already, the fight was over. In front of Kazuma's overwhelming power, the youma wasn't even able to put up any resistance as it was torn to pieces, All that was left to do was wait for its annihilation.

　　"And with this…"

　　Kazuma slowly raised his right hand. For someone with soul sight, the density of spirits crowding that hand would have been terrifying.

　　"…the end!"

　　Ten times faster than it came up, the hand swung down. In a straight line extension from the right hand, an invisible blade that cut even air molecules, cleaved the youma precisely in two.

　　Without sound, without any spirit framents remaining, Kazuma regarded the destroyed youma with a calm look.

　　"Finished."

　　Kazuma pronounced this to Sakamoto, who was still lying on the floor, dumbfounded.

　　"Pay the money in 3 days. Otherwise, would you like to regret having ever been born?"

　　They were completely like a criminal's words. Even if that was a mistake, it wasn't the way you'd speak to a customer.

　　However, Sakamoto, realizing the horror of going against Kazuma, did not complain.

　　"Y, yes. Understood. But something terrible has happened to Yuuki-kun. I never thought something so serious would happen."

　　Kazuma wordlessly came closer to what appeared to be the ashes of Shinji's remains, and despairingly trampled on them. As expected, Sakamoto also raised his voice.

　　"Wh-what are you doing!? I don't know whatever happened between you two, but you still shouldn't desecrate a corpse, right!?"

　　"He's not dead."

　　Kazuma spat the words out dryly, and then continued to kick him again and again.

　　Upon doing so, the ash covering the surface began to fall off, and almost unscalded skin appeared.

　　"Wh-wha……?"

　　Sakamoto doubted his eyes, with this unbelievable scene. Kazuma gave an offhand explanation.

　　"All of Kannagi's people receive the divine protection of fire spirits. Even people from the branch family wouldn't die in this degree of fire."

　　Kazuma curled his lips in self-derision, and added,

　　"I'm the exception though."

　　"Uu……Guu……"

　　Upon doing that, Shinji woke up. Upon looking out around him, he confirmed that the youma had already been destroyed.

　　"You did this?"

　　"It's just like you saw."

　　Who do you think you are, saying whatever you please? —— Kazuma answered with that kind of tone. He had already seen through, that Shinji had kept his consciousness; Shinji hurriedly attempted an explanation.

　　"So you noticed……? But I couldn't help. I honestly couldn't move."

　　"I don't want to hear your excuses."

　　Kazuma coldly spoke that over his shoulder, as he turned his back. Shinji called out to the unhesitating figure leaving. There was still something that had to be said.

　　"Why did you return?"

　　"Must have been for something, I guess"

　　At that play-dumb answer, thinking he was being evaded, Shinji's gaze became sharp.

　　"'for something' …. Do you think the elders are going to understand that?"

　　"I was only disinherited, I wasn't deported. Where I am is my business."

　　"What are you planning?"

　　"Nothing in particular."

　　Kazuma answered curtly, shrugging his shoulders.

　　"Are you returning to the Kannagi?"

　　"Idiotic talk. Not even if I die."

　　He answered as if spitting out the words, and then Kazuma, this time, without hesitating, walked off.

　　Shinji was driven by an unease he couldn't stop. He continued to stare at Kazuma.

　　(I have to tell this to the suzerain as soon as possible……)

　　Shinji's unease was, in a sense, on the mark. A war to push the Kannagi into an abyss of ruin, was currently, from this moment, beginning.

===3===

　　"Did you hear of it? It seems Kazuma has returned to Japan."

　　"What, that incompetent has? It must be dead simple to be a fuujutsu practitioner.

　　"Nope, 'I am a dark magician' is what I heard. For him to become a practitioner, he'd have to sell his soul to the devil, right?"

　　"Ah, that's true, probably."

　　"Ahahahahaha……"

　　That day, rumors of Kazuma were the talk of the Kannagi main house. Of the elders — the general term for one retired from active service, and now overseeing the management of the practitioners — having heard Shinji's report, only one wasn't jokingly spreading around nonsense.

　　For the offense of the aforesaid Shinji's failure in his duty, he was currently under probation. Tail fin, dorsal fin, belly fins, all being wildly added to the rumor, until it grew to maturity, and not one person tried to stop it.

　　The source of the rumors, the elders, appeared to be in complete delight. The kind of people called elders, if you excepted the extremely serious exceptions, were basically men of leisure. "Looking important is work" and so on, was the gossip that some attacked with.

　　When there was no work, all day, they would drink tea, and amuse themselves talking about various topics. Obviously, they could not resist something interesting to talk about.

　　Upon hearing Shinji's news, they were dancing for joy inside. The elders, when they passed the verdict of probation on the dejected Shinji, had even something of a skipping type of light gait, while they drank tea and turned back to each other. They haphazardly began talking like this:

　　"Ohh, did you know……?"

　　The elders were, during this work time, like different people, in energetic activity.

　　Inside of one hour, there was almost nobody in the huge mansion who had not heard of Kazuma's return to the country. It certainly reached the servants, and then all kinds of people heard about it.

　　It was, in short, a situation where almost nobody knew the true facts, but it wasn't a big problem for the elders, since "If it's interesting, who cares what happens later!" was the elders' basic attitude.

　　And so, news of Kazuma spread — the exact opposite direction that Shinji was hoping for,

　　To wit——

　　"Kazuma returned as a dark magician."

　　"Kazuma was secretly murdered; he's buried in the back garden."

　　"Kazuma clashed with Shinji during work, and killed him suddenly."

　　"Kazuma made a contract with the wind spirits. An evil demon."

　　The truth was subtly mixed in, but having come this far, nobody could really interpret it. Obviously, no one feared Kazuma's retribution.

　　The main family's failure had left all his talent in his mother's womb, like liquid skimmed off the top, had somewhat found a preferable power to take in, it seemed. Nobody laughed at that.

　　However, there were a small number of exceptions. One of those was the current suzerain, Kannagi Juugo. During supper, in the humorous talk that was being told, there was one item that Juugo was interested in.

　　"Ohhhh? Kazuma chose fuujutsu? Did you know that, Genma?"

　　Juugo spoke to his cousin sitting next to him. For some reason, as if harboring some ill will, he smiled a hating smile.

　　"……Oh"

　　Genma answered in brief. The rumor having apparently already reached his ears, and he didn't appear disturbed.

　　However, it was clear that he wasn't happy about the rumor either. The saying "like someone chewing up a bitter bug" perfectly described his frown, as he gripped a tight fist.

　　If Kazuma was in front of him, I'd want to strangle him to death. It was that kind of face.

　　"It's shameful."

　　"It's not especially shameful."

　　Juugo answered lightly, and then gave a command to a servant.

　　"I would like to hear a detailed account. Call Shinji."

　　"Certainly."

　　Shinji went as far as scraping down to the tatami in his prostration. His tension was great, sweat floated on his forehead, and his breathing was disordered.

　　Regarding the Kannagi family, it would be fitting to say that the difference between the main family and the branch family's status was absolute. To even dream of a revolution was foolish.

　　Tradition, social status —— it wasn't a system based on that kind of abstract idea. The thing separating the two was only, only the overwhelming difference in power.

　　If all the practitioners of the branch family were to fight, if it was with someone like Juugo or Genma, they could be smashed by the wiggle of a little finger. Because of that kind of hopeless power difference, no thoughts of rebellion were harbored.

　　You could say it was understandable that Shinji would be under such tension. In front of Juugo, who had something similar to a god's absolute superiority, and having to recount his clumsy failure. This was definitely worse than the original feeling.

　　"Raise your face. You don't have to humble yourself like that."
　　
Juugo spoke in a friendly manner, but to look into the suzerain's face and speak, was far too overwhelming for Shinji. In the end, he raised his face, but his eyes still stared towards the tatami, as he submitted his report.

　　"A-and, I now have the privilege of being allowed to give this report."

　　"……I see."

　　When Shinji had finished recounting everything, Juugo said that, and was silent for awhile.

　　"……I see."

　　As if to confirm, he repeated it one more time. He closed his eyes lightly, and remnisced back to when his nephew — to be accurate, the relation was more separated than that, but he used that label since it was too much trouble — had left 4 years ago.

　　(——What a poor child he was.)

　　If he had been born to any but the Kannagi family, he would have been considered a superior child, probably. Excellent intellect, good reflexes too, and he also showed great promise in learning the jutsu. Except for one; only if you excepted the ability to manipulate fire.

　　However, that was certainly, for the Kannagi family, the most necessary ability.

　　Someone with no talent for manipulating fire, no matter what else he was proficient at, was treated as an incompetent. As a result of that, Kazuma was no longer part of the Kannagi.

　　Yet —— Juugo thought.

　　(Why didn't you ask me for help, Kazuma. There was no need to disown you from the family. If it was me, I would have made a place for you. Whatever Genma said, I wouldn't have cared about the Enjutsu, I would have made use of your talent, yet despite that…..)

　　Juugo looked down upon his right leg. That right leg was a thing made of metal and plastic. If that accident hadn't happened, and the "rule of inheritance" hadn't been rushed, maybe Kazuma would be here right now?

　　However, it was far too late. Kazuma had thrown away the family, the family name, all that was Kannagi, and had left Japan. This was reality. "The past", a thing that could never be changed.

　　"……Suzerain?"

　　That uncertain sounding voice brought Juugo back to reality. Upon looking around, he found everyone in an uncomfortable silence. It wasn't surprising. Among these, there were almost none who had not tormented Kazuma.

　　However, the one who had driven Kazuma out was calm. That person —— Genma, spoke out, without a single change in his expression.

　　"Suzerain. Kazuma is already someone without any connection to the Kannagi. There is no need to worry about him."

　　"Genma, you would, of your own son ——"

　　"I have only one son, Ren."

　　Genma spoke coolly, interrupting the suzerain's words. Juugo tried to say something else in reply, but disliking unproductive battles, he put other, safer words into his mouth.

　　"It's fine then. After all, Kazuma has become successful with fuujutsu. Maybe it was best that he left the Kannagi. Or maybe, Hyoue, if he had been entrusted to your place, he would have become skilled and powerful?"

　　"Perhaps."

　　Sitting at a lower seat, the head of the Fuuga clan answered sullenly. 

　　At that, Genma again cut in with an objection.

　　"We are afraid, yet Fuujutsu and such, are after all, lower arts. The most they are capable of is acting as assistants to Enjutsu. Even supposing 4 years ago, we knew of Kazuma's talent for Fuujutsu, for us to leave him to people like the Fuuga clan, clearly, we would still have to disinherit him."

　　Hearing his art publicly insulted, Hyoue twisted his face in humiliation. However, nobody paid any attention to Hyoue, nor to his face.

　　For the Kannagi family, who only noticed the value of fighting power, the Fuuga clan, having been given the reconnaisance and battle support duties, were limited to a lower status. Genma's words were not reckless. They weren't anything beyond the normal beliefs of the other Kannagi.

　　"……We will go no further with this talk. Dinner will become unpleasant."

　　At Juugo's words, everyone showed clearly relieved expressions on their faces. As if on cue, cheerful talk began, and they rolled around laughing at silly jokes.

　　Though awkwardly, the usual dining hall atmosphere returned.

　　And so, nobody noticed the dark light harbored in Hyoue's eyes. He repressed the expression on his face, and murmured in a voice so small that it did not reach even his own ears.

　　"I will not forget this disgrace, Genma……"

=== 4 ===

　　"Kannagi……no, Yagami Kannagi……? You came back at a very good time!"

　　Huo-huo-huo……

　　In a darkness-filled single room, without even one streak of light in it, a hoarse laugh broke into the strained silence.

　　"And……?"

　　"Yes, it's better if everyone hears this. Finally the time has come. The time when we must dispell the disgrace that has lasted 300 years. Now is the time for us to get back the power we lost, and return to our previous glorious position."

　　"Ohhhhhhhhh…………"

　　A stifled commotion filled the air. No one shouted. Afraid of being discovered, they kept their breaths in check, keeping their tension locked in themselves.

　　"Oh, when you finally realize it, you Kannagi. We will overthrow you, and leave not a single one remaining……Kukuku……"

　　A low and gloomy voice echoed with a resentment darker than darkness.

　　"U, uwaaaaaaaaaaaa! Wha, what, what are you doing-!"

　　That same day, late at night, Shinji screamed out. Nearby were two freshly severed heads, and two headless corpses tumbled down. And then, standing before him, a —— human?

　　Shinji wasn't able to say for certain. By outward appearance, there was nothing different from a human, but that unearthliness was something a person could not possibly have.

　　The two who had been living up until 30 seconds ago, had been captured in a kekkai without even any chance to prepare themselves, and had been immediately decapitated.

　　The mysterious person had not moved a single finger. And yet, Shinji had clearly witnessed two heads being sliced off with incredible force, as if it was nothing. Or rather, had been forced to witness.

　　Shinji was the only person left living, even though the other two surpassed him in skill. It wasn't because of luck. Shinji realized this more than anyone else.

　　He was being toyed with. This demon in human shape was feeding on Shinji's fear and hopelessness. For a moment, it held off killing him, playing with him lazily, enjoying his empty resistance.

　　"What the hell! What did I do……?"

　　"That thing" gave no answers. Without even footsteps, it came near, taking its time.

　　"That thing" was completely silent. Not even the hint of a sound, as it drew closer. wielding an invisible sword.

　　Even when those heads had been severed, silence. The two blood-covered heads rolling on the ground seemed not to have noticed their own deaths, still with drunken, relaxed, slack smiles.

　　Shinji knew of only one person who could do what "that thing" could do. He had just met him yesterday. In addition, that man had a motive to kill them.

　　Shinji became frantic, begging "that thing" for forgiveness. His voice did a complete about-face.

　　"Ka-Kazuma? You're Kazuma, right? Forgive me, it was my fault, I'm regretting it, so please, forgive meeee"

　　The only reply was the flash of the wind-blade. It severed his right arm at the base. The blade formed of a high density of spirits, cut through meat and bone as if it were tofu.

　　"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"

　　While screaming, Shinji threw himself fully into starting Enjutsu. The intense concentration from being so close to death, brought forth the greatest power of his 25 years of life.

　　"That thing" was covered in golden flame. Destroying any and all demons, the highest level of purification. The flame burned through the darkness.

　　"Y-yeah! I think I——"

　　Suddenly, "that thing", now changed into a huge torch, began to move. Shinji's face, full of hope, froze.

　　"That thing" stretched out a hand, easily taking hold of the golden flame, and in one movement, tore it from its body! 

　　"That thing" had escaped from the flame's restraints, completely uninjured. To say nothing of its body, not even the clothes showed any sign of having been burned.

　　"That thing" slowly turned to Shinji and began walking. Underneath the freezing moonlight, without a sound, it came closer, an ominous shadow.

　　This was in some ways, twisted. There was something there that the eye could not help being fascinated by. A scene filled with beauty that one had to admit was of the spirit world.

　　"Hee, heehee, heeheeeeheeheehee-, kyahahahaha, ahahahaha!"

　　Suddenly, Shinji began laughing in a strange voice.

　　From an overload of fear, apparently his mental equilibrium had snapped. Even when the wind blade soundlessly sliced through his body, splitting it, without even showing a reaction, he tumbled over laughing.

　　Perhaps "that thing" had tired of Shinji's lack of response. As if throwing away an unwanted toy, it casually sliced off his head.

　　There was a dull thunk. The third head rolled on the ground.

　　Even having finished killing everyone alive, "that thing" was still dissatisfied. It persistently continued slicing up the bodies. Though it was only a few minutes, the three bodies had been turned into many small pieces. To not even speak of the parents being able to recognize them, they wouldn't even be able to tell what kind of flesh it was.

　　The raw stink of blood and meat drifted through the kekkai. "That thing" laughed cruelly, and as if melting into the air, vanished.

　　Afterwards, three severed heads remained. In contrast to the bodies, there was not one injury on those heads.

　　Somehow, the three heads had ended up in a straight line to the gate, each had a strange smile, as if to say to anyone coming through that gate,

　　"Welcome to a nightmare world."

　　Words that appeared to be delivered smilingly.

　　And so the tragedy began——

Zero no Tsukaima Registration

2007-05-16T12:44:41Z

The naming game: /* Volume 1 - The Zero's Familiar/ゼロの使い魔 */ putting Claies for ch7, as per http://www.baka-tsuki.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1130

To re-iterate the registration procedure:

please register your intended chapters here

*This is not some Binding Contract of "I must do the work I put down here". Choices put down here are negotiable between translators (including their own selves who signed up for it).

== List ==

===Volume 1 - The Zero's Familiar/ゼロの使い魔===

'''Kingdom of Magic'''
::*Insert & Back Cover - Kuroneko - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 1 - [[user:Yuko|Yuko]] & [[user:Cala-kun|Cala-kun]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 2 - Kuroneko & [[user:Cala-kun|Cala-kun]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 3 - [[user:Sushi-Y|Sushi-Y]] & [[user:Cala-kun|Cala-kun]] - '''Completed'''

'''Gandalfr'''
::*Chapter 4 - [[user:Cala-kun|Cala-kun]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 5 - [[user:Claies|Claies]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 6 - [[user:Claies|Claies]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 7 - [[user:Claies|Claies]]
::*Chapter 8

== Series Overview ==
* Volume 1 - Zero's Familiar / ゼロの使い魔
* Volume 2 - Albion of the Wind / 風のアルビオン
* Volume 3 - The Founder's Prayer Book / 始祖の祈祷書
* Volume 4 - The Contract Water Spirit / 誓約の水精霊
* Volume 5 - Tristania's Holiday / トリスタニアの休日
* Volume 6 - The Ruby of Atonement / 贖罪の炎赤石
* Volume 7 - The Silver Pentecost / 銀の降臨祭
* Volume 8 - The Serenade of Nostalgia / 望郷の小夜曲
* Volume 9 - The Ball of Twin Moons / 双月の舞踏会
* Volume 10 - The Hero of Ivaldi / イーヴァルディの勇者

[[Category:Registration Page]]

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story2 Chapter2

2007-05-09T20:27:50Z

The naming game: /* Chapter 5: Kirche the Ardent */ redoing Oni's comment tags.

== [[zeroNT:Gandvol01editchpter05control|Raw English Translation Available Here]] ==

== Chapter 5: Kirche the Ardent ==

The night after Saito thoroughly shamed Louise in class with his sleep-talking... Louise unceremoniously threw his pile of hay into the hallway.

“What are you doing?”

“It'd be a bother if I snuck into your bed again right?”

It seemed she was still upset over what happened earlier in class. “But it's kind of cold outside the room with the wind blowing around.”

“Well, no doubt I'll come and warm you in your dreams,” said Louise, arching her shapely eyebrows. What a bitter girl. She looked determined to make Saito sleep out in the hallway no matter what.

He took his blanket and went out to the hallway. The moment he left the room, the door locked with a loud click. Wind rushed in from the open window, making Saito shiver.



Muttering about the cold, Saito wrapped the blanket around himself and lay down on the hay. The chill of the stone floor seeped into his body. ''No heaters either. I'm freezing.''

''Making me suffer like this just because of a dream!'' Saito kicked Louise's door. Of course, there was no response.

Saito began plotting his revenge. ''Cutting the elastic in her panties is no longer enough.'' As he lay shivering in his blanket wondering how he would get one back on that little girl...

The door to Kirche’s room opened.

Her salamander, Flame, crawled out, with its burning tail emitting a warm glow. The two stared at each other. The salamander shuffled closer to Saito, who unconsciously began to back away.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

"Kyurukyuru," it growled comfortingly. It looked harmless before it clamped its jaws on Saito’s sleeve, shaking its head as if asking him to follow it.

“Hey, let go! You’ll light my blanket on fire!” said Saito to an insistent Flame, which only pulled harder.



Kirche’s room remained open. ''Is it trying to drag me in there?'' Indeed it was. ''I don't think Flame is dragging me for the fun of it. What could Kirche possibly want from me?'' Saito brainstormed the reasons. ''Maybe she just wants to lecture me about quarreling with Louise.'' As if in a trance, Saito stepped into Kirche’s room.



The room was pitch dark, save for Flame’s mild glow. Kirche’s voice commanded from the darkness, “Close the door.” Saito obliged.

“Welcome to my room.”

“It’s pretty dark in here.”

He heard Kirche snap her fingers. Starting from the one nearest him, lamps lit up one by one towards Kirche like lights floating above a street.



Doused in the mild glow, Kirche sat on her bed, with a look of worry on her face. She wore an attractive underwear, or rather, just plain underwear. One thing is for sure: supported only by her sexy bra were her full breasts the size of sweet cantaloupes.

“Don’t just stand there. Come to me.” Kirche cooed with her most captivating voice.

Saito shakily wandered to a smiling Kirche, as if in a dream.

“Sit down.”

Saito sat on her side as he was told. His mind is filled with Kirche’s nearly nude body.

“Wh-what is it?” Saito asked nervously. Kirche only stared at him, while slowly waving her fiery red hair. Under the faint lamp light, Kirche’s brown skin looked wildly erotic, as if trying to capture Saito to do her bidding.

Kirche made a long sigh, and worriedly shook her head.



“You must think me a lowly, despicable woman.”

“Kirche?”

“To be thought so is inevitable. Do you understand? My runic name is ‘Subtle Heat’.”

“I know that.”

''That cleavage in her bra’s gaps is so sexy...''

“My lust is as flammable as hay... that’s why I suddenly called you here. Don’t you get it? Isn’t this really bad of me?”

“That is indeed very bad.” Saito seemed unsure and just played along. He never had a foreign girl speak her heart out to him like this, so he was rather nervous.

“But... I’m sure you’ll forgive me.”

Kirche looked at Saito with moist, watery eyes. Any man would show his most primitive instincts after looking at these eyes.

“For-forgive what?”

Kirche suddenly clasped Saito’s hand, enveloping them with her warm palms before slowly caressing through every finger, sending sparks through his spine.

“Loving you, my dear. To you, my love is that sudden.”



“Yeah, that’s sudden all right!” Saito’s mind is a mess. ''She must be joking.'' Despite that thought, Kirche’s face looked serious.

“Your grandeur in defeating Guiche is... just... so cool... like a hero of the legends. Me... when I saw you right that moment I was in love. Can you believe it? I was attracted to you just like that! Passion! Oh, this is a passionate love!”

“Pa-passion, huh? Uh...”

“My runic name ‘Subtle Heat’ is quite passionate, too. I’ve been writing love songs since that day! Love songs! Just for you... Saito. You appear in my dreams every night, so I told Flame to see how you’re doing... oh, I’m so embarrassed. You must think that too, am I right? But it’s all because of you!”

Saito just sat there, at a complete loss of words.

Kirche took his silence as acceptance, and slowly, with closed eyes, approached Saito with her lips. ''So sexy. I mean... Louise is attractive too. But when it comes to sexiness, she is no match for Kirche. Though Louise is really cute, that part of her is just skin deep.''

However, Saito pushed Kirche’s shoulders away. Because he felt like something bad will happen otherwise.



Kirche looked at Saito with surprise, as if asking “Why?”. Saito looked away from her body.

“W-well... from what you said...”

“Hmm?”

“You... fall in love too easily.” Saito stuttered, hitting Kirche’s weak point. Her face turned red in an instant.

“Yeah... I guess I have more... passion than others. That can’t be helped. Love is sudden, and it burns my body so quickly...”

At that moment, a voice from outside the window interrupted her.

A beautiful playboy looked inside indignantly.

“Kirche... I came to check because you weren’t there on time...”

“Berisson 

“That wasn’t what we agreed on!” They were on the third floor. ''It looks like this Berisson  guy is floating on air with some magic spell.''

Kirche nonchalantly took out her staff from between her breasts, and waved it without even looking at him. Flame shot out from a nearby lamp and flew into the gentleman at the window like a snake.



“What an annoying owl.”

Saito watched in shock.

“Eh... you didn’t hear all that, did you?”

“Uh... who was that?”

“Just a friend. Whatever... right now, my deepest, most passionate love is you, Saito...”

Kirche approached him with her lips again. Saito did not move a muscle, as an irresistible desire invaded him.

At that moment, they were interrupted again.

A sharp-looking man peered into the room with a sad face.

“Kirche! Who is that guy? Aren’t you going to heat up the night with me?”

“Styx! How does four hours later sound?”

“Who is that guy, Kirche?”

This Styx guy is going mad, and as he was about to enter the room, Kirche waved her wand again. The fire flew from the lamp again, hit the man, and sent him to the ground.



“......I take that he’s your friend too?”

“Instead of ‘friend’, lets just say that I’ve only heard of him. Oh well, I don’t want to waste our time. Whoever said ‘the night is long’ didn’t know how quickly the sun rises.”

Kirche drew near Saito again. And again, a groan came from the window. Saito impatiently turned around.

Three men looked inside, and said the same thing at the same time.

“Kirche! Who the hell is this?! You said you don’t have any lovers!”

“Manican! Ajax! Gimli!”

''Oh wow... five completely different people showed up.'' Saito was impressed.

“Well... six hours later then,” Kirche waved irritably.

“That’s the morning!!!” the three said in unison.

“Flame.” Kirche casually ordered her salamander, who was sleeping at the corner. Flame sent a blaze towards the three men at the window, and they fell to the ground together.



“And those are...?”

“Them? I don’t even know them. But, most of all, I love you!”

Kirche held Saito’s face with her hands and went straight for his lips.

“N...nhhhh...”

Saito panicked. Kirche’s kiss felt not disgusting, but full of passion. Saito did not resist her from pinning him to the bed.

At this moment...

This time it was the door. Somebody kicked it open.

Saito thought it was just another guy. He was dead wrong. Wearing her thin pajamas, Louise stood and stared at the two from the doorway.

Kirche mildly eyed Louise, and kept her lips locked with Saito’s.

Louise murderously moved towards Saito and Kirche, knocking down a few lamps in the process. Louise’s hands moved faster than her mouth. More impressively is that her legs moved faster than her hands.

“KIRCHE!” Louise howled towards Kirche’s general direction. Kirche acted like she just noticed her presence, and slowly removed herself from Saito, while waving her hand indignantly.



“Don’t you see that we’re kind of busy here, Valliere?”

“Zerbst! Whose familiar do you think you’re touching?”

Saito was at a loss. Louise’s brown eyes glimmered with fiery anger.

Kirche [raised/lifted her hands above her head]. Stuck between the two, Saito only panicked. It seems that letting the whole situation develop into Kirche kissing him has made her extraordinarily angry.

“Love and fire are the Zerbst family’s destiny. It’s a fate that burns in our bodies. It is our lifelong goal to embrace this passionate flame. You should know that.” Kirche shrugged, while Louise shook in anger.


“Come here, Saito.” Louise stared at her familiar.

“Oh? Louise... he is indeed your familiar, but he has his own will too, don’t you think? Please respect his choice.” Kirche said at the side.

“Sh-she’s right! Who I hang out with is my business!” Saito added.

Louise raised her voice. “You... by tomorrow you’ll be run through by magic from at least ten nobles! Is that all right with you?!”



“Oh, no problem with that. Didn’t you see how good he was in the courtyard today?”

Louise flapped her right hand. “Eh... so his swordfighting skills are good, but that doesn’t matter when he’s attacked by fireballs from the back and whirlwinds from the front.”

“No problem! I’ll protect him!” Kirche gave Saito a passionate look.

However... because of Louise’s words, Saito thought over.

''If those guys that just visited us at the window find out about me, maybe they would attack me. Kirche won’t be able to cover me all the time, even if she said she would. That and Kirche changes her mind pretty often. She’ll be bored of protecting me in no time.''

After some calm reasoning, Saito reluctantly stood up.



“Aww...are you leaving so soon?” Kirche sadly peered at Saito, with her hair spread to her back, and her twinkling eyes seem to painfully tear. ''Kirche is one addicting beauty... if a girl like her sticks to me, who cares if you get hit with magic left and right?'' Saito thought wildly.

“That’s her usual tactic! Don’t be fooled by her.” Louise tugged Saito’s hand, and walked out.

Back in her room, she closed the door with a deadly silence, and faced Saito. Forcefully biting her lip, she sent him a murderous glare.

“Like some stray dog in heat...” her voice was quivering. Louise’s hands move faster than her mouth, and her feet move faster than her hands. It looked like her voice will get shakier soon. Anger filled her face.

“W-what now?”

“I almost saw you as a person. Looks like I was wrong.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” ''Yeah. See me as a person? Sounds like a lie no matter how I think about it.''

“And you went to wag your tail at that Zerbst witch...” Louise reached into a drawer in her desk for something. A whip.



“Uhh...M-miss...” Saito started to stutter.

“Dogs must be treated like dogs. I’ve been too soft on you.”

“But why the whip?” Saito eyed the whip in Louise’s hand. It’s quite well made.

“I’m going far out of my way to use a horse’s whip on you. You’re just a dog.”

“A dog, huh?”

Louise started whipping. Pishi-Pishi-! 

“Ow! It hurts! Stop, you idiot!”

“What? How is that girl better? What is so good about her?” Louise yelled and whipped.

Saito noticed an opening, and grabbed Louise’s hands. She struggled, but the strength of the girl was not enough. Saito kept his grip on her wrists, and then she stopped.

“Ahh! Let go, you moron!”



“Are you...” Saito bore into Louise. Brown eyes stared back. Up close, one can see an irresistible face.

''Cute. Kirche is a beauty, quite sexy. But Louise is like an empty canvas. Not a single speck of dirt...a clean canvas. It’s just that her character is a bit...'' No matter how Saito said it, he liked Louise better. His heart started beating in sixteenth notes. ''Is she jealous? Does she have a crush on me?'' In Saito’s eyes, thinking like this makes Louise look even cuter. All things considered, Saito is as weak as Kirche in romance.

“Are you jealous? Do you like me?” said Saito. “Were you angry because I didn’t sleep with you and went off with Kirche doing all that? Oh, I didn’t notice. I am sorry.” He lowered his head, and raised Louise’s chin.

“I think you’re not bad either. Look, when you helped bandage me you were really...”

Louise’s shoulders shivered.



“...I should be going for you because I’m a guy. Tonight, I will sleep on your bed, so you won’t have to go to mine.”

Louise’s right foot suddenly moved like a gust, and shot Saito one between his legs.

“......ahhh....ohhh.......” Saito went on his knees, his body covered in cold sweat. ''Oh...that hurt. I think I’m going to die. That REALLY hurt.''

“Like? I...do what...to you?” Louise angrily stepped on his head.

“Did...did I get that wrong?”

“Obviously so!” she continued stepping.

“Al-all right...I was wrong...”

Louise sat on a chair, crossing her legs, her breathing still uneven. After fiercely torturing Saito for a while, her mood seemed to slightly improve.

“Sure...you can go out with anybody you choose. But, no matter what, you must not go out with that woman.”

“W-why?” Saito hopped around as if to minimize the pain.

“First, Kirche isn’t a Tristainian; she’s a noble from neighboring Germania. Just that makes going out with her completely unacceptable. I hate Germanians to the gut.”



“How do you expect me to know these things?”

“My house, Valliere, has estates on Germania’s borders, so we’re the first on the field against Germanians the moment any war starts. Even worse, right opposite to us on that border is Kirche’s birthplace.” Louise bit down hard on her teeth. “So basically, the Zerbst family is our sworn enemy.”

“And they call themselves a passionate family.”

“Just a low, unworthy family. Kirche’s great-great-grandfather stole away my great-great-grandfather’s lover! That was around 200 years ago.”

“That’s quite a while ago.”

“Plus, that Zerbst constantly slanders Valliere. My great-great-grandfather’s fiancé was stolen away because of that.”

“Huh?”

“My grand-grand-grandfather’s! His wife was taken away just like that.”



“Okay, whatever...so basically, this is all because your family lost a lover to Kirche’s family?”

“Not just that. We've lost count on how many family members we've lost from the wars.”

“I’m just a lowly little familiar...it’s not like I’m worth being stolen.”

“No. I will not let Kirche steal a single bird. I’ll shame my ancestors if that happens.” With that, Louise poured a glass of water, and downed it in one gulp. “That is why Kirche’s forbidden. No.”

“Your ancestors have nothing to do with me.”

“Yes they do! You’re my familiar, right? As long as you eat from the Valliere family, you are to follow my orders.”

“Familiar this, familiar that...” Saito stared discontently at Louise.

“You have a problem with that?”



“No, because I can’t live if I don’t do what you say, so I’ll just have to live with it...” Saito stuck up his lip, and sat on the ground with a thump.

“And I think you should thank me.”

“Thank you for what?”

“If the word that a commoner became Kirche’s lover gets out, do you think you’ll survive?”

Saito remembered the men Kirche shooed away, and blasted like flies to the ground...''if that was me...what would that feel like?'' Saito also remembered his fight with Guiche, and a shiver went down his spine.

“...Louise.”

“What?”

“Give me a sword. A sword.” Saito wants to protect himself.

“Don’t you have one?”

“How would I? The one from last time was Guiche’s.”

Louise crossed her arms. “Are you a swordsman?”



“No...I’ve never held one before.”

“But you looked like a natural in that fight.”

“But still...”

“Hmm...” Louise went into deep thought.

“What?”

“I heard familiars get special powers when the contract is made.”

“Special powers?”

“Yeah...like when a black cat became a familiar...” Louise raised a finger in the air and explained.

“Uh-huh...”

“It gets the ability to talk to people.”

“But I’m not a cat.”

“I know. Thing is...a human as a familiar is something totally unheard of, so it’s not impossible that you can just pick up a sword and use it like a natural.”



“Huh...” ''I didn’t just use it like a natural. My body felt light and fast like a feather. Besides, Guiche’s statues were made of copper. There’s no way you can cut into metal that easily, no matter how skilled a swordsman you are.''

“If it’s that incredible, we should go ask Tristain's Acadamia.”

“Academia?”

“Yeah. It’s the Royal Court’s magic research agency.”

“What would they do to me for research?”

“Ah... many kinds of experiments. Like... autopsies.”

“You’re kidding me.” Saito stood up. ''Human experimentation? No, thanks!''

“If you think that’s disgusting, then don’t spread that ‘using a sword like a master in an instant’ around for no good reason.”

“I got it. We can keep that quiet.” Saito nodded in fear.

“Ah... I get it now...” Louise nodded in understanding.



“Get what?”

“I’ll buy you a sword.”

“Oh?” ''Well that was sudden. Louise is always so stingy.''

“You never have enough lives if Kirche has her eyes on you. We brought that on ourselves, so we’ll have to take care of it.” Louise weakly said.

“How rare...”

“What?” Louise stared at Saito.

“I thought you’re such a miser. You even freak out about my food.”

“I can’t let a familiar get used to luxury. It makes for bad habits. If it’s absolutely necessary, I’ll buy it. I’m not a stingy person.” Louise said proudly.

“Huh?!”

“Now that you get it, go to sleep. Tomorrow is the Day of Nothing, so I’ll take you shopping.”

''Oh... so this world has Sundays too.'' Saito thought as he moved towards the hallway.



“Where are you going?”

“Where? To the hallway.”

“It’s all right. You can sleep in my room. If Kirche grabs you again it will be troublesome.”

Saito looked at Louise. “So you really are...”

Louise was about to take her whip again when Saito stopped, dove on his straw bed, and wrapped himself in the blanket. He looked at the inscriptions in his left hand.

''For lighting up, this thing helped me defeat Guiche, got Kirche head over heels for me, and got Louise to buy a sword for me. What else is this thing going to bring me?'' As he thought, drowsiness attacked him. ''What a long day...'' as he thought it, Saito fell fast asleep.

<!-- Page 166: Cross-reference
''(paragraph continued)''
leave the room.

"Where are you going?"

"The corridor, that's where."

"It's fine, just sleep inside. It'd be a bother if Kirche came for you again."

Saito stared at Louise.

"What?"

"You really do..."

Louise reached out for the whip, but Saito quickly shut his mouth and brought his haystack into the room. Wrapping the blanket around himself, he lay down on it.

And stared at the runes on his left hand.

''Thanks to these glowing, I beat Guiche, charmed Kirche, and got Louise to buy me a sword.''
''Just where what do these markings have in store for me in the future...''
As he lay there thinking, drowsiness swept over him. ''Today was a long day too...'' he thought, as he finally drifted off to sleep.

GOTH:GOTH

2007-05-07T13:51:45Z

The naming game: /* 4 */ ch4 complete, and this finishes up story 1. It could have been one chapter longer, in my opinion...

== '''GOTH''' ==

=== 1 ===

About 20 days after the end of summer vacation, on a school day, for the first time in awhile, I spoke with Morino.

Before the start of morning homeroom, having come to school, through the crowd of noisily chattering classmates, she unexpectedly approached my desk. 


We didn't have any history of exchanging greetings. Morino stood in front of me, took a notebook from her pocket, and placed it on my desk. It was a notebook I'd never seen before.


It was palm sized; the cover was fake brown leather. It was an ordinary thing you'd find in any stationary shop.

"I found this," She said.

"Well it's not mine."

"Well I know that."

Presenting the notebook to me, she had a somehow cheerful air about her.

I picked the notebook up from my desk. The cover was smooth to the touch.

I flipped briefly through the contents; the first half filled with small, meticulous writing. The second half was completely blank.

"Read from the beginning!"

It was as she said, the owner was unknown; I looked carefully through his writing. Line after line of itemized writing.

:May 10th
:In front of the station, I meet a female named Kusuda Mitsue.

:Age 16.
:I started talking with her; a short while later we walked to my car.

:Just like that, I take her to T mountain.

:She keeps staring outside the window, all the while telling me about a newspaper column her mother is interested in.

:I stop the car near the summit of T mountain.

:When I took out the bag containing the knife, nails, and other tools, from the trunk, she laughingly asked me what it was.

:............

The words continued like that.

I recognized the name Kusuda Mitsue.

......Three months ago, a family went on a hiking trip to T mountain. It was a family of one boy and two parents. Since it was a long-awaited holiday for the father, he slept as soon as they arrived at the mountain. The boy tried to wake up the father so they could play, but it was no use.

In the afternoon, the boy took a walk alone into the forest.

The mother noticed her son missing. And then, she heard a scream from deep in the forest.

The couple searched the forest, and then found the boy. He was found looking slightly upwards, unable to move.



Following their son's gaze, the father and mother immediately noticed the nearby tree trunk was stained dark red. And then, they noticed something strange nailed to the tree at eye-level. Looking around, they saw that all the surrounding trees had things attached to them with nails.


Those 'things' were Kusuda Mitsue. Someone had done a dissection on her, deep in the forest. The eyeballs, tongue, ears, thumbs, liver... They were all attached by nails to tree trunks.


On one tree, in order from the top, the left big toe, upper lip, nose, and stomach were attached; other trees had the rest of her remains, arranged like Christmas tree decorations.

The incident quickly had the entire country in a panic.

Inside the notebook Morino had brought: how Kusuda Mitsue was killed, which parts were attached to trees, what kind of nails were used; page after page of dry, detailed notes.



I knew a lot about this incident, since I had followed it on TV, magazines, and the internet. But still, this notebook spoke exhaustively of details that no media outlet had covered.

"So as I see it, her killer dropped this notebook."

Kusuda Mitsue had been a high schooler in a neighboring prefecture. She had been last seen by friends who parted with her at the building in front of the station. And then Kusuda Mitsue became the first victim of the bizzare murders, even now able to cause a stir throughout Japan.

There had been one more incident with the same modus operandi; they were believed to be serial murders.

"And there's something written about the second victim too."

:June 21
:I talk with a female who was holding a shopping bag, waiting for the bus.

:She called herself Nakanishi Kasumi.

:I offer to take her home in my car.

:Upon realizing that I was heading towards H mountain and not her house, the girl begins to cause a disturbance while in the passenger seat.

:I temporarily stopped the car and struck her with a hammer; she became quiet.

:I took her to a shed in H mountain.

:............

The name Nakanishi Kasumi, a student at a vocational school, became known nationwide because of what happened one month ago. From the wildly spreading gossip sparked by the news and newspapers, I already knew about the discovery of the second victim while coming home from school.

She was inside a shed in H mountain. The building's owner was unknown, and remained that way for a long time. The roof leaked badly; the inside was covered with mold and stains. The walls and floor were wooden planking, and it was three meters square.

An elderly man who lived at the base [of the mountain] had come to H mountain to collect wild vegetables, and in the early morning, had discovered that the shed's door had been unexpectedly left open. Wondering at this, he tried coming closer, and then a terrible stench hit his nose.

The elderly man checked the inside of the shed through the entrance. In the beginning, there was no way he could have realized what had happened.

On the floor of the shed, Nakanishi Kasumi had been arranged. Like the first victim, each part had been separated. She had been distributed methodically, in 10 centimeter intervals over the floor, in a 10 by 10 pattern. In short, her body had been turned into one hundred small clumps.



Inside the notebook, the scene of the production process was described.

In two incidents, no one had seen the criminal; the person who had killed them had not been caught.

The mass media was still making a fuss about these two cases, as a bizzare serial murder case.

"I like seeing these kinds of cases in the news."

"Why?"

"Because they're abnormal."

Morino said indifferently.

I also constantly watched the news for that same reason. And so I understood well what she was trying to say.

People had been killed, and then separated into pieces. People who had that done to them, and people who did that, actually did exist.



Morino and I held a special interest in these kinds of miserable stories. We would always seek out episodes that you'd want to hang yourself out of misery upon hearing.

I had never directly mentioned this strange trait, but we had both silently sensed it in each other.

Perhaps normal people would grimace at this. Our emotional sensitivity was out of sync. Which is why, when talking about, for example, the different torture devices around the world, and different methods for execution, we would talk in especially low voices.


Morino raised her face from the notebook and looked out the window. I knew that she was imagining the scene of Nakanishi Kasumi's various parts being arranged on the floor.

"This notebook, where did you find it?"

When I asked, she began to explain.

It seems that last evening, Morino was at her favorite coffee shop. The owner wasn't nosy, and the shop was gloomy and quiet, she said.

She was drinking coffee that the shop's owner had poured, while thumbing through the pages of "Cruel Tales of the World."

Suddenly, she heard the sound of rain. She looked outside through the window to see a furious evening shower coming down.

Morino watched the customers that had been standing up to leave, sit down again. They were likely thinking to wait a little for the rain to stop.

At that time, there were five customers in the coffee shop, not including herself.

Morino left her seat to go to the restroom. On the way, she felt something strange under her shoes. On the floor of black wood, someone had dropped a notebook, which she had happened to step on. She picked up the notebook and put it in her pocket. Apparently she wasn't planning to return it to its owner.

Even returning from the restroom, the customers were just watching the rainy scenery through the window; their number hadn't changed.


She could tell the fierceness of the rain by looking at the clothes of the shop owner, who had gone outside for a moment for some errand. They were completely soaked.

Morino forgot about the notebook and returned to reading.

The rain stopped, and once again, the sun came out.

Several customers stood up and left.

The summer sun's rays quickly dried the road.

It seems that it was only after she had returned home that she remembered the notebook, and read the contents.

"I went to the restroom twice. The first time, there was no notebook. Immediately after that, the rain started; which means the number of customers were fixed. When I went the second time, the notebook had been dropped there. The murderer was in that shop. The murderer lives in this neighborhood."


She made a fist in front of her.

Two corpses had been found in places that were 2 or 3 hours away from the town we lived in. One couldn't ignore the possibility that the murderer lived in this town.

But still, it wasn't realistic to say that.

This incident had doubtless been talked about far and wide. Much was still unresolved, and there were seekers-of-the-bizarre still interested in it. It had been discussed all across the country, even in elementary schools.

It had become overly famous.

It was hard to believe that the murderer would be living here.

"Couldn't this notebook just be a work of imagination based on the news reports?"

"Just read the the rest of the notebook."



"Please, welcome." It was with that kind of feeling that Morino spoke.


:August 5th
:I gave a ride in my car to a female named Miguchi Nanami.

:I met her at a soba restaurant near S mountain.

:When we went to the forest on the south side of the mountain, we found a Shinto shrine.

:I took her into the forest.

:............

Inside the forest, the owner of the notebook stabbed a knife into the abdomen of the female named Miguchi Nanami.

According to the contents of the notebook, her body had been destroyed. In meticulous handwriting, the way both her eyes had been plucked out, the color and luster of her uterus, and so on, had been described.


And then her body had been disposed of in the forest.

"Are you familiar with the name Miguchi Nanami?"

Morino asked. I shook my head.

There had, as of yet, been no reports of the discovery of Miguchi Nanami's body.

=== 2 ===

My first introduction to Morino was when we ended up in the same class upon graduating to the second year. I had felt from the beginning that there was someone else like me, living life unconcerned with others. Even during break time, even walking the halls, she would always shun others. In short, she didn't seem to like crowds.

In our class, I only noticed this particular trait in Morino and I. Even so, I didn't coldly regard our classmates' merry-making like Morino did. For me, if someone struck up a conversation, I would reply, and to smooth the mechanism of human relations, even joke. I did the minimum required to have a normal life.

However, the superficial socializing, and the smiles I gave to my classmates, were essentially lies.

From our first conversation, Morino had seen through to that part of me.

"Could you teach me how to make that same expression too?"

One day after school, Morino had stood in front of me, expressionless, and said that. Maybe she was scoffing at me inside. That was around the beginning of May.

After that, we would talk from time to time.

Morino only wore black. Everything, from her long, straight hair, to the tips of her shoes, was wrapped in darkness. In stark contrast, her skin was whiter than anyone's I had seen; her hands were as if made of porcelain. There was a small spot under her left eye, in a similar design to that of [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#Pierrot|Pierrot]], giving her an atmosphere of black magic.

It's not that her face was less expressive than that of normal people. For example, when happily reading a book about the horrific murder of 52 women and children in Russia. There was no trace of the deathly green face she had when in the midst of noisy classmates. Rather, her eyes sparkled.

Only when talking to Morino would I not fake my facial expressions. If I was talking to someone else, they would probably wonder why I had such a blank, unsmiling expression. When talking with her, there was no problem with that.

Perhaps she had similar reasons, because during idle times, she would choose to speak with me.

We both disliked standing out. In the classroom, we were hidden in the shadow of our boisterous classmates; we quietly lived our lives.

And then, summer vacation came, and then I came to read the notebook.

Following the school day, after we met at the station, we boarded a train headed for the base of S mountain.

Both for meeting outside of school, and seeing Morino in normal clothes instead of the school uniform, it was the first time. As usual, she had chosen dark colored clothes. I noticed from her glance, that she must have thought the same about me.

The inside of the train was quiet; it was free of crowding. Without talking, we both started reading. She read a book about child abuse; I read a book written by the family members of a famous juvenile delinquent.

Upon getting off at the station, we asked an old woman working at the tobacco shop in front of the station, how many soba restaurants there were near S mountain. We learned that there was only one, and that it wasn't far. Afterwards, Morino made a sharp observation.

"Tobacco kills many people, but tobacco vending machines snatch away and kill that old woman's livelihood."

An especially clever reply didn't seem to be necessary, so I ignored her remark.

We walked along the side of the road until we reached the soba restaurant. The road began to slope upwards; it was curving near the mountain side.

The soba restaurant was part of a row of restaurants at the base of the mountain. Business looked to be bad there; the atmosphere was lonely, without many people or cars. The soba restaurant's parking lot was completely empty, yet even though it might as well have been closed, there was still an "OPEN" sign. We went inside.

"Ah, so this is where the murderer met Miguchi Nanami."

Morino looked around the restaurant as if sightseeing some famous place.

"Excuse me. I'm just speculating; what you would call the hypothetical stage. Since whether it's true or not is what we came here to find out."

I ignored her and read the notebook.

It was written with a blue ballpoint pen.

Inside the notebook, there was more than just the accounts of the murders of the three women. In addition, the names of a few mountains were written. That was on the first page, so it seemed to have been written before any of the accounts of the women's murders.

In front of the names of the mountains, there were markings like ◎ and ○, △ and ×. For the three mountains where the bodies had been disposed of, ◎ had been marked, so I inferred that maybe this was a list of mountains that were convenient for disposing bodies.

There were no indications as to the owner of the notebook.

There had never been any thought of giving the notebook to the police. Even if we didn't do anything, he would be caught sooner or later.

If we sent the notebook to the police, perhaps the murderer would be caught sooner. And the number of victims in the end would probably be less. Obviously, there was an obligation to give this to the police.

Unfortunately, our consciences didn't bother us for acting as if we hadn't picked up any kind of notebook, and keeping silent; we were cruel, reptilian high school students.

"If there's a fourth victim, that would definitely be our fault."

"That's terrible."

Morino and I slurped at our soba while having that talk. She didn't have any "That's terrible" face; her voice was casual, as if only interested in the soba of a second-class restaurant.

We asked about the Shinto shrine at the soba restaurant.

While walking, Morino looked at the notebook. She traced the front cover many times with her fingertip, perhaps touching the same place that cold-blooded murderer had touched. From those actions, I could tell she felt a sense of awe for the murderer.

Inside, I felt a little like that too. I also knew it wasn't proper to feel that. Criminals, of course, must be punished. One should not think of them as revolutionaries or artists.

At the same time, I knew that famous murderers would be worshipped by some abnormal people. I knew that it was wrong to become like that.

However, we were in thrall to the horror of deeds of the notebook's owner. This criminal had, in the moments of everyday life, crossed over a line; crushing people's individuality and dignity, and completely destroying the bodies.

It had the irresistable charm of a nightmare.

In order to reach the Shinto shrine, from the soba restaurant, we had to walk even further towards the summit, up a long flight of stairs.

For both of us, the idea of moving our bodies stirred up an almost irrational anger.

So we had no love for the mountain slope and the stairs.

By the time we reached the shrine, we were exhausted. We sat for some time at a stone monument that had been constructed on the grounds, and took a break. On the trees that had been planted on the grounds, high branches spread out, and looking up, you could see the midsummer sun peep through the leaves.

We sat beside each other, unconcerned by the voices of the cicadas falling from above. Drops of sweat started to form bit by bit on Morino's brow.


Before long, she wiped the sweat away while standing up. The search for Miguchi Nanami's body had begun.

"Ah, so the murderer and Miguchi Nanami walked in this place together."

Morino walked beside me while humming.

Leaving the shrine, we headed towards the forest.

For what distance, and in what direction the murderer walked, I did not know. For that reason, the search was fumbling and uncertain.

While randomly searching, one hour passed.

"I think it might be over there."

So said Morino in parting; before long, from far off, she called my name.

I walked towards the voice, and then, at the bottom of a cliff, I saw her from behind. Her arms hung loosely by her sides. She turned to the side, so I looked there also.

And there was Miguchi Nanami.

In between the forest and the cliff, in the shadow of a large tree, in the middle of that faint summer gloom, she sat naked.

Her lower half was resting on the ground; her back was resting against the tree trunk. Her arms and legs, devoid of power, were sprawled carelessly.

From the neck up, there was nothing.

The head had been separated, and placed in her stomach.

Both eyeballs had been plucked out, and placed respectively, in the left and right hands.

Instead, the eye sockets, now just holes, had been packed with mud. Even the mouth; moldy leaves had been plastered inside.

Around the tree trunk that the back was leaning against, something had been wrapped. That something had once been the contents of Miguchi Nanami's abdomen.


Signs of blood remained black upon the ground.

Slightly further off, her clothes had been dumped.

We stood in front of her, unable to move, looking quietly.

Unable to say anything.

Only looking quietly at the corpse.

The next day, I got a text message on my cell phone from Morino.

"Give me back the notebook."

Her text messages were always concise and short. She never added anything unnecessary. Likewise, I knew that she held a kind of hatred for clattery and noisy keychains and straps.

I was the one who had taken the notebook home. When we had left the place where Miguchi Nanami was, I hadn't returned it to her. On the train home, Morino, not yet recovered from the shock, had only stared into the distance.

When we were leaving that place, Morino had picked up Miguchi Nanami's fallen clothes, and stuffed them into her bag. The clothes had been almost completely torn into pieces, but the hat and the bag, and its contents, were untouched.

Inside Miguchi Nanami's bag, there were things like makeup, a purse, and a handkerchief. On the train home, I looked through them.

According to the student card in her purse, I found out that Miguchi Nanami had been a high school student in a neighboring prefecture. Inside the bag, there was also a notebook for sticking photo booth pictures. From her student card, and the [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#photo booth pictures|photo booth pictures]], I could see what her face had been like when alive.

Miguchi Nanami's many friends were all smiling in the small photo booth picture.

The afternoon that I got the text message, Morino and I met at the McDonald's in front of the station.

Morino, unlike usual, was not wearing dark style clothes. Because of that, I didn't realize who she was at first. Since the hat she wore was the same as the kind she had picked up from beside Miguchi Nanami's corpse, I realized that the clothes she picked were meant to resemble hers as well.

Her hairstyle, makeup - everything resembled the Miguchi Nanami in the photo booth pictures. Since the original clothes were torn up, she must have searched for something similar.

She accepted the notebook, and seemed extremely happy.

I asked about that.

"Are you going to tell Miguchi Nanami's family about the corpse in the forest?"

She thought for a moment, and then announced her intention to stay uninvolved.



"I wonder when the police will find her."

Morino, while looking like Miguchi Nanami before her death, talked about her death.

I wonder what Miguchi Nanami's family is doing right now? Does she have a boyfriend? I wonder what her grades were like?

Morino was a little bit different from usual. During the conversation with her, her style of talking and gesturing had diverged from her usual manner. She paid attention to how her bangs fell, and created the atmosphere of a couple sitting in separate seats, with the topics she brought up. This was behavior that Morino had never displayed up to now.

Miguchi Nanami and I had not known each other. Still, looking at Morino, I had to wonder if Miguchi Nanami would have created the same impression.

Morino placed her elbows on the table, while acting cheerful. She had beside her what was once Miguchi Nanami's bag. Attached to the zipper pull was a [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#keychain mascot|keychain mascot]]

"So are you planning to stay dressed like that for awhile?"

"Of course, it's amusing, isn't it?"

This was Morino's make-believe play. But it was more than just a normal smiling manner, and looking into the mirror, checking her eyelashes type of imitation of a normal female high school student. It was more as if Miguchi Nanami had enroached upon Morino's basic nature.

When leaving McDonald's, Morino suddenly and spontaneously took my hand as we walked. She herself didn't notice this until I pointed it out.


I was almost certain that I was being embraced by the dead Miguchi Nanami.

After parting with Morino in front of the station and arriving home, I immediately turned on the TV. On the news, they covered the bizzare murder case.

There was a report about the first and second victims. Up until this point, they were still going over old news; nothing new was being said.

Miguchi Nanami's name didn't appear at all.

There was a slideshow about the two victims, pictures of grieving friends and family.

On the TV screen, a large picture appeared -- photographs of the two victims......

I thought of Morino, and a bad premonition came over me. Yet, the odds of something like that happening were extremely low. And so I dropped that thought from my mind.

The two victims, as they had appeared in the photographs, in their hairstyle, and their clothes, both resembled Miguchi Nanami.

So, in short, you could say that today, Morino was the same type that this cold-blooded murderer went for.


=== 3 ===

One evening, 3 days after having met at McDonald's, the ringtone sounded on my cell phone, indicating that I had received a text message from someone.

It was from Morino.

"Help"

A short message with only that, showed on my liquid crystal display.

My reply message was a question.

"What happened?"

I waited for awhile, but she didn't reply.

I tried calling her, but her cell phone wasn't connected. Did the power get cut off, or was it destroyed maybe?

That night, I called Morino's house. She had told me her home phone number previously. I hadn't been told it in case I wanted to call her home. She had told me previously that her home phone number, unexpectedly, using [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#wordplay|wordplay]], worked out to a deranged sentence. And so I had remembered that.



Her mother answered the phone. She had a high voice, and a fast speaking style.

I said I was a classmate, and that there was a message from the teacher, so I would like to speak with her to pass it along.

She had not returned.

I started to wonder if maybe she had been attacked.

Because what was written in the notebook was truth, it could also be true that the murderer had been in the same coffee shop as she had. The potential that the criminal had unexpectedly happened to see Morino's current look somewhere downtown was not zero.


For the criminal, to see Morino in her current style, a girl dressed in exactly the same clothes as Miguchi Nanami, who he had killed a few days ago, must have seemed miraculous. And then it must have moved his heart, I think.

There was a low chance at best that this would cause the criminal to decide to aim for Morino. Probably it was a trend for girls to be dressed like that, so you would expect to see that kind wandering around town.

If we considered the only possible way Morino might have been attacked by the criminal, it was the potential that Morino and the criminal had some overlap in their normal routines. After all, they had been in the same coffee shop. Unless the criminal had made a special long-distance trip, and just happened to stop by that coffee shop, then in his normal activities, Morino would have walked into a place he would have noticed her. In other words, the chances of the two meeting was high.

I thought about it late into the night.

Probably, about right now, Morino had undoubtedly been killed. I suppose her body has been scattered at some mountain.

I imagined that kind of thing while I fell asleep.


The next day, I called her house one more time.

As expected, she still hadn't returned. From what her mother said, this was the first time she had stayed out for the night without calling. Her mother was worried.

"By the way, are you her boyfriend?"

From the other side of the receiver, Morino's mother asked that.

"No, definitely not, ma'am!"

"Now, now, you don't have to deny it that strongly! I can still figure it out."


Morino's mother had no doubt that I was her daughter's boyfriend. She explained that, for her daughter, without any friends who were truly friends, the house getting a telephone call from someone was something that hadn't happened since elementary school times.



"Lately that girl's clothes have gotten brighter, so I'm positive she must have found a boy."

I started worrying about the telephone bill.

"In her room, would there happen to be a small brown notebook?"

Her mother immediately went to check for me. She left the telephone receiver, and there was a moment of silence. Before long I could hear a voice again.

"There's a notebook like that on that girl's desk, but I wonder if this is the one?"

It seems that Morino had not been carrying the notebook. If that hadn't been so, I would have considered the possibility that Morino had opened the notebook somewhere outside, and had been accidentally seen by the criminal, who had then attacked her in order to keep her silent.

I am going over to get the notebook, so I would like to know the address, I asked Morino's mother.

After hanging up the phone, I headed to Morino's house. I already knew that she lived close to the station, but this was the first time I had visited her house.

Her home was on the third floor of an apartment building in front of the station.

When I rang the doorbell, the woman with the voice I had heard on the phone answered while she opened the door. This was unmistakeably Morino's mother.

"My my my, welcome!"

Morino's mother wore an apron; a normal household-centered housewife. This was quite different from the atmophere of the Morino I was used to seeing, so I started wondering how, with a mother like that, that Morino had turned out that way.

I was invited inside, but I declined. I intended to complete my business at the entranceway.

When I mentioned the notebook, she immediately brought it, as if already prepared. While receiving the notebook, I asked her if she had read the contents, to which she shook her head.

"Since it's hard to read small words."

It seemed she was far more interested in me than the notebook.

"That girl, ever since she became a second year, she's decided to be conscientious about going to school, so it must have been for that reason, right?"

When Morino had been a first year, she had said school was boring; she didn't seem to have attended very often either. This is the first time I'd learned of that. Her tastes were a little unique, and on top of that, she wasn't good at blending in with the people around her. So no matter what, it would have probably turned out like that.

I asked when Morino was last seen.

"Yesterday, sometime past noon maybe. I saw her leave, too!"

"Did you ask her where she was going?"

Morino's mother shook her head.

"So you'll look for my daughter?"

When I parted from the entranceway, Morino's mother requested that.

I replied with a nod.

However, it's possible she won't be alive, I added. Her mother thought it was a joke, and smiled.

While walking towards the station, I opened up the synthetic leather front cover, and turned to the page where the names of the mountains were lined up.

The criminal had made a list of mountains he was thinking about dumping bodies at. The ones with a ◎ mark were undoubtedly mountains that the criminal had judged were especially convenient for dumping bodies. Because there were four mountains marked with ◎, and three had already had bodies dumped there, meaning up until now, the mountains where bodies had been found had been chosen exclusively from those.

So then, from the four mountains marked with ◎, three had already had bodies dumped there. So that meant that you had to wonder if Morino had been taken to the last remaining mountain.

And that was N mountain.

I asked a station employee which train I should take to get to N mountain, and I bought a ticket.

I got off the train at the closest station to N mountain, and from there, had to ride a bus. At the base of N mountain, grapes were being grown; I saw many "grape picking" signs from the bus window.

Riding in his car to visit N mountain, where would the criminal leave the body? Probably the criminal would perform his ceremony somewhere remote where no one would hear the screams. I had no idea where that place might be.

The only ones on the bus were the driver and me. I looked at the route map attached to the inside of the car, talked with the driver; I decided to try a place I thought the criminal might have stopped.

From the area Morino and I lived, to N mountain, most cars likely went by the [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#prefectural road|prefectural road]] that passed by N mountain's east side. Originally, there were not many roads that went to N mountain; aside from that prefectural road, there were no others in the the area we lived in.

Whatever place the criminal was taking Morino to at N mountain, undoubtedly he must have taken that prefectural road. According to what the driver said, the road the bus was on currently was definitely that prefectural road.

I got off the bus at a bus stop. If I was headed by car to a place deep within N mountain, there was one wide road that went near the peak. The bus stop was very near to that road.

I walked on the road to the summit. The surface was asphalt, but a car would almost not be able to make it.

There were a few side roads that stretched towards the inside of the deep forest. I considered which one the criminal and Morino could have entered.

As I climbed the ascent, the altitude gradually increased. Looking from in between the trees, the town had grown small and hazy.

It was a struggle to get near the summit. There was a small parking lot, and building that appeared to be a viewing platform. A car would not go beyond that point. Since it had not been much time since I'd started walking, I wasn't tired.

I searched for Morino's corpse.

I walked down a road that went into the trees; on the way, I entered a side road I had noticed.

The sky was cloudy, and the forest was pushed into darkness. A dense stand of trees peeped from in between a tangle of leaves and branches.

There was no wind; only the voices of cicadas filled the surroundings.



N mountain was too vast to find a one human body that had been rendered into pieces. Perhaps it would be impossible in the end to find Morino, I judged.

On the way back to the bus station, my entire body was sweating, tired from walking.

On the prefectural road that the bus ran on, there were a few scattered private houses. Even near the road going towards the summit, there was one house, and in the garden, there was an elderly man, who I asked whether there had been a car on this road last night, headed into the mountains. He shook his head. Afterwards, he called some of his family regarding my question, but in the end, it didn't seem that a car had been seen.

What kind of situation was Morino in yesterday when she sent that text?

Was she kidnapped by the criminal using brute force, I wonder?



I didn't think she was that weak of a fool.

Or maybe, her having been been caught by the criminal was just me overthinking things?

I sat near the bus stop and reread the notebook. From the descriptions of the three murders, I was not skilled enough to be able to understand the criminal's personality to the detail of a psychographic analysis.

Sweat fell onto the notebook, and the ink blurred; part of one sentence became unreadable. Apparently, the criminal had used water-soluble ink to write his descriptions.

In the first place, where did the criminal write into his notebook? Right after the crime, in his car, or after returning home, maybe? Probably he didn't write them in the middle of the crime, right? Without a doubt, he recalled the crime, and then while completely entranced in imagining, wrote.

Since the bus had come, I stood up. I looked at my watch; three hours had passed since noon.


I decided to come down from the mountain.

Just maybe, it was also possible that the criminal was keeping Morino locked in his house without killing her. The only way to determine whether or not that was really true would be to ask the criminal himself.

If she had already been killed, I needed to find out where her body had been dumped.

Because I wanted to look at it.

Either way, I had to descend N mountain, and meet with that criminal; there was no other way. Of course, I had every intention of doing so.



=== 4 ===

The coffee shop that Morino had become a regular customer of was located far back from the shopping district in front of the station. I had heard of it before, but this was my first time entering.

As I had been told, it was only lit moderately, and wrapped in a comfortable darkness. Peaceful music played, blending in with the unassuming atmosphere.

I took a place at a counter seat.

In the store's interior, there was an indication showing where the toilet was. I examined the floor in that vicinity. Morino had told me that that was where the notebook had been dropped.

There was one other customer in the store besides me. A young female customer, wearing a suit. She was sitting by the window drinking coffee while reading a magazine.

Since the store owner was coming by, bringing an order, I tried asking him.

"Is that person over there a regular customer?"

He nodded. And then he tilted his head in doubt as if to say "Is there something the matter with that?"



"Nevermind, I didn't mean anything by that. Anyway, won't you shake my hand?"

"Handshake? Why?"

The owner was an honest-faced looking man. He wasn't young, but he certainly wasn't middle aged yet. His skin was white, and he was wearing a black T-shirt like those sold anywhere.

His beard was neatly trimmed.

It seemed that from the beginning moment, he had considered me to be a strange customer. I stared too much.

The coffee I had requested was soon ready.

"I'm a friend of a girl named Morino. You know of her, I think?"

"She's a regular customer."

I tried asking him whether or not she was still alive.

The owner froze. He carefully put down the coffee cup he was holding, and faced me squarely.

His eyes lost their luster, like holes, they turned black, devoid of light.

I had felt before that, more than the potential of any of the customers in that shop during that evening rain shower, that the potential that this person was the criminal, was the highest. I learned that I had been correct.


"......I wonder, what do you mean?"

He made a pretense of not knowing.

I presented the notebook. When he saw that, the shape of his mouth twisted into a smile. Sharp white canine teeth peeked out.

"Morino-san picked this up the other day."

He took the notebook in his hands and turned the pages.

"So you knew clearly that I was the notebook's owner, I see."


"At least half of it was guesssing."

I explained how I had gone to N mountain to look for Morino's corpse, how I had thought it would be there.

What does the criminal think of this, I wonder.

I had first, exercised my imagination concerning the criminal who had dropped the notebook.

For what reason had this notebook been written? In order to commemorate? In order not to forget? Undoubtedly, he must have read it repeatedly, many times, so that it soaked into his memory.

Therefore, it is unlikely that the criminal would not have noticed having dropped the notebook.

In the first place, where could he have carried the notebook? Ordinarily, it would be in a pocket, or inside a bag. To have been dropped, it was possibly a pocket. While washing his hands in the restroom, or taking a handkerchief from his pocket, the notebook might have been dropped.

And then, about when did he notice that? A few tens-of-minutes later, a few hours later......? Probably less than a day, without a doubt.


And then, he would think back to when he last read the notebook, perhaps. And he would deduce that he must have lost the notebook at around that time. That meant, in short, that he would check the areas he had moved about in during that day, and he would, to some extent, start doing activity specific to the place where the notebook was dropped.



And then -- this is an arbitrary guess, but I felt the criminal must have dropped the notebook in a somewhat confined location. Because he wanted to look at the notebook often. Every time the dark thoughts in his head became jumbled, he would reread the notebook and calm himself down. With this, frequently holding the notebook in his hands, confirming its presence, the time period and area in which the notebook could have been lost in were both restricted to a narrow range.

And then the criminal probably searched for it. Checking the ground to see whether he had dropped the notebook.

But it wasn't there.

And then the criminal must have stopped to think. Someone must have picked up the notebook.

He absolutely could not let anyone read the contents of that notebook. Perhaps the police would investigate the third victim, and find the body. If it was just that, he wouldn't be particularly bothered. The problem was the possibility of getting fingerprints from the notebook. And also, possibly even handwriting analysis.

Had I been in that situation, what would I have done?

Probably I wouldn't attack a fourth person.



After all, it's possible that the police might be investigating around this area. Because he had lost the notebook within the area of his normal everyday movements, and so the police might consider that the criminal was somewhere around this area.

It would be unwise to do anything.


However, even a while later, the body of the third victim, Miguchi Nanami had not been found. Because Morino and I had not turned the notebook over to the police.

The criminal probably was waiting for the news to break, of the discovery of her body. If it was me, I would hold back until I had confirmed it was safe enough to try a fourth person.

And yet, Morino had dissappeared.


Considering that the potential that Morino being missing was just a girl's prank was unthinkable, I tried to figure out why there was this discrepancy.



Putting myself in the role of the criminal, in what situation would I kill a fourth person?

* If I could not help myself no matter what.
* If I became over-confident, having not been caught, underrating the risks; making light of the police.

* If I didn't care whether I got caught by the police.
* If I thought that the notebook hadn't been picked up and read.
* If I thought the person who had picked up the notebook hadn't taken it seriously.

Or else, after all, I hadn't realized that the notebook had been dropped, perhaps. For any of these, the potential was not zero. However, I had tried betting on one final possibility. Couldn't the criminal have considered it this way?

* Someone had picked up the notebook, but had not read its contents. As a result of that, the police would not have been alerted, and also, Miguchi Nanami's body would not have been found.

The coffee shop's owner listened to my talk while nodding with a look of great interest.

"And so then, how can you say I'm the criminal?"



I received the notebook back from his hand, and turned to a certain page. A word had been blurred by sweat, and had become unreadable.

"The ink being water soluble, the words would would vanish if it got wet -- You knew this. The criminal, after not seeing the notebook inside the shop, wouldn't he have thought he had dropped it outside? -- This is what I guessed." Morino had explained to me how there had been a evening shower happening outside during the time the notebook had been dropped.


Surely the criminal as well must have considered that he had dropped the notebook during the time of the evening shower.

If the criminal was applying the usual way of thinking, he would expect that someone in the store had picked up the notebook, and that the police had probably been informed of it. However, news of the discovery of Miguchi Nanami's body did not come out on the news.

"And so, that day, couldn't it be that the criminal concluded that he dropped the notebook in the rain? That is what I guessed at. And if that was so, the notebook would have become wet from the fierce rain, and the contents would have become unreadable."

That day, the only person who went outside during the time it was raining, was the shop owner; so Morino's story had let me know.

I had assembled this explanation almost completely by my imagination only, like tightrope walking, and after I had finished, the shape of the shop owner's mouth became a wide grin.

"I thought for certain the notebook had been dropped in the rain."

Morino-san was inside. He told me that.

The coffee shop's 2nd, and 3rd floors were his home, it seemed.

And then he returned the notebook to his pocket carefully. He turned his back to me, faced towards the store's entrance, and opened the door.



The sky that had been so cloudy before appeared to have cleared. The world outside, lit by the rays of the summer sun, appeared white to eyes used to the shop's gloomy illumination. He exited the shop and walked out towards the street, and dissappeared into the light.


The woman customer who had been called a regular customer, rose from the table and stood in front of the cash register in order to pay. After looking around the inside of the shop, she asked me "Where's the owner?", but I merely shook my head.

The stairs were outside the building; in order to get to the top floor, you had to go outside the shop once.

Morino was tied up on the third floor. Her clothes were like Miguchi Nanami's, her hands and feet were coiled about with rope, and she was tumbled over on the tatami mat.


She didn't seem to have been roughed up.

Upon seeing my face, she gently squinted her eyes. That was her smile. Because there was a towel jammed in her mouth, she couldn't speak.

When I pulled out the towel, she took a deep breath.

"That shop manager, he faked having a bone fracture, and he asked me to help him carry something. By the time I noticed, ... this happened!"



The rope coiled around her hands and feet looked difficult to untie. I left her in that state, and took a tour of the inside of the room. From the state of the inside of the dwelling, it appeared that the shop's owner lived alone.

On top of the desk, there was a piece of white paper, like from a memo pad. And on that piece of paper, countless tiny crosses were drawn.

On a shelf, there was a knife set stored. It was easy to guess that those were used for killing. In the descriptions in the notebook, the word "knife" had appeared often.

Still lying on the floor, Morino raised her voice, blaming me for not freeing her hands and feet.

I picked out a convenient knife from the knife set, and used it to cut the ropes.

"If we don't get away fast, the shop manager's going to find us!"


"He's not coming, I'm telling you!"

He would probably never come here again. I was almost certain of it. There was the potential that maybe he might come back to kill Morino and I, in order to keep us quiet, but for some reason, I knew he wouldn't.

Because during the conversation we had across the counter of the coffee shop, it felt like I and that abnormal person, in some ways, had been able to communicate with each other's hearts.

Maybe the reason he exited the shop quietly is because he intuitively knew I wouldn't tell anyone.

Morino looked at me as if in wonder, when I declared that the shop manager would never come back here. She stood up while straightening out her clothes.

"I could only send you a mail, and then I got found out......"

On top of the desk was Morino's cell phone, with the power turned off. Miguchi Nanami's bag, that Morino had likely been carrying at the time, was there also. Had the criminal not noticed that the bag the 3rd victim had, and the bag of what was likely to be the 4th victim, were the same thing? Or maybe, it was because it was the same bag, that he had aimed for Morino?

It seems that Morino had been tied up and left there all day. Walking unsteadily, she headed towards the stairs.

When we left the room, I took with me the knife set, and the paper on the desk. I had decided they would be my souvenirs. When the police find out everything and search this room, they might be bothered by not being able to find the murder weapon, I suppose. Naturally, I wasn't worried.

Upon reaching the first floor, we looked inside the shop. Inside the uninhabited shop, peaceful music played. I turned over the sign that was hung on the door, from "OPEN" to "CLOSED." Morino stood behind me rubbing her wrists while viewing their condition. Marks from the rope still remained on her wrists.

"What a horrible experience."

She muttered.

"I've decided I'm never coming back to this place again."

"But aren't you glad? That you were able to meet that person."

Morino tilted her head.

"That person? In the first place, why did that shop manager put me through that, I wonder?"

She hadn't realized that the shop manager was the cold-blooded murderer.

I let my eyes drop down to the paper in my hand, and gazed at the countless tiny crosses.

Talk:GOTH:GOTH

2007-05-05T19:41:06Z

The naming game: /* wordplay */ copied explanation of 語呂合わせ from the forum

== '''Translator's Notes''' ==

=== Pierrot ===
Pierrot, French clown, has a black teardrop under one eye.

=== photo booth pictures ===
The Japanese is プリクラ; purikura, short for "Print Club." You take photos in a booth and get photo stickers.

=== keychain mascot ===
The Japanese is キャラクターもの; kyarakutaamono, seems to be small, cute keychain mascots, from a quick google.

=== prefectural road ===
Prefectures are akin to states in the US. So prefectural roads are like state highways -- meant for traffic within the prefecture.

=== wordplay ===
語呂合わせ "goro-awase" literally means "joining word-sounds" ... basically games with words/numbers. For numbers in particular, you can make sentences, and usually the sentences are rude/shocking. Some examples given in the [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%AA%9E%E5%91%82%E5%90%88%E3%82%8F%E3%81%9B Japanese Wikipedia article] are:

427 = "死にな" = "shinina" = "shininasai" = "die (command)", and

37564 = "皆殺し" = "mina-goroshi" = "everyone killed; the murder of everyone" = "mass murder; total annihilation"

GOTH:GOTH

2007-05-05T19:31:25Z

The naming game: /* 3 */ accidentally saved last change; fixed story of Boku learning Morino's home phone + "friends who were truly friends" + link to "wordplay" note

== '''GOTH''' ==

=== 1 ===

About 20 days after the end of summer vacation, on a school day, for the first time in awhile, I spoke with Morino.

Before the start of morning homeroom, having come to school, through the crowd of noisily chattering classmates, she unexpectedly approached my desk. 


We didn't have any history of exchanging greetings. Morino stood in front of me, took a notebook from her pocket, and placed it on my desk. It was a notebook I'd never seen before.


It was palm sized; the cover was fake brown leather. It was an ordinary thing you'd find in any stationary shop.

"I found this," She said.

"Well it's not mine."

"Well I know that."

Presenting the notebook to me, she had a somehow cheerful air about her.

I picked the notebook up from my desk. The cover was smooth to the touch.

I flipped briefly through the contents; the first half filled with small, meticulous writing. The second half was completely blank.

"Read from the beginning!"

It was as she said, the owner was unknown; I looked carefully through his writing. Line after line of itemized writing.

:May 10th
:In front of the station, I meet a female named Kusuda Mitsue.
:Age 16.
:I started talking with her; a short while later we walked to my car.

:Just like that, I took her to T mountain.
:She kept staring outside the window, all the while telling me about a newspaper column her mother was interested in.

:I stop the car near the summit of T mountain.

:From the trunk, I take out the bag containing the knife, nails, and other tools. She laughingly asks me what it is.

:............

The words continued like that.

I recognized the name Kusuda Mitsue.

......Three months ago, a family went on a hiking trip to T mountain. It was a family of one boy and two parents. Since it was a long-awaited holiday for the father, he slept as soon as they arrived at the mountain. The boy tried to wake up the father so they could play, but it was no use.

In the afternoon, the boy took a walk alone into the forest.

The mother noticed her son missing. And then, she heard a scream from deep in the forest.

The couple searched the forest, and then found the boy. He was found looking slightly upwards, unable to move.



Following their son's gaze, the father and mother immediately noticed the nearby tree trunk was stained dark red. And then, they noticed something strange nailed to the tree at eye-level. Looking around, they saw that all the surrounding trees had things attached to them with nails.


Those 'things' were Kusuda Mitsue. Someone had done a dissection on her, deep in the forest. The eyeballs, tongue, ears, thumbs, liver... They were all attached by nails to tree trunks.


On one tree, in order from the top, the left big toe, upper lip, nose, and stomach were attached; other trees had the rest of her remains, arranged like Christmas tree decorations.

The incident quickly had the entire country in a panic.

Inside the notebook Morino had brought: how Kusuda Mitsue was killed, which parts were attached to trees, what kind of nails were used; page after page of dry, detailed notes.



I knew a lot about this incident, since I had followed it on TV, magazines, and the internet. But still, this notebook spoke exhaustively of details that no media outlet had covered.

"So as I see it, her killer dropped this notebook."

Kusuda Mitsue had been a high schooler in a neighboring prefecture. She had been last seen by friends who parted with her at the building in front of the station. And then Kusuda Mitsue became the first victim of the bizzare murders, even now able to cause a stir throughout Japan.

There had been one more incident with the same modus operandi; they were believed to be serial murders.

"And there's something written about the second victim too."

:June 21
:I talked with a female holding a shopping bag, waiting for the bus.

:She called herself Nakanishi Kasumi.
:I offered to take her home in my car.
:Upon realizing that I was heading towards H mountain and not her house, the girl began to cause a disturbance while in the passenger seat.
:I temporarily stopped the car and struck her with a hammer; she became quiet.
:I took her to a shed in H mountain.
:............

The name Nakanishi Kasumi, a student at a vocational school, became known nationwide because of what happened one month ago. From the wildly spreading gossip sparked by the news and newspapers, I already knew about the discovery of the second victim while coming home from school.

She was inside a shed in H mountain. The building's owner was unknown, and remained that way for a long time. The roof leaked badly; the inside was covered with mold and stains. The walls and floor were wooden planking, and it was three meters square.

An elderly man who lived at the base [of the mountain] had come to H mountain to collect wild vegetables, and in the early morning, had discovered that the shed's door had been unexpectedly left open. Wondering at this, he tried coming closer, and then a terrible stench hit his nose.

The elderly man checked the inside of the shed through the entrance. In the beginning, there was no way he could have realized what had happened.

On the floor of the shed, Nakanishi Kasumi had been arranged. Like the first victim, each part had been separated. She had been distributed methodically, in 10 centimeter intervals over the floor, in a 10 by 10 pattern. In short, her body had been turned into one hundred small clumps.



Inside the notebook, the scene of the production process was described.

In two incidents, no one had seen the criminal; the person who had killed them had not been caught.

The mass media was still making a fuss about these two cases, as a bizzare serial murder case.

"I like seeing these kinds of cases in the news."

"Why?"

"Because they're abnormal."

Morino said indifferently.

I also constantly watched the news for that same reason. And so I understood well what she was trying to say.

People had been killed, and then separated into pieces. People who had that done to them, and people who did that, actually did exist.



Morino and I held a special interest in these kinds of miserable stories. We would always seek out episodes that you'd want to hang yourself out of misery upon hearing.

I had never directly mentioned this strange trait, but we had both silently sensed it in each other.

Perhaps normal people would grimace at this. Our emotional sensitivity was out of sync. Which is why, when talking about, for example, the different torture devices around the world, and different methods for execution, we would talk in especially low voices.


Morino raised her face from the notebook and looked out the window. I knew that she was imagining the scene of Nakanishi Kasumi's various parts being arranged on the floor.

"This notebook, where did you find it?"

When I asked, she began to explain.

It seems that last evening, Morino was at her favorite coffee shop. The owner wasn't nosy, and the shop was gloomy and quiet, she said.

She was drinking coffee that the shop's owner had poured, while thumbing through the pages of "Cruel Tales of the World."

Suddenly, she heard the sound of rain. She looked outside through the window to see a furious evening shower coming down.

Morino watched the customers that had been standing up to leave, sit down again. They were likely thinking to wait a little for the rain to stop.

At that time, there were five customers in the coffee shop, not including herself.

Morino left her seat to go to the restroom. On the way, she felt something strange under her shoes. On the floor of black wood, someone had dropped a notebook, which she had happened to step on. She picked up the notebook and put it in her pocket. Apparently she wasn't planning to return it to its owner.

Even returning from the restroom, the customers were just watching the rainy scenery through the window; their number hadn't changed.


She could tell the fierceness of the rain by looking at the clothes of the shop owner, who had gone outside for a moment for some errand. They were completely soaked.

Morino forgot about the notebook and returned to reading.

The rain stopped, and once again, the sun came out.

Several customers stood up and left.

The summer sun's rays quickly dried the road.

It seems that it was only after she had returned home that she remembered the notebook, and read the contents.

"I went to the restroom twice. The first time, there was no notebook. Immediately after that, the rain started; which means the number of customers were fixed. When I went the second time, the notebook had been dropped there. The murderer was in that shop. The murderer lives in this neighborhood."


She made a fist in front of her.

Two corpses had been found in places that were 2 or 3 hours away from the town we lived in. One couldn't ignore the possibility that the murderer lived in this town.

But still, it wasn't realistic to say that.

This incident had doubtless been talked about far and wide. Much was still unresolved, and there were seekers-of-the-bizarre still interested in it. It had been discussed all across the country, even in elementary schools.

It had become overly famous.

It was hard to believe that the murderer would be living here.

"Couldn't this notebook just be a work of imagination based on the news reports?"

"Just read the the rest of the notebook."



"Please, welcome." It was with that kind of feeling that Morino spoke.


:August 5th
:I gave a ride to a female named Miguchi Nanami.
:I met her at a soba restaurant near S mountain.
:When we went to the forest on the south side of the mountain, we found a Shinto shrine.

:I took her into the forest.
:............

Inside the forest, the owner of the notebook stabbed a knife into the abdomen of the female named Miguchi Nanami.

According to the contents of the notebook, her body had been destroyed. In meticulous handwriting, the way both her eyes had been plucked out, the color and luster of her uterus, and so on, had been described.


And then her body had been disposed of in the forest.

"Are you familiar with the name Miguchi Nanami?"

Morino asked. I shook my head.

There had, as of yet, been no reports of the discovery of Miguchi Nanami's body.

=== 2 ===

My first introduction to Morino was when we ended up in the same class upon graduating to the second year. I had felt from the beginning that there was someone else like me, living life unconcerned with others. Even during break time, even walking the halls, she would always shun others. In short, she didn't seem to like crowds.

In our class, I only noticed this particular trait in Morino and I. Even so, I didn't coldly regard our classmates' merry-making like Morino did. For me, if someone struck up a conversation, I would reply, and to smooth the mechanism of human relations, even joke. I did the minimum required to have a normal life.

However, the superficial socializing, and the smiles I gave to my classmates, were essentially lies.

From our first conversation, Morino had seen through to that part of me.

"Could you teach me how to make that same expression too?"

One day after school, Morino had stood in front of me, expressionless, and said that. Maybe she was scoffing at me inside. That was around the beginning of May.

After that, we would talk from time to time.

Morino only wore black. Everything, from her long, straight hair, to the tips of her shoes, was wrapped in darkness. In stark contrast, her skin was whiter than anyone's I had seen; her hands were as if made of porcelain. There was a small spot under her left eye, in a similar design to that of [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#Pierrot|Pierrot]], giving her an atmosphere of black magic.

It's not that her face was less expressive than that of normal people. For example, when happily reading a book about the horrific murder of 52 women and children in Russia. There was no trace of the deathly green face she had when in the midst of noisy classmates. Rather, her eyes sparkled.

Only when talking to Morino would I not fake my facial expressions. If I was talking to someone else, they would probably wonder why I had such a blank, unsmiling expression. When talking with her, there was no problem with that.

Perhaps she had similar reasons, because during idle times, she would choose to speak with me.

We both disliked standing out. In the classroom, we were hidden in the shadow of our boisterous classmates; we quietly lived our lives.

And then, summer vacation came, and then I came to read the notebook.

Following the school day, after we met at the station, we boarded a train headed for the base of S mountain.

Both for meeting outside of school, and seeing Morino in normal clothes instead of the school uniform, it was the first time. As usual, she had chosen dark colored clothes. I noticed from her glance, that she must have thought the same about me.

The inside of the train was quiet; it was free of crowding. Without talking, we both started reading. She read a book about child abuse; I read a book written by the family members of a famous juvenile delinquent.

Upon getting off at the station, we asked an old woman working at the tobacco shop in front of the station, how many soba restaurants there were near S mountain. We learned that there was only one, and that it wasn't far. Afterwards, Morino made a sharp observation.

"Tobacco kills many people, but tobacco vending machines snatch away and kill that old woman's livelihood."

An especially clever reply didn't seem to be necessary, so I ignored her remark.

We walked along the side of the road until we reached the soba restaurant. The road began to slope upwards; it was curving near the mountain side.

The soba restaurant was part of a row of restaurants at the base of the mountain. Business looked to be bad there; the atmosphere was lonely, without many people or cars. The soba restaurant's parking lot was completely empty, yet even though it might as well have been closed, there was still an "OPEN" sign. We went inside.

"Ah, so this is where the murderer met Miguchi Nanami."

Morino looked around the restaurant as if sightseeing some famous place.

"Excuse me. I'm just speculating; what you would call the hypothetical stage. Since whether it's true or not is what we came here to find out."

I ignored her and read the notebook.

It was written with a blue ballpoint pen.

Inside the notebook, there was more than just the accounts of the murders of the three women. In addition, the names of a few mountains were written. That was on the first page, so it seemed to have been written before any of the accounts of the women's murders.

In front of the names of the mountains, there were markings like ◎ and ○, △ and ×. For the three mountains where the bodies had been disposed of, ◎ had been marked, so I inferred that maybe this was a list of mountains that were convenient for disposing bodies.

There were no indications as to the owner of the notebook.

There had never been any thought of giving the notebook to the police. Even if we didn't do anything, he would be caught sooner or later.

If we sent the notebook to the police, perhaps the murderer would be caught sooner. And the number of victims in the end would probably be less. Obviously, there was an obligation to give this to the police.

Unfortunately, our consciences didn't bother us for acting as if we hadn't picked up any kind of notebook, and keeping silent; we were cruel, reptilian high school students.

"If there's a fourth victim, that would definitely be our fault."

"That's terrible."

Morino and I slurped at our soba while having that talk. She didn't have any "That's terrible" face; her voice was casual, as if only interested in the soba of a second-class restaurant.

We asked about the Shinto shrine at the soba restaurant.

While walking, Morino looked at the notebook. She traced the front cover many times with her fingertip, perhaps touching the same place that cold-blooded murderer had touched. From those actions, I could tell she felt a sense of awe for the murderer.

Inside, I felt a little like that too. I also knew it wasn't proper to feel that. Criminals, of course, must be punished. One should not think of them as revolutionaries or artists.

At the same time, I knew that famous murderers would be worshipped by some abnormal people. I knew that it was wrong to become like that.

However, we were in thrall to the horror of deeds of the notebook's owner. This criminal had, in the moments of everyday life, crossed over a line; crushing people's individuality and dignity, and completely destroying the bodies.

It had the irresistable charm of a nightmare.

In order to reach the Shinto shrine, from the soba restaurant, we had to walk even further towards the summit, up a long flight of stairs.

For both of us, the idea of moving our bodies stirred up an almost irrational anger.

So we had no love for the mountain slope and the stairs.

By the time we reached the shrine, we were exhausted. We sat for some time at a stone monument that had been constructed on the grounds, and took a break. On the trees that had been planted on the grounds, high branches spread out, and looking up, you could see the midsummer sun peep through the leaves.

We sat beside each other, unconcerned by the voices of the cicadas falling from above. Drops of sweat started to form bit by bit on Morino's brow.


Before long, she wiped the sweat away while standing up. The search for Miguchi Nanami's body had begun.

"Ah, so the murderer and Miguchi Nanami walked in this place together."

Morino walked beside me while humming.

Leaving the shrine, we headed towards the forest.

For what distance, and in what direction the murderer walked, I did not know. For that reason, the search was fumbling and uncertain.

While randomly searching, one hour passed.

"I think it might be over there."

So said Morino in parting; before long, from far off, she called my name.

I walked towards the voice, and then, at the bottom of a cliff, I saw her from behind. Her arms hung loosely by her sides. She turned to the side, so I looked there also.

And there was Miguchi Nanami.

In between the forest and the cliff, in the shadow of a large tree, in the middle of that faint summer gloom, she sat naked.

Her lower half was resting on the ground; her back was resting against the tree trunk. Her arms and legs, devoid of power, were sprawled carelessly.

From the neck up, there was nothing.

The head had been separated, and placed in her stomach.

Both eyeballs had been plucked out, and placed respectively, in the left and right hands.

Instead, the eye sockets, now just holes, had been packed with mud. Even the mouth; moldy leaves had been plastered inside.

Around the tree trunk that the back was leaning against, something had been wrapped. That something had once been the contents of Miguchi Nanami's abdomen.


Signs of blood remained black upon the ground.

Slightly further off, her clothes had been dumped.

We stood in front of her, unable to move, looking quietly.

Unable to say anything.

Only looking quietly at the corpse.

The next day, I got a text message on my cell phone from Morino.

"Give me back the notebook."

Her text messages were always concise and short. She never added anything unnecessary. Likewise, I knew that she held a kind of hatred for clattery and noisy keychains and straps.

I was the one who had taken the notebook home. When we had left the place where Miguchi Nanami was, I hadn't returned it to her. On the train home, Morino, not yet recovered from the shock, had only stared into the distance.

When we were leaving that place, Morino had picked up Miguchi Nanami's fallen clothes, and stuffed them into her bag. The clothes had been almost completely torn into pieces, but the hat and the bag, and its contents, were untouched.

Inside Miguchi Nanami's bag, there were things like makeup, a purse, and a handkerchief. On the train home, I looked through them.

According to the student card in her purse, I found out that Miguchi Nanami had been a high school student in a neighboring prefecture. Inside the bag, there was also a notebook for sticking photo booth pictures. From her student card, and the [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#photo booth pictures|photo booth pictures]], I could see what her face had been like when alive.

Miguchi Nanami's many friends were all smiling in the small photo booth picture.

The afternoon that I got the text message, Morino and I met at the McDonald's in fron of the station.

Morino, unlike usual, was not wearing dark style clothes. Because of that, I didn't realize who she was at first. Since the hat she wore was the same as the kind she had picked up from beside Miguchi Nanami's corpse, I realized that the clothes she picked was meant to resemble hers as well.

Her hairstyle, makeup - everything resembled the Miguchi Nanami in the photo booth pictures. Since the original clothes were torn up, she must have searched for something similar.

She accepted the notebook, and seemed extremely happy.

I asked about that.

"Are you going to tell Miguchi Nanami's family about the corpse in the forest?"

She thought for a moment, and then announced her intention to stay uninvolved.



"I wonder when the police will find her."

Morino, while looking like Miguchi Nanami before her death, talked about her death.

I wonder what Miguchi Nanami's family is doing right now? Does she have a boyfriend? I wonder what her grades were like?

Morino was a little bit different from usual. During the conversation with her, her style of talking and gesturing had diverged from her usual manner. She paid attention to how her bangs fell, and created the atmosphere of a couple sitting in separate seats, with the topics she brought up. This was behavior that Morino had never displayed up to now.

Miguchi Nanami and I had not known each other. Still, looking at Morino, I had to wonder if Miguchi Nanami would have created the same impression.

Morino placed her elbows on the table, while acting cheerful. She had beside her what was once Miguchi Nanami's bag. Attached to the zipper pull was a [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#keychain mascot|keychain mascot]]

"So are you planning to stay dressed like that for awhile?"

"Of course, it's amusing, isn't it?"

This was Morino's make-believe play. But it was more than just a normal smiling manner, and looking into the mirror, checking her eyelashes type of imitation of a normal female high school student. It was more as if Miguchi Nanami had enroached upon Morino's basic nature.

When leaving McDonald's, Morino suddenly and spontaneously took my hand as we walked. She herself didn't notice this until I pointed it out.


I was almost certain that I was being embraced by the dead Miguchi Nanami.

After parting with Morino in front of the station and arriving home, I immediately turned on the TV. On the news, they covered the bizzare murder case.

There was a report about the first and second victims. Up until this point, they were still going over old news; nothing new was being said.

Miguchi Nanami's name didn't appear at all.

There was a slideshow about the two victims, pictures of grieving friends and family.

On the TV screen, a large picture appeared -- photographs of the two victims......

I thought of Morino, and a bad premonition came over me. Yet, the odds of something like that happening were extremely low. And so I dropped that thought from my mind.

The two victims, as they had appeared in the photographs, in their hairstyle, and their clothes, both resembled Miguchi Nanami.

So, in short, you could say that today, Morino was the same type that this cold-blooded murderer went for.


=== 3 ===

One evening, 3 days after having met at McDonald's, the ringtone sounded on my cell phone, indicating that I had received a text message from someone.

It was from Morino.

"Help"

A short message with only that, showed on my liquid crystal display.

My reply message was a question.

"What happened?"

I waited for awhile, but she didn't reply.

I tried calling her, but her cell phone wasn't connected. Did the power get cut off, or was it destroyed maybe?

That night, I called Morino's house. She had told me her home phone number previously. I hadn't been told it in case I wanted to call her home. She had told me previously that her home phone number, unexpectedly, using [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#wordplay|wordplay]], worked out to a deranged sentence. And so I had remembered that.



Her mother answered the phone. She had a high voice, and a fast speaking style.

I said I was a classmate, and that there was a message from the teacher, so I would like to speak with her to pass it along.

She had not returned.

I started to wonder if maybe she had been attacked.

Because what was written in the notebook was truth, it could also be true that the murderer had been in the same coffee shop as she had. The potential that the criminal had unexpectedly happened to see Morino's current look somewhere downtown was not zero.


For the criminal, to see Morino in her current style, a girl dressed in exactly the same clothes as Miguchi Nanami, who he had killed a few days ago, must have seemed miraculous. And then it must have moved his heart, I think.

There was a low chance at best that this would cause the criminal to decide to aim for Morino. Probably it was a trend for girls to be dressed like that, so you would expect to see that kind wandering around town.

If we considered the only possible way Morino might have been attacked by the criminal, it was the potential that Morino and the criminal had some overlap in their normal routines. After all, they had been in the same coffee shop. Unless the criminal had made a special long-distance trip, and just happened to stop by that coffee shop, then in his normal activities, Morino would have walked into a place he would have noticed her. In other words, the chances of the two meeting was high.

I thought about it late into the night.

Probably, about right now, Morino had undoubtedly been killed. I suppose her body has been scattered at some mountain.

I imagined that kind of thing while I fell asleep.


The next day, I called her house one more time.

As expected, she still hadn't returned. From what her mother said, this was the first time she had stayed out for the night without calling. Her mother was worried.

"By the way, are you her boyfriend?"

From the other side of the receiver, Morino's mother asked that.

"No, definitely not, ma'am!"

"Now, now, you don't have to deny it that strongly! I can still figure it out."


Morino's mother had no doubt that I was her daughter's boyfriend. She explained that, for her daughter, without any friends who were truly friends, the house getting a telephone call from someone was something that hadn't happened since elementary school times.



"Lately that girl's clothes have gotten brighter, so I'm positive she must have found a boy."

I started worrying about the telephone bill.

"In her room, would there happen to be a small brown notebook?"

Her mother immediately went to check for me. She left the telephone receiver, and there was a moment of silence. Before long I could hear a voice again.

"There's a notebook like that on that girl's desk, but I wonder if this is the one?"

It seems that Morino had not been carrying the notebook. If that hadn't been so, I would have considered the possibility that Morino had opened the notebook somewhere outside, and had been accidentally seen by the criminal, who had then attacked her in order to keep her silent.

I am going over to get the notebook, so I would like to know the address, I asked Morino's mother.

After hanging up the phone, I headed to Morino's house. I already knew that she lived close to the station, but this was the first time I had visited her house.

Her home was on the third floor of an apartment building in front of the station.

When I rang the doorbell, the woman with the voice I had heard on the phone answered while she opened the door. This was unmistakeably Morino's mother.

"My my my, welcome!"

Morino's mother wore an apron; a normal household-centered housewife. This was quite different from the atmophere of the Morino I was used to seeing, so I started wondering how, with a mother like that, that Morino had turned out that way.

I was invited inside, but I declined. I intended to complete my business at the entranceway.

When I mentioned the notebook, she immediately brought it, as if already prepared. While receiving the notebook, I asked her if she had read the contents, to which she shook her head.

"Since it's hard to read small words."

It seemed she was far more interested in me than the notebook.

"That girl, ever since she became a second year, she's decided to be conscientious about going to school, so it must have been for that reason, right?"

When Morino had been a first year, she had said school was boring; she didn't seem to have attended very often either. This is the first time I'd learned of that. Her tastes were a little unique, and on top of that, she wasn't good at blending in with the people around her. So no matter what, it would have probably turned out like that.

I asked when Morino was last seen.

"Yesterday, sometime past noon maybe. I saw her leave, too!"

"Did you ask her where she was going?"

Morino's mother shook her head.

"So you'll look for my daughter?"

When I parted from the entranceway, Morino's mother requested that.

I replied with a nod.

However, it's possible she won't be alive, I added. Her mother thought it was a joke, and smiled.

While walking towards the station, I opened up the synthetic leather front cover, and turned to the page where the names of the mountains were lined up.

The criminal had made a list of mountains he was thinking about dumping bodies at. The ones with a ◎ mark were undoubtedly mountains that the criminal had judged were especially convenient for dumping bodies. Because there were four mountains marked with ◎, and three had already had bodies dumped there, meaning up until now, the mountains where bodies had been found had been chosen exclusively from those.

So then, from the four mountains marked with ◎, three had already had bodies dumped there. So that meant that you had to wonder if Morino had been taken to the last remaining mountain.

And that was N mountain.

I asked a station employee which train I should take to get to N mountain, and I bought a ticket.

I got off the train at the closest station to N mountain, and from there, had to ride a bus. At the base of N mountain, grapes were being grown; I saw many "grape picking" signs from the bus window.

Riding in his car to visit N mountain, where would the criminal leave the body? Probably the criminal would perform his ceremony somewhere remote where no one would hear the screams. I had no idea where that place might be.

The only ones on the bus were the driver and me. I looked at the route map attached to the inside of the car, talked with the driver; I decided to try a place I thought the criminal might have stopped.

From the area Morino and I lived, to N mountain, most cars likely went by the [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#prefectural road|prefectural road]] that passed by N mountain's east side. Originally, there were not many roads that went to N mountain; aside from that prefectural road, there were no others in the the area we lived in.

Whatever place the criminal was taking Morino to at N mountain, undoubtedly he must have taken that prefectural road. According to what the driver said, the road the bus was on currently was definitely that prefectural road.

I got off the bus at a bus stop. If I was headed by car to a place deep within N mountain, there was one wide road that went near the peak. The bus stop was very near to that road.

I walked on the road to the summit. The surface was asphalt, but a car would almost not be able to make it.

There were a few side roads that stretched towards the inside of the deep forest. I considered which one the criminal and Morino could have entered.

As I climbed the ascent, the altitude gradually increased. Looking from in between the trees, the town had grown small and hazy.

It was a struggle to get near the summit. There was a small parking lot, and building that appeared to be a viewing platform. A car would not go beyond that point. Since it had not been much time since I'd started walking, I wasn't tired.

I searched for Morino's corpse.

I walked down a road that went into the trees; on the way, I entered a side road I had noticed.

The sky was cloudy, and the forest was pushed into darkness. A dense stand of trees peeped from in between a tangle of leaves and branches.

There was no wind; only the voices of cicadas filled the surroundings.



N mountain was too vast to find a one human body that had been rendered into pieces. Perhaps it would be impossible in the end to find Morino, I judged.

On the way back to the bus station, my entire body was sweating, tired from walking.

On the prefectural road that the bus ran on, there were a few scattered private houses. Even near the road going towards the summit, there was one house, and in the garden, there was an elderly man, who I asked whether there had been a car on this road last night, headed into the mountains. He shook his head. Afterwards, he called some of his family regarding my question, but in the end, it didn't seem that a car had been seen.

What kind of situation was Morino in yesterday when she sent that text?

Was she kidnapped by the criminal using brute force, I wonder?



I didn't think she was that weak of a fool.

Or maybe, her having been been caught by the criminal was just me overthinking things?

I sat near the bus stop and reread the notebook. From the descriptions of the three murders, I was not skilled enough to be able to understand the criminal's personality to the detail of a psychographic analysis.

Sweat fell onto the notebook, and the ink blurred; part of one sentence became unreadable. Apparently, the criminal had used water-soluble ink to write his descriptions.

In the first place, where did the criminal write into his notebook? Right after the crime, in his car, or after returning home, maybe? Probably he didn't write them in the middle of the crime, right? Without a doubt, he recalled the crime, and then while completely entranced in imagining, wrote.

Since the bus had come, I stood up. I looked at my watch; three hours had passed since noon.


I decided to come down from the mountain.

Just maybe, it was also possible that the criminal was keeping Morino locked in his house without killing her. The only way to determine whether or not that was really true would be to ask the criminal himself.

If she had already been killed, I needed to find out where her body had been dumped.

Because I wanted to look at it.

Either way, I had to descend N mountain, and meet with that criminal; there was no other way. Of course, I had every intention of doing so.

GOTH:GOTH

2007-05-05T19:08:02Z

The naming game: /* 3 */

== '''GOTH''' ==

=== 1 ===

About 20 days after the end of summer vacation, on a school day, for the first time in awhile, I spoke with Morino.

Before the start of morning homeroom, having come to school, through the crowd of noisily chattering classmates, she unexpectedly approached my desk. 


We didn't have any history of exchanging greetings. Morino stood in front of me, took a notebook from her pocket, and placed it on my desk. It was a notebook I'd never seen before.


It was palm sized; the cover was fake brown leather. It was an ordinary thing you'd find in any stationary shop.

"I found this," She said.

"Well it's not mine."

"Well I know that."

Presenting the notebook to me, she had a somehow cheerful air about her.

I picked the notebook up from my desk. The cover was smooth to the touch.

I flipped briefly through the contents; the first half filled with small, meticulous writing. The second half was completely blank.

"Read from the beginning!"

It was as she said, the owner was unknown; I looked carefully through his writing. Line after line of itemized writing.

:May 10th
:In front of the station, I meet a female named Kusuda Mitsue.
:Age 16.
:I started talking with her; a short while later we walked to my car.

:Just like that, I took her to T mountain.
:She kept staring outside the window, all the while telling me about a newspaper column her mother was interested in.

:I stop the car near the summit of T mountain.

:From the trunk, I take out the bag containing the knife, nails, and other tools. She laughingly asks me what it is.

:............

The words continued like that.

I recognized the name Kusuda Mitsue.

......Three months ago, a family went on a hiking trip to T mountain. It was a family of one boy and two parents. Since it was a long-awaited holiday for the father, he slept as soon as they arrived at the mountain. The boy tried to wake up the father so they could play, but it was no use.

In the afternoon, the boy took a walk alone into the forest.

The mother noticed her son missing. And then, she heard a scream from deep in the forest.

The couple searched the forest, and then found the boy. He was found looking slightly upwards, unable to move.



Following their son's gaze, the father and mother immediately noticed the nearby tree trunk was stained dark red. And then, they noticed something strange nailed to the tree at eye-level. Looking around, they saw that all the surrounding trees had things attached to them with nails.


Those 'things' were Kusuda Mitsue. Someone had done a dissection on her, deep in the forest. The eyeballs, tongue, ears, thumbs, liver... They were all attached by nails to tree trunks.


On one tree, in order from the top, the left big toe, upper lip, nose, and stomach were attached; other trees had the rest of her remains, arranged like Christmas tree decorations.

The incident quickly had the entire country in a panic.

Inside the notebook Morino had brought: how Kusuda Mitsue was killed, which parts were attached to trees, what kind of nails were used; page after page of dry, detailed notes.



I knew a lot about this incident, since I had followed it on TV, magazines, and the internet. But still, this notebook spoke exhaustively of details that no media outlet had covered.

"So as I see it, her killer dropped this notebook."

Kusuda Mitsue had been a high schooler in a neighboring prefecture. She had been last seen by friends who parted with her at the building in front of the station. And then Kusuda Mitsue became the first victim of the bizzare murders, even now able to cause a stir throughout Japan.

There had been one more incident with the same modus operandi; they were believed to be serial murders.

"And there's something written about the second victim too."

:June 21
:I talked with a female holding a shopping bag, waiting for the bus.

:She called herself Nakanishi Kasumi.
:I offered to take her home in my car.
:Upon realizing that I was heading towards H mountain and not her house, the girl began to cause a disturbance while in the passenger seat.
:I temporarily stopped the car and struck her with a hammer; she became quiet.
:I took her to a shed in H mountain.
:............

The name Nakanishi Kasumi, a student at a vocational school, became known nationwide because of what happened one month ago. From the wildly spreading gossip sparked by the news and newspapers, I already knew about the discovery of the second victim while coming home from school.

She was inside a shed in H mountain. The building's owner was unknown, and remained that way for a long time. The roof leaked badly; the inside was covered with mold and stains. The walls and floor were wooden planking, and it was three meters square.

An elderly man who lived at the base [of the mountain] had come to H mountain to collect wild vegetables, and in the early morning, had discovered that the shed's door had been unexpectedly left open. Wondering at this, he tried coming closer, and then a terrible stench hit his nose.

The elderly man checked the inside of the shed through the entrance. In the beginning, there was no way he could have realized what had happened.

On the floor of the shed, Nakanishi Kasumi had been arranged. Like the first victim, each part had been separated. She had been distributed methodically, in 10 centimeter intervals over the floor, in a 10 by 10 pattern. In short, her body had been turned into one hundred small clumps.



Inside the notebook, the scene of the production process was described.

In two incidents, no one had seen the criminal; the person who had killed them had not been caught.

The mass media was still making a fuss about these two cases, as a bizzare serial murder case.

"I like seeing these kinds of cases in the news."

"Why?"

"Because they're abnormal."

Morino said indifferently.

I also constantly watched the news for that same reason. And so I understood well what she was trying to say.

People had been killed, and then separated into pieces. People who had that done to them, and people who did that, actually did exist.



Morino and I held a special interest in these kinds of miserable stories. We would always seek out episodes that you'd want to hang yourself out of misery upon hearing.

I had never directly mentioned this strange trait, but we had both silently sensed it in each other.

Perhaps normal people would grimace at this. Our emotional sensitivity was out of sync. Which is why, when talking about, for example, the different torture devices around the world, and different methods for execution, we would talk in especially low voices.


Morino raised her face from the notebook and looked out the window. I knew that she was imagining the scene of Nakanishi Kasumi's various parts being arranged on the floor.

"This notebook, where did you find it?"

When I asked, she began to explain.

It seems that last evening, Morino was at her favorite coffee shop. The owner wasn't nosy, and the shop was gloomy and quiet, she said.

She was drinking coffee that the shop's owner had poured, while thumbing through the pages of "Cruel Tales of the World."

Suddenly, she heard the sound of rain. She looked outside through the window to see a furious evening shower coming down.

Morino watched the customers that had been standing up to leave, sit down again. They were likely thinking to wait a little for the rain to stop.

At that time, there were five customers in the coffee shop, not including herself.

Morino left her seat to go to the restroom. On the way, she felt something strange under her shoes. On the floor of black wood, someone had dropped a notebook, which she had happened to step on. She picked up the notebook and put it in her pocket. Apparently she wasn't planning to return it to its owner.

Even returning from the restroom, the customers were just watching the rainy scenery through the window; their number hadn't changed.


She could tell the fierceness of the rain by looking at the clothes of the shop owner, who had gone outside for a moment for some errand. They were completely soaked.

Morino forgot about the notebook and returned to reading.

The rain stopped, and once again, the sun came out.

Several customers stood up and left.

The summer sun's rays quickly dried the road.

It seems that it was only after she had returned home that she remembered the notebook, and read the contents.

"I went to the restroom twice. The first time, there was no notebook. Immediately after that, the rain started; which means the number of customers were fixed. When I went the second time, the notebook had been dropped there. The murderer was in that shop. The murderer lives in this neighborhood."


She made a fist in front of her.

Two corpses had been found in places that were 2 or 3 hours away from the town we lived in. One couldn't ignore the possibility that the murderer lived in this town.

But still, it wasn't realistic to say that.

This incident had doubtless been talked about far and wide. Much was still unresolved, and there were seekers-of-the-bizarre still interested in it. It had been discussed all across the country, even in elementary schools.

It had become overly famous.

It was hard to believe that the murderer would be living here.

"Couldn't this notebook just be a work of imagination based on the news reports?"

"Just read the the rest of the notebook."



"Please, welcome." It was with that kind of feeling that Morino spoke.


:August 5th
:I gave a ride to a female named Miguchi Nanami.
:I met her at a soba restaurant near S mountain.
:When we went to the forest on the south side of the mountain, we found a Shinto shrine.

:I took her into the forest.
:............

Inside the forest, the owner of the notebook stabbed a knife into the abdomen of the female named Miguchi Nanami.

According to the contents of the notebook, her body had been destroyed. In meticulous handwriting, the way both her eyes had been plucked out, the color and luster of her uterus, and so on, had been described.


And then her body had been disposed of in the forest.

"Are you familiar with the name Miguchi Nanami?"

Morino asked. I shook my head.

There had, as of yet, been no reports of the discovery of Miguchi Nanami's body.

=== 2 ===

My first introduction to Morino was when we ended up in the same class upon graduating to the second year. I had felt from the beginning that there was someone else like me, living life unconcerned with others. Even during break time, even walking the halls, she would always shun others. In short, she didn't seem to like crowds.

In our class, I only noticed this particular trait in Morino and I. Even so, I didn't coldly regard our classmates' merry-making like Morino did. For me, if someone struck up a conversation, I would reply, and to smooth the mechanism of human relations, even joke. I did the minimum required to have a normal life.

However, the superficial socializing, and the smiles I gave to my classmates, were essentially lies.

From our first conversation, Morino had seen through to that part of me.

"Could you teach me how to make that same expression too?"

One day after school, Morino had stood in front of me, expressionless, and said that. Maybe she was scoffing at me inside. That was around the beginning of May.

After that, we would talk from time to time.

Morino only wore black. Everything, from her long, straight hair, to the tips of her shoes, was wrapped in darkness. In stark contrast, her skin was whiter than anyone's I had seen; her hands were as if made of porcelain. There was a small spot under her left eye, in a similar design to that of [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#Pierrot|Pierrot]], giving her an atmosphere of black magic.

It's not that her face was less expressive than that of normal people. For example, when happily reading a book about the horrific murder of 52 women and children in Russia. There was no trace of the deathly green face she had when in the midst of noisy classmates. Rather, her eyes sparkled.

Only when talking to Morino would I not fake my facial expressions. If I was talking to someone else, they would probably wonder why I had such a blank, unsmiling expression. When talking with her, there was no problem with that.

Perhaps she had similar reasons, because during idle times, she would choose to speak with me.

We both disliked standing out. In the classroom, we were hidden in the shadow of our boisterous classmates; we quietly lived our lives.

And then, summer vacation came, and then I came to read the notebook.

Following the school day, after we met at the station, we boarded a train headed for the base of S mountain.

Both for meeting outside of school, and seeing Morino in normal clothes instead of the school uniform, it was the first time. As usual, she had chosen dark colored clothes. I noticed from her glance, that she must have thought the same about me.

The inside of the train was quiet; it was free of crowding. Without talking, we both started reading. She read a book about child abuse; I read a book written by the family members of a famous juvenile delinquent.

Upon getting off at the station, we asked an old woman working at the tobacco shop in front of the station, how many soba restaurants there were near S mountain. We learned that there was only one, and that it wasn't far. Afterwards, Morino made a sharp observation.

"Tobacco kills many people, but tobacco vending machines snatch away and kill that old woman's livelihood."

An especially clever reply didn't seem to be necessary, so I ignored her remark.

We walked along the side of the road until we reached the soba restaurant. The road began to slope upwards; it was curving near the mountain side.

The soba restaurant was part of a row of restaurants at the base of the mountain. Business looked to be bad there; the atmosphere was lonely, without many people or cars. The soba restaurant's parking lot was completely empty, yet even though it might as well have been closed, there was still an "OPEN" sign. We went inside.

"Ah, so this is where the murderer met Miguchi Nanami."

Morino looked around the restaurant as if sightseeing some famous place.

"Excuse me. I'm just speculating; what you would call the hypothetical stage. Since whether it's true or not is what we came here to find out."

I ignored her and read the notebook.

It was written with a blue ballpoint pen.

Inside the notebook, there was more than just the accounts of the murders of the three women. In addition, the names of a few mountains were written. That was on the first page, so it seemed to have been written before any of the accounts of the women's murders.

In front of the names of the mountains, there were markings like ◎ and ○, △ and ×. For the three mountains where the bodies had been disposed of, ◎ had been marked, so I inferred that maybe this was a list of mountains that were convenient for disposing bodies.

There were no indications as to the owner of the notebook.

There had never been any thought of giving the notebook to the police. Even if we didn't do anything, he would be caught sooner or later.

If we sent the notebook to the police, perhaps the murderer would be caught sooner. And the number of victims in the end would probably be less. Obviously, there was an obligation to give this to the police.

Unfortunately, our consciences didn't bother us for acting as if we hadn't picked up any kind of notebook, and keeping silent; we were cruel, reptilian high school students.

"If there's a fourth victim, that would definitely be our fault."

"That's terrible."

Morino and I slurped at our soba while having that talk. She didn't have any "That's terrible" face; her voice was casual, as if only interested in the soba of a second-class restaurant.

We asked about the Shinto shrine at the soba restaurant.

While walking, Morino looked at the notebook. She traced the front cover many times with her fingertip, perhaps touching the same place that cold-blooded murderer had touched. From those actions, I could tell she felt a sense of awe for the murderer.

Inside, I felt a little like that too. I also knew it wasn't proper to feel that. Criminals, of course, must be punished. One should not think of them as revolutionaries or artists.

At the same time, I knew that famous murderers would be worshipped by some abnormal people. I knew that it was wrong to become like that.

However, we were in thrall to the horror of deeds of the notebook's owner. This criminal had, in the moments of everyday life, crossed over a line; crushing people's individuality and dignity, and completely destroying the bodies.

It had the irresistable charm of a nightmare.

In order to reach the Shinto shrine, from the soba restaurant, we had to walk even further towards the summit, up a long flight of stairs.

For both of us, the idea of moving our bodies stirred up an almost irrational anger.

So we had no love for the mountain slope and the stairs.

By the time we reached the shrine, we were exhausted. We sat for some time at a stone monument that had been constructed on the grounds, and took a break. On the trees that had been planted on the grounds, high branches spread out, and looking up, you could see the midsummer sun peep through the leaves.

We sat beside each other, unconcerned by the voices of the cicadas falling from above. Drops of sweat started to form bit by bit on Morino's brow.


Before long, she wiped the sweat away while standing up. The search for Miguchi Nanami's body had begun.

"Ah, so the murderer and Miguchi Nanami walked in this place together."

Morino walked beside me while humming.

Leaving the shrine, we headed towards the forest.

For what distance, and in what direction the murderer walked, I did not know. For that reason, the search was fumbling and uncertain.

While randomly searching, one hour passed.

"I think it might be over there."

So said Morino in parting; before long, from far off, she called my name.

I walked towards the voice, and then, at the bottom of a cliff, I saw her from behind. Her arms hung loosely by her sides. She turned to the side, so I looked there also.

And there was Miguchi Nanami.

In between the forest and the cliff, in the shadow of a large tree, in the middle of that faint summer gloom, she sat naked.

Her lower half was resting on the ground; her back was resting against the tree trunk. Her arms and legs, devoid of power, were sprawled carelessly.

From the neck up, there was nothing.

The head had been separated, and placed in her stomach.

Both eyeballs had been plucked out, and placed respectively, in the left and right hands.

Instead, the eye sockets, now just holes, had been packed with mud. Even the mouth; moldy leaves had been plastered inside.

Around the tree trunk that the back was leaning against, something had been wrapped. That something had once been the contents of Miguchi Nanami's abdomen.


Signs of blood remained black upon the ground.

Slightly further off, her clothes had been dumped.

We stood in front of her, unable to move, looking quietly.

Unable to say anything.

Only looking quietly at the corpse.

The next day, I got a text message on my cell phone from Morino.

"Give me back the notebook."

Her text messages were always concise and short. She never added anything unnecessary. Likewise, I knew that she held a kind of hatred for clattery and noisy keychains and straps.

I was the one who had taken the notebook home. When we had left the place where Miguchi Nanami was, I hadn't returned it to her. On the train home, Morino, not yet recovered from the shock, had only stared into the distance.

When we were leaving that place, Morino had picked up Miguchi Nanami's fallen clothes, and stuffed them into her bag. The clothes had been almost completely torn into pieces, but the hat and the bag, and its contents, were untouched.

Inside Miguchi Nanami's bag, there were things like makeup, a purse, and a handkerchief. On the train home, I looked through them.

According to the student card in her purse, I found out that Miguchi Nanami had been a high school student in a neighboring prefecture. Inside the bag, there was also a notebook for sticking photo booth pictures. From her student card, and the [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#photo booth pictures|photo booth pictures]], I could see what her face had been like when alive.

Miguchi Nanami's many friends were all smiling in the small photo booth picture.

The afternoon that I got the text message, Morino and I met at the McDonald's in fron of the station.

Morino, unlike usual, was not wearing dark style clothes. Because of that, I didn't realize who she was at first. Since the hat she wore was the same as the kind she had picked up from beside Miguchi Nanami's corpse, I realized that the clothes she picked was meant to resemble hers as well.

Her hairstyle, makeup - everything resembled the Miguchi Nanami in the photo booth pictures. Since the original clothes were torn up, she must have searched for something similar.

She accepted the notebook, and seemed extremely happy.

I asked about that.

"Are you going to tell Miguchi Nanami's family about the corpse in the forest?"

She thought for a moment, and then announced her intention to stay uninvolved.



"I wonder when the police will find her."

Morino, while looking like Miguchi Nanami before her death, talked about her death.

I wonder what Miguchi Nanami's family is doing right now? Does she have a boyfriend? I wonder what her grades were like?

Morino was a little bit different from usual. During the conversation with her, her style of talking and gesturing had diverged from her usual manner. She paid attention to how her bangs fell, and created the atmosphere of a couple sitting in separate seats, with the topics she brought up. This was behavior that Morino had never displayed up to now.

Miguchi Nanami and I had not known each other. Still, looking at Morino, I had to wonder if Miguchi Nanami would have created the same impression.

Morino placed her elbows on the table, while acting cheerful. She had beside her what was once Miguchi Nanami's bag. Attached to the zipper pull was a [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#keychain mascot|keychain mascot]]

"So are you planning to stay dressed like that for awhile?"

"Of course, it's amusing, isn't it?"

This was Morino's make-believe play. But it was more than just a normal smiling manner, and looking into the mirror, checking her eyelashes type of imitation of a normal female high school student. It was more as if Miguchi Nanami had enroached upon Morino's basic nature.

When leaving McDonald's, Morino suddenly and spontaneously took my hand as we walked. She herself didn't notice this until I pointed it out.


I was almost certain that I was being embraced by the dead Miguchi Nanami.

After parting with Morino in front of the station and arriving home, I immediately turned on the TV. On the news, they covered the bizzare murder case.

There was a report about the first and second victims. Up until this point, they were still going over old news; nothing new was being said.

Miguchi Nanami's name didn't appear at all.

There was a slideshow about the two victims, pictures of grieving friends and family.

On the TV screen, a large picture appeared -- photographs of the two victims......

I thought of Morino, and a bad premonition came over me. Yet, the odds of something like that happening were extremely low. And so I dropped that thought from my mind.

The two victims, as they had appeared in the photographs, in their hairstyle, and their clothes, both resembled Miguchi Nanami.

So, in short, you could say that today, Morino was the same type that this cold-blooded murderer went for.


=== 3 ===

One evening, 3 days after having met at McDonald's, the ringtone sounded on my cell phone, indicating that I had received a text message from someone.

It was from Morino.

"Help"

A short message with only that, showed on my liquid crystal display.

My reply message was a question.

"What happened?"

I waited for awhile, but she didn't reply.

I tried calling her, but her cell phone wasn't connected. Did the power get cut off, or was it destroyed maybe?

That night, I called Morino's house. She had told me her home phone number previously. I hadn't been told it in case I wanted to call her home. She had told me previously that her home phone number, unexpectedly, using wordplay, worked out to a deranged sentence. And so I had remembered that.



Her mother answered the phone. She had a high voice, and a fast speaking style.

I said I was a classmate, and that there was a message from the teacher, so I would like to speak with her to pass it along.

She had not returned.

I started to wonder if maybe she had been attacked.

Because what was written in the notebook was truth, it could also be true that the murderer had been in the same coffee shop as she had. The potential that the criminal had unexpectedly happened to see Morino's current look somewhere downtown was not zero.


For the criminal, to see Morino in her current style, a girl dressed in exactly the same clothes as Miguchi Nanami, who he had killed a few days ago, must have seemed miraculous. And then it must have moved his heart, I think.

There was a low chance at best that this would cause the criminal to decide to aim for Morino. Probably it was a trend for girls to be dressed like that, so you would expect to see that kind wandering around town.

If we considered the only possible way Morino might have been attacked by the criminal, it was the potential that Morino and the criminal had some overlap in their normal routines. After all, they had been in the same coffee shop. Unless the criminal had made a special long-distance trip, and just happened to stop by that coffee shop, then in his normal activities, Morino would have walked into a place he would have noticed her. In other words, the chances of the two meeting was high.

I thought about it late into the night.

Probably, about right now, Morino had undoubtedly been killed. I suppose her body has been scattered at some mountain.

I imagined that kind of thing while I fell asleep.


The next day, I called her house one more time.

As expected, she still hadn't returned. From what her mother said, this was the first time she had stayed out for the night without calling. Her mother was worried.

"By the way, are you her boyfriend?"

From the other side of the receiver, Morino's mother asked that.

"No, definitely not, ma'am!"

"Now, now, you don't have to deny it that strongly! I can still figure it out."


Morino's mother had no doubt that I was her daughter's boyfriend. She explained that her daughter didn't have any close friends, and she hadn't gotten a phone call from someone since elementary school.



"Lately that girl's clothes have gotten brighter, so I'm positive she must have found a boy."

I started worrying about the telephone bill.

"In her room, would there happen to be a small brown notebook?"

Her mother immediately went to check for me. She left the telephone receiver, and there was a moment of silence. Before long I could hear a voice again.

"There's a notebook like that on that girl's desk, but I wonder if this is the one?"

It seems that Morino had not been carrying the notebook. If that hadn't been so, I would have considered the possibility that Morino had opened the notebook somewhere outside, and had been accidentally seen by the criminal, who had then attacked her in order to keep her silent.

I am going over to get the notebook, so I would like to know the address, I asked Morino's mother.

After hanging up the phone, I headed to Morino's house. I already knew that she lived close to the station, but this was the first time I had visited her house.

Her home was on the third floor of an apartment building in front of the station.

When I rang the doorbell, the woman with the voice I had heard on the phone answered while she opened the door. This was unmistakeably Morino's mother.

"My my my, welcome!"

Morino's mother wore an apron; a normal household-centered housewife. This was quite different from the atmophere of the Morino I was used to seeing, so I started wondering how, with a mother like that, that Morino had turned out that way.

I was invited inside, but I declined. I intended to complete my business at the entranceway.

When I mentioned the notebook, she immediately brought it, as if already prepared. While receiving the notebook, I asked her if she had read the contents, to which she shook her head.

"Since it's hard to read small words."

It seemed she was far more interested in me than the notebook.

"That girl, ever since she became a second year, she's decided to be conscientious about going to school, so it must have been for that reason, right?"

When Morino had been a first year, she had said school was boring; she didn't seem to have attended very often either. This is the first time I'd learned of that. Her tastes were a little unique, and on top of that, she wasn't good at blending in with the people around her. So no matter what, it would have probably turned out like that.

I asked when Morino was last seen.

"Yesterday, sometime past noon maybe. I saw her leave, too!"

"Did you ask her where she was going?"

Morino's mother shook her head.

"So you'll look for my daughter?"

When I parted from the entranceway, Morino's mother requested that.

I replied with a nod.

However, it's possible she won't be alive, I added. Her mother thought it was a joke, and smiled.

While walking towards the station, I opened up the synthetic leather front cover, and turned to the page where the names of the mountains were lined up.

The criminal had made a list of mountains he was thinking about dumping bodies at. The ones with a ◎ mark were undoubtedly mountains that the criminal had judged were especially convenient for dumping bodies. Because there were four mountains marked with ◎, and three had already had bodies dumped there, meaning up until now, the mountains where bodies had been found had been chosen exclusively from those.

So then, from the four mountains marked with ◎, three had already had bodies dumped there. So that meant that you had to wonder if Morino had been taken to the last remaining mountain.

And that was N mountain.

I asked a station employee which train I should take to get to N mountain, and I bought a ticket.

I got off the train at the closest station to N mountain, and from there, had to ride a bus. At the base of N mountain, grapes were being grown; I saw many "grape picking" signs from the bus window.

Riding in his car to visit N mountain, where would the criminal leave the body? Probably the criminal would perform his ceremony somewhere remote where no one would hear the screams. I had no idea where that place might be.

The only ones on the bus were the driver and me. I looked at the route map attached to the inside of the car, talked with the driver; I decided to try a place I thought the criminal might have stopped.

From the area Morino and I lived, to N mountain, most cars likely went by the [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#prefectural road|prefectural road]] that passed by N mountain's east side. Originally, there were not many roads that went to N mountain; aside from that prefectural road, there were no others in the the area we lived in.

Whatever place the criminal was taking Morino to at N mountain, undoubtedly he must have taken that prefectural road. According to what the driver said, the road the bus was on currently was definitely that prefectural road.

I got off the bus at a bus stop. If I was headed by car to a place deep within N mountain, there was one wide road that went near the peak. The bus stop was very near to that road.

I walked on the road to the summit. The surface was asphalt, but a car would almost not be able to make it.

There were a few side roads that stretched towards the inside of the deep forest. I considered which one the criminal and Morino could have entered.

As I climbed the ascent, the altitude gradually increased. Looking from in between the trees, the town had grown small and hazy.

It was a struggle to get near the summit. There was a small parking lot, and building that appeared to be a viewing platform. A car would not go beyond that point. Since it had not been much time since I'd started walking, I wasn't tired.

I searched for Morino's corpse.

I walked down a road that went into the trees; on the way, I entered a side road I had noticed.

The sky was cloudy, and the forest was pushed into darkness. A dense stand of trees peeped from in between a tangle of leaves and branches.

There was no wind; only the voices of cicadas filled the surroundings.



N mountain was too vast to find a one human body that had been rendered into pieces. Perhaps it would be impossible in the end to find Morino, I judged.

On the way back to the bus station, my entire body was sweating, tired from walking.

On the prefectural road that the bus ran on, there were a few scattered private houses. Even near the road going towards the summit, there was one house, and in the garden, there was an elderly man, who I asked whether there had been a car on this road last night, headed into the mountains. He shook his head. Afterwards, he called some of his family regarding my question, but in the end, it didn't seem that a car had been seen.

What kind of situation was Morino in yesterday when she sent that text?

Was she kidnapped by the criminal using brute force, I wonder?



I didn't think she was that weak of a fool.

Or maybe, her having been been caught by the criminal was just me overthinking things?

I sat near the bus stop and reread the notebook. From the descriptions of the three murders, I was not skilled enough to be able to understand the criminal's personality to the detail of a psychographic analysis.

Sweat fell onto the notebook, and the ink blurred; part of one sentence became unreadable. Apparently, the criminal had used water-soluble ink to write his descriptions.

In the first place, where did the criminal write into his notebook? Right after the crime, in his car, or after returning home, maybe? Probably he didn't write them in the middle of the crime, right? Without a doubt, he recalled the crime, and then while completely entranced in imagining, wrote.

Since the bus had come, I stood up. I looked at my watch; three hours had passed since noon.


I decided to come down from the mountain.

Just maybe, it was also possible that the criminal was keeping Morino locked in his house without killing her. The only way to determine whether or not that was really true would be to ask the criminal himself.

If she had already been killed, I needed to find out where her body had been dumped.

Because I wanted to look at it.

Either way, I had to descend N mountain, and meet with that criminal; there was no other way. Of course, I had every intention of doing so.

GOTH

2007-05-03T09:40:38Z

The naming game: /* GOTH: Wrist Cutting Incident by Otsuichi */ "暗黒系 GOTH" to 70%

[[Image:GOTH.jpg|200px|thumb|Cover for the GOTH novel.]]

GOTH is a psychological horror novel written by Otsuichi. It contains 6 short stories and is centered around 'Boku' and his female classmate, Morino Yoru.

'''WARNING''': This novel may contain excessive details of Mutilation and Gore that some people may find offensive or disturbing.

== Translation ==

=== Format Standards ===
*[[Format_guideline|General Format/Style Guideline]]

== Update ==
*April 16th, 2007
** GOTH Translation project officially started

== GOTH: Wrist Cutting Incident by Otsuichi ==

:* [[GOTH:GOTH|暗黒系 GOTH]] (70% Completed)
:* [[GOTH:Wristcut|リストカット事件 Wristcut]] (45% Completed)
:* 犬 Dog
:* 記憶 Twins
:* 土 Grave
:* 声 Voice

== Project Staff ==

*Project Administrator: [[user:The naming game|The naming game]]
*Project Supervisor: [[User:HolyCow|HolyCow]]

=== Translators ===

'''ACTIVE'''
::*[[User:HolyCow|HolyCow]]
::*[[user:The naming game|The naming game]]

Those who wish to contribute are asked to first notify a supervisor beforehand.
'''Translators are asked to [[GOTH:Registration Page|register]] which chapters they're working on''' (see [[Format_guideline#Translators|the Guideline page]] for usage rules).

=== Editors ===
::*[[user:Darkoneko|Darkoneko]]
::*[[User:Smidge204|Smidge204]]
::*[[User:TheGiftedMonkey|The Gifted Monkey]]

== Series Overview ==
* GOTH - Wrist Cutting Incident: Yoru's Chapter / GOTH リストカット事件　夜の章 (角川文庫：ISBN 4044253048)
* GOTH - Wrist Cutting Incident: Boku's Chapter / GOTH リストカット事件　僕の章 (角川文庫：ISBN 4044253056)
* GOTH - Wrist Cutting Incident (Tankubon) / GOTH リストカット事件 (単行本)

Talk:GOTH:GOTH

2007-05-03T09:06:13Z

The naming game: /* prefectural road */ basic explanation off the top of my head

GOTH:GOTH

2007-05-03T09:02:44Z

The naming game: /* 3 */ ch3 complete; nice segue into ch4

== '''GOTH''' ==

=== 1 ===

About 20 days after the end of summer vacation, on a school day, for the first time in awhile, I spoke with Morino.

Before the start of morning homeroom, having come to school, through the crowd of noisily chattering classmates, she unexpectedly approached my desk. 


We didn't have any history of exchanging greetings. Morino stood in front of me, took a notebook from her pocket, and placed it on my desk. It was a notebook I'd never seen before.


It was palm sized; the cover was fake brown leather. It was an ordinary thing you'd find in any stationary shop.

"I found this," She said.

"Well it's not mine."

"Well I know that."

Presenting the notebook to me, she had a somehow cheerful air about her.

I picked the notebook up from my desk. The cover was smooth to the touch.

I flipped briefly through the contents; the first half filled with small, meticulous writing. The second half was completely blank.

"Read from the beginning!"

It was as she said, the owner was unknown; I looked carefully through his writing. Line after line of itemized writing.

:May 10th
:In front of the station, I meet a female named Kusuda Mitsue.
:Age 16.
:I started talking with her; a short while later we walked to my car.

:Just like that, I took her to T mountain.
:She kept staring outside the window, all the while telling me about a newspaper column her mother was interested in.

:I stop the car near the summit of T mountain.

:From the trunk, I take out the bag containing the knife, nails, and other tools. She laughingly asks me what it is.

:............

The words continued like that.

I recognized the name Kusuda Mitsue.

......Three months ago, a family went on a hiking trip to T mountain. It was a family of one boy and two parents. Since it was a long-awaited holiday for the father, he slept as soon as they arrived at the mountain. The boy tried to wake up the father so they could play, but it was no use.

In the afternoon, the boy took a walk alone into the forest.

The mother noticed her son missing. And then, she heard a scream from deep in the forest.

The couple searched the forest, and then found the boy. He was found looking slightly upwards, unable to move.



Following their son's gaze, the father and mother immediately noticed the nearby tree trunk was stained dark red. And then, they noticed something strange nailed to the tree at eye-level. Looking around, they saw that all the surrounding trees had things attached to them with nails.


Those 'things' were Kusuda Mitsue. Someone had done a dissection on her, deep in the forest. The eyeballs, tongue, ears, thumbs, liver... They were all attached by nails to tree trunks.


On one tree, in order from the top, the left big toe, upper lip, nose, and stomach were attached; other trees had the rest of her remains, arranged like Christmas tree decorations.

The incident quickly had the entire country in a panic.

Inside the notebook Morino had brought: how Kusuda Mitsue was killed, which parts were attached to trees, what kind of nails were used; page after page of dry, detailed notes.



I knew a lot about this incident, since I had followed it on TV, magazines, and the internet. But still, this notebook spoke exhaustively of details that no media outlet had covered.

"So as I see it, her killer dropped this notebook."

Kusuda Mitsue had been a high schooler in a neighboring prefecture. She had been last seen by friends who parted with her at the building in front of the station. And then Kusuda Mitsue became the first victim of the bizzare murders, even now able to cause a stir throughout Japan.

There had been one more incident with the same modus operandi; they were believed to be serial murders.

"And there's something written about the second victim too."

:June 21
:I talked with a female holding a shopping bag, waiting for the bus.

:She called herself Nakanishi Kasumi.
:I offered to take her home in my car.
:Upon realizing that I was heading towards H mountain and not her house, the girl began to cause a disturbance while in the passenger seat.
:I temporarily stopped the car and struck her with a hammer; she became quiet.
:I took her to a shed in H mountain.
:............

The name Nakanishi Kasumi, a student at a vocational school, became known nationwide because of what happened one month ago. From the wildly spreading gossip sparked by the news and newspapers, I already knew about the discovery of the second victim while coming home from school.

She was inside a shed in H mountain. The building's owner was unknown, and remained that way for a long time. The roof leaked badly; the inside was covered with mold and stains. The walls and floor were wooden planking, and it was three meters square.

An elderly man who lived at the base [of the mountain] had come to H mountain to collect wild vegetables, and in the early morning, had discovered that the shed's door had been unexpectedly left open. Wondering at this, he tried coming closer, and then a terrible stench hit his nose.

The elderly man checked the inside of the shed through the entrance. In the beginning, there was no way he could have realized what had happened.

On the floor of the shed, Nakanishi Kasumi had been arranged. Like the first victim, each part had been separated. She had been distributed methodically, in 10 centimeter intervals over the floor, in a 10 by 10 pattern. In short, her body had been turned into one hundred small clumps.



Inside the notebook, the scene of the production process was described.

In two incidents, no one had seen the criminal; the person who had killed them had not been caught.

The mass media was still making a fuss about these two cases, as a bizzare serial murder case.

"I like seeing these kinds of cases in the news."

"Why?"

"Because they're abnormal."

Morino said indifferently.

I also constantly watched the news for that same reason. And so I understood well what she was trying to say.

People had been killed, and then separated into pieces. People who had that done to them, and people who did that, actually did exist.



Morino and I held a special interest in these kinds of miserable stories. We would always seek out episodes that you'd want to hang yourself out of misery upon hearing.

I had never directly mentioned this strange trait, but we had both silently sensed it in each other.

Perhaps normal people would grimace at this. Our emotional sensitivity was out of sync. Which is why, when talking about, for example, the different torture devices around the world, and different methods for execution, we would talk in especially low voices.


Morino raised her face from the notebook and looked out the window. I knew that she was imagining the scene of Nakanishi Kasumi's various parts being arranged on the floor.

"This notebook, where did you find it?"

When I asked, she began to explain.

It seems that last evening, Morino was at her favorite coffee shop. The owner wasn't nosy, and the shop was gloomy and quiet, she said.

She was drinking coffee that the shop's owner had poured, while thumbing through the pages of "Cruel Tales of the World."

Suddenly, she heard the sound of rain. She looked outside through the window to see a furious evening shower coming down.

Morino watched the customers that had been standing up to leave, sit down again. They were likely thinking to wait a little for the rain to stop.

At that time, there were five customers in the coffee shop, not including herself.

Morino left her seat to go to the restroom. On the way, she felt something strange under her shoes. On the floor of black wood, someone had dropped a notebook, which she had happened to step on. She picked up the notebook and put it in her pocket. Apparently she wasn't planning to return it to its owner.

Even returning from the restroom, the customers were just watching the rainy scenery through the window; their number hadn't changed.


She could tell the fierceness of the rain by looking at the clothes of the shop owner, who had gone outside for a moment for some errand. They were completely soaked.

Morino forgot about the notebook and returned to reading.

The rain stopped, and once again, the sun came out.

Several customers stood up and left.

The summer sun's rays quickly dried the road.

It seems that it was only after she had returned home that she remembered the notebook, and read the contents.

"I went to the restroom twice. The first time, there was no notebook. Immediately after that, the rain started; which means the number of customers were fixed. When I went the second time, the notebook had been dropped there. The murderer was in that shop. The murderer lives in this neighborhood."


She made a fist in front of her.

Two corpses had been found in places that were 2 or 3 hours away from the town we lived in. One couldn't ignore the possibility that the murderer lived in this town.

But still, it wasn't realistic to say that.

This incident had doubtless been talked about far and wide. Much was still unresolved, and there were seekers-of-the-bizarre still interested in it. It had been discussed all across the country, even in elementary schools.

It had become overly famous.

It was hard to believe that the murderer would be living here.

"Couldn't this notebook just be a work of imagination based on the news reports?"

"Just read the the rest of the notebook."



"Please, welcome." It was with that kind of feeling that Morino spoke.


:August 5th
:I gave a ride to a female named Miguchi Nanami.
:I met her at a soba restaurant near S mountain.
:When we went to the forest on the south side of the mountain, we found a Shinto shrine.

:I took her into the forest.
:............

Inside the forest, the owner of the notebook stabbed a knife into the abdomen of the female named Miguchi Nanami.

According to the contents of the notebook, her body had been destroyed. In meticulous handwriting, the way both her eyes had been plucked out, the color and luster of her uterus, and so on, had been described.


And then her body had been disposed of in the forest.

"Are you familiar with the name Miguchi Nanami?"

Morino asked. I shook my head.

There had, as of yet, been no reports of the discovery of Miguchi Nanami's body.

=== 2 ===

My first introduction to Morino was when we ended up in the same class upon graduating to the second year. I had felt from the beginning that there was someone else like me, living life unconcerned with others. Even during break time, even walking the halls, she would always shun others. In short, she didn't seem to like crowds.

In our class, I only noticed this particular trait in Morino and I. Even so, I didn't coldly regard our classmates' merry-making like Morino did. For me, if someone struck up a conversation, I would reply, and to smooth the mechanism of human relations, even joke. I did the minimum required to have a normal life.

However, the superficial socializing, and the smiles I gave to my classmates, were essentially lies.

From our first conversation, Morino had seen through to that part of me.

"Could you teach me how to make that same expression too?"

One day after school, Morino had stood in front of me, expressionless, and said that. Maybe she was scoffing at me inside. That was around the beginning of May.

After that, we would talk from time to time.

Morino only wore black. Everything, from her long, straight hair, to the tips of her shoes, was wrapped in darkness. In stark contrast, her skin was whiter than anyone's I had seen; her hands were as if made of porcelain. There was a small spot under her left eye, in a similar design to that of [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#Pierrot|Pierrot]], giving her an atmosphere of black magic.

It's not that her face was less expressive than that of normal people. For example, when happily reading a book about the horrific murder of 52 women and children in Russia. There was no trace of the deathly green face she had when in the midst of noisy classmates. Rather, her eyes sparkled.

Only when talking to Morino would I not fake my facial expressions. If I was talking to someone else, they would probably wonder why I had such a blank, unsmiling expression. When talking with her, there was no problem with that.

Perhaps she had similar reasons, because during idle times, she would choose to speak with me.

We both disliked standing out. In the classroom, we were hidden in the shadow of our boisterous classmates; we quietly lived our lives.

And then, summer vacation came, and then I came to read the notebook.

Following the school day, after we met at the station, we boarded a train headed for the base of S mountain.

Both for meeting outside of school, and seeing Morino in normal clothes instead of the school uniform, it was the first time. As usual, she had chosen dark colored clothes. I noticed from her glance, that she must have thought the same about me.

The inside of the train was quiet; it was free of crowding. Without talking, we both started reading. She read a book about child abuse; I read a book written by the family members of a famous juvenile delinquent.

Upon getting off at the station, we asked an old woman working at the tobacco shop in front of the station, how many soba restaurants there were near S mountain. We learned that there was only one, and that it wasn't far. Afterwards, Morino made a sharp observation.

"Tobacco kills many people, but tobacco vending machines snatch away and kill that old woman's livelihood."

An especially clever reply didn't seem to be necessary, so I ignored her remark.

We walked along the side of the road until we reached the soba restaurant. The road began to slope upwards; it was curving near the mountain side.

The soba restaurant was part of a row of restaurants at the base of the mountain. Business looked to be bad there; the atmosphere was lonely, without many people or cars. The soba restaurant's parking lot was completely empty, yet even though it might as well have been closed, there was still an "OPEN" sign. We went inside.

"Ah, so this is where the murderer met Miguchi Nanami."

Morino looked around the restaurant as if sightseeing some famous place.

"Excuse me. I'm just speculating; what you would call the hypothetical stage. Since whether it's true or not is what we came here to find out."

I ignored her and read the notebook.

It was written with a blue ballpoint pen.

Inside the notebook, there was more than just the accounts of the murders of the three women. In addition, the names of a few mountains were written. That was on the first page, so it seemed to have been written before any of the accounts of the women's murders.

In front of the names of the mountains, there were markings like ◎ and ○, △ and ×. For the three mountains where the bodies had been disposed of, ◎ had been marked, so I inferred that maybe this was a list of mountains that were convenient for disposing bodies.

There were no indications as to the owner of the notebook.

There had never been any thought of giving the notebook to the police. Even if we didn't do anything, he would be caught sooner or later.

If we sent the notebook to the police, perhaps the murderer would be caught sooner. And the number of victims in the end would probably be less. Obviously, there was an obligation to give this to the police.

Unfortunately, our consciences didn't bother us for acting as if we hadn't picked up any kind of notebook, and keeping silent; we were cruel, reptilian high school students.

"If there's a fourth victim, that would definitely be our fault."

"That's terrible."

Morino and I slurped at our soba while having that talk. She didn't have any "That's terrible" face; her voice was casual, as if only interested in the soba of a second-class restaurant.

We asked about the Shinto shrine at the soba restaurant.

While walking, Morino looked at the notebook. She traced the front cover many times with her fingertip, perhaps touching the same place that cold-blooded murderer had touched. From those actions, I could tell she felt a sense of awe for the murderer.

Inside, I felt a little like that too. I also knew it wasn't proper to feel that. Criminals, of course, must be punished. One should not think of them as revolutionaries or artists.

At the same time, I knew that famous murderers would be worshipped by some abnormal people. I knew that it was wrong to become like that.

However, we were in thrall to the horror of deeds of the notebook's owner. This criminal had, in the moments of everyday life, crossed over a line; crushing people's individuality and dignity, and completely destroying the bodies.

It had the irresistable charm of a nightmare.

In order to reach the Shinto shrine, from the soba restaurant, we had to walk even further towards the summit, up a long flight of stairs.

For both of us, the idea of moving our bodies stirred up an almost irrational anger.

So we had no love for the mountain slope and the stairs.

By the time we reached the shrine, we were exhausted. We sat for some time at a stone monument that had been constructed on the grounds, and took a break. On the trees that had been planted on the grounds, high branches spread out, and looking up, you could see the midsummer sun peep through the leaves.

We sat beside each other, unconcerned by the voices of the cicadas falling from above. Drops of sweat started to form bit by bit on Morino's brow.


Before long, she wiped the sweat away while standing up. The search for Miguchi Nanami's body had begun.

"Ah, so the murderer and Miguchi Nanami walked in this place together."

Morino walked beside me while humming.

Leaving the shrine, we headed towards the forest.

For what distance, and in what direction the murderer walked, I did not know. For that reason, the search was fumbling and uncertain.

While randomly searching, one hour passed.

"I think it might be over there."

So said Morino in parting; before long, from far off, she called my name.

I walked towards the voice, and then, at the bottom of a cliff, I saw her from behind. Her arms hung loosely by her sides. She turned to the side, so I looked there also.

And there was Miguchi Nanami.

In between the forest and the cliff, in the shadow of a large tree, in the middle of that faint summer gloom, she sat naked.

Her lower half was resting on the ground; her back was resting against the tree trunk. Her arms and legs, devoid of power, were sprawled carelessly.

From the neck up, there was nothing.

The head had been separated, and placed in her stomach.

Both eyeballs had been plucked out, and placed respectively, in the left and right hands.

Instead, the eye sockets, now just holes, had been packed with mud. Even the mouth; moldy leaves had been plastered inside.

Around the tree trunk that the back was leaning against, something had been wrapped. That something had once been the contents of Miguchi Nanami's abdomen.


Signs of blood remained black upon the ground.

Slightly further off, her clothes had been dumped.

We stood in front of her, unable to move, looking quietly.

Unable to say anything.

Only looking quietly at the corpse.

The next day, I got a text message on my cell phone from Morino.

"Give me back the notebook."

Her text messages were always concise and short. She never added anything unnecessary. Likewise, I knew that she held a kind of hatred for clattery and noisy keychains and straps.

I was the one who had taken the notebook home. When we had left the place where Miguchi Nanami was, I hadn't returned it to her. On the train home, Morino, not yet recovered from the shock, had only stared into the distance.

When we were leaving that place, Morino had picked up Miguchi Nanami's fallen clothes, and stuffed them into her bag. The clothes had been almost completely torn into pieces, but the hat and the bag, and its contents, were untouched.

Inside Miguchi Nanami's bag, there were things like makeup, a purse, and a handkerchief. On the train home, I looked through them.

According to the student card in her purse, I found out that Miguchi Nanami had been a high school student in a neighboring prefecture. Inside the bag, there was also a notebook for sticking photo booth pictures. From her student card, and the [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#photo booth pictures|photo booth pictures]], I could see what her face had been like when alive.

Miguchi Nanami's many friends were all smiling in the small photo booth picture.

The afternoon that I got the text message, Morino and I met at the McDonald's in fron of the station.

Morino, unlike usual, was not wearing dark style clothes. Because of that, I didn't realize who she was at first. Since the hat she wore was the same as the kind she had picked up from beside Miguchi Nanami's corpse, I realized that the clothes she picked was meant to resemble hers as well.

Her hairstyle, makeup - everything resembled the Miguchi Nanami in the photo booth pictures. Since the original clothes were torn up, she must have searched for something similar.

She accepted the notebook, and seemed extremely happy.

I asked about that.

"Are you going to tell Miguchi Nanami's family about the corpse in the forest?"

She thought for a moment, and then announced her intention to stay uninvolved.



"I wonder when the police will find her."

Morino, while looking like Miguchi Nanami before her death, talked about her death.

I wonder what Miguchi Nanami's family is doing right now? Does she have a boyfriend? I wonder what her grades were like?

Morino was a little bit different from usual. During the conversation with her, her style of talking and gesturing had diverged from her usual manner. She paid attention to how her bangs fell, and created the atmosphere of a couple sitting in separate seats, with the topics she brought up. This was behavior that Morino had never displayed up to now.

Miguchi Nanami and I had not known each other. Still, looking at Morino, I had to wonder if Miguchi Nanami would have created the same impression.

Morino placed her elbows on the table, while acting cheerful. She had beside her what was once Miguchi Nanami's bag. Attached to the zipper pull was a [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#keychain mascot|keychain mascot]]

"So are you planning to stay dressed like that for awhile?"

"Of course, it's amusing, isn't it?"

This was Morino's make-believe play. But it was more than just a normal smiling manner, and looking into the mirror, checking her eyelashes type of imitation of a normal female high school student. It was more as if Miguchi Nanami had enroached upon Morino's basic nature.

When leaving McDonald's, Morino suddenly and spontaneously took my hand as we walked. She herself didn't notice this until I pointed it out.


I was almost certain that I was being embraced by the dead Miguchi Nanami.

After parting with Morino in front of the station and arriving home, I immediately turned on the TV. On the news, they covered the bizzare murder case.

There was a report about the first and second victims. Up until this point, they were still going over old news; nothing new was being said.

Miguchi Nanami's name didn't appear at all.

There was a slideshow about the two victims, pictures of grieving friends and family.

On the TV screen, a large picture appeared -- photographs of the two victims......

I thought of Morino, and a bad premonition came over me. Yet, the odds of something like that happening were extremely low. And so I dropped that thought from my mind.

The two victims, as they had appeared in the photographs, in their hairstyle, and their clothes, both resembled Miguchi Nanami.

So, in short, you could say that today, Morino was the same type that this cold-blooded murderer went for.


=== 3 ===

One evening, 3 days after having met at McDonald's, the ringtone sounded on my cell phone, indicating that I had received a text message from someone.

It was from Morino.

"Help"

A short message with only that, showed on my liquid crystal display.

My reply message was a question.

"What happened?"

I waited for awhile, but she didn't reply.

I tried calling her, but her cell phone wasn't connected. Did the power get cut off, or was it destroyed maybe?

That night, I called Morino's house. She had told it to me some time ago. She hadn't given it for any "Just in case you want to call my house" reason. The number for her house had unexpectedly come up in a rhyming game, in some crazy sentence she had blurted out. And so I had remembered that.



Her mother answered the phone. She had a high voice, and a fast speaking style.

I said I was a classmate, and that there was a message from the teacher, so I would like to speak with her to pass it along.

She had not returned.

I started to wonder if maybe she had been attacked.

Because what was written in the notebook was truth, it could also be true that the murderer had been in the same coffee shop as she had. The potential that the criminal had unexpectedly happened to see Morino's current look somewhere downtown was not zero.


For the criminal, to see Morino in her current style, a girl dressed in exactly the same clothes as Miguchi Nanami, who he had killed a few days ago, must have seemed miraculous. And then it must have moved his heart, I think.

There was a low chance at best that this would cause the criminal to decide to aim for Morino. Probably it was a trend for girls to be dressed like that, so you would expect to see that kind wandering around town.

If we considered the only possible way Morino might have been attacked by the criminal, it was the potential that Morino and the criminal had some overlap in their normal routines. After all, they had been in the same coffee shop. Unless the criminal had made a special long-distance trip, and just happened to stop by that coffee shop, then in his normal activities, Morino would have walked into a place he would have noticed her. In other words, the chances of the two meeting was high.

I thought about it late into the night.

Probably, about right now, Morino had undoubtedly been killed. I suppose her body has been scattered at some mountain.

I imagined that kind of thing while I fell asleep.


The next day, I called her house one more time.

As expected, she still hadn't returned. From what her mother said, this was the first time she had stayed out for the night without calling. Her mother was worried.

"By the way, are you her boyfriend?"

From the other side of the receiver, Morino's mother asked that.

"No, definitely not, ma'am!"

"Now, now, you don't have to deny it that strongly! I can still figure it out."


Morino's mother had no doubt that I was her daughter's boyfriend. She explained that her daughter didn't have any close friends, and she hadn't gotten a phone call from someone since elementary school.



"Lately that girl's clothes have gotten brighter, so I'm positive she must have found a boy."

I started worrying about the telephone bill.

"In her room, would there happen to be a small brown notebook?"

Her mother immediately went to check for me. She left the telephone receiver, and there was a moment of silence. Before long I could hear a voice again.

"There's a notebook like that on that girl's desk, but I wonder if this is the one?"

It seems that Morino had not been carrying the notebook. If that hadn't been so, I would have considered the possibility that Morino had opened the notebook somewhere outside, and had been accidentally seen by the criminal, who had then attacked her in order to keep her silent.

I am going over to get the notebook, so I would like to know the address, I asked Morino's mother.

After hanging up the phone, I headed to Morino's house. I already knew that she lived close to the station, but this was the first time I had visited her house.

Her home was on the third floor of an apartment building in front of the station.

When I rang the doorbell, the woman with the voice I had heard on the phone answered while she opened the door. This was unmistakeably Morino's mother.

"My my my, welcome!"

Morino's mother wore an apron; a normal household-centered housewife. This was quite different from the atmophere of the Morino I was used to seeing, so I started wondering how, with a mother like that, that Morino had turned out that way.

I was invited inside, but I declined. I intended to complete my business at the entranceway.

When I mentioned the notebook, she immediately brought it, as if already prepared. While receiving the notebook, I asked her if she had read the contents, to which she shook her head.

"Since it's hard to read small words."

It seemed she was far more interested in me than the notebook.

"That girl, ever since she became a second year, she's decided to be conscientious about going to school, so it must have been for that reason, right?"

When Morino had been a first year, she had said school was boring; she didn't seem to have attended very often either. This is the first time I'd learned of that. Her tastes were a little unique, and on top of that, she wasn't good at blending in with the people around her. So no matter what, it would have probably turned out like that.

I asked when Morino was last seen.

"Yesterday, sometime past noon maybe. I saw her leave, too!"

"Did you ask her where she was going?"

Morino's mother shook her head.

"So you'll look for my daughter?"

When I parted from the entranceway, Morino's mother requested that.

I replied with a nod.

However, it's possible she won't be alive, I added. Her mother thought it was a joke, and smiled.

While walking towards the station, I opened up the synthetic leather front cover, and turned to the page where the names of the mountains were lined up.

The criminal had made a list of mountains he was thinking about dumping bodies at. The ones with a ◎ mark were undoubtedly mountains that the criminal had judged were especially convenient for dumping bodies. Because there were four mountains marked with ◎, and three had already had bodies dumped there, meaning up until now, the mountains where bodies had been found had been chosen exclusively from those.

So then, from the four mountains marked with ◎, three had already had bodies dumped there. So that meant that you had to wonder if Morino had been taken to the last remaining mountain.

And that was N mountain.

I asked a station employee which train I should take to get to N mountain, and I bought a ticket.

I got off the train at the closest station to N mountain, and from there, had to ride a bus. At the base of N mountain, grapes were being grown; I saw many "grape picking" signs from the bus window.

Riding in his car to visit N mountain, where would the criminal leave the body? Probably the criminal would perform his ceremony somewhere remote where no one would hear the screams. I had no idea where that place might be.

The only ones on the bus were the driver and me. I looked at the route map attached to the inside of the car, talked with the driver; I decided to try a place I thought the criminal might have stopped.

From the area Morino and I lived, to N mountain, most cars likely went by the [[Talk:GOTH:GOTH#prefectural road|prefectural road]] that passed by N mountain's east side. Originally, there were not many roads that went to N mountain; aside from that prefectural road, there were no others in the the area we lived in.

Whatever place the criminal was taking Morino to at N mountain, undoubtedly he must have taken that prefectural road. According to what the driver said, the road the bus was on currently was definitely that prefectural road.

I got off the bus at a bus stop. If I was headed by car to a place deep within N mountain, there was one wide road that went near the peak. The bus stop was very near to that road.

I walked on the road to the summit. The surface was asphalt, but a car would almost not be able to make it.

There were a few side roads that stretched towards the inside of the deep forest. I considered which one the criminal and Morino could have entered.

As I climbed the ascent, the altitude gradually increased. Looking from in between the trees, the town had grown small and hazy.

It was a struggle to get near the summit. There was a small parking lot, and building that appeared to be a viewing platform. A car would not go beyond that point. Since it had not been much time since I'd started walking, I wasn't tired.

I searched for Morino's corpse.

I walked down a road that went into the trees; on the way, I entered a side road I had noticed.

The sky was cloudy, and the forest was pushed into darkness. A dense stand of trees peeped from in between a tangle of leaves and branches.

There was no wind; only the voices of cicadas filled the surroundings.



N mountain was too vast to find a one human body that had been rendered into pieces. Perhaps it would be impossible in the end to find Morino, I judged.

On the way back to the bus station, my entire body was sweating, tired from walking.

On the prefectural road that the bus ran on, there were a few scattered private houses. Even near the road going towards the summit, there was one house, and in the garden, there was an elderly man, who I asked whether there had been a car on this road last night, headed into the mountains. He shook his head. Afterwards, he called some of his family regarding my question, but in the end, it didn't seem that a car had been seen.

What kind of situation was Morino in yesterday when she sent that text?

Was she kidnapped by the criminal using brute force, I wonder?



I didn't think she was that weak of a fool.

Or maybe, her having been been caught by the criminal was just me overthinking things?

I sat near the bus stop and reread the notebook. From the descriptions of the three murders, I was not skilled enough to be able to understand the criminal's personality to the detail of a psychographic analysis.

Sweat fell onto the notebook, and the ink blurred; part of one sentence became unreadable. Apparently, the criminal had used water-soluble ink to write his descriptions.

In the first place, where did the criminal write into his notebook? Right after the crime, in his car, or after returning home, maybe? Probably he didn't write them in the middle of the crime, right? Without a doubt, he recalled the crime, and then while completely entranced in imagining, wrote.

Since the bus had come, I stood up. I looked at my watch; three hours had passed since noon.


I decided to come down from the mountain.

Just maybe, it was also possible that the criminal was keeping Morino locked in his house without killing her. The only way to determine whether or not that was really true would be to ask the criminal himself.

If she had already been killed, I needed to find out where her body had been dumped.

Because I wanted to look at it.

Either way, I had to descend N mountain, and meet with that criminal; there was no other way. Of course, I had every intention of doing so.

User talk:HolyCow

2007-04-27T16:28:00Z

The naming game: /* GOTH Chinese */ fixed the Japanese for the first sentence.

== Welcome to Baka-Tsuki ==

Hello Holycow,

thelastguardian is currently occupied and is unable to answer queries at this moment.

I'm his current representative, and thank you for your interest in contributing to the project.

Please check your email that you have supplied in your userpage, as I have sent you an email concerning your query.

What ever you decide, I hope you will continue to contribute and I thank you in advance in making all our projects a better experience for all readers.

sincerely,

[[User:Onizuka-gto|Onizuka-gto]] 06:24, 19 November 2006 (PST)

== Done! ==

Gogogo!

If it takes too long to upload, send it to my MSN or PM me in the forums.

MSN = i_am_me_2005@hotmail.com , in case you forgot, and PMing's easy enough. ^^

--[[User:BaKaFiSh|BaKaFiSh]] 21:01, 10 January 2007 (PST)

== Comments in Brackets in the Script? ==

:Eh Oni, I think this message was meant for IdiotSal... I mean BaKaFiSh? I've never used brackets before O.o
:And I certainly didn't do Chapter 2, that was BaKaFiSh's chapter lol
:--[[User:HolyCow|HolyCow]] 02:17, 12 January 2007 (PST)

:hmmm...woops. you are corrected. sorry HolyCow, it was bakafish. that stupid fish...grrr...

- [[User:Onizuka-gto|Onizuka-gto]] 18:21, 13 January 2007 (PST)

== Fake Script? ==

Hey Holycow,

you still got that parody script?

if you do, can you post it up in the fan fiction sub-forum?

It seems a waste to lose, and i'm sure people would love to read it again, or for you to add more to it? :p

regards,

[[User:Onizuka-gto|Onizuka-gto]] 10:10, 22 January 2007 (PST)

::Sure, I have it backed up in my hard drive. I'll have it uploaded then. Thanks.
::XD
::--[[User:HolyCow|HolyCow]] 19:01, 22 January 2007 (PST)

== FMP ==

Hoy :)

I don't know you managed to put a FMP story in a Haruhi page, but, I've moved it here : [[User:HolyCow/FMP temp]], which seems a more appropriate place.

You can create any subPage storage you want using the syntax<nowiki>[[/a subpage]]</nowiki> and previewing.

[[User:Darkoneko|DarkoNeko]] [[User_Talk:Darkoneko|talk]] 13:15, 26 March 2007 (PDT)

== GOTH Chinese ==

Since IRC doesn't let me display them...

:1st Sentence: 然而，森野现在的举手投足，使我觉得真正的水口捺捺美可能就是这个样子。
:Jap: けれど、今の森野を見ていると、水口ナナミはこんな感じだったのではないかという気がしてくる。
:Literal Translation: However, Morino's actions made me feel as if this was exactly how Miguchi Nanami was like (before she died).

:2nd Sentence: 握住我手的一定是已经死去的水口捺捺美。
:Jap: 　きっと僕は、死んだはずの水口ナナミに手を握られていたのだ。
:Literal Translation: The person clutching my arm/hand was definitely the dead Miguchi Nanami.

() = Can be ommitted

Akiha even

2007-04-27T16:07:16Z

The naming game: /* すら discussion */ some more attempts to understand すら and especially にすら近い

すら and さえ are synonyms.

<pre>
黒人たちは白人のトイレに入ることすら許されなかった
Blacks could not even go into "white" lavatories.

私の祖母はもうろくしてしまい、私のことすら分からない
My grandmother is so senile she doesn't even know me.

私は極度の高所恐怖症なので、遊園地で観覧車に乗ることすらできない
I have extreme acrophobia, so riding the Ferris wheel at the amusement park is out of the question.

彼は英語を読むことすらできない, まして書くなどできるものではない
He can't even read English, much less write it.

これは初めての人（＝初心者・初学者）でさえ解ける簡単な問題です
This is an easy question even a beginner can answer.

彼は日曜でさえ働かねばならなかった
He had to work even on Sunday.

彼女は自分の名前を書くことさえできない
She can't even [so much as] write her own name.（☆前の方が普通）

風が激しい上に雨さえ降ってきた
It was windy, and besides [what is more, 話 on top of that, 書

恐怖のあまり悲鳴を上げることすらできなかった
I was so scared I could not even let out a scream.

彼は読み書きすらできない　
He can not so much as read and write.

神ですら泣く
Even the gods cry

エチケットの基本すらわきまえていないおとなが多すぎる
Too many grown-ups don't know even the basics of good manners.

友情すらも犠牲にして、ライルは仕事を得るためにロンにうそをついた
At the price of their friendship, Lyle lied to Ron to get the job.

標的がすばやく動いていたので、彼ですら命中させることができなかった
Even he couldn't hit the target since it was of foot so rapidly.

悲劇的なメロディーですらやはり美しいものだ。
Even a tragic melody is still beautiful.

彼女は僕が来ていることすら目に入ってなかったって認めましたよ。友達と大事な話をしてたんだ、って言ってましたけどね。
She admitted that she didn't even see me coming. She said that she was having an important conversation with her friend.

彼女は小さな赤ん坊を抱いたことすらありません。ましてオムツを替えたことなんて
She's never even held a tiny baby let alone changed a nappy.

彼女はそこにいる彼にあえて話し掛けようとはしなかった。見ることすらほとんどなかったのだ
She dared not speak to him there. She dared hardly look.

彼は酔っていたので、自分の家を見つけることすらできなかった
In his drunken state, he couldn't even find his own house.

彼は自分の名前を書くことすらできない
He cannot so much as write his own name.

彼は私にさよならを言うことすらしなかった
He did not so much as say goodbye to me.

彼は一人で電車に乗ることすらできない
He cannot so much as take the train by himself.

彼は、仕事を探しに行こうとすらしなかった。
He didn't even go out and look for a job.

太り過ぎて小指すら挙げられない
too bloated to lift even a little finger

戦争前ですら
even before the war

数千人もの市民が何らの罪なく、あるいは尋問すらないままに仮設の刑務所に拘束されている
Hundreds of civilians are being held in makeshift jails without being charged or even questioned.

人の迷惑すら顧みないで
even to the prejudice of others

時々教科書ですら……
Sometimes even the textbooks ...

私は自分の仕事がどのようにして＿年も続いたのか想像すらできない。
I can't imagine how my career has lasted __ years.

警官に尋問された時、その容疑者は黙りこくって名前すら言わなかった
When questioned by the police, the suspect clammed up and wouldn't even say his name.

関心を持っていることすらできない〔〜に〕
be unable even to feign interest in

科学的データはおろか、出生地などの情報すら公表されていないためです。
No scientific data or even information regarding the birthplace has been made public.

その計画は、筋が通ってすらいないようだ。
The plan doesn't even look reasonable.
</pre>

== すら discussion ==

akiha、前の「すら」について説明してありがとう。僕には「すら」が分かりにくいことですから、説明もしにくかったはずですね。今はちょって分かりますと思いますけど本当に分かりますか知りません。

akiha, thank you for explaining about "すら" earlier. "すら" is hard for me to understand, so I expect that explaining it must also have been hard. Right now I think I understand a little, but whether I really understand, I don't know.

The following sentences are the result of my current understanding of how "すら" is used. I have tried to focus on the phrase "にすら近い". I feel now that this is a figure of speech that cannot always be translated directly to English without having it sound strange. (前の文を日本語に訳すことは出来なかった…) (I was not capable of translating the preceding sentences into Japanese...)

次の文は自分が書いたから間違いがあるはずです。The following sentences were self-written, therefore there are most likely mistakes.
*「彼は友達にすらまだ知らせてない。」「友達をすら疑っているね。」 "He still hasn't told even his friends." "So he distrusts even his friends..."
*彼は虎にすらおびえない。勇敢な男。きゃああ…素敵わ！（ごめんね…我慢できなかった。漫画読みすぎる） He isn't afraid, even of a tiger. He's a brave man. Kyaaa... he's like, so wonderful! (Sorry... I couldn't help myself. I read too much manga.)
*彼は赤ちゃんをすらおびえさせられない。全然恐くないね。 He can't scare even a baby. He's not the least bit scary.

「にすら近い」について。 Concerning "にすら近い"

(緑は変な色と思いましょう)
(Let's pretend that green is a strange color.)

*彼女は緑色にすら近い色の服がある。 She has clothes in colors that are close even to green. She has clothes even in greenish colors. (same meaning, but sounds more natural)
*:(色んな色の服がある。緑色に近い色も)
*:(She has clothes in many colors. Even colors close to green.)
*この店には白にすら近い色の服がない。緑色だけ。 In this store, there aren't any clothes in colors close to even white. Only green. (英語ではちょっと変な気がしている) (In English, it gives a little bit of a strange feeling.)
*:(衣料品店は色んな色の服が売られているべきのに、この店には売られていた服の色は緑色しかない。他の色に近い色がない。白に近い色もない)
*:(Even though a clothing store should sell many colors of clothes, the clothes this store sells are green only. There is nothing close to any other colors. Not even anything close to white.)
*この公園にはテレビにすら近いところがない。たぶん電話に近いところもない。 In this park, there isn't anywhere with even a TV nearby. There probably isn't anywhere with a telephone nearby either. (これも、英語ではちょっと変) (This, too, is a little strange in English.)

グーグルで見つけた。 Found via google.
*自分だけの力で生きてきているような勘違いをしがちですが、今自分が此処にいるのは、ホントに、ホントに、多くの多くの人の気持ちに依っていることにふと気がつく時、恐怖にすら近い感情に襲われます。 ([http://akiaki.info/akiyama/tDiary/?date=200608 link]) One may prefer the fallacy of thinking that it is by your own power only that you have come into existence, but upon suddenly realizing that your existence right now is actually, actually, because of the feelings of many, many people, one is attacked with a feeling close to even terror.
*クルマとは、かくも奥深く魅力的な機械である。機械を超え、生き物にすら近い。多くの人がそれを被写体に選ぶのは、当然かもしれない。 ([http://enikkorclub.jp/preview/03take_photograph/index.htm link]) Cars are somehow (correct translation of "かくも"?) deeply fascinating machines. Beyond machinery, almost like a living being, even. That many people have chosen them as a subject for photography is only natural, I think.
*という理屈である。しかし、これは単なる統計的推論でしかなく、今となっては迷信にすら近い。 ([http://neta.ywcafe.net/000395.html link]) That's the theory. However, this is merely statistical deduction only; currently it is close to even superstition. ("Currently, I would consider it to be almost superstition, even")
*優れたプロダクトデザインは、アートにすら近いような気がします。 ([http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4899770561 link]) Excellent product design has a feeling close to even art.
*動きは最新作にすら近い滑らかさ。 ([http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B000069S9D link]) Its smoothness of movement is close to that of even the newest games.

--[[User:The naming game|The naming game]] 09:07, 27 April 2007 (PDT)

User talk:Akiha

2007-04-20T10:19:47Z

The naming game: thanks, and other sundry things.

Some suggestions for your English :)

:Shamisen no longer crawls into my bedding in the middle of the night. That tells me that Spring has come, which is several months that I like best in four seasons. More importantly, I do admire the more accurate ability of plants to sense and adapt to the environment, than that of the cat. All of cherry blossoms which have blossomed out here and there is just going to paint the blue, April sky with falling blossoms, as if they've discussed when to do it. Even the sun seems as if it's preparing for summer. But even though the sun is scorching, the winds that blow down from the mountains are still chilly, reminding me of the altitude of this city I inhabit.

Some suggestions...

:That tells me that Spring has come, which is several months that I like best in four seasons.

This sounds very strange in English, but I think the meaning is clear. I would suggest: "That tells me that Spring has come, which is my favorite of the four seasons."

Reason: "several months" does not fit into "four seasons" - but one "favorite" season fits into "four seasons"

:"All of cherry blossoms which have blossomed out here and there is just going to paint the blue, April sky with falling blossoms, as if they've discussed when to do it."

The word "blossom" is used many times. This is not wrong, but it sounds strange. I would suggest: "All of cherry flowers which have blossomed here and there are going to paint the blue, April sky with falling petals, as if they've discussed when to do it."

Reason: It is strange to say "the blossoms have blossomed" - that is redundant. Instead, we can say the "flowers have bossomed." Also, we can say "falling petals" instead of "falling blossoms" because the whole flower does not fall.

Thank you.
But minor edits can be done by yourself because this site is a wiki!
I check the page periodically, so just to edit the page informs me.

--[[User:Akiha|Akiha]] 05:41, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

:"All of cherry flowers which have blossomed here and there are going to paint the blue, April sky with floating petals, as if they've discussed when to do it."

I don't like this sentence at all. It changes the meaning entirely. Secondly it now doesn't fit with Kyon's words beforehand.

He is making statements and remarks about the changing of seasons. Your new translation changes this so that he is now talking about the future. All of cherry flowers...'''are''' going to paint the blue... Also it speaks of cherry flowers, which if they exist at all (I don't think they do) are surely not large enough, or grow in such quantities to enough to paint the sky with anything. Typical anime whenever it mentions sakura petals (or blossoms, as the original translation took them as), these are falling off the trees in large amounts. The original translation of "cherry blossoms bloom as if they've discussed the way they're going to paint the blue, April sky with floating petals", does paint this typical picture. When talking of flowers, Smidge was just giving an example of how the word "bossomed" is used in English, rather than saying what should be used in the translation.

:Well, he asked for tips on his English, so that's what I did :p (I didn't want to edit the main page until it was "blessed off") Also, "flower" is a synonym for "blossom" as both a noun and a verb. Cherry trees do indeed [http://english.people.com.cn/200603/09/eng20060309_249202.html grow flowers]. What did you think made the trees that color? [[User:Smidge204|Smidge204]] 09:04, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

I don't think of them as quite synonymous, I associate a flower more with being a plant growing in the ground, and blossoms as the growth on trees.
Maybe it's just me, but when I first saw the sentence, this is the context I took it in, and it wouldn't even have occurred to me to take it as the flowers on trees. I wouldn't call apple blossom, "apple flowers" for example. (Even though, yes they strictly are).

--[[User:Shadowfall|Shadowfall]] 09:20, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

:Good thing they make these books called "dictionaries", then. Maybe you should [http://www.bartleby.com/61/80/B0338000.html pick one up sometime].

:blos·som (noun): 1. A flower or cluster of flowers. 2. The condition or time of flowering: peach trees in blossom. 3. A period or condition of maximum development. (verb) 1. To come into flower; bloom. 2. To develop; flourish

:I realize I'm being a prick about it, but the edit you made actually strays farther from the original wording than what we started with. If you "don't think" it should be worded a certain way, find out and be prepared to defend the change. Please don't take it personally, though... I always get pissy about larger edits. [[User:Smidge204|Smidge204]] 09:41, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

::I was browsing through recent changes, and hopefully I am not too late to defuse this, without starting something else...
::'''Smidge:''' as you may well know, dictionaries do not often say very much about cultural patterns and natural usage. A quick "googlefight" reveals "cherry blossom" as an overwhelming favorite, by an approximately 50:1 ratio, either in plural or singular form. Google is of course, not my only reason, but I merely mention it as a quick, easily understandable quantitative measure. While you ARE technically right, "cherry blossom" is pretty much the term to use if you want people to not wonder about the wording choice.

::In short, it is more "natural" sounding to most people. To accede to this could quite possibly be called conformist, yet writing is a mixture of conforming and defying expectations. If you defy expectations, you're calling attention to that particular place. Is there anything particularly special about the flowers/blossoms in that passage? And as a matter of pure opinion, using "flowers" instead of "blossoms" seems like a strange way to draw attention, unless you're trying to subtly say something about the narrator's English usage.

::And if you realize you're being a prick, well, that's actually a good thing. If you can realize it before you even begin, that's even better of course. I'm kind of wondering right now about my own conduct. But practically speaking, your point gets across much more clearly without bringing emotions into it. It does suck when the other person is obviously wrong and refuses to admit it, but even then, the best you can do by insulting is make them feel like shit and make you feel slightly better, as well as better than them, and leave the entire thing at an impasse.
::--[[User:The naming game|The naming game]] 11:42, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

Nice, asking me not to take it personally when you've just flamed me by telling me to go and buy a dictionary. Word it how you like then, I don't see why I should defend or try to contribute anything if you're going to take that tone.

Sorry for having to put this on your userpage Akiha ._.;

::'''Shadowfall:''' you really shouldn't take it personally, since I doubt Smidge has anything against you personally. Extrapolating from myself, I'd just say that everyone has occasional blind moments and also moments of extreme clarity. And sometimes we can't tell which is which. It just happens, and the best thing is to just pay attention to the constructive part only, thus "feeding" only that part. I'm not exactly the best one to be giving advice, as I have a much harder time doing this during face to face confrontations. (There is simply less time to count to 10, get hold of yourself, and then respond) But happily, I actually DID follow my own advice for something that happened today. Hooray!
::--[[User:The naming game|The naming game]] 11:42, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

Supplementary information from my Japanese Dictionary.
:Strictly, cherry blossoms in Europe and America are called "cherry blossom" because they are for the fruits collection on the other hand, cherry blossoms in Japan are called "cherry flower" because they are for the flower appreciation.
:(Original: 厳密には欧米の桜は果実採取用だから cherry blossom, 日本のは花観賞用なので cherry flower)

First of all, sorry for updating "blossoms" to "flowers" without permission. I didn't notice the reason to post it here instead of the wiki page. I was careless.

I think my sentence-level edit hasn't to be adopted.
It was translated before my guideline is created, which is to skip minor mistranslations.
To be strictly, there is many part such this. So I'm particular about it personally.

I don't have any idea which is better between "blossoms" and "flowers".

--[[User:Akiha|Akiha]] 11:22, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

:- ごめん、僕の日本語はまだ下手です。よかったら、僕の日本語の間違いを教えて下さい。確かにたくさんあります！
:- Sorry, my Japanese is not yet that good. Please feel free to point out any mistakes in my Japanese. I'm sure there are lots!

:- 「cherry flower」と「cherry blossom」とどっちがいいかのことは「collocation」というのことかもしれない。「cherry blossom」と「cherry flower」をgoogle.com（英語のサイト）で検索すると「cherry blossom」はもっと多い　。。。　（すみません、言えません。それに超遅く日本語を書います。）
:- Which is better out of "cherry flower" and "cherry blossom" is, I believe, what you would call "collocation." If you search for "cherry blossom" and "cherry flower" on google.com (the English site), "cherry blossom" has far more hits. (Sorry. I am unable to express this. Also, I write Japanese very slowly.) This indicates that it's more commonly used. In fact, I can't think of a single reason to use "cherry flower" unless it's the established name of something, or in a scientific context. Yeah, yeah, just because I can't think of any doesn't mean there aren't any...

:- ところで、日本には英語の「cherry flower」は本当に使っていますか？
:- By the way, in Japan, they really use the English term "cherry flower"?
--[[User:The naming game|The naming game]] 12:46, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

Sorry. I accidentally made you misunderstand my last reply.

''my Japanese Dictionary'' is really meant '''my English-to-Japanese dictionary in which each English word is defined in Japanese, is ordered in alphabet order, and is made by Japanese people.'''
The statement I quoted is intended for Japanese who study English.
In Japan, English was almost completely unused in communication. It is only used in logos and names of products, for example "Fate/Stay night". English names sound cool to Japanese people, although some(or most) Japanese can't understand the meaning of the name.
Thus "cherry flower" and "cherry blossom" literaly isn't used in communication. In other words, from Japanese point of view, the question doesn't make sense.

:I don't have any idea which is better between "blossoms" and "flowers".
is really meant
:I don't have any idea which is better between "blossoms" and "flowers" from English point of view.
I updated my QC guideline. If you have time, take a look for a detailed reasoning about this. [[User:Akiha]]

Do you want to learn Japanese?
Here is correction, but not all. Small suggestions are skipped. If you are eager to study more, request for them.

:Wrong: 「collocation」
:Correct: 「コロケーション」
:Reason: As mentioned above, If there is no particular reason, you should use Japanese. As with "collocation", Katakana-notation suffices.

:Wrong: 超遅く
:Correct: すごく遅く
:Reason: a collocation problem. "超遅く" sounds strange to me in the context. There is no sensible reason. Any way, it is strange. :/

:Wrong: 日本には英語の「cherry flower」は本当に使っていますか？
:Correct: 日本では英語の「cherry flower」は本当に使われていますか？
:Reason about "日本には": grammatical error. But It must be subtle to you, because I equally translate "日本には" and "日本では" into "in Japan"! hmm. I can't explain it well. Perhaps, it is related to the position(or viewpoint) of "日本" in the context... If you want to know more, request! Then, I'll give it a bit thought.
:Reason about "使っていますか？": grammatical error. This sentence's subject is "英語の「cherry flower」", so verb must be passive.
:*"使っていますか？"->"Does someone ''use'' something?"
:*"使われていますか?" -> "''Is'' something ''used''?."
:Thus, an alternative is
::日本では英語の「cherry flower」を本当に使っていますか？
:Be careful! Japanese sentence don't need to have a subject. In this context, "日本人" is real subject, because Japanese people take whoever lives in Japan as Japanese person. Japan is thought as homogeneous state by them unconsciously.

--[[User:Akiha|Akiha]] 01:53, 20 April 2007 (PDT)

akiha, thanks for the corrections! (I'm saying this in English to save you the trouble of correcting me yet again.)
--[[User:The naming game|The naming game]] 03:19, 20 April 2007 (PDT)

== About some line in CLANNAD ==
<pre>
<0078> She only divided the meat at the center of the cutlet.
// カツの肉だけを真ん中からちぎる。
<0079> She presented me half of the bread along with the other half portion of the peeled cabbage dressing. *
// パンの半身とキャベツ半量と剥いだ衣を半分添え、俺の方に差し出す。
<0080> \{Kotomi} "Let's share it."
// \{ことみ}「半分こなの」
<\pre>

I'm not really sure about line 0079 since I have no idea about how cutlet sandwich looks like in and out ^_^

User talk:Akiha

2007-04-20T07:48:06Z

The naming game: ack, fixed a mistake in my Japanese, います -> あります

Some suggestions for your English :)

:Shamisen no longer crawls into my bedding in the middle of the night. That tells me that Spring has come, which is several months that I like best in four seasons. More importantly, I do admire the more accurate ability of plants to sense and adapt to the environment, than that of the cat. All of cherry blossoms which have blossomed out here and there is just going to paint the blue, April sky with falling blossoms, as if they've discussed when to do it. Even the sun seems as if it's preparing for summer. But even though the sun is scorching, the winds that blow down from the mountains are still chilly, reminding me of the altitude of this city I inhabit.

Some suggestions...

:That tells me that Spring has come, which is several months that I like best in four seasons.

This sounds very strange in English, but I think the meaning is clear. I would suggest: "That tells me that Spring has come, which is my favorite of the four seasons."

Reason: "several months" does not fit into "four seasons" - but one "favorite" season fits into "four seasons"

:"All of cherry blossoms which have blossomed out here and there is just going to paint the blue, April sky with falling blossoms, as if they've discussed when to do it."

The word "blossom" is used many times. This is not wrong, but it sounds strange. I would suggest: "All of cherry flowers which have blossomed here and there are going to paint the blue, April sky with falling petals, as if they've discussed when to do it."

Reason: It is strange to say "the blossoms have blossomed" - that is redundant. Instead, we can say the "flowers have bossomed." Also, we can say "falling petals" instead of "falling blossoms" because the whole flower does not fall.

Thank you.
But minor edits can be done by yourself because this site is a wiki!
I check the page periodically, so just to edit the page informs me.

--[[User:Akiha|Akiha]] 05:41, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

:"All of cherry flowers which have blossomed here and there are going to paint the blue, April sky with floating petals, as if they've discussed when to do it."

I don't like this sentence at all. It changes the meaning entirely. Secondly it now doesn't fit with Kyon's words beforehand.

He is making statements and remarks about the changing of seasons. Your new translation changes this so that he is now talking about the future. All of cherry flowers...'''are''' going to paint the blue... Also it speaks of cherry flowers, which if they exist at all (I don't think they do) are surely not large enough, or grow in such quantities to enough to paint the sky with anything. Typical anime whenever it mentions sakura petals (or blossoms, as the original translation took them as), these are falling off the trees in large amounts. The original translation of "cherry blossoms bloom as if they've discussed the way they're going to paint the blue, April sky with floating petals", does paint this typical picture. When talking of flowers, Smidge was just giving an example of how the word "bossomed" is used in English, rather than saying what should be used in the translation.

:Well, he asked for tips on his English, so that's what I did :p (I didn't want to edit the main page until it was "blessed off") Also, "flower" is a synonym for "blossom" as both a noun and a verb. Cherry trees do indeed [http://english.people.com.cn/200603/09/eng20060309_249202.html grow flowers]. What did you think made the trees that color? [[User:Smidge204|Smidge204]] 09:04, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

I don't think of them as quite synonymous, I associate a flower more with being a plant growing in the ground, and blossoms as the growth on trees.
Maybe it's just me, but when I first saw the sentence, this is the context I took it in, and it wouldn't even have occurred to me to take it as the flowers on trees. I wouldn't call apple blossom, "apple flowers" for example. (Even though, yes they strictly are).

--[[User:Shadowfall|Shadowfall]] 09:20, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

:Good thing they make these books called "dictionaries", then. Maybe you should [http://www.bartleby.com/61/80/B0338000.html pick one up sometime].

:blos·som (noun): 1. A flower or cluster of flowers. 2. The condition or time of flowering: peach trees in blossom. 3. A period or condition of maximum development. (verb) 1. To come into flower; bloom. 2. To develop; flourish

:I realize I'm being a prick about it, but the edit you made actually strays farther from the original wording than what we started with. If you "don't think" it should be worded a certain way, find out and be prepared to defend the change. Please don't take it personally, though... I always get pissy about larger edits. [[User:Smidge204|Smidge204]] 09:41, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

::I was browsing through recent changes, and hopefully I am not too late to defuse this, without starting something else...
::'''Smidge:''' as you may well know, dictionaries do not often say very much about cultural patterns and natural usage. A quick "googlefight" reveals "cherry blossom" as an overwhelming favorite, by an approximately 50:1 ratio, either in plural or singular form. Google is of course, not my only reason, but I merely mention it as a quick, easily understandable quantitative measure. While you ARE technically right, "cherry blossom" is pretty much the term to use if you want people to not wonder about the wording choice.

::In short, it is more "natural" sounding to most people. To accede to this could quite possibly be called conformist, yet writing is a mixture of conforming and defying expectations. If you defy expectations, you're calling attention to that particular place. Is there anything particularly special about the flowers/blossoms in that passage? And as a matter of pure opinion, using "flowers" instead of "blossoms" seems like a strange way to draw attention, unless you're trying to subtly say something about the narrator's English usage.

::And if you realize you're being a prick, well, that's actually a good thing. If you can realize it before you even begin, that's even better of course. I'm kind of wondering right now about my own conduct. But practically speaking, your point gets across much more clearly without bringing emotions into it. It does suck when the other person is obviously wrong and refuses to admit it, but even then, the best you can do by insulting is make them feel like shit and make you feel slightly better, as well as better than them, and leave the entire thing at an impasse.
::--[[User:The naming game|The naming game]] 11:42, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

Nice, asking me not to take it personally when you've just flamed me by telling me to go and buy a dictionary. Word it how you like then, I don't see why I should defend or try to contribute anything if you're going to take that tone.

Sorry for having to put this on your userpage Akiha ._.;

::'''Shadowfall:''' you really shouldn't take it personally, since I doubt Smidge has anything against you personally. Extrapolating from myself, I'd just say that everyone has occasional blind moments and also moments of extreme clarity. And sometimes we can't tell which is which. It just happens, and the best thing is to just pay attention to the constructive part only, thus "feeding" only that part. I'm not exactly the best one to be giving advice, as I have a much harder time doing this during face to face confrontations. (There is simply less time to count to 10, get hold of yourself, and then respond) But happily, I actually DID follow my own advice for something that happened today. Hooray!
::--[[User:The naming game|The naming game]] 11:42, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

Supplementary information from my Japanese Dictionary.
:Strictly, cherry blossoms in Europe and America are called "cherry blossom" because they are for the fruits collection on the other hand, cherry blossoms in Japan are called "cherry flower" because they are for the flower appreciation.
:(Original: 厳密には欧米の桜は果実採取用だから cherry blossom, 日本のは花観賞用なので cherry flower)

First of all, sorry for updating "blossoms" to "flowers" without permission. I didn't notice the reason to post it here instead of the wiki page. I was careless.

I think my sentence-level edit hasn't to be adopted.
It was translated before my guideline is created, which is to skip minor mistranslations.
To be strictly, there is many part such this. So I'm particular about it personally.

I don't have any idea which is better between "blossoms" and "flowers".

--[[User:Akiha|Akiha]] 11:22, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

:- ごめん、僕の日本語はまだ下手です。よかったら、僕の日本語の間違いを教えて下さい。確かにたくさんあります！
:- Sorry, my Japanese is not yet that good. Please feel free to point out any mistakes in my Japanese. I'm sure there are lots!

:- 「cherry flower」と「cherry blossom」とどっちがいいかのことは「collocation」というのことかもしれない。「cherry blossom」と「cherry flower」をgoogle.com（英語のサイト）で検索すると「cherry blossom」はもっと多い　。。。　（すみません、言えません。それに超遅く日本語を書います。）
:- Which is better out of "cherry flower" and "cherry blossom" is, I believe, what you would call "collocation." If you search for "cherry blossom" and "cherry flower" on google.com (the English site), "cherry blossom" has far more hits. (Sorry. I am unable to express this. Also, I write Japanese very slowly.) This indicates that it's more commonly used. In fact, I can't think of a single reason to use "cherry flower" unless it's the established name of something, or in a scientific context. Yeah, yeah, just because I can't think of any doesn't mean there aren't any...

:- ところで、日本には英語の「cherry flower」は本当に使っていますか？
:- By the way, in Japan, they really use the English term "cherry flower"?
--[[User:The naming game|The naming game]] 12:46, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

== About some line in CLANNAD ==
<pre>
<0078> She only divided the meat at the center of the cutlet.
// カツの肉だけを真ん中からちぎる。
<0079> She presented me half of the bread along with the other half portion of the peeled cabbage dressing. *
// パンの半身とキャベツ半量と剥いだ衣を半分添え、俺の方に差し出す。
<0080> \{Kotomi} "Let's share it."
// \{ことみ}「半分こなの」
<\pre>

I'm not really sure about line 0079 since I have no idea about how cutlet sandwich looks like in and out ^_^

GOTH:GOTH

2007-04-20T07:37:19Z

The naming game: /* Translator's Notes */ add Translator's notes

GOTH:GOTH

2007-04-20T07:35:27Z

The naming game: /* 2 */ this finishes off ch2 -- you can probably guess what happens next...

User talk:Akiha

2007-04-19T19:46:49Z

The naming game: To akiha, regarding "cherry blossoms"

Some suggestions for your English :)

:Shamisen no longer crawls into my bedding in the middle of the night. That tells me that Spring has come, which is several months that I like best in four seasons. More importantly, I do admire the more accurate ability of plants to sense and adapt to the environment, than that of the cat. All of cherry blossoms which have blossomed out here and there is just going to paint the blue, April sky with falling blossoms, as if they've discussed when to do it. Even the sun seems as if it's preparing for summer. But even though the sun is scorching, the winds that blow down from the mountains are still chilly, reminding me of the altitude of this city I inhabit.

Some suggestions...

:That tells me that Spring has come, which is several months that I like best in four seasons.

This sounds very strange in English, but I think the meaning is clear. I would suggest: "That tells me that Spring has come, which is my favorite of the four seasons."

Reason: "several months" does not fit into "four seasons" - but one "favorite" season fits into "four seasons"

:"All of cherry blossoms which have blossomed out here and there is just going to paint the blue, April sky with falling blossoms, as if they've discussed when to do it."

The word "blossom" is used many times. This is not wrong, but it sounds strange. I would suggest: "All of cherry flowers which have blossomed here and there are going to paint the blue, April sky with falling petals, as if they've discussed when to do it."

Reason: It is strange to say "the blossoms have blossomed" - that is redundant. Instead, we can say the "flowers have bossomed." Also, we can say "falling petals" instead of "falling blossoms" because the whole flower does not fall.

Thank you.
But minor edits can be done by yourself because this site is a wiki!
I check the page periodically, so just to edit the page informs me.

--[[User:Akiha|Akiha]] 05:41, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

:"All of cherry flowers which have blossomed here and there are going to paint the blue, April sky with floating petals, as if they've discussed when to do it."

I don't like this sentence at all. It changes the meaning entirely. Secondly it now doesn't fit with Kyon's words beforehand.

He is making statements and remarks about the changing of seasons. Your new translation changes this so that he is now talking about the future. All of cherry flowers...'''are''' going to paint the blue... Also it speaks of cherry flowers, which if they exist at all (I don't think they do) are surely not large enough, or grow in such quantities to enough to paint the sky with anything. Typical anime whenever it mentions sakura petals (or blossoms, as the original translation took them as), these are falling off the trees in large amounts. The original translation of "cherry blossoms bloom as if they've discussed the way they're going to paint the blue, April sky with floating petals", does paint this typical picture. When talking of flowers, Smidge was just giving an example of how the word "bossomed" is used in English, rather than saying what should be used in the translation.

:Well, he asked for tips on his English, so that's what I did :p (I didn't want to edit the main page until it was "blessed off") Also, "flower" is a synonym for "blossom" as both a noun and a verb. Cherry trees do indeed [http://english.people.com.cn/200603/09/eng20060309_249202.html grow flowers]. What did you think made the trees that color? [[User:Smidge204|Smidge204]] 09:04, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

I don't think of them as quite synonymous, I associate a flower more with being a plant growing in the ground, and blossoms as the growth on trees.
Maybe it's just me, but when I first saw the sentence, this is the context I took it in, and it wouldn't even have occurred to me to take it as the flowers on trees. I wouldn't call apple blossom, "apple flowers" for example. (Even though, yes they strictly are).

--[[User:Shadowfall|Shadowfall]] 09:20, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

:Good thing they make these books called "dictionaries", then. Maybe you should [http://www.bartleby.com/61/80/B0338000.html pick one up sometime].

:blos·som (noun): 1. A flower or cluster of flowers. 2. The condition or time of flowering: peach trees in blossom. 3. A period or condition of maximum development. (verb) 1. To come into flower; bloom. 2. To develop; flourish

:I realize I'm being a prick about it, but the edit you made actually strays farther from the original wording than what we started with. If you "don't think" it should be worded a certain way, find out and be prepared to defend the change. Please don't take it personally, though... I always get pissy about larger edits. [[User:Smidge204|Smidge204]] 09:41, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

::I was browsing through recent changes, and hopefully I am not too late to defuse this, without starting something else...
::'''Smidge:''' as you may well know, dictionaries do not often say very much about cultural patterns and natural usage. A quick "googlefight" reveals "cherry blossom" as an overwhelming favorite, by an approximately 50:1 ratio, either in plural or singular form. Google is of course, not my only reason, but I merely mention it as a quick, easily understandable quantitative measure. While you ARE technically right, "cherry blossom" is pretty much the term to use if you want people to not wonder about the wording choice.

::In short, it is more "natural" sounding to most people. To accede to this could quite possibly be called conformist, yet writing is a mixture of conforming and defying expectations. If you defy expectations, you're calling attention to that particular place. Is there anything particularly special about the flowers/blossoms in that passage? And as a matter of pure opinion, using "flowers" instead of "blossoms" seems like a strange way to draw attention, unless you're trying to subtly say something about the narrator's English usage.

::And if you realize you're being a prick, well, that's actually a good thing. If you can realize it before you even begin, that's even better of course. I'm kind of wondering right now about my own conduct. But practically speaking, your point gets across much more clearly without bringing emotions into it. It does suck when the other person is obviously wrong and refuses to admit it, but even then, the best you can do by insulting is make them feel like shit and make you feel slightly better, as well as better than them, and leave the entire thing at an impasse.
::--[[User:The naming game|The naming game]] 11:42, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

Nice, asking me not to take it personally when you've just flamed me by telling me to go and buy a dictionary. Word it how you like then, I don't see why I should defend or try to contribute anything if you're going to take that tone.

Sorry for having to put this on your userpage Akiha ._.;

::'''Shadowfall:''' you really shouldn't take it personally, since I doubt Smidge has anything against you personally. Extrapolating from myself, I'd just say that everyone has occasional blind moments and also moments of extreme clarity. And sometimes we can't tell which is which. It just happens, and the best thing is to just pay attention to the constructive part only, thus "feeding" only that part. I'm not exactly the best one to be giving advice, as I have a much harder time doing this during face to face confrontations. (There is simply less time to count to 10, get hold of yourself, and then respond) But happily, I actually DID follow my own advice for something that happened today. Hooray!
::--[[User:The naming game|The naming game]] 11:42, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

Supplementary information from my Japanese Dictionary.
:Strictly, cherry blossoms in Europe and America are called "cherry blossom" because they are for the fruits collection on the other hand, cherry blossoms in Japan are called "cherry flower" because they are for the flower appreciation.
:(Original: 厳密には欧米の桜は果実採取用だから cherry blossom, 日本のは花観賞用なので cherry flower)

First of all, sorry for updating "blossoms" to "flowers" without permission. I didn't notice the reason to post it here instead of the wiki page. I was careless.

I think my sentence-level edit hasn't to be adopted.
It was translated before my guideline is created, which is to skip minor mistranslations.
To be strictly, there is many part such this. So I'm particular about it personally.

I don't have any idea which is better between "blossoms" and "flowers".

--[[User:Akiha|Akiha]] 11:22, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

:- ごめん、僕の日本語はまだ下手です。よかったら、僕の日本語の間違いを教えて下さい。確かにたくさんいます！
:- Sorry, my Japanese is not yet that good. Please feel free to point out any mistakes in my Japanese. I'm sure there are lots!

:- 「cherry flower」と「cherry blossom」とどっちがいいかのことは「collocation」というのことかもしれない。「cherry blossom」と「cherry flower」をgoogle.com（英語のサイト）で検索すると「cherry blossom」はもっと多い　。。。　（すみません、言えません。それに超遅く日本語を書います。）
:- Which is better out of "cherry flower" and "cherry blossom" is, I believe, what you would call "collocation." If you search for "cherry blossom" and "cherry flower" on google.com (the English site), "cherry blossom" has far more hits. (Sorry. I am unable to express this. Also, I write Japanese very slowly.) This indicates that it's more commonly used. In fact, I can't think of a single reason to use "cherry flower" unless it's the established name of something, or in a scientific context. Yeah, yeah, just because I can't think of any doesn't mean there aren't any...

:- ところで、日本には英語の「cherry flower」は本当に使っていますか？
:- By the way, in Japan, they really use the English term "cherry flower"?
:--[[User:The naming game|The naming game]] 12:46, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

== Cultural differences ==
draft. just ignore this..
* haruhi novel : delibrately break grammar and length sentences to be difficult to read
* English novel : do not the thing Japanese one do???

User talk:Akiha

2007-04-19T18:48:17Z

The naming game: added minor parenthetical to Shadowfall's message

User talk:Akiha

2007-04-19T18:42:33Z

The naming game: To: Smidge (204) and Shadowfall

GOTH:GOTH

2007-04-19T02:42:56Z

The naming game: /* 2 */ The rest of 2 is translated, but -- I selfishly would like at least some of you to feel this silence of complete awe and horror... I actually stopped translating here and finished up later.

GOTH:GOTH

2007-04-19T01:13:39Z

The naming game: /* 1 */ second pass.

Main Page

2007-04-16T04:32:50Z

The naming game: /* Active Projects */ GOTH now lurks in the dark recesses of Baka-Tsuki...

<adsense>
google_ad_client = "pub-0241460093201480";
google_ad_width = 728;
google_ad_height = 90;
google_ad_format = "728x90_as";
google_ad_type = "text";
google_ad_channel = "";
</adsense>

Welcome to Baka-Tsuki Translation Project Wiki.

== Disclaimers ==

All materials' copyrights reserved by their respective authors and the associated publishers. Please respect their rights.

Works will be delete upon request by copyright holders.

More information [http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Wiki:Copyrights here]

== Self-introduction of the Founder==

I ([[user:thelastguardian|thelastguardian]]) can be found at [http://forums.animesuki.com Anime-Suki forum].

=== Supervisors ===

*[[user:onizuka-gto|Onizuka-GTO]]
*[[user:Darkoneko|Darkoneko]]
*[[user:the_naming_game|the_naming_game]]
*[[user:Bicube|Bicube]]
*[[user:Velocity7|Velocity7]]

== Active Projects ==

*[[Zero no Tsukaima|Zero no Tsukaima]]

*[[Clannad|Clannad Interactive Novel]]

*[[Kara no Kyoukai|Kara no Kyoukai]]

*[[GOTH|GOTH: Wrist Cutting Incident]]

* Suzumiya Haruhi Series

:*[[Suzumiya_Haruhi|English]]

:*[[Suzumiya Haruhi ~ Vietnamese version|Vietnamese]]

:*[[SPA_Suzumiya_Haruhi|Español]]

:*[[Suzumiya_Haruhi_(version_française)|Française]]

== Hosted Projects ==

*[[Maria_Sama_Ga_Miteru|Maria Sama Ga Miteru]]

*[[Anghelica_Romanza|Angelic Romance!]]

*[[Fate/Zero]]

== Teaser Projects ==

*[[Gakkou_wo_Deyou!|Gakkou wo Deyou!]]

*[[Iriya_no_Sora_UFO_no_Natsu|Iriya no Sora UFO no Natsu]]

*[[Watashi_Tachi_no_Tamura_kun|Watashi Tachi no Tamura kun]]

*[[Zaregoto_Series|Zaregoto Series]]

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story2 Chapter1

2007-03-19T13:55:22Z

The naming game: /* Page 131 */ reworking the "wine taking its effect" sentence.

== [[zeroNT:Gandvol01editchpter04control|Raw English Translation Available Here]] ==

== Chapter 04 - Part One ==
=== Chapter Four: A Familiar's Day ===

It had been a week since Saito started his life as Louise's familiar at Tristain Magic Academy. If one were to explain an average day for Saito, it would read like the following: 

<center>* * *</center>

First, like the majority of animals and humans in Tristain, he woke up in the morning. His bed was, as usual, the floor, though compared to the first day it had mostly improved. Finding that his body hurt all night if he slept on the hard floor, Saito had asked the maid Siesta for some of the hay that was fed to the horses and had packed it into a corner of the room. Saito slept on the pile of  hay, wrapped in the blanket that Louise had so "graciously" bestowed upon him.


Louise called Saito's makeshift bed "the chicken's nest," which was appropriate as chickens slept on hay, and as the first thing Saito did every morning was to wake Louise up, like a rooster.

But he had to, because there would be trouble for him if Louise woke up first. 

"A stupid familiar that has to be woken by its master needs to be punished." Louise never forgot to remind him. 

=== Page 121 ===

If Saito ever overslept, he'd be denied breakfast. 

Once woken up, Louise got changed. She put on her underwear by herself, but made Saito dress her in her uniform. This was mentioned before.
 

With her enchanting looks, Saito was breathless every time he saw Louise in her underwear. They say you get used to a beautiful lover in three days, but it didn't seem Saito would get used to Louise anytime soon.

Maybe because he was her familiar, not her lover. Still, always by Louise's side, he essentially was one. The only difference was in her attitude and treatment of him.

Getting to see Louise like this every day wasn't all bad, however, it was a persistent wound to his pride. When helping Louise into her shoes, for example, he couldn't hide the irritation from his face.

At least that much was tolerated, but if Saito ever said anything to set Louise off, things became bothersome.

"A rude familiar that displeases its master this early in the morning needs to be punished," was another of Louise's mottos.


If ever Saito teased Louise about her breast size, or got pouty and said something like, "do up the buttons yourself," he'd be denied breakfast.

Dressed in her uniform, consisting of a black cloak, a white blouse, and a grey pleated skirt, Louise then washed her face and brushed her teeth. The room didn't even have sensible things like running water installed, so Saito had to go 


=== Page 122 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

down to the fountain and bring up water for Louise's use in a bucket. And of course, Louise didn't wash her face herself. She made Saito do it.

One morning, while he was wiping her face with a towel, he lightly traced Louise's face with a piece of charcoal he had found.

Seeing his masterwork drawn on Louise's face, Saito barely held in a snigger. Then in pretend obsequience, he politely bowed his head to Louise.

"Mistress. You are the epitome of beauty this day." 

Due to low blood pressure, Louise could only manage a sleepy reply.  


"...Are you plotting something?"

"Myself? I am simply a familiar serving the orders of my mistress. I would not dare to plot!"

Louise was suspicious of Saito's sudden and excessive politeness, but since she was almost late for class, she didn't question him any further.

With her vividly rosy cheeks, charming hazel eyes, and lips that seemed carved from fine coral, Louise knew she didn't need to decorate herself, so she didn't wear any kind of make-up. In other words, this meant she didn't look in the mirror much. And this day was no different. The result: she had absolutely no idea of the "make-up" that Saito had applied on her.


Louise headed out to class in that state. The time being what it was, she didn't encounter anyone in the hallways or stairs.

=== Page 123 ===

Louise opened the classroom door panting. As one, her classmates looked at her and exploded with laughter.

"Hey, looking good, Louise!"

"Oh my god! That's '''so''' you!"

Afterwards, when Mister Colbert kindly complimented the stylish glasses and moustache sketched on her face, Louise went berserk. She went out into the hallway where Saito was holding his stomach as he rolled on the floor in hysteric laughter, slapped him a dozen times, and cut his meals for the entire day.

According to Louise, a familiar that treated its master's face like a piece of canvas was akin to the demons of old that opposed the Founder Brimir and his many allied gods, and such demons were not worthy of the bread and soup granted by the Lady Queen.

<center>* * *</center>

After breakfast, Saito cleaned Louise's room. This involved sweeping the floor with a broom and wiping the table and windows with a cloth.

And then there was the oh-so-enjoyable laundry. He took the laundry down to the fountain and scrubbed it clean against a washboard. There was no warm water, only icy cold water that bit fiercely at his fingers. Louise's underwear were all expensive looking pieces with lots of lace and frills attached. He would get a meal cut if he happened to damage one, so he had to wash them gently. It was painful work. Tired of it all, he left one particular pair with a slightly torn elastic band in the pile one day. Merely a few days later, 

=== Page 124 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Louise walked out obliviously wearing that particular pair, when the elastic snapped entirely. Her panties slid down to her ankles, entangling both of Louise's legs like a trapper's snare. 

It just so happened that she was at the top of a staircase, so she tumbled spectacularly down them.

Most fortunately, there wasn't anyone else around to see her roll down the stairs with her lower half shamefully exposed, so at least her reputation was spared. Realizing that it had been overkill, Saito was careful not to peek inside her skirt as he apologized profusely to Louise, who lay unconscious at the staircase landing. He hadn't meant for the joke to derail like this. Ideally, he had envisioned it happening in a hallway for optimum embarrassment.

Once Louise regained consciousness and realized what had happened, she thrust the torn pair of panties accusingly at Saito, who was sitting subserviently by the bedside.

"There was a torn pair."

"Indeed there was, Mistress."

Louise's voice quavered with fury.

"Explain yourself. And concisely."

"It must have been the fountain water, Mistress. Why, it's so cold it could freeze fingers right off. I believe the elastic couldn't endure that."

Saito replied curtly.

=== Page 125 ===

"So you're saying it's the elastic's fault?"

"I'm saying it's the water's fault. It was bad water. I'm convinced that there must be some kind of curse on it to make it cold and also affect the elastic somehow."

"In that case, I should not feed such a loyal familiar soup made from that kind of bad water."

"Most gracious of you."

"Three days should do, I think, for the water to return to normal."

Saito had his meals cut for three days.

<center>* * *</center>

However, Saito remained completely fine for those three days. He'd just pretend to be withering and visit the kitchen behind the Hall of Alviss, where the energetic and lovely Siesta would serve him food like stew, and meat on the bone. He went there even when his meals weren't cut. The soup that Louise declared "The Widespread Blessing of Her Lady Queen" was never enough of a blessing to fill him up.

Naturally, he kept his visits to the kitchen a secret from Louise. She was adamant about not giving him more until he had corrected his behavior, so there would be trouble if she found out about the meat and stew Siesta kindly provided him with. Louise would surely forbid him visiting for the sake of "educating" her familiar.

=== Page 126 ===

Currently though, she was totally unaware. In any case, Saito preferred Siesta and the kitchen a hundred times more than some Lady Queen and Founder Brimir he'd never met.

<center>* * *</center>

One morning, after hungrily drinking down his soup in front of Louise, he went to the kitchen. Saito, having beaten the noble Guiche at the Vestri Courts, was hugely popular there.

"'Our Sword' is here!"

The one who called out was Marteau, the head chef, a well-rounded man well into his forties.  Naturally, he was also a commoner himself, but with his position of head chef at the Academy, he earned as much as a lower class noble, a fact he could be proud of.

Dressed in simple but fine clothes, he commanded the kitchen with a wave and flourish of his hand.

Despite his highly respectable position as head chef of a magic academy for nobles, Marteau wasn't the least bit arrogant, and surprisingly enough, disliked both magic and nobles.

He called Saito, who had used a sword to defeat Guiche, by the nickname "Our Sword" and treated the boy like a king. Thanks to him, the kitchen was an oasis to Saito.

Saito sat down at his chair, and with a smile, Siesta promptly brought him a bowl of warm stew and soft white bread.

"Thanks."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part One signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Two ==
=== Page 127 ===

"Today's stew is extra special,"

Siesta declared, looking particularly happy. Saito curiously lifted a spoonful to his mouth and his face instantly lit up.

"Wow, this is delicious! It's worlds apart from that gruel I get!"

At this, Marteau approached the table holding a kitchen knife.


"Well of course. That stew's the same stuff we serve to the noble kids." 

"I can't believe this is the kind of stuff they get to eat everyday..."

Marteau snorted loudly at Saito's comment.

"Hmph! Sure, they can use magic. Making pots and pans and castles from dirt, conjuring up unbelievable gems, even controlling dragons - so what! But see, creating such exquisite dishes like this is a kind of magic itself. Wouldn't you agree, Saito?"

Saito nodded.

"Absolutely."

"A fine fellow! You're a good man!"

He put an arm around Saito's shoulders.

"Here, "Our Sword"! Let me place a kiss upon your forehead! Come on! I insist!"

"I'd rather you not. And stop calling me that,"

=== Page 128 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Saito said.

"Why not?"

"It's just... weird."

The man let go of Saito and spread his arms out in protest.

"But you cut a mage's golem to pieces! Don't you get it?"

"I suppose."

"Say, just where did you learn to use a sword? Tell me where I can go to learn how to swing a sword like that."

Marteau stared earnestly at Saito. He asked the same thing every time Saito came to eat, and Saito's answer was the same every time.

"I don't know. I've never held a sword before. My body just moved by itself."

"You guys! Did you hear that?!"

He yelled, his voice echoing around the kitchen.

The younger cooks and the apprentices shouted back.

"We hear you, boss!"

"This is what they call a true master! They never boast about their skill! Look and learn! A true master never boasts!"

=== Page 129 ===

The cooks chanted happily.

"A true master never boasts!"

Then Marteau turned back around to face Saito.

"You know, "Our Sword," I'm starting to like you more and more. So how about it?"

"Um, how about what...?"

He was simply telling the truth, but Marteau always thought he was just being modest. It was somewhat frustrating. He felt like he was deceiving the good-natured man. Saito's gaze dropped down to the runes on his left hand.


''Since that day, it hasn't glowed anymore. Just what was that, I wonder...'' Even when Saito tried to make a point of staring at his own runes, Marteau interpreted that as him being reserved.

The chef turned to Siesta.

"Siesta!"

"Yes?"

Siesta, who had been cheerfully watching the two of them get along, responded brightly.

"Bring our hero here some of Albion's finest."

Her smile widened, and retrieving a wine bottle of the requested vintage from the rack,


=== Page 130 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

she poured some into Saito's glass. Siesta looked on absorbedly as Saito's face grew redder and redder from the wine. These events repeat almost routinely:

Saito visits the kitchen, Marteau becomes more attached to Saito, and Siesta's respect for him deepens further.

<center>* * *</center>

Although that particular day... there was a crimson shadow  spying on Saito from a window of the kitchen. One of the young cooks took notice of it.

"Hey, there's something outside the window."

The shadow gave a garbled 'kyuru kyuru' and slinked away.

<center>* * *</center>

Then, after breakfast, cleaning, and laundry, he accompanies Louise in class. Originally, he was made to sit on the floor, but after Louise realized he had become rather transfixed with peering up other girls' skirts, she reluctantly let him sit on a chair. And she made it clear to Saito that should his vision ever stray too far from the blackboard, he would be denied lunch.


In the beginning, the lessons fascinated Saito with their marvels: turning water into wine, combining various reagents to brew special potions, materializing fireballs out of nothing, levitating boxes and sticks and balls


=== Page 131 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

out of the class windows for their familiars to fetch, etc... but after a while, the novelty wore off.

And so he took to napping instead. The professor and Louise would give Saito evil looks every once in a while, but there were no rules forbidding familiars from sleeping during lessons. And just looking around the class, all the nocturnal familiars were snoozing away, even someone's owl. In fact, if they were to wake Saito up, it would mean that they were acknowledging him as a human. Louise chewed her lips from the overwhelming desire to give the sleeping Saito a piece of her mind, but she couldn't because doing so would mean contradicting herself about him being nothing more than a familiar.


<center>* * *</center>

That same day, bathed in sunlight, Saito was fast asleep during another lesson.

The wine he drank that morning was taking effect, and Saito dreamed.

It was quite an unbelievable dream.

A dream in which Louise crept into his hay pile at night as he was sleeping.


''"What's wrong, Louise...?"''

At hearing her name being called, Louise shot a glare at Saito.

''"You can't sleep? Oh, alright... can't be helped. Munya~"'' 

Oh, he's just muttering in his sleep, she thought, and faced the front again.

=== Page 132 ===

''"...Munya. H-hey, don't hug me all of a sudden."''

Louise's gaze snapped to Saito once more. The other students were starting to take notice of the situation, and perked their ears to listen.

''"...Jeez, for the slave driver you are during the day, you're such a sweet little thing in bed."''

A trickle of drool ran down from the corner of Saito's mouth as he continued to enjoy his dream.

Louise grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously.

"Hey! Just what kind of dream are you having?!"

Her classmates burst out laughing. Malicorne the Windward made a passing comment.

"Oi oi, Louise! Is that the kind of thing you do with your familiar at night? I'm surprised!"

The female students whispered something amongst themselves.

"Wait! This is just some stupid sleep-talk! Ah, jeez! Wake up already!"

''"Louise, Louise, you're like a kitten; stop licking me there like that..."''


At this, the laughter threatened to burst through the ceiling.

Louise kicked Saito off the chair, violently returning him to reality from his soft and gentle dreamscape.

"Wh-what was that for?!"

"Since when have I ever snuck into your hay pile?!"

=== Page 133 - Illustration ===

Illustration -- ''Set phasers to 'tsun'...''

=== Page 134 ===

Louise crossed her arms and looked down imposingly on Saito.

Saito shook his head profusely, only further amusing the class.

"Saito, explain to these rather rude people that I never take one step out of my own bed during the night."

"That's right, everyone. I was simply dreaming out loud just now. Louise would never do such a thing."

The students turned away disappointedly.

"Isn't it obvious? Like I would ever do something like that! With this thing, no less! This thing! To even think that I would curl up in bed with this lower life form is far beyond being a joke!"

Louise huffed haughtily, averting her gaze upwards.

"But, my dreams often come true."

Saito piped up.

"Indeed! Dreams do have the power to foretell the future, after all!" Someone in the room supplied in agreement.

"My master here, with her personality, probably won't ever find herself a lover."

A vast majority of the students nodded. Louise shot Saito another evil look, but it was too late. Saito was on a roll.

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Two signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Three ==
=== Page 135 ===

"My poor master gets quite "frustrated" as a result, and instead resorts to slipping into this familiar's humble hay pile."

Louise put her hands on her hips and strongly reprimanded Saito.

"Enough! Close that unclean mouth of yours right now!"




That didn't stop Saito from continuing either.

"When she does, I have to fend her off a bit..."

By this point, he was too far gone. Louise's shoulders began to tremble angrily.

"And tell her, 'this isn't where you sleep.'"

The class applauded. Saito mimicked an elegant bow and went to sit back down.

Louise kicked him away, sending him rolling across the floor.

"Don't kick me!"

But Louise was beyond the point of reasoning. Her gaze was fixed firmly forward, and as always, her shoulders shook with barely contained fury,

Once again, there was a crimson shadow watching Saito.

It was Kirche's salamander. With its belly to the floor, it stared at Saito through the gap in the row of chairs.

"Hm?"

===Page 136 ===

Noticing it, Saito waved his hand at it.

"You're Kirche's salamander, aren't you? I know you have a name. What was it... Oh yeah, it's Flame. Flame-"

Saito motioned for it to come closer, but the salamander flicked its tail around and spat out a few embers before running back to its master.

"Why would a lizard be so interested in me?"

Saito tilted his head in puzzlement.

<center>* * *</center>

And while Saito was having a staring contest with a salamander during class...

At the Headmaster's Office, Miss Longueville the secretary was busily writing away at something.

She stopped writing for a moment and glanced over at the sequoia desk at which Sir Osmond was busy taking a nap.

The corner of Miss Longueville's lips rose in a faint smirk, an expression she had never shown anyone before.

She stood up from her desk.

In a low voice, she murmured the incantation for a "Silence" spell. Dampening her footsteps so as not to wake Osmond, she crept out of the office.

=== Page 137 ===

Her destination was the treasury, located on the floor directly below the Headmaster's Office.

Stepping off the stairs, she confronted enormous iron doors. They were kept shut with a thick bolt mechanism, which in turn was secured with an equally large padlock.

This place was where artifacts dating even before the Academy's establishment were contained. After cautiously surveying her surroundings, Miss Longueville withdrew her wand from a pocket. It was about the length of a pencil, but with a flick of the wrist, it extended to the length of an conductor's baton, which she whirled expertly.

Miss Longueville cast another spell.

Once the invocation was complete, she pointed the baton at the padlock.

However... nothing happened.

"Well, it's not like I really expected an "Unlock" spell to work anyway."

Smiling deviously, she began reciting the words to one of her specialty spells.

It was a Transmutation spell. Chanting loud and clear, she waved her baton at the heavy lock. The magic cascaded over it... but even after a considerable wait, there was no visible change.

"Looks like it's been magically reinforced by a Square-class mage," she muttered.


A "Reinforcement" spell was one that prevented the oxidation and decomposition of matter. Any substance that had this spell cast on it was protected from any chemical reactions, and allowed it to be preserved

=== Page 138 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

forever in that state. Even transmutation magic would have no effect against something protected like this. Only if one's magical skill surpassed that of the mage who cast the reinforcement could the spell be overcome.

As it was, the mage who had enchanted this door was apparently an extremely powerful mage, considering that not even Miss Longueville, an expert in Earth magic and transmutation in particular, was able to affect the door.

Taking off her glasses, she stared at the door once more. At this point, she heard footsteps coming up the staircase.

She shrunk down her baton and slipped it back into her pocket.

The person who appeared was Colbert.

"Greetings, Miss Longueville. What are you doing here?"

"Mister Colbert, I was going to catalog the contents of the treasury, but..."

"Oh, that's quite some work. It'd probably take you all day to go over each and every item. There's a lot of junk mixed together with them, and it's a rather cramped space they've been arranged in too."

"Indeed."

"Why don't you just borrow the key from Old Osmond?"

The woman smiled.

=== Page 139 ===

"Well... I didn't want to disturb his sleep. In any case, I'm in no immediate hurry to complete the catalog..."

"I see. Sleep, you say. That old man, I mean, Old Osmond, is quite a deep sleeper. It seems I shall have to visit him another time."

Mister Colbert began to walk off, but paused in his tracks, and turned around.


"Err... Miss Longueville?"

"Is something the matter?"

Colbert looked slightly embarrassed as he opened his mouth to speak.

"If it would be alright, how would you like to, say... join me for lunch?"

She took a moment to consider, then smiled brightly as she accepted the offer.

"Sure, it'd be my pleasure."

The two of them headed down the stairs.

"Hey, Mister Colbert."

In slightly informal tones, Miss Longueville struck up conversation again.

"Y-yes? What is it?"

Emboldened by how easily his invitation had been taken up, Colbert responded quite eagerly to her.

"Is anything actually inside the treasury?"

=== Page 140 ===

"There is."

"Then, do you know of the 'Staff of Destruction'?"

"Ah, that is quite a curiously shaped item, indeed."

Her eyes glinted.

"What... kind of shape?"

"It's extremely difficult to describe, except as simply strange, yes. But never mind that, what would you like to eat? Today's menu is flounder baked in herbs... but I'm quite well-acquainted with Marteau the head chef, and I can have him make any of the world's finest delica--"

"Ahem."


Miss Longueville interrupted Colbert's babbling.

"Y-yes?"

"I must say, the treasury is quite amazingly built. No matter what kind of magic is tried, it would be impossible to open, I assume?"

"That's quite right. It's impossible for just any one mage. After all, it was devised by a group of Square-class mages to resist all spells."


"I'm very impressed that you're so knowledgeable about this, Mister Colbert."

She regarded him with a comfortable expression.

=== Page 141 ===

"Eh? Well... Haha, I just happened to come across a lot of documents pertaining to this floor, that's all... I like to consider it a part of my research, haha. Thanks to that, I'm still single at this age... yes."

"I'm sure the woman that you find will be very happy to be with you. After all, you can teach her so much about things that nobody else knows..."

Miss Longueville fixed him with a fascinated look.

"Oh, no! Please don't tease me like that!"

Colbert flustered nervously as he wiped sweat from his balding forehead. Then, regaining composure, he faced her seriously.

"Miss Longueville. Have you heard of the Ball of [[#frigg|Frigg]] that is being held on the day of Yule?" 

"No, I haven't."

"Haha, I guess it's because you've only been in Tristain for two months. Well, it's nothing spectacular, just a party of sorts. However, it's said that a couple who dances at this ball will be destined to be together or something like that. It's just a petty legend of course! Yes!"

"So?"

Smiling, she pressed him to continue.

"So... if it would be alright, I was wondering if you would dance with me, yes."

"I would love to. While ball parties are fabulous, I'd like to know more about the treasury right now. I'm

=== Page 142 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

quite fascinated by magical items, you see."

Wanting to further impress Miss Longueville, Colbert racked his brains. ''Treasury, treasury, she says...''

Remembering something she might find interesting, he put on an important air and started to talk.

"Ah yes, there's one thing I can tell you. Although it's not particularly important..."

"By all means, do tell."

"Certainly, the treasury is invincible against magical attacks, but I believe it has one fatal weakness."

"Oh, that's intriguing."

"That weakness is... physical force."

"Physical force?"

"Yes! For example, well, not that this is ever likely, but a giant golem could--"

"A giant golem?"

Colbert stated his opinion quite proudly to Miss Longueville. And once he was done talking, she couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

"That was most intriguing indeed, Mister Colbert."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Three signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Translator's Notes ==
;[[#back_to_frigg|↑]] Frigg
:In Norse mythology, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frigg Frigg] (Eddas) or Frigga (Gesta Danorum) was said to be "foremost among the goddesses," the wife of Odin, queen of the Æsir, and goddess of the sky.
----

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story2 Chapter1

2007-03-19T13:39:23Z

The naming game: /* Translator's Notes */ fixed span id

== [[zeroNT:Gandvol01editchpter04control|Raw English Translation Available Here]] ==

== Chapter 04 - Part One ==
=== Chapter Four: A Familiar's Day ===

It had been a week since Saito started his life as Louise's familiar at Tristain Magic Academy. If one were to explain an average day for Saito, it would read like the following: 

<center>* * *</center>

First, like the majority of animals and humans in Tristain, he woke up in the morning. His bed was, as usual, the floor, though compared to the first day it had mostly improved. Finding that his body hurt all night if he slept on the hard floor, Saito had asked the maid Siesta for some of the hay that was fed to the horses and had packed it into a corner of the room. Saito slept on the pile of  hay, wrapped in the blanket that Louise had so "graciously" bestowed upon him.


Louise called Saito's makeshift bed "the chicken's nest," which was appropriate as chickens slept on hay, and as the first thing Saito did every morning was to wake Louise up, like a rooster.

But he had to, because there would be trouble for him if Louise woke up first. 

"A stupid familiar that has to be woken by its master needs to be punished." Louise never forgot to remind him. 

=== Page 121 ===

If Saito ever overslept, he'd be denied breakfast. 

Once woken up, Louise got changed. She put on her underwear by herself, but made Saito dress her in her uniform. This was mentioned before.
 

With her enchanting looks, Saito was breathless every time he saw Louise in her underwear. They say you get used to a beautiful lover in three days, but it didn't seem Saito would get used to Louise anytime soon.

Maybe because he was her familiar, not her lover. Still, always by Louise's side, he essentially was one. The only difference was in her attitude and treatment of him.

Getting to see Louise like this every day wasn't all bad, however, it was a persistent wound to his pride. When helping Louise into her shoes, for example, he couldn't hide the irritation from his face.

At least that much was tolerated, but if Saito ever said anything to set Louise off, things became bothersome.

"A rude familiar that displeases its master this early in the morning needs to be punished," was another of Louise's mottos.


If ever Saito teased Louise about her breast size, or got pouty and said something like, "do up the buttons yourself," he'd be denied breakfast.

Dressed in her uniform, consisting of a black cloak, a white blouse, and a grey pleated skirt, Louise then washed her face and brushed her teeth. The room didn't even have sensible things like running water installed, so Saito had to go 


=== Page 122 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

down to the fountain and bring up water for Louise's use in a bucket. And of course, Louise didn't wash her face herself. She made Saito do it.

One morning, while he was wiping her face with a towel, he lightly traced Louise's face with a piece of charcoal he had found.

Seeing his masterwork drawn on Louise's face, Saito barely held in a snigger. Then in pretend obsequience, he politely bowed his head to Louise.

"Mistress. You are the epitome of beauty this day." 

Due to low blood pressure, Louise could only manage a sleepy reply.  


"...Are you plotting something?"

"Myself? I am simply a familiar serving the orders of my mistress. I would not dare to plot!"

Louise was suspicious of Saito's sudden and excessive politeness, but since she was almost late for class, she didn't question him any further.

With her vividly rosy cheeks, charming hazel eyes, and lips that seemed carved from fine coral, Louise knew she didn't need to decorate herself, so she didn't wear any kind of make-up. In other words, this meant she didn't look in the mirror much. And this day was no different. The result: she had absolutely no idea of the "make-up" that Saito had applied on her.


Louise headed out to class in that state. The time being what it was, she didn't encounter anyone in the hallways or stairs.

=== Page 123 ===

Louise opened the classroom door panting. As one, her classmates looked at her and exploded with laughter.

"Hey, looking good, Louise!"

"Oh my god! That's '''so''' you!"

Afterwards, when Mister Colbert kindly complimented the stylish glasses and moustache sketched on her face, Louise went berserk. She went out into the hallway where Saito was holding his stomach as he rolled on the floor in hysteric laughter, slapped him a dozen times, and cut his meals for the entire day.

According to Louise, a familiar that treated its master's face like a piece of canvas was akin to the demons of old that opposed the Founder Brimir and his many allied gods, and such demons were not worthy of the bread and soup granted by the Lady Queen.

<center>* * *</center>

After breakfast, Saito cleaned Louise's room. This involved sweeping the floor with a broom and wiping the table and windows with a cloth.

And then there was the oh-so-enjoyable laundry. He took the laundry down to the fountain and scrubbed it clean against a washboard. There was no warm water, only icy cold water that bit fiercely at his fingers. Louise's underwear were all expensive looking pieces with lots of lace and frills attached. He would get a meal cut if he happened to damage one, so he had to wash them gently. It was painful work. Tired of it all, he left one particular pair with a slightly torn elastic band in the pile one day. Merely a few days later, 

=== Page 124 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Louise walked out obliviously wearing that particular pair, when the elastic snapped entirely. Her panties slid down to her ankles, entangling both of Louise's legs like a trapper's snare. 

It just so happened that she was at the top of a staircase, so she tumbled spectacularly down them.

Most fortunately, there wasn't anyone else around to see her roll down the stairs with her lower half shamefully exposed, so at least her reputation was spared. Realizing that it had been overkill, Saito was careful not to peek inside her skirt as he apologized profusely to Louise, who lay unconscious at the staircase landing. He hadn't meant for the joke to derail like this. Ideally, he had envisioned it happening in a hallway for optimum embarrassment.

Once Louise regained consciousness and realized what had happened, she thrust the torn pair of panties accusingly at Saito, who was sitting subserviently by the bedside.

"There was a torn pair."

"Indeed there was, Mistress."

Louise's voice quavered with fury.

"Explain yourself. And concisely."

"It must have been the fountain water, Mistress. Why, it's so cold it could freeze fingers right off. I believe the elastic couldn't endure that."

Saito replied curtly.

=== Page 125 ===

"So you're saying it's the elastic's fault?"

"I'm saying it's the water's fault. It was bad water. I'm convinced that there must be some kind of curse on it to make it cold and also affect the elastic somehow."

"In that case, I should not feed such a loyal familiar soup made from that kind of bad water."

"Most gracious of you."

"Three days should do, I think, for the water to return to normal."

Saito had his meals cut for three days.

<center>* * *</center>

However, Saito remained completely fine for those three days. He'd just pretend to be withering and visit the kitchen behind the Hall of Alviss, where the energetic and lovely Siesta would serve him food like stew, and meat on the bone. He went there even when his meals weren't cut. The soup that Louise declared "The Widespread Blessing of Her Lady Queen" was never enough of a blessing to fill him up.

Naturally, he kept his visits to the kitchen a secret from Louise. She was adamant about not giving him more until he had corrected his behavior, so there would be trouble if she found out about the meat and stew Siesta kindly provided him with. Louise would surely forbid him visiting for the sake of "educating" her familiar.

=== Page 126 ===

Currently though, she was totally unaware. In any case, Saito preferred Siesta and the kitchen a hundred times more than some Lady Queen and Founder Brimir he'd never met.

<center>* * *</center>

One morning, after hungrily drinking down his soup in front of Louise, he went to the kitchen. Saito, having beaten the noble Guiche at the Vestri Courts, was hugely popular there.

"'Our Sword' is here!"

The one who called out was Marteau, the head chef, a well-rounded man well into his forties.  Naturally, he was also a commoner himself, but with his position of head chef at the Academy, he earned as much as a lower class noble, a fact he could be proud of.

Dressed in simple but fine clothes, he commanded the kitchen with a wave and flourish of his hand.

Despite his highly respectable position as head chef of a magic academy for nobles, Marteau wasn't the least bit arrogant, and surprisingly enough, disliked both magic and nobles.

He called Saito, who had used a sword to defeat Guiche, by the nickname "Our Sword" and treated the boy like a king. Thanks to him, the kitchen was an oasis to Saito.

Saito sat down at his chair, and with a smile, Siesta promptly brought him a bowl of warm stew and soft white bread.

"Thanks."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part One signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Two ==
=== Page 127 ===

"Today's stew is extra special,"

Siesta declared, looking particularly happy. Saito curiously lifted a spoonful to his mouth and his face instantly lit up.

"Wow, this is delicious! It's worlds apart from that gruel I get!"

At this, Marteau approached the table holding a kitchen knife.


"Well of course. That stew's the same stuff we serve to the noble kids." 

"I can't believe this is the kind of stuff they get to eat everyday..."

Marteau snorted loudly at Saito's comment.

"Hmph! Sure, they can use magic. Making pots and pans and castles from dirt, conjuring up unbelievable gems, even controlling dragons - so what! But see, creating such exquisite dishes like this is a kind of magic itself. Wouldn't you agree, Saito?"

Saito nodded.

"Absolutely."

"A fine fellow! You're a good man!"

He put an arm around Saito's shoulders.

"Here, "Our Sword"! Let me place a kiss upon your forehead! Come on! I insist!"

"I'd rather you not. And stop calling me that,"

=== Page 128 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Saito said.

"Why not?"

"It's just... weird."

The man let go of Saito and spread his arms out in protest.

"But you cut a mage's golem to pieces! Don't you get it?"

"I suppose."

"Say, just where did you learn to use a sword? Tell me where I can go to learn how to swing a sword like that."

Marteau stared earnestly at Saito. He asked the same thing every time Saito came to eat, and Saito's answer was the same every time.

"I don't know. I've never held a sword before. My body just moved by itself."

"You guys! Did you hear that?!"

He yelled, his voice echoing around the kitchen.

The younger cooks and the apprentices shouted back.

"We hear you, boss!"

"This is what they call a true master! They never boast about their skill! Look and learn! A true master never boasts!"

=== Page 129 ===

The cooks chanted happily.

"A true master never boasts!"

Then Marteau turned back around to face Saito.

"You know, "Our Sword," I'm starting to like you more and more. So how about it?"

"Um, how about what...?"

He was simply telling the truth, but Marteau always thought he was just being modest. It was somewhat frustrating. He felt like he was deceiving the good-natured man. Saito's gaze dropped down to the runes on his left hand.


''Since that day, it hasn't glowed anymore. Just what was that, I wonder...'' Even when Saito tried to make a point of staring at his own runes, Marteau interpreted that as him being reserved.

The chef turned to Siesta.

"Siesta!"

"Yes?"

Siesta, who had been cheerfully watching the two of them get along, responded brightly.

"Bring our hero here some of Albion's finest."

Her smile widened, and retrieving a wine bottle of the requested vintage from the rack,


=== Page 130 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

she poured some into Saito's glass. Siesta looked on absorbedly as Saito's face grew redder and redder from the wine. These events repeat almost routinely:

Saito visits the kitchen, Marteau becomes more attached to Saito, and Siesta's respect for him deepens further.

<center>* * *</center>

Although that particular day... there was a crimson shadow  spying on Saito from a window of the kitchen. One of the young cooks took notice of it.

"Hey, there's something outside the window."

The shadow gave a garbled 'kyuru kyuru' and slinked away.

<center>* * *</center>

Then, after breakfast, cleaning, and laundry, he accompanies Louise in class. Originally, he was made to sit on the floor, but after Louise realized he had become rather transfixed with peering up other girls' skirts, she reluctantly let him sit on a chair. And she made it clear to Saito that should his vision ever stray too far from the blackboard, he would be denied lunch.


In the beginning, the lessons fascinated Saito with their marvels: turning water into wine, combining various reagents to brew special potions, materializing fireballs out of nothing, levitating boxes and sticks and balls


=== Page 131 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

out of the class windows for their familiars to fetch, etc... but after a while, the novelty wore off.

And so he took to napping instead. The professor and Louise would give Saito evil looks every once in a while, but there were no rules forbidding familiars from sleeping during lessons. And just looking around the class, all the nocturnal familiars were snoozing away, even someone's owl. In fact, if they were to wake Saito up, it would mean that they were acknowledging him as a human. Louise chewed her lips from the overwhelming desire to give the sleeping Saito a piece of her mind, but she couldn't because doing so would mean contradicting herself about him being nothing more than a familiar.


<center>* * *</center>

That same day, bathed in sunlight, Saito was fast asleep during another lesson.

The wine he drank that morning was having its effect on him, and Saito dreamed.

It was quite an unbelievable dream.

A dream in which Louise crept into his hay pile at night as he was sleeping.


''"What's wrong, Louise...?"''

At hearing her name being called, Louise shot a glare at Saito.

''"You can't sleep? Oh, alright... can't be helped. Munya~"'' 

Oh, he's just muttering in his sleep, she thought, and faced the front again.

=== Page 132 ===

''"...Munya. H-hey, don't hug me all of a sudden."''

Louise's gaze snapped to Saito once more. The other students were starting to take notice of the situation, and perked their ears to listen.

''"...Jeez, for the slave driver you are during the day, you're such a sweet little thing in bed."''

A trickle of drool ran down from the corner of Saito's mouth as he continued to enjoy his dream.

Louise grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously.

"Hey! Just what kind of dream are you having?!"

Her classmates burst out laughing. Malicorne the Windward made a passing comment.

"Oi oi, Louise! Is that the kind of thing you do with your familiar at night? I'm surprised!"

The female students whispered something amongst themselves.

"Wait! This is just some stupid sleep-talk! Ah, jeez! Wake up already!"

''"Louise, Louise, you're like a kitten; stop licking me there like that..."''


At this, the laughter threatened to burst through the ceiling.

Louise kicked Saito off the chair, violently returning him to reality from his soft and gentle dreamscape.

"Wh-what was that for?!"

"Since when have I ever snuck into your hay pile?!"

=== Page 133 - Illustration ===

Illustration -- ''Set phasers to 'tsun'...''

=== Page 134 ===

Louise crossed her arms and looked down imposingly on Saito.

Saito shook his head profusely, only further amusing the class.

"Saito, explain to these rather rude people that I never take one step out of my own bed during the night."

"That's right, everyone. I was simply dreaming out loud just now. Louise would never do such a thing."

The students turned away disappointedly.

"Isn't it obvious? Like I would ever do something like that! With this thing, no less! This thing! To even think that I would curl up in bed with this lower life form is far beyond being a joke!"

Louise huffed haughtily, averting her gaze upwards.

"But, my dreams often come true."

Saito piped up.

"Indeed! Dreams do have the power to foretell the future, after all!" Someone in the room supplied in agreement.

"My master here, with her personality, probably won't ever find herself a lover."

A vast majority of the students nodded. Louise shot Saito another evil look, but it was too late. Saito was on a roll.

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Two signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Three ==
=== Page 135 ===

"My poor master gets quite "frustrated" as a result, and instead resorts to slipping into this familiar's humble hay pile."

Louise put her hands on her hips and strongly reprimanded Saito.

"Enough! Close that unclean mouth of yours right now!"




That didn't stop Saito from continuing either.

"When she does, I have to fend her off a bit..."

By this point, he was too far gone. Louise's shoulders began to tremble angrily.

"And tell her, 'this isn't where you sleep.'"

The class applauded. Saito mimicked an elegant bow and went to sit back down.

Louise kicked him away, sending him rolling across the floor.

"Don't kick me!"

But Louise was beyond the point of reasoning. Her gaze was fixed firmly forward, and as always, her shoulders shook with barely contained fury,

Once again, there was a crimson shadow watching Saito.

It was Kirche's salamander. With its belly to the floor, it stared at Saito through the gap in the row of chairs.

"Hm?"

===Page 136 ===

Noticing it, Saito waved his hand at it.

"You're Kirche's salamander, aren't you? I know you have a name. What was it... Oh yeah, it's Flame. Flame-"

Saito motioned for it to come closer, but the salamander flicked its tail around and spat out a few embers before running back to its master.

"Why would a lizard be so interested in me?"

Saito tilted his head in puzzlement.

<center>* * *</center>

And while Saito was having a staring contest with a salamander during class...

At the Headmaster's Office, Miss Longueville the secretary was busily writing away at something.

She stopped writing for a moment and glanced over at the sequoia desk at which Sir Osmond was busy taking a nap.

The corner of Miss Longueville's lips rose in a faint smirk, an expression she had never shown anyone before.

She stood up from her desk.

In a low voice, she murmured the incantation for a "Silence" spell. Dampening her footsteps so as not to wake Osmond, she crept out of the office.

=== Page 137 ===

Her destination was the treasury, located on the floor directly below the Headmaster's Office.

Stepping off the stairs, she confronted enormous iron doors. They were kept shut with a thick bolt mechanism, which in turn was secured with an equally large padlock.

This place was where artifacts dating even before the Academy's establishment were contained. After cautiously surveying her surroundings, Miss Longueville withdrew her wand from a pocket. It was about the length of a pencil, but with a flick of the wrist, it extended to the length of an conductor's baton, which she whirled expertly.

Miss Longueville cast another spell.

Once the invocation was complete, she pointed the baton at the padlock.

However... nothing happened.

"Well, it's not like I really expected an "Unlock" spell to work anyway."

Smiling deviously, she began reciting the words to one of her specialty spells.

It was a Transmutation spell. Chanting loud and clear, she waved her baton at the heavy lock. The magic cascaded over it... but even after a considerable wait, there was no visible change.

"Looks like it's been magically reinforced by a Square-class mage," she muttered.


A "Reinforcement" spell was one that prevented the oxidation and decomposition of matter. Any substance that had this spell cast on it was protected from any chemical reactions, and allowed it to be preserved

=== Page 138 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

forever in that state. Even transmutation magic would have no effect against something protected like this. Only if one's magical skill surpassed that of the mage who cast the reinforcement could the spell be overcome.

As it was, the mage who had enchanted this door was apparently an extremely powerful mage, considering that not even Miss Longueville, an expert in Earth magic and transmutation in particular, was able to affect the door.

Taking off her glasses, she stared at the door once more. At this point, she heard footsteps coming up the staircase.

She shrunk down her baton and slipped it back into her pocket.

The person who appeared was Colbert.

"Greetings, Miss Longueville. What are you doing here?"

"Mister Colbert, I was going to catalog the contents of the treasury, but..."

"Oh, that's quite some work. It'd probably take you all day to go over each and every item. There's a lot of junk mixed together with them, and it's a rather cramped space they've been arranged in too."

"Indeed."

"Why don't you just borrow the key from Old Osmond?"

The woman smiled.

=== Page 139 ===

"Well... I didn't want to disturb his sleep. In any case, I'm in no immediate hurry to complete the catalog..."

"I see. Sleep, you say. That old man, I mean, Old Osmond, is quite a deep sleeper. It seems I shall have to visit him another time."

Mister Colbert began to walk off, but paused in his tracks, and turned around.


"Err... Miss Longueville?"

"Is something the matter?"

Colbert looked slightly embarrassed as he opened his mouth to speak.

"If it would be alright, how would you like to, say... join me for lunch?"

She took a moment to consider, then smiled brightly as she accepted the offer.

"Sure, it'd be my pleasure."

The two of them headed down the stairs.

"Hey, Mister Colbert."

In slightly informal tones, Miss Longueville struck up conversation again.

"Y-yes? What is it?"

Emboldened by how easily his invitation had been taken up, Colbert responded quite eagerly to her.

"Is anything actually inside the treasury?"

=== Page 140 ===

"There is."

"Then, do you know of the 'Staff of Destruction'?"

"Ah, that is quite a curiously shaped item, indeed."

Her eyes glinted.

"What... kind of shape?"

"It's extremely difficult to describe, except as simply strange, yes. But never mind that, what would you like to eat? Today's menu is flounder baked in herbs... but I'm quite well-acquainted with Marteau the head chef, and I can have him make any of the world's finest delica--"

"Ahem."


Miss Longueville interrupted Colbert's babbling.

"Y-yes?"

"I must say, the treasury is quite amazingly built. No matter what kind of magic is tried, it would be impossible to open, I assume?"

"That's quite right. It's impossible for just any one mage. After all, it was devised by a group of Square-class mages to resist all spells."


"I'm very impressed that you're so knowledgeable about this, Mister Colbert."

She regarded him with a comfortable expression.

=== Page 141 ===

"Eh? Well... Haha, I just happened to come across a lot of documents pertaining to this floor, that's all... I like to consider it a part of my research, haha. Thanks to that, I'm still single at this age... yes."

"I'm sure the woman that you find will be very happy to be with you. After all, you can teach her so much about things that nobody else knows..."

Miss Longueville fixed him with a fascinated look.

"Oh, no! Please don't tease me like that!"

Colbert flustered nervously as he wiped sweat from his balding forehead. Then, regaining composure, he faced her seriously.

"Miss Longueville. Have you heard of the Ball of [[#frigg|Frigg]] that is being held on the day of Yule?" 

"No, I haven't."

"Haha, I guess it's because you've only been in Tristain for two months. Well, it's nothing spectacular, just a party of sorts. However, it's said that a couple who dances at this ball will be destined to be together or something like that. It's just a petty legend of course! Yes!"

"So?"

Smiling, she pressed him to continue.

"So... if it would be alright, I was wondering if you would dance with me, yes."

"I would love to. While ball parties are fabulous, I'd like to know more about the treasury right now. I'm

=== Page 142 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

quite fascinated by magical items, you see."

Wanting to further impress Miss Longueville, Colbert racked his brains. ''Treasury, treasury, she says...''

Remembering something she might find interesting, he put on an important air and started to talk.

"Ah yes, there's one thing I can tell you. Although it's not particularly important..."

"By all means, do tell."

"Certainly, the treasury is invincible against magical attacks, but I believe it has one fatal weakness."

"Oh, that's intriguing."

"That weakness is... physical force."

"Physical force?"

"Yes! For example, well, not that this is ever likely, but a giant golem could--"

"A giant golem?"

Colbert stated his opinion quite proudly to Miss Longueville. And once he was done talking, she couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

"That was most intriguing indeed, Mister Colbert."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Three signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Translator's Notes ==
;[[#back_to_frigg|↑]] Frigg
:In Norse mythology, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frigg Frigg] (Eddas) or Frigga (Gesta Danorum) was said to be "foremost among the goddesses," the wife of Odin, queen of the Æsir, and goddess of the sky.
----

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story2 Chapter1

2007-03-19T13:38:14Z

The naming game: /* Translator's Notes */ added section, along with Frigg reference. Blurb is a direct wikipedia cut-paste.

== [[zeroNT:Gandvol01editchpter04control|Raw English Translation Available Here]] ==

== Chapter 04 - Part One ==
=== Chapter Four: A Familiar's Day ===

It had been a week since Saito started his life as Louise's familiar at Tristain Magic Academy. If one were to explain an average day for Saito, it would read like the following: 

<center>* * *</center>

First, like the majority of animals and humans in Tristain, he woke up in the morning. His bed was, as usual, the floor, though compared to the first day it had mostly improved. Finding that his body hurt all night if he slept on the hard floor, Saito had asked the maid Siesta for some of the hay that was fed to the horses and had packed it into a corner of the room. Saito slept on the pile of  hay, wrapped in the blanket that Louise had so "graciously" bestowed upon him.


Louise called Saito's makeshift bed "the chicken's nest," which was appropriate as chickens slept on hay, and as the first thing Saito did every morning was to wake Louise up, like a rooster.

But he had to, because there would be trouble for him if Louise woke up first. 

"A stupid familiar that has to be woken by its master needs to be punished." Louise never forgot to remind him. 

=== Page 121 ===

If Saito ever overslept, he'd be denied breakfast. 

Once woken up, Louise got changed. She put on her underwear by herself, but made Saito dress her in her uniform. This was mentioned before.
 

With her enchanting looks, Saito was breathless every time he saw Louise in her underwear. They say you get used to a beautiful lover in three days, but it didn't seem Saito would get used to Louise anytime soon.

Maybe because he was her familiar, not her lover. Still, always by Louise's side, he essentially was one. The only difference was in her attitude and treatment of him.

Getting to see Louise like this every day wasn't all bad, however, it was a persistent wound to his pride. When helping Louise into her shoes, for example, he couldn't hide the irritation from his face.

At least that much was tolerated, but if Saito ever said anything to set Louise off, things became bothersome.

"A rude familiar that displeases its master this early in the morning needs to be punished," was another of Louise's mottos.


If ever Saito teased Louise about her breast size, or got pouty and said something like, "do up the buttons yourself," he'd be denied breakfast.

Dressed in her uniform, consisting of a black cloak, a white blouse, and a grey pleated skirt, Louise then washed her face and brushed her teeth. The room didn't even have sensible things like running water installed, so Saito had to go 


=== Page 122 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

down to the fountain and bring up water for Louise's use in a bucket. And of course, Louise didn't wash her face herself. She made Saito do it.

One morning, while he was wiping her face with a towel, he lightly traced Louise's face with a piece of charcoal he had found.

Seeing his masterwork drawn on Louise's face, Saito barely held in a snigger. Then in pretend obsequience, he politely bowed his head to Louise.

"Mistress. You are the epitome of beauty this day." 

Due to low blood pressure, Louise could only manage a sleepy reply.  


"...Are you plotting something?"

"Myself? I am simply a familiar serving the orders of my mistress. I would not dare to plot!"

Louise was suspicious of Saito's sudden and excessive politeness, but since she was almost late for class, she didn't question him any further.

With her vividly rosy cheeks, charming hazel eyes, and lips that seemed carved from fine coral, Louise knew she didn't need to decorate herself, so she didn't wear any kind of make-up. In other words, this meant she didn't look in the mirror much. And this day was no different. The result: she had absolutely no idea of the "make-up" that Saito had applied on her.


Louise headed out to class in that state. The time being what it was, she didn't encounter anyone in the hallways or stairs.

=== Page 123 ===

Louise opened the classroom door panting. As one, her classmates looked at her and exploded with laughter.

"Hey, looking good, Louise!"

"Oh my god! That's '''so''' you!"

Afterwards, when Mister Colbert kindly complimented the stylish glasses and moustache sketched on her face, Louise went berserk. She went out into the hallway where Saito was holding his stomach as he rolled on the floor in hysteric laughter, slapped him a dozen times, and cut his meals for the entire day.

According to Louise, a familiar that treated its master's face like a piece of canvas was akin to the demons of old that opposed the Founder Brimir and his many allied gods, and such demons were not worthy of the bread and soup granted by the Lady Queen.

<center>* * *</center>

After breakfast, Saito cleaned Louise's room. This involved sweeping the floor with a broom and wiping the table and windows with a cloth.

And then there was the oh-so-enjoyable laundry. He took the laundry down to the fountain and scrubbed it clean against a washboard. There was no warm water, only icy cold water that bit fiercely at his fingers. Louise's underwear were all expensive looking pieces with lots of lace and frills attached. He would get a meal cut if he happened to damage one, so he had to wash them gently. It was painful work. Tired of it all, he left one particular pair with a slightly torn elastic band in the pile one day. Merely a few days later, 

=== Page 124 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Louise walked out obliviously wearing that particular pair, when the elastic snapped entirely. Her panties slid down to her ankles, entangling both of Louise's legs like a trapper's snare. 

It just so happened that she was at the top of a staircase, so she tumbled spectacularly down them.

Most fortunately, there wasn't anyone else around to see her roll down the stairs with her lower half shamefully exposed, so at least her reputation was spared. Realizing that it had been overkill, Saito was careful not to peek inside her skirt as he apologized profusely to Louise, who lay unconscious at the staircase landing. He hadn't meant for the joke to derail like this. Ideally, he had envisioned it happening in a hallway for optimum embarrassment.

Once Louise regained consciousness and realized what had happened, she thrust the torn pair of panties accusingly at Saito, who was sitting subserviently by the bedside.

"There was a torn pair."

"Indeed there was, Mistress."

Louise's voice quavered with fury.

"Explain yourself. And concisely."

"It must have been the fountain water, Mistress. Why, it's so cold it could freeze fingers right off. I believe the elastic couldn't endure that."

Saito replied curtly.

=== Page 125 ===

"So you're saying it's the elastic's fault?"

"I'm saying it's the water's fault. It was bad water. I'm convinced that there must be some kind of curse on it to make it cold and also affect the elastic somehow."

"In that case, I should not feed such a loyal familiar soup made from that kind of bad water."

"Most gracious of you."

"Three days should do, I think, for the water to return to normal."

Saito had his meals cut for three days.

<center>* * *</center>

However, Saito remained completely fine for those three days. He'd just pretend to be withering and visit the kitchen behind the Hall of Alviss, where the energetic and lovely Siesta would serve him food like stew, and meat on the bone. He went there even when his meals weren't cut. The soup that Louise declared "The Widespread Blessing of Her Lady Queen" was never enough of a blessing to fill him up.

Naturally, he kept his visits to the kitchen a secret from Louise. She was adamant about not giving him more until he had corrected his behavior, so there would be trouble if she found out about the meat and stew Siesta kindly provided him with. Louise would surely forbid him visiting for the sake of "educating" her familiar.

=== Page 126 ===

Currently though, she was totally unaware. In any case, Saito preferred Siesta and the kitchen a hundred times more than some Lady Queen and Founder Brimir he'd never met.

<center>* * *</center>

One morning, after hungrily drinking down his soup in front of Louise, he went to the kitchen. Saito, having beaten the noble Guiche at the Vestri Courts, was hugely popular there.

"'Our Sword' is here!"

The one who called out was Marteau, the head chef, a well-rounded man well into his forties.  Naturally, he was also a commoner himself, but with his position of head chef at the Academy, he earned as much as a lower class noble, a fact he could be proud of.

Dressed in simple but fine clothes, he commanded the kitchen with a wave and flourish of his hand.

Despite his highly respectable position as head chef of a magic academy for nobles, Marteau wasn't the least bit arrogant, and surprisingly enough, disliked both magic and nobles.

He called Saito, who had used a sword to defeat Guiche, by the nickname "Our Sword" and treated the boy like a king. Thanks to him, the kitchen was an oasis to Saito.

Saito sat down at his chair, and with a smile, Siesta promptly brought him a bowl of warm stew and soft white bread.

"Thanks."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part One signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Two ==
=== Page 127 ===

"Today's stew is extra special,"

Siesta declared, looking particularly happy. Saito curiously lifted a spoonful to his mouth and his face instantly lit up.

"Wow, this is delicious! It's worlds apart from that gruel I get!"

At this, Marteau approached the table holding a kitchen knife.


"Well of course. That stew's the same stuff we serve to the noble kids." 

"I can't believe this is the kind of stuff they get to eat everyday..."

Marteau snorted loudly at Saito's comment.

"Hmph! Sure, they can use magic. Making pots and pans and castles from dirt, conjuring up unbelievable gems, even controlling dragons - so what! But see, creating such exquisite dishes like this is a kind of magic itself. Wouldn't you agree, Saito?"

Saito nodded.

"Absolutely."

"A fine fellow! You're a good man!"

He put an arm around Saito's shoulders.

"Here, "Our Sword"! Let me place a kiss upon your forehead! Come on! I insist!"

"I'd rather you not. And stop calling me that,"

=== Page 128 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Saito said.

"Why not?"

"It's just... weird."

The man let go of Saito and spread his arms out in protest.

"But you cut a mage's golem to pieces! Don't you get it?"

"I suppose."

"Say, just where did you learn to use a sword? Tell me where I can go to learn how to swing a sword like that."

Marteau stared earnestly at Saito. He asked the same thing every time Saito came to eat, and Saito's answer was the same every time.

"I don't know. I've never held a sword before. My body just moved by itself."

"You guys! Did you hear that?!"

He yelled, his voice echoing around the kitchen.

The younger cooks and the apprentices shouted back.

"We hear you, boss!"

"This is what they call a true master! They never boast about their skill! Look and learn! A true master never boasts!"

=== Page 129 ===

The cooks chanted happily.

"A true master never boasts!"

Then Marteau turned back around to face Saito.

"You know, "Our Sword," I'm starting to like you more and more. So how about it?"

"Um, how about what...?"

He was simply telling the truth, but Marteau always thought he was just being modest. It was somewhat frustrating. He felt like he was deceiving the good-natured man. Saito's gaze dropped down to the runes on his left hand.


''Since that day, it hasn't glowed anymore. Just what was that, I wonder...'' Even when Saito tried to make a point of staring at his own runes, Marteau interpreted that as him being reserved.

The chef turned to Siesta.

"Siesta!"

"Yes?"

Siesta, who had been cheerfully watching the two of them get along, responded brightly.

"Bring our hero here some of Albion's finest."

Her smile widened, and retrieving a wine bottle of the requested vintage from the rack,


=== Page 130 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

she poured some into Saito's glass. Siesta looked on absorbedly as Saito's face grew redder and redder from the wine. These events repeat almost routinely:

Saito visits the kitchen, Marteau becomes more attached to Saito, and Siesta's respect for him deepens further.

<center>* * *</center>

Although that particular day... there was a crimson shadow  spying on Saito from a window of the kitchen. One of the young cooks took notice of it.

"Hey, there's something outside the window."

The shadow gave a garbled 'kyuru kyuru' and slinked away.

<center>* * *</center>

Then, after breakfast, cleaning, and laundry, he accompanies Louise in class. Originally, he was made to sit on the floor, but after Louise realized he had become rather transfixed with peering up other girls' skirts, she reluctantly let him sit on a chair. And she made it clear to Saito that should his vision ever stray too far from the blackboard, he would be denied lunch.


In the beginning, the lessons fascinated Saito with their marvels: turning water into wine, combining various reagents to brew special potions, materializing fireballs out of nothing, levitating boxes and sticks and balls


=== Page 131 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

out of the class windows for their familiars to fetch, etc... but after a while, the novelty wore off.

And so he took to napping instead. The professor and Louise would give Saito evil looks every once in a while, but there were no rules forbidding familiars from sleeping during lessons. And just looking around the class, all the nocturnal familiars were snoozing away, even someone's owl. In fact, if they were to wake Saito up, it would mean that they were acknowledging him as a human. Louise chewed her lips from the overwhelming desire to give the sleeping Saito a piece of her mind, but she couldn't because doing so would mean contradicting herself about him being nothing more than a familiar.


<center>* * *</center>

That same day, bathed in sunlight, Saito was fast asleep during another lesson.

The wine he drank that morning was having its effect on him, and Saito dreamed.

It was quite an unbelievable dream.

A dream in which Louise crept into his hay pile at night as he was sleeping.


''"What's wrong, Louise...?"''

At hearing her name being called, Louise shot a glare at Saito.

''"You can't sleep? Oh, alright... can't be helped. Munya~"'' 

Oh, he's just muttering in his sleep, she thought, and faced the front again.

=== Page 132 ===

''"...Munya. H-hey, don't hug me all of a sudden."''

Louise's gaze snapped to Saito once more. The other students were starting to take notice of the situation, and perked their ears to listen.

''"...Jeez, for the slave driver you are during the day, you're such a sweet little thing in bed."''

A trickle of drool ran down from the corner of Saito's mouth as he continued to enjoy his dream.

Louise grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously.

"Hey! Just what kind of dream are you having?!"

Her classmates burst out laughing. Malicorne the Windward made a passing comment.

"Oi oi, Louise! Is that the kind of thing you do with your familiar at night? I'm surprised!"

The female students whispered something amongst themselves.

"Wait! This is just some stupid sleep-talk! Ah, jeez! Wake up already!"

''"Louise, Louise, you're like a kitten; stop licking me there like that..."''


At this, the laughter threatened to burst through the ceiling.

Louise kicked Saito off the chair, violently returning him to reality from his soft and gentle dreamscape.

"Wh-what was that for?!"

"Since when have I ever snuck into your hay pile?!"

=== Page 133 - Illustration ===

Illustration -- ''Set phasers to 'tsun'...''

=== Page 134 ===

Louise crossed her arms and looked down imposingly on Saito.

Saito shook his head profusely, only further amusing the class.

"Saito, explain to these rather rude people that I never take one step out of my own bed during the night."

"That's right, everyone. I was simply dreaming out loud just now. Louise would never do such a thing."

The students turned away disappointedly.

"Isn't it obvious? Like I would ever do something like that! With this thing, no less! This thing! To even think that I would curl up in bed with this lower life form is far beyond being a joke!"

Louise huffed haughtily, averting her gaze upwards.

"But, my dreams often come true."

Saito piped up.

"Indeed! Dreams do have the power to foretell the future, after all!" Someone in the room supplied in agreement.

"My master here, with her personality, probably won't ever find herself a lover."

A vast majority of the students nodded. Louise shot Saito another evil look, but it was too late. Saito was on a roll.

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Two signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Three ==
=== Page 135 ===

"My poor master gets quite "frustrated" as a result, and instead resorts to slipping into this familiar's humble hay pile."

Louise put her hands on her hips and strongly reprimanded Saito.

"Enough! Close that unclean mouth of yours right now!"




That didn't stop Saito from continuing either.

"When she does, I have to fend her off a bit..."

By this point, he was too far gone. Louise's shoulders began to tremble angrily.

"And tell her, 'this isn't where you sleep.'"

The class applauded. Saito mimicked an elegant bow and went to sit back down.

Louise kicked him away, sending him rolling across the floor.

"Don't kick me!"

But Louise was beyond the point of reasoning. Her gaze was fixed firmly forward, and as always, her shoulders shook with barely contained fury,

Once again, there was a crimson shadow watching Saito.

It was Kirche's salamander. With its belly to the floor, it stared at Saito through the gap in the row of chairs.

"Hm?"

===Page 136 ===

Noticing it, Saito waved his hand at it.

"You're Kirche's salamander, aren't you? I know you have a name. What was it... Oh yeah, it's Flame. Flame-"

Saito motioned for it to come closer, but the salamander flicked its tail around and spat out a few embers before running back to its master.

"Why would a lizard be so interested in me?"

Saito tilted his head in puzzlement.

<center>* * *</center>

And while Saito was having a staring contest with a salamander during class...

At the Headmaster's Office, Miss Longueville the secretary was busily writing away at something.

She stopped writing for a moment and glanced over at the sequoia desk at which Sir Osmond was busy taking a nap.

The corner of Miss Longueville's lips rose in a faint smirk, an expression she had never shown anyone before.

She stood up from her desk.

In a low voice, she murmured the incantation for a "Silence" spell. Dampening her footsteps so as not to wake Osmond, she crept out of the office.

=== Page 137 ===

Her destination was the treasury, located on the floor directly below the Headmaster's Office.

Stepping off the stairs, she confronted enormous iron doors. They were kept shut with a thick bolt mechanism, which in turn was secured with an equally large padlock.

This place was where artifacts dating even before the Academy's establishment were contained. After cautiously surveying her surroundings, Miss Longueville withdrew her wand from a pocket. It was about the length of a pencil, but with a flick of the wrist, it extended to the length of an conductor's baton, which she whirled expertly.

Miss Longueville cast another spell.

Once the invocation was complete, she pointed the baton at the padlock.

However... nothing happened.

"Well, it's not like I really expected an "Unlock" spell to work anyway."

Smiling deviously, she began reciting the words to one of her specialty spells.

It was a Transmutation spell. Chanting loud and clear, she waved her baton at the heavy lock. The magic cascaded over it... but even after a considerable wait, there was no visible change.

"Looks like it's been magically reinforced by a Square-class mage," she muttered.


A "Reinforcement" spell was one that prevented the oxidation and decomposition of matter. Any substance that had this spell cast on it was protected from any chemical reactions, and allowed it to be preserved

=== Page 138 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

forever in that state. Even transmutation magic would have no effect against something protected like this. Only if one's magical skill surpassed that of the mage who cast the reinforcement could the spell be overcome.

As it was, the mage who had enchanted this door was apparently an extremely powerful mage, considering that not even Miss Longueville, an expert in Earth magic and transmutation in particular, was able to affect the door.

Taking off her glasses, she stared at the door once more. At this point, she heard footsteps coming up the staircase.

She shrunk down her baton and slipped it back into her pocket.

The person who appeared was Colbert.

"Greetings, Miss Longueville. What are you doing here?"

"Mister Colbert, I was going to catalog the contents of the treasury, but..."

"Oh, that's quite some work. It'd probably take you all day to go over each and every item. There's a lot of junk mixed together with them, and it's a rather cramped space they've been arranged in too."

"Indeed."

"Why don't you just borrow the key from Old Osmond?"

The woman smiled.

=== Page 139 ===

"Well... I didn't want to disturb his sleep. In any case, I'm in no immediate hurry to complete the catalog..."

"I see. Sleep, you say. That old man, I mean, Old Osmond, is quite a deep sleeper. It seems I shall have to visit him another time."

Mister Colbert began to walk off, but paused in his tracks, and turned around.


"Err... Miss Longueville?"

"Is something the matter?"

Colbert looked slightly embarrassed as he opened his mouth to speak.

"If it would be alright, how would you like to, say... join me for lunch?"

She took a moment to consider, then smiled brightly as she accepted the offer.

"Sure, it'd be my pleasure."

The two of them headed down the stairs.

"Hey, Mister Colbert."

In slightly informal tones, Miss Longueville struck up conversation again.

"Y-yes? What is it?"

Emboldened by how easily his invitation had been taken up, Colbert responded quite eagerly to her.

"Is anything actually inside the treasury?"

=== Page 140 ===

"There is."

"Then, do you know of the 'Staff of Destruction'?"

"Ah, that is quite a curiously shaped item, indeed."

Her eyes glinted.

"What... kind of shape?"

"It's extremely difficult to describe, except as simply strange, yes. But never mind that, what would you like to eat? Today's menu is flounder baked in herbs... but I'm quite well-acquainted with Marteau the head chef, and I can have him make any of the world's finest delica--"

"Ahem."


Miss Longueville interrupted Colbert's babbling.

"Y-yes?"

"I must say, the treasury is quite amazingly built. No matter what kind of magic is tried, it would be impossible to open, I assume?"

"That's quite right. It's impossible for just any one mage. After all, it was devised by a group of Square-class mages to resist all spells."


"I'm very impressed that you're so knowledgeable about this, Mister Colbert."

She regarded him with a comfortable expression.

=== Page 141 ===

"Eh? Well... Haha, I just happened to come across a lot of documents pertaining to this floor, that's all... I like to consider it a part of my research, haha. Thanks to that, I'm still single at this age... yes."

"I'm sure the woman that you find will be very happy to be with you. After all, you can teach her so much about things that nobody else knows..."

Miss Longueville fixed him with a fascinated look.

"Oh, no! Please don't tease me like that!"

Colbert flustered nervously as he wiped sweat from his balding forehead. Then, regaining composure, he faced her seriously.

"Miss Longueville. Have you heard of the Ball of [[#frigg|Frigg]] that is being held on the day of Yule?" 

"No, I haven't."

"Haha, I guess it's because you've only been in Tristain for two months. Well, it's nothing spectacular, just a party of sorts. However, it's said that a couple who dances at this ball will be destined to be together or something like that. It's just a petty legend of course! Yes!"

"So?"

Smiling, she pressed him to continue.

"So... if it would be alright, I was wondering if you would dance with me, yes."

"I would love to. While ball parties are fabulous, I'd like to know more about the treasury right now. I'm

=== Page 142 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

quite fascinated by magical items, you see."

Wanting to further impress Miss Longueville, Colbert racked his brains. ''Treasury, treasury, she says...''

Remembering something she might find interesting, he put on an important air and started to talk.

"Ah yes, there's one thing I can tell you. Although it's not particularly important..."

"By all means, do tell."

"Certainly, the treasury is invincible against magical attacks, but I believe it has one fatal weakness."

"Oh, that's intriguing."

"That weakness is... physical force."

"Physical force?"

"Yes! For example, well, not that this is ever likely, but a giant golem could--"

"A giant golem?"

Colbert stated his opinion quite proudly to Miss Longueville. And once he was done talking, she couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

"That was most intriguing indeed, Mister Colbert."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Three signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Translator's Notes ==
;[[#back_to_frigg|↑]] Frigg
:In Norse mythology, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frigg Frigg] (Eddas) or Frigga (Gesta Danorum) was said to be "foremost among the goddesses," the wife of Odin, queen of the Æsir, and goddess of the sky.
----

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story2 Chapter1

2007-03-19T13:34:22Z

The naming game: /* Chapter 04 - Part Three */ "ii koto?" comment + Frigg reference + minor

== [[zeroNT:Gandvol01editchpter04control|Raw English Translation Available Here]] ==

== Chapter 04 - Part One ==
=== Chapter Four: A Familiar's Day ===

It had been a week since Saito started his life as Louise's familiar at Tristain Magic Academy. If one were to explain an average day for Saito, it would read like the following: 

<center>* * *</center>

First, like the majority of animals and humans in Tristain, he woke up in the morning. His bed was, as usual, the floor, though compared to the first day it had mostly improved. Finding that his body hurt all night if he slept on the hard floor, Saito had asked the maid Siesta for some of the hay that was fed to the horses and had packed it into a corner of the room. Saito slept on the pile of  hay, wrapped in the blanket that Louise had so "graciously" bestowed upon him.


Louise called Saito's makeshift bed "the chicken's nest," which was appropriate as chickens slept on hay, and as the first thing Saito did every morning was to wake Louise up, like a rooster.

But he had to, because there would be trouble for him if Louise woke up first. 

"A stupid familiar that has to be woken by its master needs to be punished." Louise never forgot to remind him. 

=== Page 121 ===

If Saito ever overslept, he'd be denied breakfast. 

Once woken up, Louise got changed. She put on her underwear by herself, but made Saito dress her in her uniform. This was mentioned before.
 

With her enchanting looks, Saito was breathless every time he saw Louise in her underwear. They say you get used to a beautiful lover in three days, but it didn't seem Saito would get used to Louise anytime soon.

Maybe because he was her familiar, not her lover. Still, always by Louise's side, he essentially was one. The only difference was in her attitude and treatment of him.

Getting to see Louise like this every day wasn't all bad, however, it was a persistent wound to his pride. When helping Louise into her shoes, for example, he couldn't hide the irritation from his face.

At least that much was tolerated, but if Saito ever said anything to set Louise off, things became bothersome.

"A rude familiar that displeases its master this early in the morning needs to be punished," was another of Louise's mottos.


If ever Saito teased Louise about her breast size, or got pouty and said something like, "do up the buttons yourself," he'd be denied breakfast.

Dressed in her uniform, consisting of a black cloak, a white blouse, and a grey pleated skirt, Louise then washed her face and brushed her teeth. The room didn't even have sensible things like running water installed, so Saito had to go 


=== Page 122 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

down to the fountain and bring up water for Louise's use in a bucket. And of course, Louise didn't wash her face herself. She made Saito do it.

One morning, while he was wiping her face with a towel, he lightly traced Louise's face with a piece of charcoal he had found.

Seeing his masterwork drawn on Louise's face, Saito barely held in a snigger. Then in pretend obsequience, he politely bowed his head to Louise.

"Mistress. You are the epitome of beauty this day." 

Due to low blood pressure, Louise could only manage a sleepy reply.  


"...Are you plotting something?"

"Myself? I am simply a familiar serving the orders of my mistress. I would not dare to plot!"

Louise was suspicious of Saito's sudden and excessive politeness, but since she was almost late for class, she didn't question him any further.

With her vividly rosy cheeks, charming hazel eyes, and lips that seemed carved from fine coral, Louise knew she didn't need to decorate herself, so she didn't wear any kind of make-up. In other words, this meant she didn't look in the mirror much. And this day was no different. The result: she had absolutely no idea of the "make-up" that Saito had applied on her.


Louise headed out to class in that state. The time being what it was, she didn't encounter anyone in the hallways or stairs.

=== Page 123 ===

Louise opened the classroom door panting. As one, her classmates looked at her and exploded with laughter.

"Hey, looking good, Louise!"

"Oh my god! That's '''so''' you!"

Afterwards, when Mister Colbert kindly complimented the stylish glasses and moustache sketched on her face, Louise went berserk. She went out into the hallway where Saito was holding his stomach as he rolled on the floor in hysteric laughter, slapped him a dozen times, and cut his meals for the entire day.

According to Louise, a familiar that treated its master's face like a piece of canvas was akin to the demons of old that opposed the Founder Brimir and his many allied gods, and such demons were not worthy of the bread and soup granted by the Lady Queen.

<center>* * *</center>

After breakfast, Saito cleaned Louise's room. This involved sweeping the floor with a broom and wiping the table and windows with a cloth.

And then there was the oh-so-enjoyable laundry. He took the laundry down to the fountain and scrubbed it clean against a washboard. There was no warm water, only icy cold water that bit fiercely at his fingers. Louise's underwear were all expensive looking pieces with lots of lace and frills attached. He would get a meal cut if he happened to damage one, so he had to wash them gently. It was painful work. Tired of it all, he left one particular pair with a slightly torn elastic band in the pile one day. Merely a few days later, 

=== Page 124 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Louise walked out obliviously wearing that particular pair, when the elastic snapped entirely. Her panties slid down to her ankles, entangling both of Louise's legs like a trapper's snare. 

It just so happened that she was at the top of a staircase, so she tumbled spectacularly down them.

Most fortunately, there wasn't anyone else around to see her roll down the stairs with her lower half shamefully exposed, so at least her reputation was spared. Realizing that it had been overkill, Saito was careful not to peek inside her skirt as he apologized profusely to Louise, who lay unconscious at the staircase landing. He hadn't meant for the joke to derail like this. Ideally, he had envisioned it happening in a hallway for optimum embarrassment.

Once Louise regained consciousness and realized what had happened, she thrust the torn pair of panties accusingly at Saito, who was sitting subserviently by the bedside.

"There was a torn pair."

"Indeed there was, Mistress."

Louise's voice quavered with fury.

"Explain yourself. And concisely."

"It must have been the fountain water, Mistress. Why, it's so cold it could freeze fingers right off. I believe the elastic couldn't endure that."

Saito replied curtly.

=== Page 125 ===

"So you're saying it's the elastic's fault?"

"I'm saying it's the water's fault. It was bad water. I'm convinced that there must be some kind of curse on it to make it cold and also affect the elastic somehow."

"In that case, I should not feed such a loyal familiar soup made from that kind of bad water."

"Most gracious of you."

"Three days should do, I think, for the water to return to normal."

Saito had his meals cut for three days.

<center>* * *</center>

However, Saito remained completely fine for those three days. He'd just pretend to be withering and visit the kitchen behind the Hall of Alviss, where the energetic and lovely Siesta would serve him food like stew, and meat on the bone. He went there even when his meals weren't cut. The soup that Louise declared "The Widespread Blessing of Her Lady Queen" was never enough of a blessing to fill him up.

Naturally, he kept his visits to the kitchen a secret from Louise. She was adamant about not giving him more until he had corrected his behavior, so there would be trouble if she found out about the meat and stew Siesta kindly provided him with. Louise would surely forbid him visiting for the sake of "educating" her familiar.

=== Page 126 ===

Currently though, she was totally unaware. In any case, Saito preferred Siesta and the kitchen a hundred times more than some Lady Queen and Founder Brimir he'd never met.

<center>* * *</center>

One morning, after hungrily drinking down his soup in front of Louise, he went to the kitchen. Saito, having beaten the noble Guiche at the Vestri Courts, was hugely popular there.

"'Our Sword' is here!"

The one who called out was Marteau, the head chef, a well-rounded man well into his forties.  Naturally, he was also a commoner himself, but with his position of head chef at the Academy, he earned as much as a lower class noble, a fact he could be proud of.

Dressed in simple but fine clothes, he commanded the kitchen with a wave and flourish of his hand.

Despite his highly respectable position as head chef of a magic academy for nobles, Marteau wasn't the least bit arrogant, and surprisingly enough, disliked both magic and nobles.

He called Saito, who had used a sword to defeat Guiche, by the nickname "Our Sword" and treated the boy like a king. Thanks to him, the kitchen was an oasis to Saito.

Saito sat down at his chair, and with a smile, Siesta promptly brought him a bowl of warm stew and soft white bread.

"Thanks."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part One signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Two ==
=== Page 127 ===

"Today's stew is extra special,"

Siesta declared, looking particularly happy. Saito curiously lifted a spoonful to his mouth and his face instantly lit up.

"Wow, this is delicious! It's worlds apart from that gruel I get!"

At this, Marteau approached the table holding a kitchen knife.


"Well of course. That stew's the same stuff we serve to the noble kids." 

"I can't believe this is the kind of stuff they get to eat everyday..."

Marteau snorted loudly at Saito's comment.

"Hmph! Sure, they can use magic. Making pots and pans and castles from dirt, conjuring up unbelievable gems, even controlling dragons - so what! But see, creating such exquisite dishes like this is a kind of magic itself. Wouldn't you agree, Saito?"

Saito nodded.

"Absolutely."

"A fine fellow! You're a good man!"

He put an arm around Saito's shoulders.

"Here, "Our Sword"! Let me place a kiss upon your forehead! Come on! I insist!"

"I'd rather you not. And stop calling me that,"

=== Page 128 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Saito said.

"Why not?"

"It's just... weird."

The man let go of Saito and spread his arms out in protest.

"But you cut a mage's golem to pieces! Don't you get it?"

"I suppose."

"Say, just where did you learn to use a sword? Tell me where I can go to learn how to swing a sword like that."

Marteau stared earnestly at Saito. He asked the same thing every time Saito came to eat, and Saito's answer was the same every time.

"I don't know. I've never held a sword before. My body just moved by itself."

"You guys! Did you hear that?!"

He yelled, his voice echoing around the kitchen.

The younger cooks and the apprentices shouted back.

"We hear you, boss!"

"This is what they call a true master! They never boast about their skill! Look and learn! A true master never boasts!"

=== Page 129 ===

The cooks chanted happily.

"A true master never boasts!"

Then Marteau turned back around to face Saito.

"You know, "Our Sword," I'm starting to like you more and more. So how about it?"

"Um, how about what...?"

He was simply telling the truth, but Marteau always thought he was just being modest. It was somewhat frustrating. He felt like he was deceiving the good-natured man. Saito's gaze dropped down to the runes on his left hand.


''Since that day, it hasn't glowed anymore. Just what was that, I wonder...'' Even when Saito tried to make a point of staring at his own runes, Marteau interpreted that as him being reserved.

The chef turned to Siesta.

"Siesta!"

"Yes?"

Siesta, who had been cheerfully watching the two of them get along, responded brightly.

"Bring our hero here some of Albion's finest."

Her smile widened, and retrieving a wine bottle of the requested vintage from the rack,


=== Page 130 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

she poured some into Saito's glass. Siesta looked on absorbedly as Saito's face grew redder and redder from the wine. These events repeat almost routinely:

Saito visits the kitchen, Marteau becomes more attached to Saito, and Siesta's respect for him deepens further.

<center>* * *</center>

Although that particular day... there was a crimson shadow  spying on Saito from a window of the kitchen. One of the young cooks took notice of it.

"Hey, there's something outside the window."

The shadow gave a garbled 'kyuru kyuru' and slinked away.

<center>* * *</center>

Then, after breakfast, cleaning, and laundry, he accompanies Louise in class. Originally, he was made to sit on the floor, but after Louise realized he had become rather transfixed with peering up other girls' skirts, she reluctantly let him sit on a chair. And she made it clear to Saito that should his vision ever stray too far from the blackboard, he would be denied lunch.


In the beginning, the lessons fascinated Saito with their marvels: turning water into wine, combining various reagents to brew special potions, materializing fireballs out of nothing, levitating boxes and sticks and balls


=== Page 131 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

out of the class windows for their familiars to fetch, etc... but after a while, the novelty wore off.

And so he took to napping instead. The professor and Louise would give Saito evil looks every once in a while, but there were no rules forbidding familiars from sleeping during lessons. And just looking around the class, all the nocturnal familiars were snoozing away, even someone's owl. In fact, if they were to wake Saito up, it would mean that they were acknowledging him as a human. Louise chewed her lips from the overwhelming desire to give the sleeping Saito a piece of her mind, but she couldn't because doing so would mean contradicting herself about him being nothing more than a familiar.


<center>* * *</center>

That same day, bathed in sunlight, Saito was fast asleep during another lesson.

The wine he drank that morning was having its effect on him, and Saito dreamed.

It was quite an unbelievable dream.

A dream in which Louise crept into his hay pile at night as he was sleeping.


''"What's wrong, Louise...?"''

At hearing her name being called, Louise shot a glare at Saito.

''"You can't sleep? Oh, alright... can't be helped. Munya~"'' 

Oh, he's just muttering in his sleep, she thought, and faced the front again.

=== Page 132 ===

''"...Munya. H-hey, don't hug me all of a sudden."''

Louise's gaze snapped to Saito once more. The other students were starting to take notice of the situation, and perked their ears to listen.

''"...Jeez, for the slave driver you are during the day, you're such a sweet little thing in bed."''

A trickle of drool ran down from the corner of Saito's mouth as he continued to enjoy his dream.

Louise grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously.

"Hey! Just what kind of dream are you having?!"

Her classmates burst out laughing. Malicorne the Windward made a passing comment.

"Oi oi, Louise! Is that the kind of thing you do with your familiar at night? I'm surprised!"

The female students whispered something amongst themselves.

"Wait! This is just some stupid sleep-talk! Ah, jeez! Wake up already!"

''"Louise, Louise, you're like a kitten; stop licking me there like that..."''


At this, the laughter threatened to burst through the ceiling.

Louise kicked Saito off the chair, violently returning him to reality from his soft and gentle dreamscape.

"Wh-what was that for?!"

"Since when have I ever snuck into your hay pile?!"

=== Page 133 - Illustration ===

Illustration -- ''Set phasers to 'tsun'...''

=== Page 134 ===

Louise crossed her arms and looked down imposingly on Saito.

Saito shook his head profusely, only further amusing the class.

"Saito, explain to these rather rude people that I never take one step out of my own bed during the night."

"That's right, everyone. I was simply dreaming out loud just now. Louise would never do such a thing."

The students turned away disappointedly.

"Isn't it obvious? Like I would ever do something like that! With this thing, no less! This thing! To even think that I would curl up in bed with this lower life form is far beyond being a joke!"

Louise huffed haughtily, averting her gaze upwards.

"But, my dreams often come true."

Saito piped up.

"Indeed! Dreams do have the power to foretell the future, after all!" Someone in the room supplied in agreement.

"My master here, with her personality, probably won't ever find herself a lover."

A vast majority of the students nodded. Louise shot Saito another evil look, but it was too late. Saito was on a roll.

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Two signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Three ==
=== Page 135 ===

"My poor master gets quite "frustrated" as a result, and instead resorts to slipping into this familiar's humble hay pile."

Louise put her hands on her hips and strongly reprimanded Saito.

"Enough! Close that unclean mouth of yours right now!"




That didn't stop Saito from continuing either.

"When she does, I have to fend her off a bit..."

By this point, he was too far gone. Louise's shoulders began to tremble angrily.

"And tell her, 'this isn't where you sleep.'"

The class applauded. Saito mimicked an elegant bow and went to sit back down.

Louise kicked him away, sending him rolling across the floor.

"Don't kick me!"

But Louise was beyond the point of reasoning. Her gaze was fixed firmly forward, and as always, her shoulders shook with barely contained fury,

Once again, there was a crimson shadow watching Saito.

It was Kirche's salamander. With its belly to the floor, it stared at Saito through the gap in the row of chairs.

"Hm?"

===Page 136 ===

Noticing it, Saito waved his hand at it.

"You're Kirche's salamander, aren't you? I know you have a name. What was it... Oh yeah, it's Flame. Flame-"

Saito motioned for it to come closer, but the salamander flicked its tail around and spat out a few embers before running back to its master.

"Why would a lizard be so interested in me?"

Saito tilted his head in puzzlement.

<center>* * *</center>

And while Saito was having a staring contest with a salamander during class...

At the Headmaster's Office, Miss Longueville the secretary was busily writing away at something.

She stopped writing for a moment and glanced over at the sequoia desk at which Sir Osmond was busy taking a nap.

The corner of Miss Longueville's lips rose in a faint smirk, an expression she had never shown anyone before.

She stood up from her desk.

In a low voice, she murmured the incantation for a "Silence" spell. Dampening her footsteps so as not to wake Osmond, she crept out of the office.

=== Page 137 ===

Her destination was the treasury, located on the floor directly below the Headmaster's Office.

Stepping off the stairs, she confronted enormous iron doors. They were kept shut with a thick bolt mechanism, which in turn was secured with an equally large padlock.

This place was where artifacts dating even before the Academy's establishment were contained. After cautiously surveying her surroundings, Miss Longueville withdrew her wand from a pocket. It was about the length of a pencil, but with a flick of the wrist, it extended to the length of an conductor's baton, which she whirled expertly.

Miss Longueville cast another spell.

Once the invocation was complete, she pointed the baton at the padlock.

However... nothing happened.

"Well, it's not like I really expected an "Unlock" spell to work anyway."

Smiling deviously, she began reciting the words to one of her specialty spells.

It was a Transmutation spell. Chanting loud and clear, she waved her baton at the heavy lock. The magic cascaded over it... but even after a considerable wait, there was no visible change.

"Looks like it's been magically reinforced by a Square-class mage," she muttered.


A "Reinforcement" spell was one that prevented the oxidation and decomposition of matter. Any substance that had this spell cast on it was protected from any chemical reactions, and allowed it to be preserved

=== Page 138 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

forever in that state. Even transmutation magic would have no effect against something protected like this. Only if one's magical skill surpassed that of the mage who cast the reinforcement could the spell be overcome.

As it was, the mage who had enchanted this door was apparently an extremely powerful mage, considering that not even Miss Longueville, an expert in Earth magic and transmutation in particular, was able to affect the door.

Taking off her glasses, she stared at the door once more. At this point, she heard footsteps coming up the staircase.

She shrunk down her baton and slipped it back into her pocket.

The person who appeared was Colbert.

"Greetings, Miss Longueville. What are you doing here?"

"Mister Colbert, I was going to catalog the contents of the treasury, but..."

"Oh, that's quite some work. It'd probably take you all day to go over each and every item. There's a lot of junk mixed together with them, and it's a rather cramped space they've been arranged in too."

"Indeed."

"Why don't you just borrow the key from Old Osmond?"

The woman smiled.

=== Page 139 ===

"Well... I didn't want to disturb his sleep. In any case, I'm in no immediate hurry to complete the catalog..."

"I see. Sleep, you say. That old man, I mean, Old Osmond, is quite a deep sleeper. It seems I shall have to visit him another time."

Mister Colbert began to walk off, but paused in his tracks, and turned around.


"Err... Miss Longueville?"

"Is something the matter?"

Colbert looked slightly embarrassed as he opened his mouth to speak.

"If it would be alright, how would you like to, say... join me for lunch?"

She took a moment to consider, then smiled brightly as she accepted the offer.

"Sure, it'd be my pleasure."

The two of them headed down the stairs.

"Hey, Mister Colbert."

In slightly informal tones, Miss Longueville struck up conversation again.

"Y-yes? What is it?"

Emboldened by how easily his invitation had been taken up, Colbert responded quite eagerly to her.

"Is anything actually inside the treasury?"

=== Page 140 ===

"There is."

"Then, do you know of the 'Staff of Destruction'?"

"Ah, that is quite a curiously shaped item, indeed."

Her eyes glinted.

"What... kind of shape?"

"It's extremely difficult to describe, except as simply strange, yes. But never mind that, what would you like to eat? Today's menu is flounder baked in herbs... but I'm quite well-acquainted with Marteau the head chef, and I can have him make any of the world's finest delica--"

"Ahem."


Miss Longueville interrupted Colbert's babbling.

"Y-yes?"

"I must say, the treasury is quite amazingly built. No matter what kind of magic is tried, it would be impossible to open, I assume?"

"That's quite right. It's impossible for just any one mage. After all, it was devised by a group of Square-class mages to resist all spells."


"I'm very impressed that you're so knowledgeable about this, Mister Colbert."

She regarded him with a comfortable expression.

=== Page 141 ===

"Eh? Well... Haha, I just happened to come across a lot of documents pertaining to this floor, that's all... I like to consider it a part of my research, haha. Thanks to that, I'm still single at this age... yes."

"I'm sure the woman that you find will be very happy to be with you. After all, you can teach her so much about things that nobody else knows..."

Miss Longueville fixed him with a fascinated look.

"Oh, no! Please don't tease me like that!"

Colbert flustered nervously as he wiped sweat from his balding forehead. Then, regaining composure, he faced her seriously.

"Miss Longueville. Have you heard of the Ball of [[#frigg|Frigg]] that is being held on the day of Yule?" 

"No, I haven't."

"Haha, I guess it's because you've only been in Tristain for two months. Well, it's nothing spectacular, just a party of sorts. However, it's said that a couple who dances at this ball will be destined to be together or something like that. It's just a petty legend of course! Yes!"

"So?"

Smiling, she pressed him to continue.

"So... if it would be alright, I was wondering if you would dance with me, yes."

"I would love to. While ball parties are fabulous, I'd like to know more about the treasury right now. I'm

=== Page 142 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

quite fascinated by magical items, you see."

Wanting to further impress Miss Longueville, Colbert racked his brains. ''Treasury, treasury, she says...''

Remembering something she might find interesting, he put on an important air and started to talk.

"Ah yes, there's one thing I can tell you. Although it's not particularly important..."

"By all means, do tell."

"Certainly, the treasury is invincible against magical attacks, but I believe it has one fatal weakness."

"Oh, that's intriguing."

"That weakness is... physical force."

"Physical force?"

"Yes! For example, well, not that this is ever likely, but a giant golem could--"

"A giant golem?"

Colbert stated his opinion quite proudly to Miss Longueville. And once he was done talking, she couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

"That was most intriguing indeed, Mister Colbert."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Three signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story2 Chapter1

2007-03-19T13:20:01Z

The naming game: /* Chapter 04 - Part Two */ misc + suggestions for "munya"

== [[zeroNT:Gandvol01editchpter04control|Raw English Translation Available Here]] ==

== Chapter 04 - Part One ==
=== Chapter Four: A Familiar's Day ===

It had been a week since Saito started his life as Louise's familiar at Tristain Magic Academy. If one were to explain an average day for Saito, it would read like the following: 

<center>* * *</center>

First, like the majority of animals and humans in Tristain, he woke up in the morning. His bed was, as usual, the floor, though compared to the first day it had mostly improved. Finding that his body hurt all night if he slept on the hard floor, Saito had asked the maid Siesta for some of the hay that was fed to the horses and had packed it into a corner of the room. Saito slept on the pile of  hay, wrapped in the blanket that Louise had so "graciously" bestowed upon him.


Louise called Saito's makeshift bed "the chicken's nest," which was appropriate as chickens slept on hay, and as the first thing Saito did every morning was to wake Louise up, like a rooster.

But he had to, because there would be trouble for him if Louise woke up first. 

"A stupid familiar that has to be woken by its master needs to be punished." Louise never forgot to remind him. 

=== Page 121 ===

If Saito ever overslept, he'd be denied breakfast. 

Once woken up, Louise got changed. She put on her underwear by herself, but made Saito dress her in her uniform. This was mentioned before.
 

With her enchanting looks, Saito was breathless every time he saw Louise in her underwear. They say you get used to a beautiful lover in three days, but it didn't seem Saito would get used to Louise anytime soon.

Maybe because he was her familiar, not her lover. Still, always by Louise's side, he essentially was one. The only difference was in her attitude and treatment of him.

Getting to see Louise like this every day wasn't all bad, however, it was a persistent wound to his pride. When helping Louise into her shoes, for example, he couldn't hide the irritation from his face.

At least that much was tolerated, but if Saito ever said anything to set Louise off, things became bothersome.

"A rude familiar that displeases its master this early in the morning needs to be punished," was another of Louise's mottos.


If ever Saito teased Louise about her breast size, or got pouty and said something like, "do up the buttons yourself," he'd be denied breakfast.

Dressed in her uniform, consisting of a black cloak, a white blouse, and a grey pleated skirt, Louise then washed her face and brushed her teeth. The room didn't even have sensible things like running water installed, so Saito had to go 


=== Page 122 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

down to the fountain and bring up water for Louise's use in a bucket. And of course, Louise didn't wash her face herself. She made Saito do it.

One morning, while he was wiping her face with a towel, he lightly traced Louise's face with a piece of charcoal he had found.

Seeing his masterwork drawn on Louise's face, Saito barely held in a snigger. Then in pretend obsequience, he politely bowed his head to Louise.

"Mistress. You are the epitome of beauty this day." 

Due to low blood pressure, Louise could only manage a sleepy reply.  


"...Are you plotting something?"

"Myself? I am simply a familiar serving the orders of my mistress. I would not dare to plot!"

Louise was suspicious of Saito's sudden and excessive politeness, but since she was almost late for class, she didn't question him any further.

With her vividly rosy cheeks, charming hazel eyes, and lips that seemed carved from fine coral, Louise knew she didn't need to decorate herself, so she didn't wear any kind of make-up. In other words, this meant she didn't look in the mirror much. And this day was no different. The result: she had absolutely no idea of the "make-up" that Saito had applied on her.


Louise headed out to class in that state. The time being what it was, she didn't encounter anyone in the hallways or stairs.

=== Page 123 ===

Louise opened the classroom door panting. As one, her classmates looked at her and exploded with laughter.

"Hey, looking good, Louise!"

"Oh my god! That's '''so''' you!"

Afterwards, when Mister Colbert kindly complimented the stylish glasses and moustache sketched on her face, Louise went berserk. She went out into the hallway where Saito was holding his stomach as he rolled on the floor in hysteric laughter, slapped him a dozen times, and cut his meals for the entire day.

According to Louise, a familiar that treated its master's face like a piece of canvas was akin to the demons of old that opposed the Founder Brimir and his many allied gods, and such demons were not worthy of the bread and soup granted by the Lady Queen.

<center>* * *</center>

After breakfast, Saito cleaned Louise's room. This involved sweeping the floor with a broom and wiping the table and windows with a cloth.

And then there was the oh-so-enjoyable laundry. He took the laundry down to the fountain and scrubbed it clean against a washboard. There was no warm water, only icy cold water that bit fiercely at his fingers. Louise's underwear were all expensive looking pieces with lots of lace and frills attached. He would get a meal cut if he happened to damage one, so he had to wash them gently. It was painful work. Tired of it all, he left one particular pair with a slightly torn elastic band in the pile one day. Merely a few days later, 

=== Page 124 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Louise walked out obliviously wearing that particular pair, when the elastic snapped entirely. Her panties slid down to her ankles, entangling both of Louise's legs like a trapper's snare. 

It just so happened that she was at the top of a staircase, so she tumbled spectacularly down them.

Most fortunately, there wasn't anyone else around to see her roll down the stairs with her lower half shamefully exposed, so at least her reputation was spared. Realizing that it had been overkill, Saito was careful not to peek inside her skirt as he apologized profusely to Louise, who lay unconscious at the staircase landing. He hadn't meant for the joke to derail like this. Ideally, he had envisioned it happening in a hallway for optimum embarrassment.

Once Louise regained consciousness and realized what had happened, she thrust the torn pair of panties accusingly at Saito, who was sitting subserviently by the bedside.

"There was a torn pair."

"Indeed there was, Mistress."

Louise's voice quavered with fury.

"Explain yourself. And concisely."

"It must have been the fountain water, Mistress. Why, it's so cold it could freeze fingers right off. I believe the elastic couldn't endure that."

Saito replied curtly.

=== Page 125 ===

"So you're saying it's the elastic's fault?"

"I'm saying it's the water's fault. It was bad water. I'm convinced that there must be some kind of curse on it to make it cold and also affect the elastic somehow."

"In that case, I should not feed such a loyal familiar soup made from that kind of bad water."

"Most gracious of you."

"Three days should do, I think, for the water to return to normal."

Saito had his meals cut for three days.

<center>* * *</center>

However, Saito remained completely fine for those three days. He'd just pretend to be withering and visit the kitchen behind the Hall of Alviss, where the energetic and lovely Siesta would serve him food like stew, and meat on the bone. He went there even when his meals weren't cut. The soup that Louise declared "The Widespread Blessing of Her Lady Queen" was never enough of a blessing to fill him up.

Naturally, he kept his visits to the kitchen a secret from Louise. She was adamant about not giving him more until he had corrected his behavior, so there would be trouble if she found out about the meat and stew Siesta kindly provided him with. Louise would surely forbid him visiting for the sake of "educating" her familiar.

=== Page 126 ===

Currently though, she was totally unaware. In any case, Saito preferred Siesta and the kitchen a hundred times more than some Lady Queen and Founder Brimir he'd never met.

<center>* * *</center>

One morning, after hungrily drinking down his soup in front of Louise, he went to the kitchen. Saito, having beaten the noble Guiche at the Vestri Courts, was hugely popular there.

"'Our Sword' is here!"

The one who called out was Marteau, the head chef, a well-rounded man well into his forties.  Naturally, he was also a commoner himself, but with his position of head chef at the Academy, he earned as much as a lower class noble, a fact he could be proud of.

Dressed in simple but fine clothes, he commanded the kitchen with a wave and flourish of his hand.

Despite his highly respectable position as head chef of a magic academy for nobles, Marteau wasn't the least bit arrogant, and surprisingly enough, disliked both magic and nobles.

He called Saito, who had used a sword to defeat Guiche, by the nickname "Our Sword" and treated the boy like a king. Thanks to him, the kitchen was an oasis to Saito.

Saito sat down at his chair, and with a smile, Siesta promptly brought him a bowl of warm stew and soft white bread.

"Thanks."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part One signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Two ==
=== Page 127 ===

"Today's stew is extra special,"

Siesta declared, looking particularly happy. Saito curiously lifted a spoonful to his mouth and his face instantly lit up.

"Wow, this is delicious! It's worlds apart from that gruel I get!"

At this, Marteau approached the table holding a kitchen knife.


"Well of course. That stew's the same stuff we serve to the noble kids." 

"I can't believe this is the kind of stuff they get to eat everyday..."

Marteau snorted loudly at Saito's comment.

"Hmph! Sure, they can use magic. Making pots and pans and castles from dirt, conjuring up unbelievable gems, even controlling dragons - so what! But see, creating such exquisite dishes like this is a kind of magic itself. Wouldn't you agree, Saito?"

Saito nodded.

"Absolutely."

"A fine fellow! You're a good man!"

He put an arm around Saito's shoulders.

"Here, "Our Sword"! Let me place a kiss upon your forehead! Come on! I insist!"

"I'd rather you not. And stop calling me that,"

=== Page 128 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Saito said.

"Why not?"

"It's just... weird."

The man let go of Saito and spread his arms out in protest.

"But you cut a mage's golem to pieces! Don't you get it?"

"I suppose."

"Say, just where did you learn to use a sword? Tell me where I can go to learn how to swing a sword like that."

Marteau stared earnestly at Saito. He asked the same thing every time Saito came to eat, and Saito's answer was the same every time.

"I don't know. I've never held a sword before. My body just moved by itself."

"You guys! Did you hear that?!"

He yelled, his voice echoing around the kitchen.

The younger cooks and the apprentices shouted back.

"We hear you, boss!"

"This is what they call a true master! They never boast about their skill! Look and learn! A true master never boasts!"

=== Page 129 ===

The cooks chanted happily.

"A true master never boasts!"

Then Marteau turned back around to face Saito.

"You know, "Our Sword," I'm starting to like you more and more. So how about it?"

"Um, how about what...?"

He was simply telling the truth, but Marteau always thought he was just being modest. It was somewhat frustrating. He felt like he was deceiving the good-natured man. Saito's gaze dropped down to the runes on his left hand.


''Since that day, it hasn't glowed anymore. Just what was that, I wonder...'' Even when Saito tried to make a point of staring at his own runes, Marteau interpreted that as him being reserved.

The chef turned to Siesta.

"Siesta!"

"Yes?"

Siesta, who had been cheerfully watching the two of them get along, responded brightly.

"Bring our hero here some of Albion's finest."

Her smile widened, and retrieving a wine bottle of the requested vintage from the rack,


=== Page 130 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

she poured some into Saito's glass. Siesta looked on absorbedly as Saito's face grew redder and redder from the wine. These events repeat almost routinely:

Saito visits the kitchen, Marteau becomes more attached to Saito, and Siesta's respect for him deepens further.

<center>* * *</center>

Although that particular day... there was a crimson shadow  spying on Saito from a window of the kitchen. One of the young cooks took notice of it.

"Hey, there's something outside the window."

The shadow gave a garbled 'kyuru kyuru' and slinked away.

<center>* * *</center>

Then, after breakfast, cleaning, and laundry, he accompanies Louise in class. Originally, he was made to sit on the floor, but after Louise realized he had become rather transfixed with peering up other girls' skirts, she reluctantly let him sit on a chair. And she made it clear to Saito that should his vision ever stray too far from the blackboard, he would be denied lunch.


In the beginning, the lessons fascinated Saito with their marvels: turning water into wine, combining various reagents to brew special potions, materializing fireballs out of nothing, levitating boxes and sticks and balls


=== Page 131 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

out of the class windows for their familiars to fetch, etc... but after a while, the novelty wore off.

And so he took to napping instead. The professor and Louise would give Saito evil looks every once in a while, but there were no rules forbidding familiars from sleeping during lessons. And just looking around the class, all the nocturnal familiars were snoozing away, even someone's owl. In fact, if they were to wake Saito up, it would mean that they were acknowledging him as a human. Louise chewed her lips from the overwhelming desire to give the sleeping Saito a piece of her mind, but she couldn't because doing so would mean contradicting herself about him being nothing more than a familiar.


<center>* * *</center>

That same day, bathed in sunlight, Saito was fast asleep during another lesson.

The wine he drank that morning was having its effect on him, and Saito dreamed.

It was quite an unbelievable dream.

A dream in which Louise crept into his hay pile at night as he was sleeping.


''"What's wrong, Louise...?"''

At hearing her name being called, Louise shot a glare at Saito.

''"You can't sleep? Oh, alright... can't be helped. Munya~"'' 

Oh, he's just muttering in his sleep, she thought, and faced the front again.

=== Page 132 ===

''"...Munya. H-hey, don't hug me all of a sudden."''

Louise's gaze snapped to Saito once more. The other students were starting to take notice of the situation, and perked their ears to listen.

''"...Jeez, for the slave driver you are during the day, you're such a sweet little thing in bed."''

A trickle of drool ran down from the corner of Saito's mouth as he continued to enjoy his dream.

Louise grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously.

"Hey! Just what kind of dream are you having?!"

Her classmates burst out laughing. Malicorne the Windward made a passing comment.

"Oi oi, Louise! Is that the kind of thing you do with your familiar at night? I'm surprised!"

The female students whispered something amongst themselves.

"Wait! This is just some stupid sleep-talk! Ah, jeez! Wake up already!"

''"Louise, Louise, you're like a kitten; stop licking me there like that..."''


At this, the laughter threatened to burst through the ceiling.

Louise kicked Saito off the chair, violently returning him to reality from his soft and gentle dreamscape.

"Wh-what was that for?!"

"Since when have I ever snuck into your hay pile?!"

=== Page 133 - Illustration ===

Illustration -- ''Set phasers to 'tsun'...''

=== Page 134 ===

Louise crossed her arms and looked down imposingly on Saito.

Saito shook his head profusely, only further amusing the class.

"Saito, explain to these rather rude people that I never take one step out of my own bed during the night."

"That's right, everyone. I was simply dreaming out loud just now. Louise would never do such a thing."

The students turned away disappointedly.

"Isn't it obvious? Like I would ever do something like that! With this thing, no less! This thing! To even think that I would curl up in bed with this lower life form is far beyond being a joke!"

Louise huffed haughtily, averting her gaze upwards.

"But, my dreams often come true."

Saito piped up.

"Indeed! Dreams do have the power to foretell the future, after all!" Someone in the room supplied in agreement.

"My master here, with her personality, probably won't ever find herself a lover."

A vast majority of the students nodded. Louise shot Saito another evil look, but it was too late. Saito was on a roll.

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Two signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Three ==
=== Page 135 ===

"My poor master gets quite "frustrated" as a result, and instead resorts to slipping into this familiar's humble hay pile."

Louise put her hands on her hips and strongly reprimanded Saito.

"Enough! Close that unclean mouth of yours right now!"



That didn't stop Saito from continuing either.

"When she does, I have to fend her off a bit..."

By this point, he was too far gone. Louise's shoulders began to tremble angrily.

"And tell her, 'this isn't where you sleep.'"

The class applauded. Saito mimicked an elegant bow and went to sit back down.

Louise kicked him away, sending him rolling across the floor.

"Don't kick me!"

But Louise was beyond the point of reasoning. Her gaze was fixed firmly forward, and like always, her shoulders shook with barely contained fury,

Once again, there was a crimson shadow watching Saito.

It was Kirche's salamander. With its belly to the floor, it stared at Saito through the gap in the row of chairs.

"Hm?"

===Page 136 ===

Noticing it, Saito waved his hand at it.

"You're Kirche's salamander, aren't you? I know you have a name. What was it... Oh yeah, it's Flame. Flame-"

Saito motioned for it to come closer, but the salamander flicked its tail around and spat out a few embers before running back to its master.

"Why would a lizard be so interested in me?"

Saito tilted his head in puzzlement.

<center>* * *</center>

And while Saito was having a staring contest with a salamander during class...

At the Headmaster's Office, Miss Longueville the secretary was busily writing away at something.

She stopped writing for a moment and glanced over at the sequoia desk at which Sir Osmond was busy taking a nap.

The corner of Miss Longueville's lips rose in a faint smirk, an expression she had never shown anyone before.

She stood up from her desk.

In a low voice, she murmured the incantation for a "Silence" spell. Dampening her footsteps so as not to wake Osmond, she crept out of the office.

=== Page 137 ===

Her destination was the treasury, located on the floor directly below the Headmaster's Office.

Stepping off the stairs, she confronted enormous iron doors. They were kept shut with a thick bolt mechanism, which in turn was secured with an equally large padlock.

This place was where artifacts dating even before the Academy's establishment were contained. After cautiously surveying her surroundings, Miss Longueville withdrew her wand from a pocket. It was about the length of a pencil, but with a flick of the wrist, it extended to the length of an conductor's baton, which she whirled expertly.

Miss Longueville cast another spell.

Once the invocation was complete, she pointed the baton at the padlock.

However... nothing happened.

"Well, it's not like I really expected an "Unlock" spell to work anyway."

Smiling deviously, she began reciting the words to one of her specialty spells.

It was a Transmutation spell. Chanting loud and clear, she waved her baton at the heavy lock. The magic cascaded over it... but even after a considerable wait, there was no visible change.

"Looks like it's been magically reinforced by a Square-class mage," she muttered.


A "Reinforcement" spell was one that prevented the oxidation and decomposition of matter. Any substance that had this spell cast on it was protected from any chemical reactions, and allowed it to be preserved

=== Page 138 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

forever in that state. Even transmutation magic would have no effect against something protected like this. Only if one's magical skill surpassed that of the mage who cast the reinforcement could the spell be overcome.

As it was, the mage who had enchanted this door was apparently an extremely powerful mage, considering that not even Miss Longueville, an expert in Earth magic and transmutation in particular, was able to affect the door.

Taking off her glasses, she stared at the door once more. At this point, she heard footsteps coming up the staircase.

She shrunk down her baton and slipped it back into her pocket.

The person who appeared was Colbert.

"Greetings, Miss Longueville. What are you doing here?"

"Mister Colbert, I was going to catalog the contents of the treasury, but..."

"Oh, that's quite some work. It'd probably take you all day to go over each and every item. There's a lot of junk mixed together with them, and it's a rather cramped space they've been arranged in too."

"Indeed."

"Why don't you just borrow the key from Old Osmond?"

The woman smiled.

=== Page 139 ===

"Well... I didn't want to disturb his sleep. In any case, I'm in no immediate hurry to complete the catalog..."

"I see. Sleep, you say. That old man, I mean, Old Osmond, is quite a deep sleeper. It seems I shall have to visit him another time."

Mister Colbert began to walk off, but paused in his tracks, and turned around.


"Err... Miss Longueville?"

"Is something the matter?"

Colbert looked slightly embarrassed as he opened his mouth to speak.

"If it would be alright, how would you like to, say... join me for lunch?"

She took a moment to consider, then smiled brightly as she accepted the offer.

"Sure, it'd be my pleasure."

The two of them headed down the stairs.

"Hey, Mister Colbert."

In slightly informal tones, Miss Longueville struck up conversation again.

"Y-yes? What is it?"

Emboldened by how easily his invitation had been taken up, Colbert responded quite eagerly to her.

"Is anything actually inside the treasury?"

=== Page 140 ===

"There is."

"Then, do you know of the 'Staff of Destruction'?"

"Ah, that is quite a curiously shaped item, indeed."

Her eyes glinted.

"What... kind of shape?"

"It's extremely difficult to describe, except as simply strange, yes. But never mind that, what would you like to eat? Today's menu is flounder baked in herbs... but I'm quite well-acquainted with Marteau the head chef, and I can have him make any of the world's finest delica--"

"Ahem."


Miss Longueville interrupted Colbert's babbling.

"Y-yes?"

"I must say, the treasury is quite amazingly built. No matter what kind of magic is tried, it would be impossible to open, I assume?"

"That's quite right. It's impossible for just any one mage. After all, it was devised by a group of Square-class mages to resist all spells."


"I'm very impressed that you're so knowledgeable about this, Mister Colbert."

She regarded him with a comfortable expression.

=== Page 141 ===

"Eh? Well... Haha, I just happened to come across a lot of documents pertaining to this floor, that's all... I like to consider it a part of my research, haha. Thanks to that, I'm still single at this age... yes."

"I'm sure the woman that you find will be very happy to be with you. After all, you can teach her so much about things that nobody else knows..."

Miss Longueville fixed him with a fascinated look.

"Oh, no! Please don't tease me like that!"

Colbert flustered nervously as he wiped sweat from his balding forehead. Then, regaining composure, he faced her seriously.

"Miss Longueville. Have you heard of the Ball of Frigg that is being held on the day of Yule?" 

"No, I haven't."

"Haha, I guess it's because you've only been in Tristain for two months. Well, it's nothing spectacular, just a party of sorts. However, it's said that a couple who dances at this ball will be destined to be together or something like that. It's just a petty legend of course! Yes!"

"So?"

Smiling, she pressed him to continue.

"So... if it would be alright, I was wondering if you would dance with me, yes."

"I would love to. While ball parties are fabulous, I'd like to know more about the treasury right now. I'm

=== Page 142 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

quite fascinated by magical items, you see."

Wanting to further impress Miss Longueville, Colbert racked his brains. ''Treasury, treasury, she says...''

Remembering something she might find interesting, he put on an important air and started to talk.

"Ah yes, there's one thing I can tell you. Although it's not particularly important..."

"By all means, do tell."

"Certainly, the treasury is invincible against magical attacks, but I believe it has one fatal weakness."

"Oh, that's intriguing."

"That weakness is... physical force."

"Physical force?"

"Yes! For example, well, not that this is ever likely, but a giant golem could--"

"A giant golem?"

Colbert stated his opinion quite proudly to Miss Longueville. And once he was done talking, she couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

"That was most intriguing indeed, Mister Colbert."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Three signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story2 Chapter1

2007-03-19T13:10:12Z

The naming game: /* Chapter 04 - Part One */ "running water" + "blood pressure" + misc

== [[zeroNT:Gandvol01editchpter04control|Raw English Translation Available Here]] ==

== Chapter 04 - Part One ==
=== Chapter Four: A Familiar's Day ===

It had been a week since Saito started his life as Louise's familiar at Tristain Magic Academy. If one were to explain an average day for Saito, it would read like the following: 

<center>* * *</center>

First, like the majority of animals and humans in Tristain, he woke up in the morning. His bed was, as usual, the floor, though compared to the first day it had mostly improved. Finding that his body hurt all night if he slept on the hard floor, Saito had asked the maid Siesta for some of the hay that was fed to the horses and had packed it into a corner of the room. Saito slept on the pile of  hay, wrapped in the blanket that Louise had so "graciously" bestowed upon him.


Louise called Saito's makeshift bed "the chicken's nest," which was appropriate as chickens slept on hay, and as the first thing Saito did every morning was to wake Louise up, like a rooster.

But he had to, because there would be trouble for him if Louise woke up first. 

"A stupid familiar that has to be woken by its master needs to be punished." Louise never forgot to remind him. 

=== Page 121 ===

If Saito ever overslept, he'd be denied breakfast. 

Once woken up, Louise got changed. She put on her underwear by herself, but made Saito dress her in her uniform. This was mentioned before.
 

With her enchanting looks, Saito was breathless every time he saw Louise in her underwear. They say you get used to a beautiful lover in three days, but it didn't seem Saito would get used to Louise anytime soon.

Maybe because he was her familiar, not her lover. Still, always by Louise's side, he essentially was one. The only difference was in her attitude and treatment of him.

Getting to see Louise like this every day wasn't all bad, however, it was a persistent wound to his pride. When helping Louise into her shoes, for example, he couldn't hide the irritation from his face.

At least that much was tolerated, but if Saito ever said anything to set Louise off, things became bothersome.

"A rude familiar that displeases its master this early in the morning needs to be punished," was another of Louise's mottos.


If ever Saito teased Louise about her breast size, or got pouty and said something like, "do up the buttons yourself," he'd be denied breakfast.

Dressed in her uniform, consisting of a black cloak, a white blouse, and a grey pleated skirt, Louise then washed her face and brushed her teeth. The room didn't even have sensible things like running water installed, so Saito had to go 


=== Page 122 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

down to the fountain and bring up water for Louise's use in a bucket. And of course, Louise didn't wash her face herself. She made Saito do it.

One morning, while he was wiping her face with a towel, he lightly traced Louise's face with a piece of charcoal he had found.

Seeing his masterwork drawn on Louise's face, Saito barely held in a snigger. Then in pretend obsequience, he politely bowed his head to Louise.

"Mistress. You are the epitome of beauty this day." 

Due to low blood pressure, Louise could only manage a sleepy reply.  


"...Are you plotting something?"

"Myself? I am simply a familiar serving the orders of my mistress. I would not dare to plot!"

Louise was suspicious of Saito's sudden and excessive politeness, but since she was almost late for class, she didn't question him any further.

With her vividly rosy cheeks, charming hazel eyes, and lips that seemed carved from fine coral, Louise knew she didn't need to decorate herself, so she didn't wear any kind of make-up. In other words, this meant she didn't look in the mirror much. And this day was no different. The result: she had absolutely no idea of the "make-up" that Saito had applied on her.


Louise headed out to class in that state. The time being what it was, she didn't encounter anyone in the hallways or stairs.

=== Page 123 ===

Louise opened the classroom door panting. As one, her classmates looked at her and exploded with laughter.

"Hey, looking good, Louise!"

"Oh my god! That's '''so''' you!"

Afterwards, when Mister Colbert kindly complimented the stylish glasses and moustache sketched on her face, Louise went berserk. She went out into the hallway where Saito was holding his stomach as he rolled on the floor in hysteric laughter, slapped him a dozen times, and cut his meals for the entire day.

According to Louise, a familiar that treated its master's face like a piece of canvas was akin to the demons of old that opposed the Founder Brimir and his many allied gods, and such demons were not worthy of the bread and soup granted by the Lady Queen.

<center>* * *</center>

After breakfast, Saito cleaned Louise's room. This involved sweeping the floor with a broom and wiping the table and windows with a cloth.

And then there was the oh-so-enjoyable laundry. He took the laundry down to the fountain and scrubbed it clean against a washboard. There was no warm water, only icy cold water that bit fiercely at his fingers. Louise's underwear were all expensive looking pieces with lots of lace and frills attached. He would get a meal cut if he happened to damage one, so he had to wash them gently. It was painful work. Tired of it all, he left one particular pair with a slightly torn elastic band in the pile one day. Merely a few days later, 

=== Page 124 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Louise walked out obliviously wearing that particular pair, when the elastic snapped entirely. Her panties slid down to her ankles, entangling both of Louise's legs like a trapper's snare. 

It just so happened that she was at the top of a staircase, so she tumbled spectacularly down them.

Most fortunately, there wasn't anyone else around to see her roll down the stairs with her lower half shamefully exposed, so at least her reputation was spared. Realizing that it had been overkill, Saito was careful not to peek inside her skirt as he apologized profusely to Louise, who lay unconscious at the staircase landing. He hadn't meant for the joke to derail like this. Ideally, he had envisioned it happening in a hallway for optimum embarrassment.

Once Louise regained consciousness and realized what had happened, she thrust the torn pair of panties accusingly at Saito, who was sitting subserviently by the bedside.

"There was a torn pair."

"Indeed there was, Mistress."

Louise's voice quavered with fury.

"Explain yourself. And concisely."

"It must have been the fountain water, Mistress. Why, it's so cold it could freeze fingers right off. I believe the elastic couldn't endure that."

Saito replied curtly.

=== Page 125 ===

"So you're saying it's the elastic's fault?"

"I'm saying it's the water's fault. It was bad water. I'm convinced that there must be some kind of curse on it to make it cold and also affect the elastic somehow."

"In that case, I should not feed such a loyal familiar soup made from that kind of bad water."

"Most gracious of you."

"Three days should do, I think, for the water to return to normal."

Saito had his meals cut for three days.

<center>* * *</center>

However, Saito remained completely fine for those three days. He'd just pretend to be withering and visit the kitchen behind the Hall of Alviss, where the energetic and lovely Siesta would serve him food like stew, and meat on the bone. He went there even when his meals weren't cut. The soup that Louise declared "The Widespread Blessing of Her Lady Queen" was never enough of a blessing to fill him up.

Naturally, he kept his visits to the kitchen a secret from Louise. She was adamant about not giving him more until he had corrected his behavior, so there would be trouble if she found out about the meat and stew Siesta kindly provided him with. Louise would surely forbid him visiting for the sake of "educating" her familiar.

=== Page 126 ===

Currently though, she was totally unaware. In any case, Saito preferred Siesta and the kitchen a hundred times more than some Lady Queen and Founder Brimir he'd never met.

<center>* * *</center>

One morning, after hungrily drinking down his soup in front of Louise, he went to the kitchen. Saito, having beaten the noble Guiche at the Vestri Courts, was hugely popular there.

"'Our Sword' is here!"

The one who called out was Marteau, the head chef, a well-rounded man well into his forties.  Naturally, he was also a commoner himself, but with his position of head chef at the Academy, he earned as much as a lower class noble, a fact he could be proud of.

Dressed in simple but fine clothes, he commanded the kitchen with a wave and flourish of his hand.

Despite his highly respectable position as head chef of a magic academy for nobles, Marteau wasn't the least bit arrogant, and surprisingly enough, disliked both magic and nobles.

He called Saito, who had used a sword to defeat Guiche, by the nickname "Our Sword" and treated the boy like a king. Thanks to him, the kitchen was an oasis to Saito.

Saito sat down at his chair, and with a smile, Siesta promptly brought him a bowl of warm stew and soft white bread.

"Thanks."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part One signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Two ==
=== Page 127 ===

"Today's stew is extra special,"

Siesta declared, looking particularly happy. Saito curiously lifted a spoonful to his mouth and his face instantly lit up.

"Wow, this is delicious! It's worlds apart from that gruel I get!"

At this, Marteau approached the table holding a kitchen knife.


"Well of course. That stew's the same stuff we serve to the noble kids." 

"I can't believe this is the kind of stuff they get to eat everyday..."

Marteau snorted loudly at Saito's comment.

"Hmph! Sure, they can use magic. Making pots and pans and castles from dirt, conjuring up unbelievable gems, even controlling dragons - so what! But see, creating such exquisite dishes like this is a kind of magic itself. Wouldn't you agree, Saito?"

Saito nodded.

"Absolutely."

"A fine fellow! You're a good man!"

He put an arm around Saito's shoulders.

"Here, "Our Sword"! Let me place a kiss upon your forehead! Come on! I insist!"

"I'd rather you not. And don't call me that either,"

=== Page 128 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Saito said.

"Why not?"

"It's just... weird."

The man let go of Saito and spread his arms out in protest.

"But you cut a mage's golem to pieces! Don't you get it?"

"I suppose."

"Say, just where did you learn to use a sword? Tell me where I can go to learn how to swing a sword like that."

Marteau stared earnestly at Saito. He asked the same thing every time Saito came to eat, and Saito's answer was the same every time.

"I don't know. I've never held a sword before. My body just moved by itself."

"You guys! Did you hear that?!"

He yelled, his voice echoing around the kitchen.

The younger cooks and the apprentices shouted back.

"We hear you, boss!"

"This is what they call a true master! They never boast about their skill! Look and learn! A true master never boasts!"

=== Page 129 ===

The cooks chanted happily.

"A true master never boasts!"

Then Marteau turned back around to face Saito.

"You know, "Our Sword," I'm starting to like you more and more. So how about it?"

"Um, how about what...?"

He was simply telling the truth, but Marteau always thought he was just being modest. It was somewhat frustrating. He felt like he was deceiving the good-natured man. Saito's gaze dropped down to the runes on his left hand.


''Since that day, it hasn't glowed anymore. Just what was that, I wonder...'' Even when Saito tried to make a point of staring at his own runes, Marteau interpreted that as him being reserved.

The chef turned to Siesta.

"Siesta!"

"Yes?"

Siesta, who had been cheerfully watching the two of them get along, responded brightly.

"Bring our hero here some of Albion's finest."

Her smile widened, and retrieving a wine bottle of the requested vintage from the rack,


=== Page 130 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

she poured some into Saito's glass. Siesta looked on absorbedly as Saito's face grew redder and redder from the wine. These events repeat almost routinely:

Saito visits the kitchen, Marteau becomes more attached to Saito, and Siesta's respect for him deepens further.

<center>* * *</center>

Although that particular day... there was a crimson shadow  spying on Saito from a window of the kitchen. One of the young cooks took notice of it.

"Hey, there's something outside the window."

The shadow gave a garbled 'kyuru kyuru' and slinked away.

<center>* * *</center>

Then, after breakfast, cleaning, and laundry, he accompanies Louise in class. Originally, he was made to sit on the floor, but after Louise realized he had become rather transfixed with peering up other girls' skirts, she reluctantly let him sit on a chair. And she made it clear to Saito that should his vision ever stray too far from the blackboard, he would be denied lunch.


In the beginning, the lessons fascinated Saito with their marvels: turning water into wine, combining various reagents to brew special potions, materializing fireballs out of nothing, levitating boxes and sticks and balls


=== Page 131 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

out of the class windows for their familiars to fetch, etc... but after a while, the novelty wore off.

And so he took to napping instead. The professor and Louise would give Saito evil looks every once in a while, but there were no rules to forbid familiars from sleeping during lessons. And just looking around the class, all the nocturnal familiars and even someone's owl were snoozing away. In fact, if they were to wake Saito up, it would mean that they were acknowledging him as a human. Louise chewed her lips with the overwhelming desire to give the sleeping Saito a piece of her mind, but she couldn't because doing so would mean contradicting herself about him being nothing more than a familiar.


<center>* * *</center>

That same day, bathed in sunlight, Saito was fast asleep during another lesson.

The wine he drank that morning was taking its effect on him, and Saito dreamed.

It was quite an unbelievable dream.

A dream in which Louise crept into his hay pile at night as he slept.


''"What's wrong, Louise...?"''

At hearing her name being called, Louise shot a glare at Saito.

''"You can't sleep? Oh, alright... can't be helped. Munya~"'' 

Oh, he's just muttering in his sleep, she thought, and faced the front again.

=== Page 132 ===

''"...Munya. H-hey, don't hug me all of a sudden."''

Louise's gaze snapped to Saito once more. The other students were starting to take notice of the situation, and perked their ears to listen.

''"...Jeez, for the slave driver you are during the day, you're such a sweet little thing in bed."''

A trickle of drool ran down from the corner of Saito's mouth as he continued to enjoy his dream.

Louise grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously.

"Hey! Just what kind of dream are you having?!"

Her classmates burst out laughing. Malicorne the Windward made a passing comment.

"Oi oi, Louise! Is that the kind of thing you do with your familiar at night? I'm surprised!"

The female students whispered something amongst themselves.

"Wait! This is just some stupid sleep-talk! Ah, jeez! Wake up already!"

''"Louise, Louise, you're like a kitten; stop licking me there like that..."''


At this, the laughter threatened to burst through the ceiling.

Louise kicked Saito off the chair, violently returning him to reality from his soft and gentle dreamscape.

"Wh-what was that for?!"

"Since when have I ever snuck into your hay pile?!"

=== Page 133 - Illustration ===

Illustration -- ''Set phasers to 'tsun'...''

=== Page 134 ===

Louise crossed her arms and looked down imposingly on Saito.

Saito shook his head profusely, only further amusing the class.

"Saito, explain to these rather rude people that I never take one step out of my own bed during the night."

"That's right, everyone. I was simply dreaming out loud just now. Louise would never do such a thing."

The students turned away disappointedly.

"Isn't it obvious? Like I would ever do something like that! With this thing, no less! This thing! To even think that I would curl up in bed with this lower life form is far beyond being a joke!"

Louise huffed haughtily, averting her gaze upwards.

"But, my dreams often come true."

Saito piped up.

"Indeed! Dreams do have the power to foretell the future, after all!" Someone in the room supplied in agreement.

"My master here, with her personality, probably won't ever find herself a lover."

A vast majority of the students nodded. Louise shot Saito another evil look, but it was too late. Saito was on a roll.

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Two signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Three ==
=== Page 135 ===

"My poor master gets quite "frustrated" as a result, and instead resorts to slipping into this familiar's humble hay pile."

Louise put her hands on her hips and strongly reprimanded Saito.

"Enough! Close that unclean mouth of yours right now!"



That didn't stop Saito from continuing either.

"When she does, I have to fend her off a bit..."

By this point, he was too far gone. Louise's shoulders began to tremble angrily.

"And tell her, 'this isn't where you sleep.'"

The class applauded. Saito mimicked an elegant bow and went to sit back down.

Louise kicked him away, sending him rolling across the floor.

"Don't kick me!"

But Louise was beyond the point of reasoning. Her gaze was fixed firmly forward, and like always, her shoulders shook with barely contained fury,

Once again, there was a crimson shadow watching Saito.

It was Kirche's salamander. With its belly to the floor, it stared at Saito through the gap in the row of chairs.

"Hm?"

===Page 136 ===

Noticing it, Saito waved his hand at it.

"You're Kirche's salamander, aren't you? I know you have a name. What was it... Oh yeah, it's Flame. Flame-"

Saito motioned for it to come closer, but the salamander flicked its tail around and spat out a few embers before running back to its master.

"Why would a lizard be so interested in me?"

Saito tilted his head in puzzlement.

<center>* * *</center>

And while Saito was having a staring contest with a salamander during class...

At the Headmaster's Office, Miss Longueville the secretary was busily writing away at something.

She stopped writing for a moment and glanced over at the sequoia desk at which Sir Osmond was busy taking a nap.

The corner of Miss Longueville's lips rose in a faint smirk, an expression she had never shown anyone before.

She stood up from her desk.

In a low voice, she murmured the incantation for a "Silence" spell. Dampening her footsteps so as not to wake Osmond, she crept out of the office.

=== Page 137 ===

Her destination was the treasury, located on the floor directly below the Headmaster's Office.

Stepping off the stairs, she confronted enormous iron doors. They were kept shut with a thick bolt mechanism, which in turn was secured with an equally large padlock.

This place was where artifacts dating even before the Academy's establishment were contained. After cautiously surveying her surroundings, Miss Longueville withdrew her wand from a pocket. It was about the length of a pencil, but with a flick of the wrist, it extended to the length of an conductor's baton, which she whirled expertly.

Miss Longueville cast another spell.

Once the invocation was complete, she pointed the baton at the padlock.

However... nothing happened.

"Well, it's not like I really expected an "Unlock" spell to work anyway."

Smiling deviously, she began reciting the words to one of her specialty spells.

It was a Transmutation spell. Chanting loud and clear, she waved her baton at the heavy lock. The magic cascaded over it... but even after a considerable wait, there was no visible change.

"Looks like it's been magically reinforced by a Square-class mage," she muttered.


A "Reinforcement" spell was one that prevented the oxidation and decomposition of matter. Any substance that had this spell cast on it was protected from any chemical reactions, and allowed it to be preserved

=== Page 138 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

forever in that state. Even transmutation magic would have no effect against something protected like this. Only if one's magical skill surpassed that of the mage who cast the reinforcement could the spell be overcome.

As it was, the mage who had enchanted this door was apparently an extremely powerful mage, considering that not even Miss Longueville, an expert in Earth magic and transmutation in particular, was able to affect the door.

Taking off her glasses, she stared at the door once more. At this point, she heard footsteps coming up the staircase.

She shrunk down her baton and slipped it back into her pocket.

The person who appeared was Colbert.

"Greetings, Miss Longueville. What are you doing here?"

"Mister Colbert, I was going to catalog the contents of the treasury, but..."

"Oh, that's quite some work. It'd probably take you all day to go over each and every item. There's a lot of junk mixed together with them, and it's a rather cramped space they've been arranged in too."

"Indeed."

"Why don't you just borrow the key from Old Osmond?"

The woman smiled.

=== Page 139 ===

"Well... I didn't want to disturb his sleep. In any case, I'm in no immediate hurry to complete the catalog..."

"I see. Sleep, you say. That old man, I mean, Old Osmond, is quite a deep sleeper. It seems I shall have to visit him another time."

Mister Colbert began to walk off, but paused in his tracks, and turned around.


"Err... Miss Longueville?"

"Is something the matter?"

Colbert looked slightly embarrassed as he opened his mouth to speak.

"If it would be alright, how would you like to, say... join me for lunch?"

She took a moment to consider, then smiled brightly as she accepted the offer.

"Sure, it'd be my pleasure."

The two of them headed down the stairs.

"Hey, Mister Colbert."

In slightly informal tones, Miss Longueville struck up conversation again.

"Y-yes? What is it?"

Emboldened by how easily his invitation had been taken up, Colbert responded quite eagerly to her.

"Is anything actually inside the treasury?"

=== Page 140 ===

"There is."

"Then, do you know of the 'Staff of Destruction'?"

"Ah, that is quite a curiously shaped item, indeed."

Her eyes glinted.

"What... kind of shape?"

"It's extremely difficult to describe, except as simply strange, yes. But never mind that, what would you like to eat? Today's menu is flounder baked in herbs... but I'm quite well-acquainted with Marteau the head chef, and I can have him make any of the world's finest delica--"

"Ahem."


Miss Longueville interrupted Colbert's babbling.

"Y-yes?"

"I must say, the treasury is quite amazingly built. No matter what kind of magic is tried, it would be impossible to open, I assume?"

"That's quite right. It's impossible for just any one mage. After all, it was devised by a group of Square-class mages to resist all spells."


"I'm very impressed that you're so knowledgeable about this, Mister Colbert."

She regarded him with a comfortable expression.

=== Page 141 ===

"Eh? Well... Haha, I just happened to come across a lot of documents pertaining to this floor, that's all... I like to consider it a part of my research, haha. Thanks to that, I'm still single at this age... yes."

"I'm sure the woman that you find will be very happy to be with you. After all, you can teach her so much about things that nobody else knows..."

Miss Longueville fixed him with a fascinated look.

"Oh, no! Please don't tease me like that!"

Colbert flustered nervously as he wiped sweat from his balding forehead. Then, regaining composure, he faced her seriously.

"Miss Longueville. Have you heard of the Ball of Frigg that is being held on the day of Yule?" 

"No, I haven't."

"Haha, I guess it's because you've only been in Tristain for two months. Well, it's nothing spectacular, just a party of sorts. However, it's said that a couple who dances at this ball will be destined to be together or something like that. It's just a petty legend of course! Yes!"

"So?"

Smiling, she pressed him to continue.

"So... if it would be alright, I was wondering if you would dance with me, yes."

"I would love to. While ball parties are fabulous, I'd like to know more about the treasury right now. I'm

=== Page 142 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

quite fascinated by magical items, you see."

Wanting to further impress Miss Longueville, Colbert racked his brains. ''Treasury, treasury, she says...''

Remembering something she might find interesting, he put on an important air and started to talk.

"Ah yes, there's one thing I can tell you. Although it's not particularly important..."

"By all means, do tell."

"Certainly, the treasury is invincible against magical attacks, but I believe it has one fatal weakness."

"Oh, that's intriguing."

"That weakness is... physical force."

"Physical force?"

"Yes! For example, well, not that this is ever likely, but a giant golem could--"

"A giant golem?"

Colbert stated his opinion quite proudly to Miss Longueville. And once he was done talking, she couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

"That was most intriguing indeed, Mister Colbert."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Three signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story2 Chapter1

2007-03-12T05:33:57Z

The naming game: /* Chapter 04 - Part Three */ kinda sleepy, so hopefully no bum edits.

== [[zeroNT:Gandvol01editchpter04control|Raw English Translation Available Here]] ==

== Chapter 04 - Part One ==
=== Chapter Four: A Familiar's Day ===

It had been a week since Saito started his life as Louise's familiar at Tristain Magic Academy. If one were to explain an average day for Saito, it would read like the following: 

<center>* * *</center>

First, like the majority of animals and humans in Tristain, he woke up in the morning. His bed was, as usual, the floor, though compared to the first day it had mostly improved. Finding that his body hurt all night if he slept on the hard floor, Saito had asked the maid Siesta for some of the hay that was fed to the horses and had packed it into a corner of the room. Saito slept on the pile of  hay, wrapped in the blanket that Louise had so "graciously" bestowed upon him.


Louise called Saito's makeshift bed "the chicken's nest," which was appropriate as chickens slept on hay, and as the first thing Saito did every morning was to wake Louise up, like a rooster.

But he had to, because there would be trouble for him if Louise woke up first. 

"A stupid familiar that has to be woken by its master needs to be punished." Louise never forgot to remind him. 

=== Page 121 ===

If Saito ever slept in, he'd be denied breakfast.

Once woken up, Louise gets changed. She puts on underwear by herself, but makes Saito dress her in her uniform. This has already been mentioned before.


With her enchanting looks, Saito was breathless every time he saw Louise in her underwear. They say you get used to a beautiful lover in three days, but it didn't seem Saito would get used to her anytime soon.

Maybe because he was a familiar, not a lover. Still, always by her side, he essentially was one. The only difference was in the attitude and treatment.

Getting to see Louise like this every day wasn't all bad. However, it was a persistent wound to his pride. When getting Louise into her shoes, for example, he couldn't hide the irritation from his face.

At least that much was tolerated, but if Saito ever said anything to set Louise off, then things got bothersome.

"A rude familiar that displeases its master this early in the morning needs to be punished," was another of Louise's mottos.


If ever Saito teased Louise about her breast size, or got pouty and said something like, "do up the buttons yourself," he'd be denied breakfast.

Dressed in her uniform consisting of a black cloak, a white blouse, and a grey pleated skirt, Louise then washes her face and brushes her teeth. Water pipes or the like weren't installed in the bedrooms, so Saito had to go

=== Page 122 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

down to the fountain and bring up water for Louise's use in a bucket. And of course, Louise doesn't wash her face herself. She makes Saito do it.

One morning, while he was wiping her face with a towel, he lightly traced Louise's face with a piece of charcoal he found.

Seeing his masterwork drawn on Louise's face, Saito barely held in a snigger. Then in pretend obsequience, he politely bowed his head to Louise.

"Mistress. You are the epitome of beauty this day." 

Due to low blood pressure, Louise could only manage a sleepy reply. 

"...Are you plotting something?"

"Who, me? I am simply a familiar serving the orders of my mistress. I would not dare to plot!"

Louise was suspicious of Saito's sudden and excessive politeness, but since she was almost late for class, she didn't question him any further than that.

With her vividly rosy cheeks, charming hazel eyes, and lips that seemed carved of fine coral, Louise knew she didn't need to decorate herself nor did she wear any kind of make-up. In other words, this meant she didn't look at the mirror much. And this day was no different. The result: she had absolutely no idea of the "make-up" that Saito had applied on her.

Louise headed out to class in this state. The time being what it was, she didn't encounter anyone in the hallways or stairs.

=== Page 123 ===

Louise opened the classroom door panting. As one, her classmates looked at her and exploded with laughter.

"Hey, looking good, Louise!"

"Oh my god! That's '''so''' you!"

Afterwards, when Mister Colbert kindly complimented the stylish glasses and moustache sketched on her face, Louise went berserk. She went out into the hallway where Saito was holding his stomach as he rolled on the floor in hysteric laughter, slapped him a dozen times, and cut his meals for the entire day.

According to Louise, a familiar that treats its master's face like a piece of canvas is akin to the demons of old that opposed the Founder Brimir and his many allied gods, and such demons were not worthy of the bread and soup granted by the Lady Queen.

<center>* * *</center>

After breakfast, Saito cleans Louise's room. This involved sweeping the floor with a broom and wiping the table and windows with a cloth.

And then there was the oh-so-enjoyable laundry. He takes the laundry down to the fountain and scrubs them clean against a washboard. There was no warm water, only icy cold water that bit fiercely at his fingers. Louise's underwear were all expensive looking pieces with lots of lace and frills attached. He would get a meal cut if he happened to damage one, so he has to wash them gently. It was painful work. Tired of it all, he left one particular pair with a slightly torn elastic band in the pile one day. Merely a few days later,

=== Page 124 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Louise walked out obliviously wearing that particular pair, when the elastic snapped entirely. Her panties slid down to her ankles, entangling both of Louise's legs like a trapper's snare. 

It just so happened that she was at the top of a staircase, so she tumbled spectacularly down them.

Most fortunately, there wasn't anyone else around to see her roll down the stairs with her lower half shamefully exposed, so at least her reputation was spared. Realizing that it had been overkill, Saito was careful not to peek inside her skirt as he apologized profusely to Louise, who lay unconscious at the staircase landing. He hadn't meant for the joke to derail like this. Ideally, he had envisioned it happening in a hallway for optimum embarrassment.

Once Louise regained consciousness and realized what had happened, she thrust the torn pair of panties accusingly at Saito, who was sitting subserviently by the bedside.

"There was a torn pair."

"Indeed there was, Mistress."

Louise's voice quavered with fury.

"Explain yourself. And concisely."

"It must have been the fountain water, ojousama. Why, it's so cold it could freeze fingers right off. I believe the elastic couldn't endure that."

Saito replied curtly.

=== Page 125 ===

"So you're saying it's the elastic's fault?"

"I'm saying it's the water's fault. It was bad water. I'm convinced that there must be some kind of curse on it to make it cold and also affect the elastic somehow."

"In that case, I should not feed such a loyal familiar soup made from that kind of bad water."

"Most gracious of you."

"Three days should do, I think, for the water to return to normal."

Saito had his meals cut for the mentioned three days.

<center>* * *</center>

However, Saito remained completely fine for those three days. He'd just pretend to be withering and visit the kitchen behind the Hall of Alviss, where the energetic and lovely Siesta would serve him stuff like stew and meat on the bone. He went there even when his meals weren't cut. The soup that Louise declared as "The Widespread Blessing of Her Lady Queen" was never enough of a blessing to fill him up.

Naturally, he kept his visits to the kitchen a secret from Louise. She was adamant on not giving him more until he had corrected his behavior, so there would be trouble if she found out about the meat and stew Siesta kindly provided him with. Louise would surely forbid him visiting for the sake of "educating" her familiar.

=== Page 126 ===

Currently though, she was totally unaware. In any case, Saito preferred Siesta and the kitchen a hundred times more than some Lady Queen and Founder Brimir he'd never met before.

<center>* * *</center>

One morning, after hungrily drinking down the soup in front of Louise, he went to the kitchen. Saito, having beaten the noble Guiche at the Vestri Courts, was hugely popular there.

"'Our Sword' is here!"

The one who yelled that was Marteau, the head chef, a well-rounded man well into his forties.  Naturally, he was also a commoner himself, but with his position of head chef at the Academy, he earned as much as a lower class noble, a fact he could be proud of.

Dressed in simple but fine clothes, he commanded the kitchen with a wave and flourish of his hand.

Despite his highly respectable position as head chef of a magic academy for nobles, Marteau wasn't the least bit arrogant, and surprisingly enough, disliked both magic and nobles.

He called Saito, who had used a sword to defeat Guiche, by the nickname "Our Sword" and treated the boy like a king. Thanks to him, the kitchen was an oasis to Saito.

Saito sat down at his chair, and with a smile, Siesta promptly brought him a bowl of warm stew and soft white bread.

"Thanks."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part One signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Two ==
=== Page 127 ===

"Today's stew is extra special,"

Siesta declared, looking particularly happy. Saito curiously lifted a spoonful to his mouth and his face instantly lit up.

"Wow, this is delicious! It's worlds apart from that gruel I get!"

At this, Marteau approached the table holding a kitchen knife.


"Well of course. That stew's the same stuff we serve to the noble kids." 

"I can't believe this is the kind of stuff they get to eat everyday..."

Marteau snorted loudly at Saito's comment.

"Hmph! Sure, they can use magic. Making pots and pans and castles from dirt, conjuring up unbelievable gems, even controlling dragons - so what! But see, creating such exquisite dishes like this is a kind of magic itself. Wouldn't you agree, Saito?"

Saito nodded.

"Absolutely."

"A fine fellow! You're a good man!"

He put an arm around Saito's shoulders.

"Here, "Our Sword"! Let me place a kiss upon your forehead! Come on! I insist!"

"I'd rather you not. And don't call me that either,"

=== Page 128 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Saito said.

"Why not?"

"It's just... weird."

The man let go of Saito and spread his arms out in protest.

"But you cut a mage's golem to pieces! Don't you get it?"

"I suppose."

"Say, just where did you learn to use a sword? Tell me where I can go to learn how to swing a sword like that."

Marteau stared earnestly at Saito. He asked the same thing every time Saito came to eat, and Saito's answer was the same every time.

"I don't know. I've never held a sword before. My body just moved by itself."

"You guys! Did you hear that?!"

He yelled, his voice echoing around the kitchen.

The younger cooks and the apprentices shouted back.

"We hear you, boss!"

"This is what they call a true master! They never boast about their skill! Look and learn! A true master never boasts!"

=== Page 129 ===

The cooks chanted happily.

"A true master never boasts!"

Then Marteau turned back around to face Saito.

"You know, "Our Sword," I'm starting to like you more and more. So how about it?"

"Um, how about what...?"

He was simply telling the truth, but Marteau always thought he was just being modest. It was somewhat frustrating. He felt like he was deceiving the good-natured man. Saito's gaze dropped down to the runes on his left hand.


''Since that day, it hasn't glowed anymore. Just what was that, I wonder...'' Even when Saito tried to make a point of staring at his own runes, Marteau interpreted that as him being reserved.

The chef turned to Siesta.

"Siesta!"

"Yes?"

Siesta, who had been cheerfully watching the two of them get along, responded brightly.

"Bring our hero here some of Albion's finest."

Her smile widened, and retrieving a wine bottle of the requested vintage from the rack,


=== Page 130 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

she poured some into Saito's glass. Siesta looked on absorbedly as Saito's face grew redder and redder from the wine. These events repeat almost routinely:

Saito visits the kitchen, Marteau becomes more attached to Saito, and Siesta's respect for him deepens further.

<center>* * *</center>

Although that particular day... there was a crimson shadow  spying on Saito from a window of the kitchen. One of the young cooks took notice of it.

"Hey, there's something outside the window."

The shadow gave a garbled 'kyuru kyuru' and slinked away.

<center>* * *</center>

Then, after breakfast, cleaning, and laundry, he accompanies Louise in class. Originally, he was made to sit on the floor, but after Louise realized he had become rather transfixed with peering up other girls' skirts, she reluctantly let him sit on a chair. And she made it clear to Saito that should his vision ever stray too far from the blackboard, he would be denied lunch.


In the beginning, the lessons fascinated Saito with their marvels: turning water into wine, combining various reagents to brew special potions, materializing fireballs out of nothing, levitating boxes and sticks and balls


=== Page 131 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

out of the class windows for their familiars to fetch, etc... but after a while, the novelty wore off.

And so he took to napping instead. The professor and Louise would give Saito evil looks every once in a while, but there were no rules to forbid familiars from sleeping during lessons. And just looking around the class, all the nocturnal familiars and even someone's owl were snoozing away. In fact, if they were to wake Saito up, it would mean that they were acknowledging him as a human. Louise chewed her lips with the overwhelming desire to give the sleeping Saito a piece of her mind, but she couldn't because doing so would mean contradicting herself about him being nothing more than a familiar.


<center>* * *</center>

That same day, bathed in sunlight, Saito was fast asleep during another lesson.

The wine he drank that morning was taking its effect on him, and Saito dreamed.

It was quite an unbelievable dream.

A dream in which Louise crept into his hay pile at night as he slept.


''"What's wrong, Louise...?"''

At hearing her name being called, Louise shot a glare at Saito.

''"You can't sleep? Oh, alright... can't be helped. Munya~"'' 

Oh, he's just muttering in his sleep, she thought, and faced the front again.

=== Page 132 ===

''"...Munya. H-hey, don't hug me all of a sudden."''

Louise's gaze snapped to Saito once more. The other students were starting to take notice of the situation, and perked their ears to listen.

''"...Jeez, for the slave driver you are during the day, you're such a sweet little thing in bed."''

A trickle of drool ran down from the corner of Saito's mouth as he continued to enjoy his dream.

Louise grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously.

"Hey! Just what kind of dream are you having?!"

Her classmates burst out laughing. Malicorne the Windward made a passing comment.

"Oi oi, Louise! Is that the kind of thing you do with your familiar at night? I'm surprised!"

The female students whispered something amongst themselves.

"Wait! This is just some stupid sleep-talk! Ah, jeez! Wake up already!"

''"Louise, Louise, you're like a kitten; stop licking me there like that..."''


At this, the laughter threatened to burst through the ceiling.

Louise kicked Saito off the chair, violently returning him to reality from his soft and gentle dreamscape.

"Wh-what was that for?!"

"Since when have I ever snuck into your hay pile?!"

=== Page 133 - Illustration ===

Illustration -- ''Set phasers to 'tsun'...''

=== Page 134 ===

Louise crossed her arms and looked down imposingly on Saito.

Saito shook his head profusely, only further amusing the class.

"Saito, explain to these rather rude people that I never take one step out of my own bed during the night."

"That's right, everyone. I was simply dreaming out loud just now. Louise would never do such a thing."

The students turned away disappointedly.

"Isn't it obvious? Like I would ever do something like that! With this thing, no less! This thing! To even think that I would curl up in bed with this lower life form is far beyond being a joke!"

Louise huffed haughtily, averting her gaze upwards.

"But, my dreams often come true."

Saito piped up.

"Indeed! Dreams do have the power to foretell the future, after all!" Someone in the room supplied in agreement.

"My master here, with her personality, probably won't ever find herself a lover."

A vast majority of the students nodded. Louise shot Saito another evil look, but it was too late. Saito was on a roll.

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Two signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Three ==
=== Page 135 ===

"My poor master gets quite "frustrated" as a result, and instead resorts to slipping into this familiar's humble hay pile."

Louise put her hands on her hips and strongly reprimanded Saito.

"Happy now? Close that unclean mouth of yours right now!"


That didn't stop Saito from continuing either.

"When she does, I have to fend her off a bit..."

By this point, he was too far gone. Louise's shoulders began to tremble angrily.

"And tell her, 'this isn't where you sleep.'"

The class applauded. Saito mimicked an elegant bow and went to sit back down.

Louise kicked him away, sending him rolling across the floor.

"Don't kick me!"

But Louise was beyond the point of reasoning. Her gaze was fixed firmly forward, and like always, her shoulders shook with barely contained fury,

Once again, there was a crimson shadow watching Saito.

It was Kirche's salamander. With its belly to the floor, it stared at Saito through the gap in the row of chairs.

"Hm?"

===Page 136 ===

Noticing it, Saito waved his hand at it.

"You're Kirche's salamander, aren't you? I know you have a name. What was it... Oh yeah, it's Flame. Flame-"

Saito motioned for it to come closer, but the salamander flicked its tail around and spat out a few embers before running back to its master.

"Why would a lizard be so interested in me?"

Saito tilted his head in puzzlement.

<center>* * *</center>

And while Saito was having a staring contest with a salamander during class...

At the Headmaster's Office, Miss Longueville the secretary was busily writing away at something.

She stopped writing for a moment and glanced over at the sequoia desk at which Sir Osmond was busy taking a nap.

The corner of Miss Longueville's lips rose in a faint smirk, an expression she had never shown anyone before.

She stood up from her desk.

In a low voice, she murmured the incantation for a "Silence" spell. Dampening her footsteps so as not to wake Osmond, she crept out of the office.

=== Page 137 ===

Her destination was the treasury, located on the floor directly below the Headmaster's Office.

Stepping off the stairs, she confronted enormous iron doors. They were kept shut with a thick bolt mechanism, which in turn was secured with an equally large padlock.

This place was where artifacts dating even before the Academy's establishment were contained. After cautiously surveying her surroundings, Miss Longueville withdrew her wand from a pocket. It was about the length of a pencil, but with a flick of the wrist, it extended to the length of an conductor's baton, which she whirled expertly.

Miss Longueville cast another spell.

Once the invocation was complete, she pointed the baton at the padlock.

However... nothing happened.

"Well, it's not like I really expected an "Unlock" spell to work anyway."

Smiling deviously, she began reciting the words to one of her specialty spells.

It was a Transmutation spell. Chanting loud and clear, she waved her baton at the heavy lock. The magic cascaded over it... but even after a considerable wait, there was no visible change.

"Looks like it's been magically reinforced by a Square-class mage," she muttered.


A "Reinforcement" spell was one that prevented the oxidation and decomposition of matter. Any substance that had this spell cast on it was protected from any chemical reactions, and allowed it to be preserved

=== Page 138 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

forever in that state. Even transmutation magic would have no effect against something protected like this. Only if one's magical skill surpassed that of the mage who cast the reinforcement could the spell be overcome.

As it was, the mage who had enchanted this door was apparently an extremely powerful mage, considering that not even Miss Longueville, an expert in Earth magic and transmutation in particular, was able to affect the door.

Taking off her glasses, she stared at the door once more. At this point, she heard footsteps coming up the staircase.

She shrunk down her baton and slipped it back into her pocket.

The person who appeared was Colbert.

"Greetings, Miss Longueville. What are you doing here?"

"Mister Colbert, I was going to catalog the contents of the treasury, but..."

"Oh, that's quite some work. It'd probably take you all day to go over each and every item. There's a lot of junk mixed together with them, and it's a rather cramped space they've been arranged in too."

"Indeed."

"Why don't you just borrow the key from Old Osmond?"

The woman smiled.

=== Page 139 ===

"Well... I didn't want to disturb his sleep. In any case, I'm in no immediate hurry to complete the catalog..."

"I see. Sleep, you say. That old man, I mean, Old Osmond, is quite a deep sleeper. It seems I shall have to visit him another time."

Mister Colbert began to walk off, but paused in his tracks, and turned around.


"Err... Miss Longueville?"

"Is something the matter?"

Colbert looked slightly embarrassed as he opened his mouth to speak.

"If it would be alright, how would you like to, say... join me for lunch?"

She took a moment to consider, then smiled brightly as she accepted the offer.

"Sure, it'd be my pleasure."

The two of them headed down the stairs.

"Hey, Mister Colbert."

In slightly informal tones, Miss Longueville struck up conversation again.

"Y-yes? What is it?"

Emboldened by how easily his invitation had been taken up, Colbert responded quite eagerly to her.

"Is anything actually inside the treasury?"

=== Page 140 ===

"There is."

"Then, do you know of the 'Staff of Destruction'?"

"Ah, that is quite a curiously shaped item, indeed."

Her eyes glinted.

"What... kind of shape?"

"It's extremely difficult to describe, except as simply strange, yes. But never mind that, what would you like to eat? Today's menu is flounder baked in herbs... but I'm quite well-acquainted with Marteau the head chef, and I can have him make any of the world's finest delica--"

"Ahem."


Miss Longueville interrupted Colbert's babbling.

"Y-yes?"

"I must say, the treasury is quite amazingly built. No matter what kind of magic is tried, it would be impossible to open, I assume?"

"That's quite right. It's impossible for just any one mage. After all, it was devised by a group of Square-class mages to resist all spells."


"I'm very impressed that you're so knowledgeable about this, Mister Colbert."

She regarded him with a comfortable expression.

=== Page 141 ===

"Eh? Well... Haha, I just happened to come across a lot of documents pertaining to this floor, that's all... I like to consider it a part of my research, haha. Thanks to that, I'm still single at this age... yes."

"I'm sure the woman that you find will be very happy to be with you. After all, you can teach her so much about things that nobody else knows..."

Miss Longueville fixed him with a fascinated look.

"Oh, no! Please don't tease me like that!"

Colbert flustered nervously as he wiped sweat from his balding forehead. Then, regaining composure, he faced her seriously.

"Miss Longueville. Have you heard of the Ball of Frigg that is being held on the day of Yule?" 

"No, I haven't."

"Haha, I guess it's because you've only been in Tristain for two months. Well, it's nothing spectacular, just a party of sorts. However, it's said that a couple who dances at this ball will be destined to be together or something like that. It's just a petty legend of course! Yes!"

"So?"

Smiling, she pressed him to continue.

"So... if it would be alright, I was wondering if you would dance with me, yes."

"I would love to. While ball parties are fabulous, I'd like to know more about the treasury right now. I'm

=== Page 142 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

quite fascinated by magical items, you see."

Wanting to further impress Miss Longueville, Colbert racked his brains. ''Treasury, treasury, she says...''

Remembering something she might find interesting, he put on an important air and started to talk.

"Ah yes, there's one thing I can tell you. Although it's not particularly important..."

"By all means, do tell."

"Certainly, the treasury is invincible against magical attacks, but I believe it has one fatal weakness."

"Oh, that's intriguing."

"That weakness is... physical force."

"Physical force?"

"Yes! For example, well, not that this is ever likely, but a giant golem could--"

"A giant golem?"

Colbert stated his opinion quite proudly to Miss Longueville. And once he was done talking, she couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

"That was most intriguing indeed, Mister Colbert."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Three signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story2 Chapter1

2007-03-12T04:44:15Z

The naming game: /* Chapter 04 - Part Two */ rewording + some meaning adjustments based on the jp text. (excerpts in comments)

== [[zeroNT:Gandvol01editchpter04control|Raw English Translation Available Here]] ==

== Chapter 04 - Part One ==
=== Chapter Four: A Familiar's Day ===

It had been a week since Saito started his life as Louise's familiar at Tristain Magic Academy. If one were to explain an average day for Saito, it would read like the following: 

<center>* * *</center>

First, like the majority of animals and humans in Tristain, he woke up in the morning. His bed was, as usual, the floor, though compared to the first day it had mostly improved. Finding that his body hurt all night if he slept on the hard floor, Saito had asked the maid Siesta for some of the hay that was fed to the horses and had packed it into a corner of the room. Saito slept on the pile of  hay, wrapped in the blanket that Louise had so "graciously" bestowed upon him.


Louise called Saito's makeshift bed "the chicken's nest," which was appropriate as chickens slept on hay, and as the first thing Saito did every morning was to wake Louise up, like a rooster.

But he had to, because there would be trouble for him if Louise woke up first. 

"A stupid familiar that has to be woken by its master needs to be punished." Louise never forgot to remind him. 

=== Page 121 ===

If Saito ever slept in, he'd be denied breakfast.

Once woken up, Louise gets changed. She puts on underwear by herself, but makes Saito dress her in her uniform. This has already been mentioned before.


With her enchanting looks, Saito was breathless every time he saw Louise in her underwear. They say you get used to a beautiful lover in three days, but it didn't seem Saito would get used to her anytime soon.

Maybe because he was a familiar, not a lover. Still, always by her side, he essentially was one. The only difference was in the attitude and treatment.

Getting to see Louise like this every day wasn't all bad. However, it was a persistent wound to his pride. When getting Louise into her shoes, for example, he couldn't hide the irritation from his face.

At least that much was tolerated, but if Saito ever said anything to set Louise off, then things got bothersome.

"A rude familiar that displeases its master this early in the morning needs to be punished," was another of Louise's mottos.


If ever Saito teased Louise about her breast size, or got pouty and said something like, "do up the buttons yourself," he'd be denied breakfast.

Dressed in her uniform consisting of a black cloak, a white blouse, and a grey pleated skirt, Louise then washes her face and brushes her teeth. Water pipes or the like weren't installed in the bedrooms, so Saito had to go

=== Page 122 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

down to the fountain and bring up water for Louise's use in a bucket. And of course, Louise doesn't wash her face herself. She makes Saito do it.

One morning, while he was wiping her face with a towel, he lightly traced Louise's face with a piece of charcoal he found.

Seeing his masterwork drawn on Louise's face, Saito barely held in a snigger. Then in pretend obsequience, he politely bowed his head to Louise.

"Mistress. You are the epitome of beauty this day." 

Due to low blood pressure, Louise could only manage a sleepy reply. 

"...Are you plotting something?"

"Who, me? I am simply a familiar serving the orders of my mistress. I would not dare to plot!"

Louise was suspicious of Saito's sudden and excessive politeness, but since she was almost late for class, she didn't question him any further than that.

With her vividly rosy cheeks, charming hazel eyes, and lips that seemed carved of fine coral, Louise knew she didn't need to decorate herself nor did she wear any kind of make-up. In other words, this meant she didn't look at the mirror much. And this day was no different. The result: she had absolutely no idea of the "make-up" that Saito had applied on her.

Louise headed out to class in this state. The time being what it was, she didn't encounter anyone in the hallways or stairs.

=== Page 123 ===

Louise opened the classroom door panting. As one, her classmates looked at her and exploded with laughter.

"Hey, looking good, Louise!"

"Oh my god! That's '''so''' you!"

Afterwards, when Mister Colbert kindly complimented the stylish glasses and moustache sketched on her face, Louise went berserk. She went out into the hallway where Saito was holding his stomach as he rolled on the floor in hysteric laughter, slapped him a dozen times, and cut his meals for the entire day.

According to Louise, a familiar that treats its master's face like a piece of canvas is akin to the demons of old that opposed the Founder Brimir and his many allied gods, and such demons were not worthy of the bread and soup granted by the Lady Queen.

<center>* * *</center>

After breakfast, Saito cleans Louise's room. This involved sweeping the floor with a broom and wiping the table and windows with a cloth.

And then there was the oh-so-enjoyable laundry. He takes the laundry down to the fountain and scrubs them clean against a washboard. There was no warm water, only icy cold water that bit fiercely at his fingers. Louise's underwear were all expensive looking pieces with lots of lace and frills attached. He would get a meal cut if he happened to damage one, so he has to wash them gently. It was painful work. Tired of it all, he left one particular pair with a slightly torn elastic band in the pile one day. Merely a few days later,

=== Page 124 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Louise walked out obliviously wearing that particular pair, when the elastic snapped entirely. Her panties slid down to her ankles, entangling both of Louise's legs like a trapper's snare. 

It just so happened that she was at the top of a staircase, so she tumbled spectacularly down them.

Most fortunately, there wasn't anyone else around to see her roll down the stairs with her lower half shamefully exposed, so at least her reputation was spared. Realizing that it had been overkill, Saito was careful not to peek inside her skirt as he apologized profusely to Louise, who lay unconscious at the staircase landing. He hadn't meant for the joke to derail like this. Ideally, he had envisioned it happening in a hallway for optimum embarrassment.

Once Louise regained consciousness and realized what had happened, she thrust the torn pair of panties accusingly at Saito, who was sitting subserviently by the bedside.

"There was a torn pair."

"Indeed there was, Mistress."

Louise's voice quavered with fury.

"Explain yourself. And concisely."

"It must have been the fountain water, ojousama. Why, it's so cold it could freeze fingers right off. I believe the elastic couldn't endure that."

Saito replied curtly.

=== Page 125 ===

"So you're saying it's the elastic's fault?"

"I'm saying it's the water's fault. It was bad water. I'm convinced that there must be some kind of curse on it to make it cold and also affect the elastic somehow."

"In that case, I should not feed such a loyal familiar soup made from that kind of bad water."

"Most gracious of you."

"Three days should do, I think, for the water to return to normal."

Saito had his meals cut for the mentioned three days.

<center>* * *</center>

However, Saito remained completely fine for those three days. He'd just pretend to be withering and visit the kitchen behind the Hall of Alviss, where the energetic and lovely Siesta would serve him stuff like stew and meat on the bone. He went there even when his meals weren't cut. The soup that Louise declared as "The Widespread Blessing of Her Lady Queen" was never enough of a blessing to fill him up.

Naturally, he kept his visits to the kitchen a secret from Louise. She was adamant on not giving him more until he had corrected his behavior, so there would be trouble if she found out about the meat and stew Siesta kindly provided him with. Louise would surely forbid him visiting for the sake of "educating" her familiar.

=== Page 126 ===

Currently though, she was totally unaware. In any case, Saito preferred Siesta and the kitchen a hundred times more than some Lady Queen and Founder Brimir he'd never met before.

<center>* * *</center>

One morning, after hungrily drinking down the soup in front of Louise, he went to the kitchen. Saito, having beaten the noble Guiche at the Vestri Courts, was hugely popular there.

"'Our Sword' is here!"

The one who yelled that was Marteau, the head chef, a well-rounded man well into his forties.  Naturally, he was also a commoner himself, but with his position of head chef at the Academy, he earned as much as a lower class noble, a fact he could be proud of.

Dressed in simple but fine clothes, he commanded the kitchen with a wave and flourish of his hand.

Despite his highly respectable position as head chef of a magic academy for nobles, Marteau wasn't the least bit arrogant, and surprisingly enough, disliked both magic and nobles.

He called Saito, who had used a sword to defeat Guiche, by the nickname "Our Sword" and treated the boy like a king. Thanks to him, the kitchen was an oasis to Saito.

Saito sat down at his chair, and with a smile, Siesta promptly brought him a bowl of warm stew and soft white bread.

"Thanks."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part One signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Two ==
=== Page 127 ===

"Today's stew is extra special,"

Siesta declared, looking particularly happy. Saito curiously lifted a spoonful to his mouth and his face instantly lit up.

"Wow, this is delicious! It's worlds apart from that gruel I get!"

At this, Marteau approached the table holding a kitchen knife.


"Well of course. That stew's the same stuff we serve to the noble kids." 

"I can't believe this is the kind of stuff they get to eat everyday..."

Marteau snorted loudly at Saito's comment.

"Hmph! Sure, they can use magic. Making pots and pans and castles from dirt, conjuring up unbelievable gems, even controlling dragons - so what! But see, creating such exquisite dishes like this is a kind of magic itself. Wouldn't you agree, Saito?"

Saito nodded.

"Absolutely."

"A fine fellow! You're a good man!"

He put an arm around Saito's shoulders.

"Here, "Our Sword"! Let me place a kiss upon your forehead! Come on! I insist!"

"I'd rather you not. And don't call me that either,"

=== Page 128 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Saito said.

"Why not?"

"It's just... weird."

The man let go of Saito and spread his arms out in protest.

"But you cut a mage's golem to pieces! Don't you get it?"

"I suppose."

"Say, just where did you learn to use a sword? Tell me where I can go to learn how to swing a sword like that."

Marteau stared earnestly at Saito. He asked the same thing every time Saito came to eat, and Saito's answer was the same every time.

"I don't know. I've never held a sword before. My body just moved by itself."

"You guys! Did you hear that?!"

He yelled, his voice echoing around the kitchen.

The younger cooks and the apprentices shouted back.

"We hear you, boss!"

"This is what they call a true master! They never boast about their skill! Look and learn! A true master never boasts!"

=== Page 129 ===

The cooks chanted happily.

"A true master never boasts!"

Then Marteau turned back around to face Saito.

"You know, "Our Sword," I'm starting to like you more and more. So how about it?"

"Um, how about what...?"

He was simply telling the truth, but Marteau always thought he was just being modest. It was somewhat frustrating. He felt like he was deceiving the good-natured man. Saito's gaze dropped down to the runes on his left hand.


''Since that day, it hasn't glowed anymore. Just what was that, I wonder...'' Even when Saito tried to make a point of staring at his own runes, Marteau interpreted that as him being reserved.

The chef turned to Siesta.

"Siesta!"

"Yes?"

Siesta, who had been cheerfully watching the two of them get along, responded brightly.

"Bring our hero here some of Albion's finest."

Her smile widened, and retrieving a wine bottle of the requested vintage from the rack,


=== Page 130 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

she poured some into Saito's glass. Siesta looked on absorbedly as Saito's face grew redder and redder from the wine. These events repeat almost routinely:

Saito visits the kitchen, Marteau becomes more attached to Saito, and Siesta's respect for him deepens further.

<center>* * *</center>

Although that particular day... there was a crimson shadow  spying on Saito from a window of the kitchen. One of the young cooks took notice of it.

"Hey, there's something outside the window."

The shadow gave a garbled 'kyuru kyuru' and slinked away.

<center>* * *</center>

Then, after breakfast, cleaning, and laundry, he accompanies Louise in class. Originally, he was made to sit on the floor, but after Louise realized he had become rather transfixed with peering up other girls' skirts, she reluctantly let him sit on a chair. And she made it clear to Saito that should his vision ever stray too far from the blackboard, he would be denied lunch.


In the beginning, the lessons fascinated Saito with their marvels: turning water into wine, combining various reagents to brew special potions, materializing fireballs out of nothing, levitating boxes and sticks and balls


=== Page 131 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

out of the class windows for their familiars to fetch, etc... but after a while, the novelty wore off.

And so he took to napping instead. The professor and Louise would give Saito evil looks every once in a while, but there were no rules to forbid familiars from sleeping during lessons. And just looking around the class, all the nocturnal familiars and even someone's owl were snoozing away. In fact, if they were to wake Saito up, it would mean that they were acknowledging him as a human. Louise chewed her lips with the overwhelming desire to give the sleeping Saito a piece of her mind, but she couldn't because doing so would mean contradicting herself about him being nothing more than a familiar.


<center>* * *</center>

That same day, bathed in sunlight, Saito was fast asleep during another lesson.

The wine he drank that morning was taking its effect on him, and Saito dreamed.

It was quite an unbelievable dream.

A dream in which Louise crept into his hay pile at night as he slept.


''"What's wrong, Louise...?"''

At hearing her name being called, Louise shot a glare at Saito.

''"You can't sleep? Oh, alright... can't be helped. Munya~"'' 

Oh, he's just muttering in his sleep, she thought, and faced the front again.

=== Page 132 ===

''"...Munya. H-hey, don't hug me all of a sudden."''

Louise's gaze snapped to Saito once more. The other students were starting to take notice of the situation, and perked their ears to listen.

''"...Jeez, for the slave driver you are during the day, you're such a sweet little thing in bed."''

A trickle of drool ran down from the corner of Saito's mouth as he continued to enjoy his dream.

Louise grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously.

"Hey! Just what kind of dream are you having?!"

Her classmates burst out laughing. Malicorne the Windward made a passing comment.

"Oi oi, Louise! Is that the kind of thing you do with your familiar at night? I'm surprised!"

The female students whispered something amongst themselves.

"Wait! This is just some stupid sleep-talk! Ah, jeez! Wake up already!"

''"Louise, Louise, you're like a kitten; stop licking me there like that..."''


At this, the laughter threatened to burst through the ceiling.

Louise kicked Saito off the chair, violently returning him to reality from his soft and gentle dreamscape.

"Wh-what was that for?!"

"Since when have I ever snuck into your hay pile?!"

=== Page 133 - Illustration ===

Illustration -- ''Set phasers to 'tsun'...''

=== Page 134 ===

Louise crossed her arms and looked down imposingly on Saito.

Saito shook his head profusely, only further amusing the class.

"Saito, explain to these rather rude people that I never take one step out of my own bed during the night."

"That's right, everyone. I was simply dreaming out loud just now. Louise would never do such a thing."

The students turned away disappointedly.

"Isn't it obvious? Like I would ever do something like that! With this thing, no less! This thing! To even think that I would curl up in bed with this lower life form is far beyond being a joke!"

Louise huffed haughtily, averting her gaze upwards.

"But, my dreams often come true."

Saito piped up.

"Indeed! Dreams do have the power to foretell the future, after all!" Someone in the room supplied in agreement.

"My master here, with her personality, probably won't ever find herself a lover."

A vast majority of the students nodded. Louise shot Saito another evil look, but it was too late. Saito was on a roll.

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Two signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Three ==
=== Page 135 ===

"My poor master gets quite "frustrated" as a result, and instead resorts to slipping into this familiar's humble haystack."

Louise put her hands on her hips and strongly reprimanded Saito.

"Close that unclean mouth of yours immediately, you hear?"

That didn't stop Saito from continuing either.

"When she does, I have to fend her off a bit..."

By this point, he was too far gone. Louise's shoulders began to tremble angrily.

"And tell her, 'this isn't where you sleep.'"

The class applauded. Saito mimicked an elegant bow and went to sit back down.

Louise kicked him away, sending him rolling across the floor.

"Don't kick me!"

But Louise was beyond the point of reasoning. Her gaze was fixed firmly forward, and like always, her shoulders shook with barely contained fury,

Once again, there was a crimson shadow watching Saito.

It was Kirche's salamander. With its belly to the floor, it stared at Saito through the gap in the row of chairs.

"Hm?"

===Page 136 ===

Noticing it, Saito waved his hand at it.

"You're Kirche's salamander, aren't you? I know you have a name. What was it... Oh yeah, it's Flame. Flame-"

Saito motioned for it to come closer, but the salamander flicked its tail around and spat out a few embers before running back to its master.

"Why would a lizard be so interested in me?"

Saito tilted his head in puzzlement.

And while Saito was having a staring contest with a salamander during class...

At the Headmaster's Office, Miss Longueville the secretary was busily scribing away at something.

She stopped writing for a moment and glanced over at the sequoia desk at which Sir Osmond was busy taking a nap.

The corner of Miss Longueville's lips rose in a faint smirk, an expression she had never shown anyone before.

She stood up from her desk.

In a low voice, she murmured the incantation for a "Silence" spell. Dampening her footsteps as not to wake Osmond, she crept out of the office.

=== Page 137 ===

Her destination was the treasury, located on the floor directly below the Headmaster's Office.

Stepping off the stairs, she confronted enormous iron doors. It was kept shut with a thick bolt mechanism, which in turn was secured with an equally large padlock.

This place was where artifacts dating even before the Academy's establishment were contained. After cautiously surveying her surroundings, Miss Longueville withdrew her wand from a pocket. It was about the length of a pencil, but at the flick of a wrist, it extended to the length of an conductor's baton, which she whirled expertly.

Miss Longueville cast another spell.

Once the invocation was complete, she pointed the baton at the padlock.

However... nothing happened.

"Well, it's not like I really expected an "Unlock" spell to work anyway."

Smiling deviously, she began reciting the words to one of her specialty spells.

It was a Transmutation spell. Chanting loud and clear, she waved her baton at the heavy lock. The magic cascaded over it... but even after a considerable wait, there was no visible change.

"Looks like it's been magically reinforced by a Square-class mage."

She whispered that a "Reinforcement" spell was one that prevented the oxidation and decomposition of matter. Any substance that had this spell cast on it was protected from any chemical reactions, and allowed it to be preserved

=== Page 138 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

forever in that state. Even transmutation magic would have no effect against something protected like this. Only if one's magical skill surpassed that of the mage who cast the reinforcement could the spell be overcome.

As it was, the mage who had enchanted this door was apparently an extremely powerful mage. Considering not even Miss Longueville, an expert in Earth magic and transmutation in particular, was able to affect the door.

Taking off her glasses, she stared at the door once more. At this point, she heard footsteps coming up the staircase.

She shrunk down her baton and slipped it back into her pocket.

The person who appeared was Colbert.

"Greetings, Miss Longueville. What are you doing here?"

"Mister Colbert, I was going to catalogue the contents of the treasury, but..."

"Oh, that's quite some work. It'd probably take you all day to go over each and every item. There's a lot of junk mixed together with them, and it's a rather narrow little space they've been arranged in too."

"Indeed."

"Why don't you just borrow the key from Old Osmond?"

The woman smiled.

=== Page 139 ===

"Well... I didn't want to disturb his sleep. In any case, I'm in no immediate hurry to complete the catalogue..."

"I see. Sleep, you say. That old man, I mean, Old Osmond, is quite a deep sleeper. It seems I shall have to visit him another time."

Mister Colbert began to walk off, but paused in his tracks, and even retraced them.

"Err... Miss Longueville?"

"Is something the matter?"

Colbert looked slightly embarrassed as he opened his mouth to speak.

"If it would be alright, how would you like to, say... join me for lunch?"

She took a moment to consider, then smiled brightly as she accepted the offer.

"Sure, it'd be my pleasure."

The two of them headed down the stairs.

"Hey, Mister Colbert."

In slightly informal tones, Miss Longueville struck up conversation again.

"Y-yes? What is it?"

Emboldened by how easily his invitation had been taken up, Colbert responded quite eagerly to her.

"Is anything actually inside the treasury?"

=== Page 140 ===

"There is."

"Then, do you know of the 'Staff of Destruction'?"

"Ah, that is quite a curiously shaped item, indeed."

Her eyes glinted.

"What... kind of shape?"

"It's extremely difficult to describe, except as simply strange, yes. But never mind that, what would you like to eat? Today's menu is flounder baked in herbs... but I'm quite well-acquainted with Marteau the head chef, and I can have him make any of the world's finest delica--"

"Mister."

Miss Longueville interrupted Colbert's babbling.

"Y-yes?"

"I must say, the treasury is quite amazingly built. No matter what kind of magic is tried, it would be impossible to open, I assume?"

"That's quite right. It's impossible for just any one mage. After all, it's been designed to be only neutralized by multiple Square-class mages."

"I'm very impressed that you're so knowledgeable about this, Mister Colbert."

She regarded him with a comfortable expression.

=== Page 141 ===

"Eh? Well... Haha, I just happened to come across a lot of the documents pertaining to this floor, that's all... I like to consider it a part of my research, haha. Thanks to that, I'm still single at this age... yes."

"I'm sure the woman that you find will be very happy to be with you. After all, you can teach her so much about things that nobody else knows..."

Miss Longueville fixed him with a fascinated look.

"Oh, no! Please don't tease me like that!"

Colbert flustered nervously as he wiped sweat from his balding forehead. Then, regaining composure, he faced her seriously.

"Miss Longueville. Have you heard of the Ball of Frigg that is being held on the day of Yule?" 

"No, I haven't."

"Haha, I guess it's because you've only been in Tristain for two months. Well, it's nothing spectacular, just a party of sorts. However, it's said that a couple who dances at this ball will be destined to be together or something like that. It's just a petty legend of course! Yes!"

"So?"

Smiling, she pressed him to continue.

"So... if it would be alright, I was wondering if you would dance with me, yes."

"I would love to. While ball parties are fabulous, I'd like to know more about the treasury right now. I'm

=== Page 142 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

quite fascinated by magical items, you see."

Wanting to further impress Miss Longueville, Colbert racked his brains. ''Treasury, treasury, she says...''

Remembering something she might find interesting, he put on an important air and started to talk.

"Ah yes, there's one thing I can tell you. Although it's not particularly important..."

"By all means, do tell."

"Certainly, the treasury is invincible against magical attacks, but I believe it has one fatal weakness."

"Oh, that's intriguing."

"That weakness is... physical force."

"Physical force?"

"Yes! For example, well, not that this is ever likely, but a giant golem could--"

"A giant golem?"

Colbert stated his opinion quite proudly to Miss Longueville. And once he was done talking, she couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

"That was most intriguing indeed, Mister Colbert."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Three signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story2 Chapter1

2007-03-12T03:40:38Z

The naming game: /* Chapter 04 - Part One */ basic stuff, not in the mood to mess with tenses.

== [[zeroNT:Gandvol01editchpter04control|Raw English Translation Available Here]] ==

== Chapter 04 - Part One ==
=== Chapter Four: A Familiar's Day ===

It had been a week since Saito started his life as Louise's familiar at Tristain Magic Academy. If one were to explain an average day for Saito, it would read like the following: 

<center>* * *</center>

First, like the majority of animals and humans in Tristain, he woke up in the morning. His bed was, as usual, the floor, though compared to the first day it had mostly improved. Finding that his body hurt all night if he slept on the hard floor, Saito had asked the maid Siesta for some of the hay that was fed to the horses and had packed it into a corner of the room. Saito slept on the pile of  hay, wrapped in the blanket that Louise had so "graciously" bestowed upon him.


Louise called Saito's makeshift bed "the chicken's nest," which was appropriate as chickens slept on hay, and as the first thing Saito did every morning was to wake Louise up, like a rooster.

But he had to, because there would be trouble for him if Louise woke up first. 

"A stupid familiar that has to be woken by its master needs to be punished." Louise never forgot to remind him. 

=== Page 121 ===

If Saito ever slept in, he'd be denied breakfast.

Once woken up, Louise gets changed. She puts on underwear by herself, but makes Saito dress her in her uniform. This has already been mentioned before.


With her enchanting looks, Saito was breathless every time he saw Louise in her underwear. They say you get used to a beautiful lover in three days, but it didn't seem Saito would get used to her anytime soon.

Maybe because he was a familiar, not a lover. Still, always by her side, he essentially was one. The only difference was in the attitude and treatment.

Getting to see Louise like this every day wasn't all bad. However, it was a persistent wound to his pride. When getting Louise into her shoes, for example, he couldn't hide the irritation from his face.

At least that much was tolerated, but if Saito ever said anything to set Louise off, then things got bothersome.

"A rude familiar that displeases its master this early in the morning needs to be punished," was another of Louise's mottos.


If ever Saito teased Louise about her breast size, or got pouty and said something like, "do up the buttons yourself," he'd be denied breakfast.

Dressed in her uniform consisting of a black cloak, a white blouse, and a grey pleated skirt, Louise then washes her face and brushes her teeth. Water pipes or the like weren't installed in the bedrooms, so Saito had to go

=== Page 122 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

down to the fountain and bring up water for Louise's use in a bucket. And of course, Louise doesn't wash her face herself. She makes Saito do it.

One morning, while he was wiping her face with a towel, he lightly traced Louise's face with a piece of charcoal he found.

Seeing his masterwork drawn on Louise's face, Saito barely held in a snigger. Then in pretend obsequience, he politely bowed his head to Louise.

"Mistress. You are the epitome of beauty this day." 

Due to low blood pressure, Louise could only manage a sleepy reply. 

"...Are you plotting something?"

"Who, me? I am simply a familiar serving the orders of my mistress. I would not dare to plot!"

Louise was suspicious of Saito's sudden and excessive politeness, but since she was almost late for class, she didn't question him any further than that.

With her vividly rosy cheeks, charming hazel eyes, and lips that seemed carved of fine coral, Louise knew she didn't need to decorate herself nor did she wear any kind of make-up. In other words, this meant she didn't look at the mirror much. And this day was no different. The result: she had absolutely no idea of the "make-up" that Saito had applied on her.

Louise headed out to class in this state. The time being what it was, she didn't encounter anyone in the hallways or stairs.

=== Page 123 ===

Louise opened the classroom door panting. As one, her classmates looked at her and exploded with laughter.

"Hey, looking good, Louise!"

"Oh my god! That's '''so''' you!"

Afterwards, when Mister Colbert kindly complimented the stylish glasses and moustache sketched on her face, Louise went berserk. She went out into the hallway where Saito was holding his stomach as he rolled on the floor in hysteric laughter, slapped him a dozen times, and cut his meals for the entire day.

According to Louise, a familiar that treats its master's face like a piece of canvas is akin to the demons of old that opposed the Founder Brimir and his many allied gods, and such demons were not worthy of the bread and soup granted by the Lady Queen.

<center>* * *</center>

After breakfast, Saito cleans Louise's room. This involved sweeping the floor with a broom and wiping the table and windows with a cloth.

And then there was the oh-so-enjoyable laundry. He takes the laundry down to the fountain and scrubs them clean against a washboard. There was no warm water, only icy cold water that bit fiercely at his fingers. Louise's underwear were all expensive looking pieces with lots of lace and frills attached. He would get a meal cut if he happened to damage one, so he has to wash them gently. It was painful work. Tired of it all, he left one particular pair with a slightly torn elastic band in the pile one day. Merely a few days later,

=== Page 124 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Louise walked out obliviously wearing that particular pair, when the elastic snapped entirely. Her panties slid down to her ankles, entangling both of Louise's legs like a trapper's snare. 

It just so happened that she was at the top of a staircase, so she tumbled spectacularly down them.

Most fortunately, there wasn't anyone else around to see her roll down the stairs with her lower half shamefully exposed, so at least her reputation was spared. Realizing that it had been overkill, Saito was careful not to peek inside her skirt as he apologized profusely to Louise, who lay unconscious at the staircase landing. He hadn't meant for the joke to derail like this. Ideally, he had envisioned it happening in a hallway for optimum embarrassment.

Once Louise regained consciousness and realized what had happened, she thrust the torn pair of panties accusingly at Saito, who was sitting subserviently by the bedside.

"There was a torn pair."

"Indeed there was, Mistress."

Louise's voice quavered with fury.

"Explain yourself. And concisely."

"It must have been the fountain water, ojousama. Why, it's so cold it could freeze fingers right off. I believe the elastic couldn't endure that."

Saito replied curtly.

=== Page 125 ===

"So you're saying it's the elastic's fault?"

"I'm saying it's the water's fault. It was bad water. I'm convinced that there must be some kind of curse on it to make it cold and also affect the elastic somehow."

"In that case, I should not feed such a loyal familiar soup made from that kind of bad water."

"Most gracious of you."

"Three days should do, I think, for the water to return to normal."

Saito had his meals cut for the mentioned three days.

<center>* * *</center>

However, Saito remained completely fine for those three days. He'd just pretend to be withering and visit the kitchen behind the Hall of Alviss, where the energetic and lovely Siesta would serve him stuff like stew and meat on the bone. He went there even when his meals weren't cut. The soup that Louise declared as "The Widespread Blessing of Her Lady Queen" was never enough of a blessing to fill him up.

Naturally, he kept his visits to the kitchen a secret from Louise. She was adamant on not giving him more until he had corrected his behavior, so there would be trouble if she found out about the meat and stew Siesta kindly provided him with. Louise would surely forbid him visiting for the sake of "educating" her familiar.

=== Page 126 ===

Currently though, she was totally unaware. In any case, Saito preferred Siesta and the kitchen a hundred times more than some Lady Queen and Founder Brimir he'd never met before.

<center>* * *</center>

One morning, after hungrily drinking down the soup in front of Louise, he went to the kitchen. Saito, having beaten the noble Guiche at the Vestri Courts, was hugely popular there.

"'Our Sword' is here!"

The one who yelled that was Marteau, the head chef, a well-rounded man well into his forties.  Naturally, he was also a commoner himself, but with his position of head chef at the Academy, he earned as much as a lower class noble, a fact he could be proud of.

Dressed in simple but fine clothes, he commanded the kitchen with a wave and flourish of his hand.

Despite his highly respectable position as head chef of a magic academy for nobles, Marteau wasn't the least bit arrogant, and surprisingly enough, disliked both magic and nobles.

He called Saito, who had used a sword to defeat Guiche, by the nickname "Our Sword" and treated the boy like a king. Thanks to him, the kitchen was an oasis to Saito.

Saito sat down at his chair, and with a smile, Siesta promptly brought him a bowl of warm stew and soft white bread.

"Thanks."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part One signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Two ==
=== Page 127 ===

"Today's stew is extra special,"

Siesta declared, looking particularly happy. Saito curiously lifted a spoonful to his mouth and his face instantly lit up.

"Wow, this is delicious! It's worlds apart from that gruel I get!"

At this, Marteau approached the table holding a kitchen knife.

"Well of course. That there stew's the same stuff we serve to the noble kids." 

"I can't believe this is the kind of stuff they get to eat everyday..."

Marteau snorted loudly at Saito's comment.

"Hmph! Sure, they can use magic. Making pots and pans and castles from dirt, conjuring up unbelievable gems, even controlling dragons - so what! But see, creating such exquisite dishes like this is a kind of magic itself. Wouldn't you agree, Saito?"

Saito nodded.

"Totally."

"A fine fellow! You're a good man!"

He put an arm around Saito's shoulders.

"Here, "Our Sword"! Let me place a kiss upon your forehead! Come on! I insist!"

"I'd rather you not. And don't call me that either,"

=== Page 128 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

Saito said.

"Why not?"

"It's just... weird."

The man let go of Saito and spread his arms out in protest.

"But you cut a mage's golem to pieces! Don't you get it?"

"I suppose."

"Say, just where did you learn to use a sword? Tell me where I should go to learn how to swing a sword like that."

Marteau stared earnestly at Saito. He asked the same thing every time Saito came to eat, and Saito's answer was the same every time.

"I don't know. I've never held a sword before. My body just moved by itself."

"You guys! Did you hear that?!"

He yelled, his voice echoing around the kitchen.

The younger cooks and the apprentices shouted back.

"We hear you, boss!"

"This is what they call a true master! They never boast about their skill! Look and learn! A true master never boasts!"

=== Page 129 ===

The cooks chanted happily.

"A true master never boasts!"

Then Marteau turned back around to face Saito.

"You know, "Our Sword," I'm starting to like you more and more. So how about it?"

"Um, how about what...?"

He was simply telling the truth, but Marteau always thought he was just being modest. It was somewhat frustrating. It made him want to shut the good-natured man up. Saito's gaze dropped down to the runes on his left hand.

''Since that day, it doesn't glow anymore. Just what was that, I wonder...'' Even when Saito tried to make a point of staring at his own runes, Marteau interpreted that as him being reserved.

The chef turned to Siesta.

"Siesta!"

"Yes?"

Siesta, who had been cheerfully watching the two of them get along, responded brightly.

"Bring our hero here some of Albion's finest."

Her smile widened, and retrieving a bottle of vintage wine from the rack,

=== Page 130 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

she poured some into Saito's glass. Siesta looked on absorbedly as Saito's face grew redder and redder from the wine. The events repeat almost routinely:

Saito visits the kitchen, Marteau becomes more attached to Saito, and Siesta's respect for him deepens further.

Although that particular day... there was a crimson shadow  spying on Saito from a window of the kitchen. One of the young cooks took notice of it.

"Hey, there's something outside the window."

The shadow gave a garbled 'kyuru kyuru' and slinked away.

So far, the day has consisted of breakfast, cleaning, and laundry. After that, he accompanies Louise in class. Originally, he was made to sit on the floor, but after Louise realized he became rather transfixed with peering up other girls' skirts, she reluctantly let him sit on a chair. And she made it clear to Saito that should his vision ever stray too far from the blackboard, he would be denied lunch.

In the beginning, the lessons fascinated Saito with their marvels: turning water into wine, combining various reagents to brew special potions, materializing fireballs out of nothing, levitating boxes and nuts and balls

=== Page 131 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

out of the class windows for their familiars to fetch, etc... but after a while, the novelty wore off.

And so he took up napping instead. The professor and Louise would give Saito evil looks every once in a while, but there were no rules that forbid familiars from sleeping during lessons. And just looking around the class, all the nocturnal familiars and even someone's crow were snoozing away. In fact, if they were to wake Saito up, it would mean that they were acknowledging him as a human. Louise chewed her lips with the overwhelming desire to give the sleeping Saito a piece of her mind, but she couldn't because doing so would mean contradicting herself about him being nothing more than a familiar.

That same day, bathed in sunlight, Saito was fast asleep during another lesson.

The wine he drank that morning was taking its effect on him, and Saito dreamed.

It was quite an unbelievable dream.

''"What's wrong, Louise...?"''

At hearing her name being called, Louise shot a glare at Saito.

''"You can't sleep? Oh, alright... can't be helped. Munya~"'' 

Oh, he's just muttering in his sleep, she thought, and faced the front again.

=== Page 132 ===

''"...Munya. H-hey, don't hug me all of a sudden."''

Louise's gaze snapped to Saito once more. The other students were starting to take notice of the situation, and perked their ears to listen.

''"...Jeez, for the slave driver you are during the day, you're such a sweet little thing in bed."''

A trickle of drool ran down from the corner of Saito's mouth as he continued to enjoy his dream.

Louise grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously.

"Hey! Just what kind of dream are you having?!"

Her classmates burst out laughing. Malicorne the Windward made a passing comment.

"Oi oi, Louise! Is that the kind of thing you do with your familiar at night? I'm surprised!"

The female students whispered something amongst themselves.

"Wait! This is just some stupid sleep-talk! Ah, jeez! Wake up already!"

''"Louise, Louise, you're like a kitten, licking me there like that..."''

At this, the laughter threatened to burst through the ceiling.

Louise kicked Saito off the chair, violently returning him to reality from his soft and gentle dreamscape.

"Wh-what was that for?!"

"Since when have I ever snuck into your haystack?!"

=== Page 133 - Illustration ===

Illustration -- ''Set phasers to 'tsun'...''

=== Page 134 ===

Louise crossed her arms and looked down imposingly on Saito.

Saito shook his head profusely, only further amusing the class.

"Saito, explain to these rather rude people that I never take one step out of my own bed during the night."

"That's right, everyone. I was simply dreaming out loud just now. Louise would never do such a thing."

The students turned away disappointedly.

"Isn't it obvious? Like I would ever do something like that! With this thing, no less! This thing! To even think that I would curl up in bed with this lower life form is far beyond being a joke!"

Louise huffed haughtily, averting her gaze upwards.

"But, my dreams often come true."

Saito piped up.

"Indeed! Dreams do have the power to foretell the future, after all!" Someone in the room supplied in agreement.

"My master here, with her personality, probably won't ever find herself a lover."

A vast majority of the students nodded. Louise shot Saito another evil look, but it was too late. Saito was on a roll.

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Two signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 04 - Part Three ==
=== Page 135 ===

"My poor master gets quite "frustrated" as a result, and instead resorts to slipping into this familiar's humble haystack."

Louise put her hands on her hips and strongly reprimanded Saito.

"Close that unclean mouth of yours immediately, you hear?"

That didn't stop Saito from continuing either.

"When she does, I have to fend her off a bit..."

By this point, he was too far gone. Louise's shoulders began to tremble angrily.

"And tell her, 'this isn't where you sleep.'"

The class applauded. Saito mimicked an elegant bow and went to sit back down.

Louise kicked him away, sending him rolling across the floor.

"Don't kick me!"

But Louise was beyond the point of reasoning. Her gaze was fixed firmly forward, and like always, her shoulders shook with barely contained fury,

Once again, there was a crimson shadow watching Saito.

It was Kirche's salamander. With its belly to the floor, it stared at Saito through the gap in the row of chairs.

"Hm?"

===Page 136 ===

Noticing it, Saito waved his hand at it.

"You're Kirche's salamander, aren't you? I know you have a name. What was it... Oh yeah, it's Flame. Flame-"

Saito motioned for it to come closer, but the salamander flicked its tail around and spat out a few embers before running back to its master.

"Why would a lizard be so interested in me?"

Saito tilted his head in puzzlement.

And while Saito was having a staring contest with a salamander during class...

At the Headmaster's Office, Miss Longueville the secretary was busily scribing away at something.

She stopped writing for a moment and glanced over at the sequoia desk at which Sir Osmond was busy taking a nap.

The corner of Miss Longueville's lips rose in a faint smirk, an expression she had never shown anyone before.

She stood up from her desk.

In a low voice, she murmured the incantation for a "Silence" spell. Dampening her footsteps as not to wake Osmond, she crept out of the office.

=== Page 137 ===

Her destination was the treasury, located on the floor directly below the Headmaster's Office.

Stepping off the stairs, she confronted enormous iron doors. It was kept shut with a thick bolt mechanism, which in turn was secured with an equally large padlock.

This place was where artifacts dating even before the Academy's establishment were contained. After cautiously surveying her surroundings, Miss Longueville withdrew her wand from a pocket. It was about the length of a pencil, but at the flick of a wrist, it extended to the length of an conductor's baton, which she whirled expertly.

Miss Longueville cast another spell.

Once the invocation was complete, she pointed the baton at the padlock.

However... nothing happened.

"Well, it's not like I really expected an "Unlock" spell to work anyway."

Smiling deviously, she began reciting the words to one of her specialty spells.

It was a Transmutation spell. Chanting loud and clear, she waved her baton at the heavy lock. The magic cascaded over it... but even after a considerable wait, there was no visible change.

"Looks like it's been magically reinforced by a Square-class mage."

She whispered that a "Reinforcement" spell was one that prevented the oxidation and decomposition of matter. Any substance that had this spell cast on it was protected from any chemical reactions, and allowed it to be preserved

=== Page 138 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

forever in that state. Even transmutation magic would have no effect against something protected like this. Only if one's magical skill surpassed that of the mage who cast the reinforcement could the spell be overcome.

As it was, the mage who had enchanted this door was apparently an extremely powerful mage. Considering not even Miss Longueville, an expert in Earth magic and transmutation in particular, was able to affect the door.

Taking off her glasses, she stared at the door once more. At this point, she heard footsteps coming up the staircase.

She shrunk down her baton and slipped it back into her pocket.

The person who appeared was Colbert.

"Greetings, Miss Longueville. What are you doing here?"

"Mister Colbert, I was going to catalogue the contents of the treasury, but..."

"Oh, that's quite some work. It'd probably take you all day to go over each and every item. There's a lot of junk mixed together with them, and it's a rather narrow little space they've been arranged in too."

"Indeed."

"Why don't you just borrow the key from Old Osmond?"

The woman smiled.

=== Page 139 ===

"Well... I didn't want to disturb his sleep. In any case, I'm in no immediate hurry to complete the catalogue..."

"I see. Sleep, you say. That old man, I mean, Old Osmond, is quite a deep sleeper. It seems I shall have to visit him another time."

Mister Colbert began to walk off, but paused in his tracks, and even retraced them.

"Err... Miss Longueville?"

"Is something the matter?"

Colbert looked slightly embarrassed as he opened his mouth to speak.

"If it would be alright, how would you like to, say... join me for lunch?"

She took a moment to consider, then smiled brightly as she accepted the offer.

"Sure, it'd be my pleasure."

The two of them headed down the stairs.

"Hey, Mister Colbert."

In slightly informal tones, Miss Longueville struck up conversation again.

"Y-yes? What is it?"

Emboldened by how easily his invitation had been taken up, Colbert responded quite eagerly to her.

"Is anything actually inside the treasury?"

=== Page 140 ===

"There is."

"Then, do you know of the 'Staff of Destruction'?"

"Ah, that is quite a curiously shaped item, indeed."

Her eyes glinted.

"What... kind of shape?"

"It's extremely difficult to describe, except as simply strange, yes. But never mind that, what would you like to eat? Today's menu is flounder baked in herbs... but I'm quite well-acquainted with Marteau the head chef, and I can have him make any of the world's finest delica--"

"Mister."

Miss Longueville interrupted Colbert's babbling.

"Y-yes?"

"I must say, the treasury is quite amazingly built. No matter what kind of magic is tried, it would be impossible to open, I assume?"

"That's quite right. It's impossible for just any one mage. After all, it's been designed to be only neutralized by multiple Square-class mages."

"I'm very impressed that you're so knowledgeable about this, Mister Colbert."

She regarded him with a comfortable expression.

=== Page 141 ===

"Eh? Well... Haha, I just happened to come across a lot of the documents pertaining to this floor, that's all... I like to consider it a part of my research, haha. Thanks to that, I'm still single at this age... yes."

"I'm sure the woman that you find will be very happy to be with you. After all, you can teach her so much about things that nobody else knows..."

Miss Longueville fixed him with a fascinated look.

"Oh, no! Please don't tease me like that!"

Colbert flustered nervously as he wiped sweat from his balding forehead. Then, regaining composure, he faced her seriously.

"Miss Longueville. Have you heard of the Ball of Frigg that is being held on the day of Yule?" 

"No, I haven't."

"Haha, I guess it's because you've only been in Tristain for two months. Well, it's nothing spectacular, just a party of sorts. However, it's said that a couple who dances at this ball will be destined to be together or something like that. It's just a petty legend of course! Yes!"

"So?"

Smiling, she pressed him to continue.

"So... if it would be alright, I was wondering if you would dance with me, yes."

"I would love to. While ball parties are fabulous, I'd like to know more about the treasury right now. I'm

=== Page 142 ===

''(paragraph continued)''

quite fascinated by magical items, you see."

Wanting to further impress Miss Longueville, Colbert racked his brains. ''Treasury, treasury, she says...''

Remembering something she might find interesting, he put on an important air and started to talk.

"Ah yes, there's one thing I can tell you. Although it's not particularly important..."

"By all means, do tell."

"Certainly, the treasury is invincible against magical attacks, but I believe it has one fatal weakness."

"Oh, that's intriguing."

"That weakness is... physical force."

"Physical force?"

"Yes! For example, well, not that this is ever likely, but a giant golem could--"

"A giant golem?"

Colbert stated his opinion quite proudly to Miss Longueville. And once he was done talking, she couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

"That was most intriguing indeed, Mister Colbert."

----

=== Chapter 04 - Part Three signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
ladunofvark~

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]

----

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story1 Chapter3

2006-12-21T16:32:37Z

The naming game: /* Translator's Notes */ fixed span id

== Signing Off ==

'''Editors please sign off when you are satisfied that section is finished.

Each section requires a minimum signature of four editors before it can progress.

'''
----

*Each page is now its own section. This is to aid editing (though it makes the TOC box pretty ugly). Please try to edit individual sections whenever possible (by clicking on the "edit" link on the right side of the page), to minimize the chance of your changes colliding with edits by another contributer. [[User:BlckKnght|BlckKnght]] 02:52, 20 August 2006 (PDT)

==[[zeroNT:Komgvol03editcontrol|Raw English Translation Available Here]]==

This page is for reference purposes, as a 'control'

It is protected to prevent mishaps.

== Chapter 03 ==

==== Chapter 03 - Part 1.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

===Page 70===

'''Chapter Three: Legend'''

Mister Colbert was a teacher who had dedicated twenty years to Tristein Magic Academy and was by now a mainstay figure.

His Runic name was "Colbert the Flame Snake," and naturally, he was a mage specializing in fire magic.

Since the Springtime Familiar Summoning a few days ago, he'd been concerned about the commoner boy that Louise had summoned. Or more precisely, he'd been concerned with nothing but the runes that had appeared on that boy's left hand. They were rare runes indeed, so for the last few nights, he'd confined himself to the library and had been researching various texts.

Tristein Magic Academy's library was located in the same tower as the dining hall. The bookshelves were unbelievably tall, about 30 meters in height, and the way they were lined up against the walls was a spectacle to behold. And rightly so, since this place was crammed with the history of everything following the creation of the new world in Halkeginia by the Founder Brimir.

Colbert was now in a section of the library called "Fenir's Library" which only teachers were allowed entry to.

===Page 71===

The ordinary bookshelves that students had free access to didn't hold any answers that could satisfy him.

Using a Levitation spell, he floated up to an out-of-reach shelf and scanned it intently for a particular book.

His efforts were rewarded as his gaze fell upon the title of the book.

It was a very old text which held descriptions of the familiars that had been used by the Founder Brimir.

His attention was focused on one particular paragraph written in it, and as he read on in fascination, his eyes grew wide.

He compared the book with the sketch he'd made of the runes on the boy's left hand.

"Ah!" he gasped in surprise. At that moment, he lost the concentration necessary for maintaining his Levitation and almost fell to the floor.

Holding the book in his arms, he hurriedly descended to the floor and ran out of the library.

His destination was the Headmaster's Office.

<center>* * *</center>

The Headmaster's Office was located on the topmost floor of the tower. Sir Osmond, the current Headmaster of Tristein Magic Academy, sat with his elbows propped on his elegantly built sequoia  desk, looking unbearably bored as he shook his white beard and hair.

===Page 72===

He'd been idly plucking out nose hairs, but he slowly murmured "hrm" and pulled open a desk drawer.

From inside it, he procured a smoking pipe.

As he did, Miss Longueville, the secretary who had been writing something at the other desk placed to the side of the room, waved her feather quill.

The pipe floated into the air and landed in Miss Longueville's palm. Sir Osmond muttered dejectedly, "Is it fun taking away an old man's little pleasures? Miss..."

"Managing your health is also part of my job, Old Osmond."

Sir Osmond stood up from his chair and walked up to the cool and collected Miss Longueville. Stopping behind the seated Longueville, he closed his eyes with a serious expression.

"If the days keep passing by so peacefully, figuring out how to spend time is going to become a rather big problem."

The wrinkles etched deeply on Osmond's face only gave hints to the history of his life. People guessed him to be a hundred years old, even three hundred years old. But as to his true age, no one really knew. It's possible he himself didn't know anymore either.

"Old Osmond," Miss Longueville called to him, without taking her eyes off the feather quill that was scribbling away on the parchment.

===Page 73===

"What is it? Miss..."

"Please stop saying you have nothing to do as an excuse to touch my bottom."

Sir Osmond then opened his mouth slightly and began walking around in tottering steps.

"Please stop pretending to be senile whenever a situation goes bad," Longueville added calmly. Sir Osmond sighed deeply. It was a sigh bearing the weight of many troubles.

"Where do you think the ultimate truth may be? Haven't you ever wondered that? Miss..."

"Wherever it is, I assure you, it's not in my skirt, so please stop sneaking your mouse under the desk."

Sir Osmond's face fell, and he murmured sadly.

"Montsognir."

From under Miss Longueville's desk scurried out a little mouse. It dashed up Osmond's leg and perched on his shoulder, twitching its tiny head. He fished out some nuts from a pocket and held one out to the mouse.

"Chuchu," the mouse chittered, apparently pleased.


"You're my only truly trustworthy friend, Montsognir."

The mouse began nibbling on the nut. It disappeared quickly, and the mouse chittered "chuchu" once more.

===Page 74===

"Ah, yes, yes. You want more? Very well, I shall give you more. But first, I would ask that you report back, Montsognir."

Chuchu.

"I see. White and plain white too, hrm. But Miss Longueville should really stick to black. Wouldn't you agree, my cute Montsognir?"

Miss Longueville's eyebrows twitched.

"Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

"The next time you do that, I'm reporting it to the palace."

"Kah! Do you think I could be Headmaster of this Academy if I was scared of the palace all the time?!"

Sir Osmond flashed his eyes wide and yelled angrily. It was an impressive display, completely unexpected of a frail-looking old man.

"Don't get all prissy just because I peeked at your underwear! At this rate, you'll never get married! Haa~~ To be young again~~ Miss..."

Old Osmond began stroking Miss Longueville's bottom without hesitation.

Miss Longueville stood up and wordlessly kicked her boss around.

"Sorry. Stop. Ow. I won't do it anymore. Really."

Old Osmond covered his head and cowered. Miss Longueville breathed heavily as she

===Page 75===

''(paragraph continued)''

continued kicking Osmond.

"Ack! How can you! Treat a senior! In this way! Hey! Ouch!"

This "peaceful" moment was interrupted by a sudden intrusion.

The door was thrown open with a slam, and Colbert rushed inside.

"Old Osmond!"

"What is it?"

Miss Longueville was back at her desk, sitting there as if nothing had happened. Sir Osmond had his arms behind him, and turned to face the visitor with a serious expression. That was certainly a quick recovery.  

"I-I-I have some big news!"

"There is no such thing as big news. Everything is but a collection of small events."

"P-P-Please take a look at this!"

Colbert handed Osmond the book he had been reading just before.

"This is "The Familiars of the Founder Brimir," is it not? Are you still going around digging up old literature like this? If you have time to do that, why don't you think up some better ways of collecting school fees from those slack nobles? Mister, err... What was it again?"

Sir Osmond cocked his head.

"It's Colbert! You forgot?!"

===Page 76===

"Right, right. Now I remember. It's just that you talked so fast I never really caught it. So, Colbert-kun, what is it about this book?"

"Please take a look at this also!"

Colbert then handed him the sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

The moment he saw that, Osmond's expression changed. His eyes took on a solemn light.

"Miss Longueville, would you please excuse us?"

Miss Longueville stood up and left the room. Osmond spoke only after he confirmed she was properly outside.

"Explain this to me with every detail, Mister Colbert..."

<center>* * *</center>

It was just before lunchtime when they finally finished tidying up the classroom that Louise had made a mess of. As punishment, using magic to clean up had been forbidden, so it had taken considerable time to finish. But then again, Louise couldn't really use most spells anyway, so it hadn't affected her much. Mrs. Chevreuse had regained consciousness two hours after she'd been caught in the explosion, and while she did return to class, she didn't give any more lectures on Transmutation for that entire day. It would seem she had been rather traumatized.

Having finished tidying up, Louise and Saito headed to the dining hall for lunch.
Along the way, Saito made fun of Louise over and over. After all, it was Louise's fault that he'd had to do all that manual labor

===Page 77===

''(paragraph continued)''

just now. It was Saito who had carried over the new window glass. It was Saito who had moved all the heavy desks. And of course, it was Saito who had wiped the soot-blackened classroom clean with a cloth. All Louise had done was wipe down a few desks, and reluctantly at that.

''I have to sleep on the floor. The food sucks. And on top of that, I have to wash underwear. (Not that I've done it yet.)''

With all that mistreatment from Louise, there was no way Saito could keep quiet about her new-found weakness. He teased Louise like there was no tomorrow.

"'Louise the Zero.' Now I get it~ That's just perfect~ Rate of success is zero. But a noble despite that... wonderful!"

Louise didn't say a word, which only roused Saito further.

"Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Oh, I screwed up! Only 'the Zero' screws this up!"

Saito danced circles around Louise like this, raising his arms every time he said "kaboom," mimicking an explosion. It was quite a detailed performance.

"Louise-ojousama. This humble familiar has made a song for you."

Saito said, bowing his head respectfully. Of course, it was an empty gesture, a complete mockery.

Louise's eyebrow was twitching furiously. She was on the verge of blowing her top, but Saito was too absorbed in his excitement to notice that.

===Page 78===

"Why don't you go ahead and sing it?"

"'Lou-Lou-Louise is such a hopeless case~ A magician that can't even use magic! But that's all right! Because she's a girl...'"

Saito held his stomach as he burst into laughter.

"Bwahahaha!!"

He was laughing at his own joke. Perhaps he was just as hopeless.

<center>* * *</center>

When they arrived at the dining hall, Saito pulled out a chair for Louise.

"Just remember, ojousama. Don't cast any spells on the food. Just imagine the mess if it exploded."

Louise took the seat wordlessly. Saito was feeling thoroughly satisfied, having got one back on the rude and arrogant Louise with his putdowns. Even the usual excuse for a meal didn't bother him as much.

While the meager soup and bread he got served was still painful to behold, it was a pretty even trade-off for getting to laugh so much just earlier.

"Right then, Founder someone-or-another. Your Highness the Queen. Thanks a bunch for the crappy food. Itadakimasu."

As he went to eat, the plate was snatched away.

"What are you doing?!"

===Page 79===

"Th-th-th..."

"'Th-th-th'?"

Louise's shoulders shook angrily, as did her voice. Somehow, she'd managed to reign in her overflowing fury until they'd arrived at the dining table. Probably so that she could bestow an appropriate punishment.

"Th-th-th-this familiar, how dare it say s-s-s-such things to its m-m-m-master?"

Saito realized he'd gone too far.

"I'm sorry! I won't say any more, so give me back my food!"

"No! Absolu~~tely not!"

Louise screamed, twisting her cute face in rage.

"One meal cut for every time you've said 'Zero!' And that's final! No exceptions!"

<center>* * *</center>

In the end, Saito left the dining hall without having eaten anything.

''I shouldn't have been so sarcastic about it...'' But it was too late to regret.

"Haa, I'm starving... Damn..."

Clutching his stomach, he leaned one hand on a wall.

"Is something the matter?"

He turned around to see a normal-looking girl in a maid's outfit carrying a big silver tray,

===Page 80===

''(paragraph continued)''

looking concernedly at him. Her black hair was neatly adorned with a headband, and her freckles were cute.

"It's nothing..." Saito waved his left hand.

"Are you by any chance the one who became Miss Valliere's familiar...?"

It seemed she noticed the runes inscribed on Saito's left hand.

"You know me?"

"A little. It's become quite a rumor, you know, that a commoner was called by the summoning magic."

The girl smiled sweetly. It was the first carefree smile Saito had seen since he came to this world.

"Are you a mage too?" Saito asked.

"Oh no, not me. I'm a commoner just like you. I serve the nobility here by doing domestic duties."

''I'm actually from Earth and not a commoner, but it's probably useless to try explain.'' Saito decided to just introduce himself.


"I see... Well, I'm Hiraga Saito. Nice to meet you."

"That's quite a strange name... I'm Siesta."

At that point, Saito's stomach grumbled.

"You must be hungry."

"Yeah..."

===Page 81===

"Please follow me this way."

Siesta walked off.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito was led to the kitchen located at the rear of the dining hall. Lots of large pots and ovens were lined up inside. Cooks and other maids like Siesta were busily preparing food.

"Please wait one moment, okay?"

Siesta had Saito sit on a chair placed in the corner of the kitchen and disappeared hastily into the back.

She soon returned with a bowl full of warm stew in her hands.

"This is some stew made from the leftovers of the nobles' meals. If you don't mind, please eat this."

"Can I?"

"Yes. It's only the staff meal though..."

Her kindness was touching. This was completely different from the soup that Louise had given him. He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. ''Delicious. I'm going to cry.''


"This is so good~!"

"That's great. There's plenty if you want seconds, so take your time."

Saito ate the stew as if in a dream. Siesta stood watching him,

===Page 82===

''(paragraph continued)''

smiling sweetly all the while.

"Weren't you given anything to eat?"

"That girl went and took my plate away when I called her 'Louise the Zero.'"

"Oh no! You shouldn't say things like that to nobles!"

"Noble schmoble. Getting all high-horsed just because they can use magic."

"You must have a lot of courage..."

Siesta looked at Saito with an expression of amazement.

Saito gave Siesta back the empty bowl.

"That was really tasty. Thanks."

"I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to visit whenever you're hungry. If you don't mind having whatever we're having, I'd be happy to share."

Such a kind offer. Saito was even more touched.

"Thanks..."

Saito suddenly broke out in tears, surprising Siesta.

"Wh-what's the matter?"

"No... It's just that it's the first time anyone's been so nice to me since I came to this world... I got a bit emotional..."

"Th-that's an exaggeration."

===Page 83===

Illustration -- ''Do you do takeaways here too?''

===Page 84===

"It's not. If there's anything I can do for you, just tell me. I'll lend a hand."

He wasn't particularly interested in something like washing Louise's underwear, and would much rather help this girl instead.

"In that case, please help me serve the desserts."

Siesta said with a smile.

"Okay," Saito nodded enthusiastically.

<center>* * *</center>

Lots of dessert cakes were arranged on a big silver tray. Saito carried the tray, while Siesta picked up the cakes with tongs and served them one by one to the nobles.

One mage in particular stood out. He had curly blonde hair, wore a frill-trimmed shirt, and looked rather self-important. There was a rose stuck in his shirt pocket too. His friends around him were poking all kinds of fun at him.

"So, Guiche! Who're you going out with now?"

"Who's your lover, Guiche?"

So it seemed the prideful mage was called Guiche. He gently raised a finger to his lips.

"'Go out?' I hold no one woman in such special regard. After all, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many."

''This guy's likening himself to a rose. An egotist like this is far beyond help.'' He was the kind of narcissist that made onlookers more embarrassed than himself. Saito glared at him, hoping he'd just die.

===Page 85===

At that moment, something fell out of Guiche's pocket. It was a small glass bottle with a purple liquid swirling inside it.

''I don't really like this guy, but I should still tell him he dropped something.''

Saito called out to Guiche.

"Oi, you dropped this bottle from your pocket."

But Guiche didn't turn around. ''This guy's ignoring me!''

Saito passed the tray to Siesta and bent down to pick up the bottle.

"I said, you dropped something, playboy."

He placed it on the table. Guiche shot Saito a dirty look, and pushed the bottle away.

"This is not mine. What are you talking about?"

Guiche's friends then realized where the bottle came from and raised a loud commotion.

"Ooh? That perfume, isn't that Montmorency's?"

"Yeah! That vivid purple color is the perfume that Montmorency only mixes for herself!"

"So to have something like that fall out of your pocket, Guiche, means that you're going out with Montmorency now, right?"

===Page 86===

"No wait, listen to me. I'm saying this for the sake of her reputation, but..."

As Guiche was about to say more, a girl, who wore a brown cloak and had been sitting at the table behind them, stood up and walked over to Guiche's seat.

She was a cute girl sporting chestnut-colored hair. According to the color of the cloak she wore, she was a first year student.

"Guiche-sama..."

And with that, she started crying uncontrollably.

"I knew it, you and Miss Montmorency are..."

"They’re misunderstanding. Katie, listen. The only person I hold in my heart is you..."

But the girl called Katie slapped Guiche's face as hard as she could.

"That perfume you dropped from your pocket is more than enough proof! Goodbye!"

Guiche rubbed his cheek.

At this point, a girl with tightly rolled hair stood up from a seat further down the table. Saito recognized her as the girl who'd had the argument with Louise when he was first summoned to this world.

Wearing a severe expression, she approached Guiche with quick clipped steps.

"Montmorency. This is a misunderstanding. All I did was accompany her on a long trip to the forests

===Page 87===

''(paragraph continued)''

of La Rochelle..." Guiche said, shaking his head. While he was pretending to remain composed, a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead.

"Just as I thought! You've been making moves on that first year, haven't you?!"

"Please, Montmorency the Perfume. Don't twist your rose-like face in anger like that. It saddens me to see it!"

Montmorency grabbed a bottle of wine that was on the table and poured its contents out audibly on Guiche's head.

And then...

"You liar!"

She yelled and stormed off.

Silence fell upon the hall.

Guiche pulled out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his face. Shaking his head, he spoke dramatically.

"It would seem those ladies do not understand the meaning of a rose's existence."

''Yeah, and you just keep trying that,'' Saito thought, as he took the tray back from Siesta and began walking off.

Guiche called him to a stop.

===Page 88===

"Stop right there."

"What now?"

Guiche spun his body about on the chair and crossed his legs with a flourish. It gave Saito a headache to see such arrogance exude from every action.

"Thanks to you thoughtlessly picking up some bottle of perfume, the reputation of two ladies has been damaged. How will you take responsibility?"

Saito replied in an exasperated tone.

"Hey, it's your fault for two-timing."

Guiche's friends burst out laughing.

"Exactly, Guiche! It's your fault!"

Guiche's face flushed crimson.

"Listen, server. When you put the bottle of perfume on the table, I pretended not to know anything, didn't I? Would it have hurt to be a little bit tactful and just go along with it?"

"Whatever. Either way, your two-timing would've been blown anyway. And also, I'm not a server."

"Hmph... Ah, you are..."

Guiche snorted, as if looking down on Saito.

"You must be the commoner summoned by that "Louise the Zero." To have expected a noble's wits from a commoner

===Page 89===

''(paragraph continued)''

was completely my mistake. You may leave."

Saito snapped then. Pretty boy or not, there was no way Saito was just going to stand there quietly taking all this from such a conceited narcissist. He couldn't help but make one inflammatory comment.

"Shut up you over-pretentious bastard. Why don't you go suck on roses for the rest of your life?"

Guiche's eyes narrowed.

"It would seem that you don't know the proper etiquette for addressing a noble."

"Unfortunately, I come from a world where there are no such people as nobles."

Saito raised his right hand and spoke imperiously, mimicking Guiche's actions.

"Very well. Then I shall teach you a lesson about respect. A perfect way to relieve some stress." 

Guiche stood up.

"How amusing."

Saito bared his teeth and growled. ''First, I didn't like this guy right from the start. Second, he's going out with two fairly cute girls - though neither are as cute as Louise. And last, he made a fool of me.''

''That's more than enough reason for me to fight. And while I'm at it, I'll hit him a couple more times on Louise's behalf. After all, she's still a girl!''

"You wanna do it here?"

===Page 90===

Saito said. Despite being taller than Saito, Guiche was the lanky type and looked rather weak. Playboys are said to be lacking both money and power. Saito wasn't particularly strong himself, but he didn't think he'd lose.

Guiche turned in the other direction.

"Are you running away?"

"Don't be stupid. I can't taint the dining table of nobles with the blood of a commoner, can I? I'll be waiting at [[#vestri|Vestri]] Court. Come once you're finished delivering those cakes."

Looking excited, Guiche's friends stood up and followed him off.

One person remained though, as if to make sure Saito didn't run away himself.

Siesta gazed at Saito, her entire body quivering. Saito spoke with a grin.

"It's all right. There's no way I'll lose to that weakling. Some noble, huh?"

"You... You're going to get killed."

"What?"

"If you truly anger a noble..."

Siesta dashed off in a hurry.

''What was that about?'' Saito muttered. ''Is that guy really that strong?''

Louise ran up to him from behind.

===Page 91===

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! I saw all that!"

"Yo, Louise."

"This is no time to be "yo"-ing me! How can you just go promising duels like it's no big deal?!"

"But that guy was really irritating me..."

Saito said indignantly.

Louise sighed and shrugged disappointedly.

"Apologize to him."

"Why?"

"If you don't want to be hurt, go and apologize. If you do it now, he might forgive you."

"Are you kidding! Why do '''I''' have to apologize?! He insulted me first! And besides, I was only being helpful..."

"Just do it."

Louise fixed Saito with a firm look.

"No way."

"So stubborn... But you know what? You can't win. You'll be badly injured. Actually, you'll be lucky to come back alive with just injuries."

"I won't know that unless I try, right?"

===Page 92===

"Listen, a commoner can never beat a mage!"

"So where's this Vestri Court?"

Saito walked off. The friend of Guiche's that had been watching Louise and Saito's exchange pointed with his chin.

"This way, commoner."

"Aaah, jeez! Really! Why does this familiar keep going off and doing stuff on its own?!"

With that, Louise chased after Saito.

<center>* * *</center>

Vestri Court was the central garden situated between the Wind and Fire elemental towers. Being located to the west, the Court didn't receive much sunshine, even in the middle of the day, but it was the perfect place for a duel.

Right now... the place was packed with people who had heard the rumors.

"Gentlemen! It's a duel!"

Guiche lifted his artificial rose high, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd.

"Guiche is going to duel! His opponent is Louise's commoner!"

''I have a name too y'know...'' Saito thought bitterly.

Waving his arms about, Guiche acknowledged the cheering.

===Page 93===

And then, as if finally noticing Saito's presence there, he turned to face him.

Saito and Guiche stood in the middle of the Court, glaring intently at each other.

"First of all, I commend you for coming here instead of running away!" Guiche remarked in a sing-song voice, as he twirled his rose.

"Like anyone would run away!"

"Right then, let us begin," said Guiche.

''Less talk, more action.'' Saito rushed forward. ''Fights are won by whoever gets in the first strike!''

''It's roughly ten paces to where Guiche is. I don't care much for nobles or mages; I'm just going to crush that arrogant nose of yours down to size!''

Guiche watched Saito with a leisurely smile and flicked his rose.

A petal floated down as if dancing in the air...

And became the armor-clad shape of a female warrior.

Its height was about the same as a person’s, but it appeared to be constructed from some hard metal. Under the pale sunlight, its skin... its armor gleamed.

It stood stoically in Saito's way.

"Wh-what the heck is this?!"

===Page 94===

"I am a mage, therefore I fight using magic. Surely you have no complaints?"

"Wh-why you..."

"I guess I forgot to mention earlier. My Runic name is "the Bronze." Guiche the Bronze. Accordingly, my bronze golem "Valkyrie" shall be your real opponent."

"Eh?"

The warrior-shaped golem charged towards Saito.

Its right fist impacted heavily with Saito's stomach.

"Harg!"


Saito groaned and collapsed to the ground. Not at all surprising, considering he'd been gut-punched by a bronze fist.

The golem looked down on Saito emotionlessly.

He couldn't stand up through the pain. ''I guess this is what it feels like to be hit by a pro boxer,'' he thought.

"What, over already?"

Guiche sounded dissatisfied. From the mass of people, Louise burst out.

"Guiche!"

"Oh, Louise! My bad. I'm just borrowing your familiar for a bit."

Louise shook her long hair and yelled angrily at Guiche.

----

==== Chapter 03 - Part 2.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 03 part 2.0 ==

===Page 95===

"That's quite enough! And besides, dueling is strictly forbidden!"

"Only dueling between nobles is forbidden. Nobody has forbidden duels between commoners and nobles."

Louise was at a momentary loss for words.

"Th-that's because nothing like this has ever happened before..."

"Louise, do you like this commoner?"

Louise's face burned an angry scarlet.

"No! Don't be ridiculous! It's just that I won't put up with having my familiar beaten up before my eyes!"

"...Wh-who's being beaten up? I'm just fine."

"Saito!"

Seeing Saito was up again, Louise practically screamed out his name.

"...Hehehe, you've finally called me by my name."

Louise was trembling.

"You understand now, right? A commoner can never beat a mage!"

"...I was a little careless, that's all. I'm all right, so step back."

Saito pushed Louise away.

===Page 96===

"What's this? I didn't think you could stand up again... Maybe I went too easy on you?" said Guiche, provoking Saito further.

Saito walked slowly towards Guiche. Louise followed him and grabbed his shoulder.

"You need to stop! Idiot! Why are you still standing?"

He shook her hand off his shoulder.

"Because he pisses me off."

"He pisses you off? Look, there's no embarrassment in losing to a mage!"

"Shut up," Saito muttered as he kept taking unsteady steps forward.

"Eh?"

"Really, you're starting to get on my nerves too... I know next to nothing about mages or nobles, but to me you're all the same bunch of ego-inflated brats. Just what's so brilliant about magic? Idiots."

Guiche watched Saito with a faint smile painted on his face.


"The more you try, the more pointless this becomes."

Saito's characteristic fighting spirit flared, and he uttered a short growl.

"That was nothing. Your little statue, it's too weak."

===Page 97===

The smile fell away. The golem's right hand lashed out to strike Saito's face. He caught the blow square on the cheek and was knocked to the ground.

Blood dripped from his broken nose.

Trying to stem the blood flow, Saito was taken aback.

''Crap... So this is a mage's power. I've been in a few fights here and there, but that punch was like nothing else I'd received before.''

Despite that, he rose shakily to a stand. Guiche's golem mercilessly sent him flying once more with a kick.

He got up again. And was struck down again.

Over and over, the process was repeated.

The eighth punch connected with Saito's right arm. There was a sick snapping noise.

Unable to see out of his swollen shut left eye, he checked his arm with just the right. It was bent at a wrong angle.

While Saito stared blankly at his arm, the golem came over and planted a foot on his face.

His head hit the earth hard, and he lost consciousness for a moment.

When he came to, he could see Louise's face framed by a backdrop of blue sky.

"Please. Just stop now."

===Page 98===

Louise's hazel eyes were wet with tears.

Saito tried to speak, but the pain in his chest from the repeated blows was hard to overcome.

Regardless, he concentrated his willpower and managed to croak in a hoarse voice.

"...Are you crying?"

"I am not! Who would cry here? Anyway, this is enough. You did very well. I've never seen a commoner like you before."

His broken arm throbbed with agony. Saito grimaced.

"That... hurts."

"Of course it hurts! That's obvious! Just what were you thinking?"

Tears ran down Louise's face and fell on Saito's cheek.

"You're my familiar, understand? I'm not going to forgive you for any more stupid acts."

Guiche's voice called out to the pair.

"Are we quite done yet?"

"...Hold your horses. I'm just catching my breath."

"Saito!"

Guiche smiled, and flicked his rose. This time, the petal transformed into a sword. Guiche grabbed it and threw it in Saito's direction. The blade point stabbed into the ground not too far from

===Page 99===

''(paragraph continued)''

where Saito lay.

"If you're still willing to continue, then take that sword. If not, all you need to say is a simple "I'm sorry." Then I can just forgive you and be done with it."

"Don't insult him!"

Louise yelled, standing up. But Guiche gave no indication that he had heard her and kept talking.

"Understand? The sword. In other words, a weapon. It's the very least you commoners will need if you want to take revenge against us nobles. So as I said, if you're still up for it, take that sword."

Saito reached out for the blade with his right hand. But with that arm broken, he couldn't put much strength in his fingers.

His hand was stopped by Louise.

"No! There is absolutely no way I'm letting you do this! If you take that sword, Guiche won't show any mercy!"



"I can't go back to my world... Which means I'm stuck living in this one, right?"
Saito muttered, almost to himself. He didn't look at Louise.

"That's right. So what about it?! Right now that doesn't matter!!"

Louise held his right hand tightly. Saito declared in a clear strong voice.

"I don't mind being a familiar... I can take sleeping on the floor... I don't care if the food sucks... Washing underwear? I'll do that too. It's not like I really have a choice."

===Page 100===

Saito paused there and curled his left hand into a fist.

"But..."

""But..." What?"

"I will not lower my head. I cannot!"

Drawing on his last reserves of strength, Saito forced himself to a stand. Pushing Louise aside, he grabbed the blade stuck in the ground with his left hand.

In that instant...

The runes inscribed on that hand began glowing brightly.

<center>* * *</center>

Let us change locations for a moment and return to the Headmaster's Office.

Mister Colbert was fervently explaining everything to Sir Osmond about the commoner boy that was summoned by Louise at the Springtime Familiar Summoning... About how he was concerned about the runes that had appeared on the boy's hand as proof of the contract between him and Louise... And that when he had gone to find out more...

"You discovered that he is the Founder Brimir's familiar Gandalfr?"

Osmond intently examined Colbert's sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

===Page 101===

"Yes! The runes that appeared on that boy's left hand are exactly the same as the runes that were inscribed on the legendary familiar Gandalfr!"

"So, your conclusion?"

"That boy is Gandalfr! If this isn't big news, then what is, Old Osmond?"

Colbert stood up as he wiped his balding head with a handkerchief.

"Hrm... Certainly, the runes are the same. But for an ordinary commoner boy to become Gandalfr just by having the same runes... I wonder how that could've happened."

"What shall we do?"

"However, it is probably too early to be making definite claims."

"That's true."

Sir Osmond drummed his fingers on the desk.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

From behind the door came Miss Longueville's voice.

"It's me, Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

===Page 102===

"It seems there are some students dueling at Vestri Courts. It's causing quite a commotion. A few teachers have gone there to try and stop it, but their attempts are being impeded by the sheer number of students."

"For heaven's sake, these noble kids have far too much free time to stir up trouble with. So, who's involved?"

"One of them is Guiche de Gramont."

"Ah, that idiot son of Gramont. Skirt-chasing must run in the family, considering his father's even more of a womanizer. I wouldn't be surprised if the boy knows every girl in school. And his opponent is?"

"...Well, it's not a mage. I've been told it's Miss Valliere's familiar."

Osmond and Colbert exchanged a look.

"The teachers are requesting to use the "Bell of Sleep" to stop the duel."

Osmond's eyes glinted like a hawk's.

"Ridiculous. There's no need to use such an important artifact just to stop a children's fight. Leave them be."

"Understood."

Miss Longueville's footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

Colbert swallowed audibly and verbally pressed Osmond.

"Old Osmond."

===Page 103===

"Hrm."

Sir Osmond waved his staff and a big mirror set in the wall began scrying the situation at Vestri Courts.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito was surprised. The moment he grabbed the sword, all the pain in his body disappeared.

He realized the runes on his left hand were glowing.

And then...

''My body feels as light as a feather. I could almost take off and fly.''

In addition, the blade he held in his left hand felt so familiar that it seemed like an extension of his body.

''That's so strange. I've never even touched a sword before...''

Seeing Saito with the weapon in hand, Guiche smiled coldly.

"Firstly, let me congratulate you. I'm honestly quite impressed that a commoner would come this far against a mage."

With that, he twirled the rose in his hand.

''That artificial rose must be his wand. Really, how vain can you get?''

Saito was astonished that he even had the leisure to think such things.

''I was beaten up so badly just now. What in the world happened to me?''

Guiche's golem attacked again.

'Stupid tin can.''

The statue modeled in the shape of the mythical Valkyrie

===Page 104===

''(paragraph continued)''

came towards Saito in what seemed like slow motion.

''What the hell,'' Saito thought.

''I got kicked around like a rag doll by '''this''' crawling junk pile?''

Saito leapt into action.

<center>* * *</center>

Guiche uttered a tormented moan at seeing his golem get cut through like a lump of clay.

The two halves of the golem each struck the ground with a resounding "clang."

Meanwhile, Saito bolted towards Guiche in a whirlwind of action.

Panicking, Guiche waved his rose wand wildly. Petals danced, and six new golems appeared.

Altogether, seven golems was Guiche's full arsenal. Never had he thought that a mere commoner could be a match for even one.


The golems surrounded Saito and sprang at him all at once.

And just when it looked like they had him, five of them were slashed apart. It had been so fast that nobody even saw the blade, making everyone wonder just what kind of superhuman ability this was.

The remaining golem promptly dashed over to guard Guiche.

But it too was taken down by an unseen sword-stroke.

===Page 105===

Illustration -- ''I am the bone of my sword...''

===Page 106===

"Hiii!!"

A kick to the face sent Guiche sprawling to the ground.

He saw Saito leap at him.

''I'm gonna die!'' he thought, as he shielded his head.

Something made a loud "thunk"...

When he timidly opened his eyes again...

Saito had driven the blade into the ground just to the right of Guiche's head.

"You want to continue?"

Saito asked.

Guiche shook his head furiously. He'd totally lost any will to fight.

And in a failing voice he said,

"I... I yield."

<center>* * *</center>

Saito released his hand and walked away.

He could hear rowdy cheering from the audience such as "Whoa, that familiar is awesome!" or "Oh man, Guiche lost!"

''I... won?''

===Page 107===

''How?''

Saito's thoughts were in a haze.

''...Just what happened to me?''

''I was getting knocked around so mercilessly.''

''And then, the moment my hand touched that sword, my body felt like a feather. The next thing I knew, all of Guiche's golems were in pieces.''

''I didn't even know I could use a sword.''

''I don't quite understand it, but whatever. I won somehow, and that's that. I'll think about it later. Because right now, I feel really really tired. I want to sleep.''

He could see Louise running over to him.

'Hey, I won!' he wanted to yell, but his knees buckled.

The feeling of fatigue overwhelmed him, and he could feel his consciousness drift far away. Saito collapsed.

<center>* * *</center>

As she saw Saito begin to teeter, Louise ran faster to try and support him, but she didn't quite make it. Saito toppled over onto hard ground with a heavy thud.

"Saito!"

Louise shook him. No, it seemed he wasn't dead.

===Page 108===

"Guu..."

She could hear snoring. Instead, he was sleeping.

"He's asleep..."

Louise looked thoroughly relieved as she let out a sigh.

Guiche stood up and shook his head in amazement.

"Louise, just what is this guy? All of my Valkyries were so easily defeated..."

"He's just a commoner."

"There's no way my golems could have lost to "just a commoner.""

"Hmph. Wasn't it just because you were weaker?"

Louise went to lift Saito up, but unable to properly support him, ended up falling down with him on top of her.

"Aaah, jeez! You're so heavy! Idiot!"

One of the students amidst the crowd cast a Levitation spell on Saito.

Louise began to gently push Saito's floating body away. She needed to take him back up to her room and patch him up.

With the corner of a sleeve, Louise dabbed at her eyes. He looked so in pain, so pitiful, she couldn't help but cry. He'd become so strong all of a sudden when he grabbed the sword, but if it hadn't been for that, he really might have died.

Right now, that was more important than Saito winning. ''I bet this idiot thought it probably wouldn't matter if he died. Going around being so headstrong like that, when you're just a commoner...''

===Page 109===

"You're just a familiar, so why do you keep doing stuff on your own?!"

Louise yelled at the sleeping Saito. Her relief was quickly being replaced by annoyance.

<center>* * *</center>

Sir Osmond and Colbert finished watching the entire event via the Mirror of Far-Seeing. They exchanged another look.

"Old Osmond."

"Hrm."

"That commoner actually ended up winning..."

"Hrm."

"Guiche is only a first level Dot  mage, but even so, he shouldn't have been beaten by an average commoner. What amazing speed! I've never seen a commoner like him before! There's no doubt that he's Gandalfr!"



"Hrmm..."

Mister Colbert urged Osmond.

"Old Osmond. We should report this to the palace immediately and ask for instructions..."

"There will be no need for that."

Sir Osmond nodded sternly, ruffling his white beard.

"But sir! This is the biggest discovery of the century! A Gandalfr reborn in the modern world!"

"Mister Colbert. Gandalfr was no ordinary familiar."

"Exactly! The familiar used by the Founder Brimir, Gandalfr! There was never any description of its appearance, but it's said to have been created specifically for the purpose of protecting the Founder Brimir during his spell incantations."

"Correct. Founder Brimir's incantations were especially long... However, that made his spells very powerful. And as you know, mages are most vulnerable while spell casting. Gandalfr was the familiar that he used to protect himself in those times of vulnerability. Its strength..."

Colbert eagerly cut in at this point, looking extremely excited.

"It could annihilate an army of one thousand all by itself! Ordinary mages were said to be no match for it!"

"So, Mister Colbert."

"Yes?"

"That boy, he really is just an average commoner, right?"

"Yes. No matter how I looked, he was just an average commoner. I even confirmed it with a Detect Magic spell when Miss Valliere initially summoned him, but he was still a genuine average commoner."

"And who was it that turned him into a modern Gandalfr?"

===Page 111===

"That would be Miss Valliere, but..."

"She must be a very talented mage, I take it?"

"Not at all. Rather, one might say she's ''un''-talented..."

"A puzzling duo to be sure."

"Yes."

"So how did an average boy contracted by an untalented mage become Gandalfr? What an utter paradox. I just can't see where the ends meet."

"Indeed..."

"In any case, there is no need for us to hand over Gandalfr and its master to those fools at the palace. Give them a toy like this and they'll just cause another unnecessary war. Court advisors have too much free time on their hands and like fighting far too much."

"O-oh, I see. I apologize for overlooking such important matters."

"I will take responsibility of this case myself. You will not speak of this to anyone else, Mister Colbert."

"Y-yes! I understand!"

Sir Osmond took hold of his staff and turned to look out the window. He immersed his thoughts in the far reaches of history.

"The legendary familiar Gandalfr... Just what kind of form had it taken before, I cannot help but wonder."

===Page 112===

Colbert murmured as if dreaming.

"Gandalfr was said to be able to use any weapon to take down its enemies..."

"Hrm."

"So it must have at least an arm and a hand, I think."

<center>* * *</center>

The morning light woke Saito up. His body was wrapped all over in bandages.

''That's right.''

''I got into a duel with that Guiche and got beaten up really badly...''

''Then I pulled off some miraculous win using that sword...''

''And I fainted.''

He was in Louise's room. For some reason, he'd been sleeping in Louise's bed too.

Louise herself was sitting at a table and sleeping soundly over it.

His eyes fell upon the runes on his left hand. When those runes had been glowing, his body had felt as light as a feather, a sword he had never held before felt like an extension of his arm, and he had sliced up Guiche's golems like nothing.

Right now, those runes weren't glowing.

''What exactly was that, I wonder...''

While he stared at his left hand curiously, there was a knock on the door before it opened.

===Page 113===

It was Siesta. The commoner girl who had fed him stew at the kitchen. She was in her usual maid outfit, complete with the headband adorning her hair.

She looked at Saito and smiled. On the silver tray she carried was some bread and water.

"Siesta...?"

"So you're awake now, Saito-san?"

"Yeah... I..."

"After all that, Miss Valliere had you brought up here to sleep. She had to get a teacher to cast a spell of healing on you too. It was quite serious."

"Spell of healing?"

"Yes. It's magic to help treat injuries or illness. You didn't know?"

"No..."

Saito shook his head. It confused Siesta that Saito didn't know some of the basic terminology, but she wouldn't get anywhere by not saying anything.

"Miss Valliere paid for the reagent that was required for the healing spell, so don't be concerned about it."

His silence was a clear indicator that he was concerned about the money.

"Did that reagent cost a lot?"

===Page 114===

"Well, it's certainly not something a commoner could pay."

Saito made an attempt to get up, but cried out in pain.

"Ouch!"

"Ah, you shouldn't move! Your injuries were so severe even the healing spells couldn't completely fix them! You still need to take it easy!"

Saito nodded and lay back on the bed.

"I brought you some food. Please eat."

Siesta placed the tray by Saito's bedside.

"Thanks... How long was I asleep for?"

"Three days and nights straight. Everyone was worried you wouldn't wake up."

"Everyone?"

"All the kitchen staff..."

Siesta cast her eyes down shyly.

"What's the matter?"

"Um... I'm sorry. That I ran away that time."

She was talking of how she had run away in fright when Saito had gotten Guiche angry

===Page 115===

''(paragraph continued)''

at the dining hall.

"Don't worry. It's nothing to apologize about."

"Nobles were always so scary to us commoners, since we couldn't use magic..."

Siesta suddenly raised her head. Her eyes sparkled brightly.

"But, I'm not so scared anymore! I was so inspired, Saito-san! You won against a noble, though you're a commoner!"

"Really... Haha."


''Although I really have no clue how I actually won.''

Somewhat embarrassed, Saito just scratched his head. Then he realized he was using the arm that had been broken. It looked completely fine. It still ached a bit when he moved it, but it seemed the bones were whole again.

''Wow, so this is magic.'' Saito thought in slight admiration.

''...I guess it is something to be proud about.''

"By the way, did you tend to me all this time?"

"Oh no, not me. It was actually Miss Valliere..."

"Louise did?"

"Yes. She changed all the bandages and wiped the sweat from your face... She didn't sleep one bit,

===Page 116===

''(paragraph continued)''

so she must be exhausted."

As she slept, Louise's breathing was even and gentle. There were heavy dark circles under her eyes though.

''Her sleeping face is always so adorable. It's doll-like.''

''So she '''can''' be nice sometimes,'' he thought. Suddenly her side profile looked intensely cuter.

Louise's eyes flickered open.

"Fuaaaaaaaaa~~"

She made a great big yawning stretch, and then her gaze fell upon Saito, who was sitting on the bed blinking in surprise.

"Ara. You're awake."

"Y-Yeah..."

Saito cast his eyes downward. He figured he should thank her.

"Um, Louise."

"What?"

"Thanks. And I'm sorry I made you worry."

Louise stood up.

And drew closer to Saito.

Saito's heartbeat accelerated. ''Is she going to say something like "good job, you were really cool out there"''

===Page 117===

''(paragraph continued)''

''and maybe kiss me?''

But that was not to be.

Louise pulled away Saito's blanket and grabbed him by the scruff.

"If you're better now, get out of my bed!"

Still holding him by the scruff, Louise pulled Saito out of the bed.

"Wah! Ow!"

Saito tumbled to the floor.

"Hey, I'm still an injured person!"

"If you're well enough to complain, you're well enough for anything else."

Saito stood up. His body still objected, but it was nothing he couldn't put up with. Still, she could've let him sleep for a little bit longer.

"Uh, in that case, I will take my leave now..."

Siesta left the room wearing a crooked smile. Or more precisely, she fled the room.

Louise threw a mountain of clothes and underwear at Saito.

"Ack!"

"That's the laundry that's piled up while you were asleep. Once you're done with that, clean up the room. Hop to it!"

"Um, you know..."

===Page 118===

Louise glared fiercely at Saito.

"What? Just with something like beating Guiche, did you think you'd be treated differently? Did you think you'd be congratulated? Are you an idiot?"

Saito looked resentfully at Louise.

He decided to take back his earlier thought about her being cute.

Still... the way Louise sat on her bed swinging her legs was an undeniable level of cuteness beyond this world.

Her long strawberry blonde hair rippled. Her hazel eyes twinkled with mischief. She was rude, arrogant, and selfish, but try as he might to deny it, her appearance was enchanting.

Raising a finger triumphantly, Louise declared.

"Don't you forget! You're my familiar!"

== Translator's Notes ==
;[[#back_to_vestri|↑]] Vestri
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestri Vestri] is a dwarf in Norse mythology representing West.

----

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story1 Chapter3

2006-12-21T16:25:34Z

The naming game: /* Page 90 */ added "Vestri" reference

== Signing Off ==

'''Editors please sign off when you are satisfied that section is finished.

Each section requires a minimum signature of four editors before it can progress.

'''
----

*Each page is now its own section. This is to aid editing (though it makes the TOC box pretty ugly). Please try to edit individual sections whenever possible (by clicking on the "edit" link on the right side of the page), to minimize the chance of your changes colliding with edits by another contributer. [[User:BlckKnght|BlckKnght]] 02:52, 20 August 2006 (PDT)

==[[zeroNT:Komgvol03editcontrol|Raw English Translation Available Here]]==

This page is for reference purposes, as a 'control'

It is protected to prevent mishaps.

== Chapter 03 ==

==== Chapter 03 - Part 1.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

===Page 70===

'''Chapter Three: Legend'''

Mister Colbert was a teacher who had dedicated twenty years to Tristein Magic Academy and was by now a mainstay figure.

His Runic name was "Colbert the Flame Snake," and naturally, he was a mage specializing in fire magic.

Since the Springtime Familiar Summoning a few days ago, he'd been concerned about the commoner boy that Louise had summoned. Or more precisely, he'd been concerned with nothing but the runes that had appeared on that boy's left hand. They were rare runes indeed, so for the last few nights, he'd confined himself to the library and had been researching various texts.

Tristein Magic Academy's library was located in the same tower as the dining hall. The bookshelves were unbelievably tall, about 30 meters in height, and the way they were lined up against the walls was a spectacle to behold. And rightly so, since this place was crammed with the history of everything following the creation of the new world in Halkeginia by the Founder Brimir.

Colbert was now in a section of the library called "Fenir's Library" which only teachers were allowed entry to.

===Page 71===

The ordinary bookshelves that students had free access to didn't hold any answers that could satisfy him.

Using a Levitation spell, he floated up to an out-of-reach shelf and scanned it intently for a particular book.

His efforts were rewarded as his gaze fell upon the title of the book.

It was a very old text which held descriptions of the familiars that had been used by the Founder Brimir.

His attention was focused on one particular paragraph written in it, and as he read on in fascination, his eyes grew wide.

He compared the book with the sketch he'd made of the runes on the boy's left hand.

"Ah!" he gasped in surprise. At that moment, he lost the concentration necessary for maintaining his Levitation and almost fell to the floor.

Holding the book in his arms, he hurriedly descended to the floor and ran out of the library.

His destination was the Headmaster's Office.

<center>* * *</center>

The Headmaster's Office was located on the topmost floor of the tower. Sir Osmond, the current Headmaster of Tristein Magic Academy, sat with his elbows propped on his elegantly built sequoia  desk, looking unbearably bored as he shook his white beard and hair.

===Page 72===

He'd been idly plucking out nose hairs, but he slowly murmured "hrm" and pulled open a desk drawer.

From inside it, he procured a smoking pipe.

As he did, Miss Longueville, the secretary who had been writing something at the other desk placed to the side of the room, waved her feather quill.

The pipe floated into the air and landed in Miss Longueville's palm. Sir Osmond muttered dejectedly, "Is it fun taking away an old man's little pleasures? Miss..."

"Managing your health is also part of my job, Old Osmond."

Sir Osmond stood up from his chair and walked up to the cool and collected Miss Longueville. Stopping behind the seated Longueville, he closed his eyes with a serious expression.

"If the days keep passing by so peacefully, figuring out how to spend time is going to become a rather big problem."

The wrinkles etched deeply on Osmond's face only gave hints to the history of his life. People guessed him to be a hundred years old, even three hundred years old. But as to his true age, no one really knew. It's possible he himself didn't know anymore either.

"Old Osmond," Miss Longueville called to him, without taking her eyes off the feather quill that was scribbling away on the parchment.

===Page 73===

"What is it? Miss..."

"Please stop saying you have nothing to do as an excuse to touch my bottom."

Sir Osmond then opened his mouth slightly and began walking around in tottering steps.

"Please stop pretending to be senile whenever a situation goes bad," Longueville added calmly. Sir Osmond sighed deeply. It was a sigh bearing the weight of many troubles.

"Where do you think the ultimate truth may be? Haven't you ever wondered that? Miss..."

"Wherever it is, I assure you, it's not in my skirt, so please stop sneaking your mouse under the desk."

Sir Osmond's face fell, and he murmured sadly.

"Montsognir."

From under Miss Longueville's desk scurried out a little mouse. It dashed up Osmond's leg and perched on his shoulder, twitching its tiny head. He fished out some nuts from a pocket and held one out to the mouse.

"Chuchu," the mouse chittered, apparently pleased.


"You're my only truly trustworthy friend, Montsognir."

The mouse began nibbling on the nut. It disappeared quickly, and the mouse chittered "chuchu" once more.

===Page 74===

"Ah, yes, yes. You want more? Very well, I shall give you more. But first, I would ask that you report back, Montsognir."

Chuchu.

"I see. White and plain white too, hrm. But Miss Longueville should really stick to black. Wouldn't you agree, my cute Montsognir?"

Miss Longueville's eyebrows twitched.

"Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

"The next time you do that, I'm reporting it to the palace."

"Kah! Do you think I could be Headmaster of this Academy if I was scared of the palace all the time?!"

Sir Osmond flashed his eyes wide and yelled angrily. It was an impressive display, completely unexpected of a frail-looking old man.

"Don't get all prissy just because I peeked at your underwear! At this rate, you'll never get married! Haa~~ To be young again~~ Miss..."

Old Osmond began stroking Miss Longueville's bottom without hesitation.

Miss Longueville stood up and wordlessly kicked her boss around.

"Sorry. Stop. Ow. I won't do it anymore. Really."

Old Osmond covered his head and cowered. Miss Longueville breathed heavily as she

===Page 75===

''(paragraph continued)''

continued kicking Osmond.

"Ack! How can you! Treat a senior! In this way! Hey! Ouch!"

This "peaceful" moment was interrupted by a sudden intrusion.

The door was thrown open with a slam, and Colbert rushed inside.

"Old Osmond!"

"What is it?"

Miss Longueville was back at her desk, sitting there as if nothing had happened. Sir Osmond had his arms behind him, and turned to face the visitor with a serious expression. That was certainly a quick recovery.  

"I-I-I have some big news!"

"There is no such thing as big news. Everything is but a collection of small events."

"P-P-Please take a look at this!"

Colbert handed Osmond the book he had been reading just before.

"This is "The Familiars of the Founder Brimir," is it not? Are you still going around digging up old literature like this? If you have time to do that, why don't you think up some better ways of collecting school fees from those slack nobles? Mister, err... What was it again?"

Sir Osmond cocked his head.

"It's Colbert! You forgot?!"

===Page 76===

"Right, right. Now I remember. It's just that you talked so fast I never really caught it. So, Colbert-kun, what is it about this book?"

"Please take a look at this also!"

Colbert then handed him the sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

The moment he saw that, Osmond's expression changed. His eyes took on a solemn light.

"Miss Longueville, would you please excuse us?"

Miss Longueville stood up and left the room. Osmond spoke only after he confirmed she was properly outside.

"Explain this to me with every detail, Mister Colbert..."

<center>* * *</center>

It was just before lunchtime when they finally finished tidying up the classroom that Louise had made a mess of. As punishment, using magic to clean up had been forbidden, so it had taken considerable time to finish. But then again, Louise couldn't really use most spells anyway, so it hadn't affected her much. Mrs. Chevreuse had regained consciousness two hours after she'd been caught in the explosion, and while she did return to class, she didn't give any more lectures on Transmutation for that entire day. It would seem she had been rather traumatized.

Having finished tidying up, Louise and Saito headed to the dining hall for lunch.
Along the way, Saito made fun of Louise over and over. After all, it was Louise's fault that he'd had to do all that manual labor

===Page 77===

''(paragraph continued)''

just now. It was Saito who had carried over the new window glass. It was Saito who had moved all the heavy desks. And of course, it was Saito who had wiped the soot-blackened classroom clean with a cloth. All Louise had done was wipe down a few desks, and reluctantly at that.

''I have to sleep on the floor. The food sucks. And on top of that, I have to wash underwear. (Not that I've done it yet.)''

With all that mistreatment from Louise, there was no way Saito could keep quiet about her new-found weakness. He teased Louise like there was no tomorrow.

"'Louise the Zero.' Now I get it~ That's just perfect~ Rate of success is zero. But a noble despite that... wonderful!"

Louise didn't say a word, which only roused Saito further.

"Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Oh, I screwed up! Only 'the Zero' screws this up!"

Saito danced circles around Louise like this, raising his arms every time he said "kaboom," mimicking an explosion. It was quite a detailed performance.

"Louise-ojousama. This humble familiar has made a song for you."

Saito said, bowing his head respectfully. Of course, it was an empty gesture, a complete mockery.

Louise's eyebrow was twitching furiously. She was on the verge of blowing her top, but Saito was too absorbed in his excitement to notice that.

===Page 78===

"Why don't you go ahead and sing it?"

"'Lou-Lou-Louise is such a hopeless case~ A magician that can't even use magic! But that's all right! Because she's a girl...'"

Saito held his stomach as he burst into laughter.

"Bwahahaha!!"

He was laughing at his own joke. Perhaps he was just as hopeless.

<center>* * *</center>

When they arrived at the dining hall, Saito pulled out a chair for Louise.

"Just remember, ojousama. Don't cast any spells on the food. Just imagine the mess if it exploded."

Louise took the seat wordlessly. Saito was feeling thoroughly satisfied, having got one back on the rude and arrogant Louise with his putdowns. Even the usual excuse for a meal didn't bother him as much.

While the meager soup and bread he got served was still painful to behold, it was a pretty even trade-off for getting to laugh so much just earlier.

"Right then, Founder someone-or-another. Your Highness the Queen. Thanks a bunch for the crappy food. Itadakimasu."

As he went to eat, the plate was snatched away.

"What are you doing?!"

===Page 79===

"Th-th-th..."

"'Th-th-th'?"

Louise's shoulders shook angrily, as did her voice. Somehow, she'd managed to reign in her overflowing fury until they'd arrived at the dining table. Probably so that she could bestow an appropriate punishment.

"Th-th-th-this familiar, how dare it say s-s-s-such things to its m-m-m-master?"

Saito realized he'd gone too far.

"I'm sorry! I won't say any more, so give me back my food!"

"No! Absolu~~tely not!"

Louise screamed, twisting her cute face in rage.

"One meal cut for every time you've said 'Zero!' And that's final! No exceptions!"

<center>* * *</center>

In the end, Saito left the dining hall without having eaten anything.

''I shouldn't have been so sarcastic about it...'' But it was too late to regret.

"Haa, I'm starving... Damn..."

Clutching his stomach, he leaned one hand on a wall.

"Is something the matter?"

He turned around to see a normal-looking girl in a maid's outfit carrying a big silver tray,

===Page 80===

''(paragraph continued)''

looking concernedly at him. Her black hair was neatly adorned with a headband, and her freckles were cute.

"It's nothing..." Saito waved his left hand.

"Are you by any chance the one who became Miss Valliere's familiar...?"

It seemed she noticed the runes inscribed on Saito's left hand.

"You know me?"

"A little. It's become quite a rumor, you know, that a commoner was called by the summoning magic."

The girl smiled sweetly. It was the first carefree smile Saito had seen since he came to this world.

"Are you a mage too?" Saito asked.

"Oh no, not me. I'm a commoner just like you. I serve the nobility here by doing domestic duties."

''I'm actually from Earth and not a commoner, but it's probably useless to try explain.'' Saito decided to just introduce himself.


"I see... Well, I'm Hiraga Saito. Nice to meet you."

"That's quite a strange name... I'm Siesta."

At that point, Saito's stomach grumbled.

"You must be hungry."

"Yeah..."

===Page 81===

"Please follow me this way."

Siesta walked off.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito was led to the kitchen located at the rear of the dining hall. Lots of large pots and ovens were lined up inside. Cooks and other maids like Siesta were busily preparing food.

"Please wait one moment, okay?"

Siesta had Saito sit on a chair placed in the corner of the kitchen and disappeared hastily into the back.

She soon returned with a bowl full of warm stew in her hands.

"This is some stew made from the leftovers of the nobles' meals. If you don't mind, please eat this."

"Can I?"

"Yes. It's only the staff meal though..."

Her kindness was touching. This was completely different from the soup that Louise had given him. He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. ''Delicious. I'm going to cry.''


"This is so good~!"

"That's great. There's plenty if you want seconds, so take your time."

Saito ate the stew as if in a dream. Siesta stood watching him,

===Page 82===

''(paragraph continued)''

smiling sweetly all the while.

"Weren't you given anything to eat?"

"That girl went and took my plate away when I called her 'Louise the Zero.'"

"Oh no! You shouldn't say things like that to nobles!"

"Noble schmoble. Getting all high-horsed just because they can use magic."

"You must have a lot of courage..."

Siesta looked at Saito with an expression of amazement.

Saito gave Siesta back the empty bowl.

"That was really tasty. Thanks."

"I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to visit whenever you're hungry. If you don't mind having whatever we're having, I'd be happy to share."

Such a kind offer. Saito was even more touched.

"Thanks..."

Saito suddenly broke out in tears, surprising Siesta.

"Wh-what's the matter?"

"No... It's just that it's the first time anyone's been so nice to me since I came to this world... I got a bit emotional..."

"Th-that's an exaggeration."

===Page 83===

Illustration -- ''Do you do takeaways here too?''

===Page 84===

"It's not. If there's anything I can do for you, just tell me. I'll lend a hand."

He wasn't particularly interested in something like washing Louise's underwear, and would much rather help this girl instead.

"In that case, please help me serve the desserts."

Siesta said with a smile.

"Okay," Saito nodded enthusiastically.

<center>* * *</center>

Lots of dessert cakes were arranged on a big silver tray. Saito carried the tray, while Siesta picked up the cakes with tongs and served them one by one to the nobles.

One mage in particular stood out. He had curly blonde hair, wore a frill-trimmed shirt, and looked rather self-important. There was a rose stuck in his shirt pocket too. His friends around him were poking all kinds of fun at him.

"So, Guiche! Who're you going out with now?"

"Who's your lover, Guiche?"

So it seemed the prideful mage was called Guiche. He gently raised a finger to his lips.

"'Go out?' I hold no one woman in such special regard. After all, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many."

''This guy's likening himself to a rose. An egotist like this is far beyond help.'' He was the kind of narcissist that made onlookers more embarrassed than himself. Saito glared at him, hoping he'd just die.

===Page 85===

At that moment, something fell out of Guiche's pocket. It was a small glass bottle with a purple liquid swirling inside it.

''I don't really like this guy, but I should still tell him he dropped something.''

Saito called out to Guiche.

"Oi, you dropped this bottle from your pocket."

But Guiche didn't turn around. ''This guy's ignoring me!''

Saito passed the tray to Siesta and bent down to pick up the bottle.

"I said, you dropped something, playboy."

He placed it on the table. Guiche shot Saito a dirty look, and pushed the bottle away.

"This is not mine. What are you talking about?"

Guiche's friends then realized where the bottle came from and raised a loud commotion.

"Ooh? That perfume, isn't that Montmorency's?"

"Yeah! That vivid purple color is the perfume that Montmorency only mixes for herself!"

"So to have something like that fall out of your pocket, Guiche, means that you're going out with Montmorency now, right?"

===Page 86===

"No wait, listen to me. I'm saying this for the sake of her reputation, but..."

As Guiche was about to say more, a girl, who wore a brown cloak and had been sitting at the table behind them, stood up and walked over to Guiche's seat.

She was a cute girl sporting chestnut-colored hair. According to the color of the cloak she wore, she was a first year student.

"Guiche-sama..."

And with that, she started crying uncontrollably.

"I knew it, you and Miss Montmorency are..."

"They’re misunderstanding. Katie, listen. The only person I hold in my heart is you..."

But the girl called Katie slapped Guiche's face as hard as she could.

"That perfume you dropped from your pocket is more than enough proof! Goodbye!"

Guiche rubbed his cheek.

At this point, a girl with tightly rolled hair stood up from a seat further down the table. Saito recognized her as the girl who'd had the argument with Louise when he was first summoned to this world.

Wearing a severe expression, she approached Guiche with quick clipped steps.

"Montmorency. This is a misunderstanding. All I did was accompany her on a long trip to the forests

===Page 87===

''(paragraph continued)''

of La Rochelle..." Guiche said, shaking his head. While he was pretending to remain composed, a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead.

"Just as I thought! You've been making moves on that first year, haven't you?!"

"Please, Montmorency the Perfume. Don't twist your rose-like face in anger like that. It saddens me to see it!"

Montmorency grabbed a bottle of wine that was on the table and poured its contents out audibly on Guiche's head.

And then...

"You liar!"

She yelled and stormed off.

Silence fell upon the hall.

Guiche pulled out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his face. Shaking his head, he spoke dramatically.

"It would seem those ladies do not understand the meaning of a rose's existence."

''Yeah, and you just keep trying that,'' Saito thought, as he took the tray back from Siesta and began walking off.

Guiche called him to a stop.

===Page 88===

"Stop right there."

"What now?"

Guiche spun his body about on the chair and crossed his legs with a flourish. It gave Saito a headache to see such arrogance exude from every action.

"Thanks to you thoughtlessly picking up some bottle of perfume, the reputation of two ladies has been damaged. How will you take responsibility?"

Saito replied in an exasperated tone.

"Hey, it's your fault for two-timing."

Guiche's friends burst out laughing.

"Exactly, Guiche! It's your fault!"

Guiche's face flushed crimson.

"Listen, server. When you put the bottle of perfume on the table, I pretended not to know anything, didn't I? Would it have hurt to be a little bit tactful and just go along with it?"

"Whatever. Either way, your two-timing would've been blown anyway. And also, I'm not a server."

"Hmph... Ah, you are..."

Guiche snorted, as if looking down on Saito.

"You must be the commoner summoned by that "Louise the Zero." To have expected a noble's wits from a commoner

===Page 89===

''(paragraph continued)''

was completely my mistake. You may leave."

Saito snapped then. Pretty boy or not, there was no way Saito was just going to stand there quietly taking all this from such a conceited narcissist. He couldn't help but make one inflammatory comment.

"Shut up you over-pretentious bastard. Why don't you go suck on roses for the rest of your life?"

Guiche's eyes narrowed.

"It would seem that you don't know the proper etiquette for addressing a noble."

"Unfortunately, I come from a world where there are no such people as nobles."

Saito raised his right hand and spoke imperiously, mimicking Guiche's actions.

"Very well. Then I shall teach you a lesson about respect. A perfect way to relieve some stress." 

Guiche stood up.

"How amusing."

Saito bared his teeth and growled. ''First, I didn't like this guy right from the start. Second, he's going out with two fairly cute girls - though neither are as cute as Louise. And last, he made a fool of me.''

''That's more than enough reason for me to fight. And while I'm at it, I'll hit him a couple more times on Louise's behalf. After all, she's still a girl!''

"You wanna do it here?"

===Page 90===

Saito said. Despite being taller than Saito, Guiche was the lanky type and looked rather weak. Playboys are said to be lacking both money and power. Saito wasn't particularly strong himself, but he didn't think he'd lose.

Guiche turned in the other direction.

"Are you running away?"

"Don't be stupid. I can't taint the dining table of nobles with the blood of a commoner, can I? I'll be waiting at [[#vestri|Vestri]] Court. Come once you're finished delivering those cakes."

Looking excited, Guiche's friends stood up and followed him off.

One person remained though, as if to make sure Saito didn't run away himself.

Siesta gazed at Saito, her entire body quivering. Saito spoke with a grin.

"It's all right. There's no way I'll lose to that weakling. Some noble, huh?"

"You... You're going to get killed."

"What?"

"If you truly anger a noble..."

Siesta dashed off in a hurry.

''What was that about?'' Saito muttered. ''Is that guy really that strong?''

Louise ran up to him from behind.

===Page 91===

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! I saw all that!"

"Yo, Louise."

"This is no time to be "yo"-ing me! How can you just go promising duels like it's no big deal?!"

"But that guy was really irritating me..."

Saito said indignantly.

Louise sighed and shrugged disappointedly.

"Apologize to him."

"Why?"

"If you don't want to be hurt, go and apologize. If you do it now, he might forgive you."

"Are you kidding! Why do '''I''' have to apologize?! He insulted me first! And besides, I was only being helpful..."

"Just do it."

Louise fixed Saito with a firm look.

"No way."

"So stubborn... But you know what? You can't win. You'll be badly injured. Actually, you'll be lucky to come back alive with just injuries."

"I won't know that unless I try, right?"

===Page 92===

"Listen, a commoner can never beat a mage!"

"So where's this Vestri Court?"

Saito walked off. The friend of Guiche's that had been watching Louise and Saito's exchange pointed with his chin.

"This way, commoner."

"Aaah, jeez! Really! Why does this familiar keep going off and doing stuff on its own?!"

With that, Louise chased after Saito.

<center>* * *</center>

Vestri Court was the central garden situated between the Wind and Fire elemental towers. Being located to the west, the Court didn't receive much sunshine, even in the middle of the day, but it was the perfect place for a duel.

Right now... the place was packed with people who had heard the rumors.

"Gentlemen! It's a duel!"

Guiche lifted his artificial rose high, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd.

"Guiche is going to duel! His opponent is Louise's commoner!"

''I have a name too y'know...'' Saito thought bitterly.

Waving his arms about, Guiche acknowledged the cheering.

===Page 93===

And then, as if finally noticing Saito's presence there, he turned to face him.

Saito and Guiche stood in the middle of the Court, glaring intently at each other.

"First of all, I commend you for coming here instead of running away!" Guiche remarked in a sing-song voice, as he twirled his rose.

"Like anyone would run away!"

"Right then, let us begin," said Guiche.

''Less talk, more action.'' Saito rushed forward. ''Fights are won by whoever gets in the first strike!''

''It's roughly ten paces to where Guiche is. I don't care much for nobles or mages; I'm just going to crush that arrogant nose of yours down to size!''

Guiche watched Saito with a leisurely smile and flicked his rose.

A petal floated down as if dancing in the air...

And became the armor-clad shape of a female warrior.

Its height was about the same as a person’s, but it appeared to be constructed from some hard metal. Under the pale sunlight, its skin... its armor gleamed.

It stood stoically in Saito's way.

"Wh-what the heck is this?!"

===Page 94===

"I am a mage, therefore I fight using magic. Surely you have no complaints?"

"Wh-why you..."

"I guess I forgot to mention earlier. My Runic name is "the Bronze." Guiche the Bronze. Accordingly, my bronze golem "Valkyrie" shall be your real opponent."

"Eh?"

The warrior-shaped golem charged towards Saito.

Its right fist impacted heavily with Saito's stomach.

"Harg!"


Saito groaned and collapsed to the ground. Not at all surprising, considering he'd been gut-punched by a bronze fist.

The golem looked down on Saito emotionlessly.

He couldn't stand up through the pain. ''I guess this is what it feels like to be hit by a pro boxer,'' he thought.

"What, over already?"

Guiche sounded dissatisfied. From the mass of people, Louise burst out.

"Guiche!"

"Oh, Louise! My bad. I'm just borrowing your familiar for a bit."

Louise shook her long hair and yelled angrily at Guiche.

----

==== Chapter 03 - Part 2.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 03 part 2.0 ==

===Page 95===

"That's quite enough! And besides, dueling is strictly forbidden!"

"Only dueling between nobles is forbidden. Nobody has forbidden duels between commoners and nobles."

Louise was at a momentary loss for words.

"Th-that's because nothing like this has ever happened before..."

"Louise, do you like this commoner?"

Louise's face burned an angry scarlet.

"No! Don't be ridiculous! It's just that I won't put up with having my familiar beaten up before my eyes!"

"...Wh-who's being beaten up? I'm just fine."

"Saito!"

Seeing Saito was up again, Louise practically screamed out his name.

"...Hehehe, you've finally called me by my name."

Louise was trembling.

"You understand now, right? A commoner can never beat a mage!"

"...I was a little careless, that's all. I'm all right, so step back."

Saito pushed Louise away.

===Page 96===

"What's this? I didn't think you could stand up again... Maybe I went too easy on you?" said Guiche, provoking Saito further.

Saito walked slowly towards Guiche. Louise followed him and grabbed his shoulder.

"You need to stop! Idiot! Why are you still standing?"

He shook her hand off his shoulder.

"Because he pisses me off."

"He pisses you off? Look, there's no embarrassment in losing to a mage!"

"Shut up," Saito muttered as he kept taking unsteady steps forward.

"Eh?"

"Really, you're starting to get on my nerves too... I know next to nothing about mages or nobles, but to me you're all the same bunch of ego-inflated brats. Just what's so brilliant about magic? Idiots."

Guiche watched Saito with a faint smile painted on his face.


"The more you try, the more pointless this becomes."

Saito's characteristic fighting spirit flared, and he uttered a short growl.

"That was nothing. Your little statue, it's too weak."

===Page 97===

The smile fell away. The golem's right hand lashed out to strike Saito's face. He caught the blow square on the cheek and was knocked to the ground.

Blood dripped from his broken nose.

Trying to stem the blood flow, Saito was taken aback.

''Crap... So this is a mage's power. I've been in a few fights here and there, but that punch was like nothing else I'd received before.''

Despite that, he rose shakily to a stand. Guiche's golem mercilessly sent him flying once more with a kick.

He got up again. And was struck down again.

Over and over, the process was repeated.

The eighth punch connected with Saito's right arm. There was a sick snapping noise.

Unable to see out of his swollen shut left eye, he checked his arm with just the right. It was bent at a wrong angle.

While Saito stared blankly at his arm, the golem came over and planted a foot on his face.

His head hit the earth hard, and he lost consciousness for a moment.

When he came to, he could see Louise's face framed by a backdrop of blue sky.

"Please. Just stop now."

===Page 98===

Louise's hazel eyes were wet with tears.

Saito tried to speak, but the pain in his chest from the repeated blows was hard to overcome.

Regardless, he concentrated his willpower and managed to croak in a hoarse voice.

"...Are you crying?"

"I am not! Who would cry here? Anyway, this is enough. You did very well. I've never seen a commoner like you before."

His broken arm throbbed with agony. Saito grimaced.

"That... hurts."

"Of course it hurts! That's obvious! Just what were you thinking?"

Tears ran down Louise's face and fell on Saito's cheek.

"You're my familiar, understand? I'm not going to forgive you for any more stupid acts."

Guiche's voice called out to the pair.

"Are we quite done yet?"

"...Hold your horses. I'm just catching my breath."

"Saito!"

Guiche smiled, and flicked his rose. This time, the petal transformed into a sword. Guiche grabbed it and threw it in Saito's direction. The blade point stabbed into the ground not too far from

===Page 99===

''(paragraph continued)''

where Saito lay.

"If you're still willing to continue, then take that sword. If not, all you need to say is a simple "I'm sorry." Then I can just forgive you and be done with it."

"Don't insult him!"

Louise yelled, standing up. But Guiche gave no indication that he had heard her and kept talking.

"Understand? The sword. In other words, a weapon. It's the very least you commoners will need if you want to take revenge against us nobles. So as I said, if you're still up for it, take that sword."

Saito reached out for the blade with his right hand. But with that arm broken, he couldn't put much strength in his fingers.

His hand was stopped by Louise.

"No! There is absolutely no way I'm letting you do this! If you take that sword, Guiche won't show any mercy!"



"I can't go back to my world... Which means I'm stuck living in this one, right?"
Saito muttered, almost to himself. He didn't look at Louise.

"That's right. So what about it?! Right now that doesn't matter!!"

Louise held his right hand tightly. Saito declared in a clear strong voice.

"I don't mind being a familiar... I can take sleeping on the floor... I don't care if the food sucks... Washing underwear? I'll do that too. It's not like I really have a choice."

===Page 100===

Saito paused there and curled his left hand into a fist.

"But..."

""But..." What?"

"I will not lower my head. I cannot!"

Drawing on his last reserves of strength, Saito forced himself to a stand. Pushing Louise aside, he grabbed the blade stuck in the ground with his left hand.

In that instant...

The runes inscribed on that hand began glowing brightly.

<center>* * *</center>

Let us change locations for a moment and return to the Headmaster's Office.

Mister Colbert was fervently explaining everything to Sir Osmond about the commoner boy that was summoned by Louise at the Springtime Familiar Summoning... About how he was concerned about the runes that had appeared on the boy's hand as proof of the contract between him and Louise... And that when he had gone to find out more...

"You discovered that he is the Founder Brimir's familiar Gandalfr?"

Osmond intently examined Colbert's sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

===Page 101===

"Yes! The runes that appeared on that boy's left hand are exactly the same as the runes that were inscribed on the legendary familiar Gandalfr!"

"So, your conclusion?"

"That boy is Gandalfr! If this isn't big news, then what is, Old Osmond?"

Colbert stood up as he wiped his balding head with a handkerchief.

"Hrm... Certainly, the runes are the same. But for an ordinary commoner boy to become Gandalfr just by having the same runes... I wonder how that could've happened."

"What shall we do?"

"However, it is probably too early to be making definite claims."

"That's true."

Sir Osmond drummed his fingers on the desk.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

From behind the door came Miss Longueville's voice.

"It's me, Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

===Page 102===

"It seems there are some students dueling at Vestri Courts. It's causing quite a commotion. A few teachers have gone there to try and stop it, but their attempts are being impeded by the sheer number of students."

"For heaven's sake, these noble kids have far too much free time to stir up trouble with. So, who's involved?"

"One of them is Guiche de Gramont."

"Ah, that idiot son of Gramont. Skirt-chasing must run in the family, considering his father's even more of a womanizer. I wouldn't be surprised if the boy knows every girl in school. And his opponent is?"

"...Well, it's not a mage. I've been told it's Miss Valliere's familiar."

Osmond and Colbert exchanged a look.

"The teachers are requesting to use the "Bell of Sleep" to stop the duel."

Osmond's eyes glinted like a hawk's.

"Ridiculous. There's no need to use such an important artifact just to stop a children's fight. Leave them be."

"Understood."

Miss Longueville's footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

Colbert swallowed audibly and verbally pressed Osmond.

"Old Osmond."

===Page 103===

"Hrm."

Sir Osmond waved his staff and a big mirror set in the wall began scrying the situation at Vestri Courts.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito was surprised. The moment he grabbed the sword, all the pain in his body disappeared.

He realized the runes on his left hand were glowing.

And then...

''My body feels as light as a feather. I could almost take off and fly.''

In addition, the blade he held in his left hand felt so familiar that it seemed like an extension of his body.

''That's so strange. I've never even touched a sword before...''

Seeing Saito with the weapon in hand, Guiche smiled coldly.

"Firstly, let me congratulate you. I'm honestly quite impressed that a commoner would come this far against a mage."

With that, he twirled the rose in his hand.

''That artificial rose must be his wand. Really, how vain can you get?''

Saito was astonished that he even had the leisure to think such things.

''I was beaten up so badly just now. What in the world happened to me?''

Guiche's golem attacked again.

'Stupid tin can.''

The statue modeled in the shape of the mythical Valkyrie

===Page 104===

''(paragraph continued)''

came towards Saito in what seemed like slow motion.

''What the hell,'' Saito thought.

''I got kicked around like a rag doll by '''this''' crawling junk pile?''

Saito leapt into action.

<center>* * *</center>

Guiche uttered a tormented moan at seeing his golem get cut through like a lump of clay.

The two halves of the golem each struck the ground with a resounding "clang."

Meanwhile, Saito bolted towards Guiche in a whirlwind of action.

Panicking, Guiche waved his rose wand wildly. Petals danced, and six new golems appeared.

Altogether, seven golems was Guiche's full arsenal. Never had he thought that a mere commoner could be a match for even one.


The golems surrounded Saito and sprang at him all at once.

And just when it looked like they had him, five of them were slashed apart. It had been so fast that nobody even saw the blade, making everyone wonder just what kind of superhuman ability this was.

The remaining golem promptly dashed over to guard Guiche.

But it too was taken down by an unseen sword-stroke.

===Page 105===

Illustration -- ''I am the bone of my sword...''

===Page 106===

"Hiii!!"

A kick to the face sent Guiche sprawling to the ground.

He saw Saito leap at him.

''I'm gonna die!'' he thought, as he shielded his head.

Something made a loud "thunk"...

When he timidly opened his eyes again...

Saito had driven the blade into the ground just to the right of Guiche's head.

"You want to continue?"

Saito asked.

Guiche shook his head furiously. He'd totally lost any will to fight.

And in a failing voice he said,

"I... I yield."

<center>* * *</center>

Saito released his hand and walked away.

He could hear rowdy cheering from the audience such as "Whoa, that familiar is awesome!" or "Oh man, Guiche lost!"

''I... won?''

===Page 107===

''How?''

Saito's thoughts were in a haze.

''...Just what happened to me?''

''I was getting knocked around so mercilessly.''

''And then, the moment my hand touched that sword, my body felt like a feather. The next thing I knew, all of Guiche's golems were in pieces.''

''I didn't even know I could use a sword.''

''I don't quite understand it, but whatever. I won somehow, and that's that. I'll think about it later. Because right now, I feel really really tired. I want to sleep.''

He could see Louise running over to him.

'Hey, I won!' he wanted to yell, but his knees buckled.

The feeling of fatigue overwhelmed him, and he could feel his consciousness drift far away. Saito collapsed.

<center>* * *</center>

As she saw Saito begin to teeter, Louise ran faster to try and support him, but she didn't quite make it. Saito toppled over onto hard ground with a heavy thud.

"Saito!"

Louise shook him. No, it seemed he wasn't dead.

===Page 108===

"Guu..."

She could hear snoring. Instead, he was sleeping.

"He's asleep..."

Louise looked thoroughly relieved as she let out a sigh.

Guiche stood up and shook his head in amazement.

"Louise, just what is this guy? All of my Valkyries were so easily defeated..."

"He's just a commoner."

"There's no way my golems could have lost to "just a commoner.""

"Hmph. Wasn't it just because you were weaker?"

Louise went to lift Saito up, but unable to properly support him, ended up falling down with him on top of her.

"Aaah, jeez! You're so heavy! Idiot!"

One of the students amidst the crowd cast a Levitation spell on Saito.

Louise began to gently push Saito's floating body away. She needed to take him back up to her room and patch him up.

With the corner of a sleeve, Louise dabbed at her eyes. He looked so in pain, so pitiful, she couldn't help but cry. He'd become so strong all of a sudden when he grabbed the sword, but if it hadn't been for that, he really might have died.

Right now, that was more important than Saito winning. ''I bet this idiot thought it probably wouldn't matter if he died. Going around being so headstrong like that, when you're just a commoner...''

===Page 109===

"You're just a familiar, so why do you keep doing stuff on your own?!"

Louise yelled at the sleeping Saito. Her relief was quickly being replaced by annoyance.

<center>* * *</center>

Sir Osmond and Colbert finished watching the entire event via the Mirror of Far-Seeing. They exchanged another look.

"Old Osmond."

"Hrm."

"That commoner actually ended up winning..."

"Hrm."

"Guiche is only a first level Dot  mage, but even so, he shouldn't have been beaten by an average commoner. What amazing speed! I've never seen a commoner like him before! There's no doubt that he's Gandalfr!"



"Hrmm..."

Mister Colbert urged Osmond.

"Old Osmond. We should report this to the palace immediately and ask for instructions..."

"There will be no need for that."

Sir Osmond nodded sternly, ruffling his white beard.

"But sir! This is the biggest discovery of the century! A Gandalfr reborn in the modern world!"

"Mister Colbert. Gandalfr was no ordinary familiar."

"Exactly! The familiar used by the Founder Brimir, Gandalfr! There was never any description of its appearance, but it's said to have been created specifically for the purpose of protecting the Founder Brimir during his spell incantations."

"Correct. Founder Brimir's incantations were especially long... However, that made his spells very powerful. And as you know, mages are most vulnerable while spell casting. Gandalfr was the familiar that he used to protect himself in those times of vulnerability. Its strength..."

Colbert eagerly cut in at this point, looking extremely excited.

"It could annihilate an army of one thousand all by itself! Ordinary mages were said to be no match for it!"

"So, Mister Colbert."

"Yes?"

"That boy, he really is just an average commoner, right?"

"Yes. No matter how I looked, he was just an average commoner. I even confirmed it with a Detect Magic spell when Miss Valliere initially summoned him, but he was still a genuine average commoner."

"And who was it that turned him into a modern Gandalfr?"

===Page 111===

"That would be Miss Valliere, but..."

"She must be a very talented mage, I take it?"

"Not at all. Rather, one might say she's ''un''-talented..."

"A puzzling duo to be sure."

"Yes."

"So how did an average boy contracted by an untalented mage become Gandalfr? What an utter paradox. I just can't see where the ends meet."

"Indeed..."

"In any case, there is no need for us to hand over Gandalfr and its master to those fools at the palace. Give them a toy like this and they'll just cause another unnecessary war. Court advisors have too much free time on their hands and like fighting far too much."

"O-oh, I see. I apologize for overlooking such important matters."

"I will take responsibility of this case myself. You will not speak of this to anyone else, Mister Colbert."

"Y-yes! I understand!"

Sir Osmond took hold of his staff and turned to look out the window. He immersed his thoughts in the far reaches of history.

"The legendary familiar Gandalfr... Just what kind of form had it taken before, I cannot help but wonder."

===Page 112===

Colbert murmured as if dreaming.

"Gandalfr was said to be able to use any weapon to take down its enemies..."

"Hrm."

"So it must have at least an arm and a hand, I think."

<center>* * *</center>

The morning light woke Saito up. His body was wrapped all over in bandages.

''That's right.''

''I got into a duel with that Guiche and got beaten up really badly...''

''Then I pulled off some miraculous win using that sword...''

''And I fainted.''

He was in Louise's room. For some reason, he'd been sleeping in Louise's bed too.

Louise herself was sitting at a table and sleeping soundly over it.

His eyes fell upon the runes on his left hand. When those runes had been glowing, his body had felt as light as a feather, a sword he had never held before felt like an extension of his arm, and he had sliced up Guiche's golems like nothing.

Right now, those runes weren't glowing.

''What exactly was that, I wonder...''

While he stared at his left hand curiously, there was a knock on the door before it opened.

===Page 113===

It was Siesta. The commoner girl who had fed him stew at the kitchen. She was in her usual maid outfit, complete with the headband adorning her hair.

She looked at Saito and smiled. On the silver tray she carried was some bread and water.

"Siesta...?"

"So you're awake now, Saito-san?"

"Yeah... I..."

"After all that, Miss Valliere had you brought up here to sleep. She had to get a teacher to cast a spell of healing on you too. It was quite serious."

"Spell of healing?"

"Yes. It's magic to help treat injuries or illness. You didn't know?"

"No..."

Saito shook his head. It confused Siesta that Saito didn't know some of the basic terminology, but she wouldn't get anywhere by not saying anything.

"Miss Valliere paid for the reagent that was required for the healing spell, so don't be concerned about it."

His silence was a clear indicator that he was concerned about the money.

"Did that reagent cost a lot?"

===Page 114===

"Well, it's certainly not something a commoner could pay."

Saito made an attempt to get up, but cried out in pain.

"Ouch!"

"Ah, you shouldn't move! Your injuries were so severe even the healing spells couldn't completely fix them! You still need to take it easy!"

Saito nodded and lay back on the bed.

"I brought you some food. Please eat."

Siesta placed the tray by Saito's bedside.

"Thanks... How long was I asleep for?"

"Three days and nights straight. Everyone was worried you wouldn't wake up."

"Everyone?"

"All the kitchen staff..."

Siesta cast her eyes down shyly.

"What's the matter?"

"Um... I'm sorry. That I ran away that time."

She was talking of how she had run away in fright when Saito had gotten Guiche angry

===Page 115===

''(paragraph continued)''

at the dining hall.

"Don't worry. It's nothing to apologize about."

"Nobles were always so scary to us commoners, since we couldn't use magic..."

Siesta suddenly raised her head. Her eyes sparkled brightly.

"But, I'm not so scared anymore! I was so inspired, Saito-san! You won against a noble, though you're a commoner!"

"Really... Haha."


''Although I really have no clue how I actually won.''

Somewhat embarrassed, Saito just scratched his head. Then he realized he was using the arm that had been broken. It looked completely fine. It still ached a bit when he moved it, but it seemed the bones were whole again.

''Wow, so this is magic.'' Saito thought in slight admiration.

''...I guess it is something to be proud about.''

"By the way, did you tend to me all this time?"

"Oh no, not me. It was actually Miss Valliere..."

"Louise did?"

"Yes. She changed all the bandages and wiped the sweat from your face... She didn't sleep one bit,

===Page 116===

''(paragraph continued)''

so she must be exhausted."

As she slept, Louise's breathing was even and gentle. There were heavy dark circles under her eyes though.

''Her sleeping face is always so adorable. It's doll-like.''

''So she '''can''' be nice sometimes,'' he thought. Suddenly her side profile looked intensely cuter.

Louise's eyes flickered open.

"Fuaaaaaaaaa~~"

She made a great big yawning stretch, and then her gaze fell upon Saito, who was sitting on the bed blinking in surprise.

"Ara. You're awake."

"Y-Yeah..."

Saito cast his eyes downward. He figured he should thank her.

"Um, Louise."

"What?"

"Thanks. And I'm sorry I made you worry."

Louise stood up.

And drew closer to Saito.

Saito's heartbeat accelerated. ''Is she going to say something like "good job, you were really cool out there"''

===Page 117===

''(paragraph continued)''

''and maybe kiss me?''

But that was not to be.

Louise pulled away Saito's blanket and grabbed him by the scruff.

"If you're better now, get out of my bed!"

Still holding him by the scruff, Louise pulled Saito out of the bed.

"Wah! Ow!"

Saito tumbled to the floor.

"Hey, I'm still an injured person!"

"If you're well enough to complain, you're well enough for anything else."

Saito stood up. His body still objected, but it was nothing he couldn't put up with. Still, she could've let him sleep for a little bit longer.

"Uh, in that case, I will take my leave now..."

Siesta left the room wearing a crooked smile. Or more precisely, she fled the room.

Louise threw a mountain of clothes and underwear at Saito.

"Ack!"

"That's the laundry that's piled up while you were asleep. Once you're done with that, clean up the room. Hop to it!"

"Um, you know..."

===Page 118===

Louise glared fiercely at Saito.

"What? Just with something like beating Guiche, did you think you'd be treated differently? Did you think you'd be congratulated? Are you an idiot?"

Saito looked resentfully at Louise.

He decided to take back his earlier thought about her being cute.

Still... the way Louise sat on her bed swinging her legs was an undeniable level of cuteness beyond this world.

Her long strawberry blonde hair rippled. Her hazel eyes twinkled with mischief. She was rude, arrogant, and selfish, but try as he might to deny it, her appearance was enchanting.

Raising a finger triumphantly, Louise declared.

"Don't you forget! You're my familiar!"

== Translator's Notes ==
;[[#back_to_vestri|↑]] Vestri
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestri Vestri] is a dwarf in Norse mythology representing West.

----

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story1 Chapter3

2006-12-21T16:19:41Z

The naming game: /* Translator's Notes */ added Vestri note

== Signing Off ==

'''Editors please sign off when you are satisfied that section is finished.

Each section requires a minimum signature of four editors before it can progress.

'''
----

*Each page is now its own section. This is to aid editing (though it makes the TOC box pretty ugly). Please try to edit individual sections whenever possible (by clicking on the "edit" link on the right side of the page), to minimize the chance of your changes colliding with edits by another contributer. [[User:BlckKnght|BlckKnght]] 02:52, 20 August 2006 (PDT)

==[[zeroNT:Komgvol03editcontrol|Raw English Translation Available Here]]==

This page is for reference purposes, as a 'control'

It is protected to prevent mishaps.

== Chapter 03 ==

==== Chapter 03 - Part 1.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

===Page 70===

'''Chapter Three: Legend'''

Mister Colbert was a teacher who had dedicated twenty years to Tristein Magic Academy and was by now a mainstay figure.

His Runic name was "Colbert the Flame Snake," and naturally, he was a mage specializing in fire magic.

Since the Springtime Familiar Summoning a few days ago, he'd been concerned about the commoner boy that Louise had summoned. Or more precisely, he'd been concerned with nothing but the runes that had appeared on that boy's left hand. They were rare runes indeed, so for the last few nights, he'd confined himself to the library and had been researching various texts.

Tristein Magic Academy's library was located in the same tower as the dining hall. The bookshelves were unbelievably tall, about 30 meters in height, and the way they were lined up against the walls was a spectacle to behold. And rightly so, since this place was crammed with the history of everything following the creation of the new world in Halkeginia by the Founder Brimir.

Colbert was now in a section of the library called "Fenir's Library" which only teachers were allowed entry to.

===Page 71===

The ordinary bookshelves that students had free access to didn't hold any answers that could satisfy him.

Using a Levitation spell, he floated up to an out-of-reach shelf and scanned it intently for a particular book.

His efforts were rewarded as his gaze fell upon the title of the book.

It was a very old text which held descriptions of the familiars that had been used by the Founder Brimir.

His attention was focused on one particular paragraph written in it, and as he read on in fascination, his eyes grew wide.

He compared the book with the sketch he'd made of the runes on the boy's left hand.

"Ah!" he gasped in surprise. At that moment, he lost the concentration necessary for maintaining his Levitation and almost fell to the floor.

Holding the book in his arms, he hurriedly descended to the floor and ran out of the library.

His destination was the Headmaster's Office.

<center>* * *</center>

The Headmaster's Office was located on the topmost floor of the tower. Sir Osmond, the current Headmaster of Tristein Magic Academy, sat with his elbows propped on his elegantly built sequoia  desk, looking unbearably bored as he shook his white beard and hair.

===Page 72===

He'd been idly plucking out nose hairs, but he slowly murmured "hrm" and pulled open a desk drawer.

From inside it, he procured a smoking pipe.

As he did, Miss Longueville, the secretary who had been writing something at the other desk placed to the side of the room, waved her feather quill.

The pipe floated into the air and landed in Miss Longueville's palm. Sir Osmond muttered dejectedly, "Is it fun taking away an old man's little pleasures? Miss..."

"Managing your health is also part of my job, Old Osmond."

Sir Osmond stood up from his chair and walked up to the cool and collected Miss Longueville. Stopping behind the seated Longueville, he closed his eyes with a serious expression.

"If the days keep passing by so peacefully, figuring out how to spend time is going to become a rather big problem."

The wrinkles etched deeply on Osmond's face only gave hints to the history of his life. People guessed him to be a hundred years old, even three hundred years old. But as to his true age, no one really knew. It's possible he himself didn't know anymore either.

"Old Osmond," Miss Longueville called to him, without taking her eyes off the feather quill that was scribbling away on the parchment.

===Page 73===

"What is it? Miss..."

"Please stop saying you have nothing to do as an excuse to touch my bottom."

Sir Osmond then opened his mouth slightly and began walking around in tottering steps.

"Please stop pretending to be senile whenever a situation goes bad," Longueville added calmly. Sir Osmond sighed deeply. It was a sigh bearing the weight of many troubles.

"Where do you think the ultimate truth may be? Haven't you ever wondered that? Miss..."

"Wherever it is, I assure you, it's not in my skirt, so please stop sneaking your mouse under the desk."

Sir Osmond's face fell, and he murmured sadly.

"Montsognir."

From under Miss Longueville's desk scurried out a little mouse. It dashed up Osmond's leg and perched on his shoulder, twitching its tiny head. He fished out some nuts from a pocket and held one out to the mouse.

"Chuchu," the mouse chittered, apparently pleased.


"You're my only truly trustworthy friend, Montsognir."

The mouse began nibbling on the nut. It disappeared quickly, and the mouse chittered "chuchu" once more.

===Page 74===

"Ah, yes, yes. You want more? Very well, I shall give you more. But first, I would ask that you report back, Montsognir."

Chuchu.

"I see. White and plain white too, hrm. But Miss Longueville should really stick to black. Wouldn't you agree, my cute Montsognir?"

Miss Longueville's eyebrows twitched.

"Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

"The next time you do that, I'm reporting it to the palace."

"Kah! Do you think I could be Headmaster of this Academy if I was scared of the palace all the time?!"

Sir Osmond flashed his eyes wide and yelled angrily. It was an impressive display, completely unexpected of a frail-looking old man.

"Don't get all prissy just because I peeked at your underwear! At this rate, you'll never get married! Haa~~ To be young again~~ Miss..."

Old Osmond began stroking Miss Longueville's bottom without hesitation.

Miss Longueville stood up and wordlessly kicked her boss around.

"Sorry. Stop. Ow. I won't do it anymore. Really."

Old Osmond covered his head and cowered. Miss Longueville breathed heavily as she

===Page 75===

''(paragraph continued)''

continued kicking Osmond.

"Ack! How can you! Treat a senior! In this way! Hey! Ouch!"

This "peaceful" moment was interrupted by a sudden intrusion.

The door was thrown open with a slam, and Colbert rushed inside.

"Old Osmond!"

"What is it?"

Miss Longueville was back at her desk, sitting there as if nothing had happened. Sir Osmond had his arms behind him, and turned to face the visitor with a serious expression. That was certainly a quick recovery.  

"I-I-I have some big news!"

"There is no such thing as big news. Everything is but a collection of small events."

"P-P-Please take a look at this!"

Colbert handed Osmond the book he had been reading just before.

"This is "The Familiars of the Founder Brimir," is it not? Are you still going around digging up old literature like this? If you have time to do that, why don't you think up some better ways of collecting school fees from those slack nobles? Mister, err... What was it again?"

Sir Osmond cocked his head.

"It's Colbert! You forgot?!"

===Page 76===

"Right, right. Now I remember. It's just that you talked so fast I never really caught it. So, Colbert-kun, what is it about this book?"

"Please take a look at this also!"

Colbert then handed him the sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

The moment he saw that, Osmond's expression changed. His eyes took on a solemn light.

"Miss Longueville, would you please excuse us?"

Miss Longueville stood up and left the room. Osmond spoke only after he confirmed she was properly outside.

"Explain this to me with every detail, Mister Colbert..."

<center>* * *</center>

It was just before lunchtime when they finally finished tidying up the classroom that Louise had made a mess of. As punishment, using magic to clean up had been forbidden, so it had taken considerable time to finish. But then again, Louise couldn't really use most spells anyway, so it hadn't affected her much. Mrs. Chevreuse had regained consciousness two hours after she'd been caught in the explosion, and while she did return to class, she didn't give any more lectures on Transmutation for that entire day. It would seem she had been rather traumatized.

Having finished tidying up, Louise and Saito headed to the dining hall for lunch.
Along the way, Saito made fun of Louise over and over. After all, it was Louise's fault that he'd had to do all that manual labor

===Page 77===

''(paragraph continued)''

just now. It was Saito who had carried over the new window glass. It was Saito who had moved all the heavy desks. And of course, it was Saito who had wiped the soot-blackened classroom clean with a cloth. All Louise had done was wipe down a few desks, and reluctantly at that.

''I have to sleep on the floor. The food sucks. And on top of that, I have to wash underwear. (Not that I've done it yet.)''

With all that mistreatment from Louise, there was no way Saito could keep quiet about her new-found weakness. He teased Louise like there was no tomorrow.

"'Louise the Zero.' Now I get it~ That's just perfect~ Rate of success is zero. But a noble despite that... wonderful!"

Louise didn't say a word, which only roused Saito further.

"Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Oh, I screwed up! Only 'the Zero' screws this up!"

Saito danced circles around Louise like this, raising his arms every time he said "kaboom," mimicking an explosion. It was quite a detailed performance.

"Louise-ojousama. This humble familiar has made a song for you."

Saito said, bowing his head respectfully. Of course, it was an empty gesture, a complete mockery.

Louise's eyebrow was twitching furiously. She was on the verge of blowing her top, but Saito was too absorbed in his excitement to notice that.

===Page 78===

"Why don't you go ahead and sing it?"

"'Lou-Lou-Louise is such a hopeless case~ A magician that can't even use magic! But that's all right! Because she's a girl...'"

Saito held his stomach as he burst into laughter.

"Bwahahaha!!"

He was laughing at his own joke. Perhaps he was just as hopeless.

<center>* * *</center>

When they arrived at the dining hall, Saito pulled out a chair for Louise.

"Just remember, ojousama. Don't cast any spells on the food. Just imagine the mess if it exploded."

Louise took the seat wordlessly. Saito was feeling thoroughly satisfied, having got one back on the rude and arrogant Louise with his putdowns. Even the usual excuse for a meal didn't bother him as much.

While the meager soup and bread he got served was still painful to behold, it was a pretty even trade-off for getting to laugh so much just earlier.

"Right then, Founder someone-or-another. Your Highness the Queen. Thanks a bunch for the crappy food. Itadakimasu."

As he went to eat, the plate was snatched away.

"What are you doing?!"

===Page 79===

"Th-th-th..."

"'Th-th-th'?"

Louise's shoulders shook angrily, as did her voice. Somehow, she'd managed to reign in her overflowing fury until they'd arrived at the dining table. Probably so that she could bestow an appropriate punishment.

"Th-th-th-this familiar, how dare it say s-s-s-such things to its m-m-m-master?"

Saito realized he'd gone too far.

"I'm sorry! I won't say any more, so give me back my food!"

"No! Absolu~~tely not!"

Louise screamed, twisting her cute face in rage.

"One meal cut for every time you've said 'Zero!' And that's final! No exceptions!"

<center>* * *</center>

In the end, Saito left the dining hall without having eaten anything.

''I shouldn't have been so sarcastic about it...'' But it was too late to regret.

"Haa, I'm starving... Damn..."

Clutching his stomach, he leaned one hand on a wall.

"Is something the matter?"

He turned around to see a normal-looking girl in a maid's outfit carrying a big silver tray,

===Page 80===

''(paragraph continued)''

looking concernedly at him. Her black hair was neatly adorned with a headband, and her freckles were cute.

"It's nothing..." Saito waved his left hand.

"Are you by any chance the one who became Miss Valliere's familiar...?"

It seemed she noticed the runes inscribed on Saito's left hand.

"You know me?"

"A little. It's become quite a rumor, you know, that a commoner was called by the summoning magic."

The girl smiled sweetly. It was the first carefree smile Saito had seen since he came to this world.

"Are you a mage too?" Saito asked.

"Oh no, not me. I'm a commoner just like you. I serve the nobility here by doing domestic duties."

''I'm actually from Earth and not a commoner, but it's probably useless to try explain.'' Saito decided to just introduce himself.


"I see... Well, I'm Hiraga Saito. Nice to meet you."

"That's quite a strange name... I'm Siesta."

At that point, Saito's stomach grumbled.

"You must be hungry."

"Yeah..."

===Page 81===

"Please follow me this way."

Siesta walked off.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito was led to the kitchen located at the rear of the dining hall. Lots of large pots and ovens were lined up inside. Cooks and other maids like Siesta were busily preparing food.

"Please wait one moment, okay?"

Siesta had Saito sit on a chair placed in the corner of the kitchen and disappeared hastily into the back.

She soon returned with a bowl full of warm stew in her hands.

"This is some stew made from the leftovers of the nobles' meals. If you don't mind, please eat this."

"Can I?"

"Yes. It's only the staff meal though..."

Her kindness was touching. This was completely different from the soup that Louise had given him. He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. ''Delicious. I'm going to cry.''


"This is so good~!"

"That's great. There's plenty if you want seconds, so take your time."

Saito ate the stew as if in a dream. Siesta stood watching him,

===Page 82===

''(paragraph continued)''

smiling sweetly all the while.

"Weren't you given anything to eat?"

"That girl went and took my plate away when I called her 'Louise the Zero.'"

"Oh no! You shouldn't say things like that to nobles!"

"Noble schmoble. Getting all high-horsed just because they can use magic."

"You must have a lot of courage..."

Siesta looked at Saito with an expression of amazement.

Saito gave Siesta back the empty bowl.

"That was really tasty. Thanks."

"I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to visit whenever you're hungry. If you don't mind having whatever we're having, I'd be happy to share."

Such a kind offer. Saito was even more touched.

"Thanks..."

Saito suddenly broke out in tears, surprising Siesta.

"Wh-what's the matter?"

"No... It's just that it's the first time anyone's been so nice to me since I came to this world... I got a bit emotional..."

"Th-that's an exaggeration."

===Page 83===

Illustration -- ''Do you do takeaways here too?''

===Page 84===

"It's not. If there's anything I can do for you, just tell me. I'll lend a hand."

He wasn't particularly interested in something like washing Louise's underwear, and would much rather help this girl instead.

"In that case, please help me serve the desserts."

Siesta said with a smile.

"Okay," Saito nodded enthusiastically.

<center>* * *</center>

Lots of dessert cakes were arranged on a big silver tray. Saito carried the tray, while Siesta picked up the cakes with tongs and served them one by one to the nobles.

One mage in particular stood out. He had curly blonde hair, wore a frill-trimmed shirt, and looked rather self-important. There was a rose stuck in his shirt pocket too. His friends around him were poking all kinds of fun at him.

"So, Guiche! Who're you going out with now?"

"Who's your lover, Guiche?"

So it seemed the prideful mage was called Guiche. He gently raised a finger to his lips.

"'Go out?' I hold no one woman in such special regard. After all, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many."

''This guy's likening himself to a rose. An egotist like this is far beyond help.'' He was the kind of narcissist that made onlookers more embarrassed than himself. Saito glared at him, hoping he'd just die.

===Page 85===

At that moment, something fell out of Guiche's pocket. It was a small glass bottle with a purple liquid swirling inside it.

''I don't really like this guy, but I should still tell him he dropped something.''

Saito called out to Guiche.

"Oi, you dropped this bottle from your pocket."

But Guiche didn't turn around. ''This guy's ignoring me!''

Saito passed the tray to Siesta and bent down to pick up the bottle.

"I said, you dropped something, playboy."

He placed it on the table. Guiche shot Saito a dirty look, and pushed the bottle away.

"This is not mine. What are you talking about?"

Guiche's friends then realized where the bottle came from and raised a loud commotion.

"Ooh? That perfume, isn't that Montmorency's?"

"Yeah! That vivid purple color is the perfume that Montmorency only mixes for herself!"

"So to have something like that fall out of your pocket, Guiche, means that you're going out with Montmorency now, right?"

===Page 86===

"No wait, listen to me. I'm saying this for the sake of her reputation, but..."

As Guiche was about to say more, a girl, who wore a brown cloak and had been sitting at the table behind them, stood up and walked over to Guiche's seat.

She was a cute girl sporting chestnut-colored hair. According to the color of the cloak she wore, she was a first year student.

"Guiche-sama..."

And with that, she started crying uncontrollably.

"I knew it, you and Miss Montmorency are..."

"They’re misunderstanding. Katie, listen. The only person I hold in my heart is you..."

But the girl called Katie slapped Guiche's face as hard as she could.

"That perfume you dropped from your pocket is more than enough proof! Goodbye!"

Guiche rubbed his cheek.

At this point, a girl with tightly rolled hair stood up from a seat further down the table. Saito recognized her as the girl who'd had the argument with Louise when he was first summoned to this world.

Wearing a severe expression, she approached Guiche with quick clipped steps.

"Montmorency. This is a misunderstanding. All I did was accompany her on a long trip to the forests

===Page 87===

''(paragraph continued)''

of La Rochelle..." Guiche said, shaking his head. While he was pretending to remain composed, a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead.

"Just as I thought! You've been making moves on that first year, haven't you?!"

"Please, Montmorency the Perfume. Don't twist your rose-like face in anger like that. It saddens me to see it!"

Montmorency grabbed a bottle of wine that was on the table and poured its contents out audibly on Guiche's head.

And then...

"You liar!"

She yelled and stormed off.

Silence fell upon the hall.

Guiche pulled out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his face. Shaking his head, he spoke dramatically.

"It would seem those ladies do not understand the meaning of a rose's existence."

''Yeah, and you just keep trying that,'' Saito thought, as he took the tray back from Siesta and began walking off.

Guiche called him to a stop.

===Page 88===

"Stop right there."

"What now?"

Guiche spun his body about on the chair and crossed his legs with a flourish. It gave Saito a headache to see such arrogance exude from every action.

"Thanks to you thoughtlessly picking up some bottle of perfume, the reputation of two ladies has been damaged. How will you take responsibility?"

Saito replied in an exasperated tone.

"Hey, it's your fault for two-timing."

Guiche's friends burst out laughing.

"Exactly, Guiche! It's your fault!"

Guiche's face flushed crimson.

"Listen, server. When you put the bottle of perfume on the table, I pretended not to know anything, didn't I? Would it have hurt to be a little bit tactful and just go along with it?"

"Whatever. Either way, your two-timing would've been blown anyway. And also, I'm not a server."

"Hmph... Ah, you are..."

Guiche snorted, as if looking down on Saito.

"You must be the commoner summoned by that "Louise the Zero." To have expected a noble's wits from a commoner

===Page 89===

''(paragraph continued)''

was completely my mistake. You may leave."

Saito snapped then. Pretty boy or not, there was no way Saito was just going to stand there quietly taking all this from such a conceited narcissist. He couldn't help but make one inflammatory comment.

"Shut up you over-pretentious bastard. Why don't you go suck on roses for the rest of your life?"

Guiche's eyes narrowed.

"It would seem that you don't know the proper etiquette for addressing a noble."

"Unfortunately, I come from a world where there are no such people as nobles."

Saito raised his right hand and spoke imperiously, mimicking Guiche's actions.

"Very well. Then I shall teach you a lesson about respect. A perfect way to relieve some stress." 

Guiche stood up.

"How amusing."

Saito bared his teeth and growled. ''First, I didn't like this guy right from the start. Second, he's going out with two fairly cute girls - though neither are as cute as Louise. And last, he made a fool of me.''

''That's more than enough reason for me to fight. And while I'm at it, I'll hit him a couple more times on Louise's behalf. After all, she's still a girl!''

"You wanna do it here?"

===Page 90===

Saito said. Despite being taller than Saito, Guiche was the lanky type and looked rather weak. Playboys are said to be lacking both money and power. Saito wasn't particularly strong himself, but he didn't think he'd lose.

Guiche turned in the other direction.

"Are you running away?"

"Don't be stupid. I can't taint the dining table of nobles with the blood of a commoner, can I? I'll be waiting at Vestri Court. Come once you're finished delivering those cakes."

Looking excited, Guiche's friends stood up and followed him off.

One person remained though, as if to make sure Saito didn't run away himself.

Siesta gazed at Saito, her entire body quivering. Saito spoke with a grin.

"It's all right. There's no way I'll lose to that weakling. Some noble, huh?"

"You... You're going to get killed."

"What?"

"If you truly anger a noble..."

Siesta dashed off in a hurry.

''What was that about?'' Saito muttered. ''Is that guy really that strong?''

Louise ran up to him from behind.

===Page 91===

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! I saw all that!"

"Yo, Louise."

"This is no time to be "yo"-ing me! How can you just go promising duels like it's no big deal?!"

"But that guy was really irritating me..."

Saito said indignantly.

Louise sighed and shrugged disappointedly.

"Apologize to him."

"Why?"

"If you don't want to be hurt, go and apologize. If you do it now, he might forgive you."

"Are you kidding! Why do '''I''' have to apologize?! He insulted me first! And besides, I was only being helpful..."

"Just do it."

Louise fixed Saito with a firm look.

"No way."

"So stubborn... But you know what? You can't win. You'll be badly injured. Actually, you'll be lucky to come back alive with just injuries."

"I won't know that unless I try, right?"

===Page 92===

"Listen, a commoner can never beat a mage!"

"So where's this Vestri Court?"

Saito walked off. The friend of Guiche's that had been watching Louise and Saito's exchange pointed with his chin.

"This way, commoner."

"Aaah, jeez! Really! Why does this familiar keep going off and doing stuff on its own?!"

With that, Louise chased after Saito.

<center>* * *</center>

Vestri Court was the central garden situated between the Wind and Fire elemental towers. Being located to the west, the Court didn't receive much sunshine, even in the middle of the day, but it was the perfect place for a duel.

Right now... the place was packed with people who had heard the rumors.

"Gentlemen! It's a duel!"

Guiche lifted his artificial rose high, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd.

"Guiche is going to duel! His opponent is Louise's commoner!"

''I have a name too y'know...'' Saito thought bitterly.

Waving his arms about, Guiche acknowledged the cheering.

===Page 93===

And then, as if finally noticing Saito's presence there, he turned to face him.

Saito and Guiche stood in the middle of the Court, glaring intently at each other.

"First of all, I commend you for coming here instead of running away!" Guiche remarked in a sing-song voice, as he twirled his rose.

"Like anyone would run away!"

"Right then, let us begin," said Guiche.

''Less talk, more action.'' Saito rushed forward. ''Fights are won by whoever gets in the first strike!''

''It's roughly ten paces to where Guiche is. I don't care much for nobles or mages; I'm just going to crush that arrogant nose of yours down to size!''

Guiche watched Saito with a leisurely smile and flicked his rose.

A petal floated down as if dancing in the air...

And became the armor-clad shape of a female warrior.

Its height was about the same as a person’s, but it appeared to be constructed from some hard metal. Under the pale sunlight, its skin... its armor gleamed.

It stood stoically in Saito's way.

"Wh-what the heck is this?!"

===Page 94===

"I am a mage, therefore I fight using magic. Surely you have no complaints?"

"Wh-why you..."

"I guess I forgot to mention earlier. My Runic name is "the Bronze." Guiche the Bronze. Accordingly, my bronze golem "Valkyrie" shall be your real opponent."

"Eh?"

The warrior-shaped golem charged towards Saito.

Its right fist impacted heavily with Saito's stomach.

"Harg!"


Saito groaned and collapsed to the ground. Not at all surprising, considering he'd been gut-punched by a bronze fist.

The golem looked down on Saito emotionlessly.

He couldn't stand up through the pain. ''I guess this is what it feels like to be hit by a pro boxer,'' he thought.

"What, over already?"

Guiche sounded dissatisfied. From the mass of people, Louise burst out.

"Guiche!"

"Oh, Louise! My bad. I'm just borrowing your familiar for a bit."

Louise shook her long hair and yelled angrily at Guiche.

----

==== Chapter 03 - Part 2.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 03 part 2.0 ==

===Page 95===

"That's quite enough! And besides, dueling is strictly forbidden!"

"Only dueling between nobles is forbidden. Nobody has forbidden duels between commoners and nobles."

Louise was at a momentary loss for words.

"Th-that's because nothing like this has ever happened before..."

"Louise, do you like this commoner?"

Louise's face burned an angry scarlet.

"No! Don't be ridiculous! It's just that I won't put up with having my familiar beaten up before my eyes!"

"...Wh-who's being beaten up? I'm just fine."

"Saito!"

Seeing Saito was up again, Louise practically screamed out his name.

"...Hehehe, you've finally called me by my name."

Louise was trembling.

"You understand now, right? A commoner can never beat a mage!"

"...I was a little careless, that's all. I'm all right, so step back."

Saito pushed Louise away.

===Page 96===

"What's this? I didn't think you could stand up again... Maybe I went too easy on you?" said Guiche, provoking Saito further.

Saito walked slowly towards Guiche. Louise followed him and grabbed his shoulder.

"You need to stop! Idiot! Why are you still standing?"

He shook her hand off his shoulder.

"Because he pisses me off."

"He pisses you off? Look, there's no embarrassment in losing to a mage!"

"Shut up," Saito muttered as he kept taking unsteady steps forward.

"Eh?"

"Really, you're starting to get on my nerves too... I know next to nothing about mages or nobles, but to me you're all the same bunch of ego-inflated brats. Just what's so brilliant about magic? Idiots."

Guiche watched Saito with a faint smile painted on his face.


"The more you try, the more pointless this becomes."

Saito's characteristic fighting spirit flared, and he uttered a short growl.

"That was nothing. Your little statue, it's too weak."

===Page 97===

The smile fell away. The golem's right hand lashed out to strike Saito's face. He caught the blow square on the cheek and was knocked to the ground.

Blood dripped from his broken nose.

Trying to stem the blood flow, Saito was taken aback.

''Crap... So this is a mage's power. I've been in a few fights here and there, but that punch was like nothing else I'd received before.''

Despite that, he rose shakily to a stand. Guiche's golem mercilessly sent him flying once more with a kick.

He got up again. And was struck down again.

Over and over, the process was repeated.

The eighth punch connected with Saito's right arm. There was a sick snapping noise.

Unable to see out of his swollen shut left eye, he checked his arm with just the right. It was bent at a wrong angle.

While Saito stared blankly at his arm, the golem came over and planted a foot on his face.

His head hit the earth hard, and he lost consciousness for a moment.

When he came to, he could see Louise's face framed by a backdrop of blue sky.

"Please. Just stop now."

===Page 98===

Louise's hazel eyes were wet with tears.

Saito tried to speak, but the pain in his chest from the repeated blows was hard to overcome.

Regardless, he concentrated his willpower and managed to croak in a hoarse voice.

"...Are you crying?"

"I am not! Who would cry here? Anyway, this is enough. You did very well. I've never seen a commoner like you before."

His broken arm throbbed with agony. Saito grimaced.

"That... hurts."

"Of course it hurts! That's obvious! Just what were you thinking?"

Tears ran down Louise's face and fell on Saito's cheek.

"You're my familiar, understand? I'm not going to forgive you for any more stupid acts."

Guiche's voice called out to the pair.

"Are we quite done yet?"

"...Hold your horses. I'm just catching my breath."

"Saito!"

Guiche smiled, and flicked his rose. This time, the petal transformed into a sword. Guiche grabbed it and threw it in Saito's direction. The blade point stabbed into the ground not too far from

===Page 99===

''(paragraph continued)''

where Saito lay.

"If you're still willing to continue, then take that sword. If not, all you need to say is a simple "I'm sorry." Then I can just forgive you and be done with it."

"Don't insult him!"

Louise yelled, standing up. But Guiche gave no indication that he had heard her and kept talking.

"Understand? The sword. In other words, a weapon. It's the very least you commoners will need if you want to take revenge against us nobles. So as I said, if you're still up for it, take that sword."

Saito reached out for the blade with his right hand. But with that arm broken, he couldn't put much strength in his fingers.

His hand was stopped by Louise.

"No! There is absolutely no way I'm letting you do this! If you take that sword, Guiche won't show any mercy!"



"I can't go back to my world... Which means I'm stuck living in this one, right?"
Saito muttered, almost to himself. He didn't look at Louise.

"That's right. So what about it?! Right now that doesn't matter!!"

Louise held his right hand tightly. Saito declared in a clear strong voice.

"I don't mind being a familiar... I can take sleeping on the floor... I don't care if the food sucks... Washing underwear? I'll do that too. It's not like I really have a choice."

===Page 100===

Saito paused there and curled his left hand into a fist.

"But..."

""But..." What?"

"I will not lower my head. I cannot!"

Drawing on his last reserves of strength, Saito forced himself to a stand. Pushing Louise aside, he grabbed the blade stuck in the ground with his left hand.

In that instant...

The runes inscribed on that hand began glowing brightly.

<center>* * *</center>

Let us change locations for a moment and return to the Headmaster's Office.

Mister Colbert was fervently explaining everything to Sir Osmond about the commoner boy that was summoned by Louise at the Springtime Familiar Summoning... About how he was concerned about the runes that had appeared on the boy's hand as proof of the contract between him and Louise... And that when he had gone to find out more...

"You discovered that he is the Founder Brimir's familiar Gandalfr?"

Osmond intently examined Colbert's sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

===Page 101===

"Yes! The runes that appeared on that boy's left hand are exactly the same as the runes that were inscribed on the legendary familiar Gandalfr!"

"So, your conclusion?"

"That boy is Gandalfr! If this isn't big news, then what is, Old Osmond?"

Colbert stood up as he wiped his balding head with a handkerchief.

"Hrm... Certainly, the runes are the same. But for an ordinary commoner boy to become Gandalfr just by having the same runes... I wonder how that could've happened."

"What shall we do?"

"However, it is probably too early to be making definite claims."

"That's true."

Sir Osmond drummed his fingers on the desk.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

From behind the door came Miss Longueville's voice.

"It's me, Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

===Page 102===

"It seems there are some students dueling at Vestri Courts. It's causing quite a commotion. A few teachers have gone there to try and stop it, but their attempts are being impeded by the sheer number of students."

"For heaven's sake, these noble kids have far too much free time to stir up trouble with. So, who's involved?"

"One of them is Guiche de Gramont."

"Ah, that idiot son of Gramont. Skirt-chasing must run in the family, considering his father's even more of a womanizer. I wouldn't be surprised if the boy knows every girl in school. And his opponent is?"

"...Well, it's not a mage. I've been told it's Miss Valliere's familiar."

Osmond and Colbert exchanged a look.

"The teachers are requesting to use the "Bell of Sleep" to stop the duel."

Osmond's eyes glinted like a hawk's.

"Ridiculous. There's no need to use such an important artifact just to stop a children's fight. Leave them be."

"Understood."

Miss Longueville's footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

Colbert swallowed audibly and verbally pressed Osmond.

"Old Osmond."

===Page 103===

"Hrm."

Sir Osmond waved his staff and a big mirror set in the wall began scrying the situation at Vestri Courts.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito was surprised. The moment he grabbed the sword, all the pain in his body disappeared.

He realized the runes on his left hand were glowing.

And then...

''My body feels as light as a feather. I could almost take off and fly.''

In addition, the blade he held in his left hand felt so familiar that it seemed like an extension of his body.

''That's so strange. I've never even touched a sword before...''

Seeing Saito with the weapon in hand, Guiche smiled coldly.

"Firstly, let me congratulate you. I'm honestly quite impressed that a commoner would come this far against a mage."

With that, he twirled the rose in his hand.

''That artificial rose must be his wand. Really, how vain can you get?''

Saito was astonished that he even had the leisure to think such things.

''I was beaten up so badly just now. What in the world happened to me?''

Guiche's golem attacked again.

'Stupid tin can.''

The statue modeled in the shape of the mythical Valkyrie

===Page 104===

''(paragraph continued)''

came towards Saito in what seemed like slow motion.

''What the hell,'' Saito thought.

''I got kicked around like a rag doll by '''this''' crawling junk pile?''

Saito leapt into action.

<center>* * *</center>

Guiche uttered a tormented moan at seeing his golem get cut through like a lump of clay.

The two halves of the golem each struck the ground with a resounding "clang."

Meanwhile, Saito bolted towards Guiche in a whirlwind of action.

Panicking, Guiche waved his rose wand wildly. Petals danced, and six new golems appeared.

Altogether, seven golems was Guiche's full arsenal. Never had he thought that a mere commoner could be a match for even one.


The golems surrounded Saito and sprang at him all at once.

And just when it looked like they had him, five of them were slashed apart. It had been so fast that nobody even saw the blade, making everyone wonder just what kind of superhuman ability this was.

The remaining golem promptly dashed over to guard Guiche.

But it too was taken down by an unseen sword-stroke.

===Page 105===

Illustration -- ''I am the bone of my sword...''

===Page 106===

"Hiii!!"

A kick to the face sent Guiche sprawling to the ground.

He saw Saito leap at him.

''I'm gonna die!'' he thought, as he shielded his head.

Something made a loud "thunk"...

When he timidly opened his eyes again...

Saito had driven the blade into the ground just to the right of Guiche's head.

"You want to continue?"

Saito asked.

Guiche shook his head furiously. He'd totally lost any will to fight.

And in a failing voice he said,

"I... I yield."

<center>* * *</center>

Saito released his hand and walked away.

He could hear rowdy cheering from the audience such as "Whoa, that familiar is awesome!" or "Oh man, Guiche lost!"

''I... won?''

===Page 107===

''How?''

Saito's thoughts were in a haze.

''...Just what happened to me?''

''I was getting knocked around so mercilessly.''

''And then, the moment my hand touched that sword, my body felt like a feather. The next thing I knew, all of Guiche's golems were in pieces.''

''I didn't even know I could use a sword.''

''I don't quite understand it, but whatever. I won somehow, and that's that. I'll think about it later. Because right now, I feel really really tired. I want to sleep.''

He could see Louise running over to him.

'Hey, I won!' he wanted to yell, but his knees buckled.

The feeling of fatigue overwhelmed him, and he could feel his consciousness drift far away. Saito collapsed.

<center>* * *</center>

As she saw Saito begin to teeter, Louise ran faster to try and support him, but she didn't quite make it. Saito toppled over onto hard ground with a heavy thud.

"Saito!"

Louise shook him. No, it seemed he wasn't dead.

===Page 108===

"Guu..."

She could hear snoring. Instead, he was sleeping.

"He's asleep..."

Louise looked thoroughly relieved as she let out a sigh.

Guiche stood up and shook his head in amazement.

"Louise, just what is this guy? All of my Valkyries were so easily defeated..."

"He's just a commoner."

"There's no way my golems could have lost to "just a commoner.""

"Hmph. Wasn't it just because you were weaker?"

Louise went to lift Saito up, but unable to properly support him, ended up falling down with him on top of her.

"Aaah, jeez! You're so heavy! Idiot!"

One of the students amidst the crowd cast a Levitation spell on Saito.

Louise began to gently push Saito's floating body away. She needed to take him back up to her room and patch him up.

With the corner of a sleeve, Louise dabbed at her eyes. He looked so in pain, so pitiful, she couldn't help but cry. He'd become so strong all of a sudden when he grabbed the sword, but if it hadn't been for that, he really might have died.

Right now, that was more important than Saito winning. ''I bet this idiot thought it probably wouldn't matter if he died. Going around being so headstrong like that, when you're just a commoner...''

===Page 109===

"You're just a familiar, so why do you keep doing stuff on your own?!"

Louise yelled at the sleeping Saito. Her relief was quickly being replaced by annoyance.

<center>* * *</center>

Sir Osmond and Colbert finished watching the entire event via the Mirror of Far-Seeing. They exchanged another look.

"Old Osmond."

"Hrm."

"That commoner actually ended up winning..."

"Hrm."

"Guiche is only a first level Dot  mage, but even so, he shouldn't have been beaten by an average commoner. What amazing speed! I've never seen a commoner like him before! There's no doubt that he's Gandalfr!"



"Hrmm..."

Mister Colbert urged Osmond.

"Old Osmond. We should report this to the palace immediately and ask for instructions..."

"There will be no need for that."

Sir Osmond nodded sternly, ruffling his white beard.

"But sir! This is the biggest discovery of the century! A Gandalfr reborn in the modern world!"

"Mister Colbert. Gandalfr was no ordinary familiar."

"Exactly! The familiar used by the Founder Brimir, Gandalfr! There was never any description of its appearance, but it's said to have been created specifically for the purpose of protecting the Founder Brimir during his spell incantations."

"Correct. Founder Brimir's incantations were especially long... However, that made his spells very powerful. And as you know, mages are most vulnerable while spell casting. Gandalfr was the familiar that he used to protect himself in those times of vulnerability. Its strength..."

Colbert eagerly cut in at this point, looking extremely excited.

"It could annihilate an army of one thousand all by itself! Ordinary mages were said to be no match for it!"

"So, Mister Colbert."

"Yes?"

"That boy, he really is just an average commoner, right?"

"Yes. No matter how I looked, he was just an average commoner. I even confirmed it with a Detect Magic spell when Miss Valliere initially summoned him, but he was still a genuine average commoner."

"And who was it that turned him into a modern Gandalfr?"

===Page 111===

"That would be Miss Valliere, but..."

"She must be a very talented mage, I take it?"

"Not at all. Rather, one might say she's ''un''-talented..."

"A puzzling duo to be sure."

"Yes."

"So how did an average boy contracted by an untalented mage become Gandalfr? What an utter paradox. I just can't see where the ends meet."

"Indeed..."

"In any case, there is no need for us to hand over Gandalfr and its master to those fools at the palace. Give them a toy like this and they'll just cause another unnecessary war. Court advisors have too much free time on their hands and like fighting far too much."

"O-oh, I see. I apologize for overlooking such important matters."

"I will take responsibility of this case myself. You will not speak of this to anyone else, Mister Colbert."

"Y-yes! I understand!"

Sir Osmond took hold of his staff and turned to look out the window. He immersed his thoughts in the far reaches of history.

"The legendary familiar Gandalfr... Just what kind of form had it taken before, I cannot help but wonder."

===Page 112===

Colbert murmured as if dreaming.

"Gandalfr was said to be able to use any weapon to take down its enemies..."

"Hrm."

"So it must have at least an arm and a hand, I think."

<center>* * *</center>

The morning light woke Saito up. His body was wrapped all over in bandages.

''That's right.''

''I got into a duel with that Guiche and got beaten up really badly...''

''Then I pulled off some miraculous win using that sword...''

''And I fainted.''

He was in Louise's room. For some reason, he'd been sleeping in Louise's bed too.

Louise herself was sitting at a table and sleeping soundly over it.

His eyes fell upon the runes on his left hand. When those runes had been glowing, his body had felt as light as a feather, a sword he had never held before felt like an extension of his arm, and he had sliced up Guiche's golems like nothing.

Right now, those runes weren't glowing.

''What exactly was that, I wonder...''

While he stared at his left hand curiously, there was a knock on the door before it opened.

===Page 113===

It was Siesta. The commoner girl who had fed him stew at the kitchen. She was in her usual maid outfit, complete with the headband adorning her hair.

She looked at Saito and smiled. On the silver tray she carried was some bread and water.

"Siesta...?"

"So you're awake now, Saito-san?"

"Yeah... I..."

"After all that, Miss Valliere had you brought up here to sleep. She had to get a teacher to cast a spell of healing on you too. It was quite serious."

"Spell of healing?"

"Yes. It's magic to help treat injuries or illness. You didn't know?"

"No..."

Saito shook his head. It confused Siesta that Saito didn't know some of the basic terminology, but she wouldn't get anywhere by not saying anything.

"Miss Valliere paid for the reagent that was required for the healing spell, so don't be concerned about it."

His silence was a clear indicator that he was concerned about the money.

"Did that reagent cost a lot?"

===Page 114===

"Well, it's certainly not something a commoner could pay."

Saito made an attempt to get up, but cried out in pain.

"Ouch!"

"Ah, you shouldn't move! Your injuries were so severe even the healing spells couldn't completely fix them! You still need to take it easy!"

Saito nodded and lay back on the bed.

"I brought you some food. Please eat."

Siesta placed the tray by Saito's bedside.

"Thanks... How long was I asleep for?"

"Three days and nights straight. Everyone was worried you wouldn't wake up."

"Everyone?"

"All the kitchen staff..."

Siesta cast her eyes down shyly.

"What's the matter?"

"Um... I'm sorry. That I ran away that time."

She was talking of how she had run away in fright when Saito had gotten Guiche angry

===Page 115===

''(paragraph continued)''

at the dining hall.

"Don't worry. It's nothing to apologize about."

"Nobles were always so scary to us commoners, since we couldn't use magic..."

Siesta suddenly raised her head. Her eyes sparkled brightly.

"But, I'm not so scared anymore! I was so inspired, Saito-san! You won against a noble, though you're a commoner!"

"Really... Haha."


''Although I really have no clue how I actually won.''

Somewhat embarrassed, Saito just scratched his head. Then he realized he was using the arm that had been broken. It looked completely fine. It still ached a bit when he moved it, but it seemed the bones were whole again.

''Wow, so this is magic.'' Saito thought in slight admiration.

''...I guess it is something to be proud about.''

"By the way, did you tend to me all this time?"

"Oh no, not me. It was actually Miss Valliere..."

"Louise did?"

"Yes. She changed all the bandages and wiped the sweat from your face... She didn't sleep one bit,

===Page 116===

''(paragraph continued)''

so she must be exhausted."

As she slept, Louise's breathing was even and gentle. There were heavy dark circles under her eyes though.

''Her sleeping face is always so adorable. It's doll-like.''

''So she '''can''' be nice sometimes,'' he thought. Suddenly her side profile looked intensely cuter.

Louise's eyes flickered open.

"Fuaaaaaaaaa~~"

She made a great big yawning stretch, and then her gaze fell upon Saito, who was sitting on the bed blinking in surprise.

"Ara. You're awake."

"Y-Yeah..."

Saito cast his eyes downward. He figured he should thank her.

"Um, Louise."

"What?"

"Thanks. And I'm sorry I made you worry."

Louise stood up.

And drew closer to Saito.

Saito's heartbeat accelerated. ''Is she going to say something like "good job, you were really cool out there"''

===Page 117===

''(paragraph continued)''

''and maybe kiss me?''

But that was not to be.

Louise pulled away Saito's blanket and grabbed him by the scruff.

"If you're better now, get out of my bed!"

Still holding him by the scruff, Louise pulled Saito out of the bed.

"Wah! Ow!"

Saito tumbled to the floor.

"Hey, I'm still an injured person!"

"If you're well enough to complain, you're well enough for anything else."

Saito stood up. His body still objected, but it was nothing he couldn't put up with. Still, she could've let him sleep for a little bit longer.

"Uh, in that case, I will take my leave now..."

Siesta left the room wearing a crooked smile. Or more precisely, she fled the room.

Louise threw a mountain of clothes and underwear at Saito.

"Ack!"

"That's the laundry that's piled up while you were asleep. Once you're done with that, clean up the room. Hop to it!"

"Um, you know..."

===Page 118===

Louise glared fiercely at Saito.

"What? Just with something like beating Guiche, did you think you'd be treated differently? Did you think you'd be congratulated? Are you an idiot?"

Saito looked resentfully at Louise.

He decided to take back his earlier thought about her being cute.

Still... the way Louise sat on her bed swinging her legs was an undeniable level of cuteness beyond this world.

Her long strawberry blonde hair rippled. Her hazel eyes twinkled with mischief. She was rude, arrogant, and selfish, but try as he might to deny it, her appearance was enchanting.

Raising a finger triumphantly, Louise declared.

"Don't you forget! You're my familiar!"

== Translator's Notes ==
;[[#back_to_vestri|↑]] Vestri
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestri Vestri] is a dwarf in Norse mythology representing West.

----

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story1 Chapter3

2006-12-21T16:07:06Z

The naming game: /* Chapter 03 part 2.0 */ another section marker + rewording + comment annotations

== Signing Off ==

'''Editors please sign off when you are satisfied that section is finished.

Each section requires a minimum signature of four editors before it can progress.

'''
----

*Each page is now its own section. This is to aid editing (though it makes the TOC box pretty ugly). Please try to edit individual sections whenever possible (by clicking on the "edit" link on the right side of the page), to minimize the chance of your changes colliding with edits by another contributer. [[User:BlckKnght|BlckKnght]] 02:52, 20 August 2006 (PDT)

==[[zeroNT:Komgvol03editcontrol|Raw English Translation Available Here]]==

This page is for reference purposes, as a 'control'

It is protected to prevent mishaps.

== Chapter 03 ==

==== Chapter 03 - Part 1.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

===Page 70===

'''Chapter Three: Legend'''

Mister Colbert was a teacher who had dedicated twenty years to Tristein Magic Academy and was by now a mainstay figure.

His Runic name was "Colbert the Flame Snake," and naturally, he was a mage specializing in fire magic.

Since the Springtime Familiar Summoning a few days ago, he'd been concerned about the commoner boy that Louise had summoned. Or more precisely, he'd been concerned with nothing but the runes that had appeared on that boy's left hand. They were rare runes indeed, so for the last few nights, he'd confined himself to the library and had been researching various texts.

Tristein Magic Academy's library was located in the same tower as the dining hall. The bookshelves were unbelievably tall, about 30 meters in height, and the way they were lined up against the walls was a spectacle to behold. And rightly so, since this place was crammed with the history of everything following the creation of the new world in Halkeginia by the Founder Brimir.

Colbert was now in a section of the library called "Fenir's Library" which only teachers were allowed entry to.

===Page 71===

The ordinary bookshelves that students had free access to didn't hold any answers that could satisfy him.

Using a Levitation spell, he floated up to an out-of-reach shelf and scanned it intently for a particular book.

His efforts were rewarded as his gaze fell upon the title of the book.

It was a very old text which held descriptions of the familiars that had been used by the Founder Brimir.

His attention was focused on one particular paragraph written in it, and as he read on in fascination, his eyes grew wide.

He compared the book with the sketch he'd made of the runes on the boy's left hand.

"Ah!" he gasped in surprise. At that moment, he lost the concentration necessary for maintaining his Levitation and almost fell to the floor.

Holding the book in his arms, he hurriedly descended to the floor and ran out of the library.

His destination was the Headmaster's Office.

<center>* * *</center>

The Headmaster's Office was located on the topmost floor of the tower. Sir Osmond, the current Headmaster of Tristein Magic Academy, sat with his elbows propped on his elegantly built sequoia  desk, looking unbearably bored as he shook his white beard and hair.

===Page 72===

He'd been idly plucking out nose hairs, but he slowly murmured "hrm" and pulled open a desk drawer.

From inside it, he procured a smoking pipe.

As he did, Miss Longueville, the secretary who had been writing something at the other desk placed to the side of the room, waved her feather quill.

The pipe floated into the air and landed in Miss Longueville's palm. Sir Osmond muttered dejectedly, "Is it fun taking away an old man's little pleasures? Miss..."

"Managing your health is also part of my job, Old Osmond."

Sir Osmond stood up from his chair and walked up to the cool and collected Miss Longueville. Stopping behind the seated Longueville, he closed his eyes with a serious expression.

"If the days keep passing by so peacefully, figuring out how to spend time is going to become a rather big problem."

The wrinkles etched deeply on Osmond's face only gave hints to the history of his life. People guessed him to be a hundred years old, even three hundred years old. But as to his true age, no one really knew. It's possible he himself didn't know anymore either.

"Old Osmond," Miss Longueville called to him, without taking her eyes off the feather quill that was scribbling away on the parchment.

===Page 73===

"What is it? Miss..."

"Please stop saying you have nothing to do as an excuse to touch my bottom."

Sir Osmond then opened his mouth slightly and began walking around in tottering steps.

"Please stop pretending to be senile whenever a situation goes bad," Longueville added calmly. Sir Osmond sighed deeply. It was a sigh bearing the weight of many troubles.

"Where do you think the ultimate truth may be? Haven't you ever wondered that? Miss..."

"Wherever it is, I assure you, it's not in my skirt, so please stop sneaking your mouse under the desk."

Sir Osmond's face fell, and he murmured sadly.

"Montsognir."

From under Miss Longueville's desk scurried out a little mouse. It dashed up Osmond's leg and perched on his shoulder, twitching its tiny head. He fished out some nuts from a pocket and held one out to the mouse.

"Chuchu," the mouse chittered, apparently pleased.


"You're my only truly trustworthy friend, Montsognir."

The mouse began nibbling on the nut. It disappeared quickly, and the mouse chittered "chuchu" once more.

===Page 74===

"Ah, yes, yes. You want more? Very well, I shall give you more. But first, I would ask that you report back, Montsognir."

Chuchu.

"I see. White and plain white too, hrm. But Miss Longueville should really stick to black. Wouldn't you agree, my cute Montsognir?"

Miss Longueville's eyebrows twitched.

"Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

"The next time you do that, I'm reporting it to the palace."

"Kah! Do you think I could be Headmaster of this Academy if I was scared of the palace all the time?!"

Sir Osmond flashed his eyes wide and yelled angrily. It was an impressive display, completely unexpected of a frail-looking old man.

"Don't get all prissy just because I peeked at your underwear! At this rate, you'll never get married! Haa~~ To be young again~~ Miss..."

Old Osmond began stroking Miss Longueville's bottom without hesitation.

Miss Longueville stood up and wordlessly kicked her boss around.

"Sorry. Stop. Ow. I won't do it anymore. Really."

Old Osmond covered his head and cowered. Miss Longueville breathed heavily as she

===Page 75===

''(paragraph continued)''

continued kicking Osmond.

"Ack! How can you! Treat a senior! In this way! Hey! Ouch!"

This "peaceful" moment was interrupted by a sudden intrusion.

The door was thrown open with a slam, and Colbert rushed inside.

"Old Osmond!"

"What is it?"

Miss Longueville was back at her desk, sitting there as if nothing had happened. Sir Osmond had his arms behind him, and turned to face the visitor with a serious expression. That was certainly a quick recovery.  

"I-I-I have some big news!"

"There is no such thing as big news. Everything is but a collection of small events."

"P-P-Please take a look at this!"

Colbert handed Osmond the book he had been reading just before.

"This is "The Familiars of the Founder Brimir," is it not? Are you still going around digging up old literature like this? If you have time to do that, why don't you think up some better ways of collecting school fees from those slack nobles? Mister, err... What was it again?"

Sir Osmond cocked his head.

"It's Colbert! You forgot?!"

===Page 76===

"Right, right. Now I remember. It's just that you talked so fast I never really caught it. So, Colbert-kun, what is it about this book?"

"Please take a look at this also!"

Colbert then handed him the sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

The moment he saw that, Osmond's expression changed. His eyes took on a solemn light.

"Miss Longueville, would you please excuse us?"

Miss Longueville stood up and left the room. Osmond spoke only after he confirmed she was properly outside.

"Explain this to me with every detail, Mister Colbert..."

<center>* * *</center>

It was just before lunchtime when they finally finished tidying up the classroom that Louise had made a mess of. As punishment, using magic to clean up had been forbidden, so it had taken considerable time to finish. But then again, Louise couldn't really use most spells anyway, so it hadn't affected her much. Mrs. Chevreuse had regained consciousness two hours after she'd been caught in the explosion, and while she did return to class, she didn't give any more lectures on Transmutation for that entire day. It would seem she had been rather traumatized.

Having finished tidying up, Louise and Saito headed to the dining hall for lunch.
Along the way, Saito made fun of Louise over and over. After all, it was Louise's fault that he'd had to do all that manual labor

===Page 77===

''(paragraph continued)''

just now. It was Saito who had carried over the new window glass. It was Saito who had moved all the heavy desks. And of course, it was Saito who had wiped the soot-blackened classroom clean with a cloth. All Louise had done was wipe down a few desks, and reluctantly at that.

''I have to sleep on the floor. The food sucks. And on top of that, I have to wash underwear. (Not that I've done it yet.)''

With all that mistreatment from Louise, there was no way Saito could keep quiet about her new-found weakness. He teased Louise like there was no tomorrow.

"'Louise the Zero.' Now I get it~ That's just perfect~ Rate of success is zero. But a noble despite that... wonderful!"

Louise didn't say a word, which only roused Saito further.

"Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Oh, I screwed up! Only 'the Zero' screws this up!"

Saito danced circles around Louise like this, raising his arms every time he said "kaboom," mimicking an explosion. It was quite a detailed performance.

"Louise-ojousama. This humble familiar has made a song for you."

Saito said, bowing his head respectfully. Of course, it was an empty gesture, a complete mockery.

Louise's eyebrow was twitching furiously. She was on the verge of blowing her top, but Saito was too absorbed in his excitement to notice that.

===Page 78===

"Why don't you go ahead and sing it?"

"'Lou-Lou-Louise is such a hopeless case~ A magician that can't even use magic! But that's all right! Because she's a girl...'"

Saito held his stomach as he burst into laughter.

"Bwahahaha!!"

He was laughing at his own joke. Perhaps he was just as hopeless.

<center>* * *</center>

When they arrived at the dining hall, Saito pulled out a chair for Louise.

"Just remember, ojousama. Don't cast any spells on the food. Just imagine the mess if it exploded."

Louise took the seat wordlessly. Saito was feeling thoroughly satisfied, having got one back on the rude and arrogant Louise with his putdowns. Even the usual excuse for a meal didn't bother him as much.

While the meager soup and bread he got served was still painful to behold, it was a pretty even trade-off for getting to laugh so much just earlier.

"Right then, Founder someone-or-another. Your Highness the Queen. Thanks a bunch for the crappy food. Itadakimasu."

As he went to eat, the plate was snatched away.

"What are you doing?!"

===Page 79===

"Th-th-th..."

"'Th-th-th'?"

Louise's shoulders shook angrily, as did her voice. Somehow, she'd managed to reign in her overflowing fury until they'd arrived at the dining table. Probably so that she could bestow an appropriate punishment.

"Th-th-th-this familiar, how dare it say s-s-s-such things to its m-m-m-master?"

Saito realized he'd gone too far.

"I'm sorry! I won't say any more, so give me back my food!"

"No! Absolu~~tely not!"

Louise screamed, twisting her cute face in rage.

"One meal cut for every time you've said 'Zero!' And that's final! No exceptions!"

<center>* * *</center>

In the end, Saito left the dining hall without having eaten anything.

''I shouldn't have been so sarcastic about it...'' But it was too late to regret.

"Haa, I'm starving... Damn..."

Clutching his stomach, he leaned one hand on a wall.

"Is something the matter?"

He turned around to see a normal-looking girl in a maid's outfit carrying a big silver tray,

===Page 80===

''(paragraph continued)''

looking concernedly at him. Her black hair was neatly adorned with a headband, and her freckles were cute.

"It's nothing..." Saito waved his left hand.

"Are you by any chance the one who became Miss Valliere's familiar...?"

It seemed she noticed the runes inscribed on Saito's left hand.

"You know me?"

"A little. It's become quite a rumor, you know, that a commoner was called by the summoning magic."

The girl smiled sweetly. It was the first carefree smile Saito had seen since he came to this world.

"Are you a mage too?" Saito asked.

"Oh no, not me. I'm a commoner just like you. I serve the nobility here by doing domestic duties."

''I'm actually from Earth and not a commoner, but it's probably useless to try explain.'' Saito decided to just introduce himself.


"I see... Well, I'm Hiraga Saito. Nice to meet you."

"That's quite a strange name... I'm Siesta."

At that point, Saito's stomach grumbled.

"You must be hungry."

"Yeah..."

===Page 81===

"Please follow me this way."

Siesta walked off.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito was led to the kitchen located at the rear of the dining hall. Lots of large pots and ovens were lined up inside. Cooks and other maids like Siesta were busily preparing food.

"Please wait one moment, okay?"

Siesta had Saito sit on a chair placed in the corner of the kitchen and disappeared hastily into the back.

She soon returned with a bowl full of warm stew in her hands.

"This is some stew made from the leftovers of the nobles' meals. If you don't mind, please eat this."

"Can I?"

"Yes. It's only the staff meal though..."

Her kindness was touching. This was completely different from the soup that Louise had given him. He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. ''Delicious. I'm going to cry.''


"This is so good~!"

"That's great. There's plenty if you want seconds, so take your time."

Saito ate the stew as if in a dream. Siesta stood watching him,

===Page 82===

''(paragraph continued)''

smiling sweetly all the while.

"Weren't you given anything to eat?"

"That girl went and took my plate away when I called her 'Louise the Zero.'"

"Oh no! You shouldn't say things like that to nobles!"

"Noble schmoble. Getting all high-horsed just because they can use magic."

"You must have a lot of courage..."

Siesta looked at Saito with an expression of amazement.

Saito gave Siesta back the empty bowl.

"That was really tasty. Thanks."

"I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to visit whenever you're hungry. If you don't mind having whatever we're having, I'd be happy to share."

Such a kind offer. Saito was even more touched.

"Thanks..."

Saito suddenly broke out in tears, surprising Siesta.

"Wh-what's the matter?"

"No... It's just that it's the first time anyone's been so nice to me since I came to this world... I got a bit emotional..."

"Th-that's an exaggeration."

===Page 83===

Illustration -- ''Do you do takeaways here too?''

===Page 84===

"It's not. If there's anything I can do for you, just tell me. I'll lend a hand."

He wasn't particularly interested in something like washing Louise's underwear, and would much rather help this girl instead.

"In that case, please help me serve the desserts."

Siesta said with a smile.

"Okay," Saito nodded enthusiastically.

<center>* * *</center>

Lots of dessert cakes were arranged on a big silver tray. Saito carried the tray, while Siesta picked up the cakes with tongs and served them one by one to the nobles.

One mage in particular stood out. He had curly blonde hair, wore a frill-trimmed shirt, and looked rather self-important. There was a rose stuck in his shirt pocket too. His friends around him were poking all kinds of fun at him.

"So, Guiche! Who're you going out with now?"

"Who's your lover, Guiche?"

So it seemed the prideful mage was called Guiche. He gently raised a finger to his lips.

"'Go out?' I hold no one woman in such special regard. After all, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many."

''This guy's likening himself to a rose. An egotist like this is far beyond help.'' He was the kind of narcissist that made onlookers more embarrassed than himself. Saito glared at him, hoping he'd just die.

===Page 85===

At that moment, something fell out of Guiche's pocket. It was a small glass bottle with a purple liquid swirling inside it.

''I don't really like this guy, but I should still tell him he dropped something.''

Saito called out to Guiche.

"Oi, you dropped this bottle from your pocket."

But Guiche didn't turn around. ''This guy's ignoring me!''

Saito passed the tray to Siesta and bent down to pick up the bottle.

"I said, you dropped something, playboy."

He placed it on the table. Guiche shot Saito a dirty look, and pushed the bottle away.

"This is not mine. What are you talking about?"

Guiche's friends then realized where the bottle came from and raised a loud commotion.

"Ooh? That perfume, isn't that Montmorency's?"

"Yeah! That vivid purple color is the perfume that Montmorency only mixes for herself!"

"So to have something like that fall out of your pocket, Guiche, means that you're going out with Montmorency now, right?"

===Page 86===

"No wait, listen to me. I'm saying this for the sake of her reputation, but..."

As Guiche was about to say more, a girl, who wore a brown cloak and had been sitting at the table behind them, stood up and walked over to Guiche's seat.

She was a cute girl sporting chestnut-colored hair. According to the color of the cloak she wore, she was a first year student.

"Guiche-sama..."

And with that, she started crying uncontrollably.

"I knew it, you and Miss Montmorency are..."

"They’re misunderstanding. Katie, listen. The only person I hold in my heart is you..."

But the girl called Katie slapped Guiche's face as hard as she could.

"That perfume you dropped from your pocket is more than enough proof! Goodbye!"

Guiche rubbed his cheek.

At this point, a girl with tightly rolled hair stood up from a seat further down the table. Saito recognized her as the girl who'd had the argument with Louise when he was first summoned to this world.

Wearing a severe expression, she approached Guiche with quick clipped steps.

"Montmorency. This is a misunderstanding. All I did was accompany her on a long trip to the forests

===Page 87===

''(paragraph continued)''

of La Rochelle..." Guiche said, shaking his head. While he was pretending to remain composed, a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead.

"Just as I thought! You've been making moves on that first year, haven't you?!"

"Please, Montmorency the Perfume. Don't twist your rose-like face in anger like that. It saddens me to see it!"

Montmorency grabbed a bottle of wine that was on the table and poured its contents out audibly on Guiche's head.

And then...

"You liar!"

She yelled and stormed off.

Silence fell upon the hall.

Guiche pulled out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his face. Shaking his head, he spoke dramatically.

"It would seem those ladies do not understand the meaning of a rose's existence."

''Yeah, and you just keep trying that,'' Saito thought, as he took the tray back from Siesta and began walking off.

Guiche called him to a stop.

===Page 88===

"Stop right there."

"What now?"

Guiche spun his body about on the chair and crossed his legs with a flourish. It gave Saito a headache to see such arrogance exude from every action.

"Thanks to you thoughtlessly picking up some bottle of perfume, the reputation of two ladies has been damaged. How will you take responsibility?"

Saito replied in an exasperated tone.

"Hey, it's your fault for two-timing."

Guiche's friends burst out laughing.

"Exactly, Guiche! It's your fault!"

Guiche's face flushed crimson.

"Listen, server. When you put the bottle of perfume on the table, I pretended not to know anything, didn't I? Would it have hurt to be a little bit tactful and just go along with it?"

"Whatever. Either way, your two-timing would've been blown anyway. And also, I'm not a server."

"Hmph... Ah, you are..."

Guiche snorted, as if looking down on Saito.

"You must be the commoner summoned by that "Louise the Zero." To have expected a noble's wits from a commoner

===Page 89===

''(paragraph continued)''

was completely my mistake. You may leave."

Saito snapped then. Pretty boy or not, there was no way Saito was just going to stand there quietly taking all this from such a conceited narcissist. He couldn't help but make one inflammatory comment.

"Shut up you over-pretentious bastard. Why don't you go suck on roses for the rest of your life?"

Guiche's eyes narrowed.

"It would seem that you don't know the proper etiquette for addressing a noble."

"Unfortunately, I come from a world where there are no such people as nobles."

Saito raised his right hand and spoke imperiously, mimicking Guiche's actions.

"Very well. Then I shall teach you a lesson about respect. A perfect way to relieve some stress." 

Guiche stood up.

"How amusing."

Saito bared his teeth and growled. ''First, I didn't like this guy right from the start. Second, he's going out with two fairly cute girls - though neither are as cute as Louise. And last, he made a fool of me.''

''That's more than enough reason for me to fight. And while I'm at it, I'll hit him a couple more times on Louise's behalf. After all, she's still a girl!''

"You wanna do it here?"

===Page 90===

Saito said. Despite being taller than Saito, Guiche was the lanky type and looked rather weak. Playboys are said to be lacking both money and power. Saito wasn't particularly strong himself, but he didn't think he'd lose.

Guiche turned in the other direction.

"Are you running away?"

"Don't be stupid. I can't taint the dining table of nobles with the blood of a commoner, can I? I'll be waiting at Vestri Court. Come once you're finished delivering those cakes."

Looking excited, Guiche's friends stood up and followed him off.

One person remained though, as if to make sure Saito didn't run away himself.

Siesta gazed at Saito, her entire body quivering. Saito spoke with a grin.

"It's all right. There's no way I'll lose to that weakling. Some noble, huh?"

"You... You're going to get killed."

"What?"

"If you truly anger a noble..."

Siesta dashed off in a hurry.

''What was that about?'' Saito muttered. ''Is that guy really that strong?''

Louise ran up to him from behind.

===Page 91===

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! I saw all that!"

"Yo, Louise."

"This is no time to be "yo"-ing me! How can you just go promising duels like it's no big deal?!"

"But that guy was really irritating me..."

Saito said indignantly.

Louise sighed and shrugged disappointedly.

"Apologize to him."

"Why?"

"If you don't want to be hurt, go and apologize. If you do it now, he might forgive you."

"Are you kidding! Why do '''I''' have to apologize?! He insulted me first! And besides, I was only being helpful..."

"Just do it."

Louise fixed Saito with a firm look.

"No way."

"So stubborn... But you know what? You can't win. You'll be badly injured. Actually, you'll be lucky to come back alive with just injuries."

"I won't know that unless I try, right?"

===Page 92===

"Listen, a commoner can never beat a mage!"

"So where's this Vestri Court?"

Saito walked off. The friend of Guiche's that had been watching Louise and Saito's exchange pointed with his chin.

"This way, commoner."

"Aaah, jeez! Really! Why does this familiar keep going off and doing stuff on its own?!"

With that, Louise chased after Saito.

<center>* * *</center>

Vestri Court was the central garden situated between the Wind and Fire elemental towers. Being located to the west, the Court didn't receive much sunshine, even in the middle of the day, but it was the perfect place for a duel.

Right now... the place was packed with people who had heard the rumors.

"Gentlemen! It's a duel!"

Guiche lifted his artificial rose high, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd.

"Guiche is going to duel! His opponent is Louise's commoner!"

''I have a name too y'know...'' Saito thought bitterly.

Waving his arms about, Guiche acknowledged the cheering.

===Page 93===

And then, as if finally noticing Saito's presence there, he turned to face him.

Saito and Guiche stood in the middle of the Court, glaring intently at each other.

"First of all, I commend you for coming here instead of running away!" Guiche remarked in a sing-song voice, as he twirled his rose.

"Like anyone would run away!"

"Right then, let us begin," said Guiche.

''Less talk, more action.'' Saito rushed forward. ''Fights are won by whoever gets in the first strike!''

''It's roughly ten paces to where Guiche is. I don't care much for nobles or mages; I'm just going to crush that arrogant nose of yours down to size!''

Guiche watched Saito with a leisurely smile and flicked his rose.

A petal floated down as if dancing in the air...

And became the armor-clad shape of a female warrior.

Its height was about the same as a person’s, but it appeared to be constructed from some hard metal. Under the pale sunlight, its skin... its armor gleamed.

It stood stoically in Saito's way.

"Wh-what the heck is this?!"

===Page 94===

"I am a mage, therefore I fight using magic. Surely you have no complaints?"

"Wh-why you..."

"I guess I forgot to mention earlier. My Runic name is "the Bronze." Guiche the Bronze. Accordingly, my bronze golem "Valkyrie" shall be your real opponent."

"Eh?"

The warrior-shaped golem charged towards Saito.

Its right fist impacted heavily with Saito's stomach.

"Harg!"


Saito groaned and collapsed to the ground. Not at all surprising, considering he'd been gut-punched by a bronze fist.

The golem looked down on Saito emotionlessly.

He couldn't stand up through the pain. ''I guess this is what it feels like to be hit by a pro boxer,'' he thought.

"What, over already?"

Guiche sounded dissatisfied. From the mass of people, Louise burst out.

"Guiche!"

"Oh, Louise! My bad. I'm just borrowing your familiar for a bit."

Louise shook her long hair and yelled angrily at Guiche.

----

==== Chapter 03 - Part 2.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 03 part 2.0 ==

===Page 95===

"That's quite enough! And besides, dueling is strictly forbidden!"

"Only dueling between nobles is forbidden. Nobody has forbidden duels between commoners and nobles."

Louise was at a momentary loss for words.

"Th-that's because nothing like this has ever happened before..."

"Louise, do you like this commoner?"

Louise's face burned an angry scarlet.

"No! Don't be ridiculous! It's just that I won't put up with having my familiar beaten up before my eyes!"

"...Wh-who's being beaten up? I'm just fine."

"Saito!"

Seeing Saito was up again, Louise practically screamed out his name.

"...Hehehe, you've finally called me by my name."

Louise was trembling.

"You understand now, right? A commoner can never beat a mage!"

"...I was a little careless, that's all. I'm all right, so step back."

Saito pushed Louise away.

===Page 96===

"What's this? I didn't think you could stand up again... Maybe I went too easy on you?" said Guiche, provoking Saito further.

Saito walked slowly towards Guiche. Louise followed him and grabbed his shoulder.

"You need to stop! Idiot! Why are you still standing?"

He shook her hand off his shoulder.

"Because he pisses me off."

"He pisses you off? Look, there's no embarrassment in losing to a mage!"

"Shut up," Saito muttered as he kept taking unsteady steps forward.

"Eh?"

"Really, you're starting to get on my nerves too... I know next to nothing about mages or nobles, but to me you're all the same bunch of ego-inflated brats. Just what's so brilliant about magic? Idiots."

Guiche watched Saito with a faint smile painted on his face.


"The more you try, the more pointless this becomes."

Saito's characteristic fighting spirit flared, and he uttered a short growl.

"That was nothing. Your little statue, it's too weak."

===Page 97===

The smile fell away. The golem's right hand lashed out to strike Saito's face. He caught the blow square on the cheek and was knocked to the ground.

Blood dripped from his broken nose.

Trying to stem the blood flow, Saito was taken aback.

''Crap... So this is a mage's power. I've been in a few fights here and there, but that punch was like nothing else I'd received before.''

Despite that, he rose shakily to a stand. Guiche's golem mercilessly sent him flying once more with a kick.

He got up again. And was struck down again.

Over and over, the process was repeated.

The eighth punch connected with Saito's right arm. There was a sick snapping noise.

Unable to see out of his swollen shut left eye, he checked his arm with just the right. It was bent at a wrong angle.

While Saito stared blankly at his arm, the golem came over and planted a foot on his face.

His head hit the earth hard, and he lost consciousness for a moment.

When he came to, he could see Louise's face framed by a backdrop of blue sky.

"Please. Just stop now."

===Page 98===

Louise's hazel eyes were wet with tears.

Saito tried to speak, but the pain in his chest from the repeated blows was hard to overcome.

Regardless, he concentrated his willpower and managed to croak in a hoarse voice.

"...Are you crying?"

"I am not! Who would cry here? Anyway, this is enough. You did very well. I've never seen a commoner like you before."

His broken arm throbbed with agony. Saito grimaced.

"That... hurts."

"Of course it hurts! That's obvious! Just what were you thinking?"

Tears ran down Louise's face and fell on Saito's cheek.

"You're my familiar, understand? I'm not going to forgive you for any more stupid acts."

Guiche's voice called out to the pair.

"Are we quite done yet?"

"...Hold your horses. I'm just catching my breath."

"Saito!"

Guiche smiled, and flicked his rose. This time, the petal transformed into a sword. Guiche grabbed it and threw it in Saito's direction. The blade point stabbed into the ground not too far from

===Page 99===

''(paragraph continued)''

where Saito lay.

"If you're still willing to continue, then take that sword. If not, all you need to say is a simple "I'm sorry." Then I can just forgive you and be done with it."

"Don't insult him!"

Louise yelled, standing up. But Guiche gave no indication that he had heard her and kept talking.

"Understand? The sword. In other words, a weapon. It's the very least you commoners will need if you want to take revenge against us nobles. So as I said, if you're still up for it, take that sword."

Saito reached out for the blade with his right hand. But with that arm broken, he couldn't put much strength in his fingers.

His hand was stopped by Louise.

"No! There is absolutely no way I'm letting you do this! If you take that sword, Guiche won't show any mercy!"



"I can't go back to my world... Which means I'm stuck living in this one, right?"
Saito muttered, almost to himself. He didn't look at Louise.

"That's right. So what about it?! Right now that doesn't matter!!"

Louise held his right hand tightly. Saito declared in a clear strong voice.

"I don't mind being a familiar... I can take sleeping on the floor... I don't care if the food sucks... Washing underwear? I'll do that too. It's not like I really have a choice."

===Page 100===

Saito paused there and curled his left hand into a fist.

"But..."

""But..." What?"

"I will not lower my head. I cannot!"

Drawing on his last reserves of strength, Saito forced himself to a stand. Pushing Louise aside, he grabbed the blade stuck in the ground with his left hand.

In that instant...

The runes inscribed on that hand began glowing brightly.

<center>* * *</center>

Let us change locations for a moment and return to the Headmaster's Office.

Mister Colbert was fervently explaining everything to Sir Osmond about the commoner boy that was summoned by Louise at the Springtime Familiar Summoning... About how he was concerned about the runes that had appeared on the boy's hand as proof of the contract between him and Louise... And that when he had gone to find out more...

"You discovered that he is the Founder Brimir's familiar Gandalfr?"

Osmond intently examined Colbert's sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

===Page 101===

"Yes! The runes that appeared on that boy's left hand are exactly the same as the runes that were inscribed on the legendary familiar Gandalfr!"

"So, your conclusion?"

"That boy is Gandalfr! If this isn't big news, then what is, Old Osmond?"

Colbert stood up as he wiped his balding head with a handkerchief.

"Hrm... Certainly, the runes are the same. But for an ordinary commoner boy to become Gandalfr just by having the same runes... I wonder how that could've happened."

"What shall we do?"

"However, it is probably too early to be making definite claims."

"That's true."

Sir Osmond drummed his fingers on the desk.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

From behind the door came Miss Longueville's voice.

"It's me, Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

===Page 102===

"It seems there are some students dueling at Vestri Courts. It's causing quite a commotion. A few teachers have gone there to try and stop it, but their attempts are being impeded by the sheer number of students."

"For heaven's sake, these noble kids have far too much free time to stir up trouble with. So, who's involved?"

"One of them is Guiche de Gramont."

"Ah, that idiot son of Gramont. Skirt-chasing must run in the family, considering his father's even more of a womanizer. I wouldn't be surprised if the boy knows every girl in school. And his opponent is?"

"...Well, it's not a mage. I've been told it's Miss Valliere's familiar."

Osmond and Colbert exchanged a look.

"The teachers are requesting to use the "Bell of Sleep" to stop the duel."

Osmond's eyes glinted like a hawk's.

"Ridiculous. There's no need to use such an important artifact just to stop a children's fight. Leave them be."

"Understood."

Miss Longueville's footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

Colbert swallowed audibly and verbally pressed Osmond.

"Old Osmond."

===Page 103===

"Hrm."

Sir Osmond waved his staff and a big mirror set in the wall began scrying the situation at Vestri Courts.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito was surprised. The moment he grabbed the sword, all the pain in his body disappeared.

He realized the runes on his left hand were glowing.

And then...

''My body feels as light as a feather. I could almost take off and fly.''

In addition, the blade he held in his left hand felt so familiar that it seemed like an extension of his body.

''That's so strange. I've never even touched a sword before...''

Seeing Saito with the weapon in hand, Guiche smiled coldly.

"Firstly, let me congratulate you. I'm honestly quite impressed that a commoner would come this far against a mage."

With that, he twirled the rose in his hand.

''That artificial rose must be his wand. Really, how vain can you get?''

Saito was astonished that he even had the leisure to think such things.

''I was beaten up so badly just now. What in the world happened to me?''

Guiche's golem attacked again.

'Stupid tin can.''

The statue modeled in the shape of the mythical Valkyrie

===Page 104===

''(paragraph continued)''

came towards Saito in what seemed like slow motion.

''What the hell,'' Saito thought.

''I got kicked around like a rag doll by '''this''' crawling junk pile?''

Saito leapt into action.

<center>* * *</center>

Guiche uttered a tormented moan at seeing his golem get cut through like a lump of clay.

The two halves of the golem each struck the ground with a resounding "clang."

Meanwhile, Saito bolted towards Guiche in a whirlwind of action.

Panicking, Guiche waved his rose wand wildly. Petals danced, and six new golems appeared.

Altogether, seven golems was Guiche's full arsenal. Never had he thought that a mere commoner could be a match for even one.


The golems surrounded Saito and sprang at him all at once.

And just when it looked like they had him, five of them were slashed apart. It had been so fast that nobody even saw the blade, making everyone wonder just what kind of superhuman ability this was.

The remaining golem promptly dashed over to guard Guiche.

But it too was taken down by an unseen sword-stroke.

===Page 105===

Illustration -- ''I am the bone of my sword...''

===Page 106===

"Hiii!!"

A kick to the face sent Guiche sprawling to the ground.

He saw Saito leap at him.

''I'm gonna die!'' he thought, as he shielded his head.

Something made a loud "thunk"...

When he timidly opened his eyes again...

Saito had driven the blade into the ground just to the right of Guiche's head.

"You want to continue?"

Saito asked.

Guiche shook his head furiously. He'd totally lost any will to fight.

And in a failing voice he said,

"I... I yield."

<center>* * *</center>

Saito released his hand and walked away.

He could hear rowdy cheering from the audience such as "Whoa, that familiar is awesome!" or "Oh man, Guiche lost!"

''I... won?''

===Page 107===

''How?''

Saito's thoughts were in a haze.

''...Just what happened to me?''

''I was getting knocked around so mercilessly.''

''And then, the moment my hand touched that sword, my body felt like a feather. The next thing I knew, all of Guiche's golems were in pieces.''

''I didn't even know I could use a sword.''

''I don't quite understand it, but whatever. I won somehow, and that's that. I'll think about it later. Because right now, I feel really really tired. I want to sleep.''

He could see Louise running over to him.

'Hey, I won!' he wanted to yell, but his knees buckled.

The feeling of fatigue overwhelmed him, and he could feel his consciousness drift far away. Saito collapsed.

<center>* * *</center>

As she saw Saito begin to teeter, Louise ran faster to try and support him, but she didn't quite make it. Saito toppled over onto hard ground with a heavy thud.

"Saito!"

Louise shook him. No, it seemed he wasn't dead.

===Page 108===

"Guu..."

She could hear snoring. Instead, he was sleeping.

"He's asleep..."

Louise looked thoroughly relieved as she let out a sigh.

Guiche stood up and shook his head in amazement.

"Louise, just what is this guy? All of my Valkyries were so easily defeated..."

"He's just a commoner."

"There's no way my golems could have lost to "just a commoner.""

"Hmph. Wasn't it just because you were weaker?"

Louise went to lift Saito up, but unable to properly support him, ended up falling down with him on top of her.

"Aaah, jeez! You're so heavy! Idiot!"

One of the students amidst the crowd cast a Levitation spell on Saito.

Louise began to gently push Saito's floating body away. She needed to take him back up to her room and patch him up.

With the corner of a sleeve, Louise dabbed at her eyes. He looked so in pain, so pitiful, she couldn't help but cry. He'd become so strong all of a sudden when he grabbed the sword, but if it hadn't been for that, he really might have died.

Right now, that was more important than Saito winning. ''I bet this idiot thought it probably wouldn't matter if he died. Going around being so headstrong like that, when you're just a commoner...''

===Page 109===

"You're just a familiar, so why do you keep doing stuff on your own?!"

Louise yelled at the sleeping Saito. Her relief was quickly being replaced by annoyance.

<center>* * *</center>

Sir Osmond and Colbert finished watching the entire event via the Mirror of Far-Seeing. They exchanged another look.

"Old Osmond."

"Hrm."

"That commoner actually ended up winning..."

"Hrm."

"Guiche is only a first level Dot  mage, but even so, he shouldn't have been beaten by an average commoner. What amazing speed! I've never seen a commoner like him before! There's no doubt that he's Gandalfr!"



"Hrmm..."

Mister Colbert urged Osmond.

"Old Osmond. We should report this to the palace immediately and ask for instructions..."

"There will be no need for that."

Sir Osmond nodded sternly, ruffling his white beard.

"But sir! This is the biggest discovery of the century! A Gandalfr reborn in the modern world!"

"Mister Colbert. Gandalfr was no ordinary familiar."

"Exactly! The familiar used by the Founder Brimir, Gandalfr! There was never any description of its appearance, but it's said to have been created specifically for the purpose of protecting the Founder Brimir during his spell incantations."

"Correct. Founder Brimir's incantations were especially long... However, that made his spells very powerful. And as you know, mages are most vulnerable while spell casting. Gandalfr was the familiar that he used to protect himself in those times of vulnerability. Its strength..."

Colbert eagerly cut in at this point, looking extremely excited.

"It could annihilate an army of one thousand all by itself! Ordinary mages were said to be no match for it!"

"So, Mister Colbert."

"Yes?"

"That boy, he really is just an average commoner, right?"

"Yes. No matter how I looked, he was just an average commoner. I even confirmed it with a Detect Magic spell when Miss Valliere initially summoned him, but he was still a genuine average commoner."

"And who was it that turned him into a modern Gandalfr?"

===Page 111===

"That would be Miss Valliere, but..."

"She must be a very talented mage, I take it?"

"Not at all. Rather, one might say she's ''un''-talented..."

"A puzzling duo to be sure."

"Yes."

"So how did an average boy contracted by an untalented mage become Gandalfr? What an utter paradox. I just can't see where the ends meet."

"Indeed..."

"In any case, there is no need for us to hand over Gandalfr and its master to those fools at the palace. Give them a toy like this and they'll just cause another unnecessary war. Court advisors have too much free time on their hands and like fighting far too much."

"O-oh, I see. I apologize for overlooking such important matters."

"I will take responsibility of this case myself. You will not speak of this to anyone else, Mister Colbert."

"Y-yes! I understand!"

Sir Osmond took hold of his staff and turned to look out the window. He immersed his thoughts in the far reaches of history.

"The legendary familiar Gandalfr... Just what kind of form had it taken before, I cannot help but wonder."

===Page 112===

Colbert murmured as if dreaming.

"Gandalfr was said to be able to use any weapon to take down its enemies..."

"Hrm."

"So it must have at least an arm and a hand, I think."

<center>* * *</center>

The morning light woke Saito up. His body was wrapped all over in bandages.

''That's right.''

''I got into a duel with that Guiche and got beaten up really badly...''

''Then I pulled off some miraculous win using that sword...''

''And I fainted.''

He was in Louise's room. For some reason, he'd been sleeping in Louise's bed too.

Louise herself was sitting at a table and sleeping soundly over it.

His eyes fell upon the runes on his left hand. When those runes had been glowing, his body had felt as light as a feather, a sword he had never held before felt like an extension of his arm, and he had sliced up Guiche's golems like nothing.

Right now, those runes weren't glowing.

''What exactly was that, I wonder...''

While he stared at his left hand curiously, there was a knock on the door before it opened.

===Page 113===

It was Siesta. The commoner girl who had fed him stew at the kitchen. She was in her usual maid outfit, complete with the headband adorning her hair.

She looked at Saito and smiled. On the silver tray she carried was some bread and water.

"Siesta...?"

"So you're awake now, Saito-san?"

"Yeah... I..."

"After all that, Miss Valliere had you brought up here to sleep. She had to get a teacher to cast a spell of healing on you too. It was quite serious."

"Spell of healing?"

"Yes. It's magic to help treat injuries or illness. You didn't know?"

"No..."

Saito shook his head. It confused Siesta that Saito didn't know some of the basic terminology, but she wouldn't get anywhere by not saying anything.

"Miss Valliere paid for the reagent that was required for the healing spell, so don't be concerned about it."

His silence was a clear indicator that he was concerned about the money.

"Did that reagent cost a lot?"

===Page 114===

"Well, it's certainly not something a commoner could pay."

Saito made an attempt to get up, but cried out in pain.

"Ouch!"

"Ah, you shouldn't move! Your injuries were so severe even the healing spells couldn't completely fix them! You still need to take it easy!"

Saito nodded and lay back on the bed.

"I brought you some food. Please eat."

Siesta placed the tray by Saito's bedside.

"Thanks... How long was I asleep for?"

"Three days and nights straight. Everyone was worried you wouldn't wake up."

"Everyone?"

"All the kitchen staff..."

Siesta cast her eyes down shyly.

"What's the matter?"

"Um... I'm sorry. That I ran away that time."

She was talking of how she had run away in fright when Saito had gotten Guiche angry

===Page 115===

''(paragraph continued)''

at the dining hall.

"Don't worry. It's nothing to apologize about."

"Nobles were always so scary to us commoners, since we couldn't use magic..."

Siesta suddenly raised her head. Her eyes sparkled brightly.

"But, I'm not so scared anymore! I was so inspired, Saito-san! You won against a noble, though you're a commoner!"

"Really... Haha."


''Although I really have no clue how I actually won.''

Somewhat embarrassed, Saito just scratched his head. Then he realized he was using the arm that had been broken. It looked completely fine. It still ached a bit when he moved it, but it seemed the bones were whole again.

''Wow, so this is magic.'' Saito thought in slight admiration.

''...I guess it is something to be proud about.''

"By the way, did you tend to me all this time?"

"Oh no, not me. It was actually Miss Valliere..."

"Louise did?"

"Yes. She changed all the bandages and wiped the sweat from your face... She didn't sleep one bit,

===Page 116===

''(paragraph continued)''

so she must be exhausted."

As she slept, Louise's breathing was even and gentle. There were heavy dark circles under her eyes though.

''Her sleeping face is always so adorable. It's doll-like.''

''So she '''can''' be nice sometimes,'' he thought. Suddenly her side profile looked intensely cuter.

Louise's eyes flickered open.

"Fuaaaaaaaaa~~"

She made a great big yawning stretch, and then her gaze fell upon Saito, who was sitting on the bed blinking in surprise.

"Ara. You're awake."

"Y-Yeah..."

Saito cast his eyes downward. He figured he should thank her.

"Um, Louise."

"What?"

"Thanks. And I'm sorry I made you worry."

Louise stood up.

And drew closer to Saito.

Saito's heartbeat accelerated. ''Is she going to say something like "good job, you were really cool out there"''

===Page 117===

''(paragraph continued)''

''and maybe kiss me?''

But that was not to be.

Louise pulled away Saito's blanket and grabbed him by the scruff.

"If you're better now, get out of my bed!"

Still holding him by the scruff, Louise pulled Saito out of the bed.

"Wah! Ow!"

Saito tumbled to the floor.

"Hey, I'm still an injured person!"

"If you're well enough to complain, you're well enough for anything else."

Saito stood up. His body still objected, but it was nothing he couldn't put up with. Still, she could've let him sleep for a little bit longer.

"Uh, in that case, I will take my leave now..."

Siesta left the room wearing a crooked smile. Or more precisely, she fled the room.

Louise threw a mountain of clothes and underwear at Saito.

"Ack!"

"That's the laundry that's piled up while you were asleep. Once you're done with that, clean up the room. Hop to it!"

"Um, you know..."

===Page 118===

Louise glared fiercely at Saito.

"What? Just with something like beating Guiche, did you think you'd be treated differently? Did you think you'd be congratulated? Are you an idiot?"

Saito looked resentfully at Louise.

He decided to take back his earlier thought about her being cute.

Still... the way Louise sat on her bed swinging her legs was an undeniable level of cuteness beyond this world.

Her long strawberry blonde hair rippled. Her hazel eyes twinkled with mischief. She was rude, arrogant, and selfish, but try as he might to deny it, her appearance was enchanting.

Raising a finger triumphantly, Louise declared.

"Don't you forget! You're my familiar!"

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story1 Chapter3

2006-12-21T15:43:02Z

The naming game: /* Chapter 03 */ some section break markers I missed + tense + rewording

== Signing Off ==

'''Editors please sign off when you are satisfied that section is finished.

Each section requires a minimum signature of four editors before it can progress.

'''
----

*Each page is now its own section. This is to aid editing (though it makes the TOC box pretty ugly). Please try to edit individual sections whenever possible (by clicking on the "edit" link on the right side of the page), to minimize the chance of your changes colliding with edits by another contributer. [[User:BlckKnght|BlckKnght]] 02:52, 20 August 2006 (PDT)

==[[zeroNT:Komgvol03editcontrol|Raw English Translation Available Here]]==

This page is for reference purposes, as a 'control'

It is protected to prevent mishaps.

== Chapter 03 ==

==== Chapter 03 - Part 1.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

===Page 70===

'''Chapter Three: Legend'''

Mister Colbert was a teacher who had dedicated twenty years to Tristein Magic Academy and was by now a mainstay figure.

His Runic name was "Colbert the Flame Snake," and naturally, he was a mage specializing in fire magic.

Since the Springtime Familiar Summoning a few days ago, he'd been concerned about the commoner boy that Louise had summoned. Or more precisely, he'd been concerned with nothing but the runes that had appeared on that boy's left hand. They were rare runes indeed, so for the last few nights, he'd confined himself to the library and had been researching various texts.

Tristein Magic Academy's library was located in the same tower as the dining hall. The bookshelves were unbelievably tall, about 30 meters in height, and the way they were lined up against the walls was a spectacle to behold. And rightly so, since this place was crammed with the history of everything following the creation of the new world in Halkeginia by the Founder Brimir.

Colbert was now in a section of the library called "Fenir's Library" which only teachers were allowed entry to.

===Page 71===

The ordinary bookshelves that students had free access to didn't hold any answers that could satisfy him.

Using a Levitation spell, he floated up to an out-of-reach shelf and scanned it intently for a particular book.

His efforts were rewarded as his gaze fell upon the title of the book.

It was a very old text which held descriptions of the familiars that had been used by the Founder Brimir.

His attention was focused on one particular paragraph written in it, and as he read on in fascination, his eyes grew wide.

He compared the book with the sketch he'd made of the runes on the boy's left hand.

"Ah!" he gasped in surprise. At that moment, he lost the concentration necessary for maintaining his Levitation and almost fell to the floor.

Holding the book in his arms, he hurriedly descended to the floor and ran out of the library.

His destination was the Headmaster's Office.

<center>* * *</center>

The Headmaster's Office was located on the topmost floor of the tower. Sir Osmond, the current Headmaster of Tristein Magic Academy, sat with his elbows propped on his elegantly built sequoia  desk, looking unbearably bored as he shook his white beard and hair.

===Page 72===

He'd been idly plucking out nose hairs, but he slowly murmured "hrm" and pulled open a desk drawer.

From inside it, he procured a smoking pipe.

As he did, Miss Longueville, the secretary who had been writing something at the other desk placed to the side of the room, waved her feather quill.

The pipe floated into the air and landed in Miss Longueville's palm. Sir Osmond muttered dejectedly, "Is it fun taking away an old man's little pleasures? Miss..."

"Managing your health is also part of my job, Old Osmond."

Sir Osmond stood up from his chair and walked up to the cool and collected Miss Longueville. Stopping behind the seated Longueville, he closed his eyes with a serious expression.

"If the days keep passing by so peacefully, figuring out how to spend time is going to become a rather big problem."

The wrinkles etched deeply on Osmond's face only gave hints to the history of his life. People guessed him to be a hundred years old, even three hundred years old. But as to his true age, no one really knew. It's possible he himself didn't know anymore either.

"Old Osmond," Miss Longueville called to him, without taking her eyes off the feather quill that was scribbling away on the parchment.

===Page 73===

"What is it? Miss..."

"Please stop saying you have nothing to do as an excuse to touch my bottom."

Sir Osmond then opened his mouth slightly and began walking around in tottering steps.

"Please stop pretending to be senile whenever a situation goes bad," Longueville added calmly. Sir Osmond sighed deeply. It was a sigh bearing the weight of many troubles.

"Where do you think the ultimate truth may be? Haven't you ever wondered that? Miss..."

"Wherever it is, I assure you, it's not in my skirt, so please stop sneaking your mouse under the desk."

Sir Osmond's face fell, and he murmured sadly.

"Montsognir."

From under Miss Longueville's desk scurried out a little mouse. It dashed up Osmond's leg and perched on his shoulder, twitching its tiny head. He fished out some nuts from a pocket and held one out to the mouse.

"Chuchu," the mouse chittered, apparently pleased.


"You're my only truly trustworthy friend, Montsognir."

The mouse began nibbling on the nut. It disappeared quickly, and the mouse chittered "chuchu" once more.

===Page 74===

"Ah, yes, yes. You want more? Very well, I shall give you more. But first, I would ask that you report back, Montsognir."

Chuchu.

"I see. White and plain white too, hrm. But Miss Longueville should really stick to black. Wouldn't you agree, my cute Montsognir?"

Miss Longueville's eyebrows twitched.

"Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

"The next time you do that, I'm reporting it to the palace."

"Kah! Do you think I could be Headmaster of this Academy if I was scared of the palace all the time?!"

Sir Osmond flashed his eyes wide and yelled angrily. It was an impressive display, completely unexpected of a frail-looking old man.

"Don't get all prissy just because I peeked at your underwear! At this rate, you'll never get married! Haa~~ To be young again~~ Miss..."

Old Osmond began stroking Miss Longueville's bottom without hesitation.

Miss Longueville stood up and wordlessly kicked her boss around.

"Sorry. Stop. Ow. I won't do it anymore. Really."

Old Osmond covered his head and cowered. Miss Longueville breathed heavily as she

===Page 75===

''(paragraph continued)''

continued kicking Osmond.

"Ack! How can you! Treat a senior! In this way! Hey! Ouch!"

This "peaceful" moment was interrupted by a sudden intrusion.

The door was thrown open with a slam, and Colbert rushed inside.

"Old Osmond!"

"What is it?"

Miss Longueville was back at her desk, sitting there as if nothing had happened. Sir Osmond had his arms behind him, and turned to face the visitor with a serious expression. That was certainly a quick recovery.  

"I-I-I have some big news!"

"There is no such thing as big news. Everything is but a collection of small events."

"P-P-Please take a look at this!"

Colbert handed Osmond the book he had been reading just before.

"This is "The Familiars of the Founder Brimir," is it not? Are you still going around digging up old literature like this? If you have time to do that, why don't you think up some better ways of collecting school fees from those slack nobles? Mister, err... What was it again?"

Sir Osmond cocked his head.

"It's Colbert! You forgot?!"

===Page 76===

"Right, right. Now I remember. It's just that you talked so fast I never really caught it. So, Colbert-kun, what is it about this book?"

"Please take a look at this also!"

Colbert then handed him the sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

The moment he saw that, Osmond's expression changed. His eyes took on a solemn light.

"Miss Longueville, would you please excuse us?"

Miss Longueville stood up and left the room. Osmond spoke only after he confirmed she was properly outside.

"Explain this to me with every detail, Mister Colbert..."

<center>* * *</center>

It was just before lunchtime when they finally finished tidying up the classroom that Louise had made a mess of. As punishment, using magic to clean up had been forbidden, so it had taken considerable time to finish. But then again, Louise couldn't really use most spells anyway, so it hadn't affected her much. Mrs. Chevreuse had regained consciousness two hours after she'd been caught in the explosion, and while she did return to class, she didn't give any more lectures on Transmutation for that entire day. It would seem she had been rather traumatized.

Having finished tidying up, Louise and Saito headed to the dining hall for lunch.
Along the way, Saito made fun of Louise over and over. After all, it was Louise's fault that he'd had to do all that manual labor

===Page 77===

''(paragraph continued)''

just now. It was Saito who had carried over the new window glass. It was Saito who had moved all the heavy desks. And of course, it was Saito who had wiped the soot-blackened classroom clean with a cloth. All Louise had done was wipe down a few desks, and reluctantly at that.

''I have to sleep on the floor. The food sucks. And on top of that, I have to wash underwear. (Not that I've done it yet.)''

With all that mistreatment from Louise, there was no way Saito could keep quiet about her new-found weakness. He teased Louise like there was no tomorrow.

"'Louise the Zero.' Now I get it~ That's just perfect~ Rate of success is zero. But a noble despite that... wonderful!"

Louise didn't say a word, which only roused Saito further.

"Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Oh, I screwed up! Only 'the Zero' screws this up!"

Saito danced circles around Louise like this, raising his arms every time he said "kaboom," mimicking an explosion. It was quite a detailed performance.

"Louise-ojousama. This humble familiar has made a song for you."

Saito said, bowing his head respectfully. Of course, it was an empty gesture, a complete mockery.

Louise's eyebrow was twitching furiously. She was on the verge of blowing her top, but Saito was too absorbed in his excitement to notice that.

===Page 78===

"Why don't you go ahead and sing it?"

"'Lou-Lou-Louise is such a hopeless case~ A magician that can't even use magic! But that's all right! Because she's a girl...'"

Saito held his stomach as he burst into laughter.

"Bwahahaha!!"

He was laughing at his own joke. Perhaps he was just as hopeless.

<center>* * *</center>

When they arrived at the dining hall, Saito pulled out a chair for Louise.

"Just remember, ojousama. Don't cast any spells on the food. Just imagine the mess if it exploded."

Louise took the seat wordlessly. Saito was feeling thoroughly satisfied, having got one back on the rude and arrogant Louise with his putdowns. Even the usual excuse for a meal didn't bother him as much.

While the meager soup and bread he got served was still painful to behold, it was a pretty even trade-off for getting to laugh so much just earlier.

"Right then, Founder someone-or-another. Your Highness the Queen. Thanks a bunch for the crappy food. Itadakimasu."

As he went to eat, the plate was snatched away.

"What are you doing?!"

===Page 79===

"Th-th-th..."

"'Th-th-th'?"

Louise's shoulders shook angrily, as did her voice. Somehow, she'd managed to reign in her overflowing fury until they'd arrived at the dining table. Probably so that she could bestow an appropriate punishment.

"Th-th-th-this familiar, how dare it say s-s-s-such things to its m-m-m-master?"

Saito realized he'd gone too far.

"I'm sorry! I won't say any more, so give me back my food!"

"No! Absolu~~tely not!"

Louise screamed, twisting her cute face in rage.

"One meal cut for every time you've said 'Zero!' And that's final! No exceptions!"

<center>* * *</center>

In the end, Saito left the dining hall without having eaten anything.

''I shouldn't have been so sarcastic about it...'' But it was too late to regret.

"Haa, I'm starving... Damn..."

Clutching his stomach, he leaned one hand on a wall.

"Is something the matter?"

He turned around to see a normal-looking girl in a maid's outfit carrying a big silver tray,

===Page 80===

''(paragraph continued)''

looking concernedly at him. Her black hair was neatly adorned with a headband, and her freckles were cute.

"It's nothing..." Saito waved his left hand.

"Are you by any chance the one who became Miss Valliere's familiar...?"

It seemed she noticed the runes inscribed on Saito's left hand.

"You know me?"

"A little. It's become quite a rumor, you know, that a commoner was called by the summoning magic."

The girl smiled sweetly. It was the first carefree smile Saito had seen since he came to this world.

"Are you a mage too?" Saito asked.

"Oh no, not me. I'm a commoner just like you. I serve the nobility here by doing domestic duties."

''I'm actually from Earth and not a commoner, but it's probably useless to try explain.'' Saito decided to just introduce himself.


"I see... Well, I'm Hiraga Saito. Nice to meet you."

"That's quite a strange name... I'm Siesta."

At that point, Saito's stomach grumbled.

"You must be hungry."

"Yeah..."

===Page 81===

"Please follow me this way."

Siesta walked off.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito was led to the kitchen located at the rear of the dining hall. Lots of large pots and ovens were lined up inside. Cooks and other maids like Siesta were busily preparing food.

"Please wait one moment, okay?"

Siesta had Saito sit on a chair placed in the corner of the kitchen and disappeared hastily into the back.

She soon returned with a bowl full of warm stew in her hands.

"This is some stew made from the leftovers of the nobles' meals. If you don't mind, please eat this."

"Can I?"

"Yes. It's only the staff meal though..."

Her kindness was touching. This was completely different from the soup that Louise had given him. He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. ''Delicious. I'm going to cry.''


"This is so good~!"

"That's great. There's plenty if you want seconds, so take your time."

Saito ate the stew as if in a dream. Siesta stood watching him,

===Page 82===

''(paragraph continued)''

smiling sweetly all the while.

"Weren't you given anything to eat?"

"That girl went and took my plate away when I called her 'Louise the Zero.'"

"Oh no! You shouldn't say things like that to nobles!"

"Noble schmoble. Getting all high-horsed just because they can use magic."

"You must have a lot of courage..."

Siesta looked at Saito with an expression of amazement.

Saito gave Siesta back the empty bowl.

"That was really tasty. Thanks."

"I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to visit whenever you're hungry. If you don't mind having whatever we're having, I'd be happy to share."

Such a kind offer. Saito was even more touched.

"Thanks..."

Saito suddenly broke out in tears, surprising Siesta.

"Wh-what's the matter?"

"No... It's just that it's the first time anyone's been so nice to me since I came to this world... I got a bit emotional..."

"Th-that's an exaggeration."

===Page 83===

Illustration -- ''Do you do takeaways here too?''

===Page 84===

"It's not. If there's anything I can do for you, just tell me. I'll lend a hand."

He wasn't particularly interested in something like washing Louise's underwear, and would much rather help this girl instead.

"In that case, please help me serve the desserts."

Siesta said with a smile.

"Okay," Saito nodded enthusiastically.

<center>* * *</center>

Lots of dessert cakes were arranged on a big silver tray. Saito carried the tray, while Siesta picked up the cakes with tongs and served them one by one to the nobles.

One mage in particular stood out. He had curly blonde hair, wore a frill-trimmed shirt, and looked rather self-important. There was a rose stuck in his shirt pocket too. His friends around him were poking all kinds of fun at him.

"So, Guiche! Who're you going out with now?"

"Who's your lover, Guiche?"

So it seemed the prideful mage was called Guiche. He gently raised a finger to his lips.

"'Go out?' I hold no one woman in such special regard. After all, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many."

''This guy's likening himself to a rose. An egotist like this is far beyond help.'' He was the kind of narcissist that made onlookers more embarrassed than himself. Saito glared at him, hoping he'd just die.

===Page 85===

At that moment, something fell out of Guiche's pocket. It was a small glass bottle with a purple liquid swirling inside it.

''I don't really like this guy, but I should still tell him he dropped something.''

Saito called out to Guiche.

"Oi, you dropped this bottle from your pocket."

But Guiche didn't turn around. ''This guy's ignoring me!''

Saito passed the tray to Siesta and bent down to pick up the bottle.

"I said, you dropped something, playboy."

He placed it on the table. Guiche shot Saito a dirty look, and pushed the bottle away.

"This is not mine. What are you talking about?"

Guiche's friends then realized where the bottle came from and raised a loud commotion.

"Ooh? That perfume, isn't that Montmorency's?"

"Yeah! That vivid purple color is the perfume that Montmorency only mixes for herself!"

"So to have something like that fall out of your pocket, Guiche, means that you're going out with Montmorency now, right?"

===Page 86===

"No wait, listen to me. I'm saying this for the sake of her reputation, but..."

As Guiche was about to say more, a girl, who wore a brown cloak and had been sitting at the table behind them, stood up and walked over to Guiche's seat.

She was a cute girl sporting chestnut-colored hair. According to the color of the cloak she wore, she was a first year student.

"Guiche-sama..."

And with that, she started crying uncontrollably.

"I knew it, you and Miss Montmorency are..."

"They’re misunderstanding. Katie, listen. The only person I hold in my heart is you..."

But the girl called Katie slapped Guiche's face as hard as she could.

"That perfume you dropped from your pocket is more than enough proof! Goodbye!"

Guiche rubbed his cheek.

At this point, a girl with tightly rolled hair stood up from a seat further down the table. Saito recognized her as the girl who'd had the argument with Louise when he was first summoned to this world.

Wearing a severe expression, she approached Guiche with quick clipped steps.

"Montmorency. This is a misunderstanding. All I did was accompany her on a long trip to the forests

===Page 87===

''(paragraph continued)''

of La Rochelle..." Guiche said, shaking his head. While he was pretending to remain composed, a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead.

"Just as I thought! You've been making moves on that first year, haven't you?!"

"Please, Montmorency the Perfume. Don't twist your rose-like face in anger like that. It saddens me to see it!"

Montmorency grabbed a bottle of wine that was on the table and poured its contents out audibly on Guiche's head.

And then...

"You liar!"

She yelled and stormed off.

Silence fell upon the hall.

Guiche pulled out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his face. Shaking his head, he spoke dramatically.

"It would seem those ladies do not understand the meaning of a rose's existence."

''Yeah, and you just keep trying that,'' Saito thought, as he took the tray back from Siesta and began walking off.

Guiche called him to a stop.

===Page 88===

"Stop right there."

"What now?"

Guiche spun his body about on the chair and crossed his legs with a flourish. It gave Saito a headache to see such arrogance exude from every action.

"Thanks to you thoughtlessly picking up some bottle of perfume, the reputation of two ladies has been damaged. How will you take responsibility?"

Saito replied in an exasperated tone.

"Hey, it's your fault for two-timing."

Guiche's friends burst out laughing.

"Exactly, Guiche! It's your fault!"

Guiche's face flushed crimson.

"Listen, server. When you put the bottle of perfume on the table, I pretended not to know anything, didn't I? Would it have hurt to be a little bit tactful and just go along with it?"

"Whatever. Either way, your two-timing would've been blown anyway. And also, I'm not a server."

"Hmph... Ah, you are..."

Guiche snorted, as if looking down on Saito.

"You must be the commoner summoned by that "Louise the Zero." To have expected a noble's wits from a commoner

===Page 89===

''(paragraph continued)''

was completely my mistake. You may leave."

Saito snapped then. Pretty boy or not, there was no way Saito was just going to stand there quietly taking all this from such a conceited narcissist. He couldn't help but make one inflammatory comment.

"Shut up you over-pretentious bastard. Why don't you go suck on roses for the rest of your life?"

Guiche's eyes narrowed.

"It would seem that you don't know the proper etiquette for addressing a noble."

"Unfortunately, I come from a world where there are no such people as nobles."

Saito raised his right hand and spoke imperiously, mimicking Guiche's actions.

"Very well. Then I shall teach you a lesson about respect. A perfect way to relieve some stress." 

Guiche stood up.

"How amusing."

Saito bared his teeth and growled. ''First, I didn't like this guy right from the start. Second, he's going out with two fairly cute girls - though neither are as cute as Louise. And last, he made a fool of me.''

''That's more than enough reason for me to fight. And while I'm at it, I'll hit him a couple more times on Louise's behalf. After all, she's still a girl!''

"You wanna do it here?"

===Page 90===

Saito said. Despite being taller than Saito, Guiche was the lanky type and looked rather weak. Playboys are said to be lacking both money and power. Saito wasn't particularly strong himself, but he didn't think he'd lose.

Guiche turned in the other direction.

"Are you running away?"

"Don't be stupid. I can't taint the dining table of nobles with the blood of a commoner, can I? I'll be waiting at Vestri Court. Come once you're finished delivering those cakes."

Looking excited, Guiche's friends stood up and followed him off.

One person remained though, as if to make sure Saito didn't run away himself.

Siesta gazed at Saito, her entire body quivering. Saito spoke with a grin.

"It's all right. There's no way I'll lose to that weakling. Some noble, huh?"

"You... You're going to get killed."

"What?"

"If you truly anger a noble..."

Siesta dashed off in a hurry.

''What was that about?'' Saito muttered. ''Is that guy really that strong?''

Louise ran up to him from behind.

===Page 91===

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! I saw all that!"

"Yo, Louise."

"This is no time to be "yo"-ing me! How can you just go promising duels like it's no big deal?!"

"But that guy was really irritating me..."

Saito said indignantly.

Louise sighed and shrugged disappointedly.

"Apologize to him."

"Why?"

"If you don't want to be hurt, go and apologize. If you do it now, he might forgive you."

"Are you kidding! Why do '''I''' have to apologize?! He insulted me first! And besides, I was only being helpful..."

"Just do it."

Louise fixed Saito with a firm look.

"No way."

"So stubborn... But you know what? You can't win. You'll be badly injured. Actually, you'll be lucky to come back alive with just injuries."

"I won't know that unless I try, right?"

===Page 92===

"Listen, a commoner can never beat a mage!"

"So where's this Vestri Court?"

Saito walked off. The friend of Guiche's that had been watching Louise and Saito's exchange pointed with his chin.

"This way, commoner."

"Aaah, jeez! Really! Why does this familiar keep going off and doing stuff on its own?!"

With that, Louise chased after Saito.

<center>* * *</center>

Vestri Court was the central garden situated between the Wind and Fire elemental towers. Being located to the west, the Court didn't receive much sunshine, even in the middle of the day, but it was the perfect place for a duel.

Right now... the place was packed with people who had heard the rumors.

"Gentlemen! It's a duel!"

Guiche lifted his artificial rose high, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd.

"Guiche is going to duel! His opponent is Louise's commoner!"

''I have a name too y'know...'' Saito thought bitterly.

Waving his arms about, Guiche acknowledged the cheering.

===Page 93===

And then, as if finally noticing Saito's presence there, he turned to face him.

Saito and Guiche stood in the middle of the Court, glaring intently at each other.

"First of all, I commend you for coming here instead of running away!" Guiche remarked in a sing-song voice, as he twirled his rose.

"Like anyone would run away!"

"Right then, let us begin," said Guiche.

''Less talk, more action.'' Saito rushed forward. ''Fights are won by whoever gets in the first strike!''

''It's roughly ten paces to where Guiche is. I don't care much for nobles or mages; I'm just going to crush that arrogant nose of yours down to size!''

Guiche watched Saito with a leisurely smile and flicked his rose.

A petal floated down as if dancing in the air...

And became the armor-clad shape of a female warrior.

Its height was about the same as a person’s, but it appeared to be constructed from some hard metal. Under the pale sunlight, its skin... its armor gleamed.

It stood stoically in Saito's way.

"Wh-what the heck is this?!"

===Page 94===

"I am a mage, therefore I fight using magic. Surely you have no complaints?"

"Wh-why you..."

"I guess I forgot to mention earlier. My Runic name is "the Bronze." Guiche the Bronze. Accordingly, my bronze golem "Valkyrie" shall be your real opponent."

"Eh?"

The warrior-shaped golem charged towards Saito.

Its right fist impacted heavily with Saito's stomach.

"Harg!"


Saito groaned and collapsed to the ground. Not at all surprising, considering he'd been gut-punched by a bronze fist.

The golem looked down on Saito emotionlessly.

He couldn't stand up through the pain. ''I guess this is what it feels like to be hit by a pro boxer,'' he thought.

"What, over already?"

Guiche sounded dissatisfied. From the mass of people, Louise burst out.

"Guiche!"

"Oh, Louise! My bad. I'm just borrowing your familiar for a bit."

Louise shook her long hair and yelled angrily at Guiche.

----

==== Chapter 03 - Part 2.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 03 part 2.0 ==

===Page 95===

"That's quite enough! And besides, dueling is strictly forbidden!"

"Only dueling between nobles is forbidden. Nobody has forbidden duels between commoners and nobles."

Louise was at a momentary loss for words.

"Th-that's because nothing like this has ever happened before..."

"Louise, do you like this commoner?"

Louise's face burned an angry scarlet.

"No! Don't be ridiculous! It's just that I won't put up with having my familiar beaten up before my eyes!"

"...Wh-who's being beaten up? I'm just fine."

"Saito!"

Seeing Saito was up again, Louise practically screamed out his name.

"...Hehehe, you've finally called me by my name."

Louise was trembling.

"You understand now, right? A commoner can never beat a mage!"

"...I was a little careless, that's all. I'm all right, so step back."

Saito pushed Louise away.

===Page 96===

"What's this? I didn't think you could stand up again... Maybe I went too easy on you?" said Guiche, provoking Saito further.

Saito walked slowly towards Guiche. Louise followed him and grabbed his shoulder.

"You need to stop! Idiot! Why are you still standing?"

He shook her hand off his shoulder.

"Because he pisses me off."

"He pisses you off? Look, there's no embarrassment in losing to a mage!"

"Shut up," Saito muttered as he kept taking unsteady steps forward.

"Eh?"

"Really, you're starting to get on my nerves too... I know next to nothing about mages or nobles, but to me you're all the same bunch of ego-inflated brats. Just what's so brilliant about magic? Idiots."

Guiche watched Saito with a tired smile painted on his face.

"The more you try, the more pointless this becomes."

Saito's characteristic fighting spirit flared, and he uttered a short growl.

"That was nothing. Your little statue, it's too weak."

===Page 97===

The smile fell away. The golem's right hand lashed out to strike Saito's face. He caught the blow square in the cheek and was knocked to the ground.

Blood dripped from his broken nose.

Trying to stem the blood flow, Saito was taken aback.

''Crap... So this is a mage's power. I've been in a few fights here and there, but that punch was like nothing else I'd received before.''

Despite that, he rose shakily to a stand. Guiche's golem mercilessly sent him flying once more with a kick.

He got up again. And was struck down again.

Over and over, the process was repeated.

The eighth punch connected with Saito's right arm. There was a sick snapping noise.

Unable to see out of his swollen shut left eye, he checked his arm with just the right. It was bent at a wrong angle.

While Saito stared blankly at his arm, the golem came over and planted a foot on his face.

His head hit the earth hard, and he lost consciousness for a moment.

When he came to, he could see Louise's face framed by a backdrop of blue sky.

"Please. Just stop now."

===Page 98===

Louise's hazel eyes were wet with tears.

Saito tried to speak, but the pain in his chest from repeated blows was hard to overcome.

Regardless, he concentrated his willpower and managed to croak in a hoarse voice.

"...Are you crying?"

"I am not! Who would cry here? Anyway, this is enough. You did very well. I've never seen a commoner like you before."

His broken arm throbbed with agony. Saito grimaced.

"That... hurts."

"Of course it hurts! That's obvious! Just what were you thinking?"

Tears ran down Louise's face and fell on Saito's cheek.

"You're my familiar, understand? I'm not going to forgive you for any more stupid acts."

Guiche's voice called out to the pair.

"Are we quite done yet?"

"...Hold your horses. I'm just catching my breath."

"Saito!"

Guiche smiled, and flicked his rose. This time, the petal transformed into a sword. Guiche grabbed it and threw it in Saito's direction. The blade point stabbed into the ground not too far from

===Page 99===

''(paragraph continued)''

where Saito lay.

"If you're still willing to continue, then take that sword. If not, all you need to say is a simple "I'm sorry." Then I can just forgive you and be done with it."

"Don't insult him!"

Louise yelled, standing up. But Guiche gave no indication that he heard her and kept talking.

"Understand? The sword. In other words, a weapon. It's the very least you commoners will need if you want to take revenge against us nobles. So as I said, if you're still up for it, take that sword."

Saito reached out for the blade with his right hand. But with that arm broken, he couldn't put much strength in his fingers.

That hand was stopped by Louise.

"No! There is absolutely no way I'm letting you do this! The moment you grasp that sword, Guiche really won't forgive you!"

"I can't go back to my world... Which means I'm stuck living in this one, right?"
Saito muttered, almost to himself. He didn't look at Louise.

"That's right. So what about it?! Right now that doesn't matter!!"

Louise held his right hand tightly. Saito declared in a clear strong voice.

"I don't mind being a familiar... I can take sleeping on the floor... I don't care if the food sucks... Washing underwear? I'll do that too. It's not like I really have a choice."

===Page 100===

Saito paused there and curled his left hand into a fist.

"But..."

""But..." What?"

"I will not lower my head. I cannot!"

Drawing on his last reserves of strength, Saito forced himself to a stand. Pushing Louise aside, he grabbed the blade stuck in the ground with his left hand.

In that instant...

The runes inscribed on that hand began glowing brightly.

<center>* * *</center>

Let us change locations for a moment and return to the Headmaster's Office.

Mister Colbert was fervently explaining everything to Sir Osmond about the commoner boy that was summoned by Louise at the Springtime Familiar Summoning... About how he was concerned about the runes that had appeared on the boy's hand as proof of the contract between him and Louise... And that when he had gone to find out more...

"You discovered that he is the Founder Brimir's familiar Gandalfr?"

Osmond intently examined Colbert's sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

===Page 101===

"Yes! The runes that appeared on that boy's left hand are exactly the same as the runes that were inscribed on the legendary familiar Gandalfr!"

"So, your conclusion?"

"That boy is Gandalfr! If this isn't big news, then what is, Old Osmond?"

Colbert stood up as he wiped his balding head with a handkerchief.

"Hrm... Certainly, the runes are the same. But for an ordinary commoner boy to become Gandalfr just by having the same runes... I wonder how that could've happened."

"What shall we do?"

"However, it is probably too early to be making definite claims."

"That's true."

Sir Osmond drummed his fingers on the desk.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

From behind the door came Miss Longueville's voice.

"It's me, Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

===Page 102===

"It seems there are some students dueling at Vestri Courts. It's causing quite the commotion. A few teachers have gone there to try and stop it, but their attempts are being impeded by the sheer number of students."

"For heaven's sake, these noble kids have far too much free time to stir up trouble with. So, who's involved?"

"One of them is Guiche de Gramont."

"Ah, that idiot son of Gramont. The skirt-chasing must run in the family, considering his father's even more of a womanizer. I wouldn't be surprised if the boy knows every girl in school. And his opponent is?"

"...Well, it's not a mage. I've been told it's Miss Valliere's familiar."

Osmond and Colbert exchanged a look.

"The teachers are requesting to use the "Bell of Sleep" to stop the duel."

Osmond's eyes glinted like a hawk's.

"Ridiculous. There's no need to use such an important artifact just to stop a children's fight. Leave them be."

"Understood."

Miss Longueville's footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

Colbert swallowed audibly and verbally pressed Osmond.

"Old Osmond."

===Page 103===

"Hrm."

Sir Osmond waved his staff and a big mirror set in one wall began scrying the situation at Vestri Courts.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito was surprised. The moment he grabbed the sword, all the pain in his body disappeared.

He realized the runes on his left hand were glowing.

And then...

''My body feels as light as a feather. I could almost take off and fly.''

In addition, the blade he held in his left hand felt so familiar that it seemed like an extension of his body.

''That's so strange. I've never even touched a sword before...''

Seeing Saito with the weapon in hand, Guiche smiled coldly.

"Firstly, let me congratulate you. I'm honestly quite impressed that a commoner would come this far against a mage."

With that, he twirled the rose in his hand.

''That artificial rose must be his wand. Really, how vain can you get?''

Saito was astonished that he even had the leisure to think such things.

''I was beaten up so badly just now. What in the world happened to me?''

Guiche's golem attacked again.

'Stupid tin can.''

The statue modeled in the shape of the mythical Valkyrie

===Page 104===

''(paragraph continued)''

came towards Saito in what seemed like slow motion.

''What the hell,'' Saito thought.

''I got kicked around like a rag doll by '''this''' crawling junk pile?''

Saito leapt into action.

<center>* * *</center>

Guiche uttered a tormented moan at seeing his golem get cut through like a lump of clay.

The two halves of the golem each struck the ground with a resounding "clang."

Meanwhile, Saito bolted towards Guiche in a whirlwind of action.

Panicking, Guiche waved his rose wand wildly. Petals danced, and six new golems appeared.

Altogether, seven golems was Guiche's full arsenal. Never had he thought that a mere commoner could be a match for even one.


The golems surrounded Saito and sprang at him all at once.

And just when it looked like they had him, five of them were slashed apart. It had been so fast that nobody even saw the blade, making everyone wonder just what kind of superhuman ability this was.

The remaining golem promptly dashed over to guard Guiche.

But it too was taken down by an unseen sword-stroke.

===Page 105===

Illustration -- ''I am the bone of my sword...''

===Page 106===

"Hiii!!"

A kick to the face sent Guiche sprawling to the ground.

He saw Saito leap at him.

''I'm gonna die!'' he thought, as he shielded his head.

Something made a loud "thunk"...

When he timidly opened his eyes again...

Saito had driven the blade into the ground just to the right of Guiche's head.

"You want to continue?"

Saito asked.

Guiche shook his head furiously. He'd totally lost any will to fight.

And in a failing voice he said,

"I... I yield."

Saito released his hand and walked away.

He could hear rowdy cheering from the audience such as "Woah, that familiar is awesome!" or "Oh man, Guiche lost!"

''I... won?''

===Page 107===

''How?''

Saito's thoughts were in a haze.

''...Just what happened to me?''

''I was getting knocked around so mercilessly.''

''And then, the moment my hand touched that sword, my body felt like a feather. The next thing I know, all of Guiche's golems were in pieces.''

''I didn't even know I could use a sword.''

''I don't quite understand it, but whatever. I won somehow, and that's that. I'll think about it later. Because right now, I feel really really tired. I want to sleep.''

He could see Louise running over to him.

'Hey, I won!' he wanted to yell, but his knees buckled.

The feeling of fatigue overwhelmed him, and he could feel his consciousness drift far away. Saito collapsed.

<center>* * *</center>

As she saw Saito begin to teeter, Louise ran faster to try and support him, but she didn't quite make it. Saito toppled over onto hard ground with a heavy thud.

"Saito!"

Louise shook him. No, it seemed he wasn't dead.

===Page 108===

"Guu..."

She could hear snoring. Instead, he was sleeping.

"He's asleep..."

Louise looked thoroughly relieved as she let out a sigh.

Guiche stood up and shook his head in amazement.

"Louise, just what is this guy? All of my Valkyries were so easily defeated..."

"He's just a commoner."

"There's no way my golems could have lost to "just a commoner.""

"Hmph. Wasn't it just because you were weaker?"

Louise went to lift Saito up, but unable to properly support him, ended up falling down with him on top of her.

"Aaah, jeez! You're so heavy! Idiot!"

One of the students amidst the crowd cast a Levitation spell on Saito.

Louise began to gently push Saito's floating body away. She needed to take him back up to her room and patch him up.

With the corner of a sleeve, Louise dabbed at her eyes. He looked so in pain, so pitiful, she couldn't help but cry. He'd become so strong all of a sudden when he grabbed the sword, but if it hadn't been for that, he really might have died.

Right now, that was more important than Saito winning. ''I bet this idiot thought it probably wouldn't matter if he died. Going around being so headstrong like that, when you're just a commoner...''

===Page 109===

"You're just a familiar, so why do you keep doing stuff on your own?!"

Louise yelled at the sleeping Saito. Her relief was quickly being replaced by annoyance.

<center>* * *</center>

Sir Osmond and Colbert finished watching the entire event via the Mirror of Far-Seeing. They exchanged another look.

"Old Osmond."

"Hrm."

"That commoner actually ended up winning..."

"Hrm."

"Guiche is only a first level Dot  mage, but even so, he shouldn't have been beaten by an average commoner. What amazing speed! I've never seen a commoner like him before! There's no doubt that he's Gandalfr!"


"Hrmm..."

Mister Colbert urged Osmond.

"Old Osmond. We should report this to the palace immediately and ask for instructions..."

"There will be no need for that."

Sir Osmond nodded sternly, ruffling his white beard.

"But sir! This is the biggest discovery of the century! A Gandalfr reborn in the modern world!"

"Mister Colbert. Gandalfr was no ordinary familiar."

"Exactly! The familiar used by the Founder Brimir, Gandalfr! There was never any description of its appearance, but it's said to have been created specifically for the purpose of protecting the Founder Brimir during his spell incantations."

"Correct. Founder Brimir's incantations were especially long... However, that made his spells very powerful. And as you know, mages are most vulnerable while spell casting. Gandalfr was the familiar that he used to protect himself in those times of vulnerability. Its strength..."

Colbert eagerly cut in at this point, looking extremely excited.

"It could annihilate an army of one thousand all by itself! Ordinary mages were said to be no match for it!"

"So, Mister Colbert."

"Yes?"

"That boy, he really is just an average commoner, right?"

"Yes. No matter how I looked, he was just an average commoner. I even confirmed it with a Detect Magic spell when Miss Valliere initially summoned him, but he was still a genuine average commoner."

"And who was it that turned him into a modern Gandalfr?"

===Page 111===

"That would be Miss Valliere, but..."

"She must be a very talented mage, I take it?"

"Not at all. Rather, one might say she's ''un''-talented..."

"A puzzling duo to be sure."

"Yes."

"So how did an average boy that was contracted by an untalented mage become Gandalfr? What an utter paradox. I just can't see where the ends meet."

"Indeed..."

"In any case, there is no need for us to hand over Gandalfr and its master to those fools at the palace. Give them a toy like this and they'll just cause another unnecessary war. Court advisors have too much free time on their hands and like fighting far too much."

"O-oh, I see. I apologize for overlooking such important matters."

"I will take responsibility of this case myself. You will not speak of this to anyone else, Mister Colbert."

"Y-yes! I understand!"

Sir Osmond took hold of his staff and turned to look out the window. He immersed his thoughts in the far reaches of history.

"The legendary familiar Gandalfr... Just what kind of form had it taken before, I cannot help but wonder."

===Page 112===

Colbert murmured as if dreaming.

"Gandalfr was said to be able to use any weapon to take down its enemies..."

"Hrm."

"So it must have at least an arm and a hand, I think."

The morning light woke Saito up. His body was wrapped all over in bandages.

''That's right.''

''I got into a duel with that Guiche and got beaten up really badly...''

''Then I pulled off some miraculous win using that sword...''

''And I fainted.''

He was in Louise's room. For some reason, he'd been sleeping in Louise's bed too.

Louise herself was sitting at a table and sleeping soundly over it.

His eyes fell upon the runes on his left hand. When those runes had been glowing, his body had felt as light as a feather, a sword he had never held before felt like an extension of his arm, and he had sliced up Guiche's golems like nothing.

Right now, those runes weren't glowing.

''What exactly was that, I wonder...''

While he stared at his left hand curiously, there was a knock on the door before it opened.

===Page 113===

It was Siesta. The commoner girl who had fed him stew at the kitchen. She was in her usual maid outfit, complete with the headband adorning her hair.

She looked at Saito and smiled. On the silver tray she carried was some bread and water.

"Siesta...?"

"So you're awake now, Saito-san?"

"Yeah... I..."

"After all that, Miss Valliere had you brought up here to sleep. She had to get a teacher to cast a spell of healing on you too. It was quite serious."

"Spell of healing?"

"Yes. It's magic to help treat injuries or illness. You didn't know?"

"No..."

Saito shook his head. It confused Siesta that Saito didn't know some of the basic terminology, but she wouldn't get anywhere by not saying anything.

"Miss Valliere paid for the reagent that was required for the healing spell, so don't be concerned about it."

His silence was a clear indicator that he was concerned about the money.

"Does it cost a lot for that reagent?"

===Page 114===

"Well, it's certainly not something a commoner could pay."

Saito made an attempt to get up, but cried out in pain.

"Ouch!"

"Ah, you shouldn't move! Your injuries were so severe even the healing spells couldn't completely fix them! You still need to take it easy!"

Saito nodded and lay back on the bed.

"I brought you some food. Please eat."

Siesta placed the tray by Saito's bedside.

"Thanks... How long was I asleep for?"

"Three days and nights straight. Everyone was worried you wouldn't wake up."

"Everyone?"

"All the kitchen staff..."

Siesta cast her eyes down shyly.

"What's the matter?"

"Um... I'm sorry. That I ran away that time."

She was talking of how she had run away in fright when Saito had gotten Guiche angry

===Page 115===

''(paragraph continued)''

at the dining hall.

"Don't worry. It's nothing to apologize about."

"Nobles were always so scary to us commoners, since we couldn't use magic..."

Siesta suddenly raised her head. Her eyes sparkled brightly.

"But, I'm not so scared anymore! I was so inspired, Saito-san! You won against a noble, though you're a commoner!"

"Okay... Haha."

''Although I really have no clue how I actually won.''

Somewhat embarrassed, Saito just scratched his head. Then he realized he was using the arm that had been broken. It looked completely fine. It still ached a bit when he moved it, but it seemed the bones were whole again.

''Wow, so this is magic.'' Saito thought in slight admiration.

''...I guess it is something to be proud about.''

"By the way, did you tend to me all this time?"

"Oh no, not me. It was actually Miss Valliere..."

"Louise did?"

"Yes. She changed all the bandages and wiped the sweat from your face... She didn't sleep one bit,

===Page 116===

''(paragraph continued)''

so she must be exhausted."

As she slept, Louise's breathing was even and gentle. There were heavy dark circles under her eyes though.

''Her sleeping face is always so adorable. It's doll-like.''

''So she '''can''' be nice sometimes,'' he thought. Suddenly her side profile looked intensely cuter.

Louise's eyes flickered open.

"Fuaaaaaaaaa~~"

She made a great big yawning stretch, and then her gaze fell upon Saito, who was sitting on the bed blinking in surprise.

"Ara. You're awake."

"Y-Yeah..."

Saito cast his eyes downward. He figured he should thank her.

"Um, Louise."

"What?"

"Thanks. And I'm sorry I made you worry."

Louise stood up.

And drew closer to Saito.

Saito's heartbeat accelerated. ''Is she going to say something like "good job, you were really cool out there"''

===Page 117===

''(paragraph continued)''

''and maybe kiss me?''

But that was not to be.

Louise pulled away Saito's blanket and grabbed him by the scruff.

"If you're better now, get out of my bed!"

Still holding him by the scruff, Louise pulled Saito out of the bed.

"Wah! Ow!"

Saito tumbled to the floor.

"Hey, I'm still an injured person!"

"If you're well enough to complain, you're well enough for anything else."

Saito stood up. His body still objected, but it was nothing he couldn't put up with. Still, she could've let him sleep for a little bit longer.

"Uh, in that case, I will take my leave now..."

Siesta left the room wearing a crooked smile. Or more precisely, she fled the room.

Louise threw a mountain of clothes and underwear at Saito.

"Ack!"

"That's the laundry that's piled up while you were asleep. Once you're done with that, clean up the room. Hop to it!"

"Um, you know..."

===Page 118===

Louise glared fiercely at Saito.

"What? Just with something like beating Guiche, did you think you'd be treated differently? Did you think you'd be congratulated? Are you an idiot?"

Saito looked resentfully at Louise.

He decided to take back his earlier thought about her being cute.

Still... the way Louise sat on her bed swinging her legs was an undeniable level of cuteness beyond this world.

Her long strawberry blonde hair rippled. Her hazel eyes twinkled with mischief. She was rude, arrogant, and selfish, but try as he might to deny it, her appearance was enchanting.

Raising a finger triumphantly, Louise declared.

"Don't you forget! You're my familiar!"

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story1 Chapter3

2006-12-15T12:46:52Z

The naming game: /* Chapter 03 part 2.0 */ section markers + one rewording + one revert + one comment note + wow, this was a very clean section

== Signing Off ==

'''Editors please sign off when you are satisfied that section is finished.

Each section requires a minimum signature of four editors before it can progress.

'''
----

*Each page is now its own section. This is to aid editing (though it makes the TOC box pretty ugly). Please try to edit individual sections whenever possible (by clicking on the "edit" link on the right side of the page), to minimize the chance of your changes colliding with edits by another contributer. [[User:BlckKnght|BlckKnght]] 02:52, 20 August 2006 (PDT)

==[[zeroNT:Komgvol03editcontrol|Raw English Translation Available Here]]==

This page is for reference purposes, as a 'control'

It is protected to prevent mishaps.

== Chapter 03 ==

==== Chapter 03 - Part 1.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

===Page 70===

'''Chapter Three: Legend'''

Mister Colbert was a teacher who had dedicated twenty years to Tristein Magic Academy and was by now a mainstay figure.

His Runic name was "Colbert the Flame Snake," and naturally, he was a mage specializing in fire magic.

Since the Springtime Familiar Summoning a few days ago, he'd been concerned about the commoner boy that Louise had summoned. Or more precisely, he'd been concerned with nothing but the runes that had appeared on that boy's left hand. They were rare runes indeed, so for the last few nights, he'd confined himself to the library and had been researching various texts.

Tristein Magic Academy's library was located in the same tower as the dining hall. The bookshelves were unbelievably tall, about 30 meters in height, and the way they were lined up against the walls was a spectacle to behold. And rightly so, since this place was crammed with the history of everything following the creation of the new world in Halkeginia by the Founder Brimir.

Colbert was now in a section of the library called "Fenir's Library" which only teachers were allowed entry to.

===Page 71===

The ordinary bookshelves that students had free access to didn't hold any answers that could satisfy him.

Using a Levitation spell, he floated up to an out-of-reach shelf and scanned it intently for a particular book.

His efforts were rewarded as his gaze fell upon the title of the book.

It was a very old text which held descriptions of the familiars that had been used by the Founder Brimir.

His attention was focused on one particular paragraph written in it, and as he read on in fascination, his eyes grew wide.

He compared the book with the sketch he'd made of the runes on the boy's left hand.

"Ah!" he gasped in surprise. At that moment, he lost the concentration necessary for maintaining his Levitation and almost fell to the floor.

Holding the book in his arms, he hurriedly descended to the floor and ran out of the library.

His destination was the Headmaster's Office.

<center>* * *</center>

The Headmaster's Office was located on the topmost floor of the tower. Sir Osmond, the current Headmaster of Tristein Magic Academy, sat with his elbows propped on his elegantly built sequoia  desk, looking unbearably bored as he shook his white beard and hair.

===Page 72===

He'd been idly plucking out nose hairs, but he slowly murmured "hrm" and pulled out a desk drawer.

From inside it, he procured a smoking pipe.

As he did, Miss Longueville, the secretary who had been writing something at the other desk placed to the side of the room, waved her feather quill.

The pipe floated into the air and landed in Miss Longueville's palm. Sir Osmond muttered dejectedly, "Is it fun taking away an old man's little pleasures? Miss..."

"Managing your health is also part of my job, Old Osmond."

Sir Osmond stood up from his chair and walked up to the cool and collected Miss Longueville. Stopping behind the seated Longueville, he closed his eyes with a serious expression.

"If the days keep passing by so peacefully, figuring out how to spend time is going to become a rather big problem."

The wrinkles etched deeply on Osmond's face only gave hints to the history of his life. People guessed him to be a hundred years old, even three hundred years old. But as to his true age, no one really knew. It's possible he himself didn't know anymore either.

"Old Osmond," Miss Longueville called to him, without taking her eyes off the feather quill that was scribbling away on the parchment.

===Page 73===

"What is it? Miss..."

"Please stop saying you have nothing to do as an excuse to touch my bottom."

Sir Osmond then opened his mouth slightly and began walking around in tottering steps.

"Please stop pretending to be senile whenever a situation goes bad," Longueville added calmly. Sir Osmond sighed deeply. It was a sigh bearing the weight of many troubles.

"Where do you think the ultimate truth may be? Haven't you ever wondered that? Miss..."

"Wherever it is, I assure it's not in my skirt, so please stop sneaking your mouse under the desk."

Sir Osmond's face fell, and he murmured sadly.

"Montsognir."

From under Miss Longueville's desk scurried out a little mouse. It dashed up Osmond's leg and perched on his shoulder, twitching its tiny head. He fished out some nuts from a pocket and held one out to the mouse.

"Chuchu," the mouse chittered, apparently pleased.


"You're my only truly trustworthy friend, Montsognir."

The mouse began nibbling on the nut. It disappeared quickly, and the mouse chittered "chuchu" once more.

===Page 74===

"Ah, yes, yes. You want more? Very well, I shall give you more. But first, I would ask that you report back, Montsognir."

Chuchu.

"I see. White and plain white too, hrm. But Miss Longueville should really stick to black. Wouldn't you agree, my cute Montsognir?"

Miss Longueville's eyebrows twitched.

"Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

"The next time you do that, I'm reporting it to the palace."

"Kah! Do you think I could be Headmaster of this Academy if I was scared of the palace all the time?!"

Sir Osmond flashed his eyes wide and yelled angrily. It was an impressive display, completely unexpected of a frail-looking old man.

"Don't get all prissy just because I peeked at your underwear! At this rate, you'll never get married! Haa~~ To be young again~~ Miss..."

Old Osmond began stroking Miss Longueville's bottom without hesitation.

Miss Longueville stood up and wordlessly kicked her boss around.

"Sorry. Stop. Ow. I won't do it anymore. Really."

Old Osmond covered his head and cowered. Miss Longueville breathed heavily as she

===Page 75===

''(paragraph continued)''

continued kicking Osmond.

"Ack! How can you! Treat a senior! In this way! Hey! Ouch!"

This "peaceful" moment was interrupted by a sudden intrusion.

The door was thrown open with a slam, and Colbert rushed inside.

"Old Osmond!"

"What is it?"

Miss Longueville was back at her desk, sitting there as if nothing had happened. Sir Osmond had his arms behind him, and turned to face the visitor with a serious expression. That was certainly a quick recovery.  

"I-I-I have some big news!"

"There is no such thing as big news. Everything is but a collection of small events."

"P-P-Please take a look at this!"

Colbert handed Osmond the book he had been reading just before.

"This is "The Familiars of the Founder Brimir," is it not? Are you still going around digging up old literature like this? If you have time to do that, why don't you think up some better ways of collecting school fees from those slack nobles? Mister, err... What was it again?"

Sir Osmond cocked his head.

"It's Colbert! You forgot?!"

===Page 76===

"Right, right. Now I remember. It's just that you talked so fast I never really caught it. So, Colbert-kun, what is it about this book?"

"Please take a look at this also!"

Colbert then handed him the sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

The moment he saw that, Osmond's expression changed. His eyes took on a solemn light.

"Miss Longueville, would you please excuse us?"

Miss Longueville stood up and left the room. Osmond spoke only after he confirmed she was properly outside.

"Explain this to me with every detail, Mister Colbert..."

<center>* * *</center>

It was just before lunchtime when they were finally done tidying up the classroom that Louise had made a mess of. As punishment, using magic to clean up had been forbidden, so it had taken considerable time to finish. But then again, Louise couldn't really use most spells anyway, so it didn't affect her much. Mrs. Chevreuse regained consciousness two hours after she'd been caught in the explosion, and while she did return to class, she didn't give any more lectures on Transmutation for that entire day. It would seem she was rather traumatized.

Having finished tidying up, Louise and Saito headed to the dining hall for lunch.
Along the way, Saito made fun of Louise over and over. After all, it was Louise's fault that he'd had to do all that manual labor

===Page 77===

''(paragraph continued)''

just now. It was Saito who had carried over the new window glass. It was Saito who had moved all the heavy desks. And of course, it was Saito who had wiped the soot-blackened classroom clean with a cloth. All Louise had done was wipe down a few desks, and reluctantly at that.

''I have to sleep on the floor. The food sucks. And on top of that, I have to wash underwear. (Not that I've done it yet.)''

With all that mistreatment from Louise, there was no way Saito could keep quiet about her new-found weakness. He teased Louise like there was no tomorrow.

"'Louise the Zero.' Now I get it~ That's just perfect~ Rate of success is zero. But a noble despite that... wonderful!"

Louise didn't say a word, which only roused Saito further.

"Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Oh, I screwed up! Only 'the Zero' screws this up!"

Saito danced circles around Louise like this, raising his arms every time he said "kaboom," mimicking an explosion. It was quite a detailed performance.

"Louise-ojousama. This humble familiar has made a song for you."

Saito said, bowing his head respectfully. Of course, it was an empty gesture, a complete mockery.

Louise's eyebrow was twitching furiously. She was on the verge of blowing her top, but Saito was too absorbed in his excitement to notice that.

===Page 78===

"Why don't you go ahead and sing it?"

"'Lou-Lou-Louise is such a hopeless case~ A magician that can't even use magic! But that's all right! Because she's a girl...'"

Saito held his stomach as he burst into laughter.

"Bwahahaha!!"

He was laughing at his own joke. Perhaps he was just as hopeless.

<center>* * *</center>

When they arrived at the dining hall, Saito pulled out a chair for Louise.

"Just remember, ojousama. Don't cast any spells on the food. Just imagine the mess if it exploded."

Louise took the seat wordlessly. Saito was feeling thoroughly satisfied, having got one back on the rude and arrogant Louise with his putdowns. Even the usual excuse for a meal didn't bother him as much.

While the meager soup and bread he got served was still painful to behold, it was a pretty even trade-off for getting to laugh so much just earlier.

"Right then, Founder someone-or-another. Your Highness the Queen. Thanks a bunch for the crappy food. Itadakimasu."

As he went to eat, the plate was snatched away.

"What are you doing?!"

===Page 79===

"Th-th-th..."

"'Th-th-th'?"

Louise's shoulders shook angrily, as did her voice. Somehow, she'd managed to reign in her overflowing fury until they'd arrived at the dining table. Probably so that she could bestow an appropriate punishment.

"Th-th-th-this familiar, how dare it say s-s-s-such things to its m-m-m-master?"

Saito realized he'd gone too far.

"I'm sorry! I won't say any more, so give me back my food!"

"No! Absolu~~tely not!"

Louise screamed, twisting her cute face in rage.

"One meal cut for every time you've said 'Zero!' And that's final! No exceptions!"

In the end, Saito left the dining hall without having eaten anything.

''I shouldn't have been so sarcastic about it...'' But it was too late to regret.

"Haa, I'm starving... Damn..."

Clutching his stomach, he leaned one hand on a wall.

"Is something the matter?"

He turned around to see a normal-looking girl in a maid's outfit carrying a big silver tray,

===Page 80===

''(paragraph continued)''

looking concernedly at him. Her black hair was neatly adorned with a headband, and her freckles were cute.

"It's nothing..." Saito waved his left hand.

"Are you by any chance the one who became Miss Valliere's familiar...?"

It seemed she noticed the runes inscribed on Saito's left hand.

"You know me?"

"A little. It's become quite a rumor, you know, that a commoner was called by the summoning magic."

The girl smiled sweetly. It was the first carefree smile Saito had seen since he came to this world.

"Are you a mage too?" Saito asked.

"Oh no, not me. I'm a commoner just like you. I serve the nobility here by doing domestic duties."

''I'm actually from Earth and not a commoner, but it's probably useless to try explain.'' Saito decided to just introduce himself.


"I see... Well, I'm Hiraga Saito. Nice to meet you."

"That's quite a strange name... I'm Siesta."

At that point, Saito's stomach grumbled.

"You must be hungry."

"Yeah..."

===Page 81===

"Please follow me this way."

Siesta walked off.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito was led to the kitchen located at the rear of the dining hall. Lots of large pots and ovens were lined up inside. Cooks and other maids like Siesta were busily preparing food.

"Please wait one moment, okay?"

Siesta had Saito sit on a chair placed in the corner of the kitchen and disappeared hastily into the back.

She soon returned with a bowl full of warm stew in her hands.

"This is some stew made from the leftovers of the nobles' meals. If you don't mind, please eat this."

"Can I?"

"Yes. It's only the staff meal though..."

Her kindness was touching. This was completely different from the soup that Louise had given him. He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. ''Delicious. I'm going to cry.''


"This is so good~!"

"That's great. There's plenty if you want seconds, so take your time."

Saito ate the stew as if in a dream. Siesta stood watching him,

===Page 82===

''(paragraph continued)''

smiling sweetly all the while.

"Weren't you given anything to eat?"

"That girl went and took my plate away when I called her 'Louise the Zero.'"

"Oh no! You shouldn't say things like that to nobles!"

"Noble schmoble. Getting all high-horsed just because they can use magic."

"You must have a lot of courage..."

Siesta looked at Saito with an expression of amazement.

Saito gave Siesta back the empty bowl.

"That was really tasty. Thanks."

"I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to visit whenever you're hungry. If you don't mind having whatever we're having, I'd be happy to share."

Such a kind offer. Saito was even more touched.

"Thanks..."

Saito suddenly broke out in tears, surprising Siesta.

"Wh-what's the matter?"

"No... It's just that it's the first time anyone's been so nice to me since I came to this world... I got a bit emotional..."

"Th-that's an exaggeration."

===Page 83===

Illustration -- ''Do you do takeaways here too?''

===Page 84===

"It's not. If there's anything I can do for you, just tell me. I'll lend a hand."

He wasn't particularly interested in something like washing Louise's underwear, and would much rather help this girl instead.

"In that case, please help me serve the desserts."

Siesta said with a smile.

"Okay," Saito nodded enthusiastically.

Lots of dessert cakes were arranged on a big silver tray. Saito carried the tray, while Siesta picked up the cakes with tongs and served them one by one to the nobles.

One mage in particular stood out. He had curly blonde hair, wore a frill-trimmed shirt, and looked rather self-important. There was a rose stuck in his shirt pocket too. His friends around him were poking all kinds of fun at him.

"So, Guiche! Who're you going out with now?"

"Who's your lover, Guiche?"

So it seemed the prideful mage was called Guiche. He gently raised a finger to his lips.

"'Go out?' I hold no one woman in such special regard. After all, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many."

''This guy's likening himself to a rose. An egotist like this is far beyond help.'' He was the kind of narcissist that made onlookers more embarrassed than himself. Saito glared at him, hoping he'd just die.

===Page 85===

That moment, something fell out of Guiche's pocket. It was a small glass bottle, with a purple liquid swirling inside it.

''I don't really like this guy, but I should still tell him he dropped something.''

Saito called out to Guiche.

"Oi, you dropped this bottle from your pocket."

But Guiche didn't turn around. ''This guy's ignoring me!''

Saito passed the tray to Siesta, and bent down to pick up the bottle.

"I said, you dropped something, playboy."

He placed it on the table. Guiche shot Saito a dirty look, and pushed the bottle away.

"This is not mine. What are you talking about?"

Guiche's friends then realized were the bottle came from, and raised a loud commotion.

"Ooh? That perfume, isn't that Montmorency's?"

"Yeah! That vivid purple color is the perfume that Montmorency only mixes for herself!"

"So to have something like that fall out of your pocket, Guiche, means that you're going out with Montmorency now, right?"

===Page 86===

"No wait, listen to me. I'm saying this for the sake of her reputation but..."

As Guiche was about to say something further, a girl wearing a brown cloak that had been sitting at the table behind them, stood up and walked over to Guiche's seat.

She was a cute girl sporting chestnut-colored hair. And according to the color of the cloak she wore, she was a first year student.

"Guiche-sama..."

And with that, she started crying uncontrollably.

"I knew it, you and Miss Montmorency are..."

"It's their misunderstanding. Katie, listen. The only person I hold in my heart is you..."

But the girl called Katie slapped Guiche's face as hard as she could.

"That perfume you dropped from your pocket is more than enough proof! Goodbye!"

Guiche rubbed his cheek.

At this point, a girl with tightly rolled hair stood up from a seat further down the table. Saito recognised her as the girl who had an argument with Louise when he was summoned to this world.

Wearing a severe expression, she approached Guiche with quick clipped steps.

"Montmorency. This is a misunderstanding. All I did was accompany her on a long trip to the forests

===Page 87===

''(paragraph continued)''

of La Rochelle..."

Guiche said, shaking his head. While he was pretending to remain composed, a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead.

"Just as I thought, you've been making moves on that first year, haven't you?!"

"Please, Montmorency the Perfume. Don't twist your rose-like face in anger like that. It saddens me to see it!"

Montmorency grabbed a bottle of wine that was on the table and poured its contents out audibly on Guiche's head.

And then...

"You liar!"

She yelled, and stormed off.

Silence fell upon the hall.

Guiche pulled out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his face. Shaking his head, he spoke dramatically.

"It would seem those ladies do not understand the meaning of a rose's existence."

''Yeah, and you just keep trying that.'' Saito thought, as he took the tray back from Siesta and began walking off.

Guiche called him to a stop.

===Page 88===

"Stop right there."

"What now?"

Guiche spun his body about on the chair, and crossed his legs with a flourish. It gave Saito a headache to see such arrogance exude from every action.

"Thanks to you thoughtlessly picking up some bottle of perfume, the reputations of two ladies have been damaged. How will you take responsibility?"

Saito replied in an exasperated tone.

"Hey, it's your fault for two-timing."

Guiche's friends burst out laughing.

"Exactly Guiche! It's your fault!"

Guiche's face flushed crimson.

"Listen, server. When you put the bottle of perfume on the table, I pretended not to know anything, didn't I? Would it have hurt to be a little bit tactful and just went along with it?"

"Whatever. Either way, your two-timing would've been blown anyway. And also, I'm not a server."

"Hmph... Ah, you are..."

Guiche snorted, as if looking down on Saito.

"You must be the commoner summoned by that 'Louise the Zero.' To have expected a noble's wits from a commoner

===Page 89===

''(paragraph continued)''

was completely my mistake. You may leave."

Saito snapped then. Pretty boy or not, there was no way Saito was just going to stand there quietly taking all this from such a conceited narcissist. He couldn't help but make one inflammatory comment.

"Shut up you overpretentious bastard. Why don't you go suck on roses for the rest of your life?"

Guiche's eyes narrowed.

"It would seem that you don't know the proper ettiquette for addressing a noble."

"Unfortunately, I come from a world where there are no such people as nobles."

Saito raised his right hand and spoke imperiously, mimicking Guiche's actions.

"Very well. Then I shall teach you a lesson about respect. A perfect way to relieve some stress." 

Guiche stood up.

"How amusing."

Saito bared his teeth and growled. ''First, I didn't like this guy right from the start. Second, he's going out with two fairly cute girls -- though neither are as cute as Louise. And last, he made a fool of me personally.''

''That's more than enough reason for me to fight. And while I'm at it, I'll hit him a couple more times on Louise's behalf. After all, she's still a girl!''

"You wanna do it here?"

===Page 90===

Saito said. Despite being taller than Saito, Guiche was the lanky type, and looked rather weak. Playboys are said to be lacking both money and power. Saito wasn't particularly strong himself, but he didn't think he'd lose.

Guiche turned in the other direction.

"Are you running away?"

"Don't be stupid. I can't taint the dining table of nobles with the blood of a commoner, can I? I'll be waiting at the Vestri Court. Come once you're finished delivering those cakes."

Looking excited, Guiche's friends stood up and followed him off.

One person remained though, as if to make sure Saito didn't run away himself.

Siesta gazed at Saito, her entire body quivering. Saito spoke with a grin.

"It's all right. There's no way I'll lose to that weakling. Some noble, huh?"

"You... You're going to get killed."

"What?"

"If you truly anger a noble..."

Siesta dashed off in a hurry.

''What was that about?'' Saito muttered. ''Is that guy really that strong?''

Louise ran up to him from behind.

===Page 91===

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! I saw all that!"

"Yo Louise."

"This is no time to be 'yo'-ing me! How can you just go promising duels like it's no big deal?!"

"But that guy was really irritating me..."

Saito said indignantly.

Louise sighed, and shrugged disappointedly.

"Apologize to him."

"Why?"

"If you don't want to be hurt, go and apologize. If you do it now, he might forgive you."

"Are you kidding! Why do '''I''' have to apologize?! He insulted me first! And besides, I was only being helpful..."

"Just do it."

Louise fixed Saito with a firm look.

"No way."

"So stubborn... But you know what? You can't win. You'll be badly injured. Actually, you'd be lucky to come back alive with just injuries."

"I won't know that unless I try, right?"

===Page 92===

"Listen, a commoner can never beat a mage!"

"So where's this Vestri Court?"

Saito walked off. The friend of Guiche that had been watching Louise and Saito's exchange, pointed with his chin.

"This way, commoner."

"Aaah jeez! Really! Why does this familiar keep going off and doing stuff on its own?!"

With that, Louise chased after Saito.

<center>* * *</center>

The Vestri Court was the central garden situated between the Wind and Fire elemental towers. Being located to the west, the Court didn't receive much sunshine, even in the middle of the day. But it was the perfect place for a duel.

Right now... the place was packed with people who had heard the rumours.

"Gentlemen! It's a duel!"

Guiche lifted his artificial rose high, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd.

"Guiche is going to duel! His opponent is Louise's commoner!"

''I have a name too y'know...'' Saito thought bitterly.

Waving his arms about, Guiche acknowledged the cheering.

===Page 93===

And then, as if finally noticing Saito's presence there, he turned to face him.

Saito and Guiche stood in the middle of the Court, glaring intently at each other.

"First of all, I commend you for not running away and coming here!" Guiche remarked in a sing-song voice, as he twirled his rose.

"Like anyone would run away!"

"Right then, let us begin," said Guiche.

''Less talk, more action.'' Saito rushed forward. ''Fights are won by whoever gets in the first strike!''

''It's roughly ten paces to where Guiche is. I don't care much for nobles or mages; I'm just going to crush that arrogant nose of yours down to size!''

Guiche watched Saito with a leisurely smile and flicked his rose.

A petal floated down as if dancing in the air...

And became the armor-clad shape of a female warrior.

Its height was about the same as a person, but it appeared to be constructed from some hard metal. Under the pale sunlight, its skin... Its armor gleamed.

It stood stoically in Saito's way.

"Wh-what the heck is this?!"

===Page 94===

"I am a mage, therefore I fight using magic. Surely you have no complaints?"

"Wh-why you..."

"I guess I forgot to mention earlier. My Runic name is 'the Bronze'. Guiche the Bronze. Accordingly, my bronze golem 'Valkyrie' shall be your real opponent."

"Eh?"

The warrior-shaped golem charged towards Saito.

Its right fist impacted heavily with Saito's stomach.

"Harg!"


Saito groaned and collapsed to the ground. Not at all surprising, considering he'd been gut-punched by a bronze fist.

The golem looked down on Saito emotionlessly.

He couldn't stand up through the pain. ''I guess this is what it feels like to be hit by a pro boxer,'' he thought.

"What, over already?"

Guiche sounded dissatisfied. From the mass of people, Louise burst out.

"Guiche!"

"Oh Louise! My bad, I'm just borrowing your familiar for a bit."

Louise shook her long hair and yelled angrily at Guiche.

----

==== Chapter 03 - Part 2.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 03 part 2.0 ==

===Page 95===

"That's quite enough! And besides, dueling is strictly forbidden!"

"Only dueling between nobles is forbidden. Nobody has forbidden duels between commoners and nobles."

Louise was at a momentary loss for words.

"Th-that's because nothing like this has ever happened before..."

"Louise, do you like this commoner?"

Louise's face burned an angry scarlet.

"No! Don't be ridiculous! It's just that I won't put up with having my familiar beaten up before my eyes!"

"...Wh-who's being beaten up? I'm just fine."

"Saito!"

Seeing Saito was up again, Louise practically screamed out his name.

"...Hehehe, you've finally called me by my name."

Louise was trembling.

"You understand now, right? A commoner can never beat a mage!"

"...I was a little careless, that's all. I'm all right, so step back."

Saito pushed Louise away.

===Page 96===

"What's this? I didn't think you could stand up again... Maybe I went too easy on you?" said Guiche, provoking Saito further.

Saito walked slowly towards Guiche. Louise followed him and grabbed his shoulder.

"You need to stop! Idiot! Why are you still standing?"

He shook her hand off his shoulder.

"Because he pisses me off."

"He pisses you off? Look, there's no embarrassment in losing to a mage!"

"Shut up." Saito muttered as he kept taking unsteady steps forward.

"Eh?"

"Really, you're starting to get on my nerves too... I know next to nothing about mages or nobles, but to me you're all the same bunch of ego-inflated brats. Just what's so brilliant about magic? Idiots."

Guiche watched Saito with a tired smile painted on his face.

"The more you try, the more pointless this becomes."

Saito's characteristic fighting spirit flared, and he uttered a short growl.

"That was nothing. Your little statue, it's too weak."

===Page 97===

The smile fell away. The golem's right hand lashed out to strike Saito's face. He caught the blow square in the cheek and was knocked to the ground.

Blood dripped from his broken nose.

Trying to stem the blood flow, Saito was taken aback.

''Crap... So this is a mage's power. I've been in a few fights here and there, but that punch was like nothing else I'd received before.''

Despite that, he rose shakily to a stand. Guiche's golem mercilessly sent him flying once more with a kick.

He got up again. And was struck down again.

Over and over, the process was repeated.

The eighth punch connected with Saito's right arm. There was a sick snapping noise.

Unable to see out of his swollen shut left eye, he checked his arm with just the right. It was bent at a wrong angle.

While Saito stared blankly at his arm, the golem came over and planted a foot on his face.

His head hit the earth hard, and he lost consciousness for a moment.

When he came to, he could see Louise's face framed by a backdrop of blue sky.

"Please. Just stop now."

===Page 98===

Louise's hazel eyes were wet with tears.

Saito tried to speak, but the pain in his chest from repeated blows was hard to overcome.

Regardless, he concentrated his willpower and managed to croak in a hoarse voice.

"...Are you crying?"

"I am not! Who would cry here? Anyway, this is enough. You did very well. I've never seen a commoner like you before."

His broken arm throbbed with agony. Saito grimaced.

"That... hurts."

"Of course it hurts! That's obvious! Just what were you thinking?"

Tears ran down Louise's face and fell on Saito's cheek.

"You're my familiar, understand? I'm not going to forgive you for any more stupid acts."

Guiche's voice called out to the pair.

"Are we quite done yet?"

"...Hold your horses. I'm just catching my breath."

"Saito!"

Guiche smiled, and flicked his rose. This time, the petal transformed into a sword. Guiche grabbed it and threw it in Saito's direction. The blade point stabbed into the ground not too far from

===Page 99===

''(paragraph continued)''

where Saito lay.

"If you're still willing to continue, then take that sword. If not, all you need to say is a simple 'I'm sorry.' Then I can just forgive you and be done with it."

"Don't insult him!"

Louise yelled, standing up. But Guiche gave no indication that he heard her and kept talking.

"Understand? The sword. In other words, a weapon. It's the very least you commoners will need if you want to take revenge against us nobles. So as I said, if you're still up for it, take that sword."

Saito reached out for the blade with his right hand. But with that arm broken, he couldn't put much strength in his fingers.

That hand was stopped by Louise.

"No! There is absolutely no way I'm letting you do this! The moment you grasp that sword, Guiche really won't forgive you!"

"I can't go back to my world... Which means I'm stuck living in this one, right?"
Saito muttered, almost to himself. He didn't look at Louise.

"That's right. So what about it?! Right now that doesn't matter!!"

Louise held his right hand tightly. Saito declared in a clear strong voice.

"I don't mind being a familiar... I can take sleeping on the floor... I don't care if the food sucks... Washing underwear? I'll do that too. It's not like I really have a choice."

===Page 100===

Saito paused there and curled his left hand into a fist.

"But..."

"'But...' What?"

"I will not lower my head. I cannot!"

Drawing on his last reserves of strength, Saito forced himself to a stand. Pushing Louise aside, he grabbed the blade stuck in the ground with his left hand.

In that instant...

The runes inscribed on that hand began glowing brightly.

<center>* * *</center>

Let us change locations for a moment and return to the Headmaster's Office.

Mister Colbert was fervently explaining everything to Sir Osmond.

About the commoner boy that was summoned by Louise at the Springtime Familiar Summoning.

About how he was concerned about the runes that had appeared on the boy's hand as proof of the contract between him and Louise.

And that when he had gone to find out more...

"You discovered that he is the Founder Brimir's familiar Gandalfr?"

Osmond intently examined Colbert's sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

===Page 101===

"Yes! The runes that appeared on that boy's left hand are exactly the same as the runes that were inscribed on the legendary familiar Gandalfr!"

"So, your conclusion?"

"That boy is Gandalfr! If this isn't big news, then what is, Old Osmond?"

Colbert stood up as he wiped his balding head with a handkerchief.

"Hrm... Certainly, the runes are the same. But for an ordinary commoner boy to become Gandalfr just by having the same runes... I wonder how that could've happened."

"What shall we do?"

"However, it is probably too early to be making definite claims."

"That's true."

Sir Osmond drummed his fingers on the desk.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

From behind the door came Miss Longueville's voice.

"It's me, Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

===Page 102===

"It seems there are some students dueling at the Vestri Courts. It's causing quite the commotion. A few teachers have gone there to try and stop it, but their attempts are being impeded by the sheer number of students."

"For heaven's sake, these noble kids have far too much free time to stir up trouble with. So, who's involved?"

"One of them is Guiche de Gramont."

"Ah, that idiot son of Gramont. The skirt-chasing must run in the family, considering his father's even more of a womaniser. I wouldn't be surprised if the boy knows every girl in school. And his opponent is?"

"...Well, it's not a mage. I've been told it's Miss Valliere's familiar."

Osmond and Colbert exchanged a look.

"The teachers are requesting to use the 'Bell of Sleep' to stop the duel."

Osmond's eyes glinted like a hawk's.

"Ridiculous. There's no need to use such an important artifact just to stop a children's fight. Leave them be."

"Understood."

Miss Longueville's footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

Colbert swallowed audibly and verbally pressed Osmond.

"Old Osmond."

===Page 103===

"Hrm."

Sir Osmond waved his staff, and a big mirror set in one wall began scrying on the situation at the Vestri Courts.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito was surprised. The moment he grabbed the sword, all the pain in his body disappeared.

He realized the runes on his left hand were glowing.

And then...

''My body feels as light as a feather. I could almost take off and fly.''

In addition, the blade he held in his left hand felt so familiar that it seemed like an extension of his body.

''That's so strange. I've never even touched a sword before...''

Seeing Saito with the weapon in hand, Guiche smiled coldly.

"Firstly, let me congratulate you. I'm honestly quite impressed that a commoner would come this far against a mage."

With that, he twirled the rose in his hand.

''That artificial rose must be his wand. Really, how vain can you get?''

Saito was astonished that he even had the leisure to think such things.

''I was beaten up so badly just now. What in the world happened to me?''

Guiche's golem attacked again. ''Stupid tin can.'' The statue modeled in the shape of the mythical Valkyrie

===Page 104===

''(paragraph continued)''

came towards Saito in what seemed like slow motion.

''What the hell,'' Saito thought.

''I got kicked around like a rag doll by '''this''' crawling junk pile?''

Saito leapt into action.

<center>* * *</center>

Guiche uttered a tormented moan at seeing his golem get cut through like a lump of clay.

The two halves of the golem each struck the ground with a resounding 'clang.'

Meanwhile, Saito bolted towards Guiche in a whirlwind of action.

Panicking, Guiche waved his rose wand wildly. Petals danced, and six new golems appeared.

Altogether seven golems were Guiche's full arsenal. Never had he thought that a mere commoner could be a match for even one.


The golems surrounded Saito and sprang at him all at once.

And just when it looked like they had him, five of them were slashed apart. It had been so fast that nobody even saw the blade, making everyone wonder just what kind of superhuman ability this was.

The remaining golem promptly dashed over to guard Guiche.

But it too was taken down by an unseen sword-stroke.

===Page 105===

Illustration -- ''I am the bone of my sword...''

===Page 106===

"Hiii!!"

A kick to the face sent Guiche sprawling to the ground.

He saw Saito leap at him.

''I'm gonna die!'' he thought, as he shielded his head.

Something made a loud 'thunk'...

When he timidly opened his eyes again...

Saito had driven the blade into the ground just to the right of Guiche's head.

"You want to continue?"

Saito asked.

Guiche shook his head furiously. He'd totally lost any will to fight.

And in a failing voice he said,

"I... I yield."

Saito released his hand and walked away.

He could hear rowdy cheering from the audience such as 'woah, that familiar is awesome!' or 'oh man, Guiche lost!'

''I... won?''

===Page 107===

''How?''

Saito's thoughts were in a haze.

''...Just what happened to me?''

''I was getting knocked around so mercilessly.''

''And then, the moment my hand touched that sword, my body felt like a feather. The next thing I know, all of Guiche's golems were in pieces.''

''I didn't even know I could use a sword.''

''I don't quite understand it, but whatever. I won somehow, and that's that. I'll think about it later. Because right now, I feel really really tired. I want to sleep.''

He could see Louise running over to him.

'Hey, I won!' he wanted to yell, but his knees buckled.

The feeling of fatigue overwhelmed him, and he could feel his consciousness drift far away. Saito collapsed.

<center>* * *</center>

As she saw Saito begin to teeter, Louise ran faster to try and support him, but she didn't quite make it. Saito toppled over onto hard ground with a heavy thud.

"Saito!"

Louise shook him. No, it seemed he wasn't dead.

===Page 108===

"Guu..."

She could hear snoring. Instead, he was sleeping.

"He's asleep..."

Louise looked thoroughly relieved as she let out a sigh.

Guiche stood up and shook his head in amazement.

"Louise, just what is this guy? All of my Valkyries were so easily defeated..."

"He's just a commoner."

"There's no way my golems could have lost to 'just a commoner'."

"Hmph. Wasn't it just because you were weaker?"

Louise went to lift Saito up, but unable to properly support him, ended up falling down with him on top of her.

"Aaah, jeez! You're so heavy! Idiot!"

One of the students amidst the crowd cast a Levitation spell on Saito.

Louise began to gently push Saito's floating body away. She needed to take him back up to her room and patch him up.

With the corner of a sleeve, Louise dabbed at her eyes. He looked so in pain, so pitiful, she couldn't help but cry. He'd become so strong all of a sudden when he grabbed the sword, but if it hadn't been for that, he really might have died.

Right now, that was more important than Saito winning. ''I bet this idiot thought it probably wouldn't matter if he died. Going around being so headstrong like that, when you're just a commoner...''

===Page 109===

"You're just a familiar, so why do you keep doing stuff on your own?!"

Louise yelled at the sleeping Saito. Her relief was quickly being replaced by annoyance.

<center>* * *</center>

Sir Osmond and Colbert finished watching the entire event via the Mirror of Far-Seeing. They exchanged another look.

"Old Osmond."

"Hrm."

"That commoner, actually ended up winning..."

"Hrm."

"Guiche is only a first level Dot  mage, but even so he shouldn't have been beaten by an average commoner. What amazing speed! I've never seen a commoner like him before! There's no doubt that he's Gandalfr!"


"Hrmm..."

Mister Colbert urged Osmond.

"Old Osmond. We should report this to the palace immediately, and ask for instructions..."

"There will be no need for that."

Sir Osmond nodded sternly, ruffling his white beard.

"But sir! This is the biggest discovery of the century! A Gandalfr reborn in the modern world!"

"Mister Colbert. Gandalfr was no ordinary familiar."

"Exactly! The familiar used by the Founder Brimir, Gandalfr! There was never any description of its appearance, but it's said to have created specifically for the purpose of protecting the Founder Brimir during his spell incantations."

"Correct. Founder Brimir's incantations were especially long... However that made his spells very powerful. And as you know, mages are most vulnerable while spell casting. And Gandalfr was the familiar that he used to protect himself in those times of vulnerability. Its strength..."

Colbert eagerly cut in at this point, looking extremely excited.

"It could annihilate an army of one thousand all by itself! Ordinary mages were said to be no match for it!"

"So, Mister Colbert."

"Yes?"

"That boy, he really is just an average commoner, right?"

"Yes. No matter how I looked, he was just an average commoner. I even confirmed it with a Detect Magic spell when Miss Valliere initially summoned him, but he was still a genuine average commoner."

"And who was it that turned him into a modern Gandalfr?"

===Page 111===

"That would be Miss Valliere but..."

"She must be a very talented mage, I take it?"

"Not at all. Rather, one might say she's ''un''-talented..."

"A puzzling duo to be sure."

"Yes."

"So how did an average boy that was contracted by an untalented mage become Gandalfr? What an utter paradox. I just cant see where the ends meet."

"Indeed..."

"In any case, there is no need for us to hand over Gandalfr and its master to those fools at the palace. Give them a toy like this and they'll just cause another unnecessary war. Court advisors have too much free time on their hands and like fighting far too much."

"O-oh, I see. I apologise for overlooking such important matters."

"I will take responsibility of this case myself. You will not speak of this to anyone else, Mister Colbert."

"Y-yes! I understand!"

Sir Osmond took hold of his staff and turned to look out the window. He immersed his thoughts in the far reaches of history.

"The legendary familiar Gandalfr... Just what kind of form had it taken before, I cannot help but wonder."

===Page 112===

Colbert murmured as if dreaming.

"Gandalfr was said to be able to use any weapon to take down its enemies..."

"Hrm."

"So it must have at least an arm and hand, I think."

The morning light woke Saito up. His body was wrapped all over in bandages.

''That's right.''

''I got into a duel with that Guiche, and got beaten up really badly...''

''Then I pulled off some miraculous win using that sword...''

''And I fainted.''

He was in Louise's room. For some reason, he'd been sleeping in Louise's bed too.

Louise herself was sitting at a table and sleeping soundly over it.

His eyes fell upon the runes on his left hand. When those runes had been glowing, his body had felt as light as a feather, a sword he had never held before felt like an extension of his arm, and he had sliced up Guiche's golems like nothing.

Right now those runes weren't glowing.

''What exactly was that, I wonder...''

While he stared at his left hand curiously, there was a knock on the door before it opened.

===Page 113===

It was Siesta. The commoner girl who had fed him stew at the kitchen. She was in her usual maid outfit, complete with the headband adorning her hair.

She looked at Saito and smiled. On the silver tray she carried was some bread and water.

"Siesta...?"

"So you're awake now? Saito-san."

"Yeah... I..."

"After all that, Miss Valliere had you brought up here to sleep. She had to get a teacher to cast a spell of healing on you too. It was quite serious."

"Spell of healing?"

"Yes. It's magic to help treat injuries or illness. You didn't know?"

"No..."

Saito shook his head. It confused Siesta that Saito didn't know some of the basic terminology, but she wouldn't get anywhere by not saying anything.

"Miss Valliere paid for the reagent that was required for the healing spell. So don't be concerned about it."

His silence was a clear indicator that he was concerned about the money.

"Does it cost a lot? For that reagent."

===Page 114===

"Well, it's certainly not something a commoner could pay."

Saito made an attempt to get up, but cried out in pain.

"Ouch!"

"Ah, you shouldn't move! Your injuries were so severe even the healing spells couldn't completely fix them! You still need to take it easy!"

Saito nodded and lay back on the bed.

"I brought you some food. Please eat."

Siesta placed the tray by Saito's bedside.

"Thanks... How long was I asleep for?"

"Three days and nights straight. Everyone was worried you wouldn't wake up."

"Everyone?"

"All the kitchen staff..."

Siesta cast her eyes down shyly.

"What's the matter?"

"Um... I'm sorry. That I ran away that time."

She was talking of how she had run away in fright when Saito had gotten Guiche angry

===Page 115===

''(paragraph continued)''

at the dining hall.

"Don't worry. It's nothing to apologize about."

"Nobles were always so scary to us commoners, since we couldn't use magic..."

Siesta suddenly raised her head. Her eyes sparkled brightly.

"But, I'm not so scared anymore! I was so inspired, Saito-san! You won against a noble, though you're a commoner!"

"Okay... Haha."

''Although I really have no clue how I actually won.''

Somewhat embarrassed, Saito just scratched his head. Then he realized he was using the arm that had been broken. It looked completely fine. It still ached a bit when he moved it, but it seemed the bones were whole again.

''Wow, so this is magic.'' Saito thought in slight admiration.

''...I guess it is something to be proud about.''

"By the way, did you tend to me all this time?"

"Oh no, not me. It was actually Miss Valliere..."

"Louise did?"

"Yes. She changed all the bandages, and wiped the sweat from your face... She didn't sleep one bit,

===Page 116===

''(paragraph continued)''

so she must be exhausted."

As she slept, Louise's breathing was even and gentle. There were heavy dark circles under her eyes though.

''Her sleeping face is always so adorable. It's doll-like.''

''So she '''can''' be nice sometimes,'' he thought. Suddenly her side profile looked intensely cuter.

Louise's eyes flickered open.

"Fuaaaaaaaaa~~"

She made a great big yawning stretch, and then her gaze fell upon Saito, who was sitting on the bed blinking in surprise.

"Ara. You're awake."

"Y-Yeah..."

Saito cast his eyes downward. He figured he should thank her.

"Um, Louise."

"What?"

"Thanks. And I'm sorry I made you worry."

Louise stood up.

And drew closer to Saito.

Saito's heartbeat accelerated. ''Is she going to say something like "good job, you were really cool out there"''

===Page 117===

''(paragraph continued)''

''and maybe kiss me?''

But that was not to be.

Louise pulled away Saito's blanket and grabbed him by the scruff.

"If you're better now, get out of my bed!"

Still holding him by the scruff, Louise pulled Saito out of the bed.

"Wah! Ow!"

Saito tumbled to the floor.

"Hey, I'm still an injured person!"

"If you're well enough to complain, you're well enough for anything else."

Saito stood up. His body still objected, but it was nothing he couldn't put up with. Still, she could've let him sleep for a little bit longer.

"Uh, in that case, I will take my leave now..."

Siesta left the room wearing a crooked smile. Or more precisely, she fled the room.

Louise threw a mountain of clothes and underwear at Saito.

"Ack!"

"That's the laundry that's piled up while you were asleep. Once you're done with that, clean up the room. Hop to it!"

"Um, you know..."

===Page 118===

Louise glared fiercely at Saito.

"What? Just with something like beating Guiche, did you think you'd be treated differently? Did you think you'd be congratulated? Are you an idiot?"

Saito looked resentfully at Louise.

He decided to take back his earlier thought about her being cute.

Still... the way Louise sat on her bed swinging her legs was an undeniable level of cuteness beyond this world.

Her long strawberry blonde hair rippled. Her hazel eyes twinkled with mischief. She was rude, arrogant, and selfish, but try as he might to deny it, her appearance was enchanting.

Raising a finger triumphantly, Louise declared.

"Don't you forget! You're my familiar!"

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story1 Chapter3

2006-12-15T12:40:00Z

The naming game: /* Chapter 03 */ section markers + rewording + comment note

== Signing Off ==

'''Editors please sign off when you are satisfied that section is finished.

Each section requires a minimum signature of four editors before it can progress.

'''
----

*Each page is now its own section. This is to aid editing (though it makes the TOC box pretty ugly). Please try to edit individual sections whenever possible (by clicking on the "edit" link on the right side of the page), to minimize the chance of your changes colliding with edits by another contributer. [[User:BlckKnght|BlckKnght]] 02:52, 20 August 2006 (PDT)

==[[zeroNT:Komgvol03editcontrol|Raw English Translation Available Here]]==

This page is for reference purposes, as a 'control'

It is protected to prevent mishaps.

== Chapter 03 ==

==== Chapter 03 - Part 1.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

===Page 70===

'''Chapter Three: Legend'''

Mister Colbert was a teacher who had dedicated twenty years to Tristein Magic Academy and was by now a mainstay figure.

His Runic name was "Colbert the Flame Snake," and naturally, he was a mage specializing in fire magic.

Since the Springtime Familiar Summoning a few days ago, he'd been concerned about the commoner boy that Louise had summoned. Or more precisely, he'd been concerned with nothing but the runes that had appeared on that boy's left hand. They were rare runes indeed, so for the last few nights, he'd confined himself to the library and had been researching various texts.

Tristein Magic Academy's library was located in the same tower as the dining hall. The bookshelves were unbelievably tall, about 30 meters in height, and the way they were lined up against the walls was a spectacle to behold. And rightly so, since this place was crammed with the history of everything following the creation of the new world in Halkeginia by the Founder Brimir.

Colbert was now in a section of the library called "Fenir's Library" which only teachers were allowed entry to.

===Page 71===

The ordinary bookshelves that students had free access to didn't hold any answers that could satisfy him.

Using a Levitation spell, he floated up to an out-of-reach shelf and scanned it intently for a particular book.

His efforts were rewarded as his gaze fell upon the title of the book.

It was a very old text which held descriptions of the familiars that had been used by the Founder Brimir.

His attention was focused on one particular paragraph written in it, and as he read on in fascination, his eyes grew wide.

He compared the book with the sketch he'd made of the runes on the boy's left hand.

"Ah!" he gasped in surprise. At that moment, he lost the concentration necessary for maintaining his Levitation and almost fell to the floor.

Holding the book in his arms, he hurriedly descended to the floor and ran out of the library.

His destination was the Headmaster's Office.

<center>* * *</center>

The Headmaster's Office was located on the topmost floor of the tower. Sir Osmond, the current Headmaster of Tristein Magic Academy, sat with his elbows propped on his elegantly built sequoia  desk, looking unbearably bored as he shook his white beard and hair.

===Page 72===

He'd been idly plucking out nose hairs, but he slowly murmured "hrm" and pulled out a desk drawer.

From inside it, he procured a smoking pipe.

As he did, Miss Longueville, the secretary who had been writing something at the other desk placed to the side of the room, waved her feather quill.

The pipe floated into the air and landed in Miss Longueville's palm. Sir Osmond muttered dejectedly, "Is it fun taking away an old man's little pleasures? Miss..."

"Managing your health is also part of my job, Old Osmond."

Sir Osmond stood up from his chair and walked up to the cool and collected Miss Longueville. Stopping behind the seated Longueville, he closed his eyes with a serious expression.

"If the days keep passing by so peacefully, figuring out how to spend time is going to become a rather big problem."

The wrinkles etched deeply on Osmond's face only gave hints to the history of his life. People guessed him to be a hundred years old, even three hundred years old. But as to his true age, no one really knew. It's possible he himself didn't know anymore either.

"Old Osmond," Miss Longueville called to him, without taking her eyes off the feather quill that was scribbling away on the parchment.

===Page 73===

"What is it? Miss..."

"Please stop saying you have nothing to do as an excuse to touch my bottom."

Sir Osmond then opened his mouth slightly and began walking around in tottering steps.

"Please stop pretending to be senile whenever a situation goes bad," Longueville added calmly. Sir Osmond sighed deeply. It was a sigh bearing the weight of many troubles.

"Where do you think the ultimate truth may be? Haven't you ever wondered that? Miss..."

"Wherever it is, I assure it's not in my skirt, so please stop sneaking your mouse under the desk."

Sir Osmond's face fell, and he murmured sadly.

"Montsognir."

From under Miss Longueville's desk scurried out a little mouse. It dashed up Osmond's leg and perched on his shoulder, twitching its tiny head. He fished out some nuts from a pocket and held one out to the mouse.

"Chuchu," the mouse chittered, apparently pleased.


"You're my only truly trustworthy friend, Montsognir."

The mouse began nibbling on the nut. It disappeared quickly, and the mouse chittered "chuchu" once more.

===Page 74===

"Ah, yes, yes. You want more? Very well, I shall give you more. But first, I would ask that you report back, Montsognir."

Chuchu.

"I see. White and plain white too, hrm. But Miss Longueville should really stick to black. Wouldn't you agree, my cute Montsognir?"

Miss Longueville's eyebrows twitched.

"Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

"The next time you do that, I'm reporting it to the palace."

"Kah! Do you think I could be Headmaster of this Academy if I was scared of the palace all the time?!"

Sir Osmond flashed his eyes wide and yelled angrily. It was an impressive display, completely unexpected of a frail-looking old man.

"Don't get all prissy just because I peeked at your underwear! At this rate, you'll never get married! Haa~~ To be young again~~ Miss..."

Old Osmond began stroking Miss Longueville's bottom without hesitation.

Miss Longueville stood up and wordlessly kicked her boss around.

"Sorry. Stop. Ow. I won't do it anymore. Really."

Old Osmond covered his head and cowered. Miss Longueville breathed heavily as she

===Page 75===

''(paragraph continued)''

continued kicking Osmond.

"Ack! How can you! Treat a senior! In this way! Hey! Ouch!"

This "peaceful" moment was interrupted by a sudden intrusion.

The door was thrown open with a slam, and Colbert rushed inside.

"Old Osmond!"

"What is it?"

Miss Longueville was back at her desk, sitting there as if nothing had happened. Sir Osmond had his arms behind him, and turned to face the visitor with a serious expression. That was certainly a quick recovery.  

"I-I-I have some big news!"

"There is no such thing as big news. Everything is but a collection of small events."

"P-P-Please take a look at this!"

Colbert handed Osmond the book he had been reading just before.

"This is "The Familiars of the Founder Brimir," is it not? Are you still going around digging up old literature like this? If you have time to do that, why don't you think up some better ways of collecting school fees from those slack nobles? Mister, err... What was it again?"

Sir Osmond cocked his head.

"It's Colbert! You forgot?!"

===Page 76===

"Right, right. Now I remember. It's just that you talked so fast I never really caught it. So, Colbert-kun, what is it about this book?"

"Please take a look at this also!"

Colbert then handed him the sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

The moment he saw that, Osmond's expression changed. His eyes took on a solemn light.

"Miss Longueville, would you please excuse us?"

Miss Longueville stood up and left the room. Osmond spoke only after he confirmed she was properly outside.

"Explain this to me with every detail, Mister Colbert..."

<center>* * *</center>

It was just before lunchtime when they were finally done tidying up the classroom that Louise had made a mess of. As punishment, using magic to clean up had been forbidden, so it had taken considerable time to finish. But then again, Louise couldn't really use most spells anyway, so it didn't affect her much. Mrs. Chevreuse regained consciousness two hours after she'd been caught in the explosion, and while she did return to class, she didn't give any more lectures on Transmutation for that entire day. It would seem she was rather traumatized.

Having finished tidying up, Louise and Saito headed to the dining hall for lunch.
Along the way, Saito made fun of Louise over and over. After all, it was Louise's fault that he'd had to do all that manual labor

===Page 77===

''(paragraph continued)''

just now. It was Saito who had carried over the new window glass. It was Saito who had moved all the heavy desks. And of course, it was Saito who had wiped the soot-blackened classroom clean with a cloth. All Louise had done was wipe down a few desks, and reluctantly at that.

''I have to sleep on the floor. The food sucks. And on top of that, I have to wash underwear. (Not that I've done it yet.)''

With all that mistreatment from Louise, there was no way Saito could keep quiet about her new-found weakness. He teased Louise like there was no tomorrow.

"'Louise the Zero.' Now I get it~ That's just perfect~ Rate of success is zero. But a noble despite that... wonderful!"

Louise didn't say a word, which only roused Saito further.

"Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Oh, I screwed up! Only 'the Zero' screws this up!"

Saito danced circles around Louise like this, raising his arms every time he said "kaboom," mimicking an explosion. It was quite a detailed performance.

"Louise-ojousama. This humble familiar has made a song for you."

Saito said, bowing his head respectfully. Of course, it was an empty gesture, a complete mockery.

Louise's eyebrow was twitching furiously. She was on the verge of blowing her top, but Saito was too absorbed in his excitement to notice that.

===Page 78===

"Why don't you go ahead and sing it?"

"'Lou-Lou-Louise is such a hopeless case~ A magician that can't even use magic! But that's all right! Because she's a girl...'"

Saito held his stomach as he burst into laughter.

"Bwahahaha!!"

He was laughing at his own joke. Perhaps he was just as hopeless.

<center>* * *</center>

When they arrived at the dining hall, Saito pulled out a chair for Louise.

"Just remember, ojousama. Don't cast any spells on the food. Just imagine the mess if it exploded."

Louise took the seat wordlessly. Saito was feeling thoroughly satisfied, having got one back on the rude and arrogant Louise with his putdowns. Even the usual excuse for a meal didn't bother him as much.

While the meager soup and bread he got served was still painful to behold, it was a pretty even trade-off for getting to laugh so much just earlier.

"Right then, Founder someone-or-another. Your Highness the Queen. Thanks a bunch for the crappy food. Itadakimasu."

As he went to eat, the plate was snatched away.

"What are you doing?!"

===Page 79===

"Th-th-th..."

"'Th-th-th'?"

Louise's shoulders shook angrily, as did her voice. Somehow, she'd managed to reign in her overflowing fury until they'd arrived at the dining table. Probably so that she could bestow an appropriate punishment.

"Th-th-th-this familiar, how dare it say s-s-s-such things to its m-m-m-master?"

Saito realized he'd gone too far.

"I'm sorry! I won't say any more, so give me back my food!"

"No! Absolu~~tely not!"

Louise screamed, twisting her cute face in rage.

"One meal cut for every time you've said 'Zero!' And that's final! No exceptions!"

In the end, Saito left the dining hall without having eaten anything.

''I shouldn't have been so sarcastic about it...'' But it was too late to regret.

"Haa, I'm starving... Damn..."

Clutching his stomach, he leaned one hand on a wall.

"Is something the matter?"

He turned around to see a normal-looking girl in a maid's outfit carrying a big silver tray,

===Page 80===

''(paragraph continued)''

looking concernedly at him. Her black hair was neatly adorned with a headband, and her freckles were cute.

"It's nothing..." Saito waved his left hand.

"Are you by any chance the one who became Miss Valliere's familiar...?"

It seemed she noticed the runes inscribed on Saito's left hand.

"You know me?"

"A little. It's become quite a rumor, you know, that a commoner was called by the summoning magic."

The girl smiled sweetly. It was the first carefree smile Saito had seen since he came to this world.

"Are you a mage too?" Saito asked.

"Oh no, not me. I'm a commoner just like you. I serve the nobility here by doing domestic duties."

''I'm actually from Earth and not a commoner, but it's probably useless to try explain.'' Saito decided to just introduce himself.


"I see... Well, I'm Hiraga Saito. Nice to meet you."

"That's quite a strange name... I'm Siesta."

At that point, Saito's stomach grumbled.

"You must be hungry."

"Yeah..."

===Page 81===

"Please follow me this way."

Siesta walked off.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito was led to the kitchen located at the rear of the dining hall. Lots of large pots and ovens were lined up inside. Cooks and other maids like Siesta were busily preparing food.

"Please wait one moment, okay?"

Siesta had Saito sit on a chair placed in the corner of the kitchen and disappeared hastily into the back.

She soon returned with a bowl full of warm stew in her hands.

"This is some stew made from the leftovers of the nobles' meals. If you don't mind, please eat this."

"Can I?"

"Yes. It's only the staff meal though..."

Her kindness was touching. This was completely different from the soup that Louise had given him. He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. ''Delicious. I'm going to cry.''


"This is so good~!"

"That's great. There's plenty if you want seconds, so take your time."

Saito ate the stew as if in a dream. Siesta stood watching him,

===Page 82===

''(paragraph continued)''

smiling sweetly all the while.

"Weren't you given anything to eat?"

"That girl went and took my plate away when I called her 'Louise the Zero.'"

"Oh no! You shouldn't say things like that to nobles!"

"Noble schmoble. Getting all high-horsed just because they can use magic."

"You must have a lot of courage..."

Siesta looked at Saito with an expression of amazement.

Saito gave Siesta back the empty bowl.

"That was really tasty. Thanks."

"I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to visit whenever you're hungry. If you don't mind having whatever we're having, I'd be happy to share."

Such a kind offer. Saito was even more touched.

"Thanks..."

Saito suddenly broke out in tears, surprising Siesta.

"Wh-what's the matter?"

"No... It's just that it's the first time anyone's been so nice to me since I came to this world... I got a bit emotional..."

"Th-that's an exaggeration."

===Page 83===

Illustration -- ''Do you do takeaways here too?''

===Page 84===

"It's not. If there's anything I can do for you, just tell me. I'll lend a hand."

He wasn't particularly interested in something like washing Louise's underwear, and would much rather help this girl instead.

"In that case, please help me serve the desserts."

Siesta said with a smile.

"Okay," Saito nodded enthusiastically.

Lots of dessert cakes were arranged on a big silver tray. Saito carried the tray, while Siesta picked up the cakes with tongs and served them one by one to the nobles.

One mage in particular stood out. He had curly blonde hair, wore a frill-trimmed shirt, and looked rather self-important. There was a rose stuck in his shirt pocket too. His friends around him were poking all kinds of fun at him.

"So, Guiche! Who're you going out with now?"

"Who's your lover, Guiche?"

So it seemed the prideful mage was called Guiche. He gently raised a finger to his lips.

"'Go out?' I hold no one woman in such special regard. After all, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many."

''This guy's likening himself to a rose. An egotist like this is far beyond help.'' He was the kind of narcissist that made onlookers more embarrassed than himself. Saito glared at him, hoping he'd just die.

===Page 85===

That moment, something fell out of Guiche's pocket. It was a small glass bottle, with a purple liquid swirling inside it.

''I don't really like this guy, but I should still tell him he dropped something.''

Saito called out to Guiche.

"Oi, you dropped this bottle from your pocket."

But Guiche didn't turn around. ''This guy's ignoring me!''

Saito passed the tray to Siesta, and bent down to pick up the bottle.

"I said, you dropped something, playboy."

He placed it on the table. Guiche shot Saito a dirty look, and pushed the bottle away.

"This is not mine. What are you talking about?"

Guiche's friends then realized were the bottle came from, and raised a loud commotion.

"Ooh? That perfume, isn't that Montmorency's?"

"Yeah! That vivid purple color is the perfume that Montmorency only mixes for herself!"

"So to have something like that fall out of your pocket, Guiche, means that you're going out with Montmorency now, right?"

===Page 86===

"No wait, listen to me. I'm saying this for the sake of her reputation but..."

As Guiche was about to say something further, a girl wearing a brown cloak that had been sitting at the table behind them, stood up and walked over to Guiche's seat.

She was a cute girl sporting chestnut-colored hair. And according to the color of the cloak she wore, she was a first year student.

"Guiche-sama..."

And with that, she started crying uncontrollably.

"I knew it, you and Miss Montmorency are..."

"It's their misunderstanding. Katie, listen. The only person I hold in my heart is you..."

But the girl called Katie slapped Guiche's face as hard as she could.

"That perfume you dropped from your pocket is more than enough proof! Goodbye!"

Guiche rubbed his cheek.

At this point, a girl with tightly rolled hair stood up from a seat further down the table. Saito recognised her as the girl who had an argument with Louise when he was summoned to this world.

Wearing a severe expression, she approached Guiche with quick clipped steps.

"Montmorency. This is a misunderstanding. All I did was accompany her on a long trip to the forests

===Page 87===

''(paragraph continued)''

of La Rochelle..."

Guiche said, shaking his head. While he was pretending to remain composed, a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead.

"Just as I thought, you've been making moves on that first year, haven't you?!"

"Please, Montmorency the Perfume. Don't twist your rose-like face in anger like that. It saddens me to see it!"

Montmorency grabbed a bottle of wine that was on the table and poured its contents out audibly on Guiche's head.

And then...

"You liar!"

She yelled, and stormed off.

Silence fell upon the hall.

Guiche pulled out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his face. Shaking his head, he spoke dramatically.

"It would seem those ladies do not understand the meaning of a rose's existence."

''Yeah, and you just keep trying that.'' Saito thought, as he took the tray back from Siesta and began walking off.

Guiche called him to a stop.

===Page 88===

"Stop right there."

"What now?"

Guiche spun his body about on the chair, and crossed his legs with a flourish. It gave Saito a headache to see such arrogance exude from every action.

"Thanks to you thoughtlessly picking up some bottle of perfume, the reputations of two ladies have been damaged. How will you take responsibility?"

Saito replied in an exasperated tone.

"Hey, it's your fault for two-timing."

Guiche's friends burst out laughing.

"Exactly Guiche! It's your fault!"

Guiche's face flushed crimson.

"Listen, server. When you put the bottle of perfume on the table, I pretended not to know anything, didn't I? Would it have hurt to be a little bit tactful and just went along with it?"

"Whatever. Either way, your two-timing would've been blown anyway. And also, I'm not a server."

"Hmph... Ah, you are..."

Guiche snorted, as if looking down on Saito.

"You must be the commoner summoned by that 'Louise the Zero.' To have expected a noble's wits from a commoner

===Page 89===

''(paragraph continued)''

was completely my mistake. You may leave."

Saito snapped then. Pretty boy or not, there was no way Saito was just going to stand there quietly taking all this from such a conceited narcissist. He couldn't help but make one inflammatory comment.

"Shut up you overpretentious bastard. Why don't you go suck on roses for the rest of your life?"

Guiche's eyes narrowed.

"It would seem that you don't know the proper ettiquette for addressing a noble."

"Unfortunately, I come from a world where there are no such people as nobles."

Saito raised his right hand and spoke imperiously, mimicking Guiche's actions.

"Very well. Then I shall teach you a lesson about respect. A perfect way to relieve some stress." 

Guiche stood up.

"How amusing."

Saito bared his teeth and growled. ''First, I didn't like this guy right from the start. Second, he's going out with two fairly cute girls -- though neither are as cute as Louise. And last, he made a fool of me personally.''

''That's more than enough reason for me to fight. And while I'm at it, I'll hit him a couple more times on Louise's behalf. After all, she's still a girl!''

"You wanna do it here?"

===Page 90===

Saito said. Despite being taller than Saito, Guiche was the lanky type, and looked rather weak. Playboys are said to be lacking both money and power. Saito wasn't particularly strong himself, but he didn't think he'd lose.

Guiche turned in the other direction.

"Are you running away?"

"Don't be stupid. I can't taint the dining table of nobles with the blood of a commoner, can I? I'll be waiting at the Vestri Court. Come once you're finished delivering those cakes."

Looking excited, Guiche's friends stood up and followed him off.

One person remained though, as if to make sure Saito didn't run away himself.

Siesta gazed at Saito, her entire body quivering. Saito spoke with a grin.

"It's all right. There's no way I'll lose to that weakling. Some noble, huh?"

"You... You're going to get killed."

"What?"

"If you truly anger a noble..."

Siesta dashed off in a hurry.

''What was that about?'' Saito muttered. ''Is that guy really that strong?''

Louise ran up to him from behind.

===Page 91===

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! I saw all that!"

"Yo Louise."

"This is no time to be 'yo'-ing me! How can you just go promising duels like it's no big deal?!"

"But that guy was really irritating me..."

Saito said indignantly.

Louise sighed, and shrugged disappointedly.

"Apologize to him."

"Why?"

"If you don't want to be hurt, go and apologize. If you do it now, he might forgive you."

"Are you kidding! Why do '''I''' have to apologize?! He insulted me first! And besides, I was only being helpful..."

"Just do it."

Louise fixed Saito with a firm look.

"No way."

"So stubborn... But you know what? You can't win. You'll be badly injured. Actually, you'd be lucky to come back alive with just injuries."

"I won't know that unless I try, right?"

===Page 92===

"Listen, a commoner can never beat a mage!"

"So where's this Vestri Court?"

Saito walked off. The friend of Guiche that had been watching Louise and Saito's exchange, pointed with his chin.

"This way, commoner."

"Aaah jeez! Really! Why does this familiar keep going off and doing stuff on its own?!"

With that, Louise chased after Saito.

<center>* * *</center>

The Vestri Court was the central garden situated between the Wind and Fire elemental towers. Being located to the west, the Court didn't receive much sunshine, even in the middle of the day. But it was the perfect place for a duel.

Right now... the place was packed with people who had heard the rumours.

"Gentlemen! It's a duel!"

Guiche lifted his artificial rose high, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd.

"Guiche is going to duel! His opponent is Louise's commoner!"

''I have a name too y'know...'' Saito thought bitterly.

Waving his arms about, Guiche acknowledged the cheering.

===Page 93===

And then, as if finally noticing Saito's presence there, he turned to face him.

Saito and Guiche stood in the middle of the Court, glaring intently at each other.

"First of all, I commend you for not running away and coming here!" Guiche remarked in a sing-song voice, as he twirled his rose.

"Like anyone would run away!"

"Right then, let us begin," said Guiche.

''Less talk, more action.'' Saito rushed forward. ''Fights are won by whoever gets in the first strike!''

''It's roughly ten paces to where Guiche is. I don't care much for nobles or mages; I'm just going to crush that arrogant nose of yours down to size!''

Guiche watched Saito with a leisurely smile and flicked his rose.

A petal floated down as if dancing in the air...

And became the armor-clad shape of a female warrior.

Its height was about the same as a person, but it appeared to be constructed from some hard metal. Under the pale sunlight, its skin... Its armor gleamed.

It stood stoically in Saito's way.

"Wh-what the heck is this?!"

===Page 94===

"I am a mage, therefore I fight using magic. Surely you have no complaints?"

"Wh-why you..."

"I guess I forgot to mention earlier. My Runic name is 'the Bronze'. Guiche the Bronze. Accordingly, my bronze golem 'Valkyrie' shall be your real opponent."

"Eh?"

The warrior-shaped golem charged towards Saito.

Its right fist impacted heavily with Saito's stomach.

"Harg!"


Saito groaned and collapsed to the ground. Not at all surprising, considering he'd been gut-punched by a bronze fist.

The golem looked down on Saito emotionlessly.

He couldn't stand up through the pain. ''I guess this is what it feels like to be hit by a pro boxer,'' he thought.

"What, over already?"

Guiche sounded dissatisfied. From the mass of people, Louise burst out.

"Guiche!"

"Oh Louise! My bad, I'm just borrowing your familiar for a bit."

Louise shook her long hair and yelled angrily at Guiche.

----

==== Chapter 03 - Part 2.0 signing ====

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

* [Signature here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

* [Signature here]

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

== Chapter 03 part 2.0 ==

===Page 95===

"That's quite enough! And besides, dueling is strictly forbidden!"

"Only dueling between nobles is forbidden. Nobody has forbidden duels between commoners and nobles."

Louise was at a momentary loss for words.

"Th-that's because nothing like this has ever happened before..."

"Louise, do you like this commoner?"

Louise's face burned an angry scarlet.

"No! Don't be ridiculous! It's just that I won't put up with having my familiar beaten up before my eyes!"

"...Wh-who's being beaten up? I'm just fine."

"Saito!"

Seeing Saito was up again, Louise practically screamed out his name.

"...Hehehe, you've finally called me by my name."

Louise was trembling.

"You understand now, right? A commoner can never beat a mage!"

"...I was a little careless, that's all. I'm all right, so step back."

Saito pushed Louise away.

===Page 96===

"What's this? I didn't think you could stand up again... Maybe I went too easy on you?" said Guiche, provoking Saito further.

Saito walked slowly towards Guiche. Louise followed him and grabbed his shoulder.

"You need to stop! Idiot! Why are you still standing?"

He shook her hand off his shoulder.

"Because he pisses me off."

"He pisses you off? Look, there's no embarrassment in losing to a mage!"

"Shut up." Saito muttered as he kept taking unsteady steps forward.

"Eh?"

"Really, you're starting to get on my nerves too... I know next to nothing about mages or nobles, but to me you're all the same bunch of ego-inflated brats. Just what's so brilliant about magic? Idiots."

Guiche watched Saito with a tired smile painted on his face.

"The more you try, the more pointless this becomes."

Saito's characteristic fighting spirit flared, and he uttered a short growl.

"That was nothing. Your little statue, it's too weak."

===Page 97===

The smile fell away. The golem's right hand lashed out to strike Saito's face. He caught the blow square in the cheek and was knocked to the ground.

Blood dripped from his broken nose.

Trying to stem the blood flow, Saito was taken aback.

''Crap... So this is a mage's power. I've been in a few fights here and there, but that punch was like nothing else I'd received before.''

Despite that, he rose shakily to a stand. Guiche's golem mercilessly sent him flying once more with a kick.

He got up again. And was struck down again.

Over and over, the process was repeated.

The eighth punch connected with Saito's right arm. There was a sick snapping noise.

Unable to see out of his swollen shut left eye, he checked his arm with just the right. It was bent at a wrong angle.

While Saito stared blankly at his arm, the golem came over and planted a foot on his face.

His head hit the earth hard, and he lost consciousness for a moment.

When he came to, he could see Louise's face framed by a backdrop of blue sky.

"Please. Just stop now."

===Page 98===

Louise's hazel eyes were wet with tears.

Saito tried to speak, but the pain in his chest from repeated blows was hard to overcome.

Regardless, he concentrated his willpower and managed to croak in a hoarse voice.

"...Are you crying?"

"I am not! Who would cry here? Anyway, this is enough. You did very well. I've never seen a commoner like you before."

His broken arm throbbed with agony. Saito grimaced.

"That... hurts."

"Of course it hurts! That's obvious! Just what were you thinking?"

Tears ran down Louise's face and fell on Saito's cheek.

"You're my familiar, understand? I'm not going to forgive you for any more stupid acts."

Guiche's voice called out to the pair.

"Are we quite done yet?"

"...Hold your horses. I'm just catching my breath."

"Saito!"

Guiche smiled, and flicked his rose. This time, the petal transformed into a sword. Guiche grabbed it and threw it in Saito's direction. The blade point stabbed into the ground not too far from

===Page 99===

''(paragraph continued)''

where Saito lay.

"If you're still willing to continue, then take that sword. If not, all you need to say is a simple 'I'm sorry.' Then I can just forgive you and be done with it."

"Don't insult him!"

Louise yelled, standing up. But Guiche gave no indication that he heard her and kept talking.

"Understand? The sword. In other words, a weapon. It's the very least you commoners will need if you want to take revenge against us nobles. So as I said, if you're still up for it, take that sword."

Saito reached out for the blade with his right hand. But with that arm broken, he couldn't put much strength in his fingers.

That hand was stopped by Louise.

"No! There is absolutely no way I'm letting you do this! The moment you grasp that sword, Guiche really won't forgive you!"

"I can't go back to my world... Which means I'm stuck living in this one, right?"
Saito muttered, almost to himself. He didn't look at Louise.

"That's right. So what about it?! Right now that doesn't matter!!"

Louise held his right hand tightly. Saito declared in a clear strong voice.

"I don't mind being a familiar... I can take sleeping on the floor... I don't care if the food sucks... Washing underwear? I'll do that too. It's not like I really have a choice."

===Page 100===

Saito paused there and curled his left hand into a fist.

"But..."

"'But...' What?"

"I will not lower my head. I cannot!"

Drawing on his last reserves of strength, Saito forced himself to a stand. Pushing Louise aside, he grabbed the blade stuck in the ground with his left hand.

In that instant...

The runes inscribed on that hand began glowing brightly.

Let us change locations for a moment and return to the Headmaster's Office.

Mister Colbert was fervently explaining everything to Sir Osmond.

About the commoner boy that was summoned by Louise at the Springtime Familiar Summoning.

About how he was concerned about the runes that had appeared on the boy's hand as proof of the contract between him and Louise.

And that when he went to find out more...

"You discovered that he is the Founder Brimir's familiar Gandalfr?"

Osmond intently examined Colbert's sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.

===Page 101===

"Yes! The runes that appeared on that boy's left hand are exactly the same as the runes that were inscribed on the legendary familiar Gandalfr!"

"So, your conclusion?"

"That boy is Gandalfr! If this isn't big news, then what is, Old Osmond?"

Colbert stood up as he wiped his balding head with a handkerchief.

"Hrm... Certainly, the runes are the same. But for an ordinary commoner boy to become Gandalfr just by having the same runes... I wonder how that could've happened."

"What shall we do?"

"However, it is probably too early to be making definite claims."

"That's true."

Sir Osmond drummed his fingers on the desk.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

From behind the door came Miss Longueville's voice.

"It's me, Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

===Page 102===

"It seems there are some students dueling at the Vestri Courts. It's causing quite the commotion. A few teachers have gone there to try and stop it, but their attempts are being impeded by the sheer number of students."

"For heaven's sake, these noble kids have far too much free time to stir up trouble with. So, who's involved?"

"One of them is Guiche de Gramont."

"Ah, that idiot son of Gramont. The skirt-chasing must run in the family, considering his father's even more of a womaniser. I wouldn't be surprised if the boy knows every girl in school. And his opponent is?"

"...Well, it's not a mage. I've been told it's Miss Valliere's familiar."

Osmond and Colbert exchanged a look.

"The teachers are requesting to use the 'Bell of Sleep' to stop the duel."

Osmond's eyes glinted like a hawk's.

"Ridiculous. There's no need to use such an important artifact just to stop a children's fight. Leave them be."

"Understood."

Miss Longueville's footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

Colbert swallowed audibly and verbally pressed Osmond.

"Old Osmond."

===Page 103===

"Hrm."

Sir Osmond waved his staff, and a big mirror set in one wall began scrying on the situation at the Vestri Courts.

Saito was surprised. The moment he grabbed the sword, all the pain in his body disappeared.

He realized the runes on his left hand were glowing.

And then...

''My body feels as light as a feather. I could almost take off and fly.''

In addition, the blade he held in his left hand felt so familiar that it seemed like an extension of his body.

''That's so strange. I've never even touched a sword before...''

Seeing Saito with the weapon in hand, Guiche smiled coldly.

"Firstly, let me congratulate you. I'm honestly quite impressed that a commoner would come this far against a mage."

With that, he twirled the rose in his hand.

''That artificial rose must be his wand. Really, how vain can you get?''

Saito was astonished that he even had the leisure to think such things.

''I was beaten up so badly just now. What in the world happened to me?''

Guiche's golem attacked again. ''Stupid tin can.'' The statue modeled in the shape of the mythical Valkyrie

===Page 104===

''(paragraph continued)''

came towards Saito in what seemed like slow motion.

''What the hell,'' Saito thought.

''I got kicked around like a rag doll by '''this''' crawling junk pile?''

Saito leapt into action.

Guiche uttered a tormented moan at seeing his golem get cut through like a lump of clay.

The two halves of the golem each struck the ground with a resounding 'clang.'

Meanwhile, Saito bolted towards Guiche in a whirlwind of action.

Panicking, Guiche waved his rose wand wildly. Petals danced, and six new golems appeared.

Altogether seven golems were at Guiche's full arsenal. Never had he thought that a mere commoner could be a match for even one.

The golems surrounded Saito and sprang at him all at once.

And just when it looked like they had him, five of them were slashed apart. It had been so fast that nobody even saw the blade, making everyone wonder just what kind of superhuman ability this was.

The remaining golem promptly dashed over to guard Guiche.

But it too was taken down by an unseen sword-stroke.

===Page 105===

Illustration -- ''I am the bone of my sword...''

===Page 106===

"Hiii!!"

A kick to the face sent Guiche sprawling to the ground.

He saw Saito leap at him.

''I'm gonna die!'' he thought, as he shielded his head.

Something made a loud 'thunk'...

When he timidly opened his eyes again...

Saito had driven the blade into the ground just to the right of Guiche's head.

"You want to continue?"

Saito asked.

Guiche shook his head furiously. He'd totally lost any will to fight.

And in a failing voice he said,

"I... I yield."

Saito released his hand and walked away.

He could hear rowdy cheering from the audience such as 'woah, that familiar is awesome!' or 'oh man, Guiche lost!'

''I... won?''

===Page 107===

''How?''

Saito's thoughts were in a haze.

''...Just what happened to me?''

''I was getting knocked around so mercilessly.''

''And then, the moment my hand touched that sword, my body felt like a feather. The next thing I know, all of Guiche's golems were in pieces.''

''I didn't even know I could use a sword.''

''I don't quite understand it, but whatever. I won somehow, and that's that. I'll think about it later. Because right now, I feel really really tired. I want to sleep.''

He could see Louise running over to him.

'Hey, I won!' he wanted to yell, but his knees buckled.

The feeling of fatigue overwhelmed him, and he could feel his consciousness drift far away. Saito collapsed.

As she saw Saito begin to teeter, Louise ran faster to try and support him, but she didn't quite make it. Saito toppled over onto hard ground with a heavy thud.

"Saito!"

Louise shook him. No, it seemed he wasn't dead.

===Page 108===

"Guu..."

She could hear snoring. Instead, he was sleeping.

"He's asleep..."

Louise looked thoroughly relieved as she let out a sigh.

Guiche stood up and shook his head in amazement.

"Louise, just what is this guy? All of my Valkyries were so easily defeated..."

"He's just a commoner."

"There's no way my golems could have lost to 'just a commoner'."

"Hmph. Wasn't it just because you were weaker?"

Louise went to lift Saito up, but unable to properly support him, ended up falling down with him on top of her.

"Aaah, jeez! You're so heavy! Idiot!"

One of the students amidst the crowd cast a Levitation spell on Saito.

Louise began to gently push Saito's floating body away. She needed to take him back up to her room and patch him up.

With the corner of a sleeve, Louise dabbed at her eyes. He looked so in pain, so pitiful, she couldn't help but cry. He'd become so strong all of a sudden when he grabbed the sword, but if it hadn't been for that, he really might have died.

Right now, that was more important than Saito winning. ''I bet this idiot thought it probably wouldn't matter if he died. Going around being so headstrong like that, when you're just a commoner...''

===Page 109===

"You're just a familiar, so why do you keep doing stuff on your own?!"

Louise yelled at the sleeping Saito. Her relief was quickly being replaced by annoyance.

Sir Osmond and Colbert finished watching the entire event via the Mirror of Far-Seeing. They exchanged another look.

"Old Osmond."

"Hrm."

"That commoner, actually ended up winning..."

"Hrm."

"Guiche is only a first level Dot  mage, but even so he shouldn't have been beaten by an average commoner. What amazing speed! I've never seen a commoner like him before! There's no doubt that he's Gandalfr!"


"Hrmm..."

Mister Colbert urged Osmond.

"Old Osmond. We should report this to the palace immediately, and ask for instructions..."

"There will be no need for that."

Sir Osmond nodded sternly, ruffling his white beard.

"But sir! This is the biggest discovery of the century! A Gandalfr reborn in the modern world!"

"Mister Colbert. Gandalfr was no ordinary familiar."

"Exactly! The familiar used by the Founder Brimir, Gandalfr! There was never any description of its appearance, but it's said to have created specifically for the purpose of protecting the Founder Brimir during his spell incantations."

"Correct. Founder Brimir's incantations were especially long... However that made his spells very powerful. And as you know, mages are most vulnerable while spell casting. And Gandalfr was the familiar that he used to protect himself in those times of vulnerability. Its strength..."

Colbert eagerly cut in at this point, looking extremely excited.

"It could annihilate an army of one thousand all by itself! Ordinary mages were said to be no match for it!"

"So, Mister Colbert."

"Yes?"

"That boy, he really is just an average commoner, right?"

"Yes. No matter how I looked, he was just an average commoner. I even confirmed it with a Detect Magic spell when Miss Valliere initially summoned him, but he was still a genuine average commoner."

"And who was it that turned him into a modern Gandalfr?"

===Page 111===

"That would be Miss Valliere but..."

"She must be a very talented mage, I take it?"

"Not at all. Rather, one might say she's ''un''-talented..."

"A puzzling duo to be sure."

"Yes."

"So how did an average boy that was contracted by an untalented mage become Gandalfr? What an utter paradox. I just cant see where the ends meet."

"Indeed..."

"In any case, there is no need for us to hand over Gandalfr and its master to those fools at the palace. Give them a toy like this and they'll just cause another unnecessary war. Court advisors have too much free time on their hands and like fighting far too much."

"O-oh, I see. I apologise for overlooking such important matters."

"I will take responsibility of this case myself. You will not speak of this to anyone else, Mister Colbert."

"Y-yes! I understand!"

Sir Osmond took hold of his staff and turned to look out the window. He immersed his thoughts in the far reaches of history.

"The legendary familiar Gandalfr... Just what kind of form had it taken before, I cannot help but wonder."

===Page 112===

Colbert murmured as if dreaming.

"Gandalfr was said to be able to use any weapon to take down its enemies..."

"Hrm."

"So it must have at least an arm and hand, I think."

The morning light woke Saito up. His body was wrapped all over in bandages.

''That's right.''

''I got into a duel with that Guiche, and got beaten up really badly...''

''Then I pulled off some miraculous win using that sword...''

''And I fainted.''

He was in Louise's room. For some reason, he'd been sleeping in Louise's bed too.

Louise herself was sitting at a table and sleeping soundly over it.

His eyes fell upon the runes on his left hand. When those runes had been glowing, his body had felt as light as a feather, a sword he had never held before felt like an extension of his arm, and he had sliced up Guiche's golems like nothing.

Right now those runes weren't glowing.

''What exactly was that, I wonder...''

While he stared at his left hand curiously, there was a knock on the door before it opened.

===Page 113===

It was Siesta. The commoner girl who had fed him stew at the kitchen. She was in her usual maid outfit, complete with the headband adorning her hair.

She looked at Saito and smiled. On the silver tray she carried was some bread and water.

"Siesta...?"

"So you're awake now? Saito-san."

"Yeah... I..."

"After all that, Miss Valliere had you brought up here to sleep. She had to get a teacher to cast a spell of healing on you too. It was quite serious."

"Spell of healing?"

"Yes. It's magic to help treat injuries or illness. You didn't know?"

"No..."

Saito shook his head. It confused Siesta that Saito didn't know some of the basic terminology, but she wouldn't get anywhere by not saying anything.

"Miss Valliere paid for the reagent that was required for the healing spell. So don't be concerned about it."

His silence was a clear indicator that he was concerned about the money.

"Does it cost a lot? For that reagent."

===Page 114===

"Well, it's certainly not something a commoner could pay."

Saito made an attempt to get up, but cried out in pain.

"Ouch!"

"Ah, you shouldn't move! Your injuries were so severe even the healing spells couldn't completely fix them! You still need to take it easy!"

Saito nodded and lay back on the bed.

"I brought you some food. Please eat."

Siesta placed the tray by Saito's bedside.

"Thanks... How long was I asleep for?"

"Three days and nights straight. Everyone was worried you wouldn't wake up."

"Everyone?"

"All the kitchen staff..."

Siesta cast her eyes down shyly.

"What's the matter?"

"Um... I'm sorry. That I ran away that time."

She was talking of how she had run away in fright when Saito had gotten Guiche angry

===Page 115===

''(paragraph continued)''

at the dining hall.

"Don't worry. It's nothing to apologize about."

"Nobles were always so scary to us commoners, since we couldn't use magic..."

Siesta suddenly raised her head. Her eyes sparkled brightly.

"But, I'm not so scared anymore! I was so inspired, Saito-san! You won against a noble, though you're a commoner!"

"Okay... Haha."

''Although I really have no clue how I actually won.''

Somewhat embarrassed, Saito just scratched his head. Then he realized he was using the arm that had been broken. It looked completely fine. It still ached a bit when he moved it, but it seemed the bones were whole again.

''Wow, so this is magic.'' Saito thought in slight admiration.

''...I guess it is something to be proud about.''

"By the way, did you tend to me all this time?"

"Oh no, not me. It was actually Miss Valliere..."

"Louise did?"

"Yes. She changed all the bandages, and wiped the sweat from your face... She didn't sleep one bit,

===Page 116===

''(paragraph continued)''

so she must be exhausted."

As she slept, Louise's breathing was even and gentle. There were heavy dark circles under her eyes though.

''Her sleeping face is always so adorable. It's doll-like.''

''So she '''can''' be nice sometimes,'' he thought. Suddenly her side profile looked intensely cuter.

Louise's eyes flickered open.

"Fuaaaaaaaaa~~"

She made a great big yawning stretch, and then her gaze fell upon Saito, who was sitting on the bed blinking in surprise.

"Ara. You're awake."

"Y-Yeah..."

Saito cast his eyes downward. He figured he should thank her.

"Um, Louise."

"What?"

"Thanks. And I'm sorry I made you worry."

Louise stood up.

And drew closer to Saito.

Saito's heartbeat accelerated. ''Is she going to say something like "good job, you were really cool out there"''

===Page 117===

''(paragraph continued)''

''and maybe kiss me?''

But that was not to be.

Louise pulled away Saito's blanket and grabbed him by the scruff.

"If you're better now, get out of my bed!"

Still holding him by the scruff, Louise pulled Saito out of the bed.

"Wah! Ow!"

Saito tumbled to the floor.

"Hey, I'm still an injured person!"

"If you're well enough to complain, you're well enough for anything else."

Saito stood up. His body still objected, but it was nothing he couldn't put up with. Still, she could've let him sleep for a little bit longer.

"Uh, in that case, I will take my leave now..."

Siesta left the room wearing a crooked smile. Or more precisely, she fled the room.

Louise threw a mountain of clothes and underwear at Saito.

"Ack!"

"That's the laundry that's piled up while you were asleep. Once you're done with that, clean up the room. Hop to it!"

"Um, you know..."

===Page 118===

Louise glared fiercely at Saito.

"What? Just with something like beating Guiche, did you think you'd be treated differently? Did you think you'd be congratulated? Are you an idiot?"

Saito looked resentfully at Louise.

He decided to take back his earlier thought about her being cute.

Still... the way Louise sat on her bed swinging her legs was an undeniable level of cuteness beyond this world.

Her long strawberry blonde hair rippled. Her hazel eyes twinkled with mischief. She was rude, arrogant, and selfish, but try as he might to deny it, her appearance was enchanting.

Raising a finger triumphantly, Louise declared.

"Don't you forget! You're my familiar!"

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story1 Chapter2

2006-11-13T09:53:40Z

The naming game: added page numbers in comments + added section breaks where they appear in the book.

==== Chapter Two: Louise the Zero ====

When Saito woke up, the first sight to greet his eyes was the underwear that Louise had stripped off.



It had somehow ended up in his line of sight, after having been carelessly tossed away.


Louise was still asleep in bed, snoring gently. Her sleeping face was simply cherubic. Looking at her like this, she seemed a lot more childish. She was a loud and annoying girl when she spoke—"noble" this, "magician" that—but while she slept, she was cute. Saito almost wished that she would stay that way forever.



Then reality sank in. ''So last night really '''wasn't''' a dream.'' He had thought he would find himself back in his own room, but obviously, it hadn't happened. He felt dispirited.


Still, it was a refreshing morning. Dazzling light shone down into the room.

Saito's characteristic curiosity was reawoken. ''Thinking about it, this is kinda like a sightseeing tour. I wonder what kind of world this is? While I don't like the idea of being the familiar of a rude magician girl who snores her head off, I should try to make the most of it in any case.''






First things first, he went and flung the blanket off Louise.

"Wh-What? What's going on!"

"It's morning, milady." 

"Huh? O-Oh... Wait, who are you!?"

Louise yelled in a slurred voice. Her expression was vacant as she trailed off into a pitiful mumble.




''Is this girl okay?''


"Hiraga Saito."

"Oh, the familiar. That's right, I summoned you yesterday, didn't I?"

Louise got up and yawned. Then she ordered Saito:

"Clothes."

He tossed her the uniform that had been draped over a chair. Louise began to sluggishly undress.

Saito quickly turned the other way to hide his blushing face.

"Underwear."

"G-Get that yourself."

"They're in the lowest drawer... Of that closet... Over there."

It seemed she thoroughly planned to get the most out of Saito. 

Holding his tongue, he went and opened the indicated drawer. Lo and behold, it was packed full of underwear. It was the first time he had seen women's underwear in this manner, except for his mother's. Grabbing a pair at random, he threw it over his shoulder without looking back.



Once Louise had put them on, she mumbled again. 


"Clothes."

"I just gave them to you."

"Dress me."

''Don't push it.'' Saito turned to object angrily, only to find Louise sitting sleepily on the bed wearing only the underwear he had thrown at her. He suddenly didn't know where to look.

Louise pouted in displeasure.

"You must not know because you're a commoner, but nobles will not dress themselves if a servant is available."


That irked him.

"You can at least dress yourself."

"Right then. As punishment for being a disrespectful familiar: No breakfast,"
Louise declared, raising a finger triumphantly.

Reluctantly, Saito picked up her blouse.


<center>* * *</center>

When he left the room with Louise, he saw three identical wooden doors along the wall. One of them opened, and from inside appeared a girl with flaming red hair. She was taller than Louise,
roughly the same height as Saito. She gave off a strongly flirtatious aura. Her face was attractive and she sported a captivating bustline. Her breasts were like melons.




The top two buttons of her blouse were undone, highlighting an impressive cleavage which drew the eyes in impulsively. Her skin was tanned, giving her a look of health and natural beauty.




Her height, skin color, atmosphere, and breast size... It all made for a strong contrast with Louise, who lacked in those charm points.



When she saw Louise, she grinned broadly.

"Good morning, Louise."


Louise returned the greeting with a frown.



"Good morning... Kirche."



"That... is your familiar?"
Kirche asked somewhat mockingly, pointing at Saito.



"That's right."

"Ahaha! So it really is a human! That's amazing!"

Saito resented that. ''Sorry for being a human. What are you then?'' He stared at Kirche's breasts. ''You're just a big-breasted alien. Yeah, a big b-b-breasted alien.'' His stare intensified.





"It's just like you to summon a commoner with 'Summon Servant.' As expected of Louise the Zero."

Louise's white cheeks flushed scarlet.

"Shut up."

"I summoned a familiar yesterday too. Unlike a certain somebody, I was successful on my first try."

"Really."

"And if you're going to have a familiar, it should be a good one like this. Flame!"

Kirche called her familiar triumphantly. From her room, a large dark-red lizard slithered out. A wave of heat hit Saito.

"Uwah! What the heck is this red thing?"

Kirche smiled.

"Ohoho! Don't tell me this is your first time seeing a fire lizard?"


"Put a chain on it or something! It's dangerous! And just what is it?"

"Don't worry. As long as I order it not to, it won't attack. Aren't you the scaredy-cat."

Kirche put a hand to her chin, and tilted her head teasingly.

The creature was at least as big as a tiger. Its tail was tipped with flame, and from its mouth


Illustration -- Kirche shows off her familiar.

(paragraph continued)


it spat out embers as it breathed. 

"Don't you feel hot being near it?"
Saito asked. He calmed himself down and looked at it again. "Wow, it's a monster... Fantastic!"


"It's actually fairly cool to me."


"Is this a salamander?"
Louise asked jealously.

"That's right! A fire lizard! See, look at the tail. A flame this vivid and large means it's without a doubt a salamander from the Fire Dragon Mountains! It's like a brand! Collectors can't even put a price on these!"


"That's nice," Louise said, her voice bitter.

"Isn't it? It matches perfectly with my affinity!"


"Your affinity is Fire, isn't it?"


"Of course. After all, I'm Kirche the Ardent. The ardent of gently smoldering passion. Everywhere I go, I have boys falling for me. Unlike you, right?" 

Kirche puffed her chest out proudly. Not wanting to lose, Louise did the same, but the difference in volume was just too sad.


Despite this, Louise glared at Kirche. It really looked as if she hated losing.


"I don't have the time to go around flirting with everything I see, unlike you."

Kirche only smiled calmly. Then she turned to Saito.

"And what's your name?"

"Hiraga Saito."

"Hiragasaito? What a strange name."


"Hey!"

"Well then, I'll be off now."

She stroked her flaming red hair back and dashed off. The salamander followed her with a cute shuffling movement that looked odd with such a large creature.

As she disappeared, Louise shook a fist in her direction.

"Ooh, that girl gets on my nerves! Just because she summoned a salamander from the Fire Dragon Mountains! Argh!"

"Calm down, it's just a summoning."

"No, it's not! You can determine a mage's true power just by looking at their familiar! Why did that idiot get a salamander, while I got you?"

"Jeez, sorry for being a human. But you're one too, y'know."

"Comparing mages and commoners is like comparing wolves and dogs!"



Louise exclaimed haughtily.

"...Okay, okay. By the way, she just called you 'Louise the Zero,' but what's the 'Zero?' Is it your surname?"



"No way! My name is Louise de la Vallière! 'Zero' is just a nickname."

"A nickname, huh? I can understand why she's called 'Ardent,' but why are you 'Zero?'"

"You don't need to know,"
Louise answered uncomfortably.

"Is it your breasts?"
Saito asked, glancing at Louise. ''Yup. Flat as a board.''


Louise's hand flew out. He dodged it.

"Come back here!"

"Don't hit me!"

''A slap?''


''That reminds me... This girl...''

''Yesterday, even when everyone else flew away, she walked.''

''And last night, when I grabbed her, she kicked me in the groin.''



''If she really wanted to chastise me, wouldn't it be better to use magic, instead of hitting or kicking?''

''That would be more effective, and more mage-like.''


''Why is that?'' Saito wondered.


<center>* * *</center>

Tristein Magic Academy's dining hall was the tallest and centermost building on the premises. Inside, three extremely long tables were arranged parallel to each other. Each one looked like it could easily seat a hundred people. The table at which Louise and all the second years sat was the middle table.

It appeared that students could be identified by the color of their cloaks. Viewed from the entrance, everyone sitting on the left-hand table looked a little older and wore purple cloaks—third years.

The students sitting on the right-hand table wore brown cloaks—first years. ''So they're like year-level jerseys,'' Saito thought.

Every single mage on the school grounds, students and teachers alike, gathered here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

On an upper level, he could see teachers enjoying pleasant chatter.



All of the tables were magnificently decorated.


Numerous candles, bunches of flowers, baskets full of fruit...

Saito's mouth was agape with amazement at the sheer grandeur of the dining hall. Louise raised her imperiously and began to explain. Her hazel eyes twinkled with mischief.



"Tristein Magic Academy doesn't teach just magic, you know."

"Right..."

"Almost all mages are nobles. The saying 'nobles achieve nobility through the use of magic' is a foundation for the education we receive as nobles. Thus, our dining halls must also be fitting of a noble's status."


"Okay..."

"Understand? Normally, a commoner like you would never set foot inside the Hall of [[#alviss|Alvíss]]. Be grateful."

"Right... Hey, what's an 'Alvíss'?"


"It's the name for the little people. See all those statues over there?"

Where she pointed, lined along the walls were elaborate sculptures of small people.

"They're well-made. Err, those things don't... like... come alive during the night or anything, do they?"

"Oh, you knew that?"

"So they do?!"



"Well, they dance. Enough of this, pull out my chair, will you? You're not a very competent familiar,"
Louise remarked, crossing her arms and tilting her head, making her strawberry-blonde hair ripple. ''Oh well, ladies first.'' Saito pulled Louise's chair out for her.

Louise didn't even thank him as she sat down. Saito also brought over a chair to sit on.

"This is amazing!"
Saito cried. It was far too grand for a breakfast. A huge roasted chicken taunted Saito. Other than that, there was also wine and a pie baked in the shape of a trout.

"I can't eat all this! I'll die if I do! Hey, Miss!" 

He prodded Louise's shoulder, only to find her glaring at him.

"What?"
Saito asked dubiously. Louise kept her gaze fixed.

"Ah, I'm getting ahead of myself. I should act more like nobility! Even though I'm not a noble."

Louise pointed to the floor, where a bowl had been placed.

"It's a bowl."

"Yes. It is."

"There's something suspicious in it."


Louise propped her chin on her hands and spoke.

"You know, familiars are supposed to stay outside. You're only in here because I especially requested it."

Saito was sitting dumbly on the floor, staring at the bowl sitting in front of him. In it were some sorry-looking scraps of meat floating around in a thin soup. On the edge was half a loaf of hard-looking bread.


Extending his neck, he peered over the edge of the tabletop.

He could only gaze longingly at the spectacular feast that was laid out on it. It was far beyond comparison with his meager bowl of scraps.

"O Great Founder Brimir and our lady the Queen, we thank you for this humble meal that you have graciously provided us this morning."

The harmonious sound of prayer was raised. Louise joined in as well, closing her eyes.


''Just how is that a 'humble meal?''' Saito griped, still staring at the food. ''That's more than a banquet. If anyone's got a 'humble meal,' it'd be me. I mean, just what the heck is in this bowl? This is worse than what you'd feed a pet.'' He wanted to protest. ''Even pets in Japan eat better than this!''

Irritated at this mistreatment, he laid a hand on the tabletop, but it was slapped away by Louise.


Saito looked up resentfully at her.

"What are you doing?"

"Give me some chicken. Just a little bit will do."


"Jeez..."

Grumbling, Louise stripped a bit of skin and dropped it into Saito's bowl.

"What about the meat?"

"No, I'm not going to help start a habit."


Louise herself began digging enthusiastically into the grand feast.

"Ah, it's delicious. Delicious! I think I'm going to cry,"
Saito muttered, while he gnawed on his hard bread.


<center>* * *</center>

The classrooms in the Magic Academy were similar to university lecture halls. And like everything else, they were constructed from stone. The lecturing teacher stood at the lowest level, and the seats were arranged upward like stairs. When Saito and Louise entered, every student in the room simultaneously turned their heads towards them.

And then the laughter began. Kirche was there as well, surrounded by a group of boys.

''I see, so she really does have them wrapped around her little finger. She's being treated like a queen''


''by all of those guys. Well, it's not surprising with her impressive bust. I guess big breasts are big breasts, no matter where you go.''

The familiars that everyone had brought along were a varied bunch.

Kirche's salamander was curled asleep under her chair. There were students with owls resting on their shoulders. From a window, a gigantic snake peered into the class. One boy whistled, and the snake withdrew its head. Other than those, there were also ravens and cats.


But what drew Saito's attention the most were the creatures that would've been considered fantasy monsters back in his world. He was suddenly excited. All sorts of amazing beasts were milling around him.

He spotted a lizard with six legs. ''That's gotta be...'' Saito tried to recall what little fantasy lore he knew. ''A basilisk! I've seen one in a game.'' There was also a huge eyeball floating gently in midair. What could that be? He decided to ask Louise.

"What's that freaky eyeball monster?"

"A bugbear."

"Then what about that octopus thing?"

"A Skua." 

Louise answered him in a sullen voice and sat down. Saito sat down beside her. She glared at him.


"What?"


"That's a mage's seat. Familiars aren't permitted to use it."

Begrudgingly, he lowered himself to the floor. ''I wasn't allowed to eat breakfast at the table either. And this desk is really getting in the way. I'm not sitting here,'' he resolved, and sat back on the chair.

Louise glanced at him, but didn't say anything this time.

The door opened, and the teacher entered the class.

She was a middle-aged woman dressed in a voluminous purple robe and was wearing a hat. She had a plump, round face that gave off a friendly impression.

"Is that lady a magician too?" Saito whispered to Louise.

"Isn't it obvious?" Louise hissed back.

The woman gazed around the classroom and spoke with a satisfied smile.

"Well everyone, it seems that the Springtime Familiar Summoning was a great success. I, Chevreuse, always enjoy seeing the new familiars that are summoned each spring."

Louise cast her eyes downward.

"My, my. You've summoned quite a... peculiar familiar, Miss Vallière,"
she remarked as she looked at Saito. The comment was fairly innocent, but the classroom exploded with laughter.

"Louise the Zero! Don't go around grabbing random commoners off the street just because you can't summon anything!"

Louise's long blonde hair billowed as she stood up. She raised her cute voice in anger.



"No! I did everything properly! He was all that appeared!"

"Don't lie! I bet you couldn't even cast 'Summon Servant,' right?"

The other students chuckled.

"Mrs. Chevreuse! I've been insulted! Malicorne the 'Common Cold' just insulted me!"

Louise banged her fist against the tabletop in protest.

"Common cold? I'm Malicorne the Windward! I haven't caught any cold!"

"Well, your hoarse voice sounds exactly like you've caught one!"

The boy called Malicorne stood up and glared at Louise. Chevreuse pointed at them with the wand in her hand. The two suddenly jerked about like puppets on a string and rigidly sat back down.


"Miss Vallière, Mister Malicorne. Please stop this unnecessary argument."

Louise looked visibly dejected. All the vivacity that she'd shown just earlier seemed to have evaporated.

"Calling friends 'Zero' or 'Common Cold' is not acceptable. Do you understand?"

"Mrs. Chevreuse, I'm only called that as a joke, but for Louise, it's the truth."

A few giggles broke out from somewhere.


Chevreuse looked around the classroom with a severe expression. She pointed her wand again, and as if from nowhere, the mouths of the students who'd giggled were suddenly filled with lumps of red clay.


"You people shall continue the lesson in that state."

This put a firm stopper on any further outbursts.

"Now then, let's begin the lesson."

Chevreuse coughed heavily, and waved her wand. A few pebbles materialized on her desktop.

"My Runic name is 'Red Clay.' Chevreuse the Red Clay. This year, I will be teaching you all the magic of the Earth element. Do you know the four great elements of magic, Mister Malicorne?"

"Y-Yes, Mrs. Chevreuse. They are Fire, Water, Earth and Wind."

Chevreuse nodded.

"And combined with the now-lost element of 'Void,' there are five elements in total - as everyone should already know. Of the five elements, I believe Earth holds an extremely important position. This isn't just because my affinity is Earth, nor is it simply a personal preference."

Once again, Chevreuse coughed heavily.

"The magic of Earth is very important magic that governs the creation of all matter. If it wasn't for Earth magic,


we wouldn't be able to produce or process necessary metals. Raising buildings from large boulders and harvesting crops would also involve much more work. In this manner, the magic of the Earth element is intimately related to everyone's life."

''Aha,'' thought Saito. ''So in this world, magic is the equivalent of science and technology in my world. I think I understand now, the reason why Louise is so proud to call herself a magician.''

"Now everyone, please recall that the basic magic of the Earth element is 'transmutation'. While there will be people here who can already perform this from their first year, basics build foundations, so let's review it once more."


Chevreuse turned her attention to the pebbles and twirled her wand over them.

She then whispered a rune, and they began to glow brightly.

When the light dimmed away, the pebbles had been changed into sparkling lumps of metal.

"Is that g-g-gold, Mrs. Chevreuse!?"

Kirche leaned forward over her desk.

"No, it isn't. It's plain brass. Only Square-class mages are able to transmute to gold. I'm just..."

Chevreuse gave a self-important cough.


"A Triangle mage..."

"Louise."

Saito poked Louise.

"What? We're in the middle of a lesson here!"

"What's all this about squares and triangles supposed to mean?"

"It's the number of elements that they can add to a spell, which also determines the level of a mage."

"Huh?"

Louise explained to Saito quietly.

"See, for example, you can use an Earth spell on its own. But if you add Fire magic to it, the overall power of the spell increases greatly."

"Oh, I see."

"Those who can stack two elements like Fire and Earth together, are called Line mages. Mrs. Chevreuse, since she can combine three elements, Earth-Earth-Fire, is a Triangle mage."

"What happens when you add an element to itself?"

"It reinforces that element and makes it stronger."

"I see. So in other words, you could say that the teacher over there is a fairly powerful mage, because she's a Triangle?"


"Exactly."

"How many can you add, Louise?"

She didn't answer.

While they were talking, the teacher noticed them.

"Miss Vallière!"

"Y-Yes?"

"Please refrain from private chatter during lessons."

"I'm sorry..."

"Since you have the time to chatter, perhaps I should have you demonstrate for me?"

"Eh? Me?"

"Yes. Try changing these pebbles here into a metal of your choice."

Louise didn't stand up. She simply sat there looking troubled and fidgety.

"Hey, come on! She's pointing at you!" Saito nudged her.

"Miss Vallière! Is something the matter?"

Mrs. Chevreuse called for her again, but Kirche raised her voice in concern.

"Umm..."

"Yes?"


"I think it would be better if you didn't let her..."

"And why is that?"

"It's dangerous."

Kirche answered plainly. The majority of the class nodded in agreement.

"Dangerous? How so?"

"This is your first time teaching Louise, right?"

"Yes, but I hear she's a hard worker. Now, Miss Vallière. Don't worry, just try it. You won't be able to do anything if you dread making mistakes."

"Louise, don't!"

Kirche cried, her face pale.

But Louise stood up.

"I'll do it."

With a nervous expression, she walked briskly up to the front of the room.

Chevreuse stood next to Louise and smiled.

"Miss Vallière, you have to visualize strongly in your mind the metal that you wish to transmute them into."

Giving a cute little nod, Louise waved her wand. She had never looked as adorable as in that instant when she pursed her lips to begin chanting the incantation - it was almost otherworldly.


Even knowing her true personality, Saito was momentarily enamored.

In the morning sunshine streaming in from the window, Louise's strawberry-blonde  hair sparkled enchantingly. Her hazel eyes seemed like jewels, and her skin was a flawless white. Her sculpted nose was befitting of nobility.

''If only her breasts were more filled out, she'd be perfect - almost too good. But no matter how cute she is, that personality of hers is a real pitfall,'' Saito lamented.

But as he sat there pondering, the students sitting in front of him had for some reason hidden under their chairs. ''Don't they see how cute Louise is? Still, she doesn't seem to be very popular. Rather, she gets called 'the Zero' and made fun of. Just looking around here, there aren't any girls nearly as cute. Only Kirche rivals her in looks.''

Closing her eyes, Louise uttered a short rune and flourished her wand.

The pebbles on the desk promptly exploded.

Louise and Chevreuse caught the blast full-on, and were thrown against the blackboard, as people screamed.

Frightened familiars added to the chaos. Kirche's salamander suddenly woke from its sleep and stood up on its hind legs, breathing a jet of flame. A manticore burst into flight and smashed through a window to escape. Through the hole, the giant snake that had been peeking in earlier slithered in and swallowed someone's raven.


The classroom was in pandemonium.

Kirche stood up and pointed a finger at Louise.

"That's why I told you not to let her do it!"

"Jeez, Vallière! Save us some grief and just quit school already!"

"My Lucky got eaten by a snake! Lucky!" 

Saito was in shock.



Mrs. Chevreuse didn't move from where she lay. From her occasional twitching, she wasn't dead.

A soot-blackened Louise rose slowly. She was a miserable sight to behold. Her torn blouse revealed a slender shoulder, and her panties could be seen beneath her ripped skirt.

Still, what an amazing girl.


She didn't seem at all fazed by the discord in the room.

She pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the soot off her face.

"Looks like I messed up a little..." she said, in a weak voice.

Of course, that elicited a vehement response from the other students.

"That wasn't 'a little!' Louise the Zero!"

"Your success rate is always ZERO!"

Saito finally understood why Louise was called 'the Zero.'

----

== Translator's Notes ==
;[[#back_to_alviss|↑]] Alvíss
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alv%C3%ADss Alvíss] was a dwarf in Norse mythology who was turned to stone through Thor's trickery.

----

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story1 Chapter2

2006-11-09T18:12:13Z

The naming game: /* Chapter Two: Louise the Zero */ unjoined a paragraph I accidentally joined

== [[zeroNT:Komgvol01editchpter02control|Raw English Translation Available Here]] ==

== Chapter 02 - Part 1.0 ==
=== Chapter 02 - Part 1.0 signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
*lambchopsil
*--[[User:CrowKenobi|CrowKenobi]] 00:27, 29 October 2006 (CDT)

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

==== Chapter Two: Louise the Zero ====

When Saito woke up, the first sight to greet his eyes was the underwear that Louise had stripped off.



It had somehow ended up in his line of sight, after having been carelessly tossed away.


Louise was still asleep in bed, snoring gently. Her sleeping face was simply cherubic. Looking at her like this, she seemed a lot more childish. She was a loud and annoying girl when she spoke—"noble" this, "magician" that—but while she slept, she was cute. Saito almost wished that she would stay that way forever.



Then reality sank in. ''So last night really '''wasn't''' a dream.'' He had thought he would find himself back in his own room, but obviously, it hadn't happened. He felt dispirited.


Still, it was a refreshing morning. Dazzling light shone down into the room.

Saito's characteristic curiosity was reawoken. ''Thinking about it, this is kinda like a sightseeing tour. I wonder what kind of world this is? While I don't like the idea of being the familiar of a rude magician girl who snores her head off, I should try to make the most of it in any case.''





==== Page 47 ====

First things first, he went and flung the blanket off Louise.

"Wh-What? What's going on!"

"It's morning, milady." 

"Huh? O-Oh... Wait, who are you!?"

Louise yelled in a slurred voice. Her expression was vacant as she trailed off into a pitiful mumble.




''Is this girl okay?''


"Hiraga Saito."

"Oh, the familiar. That's right, I summoned you yesterday, didn't I?"

Louise got up and yawned. Then she ordered Saito:

"Clothes."

He tossed her the uniform that had been draped over a chair. Louise began to sluggishly undress.

Saito quickly turned the other way to hide his blushing face.

"Underwear."

"G-Get that yourself."

"They're in the lowest drawer... Of that closet... Over there."

It seemed she thoroughly planned to get the most out of Saito. 

Holding his tongue, he went and opened the indicated drawer. Lo and behold, it was packed full of underwear. It was the first time he had seen women's underwear in this manner, except for his mother's. Grabbing a pair at random, he threw it over his shoulder without looking back.


==== Page 48 ====

Once Louise had put them on, she mumbled again. 


"Clothes."

"I just gave them to you."

"Dress me."

''Don't push it.'' Saito turned to object angrily, only to find Louise sitting sleepily on the bed wearing only the underwear he had thrown at her. He suddenly didn't know where to look.

Louise pouted in displeasure.

"You must not know because you're a commoner, but nobles will not dress themselves if a servant is available."


That irked him.

"You can at least dress yourself."

"Right then. As punishment for being a disrespectful familiar: No breakfast,"
Louise declared, raising a finger triumphantly.

Reluctantly, Saito picked up her blouse.

When he left the room with Louise, he saw three identical wooden doors along the wall. One of them opened, and from inside appeared a girl with flaming red hair. She was taller than Louise,
roughly the same height as Saito. She gave off a strongly flirtatious aura. Her face was attractive and she sported a captivating bustline. Her breasts were like melons.



==== Page 49 ====

The top two buttons of her blouse were undone, highlighting an impressive cleavage which drew the eyes in impulsively. Her skin was tanned, giving her a look of health and natural beauty.




Her height, skin color, atmosphere, and breast size... It all made for a strong contrast with Louise, who lacked in those charm points.



When she saw Louise, she grinned broadly.

"Good morning, Louise."


Louise returned the greeting with a frown.



"Good morning... Kirche."



"That... is your familiar?"
Kirche asked somewhat mockingly, pointing at Saito.



"That's right."

"Ahaha! So it really is a human! That's amazing!"

Saito resented that. ''Sorry for being a human. What are you then?'' He stared at Kirche's breasts. ''You're just a big-breasted alien. Yeah, a big b-b-breasted alien.'' His stare intensified.




==== Page 50 ====

"It's just like you to summon a commoner with 'Summon Servant.' As expected of Louise the Zero."

Louise's white cheeks flushed scarlet.

"Shut up."

"I summoned a familiar yesterday too. Unlike a certain somebody, I was successful on my first try."

"Really."

"And if you're going to have a familiar, it should be a good one like this. Flame!"

Kirche called her familiar triumphantly. From her room, a large dark-red lizard slithered out. A wave of heat hit Saito.

"Uwah! What the heck is this red thing?"

Kirche smiled.

"Ohoho! Don't tell me this is your first time seeing a fire lizard?"


"Put a chain on it or something! It's dangerous! And just what is it?"

"Don't worry. As long as I order it not to, it won't attack. Aren't you the scaredy-cat."

Kirche put a hand to her chin, and tilted her head teasingly.

The creature was at least as big as a tiger. Its tail was tipped with flame, and from its mouth

==== Page 51 ====

Illustration -- Kirche shows off her familiar.

==== Page 52 ====

(paragraph continued)

it spat out embers as it breathed. 

"Don't you feel hot being near it?"
Saito asked. He calmed himself down and looked at it again. "Wow, it's a monster... Fantastic!"


"It's actually fairly cool to me."


"Is this a salamander?"
Louise asked jealously.

"That's right! A fire lizard! See, look at the tail. A flame this vivid and large means it's without a doubt a salamander from the Fire Dragon Mountains! It's like a brand! Collectors can't even put a price on these!"


"That's nice," Louise said, her voice bitter.

"Isn't it? It matches perfectly with my affinity!"


"Your affinity is Fire, isn't it?"


"Of course. After all, I'm Kirche the Ardent. The ardent of gently smoldering passion. Everywhere I go, I have boys falling for me. Unlike you, right?" 

Kirche puffed her chest out proudly. Not wanting to lose, Louise did the same, but the difference in volume was just too sad.


Despite this, Louise glared at Kirche. It really looked as if she hated losing.

----

== Chapter 02 - Part 1.1 ==
=== Chapter 02 - Part 1.1 signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
lambchopsil

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

==== Page 53 ====

"I don't have the time to go around flirting with everything I see, unlike you."

Kirche only smiled calmly. Then she turned to Saito.

"And what's your name?"

"Hiraga Saito."

"Hiragasaito? What a strange name."


"Hey!"

"Well then, I'll be off now."

She stroked her flaming red hair back and dashed off. The salamander followed her with a cute shuffling movement that looked odd with such a large creature.

As she disappeared, Louise shook a fist in her direction.

"Ooh, that girl gets on my nerves! Just because she summoned a salamander from the Fire Dragon Mountains! Argh!"

"Calm down, it's just a summoning."

"No, it's not! You can determine a mage's true power just by looking at their familiar! Why did that idiot get a salamander, while I got you?"

"Jeez, sorry for being a human. But you're one too, y'know."

"Comparing mages and commoners is like comparing wolves and dogs!"


==== Page 54 ====

(paragraph continued)

Louise exclaimed haughtily.

"...Okay, okay. By the way, she just called you 'Louise the Zero,' but what's the 'Zero?' Is it your surname?"



"No way! My name is Louise de la Vallière! 'Zero' is just a nickname."

"A nickname, huh? I can understand why she's called 'Ardent,' but why are you 'Zero?'"

"You don't need to know,"
Louise answered uncomfortably.

"Is it your breasts?"
Saito asked, glancing at Louise. ''Yup. Flat as a board.''


Louise's hand flew out. He dodged it.

"Come back here!"

"Don't hit me!"

''A slap?''


''That reminds me... This girl...''

''Yesterday, even when everyone else flew away, she walked.''

''And last night, when I grabbed her, she kicked me in the groin.''


==== Page 55 ====

''If she really wanted to chastise me, wouldn't it be better to use magic, instead of hitting or kicking?''

''That would be more effective, and more mage-like.''


''Why is that?'' Saito wondered.

Tristein Magic Academy's dining hall was the tallest and centermost building on the premises. Inside, three extremely long tables were arranged parallel to each other. Each one looked like it could easily seat a hundred people. The table at which Louise and all the second years sat was the middle table.

It appeared that students could be identified by the color of their cloaks. Viewed from the entrance, everyone sitting on the left-hand table looked a little older and wore purple cloaks—third years.

The students sitting on the right-hand table wore brown cloaks—first years. ''So they're like year-level jerseys,'' Saito thought.

Every single mage on the school grounds, students and teachers alike, gathered here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

On an upper level, he could see teachers enjoying pleasant chatter.



All of the tables were magnificently decorated.

==== Page 56 ====

Numerous candles, bunches of flowers, baskets full of fruit...

Saito's mouth was agape with amazement at the sheer grandeur of the dining hall. Louise raised her imperiously and began to explain. Her hazel eyes twinkled with mischief.



"Tristein Magic Academy doesn't teach just magic, you know."

"Right..."

"Almost all mages are nobles. The saying 'nobles achieve nobility through the use of magic' is a foundation for the education we receive as nobles. Thus, our dining halls must also be fitting of a noble's status."


"Okay..."

"Understand? Normally, a commoner like you would never set foot inside the Hall of [[#alviss|Alvíss]]. Be grateful."

"Right... Hey, what's an 'Alvíss'?"


"It's the name for the little people. See all those statues over there?"

Where she pointed, lined along the walls were elaborate sculptures of small people.

"They're well-made. Err, those things don't... like... come alive during the night or anything, do they?"

"Oh, you knew that?"

"So they do?!"


==== Page 57 ====

"Well, they dance. Enough of this, pull out my chair, will you? You're not a very competent familiar,"
Louise remarked, crossing her arms and tilting her head, making her strawberry-blonde hair ripple. ''Oh well, ladies first.'' Saito pulled Louise's chair out for her.

Louise didn't even thank him as she sat down. Saito also brought over a chair to sit on.

"This is amazing!"
Saito cried. It was far too grand for a breakfast. A huge roasted chicken taunted Saito. Other than that, there was also wine and a pie baked in the shape of a trout.

"I can't eat all this! I'll die if I do! Hey, Miss!" 

He prodded Louise's shoulder, only to find her glaring at him.

"What?"
Saito asked dubiously. Louise kept her gaze fixed.

"Ah, I'm getting ahead of myself. I should act more like nobility! Even though I'm not a noble."

Louise pointed to the floor, where a bowl had been placed.

"It's a bowl."

"Yes. It is."

"There's something suspicious in it."

----

== Chapter 02 - Part 2.0 ==
=== Chapter 02 - Part 2.0 signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
lambchopsil

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

==== Page 58 ====

Louise propped her chin on her hands and spoke.

"You know, familiars are supposed to stay outside. You're only in here because I especially requested it."

Saito was sitting dumbly on the floor, staring at the bowl sitting in front of him. In it were some sorry-looking scraps of meat floating around in a thin soup. On the edge was half a loaf of hard-looking bread.


Extending his neck, he peered over the edge of the tabletop.

He could only gaze longingly at the spectacular feast that was laid out on it. It was far beyond comparison with his meager bowl of scraps.

"O Great Founder Brimir and our lady the Queen, we thank you for this humble meal that you have graciously provided us this morning."

The harmonious sound of prayer was raised. Louise joined in as well, closing her eyes.


''Just how is that a 'humble meal?''' Saito griped, still staring at the food. ''That's more than a banquet. If anyone's got a 'humble meal,' it'd be me. I mean, just what the heck is in this bowl? This is worse than what you'd feed a pet.'' He wanted to protest. ''Even pets in Japan eat better than this!''

Irritated at this mistreatment, he laid a hand on the tabletop, but it was slapped away by Louise.

==== Page 59 ====

Saito looked up resentfully at her.

"What are you doing?"

"Give me some chicken. Just a little bit will do."


"Jeez..."

Grumbling, Louise stripped a bit of skin and dropped it into Saito's bowl.

"What about the meat?"

"No, I'm not going to help start a habit."


Louise herself began digging enthusiastically into the grand feast.

"Ah, it's delicious. Delicious! I think I'm going to cry,"
Saito muttered, while he gnawed on his hard bread.

The classrooms in the Magic Academy were similar to university lecture halls. And like everything else, they were constructed from stone. The lecturing teacher stood at the lowest level, and the seats were arranged upward like stairs. When Saito and Louise entered, every student in the room simultaneously turned their heads towards them.

And then the laughter began. Kirche was there as well, surrounded by a group of boys.

''I see, so she really does have them wrapped around her little finger. She's being treated like a queen''

==== Page 60 ====

(paragraph continued)

''by all of those guys. Well, it's not surprising with her impressive bust. I guess big breasts are big breasts, no matter where you go.''

The familiars that everyone had brought along were a varied bunch.

Kirche's salamander was curled asleep under her chair. There were students with owls resting on their shoulders. From a window, a gigantic snake peered into the class. One boy whistled, and the snake withdrew its head. Other than those, there were also ravens and cats.


But what drew Saito's attention the most were the creatures that would've been considered fantasy monsters back in his world. He was suddenly excited. All sorts of amazing beasts were milling around him.

He spotted a lizard with six legs. ''That's gotta be...'' Saito tried to recall what little fantasy lore he knew. ''A basilisk! I've seen one in a game.'' There was also a huge eyeball floating gently in midair. What could that be? He decided to ask Louise.

"What's that freaky eyeball monster?"

"A bugbear."

"Then what about that octopus thing?"

"A Skua." 

Louise answered him in a sullen voice and sat down. Saito sat down beside her. She glared at him.


"What?"

==== Page 61 ====

"That's a mage's seat. Familiars aren't permitted to use it."

Begrudgingly, he lowered himself to the floor. ''I wasn't allowed to eat breakfast at the table either. And this desk is really getting in the way. I'm not sitting here,'' he resolved, and sat back on the chair.

Louise glanced at him, but didn't say anything this time.

The door opened, and the teacher entered the class.

She was a middle-aged woman dressed in a voluminous purple robe and was wearing a hat. She had a plump, round face that gave off a friendly impression.

"Is that lady a magician too?" Saito whispered to Louise.

"Isn't it obvious?" Louise hissed back.

The woman gazed around the classroom and spoke with a satisfied smile.

"Well everyone, it seems that the Springtime Familiar Summoning was a great success. I, Chevreuse, always enjoy seeing the new familiars that are summoned each spring."

Louise cast her eyes downward.

"My, my. You've summoned quite a... peculiar familiar, Miss Vallière,"
she remarked as she looked at Saito. The comment was fairly innocent, but the classroom exploded with laughter.

"Louise the Zero! Don't go around grabbing random commoners off the street just because you can't summon anything!"

Louise's long blonde hair billowed as she stood up. She raised her cute voice in anger.


----

== Chapter 02 - Part 2.1 ==
=== Chapter 02 - Part 2.1 signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
lambchopsil

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

==== Page 62 ====

"No! I did everything properly! He was all that appeared!"

"Don't lie! I bet you couldn't even cast 'Summon Servant,' right?"

The other students chuckled.

"Mrs. Chevreuse! I've been insulted! Malicorne the 'Common Cold' just insulted me!"

Louise banged her fist against the tabletop in protest.

"Common cold? I'm Malicorne the Windward! I haven't caught any cold!"

"Well, your hoarse voice sounds exactly like you've caught one!"

The boy called Malicorne stood up and glared at Louise. Chevreuse pointed at them with the wand in her hand. The two suddenly jerked about like puppets on a string and rigidly sat back down.


"Miss Vallière, Mister Malicorne. Please stop this unnecessary argument."

Louise looked visibly dejected. All the vivacity that she'd shown just earlier seemed to have evaporated.

"Calling friends 'Zero' or 'Common Cold' is not acceptable. Do you understand?"

"Mrs. Chevreuse, I'm only called that as a joke, but for Louise, it's the truth."

A few giggles broke out from somewhere.

==== Page 63 ====

Chevreuse looked around the classroom with a severe expression. She pointed her wand again, and as if from nowhere, the mouths of the students who'd giggled were suddenly filled with lumps of red clay.


"You people shall continue the lesson in that state."

This put a firm stopper on any further outbursts.

"Now then, let's begin the lesson."

Chevreuse coughed heavily, and waved her wand. A few pebbles materialized on her desktop.

"My Runic name is 'Red Clay.' Chevreuse the Red Clay. This year, I will be teaching you all the magic of the Earth element. Do you know the four great elements of magic, Mister Malicorne?"

"Y-Yes, Mrs. Chevreuse. They are Fire, Water, Earth and Wind."

Chevreuse nodded.

"And combined with the now-lost element of 'Void,' there are five elements in total - as everyone should already know. Of the five elements, I believe Earth holds an extremely important position. This isn't just because my affinity is Earth, nor is it simply a personal preference."

Once again, Chevreuse coughed heavily.

"The magic of Earth is very important magic that governs the creation of all matter. If it wasn't for Earth magic,

==== Page 64 ====

(paragraph continued)

we wouldn't be able to produce or process necessary metals. Raising buildings from large boulders and harvesting crops would also involve much more work. In this manner, the magic of the Earth element is intimately related to everyone's life."

''Aha,'' thought Saito. ''So in this world, magic is the equivalent of science and technology in my world. I think I understand now, the reason why Louise is so proud to call herself a magician.''

"Now everyone, please recall that the basic magic of the Earth element is 'transmutation'. While there will be people here who can already perform this from their first year, basics build foundations, so let's review it once more."


Chevreuse turned her attention to the pebbles and twirled her wand over them.

She then whispered a rune, and they began to glow brightly.

When the light dimmed away, the pebbles had been changed into sparkling lumps of metal.

"Is that g-g-gold, Mrs. Chevreuse!?"

Kirche leaned forward over her desk.

"No, it isn't. It's plain brass. Only Square-class mages are able to transmute to gold. I'm just..."

Chevreuse gave a self-important cough.

==== Page 65 ====

"A Triangle mage..."

"Louise."

Saito poked Louise.

"What? We're in the middle of a lesson here!"

"What's all this about squares and triangles supposed to mean?"

"It's the number of elements that they can add to a spell, which also determines the level of a mage."

"Huh?"

Louise explained to Saito quietly.

"See, for example, you can use an Earth spell on its own. But if you add Fire magic to it, the overall power of the spell increases greatly."

"Oh, I see."

"Those who can stack two elements like Fire and Earth together, are called Line mages. Mrs. Chevreuse, since she can combine three elements, Earth-Earth-Fire, is a Triangle mage."

"What happens when you add an element to itself?"

"It reinforces that element and makes it stronger."

"I see. So in other words, you could say that the teacher over there is a fairly powerful mage, because she's a Triangle?"

----

== Chapter 02 - Part 2.2 ==
=== Chapter 02 - Part 2.2 signing ===

Revision 0.5 - This section has issues that should be considered.
The following Editors Agree:

*[Signature Here]

Revision 1 - This section is in satisfactory condition ready for processing.
The following Editors Approve:

*[Signature Here]
lambchopsil

Revision 2 - This section is finished and is ready for Baka-Tsuki pdf release.
The Following Editors Approve:

* [Signature Here]

----

==== Page 66 ====

"Exactly."

"How many can you add, Louise?"

She didn't answer.

While they were talking, the teacher noticed them.

"Miss Vallière!"

"Y-Yes?"

"Please refrain from private chatter during lessons."

"I'm sorry..."

"Since you have the time to chatter, perhaps I should have you demonstrate for me?"

"Eh? Me?"

"Yes. Try changing these pebbles here into a metal of your choice."

Louise didn't stand up. She simply sat there looking troubled and fidgety.

"Hey, come on! She's pointing at you!" Saito nudged her.

"Miss Vallière! Is something the matter?"

Mrs. Chevreuse called for her again, but Kirche raised her voice in concern.

"Umm..."

"Yes?"

==== Page 67 ====

"I think it would be better if you didn't let her..."

"And why is that?"

"It's dangerous."

Kirche answered plainly. The majority of the class nodded in agreement.

"Dangerous? How so?"

"This is your first time teaching Louise, right?"

"Yes, but I hear she's a hard worker. Now, Miss Vallière. Don't worry, just try it. You won't be able to do anything if you dread making mistakes."

"Louise, don't!"

Kirche cried, her face pale.

But Louise stood up.

"I'll do it."

With a nervous expression, she walked briskly up to the front of the room.

Chevreuse stood next to Louise and smiled.

"Miss Vallière, you have to visualize strongly in your mind the metal that you wish to transmute them into."

Giving a cute little nod, Louise waved her wand. She had never looked as adorable as in that instant when she pursed her lips to begin chanting the incantation - it was almost otherworldly.

==== Page 68 ====

Even knowing her true personality, Saito was momentarily enamored.

In the morning sunshine streaming in from the window, Louise's strawberry-blonde  hair sparkled enchantingly. Her hazel eyes seemed like jewels, and her skin was a flawless white. Her sculpted nose was befitting of nobility.

''If only her breasts were more filled out, she'd be perfect - almost too good. But no matter how cute she is, that personality of hers is a real pitfall,'' Saito lamented.

But as he sat there pondering, the students sitting in front of him had for some reason hidden under their chairs. ''Don't they see how cute Louise is? Still, she doesn't seem to be very popular. Rather, she gets called 'the Zero' and made fun of. Just looking around here, there aren't any girls nearly as cute. Only Kirche rivals her in looks.''

Closing her eyes, Louise uttered a short rune and flourished her wand.

The pebbles on the desk promptly exploded.

Louise and Chevreuse caught the blast full-on, and were thrown against the blackboard, as people screamed.

Frightened familiars added to the chaos. Kirche's salamander suddenly woke from its sleep and stood up on its hind legs, breathing a jet of flame. A manticore burst into flight and smashed through a window to escape. Through the hole, the giant snake that had been peeking in earlier slithered in and swallowed someone's raven.

==== Page 69 ====

The classroom was in pandemonium.

Kirche stood up and pointed a finger at Louise.

"That's why I told you not to let her do it!"

"Jeez, Vallière! Save us some grief and just quit school already!"

"My Lucky got eaten by a snake! Lucky!" 

Saito was in shock.



Mrs. Chevreuse didn't move from where she lay. From her occasional twitching, she wasn't dead.

A soot-blackened Louise rose slowly. She was a miserable sight to behold. Her torn blouse revealed a slender shoulder, and her panties could be seen beneath her ripped skirt.

Still, what an amazing girl.


She didn't seem at all fazed by the discord in the room.

She pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the soot off her face.

"Looks like I messed up a little..." she said, in a weak voice.

Of course, that elicited a vehement response from the other students.

"That wasn't 'a little!' Louise the Zero!"

"Your success rate is always ZERO!"

Saito finally understood why Louise was called 'the Zero.'

----

== Translator's Notes ==
;[[#back_to_alviss|↑]] Alvíss
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alv%C3%ADss Alvíss] was a dwarf in Norse mythology who was turned to stone through Thor's trickery.

----