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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume20 Chapter5

2017-09-14T07:59:38Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 5: An Elf's Longing===
"You looked troubled. A penny for your thoughts?" Mother Sea asked, on the day after Saito found the submarine. It was rare for her to do that.

Saito looked disturbed the whole time that day. It could also be said that he was depressed because of the "nuclear weapon".

"Um, you see... Actually, I'm the legendary familiar."

"Ah, I see."

"I have the power to use any weapon."

"That sounds nice."

Mother Sea said this with a monotonous voice.

"Hey, can't you put a little more effort in hearing me out?"

"I'm listening. It's just that I've have lived for so long. I wouldn't feel surprised about listening to something that ordinary."

After hearing the ancient dragon say something like that, Saito started to feel as if his troubles were nothing more than a drop of water in the sea.

"Well, the ancestor of my master has sent me 'weapons'. Using some unknown magic, they sent me weapons from my world."

"So, you're troubled by the weapon you've found."

"Yeah."

"No matter what, that weapon was sent to you, right? Shouldn't you be happy about it?"

"The problem is the power of said weapon. Even in my world, that is the most powerful weapon available to us. It's the ultimate weapon, used only as a desperate measure. This is not just some weapon comparable to something like the gun."

"Oh, then what is it really?"

"It's a nuclear submarine. It's sunk at a place 10 minutes from here if I ride a dolphin."

"Oh, that one? The chunk of steel as big as a building was built by you guys?"

"You know about it?"

"Of course. There's nothing in this ocean that old me doesn't know about. I see, so that thing was a weapon from your world."

That thing? Saito took special note of this phrase.

"Are there others?"

"Yeah. Do you want to take a look?"

"Take a look? Did you mean..."

"Old me thought that they were junk, so I gathered them into one place. I've never thought that they were weapons."

Mother Sea pointed towards the deep end of the cave. There was another hole in there, filled with seawater, with a diameter of about 20 Mails.

"They are inside there."

"In the water?"

"No, there's another place similar to here through that hole. I'll bring you there. Hop on my back."

Saito suddenly felt uneasy but he did not know why. He followed Mother Sea's instructions and climbed onto her back.

"Saito, where are you going?"

After Saito sat atop Mother Sea, Tiffania, who had been sleeping beside Saito the whole time, woke up.

"It seems like there are more of those weapons."

"I will go with you."

Tiffania immediately got up.

Luctiana, who had been playing with the dolphins at one side, saw what they were doing and walked to them.

"Where are you guys going?"

"Oh, Mother Sea told me that there were more weapons from my world here."

"Eh, what are those? I also want to take a look. By the way, why haven't you told me about it before?" Luctiana said to Mother Sea, surprised.

"I've always thought that those were junk thrown away by you elves or the humans..."

"Hey, it's not like us to litter."

Luctiana grabbed onto Mother Sea's scales and climbed onto its back with a sour face.

"Alright, bring us there. Quickly."

Tiffania followed Luctiana's lead and climbed up the back of Mother Sea. After making sure that everyone sat on her back, Mother Sea began to lumber forward into the hole filled with sea water.

The hole seemed to lead to a labyrinth of tunnels, like an anthill, within the gradually expanding hollow interior of the stone mountain.

After diving in the water for about ten seconds, they resurfaced into another cave.

Seawater gushed into the cave. As it was connected to the outside, the interior of the cave was relatively bright. It reminded Saito of the famous stalactite caves he had seen on the inland travel agendas in the magazines or in the television programs before.

However, the place that Mother Sea brought them to lacked the sense of mysticism.

This was because it was filled to the brim with corporeal objects.

Saito took in a deep breath.

All kinds of weapons lay before him.

Rifles, cannons, tanks...there was even a fighter jet...

He thought of the underground basement Julio brought him to. Even though there were also weapons of all sizes there, it was incomparable to this place in terms of quantity.

However, this might be because all of these were found in the sea. Most of the objects were husks of their former selves, rusted beyond repair, and had become completely unusable. What the Romalians had found were probably found on land.

Saito touched the surface of a tank of unknown origin, which had turned craggy due to rust.

As the smell of corroded iron entered Saito's nostrils, he was overwhelmed by a sudden sense of homesickness and sorrow. These military weapons, brought away from home to a faraway land before they could be used, left to decay here as time went on...

However, in a way, this might also be a form of bliss.

To be able to end their lives without causing pain and suffering to others, might be a path to happiness after all...

Saito superimposed himself over those weapons. He thought about how he himself, was a weapon that had been summoned to this world...

However, he was not a "tool". He was sentient, and he had a soul. What should he do, after being gifted such destructive power?

Wasn't it for the best if he allowed his life to be wasted away like the weapons here? Saito could not help himself from thinking that way.

Just as Saito was drowned in his morose thoughts, Tiffania gently grasped his hand. Saito turned his head, and saw Tiffania shook her head while looking at Saito with a serious face.

Her eyes carried a strength that made Saito feel remorseful at thinking about how he should waste his life away here.

"You shouldn't be worrying about unnecessary things, you know."

Tiffania said that with a gentle voice.

"Sorry, I think too much."

"What is the matter?"

"It's nothing. I was thinking, aren't the weapons piled up here the same as me?"

Tiffania shook her head after hearing Saito speak.

"Saito isn't a tool. You're a person. You're not just any person..."

Having said this, Tiffania lowered her face, embarrassed.

"You're also an important friend to me, aren't you?"

"I guess you're right. Thank you."

Knowing how Tiffania thought about him made Saito feel happy, and a smile appeared on his face.

Saito cheered himself up and walked up to the pile of weapon husks, planning to scour around looking for something that could be used. Even though he did not know what would happen after this, weapons were always needed.

Tiffania followed Saito's lead and began searching the pile. Meanwhile Luctiana simply looked at them from the side.

"Aren't you going to help them?"

Mother Sea asked Luctiana, but she simply shook her head.

"They are our enemies, you know. They're are finding weapons to kill us, how could I help them do that?"

"Didn't you help them escape?"

"That's because I didn't like how the Council did things."

"Do things the way they should have been done. You people have such a complicated way of living," said Mother Sea. However, after observing that Luctiana was in fact itching to join them, Mother Sea then said,

"You want to join them, don't you? It's written all over your face."

"That's because I am interested in what they are doing. Even if that's the case. Alright! I'm just going to take a look!"

Having said that, Luctiana joined the duo who had been searching the "weapons".

Although most of them had rusted beyond repair and left only husks of their original selves, they managed to find some weapons that were borderline usable. They were mostly small caliber firearms covered in plastic, or stainless steel revolvers that had been given the waterproof treatment.

What were they planning to do with all of these things? There were even some Russian-made rocket launchers in there. They got a shock when they found a plastic bag containing a hand grenade and a smoke bomb, along with something like a plastic bullet cartridge. Saito did not know that there were so many weapons that had been waterproofed.

What was even more surprising was that there was a boat here.

Not only that, it was not an ancient artifact like the Zero Fighter or the Tiger Tank. It seemed to be built just a few years ago, still maintaining its outer appearance, floating at the end of the cave that was closer to the sea.

The boat was ten mails long, and at first glance was no different than an ordinary boat. However, there were machine guns built into the bow of the boat. So it was not any ordinary boat at all. It may have been one of the patrol boats that guarded a port.

"This was found just recently."

Mother Sea looked unusually lively. It seemed that she enjoys collecting these items.

They did not have to guess where the boat came from, as the characters "U•S•NAVY" were painted with black paint on its hull. Even though the dull gray body of the boat had begun to rust, it still seemed to be in operating condition. Saito clambered up into the boat and placed his palm on the hull. As expected, the runes on the back of his hand began to shine.

"This can still be used."

Saito mumbled to himself as he walked towards the cockpit. If it was something provided by Mr. Brimir, then this should be a military boat; but he also felt that the atmosphere within the boat was not that severe. From the outside it just looked like a normal boat floating on the water.

Saito grabbed the steering wheel just as he would that of a car's. At the same time, the blueprint designs, operating instructions, and other information on the boat began streaming into his brain. This boat seemed to be propelled by an internal combustion engine and a water jet propulsion system. It also seemed to be the latest model, so it would not be that much of a hassle to run it as compared to the Zero Fighter and Tiger Tank. ''Machines have evolved so much since the old days, eh?'', Saito thought.

He looked at the fuel tank indicator. There was plenty of fuel left.

Saito turned on the motors and fired up the engines. The boat looked delicate, but as expected of a military boat it was very durable and still worked even after it had not been maintained for a period of time.

Mother Sea jolted upright, shocked by the sound of the starting boat engines.

"What is it? What's happening!"

"That's the sound of engines revving up."

Saito did not notice that Luctiana and Tiffania had already climbed into the boat and were looking around curiously. As Luctiana had a scornful look on her face, Saito felt pride welling up inside of him.

"What do you think of the patrol boat, elf lady?"

"Mm, what are you asking me that for? Oh right, what magic produced the sound just now?"

"That's not magic, you know. That's science. It's produced by something called an engine. I know you guys have pretty advanced technology, but could you guys make something like this?"

"Don't say it like that. It gets on my nerves."

Luctiana said glumly. But she then turned back with a serious expression and said,

"Hey, make it move for me."

"What's that 'hey' about, blockhead. Change your tone!"

"What! You barbarian!"

The two of them began to squabble. Tiffania looked at them, at a loss for what to do.

"Alright, alright, stop it, the both of you! By the way, Saito, this looks impressive. How do you operate it?"

Saito taught Tiffania how to operate the boat. Even though that seemed quite the daunting task, most of the operations are automatic so it was very simple. It was just like driving a car.

Even though he wanted to take the boat out for a test run, he did not want to attract unwanted attention. So he decided against it.

Looking at Saito's and Tiffania's happy faces made Luctiana bored; so she pouted and said, "Humph, someone's on a high horse. Science? What about it, huh? In the end there was only this thing that was of any use. The rest was all rubbish."

"What? Don't you see that this is not the only one! Every one of these guns and rocket launchers are also made by science! There are so many of them!"

"Even we Elves could make them, if that is the case!"

"Show me then! Where are they!"

However, Luctiana started looking away and whistling.

"This irritating girl..."

Just then, Saito noticed something.

Why did so many weapons from Earth appear in the sea here?

Saito thought about something Julio had said some time ago, in the underground basement.

"These 'weapons' were found near the Holy Lands..."

Linking this statement with the fact that there is a huge pile of weapons here...

Right.

This was a place where even a nuclear submarine got moved to.

He had always thought that the 'Holy Land' was located on land because there was the word 'land' in it... However, six thousand years had passed, so the terrain may have changed over time. In other words, what might have been land, may also have become the sea.

In that case, could this place actually be the 'Holy Land'?

Or would it be some place close to here...

Saito stopped that train of thought for a while. No, how can this be possible? This was impossible. However...

Saito could not get rid of the lingering idea that this was "possible".

"Hey, Derf."

"What?" Derflinger, who had been hanging on Saito's waist lazily, spoke up.

"Didn't you say before that the place where the Holy Land was has changed, so you didn't know where it was?"

"Mm, yes, I did say that."

"Um... Mother Sea?"

"What is it?"

"Was the place around here previously land?"

"This place has always been sea since I was born here."

"How long ago was that?"

"Around a thousand years ago, I think."

"How was it like before that?"

"Oh, now that you've mentioned it, my grandmother did mention something about it. When the grandmother of my grandmother was around, this place was once land..."

Saito felt that his assumption was no longer just a simple hunch.

Luctiana said, surprised, "How is that possible? Are you saying that this place is 'Shaitan's Door'? Hey, this is the 'Dragon's Nest', an abandoned place, forgotten by everyone. If this place was 'Shaitan's Door', the army should have been stationed here to guard it. We couldn't have entered this place that easily..."

"If the army were to do that, wouldn't that just be like telling everyone 'Hey, Shaitan's Door is here'?"

"However, even if that were so, then once they knew that we were here, how could we be so calm and carefree..."

"That's why I feel that it's too strange for us to be able to escape so easily!"

Just then, a loud explosion echoed from a distance.

What happened? Just as they were looking at each other in confusion, the outer walls of the massive stone pillar that Mother Sea lived in reverberated with the sound of something hard crashing into it. The cave shook violently, just like in an earthquake.

Saito immediately understood what made the sound. It was the same explosion sounds he had heard before in Albion and Gallia.

Cannons.

Another volley confirmed Saito's suspicions.

"This is bad...!"

If only he could have known this sooner... He should have put two and two together when he found the submarine.

"Ah, what's happening? What is it?" Luctiana asked around anxiously. Tiffania hung onto Saito, scared.

"It seems that our fates are in their hands," Saito said apprehensively.

"Only three hit their marks. Isn't that a little inaccurate, Comrade Fleet Commander?" Fatima commented after she saw the landing points as she stood on the bridge of her ship. She stood firm, her posture reminiscent of the mythical female warriors of Halkeginia.

The warship fleet she commanded had four 'dragon whales' in total. Each warship had a rotating cannon tower installed on the bridge.

The base of the cannon tower had been transformed from a dragon whale's fin. This meant that the sturdy cannon tower could be rotated without any sort of magic power.

The rear mounted cannons on each tower were extremely powerful weapons. This was because each cannon barrel, which had been invented about fifty years ago, was rifled.

With the ability to induce a stabilizing spin to the acorn-shaped artillery shells, which greatly improved the range and power of the cannons, these cannons had brought countless victories to the Elven Navy in their battles against Halkeginia's pirates and Navy.

Even though the Navy and Air Force warships of Halkeginia also carried hundreds of cannons of their own, each one of those cannons were older front-mounted ones. Halkeginians also had the rifling technology, but due to the lack of metallurgical knowledge and opposition from the nobles against civilian arms, this technology was not well-received. The repression of technical knowledge was just like the nobles, who thought that magic was the only orthodox technology and that weapons were the path to evil.

"It's just like that, Comrade Colonel. Three out of eight hit their mark. It's pretty good."

The fleet commander said that while he surveyed the situation with his telescope. They had just fired the cannons, two from each of the four 'dragon whale' warships, all at once.

"Alright, what should we do now then?"

For the fleet commander's question, Fatima answered, "Our orders by the Council were to 'capture them alive'."

"No, I'm asking what our orders from the Party were."

The fleet commander was also one of the members of 'Steel-Blooded Party'.

"We, the people of the desert, as united as steel by our bond of blood, will exterminate the Barbarians of the West. Oh Noble Will, lead our way!" Fatima answered with the Party constitution.

The fleet commander nodded, satisfied, and gave his order.

"Continue the shelling. All cannons, fire at will. Shoot everything we have against them. We'll tell them whose land is it here."

The shelling continued without pause.

"Wait a minute! Why are they suddenly throwing cannon shells at us?"

A few shells hit the rock ceiling, causing rock shards to rain down. One of the stone pillars beside them got hit. Spear-like stalactites fell right in front of Saito and the others and shattered into pieces.

"Anyway, let's get out of here first."

Saito took off his shirt immediately and jumped into the sea. Tiffania and Luctiana also stripped down to their underwear and dove into the water after him.

After riding the dolphins out of the cave, they heard cannon shots behind them.

"It's that way."

Saito and the others dove into the water and swam to the other side. They then lay on the dolphins, leaving only their heads out of the water to look at their surroundings.

Ah, found them!

There were four ships, barely touching the water's surface, firing their cannons on the sea a few kilometers away.

"It's the cannon ships from the Navy!"

"Those are cannon ships?"

The whale-like organisms that were carrying a cannon tower and a ship bridge were actually warships of the Elven Navy. Saito was surprised by this.

"Yeah! Hey! Why are they shooting when I'm still inside!"

"That's because you're a traitor. No matter what, even if we died, it's not us who's going to be bothered, right?"

After hearing Saito say that, Luctiana nodded.

"I guess. Although I won't like that to happen."

Just then, cannon shells flew towards them. One of them hit the water not far away from Saito, and the waves after the initial pillar of water crashed into them.

"Uwah!"

As Luctiana was prepared to howl out in indignity, Saito grabbed her leg and pulled her into the water.

"Gulp! What are you doing!"

"They'll notice us, you idiot!"

"I can't put up with this if I don't say something!"

"Anyway, we should focus on escaping first!"

After returning to the cave, Saito and the others prepared to flee the place. However, they did not have any luggage to speak of.

"Where are we going to escape to?"

Luctiana asked Saito.

"How would I know? I'll leave that to you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Saito let Tiffa and Luctiana sit in the dolphin boat, while he took the small patrol boat. He grabbed some of the weapons they had found just now with him in the boat.

"What? Are you going to run away in that boat alone?"

"Of course not! I'm going distract them. Wait a few minutes, then you guys leave in the opposite direction."

"I-I want to go with you!" Tiffania anxiously prepared to board the small patrol boat. However, Saito shook his head.

"No, Tiffania. You have to leave on that boat."

"I can't allow you to be bait while I run away!"

Tiffania grasped Saito's hand tearfully. Saito looked away and shook his head again.

"No."

"Please!"

"If I'm alone, it's much easier for me to move around. I'll just lure them away then I'll join you guys."

"I can also do something!"

Tiffania did not plan to give up. Another shell hit the ceiling, and rock shards rained down from the ceiling again.

"As I was saying! Tiffa! This is too dangerous for you!"

"I don't care if it's dangerous. Even if it's me, there will be things that I can do. Just tell me how to use those 'weapons'!"

Saito put on a serious expression. To be honest, he did not want to say the things he was going to say. However, there was no time for them to delay any longer. Tiffania was unable to make any calm decisions anymore.

Saito said with a bitter voice, "You are a burden to me."

"What?"

"I'll just speak my mind then. You're going to be a burden to me. If you don't escape, it will only create more problems for me."

Me? A burden? Tiffania was dumbfounded. Saito used the opportunity to push her down the patrol boat.

"Luctiana, I'll leave Tiffa to you." Having said that, Saito started the engines of the small patrol boat. The motors whirred into life, and the boat began to move.

"Oi! Dolphins! Turn them around!"

Saito shouted towards the dolphins that had gathered around the boat. The dolphins immediately understood what Saito meant, and deftly turned the boat around with their noses.

After Saito made sure that Luctiana had pulled Tiffania onto the boat, he put his palms together and said, "Sorry," softly.

Saito stepped on the propeller gas pedal after confirming that the path forward was clear, slowly moving the small patrol boat out into the open.

After he exited the cave, Saito turned on the pump jets to maximum throttle.

Under the double acceleration of the propellers and pump jets, the small patrol boat began to move forward rapidly.

"Partner, you said some horrible things, eh."

"That's because if I didn't say those things... Well, I'm happy that she thought about helping me. However, there's a difference between things she can do, and cannot do."

"Yeah."

After going around the huge rock pillar, Saito quickly reached the place they had been just now. The four Dragon Whale warships entered his vision.

"Alright, now I have to get their attention."

Saito charted a straight path towards the fleet.

While he was advancing towards the fleet, Saito thought calmly about the unknown location of the "Holy Land".

If this place was really the Holy Land...

Then what did they really have here?

The Pope had said something about a gigantic magical contraption here.

What exactly is that magical contraption?

No matter what, he could not really completely believe what the Pope had said to him. There was no doubt that they were hiding something from him.

And then there was the thing about Sasha killing Brimir.

And also the fact that Derflinger was made by the Elves.

What really happened back then, six thousand years ago?

Mystery after mystery appeared before Saito.

Saito felt that if he did not solve the mystery of what really happened there six thousand years ago, he would not be able to save Halkeginia at all. It was a feeling akin to a premonition.

Saito wanted to put an end to this subtle feeling of "incongruity".

"Hey, Derf."

"What?"

"This is the 'Holy Land', right?"

"Didn't I already tell you? I don't know. I'm telling the truth."

"You're made by the Elves, right?"

"Mm, since Luctiana said so, it seems to be the case."

The Dragon Whale warships noticed Saito's incoming patrol boat, and turned their cannon towers towards him. Saito looked in front of him as he continued to ask his questions.

"In other words, you were made by Sasha, right?"

"When I was first conscious, I was indeed held by her."

Cannon shots were heard, and flashes of light appeared from the cannon muzzles before they spewed out black smoke. Saito turned the boat's steering wheel, and the small patrol boat nimbly changed its path.

The shells flew towards an unexpected direction, and left magnificent water pillars in their wake. However, that was all.

"This might only be my imagination. The reason why you've forgotten about it, might it be the Elves' doing?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, if I put it this way, maybe you were tampered with so you couldn't remember things that are bad for the Elves?"

"You meant that Sasha did that?"

"I'm saying maybe. These are just some of my thoughts. However, I'm not sure if this was really the case as I don't fully understand magic."

"What would you do if that really was the case?"

"I wouldn't do anything. I just felt that it wouldn't be right for me to continue pressing you."

Derf's body went clink clank, as if he was laughing.

"You're really a good partner, eh? It's my lucky fortune that I was paired with you. But maybe it's just as you said, that when I wanted to say something I felt as if someone pulled my guard up and I couldn't say anything."

They were only a few hundred mails away from the Dragon Whale warships now, and they could now see clearly see that the warships were outfitted with other small caliber cannons besides the main cannons in the front and the back of the warship.

"Alright, anyway, this marks the end of our conversation. We should focus on the task we have before us, Derf."

"Alrighty, partner."

The small caliber arms on each side of the boat began firing all at once. Saito made the patrol boat do a quick U-turn. The place he was just at was peppered with small water pillars where the bullets hit.

After locking the gas pedal, Saito picked up the rocket launcher beside him and stood up from his seat. He thought the thing he held was a Russian-made RPG-7. It often appeared in games.

Saito controlled the steering wheel with his feet while trying to aim the red-tipped warhead at the Dragon Whale warship. Even though he thought about striking the cannon towers, just destroying one of them wouldn't have any effect.

So he aimed at the ship's bridge.

"They don't have 'Reflect', do they?"

Saito remembered how he suffered in the fights of Alhambra and Tiger Street when every blow was reflected back at him.

"It's okay. Only skilled ones can use that."

''And what should I do if there are really skilled ones on board, huh?'' Saito thought as he aimed at the bridge, and he pulled the trigger on the RPG-7. The warhead shot forward in a flash, faster than what Saito had expected, and hit the bridge.

Luckily, they did not have 'Reflect'. The weapon had a shaped charge, so it easily blew a hole into the thick scales of the Dragon Whale and pierced through it. After that a huge explosion was heard from inside the warship, followed by fire and heavy smoke.

However, due to the gigantic size of the Dragon Whale the attack barely affected it. Not only did it show no sign of slowing down, its attacks were barely hindered.

"Doesn't seem to have much of an effect, eh?"

"No, we just need to attract their attention."

Saito sat back on his seat and stepped on the gas pedal. The patrol boat revved up, jumping over the small waves, and rapidly approached the Dragon Whale warship.

"Come on, look here... Look right here!"

The Dragon Whale warship turned around and faced Saito.

"We did it!"

Saito snickered, and picked up the small caliber rifle. He fired a few continuous shots at them while steering using one hand. This way, the Elven fleet had to respond with one of their warships. He would lure them away, then escape under the cover of smoke.

This was Saito's plan.

Two of the cannons flashed, and the shells fell near Saito.

Saito deftly maneuvered the boat around to dodge the pillars of water where the shells hit.

"Those damn bastards. Ain't that a good aim?"

It was too accurate even as warning shots.

Wouldn't it be problematic if he was killed?

Saito had a bad feeling about this.

"Isn't it time yet?" Luctiana muttered. A few minutes after they had left, they could still hear some cannon shots; but it was not coming from the stone walls anymore.

That meant that Saito was successful in luring the Dragon Whale warships away.

"Alright! Buck up! We're leaving!"

Luctiana chided Tiffania, who was sitting in the small boat in a daze.

"I, really was useless..."

"Hey! Now is not the time..."

"For that."

Just then, a distant voice came from behind them.

Luctiana turned around without hesitation, only to find a troop of Elven Navy Marines led by a long-haired woman wearing a Navy officer's uniform. She was holding something like a gun.

However, that gun was not powered by gunpowder; instead it used wind-stones to shoot bullets. Even though it was a single-shot pistol just like guns of Halkeginian design, it was much more powerful and it had no problems even if it was soaked in water.

It seems like they came through the water. They might have used the dolphins or something, since they were all wet.

"I'm so happy to see you, traitor of the people. Were you going to use a lure to escape? However, we also thought about using lures of our own."

"You're referring to the fleet?"

Luctiana's face blanched in horror after noticing the emblem on the sleeves of her uniform.

"The Steel-Blooded Party."

They are a party of elitist zealots who follow the rule that "they will kill every last one of the traitors of the people".

Luctiana prepared to chant magic.

Before she could complete it, the gun was fired and a bullet sped through the air.

"Ugh..."

Luctiana fell to the ground. Tiffania broke out of her daze after hearing that sound and immediately rushed to Luctiana's side to check her wound. Luctiana grasped her abdomen, but hot blood continued to flow out of her wound, dying her clothes red.

"What are you doing!"

"I'm just giving the traitor due punishment."

Fatima said coolly, and jumped into their boat. After noticing Tiffania's ears, her face turned bitter.

"You're one of the Devils?"

"I'm not a Devil. I'm Tiffania. Tiffania Westwood. Tend to her wounds now or she will die!"

"I don't care if she dies."

Tiffania tried to think of a way to stop the blood. She rolled up the clothes and applied pressure on the wound, but there was too much blood so Tiffania was a loss of what to do.

Fatima walked towards her, escorted by armed Marines.

"The Devil."

"Wouldn't it be bothersome if we were killed?"

"Humph. It seems like no matter how many times we kill you guys, the power you have will be revived in someone else; but it's only that power. However, even if it was to be revived, we would just kill you guys again."

Tiffania stood up with her hands in front of her chest.

[[Image:ZnT20 135.jpg|thumb|]]

"Kill me then. This has nothing to do with her. Please save her."

"Traitors are even more unforgivable than the Devils."

Fatima gripped Tiffania's ears.

"Seems like the rumors about an elf with the blood of the Devil was true. You've not only inherited the blood of the Devil, but also the blood of the traitor of our people."

Just then, Fatima noticed something sparkling on Tiffania's finger. That was the base of the ring that Tiffania's mother had left her with.

"Where did you get that ring from?"

"This is something my mother left me! She's a gentle person, completely different from you! The clans-people of my mother must also be gentle people!"

Fatima bit into her lips until blood trickled out.

"So it's you then. So this is how you look like. You...You!"

Fatima's face was distorted in hatred. She then seized Tiffania's finger, which had the ring.

"You probably don't know how much humiliation and suffering the 'clans-people of your mother' received because of what you and your mother had done! We lived a life where we were even forced to eat dirt to survive! We were cast away by others as traitors to the race, and we couldn't even buy bread in peace!"

Tiffania's face lost all color.

"You... Are you..."

"Oh Noble Will. Thank you for allowing me to meet Shajal's (TL/N: Pearl) daughter here."

"One of the clans-people of Mother...!"

Tiffania suddenly fell backwards on the boat. Just as she was about to say something, the gun was fired. Excruciating pain shot up Tiffania's right leg, and she curled into a ball. Fresh blood leaked out of the wound onto the boat.

Fatima reloaded the pistol that had been holstered on her waist.

"This is for uncle."

The gun roared as another wave of pain surged up Tiffania's left leg.

"Don't you worry. I won't kill you immediately. I'll let you taste every bit of humiliation our clans-people felt, and then give you a slow death."

Another gunshot was heard, and Tiffania felt a blow to her abdomen. However, the pain was too much for her to bear, and her senses had already shut down. She felt as if there was a fog in her mind. She could not believe that this was reality.

She felt a faint pang of despair.

"I don't have any friends anywhere."

Even the clans-people of my mother treat me this way...Where should I even go to? No, my final destination has already been set.

It was to be hell. If she were hit by the bullets she would surely die.

"No."

Tiffania felt as if she wanted to cry while she thought about this. "I do not want to die", she thought. "I want to see Saito", she thought.

"I don't want to die."

Tiffania unconsciously pulled out her wand, and began chanting a magic spell. There was only the thought of "meeting Saito again" in her fuzzy consciousness. Now, she only wanted to take a look of the person she loved before she died.

Maybe it was because of this that she chanted this magic spell. If she was calm and collected she would never chant this spell.

This was because there are hundreds and thousands of people in this world. Even though she did not know how the spell worked, the probability for that person to be chosen would be the same as finding a shining grain of sand in the desert.

No, it was impossible.

This was because, Saito was already the familiar of someone else...

"My name is Tiffania Westwood. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers..."

Just as Tiffania was chanting the spell, the gunshots never stopped. The bullets hit her shoulder, her calves, and then her abdomen again.

And even so Tiffania continued chanting her spell.

Tiffania was now completely driven by her own sheer will.

Fatima had underestimated Tiffania. Seeing that Tiffania continued chanting her spell in spite of multiple gunshot wounds, the Marines began to look frightened.

"Cursed Devil! What spell did you think of chanting? Let me have a look then. I have already wanted the tricks of the Devil for so long now!" Fatima howled.

Tiffania put in her all to chant the last part of the spell.

"I hereby follow fate's decree and summon forth my 'familiar'!"

The spell chanting is completed.

Blinding white light appeared on the boat, and Fatima could not help but close her eyes.

"Help." Tiffania mumbled as her consciousness began to fade.

"Saito...help me..."

Saito, who had been piloting the patrol boat, was not able to dodge the bright light that had suddenly shown up and he rammed right into it.

Before Saito had the chance to understand what was going on, he appeared right on top of the boat where Tiffania had been. The patrol boat had been moving at a speed of thirty knots, so it crashed into Fatima, who had been standing in front of the boat; and they both fell into the sea.

"What's happening?"

The Marines began to make a racket.

Saito lifted his head out of the water with a splash. The Marines responded swiftly with a barrage of bullets.

"Uwah!"

Saito, who had not got hold of the situation, quickly went underwater to dodge the bullets.

"What? What's happening!"

"Ah, isn't this place the cave just now?"

After Derflinger said that with a deadpan voice, the dolphins bumped Saito up like a ball.

Waves appeared as Saito stepped onto the small boat. What he saw there made him draw in a deep breath.

First, he saw Luctiana, who had been holding on to her stomach and had curled into a ball. And then he saw the pool of blood...

"Tiffa!"

Just as Saito disregarded the problem of how he was transferred here from the patrol boat and was ready to run to her side, the Marines started to shoot him again. Saito jumped away from the bullets.

Saito was enraged beyond belief. These guys used the fleet as bait while sending a small team around to catch them off-guard. Their plan had failed. However, it was too late for any regrets.

Luctiana and Tiffania were also shot to death just like that.

Saito was consumed by sorrow and anguish, but he could not do anything about it. Saito glared viciously at the Elven Marines.

"You shall not be forgiven."

Just when Saito hopped off the boat, and was ready to deal a killing slash to one of the elves when he landed, Tiffania's voice reverberated around his mind.

"Don't kill them! Or we will become real Devils!"

Saito hastily changed the direction of his katana, and severed the gun instead. The elf began to chant, but Saito slammed the hilt of his katana towards his chest and the elf fainted.

The other Marines threw their guns away and unsheathed their scimitars.

"Tiffania is still alive." The exaltation of knowing this calmed Saito a little.

No matter what, the shoddy scimitars of the elves could never take a direct hit from Gandalfr's katana.

In less than ten seconds, the Elven Marines were disarmed and had run away in disarray.

Saito was ready to rush to Tiffania's side; but Fatima, who had already climbed into the boat, pointed her gun towards Tiffania who was barely alive.

"Don't move! Throw that sword away!"

The Elven lady looked very similar to Tiffania.

"If you even move so much as an inch, I'll give her the killing blow."

"Won't you just shoot anyway no matter what I did?" Saito said coolly. "Listen up, long ears. If you dare to shoot Tiffania, I will kill you. I will kill you no matter the means."

"You!" Fatima pointed her guns towards Saito.

In that moment, Saito leapt up. He was so quick that to Fatima it seemed that Saito had disappeared from her vision.

Fatima received a hard blow to her shoulder and collapsed in the boat, Saito being the one who did that.

Even though he did it with the hilt of his katana, it was enough to shatter her shoulder blade. Fatima could not take the pain and fainted. Saito did not even spare her a look and walked towards Tiffania.

"Tiffa!"

Her wounds were grievous. She had multiple gun wounds on her body, and her breathing was weak. Saito nervously tried to tend to her wounds, but he realized that he did not bring any medical supplies.

Saito took Tiffania in his arms.

Grief and agony seized him as he was helpless to do anything. If I were a little more wise...I would have easily predicted that they would have sent infantry here, aside from the cannon ships.

The one who got impatient and was unable to make calm decisions is me.

If, if I had just listened to what Tiffania had said, and at least brought her along with me...

"Tiffa! Tiffa!" Saito yelled twice will all his heart, and Tiffania slowly opened her eyes. Just before Saito could barely compose himself, her eyes slowly turned lifeless again.

"Wake up, Tiffa! Don't go out on me!"

Saito realized that he could not say anything except some cheesy line from a movie. Anxiety and woe swirled around in his mind. Saito was at a loss.

"You managed... to reach in time..."

"I didn't reach in time! I... I'm an idiot. I couldn't protect you, Tiffania... What kind of Gandalfr am I! If, If I had brought you along with me..."

"No... It's not like that. I'm, very happy... that I summoned you, and you came. Now I know... where I belong to... That there is something linking me and you..."

Saito's eyes began to tear up. He did not know what to do after knowing that Tiffania thought of him that much.

"Of course you belong here! That's, that's why..."

Tiffania began to chant a spell while coughing.

"My name is Tiffania Westwood... P-pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers... bless this humble being... and make him... my familiar..."

Tiffania held Saito's head weakly. As he looked into her eyes, a gate appeared before him. Saito quickly understood what was happening. Normally if he was someone else's familiar, the gate would not appear. Normally.

However, Tiffania's longing broke this rule. Her longing, the simple desire to be linked to him, superseded the laws of magic.

Tiffania tilted her head downwards. Saito slowly implanted his lips on Tiffania's. He had to do so.

This was because, this was Tiffania's last wish. The melancholy of this wish made Saito felt that Tiffania was extremely adorable.

"She actually thought so much of me."

At the same time, Saito felt distressed and mournful that this was the only thing he could do. He apologized many times to Tiffania in his mind. Tears streamed down steadily from his eyes, each drop falling on Tiffania's cheeks.

Tiffania parted her lips from Saito's, and whispered, "thank you," before closing her eyes.

"Tiffa...!"

Saito wailed, and it was then that severe pain clawed at his chest, like something was being branded on it... The pain was just like when the runes got carved on him back then...

Saito fainted, unable to endure the intense pain, and the suffering that threatened to crush his heart.

<noinclude>
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|-
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume20_Chapter4|Back to Chapter 4]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
|[[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume20_Chapter6|Forward to Chapter 6]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

User talk:Shadowys

2017-09-14T04:10:11Z

Txtracer: /* Editing ZnT */ Short intro and thanks

== Kikou Shoujo wa Kizutsukanai ==

Hi, you may not know me but I'll skip over the introductions.

I'm sorry to say but Vol 1 of this series would be done by Shishi (Hayashi_s) over at Nanodesu and would be hot linked here. If you're wondering if I ever got permission, yes I did. If you want though, you can start at Vol 4 which he isn't doing (Vol 1-3 would be done by him.)

Thank you for your time
[[User:Koakuma|Koakuma]] ([[User talk:Koakuma|talk]]) 07:42, 20 January 2013 (CST)

Alright, no problem as I just started to translate. I'll just start from vol 4 then. :) Thanks for the heads up.

--[[User:Shadowys|Shadowys]] ([[User talk:Shadowys#top|talk]]) 07:44, 20 January 2013 (CST)

Who gave you permission to translate Itsuten without my knowledge? --[[User:Larethian|larethian]] ([[User talk:Larethian|talk]]) 19:49, 20 January 2013 (CST)

Aye. Sorry about that. --[[User:Shadowys|Shadowys]] ([[User talk:Shadowys#top|talk]]) 18:00, 26 January 2013 (CST)

== hello please hear me out ==

i was asking if u could translate itsuka temna no kuru usagi

Re: I've believed Larethian has it covered :) Also, I seem to be at a lack of time to translate for some time. --[[User:Shadowys|Shadowys]] ([[User talk:Shadowys#top|talk]]) 03:07, 10 May 2013 (CDT)

are you still with us ?

unfortunately I still have not time to do translations, so no.

^^
This was way back from 2014, right?
I've noticed that you've been translating ZnT and would just like to thank you because I
love the series so much! Thanks! <3 -- YourLocalNeko 00:18, 12 June 2017 (BST) (trying to follow format ;3)

Hi Neko. Thanks for fixing the typos. Hopefully I can continue tl-ing in August. --[[User:Shadowys|Shadowys]] ([[User talk:Shadowys#top|talk]]) 15:36, 15 June 2017 (CEST)

==Zero no Tsukaima==

Hello Shadowys. I had some questions on Zero no Tsukaima, so I'm checking with you since you seem to be the one of the main active users working on the project these days. It looked like many of Darknemo2000's chapters were labeled as Preview (it appears as being machine translation), however v11 c8 through epilogue were done by Darknemo2000 but not labeled as Preview. Do you know the reason for that? Are those not machine translated? And then in general, do you know of anything else in the project that was labeled as preview but is not machine translation, or vice versa is machine translation but not labeled? I'm intending to rename the pages (from "Preview" to "MTL") as part of the [https://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=11131 recent update to the machine translation guidelines]. If you don't happen to know the answers, that's fine. Thanks, --[[User:Cthaeh|Cthaeh]] ([[User talk:Cthaeh|talk]]) 02:30, 22 July 2015 (UTC)

I don't really know about them, but it is likely that they are MTLs from past experience on "Preview"s. --[[User:Shadowys|Shadowys]] ([[User talk:Shadowys#top|talk]]) 03:34, 22 July 2015 (UTC)

== Editing ZnT ==

Hi Shadowys,
whats the standard operating procedure for signing up as an editor? I've read its required for major changes right?
I've read on the rules pages I'm suppose to talk to the "Project Manager" but "Vaelis" seem to be inactive. - [[User:Iro Daijoubu|Iro Daijoubu]] ([[User talk:Iro Daijoubu|talk]])

Well, you could try contacting [https://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4340 WolfPup] instead. You'll have to notify the project manager about signing up before adding your name to the editors list. --[[User:Shadowys|Shadowys]] ([[User talk:Shadowys#top|talk]]) 04:48, 6 August 2015 (UTC)

I just kind of started fixing stuff without signing up, sorry if that was a mistake. I don't think I'm making major changes but there are too many to be called "minor" edits IMHO. I've really enjoyed reading ZnT and look forward to finishing it...thanks for sticking with the translations :) --[[User:Txtracer|Txtracer]] ([[User talk:Txtracer|talk]]) 06:10, 14 September 2017 (CEST)

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume20 Chapter4

2017-09-09T05:56:21Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 4: Council===
Adyl, the capital city of the country of the Elves. The Council meeting room was located at the highest level of the Council building.

Just like a mirror, the seats were arranged like a stepladder at either side of the room. At the podium in the anterior of the meeting room, the Elven Council speaker looked disturbed.

One of the Elven Council members sitting on the left spoke forcefully, charging another official with misconduct.

"Well then, Sir Bidashal. What do you have to say about this debacle?"

The person who said this with haughty look on his face, was the Council member Aishmail.

Only a little younger than Bidashal, his eyes under a short fringe twinkled with a spark, highlighted by the blunder of his political rival.

"Wasn't the person who let the demons run away your niece?"

"That barbarian fanatic!"

A loud murmur of assent echoed around the room immediately.

Bidashal did not move from his seat in the middle of the right side of the room. His face was impassive as usual.

"Well then, fellow peace-loving Council members. This is an extremely serious matter to behold! The responsibility for dealing with matters of the 'Devil' lies on the shoulders of Sir Bidashal. Not only that, if the person who ran away was his niece, we could not but be suspicious if there is some hidden motive behind all this."

Aishmail said this with an heavy emphasis on the word "we". So Bidashal raised his head and asked firmly,

"Who exactly does 'we' refer to?"

Aishmail was speechless for a moment, but a sneer appeared on his face after he took a look around him.

"It refers to my fellow Council members here."

"As I was saying, who are those 'fellow Council members' you are referring to?"

Aishmail looked around the Council room filled by 50-odd Council members for help. One of the people who had been murmuring their assent just now kept nodding his head while saying "Yes, yes". A sizable amount of people, lead by Aishmail, raised their hands.

So it was them again; Bidashal felt a pain in his temple. A party of zealots had appeared in the stagnating and decaying country. Narcissistic monsters who held fast to their beliefs, rejecting any foreign thoughts and approaches.

The "Steel-Blooded Party", he spat in his mind as he remembered their name.

However, there was nobody else that stood on their side.

"Sir Aishmail, there doesn't seem be anyone else except you and your friends."

This was ironic in that Bidashal clearly understood that everyone else was not standing on his side either.

Most of the Council members present just wanted to end their terms of service without any fuss. They just did not want any trouble during this time. Any mistakes they made while sitting here as a clan representative would directly bring misfortune to their own clan. As such, they would avoid any action that would require them to bear any sort of responsibility.

This was the reality behind the Council that boasted millennia of history. They weren't really in a position to ridicule the barbarians, thought Bidashal.

"Everyone here wants somebody else to make the decision."

He thought of his niece's face. She was very similar to his younger self, he mumbled to himself. The reason behind her interest in the barbarians was the desire for some sort of "change".

With no improvements, there would be no surprises.

Somewhere in his heart he was unable to forgive his peers who only wished to live the same kind of life every day.

Bidashal said firmly,

"Even so, yes, it's exactly as Sir Aishmail has said. As the Chairman of the Barbarian Countermeasures Committee, I do bear the responsibility of managing the barbarians within the vicinity of our borders; and the responsibility for supervising my niece, Luctiana, is also on my shoulders. Furthermore, the one who educated her was me. Any blame to be made can only be directed to me."

Aishmail revealed a malevolent smile, as if he saw a weakened prey.

"This doesn't seem right. No matter how I see it, this is a serious matter of ethnic rebellion."

"Isn't it the job of the judiciary to determine that?"

"No, no, no, don't you know where your niece has ran off to? After what she did, not even the crime of ethnic rebellion would be enough to please the masses. If our society was still the society of the past... if this were the era where our society was without order, this would be a serious crime that would cause the beheading of every clan member."

Because of Aishmail's statement, the Council members began a commotion.

"It can't be... is this true?"

"Yes, it is, fellow Council members. Behold, the report from the Navy."

Aishmail retrieved a document from the bag beside him. The Council members beside him read it, and their eyes opened wide.

"What is this! Bringing the Devil! To the 'dragon's nest'!"

The Council meeting room erupted into an uproar.

"We have to send our troops at once..."

"Ah! However, even if we kill the Devil, wouldn't he just be revived again?"

"But if the Devil were to reach the 'dragon's nest' we don't know what would happen!"

Every Council member in the room directed their gaze to Bidashal, whose face remained impassive among the chaos.

"So, could we all come to the mutual understanding that the crime committed by his niece is not just some petty crime?"

Aishmail gloated at Bidashal with the glowing face of a victor.

"Well then, since it has escalated to an incident of such degree we could not just dismiss it as whimsical urges of a young woman who's strange in the head. Sir Bidashal, could you have known about this all along, and taught her about it too?"

"You cannot act as if you didn't hear anything. What exactly is happening here?"

Azar urged his master to speak.

"Put in another way, Sir Bidashal has been working with the barbarians to seize the 'Sahara' [1] as his own."

"Which reminds me, didn't he once serve under a barbarian king!"

Some of the Council members groaned. Bidashal only said that he had nothing to say while shaking his head.

"In any case, their clan is too dangerous! I hereby propose that their clan be exiled!"

"I have no objection to that!"

Aishmail yelled out. His party members did the same.

The rest of the Council members looked at each other while thinking, "What to do?". They just sat there looking useless. So this is what happens to people who hate "change", thought Bidashal.

In this sense, Aishmail who was shouting feverishly was much better. Even though he was a fanatic perpetuating the idea of terrorism, it was still a decision made and executed on his own. However, his party's ideology would never be accepted.

Bidashal felt tired and uneasy.

"Well then, if I and my clansmen were to resign from our posts, would that satisfy you?"

As Bidashal surrendered so simply, Aishmail looked dumbfounded.

"It's, it's not just about satisfying me. The Council members present here..."

At this time, an old elf appeared in the Council meeting room. The Council speaker, who had been silent the whole time, said,

"You are late," with a depressed voice. The old elf stuck out his tongue, and scratched his head.

Everyone displayed a shocked expression.

"Isn't that what barbarians do?"

The old elf looked unfazed, and said firmly,

"I learned it from Sir Bidashal's niece. She really knows her stuff when it comes to the barbarians."

After that, the old elf looked around and said,

"Fellow Council members, your arguments have been duly noted. However, in this old man's opinion, I will veto the Council's verdict of dismissing Sir Bidashal from his post."

"This is dictatorship!"

Aishmail shouted out.

"This is the right given to the president by law."

With a mischievous smile on his face, the current president of Nephthys, Turuk, said firmly,

"Well then, fellow wise Council members. Even though you are all calling for Sir Bidashal's resignation, is there anyone more knowledgeable about the realm of barbarians than him?"

Every one in the room went quiet.

"This man has not only fought against the barbarians, but has also served under a barbarian king. We cannot win a war against them without understanding our enemies. If there is anyone who can deal with the barbarians better than him, I urge the person to step forth."

This made Aishmail and his party shut their mouth. Bidashal looked a little embarrassed, and closed his eyes. Looking right at Bidashal, Turuk continued to say,

"Alright, that's it then. Sir Bidashal. Please continue working hard from now on too."

Even though Aishmail kept his silence, he still slowly stood up.

"Alright then. However, the 'dragon's nest' is still under the jurisdiction of the Navy."

"The Navy whom you have good connections with?"

"Of course. My clan and 'the party' grew in power together."

"So?"

"Sir Bidashal, please just continue your efforts in barbarian 'countermeasures'. Let me deal the crisis before us, with real power."

After the meeting Ari, equipped in full battle armor, ran to the side of Bidashal who had just exited the meeting room.

He walked alongside Bidashal to the outside, all the while mindful of the people around him. This was because Bidashal refused to talk.

"So what was the result?" Ari pressed on.

"I'll resume my post as the Chairman of the Barbarian Countermeasures Committee."

Ari instantly breathed a sigh of relief, but his face soon scrunched up in anxiety.

"What about your niece?"

"Your fiancée has committed a crime of ethnic rebellion. This has now become a fact."

"Isn't there anything we can do?"

Ari's face went devoid of expression. The crime of ethnic rebellion was punishable by death.

"The problem is where she has escaped to. This is no longer excusable."

"Didn't that girl know nothing about it? How, then, did she go to the 'dragon's nest'..."

"Even if she didn't know where it was, she shouldn't ever go there. Even you know that, don't you?"

"Aren't you a little too calm? Your niece is going to die!"

"Hey, she's your fiancée."

The two of them walked side by side all the while.

"Seriously! If they had known about the escape, shouldn't they have caught them then and there? And yet, they just let them slip right past..."

On that day... Even though he had thought that the Council Guard Troops he was in were the only ones going after Luctiana and company, in reality that was not the case. It seemed like the Navy also was on the lookout for them.

"They seem eager to know what's happening behind the scenes."

Bidashal sighed and said.

"What does that mean?"

"They didn't think that Luctiana acted alone. That's it."

"In other words, they want to do you in, right?"

"Right."

Ari looked genuinely shocked.

"Why is that so? Even at this time, when the 'Great Calamity' is before us, we're fighting between the clans..."

"This is reality. Our reality."

"No matter what, that's what we are facing now. Your niece..."

"Hey, she's your fiancée."

"By the way, how about the Navy? Those loyal dogs, under Sir Aishmail."

Ari said this with a sarcastic tone. The fact that the Navy had become a private army of the party lead by Aishmail ... the "Steel-Blooded Party" was already an open secret.

"It goes without saying that our fellow beloved 'Steel-Blooded Party' comrades will capture the Devil and 'traitor' at the 'dragon's nest', to protect our national pride."

"Capture?"

"That was the Council's order just now. However, they will without doubt act under an 'expanded interpretation' of the order."

"That's what they are best at."

"Exactly so."

Ari sighed again.

"After capturing the 'Devil', we will lock him up and keep him alive. This is the viewpoint of Turuk and the conservatives like you. However, the 'Steel-Blooded Party' led by Aishmail..."

"Fanatics who will stop at nothing to kill off all the Devils."

"It doesn't matter if they can be revived, they will kill them each time they live. No matter how many they are, no matter how they do it, they will kill the Devils. They will also kill every traitor... every enemy of the <ruby> people of the desert <rt> Elves </rt> </ruby>. And then we, the <ruby> people of the desert <rt> Elves </rt> </ruby>, will use this opportunity to kill the Devils... If they were to act on this, the 'dragon's nest' will be tainted with blood."

"It does make some sense though. One way or another, don't think too much and just do it."

"Well then," Having said this, Ari took a look at Bidashal. He no longer looked tired, and instead had a serious look on his face.

"What should I do?"

Bidashal stopped in his tracks.

"Do you love Luctiana?"

He asked.

Ari gazed at a distance and answered,

"If I were to be able to say 'yes' here, wouldn't that be cool?"

"You can say that."

"To be honest, my thoughts aren't really so organized now, I don't know. It's just that, there are many things I would have liked to tell her, and if she were to die before I could tell them to her, my anger would have nowhere to go, I don't even know what will happen then."

Maybe; he was itching to rush all the way to the 'dragon's nest'. He equipped his entire set of battle armor just for that. If he could reach her before the Navy... However, he had not thought about what should he do after he had saved her, naturally.

Bidashal laughed.

"Alright then, this is a gift for a knight like you."

He took out a document from his pocket, and handed it over to Ari.

"What is this?"

"As you can see, this is an introduction letter. It's someone I know from the barbarian country I was in... Gallia, when I had been working there."

Ari's eyes opened wide. He looked like he was going to shout out something, but he stopped himself. He looked around and lowered his voice.

"...Do you want us to escape?"

"Yes."

"To a barbarian country!"

"Only until this incident is over."

"And when would that be!"

"I don't really know. Anyway, I'll leave my niece under your care, my dear knight."

After watching Ari leave, Bidashal walked towards Turuk's office. Without even knocking, Bidashal entered the room of the highest authority in Nephthys. Inside it, Turuk was alone sitting on his chair flipping pages a book.

"Has it been done?"

"Yes."

"'Insurance' is always needed no matter what we do."

"That's the best we could do. But this would be tough even for Aishmail."

"He's a hardworking man, eh? Even though I will never accept his ideas."

"If I were thirty years younger, I might have been captivated by his words..."

"Old man me has decided from a long time ago, that the only thing that would captivate me is alcohol."

Turuk took out a bottle of beer from the drawer, poured a cup, and gestured for Bidashal to come forward. Bidashal took the glass and drank it in one gulp.

"Alright then, Mr. President. You should be telling me the real reason now."

"What do you mean by the real reason?"

"Seriously. I'm asking you to stop acting dumb. Why the heck did you send me to the barbarians? Why are you going so far to prevent a direct confrontation with the Devils?"

"Because of cowardice. Old man me hates wars, you know."

"I know this. I also don't like meaningless wars. However, it's hard to suppress people like Aishmail who are clamoring for war all the time. Their party membership has been expanding, bit by bit. At the same time, they have also been spreading their ideas to other clans. 'We Elves won't lose to the barbarians in a war. Yet why won't the President just declare war against them?', that's what they are saying right now."

At the same time, Turuk began scratching his ears. It was his habit when he was thinking about something.

"Don't you also know the true colors of the 'dragon's nest'?"

"Yes."

A portion of the Nephthys Council members had been told of the real nature of the 'dragon's nest'. But this secret had been fiercely guarded and was never released to the public.

"And about the occasional findings of broken junk around that place?"

"Yes. Guns and swords. Rifles and something like cannons. Barbarian weapons, all of them. Sometimes the barbarians will send their spies, and bring them back..."

"Until a few decades ago, those were indeed junk. So we didn't give much thought about it. If we were to be too vigilant and provoke the barbarians, that wouldn't be good."

"What's that supposed to mean."

Bidashal's eyes glowed.

"In a few decades, those 'weapons' have become frighteningly advanced."

"This is the first time I've heard this."

"Yeah. Everyone just thinks that those things are broken junk."

Turuk took out something from the drawer.

"This is something that was discovered recently."

Bidashal took the thing that had a black sheen. It was a handgun. However, it was different than the elven ones and the ones in Halkeginia. That was clear at a glance. The technology involved is of an entirely different level.

"This gun, if you were to pull the trigger, can fire consecutive shots. Using the pressurized heated gas produced as it fires."

"This is really well made. However, if it's just this, we couldn't be scared of..."

"It's not only this. We've also found larger, complex machines. We don't even know how use them, nor do we even understand what were they made for."

Bidashal thought of the barbarian young man he met in the barbarian country who had also been brought here. Which brought to mind that he used strange magical weapons to obtain victory countless times in the wars between the 'Devils'...He defeated a troop of dragon knights all on his own, stalled an army of thousands, and even skillfully destroyed the 'Jormungand' he made.

Even though he thought that those were all the work of the Devil's "magical weapons"...

"These 'weapons' have no magic applied on them. Do you understand what this means?"

"We're not afraid of any magic the barbarians can use, but as for this..."

"Exactly. This 'technology' is daunting. No matter how you put it, everyone can use technology. Are you sure that we would win against an army armed with these 'weapons' and the 'works of the Devil' [3]?"

"If you put it that way... I don't really know."

Bidashal gave his honest opinion.

"Killing off all the Devils, huh. Ah, they're really all worked up, aren't they... But what I fear is that we will be the ones who are all killed off."

"However, their armies don't seem to be equipped with these sorts of sophisticated 'weapons'."

"Of course. This is because these weapons aren't made by them."

"Then who were the ones who made them?"

"The 'dragon's nest'... Ah, don't get all fidgety. It's okay to tell you here since there isn't anyone else except old man me and you."

Bidashal swallowed his saliva. Nervousness encapsulated him.

"It's the humans on the other side of 'Shaitan's Door'."

It had been taboo to even mention this. In the past, when the humans from 'the other side'... The "Devils" came to this land... the 'Great Calamity' happened.

"Mr. Bidashal. What I'm worried about is not the barbarians of the west."

"...We cannot let 'Shaitan's Door' be reopened."

This time, Turuk shook his head.

"Since it has come to this, it's not a stretch to say that this is too hard of a task. We couldn't even unite ourselves. Even if we were the ones who created such a country."

Bidashal was reminded of Aishmail's face.

"Alright, let's not digress. The barbarians in the western lands... those people are losing their homeland. We must know what they are up to. Their real intentions."

"So that's what 'working hard' back at the meeting room was about."

"Yes. It's a task that could be entrusted to you."

Bidashal thought of Ari's face when he left. It seems they would meet again not long from now, Bidashal thought.

The Navy headquarters of Adyl was located about 10 minutes away from the huge tower in the middle of the bustling city, 'Kasbah', if one were to go through the waterways.

Numerous triangular flags swayed with the wind atop the building with white walls. The blue and yellow flags at the apex were the symbol of the Navy headquarters. Blue for the sea and yellow for the desert. Representing the domination they had over the two realms, the two flags were unique to the Elven Navy.

Navy "warships" aligned along the harbor. These "warships", if they were to be seen by the Halkeginians, would not be what they were expecting.

In fact, they weren't ships at all.

At a length of a hundred mails, they were dragons reminiscent of large whales... called "dragon whales". If one were to strip them of their iridescent blue scales, they would look like just any other whale.

They lined up tamely at the harbor, leaving only their spine out of the water surface. The Elves were masters in the skill of domestication.

The harbor behind them was created through magical stone masonry. The white structure was a derivative design of ancient elf cities. The Nephthys Navy... an organization colorfully tinted with elven tradition.

In the Navy harbor, an elven girl was supervising the task of 'refueling' with serious eyes.

She had beautiful lustrous blond hair and crystalline jade green eyes, tilted downwards at the ends. She looked like a goddess standing there. However, a frosty glare took hold of her pearly eyes. Her expression was as cold as ice.

Wearing a fitting uniform, she was the ideal leader, a woman of the desert trained by the "Steel-Blooded Party".

Marines glanced at her fearfully as they refueled the warship. However, because the warship in question was a living organism the fuel naturally was 'food'.

A few elves carried fish loaded in large barrels up a tall stepped stool, and poured the fish into the dragon whale's open mouth.

The stool was wheeled, so it took skill to carry the heavy barrels up the stool without it flipping over. They did not use magic for this; for in the Navy, they were trained under the belief that "magic was something to be used in battle, not just for any trivial matter."

One of the Marines got nervous and made a mistake as he was operating the stepped stool, knocking over the barrel. Fresh fish, reared from the fisheries nearby, flailed vigorously in the harbor.

The girl lifted her eyes immediately.

"What the heck are you doing?"

"Ah, s-sorry!"

The Marine lowered his head immediately.

The girl officer strutted towards him. Placing her hands on her waist, she raised her head to look at the Marine who was a head taller than her.

"This happened because you were lax! If you even had an ounce of pride in you as the <ruby> people of the desert <rt> Elves </rt> </ruby>, you wouldn't have made such a trivial mistake!"

"I'll be careful in the future!"

"What happens if we lose to the barbarians because of your mistake? Mistakes in the battlefield cost lives."

At this time, one of the Marines beside them chuckled lightly under his breath. He was a veteran Marine.

"Is there anything funny about this?"

"No, there isn't. Major Fatima Hadat."

"If you don't say it, I'll treat it as an act of disrespect towards a superior and punish you accordingly right here."

Fatima placed her hand on the saber by her waist. The Marine remembered that she was a member of the "Steel-Blooded Party". Knowing that she was not bluffing about it, he spoke reluctantly.

"No...I just thought that, the Major did not have any real battlefield experience."

"Then have you been on the battlefield before, Private?"

"Even if I don't look like it, I have been in the Navy for fifty years. I have some experience in fighting barbarian pirates."

Fatima said coldly,

"I have my elven pride, and have therefore received adequate training. Those will be enough to supplant experience on the battlefield."

She looked like she had absolute faith in her words. Even though the Marine wanted to say something about it, he was stopped by his peers. Just then, an out-of-breath messenger came running and called for Fatima.

"Major Fatima Hadat!"

"What is it?"

"Sir Aishmail called for you."

Fatima's facial expression glowed; and just like that, she ran back with the messenger. The Marines sighed as they watched her leave.

"The Navy of the past had lesser communication problems like this..."

"After those people rose to power, don't you feel that everything has turned strange somehow."

The place Fatima went to was the command center. There, she found Aishmail looking outside the window.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, Comrade Council Member Aishmail."

Fatima did not use the traditional Navy salute and instead placed her palm on her chest, and gave the party salutary bow to Aishmail. He turned to meet her, a smile on his face.

"There is a mission I have for you, Comrade Major."

[[Image:ZnT20_103.jpg|thumb|]]

"Please command me as you wish."

"Please capture the Devil's offspring who have escaped to the 'dragon's nest', and the traitor that has escaped with them."

Fatima flushed pink.

"This is a great honor for me! To hand such an important responsibility to us..."

"There are people who doubt where your loyalties lie."

Fatima's face instantly distorted in anger.

"My aunt has shamed my clan. But, I'm completely different from her. I..."

"I already know all that. Your talent and loyalty to the party is uncontested. I personally gave you this opportunity for your clan to redeem yourselves."

"Thank you very much!"

"Well then, the order that the Council gave to the Navy is to, 'Immediately go to the dragon's nest and capture the Devils and traitor'... However, for someone with the pride and awareness of the <ruby> people of the desert <rt> Elves </rt> </ruby> like you, you should understand what I want to say."

"Yes."

Fatima gave a firm nod.

"I will give the both of them the gift of death."

"You're completely correct. We, the <ruby> people of the desert <rt> Elves </rt> </ruby>, as united as steel, will continue to exterminate the devil. We will kill them every time they revive, no matter how many times that will be. This is the meaning of the 'Noble Will'."

"However... I'm afraid that I lack enough firepower to complete the task if I were to only mobilize my troops."

"Your troops are the commando troops, right?"

"Yes."

"You can use a fleet to handle logistics and support your troops."

"But I'm only ranked as a Major."

"Then, you've been promoted. From now onwards you're a Colonel. Also, you're in charge of commanding this operation."

"However, the fleet commander is still ranked above me."

"Have you forgotten? In the Navy, the party rank takes precedence over the military rank."

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume20_Chapter3|Back to Chapter 3]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume20_Chapter5|Forward to Chapter 5]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume20 Chapter3

2017-09-09T05:18:33Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 3: The Last Spear===
Saito decided to explore the submarine with Tiffania and Luctiana. According to the growth of the barnacles and seaweed on the submarine, Luctiana deduced that this submarine had been here for around 10 years already.

In total its length was at around 120 mails, shaped like a cigar; and at the top, a rectangular bridge resembling something like an old tin can, but much flatter, was built on it.

Saito wanted to say that this was something from his world, but he couldn't speak underwater. Relying on his hands had its limits after all. Then, Luctiana muttered a spell with an annoyed face.

"This is an underwater communication spell. Now we can talk underwater."

Although the sound quality was lousy, like being transmitted from a damaged speaker, it was better than relying on body language.

"You should've used it from the start if you had such a spell." Saito said.

"Huh? You never asked."

Wanting to enter the submarine, Saito began peeling off the shells attached on the bridge.

"Is this something from your world?" Tiffania asked.

"Yeah."

"That's amazing. Is that a boat?"

"I guess so... It's a boat made to travel underwater."

"This boat must be made from iron, right? A boat made of iron can actually float... Is this something that only Saito's world can do?"

Luctiana smirked, "Hmph~ Even if this thing is made from iron, so long as the inside is empty, it can float. How ignorant. This is nothing! Using this to deal with us elves? Don't make me laugh."

Saito retorted. "This boat can not only float, but it also can travel underwater."

Luctiana's eyes went wide with surprise.

"Eh?"

"I say~ Even though you keep mocking us humans as some barbarians, but can you make such a huge submarine?"

Luctiana said, not wanting to admit defeat. "There's no need to dive underwater!"

"Why do you need to dive underwater then?", Tiffania asked.

Saito racked his brain for the answer.

"To keep ourselves hidden from enemies."

"Enemies?"

"This is a boat used in war, that's why my rune marking is glowing."

"And to think that fighting a war requires diving underwater..."

"That's the kind of world I live in."

Just then, Saito noticed something strange. It was impossible for this broken and rusty submarine to be functional. Basically, it was a weapon that could no longer function as one. So why were his rune markings glowing?

"Why are my rune markings still glowing?"

Derflinger said, "You'll know once you enter. It seems that the submarine itself is beyond repair, but the things inside should be functional."

"What's inside then?" Tiffania asked.

"No idea. But what I know is that there's something inside so incredible that even I'm trembling."

Although most of the shells had peeled off because the cover was rusty, it was still stuck firmly on the bridge. Luctiana used magic, and the rust started falling off.

"The minute vibration of the water thanks to my magic will knock off the rust."

Soon, with a 'pong' sound, the cover popped open, and sank to the bottom.

The hole in front of them was like a gateway to hell. A creepy atmosphere emanated from the inside.

"Do we really have to enter?" Tiffania said, her face worried.

Saito nodded.

Relying on the light created by Luctiana's magic, they entered the submarine. Due to seawater leaking into the interior, everywhere was as rusty as a wasteland.

Tiffania was observing the apparatus: the operating lever, the water check valve and the wires among other things, when she suddenly asked a question.

"Saito, don't you have a plane? Does this boat operate on the same theory as your plane?"

"About that..."

Saito searched his unknowledgeable brain for an answer.

Just what does it use to operate?

"No, this thing isn't relying on anything like oil to operate." Derflinger said, answering the question for Saito.

"Oh, as expected of a legendary sword. I remember that you'll have the general picture of the situation so long as you're beside him."

"That thing relies on... the energy generated by particles banging into another particles."

After hearing that, a certain word came to mind. Saito remembered occasionally seeing this word on television, the newspaper and the internet.

Nuclear submarine.

The core of the submarine is...

"Nuclear!"

"Eh? What's that?"

Uh, a nuclear submarine probably relies on a nuclear reactor to be operational. But since the reactor was probably as rusty as this place, then it should mean...

The words 'Radiation Leakage' flashed in Saito's mind. Radiation pollution, the Chernobyl incident. Those scary terms appeared all at once.

Saito shouted, "Tiffa! Luctiana! Get out of here now! We can't stay here!"

"Eh? What? What happened?"

"Uh! Basically, the area around here is poisonous."

Tiffania and Luctiana were taken aback by Saito's outburst. He grabbed their hands, wanting to escape this place, but he ended up knocking into an apparatus.

"Ouch! But it's better than being exposed to the radiation!"

"There's no problem, partner." Derflinger said, attempting to calm Saito down.

"What do you mean by no problem?! You have no idea how scary radiation can be!"

"I really have no idea what you mean by radiation, but I'm certain that we'll be fine. Although this boat relies on that power to be operational, it seems that there's no fuel stick on the boat."

Saito remembered a news show he watched in Japan about nuclear power. A fuel stick made from uranium is needed for the reactor to work.

"So you mean we won't be exposed to any radiation?"

"Probably."

"But even you can't help but tremble at the things found inside here, right?"

"Yeah."

The interior of the submarine was separated by various walls. They headed further inside, and they passed through the walls. On the way, Saito spotted a gold plate written in Russian.

"This submarine is from Russia..."

Saito felt more and more uneasy. Once he touched the walls, the rune markings in Saito's left hand glowed even brighter.
Unexpectedly, there was still air at the bottom-most end. It seemed that the submarine was submerged horizontally downwards, so all the air was collected at the end.

Relying on Luctiana's magic, they managed to open another door with the rust on it falling to the ground like rain in front of them.

Inside was a room that seemed to be a control area of the submarine. Various dashboards, buttons and levers could be seen. In front of the control deck, there were four small, round chairs that looked like the chairs from a coffee shop lined up neatly side by side.

Even though the submarine had lost its power because it was sleeping in the ocean for so long, cold air was sealed inside this room maintaining a kind of tranquil atmosphere.

Saito's rune markings glowed even brighter than before, and started flashing seemingly in annoyance. The size of the thing that was placed here made him tremble uncontrollably.

Don't tell me...

Saito touched the control deck filled with rust and water droplets. He immediately understood what was contained by the boxes behind the room, how it was used and its power.

Fighter planes and tanks were nothing compared to this. The power that the circular 'guns' stored behind was beyond any power ever seen.

It made one feel that the magic in Halkeginia was only a toy.

Seeing Saito standing there shocked. Tiffania and Luctiana worriedly asked. "Saito, what's wrong? Are you still okay?"

"What's going on?"

What do you call this weapon attached to this submarine? Saito remembered from the news he watched before.

It was an artifact left behind by the Cold War.

The strongest "gun" that humans had created.

Once it exploded, it had enough power to wipe a city clean.

Brimir-san... just what do you want me to do with such a thing?

"It's a nuclear weapon."

Back in the cave after the search mission ended, Saito hid in a corner, bringing both knees to his arms.

This was because of the enormous potential within that thing he found.

...Could I use it as a bargaining chip?

Such thinking almost made his brain explode.
The stubborn attitude of the elves, and the firestone which wiped out a dual purpose naval fleet... if I'm unable to take out something as powerful as that, I don't think it's possible that I can negotiate with them.

On the other hand, Saito felt that he should not be using such a thing as a bargaining chip to negotiate with them. After all, nothing would be left if he were to use it.

But, but...

The situation on his side wasn't optimistic. No matter what, they're going lose their home. For the bigger picture, he should actively use it as a bargaining tool.

But, but, but...

What if the elves reject him, what should he do?

If that time comes, must he really fire that thing?

Saito kept repeating the information received inside his mind, the system to detonate the nuclear missiles. Although it was impossible to fire the missiles from the submarine, after removing a few safety measures put in place, it would be able to explode directly like a bomb.

The rune markings on his left hand told him this method.

He was certain it was possible to transport the missiles inside their launching tubes, and then directly detonate them.
When he thought about that, Saito shook his head and stared at his hands.

My god, what am I thinking? If I were to do that, I'd be the same as that Joseph.

Then what should I do?

Saito sighed.

Luctiana, who was also sitting while hugging both knees, leaning her head on her hands, said,

"Is that strange wasteland that incredible?"

"It's not just incredible. Uh. No..."

"Huh? Then what is it?"

Saito wondered if he should tell Luctiana the truth. After all, it was an incredible bargaining chip; if it were to be taken away by the elves...

Thinking about this, he felt ashamed. Luctiana may be an elf, but she was willing to save him. Although their goals may be different, she wasn't someone Saito should lie to.

"Very incredible."

"How incredible?"

"It can destroy an entire town... No, not just a town, even the capital would be finished."

"Elf magic can do the same as well~ It's just that we don't see the need to use it."

"Don't you understand? It means that even we have such an option now. If we were to use it, all of us would perish together."

"You plan to use such a scary thing?" Luctiana said, looking straight into Saito's eyes.

"Yeah."

The both stared at each other for a long time. Saito relented.

"I'm just kidding. How can I use such a thing? I think we should just seal it."

Saito crossed both his hands, placing them on his head, before lying down. Although that was what he said on the surface... wasn't there any other way to make the elves surrender the Holy Land?

As expected, do I have to threaten them?

But even so, Saito didn't want to use such a scary thing.

"Honestly..." Saito muttered.

"For me to make such a decision, the responsibility is simply too much for me."

If it was Louise, what would she do?

I think she would be as hesitant as me, Saito thought.

But to not use the power given to him, and escape reality was weak. Louise probably thought the same as well.

That 'gun'... Is this something that will be forgiven if I were to use it?

Within his heart, a voice said 'Of course not'. Then another voice said 'Now is an emergency, don't hesitate!'

No matter, he still had the responsibility to make a decision. After all, he was the only one who could use that 'gun'.

This reality had changed into an especially heavy burden. Saito couldn't help but mutter one thing.

"Why me?"

On the other hand, Tiffania was worried about the troubled Saito. What he had found on the submarine seemed to be equipped with something very powerful, so powerful that it could fight against the Elves' magic. But he felt troubled because of this power.

Tiffania wanted to make Saito feel better, but she didn't know what she should do. Thus, she could only pace back and forth.

Tiffania pulled down her loose elven clothing, looking at the pair of melons in front of her chest.

Ah, if he saw these...

The thought of it made Tiffania blush.

"Of course not! What was I thinking..."

Although just now was an emergency, and she had showed him them when he became flustered. However, after thinking about it rationally, she shouldn't be doing such a thing.

However, Tiffania wanted to make him feel better no matter what. Because each time when she was in trouble, Saito would always reach a hand out.

Then what should I do? When it comes to this, I think only his lover can comfort and encourage him? If only Louise was here, then...

If it was Louise, she would surely make him feel better.

"If only I was Saito's lover...", Tiffania muttered.

That night, when the moon hid inside the clouds, she gently kissed Saito in the darkness. After that, she should have thought that this should be enough, but somehow...

Somehow, she felt that she wasn't like herself anymore.

Tiffania pressed her hands against her chest. Although in the beginning, she had an ambiguous liking towards Saito, but...

Humans are really a species that easily fall in love with another of its kind.
That's right, because...

---I feel that, I'm always thinking about Saito.

After that night when they kissed, it had always been like that. Recently, Tiffania felt happy just swimming alongside with Saito.

Once she felt happiness, she wanted things to stay like this forever.

And to think that she wanted things to stay like this forever.

"Despite the situation being so urgent..."

Tiffania hated herself for being so weak. "Now is not the time for me to immerse myself in happiness.", she thought.

She thought of something she could do, and an idea flashed into her mind.

Right!

A familiar!

I haven't summoned a familiar. Maybe if I were to summon a familiar... would I become more useful?

Although Tiffania thought that she would bringing her familiar trouble summoning it in such a place, she still thought that this was something she had to do eventually: perhaps her familiar might be the key in solving their current situation.

She had no idea what might appear, but it was better than doing nothing.

Tiffania walked to a corner, and tried to recall the summoning spell she learned in school. This was a spell not commonly used.

Because the incarnation was colloquial in nature, the words of the spell could be freely changed. The teacher mentioned that what was important wasn't the words being said, but the strong desire within one's heart.

The power of magic comes from willpower.

And words were only used to give meaning to that willpower.

There was also another reason in summoning a familiar.

A familiar was brought to a master through the magical strings of fate. This was why Saito and Louise had such a strong bond. Although their personalities were worlds apart, both were aware that they could not live without each other.

If only I had such a person beside me...

Then would the feelings for Saito disappear?

Would it become an invisible bubble, and be absorbed by the vast ocean.

Tiffania took a deep breath, and raised her wand.

"My name is Tiffania Westwood, by the powers governing the five elements..."

She changed her mind, and put down her wand.

Summoning a familiar in such a situation would be too pathetic. Tiffania felt that she wouldn't be able to create a good bond between it and her as well. If that was the case, then there would be no point.

Tiffania was at a loss as she hugged her knees and sat down. Even so, it changed nothing.

After recovering from her daze, she realized that she had been staring at the ring on her right hand. It was a ring from her mother. There was a shining spirit gem on the ring, but only the silver ring setting remained, as she had used the gem to cure Saito's injuries.

Because it was something that her dead mother had left for her, even if only the setting remained, she still wore it. The design of the setting was unique, a net-like pattern that overlapped, layer by layer. Probably an elven style of design.

Every time Tiffania saw this ring, she would always think of her mother. When she was young, her mother was killed by a knight using magic when she jumped to protect Tiffania.

Being a mixed-blood elf, she had no companions, and she was also banned from leaving home, so she only had her mother for company. Her mother often talked about the incidents regarding the desert. There was an oasis, and a huge town... though Tiffania never thought that she would come to this place in such a manner.

Tiffania realized that not all elves were as kind as her mother. She felt heartbroken upon thinking that. Even in the world of the elves, there was nowhere she belonged to.

Would there be a place for her in the human world then? She had a human companion, but, but...

He already had someone in mind, because there was already a girl who had a strong bond with him.

Even if she were to live in the human world, she would still be in pain.

"Somewhere I belong..." Tiffania muttered.

Would those of the same Elven kind as her mother... perhaps be someone gentle?

Would there be a place where she truly belonged?

"I really want to meet the elves who are the same kind as my mother...", Tiffania thought.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume20_Chapter2|Back to Chapter 2]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume20_Chapter4|Forward to Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume20 Chapter2

2017-09-09T04:56:23Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 2: Mother Sea===
In front of Saito and the others a huge water dragon appeared. Its size was far larger than what Ali had sent out to fight, standing at about 15 mails tall.

What appeared to be deep blue scales at first were actually dark silver upon closer inspection. The smooth silver scales changed into different colors depending on how strong or weak the light was.

There were two horns that looked like corals growing on its head. A few huge barnacles surrounded the base of the horns, and between its fingers and toes was thick webbing.

"What is it?"

It could speak clear, and comprehensible human language. Saito thought about another dragon that was capable of the same thing.

"Rhyme Dragons!"

Tabitha's familiar, Sylphid, was a Rhyme Dragon known to be able to use magic and understand human language.

"Ara, I didn't expect you to know that." Luctiana said, impressed by Saito's deduction.

"That's because my friend's familiar is a Rhyme Dragon."

After saying that, the water Rhyme Dragon known as Mother Sea laughed.

"Being able to make my descendant become a familiar, that's amazing."

Mother Sea observed them with her white eyes.

Tiffania stared at the dragon with awe, "Is that your friend?"

Mother Sea narrowed her eyes with a smile, and said: "What a beautiful young lady, it seems that you have human and elven blood within you."

"You can tell?" Tiffania said, shocked.

Mother Sea nodded, "After living for so long, I can basically figure out most things in the world. But not even I can understand what you're up to. That's because you're too casual."

"Then I'll be direct. I hope that you can let us temporarily hide here."

"Ara ara<ref>あらあら, ara ara. This expresses something like "Oh my!</ref> You rascal! What trouble have you gotten yourself into again? Did you take your elder's book or objects without permission?"

"Of course not. I'm not a kid anymore."

Mother Sea turned to Luctiana, "But you must have taken something away, am I right?"

"Yes, it's them."

Luctiana pointed at Saito and Tiffania. Thus, Mother Sea reared her head to take a closer look at them, scaring Tiffania as she jumped behind Saito.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to eat you."

After a while, Mother Sea said.

"It seems that the both of you are not ordinary humans."

Luctiana said smugly, "They are the Devil's offspring!"

Mother Sea remained silent as she kept her gaze on them.

Saito became nervous. Would this dragon say something like 'This horrible Devil!' before eating him.

However, Mother Sea only said one thing. "Welcome."

"You don't hate us?" Tiffania said.

Mother Sea nodded, "I know what your ancestors did to this land, and I probably also know what you're up to."

"Even though you live in this cave filled with the smell of seawater, why do you know so much?" Luctiana said.

After hearing that, Mother Sea took a deep breath. It seems that she was laughing.

"Because I've heard about the Devil from my grandmother, and even if I'm living in such a cave, after experiencing so much, I naturally can understand a lot of things."

"Your grandmother told you about the things that happened 6000 years ago?"

"Yes; at that time, my grandmother herself was just a little girl."

My god... those dragons have such long lives. Saito looked at the water Rhyme Dragon in front of him, his heart sighing with emotion. If that idiotic Sylphid was to live for another thousand years, would she be able to give off such an aura...?

"But I don't hate you, you offspring of the Devil."

After saying that, she stuck her nose closer to Tiffania. Tiffania slowly reached out a hand, and touched the tip of her nose.

Mother Sea seemed to be narrowing her eyes with a comfortable look.

"As expected of a Rhyme Dragon, the level of your understanding far surpasses those elders at the committee."

Mother Sea nodded in response to Luctiana.

"I'm different from you Elves. We're a race heading towards extinction, and we've already determined that whatever happens in this world is God's will. Whether we're heading towards extinction, or welcoming new guests... even if it's that great disaster, there's no difference."

"Huh! It just seems like you've given up on everything." Luctiana said.

"Haha, long-eared miss, my little girl, do you wish for me to hate the Devil? Or do you want me to stand on their side?

"Neither side is in the right. Anyway, I just need a place to hide; this is my first objective, and there's another one..." Luctiana said the crucial phrase without beating about the bush.

"We want to take a look at the Devil's Door."

"Shouldn't you Elves know more about this than me?"

"Only a small number of Elves know about the details. But you should know where it is, right? After all, you're the living dictionary around here."

"Yes, I'm knowledgeable, but my knowledge is not impeccable."

Saito and Tiffania were disappointed.

"Hey Luctiana, this is different from what you've said."

"What? It's not like I said that this is a 100% thing. Anyway, Mother Sea, do you know who else other than the elves knows about the location of the Devil's Door?"

"No idea. I don't interact much nowadays."

"What a useless ancient species!"

"What useless? Haven't you forgotten about my kindness towards you?"

Mother Sea stood up.

"You can stay here for now, as long as you want, but the air here might be too much for you to bear."

After saying that, loud footsteps sounded as Mother Sea went back to the depths of the cave.

Saito and the rest collected the dry seaweed that was scattered around the area, and used it for a fire to keep warm. They roasted fish, shellfish and other types of seafood that the dolphins had caught for food. Although the strong sea smell inside the cave was rather troubling, they got used to it after a while. This was what Saito always believed: that "humans could get used to anything" for a long time.

After resting for some time like that, Luctiana suddenly said.

"Okay..."

"What good ideas do you have now?" Saito said while chewing on a shellfish.

"Just go to sleep!"

"Hey! Long ear! What do we do next?"

"You ask me, but what can we do anyway? After all, Mother Sea said she doesn't know~"

"... Honestly, we clearly don't have time to relax like this."

After hearing that, Luctiana narrowed her eyes with a smile towards Saito.

"If you're too bored, why don't you continue what happened yesterday?"

Tiffania spat her fish out, "Wh-Wh-What!"

Saito's face went red, not knowing what to do.

"All you have to do is to continue kissing like yesterday, no?"

"You saw it?"

[[Image:ZnT20 041.jpg|thumb|]]
"You two are so daring, despite me sleeping beside you two, and that the boat is mine. As expected, barbarians have no idea of shame." Luctiana said bluntly as she stretched her hands.

"Stop being a peeping tom, okay!"

"Huh? What are you talking about? The boat is so small you can't consider that as peeping?"

"I saw it too."

Tiffania fainted when she heard Derflinger saying that as well.

"Aiya aiya <ref>あいやあいや, aiya aiya. Something like a mixture of tut-tut and 'scuse me.</ref>... And I thought I was sure what kind of a person my partner was, but this time you really went too far. If that pink-haired girl were to learn about this, even if you have nine lives, I doubt that would be enough."

"Id-Idiot! That's just an expression of our friendship or something... how should I say it..."

"Oh~ So barbarians do such a thing to friends? Oh~"

Just then, Tiffania sat up and shook her head wildly.

"It's... It's all my fault! Not Saito."

"Then may I ask, why did you do that?"

For some reason Derflinger purposely asked in a special manner, like interviewing someone.

"Because once I looked at Saito's face, I don't know why, but a strange feeling poured out from my heart! That's why I'm unable to control myself!"

"It means that you've fallen for him. My partner is a man who has greatly sinned."

"I really don't understand why myself!"

Tiffania covered her face in shame, but Derflinger continued.

"I say, what do you plan on accomplishing by being such a womanizer?"

Saito said, "I'm not a womanizer! Then again, this is not the time to say such crap! Honestly, just where the hell is that Holy Land..."

"It's the Devil's Door: it's not some Holy Land, or some divine place."

"Whatever, it's the same anyway... Ah!"

Saito pulled out the sword on his waist.

"Hey! Derfli! Didn't you say that you've remembered everything already, right? Then you should know where the location of the Holy Land is."

"You mean that? The place where Brimir was headed for using the Teleportation Gate right? I think I remember."

"Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi! Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

"But, there's a problem."

"What problem? Okay, everybody get ready! We're ready to move on!"

"It should be somewhere around a desert? Or the sea? Anyway, compared to last time, the geology has changed a lot, so even I can't be sure of the exact location."

"What the hell..."

Saito knelt on both knees, disappointed.

"Then what does the place look like?" Tiffania asked.

"Err... well, it's a desert, and there's a large pile of boulders around the area as well."

"We can find a place resembling that description anywhere." Luctiana said, troubled.

"You've lived 6000 years for nothing. Don't make us all excited for nothing!"

"But Luctiana, you said that the place is protected by the elves right? Is there a rocky place that fits this condition?"

Luctiana stretched her hands outwards, "They can't openly send people to guard the area. That is the Council's responsibility after all. I dare say that even though there may be nothing to that place, it might actually be extremely well-guarded."

Luctiana laid on the dried seaweed she had spread out on the ground.

"What are you doing?"

"Since I'm full, I'm going to sleep."

"Don't fool around, what do we do next?"

"How would I know? Anyway, maybe we might think of something good after we wake up."
Luctiana went into her dreamland after saying that, leaving only Saito and Tiffania who could only look at each other.

They had no choice but to follow Luctiana and sleep.

Just like that, they spent three days doing nothing. Since they didn't know anything about the exact location of the Holy Land, there was nothing they could do about it. Although Saito suggested that they head out to the outside world to collect information, Luctiana rejected the idea, saying that they would only end up being captured immediately.

Then again, most elves didn't have the information that they wanted. Being an enemy, it was futile even if they tried.

Returning to Halkeginia wasn't possible either. After all, this place was so isolated that Luctiana would not offer them a boat just to let them return. Even if they succeeded, to bring Tiffania across the desert from there was impossible.
Also, Saito had already promised Luctiana that he wouldn't run away. He couldn't possibly abandon her after what she had done for them.

Even so, staying in such a cave doing nothing for the whole day made Saito restless. After all, with the situation being so urgent, the agitation from being able to do nothing made him unable to sit still.

The dolphins would help gather food for them while drinking rainwater for survival. Thanks to Luctiana's magic, the rainwater didn't taste so bad.

Saito said to Luctiana, "Even if we stay here, we'll be found out eventually, right?"

"The tidal currents of the ocean around here are very complicated, so even the elves wouldn't dare to approach it so easily. No, because there are occasional storms as well, the correct way of saying would be that it's impossible to approach. It's the same for us as well. If it wasn't for the dolphins, we could not have made it this far."

Luctiana kept emphasizing that there's no problem because this is a special place.

"Of course, I'm also thinking about our next move," Luctiana said, "But I still can't think of anything. I think the best thing we can do now is to lie low. Maybe a good idea might just appear after some time."

Because there was nothing to do, Saito often went swimming. He felt that if he didn't move his body, he would feel strangely depressed.

The current season should be near the end of summer, but the water here was warm like the waters in tropical areas. Luctiana said that this was thanks to the power of the spirits; she also mentioned that the power around this area was rather strong, so this was why the ancient dragon Mother Sea had decided to make this her home.

Or maybe it was like this? The ocean here was like a treasure vault for the living organisms here. All kinds of corals were attached to the rock pillars that stretched upwards. Many different fish in various colors were swimming leisurely around it. In their midst, large stingrays could also be seen as well. Those fish seem to have never seen humans before. Even if Saito approached them, they didn't run away.

Because Tiffania could not swim, Saito offered to teach her how to swim. In the beginning, she was swimming together with Saito. Although it was partly due to Luctiana's underwater breathing spell, Tiffania was also a fast learner; soon she was able to freely swim about alone. It seems that she had some affinity with water.

Swimming about the ocean that was illuminated blue by the sunlight, Tiffania seemed like an incarnation of a mermaid. Her swimming style was free and casual as she shuttled through the ocean.

The sleeveless tank top on Tiffania that was bobbing according to the currents, made it impossible not to fantasize. Saito couldn't help but think that although she looked like a mermaid, it wasn't possible to find a mermaid with a chest as large as hers.

That day, Tiffania and Saito were freely swimming about when she leaned towards him and smiled, pointing at the bottom of the ocean.

(Do you want to take a look?)

Saito nodded. The depth of the water was around 20 meters; under the sunlight, even the bottom could be seen clearly.

Tiffania grabbed Saito's hand and pushed herself forward. Luctiana's dolphin followed behind the two as if it was protecting them.

At the bottom of the ocean they descended into a garden full of corals. A large amount of corals were spreading out in all directions, fighting for more space. It was an impressive scene.

In between the corals, colorful fish could be seen swimming through the corals like butterflies. Upon looking at such a scene, one couldn't help but think that the Holy War or Halkeginia's crisis simply were dreams.

Just then, Tiffania seemed to have found something in between the corals. It was a large, colorful prawn.
She reached out a hand and grabbed it.

(This is today's lunch!) Tiffania moved her lips, conveying a wordless message.

Saito, who didn't want to lose to her, started searching for food as well in between the corals. Not long after, he found a blue conch and grabbed it immediately.

Tiffania smiled as she watched Saito.

She felt that the times they spent together swimming about in the ocean peacefully were something worth cherishing.

-Wouldn't it be good if we could stay like this forever?

If only she could make Saito forget all about the Holy War and Halkeginia's crisis, and live with her here peacefully.
Tiffania felt ashamed at having such thoughts. After all, everyone was surely worried about them.

Just then, Saito began struggling after he put his hand inside the corals. She quickly swam over.

(Saito, are you okay?)

When Tiffania put her hand onto Saito's shoulder, he suddenly fell backwards causing Tiffania to spin around. Looking closer, it was actually a crab that had clamped onto Saito's fingers.

Tiffania could not help but laugh. Saito laughed as well. At the same time, they realized that their faces were very close to each other.

Her face slowly grew red. She lowered her head. Although Tiffania did such a daring thing last night, in such a bright place she didn't know what to do.

Saito seemed to be the same as her. His face was red as he rubbed his nose embarrassedly. Upon seeing Saito being like that, Tiffania felt a feeling expanding outwards at a fast rate within her heart.

-What is it about things being okay once I get courage; it's actually just an excuse.

Tiffania realized that what she wanted wasn't courage, but for Saito to hug her tightly, whisper sweet-nothings beside her ears, and kiss her passionately.

This instinctive feeling within her heart made Tiffania almost want to cry.

Seeing how sad Tiffania became, Saito was momentarily taken aback.

Is this... all my fault?

Ever since that night when they kissed, Saito had been trying to maintain their relationship as friends. He thought that Tiffania probably was confused at that moment, and that was why she thought that a person like him wasn't so bad.

Anyway, he had sworn that he'd never do anything that would make Louise sad. No matter how attractive Tiffania was, he couldn't waver.

Saito wanted to say something to change the subject, but it was hard to speak underwater. Even if they relied on sign language to communicate, there was a limit to it. In the end, the both could only stare at each other.

Tiffania could be said to be a perfect girl. Just by looking at her blue eyes with the corners slightly bent downwards, one can't help but have a strong urge to protect her. Also, with a seemingly sad feeling evoked by her eyes, the thought to protect her grew even stronger.

Saito caressed her hair, as if to cool himself down from feeling like that. In the end, Tiffania closed her eyes determinedly, lifted her head and puckered her lips.

Saito felt a magnet attracting him to her lips, but he persevered. So Tiffania opened her eyes, and she blushed even redder, realizing what she did just now. It seems that it was something she did instinctively. Saito felt that Tiffania looked even more sympathetic and cute, and his heart felt even more touched. Saito felt that this was simply a form of torture.

Just then, Derflinger's voice sounded within Saito's mind, and this finally ended the tension between the two.
"Partner. There's something approaching us."

Saito turned and observed his surroundings, shocked to see shadows of a group of huge fish gradually approaching.

Tiffania was shocked as well, and she turned to look at Saito. However, those shadows were already above Saito's and Tiffania's heads.

He felt a chill running up his spine.

(Sharks!)

The size and shape of the fish above looked rather similar to the sharks found on Earth. The difference was that there was a bulge on their head. There were at least 10 of them.

Tiffania pointed at them, as if asking what they were. It seemed like she had no idea what sharks were. After all, she grew up in Albion where the sea was a foreign concept to her.

Since there was no time to explain, Saito pushed down on Tiffania's head, wanting her to lower her body. This was when she realized the sharp teeth on the sharks, and tightly held onto Saito in fear.

The ambiguous atmosphere from before had already disappeared.

The sharks began circling above their heads. If so many sharks were to treat them as food, then even if he used Gandalfr's power, Saito might not be able to defeat them underwater.

(Is that fish scary?)

Tiffania asked, using her hands to express her question.

Saito nodded.

(Very scary)

Not long after, one of the sharks noticed Saito and Tiffania who were hiding at the bottom of the ocean. It seems that they used their bulges to emit supersonic waves or something like that to communicate. Soon, all the sharks turned in their direction.

Saito stood in front of Tiffania, and pulled out Derflinger from his back. Although he wasn't confident with fighting that many sharks, he could only try.

Just when Saito wanted to attack the sharks first, the two dolphins shot out from the sides, and slammed into one of the sharks.

With an impact as powerful as a thunderstorm, it knocked the shark out cold in one blow. It sank to the bottom, spinning out of control.

One by one, the dolphins knocked the sharks in a similar manner.

(The dolphins... are incredible!)

Seeing how the dolphins who looked so gentle on the surface could actually be that strong surprised Saito. The rest of the sharks started to run away.

(Amazing!)

Derflinger added, "In the first place, dolphins are stronger than sharks. That's because their bodies are very soft."
(No wonder!) Saito swam forward, wanting to give the dolphins a hug.

However, there was no touching scene that occurred.

The two dolphins seemed to have noticed something approaching, turned their heads in the direction of where the sharks were, and swam away in a flash.

(What's going on?)

Saito turned towards the direction where the dolphins were looking at before running away, and jumped in fear. A gigantic creature that looked like a snake were heading in this direction.

"The sharks probably ran away because of this." Derflinger said.

(What's that?)

"A water dragon."

(The same kind as Mother Sea?)

"No, that creature is fierce and easily angered, and it's also quite dumb. However, it should be the strongest living creature near this area."

This water dragon was 10 meters long, it had body similar to a crocodile, and limbs similar to an eel. Rows of sharp teeth could be seen inside its slim mouth.

It stared at them with a fierce look.

(We're not food! Really, we're not food!)

Though Saito tried convincing the dragon, it was futile. As the dragon approached, Tiffania threw herself in front of Saito.

(Tiffa! What are you doing!)

Saito grabbed her shoulders, but Tiffania responded.

(I'll be bait, you quickly run while you can!)

(Don't be stupid! Hide behind me!)

Tiffania put her hand onto her sleeveless tank top, face red.

(It's okay!)

The both were desperately communicating with their hands. It appeared to be something from a comedy or a talk show. But it had nothing to do with that. First, it was because the reason they were being trapped in such a place, was because they were swimming together to waste time. Now there was a high chance they were about to be eaten alive.

Is there a situation as idiotic as that?

Saito held onto Derflinger, and began fighting with the water dragon. Ali's water dragon had a much more similar appearance to a dragon, as compared to this water dragon who had evolved to adapt to the sea. Its limbs had completely turned into eel-like ones, and its body was streamlined. Although there was no way it could climb onto land, it still looked more like a proper water dragon seeing how it had adapted.

Thus, the greatest weapon of being a Gandalfr, mobility, was greatly limited underwater; but this was not the case for the dragon.

Without bothering to make any intimidating action, it directly opened its mouth and charged towards them.
Saito pushed Tiffania down while bending his body, avoiding the attack.

The dragon turned around, and charged forth again.

"Since you can't slash underwater, you can only stab." Derflinger said.

(I know!)

Saito jumped, turned his body horizontally downwards, and stabbed Derflinger at the middle of the dragon's eyes.
Due to his awkward posture, water resistance was like a chain limiting his movements; and so there was no impact in that strike. His blade slipped off the tough scales of the dragon.

The water dragon slammed its tail into Saito.

"Ugh!"

It started circling Saito.

"If this goes on, I have a bad feeling about this..." Derflinger said.

(If we were on land, this bastard would be a piece of cake...)

"Unfortunately, we're underwater!"

Just then, Saito felt his leg being pulled. He lowered his head to see Tiffania with a super serious expression.

(Tiffa?)

[[Image:ZnT20 057.jpg|thumb|]]
Tiffania reached inside her tank top, and pulled it outwards. From Saito's angle looking downwards, he could see those two dangerous melons in full view.

Saito felt a rusty metal smell spreading from his nose. Although Tiffania's face was completely red, it still remained serious, and said to Saito.

(My everything, for you.)

Those words expressed through body language and mouth movements, burned inside Saito's mind.

Something was boiling within Saito's heart.

She said... for me?

Can I?

Of course not.

But being alive is great. Saito thought.

Just like a demon...

The very definition of beautiful.

A chest larger than anyone, and because of her slim figure, it was impossible to hide that fact. Even with such a figure, her character was kind and gentle, like a fantasy come true.

Even if you were to consider all the girls from Earth and Halkeginia, Tiffania is probably the most perfect girl alive.

This girl said she liked me.

And she wanted to give everything to me.

Of course I can't accept that. Be-Because I already have Louise. Because of Louise, I don't have a choice! But... but...

Anyway, I'm the luckiest man in the universe.

Now is not the time to be controlled by that sea bug.

(How can I die!)

Saito muttered to himself.

The sea dragon opened its mouth and charged forth. With an excited yet calm emotion, Saito carefully observed its movements.

Just when he was about to be swallowed, he pushed his body downwards together with Derflinger, the blade stabbing into the dragon's lower jaw in that downward motion. The impact of the stab was greatly enhanced thanks to the force created by the dragon charging.

(I did it!)

However, happiness only lasted for a short while.

(I can't pull it out!)

Because it was so deep inside, Saito could not pull Derflinger out. The sea dragon thrashed about in pain, swinging Saito who was holding onto Derflinger left and right.

It began to swim away.

(Hey! Where's this guy going?)

"Partner, I have a request."

(What?)

"Don't ever let go. It would be pathetic if I have to live the rest of my life stuck to that creature."

As the ocean was extremely large, if Saito were to let go, it would be impossible to see Derflinger again .

(I know that!)

The sea dragon swam towards the direction it originally appeared from while struggling. Saito strengthened his grip on Derflinger. If he didn't grip it properly, he would be easily shaken away.

Saito and Derflinger moved together with the dragon for about 10 minutes. During this time Saito kept trying to pull Derflinger out, but the tough scales clamped onto the blade made it futile. No matter how much strength he poured into pulling the blade, because the dragon was still swimming and creating a forward resistance, Saito could not use his full strength.

"That's troublesome. Just where the hell is this guy swimming to."

(How would I know?! I just can't seem to pull you out!)

"That's because you've stabbed too deep inside."

(You should try to control yourself!)

"You should know I can't move at all."

The corals grew lesser, and sand began appearing at the bottom of the ocean. Under the sunlight, the sand reflected a pale blue glow. Not long after, Saito saw a rock mountain on the other end of the sand.

"It seems that it's heading for that mountain."

(Is that the guy's nest?)

Barnacles, sponges and other unknown sea organisms grew on that rocky mountain. Around it, big and small colorful fish were swimming about. Within this underwater desert, it seems that this was a condominium for them.

Since the swimming speed of the sea dragon reduced, Saito pushed his foot against the dragon and managed to pull Derflinger out.

After pulling it out, the sea dragon turned back and looked at Saito.

What, do you want to fight again?

Although Saito thought that, but the sea dragon turned his vision away, and swam to the other end of the rocky mountain.

Saito heaved a sigh of relief, and put Derflinger back in its sheath.

He soon realized that he had been taken to a rather far place. Upon thinking about swimming his way back to Tiffania, he felt exhausted.

Saito sat at the rocky mountain, wanting to rest for a while.

At that instant, the rune markings in his hand glowed.

(Eh? Why is it glowing?)

"I'm inside the sheath."

(I know that. But it glowed once I put my hand onto this rocky mountain."

Just then Saito realized that this thing he thought that was a rocky mountain had a rather strange shape.

Its circular shape was so perfectly rounded that it didn't seem like anything natural. And at the center, there was a pyramid-like object growing on it.

(This... this is man-made.)

Because of the various sea organisms growing on it, Saito had not realized it; but natural rock mountains did not possess such a shape.

Saito's heart began beating rapidly, and since the rune markings on his left hand glowed when it touched it... this must be a weapon. According to the size and structure, it wasn't something from Halkeginia.

This... this is...

Saito's eyes widen, observing intently what was the object under his butt.

It's length was around a 100 meters, and it's shape was something like a cigar, and it's face was bulging.

Boat?

No... That's not it...

(This is a submarine...)

A weapon in Saito's world. A present from Brimir, Gandalfr's gun.

(Brimir-san, this is probably too big for a gun...)

Just then, Saito felt something pecking his back. Turning behind, he saw a dolphin, its round eyes seemingly apologetic. On top of the dolphin was Tiffania.

She jumped off the dolphin, and said with an expression almost in tears.

(Are you still okay?)

Saito nodded in response, then looked at the submarine. He didn't know what country the submarine was from, or what era it was from. This submarine, sitting quietly at the bottom of the ocean, was like a huge watch dog waiting for its owner to come.

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| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume20_Chapter1|Back to Chapter 1]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume20_Chapter3|Forward to Chapter 3]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume20 Chapter1

2017-09-09T04:23:54Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 1: Boat for Two===
After escaping from Adyl, the capital of Nephthys, Saito and the others continued on with their journey in a small boat towed by a dolphin.

Saito and Tiffania, who were imprisoned by the elves, were nearly forced to drink a mind impairment medicine. Fortunately, Luctiana saved them in the nick of time. Along the way Luctiana's fiancee, Ari, attacked them; but thanks to a revived Derflinger they managed to escape.

In the small boat Saito began talking about a lot of things with Derflinger, whose consciousness had transferred into Saito's favorite katana.

They talked about everything since the time they fought the Elemental Siblings, and the night after Derflinger got destroyed.

Surprisingly, Derflinger knew all about this. And whenever it was brought up, he would just reply with 'At that time...'. But if it was related to the elves, Derflinger would remain silent.

——Sasha, who was his Gandálfr, had killed her master Brimir.

After abruptly having said that, no matter how Saito tried, Derflinger, who had "restored his consciousness", refused to elaborate on what happened.

Instead, he kept on beating around the bush as if he was escaping from some great sadness.

As evening came, Derflinger stopped speaking casually and kept silent. Luctiana was already asleep, making deep snoring noises.

The moonlight scattered onto the surface of the sea. The gentle, rippling waves reflected a silver glow.

Tiffania watched the beautiful scene in front of her, and muttered, "It looks like a field made from light."

"Yeah."

"What will happen to us after this?" said Tiffania, who was wearing loose Elven clothing, in a low voice.

"First, we have to find the Holy Land and confirm what we're supposed to find there. Then we'll report all that information back to Louise," said Saito while looking at Luctiana.

"Even though I feel bad about doing this to her... I feel that this is what we should be doing."

Tiffania stared at Saito for some time, then she hugged her knees with both hands and buried her chin underneath.

"Saito, you're incredible."

"Eh? Why?"

"Because if even you're faced with such a situation, you're still so sure of what you must do. As for me, I can't do it. I would be so scared that my mind would completely shut down."

After saying that, she lowered her head and closed her eyes. It seemed that she had fallen into depression again.

"That's because you're a girl, Tiffa. I'm sure you'd be at a loss when it comes to this."

"But Louise and Queen Henrietta are both girls as well. Why is it that I can't gather up my courage during those crucial moments? Even yesterday, I was so paralyzed with fear that I couldn't do anything to help."

"It's not like you did nothing at all. If it wasn't for you, I..."

During his fight with the water dragon yesterday, after seeing Tiffania's chest which was so revolutionary to the point of being evil, he quickly pinched his nose. Honestly, he felt that this wasn't what he should be seeing. It's not just only big... how should it be phrased? Tiffania's breasts also possessed an incredible sense of balance. On her slim waist, if bigger breasts were to be placed, it would become something like from a manga. It was scary because it kept to that delicate standard; and that's why it was firmly imprinted in his mind, rendering him unable to forget.

"Am I only worth that much?" Tiffania said.

After hearing that, Saito snapped out of his thoughts.

"No... It's not like that!"

"It's okay, I understand."

Tiffania smiled.

"Saito, why are you always that strong? Why are you able to battle so calmly. Was it because you understood the things that you should be doing?" Tiffania asked in a serious tone.

Saito held his chin with a hand, and began to think about it in detail. "To be honest, I'm actually not that calm at all."

"No, I think while there are times when you are scared, you always manage to fight seriously each time. Even though this isn't even your own world..."

Saito raised his head slightly, staring into the distance. The sea lit up by the moonlight had an aura of mystery around it, unlike during the day.

"I think, it's because I have somebody that I like."

"You mean Louise?"

Saito nodded. "I don't want to see her troubled, and her world can also be considered as my world as well. If it's for the sake of protecting her world, then I'd even give up my life for that. Although I'll be trembling with fear, I'd still go on anyway. Otherwise, I think I would've run away."*

"Oh..." Tiffania, who seemed to have understood, nodded her head. "So am I scared because I don't have anybody that I like?"

"No... I think that everyone doesn't need the same reason to fight. It's just that I'm fighting for that reason."

"If I were to find someone that I like someday, will I be able to be as brave as you?"

"I feel that... You're okay just the way you are right now." Saito said, in an attempt to console Tiffania.

"For me, I think that even if I possess a power that nobody else has... even when there are things that only I can do... if I choose to ran away, that would definitely be just cowardly and weak."

Saito kept silent, because that's what he thought as well.

"Tiffa, you didn't run away, right?"

"It's the same. I can't do anything, I can only tremble. Yeah... someone I like... how do I know if the other party is the person I like?"

"Err... First, when you're with him, your heartbeat will accelerate."

"Okay, then?"

"And you'd have the urge to hug him."

"Okay, and then?"

"When you hug him, you'd feel like staying like that forever."

Tiffania grabbed both ears, squeezing her eyes shut.

"... Then, isn't that person you?"

"Eh? Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?!"

A flustered Saito looked at her. She looked at Saito with a cute expression that looked like she was about to cry.

"That's because my heartbeat accelerates when I'm beside you."

"Th-That's only because your emotions are unstable."

"And... and... and also..."

Tiffania shook her head. Her face burnt bright red with embarrassment. As this mixed-blood elf with an extraordinary chest was doing such a thing beside him, Saito felt that he was losing control over himself to his evil thoughts.

"Even if you stare at them, I'm not that disgusted."

"You... You said that before, right? Really?"

"Yes... At first, I thought that it was because my brain was in a mess; but after thinking about it calmly, the answer is still the same. Although my heart would thump wildly, I don't feel disgusted."

Because Tiffania said this kind of thing right beside Saito, he also felt his mind gradually boiling.

"Then... then that's one step before liking someone, right?"

"What's the difference from really liking someone then?"

"Err... the difference is that... I think there's no difference at all."

After saying that, Saito realized something was wrong. But he was still unable to lie.

"So there's no difference?"

"It might be so."

"..."

Tiffania put her hand to her chest, and sighed.

"Then it means that I really like you then. Then... then what should I do? The person you like is Louise, right?"

"Err..."

"Then it must be a mistake to like you. I'm really a bad girl. I actually ended up liking a friend's lover. Mother Nature and God will definitely not forgive such behavior."

Saito panicked. "There's no such thing! It's impossible to control your feelings when it comes to this. This is actually the will of Mother Nature and God."

Saito realized that he said the wrong thing. But he couldn't find another way to say it. After all, there's no such rule that it's a mistake to like someone.

"But it's impossible for Louise to accept this; and Saito, you also don't like me, right? Then what should I do with my feelings then?

Seeing Tiffania being like that, Saito felt conflicted. It's not that he didn't like Tiffania; there was no other girl in this world as attractive as her. But he still couldn't acknowledge this feeling because he had already promised that he would never do anything that would make Louise sad. Saito thought about that time with Henrietta, and mentally shook his head.

However, it would be a lie to say he didn't like Tiffania. After all, like means like. Tiffania was just that attractive, and there was an irresistible, instinctive feeling within him towards her; something felt wrong about denying that feeling.

If that was the case, there was only one way left. He had to make Tiffania lose all her feelings towards him. He must make her feel that Hiraga Saito actually was an incorrigible bastard.

"You know, Tiffa."

"What is it?"

"I have something to tell you."

"Yes?"

Saito clenched his fist, squeezing his words out seemingly in pain with a low voice.

"I... I'm actually a pervert."

Tiffania stared at Saito for a moment, before bursting into laughter.

"I'm serious! I'm totally an out and out pervert! Anyway, it's more like I have a special obsession with clothes and mood... How should I say it."

"Thanks, you're so nice to me."

"Eh?"

"You were hoping that I'd hate you, so you said that right?"

Looking at Tiffania's gaze, Saito felt ashamed.

"Not really... The second part is true though... But whether or not you consider that as perverted will depend on your personal opinion."

"I'm really okay. I just feel better after letting everything go. I will try my best. Even though I might like you... no, I think I most probably really like you, but this feeling and my mission are still two different things after all."

"Tiffa."

Saito had tears in his eyes, staring at Tiffania. On one hand, he was touched by Tiffania's strong will, so he felt that harboring evil thoughts about Tiffania's chest was shameful; at the same time, he instinctively retorted that her chest was simply too incredible, so it was not his fault. In the end he realized that he was simply too shameful to come up with this warped reasoning.

When he came to his senses, he was already holding Tiffania's hand.

"Woah!"

[[Image:ZnT20 021.jpg|thumb|]]
Just then, the boat shook after passing through a wave. Saito almost fell to the ground completely flat, and naturally pulled Tiffania down as well.

"..."

Tiffania's burning red face was even more alluring under the moonlight.

She stared at Saito. Those blue, teary eyes almost made Saito forget to breathe.

The twin moons hid inside the clouds, and darkness fell upon them. It made one's hearing even sharper. The sound of the boat moving through the waves could be heard clearly.

Saito suddenly felt a warm breath on his face, then he felt something soft on his lips, and his hair was being gently caressed. This was when Saito realized what he was doing with Tiffania.

During this period, Tiffania said nothing.

When the twin moons reappeared from the clouds, Tiffania pulled herself away. When light returned to the surroundings, she had already recovered into her original position, staring at the ocean.

"Tiffa." Saito said in a low voice.

"It's just your imagination." Tiffania said with a seemingly satisfied look.

"I don't think that's my imagination."

"When the moon isn't looking, you're just dreaming. Even if it was short, I am still okay after this dream is over. Don't worry, I will work hard."

Saito nodded, and looked at the other end of the ocean. The vast ocean in front of him seemed to be silently watching over them. Thus, Saito also thought about working hard as well. For himself, for Louise, for everybody... and for this mixed-blood elf who was looking at the ocean as well.

The blinding sunlight woke Saito up. Seeing Tiffania in a deep sleep beside him with an innocent face, he thought about what happened yesterday. Saito couldn't help but blush. Then again, she had already specially said that he was dreaming, so Saito had to do his best to act like nothing happened.

Soon after, Tiffania awoke as well.

"Good morning" she said in a cheerful voice, as if nothing had happened last night.

"Good morning."

Saito smiled, and Tiffania smiled back as well.

He wanted to say something, but felt that saying nothing would be better. Thus, he turned towards the ocean. A few bumps could be seen, greatly surprising Saito.

"What the hell is that!"

Luctiana said while controlling the dolphin who was towing the boat, "Oh, the both of you are already awake? This is an island known as the Dragon Nest."

"Island? Doesn't look like one to me!"

What was in front was so strange that it could not considered to be an island. It looked more like distorted tentacles made of large boulders appearing through the ocean's surface.

Each tentacle was as long as 10 meters, spreading out in all direction.

"Your friend lives here?" Tiffania asked.

Luctiana nodded, "Yeah."

"Doesn't look like any humans or elves are living here?"

"Of course... even elves couldn't live in such a place."

"Then who's the friend you're talking about?"

Luctiana smiled slyly, "You'll know when we get there."

Saito had a doubtful look in his eyes. "This smile really makes me uncomfortable."

Then, Derflinger who was on Saito's waist cut in.

"It might be a scary monster."

"Eh..."

Fear gripped Tiffania upon hearing that.

"It's extremely huge, and there's four or five blue, sparkling eyes."

"Mr. Sword, please don't say anymore..." she pouted, showing a troubled expression.

"And it has ten times more tentacles than an octopus. It'd reach out and grab you in an instant."

"Ah..."

"Hey! Derf! Stop that! Can't you see that Tiffa is extremely scared right now!"

"It's okay~ Even if this were to happen, my partner will protect you."

"Yeah, th-that's right."

Tiffania heaved a sigh of relief, and looked at Saito.

"Relax, my partner is very capable. No matter what monster appears, as long as you show him your explosive things just for a while, then..."

Derflinger didn't manage to finish his sentence as Tiffania's hand grabbed the hilt, trembling. Her eyes were wide open, and her face glowed red.

"Un! Un! Un! Un!"

"I-It hurts! Stop that!"

Even so, Tiffania didn't relinquish her grip on Derflinger. As said before, Derflinger was on Saito's waist. Since the boat had a narrow space, it resulted in Tiffania pressing her body against Saito. Thus, those two logic defying melons kept on rubbing against Saito's arms and back.

''Is this some kind of a punishment?'' Saito, who was about to cry, thought.

——Someone tell me, what exactly did I do wrong!

——Does God have a grudge against me or something?

It must be like that. Otherwise, why would these indecent, thought-inducing melons come and rub against my arms and my back?! Because... because this isn't something I can touch... it's a unreachable horizon... but now such a thing is now pressing on me, this could only mean...

——That this is a divine punishment.

Saito looked up at the sky, muttering to himself.

"Saito, what's wrong with you?"

Because Saito with his face pale was muttering something about this is divine punishment, that he was the fallen angel Lucifer abandoned by God, that his body would be completely burned into ashes by the flames of lust, Tiffania became worried.

"It's your fault, you know?" Derflinger said.

"Eh, me?" Tiffania said.

"Yes. That's because you've let him seen those things."

"Th-That's because it's you, Mr Sword, who asked me to show him those!"

"I never thought that you'd really show him. Anyway it's not about the process, but the result. Also, I have a name, so... Hey! Wait! Wait a moment!"

Tiffania's eyes burned with a rare flash of anger, pulled out Derflinger and sliced the ocean wildly.

"Stop it, I will rust! I will rust!"

Even so, Tiffania still silently allowed Derflinger to enjoy the sensation of being bathed in seawater.

Looking at the situation in front of her, Luctiana said in a disapproving tone "What do you take my friend for? You guys really have no manners."

Saito said, "Then be honest with us! It makes me really bothered! You've already brought us out to such an isolated place, what's there to hide?"

After hearing that, Luctiana shook her head and smiled.

"Just as I thought, it'd be better if I tell you once we reach there."

"What do you mean by that?!"

"Because you guys are interesting. Barbarians are really strange and fun to play with."

"These waters are rather special, that's why I said I'd rust, miss!" Derflinger shouted, like being tortured by something.

Saito said unhappily, "Didn't I say it before... I'm not some barbarian. What about you, you long-eared bastard."

The sea was peaceful, the surface sparkled brilliantly like a mirror reflecting the scorching sunlight.

"There was once a huge volcanic island which went dormant around this area; that means we are now above the vent."

"Oh, no wonder the ocean is so calm." Saito said.

After hearing that, Luctiana opened her eyes wide.

"You're knowledgeable about the ocean as well?"

"No... actually I'm not so sure, it's just something I've learned in school."

"Yeah, you said that you were from another world.... Oh~ So there are schools over there?"

"Of course."

After weaving through the tentacle-shaped boulders, an extremely large towering boulder appeared in front of them. Luctiana ordered the dolphin to stop.

"We're here."

"Huh? Here? Isn't here still in the middle of the sea?"

Because Luctiana had mentioned a friend, Saito thought that the other party would be living on an island or something.

Derflinger said, "Didn't I mention before, it's a octopus-like monster, right? It'd surely grab this mixed-blood elf, and then rub its tentacles all over her. But at that instant when my partner looks at that terrifying chest, he will be all fired up.... Aha! Haha! Waha!"

Luctiana could not be bothered to clarify. "We can only enter through the ocean."

"Huh? Meaning we have to dive into the ocean? How?"

"Honestly... You guys have so many opinions. You at least know how to swim?"

"Err... yeah."

Saito observed the ocean. Although he knew how to swim, diving was another matter and he also had never tried diving underwater directly. Saito looked at Tiffania, who shook her head.

"I was born in Albion, so I've never touched the ocean before!"

"... It can't be helped then."

Luctiana closed her eyes, used her hand to scoop up seawater, and muttered a spell.

"Water... Water who governs the body."

The water in her hand glowed.

"Drink this."

Saito and Tiffania bent down, and drank the seawater. A strong, salty taste attacked their taste buds.

"Then?"

"Now you can breathe underwater, except that there's a time limit."

Derflinger said, "Hey! Add some magic to me as well! This body rusts easily!"

"Yet another troublesome fellow."

Luctiana muttered a spell, and Derflinger's body glowed red.

"Now even if you touch the water, there should be no problem."

After saying that, Luctiana took off her clothes, leaving behind only her underclothing. Her slender body was exposed under the sunlight, and with a splash, she jumped into the ocean.

"Hurry up, the underwater breathing spell won't last for long."

Tiffania worriedly looked at Saito.

Saito shook his head, and stripped off his clothes, leaving behind his underwear.

Seeing that, Tiffania seemed to have made her decision, and gently stripped off her clothes as well. Left with only a spaghetti-strap top, she was no longer someone who couldn't be described as bewitching.

Saito averted his gaze away. Just thinking about "that" without being covered by anything almost made him go crazy. Thus, he kept thinking about Louise's naked body. However, that also had another deadly charm, so Saito's troubles expanded infinitely. In the end, Luctiana gave him a good, harsh beating.

"Didn't I tell you guys to hurry up!"

Saito hurriedly jumped into the sea. However, Tiffania could not gather up her courage, and she stood at the boat staring at the water, terrified.

He reached a hand out, "Don't be scared. I'm here."

After hearing that, Tiffania nodded and jumped into the water. Saito grabbed her hand, and together they dived below.

Although near the surface it was still bright as the sunlight could still enter through the water, a deep and vast darkness awaited them at the bottom.

Just how deep? Tiffania seemed to have felt the same fear, and held Saito's hand tightly. Saito used his right hand and grabbed Derflinger's hilt, so his body immediately became lighter, and power was continously pouring into him. However, there seemed to be no need to use the power of Gandfalr.

The dolphin that was towing the boat swam beside them. Some time ago, it had already broken free of the ropes binding it to the boat. Saito looked for Luctiana and found her grabbing onto another dolphin's back fin, waving a hand and signalling for Saito and the others to follow her.

Saito and Tiffania grabbed the belt strapped on the dolphin beside them. It began swimming forward at full speed.

Thanks to Luctiana's spell, they could both breathe underwater as well. As they breathed in seawater, it'd magicially turn into air once it reached the throat. As compared to Tabitha's air bubble to cover the head, this was more impressive.

At first there was a strange feeling, but they got used to it after a while.

This underwater trip was shorter than Saito had expected. After swimming for a few minutes, a black pillar stretching up above appeared. Could this be one of those tentacle-looking boulders he had seen during the boat trip?

Luctiana's dolphin charged straight ahead towards the middle of the pillar.

What the hell? Don't tell me it's going to bang into that pillar?! Is that dolphin crazy? Saito rubbed his eyes nervously, and realized that there was a large opening.

It seemed that Luctiana's friend was inside, as the dolphin Luctiana was holding onto entered the opening. Soon after, Saito's and Tiffania's dolphin entered as well.

It was pitch black inside, yet the dolphin unhesitatingly swam in a straight path. Dolphins on Earth could use supersonic waves to capture their prey... are the dolphins here the same?

Just when a confused Saito thought about this, light could be seen further ahead. It was as if the dolphins were mesmerized by the light and they swam towards it...

Pasha!

Their heads surfaced above, making a loud noise.

"This is..."

In front of their eyes was a space as huge as a theater. A rotting seaweed-like smell attacked their nose.

"This is the interior of that pillar just now."

"So it's an empty space inside."

Now, seemingly inside the interior of that huge tentacle-like pillar, the water around Saito and Tiffania was like a large well hole and the land above was flat. Faint light covered the walls, probably from the radiating lichens growing on the walls.

Deep within the space, a sound of a large object moving could be heard.

Tiffania jumped and leaned onto Saito. He also instinctively reached for Derflinger on his back.

"Don't worry."

Luctiana let go of the dolphin and held onto the rocks as she climbed towards land. Just then a deep yet loud sound could be heard from within the darkness.

"Who is it? How dare you disturb my sleep?"

"It's me, Mother Sea."

"Mother Sea?"

"Oh... you long-eared rascal... my little girl... welcome."

A feeling that something huge had awoken permeated the area. Heavy footsteps followed, and within the darkness a sparkling deep blue huge body could be seen.

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| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume20_Chapter2|Forward to Chapter 2]]
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter10

2017-09-09T03:54:41Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors, some clarifications

===Chapter 10 - Escape=== 

The boat tugged by two dolphins was sprinting through the canals.

Splashing water as it went, it easily outran other boats. Their passengers looked at it with surprise but it didn't bother Luctiana at all.

Saito was still overwhelmed by Derflinger's revival. Even though it had revived some time ago, it didn't have enough mental power to speak until now.

Tiffania was happy to see Saito in such high spirits.

"It talks a lot."

"Indeed, because it couldn't speak for such a long time."

Well... Saito became serious. It wasn't a time to celebrate just yet. The resurrection of Derflinger didn't change their situation much... they still were in the middle of Elvish country and Luctiana wasn't entirely on their side.

"Hey, Luctiana."

"What?"

"Where are you taking us?"

"Didn't I say already? My old friend's place."

"Where is it?"

"You're gonna like it," replied Luctiana with a smile.

"What will happen when you're done with your research?"

"Well, we will see."

"What do you mean?"

"That's how I am. If I think something is right I'm doing it, consequences be damned." Luctiana laughed loudly. Saito was amazed.

"In helping us you committed high treason. If they catch you it's the death penalty, isn't it?" said Saito.

Luctiana squinted and smiled.

"Ali will fix it somehow. He really likes me."

Saito though about Ali. He did look like a worldly-wise guy.

He was a serious opponent. Still, there was something sympathetic about him.

"Well, I am not interested in the location of the Gate of Shaitan. I can't help you with that. I want to tag along and continue my research."

She looked as Saito with squinted eyes.

"It would be unreasonable to expect more from an Elf."

Saito nodded.

"Then we have an agreement."

Luctiana held out her hand. Saito was surprised by the gesture but shook her hand without reservation.

Then Luctiana held out her hand to Tiffania.

"Elves said a lot of hurtful things about you, but I envy you a little. Half elf, half barbarian; awesome, isn't it?"

"Really?"

Tiffania timidly held out her hand.

"Yes. I apologize for their behavior. But don't blame them, they were taught to react like that... they can't help it."

Tiffania nodded.

"But, really, those are awesome! Are they like that because of barbarians' blood?"

Luctiana squinted a little, grabbed Tiffania's breasts, and started to research them enthusiastically.

"Hey! Don't! Stop it!"

Saito imagined Tiffania's breasts he seen recently and blood again went to his head. He involuntarily held his nose. He looked at Tiffania and, no matter how he tried to look away, his eyes went right to the huge mountains covered by the robe.

Then he noticed Tiffania's bright red face and bowed to her.

"Tiffa... About what you did back there, thank you... You saved my life."

"Right... it's fine because you are a friend..." said Tiffania without any conviction. She realized that friendship had nothing to do with it.

"It was good, partner! If only you could look like that at breasts that you actually wanted to see!" said Derflinger. Tiffania blushed even more and hung her head.

"Hey! Fool! What are you saying! It's not like I didn't want to see those all the while!"

"Mine? Really?" asked Tiffania in a choked voice. "... all the while? Did you want to see them?"

Saito's face contorted. He hated to lie. Lying was wrong. So, he confessed.

"Yes, sorry, I wanted to see! I am sorry I exist! Louise, forgive me! This is so wrong!"

"No distinction, huh? This is low." Luctiana butted in. "No! There is a distinction! Definitely!"

"Oh, Louise. If partner gets in trouble like that again, she will show them to you. I'd say it's the best medicine."

Tiffania began to tremble. Then she asked Saito with a strain in her voice.

"You wanted to see them as a friend?"

"Yes."

"Right, 'as a friend.' He just wants you," said the merciless Luctiana.

Tiffania was close to tears. This conversation had become too exciting for her. She was thoroughly confused. She said, "I might have a problem."

"Tiffa?"

"A few days ago I unintentionally said to Saito that I love him. Mister Derf told me to show my breasts to Saito. Usually I wouldn't do it. I didn't think it would wake him up. Because we are friends there wasn't supposed to be anything exciting about it."

"Nothing exciting about it, really? Damn barbarians!" Luctiana interrupted.

Almost crying, Tiffania continued her monologue.

"But Saito loves Louise. He can't fall in love with me. At least I think so. I don't have much experience in these things. But, anyway, I did it. Mother told me that I shouldn't show them to anyone other than her son-in-law. But Saito can't become her son-in-law. He loves Louise. What should I do..."

"Tiffa."

"Yes."

"Calm down. Please."

Tiffania nodded.

"I don't know, but when you guys are done with the Holy War you could stay with me. I take care about my place."

"Don't joke about it, you dumb elf," said a disappointed Saito.

Tiffania fainted and fell back on her cape.

She must be very tired thought Saito, carefully laying her down for a nap.

He put an improvised pillow made from an extra blanket under her head.

Meanwhile the boat left the canals and reached the open sea. The emerald-blue sea shone in the sunlight. Clouds over the horizon looked like a mass of cotton.

Under other circumstances, thought Saito, it would be a perfect vacation.

Luctiana looked at Derflinger with interest and said.

"This is an intelligent sword, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Actually it's an imitation." Luctiana boastfully said to a surprised Saito.

"Imitation?" Saito asked.

"Yes. Making intelligent swords, or rather giving them awareness is an elvish hobby, like Ali's swords that you have seen recently. This one most likely was made by elves."

"Huh? What are you saying? This is a Japanese sword... from my home country... a katana, the weapon of a samurai."

Saito remembered this from the movies.

"No, this is just a shell. I am speaking about the content. The name of this awareness is Derflinger, right?"

Derflinger muttered,

"... right. Certainly the Elves made me, partner."

"Huh? Really?"

Then Saito remembered a dream he saw in Romalia when Louise gave him a sleeping pill... about events that happened six thousand years ago.

Gandálfr was an Elf, Sasha.

"Now that you mention it, was Founder's Gandálfr an elf? Did the Sasha that I had seen in my dream make you?"

Luctiana's eyes widened. She asked intently: "What? Founder's Gandálfr was an elf?"

"Well, it was just a dream that I saw..."

Luctiana was very excited.

"Well, Anubis, our saint, had a shining left hand. My uncle has this theory that he was a Gandálfr but scholars don't take it seriously. If what you said is true it supports his theory."

"Oh, right. Bidashal mentioned it. Interesting. He was very pompous about it."

"He wasn't pompous. Don't badmouth my uncle."

"But it doesn't sound right. Didn't Saint Anubis defeat Founder Brimir... so that he become a Saint? Why would Gandálfr defeat Founder Brimir? He was supposed to protect him."

Then Derflinger, which had been silent all this time, said:

"It did happen."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Gandálfr killed Founder Brimir."

Everyone froze for a moment.

"Huh? What? Did he? Was it Sasha? Did she kill Founder Brimir? No way!"

"I wish it was a lie, but while you were discussing it I remembered the whole thing. Good grief, I wanted to forget it." Derflinger replied earnestly.

"I went through that guy's chest."

"Hey Derf! What are you saying?"

However, Derflinger fell silent.

Saito and Luctiana stared at each other.

"... what the hell happened six thousand years ago?"

"It was so long ago, even I don't know. But it suddenly became very interesting."

Saito was trembling.

A calamity that killed every second elf.

Founder Brimir is called Devil here.

Elf Gandálfr, Sasha.

Sasha killed Founder Brimir. With Derflinger, the sword laying in front of him...

Events that happened six thousand years ago led to the current situation. They affected every single person in this world, including the elves.

Saito felt it with his skin.

He felt a premonition that something horrible was coming. He needed something to calm him down.

Teased by the sea breeze, he thought about Louise. His beautiful master with pink hair. His adorable sweetheart...

He couldn't imagine himself plunging a sword through her chest.

''Why the hell did you do it?''

Derflinger, a sword with self-awareness, was resting in the sea breeze. All these memories made it sad.

''Can something like that happen again? No way!'' Even though it thought so, the sword knew that it was only a tool.

It looked at the bright blue skies.

They hadn't changed in six thousand years.

They were looking at the world below everywhere.

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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter9

2017-09-09T03:37:21Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 9 - Confrontation with Ali=== 

Morning, six days later...

They were awakened by the sound of the opening door. Three elf warriors entered and ordered, "Get up. It's time."

Saito and Tiffania got up from the beds and looked at each other. Saito looked at the elves, but none of them had any weapons.

Saito jumped at one of the warriors. He knew it was pointless and had given up already, but he had no intention to be obedient.

They reacted immediately and tried to hold him down. Magic fists flew into Saito's abdomen, making him faint from pain.

Saito was tied by air ropes and lay on the floor.

"Saito!"

Tiffania ran to him but was also stopped immediately by an Ancient Magic rope.

A cup with strong citrus smell was put to his mouth. Apparently he was supposed to just drink it... they didn't bother to mix it into the food... they probably just wanted to be certain...

He desperately tried to keep his mouth shut but had to open it when they covered his nose. Tiffania felt ashamed to be an Elf.

The warriors turned to Tiffania.

One of them said to her.

"You are the disgrace of the elves."

"You are the disgrace of all living creatures."

The man's face become crimson. He poured the liquid into Tiffania's mouth. She almost choked but swallowed it involuntarily.

Saito tried to throw up but the moment liquid was in his mouth he was hit into abdomen and swallowed.

He lay on the floor and waited for the potion to work...

In about a minute he didn't feel any changes. A surprised Tiffania looked at him.

"What? It didn't work yet?"

One of the warriors cried out in surprise when the magic lantern giving light to the room went out. At the same time something flew over Saito and two elves fell on the floor.

Saito was stunned... then he heard a young woman's voice.

"...please be quiet. I will release you."

It was Luctiana's voice.

Saito heard a short spell and felt that he could move again.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Saito.

Luctiana replied from the darkness, "Because this is right. Quickly, put on their clothes."

Saito took a robe off one of the elves lying on the floor and put it on. Tiffania didn't know what was going on. He took off another robe and told her to wear it.

"Ok. Thank you."

Then Luctiana returned to them their sword and wand.

"Why are you helping us?"

"You said you came from the other world."

"Yes."

"I am very interested in it. And I don't like the way the Council handled it."

"I owe you big time. Thank you."

"You have to promise me something."

"Ask whatever you want. We don't have many options."

"I am helping you out of academic curiosity. You must promise to not participate in revival of the Devil. Swear to your god to stay with me and to never run away."

She said it very seriously. Saito though about it a bit, then nodded.

"Ok. I promise."

"I returned your weapon but you can never kill an elf. You have to promise me."

"I promise."

"Then we should hurry."

Tiffania and Saito raised the hoods of the robes and followed Luctiana. Outside was a corridor with plastered walls that looked like concrete. There were plenty of doors similar to one they came from.

"Here."

Luctiana went forward walking with dignity.

They turned at the corner and saw five elves in official looking clothes. Few guards accompanied them. Tiffania and Saito tensed but Luctiana stopped and said to them in a low voice.

"Grandfathers of the Council. Don't talk. Lower your heads when I do."

Luctiana stood by the wall; Saito and Tiffania followed her lead. The leading old elf asked,

"Is it done?"

"Yes."

Luctiana bowed with dignity. Saito and Tiffania did the same.

"I see."

And they went away toward the room where the prisoners were held. Luctiana waited for them to pass and told the two people.

"Run."

Luctiana bolted; Saito and Tiffania followed. There was a magic elevator at the end of the corridor. When everyone was there, Luctiana said "first floor".

A disc Saito was standing on started to raise. Somehow the feeling was completely different from one in an Earth elevator.

The elevator suddenly reached the first floor. It was a vast area, like the lobby of a large hotel. They walked off the disk and a few elf warriors got on it. Then a low siren resounded through the lobby.

"They know." said Luctiana.

Here and there elves were asking, "What is it? What happened?"

Most of them didn't seem to be informed about the situation. Reaction was slow. A few warriors ran somewhere, but most just stood there looking confused.

Luctiana went directly to the exit among the elves moving around. When they reached a large stone door, someone behind them yelled.

"Close the front door!"

Two or three soldiers were running to the door.

"What? What is going on?"

A clerk at front door reception lifted his glasses.

"Close the door! Council's order!"

"May I see this order?"

"Stop wasting time! Hurry!"

Meanwhile people were coming in and out of the building. Luctiana and the prisoners joined the flow and went outside.

Saito gasped looking at the magnificent view. The Council building was a huge cylindrical structure. Stone steps surrounded it and led to a beautiful park full of flowers. Elves were walking in the park. About a hundred mails from the stone steps was a city border. Rows of stores and houses, streets and canals were surrounding the central tower like a baumkuchen<ref>Baumkuchen is a German variety of spit cake (cooked on a rotating spit). When sliced it reveals the characteristic rings that resemble tree rings, and give the cake its German name. It is a traditional pastry of many European countries, and also a popular snack and dessert in Japan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baumkuchen</ref>.

"Amazing..."

The city looked impressive from the sky, but from this viewpoint its beauty was breathtaking.

There was nothing like it even on Earth. The buildings were different from those in Halkeginia and on Earth. They had white walls, light blue window frames and orange roofs. The buildings were different but there was some reasonable uniformity that turned the city into eye candy. Saito was impressed by the commitment to keep the buildings about three stories high.

Plenty of boats were coming and going in the canals. Imitating natural objects like birds, fish or lightning made it look like a theme park.

"We must go! Fast!"

Rushed by Luctiana, Saito and Tiffania started to walk.

"Don't attract attention. Don't run. However, don't waste time," said Luctiana tensely.

Streets went in eight directions from the center, and Luctiana entered one of them.

The street had sidewalks and roadways. In the roadways dragons pulled cars along the street.

Glass-walled stores distracted Saito. It was a strange fusion of a modern world and Earth's Middle Ages.

"The city of the Elves..."

Nobody paid any attention to Saito and Tiffania in elvish robes with their heads fully covered by hoods.

"Where are you taking us?"

"My old friend's place."

Luctiana went to stairs which led to a canal on one side of the street. There was a strong smell of the seashore.

"It's slippery, be careful."

Seaweed grew along the way to the canal, so Tiffania grasped Saito's hand. She slipped a few times, but Saito didn't let her fall. Her impressive breasts brushed his hand occasionally but he had no problem with that.

Unlike the vivid activity on the street, it was quiet here.

Luctiana restlessly looked around.

"What happened?"

"There was a small boat here that I prepared."

"It disappeared?"

"Yes. Probably stolen."

From about fifteen mails across the canal someone said "the boat was confiscated."

"Ali!" Luctiana exclaimed.

"What did you do? What is wrong with you, woman?"

Ali's handsome face was distorted. Luctiana spread her hands and replied.

"I made a promise. I will take care of them."

"It was the Council's decision, you can't just change it!"

"I know. But I disagree with this decision," Luctiana declared with dignity.

"Please return the boat."

It was a familiar attitude, "I know better". Louise had acted like that in the past. Ali's impatience grew.

"Well, Luctiana. Do you know what you are doing? You are betraying your race. Give them up quietly and I will leave you out of it. Now only a few people know about this matter."

"Unacceptable."

"Why are you doing this?"

Saito sympathized with Ali even though he was an enemy. To be abused like that by a selfish Luctiana... She was exactly like Louise.

"In that case they will be taken by force."

"Then our engagement will be canceled. A man who takes away a valuable research subject of his lover is not a lover."

Ali was stunned but didn't give up.

"I am a knight with a title; personal matters and duties can't be mixed."

"Wonderful. Are your duties more important than me?"

"There is no point in arguing about it."

Ali pulled his sword from his waist. It shone like a mirror in the morning light.

"Barbarian, your turn."

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

"As we agreed, you can't kill. Despite appearances, I somewhat like my fiancee."

Anyway, it seemed that they couldn't escape without dealing with this guy somehow. Saito pulled out the sword and it glinted ominously in the sunlight.

When Ali started to cast a spell, Saito jumped over the canal. Then Ali quickly lowered his sword. Without crossing swords he jumped back and dodged.

"Hey, wouldn't it be a problem if you killed me?"

Ali replied coldly,

"It would. The power would survive and the Devil still could be reincarnated."

Saito held his sword. He remembered his previous fight with an elf, Bidashal. The reflection spell was a problem. If Ali used it, without Louise here, Saito would have no chance.

''I have to use the katana before it happens.''

Before his opponent could cast another spell Saito interrupted him. He reached Ali in one leap and hit him.

Ali was a good swordsman, but the elf warrior was overwhelmed by the speed of Gandálfr. Forced into defense, he suddenly lost his sword. With a clank the sword fell behind him. Saito shoved his katana toward Ali.

"Game over. Will you return the boat?"

Ali grinned. Luctiana noticed it and yelled.

"Be careful!"

"Ga!"

Saito groaned. The curved sword ran deep into his right shoulder... then it flew to the hand of Ali.

"Barbarian, hand to hand combat is your strong point. It seems you'd better meet 'their' will."

Then four, five song swords raised up behind Ali and danced around him like butterflies.

"Spirits, may your hunt be easy."

The song swords flew toward Saito.

If Saito held the katana in his left hand he could brush them off, but they flew to his blind spot.

Saito's swordplay was incredibly fast, but it still wasn't fast enough. Far from being able to attack Ali, he was locked in defense.

"Damn!"

If the swords attacked from one direction, like an arrow, it wouldn't be a big problem. But these swords, as if having a will of their own, used a wide range of attacks. It was almost like fighting five experienced warriors. On top of that, they had no bodies.

In other words, the opponent seemed to be invincible.

Looking at the struggling Saito, a worried Luctiana said "Oh... It looks like Ali's 'spirit swords' are too much for him."

"Don't make carefree observations, help Saito!"

Luctiana shook her head.

"I can't. The power of spirits in this area is controlled by Ali now. He is good at this. There is no way I could intervene."

Saito was desperately fighting using one hand. Tiffania started to cry. Was there something she could do?

Hmm... The magic she could use was 'forget'. It's a close range spell. But... could she approach?

It was difficult to jump into the middle of this sword fight, Tiffania hesitated.

"Oh, this is bad" said worried Luctiana.

"Huh?"

"It looks like Ali is using a 'sleep' spell."

Ali was casting a spell. After a small finishing gesture he pointed his hand at Saito, and Saito's eyes became muddled.

Tiffania remembered the strong drowsiness she felt during their kidnapping and trembled. Saito's position was desperate already and Ali continued to chant, reinforcing the spell.

At this rate, Saito would fall asleep.

Tiffania gathered all her courage and ran forward. She took out her wand and prepared to cast the Void spell.

"Stop."

She heard a voice.

"Huh?"

Tiffania looked around restlessly. But there seemed to be nobody who could have said this.

She heard the voice again. It sounded directly in her mind.

"'Sleep' is a spirit spell and 'forget' can't cancel it. I know it. If you do it, the song swords will impale you."

"What? What? What?"

The voice continued.

"We need to keep him awake somehow."

"How?"

Tiffania asked desperately. It wasn't a good time to investigate the source of the voice.

"Hmm. Is he sleeping already? It doesn't seem to be going well for him."

"Quick! Tell me how I can help him!"

"Ah, got it! Bingo!"

The voice gave Tiffania short instruction.

"Huh? Really? This?"

"Well, I think it should work."

Saito continued the fight, desperately trying to suppress the drowsiness. If he relaxed even a little bit, he would lose consciousness. Naturally it slowed him down.

Finally he couldn't block one of the swords and felt sharp pain in the right leg.

"Damn!"

The pain didn't drive away the drowsiness though. In fact... the pain seemed to increase it. Too bad...

"Sa, Sa, Saito!"

He heard Tiffania's voice. What is it, is she in trouble? He looked at her...

"...what?"

He suddenly saw two fruits... huge, shining, white and magnificent.

Wow, Tiffania rolled up her robe and underwear and revealed her huge breasts to the bright sunlight.

Moreover, trembling from embarrassment, Tiffania turned her face to the side and bit her lip. Saito involuntarily commented.

"Perfect."

His drowsiness disappeared completely.

"Sightseeing!"

Said Ali and the song swords attacked simultaneously from five directions. But Saito's will to live was boosted by this single glance. And he didn't want to lose his heart either. Forgetting this image would be a blasphemy to life itself.

Anyway, the rune on his left hand shined. Louise probably would cry if she knew, but it did.

The katana in Saito's left hand attacked the song swords.

They were cut into halves. Saito, with a bleeding nose, muttered.

"Thank you Tiffa. It's good to be alive. Sorry Louise."

Expressing gratitude, observation and apology, Saito tried to press Ali who suddenly lost his song swords. Blood dripped from his shoulder, he was dragging his right leg. Just a little more... he thought, covered with cold sweat.

But at this moment something surfaced in the canal like a submarine.

"Huh? What?"

It was a huge dragon with silver scales, loudly exhaling. It glittering form was larger than wind or fire dragons.

Suddenly the creature spit out a thin stream of water in Saito's direction. Saito was slammed into the canal's wall.

"You can't defeat Shallar. Give up and surrender."

"Huh? That dragon! What is it?" Tiffania shouted.

Luctiana, seemingly distracted, replied "What, you don't know about water dragons? They are the dragons that live in the sea. They are the largest of all dragons and the strongest, but they can't fly. This is the one Ali keeps, Shallar. Wow, you have big ones, don't you?"

Tiffania quickly lowered her robe.

"Well, I lived in the sky mostly..."

"Right. I heard that they are not known very well among barbarians. It's because barbarians don't use the sea much. But they are popular creatures here. Are they really that large?"

"How we can fight it?"

"We are at a disadvantage here. An adult water dragon and an elf are hard to beat. They are fake, aren't they?" said Luctiana. She was preoccupied with Tiffania's breasts and looked alternately at Tiffania and herself.

"Forget about the breasts! Anyway, what should we do?"

"We can't escape without dealing with this water dragon first. I give up."

"We are not defeated yet, are we?"

"By the way, is showing breasts a barbarian's way of cheering?"

"The strangest thing happened! I heard a voice..."

"A voice?"

"Yes, it was the best partner ever..."

Partner?

Tiffania suddenly realized.

There was a certain item that Saito had called a partner...

Saito fell on the stone pavement breathing heavily. In front of him the huge water dragon was taking aim again.

The water stream hit him like a dump truck. Pain paralyzed his body.

The noise of the fight attracted the attention of elves in the street and a few of them were looking down into the canal.

"What is going on?"

Ali waved his hand to them.

"Nothing. My water dragon is acting up. He is in a bad mood."

Even if Ali won, if the commotion was big enough someone could call the guards. It would be bad; he wouldn't be able to protect Luctiana.

Still, it didn't change Saito's desperate situation.

Ali triumphantly said to Saito.

"You fought well, barbarian. But it's over. Throw away your sword."

But Saito declared decisively "No way!"

"Then I have to defeat you. Don't blame me."

The water dragon opened his mouth. The moment the water stream flew out...

Saito's body rolled to the side, moving freely. The water stream hit the stone and water fell around like rain.

What is it? What happened?

Then the sword said.

"Great, right?"

"Huh?"

"Even though we are in trouble the beautiful half-elf girl showed her unbelievable treasures."

The moment Saito heard the familiar high-pitched voice, tears filled his eyes.

The voice that he had missed. The voice that always was with him in battle. The voice that had helped him in so many predicaments...

A real comrade in arms...

"Deeeeerffliiiiingeeeeer!"

Cried Saito. The sword seemed to be embarrassed by his yell.

"I missed you too partner. I possessed this katana quickly but it took time to complete the process. All these layers of folded iron were difficult to handle."

"Derf! Derf! You are alive! How?" yelled excited Saito. His shock was larger than Tiffania's breasts.

"I will tell you later. Anyway, we have to do something about this water dragon."

Tiny drops of splattered sea water were hanging in the air like fog. Saito gathered all the remaining energy and stood up. Derf's revival galvanized him.

"Tell me about his weak points, Derf!"

"Let's see. This animal is protected by tough scales."

The fog cleared up and the water dragon noticed Saito and tried to hit him with his tail.

Saito dodged. The thunderous strike broke the stone pavement and debris flew in the air.

The water dragon immediately swung the tail.

Saito tried to jump over it even though the wound in his right leg shackled him.

"Wow!"

He floated into the air.

"This is bad. I will help as much as I can but there is a limit."

"Dodged!"

Yelled Saito, but he still had no idea what to do. The strength of Gandálfr relies on his weapons. To deal with such a monster he would need something like a tank.

Saito was locked in defense again. Now there just was no point to attack. The way it was going defeat was only a matter of time.

Saito desperately dodged the attacks of the water dragon. Water charge, tail slam, tail swing, talons... It was like fighting a heavy tank.

"Saito! The elf is casting again!"

He heard Tiffania's warning. Indeed Ali was casting another spell.

"Damn! Derf!"

Ali seemed to finish chanting and pointed his hand at Saito. His hand was shining intensely.

It was an Ancient Magic "lightning" spell which had knocked out Louise.

Ali bet everything on this shot. He used every last drop of willpower to stun Saito with "lightning".

Saito braced himself preparing to dodge the spell somehow, but Derflinger intervened.

"Don't dodge! Catch it with me!"

It looked like it had an idea. A discharge flowed from Ali's hand toward Saito. It reached him instantly.

The discharge hit Derflinger like lightning hits a lightning rod. Derflinger was electrified, the surface of the sword emitting a bright blue shining.
[[Image:ZnT19-213.jpg|thumb|]]
"Now! Stab the dragon in the head!"

The water dragon was preparing to hit Saito with another stream of water. The moment his head approached Saito flew into the air.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Screaming he hit the dragon's head with the sword. The thick scales were impenetrable for such an attack, but the moment Derflinger touched the dragon's head it released the charge.

An intense electric current flowed into the water dragon's body. The dragon was frozen in place... the whole body of the beast was emitting a shining light.

The water dragon fainted. It slowly collapsed into the channel.

"Saito!"

"Impossible! Barbarian!"

Tiffania and Luctiana ran to him.

Saito jumped to the stone pavement and pointed his sword toward Ali who was stunned by surprise.

"You lost. Return the boat."

Ali shook his head in disbelief.

"Impossible... How could a barbarian defeat Shallar..."

"Do it Ali. If you don't return the boat immediately, the engagement is off."

Shocked Ali blew the whistle. A boat tugged by dolphins appeared on the other side of the canal.

Two dolphins noticed Luctiana and bleated happily.

"Come on, get in!" Luctiana suggested. Saito boarded the boat; but suddenly gripped by pain, he laid down. Tiffania hurried to help him.

When Luctiana boarded the boat Ali said,

"You are really selfish. I don't know you anymore."

"Huh? What are you talking about? When this matter blows over we will get married! Love you!"

Luctiana looked askance at the stunned Ali and took the reins that led to the dolphins' snouts.

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| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter8|Chapter 8]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume19_Chapter10|Chapter 10]]
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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter8

2017-09-09T03:00:18Z

Txtracer:

===Chapter 8 - Two Prisoners=== 

"Damn..., nothing!" said Saito, hitting the door. They had spent two days here, and except for meal delivery they were left completely alone.

He remembered exactly the conversation with Bidashal under the influence of the "truth serum". The potion's effect had long since dissipated, but the damage was already done. The elves took the katana and the wand so Saito and Tiffania couldn't use their abilities.

The room wasn't bad. There were two beds, a chair, a desk and a neat rest room.

Still, it was a prison cell.

It seemed to be located underground. It was very different from Halkeginia's cells... the walls were thick and well plastered and a strong iron plate buried in the wall served as a door.

Saito's eyes were bloodshot from searching for any way to open it, but he didn't find anything.

"Saito, you'd better stop it. You are tired," said a worried Tiffania, sitting on a bed. She was right. Saito sat next to her.

"Do you think they really will use this potion..." said Tiffania with fear.

"That's what they say. They will do it."

Saito was frustrated. To spend the rest of his life in this place, mentally incapable... it was hard to imagine something worse.

It would also prevent Void resurrection... what would happen to Halkeginia?

Saito though about it all the time. They had to escape somehow. Twice a day a meal was delivered, but it was given through a small slot in the bottom of the door. There was no way to use it.

There was one option... Saito shook his head...

No, he can't do this... Tiffania needs him.

But he didn't see any other way.

"We Elves are quite merciless creatures."

Saito was confused by these words at first, then he shook his head.

"No, Tiffa, you are different!"

"That's good. I am glad. Just because my mother was an Elf I thought that they all were like her... friendly people." Tiffania looked pensive.

"I was thinking. Before we lose our hearts..."

"Forget about it, it's a bad idea."

"But... Isn't losing our heart the same as being dead?"

Saito had nothing to respond to this.

"If we have to die anyway, wouldn't it be better to help everyone? I am afraid to die. I want to live, but if it would help everyone... shouldn't we consider it?"

It was difficult to argue with Tiffania. There was no way for them to escape. Even if they could, they wouldn't be able to cross the desert.

Elvish magic is powerful. Even with a weapon, Saito's chances would be poor.

"If we die, humans will get new Void bearers. But if we stay here, out of our minds, everyone in Halkeginia will suffer."

"Tiffa..."

"It's not that I want to do something great, you know? I mean, I don't want to be a saint. What was the word? Martyr, right? No, I don't want it. It's just a simple calculation. Happiness of tens of millions of people versus one life. Rather simple, right?"

Saito didn't respond and Tiffania continued.

"This power... 'Void'. It was such a burden. Me saving the world, I never thought I could do it. And I still don't. But, thanks to it, I met you and the others and could see the outside world. I am grateful for it. I didn't do anything... I was just observing the others fighting. So, I want to help however I can in the end."

"You are helping."

"No. I am an alien to humans. If war with the Elves started I would have to hide. And I am an alien to the Elves, too. I wish there was a place where I belonged."

To Saito, Tiffania didn't look pathetic. She was very flustered but the way she thought about everything... even though she was getting along with everyone, there always was a line separating her from the others.

Involuntarily he blurted.

"There is such place."

"Where?"

"I will always be there for you."

Tiffania looked surprised.

"You are in love with Louise."

Saito said quickly.

"Hmm, ... not like that. As a friend. Friends can support you, right?"

Tiffania laughed.

"Thank you. But a lover is better than a friend."

Tiffania said it without any hesitation, Saito was confused. Tiffania quickly waved her hands.

"That's not what I meant. I am not coming on to you... There should be someone for me too. Someone else..."

"Ah, I see," said Saito to defuse the strange mood.

"Of course I didn't mean it! I know you don't like me like that!"

"Thank you, but I know better whom and how I like."

Tiffania laughed and said with a hint of anger in her voice.

"You know, it's pointless, Saito."

"What is?"

"This... me talking about friendship."

"What do you mean?"

"Because I want to rely on..."

She said shyly picking up the hem of her robe.

"To rely on you!"

Saito involuntarily grasped Tiffania's shoulders. Then he noticed it.

"Sorry about that."

He tried to take his hands off her but Tiffania held them.

"Wait! This is wrong! Tiffa! Tiffa?"

He noticed that Tiffania was crying.

"I am afraid... to lose my mind. And to die too. To sit here and do nothing... Why? Saito, why?"

Her crying was the last drop that broke the dam. Looking at Tiffania, Saito was overwhelmed with a feeling that they absolutely must escape.

Saito pushed Tiffania away. She was staring at him stunned.

"Saito?"

"Ouch! Damn!" Saito crouched holding his belly.

"What happened? Saito! Are you ok?"

"It's bad... stomachache... must be that dish we ate earlier... elvish food doesn't fit me..." said Saito sweating.

Tiffania yelled "Someone! Help Saito!"

The guard on the other side of the door asked "What happened?"

"He is in pain and..."

The guard told them to wait a moment and started to fiddle with some device near the door. Saito was thrilled.

''Is he opening the door? Good... I will take his weapon and take him as a hostage. And... then we escape... What happens then we will think through later.''

But the door didn't open. The guard laughed behind it.

"Hey, barbarian, don't be stupid. Your condition is being monitored with water magic. They don't want you to die. And, by the way, I don't have any weapon. We know about your abilities."

Saito quietly cursed and stood up.

"Saito?" said Tiffania, who had apparently taken seriously Saito's feigned illness. The guard continued.

"You should be grateful. We could use the potion immediately. You have six more days. It's not much but you shouldn't waste them."

"Well, thank you so very much, kind sir." replied Saito sarcastically. Then he lay on the bed.

"I though about it and decided. We can't do anything."

"What did you decide?" asked a worried Tiffania.

Saito declared "I give up!"

"Oh?"

"Loss of heart is reversible. Tabitha's mother recovered. Tiffa and me dying for the future of Halkeginia... it would be an epic story. But I don't like it at all. I have too much to lose. I am not joking."

"But..."

Saito stared at the ceiling and said frankly, "I am going to believe... In everyone. They will help us."

He had nothing to support his words, but for some reason they calmed down Tiffania for the first time in a long while.

"Never say you have nowhere to turn. You have them. And they all love Tiffa very much."

"You are right."
[[Image:ZnT19-184.jpg|thumb|]]
Tiffania wiped her tears and clung to Saito.

"Wow!"

"You know, Saito?"

"What?"

"I love you. Thank you."

Tiffania suddenly kissed his cheek. Saito panicked.

"Whaaat?"

Tiffania noticed his reaction, realized what she just said and blushed.

"No, not like that! I always blurt out whatever I think. Not in this sense..."

Tiffania groaned.

"If you say what you think then... you do love me... For me there is only Louise."

Tiffania's long ears drooped. She seemed to be worried.

"Ah, well, damn hesitation. We are where we are, we have what we have. It's good that we are together."

Serious Tiffania was nodding at Saito's words. She was still clinging to him, so the miraculous objects with the softness of marshmallows and the size of melons were pressed to him.

This closeness of Tiffania gave Saito confidence.

It's strange.

No matter how desperate the situation is, a beautiful girl by his side makes everything better.

''We gave up. What else could we do? Nothing,'' thought Saito, lying next to Tiffania.

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| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume19_Chapter9|Chapter 9]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter8

2017-08-31T06:45:29Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 8 - Two Prisoners=== 

"Damn..., nothing!" said Saito, hitting the door. They had spent two days here, and except for meal delivery they were left completely alone.

He remembered exactly the conversation with Bidashal under the influence of the "truth serum". The potion's effect had long since dissipated, but the damage was already done. The elves took the katana and the wand so Saito and Tiffania couldn't use their abilities.

The room wasn't bad. There were two beds, a chair, a desk and a neat rest room.

Still, it was a prison cell.

It seemed to be located underground. It was very different from Halkeginia's cells... the walls were thick and well plastered and a strong iron plate buried in the wall served as a door.

Saito's eyes were bloodshot from searching for any way to open it, but he didn't find anything.

"Saito, you'd better stop it. You are tired," said a worried Tiffania, sitting on a bed. She was right. Saito sat next to her.

"Do you think they really will use this potion..." said Tiffania with fear.

"That's what they say. They will do it."

Saito was frustrated. To spend the rest of his life in this place, mentally incapable... it was hard to imagine something worse.

It would also prevent Void resurrection... what would happen to Halkeginia?

Saito though about it all the time. They had to escape somehow. Twice a day a meal was delivered, but it was given through a small slot in the bottom of the door. There was no way to use it.

There was one option... Saito shook his head...

No, he can't do this... Tiffania needs him.

But he didn't see any other way.

"We Elves are quite merciless creatures."

Saito was confused by these words at first, then he shook his head.

"No, Tiffa, you are different!"

"That's good. I am glad. Just because my mother was an Elf I thought that they all were like her... friendly people." Tiffania looked pensive.

"I was thinking. Before we lose our hearts..."

"Forget about it, it's a bad idea."

"But... Isn't losing our heart the same as being dead?"

Saito had nothing to respond to this.

"If we have to die anyway, wouldn't it be better to help everyone? I am afraid to die. I want to live, but if it would help everyone... shouldn't we consider it?"

It was difficult to argue with Tiffania. There was no way for them to escape. Even if they could, they wouldn't be able to cross the desert.

Elvish magic is powerful. Even with a weapon, Saito's chances would be poor.

"If we die, humans will get new Void bearers. But if we stay here, out of our minds, everyone in Halkeginia will suffer."

"Tiffa..."

"It's not that I want to do something great, you know? I mean, I don't want to be a saint. What was the word? Martyr, right? No, I don't want it. It's just a simple calculation. Happiness of tens of millions of people versus one life. Rather simple, right?"

Saito didn't respond and Tiffania continued.

"This power... 'Void'. It was such a burden. Me saving the world, I never thought I could do it. And I still don't. But, thanks to it, I met you and the others and could see the outside world. I am grateful for it. I didn't do anything... I was just observing the others fighting. So, I want to help however I can in the end."

"You are helping."

"No. I am an alien to humans. If war with the Elves started I would have to hide. And I am an alien to the Elves, too. I wish there was a place where I belonged."

To Saito, Tiffania didn't look pathetic. She was very flustered but the way she thought about everything... even though she was getting along with everyone, there always was a line separating her from the others.

Involuntarily he blurted.

"There is such place."

"Where?"

"I will always be there for you."

Tiffania looked surprised.

"You are in love with Louise."

Saito said quickly.

"Hmm, ... not like that. As a friend. Friends can support you, right?"

Tiffania laughed.

"Thank you. But a lover is better than a friend."

Tiffania said it without any hesitation, Saito was confused. Tiffania quickly waved her hands.

"That's not what I meant. I am not coming on to you... There should be someone for me too. Someone else..."

"Ah, I see," said Saito to defuse the strange mood.

"Of course I didn't mean it! I know you don't like me like that!"

"Thank you, but I know better whom and how I like."

Tiffania laughed and said with a hint of anger in her voice.

"You know, it's pointless, Saito."

"What is?"

"This... me talking about friendship."

"What do you mean?"

"Because I want to rely on..."

She said shyly picking up the hem of her robe.

"To rely on you!"

Saito involuntarily grasped Tiffania's shoulders. Then he noticed it.

"Sorry about that."

He tried to take his hands off her but Tiffania held them.

"Wait! This is wrong! Tiffa! Tiffa?"

He noticed that Tiffania was crying.

"I am afraid... to lose my mind. And to die too. To sit here and do nothing... Why? Saito, why?"

Her crying was the last drop that broke the dam. Looking at Tiffania, Saito was overwhelmed with a feeling that they absolutely must escape.

Saito pushed Tiffania away. She was staring at him stunned.

"Saito?"

"Ouch! Damn!" Saito crouched holding his belly.

"What happened? Saito! Are you ok?"

"It's bad... stomachache... must be that dish we ate earlier... elvish food doesn't fit me..." said Saito sweating.

Tiffania yelled "Someone! Help Saito!"

The guard on the other side of the door asked "What happened?"

"He is in pain and..."

The guard told them to wait a moment and started to fiddle with some device near the door. Saito was thrilled.

''Is he opening the door? Good... I will take his weapon and take him as a hostage. And... then we escape... What happens then we will think through later.''

But the door didn't open. The guard laughed behind it.

"Hey, barbarian, don't be stupid. Your condition is being monitored with water magic. They don't want you to die. And, by the way, I don't have any weapon. We know about your abilities."

Saito quietly cursed and stood up.

"Saito?" said Tiffania, who had apparently taken seriously Saito's feigned illness. The guard continued.

"You should be grateful. We could use the potion immediately. You have six more days. It's not much but you shouldn't waste them."

"Well, thank you so very much, kind sir." replied Saito sarcastically. Then he lay on the bed.

"I though about it and decided. We can't do anything."

"What did you decide?" asked a worried Tiffania.

Saito declared "I give up!"

"Oh?"

"Loss of heart is reversible. Tabitha's mother recovered. Tiffa and me dying for the future of Halkeginia... it would be an epic story. But I don't like it at all. I have too much to lose. I am not joking."

"But..."

Saito stared at the ceiling and said frankly, "I am going to believe... In everyone. They will help us."

He had nothing to support his words, but for some reason they calmed down Tiffania for the first time in a long while.

"Never say you have nowhere to turn. You have them. And they all love Tiffa very much."

"You are right."
[[Image:ZnT19-184.jpg|thumb|]]
Tiffania wiped her tears and clung to Saito.

"Wow!"

"You know, Saito?"

"What?"

"I love you. Thank you."

Tiffania suddenly kissed his cheek. Saito panicked.

"Whaaat?"

Tiffania noticed his reaction, realized what she just said and blushed.

"No, not like that! I always blurt out whatever I think. Not in this sense..."

Tiffania groaned.

"If you say what you think then... you do love me... For me there is only Louise."

Tiffania's long ears drooped. She seemed to be worried.

"Ah, well, damn hesitation. We are where we are, we have what we have. It's good that we are together."

Serious Tiffania was nodding to Saito's words. She was still clinging to him, so the miraculous objects with softness of marshmallow and size of a melon were pressed to him.

This closeness of Tiffania gave Saito confidence.

It's strange.

No matter how desperate the situation is, a beautiful girl by his side can make everything better.

''We gave up. What else could we do? Nothing.'' thought Saito lying next to Tiffania.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume19_Chapter9|Chapter 9]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter7

2017-08-31T06:36:38Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 7 - Louise's Decision and Romalia's Choice=== 

It happened five days before Saito met Bidashal in the Kasbah.

"There is no rescue party? How is this possible?"

Louise desperately pressed Henrietta. They were in Tristain Palace. Three days had passed since Saito's kidnapping.

Louise's numbness had finally passed and she could try to rescue Saito. She went to the palace first...

"An emissary from Romalia brought this letter."

Louise took the letter. It had the Pope's seal on it and just said "Please leave this matter to us."

"Then, please let me help them!" said Louise, but Henrietta shook her head.

"They want you to stay here."

"And Your Majesty accepted it?"

Henrietta nodded painfully.

"We are organizing an expeditionary army; our hands are tied... we can't send people to escort you."

Louise saw that Henrietta's decision was final.

"They likely kidnapped Tiffania too. Frankly, we know very little about the Elves. Romalia is much better prepared for it. They have been observing the Elves for quite some time."

After these words Louise was just about to say something really harsh, like where would the Princess be without Saito?

But she didn't. She had learned to control herself recently, and she understood Henrietta's position.

The Queen has to make sacrifices sometimes... no matter how painful they are.

"I understand. It must be difficult for you to say this, right?"

"Louise..."

"I apologize for my unreasonable expectations. I will take my leave then."

Louise bowed stiffly. Seeing this attitude Henrietta realized Louise's intentions. Once her childhood friend made her decision no one could ever talk her out of it.

So, Henrietta didn't say anything, just the usual "Be careful, Louise."

Louise left the palace sitting astride a horse. Newly-organized regiments were marching on the street. They probably were going to Champs De Mars training camp. Recruitment posters were plastered everywhere on the walls. Regiments frantically tried to replenish in preparation for the Crusade.

The city folk didn't seem to be concerned much, and city life went as usual. Probably people didn't understand what "continent rise" actually meant? Maybe they thought it was a problem somewhere far away, like Albion or the Fire Dragon Mountains. Or they just expected the nobles to deal with it somehow...

The road led her out of the city. It was getting dark, and Louise lit a magic lantern hanging from the neck of her horse. Hazy light illuminated the road.

She looked at the moons shining between the clouds and began to cry.

''Is Saito safe?''

''What horrible things have the elves done to him?''

This is what she didn't say to Henrietta.

The Elves wouldn't kill Saito. They really fear the resurrection of the Void... But they could use this horrible potion that they almost made Tabitha drink a while ago...

Then Saito would forget about her.

Even worse then that...

He wouldn't be himself anymore.

This would be unbearable. The only thing she cared about in this world would disappear. This thought scared her, and Louise cried.

Crying didn't help at all but she just couldn't stop.

When she arrived at Des Ornieres everyone surrounded her looking worried.

"How did it go, Louise?" Asked Guiche.

She shook her head.

"Tristain will not try to rescue them."

"Unbelievable! The guy is a national hero!" Malicorne lamented.

"Romalia will handle it."

"To rely on Romalia like that! They basically abandoned him!" Guiche exclaimed.

Eleonore folded her hands and declared. "Well, if amateurs rushed blindly into the Elves' country they would never return."

"What are you saying?" Yelled Guiche.

But Eleonore remained calm. "Any objections? This place was full of mages yet the kidnapping went smoothly. If a rescue group was sent without a plan it just would be obliterated."

Louise responded soberly.

Everyone tensed expecting a furious fight between the sisters. Eleonore had said the truth, but it wasn't the right moment to say it in front of Louise.

But Louise replied frankly "You are right. It's just as Eleonore said. There is no point. Leave it to Romalia."

Then she left and everyone, including Eleonore, stared at each other in disappointment.

Louise came to her room and wiped away the tears. She looked down for about ten seconds. Then she raised her chin and she didn't cry anymore. Determination sparkled in her eyes, lips turned into a straight line.

She started to pack a bag. A purse and underwear change, there wasn't much to pack. She would buy food on the way.

She would need to cross the borders somehow.

From Tristain to Gallia. And from Gallia to Sahara.

However, it wasn't an immediate problem. She took a document from her pocket.

It was a transit pass with Henrietta's seal.

The seal was real but the pass itself was forged. During her visit to the palace she had teleported into Henrietta's office and stamped the document.

Louise didn't count on help from Henrietta from the start because she realized that the Queen is not free in her actions.

Not so long ago she would just ask Henrietta for this permit. Now she felt that it wouldn't work...

Louise didn't want to involve the others in the mansion because this was a personal matter...

Considering the current situation in Halkeginia her actions were unacceptable. As a Void mage she should have been following the instructions from Romalia.

But she was anxious.

It was like a premonition.

''The Elves will force Saito to drink this potion...''

''Romalia doesn't care about Saito. But I do.''

They may even be right. Choosing between the fate of Saito and the future of Halkeginia shouldn't be difficult for them.

Even if Saito did lose his heart, it still could be reverted. Tabitha's mother recovered. Romalia may consider it to be a mere "inconvenience". It may make their choice to avoid immediate actions even easier.

Considering the recent actions of Romalia it seemed to be very plausible...

That was the main reason Louise refused to rely on Romalia.

''Absolutely unacceptable.''

When her backpack was ready, she opened a window and cast a teleportation spell.

Louise jumped across the street to the stables. Trying to keep the horse calm and silent she put a saddle on it.

When she was about to depart, there was a rustle in the bushes. Louise immediately raised her wand. Elves again?

A maid with luggage emerged from the bushes.

"Siesta?" Louise exclaimed

"Yes, it's me."

"What are you doing here?"

"The same thing as you. Please take me with you."

Apparently Siesta had guessed Louise's intentions and was waiting for her.

Louise sighed and said "Impossible. Forget it."

Louise tried to leave but Siesta blocked her way.

"I can't. I will go too."

"Listen, this time I can't. It's not like that time in Albion."

"I know it. You are going to the Elves, right?"

"Yes. The scary Elves, you know?"

"I know. I still want to go."

Apparently Siesta had decided to go no matter what.

"I am not joking! You are not even a mage. It's dangerous for a commoner. Do you understand?"

"I understand. But..."

Siesta started to cry.

"I can't just stay here and wait. If something happens... to Mister Saito... and Miss Valliere... life wouldn't be worth living. So I beg you, please take me with you."

Louise was deeply touched by Siesta's words.

"But this is impossible."

"Then I will yell! Everyone will know that Miss Valliere is leaving!"

"Well."

Siesta opened her mouth and breathed in deeply. Louise jumped to her and covered her mouth.

"Ok! All right! I am taking you with me, so please be quiet!"

Triumphant Siesta quickly tied her luggage to the saddle and climbed on the horse.

"Forward."

Well, Louise gave up. But at the same time she was somehow glad. Whoever your companion is, not being alone is reassuring.

They started to move and went out of the gate but were stopped by a blue-haired girl with a staff.

"Tabitha? What are you..."

Louise started to ask but, surprisingly, Tabitha interrupted her.

"I will go too. I can't let you go like that. The Elves are dangerous. I fought one once. With Sylphid we can fly there."

Louise was speechless. Then Sylphid descended suddenly and sat in front of her.

"Right. Get off this slow creature. Climb on Sylphy."

Louise and Siesta were stunned. Sylphid grabbed Louise and put her on her back.

"Me too! Me too!" Cried Siesta and Sylphid loaded her too.

Then Tabitha joined them.

Louise stared at Tabitha, stunned. She wanted to say something but couldn't find the words...

Then she did. "Thank you."

Louise nearly cried. Naturally. Everyone was worried about Saito, not just her.
[[Image:ZnT19-006.jpg|thumb|]]
They flew on Sylphid's back in the night sky for a while... Then from behind came a strange sound.

Louise looked back. A huge winged shadow was gaining on them.

"Hey! Miss Valliere! No matter how light you gals are, Sylphid will get tired carrying you to Sahara!"

It was the magically enhanced voice of Colbert.

Sylphid happily yelled kyui kyui and flew toward the ''Ostland''.

Everyone from the mansion was on the deck of the ''Ostland'': Kirche, Malicorne, Colbert, Guiche, and surprisingly even Eleonore.

When Sylphid landed, Eleonore approached, folded her arms and yelled at Louise.

"Again, doing whatever you want! Why don't you ever consult with me!"

Louise trembled.

"Sorry! But if I told you about it you would never agree..."

"Are you saying that I am unable to understand you?"

"No!"

"Then talk to me. It's not like I reject everything, I am not a demon."

Malicorne shook his head. "You are scarier then a demon. You are the elder sister."

Eleonore kicked Malicorne.

"You can't call me elder sister!"

Malicorne hit the wall spectacularly.

Louise looked around with tears in her eyes and quickly bowed.

"Thank you, guys."

Kirche put her hands on Louise's shoulders and narrowed her eyes.

"Why did you try to do it alone?"

"Because... I just... I didn't want to bother..."

Amazed, Kirche replied.

"Bother? Stupid. One that can't be bothered to help a friend is not much of a friend."
[[Image:ZnT19-165.jpg|thumb|]]
Some time later everyone was fast asleep in the cabin...

Louise was alone on the deck looking at the night sky. Blue and red moons shone in a gap in the clouds.

"Hey, Saito" she said toward the moons.

"Do you also see the moons in the desert?"

It would be nice, thought Louise. She wanted to feel a connection.

"Saito, they are beautiful."

"Lets look at them together in Des Ornieres again."

Her wish flew into the night sky with the sound of the steam engines of the ''Ostland''.

Next morning...

A single-horse carriage stopped in front of the "religious agency" in the center of the Holy Romalian Empire. A tall noble came out out of it, his blue eyes shining under long gray hair. A beautiful woman with sharp eyes followed him.

It was Wardes and Fouquet.

A girl, about fifteen yeas old, greeted them with a curtsy.

"My master is waiting" she said simply.

"Mikaela, why did the Pope summon us?"

This religious agency... Last month Mikaela, a maiden in the Pope's service, led Wardes and Fouquet here to introduce them to the Pope.

They were nervous and curious about that meeting but the Pope, Vittorio Cervale, didn't say anything interesting. It was just meaningless small talk.

So, forced to work for the Pope, they hadn't the faintest idea what would he want from them.

"There is no reason for me to know it."

Replied Mikaela worriedly.

"I know. I just wanted to hear you say it."

Wardes smiled. Fouquet poked him.

"Don't tease the shrine maiden."

They were immediately invited into the Pope's office. Vittorio had just finished morning prayers and was sitting in a chair drinking tea.

When they came in, Vittorio stood up and invited them to sit.

"Please. Would you like some tea?"

Without waiting for their answer, Mikaela went to an anteroom and brought tea.

"Please."

The Pope sipped his tea.

"Ok, what do you want from us?" Wardes asked bluntly.

"Did you hear what happened at the Fire Dragon Mountains?" Asked Vittorio.

Wardes nodded. "Yes."

"This is what your mother was afraid of."

Wardes' eyes glinted. "You know it, huh?"

"We keep an eye on Halkeginia. It appears that your mother had a premonition."

Wardes silently waited. Fouquet was looking at Wardes and the Pope. She couldn't grasp the intentions of this young man. The most powerful man in Halkeginia invited them, two criminals, into his office without any concern.

She couldn't feel even a trace of greed in him. Indeed, his modesty was in stark contrast with the previous Popes.

She now understood the reason behind the jokes about the humility of the new Pope.

Yet Fouquet couldn't help but feel something ominous behind this mask of innocence. If she told Wardes about it, he would brush it away like a woman's silly intuition...

"It made her lose her mind. She wasn't a very strong person and just couldn't handle it."

"Simply put, I want you to help to resolve this problem."

"Me? What can I do about it?"

"Powerful magic equipment is hidden in the Holy Land. It belonged to the Founder Brimir. To get it back we need to gather the Four of Four, the bearers of the Void."

"Bearers of the Void?"

"People to whom Founder Brimir passed his power."

Wardes remembered the faces of Louise and Saito.

"I am not one of them."

"Indeed. Two of them were kidnapped by the Elves. I want you to rescue them."

"Oh. Who are they?"

"Gandálfr and Miss Tiffania, descendant of the Albion Royal Family."

Wardes smiled.

"I know Gandálfr."

"I am aware of the animosity between you two."

"In other words, you are sending us to the country of the Elves?"

"Basically, yes."

"What if the rescue is problematic?"

"In that case I want you to eliminate them."

Wardes smiled.

"You found the right man for this job."

"In that case the power will be passed to someone else. Rescue them if you can. Otherwise the greater good requires their sacrifice. Do you understand?"

"I see. When do we depart?"

"Immediately. We have several ways into the elvish country. You will pretend to be a peddler."

When Wardes and Fouquet left, a handsome teenager shifted a curtain and entered the room. His eyes were different colors. It was Julio.

"Indeed, the Elves are resourceful. It will be difficult to gather the Four of Four."

"What do you think about them?"

"It went well. Together they are among the best hit-men. Viscount Wardes is unlikely to fail. It will be a hassle to raise the new Gandálfr" said Julio. Vittorio nodded.

"It will take time... Frankly, it is unfortunate that fate made 'brothers' disposable."

Julio sadly smiled.

"I prefer the word 'martyr'."

"I agree. And I am getting tired of this 'there is a magic device yadda-yadda' story."

Julio didn't respond. He also knew the truth.

That device protected by the elves never existed...

Mikaela was in the room all this time. Vittorio ordered her "Please bring it."

Mikaela nodded and brought an ancient-looking mirror from Vittorio's study.

It seemed to be a usual round mirror. However, faded words written on the frame suggested that it was a very old item.

"The round mirror of the Founder... How much history was reflected in this mirror?"

This pocket mirror once belonged to the Founder.

"It reflected everything. Regrettable and cruel events. Along with the life of Founder Brimir."

Vittorio mentioned the "life" of Brimir.

"You shouldn't say it. It's blasphemy."

"He was a person. With his own worries, suffering and free will."

An outline appeared in the mirror, "life" written in ancient runes.

It was a spell of Void that Vittorio had learned recently.

It was a terrifying spell. Four mages could use it to put four treasures into resonance for the first time...

Four familiars had to be there too.

Gandálfr, protecting the chanters.

Myoznitnirn who makes the four treasures resonate.

Vindálfr, the "vessel" of the spell that turns into "Eye of the Four".

The fourth familiar's name also was written there indifferently.

"Lifsrasil," the Heart of God.

"You said that you don't want to remember this name in the song, right?" Vittorio asked the small mirror.

"Was it because of the guilt? Did you feel remorse because you were killing people of the same race as this familiar?"

There was no answer. The man who could answer these questions had died six thousand years ago.

But he left them the "mission"...

Staring at the rune of spell "life", Vittorio shook his head.

''Did my mother refuse to give this mission to me? Was it the reason she ran away with the ring?''

Vittorio wiped his eyes. Julio gently put a hand on his shoulder. Mikaela also put her hand on her masters shoulder.

The round mirror of the Founder glimmered faintly.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter6|Chapter 6]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume19_Chapter8|Chapter 8]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter6

2017-08-31T06:16:39Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 6 - Second meeting with Bidashal=== 

After about a half an hour flight over the desert they saw a sea. Adyl, capital of Elves' country Nephthys, projected from the coast into the sea. It stretched as far as Saito could see.

Countless ships were cruising between multiple concentric landfills. Saito was astonished by the scale of this city.

Next to him, Tiffania was staring at the city with wide-open eyes.

It seemed that the city was far more advanced than Halkeginia's towns, which wouldn't look out of place in Middle Ages.

This view reminded Saito of pictures of an artificial city in the Middle East.

A city built in the sea... Which country was it...

It felt good to comb through memories about distant Earth.

Ali occupied a saddle near the wind dragon's neck. Saito threw him a hateful look.

Well, considering the technological backwardness of Halkeginia's humans, the elf's disdain for them might not be completely unreasonable.

But Earth's technology is even more advanced.

''The tallest buildings in this city are only tall for those who didn't see Tokyo and New York. He would weep if he had seen them, this long-eared bastard,'' thought Saito.

Tiffania sitting next to him noticed his stare and took his hand.

"Don't start anything. If you were hurt, Louise would be sad."

Still, suppressing the anger was hard.

Then he though about Louise and Tabitha. They were hurt, are they ok? He wanted to see Louise right now. But, being kidnapped, there was nothing he could do about it.

''Maybe I will never see her again.''

This thought suddenly crossed his mind. Saito shook his head to get rid of it.

''Don't even think about it. We will definitely meet again. I have to believe it...''

Tiffania noticed it and squeezed his hand to reassure him.

"It's ok, Saito. We will see them again. Definitely. I am sure."

It was pretty much what he had just told himself. Saito looked at Tiffania and squeezed her hand too.

"Certainly."

Luctiana sitting behind them noticed Saito's reaction and said.

"Amazing, right? Not many barbarians have seen Adyl from above."

Saito, irritated by the elf's condescension, replied.

"There are higher buildings in my home town. Don't be so arrogant."

Ali's face expressed his skepticism but Luctiana become curious.

"Interesting. What do you mean?"

"There are buildings three times taller than this central tower."

"Really? Where are you from?"

"Earth, the country is Japan."

Saito grinned. Luctiana looked confused.

"Where is it? I never heard about it. Is it one of the city-states near Romalia? I don't remember..."

"No, it's on another world."

Tiffania pulled his sleeve.

"Saito."

"Huh? Well, I don't think hiding it makes much sense anymore."

"Another world, What do you mean?"

Luctiana seemed to be very interested, she leaned forward.

"Hey, Luctiana. Don't believe everything the barbarian says," Ali said turning around.

He seemed to be annoyed. Luctiana stuck out her tongue at him, then said to Saito in a low voice.

"I would like to hear more about it later."

"Sure, if you can believe it."

The wind dragon under Ali's control began to descend. They approached the Kasbah in the center of Adyl, residence of the Council ruling Nephthys.

The dragon landed on the roof and was surrounded by elf warriors looking at Saito and Tiffania with curiosity; some of them smiled.

Someone pointed to Tiffania, and the elves gasped in surprise. Apparently half-elf Tiffania was much more amusing than "the descendant of the Devil" Saito. Tiffania shyly covered her ears.

An elf approached and said something to Tiffania in Elvish. She didn't understand him and looked confused. The elf tried to grab her hand.

"Hey, stop it."

Saito tried to intervene; a few elves immediately grabbed him and started to yell something. Saito heard word "shaitan" and decided that they were cursing.

One of the elves reached for a dagger on his waist.

Luctiana yelled something angrily in Elvish. After some altercation Ali separated the prisoners from the elves.

The warriors left looking disappointed.

Scared Tiffania hid behind Saito.

"What did they want?" Saito asked Luctiana.

"To kill you for meddling," she answered cheerfully. Saito paled.

"Wouldn't it be a problem for you?"

"It would. But you are a 'Devil' here, don't forget about it."

In the eyes of the elves looking at Saito and Tiffania was intense hostility. When Saito arrived in Halkeginia he was despised but never hated like that.

For the first time he felt vividly that they were in enemy territory.

''What does Bidashal want from us? What is there to discuss?'' Saito thought with increasing anxiety.

When they all reached Bidashal's office, the guards left.

The Kasbah building's walls were beautifully plastered. Light colored tiles created a geometric pattern that livened up a dull room. It seemed to be extremely clean, a quality unusual for Halkeginia.

It felt somewhat uncomfortable for Saito... too refined and lifeless. Maybe he had just gotten used to the messy Halkeginia...

A bit later a door opened and Bidashal entered. The last time Saito had seen him was during their confrontation in Alhambra.

Saito felt a spike of anxiety. Back then the elf attacked him and Louise using powerful Ancient Magic.

He also created the "jewel of fire" that burned that fleet in Gallia...

However, the calm elf in front of him didn't look like a monster. In stark contrast with the young elves Saito just met, there was no open hostility.

As if their battle had never happened, Bidashal said "Long time no see, barbarian warrior."

Saito didn't quite believe what he heard.

Bidashal sat in a chair and invited them to sit. Then he started the inquiry.

"Well, I have questions. First of all, what do you call it... "Void"? Tell me the names of all the mages and describe their abilities. We know about a few of them but not everyone, I want to be certain."

Amazed, Saito answered.

"There is no way I am telling you that."

"There are many ways to get this information from you. Don't waste my time."

Saito didn't respond and Bidashal called someone. A young elf woman in a white robe came. She held something.

It seemed to be a vial of muddy liquid. A drug of some sort... Saito impulsively tried to grab Tiffania's hand and run. Immediately a myriad of tentacles grew from the floor and walls, fixing him in place.

Tentacles pried open Saito's mouth and the woman in the white robe poured in the liquid. Damn... there was nothing he could do. As if in a fever, his head became hazy.

When Bidashal repeated the question, Saito couldn't resist. The names just came out of his mouth.

Pope Vittorio, Louise, Joseph the King of Gallia, and the last one...

"What? Is she too?!" Cried Ali when Tiffania's name came out.

Bidashal was obviously amazed. Luctiana gasped. Tiffania rushed to uncontrollably shaking Saito.

"Saito! Are you all right? Saito!"

But Saito didn't respond. He just stared into nothing in front of him.

"Devil's power given to someone of elvish blood..."

Bidashal said with a sigh. Tiffania looked at him with hate.

"I always thought elves were kind people, like my mother!"

"There are different kinds of kindness, you see. I'm just doing what's necessary for all the elves."

"The humans are in grave danger! Barbarians you call them... Certainly, their culture and technology might be inferior to yours but even they have the right to live, don't they?" Tiffania desperately appealed but Bidashal answered adamantly.

"'Shaitan's Gate' will remain closed. We can't allow the calamity to happen again. As long as we live we will protect it."

"Nobody knows what would happen! It's just an ancient obsolete tradition!"

"We can't gamble with the fate of our race like that. We will always protect it. This is not a tradition, this is our duty."

"Why do you refuse to even consider this? Why?"

Tiffania fetched a wand from her cleavage. If she could make them forget...
[[Image:ZnT19-147.jpg|thumb|]]
But her attempt was immediately interrupted. Tentacles instantly grew from the wall and entangled Tiffania.

"I will keep this. It can be dangerous in the hands of the devil's descendant."

Bidashal took the wand from Tiffania's hand.

Saito realized what was happening in front of him but the magic somehow disconnected it from reality. It felt like he was watching a movie.

Tiffania was crying next to him held by tentacles extending from the wall. There were a few elves in the room. Then the tall one, Bidashal, sat in front of him and started to talk.

"Barbarian warrior, after I fought with you I got interested in the connection between our saint Anubis and Gandálfr. I read everything I could find about it."

"Ok."

Saito replied indifferently. He understood what was said but magic suppressed any interest he could have.

"Saint Anubis defeated the 'Devil' who brought the calamity; that's why he became our saint. According to records, his left hand was shining. There is a connection between Anubis and Gandálfr; it appears it was the same person. Very interesting."

At this moment the door opened and a secretary entered.

"Lord Bidashal, the Council has made a decision."

"What did they decide?"

Bidashal looked at the paper the secretary passed to him and slightly frowned.

"I see."

"What is it, uncle?" Luctiana asked, worried.

"The Council determined that they will take the 'heart loss' medicine."

Luctiana paled.

"Impossible! I was supposed to look after them, wasn't it settled already?"

The secretary apologetically said to Luctiana, "This was the decision of the Council, Miss Luctiana. They said that they wanted to exclude any danger."

"From an academic point of view this makes no sense at all."

"Anyway, the decision is made. It will happen in a week. Until then they will be held here."

Hearing the conversation, Tiffania started to tremble.

''Am I going to lose my heart? Me and Saito?''

Then she remembered the face of her mother.

''Country where gentle elves just like my mother live... I am a half-breed, of course they may not like me. That must be the reason...''

But she didn't expect anything like that. For the first time in her life Tiffania cursed the elvish blood flowing in her veins.

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|-
| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume19_Chapter7|Chapter 7]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter5

2017-08-27T03:56:45Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 5 - Ali's visit=== 

Next morning...

Saito was awakened by sunlight flowing through a window. Tiffania occupied the bed, so he was sleeping on a couch. He couldn't sleep in the same bed with Tiffania again, even though Tiffania had said "we're friends, so it's fine;" Saito realized that it wasn't.

For example, he could touch something while tossing in his sleep. It was obvious for him that that touch, like a drug, would just switch his brain off; so he slept on the sofa. The view of her cleavage convinced him that it was a wise decision.

Tiffania slept peacefully. The spacious robe went awry in the night, and the resulting view was captivating. Saito tried to look away, but about ten seconds later he childishly convinced himself that it was an encouragement from God.

Actually, a difficult mission was ahead of them both. It would be a waste if only he received the encouragement.

Saito thought about it and shook his head.

''This is wrong.''

Tiffania tossed in her sleep again. The loose robe shifted even more, and the Grand Canyon came into Saito's view. It was amazing.

Saito almost cried with excitement and joined his palms. Then Tiffania woke up. She noticed the state of her robe and Saito's gaze, blushed and covered her cleavage with her hand. Saito was very embarrassed.

''It was just a peep, wasn't it? Knowing me, would Louise be disappointed?'' Saito mentally bowed to his sweetheart.

''Is there an instinct below love? Can I be above this instinct? Then I act like that not because of a flaw of human nature. It is because of my own flaw.'' Saito mentally vowed to Louise to be strong.

''I will not look anymore. Because Louise is the best...'' he muttered in his mind. He gave a promise to Louise. It didn't happen often, but Saito made a mental promise of loyalty.

Tiffania murmured something almost crying.

"...weird. Definitely my chest is weird. It bothers you, doesn't it? Sniff..."

"No! Don't worry about it!" Saito hastily shook his head.

"What is happening?"

Door opened and Luctiana entered. Saito pretended that nothing happened. Tiffania gulped, she looked nervous.

Saito winked to Tiffania, she nodded.

"Did you have breakfast? Some fruits in this oasis are very good."

Saito raised his hand, Luctiana noticed.

"Huh? What happened?"

"I have something to discuss. Let's negotiate?"

"Negotiate what?" Said Luctiana with blank expression.

"I would like to talk with the Elf leaders."

"What? Again? You want to see Shaitan's Gate and the so-called magic equipment?"

"Exactly."

"Didn't I say already to forget about it?"

Saito nonchalantly declared.

"Then I will die."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Tiffania was looking at Saito waiting for signal to intervene. He nodded.

"Ah! This guy will do as he says!"

"Yes I will."

"Die! Stop this nonsense! Hey Saito!"

"Ah. Nonsense."

This was the strategy they came up with yesterday. The Elves needed Saito alive. They had agreed to keep Tiffania's ability to erase memory as a trump card.

Luctiana looked at them alternately and started to laugh.

"Funny! You guys sure have strangest ideas!"

Saito blushed.

"Why are you laughing? If I died, wouldn't it be a problem for you? A new familiar..."

"I can see it in your eyes. You are not really intending to die, are you?"

Saito didn't have a response for that.

Luctiana stared at him.

"You'd better not say something like that in front of other elves. Suicide, huh? You would lose your heart."

"Huh?"

Lose heart... Saito remembered something Tabitha said about it.

Tabitha... an elf almost forced her to take medicine... If they hadn't rescued her in the last moment at the Alhambra, she would have "lost her heart".

"You should be grateful. The Council wanted to use it from the start. It would be safer. Only because I and my uncle vigorously objected can you guys still think clearly."

Tiffania and Saito paled. It was horrifying.

Luctiana mentioned someone else.

"Why did he protect me?"

"Hmm. He seems to think you are unusual. He said that he had a lot of questions for you, so you will meet him soon. My uncle is great. It's almost what you wanted. And please no more crazy ideas."

Saito and Tiffania exchanged embarrassed glances.

Then Luctiana continued her inquiry. This time she was mostly asking Tiffania.

"Who is your mother? How you were born?"

Tiffania glanced at Saito for support. He was sitting nearby.

Somewhat frightened, she started slowly describe her upbringing. Her parents were the Grand Duke of Albion and his mistress, an elf woman. Then her uncle, the King, sent soldiers to kill her parents.

She escaped and lived in a forest. And met Saito and his friends...

She told everything except for the fact that she had Void magic abilities.

Luctiana listened her story with interest, taking notes.

"What was your mother's name?"

"Father was calling her Shayal."

Luctiana smiled.

"It means 'pearl' in our language. I am sure she was beautiful."

Tiffania smiled shyly.

"Yes. She was very beautiful. Even though my childhood memories are faint, I remember this..."

"I will check. It is very unusual for an elf to go there; maybe I can find out more about her."

"Really?"

Tiffania was delighted.

"Yes. Maybe you have relatives."

Tiffania's smile faded.

"Right... But... I think..."

"What?"

"My parents loved each other very much. So, I think humans and elves can understand each other."

"Well, yes. That's why we can talk like this."

"In this case please take us to the 'Holy Land'! Otherwise a lot of people will die! And those who survive will lose everything!"

Luctiana become serious. It seemed that it wasn't a trivial matter for her.

"Frankly I was thinking about it. The cataclysm might be a part of the Great Purpose but just accepting it as such doesn't feel right. But keep in mind, very few elves would see it like this."

"Really?"

"Thank you very much!"

Tiffania and Saito bowed.

"For six thousand years we protected Shaitan's Gate. They say opening it would cause a horrible disaster."

"What kind of disaster?"

Asked Saito. Luctiana opened eyes wide.

"Huge calamity."

"But what is it?"

"People believe that six thousands years ago the 'Devil' came from Shaitan's Gate."

"What happened then?"

"They say every second elf had died."

Saito gulped. Tiffania paled.

"Did it really happen?"

"Who knows? Not all elves believe it. After all it was so long ago. But this is why Shaitan's Gate must be protected at all costs. You guys may be in big trouble but this is far from a trivial matter for us."

Saito and Tiffania looked at each other, both very concerned.

Something large splashed into the water outside.

"It's Ali!"

Luctiana went outside to meet her fiancee; Saito followed her. A large Wind Dragon was swimming to the pier with an elf on his back.

As the elf approached in long strides, Saito noticed a frown on his face. The elf's aversion to humans was rather obvious.

With an arrogant expression on his delicate face the elf was examining Saito as if he were a wild animal. It gave Saito a new appreciation of Luctiana's attitude.

Ali looked around the room and said in a sullen voice.

"Hey, I hope a barbarian wasn't sleeping in my bed."

Luctiana pouted.

"It's not yours, it's a guest bed."

"Anyway, I don't like a barbarian sleeping in an elf's bed."

Replied Ali glancing askance at Saito.

"Hey, you guys. We are leaving. Get ready."

Ali.

Is he the fiancee Luctiana mentioned yesterday? He is probably the one who put Saito to sleep. And Louise and Tabitha...

Saito couldn't suppress his anger anymore. It wasn't a good time for it. But he just couldn't.

"Bastard!"

Yelled Saito and threw a punch. As if he expected the attack, Ali dodged and knocked Saito down. He moved very fast, like a professional boxer.

Saito spectacularly fell. Tiffania rushed to help him get up. Ali wiped his fist with a handkerchief.

"Hey! Ali! Stop it!"

"He started it."

Saito tried to stand up.

"Bastard, how dare you... Louise and Tabitha..."
[[Image:ZnT19-133.jpg|thumb|]]
However, Tiffania firmly grasped his hand.

"Stop it. Saito, stop!"

Ignoring them, Ali said to Luctiana.

"You should modify the 'defense' spell so that it protected me too. Anyone visiting you can be attacked like that."

Saito gripped his katana. Ali noticed it and frowned.

"Hey, barbarian, don't. If you draw the sword even I can't go easy on you."

"Did you injure Louise and Tabitha?"

"Louise? Tabitha? Ah, right, they tried to stop us. I didn't kill the descendant of the Devil. Relax."

There seemed to be regret in his tone, as if he felt sorry about missed opportunity. Saito groaned and pounced again. Annoyed Ali dodged and responded with a sharp kick.

Saito blocked the kick with both hands and kept pressing.

"How dare you to attack my Louise!"

A full force hit reached Ali's face, he winced.

"This is for Tabitha!"

Another punch in the face. Ali tried to cast a spell but at that moment an umbrella hanging from the ceiling suddenly opened and fell, covering the heads of both fighters. They tried to get rid of it but for naught. The umbrella closed tight.

"Guys, so irresponsible! It's my house! You wanna fight, go outside!"

"Are you taking a barbarian's side now?"

Exclaimed Ali from under the umbrella.

"No, I am not! You just tried to use spirit magic in my house!"

Replied Luctiana glaring at Ali.

"Anyway, promise not to fight in the house. Otherwise you are not welcome here."

Luctiana snapped her fingers and the umbrella obediently returned to the ceiling. Ali, suppressing his anger, turned to Saito.

"Don't forget it, barbarian."

Excited, Saito was about to complain but was chided by Tiffania.

"I understand your feelings but..., calm down. Please."

Saito came to his senses and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Tiffa..."

"You have dangerous guests. Are you ok?"

Ali said to Luctiana; she nodded.

"Indeed. We had a lot of fun talking."

Ali become sullen.

"I wish you weren't so passionate about barbarians. Anyway, barbarians, get on the dragon. Lord Bidashal is waiting."

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume19_Chapter6|Chapter 6]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter4

2017-08-27T03:42:52Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 4 - Luctiana's Oasis=== 

Saito woke up in a somewhat strange place. The bed he was laying on was normal.

''What is it...''

It was definitely strange. First of all, it obviously wasn't Des Ornieres.

A farm in the neighborhood?

''How did I get here?''

Anyway, something generally felt odd...

Assorted items decorated white walls. Paintings, dolls, tapestry. And a mirror with lots of jewelry.

Nothing strange by itself. He came to a conclusion. The decoration was strange; impossible even.

A hat rack was covered with a bucket for some reason. The bucket itself was decorated with a plume.

Umbrellas were hanging from the ceiling. Dresses covered the windows like curtains.

''Clearly, someone is crazy.''

The room was extremely hot. The owner must have lost his marbles due to the heat.

Well, another problem; he was fighting the Elemental Siblings, so why did he fall asleep?

Did they catch him?

Why would they do something like that?

While he was pondering on it, something moved on the bed next to him. The blanket strangely bulged on the right side.

''Hmm, what is it?''

Saito cautiously put his hand on top of the bulge.

It was an unusual sensation. Extremely soft, irresistible and magnificent. Saito pushed.

Surprisingly, the hand sunk. However, the bulge was elastic and pushed back. Happiness flooded Saito's brain.

Saito decided that it was the best thing ever.

Just a touch. How could it possibly be so satisfying? Something like that had happened when, as a kid, he was playing with a compound used to fit glass into a window frame. It also was difficult to abandon, but this feeling was far better.

Still, it definitely felt familiar.

It had happened before..., but when...

Right. It was that time...

Definitely, it was when Beatrice, Princess of Guldenhorf, was bullying Tiffania.

Huh? How is it possible? Tiffania? That half-elf?

But this was the same exact feeling.

No, it's impossible. Why would Tiffania sleep next to him?

Such fantasy. This is just wrong...

This must be just an incredibly realistic dream.

At that moment, a voice came from under the futon cover: "Ah!"

"Huh?"

He quickly turned over the cover and, indeed, found a trembling Tiffania.

"Tiffa!" said Saito. Tiffania opened her eyes.

"Saito?"

Apparently, the happiness-inducing bulge was Tiffa's breast.

Well, it was the wrong best-thing-ever. He was not supposed to touch this one. He did though, a lot, and it was so great he almost cried.

''But it wasn't on purpose, so it wasn't really my fault...'' Saito thought.

Then he was ashamed of himself.

''Subterfuge. I must have noticed. I had a suspicion but pretended that I didn't! Because... because!''

''I wanted to touch it! I'm a guy! And it's huge! So, my mind was telling myself 'What is it? Hey, Saito, what's that? What?''' said a defensive internal voice.

''Because Louise doesn't have such a best-thing-ever.''

''To be honest, she is kinda flat. However, there is nothing wrong with that. It's ok. It's kinda cute. Just like herself. It's just that the shape is not that great... but I still like it a lot...''

''This is bad.''

Saito quickly looked around.

If Louise had seen him now, she would have read his mind like a book... and then his life certainly would be in grave danger.

However, there was no Louise.

Saito relaxed. Then he remembered.

There was nothing relaxing about the current situation!

"Are you all right? Really, are you all right?" asked Tiffania with a worried voice while looking at Saito. What she saw was indeed strange and disturbing. Actually, Saito wasn't looking just strange, but more like insane.

He was bowing. Very fast. If there was a national bowing championship, he would probably win.
[[Image:ZnT19-087.jpg|thumb|]]
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to be rude! It just felt so great...!"

"Ah..."

"Please wait! Please don't cry! Let me explain first! I couldn't resist! This thing tricked me! Right, that's it! It tricked me to feel false euphoria! It was like the essence of happiness!" yelled Saito while pointing at Tiffania's breast.

He was spouting nonsense. Poor Tiffania, though, caught the part about her breast tricking him. She was about to start crying.

"Um, um, I'm sorry... This thing is weird, right? Still weird. It does such things. I also think so. I mean, no one else has it swollen like that so... I,... I'm strange."

As Saito says, "I'm strange"...

"Waah..."

"No! No! Really! It isn't strange! Really!"

Saito again demonstrated his bowing proficiency.

"But it is magnificent, and seeing it excites me. And I am trying to fight it..." said Saito with genuine remorse in his voice. It was dangerous for him to be in such a small room with Tiffania's breast. Louise wouldn't like it at all.

"I'm such an insect. Someone should kill, or rather, crush me."

Tiffania shook the grumbling Saito's shoulder.

"Calm down. By the way, where are we?"

"Right! No time for it! I also want to know it! Where the hell are we?"

"Hmm... I was going to your mansion. Did you know that I was going to summon a familiar?"

Saito had forgotten about it, but it certainly was correct.

"I was nervous and couldn't sleep, so I left early. I arrived and came to your mansion. In front of the gate I suddenly became sleepy and... woke up here. Saito?"

Saito told Tiffania about the attack of the Elemental Siblings, the strange transmutation of earth into water, and the sudden sleepiness...

"Just like me. Maybe the people who attacked you kidnapped both of us!"

"Hmm, unlikely. They wanted to kill me, and there is no reason for them to kidnap you."

Then Saito noticed Tiffania's dress.

"Tiffa, the dress..."

She wasn't wearing her usual grass green dress. It was replaced with a spacious fluttering robe.

"Oh? This... What is it?"

Tiffania gently pinched the robe.

"I've never seen a robe like that."

"This is... elvish."

"What do you mean?" asked Saito with a surprised voice.

"It looks like a robe that my mother had."

Why would Tiffania wear elvish dress? The room door opened and the answer to his question became obvious.
[[Image:ZnT19-004.jpg|thumb|]]
"Oh," was all that Saito could say.

The newcomer was definitely an elf.

A completely naked elf.

More importantly, it was a young woman. Narrow vertical pupils. Long blond hair casually cut. She looked like a mix of Tiffania and Louise. Well, her breast peeking from a towel gap was definitely on Louise's side of this mix.

She looked like a fairy drying herself up with a towel. Tiffania also looked 'fairyish', but her chest somewhat undermined the illusion.

This one was a real 'fairy'.

"Oh! Are you awake?" the elf asked in Gallish language, the official language of Halkeginia.

Lack of clothes didn't seem to concern her at all. Without waiting for Saito's reply she went to the center of the room, took a dried fruit from a rapier there and started to slowly eat it.

This attitude was somewhat familiar to Saito.

That's how Louise had acted when he had just arrived into this world!

Right. This elf doesn't consider him a guy. He suppressed rising irritation. Tiffania seemed to be frightened; her ears were down. Apparently she was afraid of this elf.

Saito nodded to Tiffania.

"I am here. I will not let them harm you."

Tiffania nodded back a few times and hid behind Saito.

Saito stared at the elf woman.

''Cos-play?.. No, it can't be, but why an elf is here?''

''It doesn't make any sense.'' Saito, trying to remain calm, asked the elf.

"I have a few questions. Do you mind?"

"Please, feel free to ask anything. By the way, my name is Luctiana. Nice to meet you."

"Where are we?"

"In the desert. This is our country, Nephthys."

Saito was confused for a moment.

"What are you talking about?"

Then it dawned on him. The reason the elf was here. A very obvious reason.

They were kidnapped by the elves!

And they brought them to their country!

"No way!" blurted a dumbfounded Saito.

"Why would I lie about it?" replied an amazed Luctiana.

"Prove it."

"Prove? You say the darnedest things." laughed Luctiana.

"Well, I was fighting with the Elemental Siblings in Des Ornieres! How could I end up in the country of the Elves?"

"During the fight, you were put to sleep by magic."

"Who did this? Was it you?"

"No, not me. It was Ali."

"Who is this Ali?"

"He happens to be my fiancee."

When he suddenly became drowsy... it was elvish magic. Saito paled. Tiffania clenched his hand.

"The Elemental Siblings were just a decoy..."

"Decoy? This is just silly. Why would we need a decoy? Weren't you fighting for your own reasons? Well, it did help us. Ali mentioned it."

There seemed to be no connection between this elf and the Elemental Siblings (well, not that it made any difference.)

"The country of the Elves, huh?"

"Is this really the country of the Elves?"

"She already told you so! Now, silly, look out the window. See?" said Tiffania, and led him to the window. Behind the trees there was a vast sea of sand.

"It's a... desert."

Saito trembled.

He was somehow brought far far away from Halkeginia.

To the country of the Elves, no less. Populated exclusively by Elves.

Their mortal enemies.

What the hell was he supposed to do?

Saito was confused. He wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. His body's instinctive reaction was to run away from this room, but he couldn't leave Tiffania behind.

He turned around. Tiffania had fainted. It seemed it was too hot for her so Saito picked her up.

"I changed her clothes because she was unconscious." said Luctiana, but Saito didn't listen. He lost it for a second, but Tiffania's presence helped him to recover his presence of mind.

''Keep it together. Tiffania needs you.''

He was fighting his fear and anxiety.

It took him quite some time to accept the new reality.

Saito took few deep breaths, raised his chin, and turned to Luctiana.

It seemed that the elf woman had no immediate intention to harm them.

Tiffania was still unconscious. He gently put her on the bed and covered her with a blanket.

"Well... I don't know what questions you would agree to answer so I will just go ahead and ask you. Ok?"

"Please do. You can ask me anything." replied Luctiana, looking at him with interest.

"What day is today?"

"Eight days have passed since you were taken."

So, they put him to sleep for entire week. It wasn't really surprising, elves were strong mages.

Then he asked the main question. It wasn't easy to ask it, but he had to know.

"Was anyone killed in the process of our kidnapping?"

Luctiana shook her head.

"I don't think so, but there were some injuries."

"Who was injured?"

"I didn't see it myself, but I heard it was a girl."

Saito's heart skipped a beat.

"Was it a serious injury?"

"Perhaps, I don't really know."

Saito clenched his fists. Probably it was Louise or Tabitha. It was someone who tried to help him against the odds. Most likely it was one of those two.

Luctiana didn't know who was hurt and how badly.

"I apologize for hurting your friends. But it had to be done."

Saito decided that eventually he would repay his friends' injuries.

But not now.

Luctiana was looking at Saito with interest, legs crossed.

Well-proportioned Luctiana looked now like a girl from a pinup. But, probably because of the elf's attitude, Saito wasn't attracted to her. Her interest was the interest of a researcher looking at an unusual animal.

Indeed, the elf was even more arrogant than Louise had been in the past. ''Typical for this long-eared bunch,'' Saito cursed under his breath.

Luctiana, still naked, was looking at him with curiosity.

Saito, with suppressed anger in his voice, continued.

"Why did you kidnap us?"

"Isn't it obvious? You are the protector of 'Demon'."

Saito silently stared at her. Luctiana nodded.

"You are trying to bring back the Demon's power. This is unacceptable."

"So, why did you kidnap me?"

"They need everyone involved to restore the Demon's power, right? We took you to prevent it."

Luctiana smiled.

Saito gulped.

The Four of Four have to gather to restore "true" Void power.

Why do the elves fear it so much? What is so scary about it?

"Well, er, ..."

"My name is Luctiana. And you are, hmm, Sat, Saet... "

"Saito."

"Barbarians' names are hard to remember."

Saito asked the most essential (at the moment) question.

"So, what are you going to do with us?"

Luctiana's answer was rather disappointing:

"Nothing."

"What do you mean?"

"As long as rhe Demon's power is dormant, all is good. We just need you alive."

"I see."

Elves knew that if a Void mage or familiar die, the power would just be passed to someone else.

"Well, that's why you are here. As long as you behave, nothing else is to be done."

"How long we will be here?"

"Hmm. I don't know."

"Forever?"

"Well, I don't think so, but I don't know for sure."

Behind Saito Tiffania gasped in dismay.

Apparently, she had recovered from her faint and was listening.

Saito took Tiffania's hand to reassure her. She grasped his hand.

"Why did you choose me and Tiffania?"

"You are famous. Didn't you defeat my uncle once? You are the strongest of them, right?"

Indeed, when Saito had been helping Tabitha, he had fought with an elf serving King Joseph. After the King's death the elf had returned home...

"So, you are relatives."

"Yes. Uncle praised you. He doesn't praise barbarians much."

"Thank you. But why did you kidnap Tiffania?"

He expected her to reply that Tiffania being a Void mage was the reason. But it wasn't.

"This child is a half-elf, isn't she?"

Luctiana's eyes suddenly shone brilliantly. Tiffania nodded.

"This is soooooooo interesting! For you too, right? Looking at this room it should be obvious that I am a scholar studying the barbarians."

Luctiana stood and proudly threw out her chest. What is wrong with this elf, thought Saito. Meanwhile his eyes were glued to her beautiful slender body.

He thought of another girl he had seen recently, and blushed. Anyway, this "barbarian" crap was getting old.

"Listen, could you stop calling me a barbarian?"

"Why? Shouldn't I call a barbarian a barbarian?" said a surprised Luctiana.

"It's offensive."

"It wasn't intentional. So, how should I call you?"

"Use my name, OK?"

"Got it. 'Saala'? What was it?"

"Only the 'Sa' part is right. It's 'Saito'."

After that Luctiana started asking her questions. Very different questions. Starting with lifestyle, like "what do you eat", "draw a floor plan of your home", "what kind of furniture do you use". And ending with social structure, agriculture, monarchy of Halkeginia, industry, commerce and so on.

Since Saito came from another world he couldn't answer most of these questions. Tiffania, who spent most of her life as a hermit, wasn't much better.

Luctiana seemed to be very disappointed.

"Well, let's do it again sometime soon?" she said.

"Why are you so curious?"

"I told you I am a scholar, right? So, it's unnatural for me to say it, but you are not all that interesting after all."

"Couldn't care less."

"What? You should be grateful. If I didn't bring you here you would be in a Kasbah dungeon now."

"You kidnapped us against our will!"

Saito was clearly very irritated but Luctiana completely ignored him. As if she suddenly remembered something, she asked the next question.

"You! Tiffania, right? Were you bullied for being a half-elf?

Saito and Tiffania looked at each other. Luctiana seemed to be the type that can just stop noticing a person she was talking with a moment ago, just like Louise when Saito first met her. But for Louise it was a way to fight her inferiority complex, and here it seemed to be just a natural ability.

Maybe all elves are like that...

In that case negotiating with them will be very difficult.

Tiffania looked at Saito; he nodded.

Tiffania said in a troubled voice "Yes, at first. But not now..."

"Hmm. I see."

Then Luctiana turned to Saito.

"How strong is prejudice against the Elves?"

"It's not prejudice, people just fear you."

"Why?"

"Well, you used strong Ancient Magic. Halkeginia's nobles suffered a lot from it, right? Naturally they are afraid."

"Hmm. Too bad. When under attack one has to defend themselves, right? We were really desperate. And with your numerical superiority..."

"What about our kidnapping? For no reason!"

"It had to be done to prevent your attack on us."

"Return the Holy Land peacefully and there will be no attack!"

"What? What are you talking about? It always was our land. You just arbitrarily declared it Holy Land."

Really? Saito looked at Tiffania.

"I'm sorry... I don't know either."

''Hmm, the place of Founder Brimir's advent. It likely was a land... It very well could be elvish land. History is full of convenient interpretations,'' Saito thought to himself.

But he couldn't admit it aloud.

"Well, anyway, ownership aside. Miss Elf, your point is that elves are not a bunch of demons, right? Let me say something."

"Go ahead."

"Well, our land... Halkeginia I mean, there is a big problem with it. It is not going to last long, you know?"

Saito took a dish from the table and lifted it mouthing a "gogogogogo" sound effect.

"Wind stones will reach critical mass and lift the land. Seriously. So we need a magic device that Founder Brimir left in the Holy Land."

Luctiana seemed to be puzzled.

"I never heard of any magic device at Shaitan's Gate."

"Really?"

"I don't know if something like that exists. An ordinary elf can't just go there."

"Where is it?"

"Hmm, I can't tell you that. Think it through. You don't want to know it. If you knew it, you definitely would be sent to a dungeon." said Luctiana in an amazed voice. Well, it made sense.

"But you do understand our problem, right? Well, humans and elves were enemies before, but aren't we all just people living on the same land?"

"It is not the end of the world. If land is to be lifted by wind stones, it is a part of The Great Purpose. If we are all 'just people', humans should accept it too."

It was a rather cold reply. Tiffania, who was quiet all this time, said.

"Wow! My mother was an elf too, but she wasn't heartless like you!"

"I am not particularly heartless. Any elf would give you the same reply."

Luctiana stood up.

"Well then, I will take a nap. A full stomach makes me sleepy. Feel free to eat anything here. Also, you can use this bed. There is just one here, so bear with it."

Luctiana looked at them.

"Don't try to run away. We are surrounded by desert; you would last about half a day. Also, don't try to attack me. The house is enchanted; you would be burned to ashes instantly. I am just mentioning it because I don't want to lose valuable research subjects."

After nonchalantly giving this horrible warning, Luctiana went to her room. Tiffania shook her head.

"I am sorry, Saito."

"Why?"

"I am a half elf. I imagined my mother's people to be just like her: kind and compassionate..."

"You have nothing to apologize for. Elves are elves, you are you."

"...right. Thank you."

Saito was laying on the bed with hands folded under his head and stared at the ceiling. Although it was made of white clay, the surface was just as smooth as Earth's plastic. Just from the look of the walls of this room it was clear that elves are more technologically advanced than Halkeginia's kingdoms.

"Everyone is probably worried about us." he muttered. Someone was injured and their friends must know that they were kidnapped by the elves.

Saito got up and went outside. Tiffania followed him.

There was a round pond about hundred mails across. The deep blue water shone in the sun. A line of trees and bushes surrounded the pond, so bright that they seemed unreal.

A pier led from the door of the small white house to the center of the pond. Outside the tree line was desert.

Apparently it was an oasis in the desert.

"It's not that hot, is it?" Saito said. The extreme heat of the desert seemed to be balanced by the presence of the pond.

''I will check the warning about lasting half a day a little.''

Saito ran through the tree line. A vast desert lay in front of him. Mind-blowing. If he crossed it, would he reach Halkeginia?

''I should look for a map later.''

''Anyway, I will walk a little and see what I can see...'', thought Saito, making the first step into the desert. He felt fine sand under his feet.

Worried, Tiffania asked, "Is it safe, Saito? Can you get lost out there?"

"It's ok. I will just walk to the top of this dune," Saito pointed in that direction.

He started to walk and immediately felt the changes. After just ten steps, heat surged in from above. Direct sunlight in the desert was unbearable.

"Wow! What the hell! It suddenly became so hot!"

His bare head was almost burned. Walking even a few kilomails dressed like that was out of the question.

Saito ran back.

"What's wrong?" asked a surprised Tiffania.

"It suddenly became very hot! What the hell!"

Coming back he felt a crossing of a thin boundary he didn't notice before. Behind it the temperature was comfortable. He looked back and saw a faint wall of air staying in place, just like a real wall.

This wall surrounded the entire oasis.

"Magic barrier."

Saito was amazed. That must be it... magic protects the oasis from sunshine... it surrounds the oasis like a dome.

"What kind of magic is it?"

Saito sighed in admiration. Magic was used in Halkeginia everywhere, but he had never seen anything on this scale.

Elves could casually use a spell like that to solve a routine problem. Their capabilities were amazing. He remembered Luctiana's warning. He'd better be careful around her. She wasn't bluffing. It's all real.

Tiffania also noticed the barrier and her eyes rounded.

"Elvish magic is amazing..."

Night of that same day...

Saito sat on the pier looking at the night sky. He had gotten back his katana... Luctiana had casually put it into her large collection of swords.

She didn't try it to hide it because she didn't consider it dangerous.

Saito was at a loss. Far from returning to Halkeginia, just running away seemed to be impossible and there was no point to argue with the elves. There was no way to let anyone know where he was.

It was a dead end.

He was anxious.

The Holy War had been stopped, right? It seemed to be silly to worry about it. Now that the elves had kidnapped them, there was no way to proceed with it.

Will they just abandon the idea?

And Louise; will he never see her again..? He bit his lip to hold back his tears.

He heard a voice from behind.

"Saito?"

He turned around and saw a worried Tiffania.

"Are you ok?"

Saito quickly produced a smile.

"I'm fine."

Tiffania sat next to him. She closed her eyes and put her feet into the water.

"It's cold. Feels good. Wanna try it?"

Saito laid back. Without any obstruction, the stars shone like beads in the night desert sky.

This view dissipated his sadness.

"This is the country where your mother was born. I hoped to visit it one day... not like this of course. Still, it's a dream come true. Good, isn't it?"

Tiffania nodded.

"Hey Saito. I have a request."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I want you to kill me."

"Haaaaa?" Saito got up and stared at Tiffania. "Whaaaat!"

He saw tears in her eyes.

"I mean, without me the power will pass to someone else. I couldn't do much before and now I am kidnapped."

"We are both kidnapped!"

"You will escape. You can do it. I mean... you did a lot of amazing things before. But I am different. I am strange and I'm holding you back..."

"Don't ever say that..."

A shocked Saito grasped Tiffania's shoulders.

"It was such a mystery. Why me..., someone such as me got this legendary power? Everyone else is amazing, I am nothing but a burden for them..."

"That's not true... you're wrong!"

"If I stay here, everyone will be in trouble. The land will rise and there will be no place to live. They will not be able to restore Void magic and use it to negotiate with the Elves."

Tiffania looked at Saito. She was serious.

"If you die everyone will grieve! What are you talking about?"

"Who is 'everyone'?"

"Me! Louise! Everyone in the Academy! The children you were looking after!"

"Maybe, but if I stay here everyone will be in trouble. So... escape..., please..."

"Then we both will escape!"

"You can't escape with me..."

Tiffania started to cry. Even though somewhat self-conscious, she usually was unfazed by anything and seemed to have a laid-back personality. It appeared that meeting a real specimen of her mother's race really shook her...

''It was a shock for me, and no doubt for Tiffania it was much worse. After all, half of her blood is elvish...''

Saito gathered all the willpower he could master.

''I wasn't strong enough...'' When Tiffa contemplated such a resolution, giving up wasn't an option for him.

First Saito gave himself a good slap on the cheek. Then he grabbed Tiffania's shoulder.

"Leave it to me."

There was no self-confidence. He didn't have a good plan. Maybe Tiffania's idea to throw her life away was the best of their options.

But he would never accept it.

"Yes. Then, the request..."

Tiffania closed her eyes and stuck out her chest to Saito.

"No! No! That's not what I meant!"

Saito yelled and shook his head.

"...Huh?"

"I will persuade the elves somehow."

"But..."

"I will do it, Tiffa. I..., no, we will do it together. Well, if we die the force will go to someone else. It could work. But the hell with it. I don't want anyone to sacrifice themselves for me and I don't want to become anyone's sacrifice. There is no guarantee it would work anyway, even if someone else got this power."

"But the elves are so powerful. You saw it. They used magic to protect this oasis even though just one person lives here! They don't listen to us. And I am a half-elf..."

"It might help us, Tiffa, don't you think?" Saito said looking directly into her eyes.

"Huh?"

"You being half-elf may create some opportunities. Up to now, we haven't used it for our advantage. Maybe being kidnapped by the Elves gives us a chance. You could slip into the Holy Land and use the magic equipment. Then everything would be fine even without the Crusade and true Void power."

Tiffania looked at him for a while. Then she looked down, bit her lip and nodded.

"I see. Sorry Saito. I was scared. I thought I was holding you here. It would be horrible. I would rather..."

"Don't worry. Don't do anything. If nothing else works I will use this."

Saito pointed to his katana. Then he remembered. Enchanted house...

"That reminds me, the Elves don't know you are a Void mage, right?"

"Huh?"

"She kidnapped you to study a half-elf. She didn't ask you about Void power at all, right?"

"Now that you mention it, she didn't."

"What happened with your wand?"

Tiffania nonchalantly took the wand from the gap between her breasts. Apparently the Elves didn't take it. Saito was amazed.

They had no plan yet, but the situation started to improve.

"Excellent, Tiffa. This is our trump card. Lets keep it hidden."

Tiffania nodded.

"Good. We may not be able to do much, but we will not know it until we try; so don't give up. And forget about dying. Ok?"

She nodded again.

"First of all, know your enemy. Luctiana says she wants to study us. We should study her too."

"Right."

Then Saito stood up.

"What happened?"

"First of all, I will swim."

"Really? In the middle of the night?"

"Sure. I like it. Of course, it has to be done right."

He said it very seriously, Tiffania involuntarily giggled. Saito jumped into the water as he was.

"It's like a resort back home! Hey, Tiffa, get in! It feels good!"

"All right."

Tiffania stood up, took off her robe and jumped in the pond. With a splash she disappeared under the surface.

"Tiffa?"

After about a minute Saito started to worry. Then, right in front of him, she suddenly emerged.

"Wow!" yelled the surprised Saito. Tiffania laughed.

[[Image:ZnT19-119.jpg|thumb|]]

"Turns out I can make long dives."

She said it so innocently that Saito tried to clear his thoughts. Moonlight and wet underwear made the shape of Tiffania's breasts very clear.

Saito realized that his mouth was wide open. Tiffania blushed.

"Sorry..."

Tiffania shook her head.

"It's fine. We are friends, so it's fine."

For a while they both looked down in silence. Then Tiffania began to swim slowly. In the moonlight she looked like a fairy pulled out of a painting. Saito couldn't take his eyes off her.

This view gave him courage.

'We can win. No, we will win. Me and Tiffania.'

'For everyone...'

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| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume19_Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter3

2017-08-27T02:55:02Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 3 - Abduction===

"What is wrong with these goddamn barbarians? They think their land will be destroyed, yet they fight among themselves," said the monk with light brown hair and grey eyes.

His name was Madalf. He was thirty-seven years old, but humans wouldn't think him even twenty. Elves live about twice longer then humans.

Elves mature later, and therefore spend much more time learning. It is one of the reasons they consider humans barbarians.

"Rather shortsighted I suppose."

"Nothing new," - said Ali, commander of the group. He just wanted to quickly complete the mission and return to the desert. His body was slender and he looked nervous. It was difficult to guess that he was a veteran warrior.

He was forty years old, and likewise looked twice younger.

"Meaning?" - prompted Madalf.

"The current minor conflict is more important than a future catastrophe. They are just animals," Ali said with contempt in his voice.

His group of elves was watching the brawl from the bushes. Night darkness didn't present any problem for them. They used goggles enchanted with Ancient Magic to sense body temperature.

It was common knowledge that elves could see in the dark. Quite a few such misconceptions existed, largely thanks to excellent magic equipment.

"That Sainton guy, which one is it?" Ali asked Madalf.

Bidashal, the uncle of his fiancee, had asked him to look for an unusual boy.

At the moment Saito was about to help Louise, who was caught by Jeanette.

"This one. With the sword. Savage mages don't use weapons."

"So, what's the plan?"

It wasn't a good idea to fight everyone here. Apparently, a few of the humans were quite powerful.

Ali didn't respond. Luctiana, sitting nearby, said earnestly: "Hey Ali."

"Don't"

"I didn't even say anything yet!" said Luctiana, looking at him with her light blue eyes. Her beautiful face was tinted with anger. Anger didn't change the expression of her face, but it still was very obvious. After all, her frankness was one of the reasons Ali fell for her.

"Anyway, I suppose you want to look around?"

Luctiana stuck out her tongue.

"Again, barbarian's gestures! Stop it already!"

"I mean, such an opportunity doesn't happen often."

"Uh, it would be pointless. Not a good time, and there could be other mages around."

Excited, Luctiana said, "Then I will go explore around a little. Patrol around I mean."

"Wait a minute!"

"Awesome."

It was pointless to argue with Luctiana further. Ali gave up.

"In case of any danger, escape immediately. Idris, follow."

Idris nodded. He was a serious looking young elf with a round face and narrow eyes.

"What? I don't need escort. I am just fine by myself."

"Idris is not an escort. He is a patrol."

Idris smiled sarcastically.

"Got it, commander. I will take care of your fiancee. Thank you."

Angry, Luctiana, accompanied by Idris, disappeared into the darkness. Madalf frowned.

"Is it ok?" - he asked.

"She would go anyway. Stubborn." Ali said, embarrassed.

At this moment something strange happened in the area of the brawl. Earth instantly liquified, creating something like a pond. The fighters yelled in panic.

"What is it?" said the surprised Madalf.

Ali nonchalantly said "Barbarian magic I think. It seems that the earth is transmuted into 'water'."

"Strong, isn't it? It covers a large area."

"It seems they have a strong mage."

Ali began to cast a spell. Barbarians were confused by their own magic. He couldn't miss this opportunity.

"Water of life. Grant him peaceful sleep."

With a twitch of a finger, he released the spell. Water was a strong catalyst for it, so the spell reached Saito.

"Madalf, guard here."

"Got it."

Ali stood up, pulled up the hood and ran to the sleeping Saito. He entered the water, then swam.

Ali stared at the boy. The boy's right hand gripped a katana, piercing a tree. Ali's magic had put him into a deep sleep.

The sleeping boy's face looked innocent.

This barbarian boy had defeated Bidashal... He is a familiar of a demon power which tormented Ali's ancestors.

Shield of the Void, Gandálfr.

He gulped involuntarily.

He noticed that his ears were twitching and bitterly smiled.

"Wow. I am afraid!"

He pulled on Saito's hand, but it was firmly grasping the katana. Ali tried to pull it out of the tree, however the sword stuck firmly. There was no time to waste, but he didn't want to use magic too often. He would have to borrow spirit force from spirits of the land.

An ice arrow flew toward his back. Ali had a wind shield powered by Ancient Magic. An invisible flow of air, like a tornado, enveloped his body.

The shield diverted the arrow and it missed.
[[Image:ZnT19-063.jpg|thumb|]]
He turned around. A little blue-haired girl waved her cane at him. A new arrow materialized.

The girl took into account the wind shield presence. An arrow entered the shield on the side, turned inside the flow, pierced it, and flew to Ali.

"Huh!"

Ali tilted his head to his shoulder. The arrow passed within a hair's breadth of his cheek and stuck in a tree behind him.

Well, this was too close. The arrow took off the hood and revealed his long elvish ears.

The blue-haired girl definitely noticed them.

Ali used a branch bow spell, turning tree branches into arrows.

This spell was his specialty. It was simple and hence easy to control, yet powerful. It was difficult to predict the trajectory of all the branches, therefore it was difficult to protect weak spots.

Tabitha immediately created a wind shield and diverted most of the branches, but the sudden appearance of an elf shook her. Several arrows flying from the back deeply pierced her body.

Tabitha started to sink but Sylphid caught her.

"Sister!"

"I am wounded. Hurry."

Ali used magic and managed to pull Saito's katana from the tree. Holding Saito, he quickly swam back using another Ancient Magic spell.

Louise heard the noise.

"What happened?"

"Huge problem! Elf! Took your familiar! Hurt sister!"

"Saito!?"

"Went there!"

Sylphid cooing kyuikyui pointed into darkness.

Colbert and Kirche took the unconscious Tabitha from the dragon.

"Louise, leave her to us. Go after Saito!" cried Kirche.

The Elemental Siblings disappeared when the earth turned into water.

Louise was confused.

What the hell just happened?

Elves? Here?

But that can wait.

Elves kidnapped Saito!

Obviously, enemies had tricked them.

"They will not escape."

Louise started the chase using the "teleport" spell.

Ali, carrying Saito, tried to climb out of the pond. It was difficult because the land at the waterfront was brittle.

"Good grief... Why is it so difficult?"

Madalf helped the mud-covered Ali pull Saito out of the water.

"You got in a fight." Madalf said, looking in the direction where Ali had come from.

"I couldn't help it. No plan is perfect."

Then Ali looked around.

"Where is Luctiana?"

"She hasn't returned yet."

"Really...really unruly girl."

"What's the plan?"

"For now, we return to the camp."

Ali had made a hidden base of operations in the forest. It was surrounded with a barrier of Ancient Magic.

With Saito on his shoulder he began to walk.

Something exploded behind Ali throwing him three mails forward. His wind shield protected him from magical and ordinary projectiles but was inefficient against the blast.

Ali's body heavily smashed into a tree, and he stood up frowning.

"Don't move!"

He slowly turned. A girl with pink hair was pointing her wand at him. There was no warning. Using some magic, she had instantly materialized right behind him.

The power of the magic aura emanating from this petite girl was terrifying.

"Release Saito."

She looked at the elf without a trace of fear. Intense anger was swirling in her auburn eyes. Ali instantly realized the connection between her and the boy he was carrying.

''Demon's follower.''

The girl was beautiful, even by Elven standards.

Her strength and beauty for some reason reminded Ali of Luctiana. First impression of a bitter enemy was far from what he could imagine.

However, despite her beautiful appearance, the demon's follower had caused a great disaster before using the terrible "Void" magic against his ancestors.

"One more time, release Saito and leave."

There was no point in killing a Demon's Follower; the power would be passed on to someone else.

But considering her ability, running was not an option either. Apparently she could catch up with them instantly.

Ali winked at Madalf.

"Carry him."

Madalf nodded and took Saito. Ali quickly cast "branch arrow".

Louise's "explosion" blew the arrows away.

Ali chosen a moment between explosions and kicked Louise. It wasn't a simple kick. The moment it reached Louise, lightning hit. Louise fainted and fell on the ground.

Ali was disappointed.

"She is a powerful mage, but not much of a fighter."

The girl seemed to be an amateur. She had lots of offensive power but couldn't use it in close combat. That was why she needed the familiar's protection. Elves were trained to use spirit force and yet received full warrior training. It looked like the barbarians had neglected the latter.

Ali came to this conclusion after this short fight.

There was also a difference in individual combat power.

"'Demon' is not all that scary, huh?" said Madalf laughing. He also realized the nature of Louise's power.

"Bidashal's decision to separate them was wise" Ali nodded and started walking to the camp.

The camp was located several hundred mails away from the mansion. It was surrounded by a barrier created with Ancient Magic. The barrier covered an area about ten mails across. It made it impossible for outsiders to see or enter the camp.

If an unsuspecting hiker was approaching the camp, his walking direction was insensibly shifted by the barrier.

When Ali approached the camp, the surrounding landscape visibly distorted.

He crossed the barrier. This is where they had lived for the last few days.

Alie brought Saito into a tent and laid him on a cot.

Saito was going to sleep for quite a while.

Suddenly materialized "water" had helped Ali to capture Saito. Without it he wouldn't have been able to use a powerful enough spell. Ali thanked The Great Purpose.

A bit later the barrier opened again and Luctiana and Idris returned. Ali asked, surprised, "Hey, Luctiana, who is it?"

Idris carried a girl on his shoulder. She seemed to be unconscious. She didn't move when Idris laid her beside Saito.

It was Tiffania.

Ali instantly noticed her ears.

"Elf! She is an elf, right?"

"No, not pure elf. Half-elf I think. The eye shape is the same as the barbarians," Luctiana said, looking like a scholar.

"Where did you find her?"

"I tried to examine the mansion, and she arrived with a dragon. Do you think she is one of them?"

"Hey! Half-elf!" Madalf screamed.

Half-elf, half-barbarian! Disgusting creature for a proud elf. Tainted blood.

"Disgrace for the elves!"

Madalf tried to shoot a spell at Tiffania, but Luctiana stopped him.

"Wait! Stop it!"

"Why? This creature brings shame upon all of us!"

"She is a valuable specimen. An elf who lived in the barbarian's world. She is unique. Anyway, this is my work and I won't allow it."

"Hey, are you planning to take her with us?" said a surprised Ali. Luctiana nodded confidently.

"Of course. And not just as a specimen. I have lots of questions. An elf descendant was living with 'them'. I have to find out how it happened."

No one could argue with that.

Ali nodded, convinced.

"You will be responsible for her. However, if she appears to be dangerous, we are leaving her. Do you agree?"

"Excellent," - nodded Luctiana.

"So, chief, what's the plan? If we drag them with us their friends will be looking, right? Barbarians are not stupid. Now that they know we are here, will we be able to return to Sahara?" said young Idris in a worried voice.

"We could use this kid's dragon" quickly said Luctiana.

Ali shook his head.

"It's too dangerous. Barbarian dragoons would spot us immediately."

"So what if they spot us? They already know we are here. Shouldn't we return as quickly as possible?"

"There are too many of us to carry. The power of land spirits diminishes with height, so we wouldn't be able to rely on magic. I can't allow this."

Defeated by Ali's arguments, Luctiana pouted. "What should we do then?"

Ali knew a method of escaping from the enemy who was aware of their presence. It was simple and effective. However, could he convince his two companions...

"In short, I will use 'change' to look like a barbarian."

Idris's and Luctiana's faces turned light green.

"To take the form of a barbarian!? You've got to be joking!"

"We will not need it all the time," Ali said. He wasn't enthusiastic about this idea either. It was difficult for proud elves to accept the appearance of barbarians.

"It's ok, isn't it? I wanted to do it once," cheerfully said Luctiana.

"Sorry, but I can't!" spat out Madalf.

"Madalf, the Council ordered us to quietly take him and return by any means necessary. The end justifies the means."

Some time later, the brooding Madalf cast the revolting spell.

"The wind that surrounds me, change my appearance."

Pale light surrounded him and his face changed. He become a sober middle-aged man.

"It looks bad. I didn't observe barbarians much."

The other elves also cast the "change" spell. Ali saw the new Luctiana form and reflexively covered his mouth.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Nothing, you look good."

Luctiana had turned into a clown. Her face was heavily powdered and her eyes were surrounded with blue paint.

Ali had also changed his appearance. His ears had shrunk, but his face didn't change much.

He asked everyone to check each others disguise.

"Then we'll leave. Idris, keep the 'sleep' spell on the barbarians. We don't want them to wake up."

Same day, noon...

Louise woke up in a bedroom of Des Ornieres. Colbert was in the room, looking at her with a worried expression.

Tabitha was laying next to her. It was a big bed so there was plenty of room.

Tabitha's chest was bandaged, likely the result of the confrontation with the elves.

"She will be fine. Nothing life-threatening," - Colbert said.

"Saito? Where is Saito?"

Colbert and Kirche exchanged glances. He tried to calm down Louise.

"Guiche and the Ondine Knights are looking for him. I also notified the Royal Palace. They will send a pursuing party immediately."

Louise tried to get up and fell back onto the bed. She still couldn't control her movements.

"Please stay in the bed."

"I can't! Saito was kidnapped!"

"I know. But you still can't move. Trust Guiche and the Royal Palace" said Colbert.

Louise fell from the bed and started to crawl to the door. With a pained expression, Colbert cast a spell.

"Sleep cloud."

Something like thin fog shrouded Louise's head and she fell asleep.

Kirche brought her back to the bed. The room door opened and Grandma Helen entered.

"I brought dinner."

Grandma didn't know what had happened last night. She began to set plates on a table.

"Hey, did they find Tiffania?" asked Kirche. Grandma Helen shook her head. Guiche wasn't really looking for Saito. Pursuit of the elves that had kidnapped Saito was left to the Royal Palace. Even if they had tried, his small group wouldn't be able to do much.

Guiche's group and Siesta were looking for Tiffania. She was supposed to arrive this morning. Her disappearance had become apparent when they found an abandoned dragon.

When Grandma left, Kirche asked Colbert "Maybe she was kidnapped by the elves too?"

"Most likely."

"This is horrible."

"You mentioned that you had fought an elf before, right?"

"Yes. I couldn't do much."

Colbert sighed. The reason of kidnapping seemed obvious. It was fear of the full potential of Void magic.

Elves are bold and resourceful, thought the alarmed Colbert. Caught off guard, they had kidnapped Saito and Tiffania.

Could the humans win?

It wasn't just the bunch that had gotten Saito.

The entire race of elves was skillful, both in Ancient Magic and conventional warfare. The army's pursuit was unlikely to succeed. For an experienced warrior, this was the only possible conclusion.

Louise thrashed about in her sleep. With her sense of responsibility, the moment she woke up she would rush out to rescue Saito.

Unfortunately, he couldn't allow that to happen.

They couldn't afford to lose Louise.

They were not prepared to take on the elves...

But how could they possibly prepare for it?

What kind of "preparation" could give them a chance against the elves?

With the trump cards of Saito and Void mage Tiffania kidnapped, what preparations would still make sense?

That said, they couldn't just do nothing. There was no guarantee that Saito was safe.

Colbert really felt that they were out of options. Maybe the Pope had an idea?

Anyway, now they could only pray for Saito's safety.

Colbert looked in the window. It was a bright sunny day outside...

There was not a trace of clearing in the dark clouds in his mind.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume19_Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter2

2017-08-25T05:26:32Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 2 - Assault===

Saito sighed. There was one problem that he couldn't discuss with Louise.

He looked at the innocent face of Louise sleeping on his lap.

''Will Void magic be sufficient to scare the Elves? If so, can this small body withstand it?''

This worried him the most. Spectacular Void spells rapidly consumed a mage's willpower. Even the "explosion" spell couldn't be cast without it. And even if it's just an "explosion", who knows how much willpower would be needed for a spell that would be strong enough to scare the Elves?

What it would require from a caster?

Even in mortal danger, Louise would use it. To protect her home...
[[Image:ZnT19-033.jpg|thumb|]]

''And if it happened, I wonder if I could say to her: 'Stop'...''

Saito didn't know that "sometimes Void can take part of the caster's life force" was written in Founder's Prayer Book. Still, intuition was telling him that it was dangerous.

And with Louise's dedication, no one could stop her casting such a spell.

It was one of the reasons he liked her, but...

He didn't want her to be in danger.

What can he do about it?

He thought about it a lot, but there was no answer.

Certainly it was just a potential, maybe even a theoretical, danger.

But...

Intuition warned Saito about danger. (Maybe because he was a familiar and a Gandálfr.)

Knowledge is power they say... but nothing he learned in school was relevant here.

At this moment a bright flash came from the window.

"Huh?"

Something strange had happened outside.

Clenching his teeth, Saito grabbed a katana. Runes on his left hand began to glow.

He opened the window and jumped down. As soon as he landed, magic attacks started from two sides. Ice Arrow and Fireball...

Saito had expected this and dodged the projectiles.

The Fireball landed nearby and exploded. Sparks flew like fireworks and smoke floated over the impact point. The Ice Arrow hit the wall, scattering plaster.

Saito crouched and turned to face the attackers.

He didn't know who was outside, friend or foe, nor where they were nor how many. The loud jump from the second floor was supposed to help find answers to these questions.

Judging by the magic power, they were serious adversaries.

Now it was time to do something about them.

Saito shouted into darkness.

"Hey! You! Elemental Siblings!"

After a long pause there was a reply.

"Yes! Good game!"

It was Bleu's voice. Saito sighed.

"Come out for now. We need to discuss something."

A boy came out of the bushes in front of him, and a girl from the right side. She was with Bleu before. Her name, he thought, was Jeanette.

Last, the huge figure of the guy he fought in Gallia appeared.

"You..."

"Hi."

The giant cheerfully smiled. It was strange. This guy, Jack, was caught after the fight in Gallia.

"Hey, didn't we catch you?"

"There is no prison in the world that could hold me."

Jack laughed heartily. He probably was right. The Siblings were powerful mages, and on top of that their physical performance was also improved by some magic. Keeping them in a normal prison would be difficult.

"Let's go! Fair play! Get ready!" - Bleu screamed with a red face.

Saito scratched his head.

"Not interested."

"Really? Then you're just gonna die."

Bleu tried to cast a spell.

"Hey now... You destroyed Derflinger so I really want to fight you. However, it is impossible because Halkeginia is in grave danger right now."

"The rise of the continents, right?" Jeanette said in a bored tone.

"Do you know that it's not just the Fire Dragon Mountains? It will happen here, too."

"So what! It doesn't concern me!"

"It concerns me! Bleu, it's over. The Nobles of this country spend their money on troops now, so they cancelled the job. You are working for free."

"So, it was nobles."

Saito said sadly. He was angry. He shouldn't help this bunch to fight with the Elves.

"Don't talk about the clients!" said Bleu angrily.

"Oh? They are not clients anymore, so it doesn't matter."

Saito tired of this bickering.

"Anyway, go find some safe place. I don't really have time to mess with you. There is a lot to be done."

Bleu balked.

"Game is not over yet! Draw your sword!"

Saito felt a surge of anger. This guy killed Derf... He wanted to run to him and stab the sword through his chest.

But the other siblings would certainly get involved, and no doubt, everyone in the mansion would come to help.

It would be a big fight.

Big, but pointless.

"Hey, stop it. Your siblings don't see a reason to continue."

Saito pointed to the bitter Jack and Jeanette.

"Well," - said Jack, scratching his head.

"We should look for a place to escape."

"Hmm... It's supposed to happen everywhere. And whatever happens, I am sure we will survive."

That most likely was correct. Maybe most nobles thought so? That whatever happens they will be fine? Actually, everyone thinks like that; yet just his popularity surge almost killed him. The Nobles will be fine, but what will happen to the commoners working in the fields? There are a lot more of them than nobles.

"It was fine for six thousand years. It can't be that bad. Are you slow or something?"

"What do you mean?"

"Spelling it out. Good grief, he is just obsessing about winning this stupid game."

"Stupid? To become the strongest mage in the world? This dream is stupid!?"

Bleu took out his wand and turned to Saito.

"Is it?"

Well, words didn't work. Saito raised his katana.

Bleu waved his wand, which turned into a shining blade of powerful magic again.

Saito dodged.

Bleu made a lightning-fast lunge targeting Saito's chest. The siblings' physique was enhanced with Ancient Magic.

However, this time Saito moved much faster.

He jumped back, evading the hit and looked at Jeanette and Jack. They just watched.

But if Bleu was in trouble they would probably intervene. In other words, Saito couldn't win.

He was surprised that he could make such a calm observation.

In other words...

''He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.''

Saito turned and ran away.

"Mate!" yelled a surprised Bleu. There was no point in responding. Saito ran away from the mansion and into the forest.

Bleu was about to start chasing him, but a blue shadow blocked his way.

"W...who are you?"

It was Tabitha, menacingly holding her cane. She had noticed the commotion first, and literally flew here.

Still in a negligee, eyes sparkling with fury, she cast spells quickly.

"Windy Icicles" flew toward Bleu as an embodiment of Tabitha's anger.

Apparently she was very angry; there were dozens of them.

The icicles were launched all at once so they were difficult to deflect. Bleu stopped most of them with his wand, but he hadn't expected this attack and a few arrows hit him.

"Damn!" - cried Bleu, falling.

Tabitha pointed her cane at him.

"You move, you die."

She said flatly. There was not a trace of fighting spirit in her voice, but the icy chill drifting from her whole body told Bleu that she was deadly serious. Although she looked like a child, her stance befitted a battlefield.

But Bleu wasn't a rookie either. He prepared to absorb the girl's attack and cast a spell. Lightning flew from the cane top with a blinding flash.

"Lightning" is a spell of a high level mage. It is difficult to use because it can hit anyone, even the caster himself. Usually mages use "Lightning Cloud" instead, creating a small cloud from a safe distance.

Bleu, however, easily deflected the lightning. He was a worthy opponent.

Although the top of Tabitha's cane protected her hands, the lightning discharge shifted to the right. She almost dropped the cane, but managed to put it into the left hand and kept control over the discharge. She cast another spell. Raging wind hit Bleu.

This fight lasted about one second. Ten-odd mails separated the opponents.

"Good grief... I told you it would be like this. This mansion is stuffed to the roof with mages. Stop it..."

Jeanette sighed and tried to cast a spell to help Bleu.

Kaboom!

Something in front of her exploded pushing hew back. Through a cloud of dust in the light of the moons she saw a pink-haired girl in a negligee, glaring back at her.

"Is it...Vanessa?"

"No. Louise. And you are the murderer hunting for Saito."

Jeanette grinned.

"Not now, just accompanying my brother."

"Still a murderer. Absolutely unforgivable" Louise declared confidently.

Jeanette let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Come on, you have to forgive me eventually."

"Shut up."

"Who is it? The one who kissed your best friend? This is Saito? You ran to the monastery because of him, but the minute he is a little nicer to you everything is forgiven. Oh dear."

Louise was shaking with fury.

"N-none of your business."

"Oh, it's mine all right. Because I was kind enough to lead you all the way to the monastery. And yet you so easily reconciled. Killjoy."

"Shut up."

"Such a generous girl."

Outraged, Louise cast a spell again.

Kaboom! It was another 'Explosion'.

Jeanette disappeared.

"Huh?" said the surprised Louise.

"Absolutely unforgivable. I like how adamant you've become."

"You!"

It was Jeanette. How did she escape the explosion? Her agility seemed inhuman. Someone grabbed Louise's hand and she panicked.

"You! Let go!"

"Listen. How good is this guy really? I like you a lot. Maybe..."

Jeanette licked Louise's cheek.

"I have a dreadful power!"

"Don't be ridiculous."

Furious, Louise tried to hit Jeanette with her other hand but Jeanette grabbed it too. Her forte, a kick, wasn't fast enough either.

"Really, an amusing kid!"

Beaming, Jeanette hugged Louise.

"Get off me! Now!"

Amazed, Jack stared at a sudden reinforcement. He noticed Saito coming to help Louise.

"Forest trees, seize my foe."

He recited a simple incantation with a very deep voice. Obeying Ancient Magic, tree branches moved tangling Saito's leg.

Saito was surprised for a moment by Tabitha's and Louise's appearance. Then he was deeply touched, almost moved to tears.

But the girls can't get involved. He was the target.

Tabitha was handling Bleu. But Louise... it seemed that Jeanette was holding both of her hands and she couldn't fight.

Louise is like a huge cannon which can obliterate anything on a battlefield, but is useless in close combat. Someone has to protect her, otherwise she can't fight.

"Coming!"

Shivering with anger, he bolted.

"Wow!"

Suddenly tree branches stretched out and entangled his leg.

Before crashing on the ground he noticed Jack's huge figure.

"You... Is this Ancient Magic? Why?"

"Oh, you don't like it? I have nothing against you, just helping my brother."

"Really pointless. Earth is going to be torn apart. We shouldn't fight!"

"How do you know?"

Saito kip-up and tried to reach Jack with the katana, but the giant moved fast and dodged.

"Hey, I'm not fighting you."

Jack held the cane in front of him to hold off Saito's attack. At this moment several fireballs exploded around him.

Then a tempting voice came from the darkness "Saito, are you ok?"

"Kirche!"

A snake of flame entangled Jack who was trying to cast a spell. Colbert controlled it with his wand.

"Mister Saito! Leave him to us!"

Saito rushed toward Louise.

Playful Jeanette cuddled the struggling Louise. She held both of Louise's hands and licked her cheek.

"Let me go!"

Louise tried to resist, but Jeanette barely noticed it. Saito ran to them.

"Louise! Are you ok?"

"Help! This girl is strange! Something is really wrong with her!"

Beaming, Jeanette looked alternately at Saito and Louise and licked her lips.

"She is too good for you. I will make her my doll."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Saito raised the katana. Jeanette smiled cheerfully.

"Oops. One more step..."

"Taking hostages is dastardly."

"I'm not gonna harm her, moron. I'll just rip this cute negligee off of her."

"You've got to be kidding!" replied Saito, and made a step forward.

Louise yelled: "Stop!"

"Huh? Why?"

Embarrassed Louise shook her head.

"I don't want others to see..."

Saito opened his mouth and blushed deeply.

"I see..."

Looking at them, Jeanette pouted.

"What? You guys."

Meanwhile, a fierce battle between Tabitha and Bleu continued. Bleu, despite the initial wounds from Windy Icicles, was on a roll. It looked like he didn't feel any pain. On the other hand Tabitha was known as number seven in the hierarchy of the Knights of the North Parterre.

Fighting against an opponent with greater power and speed wasn't a rare occasion. Although initially somewhat surprised by the inhuman speed of Bleu, now she was keeping up with him. After all, she really wanted to protect Saito.

This desire strengthened her wind spells a lot. She furiously attacked Bleu, looking for any gap to hit him with ice arrows. Every time they reached Bleu he used his hardening ability. Still, even with his inhuman speed, it was difficult to hit the flying on the wind Tabitha.

On the other hand, Tabitha didn't have much of an advantage. Her spells were not strong enough. Cast in quick succession, they lacked raw power and couldn't pierce Bleu's hardening. It was just like a perpetual check in the game of chess.

"Hmm. Goodness. What a mess."

A small shadow was watching the scuffle from a forest bush. It seemed to be a ten-to-twelve year old boy, but he wasn't a kid.

It was Damien, the eldest of the Elemental Siblings, and he was holding a strange object.

At first glance it looked like a huge brass instrument. The pipe was bent like a snail and ended with something like a trumpet bell.

Damien put this bell on the ground and pressed a switch replacing the usual pipe mouthpiece.

The pipe trembled with a low sound. Intense aura was flowing from it. The ground under the pipe began to glow slightly. The aura hit the ground and the transformation began.

"A device that constantly casts an alchemy spell. Amazing, really."

Sylphid ran to Tabitha who was exchanging spells with Bleu. Tabitha shook her head.

"I don't need help. This is dangerous, stay in the sky."

"Wrong. Bigger problem."

Sylphid said impatiently.

"Look there."

Why would she say it in the middle of the fight? Tabitha gave a quick glance as Sylphid suggested.

In moonlight below, Jeanette caught Louise and was about to roll up her negligee. Saito hesitated nearby.

Beaming, Jeanette seemed to be having fun.

This was anticlimactic. Completely different from her epic battle with Bleu, it looked like only they were fighting seriously.

"This enemy weak for sister!"

"Huh?"

"Often sister too strong! Look weak, get help! Like that child! Kyui!"

Tabitha was startled. Saito naturally ran to rescue Louise. Is she...too strong?

"And now you are looking around!"

Bleu yelled and swung his cane. The distracted Tabitha reacted slowly. Even though she dodged Bleu's blade, the wind that supported her was unbalanced.

"Help!"

Bleu tried to hit her with his magic blade, however, in the nick of time, Saito, warned by Sylphid's cry, rushed in and cut his wand in half.

"Ah!"

"Ah, see. Become visible. Look weak."

Apparently Saito while trying to help Louise was still paying some attention to his surroundings. When did he grow to be such a warrior?

Tabitha admired him for this.

"Damn! To lose to this guy again! Damn!"

Saito pointed the katana at Bleu stomping his feet in frustration and said "Well, who hired you to kill me?"

Anyway, he didn't want to be targeted by country nobles anymore. Expecting a hit in the back while dealing with the Elves would be too much.

"Damn! Damn! How? Why?"

Bleu didn't hear Saito. He was too distracted by his childish tantrum.

It looked like it was some Tristain nobles, sighed Saito. People he was going to help, among others. The nobility of this country was rather selfish.

The Princess is great though, he thought...

The ground violently shook.

"What is it! Earthquake!"

Could it be the continent rise? Saito's face paled.

Then he started to sink.

"Huh? What? Sinking? Is it ocean water? What is happening?"

Instantly they were in "water". Was there a flood of some kind? Did they teleport somewhere?

Anyway, it was rather deep. Can't reach the ground! Saito's hand touched something. It's a tree! From a grove near the mansion.

This means the ground changed into water somehow.

He grasped a tree branch and looked around. Everywhere, the water surface glittered in the moonlight. It looked like the Amazon forest in the middle of the rainy season that he seen on TV once.

Something strange... he felt a growing haze in his head. Huh? Why? Drowsy?

Dangerous. If he fell asleep he would certainly drown. Saito thrust the katana into the tree and tied his wrist to the pommel. Then he couldn't fight the drowsiness anymore.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume19_Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume19 Chapter1

2017-08-25T05:05:23Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 1 - Maidens of Des Ornières===

The fourth day of the third week of Niido in Des Ornieres turned out to be very hot. Halkeginia's summer is rather dry than hot, so heat is usually not a problem, but every now and then there is a day like that.

There were no air conditioners in this world. Coolers based on water magic existed but they were rather expensive and unreliable. Continuous spell cast was difficult to control and losing control was dangerous. Magic was rarely used for air cooling.

This is why a big fan was installed on the ceiling of the mansion room. It was repaired during renovation. Magic rotated the blades creating a flow of air. It didn't help Louise much.

"Uuuu...," - Louise wiped sweat from her forehead. "I can't fall asleep."

This was the second or third day she couldn't get enough sleep. Louise stared in disgust at the rotating fan.

Heat wasn't the only problem. She looked to the left.

There, serenely sleeping, mouth ajar, lay a black-haired girl.

Siesta.

Napping was her favorite pastime. She was a genius at falling asleep. If there ever was a Falling Asleep Championship she would win hands down.

''Ah, it's impossible. The pillow is humid and hot and it only gets better when someone breathes on your nape. Just perfect.''

A rope connected the wrists of Louise and Siesta. It was like a painter that keeps a ship at a pier. Untie it and Siesta, little unfaithful boat, will start her travel to port Saito sleeping in the other room.

''And it wouldn't be good for anyone. It would only lead to unnecessary violence. No one wants that, right?''

Louise looked at the rope to check that it was well tied, then turned to the right where a blue-haired girl slept peacefully with hands folded on her chest.
[[Image:ZnT19-013.jpg|thumb|]]
Tabitha.

She also was falling asleep easily. Naturally for her, who had seen much harsher days, the mansion felt like heaven.

Her hand, just like Siesta's, was also tied to Louise. Although Tabitha shouldn't be able to untie it herself she had a very capable familiar, so Louise should still be vigilant.

Louise looked at the ceiling with a deep sigh. ''I wonder how it's going to be.'' She shook her head.

''When windstones in the depths of Halkeginia reach critical mass and raise it into the air.''

''Ah, maybe then I will be able to sleep...''

''I wonder if all the land will fly?''

Louise imagined islands floating in the sky like Albion.

One of them... A small island, with just herself and Saito on it. Just a hundred mails across, with a mansion and a small pond...

The maid sleeping on the left couldn't sneak in anymore. Hehe. She could only look at them from below! Then Louise felt ashamed of herself.

She shouldn't waste time on such silly dreams.

The place where she lives is about to disappear, how strange is that?

A wave of anxiety hit Louise. When it passed, she wanted to go to Saito. Every passing moment brought closer the cataclysm that could carry her away.

Eleonore, her elder sister, forbade Louise to sleep in the same bed with Saito until marriage. This was the main reason for her insomnia.

Before that she had not had any problems falling asleep. Initially there wasn't anything special in sleeping in the same bed with her familiar. At some point, unnoticed by her, it had become a necessity.

"Eleonore is unfair. I can't fall asleep and neither can he. Sleep deprivation is unhealthy."

She whispered her complaint about her sister sleeping in the next room. Suddenly she opened her eyes.

''Impossible. I can't sleep. It's too hot and Saito is not here.''

''How can I fall asleep?'' Louise blushed lightly.

''A kiss. Right. A gentle one. A light touch. Three hours had passed, three hours. The sleep tight charm is faded.''

''Ok then.''

''Just a little sneak, about five minutes. He is a moron, so if I say "meow", he will be extremely gentle to me. Hmm, which is it - extreme or gentle... Whatever, both are fine.''

Louise thought about the extreme variant and blushed furiously.

"I can't. Eleonore would kill me. She would never allow it."

''Anyway, God and sister have to forgive what will happen in the next five minutes,'' Louise thought while untying the rope. Then the door opened and a cheerful voice rang in the room.

"Yes! Hi! Kyuikyui!"

It was Sylphid. Her long hair had the same blue color as her master's. Sylphid briskly started to chew on the rope tying Tabitha to Louise.

"What are you doing?" - asked Louise.

"Decided. Taking big sister."

"Where?"

"Your familiar's room."

Louise tried to stand up but was pulled back by the rope and fell on the bed with a yelp. The rope was still intact; Sylphid couldn't bite through it.

"Kyui! Durable rope! Pink Runt!"

"What did you call me?"

"Hair pink, and tiny."

Louise forgot about the rope. Sylphid tried to bite through the rope again when her teeth lost contact. Bam! - a blow came.

"Why?"

"A beast can't barge into a noble's room whenever it likes".

"Arrogant human. Rhyme Dragons are an ancient and powerful race. History and culture different from yours."

"Huge difference! You are trying to bite through the rope with your teeth! Stop it!"

Louise pulled the rope and Tabitha and Siesta woke up.

"...what?"

"What is going on?"

Sylphid hugged Tabitha, happily cooing "kyui".

"Ah! Sister awake at last! So good. Sylphy release sister, carry where sister want. Climb."

"What are you talking about? What about our agreement? One day turns?"

Siesta approached Louise.

"Just a dumb dragon trying to take an unnecessary initiative."

"Not unnecessary. Just following master's feelings!"

"Stop talking and get out. Dragons sleep outside."

Louise and Sylphid glared at each other.

Siesta asked Tabitha "So, does the stupid dragon speak for miss Tabitha?"

Tabitha paled, bit a lip lightly and looked away.

Siesta said "excuse me", lowered her head, and started exploring Tabitha's chest with both hands.

"Miss Valliere."

"Grrrr."

Sylphid and Louise were pressing each others foreheads with sullen growls.

"No, it's miss Tabitha."

"Grrrr."
[[Image:ZnT19-002.jpg|thumb|]]
"Obviously we are in estrus."

Tabitha reached for the cane with her free right hand and cast a silencing spell on Siesta. Ignoring Siesta's attempt to make signs she bashed the head of the dumb dragon.

Louise, with a red face, nodded to Tabitha and muttered a few words in her ear. Tabitha looked at her with wide opened eyes. Louise nodded to her again and said a few more words. Cold sweat covered the forehead of the trembling in fear Tabitha. Her mouth opened.

"You know what, I will go to Saito's room in the middle of the night and pretend to be you. It's wrong, but he is a good guy. Things can only happen if he is tricked. What do you think?"

Tabitha stiffened. Louise's spell was too strong of a stimulus for the innocent Tabitha.

"Ah, sister grew enough to lay eggs. Do your best!"

Sylphid, as if nothing happened, continued to gnaw on the rope. Then she forgot about the rope and tried to grab Tabitha's book.

When the chaos had calmed down a little, the room door burst open. A beautiful woman with long blond hair stormed into the room.

"Miss Eleonore!" - shrieked Louise.

Dressed in a negligee Eleonore, angrily fumbling with her glasses, yelled "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Louise straightened up and said with trembling voice.

"Oh, were we noisy?"

Enraged, Eleonore came closer and hit Sylphid.

"Why?"

"Sit."

Under Eleonore's intimidating gaze, Sylphid become quiet.

"Why would you start this party in the middle of the night?"

"We didn't", mumbled Louise, but Eleonore didn't hear her.

"I heard the word 'estrus'. What was that?"

"It's... it's just that this maid is really noisy."

Siesta felt that she should say something and looked at Tabitha, who quietly cancelled the silencing spell.

"Nonsense. No way. Miss Valliere is horrible. Didn't you mean to complain about miss Tabitha?"

Tabitha silently hit Siesta.

"Anyway, you don't seem to realize your responsibility as noble ladies."

"You know better miss Eleonore, but I am just a maid here."

"Quiet dames."

"Sylphy dragon."

"Silence!"

Eleonore frantically folded her arms and looked at the quiet Tabitha and sighed.

"Even though a member of the Gallian royal family is our guest, the responsibility for your education is on me. 'Mingle with the great to become great'; this is what I think as an elder daughter of the La Valliere family. Get ready, I will not go easy on you."

Slap! She fetched a riding whip and hit the bed with all her strength. Everyone yelped.

"Maid, dragon, royalty - as long as you live in this house you will behave as a lady or a servant according to the proper etiquette. I will teach all of you. Any questions?"

"No!" - everyone replied briskly.

The "lesson" lasted about two hours. Apparently its purpose was to entertain the awakened Eleonore. Mostly they were trained to walk properly under a relentless stream of Eleonore's homilies.

Louise was confident that her gait was appropriate for a noble, but on this night nothing was good enough for Eleonore. She had to repeat the "exercises" again and again.

First Siesta and Sylphid fell on the spot, defeated by sleepiness. Then Eleonore fell asleep on Louise's bed and Tabitha collapsed next to her.

It was just about an hour till dawn.

"What a preposterous night," - Louise said to herself when the noisy company fell asleep. She sneaked out and went to Saito's room.

When she opened the door, Saito was sitting on a sofa.

"Are you awake?" - he said smiling.

"Yes. Can't sleep for some reason. You too?" Louise replied blushing, strangely embarrassed. Saito seemed to be lost in thought until now; his face had been serious and absent. It was like he had instantly become two or three years senior... one year at least.

It was already mentioned that a year in Saito's world was a little shorter than a year of this world, but the length of a day seemed to be about the same. Their worlds were not all that different.

It meant that Saito was about the same age as her, yet just moment ago he seemed to be an adult. It was unusual. She had always considered contemporary boys to be just kids, always spouting some nonsense. Boorish and rude creatures. Until she met Saito she wasn't much interested in love, and not so long ago he was just one of those creatures.

But he had matured very fast.

''I wonder why?'' she thought. ''A lot has happened recently. But one crisis he faced was obviously the greatest. He left his world. Did it change him?''

"What is it? Did you want to discuss something?" - said Saito to the silently watching Louise.

"What? Ah, no. Nothing special..."

Then he calmly said. "Ah, you just wanted to see me?"

Not so long ago Louise would have gotten angry and responded "No I didn't!".

But not now. Embarrassing.

"I also wanted to see you. I can't sleep. It's so hot and sleeping separately is strange. Unusual I mean."

Louise sat next to Saito and gently snuggled up to him. It was a new habit. She took his hand. Saito took the hint and lifted her chin. Louise closed her eyes. Their lips met and a sense of security filled Louise. After a while she asked, "What were you thinking about?"

"Well, the Crusade," Saito said flatly.

"Not convinced?" - she asked with concern. Indeed, she didn't want to fight the Elves herself. If negotiations fail, she will...

It's inevitable. Otherwise half of the people in Halkeginia will have nowhere to live. And for the other half life will change completely.

"No, I understand the Pope's position. People will have no place to live. It doesn't get more serious than that. But elves are such strong opponents."

"Well," - Louise also become serious.

"We don't have much to bargain with in negotiations. Usual magic is ineffective against them."

Louise knew it. But if the Four of Four worked together they would be able to use much more powerful magic.

Louise thought about the words written in Brimir's Founder's Prayer Book: "read when necessary."

"Maybe we will be able to use Void magic when we need it. This is how it worked before."

"Right..." - said Saito with concern.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"What is it?"

"Tiffania. I mean, her mother was an elf. It might be hard for her to fight against her mother's people."

Louise was startled. Indeed, for them, elves were bitter enemies. They definitely didn't want to fight them, but if it had to be done there wouldn't be much objection. But Tiffania was different.

And they couldn't do it without her.

Saito stood up, took a letter from a table and showed it to Louise.

"A letter from Tiffania."

"A letter?"

"Oh, an owl brought it."

Louise read the letter. According to it Tiffa was going to Des Ornieres at the Pope's request.

"I will arrive tomorrow... What? She is going to summon a familiar!" - said a surprised Louise.

"It's not completely unexpected. The Pope gathers the Four of Four together to use the full Void potential."

"Right, but..." said a worried Louise. The Crusade wasn't something new, but now it had become real for her.

Gathering of the Tristain invasion army had started again. Judging by previous campaigns' invasions, it was unlikely to go smoothly.

Nothing unusual, but this time she was directly involved. Louise was nervous. The future of the entirety of Halkeginia, beyond any doubt, depended on tiny and unreliable her.

She didn't know what to say. Saito noticed her nervousness and tried to reassure her.

"Indeed, elves are good negotiators. They probably will return Brimir's magic device. They don't need it."

Louise was ashamed. She didn't expect this responsibility and she was afraid of it.

Anyway, the Pope had a plan of some sort, but it didn't inspire any optimism. Saito was different, he wouldn't expect something impossible of her.

"It belongs to them."

It was indisputable.

"I will study elves," - Louise said. In any case it's good to know your adversary. She noticed Saito's sadness.

"You don't want to fight?"

Saito shook his head.

"It's inevitable. Well, I hate it, but it's just how it is; there is nothing to like or dislike. First we will properly explain our problem to the Elves. If they reply 'whatever, tough luck'" - he squinted his eyes - "I will fight. For myself and my friends. There is no doubt about it."

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"I mean, this is not your world. It doesn't concern you..."

Amazed, Saito said "Still on this topic, huh?"

"No. Well, just a little. But, really, thank you."

Louise put her cheek on Saito's chest. He gently stroked her hair for a while. "This is my place" thought Louise. Of course this wasn't something she would say aloud.

"I will fight too. To protect this place."

She finally fell asleep.

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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Epilogue

2017-08-25T04:38:37Z

Txtracer:

===Epilogue===

On a road near the border between the Tristainian and Gallian kingdoms, a party on horseback emerged. Each person wore the same style of garb resembling that of monks, with draped cloaks that made them indistinguishable from one another.

The group of travelers arrived at a site: the mountain pass. In nearby regions law and order was in great chaos, for brigands would often come here and cause trouble. It was between the countries’ borders where bandits and gangs could make the most of their talents. They raided travelers crossing the border and seized their wealth. When successful, they simply escaped into the neighboring country, yet even if officers captured the criminals, the officers often found they had no authority to prosecute them [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Talk:Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18_Epilogue#1].

As a result, merchants and travelers armed themselves to the teeth and hired bodyguards when time came to cross the border.

Although times were tough, monks were not commonly robbed. One reason may be that harming a monk would be asking for divine retribution, evoking the contempt of the Gods; but the main reason was that there was no profit to be made from robbing one.

Today, however, the feral wolves seemed especially hungry.

Just shortly after treading into a place filled with thick vegetation, the group of monks was surrounded by ten gang members. The criminals possessed all sorts of weapons, from swords to pikes, even firearms.

“Stop.”

The monks, their path blocked, had no choice but to hold their horses. A man holding a sword approached, commanding everyone to dismount completely.

“Why do we have to dismount?” the leading monk asked. The bandits burst into noisy laughter.

“Naturally it’s because that thing can net us some cash!”

“In other words, you just want money, correct?” Spoken in an obviously Halkeginian language, Gallian, but with a distinct accent mixed in.

“You bet, ‘cause in order to make money, we brothers bust our asses to do business in this area.”

With an unfazed tone, a nun within the group unexpectedly responded: “Business? I’ll ask, is stealing from others like you are now doing to us your business? Have you received approval for this activity? Do you pay taxes to the government?”

The brigands heard the beautiful voice of a woman, and their eyes brightened.

“Hey, over there, let me see your face.”

The leading monk held his breath upon hearing this.

“Stop; if you want money I’ll give it to you.”

He subsequently reached within his robes, fished out a small pouch and threw it onto the ground. A bandit pounced on it, and immediately let out a cry.

“Heavens, it’s gold sand, and so much of it.”

“Now, we would like to leave.”

The monks tried to move forward, but the brigands again blocked the way.

“Don’t worry. Us brothers are indeed hard-working, and our style is to grab everything we can get a hold of. Leave us your horses, and the woman too.”

“I refuse.”

“There’s no choice. I guess we’ll just help ourselves."

The bandit walked towards whom he suspected was the nun.

“Let me see; what kind of goods do you really have?”

Just as he attempted to place his hand on the woman, the monk leader gravely warned the bandit.

“If you dare touch her cloak, you will die. You only live once, so I advise you if you still treasure your life.”

The brigands went hysterical.

“Prove you monks will be able to catch us!”

The bandit used the pointed end (of his weapon '''(!)''') to ruffle the nun’s cloak. Underneath the cloth, there appeared a woman’s face with the beauty of a fairy.

“Woah, this girl will sell for a high price!”

Every brigand had a cheerful expression.

“I gotta say, have you killed people before?”

Next to the nun, one monk who up until now had said nothing asked suddenly.

“Oh yeah. About once a month or so, hmm?”

As he was speaking, the bandit pulled the cloak off the nun entirely.

“ . . . Huh?”

When he saw what had previously been hidden under the cloak, the man’s thoughts numbed.

''Long ears . . . not a human trait. Oh, right, this characteristic belongs to a certain race . . .''

''What is it?''

''Supposedly, they’re a people both strong and beautiful . . .''

It’s a pity that man couldn't come to a final conclusion because a branch flew noiselessly into his chest.

“They’re elves!” the member with the pike cried out.

The monk leader . . . Ali, repeated the incantation.

“Oh forest branches, become arrows sharp, enemies will cry, through their bodies fly.” [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Talk:Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18_Epilogue#2].

Responding to the spell, a nearby branch snapped off like a toothpick and became a high speed arrow aimed at the bandit who just shouted. The arrow flew into his mouth and emerged from the base of his skull (cervical vertebrae, back neck area).

The two brigands who held fire guns . . . aimed at the elves and pulled their triggers.

Defending both sides Luctiana, the gracefully postured elf, had long been preparing a spell.

“Oh wind and air, heed my call, a shield around me, form a wall.” [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Talk:Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18_Epilogue#3].

The air shield received and deflected the bullets, flicking them far away with a loud pop. Upon seeing this the brigands scattered, fleeing in all directions.

“El---elves are here!”

Ali shook his head somewhat disapprovingly (sadly? disappointed?).

“Oh forest branches long, reach to bind my foes strong.” [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Talk:Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18_Epilogue#4].

Numerous outstretched branches coiled around the hands and feet of the brigands.

The rest of the sharp arrow branches flew around, homing in on the brigands’ throats or their stomachs in order to stab them.

After a few brief seconds, all was quiet once again. Using the same skill demonstrated in manipulating the branches, Ali moved the corpses into the deepest part of the forest, and soon after he again used earth magic to quickly bury the bodies.

When he was done with everything, Ali began to reprimand Luctiana.

“I tell you Luctiana! What were you thinking back there? How can someone ask those kind of questions?!”

In contrast, Luctiana looked like she could care less.

“Wha? If we have questions, no matter what we go and ask them; that’s our duty as scholars.”

“Really! Even if someone happens to be a savage murderer, taking his life doesn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.”

“Ok, next time I’ll be more careful.”

“For goodness’ sake, you have to. If we’d traveled by sea, we really wouldn’t have had so much trouble, right? I’m not saying land travel is time-consuming, but it’s still very dangerous!”

“Well, think: if we came by sea, there wouldn’t be anything to sightsee along the way. A trip where we constantly stare at the unchanging water surface; I can only imagine the insufferable horror. A big ocean is even more boring than a desert.”

Luctiana spoke without reservation, and a male elf next to her laughed.

“At this rate we’ll never figure out who’ll be the team leader. Ali, or Your Highness.”

“What do you mean, Edolis? '''(!)''' Without a doubt, Luctiana is the team leader here. We are merely servants accompanying Miss High and Mighty on her journey.”

Ali now finished with his bitter words, Luctiana once again yelled excitedly,

“Awesome! This lady can boss you around! Glorious people of the desert, we are the noble, chosen race responsible for protecting the world. Onwards! Objective: Kingdom of Tristainia, Des, Des, Des . . .”

The name was on the tip of her tongue.

“It’s Des Ornières,”

Ali rushed to inform her.

“Seriously . . . the names these barbarians come up with are real tongue twisters; doesn’t matter if they’re names of a person or a place.”

“Aren’t you a scholar?” Ali couldn’t help but ask.

Listening, Edolis '''(!)''' and another elf beside him, Matalf '''(!)''', started laughing together.

The desert elves, having covered themselves with their cloaks, followed the open road and traveled onwards.

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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter9

2017-08-20T08:53:56Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 9: Chance Meeting===
It had been three days since Saito and the others had returned to Des Ornieres. Until then, no important news had been sent from the Royal Palace so Saito and the others just spent their days peacefully. In fact, it was so peaceful that they received a letter from Tiffania (who was spending her days with the children from the orphanage in Tristain) asking, "How is everything?"; a relaxing time in sharp contrast from the days before.

Since the first night of the day they returned home, Saito's room had become a battlefield at bedtime. Until now, he had become used to sleeping where he was always sandwiched between Louise and Siesta; and because of this, you could perceive to some extent the delicate balance that existed between the three. But now there was Tabitha to account for.

Whenever night fell Sylphid would always push Tabitha, who would also bring her pillow, to Saito's room. If there were two persons, one could be accommodated on each side of Saito; but as it had increased to three persons, one must be left out of the bed.

Louise claimed the right side for herself as if it was the most natural thing, claiming that, for Saito, she was considered his number one for eternity and nothing would change that. Since the third daughter of a duke had declared that, there was nothing more to discuss about it.

Siesta also naturally claimed the left side, since she was the one attending to Saito all along. She even said, with a serious expression, "If I were to sleep in another room there would be monsters".

After that, Sylphid, representing Tabitha, raised an objection and said, "This girl has always grown up in a very sad and lonely environment, you know, so you two should show some consideration for her, you know. And unlike the both of you, who would flaunt your pheromones whenever Saito is around, she would be content to be able to just stay by his side, you know. That's the kind of good girl who is nearly extinct nowadays for you, you know! Even among Rhyme Dragons she would be extremely popular, you know!"

While this went on Saito could only sit outside the mosquito tent quietly, hugging his knees as he attentively watched the chaos of four girls arguing.

"Are you in bliss?" If Saito was asked this, he could only answer, "I think so." It was such a tense and delicate situation. The situation that required him to choose a girl from them, made him really feel as if his charm had suddenly soared. ''By the way, in the past, I could not even handle any girl in front of me. During that time, I had been so desperate for chocolates from girls, even the cloddish ones...'' Reminiscing about that faraway life of his made him suddenly understand that life is really full of surprises.

Finally, Sylphid who had offered to be the peacemaker made her conclusion.

"I know! Then, onee-sama should be on the top!"

"Top?"

Sylphid nodded.

"Yes. As you are on both sides, there is no other place but the top."

"This doesn't seem really good, does it?"

Saito said, and Tabitha who had been remaining silent up till now, said with an expressionless face,

"Does it?"

Cold sweat began to run down Saito's back. If he just answered honestly, "It doesn't," then he would hurt her feelings; but if he said, "it's okay, I guess," then Louise...

He had no choice. Saito could only nod.

"Okay, top is okay then..."

"Hey, what's 'okay' supposed to mean. But thank you very much anyway. For a simpleton like you to have the honor of sharing the bed with onee-sama, you should be glad, you know."

Sylphid said that while grumbling at Saito like an old maid.

So, after that was settled it was finally time for bed.

Suddenly they heard someone bang at the door impatiently.

"...Who could it be at this hour of the night?"

"Is it someone from the neighborhood?"

Siesta's face became worried the moment Saito said that.

"Could it be...would it be someone after Saito's life..."

Saito's eyes met with Louise's.

That's right.

The killers known as the "Elemental Siblings"...not only had they destroyed Derflinger in Des Ornieres, those mysterious brothers had also attempted to assassinate Saito in Gallia.

One of them, Jack, who had been captured in Gallia, remained stubbornly silent; even under the threat of torture his mouth was sealed.

Saito's eyes grew fierce as he quickly grabbed the katana on the right side of his bed. The rune on his left hand began to shine immediately.

"I shall take my revenge for what they did to Derf!"

Louise's expression also turned serious as she prepared her wand.

"Just watch me finish them off quickly."

Tabitha, without a word gripped her staff tightly in her hands.

"However, aren't they just underestimating us a little......now Kirche and Colbert-sensei are also present in this house too. They won't defeat us that easily."

Upon leaving the room they found Kirche and Colbert, who had also prepared their wands, standing there.

Saito and the others descended downstairs carefully, standing guard on the left and right side of the door.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The door was knocked again.

Saito stretched out his hand and unlocked the bolt.

"Ready?"

Having said that the door was opened wide; and someone rushed through the opening.

"Attack!"

Magic flew from both sides of the door. "Air Net" and "Icicle Arrows"...Kirche, in turn, called forth a huge fireball that emerged from the tip of her wand. Louise, preparing the second wave of attacks, chanted the "Explosion" spell.

Saito quickly leaped forward to pin the enemy down, his katana placed on the enemy's throat.

"Admit your defeat!"

"...The lot of you, what are you trying to do to me?"

A shrill voice rang out, obviously upset. Under the light emitted from Kirche's fireball, everyone could finally see the face of the mysterious character lying on the floor.

"Eleonore-neesama!"

Louise cried out, her face pale.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry!"

Saito and Louise stood in front of Eleonore, bowing their heads dejectedly. Eleonore sat cross-legged in front of them. She really had the aura of a queen when she was angry.

After learning that the intruder was Eleonore, Kirche and Colbert returned to their room saying that it was none of their business anymore.

"Seriously! Mistaking me for a killer! Ridiculous!"

Facing Eleonore's fury, Louise and Saito just kept bowing.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry."

Confronting Louise and Saito who had been apologizing profusely, Eleonore watched the two of them for a while before suddenly saying, "I'm hungry".

Siesta immediately ran to the kitchen to prepare a meal frantically.

Watching Eleonore stuff herself with the food hungrily, Louise asked, timidly.

"So, onee-sama, are you here for something important?"

Eleonore's face turned slightly red.

"Well, it's not really a big deal. Just wanted to bother you a bit."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!"

Louise's eyes grew wide in surprise.

"Um? Why? Onee-sama?"[[File:ZnT18-197.jpg|thumb]]

"As I've said before, I have no reason to be called an 'Onee-sama' by you."

After Eleonore shot Saito a fierce glare,

"Meh, however, I do think that living in the suburbs once in a while is not a bad idea."

"What about work in the Institute?"

"I will go to work from here."

"Eh? How are you going to do that?"

"I will have you know that I brought my own dragon cage. So for the time being, I will be in your care."

Sensing something between the lines from her attitude, Saito asked tentatively,

"Is, is it that...Onee, I mean, Miss Eleonore was scared that......"

Once Saito asked like that, Eleonore shivered and her shoulders began shaking.

Louise also nodded.

"Ah. That's right. The only people who knew about it, was us......"

As the wind stones in Halkegenia began to go ballistic, half of the land may become unlivable; and this piece of knowledge was indeed frightening. After all, the ground beneath their feet now may just rise to the heavens the very next day.

Saito remembered when he used to watch a show called "A Big Earthquake Is About To Hit Tokyo!" on television. Watching such a show does make some people imagine things. Nevertheless, this is not a show on television but something that would really happen.

"There's, there's nothing to be worried about."

Eleonore said, shaking her head. However, her face had turned pale. Her acting suspiciously dismissive and all seemed to have stirred up Saito's masochistic heart.

"You're lying. You're very afraid, aren't you."

"I've already told you, I'm not afraid."

"Miss Eleonore is also pretty cute, isn't she?"

After Saito said this brightly, Eleonore lifted her brow.

"Hey you, do you take me for a fool?"

"I've always felt that onee-sama is actually a timid person."

Louise added.

"Enough is enough! Go to bed now! Children should have gone to bed by now! Also, I have something to say to you two tomorrow!"

Eleonore's yelling made Louise and Saito escape to the second floor in a panic.

So they got into bed and made themselves comfortable, Louise lying on Saito's right side, Siesta on the left; and then Tabitha was put on Saito's body by Sylphid.

After that, Slyphid huddled beside the bed and began snoring, "goo~goo~". ''Is this really okay,'' thought Tabitha as she gazed at Saito's face.

"Hmm? What's up?"

"This isn't good, is it?"

Apparently Tabitha still minded the current arrangement. Saito looked at his right, and noticed Louise shooting fierce glares at his direction. And during this tense atmosphere, Eleonore entered Saito's room.

"Louise. Where is my room ... This! This is! You guys! This is!!"

Eleonore screamed upon seeing the four of them sleeping on the same bed.

"You, you guys! ......Actually!! ......Men and women before marriage...actually!! ......And!! ......"

Eleonore collapsed to the ground, frothing at her mouth.

Louise and Saito were once again brought to the living room on the first floor. This was, of course, in order for them to receive a lecture from Eleonore.

"Surprise, surprise, you are all actually sleeping together."

Eleonore was now engulfed in her boundless rage.

"There will be no room for negotiation. The schedule has changed. Louise, come back with me to De Valliere tomorrow."

"......Eh?"

Louise's face went pale.

"What are you eh-ing for? Did you really think that the Founder Brimir would forgive the act of man and women sleeping together before marriage? It seems that you really need mother and father to teach you everything again from scratch."

But Louise suppressed her fears desperately, and said.

"I, I refuse."

"What did you say?"

"After all, I also have unfinished business here."

"That's true ...... After all, you are taking on the role of 'the pillar of the country'."

Eleonore then sighed deeply.

"And that's why I have to remind you that the two of you are only acquainted because of the 'legendary force'. You've not understood this particular situation and so that's how this misunderstanding came to be. From now on you have to rely on this man to complete your task. However, you still have to consider your familiar and life partner as two different things."

Eleonore said this with a grim expression.

Since things had come to this point, if he did not say anything now he would not be a man. Saito set his foot down and spoke.

"Onee-sama."

"Didn't I say that I didn't want to be called 'onee-sama' by you, right......"

"No. Please be sure to let me call you that, onee-sama. Indeed, from onee-sama's point of view I may be someone with an unknown background. However, this feeling I have, my desire to protect Louise, will never lose to anyone."

"Just now, weren't you sleeping with multiple women?"

"Guh", Saito had nothing to say for this. There was a reason for it. However, although there was a reason, he couldn't say it; and even if he told her that nothing happened even though they were sleeping together, he didn't think he would get any trust from her. No, well actually something did happen. However, it was all a misunderstanding and it can't be prevented ...... While Saito was silently thinking about all this,

"Isn't your erratic behavior the reason why Louise ran away from home?" (Translator note: here she was referring to Saito changing his mind on girls)

Saito hung his head dismally. She hit the mark, so Saito could not say anything else.

"Hey, Louise. Now do you understand? This guy is completely hopeless. You must have been manipulated by some force for you to actually think that this guy is a good man."

Louise was silent for a moment like she was organizing what she was going to say. However, she still shook her head.

"I'm not going back."

"Louise!"

"Onee-sama. I've already made up my mind. No matter what happens, I will always stay by Saito's side. So far I've been in many situations that I don't like. How many times it has happened, feeling betrayed, getting bullied, I don't really know. And if I really wanted to talk about it, his interests are very strange. That brain of his is useless, like it had been cooked. But, but really."

Louise grasped Saito's hand.

"For me, I don't want anybody else except him. There was one time I tried to forget everything and run away. However, forgetting about him was impossible. I think about him everyday. What is he doing now, things like that, I think about them all the time."

"...Seriously. They say that love is blind or something, and it really is true! However, a promise is a promise. That guy over there! I did make you promise me something, right? You must have manners fitting of an aristocrat. Well then, let's take a look at what you have now."

Now that she had mentioned it, he did made such a deal with her. However, as he was busy recently he had not had any chance to practice.

No, in fact even if he had practiced it would have been useless anyway ......
[HERE=]
Even so, Saito tried his best to do an aristocratic bow. To feel the aristocratic soul flow through his veins......

"......"

Eleonore was silent. Saito couldn't help but shudder a little. Did this mean that their efforts were recognized? Is it okay now?

However, reality may not be as naive as you think.

"A total failure! You know, if you really wanted to marry the daughter of a Duke ... ... "

This time, Louise interrupted Eleonore.

"If you still can't permit this, I'll dismiss the Duke family's name from mine."

"What?"

Eleonore's eyes went round.

"It doesn't matter if I'm not a noble. I don't even need the noble title. Because, that is not a choice I made myself. I appreciate my family, and also love my family. However, Saito is the only person I chose for myself."

Eleonore stared at her youngest sister, dumbfounded.

"Are you saying that, you're going to throw away the name of La Valliere?"

Eleonora buried herself in the sofa and gave a long sigh.

"Onee-sama?"

"En. Give me a minute. I need to collect my thoughts."

Eleonore frowned, and started to massage her forehead with her thumb. She then looked up at Louise with a serious expression.

"Are you serious about this?"

Louise nodded gravely.

"Ah~"

"Onee-sama?"

"I really envy you, you know. Although I co~mpletely don't understand what it is that you find charming in this man, since you say he's a good man then surely he has something that is commendable."

Although this was not something nice to hear, Saito's entire body loosened up.

"Louise."

"Here."

"Remember to give a proper report to Father and Mother."

Louise's eyes went wide in surprise.

"Onee-sama?"

"You and I are very similar. Stubborn and willful, we don't go against anything we have said. Anyway, even if we feel regret later, such is life."

"Thank you! Onee-sama!"

Louise gave Eleonore a tight hug.

"Seriously... ... Oh right, there's something else I need you to promise me. Starting today the two of you will not be sleeping in the same bed. Understand me? Before your marriage, there will definitely not be any sharing of the bed."

Louise and Saito nodded.

"However, the reason before was because there is only one bed"

"Also, you there."

Eleonore pushed her glasses, and glared at Saito.

"He-Here!"

"Starting from tomorrow, I will begin your strict training so that you will attain the manners of an aristocrat as soon as possible. After all, if you are really going to marry a daughter of La Valliere, without some degree of proper manners it will be hard for us to do anything. Since you don't have the foundation of family background, you'll have to make do with the foundation of your character."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

Saito gave a final salutatory bow to Eleonore. If her parents were able to recognize the relationship between two people, then there wouldn't be any insurmountable difficulties ahead anymore.

"If you've understood that, go to bed. Right, make my room ready too."

Both of them nodded and returned to the second floor.

Eleonore, left alone again, poured some grape wine left over from the meal just now into her glass and finished in a gulp.

Her face turned slightly red; Eleonore raised her now empty glass and looked at it for a while.

"Ah~, where the heck have those good men gone......"

Eleonora muttered with a muffled voice.

Saito and Louise came to the second floor and entered the room prepared for Siesta before as a temporary guest room. Mattresses were available, so they opened the door for Eleonore to know this was the room prepared for her.

"Saito, where will you be sleeping then?"

After Louise asked about it, Saito pointed to the room next door.

"I'll take that room then. There's a sofa, so I'll sleep there for the night."

"Eh? That's not right."

"No problem. I've been sleeping on the floor for a long time before anyway, haven't I?"

Louise's face reddened when Saito said this.

"I'm sorry."

"Never mind that, just things of the past. So, good night then."

Just as she opened the door and was about to return to her own room, Louise suddenly pulled at the hem of Saito's shirt.

"Huh? What's going on?"

Louise seemed to be blushing very shyly while saying,

"I'd like to be alone with you for another moment."

Louise is so cute! So, Saito followed Louise's wish.

Although the room had not been used for some time, it was still spotlessly clean; it seemed that Siesta and Mrs Helen had been hard at work.

A lighted magical lamp was placed on the table, faint gentle light spreading out across the room.

Louise and Saito sat down on the couch beside the wall. Just as they sat down Louise immediately attached herself to Saito's body like a kitten.

There were no words sufficient to describe the blissfulness Saito was feeling.

Louise's words just now......were still reverberating in his ears. The young girl clinging onto him now had just said that she was willing to "dismiss the Duke's name from hers" for him.

When he first met Louise... ... he felt that she was a horrible porcupine of a person that he couldn't get along with, and now she had became his soul mate. The transformation was incredible.

Just like that, with Louise leaning on him as he thought about things, suddenly all kinds of experiences came to mind.

"What's wrong?"

Louise snuggled up to Saito, eyes shut as she asked.

"Hmm? I just thought about a little something."

"What kind of things?"

"For 'people', if you just judge them from what you see, you can't really see the their real side. Or rather, there's something in everybody's heart that they won't express at all."

"Of course it's like that, naturally."

"Sometimes I just feel like something as 'natural' as that is really unfathomable. It's like just now when Eleonore actually recognized our relationship, that was unbelievable."

"Yeah. However, I'm also thinking about the same thing. Getting Eleonore onee-sama's permission or something, really unbelievable. That was a first."

Everyone is hiding their true self, Saito thought.

Besides, everyone has all sorts of reasons for doing that, right......

This time, Julio's face surfaced in Saito's mind. A Romalian priest. The annoying familiar of the Holy Pope. A handsome guy, and nobody had any idea what he was thinking ......

"But then again,"

"Hmm?"

"That Julio guy was also like that too. That guy has been keeping a stiff upper lip all this time. What an annoying guy, and even now I'm still annoyed by him."

"Yeah."

"Hey, Louise."

"What's wrong?"

"I really want to know it, the truth. I want to know what actually happened to this world. Why I came to this world. I also want to know what I can actually do. What is right, and what is wrong. I will not run away from all these things. I don't want to be abandoned because I knew nothing at all, because I was a fool.

Louise said nothing and just nodded.

"So, Louise. The truths, tell me all of them. Or what you actually think. What you're thinking right now. Don't hide anything anymore, and don't worry about what I think about it anymore. Because you're everything to me. Now, what you're thinking, are you hurt, are you feeling unhappy, once I start thinking about all of this, my brain just stops working. In other words, how do I put this, I just don't feel like stopping. Because the world is spinning at an amazing rate......It feels like, if I stop now, I will just die."

Louise stared at Saito. Then, spat out her breath with a "pooh".

"Stupid guy."

"I'm not talking nonsense."

"No, no, no. You've made a mistake, you know. I have been saying what I thought since a long time ago."

"Really?"

"Uhn. I can't hide anything from you. However, there was once I hid things from you. It was something I wanted to do, but I didn't say it. No, it's that I can't say it."

"But now, you can."

Louise nodded. Then she showed a gentle smile.

Her smile was enough to change the atmosphere in the room. Saito immediately found it hard for him to breathe. The vague concept that was "living", suddenly had an outline and was rendered in a multitude of colors.

Louise's lips really have the perfect shape, don't they? Saito had this sudden thought in his mind. Also, why was there such a pleasant fragrance. A fragrance that came from nowhere.

Louise slightly opened her lips. Then weaving the magical words.

"Kiss me."[[File:ZnT18-211.jpg|thumb]]

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter8

2017-08-20T07:33:46Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 8 - Elf of the Sahara===

The scorching rays of the sun were burning the vast land of the Sahara. As far as the eye could tell, it seemed like a small lake was in the middle of the sea of sand; like a solitary island in the ocean.

Its diameter was approximately about 100 mails; and next to the small wood surrounding this lake, there was a small cabin. Because of its exquisitely finished walls, with a completely smooth texture, the structure was almost a perfect cube.

This was a building that was unlike any seen anywhere in Halkeginia. Directly in front of the cottage and extending therefrom, there was a long dock which continued to extend until the middle of the lake itself.

At the end of the dock, a girl was splashing in the water of that lake.

Her body was not covered by any type of clothing, leaving a view of a young body with slender limbs and long blonde hair that was almost transparent; that girl gave off a vigorous charm, an aura similar to that of a fairy. Surely, if the inhabitants of Halkeginia were to see her, she would be confused with an incarnation of a beautiful fairy.

While floating on the surface of the water, the girl whose eyes remained closed as if asleep was covered only with the vastness of the sky.

One might think that the harsh rays of the sun would burn that delicate body, but the white skin of this young woman did not show the slightest sign of a burn or even a stain.

And the secret behind this mysterious phenomenon was floating in the air.

Wind and water stones ... sometimes called: tears of the water spirits.

Due to a magical device activated by the "Former Resident", the air that enveloped this oasis could block the sun's rays and preserve the pleasant humidity levels and temperature inside.

This was the level of technology specializing in "magical techniques of the Former Resident" possessed by Elves.

The ears of the girl floating in the water were long and ended with a fine tip. Her nose was comparable to that of a human, only finer than theirs. She was an Elf.

Suddenly the girl's eyes opened wide; her pale blue eyes at that time were set at one point in the sky, as if monopolizing her view. A small dot appeared in the distance, which quickly grew larger.

That point was a wind dragon. Compared to Halkeginia’s dragons this one was a little bit larger. Within the field of view of the girl, this wind dragon approaching her gradually became bigger and bigger.

Then, shaking its mighty wings, the dragon landed on the dock.

Water splashed violently as the body of the young elf played with the newly created waves. After playing gaily in the water, the girl buried her face once more underwater; *Fuhn* and exhaled.

“Hey! Ali! What are you doing here?” said the young elf.

Mounted on the back of the wind dragon was a young elf with a youthful aura.

“I should be the one to ask that! What are you thinking by sleeping in a place like this?”

Upon seeing her condition, the man called Ali's face immediately turned red.

“Oy! Luctiana! What are you thinking, get dressed already! If Munila-sama were to hear about this, you'd be in big trouble!”

“Ali, it’s okay because I'm at home; anyway, I do not see why my mother has any reason to make any complaints.”

“But what if someone suddenly came to visit you, what would you do?”

“Here? But I don’t see anyone around here,” Luctiana said with a pensive face....

After hearing this, he looked at her and again Ali's face turned all red.

“We are not married yet! And so now, please do not put any urges in my mind!”

“Ali, do not tell me, dear, that you have no interest in seeing my skin?”

“E, that's... That’s not what I’m talking about! Stop thinking like that! Perhaps we should just let that topic alone until we're married, okay!? What I’m talking about is that we are the chosen race, the nobles who have been assigned to protect the balance in the world ...And you should be aware of it at all times!"

In response Luctiana extended both her hands thinking, ''I'm going to show you.''

“My God! Why do you let my fiance repeat the same baseless reasons the Council and our grandparents always say?!”

Upon hearing this, Ali began gradually raising his voice.

“What's with the attitude? Are you somewhat influenced by those barbarians?”

Almost incredulous at this, Luctiana hit upon a response; placing her hand right beside her smiling face:

“This? This is done when one is "surprised". A barbarian, a traveling merchant showed me the other day; he taught me this and a lot of other funny gestures, for example...

“I was right! Get dressed quickly and get ready, for we are leaving!” Ali screamed. In response, Luctiana pursed her lips with an expression as if to say "you're boring".

With that attitude she started to climb onto the dock.

“Therefore, I tell you, we will not get along well!

With a carefree face, ignoring Luctiana, Ali started walking along the dock. He was practically stunned in place when he saw her walking majestically on that dock; it was the majestic look and confidence of a fairy in charge of the protection of the desert.

From the tips of her beautiful wet blonde hair large raindrops fell; she left the dock painted with the footsteps of a fairy.

Inside the cabin of white walls, endless objects were cluttering the place. There was a bed and a desk. In the background, a door could be seen leading to the room where they practiced the culinary arts.

The room was filled with a few artifacts of "Elves", which were very well sorted and distributed.

However the most noticeable things in the cabin came from those "barbarians"; those sorts of things were flooding the house, leaving almost no space.

The things that stood out were tableware, such as vases and plates; if an elf saw them, they would think those things were hopelessly tacky ornaments. Aside from that, necklaces and tiaras richly adorned with jewels were kept hanging on the walls as decorations.

In a corner of the house next to a wall was a bookcase whose crammed shelves were occupied by a few history books and encyclopedias illustrated by elves. This contrasted greatly with the huge number of books from the "human world" cramming all the remaining space of that bookcase.

The most abundant of these books were mainly popular novels and plays; the bookcase also accommodated recent and popular works such as "The Hero of Ivaldi" and "Madam Butterfly".

On the floor instead of an elf-style carpet there was a lace curtain from Gallia, which was spread on the ground.

By looking carefully, not only was the curtain being used in an improper way, but along with it a huge number of other objects were being used incorrectly. Why would a lot of brooms be hanging from the ceiling, or why was an umbrella that was open and turned upside down serving as a trash can?

Along another wall of the house, a foil was nailed to the floor; the blade was stuck in a sliced fruit which had been left there to dry. Luctiana ate one of those slices, took a cloth and began to dry her body.

It was not until she put on her underwear that Ali dared to enter the room; he was frowning.

“ ... god, whenever I come here this seems like a room of a barbarian.”

“Cute isn’t it; I like these things more than elvish ones, and finally my house is almost full.”

When Luctiana finished dressing, she was covered with a shawl which was adorned with a lot of feathers in the neck area.

“Well? What do the Council want with me?”

“Lord Bidashal has finally returned from the world of the barbarians.”

“My uncle is back!?”

Eyes wide open with excitement, Luctiana started running towards the wind dragon that was floating and drinking water in the lake; after jumping she mounted on it.

“Oi! Wait for me! Do not leave me here!”

Distraught, Ali was chasing behind her.

After flying for about 30 minutes while mounted on the dragon's back, they saw in a distance the bluish emerald sea; beside it, projecting towards the coast, almost completely robbing their view, a giant artificial city.

With a shape of concentric circles repeating over and over again, extending one after the other, with a diameter of several riigs, they had finally come to this artificial island...

It was the Elves' capital, Nephthys, also called Adyl.

The objective of the pair was the epicenter of the circles, toward which the wind dragon was headed.

In the center, a giant ... one truly indescribable white-painted building was there. With a height of around 200 mails, rather than a tower this could be better described, as we would say in the world of Saito, like a skyscraper.

Of course a similar structure with so many floors did not exist in Halkeginia.

The wind dragon landed on the roof of that building; there they saw several wind dragons stationed, and those dragons had grouped and been alerted immediately when they saw the visitors.

This building was also the headquarters of the Nephthys Council ... which was better known as the "Kasbah". This could be said to be the pillar supporting all Elves.

To the elves, territory was a vague concept in itself; they came to be better organized into clans, which were distributed throughout the territory of the vast desert.

Those clans each had their own representative, who was sent right here to the capital city; also within the Council itself, once every few years, they chose internally who among them would be the "leader" of the Council.

Upon descending from the dragon, Ali and Luctiana prepared to go down to one of the lower floors; to do this the first step was to mount to an ‘elevator’-like device.

“Which floor?”

“Floor 42.”

The ‘elevator’-like device began to move and transported them to their desired floor...

This was the floor for the members of the Council; every one of them had a room on this floor, assigned to them for their official duties.

Just outside the door of one of those rooms, Ali called inside.

“Lord Bidashal, I brought Luctiana as you requested.”

Immediately after the door opened Lord Bidashal showed his face.

“Long time no see, Luctiana.”

“Uncle!”

With a wide smile Luctiana then lunged into her uncle's arms, hugging him.[[File:ZnT18-185.jpg|thumb]]

“Hey, hey how was the world of the barbarians? Let me hear it! Did you see anything strange? Did you touch it? Did you bring it?”

“How are you, Lord Bidashal?” Ali asked with a worried face. From what he had heard, his fiancee's uncle had suffered a terrible experience in the human world, or at least that was the rumor.

“I’m fine; I just gave my report to Chief Tariq.” A bitter smile flowed from the face of Bidashal as he said this.

And then he began to tell them what had happened.

After he finished his story, the two looked at each other’s face; and from that moment they began to shake their head as if to say " I cannot believe it."

“Is it true that this barbarian king who fabricated a "stone of fire" burned all those thousands of people?"

“It’s true.”

“And why did he do that?”

“I don’t know; maybe I should have asked him.”

Then Bidashal sighed.

“I also heard that this man was murdered by his own family; but that's strange, as I've heard the families of the barbarian mages swear allegiance to their masters. Then why?”

“That's what I wanted to know.”

“Yaa ... Uncle, how is it that you never know anything; what are you really after by going to the country of the barbarians?”

“That's why I say my job was to negotiate with the barbarians, as I told you before; right?”

“And that's how you ended up as a servant of the barbarian king, right? Pathetic!”

“Luctiana!” said Ali, trying to reprimand her; to which Bidashal replied with a bitter smile.

“So yeah, something like that; but in my defense, the man possessed a great "charisma" that it was impossible to resist. It would be more correct to say that he was one of the bearers of the "power of the demon."

“But then if the king with which you've entered into negotiation has died, then that means ...”

“Exactly; in conclusion, the negotiations have failed.”

Ali paled at the words of Bidashal.

“Then, a new barbarian with the "powers of the demon" will be born and eventually will come to Sahara to try to open the "door of Shaitaan" I suppose ...

“That is the problem...”

Luctiana tilted her head as she watched the two with a shocked expression.

“And why is it a problem? Simply guard the door and try to negotiate with them again, right?”

“Since there is no other subject with which to negotiate; and that is why today I have sent for you ...”

Upon hearing this, Ali's face became completely blue.

“I refuse! I absolutely refuse!”

“But I haven’t said anything.”

“I know what you will say! Lord Bidashal and His Excellency the Leader, it’s always easy to know what you two are thinking and I'm quite sure what you will say!”

“In that case this discussion will be quick,” Bidashal said.

The only one who could not predict the development of the conversation was Luctiana; looking directly at both of them she said:

“What the hell are you are talking about? Explain it me so that I too can understand what is happening.”

“Your honorable uncle wants me to lead a platoon of soldiers to land in the country of the barbarians.”

“I imagine you are at the age when you just have been given the title of "Faaris" (soldier), right?” Bidashal said as a smile spread across his face.

“Huh? Really? But that's wonderful!” screamed Luctiana, completely excited.

“How was that wonderful!? Besides, they also want to capture one of these demons; how are you able to see the wonder in this?”

“Exactly, this job is perfect for a brave young man like you.”

“Then why is it necessary to capture one of the demons?”

“At this time... we are in the era where the demons reappear, but if the Four of Four do not meet they will not be capable of deploying all its powers. Plus it would be useless to kill any of them; so we just have to hide one of the demons.”

“And this is why we have to capture them?”

“That is, making use of this tactic we can probably be evenly matched in the field of battle.”

“Amazing! This will be a great adventure!”

Lost in a trance, Luctiana clapped with both hands; in reaction, Ali once again frowned.

“Luctiana! You’re doing again one of those barbarians' gestures...”

“Hey Ali! This really is fantastic! A great opportunity to visit a person from the barbarian world; yes yes, this is a unique opportunity!”

“Oi! Oi! You 're really naive! Lord Bidashal! I will never go to the world of those barbarians! And that order to capture one of the demons, I absolutely refuse!”

“Oi, Don’t call me like that!”

Then without a second thought, Luctiana said:

“Take me too! Ali! Yes, please?”

“You?! What are you saying?! This is not a job a scholar like you should participate in!”

“What's wrong? What happened to your oath of not disobeying the orders of uncle?”

Then Luctiana stared heavily at Ali's face for a moment.

“I refuse! I invoke my right to reject conclusively that order! No matter how many lives you have, it will never be enough if you would accept such a task!”

“So...”

Luctiana crossed her arms as she turned away from the sight of Ali.

“Okay, so I decide to cancel my plan to marry you. I cannot allow my boyfriend to snatch from me the greatest adventure I ever could ever have; so I also invoke my right to refuse you!”

“What did you say?!”

With an astonished face Ali looked incredulously at Luctiana; then he approached the window, casually fixed his eyes looking outside, and then turned his gaze to his fiancee's uncle.

“...Lord Bidashal, you planned all this, huh?”

“What are you talking about? This was a decision made only by you and Luctiana who are already adults; I have nothing to do with the problems you two have.”

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| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Zero no Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter9|Chapter 9]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter7

2017-08-20T06:03:26Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors part 2

===Chapter 7 - Our Home===

“Hurry up! You guys need to be more careful with that!”

In the deep Mons mines, located in the southern part of Tristain: right at the end of Tunnel No. 16, Eléonore, dressed in working clothes, was making a fuss.

In front of her, the guys from the Ondine were struggling with all they had to handle a strange machine.

The magical device was used to search the mines for "wind stones" lying in the interior of the Earth.

After digging through the earth in order to locate the wind stone deposits, a light in the device would indicate its relative position. The tip of the machine was then inserted into the ground, and soil was expelled from its back; and thus it opened the way for the boys.

This device had been designed in reference to the manner by which earthworms moved across the ground.

Normally the machine had a limiter which did not allow a search to a depth greater than 200 mails. This device for wind stone research had been modified by Eléonore herself, the Chief Executive Engineer of the Department of "Earth", Magic Research Institute.

By using this machine, they were able to reach a depth close to 1 riig (kilomail). However, in exchange those who operated it must constantly recite spells in order to handle the device’s "remote". This type of operation must be performed with extreme care; otherwise it could break midway, and there was even a risk that it might stop functioning completely.

So the guys of the Ondine who handled that device were nervously reciting the spell, as their foreheads remained soaked in sweat.

However, the reason why they were so nervous was the commander of special search team, who was frightening and unbearable.

Until recently they had managed to achieve a great distance, cooperating all together while reciting the spell needed for the remote control of the machine. However, for an order of knights who were not used to reciting specialized spells, it was obvious that they would show great difficulty and commit constant errors.

“Damn! What kind of secret mission is this?! At least they should have assigned me a competent staff from the Magic Research Institute!” Eléonore said, as her anger was increasing.

Since returning from the garden party, Henrietta had given the order for the Magic Research Institute to begin an investigation in the wind stone mines. Also, they are specified to dig as deep as they could. Due the high degree of confidentiality involved in this research, it was decided to deploy the Ondine Knights to carry out this task.

And that was why Eléonore was so angry, throwing tantrums as she had to endure the young inexperienced group who didn’t have the slightest idea of how undertake true academic research.

“E-Eléonore-sama ... We stopped,” reported Malicorne to Eléonore while trembling.

The moment she heard this, Eléonore’s eyes were lit with anger.

“Hah? You! A while ago you also said that! So now you're saying it again? So tell me, what is your excuse now?”

Upon hearing this, Malicorne tried to answer in a low scared voice:

“B-but ... I, it's that yesterday I didn’t sleep ... and besides, this work should not be done by a knight...”

A vein appeared to burst on Eléonore's forehead.

With a face that seemed to say, "Does this guy know what he is saying?" Guiche observed Malicorne’s behavior. If anyone were to say all these kinds of excuses in front of a woman like Eléonore, it was clear that it would just make her angry. Even for a hard-headed person who had an inexplicable self-confidence like Guiche, this truth was quite easy to understand.

As expected Guiche had something to say; but at the moment he was going to interfere with the conversation, Reynald managed to stop him.

“Wait, let’s just for observe for a while.”

“What do you say? Yesterday, you told me you received instructions about the mission you had to perform today. And now you had the nerve to tell me you haven’t slept yet? You don’t even have the shame to hide your carelessness!”

It was then when Guiche observed Malicorne’s face closely. "Uh!" he growled; Guiche saw that his face was shaking... but what really showed in the brilliance of his eyes was a great and boundless pleasure.

“He angered her on purpose, and his technique is amazing!” Reynald said while his face tensed with shock.

From that moment, Malicorne started saying things like "Forgive me for being born" or "Sorry for being so irresponsible"; each and every one of those excuses were solely for the purpose of teasing Eléonore.

“AND I ... I'm tired, please give me a few minutes, Onee-san!”

As expected, after hearing this Eléonore lost her patience.

Suddenly, she began to chant a spell that turned the tip of her wand into a whip; then she mercilessly whipped Malicorne.

“Vermin! Incompetent Pig! Good for nothing! And now you’re saying you are... Tired!? Tireeed ~!!”

“Hah! Forgive me ...! For being born ...!”

“A pig like you! Stop living, be buried and fertilize the earth!”

“Eh-pig! Burying a pig will make the earth happy!”

Just when they started this "game", Saito returned from the entrance of the tunnel. He was pushing a wagon which rattled as he walked. For a non-magic user like Saito, the only work that remained for him was to take outside those stones and soil that were expelled from the machine; and as he was the only one in charge of this task it was extremely heavy work.

Anyway, due to fatigue caused by this task and because of the exhaustion of his legs, Saito stumbled; and worse, ended up falling on Eléonore.

“Kyah!” Due to the force of the collision, Eléonore fell with her face pressed to the floor.

“F-forgive me!” Saito apologized.

Eléonore rose slowly from the ground; her face was still covered in mud, her clothes were covered with dirt.

“Uwaa ~! The face of my Empress has been...! The mud covers the face of my Empress ...!” Malicorne began to say unnecessary words.

While Eléonore was wiping her face, an atmosphere of danger never before felt by Saito suddenly arose. A sudden terror assaulted Saito, one that made him remember the Louise of earlier days, but which promised to make him pay 10 times more than anything Louise had done; probably the best word to describe this type of woman whom Saito was facing was: "Merciless".

“You ... the only thing you want do is to make me angry right?”

“Please I beg you, forgive me!”

Before realizing it, Saito was already kneeling in front of her; this gesture was the only thing he had left to try to save his life, or at least that was what was dictated by his body, as that primitive fear assailed him in those moments.

“Now I remember, there are several things I have to discuss with you; you say you are determined to marry a daughter of the La Vallière, innn youuur dreaaams! Haha!...”

Hearing Eléonore's voice begin to tremble, Saito thought hopelessly "I'm dead".

“And you dare to do that to me!?... it seems unimaginable, but mostly... no matter whether it is a noble or a commoner, a man like you always exists...”

“Onee-san... you see... that was just...”

“Do you think that by raising your social status you have the right to do that!?”

So that's when Eléonore started to crack her whip against Saito. In that time, Louise was also present in the tunnel. She could only use Void magic, so she had different orders and various other tasks. Louise was carrying with her a basket of lunch for everyone. Upon seeing Eléonore hitting Saito, she was surprised and ran immediately to where they were.

“Neesama! Eléonore-neesama! Calm down please!”

Louise hugged her sister, holding her by the hips. In response Eléonore only stared closely at her little sister.

“Louise! You came at a good time! Just in time!”

“Stop! Please!”

[Eléonore stares]

Louise instinctively stood firm after feeling the heavy eyes of her sister.

“Tell me, is it perhaps you don’t even have pride anymore!? How come you are here with this unfaithful stray dog!”

At that moment Louise froze.

“Tell me Louise, perhaps you haven’t considered this; what would happen if the daughter of a duke was to be paired ... With a dog like this!?

Eléonore, while saying this, pointed contemptuously to Saito.

“How dare you to stain the name La Vallière!”

Upon hearing this, the small body of Louise did nothing but continue shaking more and more.

But after gathering all the courage she had left, she said:

“Eh-that is a matter that does not concern you Eléonore-oneesama; this is our problem and we will see how to fix it. I am no longer a child!”

As Louise said "I'm not a child," a faint blush colored her cheeks.

At that moment, as if it were a revelation seeing Louise blushing, Malicorne added:

“What’s with that? Being not a child eh?”

The shock made by those words was felt by the all members of Ondine. Eléonore, equally shocked, came hurrying to her little sister.

“Louise! Do not tell me you...! How could you? Before me!?”

Louise in response could only look away while her cheeks blushed more and more. Meanwhile, Saito was so nervous in that situation that it seemed as if he was dying.

After such statements, Eléonore suddenly realized that all the Ondine guys were looking at her. Realizing what she had said, her face flushed completely.

“... Hey! What are you looking at?”

From that moment, the tense atmosphere gradually increased until Eléonore decided to shout:

“You are all useless! Go back to work!”

After that intense exchange of words, the magical device began to move once more. Eleonore, who was busy checking the control panel, noticed at that time a large number of figures appearing on the console.

300 ... 400 ... 500 ... and so, time slowly passed while the device was digging into the ground. When they reached 600, Eléonore's eyes began to blink.

“Onee-sama?”

Louise, with a face that reflected her concern, approached her sister Eléonore. However, Eléonore's face remained serious at all times.

“Stop!”

Hearing the order, those young people who manipulated the remote device stopped for a moment. Immediately Eléonore prepared to start with her work, enchanting a simple spell.

While she diligently fixed her gaze on the delicate movement of the needles of the control panels, her face quickly revealed a sudden shock as it turned completely pale.

Everyone held their breath in anticipation while carefully watching the movements of Eléonore.

“What is this? How is it possible to form such an immense reservoir of wind stones...? Then ... that means ... just as I imagined ...”

Louise, along with the guys from Ondine, began to look at each other in these moments.

“With these mines lying in the depths of the Earth ... these would be sufficient to cause the whole continent to be dragged up when they began to rise,” Eléonore said while a cold sweat ran down her back.

Having lost control of themselves and almost terrified by the sudden revelation of Eléonore, all of the men hurriedly ran for the exit.

“Hey! Idiots! Do not run! It's not as if it will happen today or tomorrow! Probably in a few decades ... However, even were we in the worst case scenario, it would take a few years,” Eléonore said. "Now, this is getting a little complicated ... rather, what are we supposed to do?”

Eléonore began to murmur at that time.

“Mining rocks at this depth is unlikely... and even if it could be done, transporting that many wind stones would be a daunting task.”

“Ahhh~! What will we do~?!” The boys began to shout while they waved their hands overhead.

Louise and Saito, observing the state of their companions, nervously held hands.

***

While reading the report of Saito and the others, Henrietta could not help but drop her shoulders.

“... Are saying that even here in Tristain we are suffering the same situation? Then that means the words of His Holiness the Pope... were all true.”

By the time they returned to Tristain two weeks ago, Henrietta had heard from Saito and the Ondine Knights about the terrible incident at the Mountain of the Fire Dragons.

She was shocked upon hearing such stories. Back then she was still too doubtful to fully believe it.

Until three days later, when at a distance in the sky a new floating island was present; the 120 mails long island had eventually come to her sight. Now she had no choice but to believe it.

Currently, a controversy about to whom this floating island belonged was brewing between the nations of Romalia and Gallia.

Escorted by Saito and Louise, one on each of her side, Eléonore had stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

“I'm afraid there is no doubt about it.”

“Is that so.” Having said that, Henrietta fell into a deep silence.

Word of what happened at the Mountain of the Fire Dragons, "the incident of the floating mountain," suddenly spread throughout Halkeginia.

The truth about the ‘slippage’ of wind stones in the subsoil of Halkeginia had been transmitted to all citizens of each nation. However, the fact that this phenomenon could occur in most of the territory of Halkeginia was carefully hidden to avoid the panic that this news could cause.

Henrietta remained thoughtful for a moment; but in the end, with a resolution demonstrated by the firmness of her face, she raised her head again.

“Very well! The kingdom of Tristain from now on will support the Crusade of the nation of Romalia!”

That decision had its obvious consequences; but it was not the time to think about them. Now was not the time to start thinking about the pros and cons of that decision.

''We are losing our place to live.'' This tremendous fact was enough to put aside any morals or ethics.

Afterwards, Henrietta began to prepare what would be the course of action to take from now. She quickly met the Cabinet Ministers and her commanding general to open a discussion regarding how to act in the collaboration with Romalia.

Due to its particular role in supporting the Crusade, it was necessary to once again reorganize the military force to start a campaign abroad.

Romalia, Gallia and Germania: each of these three great powers were asked to send a secret message to the newly conquered and divided Albion. Furthermore, they sent a word to each of the kings of every nation: it was imperative that there would soon be an assembly chaired by Pope Vittorio...

***

Three days later, after helping with various tasks in the Palace, Louise and Saito were exhausted; so after doing their duties they decided to return to Des Ornières.

On the calendar it could be seen that they were already at the halfway point of the month of Ansuul (August); therefore, starting next month a new school year would begin. However, the two of them were no longer in a position to enjoy a quiet and carefree school life.

Upon arriving at the mansion, the first to receive them was Siesta, with a smile from ear to ear.

“Welcome back! Saito-san! Miss Valliere!”

Grandmother Helen also came to meet them, and then offered a quick bow.

“Long time no see, welcome back my lords!”

“We prepared many delicious dishes while we were waiting!” Siesta declared.

Just as Siesta said, the dining room had a lot of dishes lined up on the table. And aside from the food, they also saw familiar faces.

A blue-haired girl came from the kitchen, carrying the dishes to be used in the dinner. Behind her, while happily singing "Kyuukyui", came a young woman with long blue hair wearing on her head a pot whose dimensions were almost as big as she.

“Many food~~ many food~~ many food~~ This is fun!~”

While Tabitha without saying a word began to put the plates on the table, Siesta hurried over to her.

“Miss Tabitha! Please stop! This is not the job for a member of the Royal Family of Gallia...”

At that, in response, Tabitha shook her head.

“I do not belong to the royal family; I am but a servant in the service of this house.”

That was it; Tabitha had dismissed her right to belong to the Royal Family and transferred her rights of succession to Josette, along with the name Charlotte. Both the mother of Tabitha and Isabella tried to persuade her to change her mind. However, Tabitha chose to come and live in this house; that was her final decision.

Still, she was given a condition for being allowed to live with Saito.

Until the end of the Crusade, she had to serve as an assistant to Saito; after that, she would have to return to Gallia, but ... the question of whether she would wear the crown once again had not yet been decided. In contrast, the only mandate for Gallia was to abolish the tradition of ''If twins are born into the royal family, you have to eliminate one of them.''

In order to fulfill the will of Tabitha, Isabella had to initiate an immense task: changing the mindset of the nobles of Gallia to leave behind their archaic superstitions. Therefore, the first thing they had to do was to return one by one to their legitimate houses all those young people who had lived in the convent of Saint Margaret.

Tabitha was fully determined to do everything possible to rebirth Gallia into a nation of justice; but the first thing on her agenda was to support Saito and the others in their plans.

And yet, while having a big smile on her face, the joyous Sylphid said to Siesta:

“There is nothing to worry about! Onee-san does it because she wants to. Hey Onee-san, please do it like we practiced?”

Tabitha nodded and then threw up the dishes in her hands, launching the roast beef into the air. Sylphid cried “Uwaa!” calling the attention of the puzzled spectators.

At that moment, Tabitha pulled out and waved her wand; as a result, the roast beef floating in the air was cut into thin slices and then, together with the plates, landed smoothly to its position on the table.

“Incredible! You did it! Onee-san!”

Sylphid started clapping while Tabitha, as usual, remained with her expressionless face.

Saito, excited by the spectacle, began to clap too.

“That was good! It was awesome!”

Hearing his praise, Tabitha cheeks flushed a little; and not knowing that she had been carried away for that moment, the next thing she did was to take a loaf of bread in her hands.

“More! More! More! A bread? So what are you planning to do with that!?”

Tabitha tossed up the elongated loaf of bread and then waved her wand once more; the result: the finished bread was cut vertically, producing several thin strips of bread which ended up landing on each of the plates placed on the table.

“Why strips?” said Louise. In response, Sylphid began pouring cream in one of the cups on the table.

“To be able to eat them well.”

Sylphid began to taste one of those strips of bread, which had previously been covered at its tip with cream.

“Oooh ~ I understand.”

All those present admired what Tabitha did. At that moment, a loud voice was heard from the doorway.

“What? Did they finally return?”

“Yes! Looks like they are here.”

Kirche and Colbert had spoken. By order of the royal government, they were mandated to begin the repair of the Ostland. They had been given an official notice that the Ostland would participate in the upcoming Crusade against the Elves.

“We have installed some improvements; I will give the details of them later. Also, you will have more firepower when you pilot the plane for we have already installed the barrel of the tank,” Colbert said as he patted the shoulder of Saito.

Colbert had managed to successfully install the barrel of the Tiger tank into Saito’s Zero fighter.

Currently the Ostland was anchored in a nearby lake; so Des Ornières had become, at least temporarily, its home port.

Afterwards, Kirche and Colbert joined them for dinner while Siesta rushed to fill their glasses with wine.

“Well, ladies and gentlemen, let us celebrate the safe return of Saito and Miss Vallière!”

“Cheers!” Said in unison, raising their glasses up.

The cheerful conversation lasted for some time; until there came a time when Colbert, with a depressed voice, managed to ask:

“The royal government already made their decision, right?”

Saito replied by nodding his head.

“I see, then that means from now on we will be more busy.”

“So now what will your next job be? Will you leave the mansion again?“ Siesta asked Saito, as he showed a face that reflected his uncertainty.

“Do not tell me ... Does this have to do with the rumors about the incident of the floating mountains, which occurred at the Mountain of the Fire Dragon? It really surprised me; how is it possible that an entire mountain would rise up like that? Oh god! I should not say this, but... What the hell is happening to this world? No matter how I imagined it, it was something that should never have occurred."

Saito turned pale after hearing this. He did not want Siesta to be worried so much; that’s why he never talked about the Crusade or the incident at Gallia’s border with her. In order not to cause unnecessary panic, an order was decreed that the ‘incident’ would be kept in the utmost secrecy.

Maybe in that moment, Siesta had noticed the heavy atmosphere that began to build-up; so with a cheerful voice she tried to encourage everyone by saying:

“Well, whatever happens, even I can be calm ... because I'm sure that Saito and others will find a solution to any problem that comes their way; because up until today we have experienced a lot of terrible things and problems but still, in the end, all ends well in one way or another. And so I am convinced that this new problem will also be solved as well. Everything will be fine, that I can bet.”

Because of the words said by Siesta, it seemed that everyone present had renewed courage; and that was reflected in their expressions, which appeared as if thanking someone for having been rescued.

“Although we expect a stormy task, this has not yet begun; so the only thing we have to do now is to have fun ... Do not you think so, Jean?”

That said, the next thing Kirche set out to do was smear cream on Colbert’s head.

“Miss Zerbst, it seems that your favorite pastime is... putting food on my head!”

Despite all that was happening, Tabitha, quietly as always, simply continued her dinner.

“Do not tell me you're not afraid?” Saito asked Tabitha; to which she replied:

“No... Because you're here.”

Saito, hearing those words, felt very happy. But seeing that Louise was at his side, he decided to take a big gulp from his glass of wine; then exhaling loudly: * Howaah *

From that moment, as if immersed in deep meditation, he stared at a point in space.

''Could it be... Is it because of what happened 'that night’?'' When thinking about this, the chest of Louise came into his mind.

At that moment, the faces of a myriad of people who he had known until now began to emerge in Saito's head. Louise and Kirche, Guiche and the others, he could even see himself with his comrades in the Ondine Knights. In his mind arose even the faces of Tabitha and Isabella.

That is, even his friends who were not present, ''they are "here"'' Saito thought, being totally convinced.

At some point there had been conflicts with each of them; but in the end, they all got along.

''If the Elves were to become aware of our situation, surely they would provide us with their help, if it were properly explained...''

“Well, let's eat!”

Lost in thought, Saito began to eat; and consequently he emptied his glass of wine each time Siesta filled it. And the obvious result was he ended up totally drunk. Together with the accumulated fatigue from the various tasks of the day, this left Saito completely out of this world.

Kirche began to yawn, which was accompanied with an invitation to Colbert.

“Hey Jean, let's go to sleep.”

That said, she took him by the neck; and then after climbing up the stairs to the second floor, they were lost in her room.

Grandma Helen, finishing her meal, also said:

“I’ll return to my house.”

Siesta started to lift up Saito taking his arm.

“Saito-san... hold on,” she said.

[*Hick!*]

“Uwa, you're already drunk! Well, I’ll take you to your room!” Saying such words was unfit for a maiden.

Then as she supported Saito on her shoulders, and took him up to his room on the second floor,

“If we count from today, it's been quite a while; so I can borrow Saito tonight, right Miss Vallière?” Siesta happily said to Louise, who had just come into the room.

“What's with that? Just do what you want,” said Louise with a carefree attitude as she began to brush her hair. This unexpected reaction left Siesta shocked for a second.

“Then, with your permission...”

Siesta then hugged Saito who was lying on the bed.

“Kyakya! Kyakya!” Siesta shouted gaily as she moved her cheeks closely together with Saito's.

Watching them for a second just to check, but without leaving the place, Louise continued brushing her hair.

This caused Siesta to be suspicious. ''What's happening? How did Miss Vallière remain so calm?''

“You have kissed Saito-san, I'm sure.”

Convinced of her own words, she was ready to put her lips together with the sleeping Saito. Still, Louise did not move an inch.

“... H-how is that you can restrain your anger?”

“Huh? Is there something to be angry about?” Louise answered as if to say, "Why should I be worried by you?"

For Siesta with a sharp mind, it was easy to deduce that there was something Louise was hiding.

“Something happened in Gallia, right?”

In response, Louise crossed her legs and slowly released her hair; and, with what sounded like a voice from the depths of her emotions, managed to say:

“No, nothing!”

This was enough to make the blood of Siesta to go to her head. She then approached Louise with the speed of a racing car, and asked:

“What have you done?”

Then again, with suspicious eyes, Louise said:

“Seriously, nothing happened!”[[File:ZnT18-165.jpg|thumb]]

Louise looked down at Siesta; then, with a voice full of pity, she said:

“Well, you see... we have come to better understand each other; how should I say it?"

“With your bodies?”

“Please do not think of something malicious.”

“So, how have you come to understand better?...” Siesta asked.

At that time, Louise bit her lip slightly; then she turned her gaze away which until now was focused on Siesta.

“Have you done it? Even a little?”

This had become a conversation between women, so Siesta did not have to measure her words.

“That’s nonsense! We have not done it yet! We were just...”

Louise began to mutter embarrassed.

“You were just about to do something.”

“Y-y-yes... something like that.”

At that very moment, an evil smile appeared in Siesta’s face.

“What is it?”

“How beautiful you are, Miss Vallière! Thinking that you won just for that; as expected from a little lady, a beautiful and innocent young lady.”

“Shut up! Mind your own business... if I'm an innocent young lady, then you are a maid in lust, waiting for your mating season! Seriously, why is it that I have to pay attention to a pervert cat like you?”

“If you have complaints, tell that to Her Majesty the Queen. And besides, if I'm a cat; considering how you've been behaving so far, then you should be one little mouse.”

“How dare you, seeing a noble like me as a mouse...”

“Chu-chu!” [Sound that a mouse makes in Japanese.]

“Nyan-nyan!” [Sound of a cat.]

Both girls imitated the sounds which according to them was suitable to the other. Then, they stared at each other.

“Oh come on, it’s not chu-chu it should be, chu-chu-chu!”

“What did you say? I do not understand your meowing, nyan-nyan!”

Already agitated and being directly opposite to one another, they began to push each other with their foreheads.

“What! Anyway you said it’s my turn today.”

After making a quick bow to Louise, Siesta prepared to enter into the sheets, right next to Saito.

“You stay there very still,” said Louise who was determined to leave them alone, only for today, then continue...

“1!" There was an enthusiastic voice resonating on the room.

“Huh?”

“2!”

Watching Louise carefully, Siesta was taking off her clothes and then throwing them to the ground, each of the pieces of underwear she wore.

“Wait!? What are you doing!?”

“You don’t know? Well, this is my way of gaining the upper hand!”

“What upper hand!? Remember your place as a maid and dress up at once!”

Agitated, Louise then lunged at Siesta, rubbing her face, and tried to separate Siesta from Saito’s side.

But upon seeing them, Louise would not have to undress too as she struggled with Siesta, right? Well ... because at that time:

[BAAM] They heard the door opened and Sylphid was immediately seen pushing Tabitha inside; she did this with Tabitha timidly holding a pillow in her arms.

“Siiip ~! Oneesama also wants to participate in the battlefield!”

“......”

Then while Louise and Siesta looked puzzled at the standing Tabitha, Sylphid took her by the arms, lifted her and placed her right next to Saito.

“What are you doing! Stupid Dragon!“ Called Louise.

“I'm not a stupid dragon, I'm a Rhyme Dragon!”

“Call yourself whatever you want! But what about the room we prepared for you?”

“It's that... onee-sama said she could not sleep...”

“Did she say that?”

“No she didn’t, but from what I saw from her attitude, she was very restless from time to time as she glanced in the direction of this room...”

As she said that, Tabitha, with the use of her wand, stopped her with a strike in the head.

“It hurts! It hurts! I was only doing my duty as a familiar! It hurts!”

“Enough with that, let’s go back to our room.”

“Please wait!”

Louise and Siesta said while watching Tabitha.

“.........”

So Tabitha did not move; she was just standing there right next to Saito.

“But, Tabitha, perhaps you cannot be...” Siesta mentioned.

After hearing this, Tabitha's cheeks flushed slightly.

“You cannot be serious, right?” Siesta said in a surprised voice.

At that moment, perhaps by shame, Tabitha decided to cover her face with the sheets.

Louise's eyes could not look away from that scene.

“With Siesta it’s fine, but I cannot let a guest who was left in our care do that whenever she wants.”

“What’s the problem if I do that?”

Then Louise tried to get inside the covers, but Tabitha held them firmly making it impossible to open.

“Uwa oneesama! You're cute when you're honest with yourself. I am extremely happy about it!” Sylphid began to spin around the room while she screamed Kyu!kyu!kyu. “But anyway, you need to be calm, flat pink-haired girl!”

“Tell me, who is the flat pink-haired girl?... stupid dragon! If you don’t leave now, you will have to pay the consequences,” Louise exclaimed to Sylphid.

“See? Onee-sama is different from you; she is still an innocent girl, she is still at an age where she is happy to just sleep beside him... very different from you in your mating season.”

“I'm starting to like this dragon,” added Siesta.

“Hey! You better keep quiet, I don't like that opinion.”

“Onee-sama is a poor girl who was always been alone, surrounded only by sadness; and now she has finally found a safe place where she can live peacefully, she will be more than satisfied if you only allowed her to sleep by his side. That's truly the kindness of a mature woman."

“Hmm...” Louise groaned.

Certainly she could at least allow Tabitha to sleep beside him; for the bonds that she shared with Saito because of 'that night’ were already substantial.

''I would not be mature if I get angry over something like this.'' Louise thought this and ended up allowing the two of them to sleep with Saito.

“Well, what am I going to do?”

When she saw that the right side of the bed had already been taken, Louise decided to go for the left; to which, at the time she was about to crawl into the sheets, Siesta, who was quite determined, shook her head in denial.

“Today this is my side,” she said.

[Grrr ] Louise roared at that moment; then thinking carefully as she shook her head trying to convince herself: ''Well then I will endure, however ... this is just for today.''

In the depth of night, Saito woke up shaking his head. He had drunk a lot, so it was no wonder he had a severe headache.

''Ah ... it seems that they took me to bed after I finishing drinking,'' he said to himself.

At that time, from one side of the bed, he heard beside him a sleeping sound that surely came from a girl. On his left side, resting her cheek against his arm, the one who slept beside him looked like Siesta. Seeing her a sudden tenderness rose from within him, causing him to gently caress her head.

''So ... the little breath I hear from my right has to be Louise, right?'' Saito decided to reach out and touch the much smaller counterpart who slept beside him.

''Aaa ~, as I thought, this is Louise ...'' At that very second, a larger tenderness began to flood his heart. Remembering the other day ... remembering that body on 'that night,' Saito's heart once again began to pound wildly.

''Just a little ... I want to touch them. It will be alright if it’s just a little. Since then we have not had a real moment to be alone, because there were always excuses.'' Saito said to self-justify his actions. He then decided to touch Louise.

Saito had stretched out his arm shakily, reaching to feel the sensation of the négligée that Louise was wearing. So ... totally decided... he stretched his hand to her chest.

''Flat ... but, the last time I saw it it seemed to be a little bigger, but as I get to touch them ... who knows.'' Saito reconsidered at that time, then lost completely to his desire to "touch directly". In doing so, his hand moved inside the opening of that negligee.

In response, a sudden reaction came from the small body of Louise as she began to shake.

And then he quietly said:

“... Are you awake?” he asked. He then apparently perceived a nodding head.

''Hell, I want to kiss her,'' Saito sincerely told himself.

"... I want to kiss you, can I?"

A few moments passed before there was an answer, then ... with a hesitation evident in her body, she nodded.

Upon getting a reply, Saito gently reached out to what looked like a chin.

Determined more than ever, Saito moved closer to that little face so he could kiss her lips lovingly.

Louise's attitude, at the time, reflected the enormous nervousness she felt. The atmosphere had become tense; however, he could still convey his feelings with his lips.

Saito, more determined, decided to embrace her by stretching his arms up to her hips; she felt it with her right hand. In response, she removed that hand away, and moved closer to his body.

He was ecstatic and lost in a dream; then without thinking, he prepared to raise that négligée ... starting from her hips.

Louise's small body began to shiver; then she reached out, trying to put up a resistance.

“... Do you feel sorry?”

She nodded in response.

“... Well, I have already seen them once.”

After a moment, the opposing force from the arm of Louise finally calmed down. That’s when Saito was finally able to slowly lift that negligee, which caused Louise's tiny body to shake uncontrollably.

After contemplating her shyness, a new feeling of tenderness came to Saito and urged him to kiss her again. This time, the stiffness in the body of Louise was much lower. Saito placed his lips onto Louise's small lips, so ... timid ... those little lips began to kiss Saito.

Already decided that there was nothing that could stop him, at this time, Hiraga Saito will touch directly her chest.

In the instant his right hand touched the chest of Louise, the uncontrollable trembling of her body made a word escape from her lips.

“A...”

“?”

From inside Saito's head, there was a question mark, ''Is that the voice? ... Not Louise .... Then whose?''

Without thinking, he turned his hand to her head ... ''her hair is short.''

“Ta-Tabitha?”

Without thinking, Saito pitched a scream.

“Wh-what the hell is happening?”

“What’s that sound?”

These were the voices of Louise and Siesta coming from his left side.

“Wah! No, it's nothing!”

“ ... Obviously something has happened!” While muttering this, Louise started to take up a magic lamp.

“.....”

Upon finding the lamp, she immediately went to Tabitha and saw that her negligee was raised.

While trembling in fear, Saito, who was beside her, despite trying to hide his hands, kept clinging to Tabitha holding her hips.

In an instant, the sleepy eyes of Louise were transformed into demonic eyes.

“...You! W-w-what are you doing?”

“N-n-no that’s not what it seems! I thought it was you!” Screaming this without thinking, the face of Tabitha formed an expression as if to say, huh?

For a moment she retained that hard expression, but then her eyes sprouted... tears, which began to fall in great quantity.

"......."

Then Saito, unable to stand to look at the crying Tabitha, shook his head.

“Huh? No! I did not mean that! You also are the best!”

This caused the entire body of Louise to shake.

“I s-s-said I would not run away no matter what happened, I a-a-also said I was resigned to whatever might occurrrrr bu-bu-but doing that~ ....”

“Y-y-you-you are wrong!“ Saito tried to dissuade her.

“With-with-with the little girl that was left in our care, are you out of you mind!?”

“Nooo~ Miss Vallière, if you look carefully, you'll realize that they seem to have fallen for each other!” Siesta shared her impressions as she opened both her arms.

Saito began crawling, trying to get away from that place, but Louise caught him.

“But all I did was to confuse one person with another..."

“It’s a pity ... that was a very unfortunate accident, I understand, but ...as imagined ... this is something I cannot forgive.”

And so the desperate cry of Saito echoed throughout the mansion.

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| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter6|Chapter 6]]
| Return to [[Zero no Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter8|Chapter 8]]
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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter7

2017-08-19T06:10:35Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors part 1

===Chapter 7 - Our Home===

“Hurry up! You guys need to be more careful with that!”

In the deep Mons mines, located in the southern part of Tristain: right at the end of Tunnel No. 16, Eléonore, dressed in working clothes, was making a fuss.

In front of her, the guys from the Ondine were struggling with all they had to handle a strange machine.

The magical device was used to search the mines for "wind stones" lying in the interior of the Earth.

After digging through the earth in order to locate the wind stone deposits, a light in the device would indicate its relative position. The tip of the machine was then inserted into the ground, and soil was expelled from its back; and thus it opened the way for the boys.

This device had been designed in reference to the manner by which earthworms moved across the ground.

Normally the machine had a limiter which did not allow a search to a depth greater than 200 mails. This device for wind stone research had been modified by Eléonore herself, the Chief Executive Engineer of the Department of "Earth", Magic Research Institute.

By using this machine, they were able to reach a depth close to 1 riig (kilomail). However, in exchange those who operated it must constantly recite spells in order to handle the device’s "remote". This type of operation must be performed with extreme care; otherwise it could break midway, and there was even a risk that it might stop functioning completely.

So the guys of the Ondine who handled that device were nervously reciting the spell, as their foreheads remained soaked in sweat.

However, the reason why they were so nervous was the commander of special search team, who was frightening and unbearable.

Until recently they had managed to achieve a great distance, cooperating all together while reciting the spell needed for the remote control of the machine. However, for an order of knights who were not used to reciting specialized spells, it was obvious that they would show great difficulty and commit constant errors.

“Damn! What kind of secret mission is this?! At least they should have assigned me a competent staff from the Magic Research Institute!” Eléonore said, as her anger was increasing.

Since returning from the garden party, Henrietta had given the order for the Magic Research Institute to begin an investigation in the wind stone mines. Also, they are specified to dig as deep as they could. Due the high degree of confidentiality involved in this research, it was decided to deploy the Ondine Knights to carry out this task.

And that was why Eléonore was so angry, throwing tantrums as she had to endure the young inexperienced group who didn’t have the slightest idea of how undertake true academic research.

“E-Eléonore-sama ... We stopped,” reported Malicorne to Eléonore while trembling.

The moment she heard this, Eléonore’s eyes were lit with anger.

“Hah? You! A while ago you also said that! So now you're saying it again? So tell me, what is your excuse now?”

Upon hearing this, Malicorne tried to answer in a low scared voice:

“B-but ... I, it's that yesterday I didn’t sleep ... and besides, this work should not be done by a knight...”

A vein appeared to burst on Eléonore's forehead.

With a face that seemed to say, "Does this guy know what he is saying?" Guiche observed Malicorne’s behavior. If anyone were to say all these kinds of excuses in front of a woman like Eléonore, it was clear that it would just make her angry. Even for a hard-headed person who had an inexplicable self-confidence like Guiche, this truth was quite easy to understand.

As expected Guiche had something to say; but at the moment he was going to interfere with the conversation, Reynald managed to stop him.

“Wait, let’s just for observe for a while.”

“What do you say? Yesterday, you told me you received instructions about the mission you had to perform today. And now you had the nerve to tell me you haven’t slept yet? You don’t even have the shame to hide your carelessness!”

It was then when Guiche observed Malicorne’s face closely. "Uh!" he growled; Guiche saw that his face was shaking... but what really showed in the brilliance of his eyes was a great and boundless pleasure.

“He angered her on purpose, and his technique is amazing!” Reynald said while his face tensed with shock.

From that moment, Malicorne started saying things like "Forgive me for being born" or "Sorry for being so irresponsible"; each and every one of those excuses were solely for the purpose of teasing Eléonore.

“AND I ... I'm tired, please give me a few minutes, Onee-san!”

As expected, after hearing this Eléonore lost her patience.

Suddenly, she began to chant a spell that turned the tip of her wand into a whip; then she mercilessly whipped Malicorne.

“Vermin! Incompetent Pig! Good for nothing! And now you’re saying you are... Tired!? Tireeed ~!!”

“Hah! Forgive me ...! For being born ...!”

“A pig like you! Stop living, be buried and fertilize the earth!”

“Eh-pig! Burying a pig will make the earth happy!”

Just when they started this "game", Saito returned from the entrance of the tunnel. He was pushing a wagon which rattled as he walked. For a non-magic user like Saito, the only work that remained for him was to take outside those stones and soil that were expelled from the machine; and as he was the only one in charge of this task it was extremely heavy work.

Anyway, due to fatigue caused by this task and because of the exhaustion of his legs, Saito stumbled; and worse, ended up falling on Eléonore.

“Kyah!” Due to the force of the collision, Eléonore fell with her face pressed to the floor.

“F-forgive me!” Saito apologized.

Eléonore rose slowly from the ground; her face was still covered in mud, her clothes were covered with dirt.

“Uwaa ~! The face of my Empress has been...! The mud covers the face of my Empress ...!” Malicorne began to say unnecessary words.

While Eléonore was wiping her face, an atmosphere of danger never before felt by Saito suddenly arose. A sudden terror assaulted Saito, one that made him remember the Louise of earlier days, but which promised to make him pay 10 times more than anything Louise had done; probably the best word to describe this type of woman whom Saito was facing was: "Merciless".

“You ... the only thing you want do is to make me angry right?”

“Please I beg you, forgive me!”

Before realizing it, Saito was already kneeling in front of her; this gesture was the only thing he had left to try to save his life, or at least that was what was dictated by his body, as that primitive fear assailed him in those moments.

“Now I remember, there are several things I have to discuss with you; you say you are determined to marry a daughter of the La Vallière, innn youuur dreaaams! Haha!...”

Hearing Eléonore's voice begin to tremble, Saito thought hopelessly "I'm dead".

“And you dare to do that to me!?... it seems unimaginable, but mostly... no matter whether it is a noble or a commoner, a man like you always exists...”

“Onee-san... you see... that was just...”

“Do you think that by raising your social status you have the right to do that!?”

So that's when Eléonore started to crack her whip against Saito. In that time, Louise was also present in the tunnel. She could only use Void magic, so she had different orders and various other tasks. Louise was carrying with her a basket of lunch for everyone. Upon seeing Eléonore hitting Saito, she was surprised and ran immediately to where they were.

“Neesama! Eléonore-neesama! Calm down please!”

Louise hugged her sister, holding her by the hips. In response Eléonore only stared closely at her little sister.

“Louise! You came at a good time! Just in time!”

“Stop! Please!”

[Eléonore stares]

Louise instinctively stood firm after feeling the heavy eyes of her sister.

“Tell me, is it perhaps you don’t even have pride anymore!? How come you are here with this unfaithful stray dog!”

At that moment Louise froze.

“Tell me Louise, perhaps you haven’t considered this; what would happen if the daughter of a duke was to be paired ... With a dog like this!?

Eléonore, while saying this, pointed contemptuously to Saito.

“How dare you to stain the name La Vallière!”

Upon hearing this, the small body of Louise did nothing but continue shaking more and more.

But after gathering all the courage she had left, she said:

“Eh-that is a matter that does not concern you Eléonore-oneesama; this is our problem and we will see how to fix it. I am no longer a child!”

As Louise said "I'm not a child," a faint blush colored her cheeks.

At that moment, as if it were a revelation seeing Louise blushing, Malicorne added:

“What’s with that? Being not a child eh?”

The shock made by those words was felt by the all members of Ondine. Eléonore, equally shocked, came hurrying to her little sister.

“Louise! Do not tell me you...! How could you? Before me!?”

Louise in response could only look away while her cheeks blushed more and more. Meanwhile, Saito was so nervous in that situation that it seemed as if he was dying.

After such statements, Eléonore suddenly realized that all the Ondine guys were looking at her. Realizing what she had said, her face flushed completely.

“... Hey! What are you looking at?”

From that moment, the tense atmosphere gradually increased until Eléonore decided to shout:

“You are all useless! Go back to work!”

After that intense exchange of words, the magical device began to move once more. Eleonore, who was busy checking the control panel, noticed at that time a large number of figures appearing on the console.

300 ... 400 ... 500 ... and so, time slowly passed while the device was digging into the ground. When they reached 600, Eléonore's eyes began to blink.

“Onee-sama?”

Louise, with a face that reflected her concern, approached her sister Eléonore. However, Eléonore's face remained serious at all times.

“Stop!”

Hearing the order, those young people who manipulated the remote device stopped for a moment. Immediately Eléonore prepared to start with her work, enchanting a simple spell.

While she diligently fixed her gaze on the delicate movement of the needles of the control panels, her face quickly revealed a sudden shock as it turned completely pale.

Everyone held their breath in anticipation while carefully watching the movements of Eléonore.

“What is this? How is it possible to form such an immense reservoir of wind stones...? Then ... that means ... just as I imagined ...”

Louise, along with the guys from Ondine, began to look at each other in these moments.

“With these mines lying in the depths of earth ... these would be sufficient to cause the whole continent to be dragged up when these began to rise,” Eléonore said while a cold sweat ran down her back.

Having lost control of themselves and almost terrified by the sudden revelation of Eléonore, each of the guys hurriedly ran to the exit.

“Hey! Idiots! Do not run! It's not as if it would happen today or tomorrow! Probably in a few decades ... However, even were we in the worst case scenario, it would take a few years,” Eléonore said. "Now, this is getting a little complicated ... rather, what are we supposed to do?”

Eléonore began to murmur at that time.

“Mining rocks at this depth is unlikely... and in case it could be done, transporting many wind stones would be a daunting task.”

“Ahhh~! What will we happen~?!” The boys began to shout, while they fastened their hands overhead.

Louise and Saito, observing the state of their companions nervously held hands.

***

While reading the report of Saito and the others, Henrietta could not help but drop her shoulders.

“... Are saying that even here in Tristain, we are suffering the same situation? Then that means the words of His Holiness the Pope... were all true.”

By the time they returned to Tristain two weeks ago, Henrietta had heard from Saito and the Ondine guys about the terrible incident in the Mountain of the Fire Dragons.

She was shocked upon hearing such stories. Back then, she was still doubtful to fully believe it.

Until three days later, at a distance in the sky, a new floating island was present, the 120 mails long island had eventually came to her sight. Now she had no choice but to believe it.

Currently, a controversy about to whom this floating island belongs was brewing both nations of Romalia and Gallia.

Escorted by Saito and Louise, one on each of her side, Eléonore have stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

“I'm afraid there is no doubt about it.”

“Is that so,” having said that, Henrietta fell into a deep silence.

What happened in the Mountain of the Fire Dragons, "the incident of the floating mountain" suddenly spread throughout Halkeginia.

The truth about the ‘slippage’ of wind stones in the subsoil of Halkeginia had been transmitted to all citizens of each nation. However, the fact that this phenomenon can occur in most of the territory of Halkeginia was carefully hidden to avoid panic that this news could cause.

Henrietta remained thoughtful for a moment, but in the end, with a resolution demonstrated by the firmness of her face, she raised her head again.

“Very well! The kingdom of Tristain, from now on, will support the crusade of the nation of Romalia!”

That decision had its obvious consequences, but it was not the time to think about them. Now is not the time to start thinking about the pros and cons of that decision.

''We are losing our place to live.'' This tremendous fact was enough to put aside any morals or ethics.

Afterwards, Henrietta began to prepare what would be the course of action to take from now. She quickly met the Cabinet Minister and her commanding general to open a discussion regarding how to act in the collaboration with Romalia.

Due to its particular provision of supporting the crusade, it was necessary to once again reorganize the military force to start a campaign abroad.

Romalia, Gallia and Germania, each of these three great powers were asked to send a secret message to the newly conquered and divided Albion. Furthermore, they sent a word to each of the kings of every nations, it was imperative there would soon be an assembly chaired by Pope Vittorio...

***

Three days later, after helping with various tasks in the Palace, Louise and Saito were exhausted, so after doing their duties they decided to return to Des Ornières.

In the calendar, it could be seen that they were already at the half month of Ansuul(August); therefore, starting next month, a new school year will begin, however the two of them were no longer in a position to enjoy a quiet and carefree school life.

Upon arriving at the mansion, the first to receive them with a smile from ear to ear, was Siesta.

“Welcome back! Saito-san! Miss Valliere!”

Grandmother Helen also came to meet them, and then offered a quick bow.

“Long time no see, welcome back my lords!”

“We prepare many delicious dishes while we are waiting!” Siesta declared.

Just as Siesta said, the dining room had a lot of dishes lined up on the table. And aside from the food, they also saw familiar faces.

A blue-haired girl came from the kitchen, carrying the dishes to be used in the dinner. Behind her, while happily singing "Kyuukyui", a young woman with long blue hair, wearing on her head a pot whose dimensions were almost as big as her.

“Many food~~ many food~~ many food~~ This is fun!~”

While Tabitha, without saying a word, began to put the plates on the table, Siesta hurried came over her.

“Miss Tabitha! Please Stop! This is not the job for a member of the Royal Family of Gallia...”

At that, in response, Tabitha shook her head.

“I do not belong to the royal family, but I am a servant in the service of this house.”

That was it, Tabitha had dismissed her right to belong to the Royal Family, and transferred her rights of succession to Josette, along with the name Charlotte. Both the mother of Tabitha and Isabella, persuaded her to change her mind. However, Tabitha chose to come and live in this house, that was her final decision.

But still, she was given a condition for being allowed to live with Saito.

Until the end of the crusade, she had to serve as an assistant to Saito, after that, she would have to return to Gallia, but ... the fact if she would carry the crown once again, had not yet been decided. In contrast, the only mandate to do was to abolish the tradition of: ''If they were twins born into the royal family, You would have to eliminate one of them.
''

In order to fulfill the will of Tabitha, Isabella had to initiate an immense task changing the mindset of the nobles of Gallia, to leave behind their archaic superstitions. Therefore, the first thing they had to do was to return one by one to their legitimate houses all those young people who had lived in the convent of Saint Margaret.

Tabitha was fully determined to do everything possible to rebirth Gallia into a nation of justice, but the first thing on her agenda was to support Saito and the others on their plans.

And yet, while having a big smile on her face, the joyous Sylphid told to Siesta:

“There is nothing to worry about! Onee-san does it because she wants to. Hey Onee-san, please do it like what we practiced?”

Tabitha nodded and then threw up the dishes in her hands, launching the roast beef into the air. Sylphid cried “Uwaa!” calling the attention of the puzzled spectators.

At that moment, Tabitha pulled out and waved her wand, as a result, the roast beef floating in the air had been cut into thin slices and then, together with the plates, they landed smoothly to its position on the table.

“Incredible! You did it! Onee-san!”

Sylphid started clapping while Tabitha, as usual, remained with her expressionless face.

Saito, excited by the spectacle, began to clap too.

“That was good! It was awesome!”

Hearing his praise, Tabitha cheeks flushed a little, and not knowing that she had been carried away for that moment, the next thing she did was to take a loaf of bread in her hands.

“More! More! More! A bread? So what are you planning to do with that!?”

Tabitha tossed up the elongated loaf of bread, and then waved her wand once more, the result: the finished bread was cut vertically, producing several thin strips of bread, which ended up landing on each of the glasses placed on the table.

“Why strips?” said Louise. In response, Sylphid began pouring cream on one of the cups on the table.

“To be able to eat them well.”

Sylphid began to taste one of those strips of bread, which have previously been covered at its tip with cream.

“Oooh ~ I understand.”

All those present admired what Tabitha did. At that moment, a load voice was heard from the doorway.

“What? Did they finally return?”

“Yes! Looks like they are here.”

Kirche and Colbert have said. They, by order of the royal government, were mandated to begin the maintainance of the Ostland. They have given an official notice that the Ostland will participate in the upcoming Crusade against the elves.

“We have installed some improvements, I will give the details of them later. Also, you will have more advantage when you pilot the plane for we have already installed the barrel of the tank.” Colbert said as he patted the shoulder of Saito.

Colbert had managed to successfully install the barrel of the tiger tank into Saito’s zero fighter.

Currently, the Ostland was anchored in a nearby lake, so Des Ornières had become, at least temporarily, its home port.

Afterwards, Kirche and Colbert joined them for dinner while Siesta rushed to fill their glasses with wine.

“Well, ladies and gentlemen, let us celebrate the safe return of Saito and Miss Vallière!”

“Cheers!” Said in unison, raising their glasses up.

The cheerful conversation lasted for some time, until there was a time when Colbert, with a depressed voice, managed to ask:

“The royal government already made their decision, right?”

Saito replied, nodding his head.

“I see, then that means from now on we will be more busy.”

“So now what will your next job? Will you leave the mansion again?“, Siesta asked Saito as he showed a face that reflected his uncertainty.

“Do not tell me ... Does this have to do with the rumors about the incident of the floating mountains, which occurred in the Mountain of the Fire Dragon? It really surprised me, how is it possible that an entire mountain would rise up like that? Oh god! I should not say this, but... What the hell is happening to this world? No matter how I imagined it, it was something that should never have occurred."

Saito turned pale after hearing this. He did not want Siesta to be worried so much that’s why he never talked about the Crusade or the incident at the Gallia’s border to her. In order not to cause unnecessary panic, an order was decreed that the ‘incident’ will be kept in the utmost secrecy.

Maybe in that moment, Siesta had noticed the heavy atmosphere that began to build-up, so with a cheerful voice she tried to encourage everyone by saying:

“Well, whatever happens, even I can be calm ... because I'm sure that Saito and others will find a solution to any problem that comes their way, because until today, we have spent a lot of terrible things and problems, but still, it the end, all ends well in one way or another. And so I am convinced that this new problem will also be solved as well. Everything will be fine, that I can bet.”

Because of the words said by Siesta, it seemed that everyone present had resumed a new courage, and that was reflected in their expressions, which were seen as if thanking someone for having rescued.

“Although we expect a stormy task, this has not yet begun, so the only thing we have to do now is to have fun ... Do not you think so, Jean?”

That said, the next thing Kirche set out to do was smear the cream on Colbert’s head.

“Miss Zerbst, it seems that your favorite pastime is... putting the food on my head!”

Despite all that was happening, Tabitha, quietly as always, simply continued her dinner.

“Do not tell me you're not afraid?” Saito asked Tabitha, to which she replied:

“No... Because you're here.”

Saito, hearing those words, felt very happy. But, seeing that Louise was at his side, decided to get a big gulp from his glass of wine, then exhaling loudly: * Howaah *

From that moment, as if immersed in deep meditation, he stared at a point in space.

''Could it be... Is it because of what happened that ‘night’?'' When thinking about this, the chest Louise came into his mind.

At that moment, the face of a myriad of people who he had known until now, began to emerge in Saito's head. Louise and Kirche, Guiche and the others, he could even see himself with his comrades in Ondine. In his mind arose even the faces of Tabitha and Isabella.

That is, even his friends who are not present, ''they are "here".'' Saito thought, being totally convinced.

At some point, there were conflicts with each of them, but in the end, they all get along.

''If the elves will became aware of our situation, surely they will provide us with their help, if they properly explained...''

“Well, let's eat!”

Lost in thought, Saito began to eat, and consequently empty his glass of wine each time Siesta filled it. And the obvious result was he ended totally drunk. Together with the accumulated fatigue from the various tasks of the day left Saito to be completely out of this world.

Kirche began to yawn, which was accompanied with an invitation to Colbert.

“Hey Jean, let's go to sleep.”

That said, she took him by the neck, and then after climbing up the stairs to the second floor, lost in her room.

Grandma Helen, finishing her meal, also said:

“I’ll return to my house.”

Siesta started to move up Saito taking his arm.

“Saito-san... hold on,” she said.

[*Hick!*]

“Uwa, you're already drunk! Well, I’ll take you to your room!” Saying such words was unfit for a maiden.

Then as she supported Saito on her shoulders, and took him up to his room on the second floor.

“If we count from today, it's been quite a while, so I can borrow Saito tonight, right Miss Vallière?” Siesta happily said to Louise who just came into the room.

“What's with that? Just do what you want,” said Louise with a carefree attitude as she began to brush her hair. This unexpected reaction left Siesta shocked for a second.

“Then, with your permission...”

Siesta then hugged Saito who lying on the bed.

“Kyakya! Kyakya!” Siesta shouted gaily as she moved her cheeks closer together with Saito.

Watching them for a second just to check and even without leaving the place, Louise continued brushing her hair.

This caused Siesta to be suspicious. ''What's happening? How did Miss Vallière remain so calm?''

“You have kissed Saito-san, I'm sure.”

Convinced of her own words, she was ready to put her lips together with the sleeping Saito. Still, Louise did not move an inch.

“... H-how is that you can keep your anger?”

“Huh? Is there something to be angry about?” Louise answered as if to say, "Why should I be worried by you?"

For Siesta with a sharp mind, it was easy to discover that there was something Louise was hiding.

“Something happened in Gallia, right?”

In response, Louise crossed her legs and then slowly release her hair and, with what looked like a voice from the depths of her emotions, managed to say:

“No, nothing!”

This was enough to make the blood of Siesta to go to her head. She then approached Louise, with the speed of a racing car, and asked:

“What have you done?”

Then again, with suspicious eyes, Louise said:

“Seriously, nothing happened!”[[File:ZnT18-165.jpg|thumb]]

Louise looked down at Siesta, then, with a voice full of pity, she said:

“Well, you see... we have come to better understand each other, how should I say it?"

“With your bodies?”

“Please do not think of something malicious.”

“So, have you come to understand better?...” Siesta asked.

At that time, Louise bit her lip slightly, then look away which until now was remained on Siesta.

“Have you done it? Even a little?”

This became a conversation between women, so Siesta did not have to measure her words.

“That’s nonsense! We have not done it yet! We were just...”

Louise began to mutter embarrassed.

“You were just about to do something.”

“Y-y-yes... something like that.”

At that very moment, an evil smile appeared in Siesta’s face.

“What is it?”

“How beautiful you are, Miss Vallière! Thinking that you won just for that, as expected from little lady, a beautiful and innocent young lady.”

“Shut up! Mind your own business... if I'm an innocent young lady, then you are a maid in lust, waiting for your mating season! Seriously, why is it that I have to pay attention to a pervert cat like you?”

“If you have complaints, tell that to Her Majesty the Queen. And besides, if I'm a cat; considering how you've been behaving so far, then you should be one little mouse.”

“How dare you, seeing a noble like me as a mouse...”

“Chu-chu!” [Sound that a mouse makes in Japanese.]

“Nyan-nyan!” [Sound of a cat.]

Both girls imitated the sounds, which according to them, was suitable to the other. Then, they stared at each other.

“Oh come on, it’s not chu-chu it should be, chu-chu-chu!”

“What did you say? I do not understand your meowing, nyan-nyan!”

Already agitated and being directly opposite to one another, they began to push each other with their foreheads.

“What! Anyway you said it’s my turn today.”

After making a quick bow to Louise, Siesta prepared to enter into the sheets, right next to Saito.

“You stay there very still,” said Louise who was determined to leave them alone, only for today, then continue...

“1!" There was an enthusiastic voice resonating on the room.

“Huh?”

“2!”

Watching her carefully, Siesta was taking off her clothes and then threw them to the ground, each of the pieces of underwear she wore.

“Wait!? What are you doing!?”

“You don’t know? Well, this is my way of gaining the upper hand!”

“What upper hand!? Remember your place as a maid and dress up at once!”

Agitated, Louise then lunged herself to Siesta, rubbing her face, and tried to separate Siesta from Saito’s side.

But upon seeing them, Louise would not have to undress too as she struggled with Siesta, right? Well ... because at that time:

[BAAM] They heard the door opened and Sylphid was immediately seen pushing Tabitha inside, she did this while holding timidly a pillow in her arms.

“Siiip ~! Oneesama also want to participate in the battlefield!”

“......”

Then, while Louise and Siesta looked puzzled at the standing Tabitha; Sylphid took her by the arms, lifted her and placed her right next to Saito.

“What are you doing! Stupid Dragon!“ Called Louise.

“I'm not a stupid dragon, I'm a rhyme dragon!”

“Call yourself whatever you want! But what about the room we prepared for you?”

“It's that... onee-sama said she could not sleep...”

“Did she say that?”

“No she didn’t, but from what I saw from her attitude, she was very restless from time to time as she glanced in the direction of this room...”

As she said that, Tabitha, with the use of her wand, stopped her with a strike in the head.

“It hurts! It hurts! I was only doing my duty as a familiar! It hurts!”

“Enough with that, let’s go back to our room.”

“Please wait!”

Louise and Siesta said while watching Tabitha.

“.........”

So Tabitha did not move, she was just there right next Saito.

“But, Tabitha, perhaps you cannot be...” Siesta mentioned.

After hearing this, Tabitha's cheeks flushed slightly.

“You cannot be serious, right?” Siesta said in a surprised voice.

At that moment, perhaps by shame, Tabitha decided to cover her face with the sheets.

Louise's eyes could not look away from that scene.

“With Siesta it’s fine, but I cannot let a guest who was left in our care to do that whenever she wanted.”

“What’s the problem if I do that?”

Then Louise tried to get inside the covers, but Tabitha held it firmly making it impossible to open.

“Uwa oneesama! Your're cute when you're honest with yourself. I am extremely happy about it,” Sylphid began to spin around the room while she screamed Kyu!kyu!kyu. “But anyway, you need to be calm, flat pink-haired girl!”

“Tell me, who is the flat pink-haired girl?... stupid Dragon! If you don’t leave now, you will have to pay the consequences,” Louise claimed Sylphid.

“See? Onee-sama is different from you, she is still an innocent girl, she is still in the age where she was happy to just sleep beside him... very different from you in your mating season.”

“I'm starting to like this dragon,” added Siesta.

“Hey! You better keep quiet, I don't that opinion.”

“Onee-sama is a poor girl who was always been alone, surrounded only by sadness, and now she has finally found a safe place where they can live peacefully, she will be more than satisfied if you only allowed to sleep on his side. That's truly the kindness of a mature woman."

“Hmm...” Louise groaned.

Certainly she could at least allow Tabitha slept beside him, for the bonds that she shared with Saito because of that ‘night’ were already something.

''I would not be mature if I get angry over something like this.'' Louise thought this and ended up allowing the two of them to sleep with Saito.

“Well, what am I going to do?”

When she saw that the right side of the bed was already been taken, Louise decided to go for the left, to which, at the time she was about to crawl into the sheets, Siesta, who was quite determined, shook her head in denial.

“Today, this is my side,” she said.

[Grrr ] Louise roared at that moment, then thinking well as she shook her head trying to convince herself. ''Well then I will endure, however ... this is just for today.''

In the depth of night, Saito woke up shaking his head. He had drunk enough, so it was no wonder he had a severe headache.

''Ah ... it seems that they took me to the bed after I finishing drinking,'' he said to himself.

At that time, from one side of the bed, he heard beside him a sleeping sound that surely came from the a girl. On his left side, resting her cheek against his arm, the one who slept beside him looked like Siesta. Seeing her, a sudden tenderness rose from within him, causing him to gently caress her head.

''So ... the little breath I hear from my right has to be Louise, right?'' Saito had decided to stretch his hand and took the much smaller counterpart who slept beside him.

''Aaa ~, as I thought, this is Louise ...'' At that very second, a larger tenderness began to flood in his heart. Remembering the other day ... remembering that body within that night, Saito's heart once again, began to pound wildly.

''Just a little ... I want to touch them. It will be alright if it’s just a little. Since then, we have not had a real moment to be alone, because there were always excuses.'' Saito said to self justified his actions. He was then decided to touch Louise.

Saito had stretched his arm shakily, reaching to feel the sensation of the négligée that Louise was wearing. So ... totally decided... he stretched his hand to her chest.

''Flat ... but, the last time I saw seemed to be a little bigger, but as I got to touch them ... who knows.'' Saito reconsidered at that time, then lose completely to his desire to "touch directly". In doing so, his hand moved inside the opening of that negligee.

In response, a sudden reaction came from the small body of Louise as she began to shake.

And then he quietly said:

“... Are you awake?” he asked. He then apparently perceived a nodding head.

''Hell, I want to kiss her.'' Saito sincerely told himself.

"... I want to kiss you, can I?"

A few moments passed before there was an answer, then ... with a hesitation evident in her body, she nodded.

Upon getting a reply, Saito gently reached out what looked like a chin.

Determined more than ever, Saito moved closer to that little face, so he can kiss her lips lovingly.

Louise's attitude, at the time, reflected the enormous nervousness she felt. The atmosphere had become tense, however, he could still convey his feelings with his lips.

Saito, more determined, decided to embrace her by stretching his arms up to her hips, she felt it with her right hand. In response, she removed that hand away, and moved closer to his body.

He was ecstatic and lost in a dream, then without thinking, he prepared to raise that négligée ... starting from her hips.

Louise's small body began to shivered, then she reached out, trying to put up a resistance.

“... Do you feel sorry?”

She nodded in response.

“... Well, I have already seen them once.”

After a moment, the opposing force from the arm of Louise finally calm down. That’s when Saito was finally able to lift slowly that negligee, which caused Louise tiny body to shake uncontrollably.

After contemplating his shyness, a new feeling of tenderness came to Saito and urged him to kiss her again. This time, the stiffness in the body of Louise was much lower. Saito placed his lips into Louise's small lips, so ... timid ... that little lips began to kiss Saito.

Already decided as there is nothing that can stop him, at this time, Hiraga Saito will touch
directly her chest.

In the instant his right hand touched the chest of Louise, the uncontrollable trembling of her body made a word escaped from her lips.

“A...”

“?”

From inside Saito's head, there was a question mark, ''Is that the voice? ... Not Louise .... Then whose?''

Without thinking, he turned his hand to her head ... ''her hair is short.''

“Ta-Tabitha?”

Without thinking, Saito pitched a scream.

“Wh-what the hell is happening?”

“What’s that sound?”

These were the voices of Louise and Siesta coming from his left side.

“Wah! No, it's nothing!”

“ ... Obviously something has happened!” While muttering this, Louise started to take a magic lamp.

“.....”

Upon finding the lamp, she immediately went to Tabitha and saw that her ngligee was raised.

While trembling in fear, Saito, who was beside her, despite trying to hide his hands, they were kept clinging to Tabitha holding her hips.

In an instant, the sleepy eyes of Louise were transformed into demonic eyes.

“...You! W-w-what are you doing?”

“N-n-no that’s not what it seems! It thought it was you!” Screaming this without thinking, the face of Tabitha formed an expression as if to say, huh?

For a moment she retained that hard expression, but then her eyes sprouted... tears whose quantity was enough and began to fall.

"......."

Then Saito, cannot stand to look at the crying Tabitha, shook his head.

“Huh? No! I did not mean that! You also are the best!”

This caused the entire body of Louise to shake.

“I s-s-said I would not run away no matter what happened, I a-a-also said I was resigned to whatever might occurrrrr bu-bu-but doing that~ ....”

“Y-y-you-you are wrong!“ Saito tried to dissuade.

“With-with-with the little girl that was left in our care, are you out of you mind!?”

“Nooo~ Miss Vallière, if you look carefully, you'll realize that they seem to have fallen for each other!” Siesta shared her impressions as she opened both her arms.

Saito began crawling, trying to get away from that place, but Louise caught him.

“But all I did was to confuse one person from another..."

“It’s a pity ... that was a very unfortunate accident, I understand, but ...as imagined ... this is something I cannot forgive.”

And so the desperate cry of Saito echoed throughout the mansion.

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter6|Chapter 6]]
| Return to [[Zero no Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter8|Chapter 8]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter6

2017-08-18T07:34:18Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors part 2

===Chapter 6 - Spirit Stone of Destruction===

The Pope's caravan was moving at a slow pace towards Romalia; their arrival was somewhat delayed. Unfortunately for them the trip took 3 days, compared to just a day if they had used dragons for transport.

But one should take into consideration that the Holy Pope's visit was not just anything. He must respond to the devotion of all those believers of Brimir that lived in villages they passed by. This was a primary task for those who had been given the title of ‘Pope’.

However, if the Pope had stopped to give sermons to every person he met during his visit, the number of people would become endless. So he only gave his blessings to babies, to families who became faithful servants in the service of God and Brimir, and to brave soldiers who served in the Crusade.

Romalia needed to continue with the preparations for the Crusade as soon as possible, so this visit of the Pope had a great and deep political meaning.

So due to the fact that the Pope and his caravan were immediately surrounded by people at every village they stopped in, Saito and the others found it extremely difficult to implement their rescue mission.

If they were to proceed in their plan now, not only would they have to deal with the Templar Knights; the people would also turn on them, and they would be immediately surrounded by enemies on all sides.

And besides, fearing a possible assassination the escort staff of the Pope was on high alert; not even an ant could slip through their impenetrable defense. Not even those rumored as Chevalier of North Parterre members seemed able to make any move against the defense network of the soldiers assigned to directly guard the Pope.

It seemed that planning a move during the course of their journey was impossible.

Also, the guards of the Pope were always in the vanguard; this made it impossible to set up a trap in advance. Thus, attempting a surprise attack when they were in the vicinity of a forest would be unsuccessful due to the low number of soldiers at their disposal compared to the multitude of knights guarding the Pope.

So in the end, the progress in rescuing Tabitha was still minimal.

Two days had gone by since leaving Lutetia ...

If the Pope's caravan continued with their pace, they would be able to reach the "Tiger Highway" the next day...

Meanwhile at an inn not far from there, Saito and his group held a meeting on how to continue the rescue mission.

“Soon in that place, a huge number of people will gather to see the Pope; so being dressed as monks and mixing within that crowd should be an easy task. We cannot fail, failure is unacceptable...” Kirche said as she rested her elbows on the table; proving it, however, was a difficult task as she thought.

“But it has to be soon; we must rescue her before they reach Romalia or else the rescue would be impossible,” said Reynald with a completely serious face.

At the same time, Saito was desperately trying to think of a solution; but in the end the anxiety overwhelmed him. The idea of Tabitha being just within his reach but still unable to be rescued made him angry. Beside him was Louise, who kept her eyes closed; she seemed to be really struggling thinking about a solution to this dilemma, but still she couldn’t think of any idea.

“Just as I thought then, we do not have any other option but to attack in the front; if we can attack with everything we have, in the end maybe one of us will be able to reach and rescue Tabitha,” said Malicorne while nodding to himself.

“That would be suicide! But then if there is no other option, maybe we can just use the decoy plan.”

“Decoy plan?”

“Exactly,” said Saito.

“I will begin to make a scene near them to get their attention, then you just have to go after Tabitha...”

Before he could finish, suddenly a voice came from behind him.

“If you're the one to do it, then you won't get anything."

“Huh?”

When they turned around, what they found was a large muscular man standing near them. Immediately all present prepared to arm themselves with wands and swords from within their monk robes.

“It's me, Chikasui!” said the man.

“But you're a man?!” cried Louise.

“This person is certainly Chikasui!”

Behind him, Isabella appeared accompanied by another man. As expected, they wore monk robes whose hoods covered their head and eyes.

When the man lowered his hood, Saito couldn’t help letting out an "Ahh".

It was the man who, during that time on the river banks of the Leilian, had pretended to engage in a duel with Saito in order to deliver a letter for Tabitha.

When he turned his gaze to Saito, the man smiled.

“Long time no see.”

“You are...”

“The captain of the Knights of the Eastern Roses, Bart Castlemont,” Isabella said presenting him to all those present.

“The first time I heard it I still couldn’t believe it,” declared Castlemont as he watched Isabella with a cold stare. “But, upon seeing that young girl who now bears the royal crown, I'm forced to believe it. She couldn’t be Charlotte-sama! At all costs, we must recover the true Charlotte-sama and restore the throne that is rightfully hers! And so, because of all your invaluable help, I thank you deeply, Tristainian Knights.”

Castlemont then faced Saito and the others and offered them a bow.

Afterwards, Isabella started observing all those present around her.

“All right, then I shall begin to explain the composition of our men. First, in the case of the order of battle of Chevalier of North Parterre, including myself and Chikasui there are a total of 7 members. The rest of the order are now monitoring the caravan of the Pope to keep us aware of the situation there. Also, the members of the Rose squad knights commanded by Castlemont consist of 20 men."

“Our members don't have experience in actual battle, however... each and every one of them have sworn their allegiance.”

All those present then began to stir.

“We are also accounted. Belonging to Tristain Ondine Knights, counting commander Guiche, there are 4 members; and among them is the one who was named the "Hero of Albion", Chevalier Hiraga-dono. Also, those two are friends of Her Majesty. Thus, our total combat force consists of 33 mages.”

“I would say it’s a very good number,” said Guiche with voice of complacency.

“Very well, then as for a commander... Tell me, there isn't any problem if I am to be the commander, right?” Isabella said with a serious face. All those present gave their approval.

Certainly, no one within the group had any reason to object. Besides, leaving the command to the leader of the Order of Chevalier of North Parterre, whose specialty was dirty work, was the best possible option.

“Alright, let's start with the planning.”

Isabella then spread out a map on the table.

“Right here, we will take our position and begin the assault against the Pope's caravan. Our sole target is the carriage of the Pope; whoever arrives first will be responsible for rescuing Her Majesty. After that, he must go on this path where we have already prepared a wind dragon. Finally, he and Her Majesty must then flee in the direction of Lutetia.”

Then with a skeptical face Guiche said:

“Are you trying to say that with only a handful of men, we will make a direct attack against two full companies of Templar Knights?"

“Precisely.”

“We will be annihilated! They will surely destroy us!"

“We cannot consider "team work" in this plan because all present here come from different nations with their own different ways of organization. So running a precise and flawless plan is frankly impossible; the only possible option left is to buy time for someone to get into the carriage and perform the rescue, then that someone will take care and safeguard the Queen and bring her safely to Lutetia.”

“You might be right, we don’t seem to have any more options.” Castlemont said while nodding to Isabella.

“We are a squad of knights, there is a different way for us to act in frontal attacks. We cannot lose here, if we fail we will end up making things worse; we must give all that we have to make sure that won’t happen.”

Saito then said as he raised his head thoughtfully.

“I’m against this plan.”

“What did you say?"

“This will result in unnecessary sacrifices. We will all die before being able to save Tabitha.”

Louise also agreed with those words.

“Saito is correct.”

“But then what choice do we have?” Guiche said as he bent his head.

“There should be another way.” Louise then directed towards Guiche.

“If Tabitha is not rescued here it is likely that a terrible war might break out. If that happens, a lot more people will die in the end; is that what you want?”

Taking that into account, Saito looked at each one of those around him. All appeared to be quiet; however, in their eyes he could see complete resolution.

After seeing the nervous faces of Malicorne and Guiche, Saito finally understood:

"It seems that the one who is being naive...is me."

''Everyone here has already prepared themselves for what lies ahead.''

At that time he desperately wanted to reach and take the hand of Louise; he slowly moved his hand to her, but then stopped. It was a cruelty that he was about to commit; it was pretty obvious that everyone here also wanted to be able to hold the hand of his/her dearest. What he would do might be totally unfair.

''But then, are we really engaging in this battle?''

''Do we even have a chance of winning?''

Then from within his heart, Saito shook his head.

''It's useless!''

''We cannot beat an enemy that exceeds us 10 times in numbers; and moreover, they were not an ordinary enemy, they were the Templar Knights. Considering the experience of all of us in real battle conditions, we are still weak and naive.''

''...Indeed, it would be useless to fight ... Before we could even approach the carriage, magic attacks would already be fired upon us; but there is a possibility that most of us survive. In that case, we can rescue Tabitha and run... But the Templar Knights have pegasi; even if we use dragons to escape they can still chase us mid-air, and certainly it would be impossible to get rid of them... the chances this might work are almost zero.''

''But still, even if the chances are zero, if at that time the luck was on our side Tabitha could indeed be rescued. The only thing left is to go for that small gap that might open by some miraculous event. As expected of the Halkeginian nobles; when it comes to this, their resolution is unwavering.''

''But I...''

Saito looked at Louise.

And then watched his comrades who were prepared to die.

''I don’t want to die, I will not let them die.''

After thinking this Saito started to say:

“This is not right; it's not like I don’t understand what you’ve said, however, we will all die here: it may be true that the war would stop with our sacrifice but... it is more likely that we may not succeed, or rather we will surely fail. How is it that you agree with a bet so dangerous?”

“I never thought to hear that from the man who faced 70000 soldiers alone,” Guiche said in a surprised voice.

“The circumstances were completely different back then, since I was the only casualty. At this time we are talking about the lives of everyone. Surely, I understand your reasons for we must do it to avoid greater evil; but, even after knowing that, I still don’t want to see my friends die in vain before my eyes.”

Again silence flooded the room.

“Well then, what do you propose?” Isabella asked, breaking the silence on her own.

Then, at that time, Saito remembered the words spoken by Pope Vittorio.

"We must negotiate with the Elves, and place our power behind our backs."

Of course, if negotiation was not enough then it would be necessary to start a war.

But at this point the Pope thought there was still room for negotiation.

So with this renewed thought, Saito started to say:

“Let’s try to negotiate.”

“Impossible! What position do you have to start a negotiation? You know that the only thing they really want to do is to start a Crusade; it seems that you don’t really understand them,” said Castlemont, to which Saito became silent while pondering; then he asked Louise:

“Tell me Louise, can you create a large army using ‘illusion’?”

“With that power, I could but...”

"Well," Saito nodded in satisfaction.

The next morning...

The group assigned to lead the Pope's caravan was none other than the Order of Arieste Knights of the Church, which was commanded by Carlo Trobontino.

After almost an hour after they left the last village, they reached an area of land that seemed like a vast wasteland. Shortly, they arrived at the foot of the Mountain of the Fire Dragons. And soon they would travel to the route which joined Romalia and Gallia, the 'Tiger Highway'.

Meanwhile, daydreaming as he traveled, Carlo recited a sacred hymn as he could almost see the illusion of the Crusade that dwelt in his mind.

He imagined those hated elves burning by his sacred magic until they were reduced to ashes; his chest swelled with joy.

In this state, while immersing himself in his sick fantasies, his subordinates were already shaking and urged him to look in the location directly across from them.

“Commander!... See there!...”

“What? Behave vile worms! We are distinguished gentlemen of the church!”

As he said this, Carlo fixed his eyes in the direction pointed to him. He ended up losing his composure.

“What the hell? Are those...?”

In front of them, about 500 mails away, he saw the ranks of several thousand troops; even at that distance, he could clearly distinguish the cannons from the cavalry.

“Stop! All Stop!”

Then Carlo stopped the advance of his pegasus; all of his troops immediately halted. Afterwards, a messenger was urgently sent to the place where Pope was to inform him of the situation.

“What the hell, where did these morons came from? How dare they stop the advance of His Holiness the Pope...”

At that time, the sharp eyes of one of the subordinates of Carlo distinguished their banner.

“Is that ... The coat of arms of the lords of southern Gallia?”

“The Southern Gallian gentlemen you said!?”

''What the hell are they thinking, marching right in front of us and stopping our progress?''

''But the southern lords, who fought at the front lines in the previous war, were supposed to be allies.''

At that time, from within the marching army the figure of 3 men on horseback came out to meet them; one was carrying a white flag and slowly approached the caravan.

“They are asking for a truce!”

“Truce? Do they seek a war? To wage a war against us, the Army of God!? Repent, a thousand times, damn!"

While trembling with rage, Carlo prepared his troops as he pulled out his wand.

The suspected trio then stopped about 20 mails away, standing right in a place where Carlo could clearly see them. One of them, taller than the other two, dared to take a step to the front.

“I presume that this was the caravan of His Holiness the Pope. I am the captain of the Order of the Eastern Roses; my name is Bart Castlemont! And I have to proclaim to His Holiness the Pope that we demand his immediate surrender! We must reclaim what is respectfully ours!”

While shaking with rage, Carlo responded:

“You dare to obstruct the passage of His Holiness the Pope, this is BLASPHEMY! You have the guts to march all your troops behind our backs!? Are you stupid enough to start a war with us!?”

“My army has the sole purpose of getting back our master. So if you don’t resist and return our master, we will immediately turn around and gladly escort you to the border.”

“Stop saying nonsense! No matter what petty reasons you have, if you bastards dare to raise your wands against us, we will immediately accuse you of heresy!”

“Before accusing us of heresy, I would like you to tell me: who is the person currently sharing the carriage with His Holiness? Tell me, who has given you the authorization to take that person to your country? Depending upon your answer, I’ll immediately give the signal to attack!”

“Is that even a threat? Bastards! Perhaps you're saying that you’re trying to threaten His Holiness the Pope!”

Then Carlo prepared his wand to make an attack; as he took a forward step, a voice was heard echoing behind his back:

“What’s the commotion here?”

“His Holiness!...”

Without thinking, Carlo immediately bowed down. With a calm expression, Pope Vittorio glanced toward Castlemont, Saito and Chikasui.

Saito was nervous while he was being gazed at directly by Pope Vittorio. The Pope seemed to be traversing through his eyes, as if looking directly into his heart.

''Are we discovered?''

The army behind him was no more than the "illusion" created by Louise; though it would certainly be impossible to tell the difference between this and the real army, those mere illusions were obviously unable to attack.

''Could it be that another Void user like Vittorio is able to see through it and expose its falsehood?''

If they had been discovered, they would have to continue their previous plan, as Guiche and several gentlemen of Gallia were hidden around the wasteland waiting for the opportunity to make a direct assault; but it was obvious that if compelled to do so now any benefit granted by the element of surprise would be lost. At this time their chances for success seemed to have shrunk drastically.

Unable to do anything the icy cold sweat began to drop at his back.

“His Holiness!”

Saito then took off the hood covering his face; this sudden action perplexed Carlo.

“You bastard!...”

However, the calm expression of Vittorio didn’t change at all; so Saito decided to continue with his words:

“Tabitha...no, I ask you to return Her Majesty, Queen Charlotte; she has nothing to do with the war you want to start.”

Vittorio's reaction was nothing but a smile. He didn’t even try to deny the accusation brought against him.

“If you pledge your support for our plans, I will gladly return her.” With this, Saito became speechless. “You know, I'm not really concerned; it was never my intention to control Gallia nor anything of what's in it. My only goal was always to lead them in order to complete again the Four of Four.”

“Why are you so persistent with this Crusade!? Is it really important to wage this war? You should stop all of this and forget the Holy Land!”

“There is a reason to take back the 'Holy Land'. If you would indulge me, I would like for you to join us; for there is something that I want to show you.”

''You’re still trying to convince me?'', Saito thought.

It was at this time.

"Chikasui" who was on the far left suddenly started to cast a spell. From the palm of his hand, a blinding light began to radiate; everyone was surrounded by the intense light.

Saito instinctively looked away from the glare, just as Carlo and the Templar Knights around him covered their faces to protect them from the light.

As if expecting this move from Chikasui, it seemed that Castlemont was the only one who still retained his rapid movements.

As expected from the square-class mage of "wind", in the blink of an eye he covered the distance of about 20 mails separating them. He quickly approached Vittorio, put the Pope’s arms behind his back, and immediately pointed his wand at his neck.

“Don’t move!” Castlemont screamed as the confused Templar Knights were about to take out their wands.

“Drop your wands!”

From that moment, Castlemont began to give orders to all those knights gathered there; the expression on their faces was totally alarming.

They hesitated to move; they kept looking at the Pope and at their wands.

Pope Vittorio was calm, and a warm smile was still on his face.

“Drop your wands! It's an order! Don’t force me to take the life of His Holiness!”

Then Vittorio started to say:

“Gentlemen, please do as this person says.”

At these words, the Templar Knights began to throw their wands to the ground. Chikasui hurriedly cast Alchemy on the wands, and they began to melt.

Then Castlemont shouted to Saito who seemed to be confused about what was happening:

“Quick! Go to the carriage and rescue the Queen!”

Hearing that, Saito returned to his senses. Although he was against this hostage taking, this was not the time to ask questions; after all, they were in the middle of a battle.

It was necessary for their goal; they had to set aside their emotions in order to make the most appropriate decision. He himself had learned this hard truth; if not, he wouldn’t be able to save anyone.

“Eh, understood!”

Saito rushed to the carriage, opened the door, and found Tabitha and Sylphid inside sitting next to each other.

“You are...”

Saito then turned to a surprised Tabitha and said:

“I'm here to rescue you! We must hurry!”

“Kyui! Kyuikyui! I cannot believe this!” Sylphid screamed and hugged Saito.

“Sylphid, return to your dragon form and take Tabitha with you!”

“Understood!”

That said, Sylphid immediately returned to dragon form, took Tabitha with her mouth and mounted the queen on her back.

The Templar Knights saw their escape as Sylphid quickly ascended to the sky.

Meanwhile their allies, who had remained hidden, began to approach the carriage.

“Saito! Are you okay?!?”

“Yes! Saito did it!"

Those were the Knights of North Parterre and Eastern Roses. One by one they began collecting the wands belonging to the Templar Knights; the next thing they did was to melt them with Alchemy or split them in two. Carlo began to murmur as fury marked his face:

“Bastards!... You cannot even be considered heretics, you’re just animals! You along with your entire families will suffer the Inquisition; your name will not be heard as we will annihilate every last one of you!”

Addressing Carlo, Castlemont still held Vittorio hostage:

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any relatives.”

Every one of his companions was detailed to disable one by one the wands of the enemy, however... The number of wands were equal to the members of the two companies escorting the Pope, so destroying them one by one would take too long.

''We have to gather them all in one place to securely hold them.''

If reinforcements came, we wouldn’t stand a chance. So we have to take every possible opportunity to maintain this advantage.

By the time they were about to gather all the wands of the Templar Knights...

Up in the sky, a shriek from Sylphid could be heard.

“Kyuikyui!”

Flying up in the sky, moving like a lightning strike, a wind dragon appeared before Sylphid.

The wind dragon began to chase the stunned Sylphid, with the sole purpose of stealing Tabitha.

“Julio!” Saito cried seeing the person riding on the back of the dragon: the one who was able to manipulate all beasts, Windalfr.

That dragon, manipulated by the familiar called the Right Hand of God, was tirelessly working trying to follow the movements of Sylphid to snatch her load.

“Flee in this direction!”

Not knowing if his instruction had reached her, he saw Sylphid attempt to make a fast descent while Tabitha was still on her back; however they couldn’t make it as Azulo, showing precise hawk-like movements, and Julio were able to intercept them and snatch Tabitha.

Tabitha not having her wand was just a little girl; unable to put up any resistance, there was no way she could change the situation she was in now.

Holding Tabitha in its mouth, Azulo made a loud flapping sound and began to return to Romalia.

“Kyuih!”

Sylphid reached Saito, landing right next to him.

“This is bad!”

As Saito shouted this, he immediately jumped on the back of Sylphid.

“I'm coming too!”

By the time they were about to leave, Louise also jumped on Sylphid’s back, followed by Kirche doing the same.

“Hey Kirche! What are you doing?!”

“I just remembered you two cannot use ‘levitation’!”

Saito nodded at this, and then shouted:

“Go after them, Sylphid!”

"Kyui!" Sylphid cried and started to ascend.

“Hurry up! If they make it to Romalia, we’re in serious trouble!”

Sylphid flapped fiercely as Julio and Azulo looked like a point in the distance.

On the ground, Castlemont and company as well as the Templar Knights were still stunned seeing the spectacle in the sky; but... after a while, everyone prepared to ride their horses and pegasi and started pursuing the two dragons.

“Damn! They’re really fast! Sylphid, can you fly faster?!”

“This is all the strength I have!”

Although both Azulo and Sylphid were wind dragons, the difference between them looked like a puppy compared with an adult dog. No one could reach the speed of the wind dragon commanded by Windalfr.

“We're about to cross the border!”

Right in front of them they could glimpse the enormous mountain range of the Fire Dragons; this was a ridge that stretched from east to west dividing Halkeginia ... And right behind those mountains was Romalia.

The moment they saw the wind dragon something horrible happened; leaving the mouth of Azulo, they saw Tabitha falling to the ground.

“Saito! Tabitha is...!” Louise issued a desperate cry.

Performing a maneuver like a somersault, Azulo swooped at full speed and once again captured Tabitha in its mouth. Without changing direction, Azulo continued rotating reaching an astonishing rate of descent.

“They did it on purpose, they just wanted to hurt Tabitha!” Kirche said desperately.

Upon hearing those words Saito’s heart was set on fire. If they continued with that she could fall and hit the ground ... and yet they were playing with her small body as if it was a rag doll.

There was still a chance, an opportunity obtained by putting his life in danger; he would never allow them to escape.

“Come on! Sylphid!”

“Understood!”

Sylphid quickly began to close the distance; Azulo tried to escape, but his speed didn’t increase.

“Attack them, Sylphid!”

“Kyuikyui!”

Sylphid prepared to attack with everything she had; however, Azulo swiftly dodged them. At that moment, Saito jumped while drawing his sword.

With his left hand, he was able to hang on to a claw of Azulo. Then following Azulo’s movements, he began to climb up and reach the dragon's back.

Having faster reaction time than Julio, Saito took him by the neck and pointed his sword.
[[File:ZnT18-124.jpg|thumb]]

“Get us down!”

Despite the situation, Julio kept his calm face.

“You’re just in time; come, I want to show you something.”

“You've got to be kidding me!” Saito screamed furiously.

“Oh God! ... you’re always acting like this, at least listen for once to what people have to say.”

“Do you expect me to listen to a selfish person like you? Always talking about the Crusade, always clinging to that foolishness; just GET us down!”

As Julio shook his head "As you wish," was when he finally decided to land Azulo.

Upon reaching the ground, Saito immediately ran to where Tabitha was.

“Tabitha!”

“I'm ... fine.”

After leaving Tabitha in Kirche’s care, he turned once more to Julio.

“Hey Julio!”

“What now?”

“We need to talk.”

“Alright; honestly for once, I always wanted to have a little chat with you.”

“What’s your purpose, the reason for continuing with this Crusade? Can’t you just live in peace and forget about the Holy Land?”

Hearing him say that, the face of Julio seemed to display an expression of someone who has to help a friend in his studies because he always gets bad grades.

“We must find something necessary for our purposes in this world. Just think a little, what do you think is the reason why we have repeated wars for the last 6000 years? If you look a bit, initially the people are still the same, they still fight just for a piece of barren land and for their pride ... Do you think that justifies all the blood that has been spilled so far?”

“I don’t know.”

“That's because we are in a situation where our hearts cannot find a support to cling to; we are in a situation where our "sacred land" has been stolen by the heretics. And so, what should we believe then?”

“So, that was your reason for starting a war against the Elves?”

“Yes, for they have unjustly occupied a land that was rightfully ours from the beginning.”

“... Dammit, is that really a reason?”

For a few moments Saito remained staring at Julio; then suddenly he began to laugh.

“A ha ha ha! Don’t look!

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, it's just that, I never really thought that petty reason would start this endless war. Really, it would be fine to just leave the sacred land alone. It’s really absurd to fight, you know. And it would be a hundred times, no, a thousand times more fun to just stay and play with your friends.”

“What did you say?”

Saito's face turned pale. ''This guy is really getting in my nerves.''

“You insist on going on this endless Crusade forever without giving any logical reason, waging war against the elves over and over again; do you really expect to win if you only fight for honor? How much time has passed since your ancestors were displayed as pathetic losers after failing to recover their land even after a millennia?”

“You... Perhaps, are you trying to mock me?”

Filled with rage, Saito then threw a punch at Julio; however, Julio smoothly and nimbly dodged it.

“Hey! Hey! Do not get mad for something so simple; things will get very bad if you cannot even control your emotions like this.”

Saito could only keep seeing Julio with full hatred.

“You ... that’s what people like you always think, always controlling and treating us like idiots! Do you really look at all the people around you only as mere pawns?”

“Of course not, I never thought something like that.”

“Liar! What about that girl, Tabitha's sister ... when she wears that crown? What did you say to make her cheat? What did you say to her for her to betray her own sister? Surely, you've tampered with her with a potion!”

Upon hearing this, Julio's face turned slightly serious.

“Potion? I would never use something like that.”

“Well, then what did you do? Or perhaps, do not tell me you...”

Saito bit his lip because of the thought that overwhelmed him.

“Are you trying to tell me you made that poor girl fall in love with you?”

Julio opened the palms of his hands. It was really strange that this young man felt proud of himself in such a desperate situation.

“If I say yes, what would you do then?”

Saito was outraged by the hostile tone of Julio and began to respond.

“Damn you... You're the worst! How dare you use a woman who is in love with you ... seriously, you are the lowest; I wonder what your God would do if he knew this!”

The color of Julio’s face changed at this.

“What did you say?”

His eyes burned with anger and his grin had disappeared completely.

Demonstrating his contempt, Saito said as he lifted his lips:

“You, was it your "body and soul"? Or is it your God that tells you it's okay to use women in love with you for your silly purposes?”

With quick movements, Julio's reaction was to deal a strong blow to Saito’s face, which Saito swiftly pushed back.

“Think what you're doing, idiot!”

While recovering, Saito placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Do you still want to continue?”

“What did you say about my own body and soul?!!”

Julio, without hesitation, then dealt a punch to Saito.

“Idiot!...”

In the time that Saito was about to draw his sword, he noticed what was on Julio's face: an expression of such fury, that prevented him from controlling himself. This combined with the disappearance of that mocking tone which mocked anyone talking to him.

“Are you really trying to face me, Gandalfr, while I'm unarmed and without any beasts?”

In truth, Saito didn’t have the slightest idea about what was going on; and apparently Julio wasn't even considering the consequences of what he was doing. But anyway, Saito had never faced an opponent before who was unarmed.

After regaining his composure, Saito decided to throw away his sword; which was picked up immediately by a worried Louise.

“Saito...”

“You dare to talk about what's inside of my soul... You know nothing!”

The tone of Julio made Saito remember those of his childhood bullies.

Then, Saito punched Julio with the fist of his left hand; and immediately after, in less than an eyeblink, dealt a direct hit with his right hand.

This seemed to have become boxing practice; however there were times when the fight was becoming more serious. Without the power of Gandalfr, Saito was just an ordinary boy. He would eventually lose this match due to shock.

However, the physical abilities of Julio were worthy of admiration; he could dodge Saito’s punches easily, then respond by throwing a kick. Even so, Saito caught his leg and with all his strength pinned him down, and then he began to throw punches one after another right in the beautiful face of Julio.

But the attacks of Saito didn’t last for long, as Julio took one leg of Saito and then turned his body skillfully, thus changing positions.

Their fury seemed to last forever, exchanging punches again and again. Such a display of tenacity and fury made Louise, Kirche and Tabitha speechless as they observed them in dismay, waiting to reach the conclusion.

Finally, both Saito and Julio were exhausted; they lay down and were not able to send another punch. The two of them were in such a pitiful state that they seemed to be unrecognizable. Saito's face was completely swollen, and part of his left eye was hidden behind his swollen cheeks. For Julio, an endless stream of blood flowed from his nose; this combined with the deformation of his face which was caused by the immense swelling in his cheeks.

This had been a contest of fists, so it was obvious that the hands of those two contestants were completely destroyed; their hands were so swollen that even their little fingers were twice their original size. Those limbs were completely impossible move right now.

So while in a state of breathing laboriously, Saito started to say:

“... This is very strange of you, you, who made yourself lose your sanity.”

At this Julio answered revealing his pain.

“You know, I envy you.”

“What did you say?”

“You can love someone without having to worry about anything.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“What, you really thought I had no feelings? I have done a tremendous effort to avoid falling in love... And yet I fell for it, and not only that, I also saw the need of having to use it. I really believed that someone like you would be able to understand what's in my heart?”

“Well, I don’t understand the fact that it is "necessary" to use it.”

“That’s very unfortunate.”

“But then, use it for what?”

“Who do you think we're doing this for? For them, for everyone, for you ... We are doing everything for you, you who are living on this doomed earth.”

From that moment, Julio began to cry; * gushih ** gushih *. From his eyes tears flowed, then he started a plain sob.

For Saito, he never would have guessed that Julio was able to mourn; so he was really surprised.

Eventually after crying for a moment Julio stood up. With puzzled expressions, Kirche and Tabitha rushed to them. Both Saito and Julio, feeling poorly, were treated with some "healing". Apparently it was not enough to completely stop the pain, but at least it served so they could calm down for a bit.

Then Julio said brokenly:

“That’s enough, do whatever you want; I do not care anymore how you guys would be able to live in this land, nor for everyone who always likes to kill each other for just a small piece of land.”

“Julio, what’s wrong? What are you talking about?” Louise asked, confused by what she had heard.

“See it for yourself,” said Julio with a voice that reflected his discouragement.

“What the hell are you talking about!?”

At the moment Saito approached Julio after saying this....

The earth began to shake.

***

Castlemont and the others, who still had the Pope as their hostage, were following the trail of Saito.

Right behind them, riding on their pegasi, the Templar Knights also followed closely looking for answers.

One of the nobles chasing the wind dragon had spotted Saito and the others; after using a ‘far-sight spell’, he shouted excitedly:

“They already landed!”

“Very well!” Castlemont said as his troops began to increase the speed of their horses.

After a few minutes...

A violent tremor began to shake.

“Uwa! An earthquake!”

As the knights lost control of their horses, one by one they stopped. The horses started to panic and some of them began running, stumbling and inevitably ended up lying on the ground; even so the intensity of the shaking became stronger.

“It’s too violent!”

The shaking continued for a few moments... then stopped abruptly.

“That earthquake was so strong! I've never felt something like that before!”

At that moment, Castlemont heard someone muttering; it was the Pope. Pope Vittorio, who was
mounted in front right next to him bound tightly with magic rope, started to say:

“It has already started!”

“What did you say? What was already started?”

“The "Great Uprising" has begun!”

“What's that?”

At the time Castlemont wondered about this, a new tremor started and shook the earth violently; this new tremor was far stronger than before. The horses began to kneel, and even the soldiers who were on foot could not remain standing as they felt the intensity of the earthquake.

“Hwuah!”

Castlemont was thrown from his horse; Vittorio also rolled after falling to the ground. Crawling quickly, Castlemont went to where Vittorio had fallen. The intense shaking of the earth felt like being swallowed in a violent storm.

“What the hell is going on?!”

Without answering, all Vittorio did was to observe something at a distance.

Castlemont then fixed his gaze in the same direction as Vittorio.

This time, he was completely speechless.

***

“Oi, what the hell is that?!”

Malicorne and Guiche kept their hands on the ground due to the intensive shaking; they soon noticed that Reynald remained staring in one direction.

“Hey Reynald, what's wrong?”

Reynald didn’t answer. He just raised his finger slowly and pointed forward. Seeing the disaster right in front of them, they were completely shocked.

So, because no one could explain what was happening, they decided to extend their hands and then pinched each other’s cheeks.

“It hurts!” Both Guiche and Malicorne said, almost wanting to cry.

“... This is not a dream!”

The men from the North Parterre, Eastern Roses, and the Templar Knights ended up forgetting their precautions and hostilities they had with each other when they saw before their eyes that gigantic and horrifying natural disaster.

As if remembering something, one of these gentlemen began to murmur:

“So it’s true, the continent of Albion was once part of Halkeginia...”

***

A tremendous roar emerged echoing in their ears; the increasingly strong vibration did not show any signs of stopping.

With a voice as if not believing in what he was seeing, Saito said:

“The mountain... is floating!”

The Mountain of the Fire Dragon that he was watching... this mountain that was once a part of the great mountain ranges began to ascend up into the sky.

It was a spectacle that could be described in one word: "Majestic".

As if there was a rocket pushing the mountain up, it inexorably ascended towards the sky.

Once the mountain was fully in the air, a furious cloud of dust rose from where it came from; the surroundings darkened as if night had started prematurely. The same dust came into the throat of Saito almost suffocating him.

“What the hell was that... what's going on?”

Julio then explained it to Saito:

“This is the "Great Uprising"; this happens when the gradual accumulation of wind stones begins to raise an entire land mass.

“Wind stone?”

''Certainly; they are used to raise "ships” into the sky, in addition to being a crystal that holds the power of the wind from the Previous Resident...''

“... As you know, the lands of Halkeginia are rich with these wind stones. To put it in simple terms, a wind stone is a crystal wherein the power of spirits lies; so what happens is that it gradually crystallizes in the ground forming a "spiritual power". After tens of thousands of years, the amount soon becomes enough that those wind stones eventually raise the whole earth.”

“The whole earth, you say?”

Then Julio said in a tired voice:

“Unfortunately, right now a large saturation of wind stones are buried throughout Halkeginia; we will soon be tossed like a pancake into the air and huge chunks of land will began to float. Do you finally understand? This is the reason why we must reach the Holy Land.”

“Then why do you keep it secret all this time?!”

Julio replied as if spitting:

“Tell me, after finally seeing this, was it hard for you to believe in the sincerity of our words? An idiot not seeing things with their own eyes will never believe.”

***

After 30 minutes the shaking subsided. With that, Vittorio, the Templar Knights, Castlemont, Guiche and company finally arrived at the place where Saito and the others were.

Apparently what happened today in the mountains of the Fire Dragon had came as a surprise to members of the Templar Knights, as they were confused not knowing what was happening.

“Are you surprised?” Vittorio asked Saito.

“Yeah ... this is the first time I saw a mountain rise up like that.”

After listening to Saito, a smile spread across the face of Vittorio.

“The land that has risen will gradually consume the power of the wind stones, so once again they will return to the surface. The continent of Albion is part of the remains of what has become known as the first ‘Great Uprising’.”

“What is really happening in Halkeginia?” asked Louise with a worried face, to which Vittorio said while shaking his head:

“Actually ... It’s not all of the land; according to research we have done personally, our estimate is that 50% of the whole land would rise up just like what you have witnessed; but there is some margin of error in our calculations. Anyway, the damage to all the continent would be catastrophic; and within a few decades these types of events will begin to occur throughout Halkeginia.”

“So, what you’re trying to say is that we will be left without a place to live?” said Guiche in a shocked voice.

“Yes; it will not be today nor tomorrow, but in the near future half of the Halkeginian population will lose the land needed to live. When that happens, there will be land conflicts, and a war with no real winners will begin. To prevent that from happening, we have awakened "the Void"; that is why we must recover the "Holy Land" that was taken from us by pagan Elves.”

“In the Holy Land ... is there something?”

Vittorio quickly answered that question:

“There is a giant magical device built by the Founder, Brimir. The only one that is able to fight against this (spiritual power). We, the Four of Four who possess the power of "VOID", it is our duty to recover the Holy Land; for our salvation lies in it so that we can rid our land of this threatening disaster!”

“This is something ... something important, why have you kept this hidden all this time!?” cried Saito as he clenched his fists tightly.

Seeing his reaction, Vittorio repeated the same words that Julio had said only a few moments ago.

“Do you really believe that anyone would ever believe a story like this? Unless they see it with their own eyes, people will never actually believe; and also, in the given case that we have told this story before, probably at least a few of you would say "Can we really believe what they said?" Then rumors will begin to spread, which alone would lead to unnecessary panic among the people.”

''That may be true'', Saito thought to himself.

''If I hadn’t seen the truth with my own eyes, if I hadn’t witnessed that such a mountain could rise up into the sky, when I heard this story I most likely would never have to believed it.''

“See, I told you,” Julio said in a mocking voice.

“We must act "seriously", although this could cost us our lives; if it is to recover the Holy Land, we will do whatever is necessary. Those words came from the mouth of God; even Valhalla(Death) would cooperate with us in our Crusade! The "Great Uprising" of today was what we might call our moment of TRIUMPH; all of these things were done with the sole purpose of helping us to believe!”

Vittorio then took Saito’s hand.

“Will you lend us your strength, Gandálfr? Everything is for the distant future, that our descendants may live quietly in a safe land, which really belongs to them; no matter what happens in the Crusade, our first priority now will be to begin with negotiations. If the Elves peacefully return the "Holy Land", then there will be no problem; but if they don’t, we will continue initiating the attack. That would be our last option; we must fight for our right to survive!”

Saito and his friends began to look at each other's faces.

Isabella and Castlemont, Malicorne, Guiche and Reynald, Tabitha and Kirche; all evidenced in their faces that they did not know what to do.

The whole story was too incredible, too unexpected; their heads still could not process what was really happening. But ...

The mountain floating in the sky right now, as they looked up, became an extension of the clouds in heaven showing how the unimaginable could turn into a reality; their reasoning was shaken uncontrollably.

But it was precisely for this reason that at the moment they could not reach an agreement.

After what Romalia had done so far it was difficult to say whether they would accept "cooperating" with them.

Seeing these concerns clouding their judgment, Louise tried to calm Saito by taking his hand; and then said to Vittorio:

“We currently do not have the authority to respond to your request; so I ask to give us time to make our considerations. But before that, we have a few conditions.”

“Go ahead.”

“First, I ask that from this moment, you won’t hide any information.”

“I promise.”

At that point, Louise looked at Tabitha.

“The next thing is, that the throne be restored to the rightful Queen of Gallia.”

“I cannot do that.”

“Why?”

“Gallia is a huge nation; if you don’t have a queen in command, their morale in battle would not be enough to achieve victory,” Vittorio said in as calm a voice as he could.

“But Tabitha can...”

Saito saying this, Tabitha started to respond on her own:

“I, I intend to go with you.”

“Is that alright?”

“That was my intention from the beginning; the main reason I accepted that crown was to help you. Though I really don't like it, I still agree with the plan that the crown be given to the imposter sent by Romalia...”

Having said that, Tabitha took the other hand of Saito.

“Then it's settled.”

At that time, Vittorio began to look around.

“All of us here have seen, for the first time today we shared here our truth; and so, we have become true brothers! May the grace of God enlighten us in our future endeavors!”

All of the soldiers rose and began to look at each other in amazement; however, after a time they decided to shake hands and embrace each other.

Saito and others, who still had trouble accepting this, saw how things had become.

While he rubbed his face, Julio asked Saito:

“What's wrong, aren’t you satisfied?”

“Well it is, or rather, still I do not like the idea that in the end everything turned out just as you had planned.”

“Do not say something like that; but things finished well, at least for my part. I really have to make a great effort to resist.”

“What do you mean?”

“All of this would have been easier, if we only waited for the new Void user.”

“Why was it not done?”

After hearing this, Julio replied as if sighing:

“I was excited.”

“About what?”

“I wanted to fight you. I really wished to face you. In order to achieve greatness, one must remove their obstacles; that is the way to solve problems. However, I’m not really that strong; damn, if only I could be stronger, I would have been more worthy.”

Saito then stared Julio; his face was haggard, swollen everywhere, and blood could be seen on either side of the handsome face of Julio.

Then he recalled his words of just moments ago:

"You can love someone without having to worry about anything."

''That guy ... Although we are almost the same age, he can act so casually while hiding the truth in his chest.'' He was also reminded of his tears before. Totally crying like a small child.

“Idiot!” Saito said.

“That’s what I should say,” Julio said while his eyes remained fixed on Saito.

“By the way, I would like to apologize for what I said before about who owned your body and soul; but it is also your fault for your bad habit of always wanting to deceive people.”

“...I haven’t truly deceived people before,” he said in a dejected voice.

Then Saito turned his face away trying to avoid looking into Julio's eyes; he decided to extend his hand to Julio.

“What is this?”

“A handshake; but this does not mean that I have already accepted cooperating with you.”

Julio watched that hand for a moment; but in the end he strongly returned the handshake.

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| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
| Return to [[Zero no Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter7|Chapter 7]]
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter6

2017-08-17T10:49:57Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors part 1

===Chapter 6 - Spirit Stone of Destruction===

The Pope's caravan was moving at a slow pace towards Romalia; their arrival was somewhat delayed. Unfortunately for them the trip took 3 days, compared to just a day if they had used dragons for transport.

But one should take into consideration that the Holy Pope's visit was not just anything. He must respond to the devotion of all those believers of Brimir that lived in villages they passed by. This was a primary task for those who had been given the title of ‘Pope’.

However, if the Pope had stopped to give sermons to every person he met during his visit, the number of people would become endless. So he only gave his blessings to babies, to families who became faithful servants in the service of God and Brimir, and to brave soldiers who served in the Crusade.

Romalia needed to continue with the preparations for the Crusade as soon as possible, so this visit of the Pope had a great and deep political meaning.

So due to the fact that the Pope and his caravan were immediately surrounded by people at every village they stopped in, Saito and the others found it extremely difficult to implement their rescue mission.

If they were to proceed in their plan now, not only would they have to deal with the Templar Knights; the people would also turn on them, and they would be immediately surrounded by enemies on all sides.

And besides, fearing a possible assassination the escort staff of the Pope was on high alert; not even an ant could slip through their impenetrable defense. Not even those rumored as Chevalier of North Parterre members seemed able to make any move against the defense network of the soldiers assigned to directly guard the Pope.

It seemed that planning a move during the course of their journey was impossible.

Also, the guards of the Pope were always in the vanguard; this made it impossible to set up a trap in advance. Thus, attempting a surprise attack when they were in the vicinity of a forest would be unsuccessful due to the low number of soldiers at their disposal compared to the multitude of knights guarding the Pope.

So in the end, the progress in rescuing Tabitha was still minimal.

Two days had gone by since leaving Lutetia ...

If the Pope's caravan continued with their pace, they would be able to reach the "Tiger Highway" the next day...

Meanwhile at an inn not far from there, Saito and his group held a meeting on how to continue the rescue mission.

“Soon in that place, a huge number of people will gather to see the Pope; so being dressed as monks and mixing within that crowd should be an easy task. We cannot fail, failure is unacceptable...” Kirche said as she rested her elbows on the table; proving it, however, was a difficult task as she thought.

“But it has to be soon; we must rescue her before they reach Romalia or else the rescue would be impossible,” said Reynald with a completely serious face.

At the same time, Saito was desperately trying to think of a solution; but in the end the anxiety overwhelmed him. The idea of Tabitha being just within his reach but still unable to be rescued made him angry. Beside him was Louise, who kept her eyes closed; she seemed to be really struggling thinking about a solution to this dilemma, but still she couldn’t think of any idea.

“Just as I thought then, we do not have any other option but to attack in the front; if we can attack with everything we have, in the end maybe one of us will be able to reach and rescue Tabitha,” said Malicorne while nodding to himself.

“That would be suicide! But then if there is no other option, maybe we can just use the decoy plan.”

“Decoy plan?”

“Exactly,” said Saito.

“I will begin to make a scene near them to get their attention, then you just have to go after Tabitha...”

Before he could finish, suddenly a voice came from behind him.

“If you're the one to do it, then you won't get anything."

“Huh?”

When they turned around, what they found was a large muscular man standing near them. Immediately all present prepared to arm themselves with wands and swords from within their monk robes.

“It's me, Chikasui!” said the man.

“But you're a man?!” cried Louise.

“This person is certainly Chikasui!”

Behind him, Isabella appeared accompanied by another man. As expected, they wore monk robes whose hoods covered their head and eyes.

When the man lowered his hood, Saito couldn’t help letting out an "Ahh".

It was the man who, during that time on the river banks of the Leilian, had pretended to engage in a duel with Saito in order to deliver a letter for Tabitha.

When he turned his gaze to Saito, the man smiled.

“Long time no see.”

“You are...”

“The captain of the Knights of the Eastern Roses, Bart Castlemont,” Isabella said presenting him to all those present.

“The first time I heard it I still couldn’t believe it,” declared Castlemont as he watched Isabella with a cold stare. “But, upon seeing that young girl who now bears the royal crown, I'm forced to believe it. She couldn’t be Charlotte-sama! At all costs, we must recover the true Charlotte-sama and restore the throne that is rightfully hers! And so, because of all your invaluable help, I thank you deeply, Tristainian Knights.”

Castlemont then faced Saito and the others and offered them a bow.

Afterwards, Isabella started observing all those present around her.

“All right, then I shall begin to explain the composition of our men. First, in the case of the order of battle of Chevalier of North Parterre, including myself and Chikasui there are a total of 7 members. The rest of the order are now monitoring the caravan of the Pope to keep us aware of the situation there. Also, the members of the Rose squad knights commanded by Castlemont consist of 20 men."

“Our members don't have experience in actual battle, however... each and every one of them have sworn their allegiance.”

All those present then began to stir.

“We are also accounted. Belonging to Tristain Ondine Knights, counting commander Guiche, there are 4 members; and among them is the one who was named the "Hero of Albion", Chevalier Hiraga-dono. Also, those two are friends of Her Majesty. Thus, our total combat force consists of 33 mages.”

“I would say it’s a very good number,” said Guiche with voice of complacency.

“Very well, then as for a commander... Tell me, there isn't any problem if I am to be the commander, right?” Isabella said with a serious face. All those present gave their approval.

Certainly, no one within the group had any reason to object. Besides, leaving the command to the leader of the Order of Chevalier of North Parterre, whose specialty was dirty work, was the best possible option.

“Alright, let's start with the planning.”

Isabella then spread out a map on the table.

“Right here, we will take our position and begin the assault against the Pope's caravan. Our sole target is the carriage of the Pope; whoever arrives first will be responsible for rescuing Her Majesty. After that, he must go on this path where we have already prepared a wind dragon. Finally, he and Her Majesty must then flee in the direction of Lutetia.”

Then with a skeptical face Guiche said:

“Are you trying to say that with only a handful of men, we will make a direct attack against two full companies of Templar Knights?"

“Precisely.”

“We will be annihilated! They will surely destroy us!"

“We cannot consider "team work" in this plan because all present here come from different nations with their own different ways of organization. So running a precise and flawless plan is frankly impossible; the only possible option left is to buy time for someone to get into the carriage and perform the rescue, then that someone will take care and safeguard the Queen and bring her safely to Lutetia.”

“You might be right, we don’t seem to have any more options.” Castlemont said while nodding to Isabella.

“We are a squad of knights, there is a different way for us to act in frontal attacks. We cannot lose here, if we fail we will end up making things worse; we must give all that we have to make sure that won’t happen.”

Saito then said as he raised his head thoughtfully.

“I’m against this plan.”

“What did you say?"

“This will result in unnecessary sacrifices. We will all die before being able to save Tabitha.”

Louise also agreed with those words.

“Saito is correct.”

“But then what choice do we have?” Guiche said as he bent his head.

“There should be another way.” Louise then directed towards Guiche.

“If Tabitha is not rescued here it is likely that a terrible war might break out. If that happens, a lot more people will die in the end; is that what you want?”

Taking that into account, Saito looked at each one of those around him. All appeared to be quiet; however, in their eyes he could see complete resolution.

After seeing the nervous faces of Malicorne and Guiche, Saito finally understood:

"It seems that the one who is being naive...is me."

''Everyone here has already prepared themselves for what lies ahead.''

At that time he desperately wanted to reach and take the hand of Louise; he slowly moved his hand to her, but then stopped. It was a cruelty that he was about to commit; it was pretty obvious that everyone here also wanted to be able to hold the hand of his/her dearest. What he would do might be totally unfair.

''But then, are we really engaging in this battle?''

''Do we even have a chance of winning?''

Then from within his heart, Saito shook his head.

''It's useless!''

''We cannot beat an enemy that exceeds us 10 times in numbers; and moreover, they were not an ordinary enemy, they were the Templar Knights. Considering the experience of all of us in real battle conditions, we are still weak and naive.''

''...Indeed, it would be useless to fight ... Before we could even approach the carriage, magic attacks would already be fired upon us; but there is a possibility that most of us survive. In that case, we can rescue Tabitha and run... But the Templar Knights have pegasi; even if we use dragons to escape they can still chase us mid-air, and certainly it would be impossible to get rid of them... the chances this might work are almost zero.''

''But still, even if the chances are zero, if at that time the luck was on our side Tabitha could indeed be rescued. The only thing left is to go for that small gap that might open by some miraculous event. As expected of the Halkeginian nobles; when it comes to this, their resolution is unwavering.''

''But I...''

Saito looked at Louise.

And then watched his comrades who were prepared to die.

''I don’t want to die, I will not let them die.''

After thinking this Saito started to say:

“This is not right; it's not like I don’t understand what you’ve said, however, we will all die here: it may be true that the war would stop with our sacrifice but... it is more likely that we may not succeed, or rather we will surely fail. How is it that you agree with a bet so dangerous?”

“I never thought to hear that from the man who faced 70000 soldiers alone,” Guiche said in a surprised voice.

“The circumstances were completely different back then, since I was the only casualty. At this time we are talking about the lives of everyone. Surely, I understand your reasons for we must do it to avoid greater evil; but, even after knowing that, I still don’t want to see my friends die in vain before my eyes.”

Again silence flooded the room.

“Well then, what do you propose?” Isabella asked, breaking the silence on her own.

Then, at that time, Saito remembered the words spoken by Pope Vittorio.

"We must negotiate with the Elves, and place our power behind our backs."

Of course, if negotiation was not enough then it would be necessary to start a war.

But at this point the Pope thought there was still room for negotiation.

So with this renewed thought, Saito started to say:

“Let’s try to negotiate.”

“Impossible! What position do you have to start a negotiation? You know that the only thing they really want to do is to start a Crusade; it seems that you don’t really understand them,” said Castlemont, to which Saito became silent while pondering; then he asked Louise:

“Tell me Louise, can you create a large army using ‘illusion’?”

“With that power, I could but...”

"Well," Saito nodded in satisfaction.

The next morning...

The group assigned to lead the Pope's caravan was none other than the Order of Arieste Knights of the Church, which was commanded by Carlo Trobontino.

After almost an hour after they left the last village, they reached an area of land that seemed like a vast wasteland. Shortly, they arrived at the foot of the Mountain of the Fire Dragons. And soon they would travel to the route which joined Romalia and Gallia, the 'Tiger Highway'.

Meanwhile, daydreaming as he traveled, Carlo recited a sacred hymn as he could almost see the illusion of the Crusade that dwelt in his mind.

He imagined those hated elves burning by his sacred magic until they were reduced to ashes; his chest swelled with joy.

In this state, while immersing himself in his sick fantasies, his subordinates were already shaking and urged him to look in the location directly across from them.

“Commander!... See there!...”

“What? Behave vile worms! We are distinguished gentlemen of the church!”

As he said this, Carlo fixed his eyes in the direction pointed to him. He ended up losing his composure.

“What the hell? Are those...?”

In front of them, about 500 mails away, he saw the ranks of several thousand troops; even at that distance, he could clearly distinguish the cannons from the cavalry.

“Stop! All Stop!”

Then Carlo stopped the advance of his pegasus; all of his troops immediately halted. Afterwards, a messenger was urgently sent to the place where Pope was to inform him of the situation.

“What the hell, where did these morons came from? How dare they stop the advance of His Holiness the Pope...”

At that time, the sharp eyes of one of the subordinates of Carlo distinguished their banner.

“Is that ... The coat of arms of the lords of southern Gallia?”

“The Southern Gallian gentlemen you said!?”

''What the hell are they thinking, marching right in front of us and stopping our progress?''

''But the southern lords, who fought at the front lines in the previous war, were supposed to be allies.''

At that time, from within the marching army the figure of 3 men on horseback came out to meet them; one was carrying a white flag and slowly approached the caravan.

“They are asking for a truce!”

“Truce? Do they seek a war? To wage a war against us, the Army of God!? Repent, a thousand times, damn!"

While trembling with rage, Carlo prepared his troops as he pulled out his wand.

The suspected trio then stopped about 20 mails away, standing right in a place where Carlo could clearly see them. One of them, taller than the other two, dared to take a step to the front.

“I presume that this was the caravan of His Holiness the Pope. I am the captain of the Order of the Eastern Roses; my name is Bart Castlemont! And I have to proclaim to His Holiness the Pope that we demand his immediate surrender! We must reclaim what is respectfully ours!”

While shaking with rage, Carlo responded:

“You dare to obstruct the passage of His Holiness the Pope, this is BLASPHEMY! You have the guts to march all your troops behind our backs!? Are you stupid enough to start a war with us!?”

“My army has the sole purpose of getting back our master. So if you don’t resist and return our master, we will immediately turn around and gladly escort you to the border.”

“Stop saying nonsense! No matter what petty reasons you have, if you bastards dare to raise your wands against us, we will immediately accuse you of heresy!”

“Before accusing us of heresy, I would like you to tell me: who is the person currently sharing the carriage with His Holiness? Tell me, who has given you the authorization to take that person to your country? Depending upon your answer, I’ll immediately give the signal to attack!”

“Is that even a threat? Bastards! Perhaps you're saying that you’re trying to threaten His Holiness the Pope!”

Then Carlo prepared his wand to make an attack; as he took a forward step, a voice was heard echoing behind his back:

“What’s the commotion here?”

“His Holiness!...”

Without thinking, Carlo immediately bowed down. With a calm expression, Pope Vittorio glanced toward Castlemont, Saito and Chikasui.

Saito was nervous while he was being gazed at directly by Pope Vittorio. The Pope seemed to be traversing through his eyes, as if looking directly into his heart.

''Are we discovered?''

The army behind him was no more than the "illusion" created by Louise; though it would certainly be impossible to tell the difference between this and the real army, those mere illusions were obviously unable to attack.

''Could it be that another Void user like Vittorio is able to see through it and expose its falsehood?''

If they had been discovered, they would have to continue their previous plan, as Guiche and several gentlemen of Gallia were hidden around the wasteland waiting for the opportunity to make a direct assault; but it was obvious that if compelled to do so now any benefit granted by the element of surprise would be lost. At this time their chances for success seemed to have shrunk drastically.

Unable to do anything the icy cold sweat began to drop at his back.

“His Holiness!”

Saito then took off the hood covering his face; this sudden action perplexed Carlo.

“You bastard!...”

However, the calm expression of Vittorio didn’t change at all; so Saito decided to continue with his words:

“Tabitha...no, I ask you to return Her Majesty, Queen Charlotte; she has nothing to do with the war you want to start.”

Vittorio's reaction was nothing but a smile. He didn’t even try to deny the accusation brought against him.

“If you pledge your support for our plans, I will gladly return her.” With this, Saito became speechless. “You know, I'm not really concerned; it was never my intention to control Gallia nor anything of what's in it. My only goal was always to lead them in order to complete again the Four of Four.”

“Why are you so persistent with this Crusade!? Is it really important to wage this war? You should stop all of this and forget the Holy Land!”

“There is a reason to take back the 'Holy Land'. If you would indulge me, I would like for you to join us; for there is something that I want to show you.”

''You’re still trying to convince me?'', Saito thought.

It was at this time.

"Chikasui" who was on the far left suddenly started to cast a spell. From the palm of his hand, a blinding light began to radiate; everyone was surrounded by the intense light.

Saito instinctively looked away from the glare, just as Carlo and the Templar Knights around him covered their faces to protect them from the light.

As if expecting this move from Chikasui, it seemed that Castlemont was the only one who still retained his rapid movements.

As expected from the square-class mage of "wind", in the blink of an eye he covered the distance of about 20 mails separating them. He quickly approached Vittorio, put the Pope’s arms behind his back, and immediately pointed his wand at his neck.

“Don’t move!” Castlemont screamed as the confused Templar Knights were about to take out their wands.

“Drop your wands!”

From that moment, Castlemont began to give orders to all those knights gathered there; the expression on their faces was totally alarming.

They hesitated to move; they kept looking at the Pope and at their wands.

Pope Vittorio was calm, and a warm smile was still on his face.

“Drop your wands! It's an order! Don’t force me to take the life of His Holiness!”

Then Vittorio started to say:

“Gentlemen, please do as this person says.”

At these words, the Templar Knights began to throw their wands to the ground. Chikasui hurriedly cast Alchemy on the wands, and they began to melt.

Then Castlemont shouted to Saito who seemed to be confused about what was happening:

“Quick! Go to the carriage and rescue the Queen!”

Hearing that, Saito returned to his senses. Although he was against this hostage taking, this was not the time to ask questions; after all, they were in the middle of a battle.

It was necessary for their goal; they had to set aside their emotions in order to make the most appropriate decision. He himself had learned this hard truth; if not, he wouldn’t be able to save anyone.

“Eh, understood!”

Saito rushed to the carriage, opened the door, and found Tabitha and Sylphid inside sitting next to each other.

“You are...”

Saito then turned to a surprised Tabitha and said:

“I'm here to rescue you! We must hurry!”

“Kyui! Kyuikyui! I cannot believe this!” Sylphid screamed and hugged Saito.

“Sylphid, return to your dragon form and take Tabitha with you!”

“Understood!”

That said, Sylphid immediately returned to dragon form, took Tabitha with her mouth and mounted the queen on her back.

The Templar Knights saw their escape as Sylphid quickly ascended to the sky.

Meanwhile their allies, who had remained hidden, began to approach the carriage.

“Saito! Are you okay?!?”

“Yes! Saito did it!"

Those were the Knights of North Parterre and Eastern Roses. One by one they began collecting the wands belonging to the Templar Knights; the next thing they did was to melt them with Alchemy or split them in two. Carlo began to murmur as fury marked his face:

“Bastards!... You cannot even be considered heretics, you’re just animals! You along with your entire families will suffer the Inquisition; your name will not be heard as we will annihilate every last one of you!”

Addressing Carlo, Castlemont still held Vittorio hostage:

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any relatives.”

Every one of his companions was detailed to disable one by one the wands of the enemy, however... The number of wands were equal to the members of the two companies escorting the Pope, so destroying them one by one would take too long.

''We have to gather them all in one place to securely hold them.''

If reinforcements came, we wouldn’t stand a chance. So we have to take every possible opportunity to maintain this advantage.

By the time they were about to gather all the wands of the Templar Knights...

Up in the sky, a shriek from Sylphid could be heard.

“Kyuikyui!”

Flying up in the sky, moving like a lightning strike, a wind dragon appeared before Sylphid.

The wind dragon began to chase the stunned Sylphid, with the sole purpose of stealing Tabitha.

“Julio!” Saito cried seeing the person riding on the back of the dragon: the one who was able to manipulate all beasts, Windalfr.

That dragon, manipulated by the familiar called the Right Hand of God, was tirelessly working trying to follow the movements of Sylphid to snatch her load.

“Flee in this direction!”

Not knowing if his instruction had reached her, he saw Sylphid attempt to make a fast descent while Tabitha was still on her back; however they couldn’t make it as Azulo, showing precise hawk-like movements, and Julio were able to intercept them and snatch Tabitha.

Tabitha not having her wand was just a little girl; unable to put up any resistance, there was no way she could change the situation she was in now.

Holding Tabitha in its mouth, Azulo made a loud flapping sound and began to return to Romalia.

“Kyuih!”

Sylphid reached Saito, landing right next to him.

“This is bad!”

As Saito shouted this, he immediately jumped on the back of Sylphid.

“I'm coming too!”

By the time they were about to leave, Louise also jumped on Sylphid’s back, followed by Kirche doing the same.

“Hey Kirche! What are you doing?!”

“I just remembered you two cannot use ‘levitation’!”

Saito nodded at this, and then shouted:

“Go after them, Sylphid!”

"Kyui!" Sylphid cried and started to ascend.

“Hurry up! If they make it to Romalia, we’re in serious trouble!”

Sylphid flapped fiercely as Julio and Azulo looked like a point in the distance.

On the ground, Castlemont and company as well as the Templar Knights were still stunned seeing the spectacle in the sky; but... after a while, everyone prepared to ride their horses and pegasi and started pursuing the two dragons.

“Damn! They’re really fast! Sylphid, can you fly faster?!”

“This is all the strength I have!”

Although both Azulo and Sylphid were wind dragons, the difference between them looked like a puppy compared with an adult dog. No one could reach the speed of the wind dragon commanded by Windalfr.

“We're about to cross the border!”

Right in front of them they could glimpse the enormous mountain range of the Fire Dragons; this was a ridge that stretched from east to west dividing Halkeginia ... And right behind those mountains was Romalia.

The moment they saw the wind dragon something horrible happened; leaving the mouth of Azulo, they saw Tabitha falling to the ground.

“Saito! Tabitha is...!” Louise issued a desperate cry.

Performing a maneuver like a somersault, Azulo swooped at full speed and once again captured Tabitha in its mouth. Without changing direction, Azulo continued rotating reaching an astonishing rate of descent.

“They did it on purpose, they just wanted to hurt Tabitha!” Kirche said desperately.

Upon hearing those words Saito’s heart was set on fire. If they continued with that she could fall and hit the ground ... and yet they were playing with her small body as if it was a rag doll.

There was still a chance, an opportunity obtained by putting his life in danger; he would never allow them to escape.

“Come on! Sylphid!”

“Understood!”

Sylphid quickly began to close the distance; Azulo tried to escape, but his speed didn’t increase.

“Attack them, Sylphid!”

“Kyuikyui!”

Sylphid prepared to attack with everything she had; however, Azulo swiftly dodged them. At that moment, Saito jumped while drawing his sword.

With his left hand, he was able to hang on to a claw of Azulo. Then following Azulo’s movements, he began to climb up and reach the dragon's back.

Having faster reaction time than Julio, Saito took him by the neck and pointed his sword.
[[File:ZnT18-124.jpg|thumb]]

“Get us down!”

Despite the situation, Julio kept his calm face.

“You’re just in time; come, I want to show you something.”

“You've got to be kidding me!” Saito screamed furiously.

“Oh God! ... you’re always acting like this, at least listen for once to what people have to say.”

“Do you expect me to listen to a selfish person like you? Always talking about the Crusade, always clinging to that foolishness; just GET us down!”

As Julio shook his head "As you wish," was when he finally decided to land Azulo.

Upon reaching the ground, Saito immediately ran to where Tabitha was.

“Tabitha!”

“I'm ... fine.”

After leaving Tabitha in Kirche’s care, he turned once more to Julio.

“Hey Julio!”

“What now?”

“We need to talk.”

“Alright; honestly for once, I always wanted to have a little chat with you.”

“What’s your purpose, the reason for continuing with this Crusade? Can’t you just live in peace and forget about the Holy Land?”

Hearing him say that, the face of Julio seemed to display an expression of someone who has to help a friend in his studies because he always gets bad grades.

“We must find something necessary for our purposes in this world. Just think a little, what do you think is the reason why we have repeated wars for the last 6000 years? If you look a bit, initially the people are still the same, they still fight just for a piece of barren land and for their pride ... Do you think that justifies all the blood that has been spilled so far?”

“I don’t know.”

“That's because we are in a situation where our hearts cannot find a support to cling to; we are in a situation where our "sacred land" has been stolen by the heretics. And so, what should we believe then?”

“So, that was your reason for starting a war against the Elves?”

“Yes, for they have unjustly occupied a land that was rightfully ours from the beginning.”

“... Dammit, is that really a reason?”

For a few moments Saito remained staring at Julio; then suddenly he began to laugh.

“A ha ha ha! Don’t look!

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, it's just that, I never really thought that petty reason would start this endless war. Really, it would be fine to just leave the sacred land alone. It’s really absurd to fight, you know. And it would be a hundred times, no, a thousand times more fun to just stay and play with your friends.”

“What did you say?”

Saito's face turned pale. ''This guy is really getting in my nerves.''

“You insist on going in this endless Crusade forever without giving any logical reason, by the waging of war against the elves over and over again; do you really expect to win if you only fight for honor? How much time has passed since your ancestors were displayed as pathetic losers after failing to recover their land even after a millennia?”

“You... Perhaps, are you trying to mock me?”

Filled with rage, Saito then threw a punch at Julio; however, Julio smoothly and nimbly dodged it.

“Hey! Hey! Do not get mad for something so simple; things will get very bad if you cannot even control your emotions like this.”

Saito could only keep seeing Julio with full hatred.

“You ... that’s what people like you always think, always controlling and treating us like idiots! Do you really look at all the people around you only as mere pawns?”

“Of course not, I never thought something like that.”

“Liar! What about that girl, Tabitha's sister ... when she wears that crown? What did you say to make her cheat? What did you say to her for her to betray her own sister? Surely, you've tampered with her with a potion!”

Upon hearing this, Julio's face turned slightly serious.

“Potion? I would never use something like that.”

“Well, then what did you do? Or perhaps, do not tell me you...”

Saito bit his lip because of the thought that overwhelmed him.

“Are you trying to tell me you made that poor girl fall in love with you?”

Julio opened the palms of his hands. It was really strange that this young man felt proud of himself in such a desperate situation.

“If I say yes, what would you do then?”

Saito was outraged by the hostile tone of Julio and began to respond.

“Damn you... You're the worst! How dare you use a woman who is in love with you ... seriously, you are the lowest; I wonder what your God would do if he knew this!”

The color of Julio’s face changed at this.

“What did you say?”

His eyes burned with anger and his grin had disappeared completely.

Demonstrating his contempt, Saito said as he lifted his lips:

“You, was it your "body and soul"? Or is it your God that tells you it's okay to use women in love with you for your silly purposes?”

With quick movements, Julio's reaction was to deal a strong blow to Saito’s face, which Saito swiftly pushed back.

“Think what you're doing, idiot!”

While recovering, Saito placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Do you still want to continue?”

“What did you say about my own body and soul?!!”

Julio, without hesitation, then dealt a punch to Saito.

“Idiot!...”

In the time that Saito was about to draw his sword, he noticed what was in Julio's face: an expression of such fury, that prevented him from controlling himself. This combined with the disappearance of that mocking tone which mocked anyone talking to him.

“Are you really try to face me, Gandalfr, unarmed and without using any beast?”

In truth, Saito didn’t have the slightest idea about what was going on; and apparently, Julio wasn't even considering the consequences of what he was doing. But anyway, Saito had never faced an opponent before who was unarmed.

After regaining his composure, Saito decided to throw away his sword which was picked up immediately by a worried Louise.

“Saito...”

“You dare to talk about what's inside of my soul... You know nothing!”

The tone of Julio made Saito to remember those of his childhood bullies.

Then, Saito punched Julio with the fist of his left hand; and immediately after, in less than an eyeblink, dealt a direct hit with his right hand.

This seemed to have become boxing practice; however there were times when the fight was becoming more serious. Without the power of Gandalfr, Saito was just an ordinary boy. He would eventually lose to this match due to shock.

However, the physical abilities of Julio were worthy of admiration; he could dodge Saito’s punches easily, then respond by throwing a kick. Even so, Saito caught his leg and with all his strength pinned him down, and then he began to strike punches one after another right in the beautiful face of Julio.

But then, the attacks of Saito didn’t last for long, as Julio took one leg of Saito and then turned his body skillfully, thus changing positions.

Their fury seemed to last forever, exchanging punches again and again. Such a display of tenacity and fury made Louise, Kirche and Tabitha speechless as they observed them in dismay, waiting to reach the conclusion.

Finally, both Saito and Julio were exhausted; they lay down and were not able to send another punch. The two of them had been in such a pitiful state as they seemed to be unrecognizable. Saito's face was completely swollen, and part of his left eye was hidden behind his swollen cheeks. For Julio, an endless stream of blood flowed from his nose; this combined with the deformation of his face which was caused by the immense swelling in his cheeks.

This had been a contest of fists, so it was obvious that the hands of those two contestants were completely destroyed; their hands were so swollen that even their little fingers were twice their original size. Those limbs were completely impossible move right now.

So while in the state of breathing laboriously, Saito started to say:

“... This is very strange of you, you, who made yourself lose your sanity.”

At this Julio answered revealing his pain.

“You know, I envy you.”

“What did you say?”

“You can love someone without having to worry about anything.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“What, you really thought I had no feelings? I have done a tremendous effort to avoid falling in love... And yet I fell for it, and not only that, I also saw the need of having to use it. I really believed that someone like you would be able to understand what's in my heart?”

“Well, I don’t understand the fact that it is "necessary" to use it.”

“That’s very unfortunate.”

“But then, use it for what?”

“Who do you think we're doing this for? For them, for everyone, for you ... We are doing everything for you, you who are living on this doomed earth.”

From that moment, Julio began to cry; * gushih ** gushih *. From his eyes tears flowed, then he started a plain sob.

For Saito, he never would have guessed that Julio was able to mourn; so he was really surprised.

Eventually after crying for a moment Julio stood up. With puzzled expressions, Kirche and Tabitha rushed to them. Both Saito and Julio, feeling poorly, were treated with some "healing". Apparently it was not enough to completely stop the pain, but at least it served so they could calm down for a bit.

Then Julio said brokenly:

“That’s enough, do whatever you want; I do not care anymore how you guys would be able to live in this land, nor for everyone who always likes to kill each other for just a small piece of land.”

“Julio, what’s wrong? What are you talking about?” Louise asked, confused by what she had heard.

“See it for yourself,” said Julio with a voice that reflected his discouragement.

“What the hell are you talking about!?”

At the moment Saito approached Julio after saying this....

The earth began to shake.

***

Castlemont and the others, who still had the Pope as their hostage, were following the trail of Saito.

Right behind them, riding on their pegasi, the Templar Knights also followed closely looking for answers.

One of the nobles chasing the wind dragon had spotted Saito and the others; after using a ‘far-sight spell’, he shouted excitedly:

“They already landed!”

“Very well!” Castlemont said as his troops began to increase the speed of their horses.

After a few minutes...

A violent tremor began to shake.

“Uwa! An earthquake!”

As the knights lost control of their horses, one by one they stopped. The horses started to panic and some of them began running, stumbling and inevitably ended up lying on the ground; even so the intensity of the shaking became stronger.

“It’s too violent!”

The shaking continued for a few moments... then stopped abruptly.

“That earthquake was so strong! I've never felt something like that before!”

At that moment, Castlemont heard someone muttering; it was the Pope. Pope Vittorio, who was
mounted in front right next to him bound tightly with magic rope, started to say:

“It has already started!”

“What did you say? What was already started?”

“The "Great Uprising" has begun!”

“What's that?”

At the time Castlemont wondered about this, a new tremor started and shook the earth violently; this new tremor was far stronger than before. The horses began to kneel, and even the soldiers who were on foot could not remain standing as they felt the intensity of the earthquake.

“Hwuah!”

Castlemont was thrown from his horse; Vittorio also rolled after falling to the ground. Crawling quickly, Castlemont went to where Vittorio had fallen. The intense shaking of the earth felt like being swallowed in a violent storm.

“What the hell is going on?!”

Without answering, all Vittorio did was to observe something at a distance.

Castlemont then fixed his gaze in the same direction as Vittorio.

This time, he was completely speechless.

***

“Oi, what the hell is that?!”

Malicorne and Guiche kept their hands on the ground due to the intensive shaking; they soon noticed that Reynald remained staring in one direction.

“Hey Reynald, what's wrong?”

Reynald didn’t answer. He just raised his finger slowly and pointed forward. Seeing the disaster right in front of them, they were completely shocked.

So, because no one could explain what was happening, they decided to extend their hands and then pinched each other’s cheeks.

“It hurts!” Both Guiche and Malicorne said, almost wanting to cry.

“... This is not a dream!”

Both men from the North Parterre, Eastern Roses, and the Templar Knights ended up forgetting their precautions and hostilities they had with each other when they saw before their eyes, that gigantic and horrifying natural disaster.

As if remembering something, one of these gentlemen began to murmur:

“So it’s true, the continent of Albion was once part of Halkeginia...”

***

A tremendous roar emerged echoing in their ears; the increasingly strong vibration did not show any signs of stopping.

With a voice as if not believing in what he was seeing, Saito said:

“The mountain... is floating!”

The Mountain of the Fire Dragon that he was watching... this mountain that was once a part of the great mountain ranges began to ascend up into the sky.

It was a spectacle that could be described in one word: "Majestic".

As if there was a rocket pushing those mountains up, they inexorably ascended towards the sky.

Once the mountain was fully in the air, a furious cloud of dust rose from where it came from; the surroundings darkened as if night had started prematurely. The same dust came into the throat of Saito almost suffocating him.

“What the hell was that... what's going on?”

Julio then explained it to Saito:

“This is the "Great Uprising"; this happens when the gradual accumulation of wind stones begins to raise an entire land mass.

“Wind stone?”

''Certainly; they are used to raise "ships” to the sky, in addition to being a crystal that holds the power of the wind from the Previous Resident...''

“... As you know, the lands of Halkeginia were rich of these wind stones. To put in simple words, a wind stone is a glass where the power of the spirits lies, so what happens is that it gradually crystallized into the ground forming a "spiritual power". So after tens of thousands of years, the amount soon be enough so that those wind stones will eventually raise the whole earth.”

“The whole earth, you say?”

Then Julio said in a tired voice:

“Unfortunately, right now a large saturation of wind stones are buried throughout Halkeginia; we will soon be tossed like a pancake into the air and huge chunks of land will began to float. Do you finally understand? This is the reason why we must reach the Holy Land.”

“Then why do you keep it secret all this time?!”

Julio replied as if spitting:

“Tell me, after finally seeing this, was it hard for you to believe in the sincerity of our words? An idiot not seeing things with their own eyes will never believe.”

***

After 30 minutes the shaking subsided. With that, Vittorio, the Templar Knights, Castlemont, Guiche and company finally arrived at the place where Saito and the others were.

Apparently, what happened today in the mountain of the Fire Dragon, had came as a surprise to members of the Templar Knights, as they were confused not knowing what was happening.

“Are you surprised?” Vittorio asked Saito.

“Yeah ... this is the first time I saw a mountain rise up like that.”

After listening to Saito, a smile spread across the face of Vittorio.

“The land that has risen will gradually consume the power of the wind stones, so once again they will return to the surface. The continent of Albion is part of the remains of what has become the first ‘Great Uprising’.”

“What was really happening in Halkeginia?” Asked Louise with a worried face, to which Vittorio said while shaking his head.

“Actually ... It’s not all; according to research we have done personally, our estimate is that 50% of the whole land would rise up just like what you have witnessed; but there was some degree of error in our calculations. Anyway, the damage to all the continent would be catastrophic, so within a few decades these types of events will began to occur throughout Halkeginia.”

“So, what you’re trying to say is that we will be left without a place to live in?” said Guiche in a shocked voice.

“Yes; it will not be today nor tomorrow, but in the near future half of the Halkeginian population will lose the land needed to live. When that happens, there will be land conflicts, and a war with no real winners will begin. To prevent that from happening, we have awakened "the Void"; that is why we must recover the "Holy Land" that was taken from us by pagan Elves.”

“In the Holy Land ... is there something?”

Vittorio quickly answered that question:

“There is a giant magical device built by the founder, Brimir. The only one that can able to fight against this(spiritual power). We, the Four of Four who possess the power of "VOID", it is our duty to recover the Holy Land; for our salvation lies in it so that we can rid our land of this threatening disaster!”

“This is something ... something important, why have you kept this hidden all this time!?” cried Saito as he clenched his fists tightly.

Seeing his reaction, Vittorio repeated the same words that Julio had said only a few moments ago.

“Do you really believe that anyone would even believe a story like this? Unless they see it with their own eyes, people will never actually believe; and also, in the given case that we have told this story before, probably at least a few of you would say "Can we really believe what they said?" Then rumors will begin to spread, which alone would lead to unnecessary panic among the people.”

''That may be true'', Saito thought to himself.

''If I hadn’t seen the truth with my own eyes, if I hadn’t witnessed that such a mountain could rise up into the sky, when I heard this story I most likely would never have to believed it.''

“See, I told you,” Julio said mocking voice.

“We must act "seriously", although this would cost us our lives; if it is to recover the Holy Land, we will do whatever is necessary. Those words came from the mouth of God, even Valhalla(Death) would cooperate with us in our Crusade! The "Great Uprising" of today was what we might call, our letters of TRIUMPH, all of these were done with the sole purpose of us to believe!”

Vittorio then took Saito’s hand.

“Will you lend us your strength, Gandálfr? Everything is for the distant future, our descendants may live quietly in a safe land, which really belongs to them, no matter what happen in the crusade, our first priority now will begin with negotiations. If the elves peacefully return "the holy land", then there will be no problem, but if they don’t, we will continue initiating the attack, that would be our last option, we must fight for our right to survive!”

Saito and his friends began to look at each other faces.

As Isabela and Castlemont, Malicorne, Guiche and Reynald, Tabitha and Kirche, all evidenced in their faces that they did not know what to do.

The whole story was too incredible, too unexpected, while their heads still could not process what was really happening. But ...

The mountain floating in the sky right now, as they look up, it became the extension of the clouds in heaven showing how the unimaginable would turn into a reality, their reasoning were shaken uncontrollably.

But it was precisely for this reason that at the moment, they could not reach an agreement.

After what the Romalia had done so far, it was difficult to say whether they would accept to "cooperate" with them.

With these concerns clouding their judgment, Louise tried to calm Saito by taking his hand, and then head to Vittorio:

“We currently do not have the authority to respond to your request; so I ask to give us time to make our considerations, but before that, we have a few conditions.”

“Go ahead.”

“First, I ask that from this moment, that you won’t hide any information.”

“I promise.”

From that point, Louise looked at Tabitha.

“The next thing is, that the throne is restored to the rightful queen of Gallia.”

“I cannot do that.”

“Why?”

“Gallia is a huge nation, if you don’t have a queen in command, their moral in battle would not be enough to achieve victory,” Vittorio said in a calm voice as he could.

“But Tabitha can...”

Saying this Saito, Tabitha started to respond in her own:

“I, I intend to go with you.”

“Is that alright?”

“That was my intention from the beginning, the main reason I wear that crown was to help you, though I really don't like it, I still agree with the plan that the crown be given to the imposter sent by Romalia...”

Having said that, Tabitha then took the hand of Saito.

“Then it's settled.”

At that time, Vittorio began to look around.

“All of us here have seen, for the first time today that we shared here our truth and so, we have become true brothers! May the grace of God enlighten us in our future endeavors!”

All of the soldiers rose and began to see each other in amazement, however, after a time they decided to shake hands, and embrace each other.

Saito and others, who still had trouble accepting this, saw the how the things had become.

While he rubbed his face, Julio asked Saito:

“What's wrong, aren’t you satisfied?”

“Well it is, or rather, still I do not like the idea that in the end, everything was finished just as you have planned.”

“Do not say something like that, but things finished well atleast for my part, I really have to make a great effort to resist.”

“What do you mean?”

“All this would have been easier, if we only waited for the new void user.”

“Why was it not done?”

After hearing this, Julio replied as if sighing:

“I was excited.”

“To what?”

“I wanted to fight you. I really wished to face you. In order to achieve greatness, one must remove the obstacles, that was the way to solve the problems. However, I’m not really that strong, damn, if only I could be stronger, I would have been more preferable.”

Saito then stared Julio, his face was haggard, swollen everywhere and blood could be seen from either side of the handsome face of Julio.

Then he recalled his words of just moments ago:

"You can love someone without having to worry about anything."

''That guy ... Although we have almost be the same age, he can act so casually, while hiding the truth in his chest.'' He was also reminded of his tears before. Totally crying like a small child.

“Idiot!” Saito said.

“That’s what I should say.” Julio said while his eyes remained fixed on Saito.

“By the way, I would like to apologize, for what I said before, about who owned your body and soul, but it is also your fault for your bad habit of always wanting to deceive people.”

“...I haven’t truly deceived people before.” He said in a dejected voice.

Then Saito turned his face away trying to avoid to look into his eyes, he decided to extend his hand to Julio.

“What is this?”

“A handshake, but this does not mean that I have already accepted cooperate with you.”

Julio watched that hand for a moment, but in the end, he corresponded strongly against his handshake...

<noinclude>
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| Forward to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter7|Chapter 7]]
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter5

2017-08-10T17:16:19Z

Txtracer:

===Chapter 5 – Confession of the Pope===

“Seriously, seeing all these guards, I’m sure we could never do anything against them.” said Guiche.

Hundreds of Templar Knights were lined up, stationed in front of the mansion. It really made for a show which was qualified as "too exaggerated".

The next morning... Saito and the others were able to get right in front of the official residence of Vittorio thanks to the uproar caused by the citizens of Lutetia, who had taken to the streets looking for an opportunity to see the Pope before his return to Romalia.

Saito, Louise, Kirche, and the Ondine Knights Guiche, Reynald and Malicorne.

Henrietta was in a reserved seat at the official residence that was prepared for her as a guest of honor. Near Henrietta was the representative of the Ondine Knights, Gimli, and Agnes, who were doing their duty as escorts for the Queen.

So the group to perform the rescue mission was Saito and company.

It was true that if Saito and others were not involved in the farewell ceremony, this would cause suspicion by Romalia; that is why Isabella devised a plan to prevent this from happening.

She used "Skillnir". These puppets, which were sprayed with the blood of the person she wanted them to mimic, transformed immediately into an identical copy of the owner of the blood used thus preparing a perfect double.

Previously, thanks to Myoznitnirn, they had already proven the effectiveness of these dolls. Having seen one of these magical objects, they had been able to produce a walking doll identical to Siesta. Even Louise and company had been able to experience first-hand the fearsome potential possessed by such tools.

Considering the current situation, they had to be treated with the highest standards of accuracy; any error, however small, without a doubt would inevitably be discovered.

Saito and the others were looking for a disguise which would not attract any attention. So they decided to dress up as monks.

Actually, if you think about this setting, the robe of monks had a hood that covered their entire head. These were the perfect attire for those who wished to hide or go unnoticed. Truly, a very useful tool for a situation like this.

“Is it true that we can see Tabitha here?” Louise asked with a voice that reflected her concern.

“I'm sure we will. For Romalia, keeping a captive like Tabitha is like they’re carrying a barrel of gunpowder everywhere. It is logical that they will not take the risk to keep this up for a long time, as they still have some degree of disadvantage being in another country. That is why I'm certain that the Pope planned to take her with him back to Romalia,“ said Kirche. Guiche, with a simplistic voice, spoke without any hesitation of a terrible possibility:

“But, why would they keep her alive? If she was in their way, wouldn't it be a sufficient reason to eliminate her?”

“Guiche...” said Saito. Guiche was rebuked for his lack of tact but he still continued with his words:

“It's like ... It doesn’t really make sense to fight for someone who is no longer alive...”

“Why are you thinking like that?...“ Saito said with a shocked face, thinking of more appropriate words to say while looking at Guiche.

“What you said may be true, but we have to think about the worst case scenario and prepare for what we have to do in the event that it happens. That's the only way to prevent unnecessary sacrifices. Tell me, would you risk the life of your subordinates for someone who was already dead?” Guiche said with a completely serious face.

“Ehhh...” Saito could only nod silently.

“Certainly, it is as Guiche said; but I'm sure Tabitha is still alive.”

“Tell me, how can you be so sure?”

“I decided to believe in it from the beginning; and besides, no matter how long we wait we just have to keep hoping. For now, we just have to wait and see what Chikasui has to say; I think she was a member of the Chevalier of North Parterre, right?"

“What if she was murdered, what would you do then?” Reynald asked Kirche.

“I, myself, would be the one to kill all those Romalian bastards!” Kirche said without a second thought.

“Hey, if you do that it will start a war!” Guiche said in a surprised voice.

“If so, one would have to take the initiative and make the first attack with all our strength.”

“You shouldn’t be saying things like that, it’s dangerous!”

“That would be the most obvious conclusion,” Saito could not think but to conclude with those words.

''If my friends and the most valuable to me were killed ... What should I do?''

''What if someone dared to lay a hand on Louise?''

At that moment, Louise, who stood beside him, stared at the long lines formed by the Templar Knights. Positioned in front of the mansion, each one wore a magnificent military uniform; and all the troops were accommodated so that they formed one line to the right and one to the left. This scene made Saito remember watching toy soldiers in his childhood.

''If Louise was killed by those guys ... Would the only option be to go to war to take revenge?''

Before he could imagine an answer to that question, the mansion doors were opened wide. Then the loud cries of the people were heard as they saw Pope Vittorio, who had finally been presented before them.

Afterwards a lot of carriages appeared from the bottom of the avenue. They passed right in front of where Saito and the others were and stopped in front of the mansion.

Inside the largest carriage were his secretary and the Prime Minister. Before entering his carriage, Vittorio addressed the people by waving and showing big smiles at them.

After that the ranks of soldiers began to move slowly. Leading those soldiers were the Templar Knights, followed by a large caravan of carriages where the cabinet ministers and a group of priests were seated. Behind the Pope's carriage were 5 wagons which were apparently intended to carry their luggage.

So, with the carriages in the middle, what was left behind was a huge number of Templar Knights who guarded the church members. The whole army was composed of about 500 units; it was truly enormous. As would be expected from an escort who secure the safety of the Pope.

“I cannot see Julio anywhere,” Saito said.

Apparently Julio, who always stood right next to Vittorio like a shadow, could not be found anywhere.

“Surely he must be with the impostor who replaced Tabitha; they needed someone to keep an eye on her all the time, right?” Louise said. Saito nodded showing that he fully agreed with her.

“That’s correct!” A voice boomed from behind them; this led Saito to turn around. What he found was a young woman dressed in a maid uniform, standing there watching; apparently Saito did not remember seeing her face before.

Without a second thought, Guiche and Reynald took her arms to hold her and led her to a nearby alley.

Malicorne unsheathed his wand and immediately pointed it to the mysterious visitor.

“You! Who the hell are you?”

“I'm a faithful vassal of Isabella. She ordered me to act as a 'communicator' between you and the Order."

“What’s your name?”

“Chikasui.”

“How suspicious! Especially that skirt you're wearing...”

Malicorne then raised his wand to his mouth and began to lick it; he seemed to be a member of the committee of torture. However, that girl who had called herself Chikasui bent her body and, showing her ability, broke free and knocked over both Guiche and Reynald. At the same time, she had taken out a dagger at her waist and with a flick of her hands the slash of a blade struck Malicorne's waist.

“Eehhh? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Malicorne’s belt had been cut, and his pants were lying on the floor. In a panic, Malicorne immediately reacted and tried to fasten it up again.

“My honor!... Don’t worry about me, my friends, it seems that my honor is still intact!”

Saito then stared at the girl closely.

“Chikasui??”

“Really? Don’t you remember the girl who brought you to Isabella earlier?”

“Your face is different from the last time we met.”

She hadn’t shown her childish figure as she did now. Saito looked at her and even the color of her hair was different.

“Well, I advise you not to think too deeply about it.”

Chikasui laughed for a moment and then her face turned completely serious.

''It must be magic, but what kind of magic? Surely it is a magical “spell” to disguise oneself.''
Saito ended up convincing himself of it.

“Her Majesty Queen Charlotte and her family were induced into a deep sleep, and then transported inside of one of those carriages.”

“I thought so.”

“Which carriage is it?”

Chikasui said quietly:

“The carriage of His Holiness the Pope.”

At the same time in the Palace of Versailles...

Josette worriedly watched Julio, who was about to leave.

“Do you really have to go?”

“I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

At that point, Josette repeatedly shook her head showing her dismay caused by the departure of Julio..

“I, I will be left alone, and I don’t know what to do if you are not with me.”

“But Lord Barberini will stay here; just follow his instructions until I return.”

“But I'm fine with you. I do not want anybody else.”

Then Julio, trying to comfort Jossette who seemed about to start out a tantrum as if she were a little girl, said:

“I get it; when I return, I promise that we will always be together.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I'm serious. I'll be with you even if you do not want it.”

That said, the face of Josette seemed to become a little angry.

“Of course not, I always want to be by your side... but tell me, are you really serious?”

“Yes.”

After hearing this, Josette's face lit up with joy.

“Really?”

“I said it seriously.”

“If so, I will be patient.”

Julio kissed Jossette and then opened the window to reveal an approaching flying dragon with bright blue scales, which gave a mighty roar at the sight of his master: ''KyuWah!''

Afterwards, Julio jumped out of the window and held on to the back of the wind dragon. The dragon quickly began to climb out of sight in the vast blue sky.

With an uneasy expression on her face, Josette, now alone in the palace, watched the winged dragon depart from her window .[[File:ZnT18-098.jpg|thumb]]

Meanwhile, inside a carriage Tabitha finally opened her eyes and saw Sylphid at her side, who remained asleep while whistling a gentle sound.

And in front of them, Pope Vittorio was reading a book.

“Oh! You’re finally awake.”

Vittorio closed his book and then turned his gaze towards Tabitha.

Inside the carriage the windows remained covered by curtains, making it impossible to see from the outside what was happening inside.

Also, a magical device had been placed on the roof which emitted a dim light that shone quite well inside the carriage. Tabitha placed her hand over the mouth of Sylphid.

Then, resuming reading the book he was holding, Vittorio said:

“Let me give you some advice: I would like you to put aside the idea of trying to fight or flee from here. This carriage is surrounded by two companies of Templar Knights, and you are stripped of your wand; therefore, if you tried to perform any reckless action you would surely be killed.”

Tabitha's eyes shifted to the book held by Vittorio.

“Does this book get your attention? Well; this is the proof of my faith, history often repeated in the past... The void users and their familiars ... and also, the four treasure rings. It would be convenient to say that they have always been the ‘four of four’. Why do you think they were called that?”

Tabitha could only shake her head in response.

“After running away from his homeland, Founder Brimir took refuge here in this land, Halkeginia; and in this land he got the power to move, to breathe, and turned into something that was present here for a long time, and I assume you already know what I'm talking about, right? The powerful spirit that we have been calling "the former resident"... only a few of us know of it. The power of water: the ‘WATER STONE’. The one used in the production of golems: the ‘EARTH STONE’. The ‘FIRE STONE’ that King Joseph used recently; and also ...

Vittorio then pulled a small bottle from his pocket, and there was a transparent crystal glowing inside it.

By shaking the bottle, the crystal brightened even more. Then Vittorio released the crystal; it remained floating over his hand.

“This is a ‘WIND STONE’; we use this in order to raise boats in the air. For a wind mage like you, this should look familiar.”

After saying this, Vittorio pointed his finger to the sky.

“Also, the reason why the continent of Albion kept floating was because of the power of the ‘WIND STONE’; and I assume you already knew of these facts also.”

Tabitha couldn’t respond, but stared silently at Vittorio.

“The power of the ‘former resident’ is something that provides both greatness and fear. The nature of that great power is like an immense force with sharp fangs! The four of four must reappear in this world! Up until now they have never been assembled, so the miracle hasn’t occurred yet. But believe me, now it’s different.”

Tabitha opened her mouth in wonder; she was completely immersed listening to the eloquent speech of the Pope.

“Now an impending crisis is looming, a terrible danger threatens to destroy us all; now is the time that four of four must be reborn... we must use all of our power to once again reach the Holy Land.”

“...a looming crisis?”

“Yes, and that's exactly what I plan to show you.”

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
| Return to [[Zero no Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter6|Chapter 6]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter5

2017-08-10T17:15:01Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 5 – Confession of the Pope===

“Seriously, seeing all these guards, I’m sure we could never do anything against them.” said Guiche.

Hundreds of Templar Knights were lined up, stationed in front of the mansion. It really made for a show which was qualified as "too exaggerated".

The next morning... Saito and the others were able to get right in front of the official residence of Vittorio, thanks to the uproar caused by the citizens of Lutetia who had taken the streets looking for an opportunity to see the Pope before his return to Romalia.

Saito, Louise, Kirche, and the Ondine Knights Guiche, Reynald and Malicorne.

Henrietta was in a reserved seat at the official residence that was prepared for her as a guest of honor. Near Henrietta was the representative of the Ondine Knights, Gimli, and Agnes, who were doing their duty as escorts for the Queen.

So the group to perform the rescue mission was Saito and company.

It was true that if Saito and others were not involved in the farewell ceremony, this would cause suspicion by Romalia; that is why Isabella devised a plan to prevent this from happening.

She used "Skillnir". These puppets, which were sprayed with the blood of the person she wanted them to mimic, transformed immediately into an identical copy of the owner of the blood used thus preparing a perfect double.

Previously, thanks to Myoznitnirn, they had already proven the effectiveness of these dolls. Having seen one of these magical objects, they had been able to produce a walking doll identical to Siesta. Even Louise and company had been able to experience first-hand the fearsome potential possessed by such tools.

Considering the current situation, they had to be treated with the highest standards of accuracy; any error, however small, without a doubt would inevitably be discovered.

Saito and the others were looking for a disguise which would not attract any attention. So they decided to dress up as monks.

Actually, if you think about this setting, the robe of monks had a hood that covered their entire head. These were the perfect attire for those who wished to hide or go unnoticed. Truly, a very useful tool for a situation like this.

“Is it true that we can see Tabitha here?” Louise asked with a voice that reflected her concern.

“I'm sure we will. For Romalia, keeping a captive like Tabitha is like they’re carrying a barrel of gunpowder everywhere. It is logical that they will not take the risk to keep this up for a long time, as they still have some degree of disadvantage being in another country. That is why I'm certain that the Pope planned to take her with him back to Romalia,“ said Kirche. Guiche, with a simplistic voice, spoke without any hesitation of a terrible possibility:

“But, why would they keep her alive? If she was in their way, wouldn't it be a sufficient reason to eliminate her?”

“Guiche...” said Saito. Guiche was rebuked for his lack of tact but he still continued with his words:

“It's like ... It doesn’t really make sense to fight for someone who is no longer alive...”

“Why are you thinking like that?...“ Saito said with a shocked face, thinking of more appropriate words to say while looking at Guiche.

“What you said may be true, but we have to think about the worst case scenario and prepare for what we have to do in the event that it happens. That's the only way to prevent unnecessary sacrifices. Tell me, would you risk the life of your subordinates for someone who was already dead?” Guiche said with a completely serious face.

“Ehhh...” Saito could only nod silently.

“Certainly, it is as Guiche said; but I'm sure Tabitha is still alive.”

“Tell me, how can you be so sure?”

“I decided to believe in it from the beginning; and besides, no matter how long we wait we just have to keep hoping. For now, we just have to wait and see what Chikasui has to say; I think she was a member of the Chevalier of North Parterre, right?"

“What if she was murdered, what would you do then?” Reynald asked Kirche.

“I, myself, would be the one to kill all those Romalian bastards!” Kirche said without a second thought.

“Hey, if you do that it will start a war!” Guiche said in a surprised voice.

“If so, one would have to take the initiative and make the first attack with all our strength.”

“You shouldn’t be saying things like that, it’s dangerous!”

“That would be the most obvious conclusion,” Saito could not think but to conclude with those words.

''If my friends and the most valuable to me were killed ... What should I do?''

''What if someone dared to lay a hand on Louise?''

At that moment, Louise, who stood beside him, stared at the long lines formed by the Templar Knights. Positioned in front of the mansion, each one wore a magnificent military uniform; and all the troops were accommodated so that they formed one line to the right and one to the left. This scene made Saito remember watching toy soldiers in his childhood.

''If Louise was killed by those guys ... Would the only option be to go to war to take revenge?''

Before he could imagine an answer to that question, the mansion doors were opened wide. Then the loud cries of the people were heard as they saw Pope Vittorio, who had finally been presented before them.

Afterwards a lot of carriages appeared from the bottom of the avenue. They passed right in front of where Saito and the others were and stopped in front of the mansion.

Inside the largest carriage were his secretary and the Prime Minister. Before entering his carriage, Vittorio addressed the people by waving and showing big smiles at them.

After that the ranks of soldiers began to move slowly. Leading those soldiers were the Templar Knights, followed by a large caravan of carriages where the cabinet ministers and a group of priests were seated. Behind the Pope's carriage were 5 wagons which were apparently intended to carry their luggage.

So, with the carriages in the middle, what was left behind was a huge number of Templar Knights who guarded the church members. The whole army was composed of about 500 units; it was truly enormous. As would be expected from an escort who secure the safety of the Pope.

“I cannot see Julio anywhere,” Saito said.

Apparently Julio, who always stood right next to Vittorio like a shadow, could not be found anywhere.

“Surely he must be with the impostor who replaced Tabitha; they needed someone to keep an eye on her all the time, right?” Louise said. Saito nodded showing that he fully agreed with her.

“That’s correct!” A voice boomed from behind them; this led Saito to turn around. What he found was a young woman dressed in a maid uniform, standing there watching; apparently Saito did not remember seeing her face before.

Without a second thought, Guiche and Reynald took her arms to hold her and led her to a nearby alley.

Malicorne unsheathed his wand and immediately pointed it to the mysterious visitor.

“You! Who the hell are you?”

“I'm a faithful vassal of Isabella. She ordered me to act as a 'communicator' between you and the Order."

“What’s your name?”

“Chikasui.”

“How suspicious! Especially that skirt you're wearing...”

Malicorne then raised his wand to his mouth and began to lick it; he seemed to be a member of the committee of torture. However, that girl who had called herself Chikasui bent her body and, showing her ability, broke free and knocked over both Guiche and Reynald. At the same time, she had taken out a dagger at her waist and with a flick of her hands the slash of a blade struck Malicorne's waist.

“Eehhh? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Malicorne’s belt had been cut, and his pants were lying on the floor. In a panic, Malicorne immediately reacted and tried to fasten it up again.

“My honor!... Don’t worry about me, my friends, it seems that my honor is still intact!”

Saito then stared at the girl closely.

“Chikasui??”

“Really? Don’t you remember the girl who brought you to Isabella earlier?”

“Your face is different from the last time we met.”

She hadn’t shown her childish figure as she did now. Saito looked at her and even the color of her hair was different.

“Well, I advise you not to think too deeply about it.”

Chikasui laughed for a moment and then her face turned completely serious.

''It must be magic, but what kind of magic? Surely it is a magical “spell” to disguise oneself.''
Saito ended up convincing himself of it.

“Her Majesty Queen Charlotte and her family were induced into a deep sleep, and then transported inside of one of those carriages.”

“I thought so.”

“Which carriage is it?”

Chikasui said quietly:

“The carriage of His Holiness the Pope.”

At the same time in the Palace of Versailles...

Josette worriedly watched Julio, who was about to leave.

“Do you really have to go?”

“I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

At that point, Josette repeatedly shook her head showing her dismay caused by the departure of Julio..

“I, I will be left alone, and I don’t know what to do if you are not with me.”

“But Lord Barberini will stay here; just follow his instructions until I return.”

“But I'm fine with you. I do not want anybody else.”

Then Julio, trying to comfort Jossette who seemed about to start out a tantrum as if she were a little girl, said:

“I get it; when I return, I promise that we will always be together.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I'm serious. I'll be with you even if you do not want it.”

That said, the face of Josette seemed to become a little angry.

“Of course not, I always want to be by your side... but tell me, are you really serious?”

“Yes.”

After hearing this, Josette's face lit up with joy.

“Really?”

“I said it seriously.”

“If so, I will be patient.”

Julio kissed Jossette and then opened the window to reveal an approaching flying dragon with bright blue scales, which gave a mighty roar at the sight of his master: ''KyuWah!''

Afterwards, Julio jumped out of the window and held on to the back of the wind dragon. The dragon quickly began to climb out of sight in the vast blue sky.

With an uneasy expression on her face, Josette, now alone in the palace, watched the winged dragon depart from her window .[[File:ZnT18-098.jpg|thumb]]

Meanwhile, inside a carriage Tabitha finally opened her eyes and saw Sylphid at her side, who remained asleep while whistling a gentle sound.

And in front of them, Pope Vittorio was reading a book.

“Oh! You’re finally awake.”

Vittorio closed his book and then turned his gaze towards Tabitha.

Inside the carriage the windows remained covered by curtains, making it impossible to see from the outside what was happening inside.

Also, a magical device had been placed on the roof which emitted a dim light that shone quite well inside the carriage. Tabitha placed her hand over the mouth of Sylphid.

Then, resuming reading the book he was holding, Vittorio said:

“Let me give you some advice: I would like you to put aside the idea of trying to fight or flee from here. This carriage is surrounded by two companies of Templar Knights, and you are stripped of your wand; therefore, if you tried to perform any reckless action you would surely be killed.”

Tabitha's eyes shifted to the book held by Vittorio.

“Does this book get your attention? Well; this is the proof of my faith, history often repeated in the past... The void users and their familiars ... and also, the four treasure rings. It would be convenient to say that they have always been the ‘four of four’. Why do you think they were called that?”

Tabitha could only shake her head in response.

“After running away from his homeland, Founder Brimir took refuge here in this land, Halkeginia; and in this land he got the power to move, to breathe, and turned into something that was present here for a long time, and I assume you already know what I'm talking about, right? The powerful spirit that we have been calling "the former resident"... only a few of us know of it. The power of water: the ‘WATER STONE’. The one used in the production of golems: the ‘EARTH STONE’. The ‘FIRE STONE’ that King Joseph used recently; and also ...

Vittorio then pulled a small bottle from his pocket, and there was a transparent crystal glowing inside it.

By shaking the bottle, the crystal brightened even more. Then Vittorio released the crystal; it remained floating over his hand.

“This is a ‘WIND STONE’; we use this in order to raise boats in the air. For a wind mage like you, this should look familiar.”

After saying this, Vittorio pointed his finger to the sky.

“Also, the reason why the continent of Albion kept floating was because of the power of the ‘WIND STONE’; and I assume you already knew of these facts also.”

Tabitha couldn’t respond, but stared silently at Vittorio.

“The power of the ‘former resident’ is something that provides both greatness and fear. The nature of that great power is like an immense force with sharp fangs! The four of four must reappear in this world! Up until now they have never been assembled, so the miracle hasn’t occurred yet. But believe me, now it’s different.”

Tabitha opened her mouth in wonder; she was completely immersed listening to the eloquent speech of the Pope.

“Now an impending crisis is looming, a terrible danger threatens to destroy us all; now is the time that four of four must be reborn... we must use all of our power to once again reach the Holy Land.”

“...a looming crisis?”

“Yes, and that's exactly what I plan to show you.”

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
| Return to [[Zero no Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter6|Chapter 6]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter4

2017-08-09T04:46:27Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 4 - Strategy===

Within the darkness, Tabitha found herself sitting on a bed. It had been a day since the time she had regained consciousness and realized she was in a room.

At first glance, this place could be mistaken as a simple bedroom; however, this one had no windows and only had one door. The door looked tough and heavy, and it seemed to be locked from the outside.

The strange furniture inside the room could be distinguished as high quality but ... one could not help but think that this room had been built to confine an aristocrat. In short, it was a prison.

The solid door remained unchanged no matter what she did. Tabitha realized this when her wand was taken, and now she was just a small and helpless child. She remembered clearly how Julio had caused her to lose consciousness, as well as how just before collapsing she had seen that girl with a face like her ...

She knew from the first moment she saw her that she was not created by magic. ''Is she my twin?'' Tabitha wondered, though she had never heard of the existence of her sister ...

Then at that moment, suddenly she remembered the stories about the taboo that remained within the royal families of Gallia. ''In the case of twins, only one should be chosen to preserve the family name ...''

''If so, that means the person I saw that day was ...''

Anyway, there was no doubt about it; it was all part of the conspiracy of Romalia.

''What happened to the garden party? What is happening out there? What has become of Sylphid? What about my mother? Isabella? What have they done to my friends from Tristain?''

In truth all these concerns overwhelmed Tabitha; however, at this time there was nothing she could do.

By looking closely, one could discover at the base of the heavy door a smaller door that was part of the structure itself; and on the floor right in front of that tiny door, Tabitha discovered a platter with bread and dried fruit served with a pitcher of water at its side.

She realized that the little hole was where they provided her food for now.

“There’s no doubt, this place is a prison.” Tabitha was totally convinced.

It had been a whole day since she had been confined in that place but still the biggest mystery that haunted Tabitha's mind was: “What will Julio and his evil master achieve by capturing me??”

At that moment she heard a grumbling sound, "GGRRRRRR," from her stomach. In fact, if she had not heard it Tabitha would not have remembered that she had not eaten anything for over 24 hours ...

Almost instinctively she reached out for the food found right inside the door. ''They may put poison in the food,'' she thought back; then Tabitha immediately returned the bread bowl to where she found it.

Right after that Tabitha began hearing something from the hallway. There were footsteps making their way towards her. Upon hearing this, the body of Tabitha immediately reacted and quickly she prepared herself.

She heard the sound of the bolt being withdrawn, and then with a loud screech the heavy door began to open. The one who appeared was none other than a handsome young man whose face she had already observed on a lot of occasions; but despite the familiar face, Tabitha couldn’t help but feel a little surprised.

She knew it was not shocking that he was the one who from the beginning and behind the scenes had planned this whole charade; however, presenting himself directly before her was something that had never crossed her mind.

“First of all, I offer my deepest apologies for what happened.”

Tabitha could only watch Vittorio quietly and intently as he continued. The young Pope seemed to have no problem approaching her as he wore a casual linen robe.

The only other place where the Pope could exhibit such an appearance would be the mansion that had been commissioned for the Romalian government, where the ambassador resided.

''Then this must be it. This must be that mansion;'' because if it weren’t, it would be impossible to build a room like this one without her knowing it.

Though she seemed to hold true hatred against Romalia, at some point they had shown great kindness to her; and without his help she knew it would have been impossible for her to be proclaimed as Queen.

If she was honest with herself, she couldn’t deny that she had seen it coming: ''the possibility of Romalia taking actions as excessive as this; but they have gone so far as to prepare a substitute for me. Their decisions completely exceeded my imagination.''

That said, the fact that she had fallen completely into their trap and was unable to offer any resistance against the ploy ... Although Tabitha did not want to accept it, she knew that it was all because of her lack of preparation.

“What have you done to Sylphid?”

“She is asleep in the next room.”

“Where are we?”

“We are in Lutetia, in the mansion assigned to the Romalian ambassador,“ Vittorio informed Tabitha with a calm, almost indifferent tone. Yet Tabitha came to the conclusion that he wasn’t lying; also she realized something else. The fact that she found him at this very moment talking so candidly with her could only mean that the young Pope would not allow her to return to the outside world.

“Who's that girl?”

“She's your twin.”

Tabitha's eyes opened wide in shock. Although she had concluded that this was the most likely answer, to hear the frank reality being revealed to her had been a shock well above her expectations.

''I am not the only child. I have a sister with the same face, more like myself...'' However, this was not the time to worry about that.

“What do you intend to do with me?”

“I only wish you to provide me a bit of your time to accompany me on a trip.”

“A trip?”

Tabitha never had imagined such a response in this situation.

“Correct.”

“Where do you intend to go?”

“Our destination is the mountain of the Fire Dragons.”

“Is that the place where you intend to kill me?”

“There’s no need to make such assumptions. It has never been my intention to kill you; in fact, it would be our greatest pleasure if you would become our ally. I would like you to consider what I'm asking and please try to reflect about it. Also, I would like to apologize in advance for our disrespect in addition to all the unrest we have caused so far...”

Tabitha just remained silent as she watched the Pope; the pale light reflecting from the bottom of her eyes looked as if to say to this: ''"I’ll never cooperate with you, I'll never be a part of any of your plans."''

“Certainly you seem to hate us.” Vittorio said to her while outlining a smile on his face.

“I’m not foolish enough to help a religious fanatic,” Tabitha said without hiding her hostility. After hearing this, Vittorio answered while shaking his head.

“It is our duty to recover the Holy Land.”

“And for this purpose you think it is acceptable to kill anyone who gets in your way?”

“On the contrary,“ Vittorio said, immediately answering the question of Tabitha in a voice so quiet it was almost unbearable.

“What are you trying to say?"

“That's something you will understand if you help us, and that's why we must go to the mountain of the dragons.”

“I'll never be able to understand what goes through your disturbed mind.”

“Tell me, don’t you believe in legends? You see, it would be correct to say that these legends and faith do not share any relationship; or am I wrong?”

Tabitha thought for a moment on what Vittorio had said and nodded. Then Vittorio finished his thoughts.

“I think the same; the essence of faith is to trust someone else in both the body and the soul. And if you get carried away too much, you’ll end up losing your sanity. However, recklessly labeling someone as "crazy" is also dangerous in itself. Myths and faith; people detach from them and consider them lies and nonsense, and it is actually quite easy to do. Even so, one must take into consideration that in the end both will always still be a small part of the truth.”

Tabitha could only remain silent as she stared at Vittorio.

“You are a person that seems to have a very strong heart. Even while we have this conversation, I presume that you are imagining a method to escape from here, and probably a way to stop us; these ideas haunt your head over and over again because that's the kind of person you are. And it is for this reason that I would like you to become our ally. I hope that when we get to the mountain of the Fire Dragons, you will naturally be able to understand us and our faith."

In saying this, Vittorio seemed serene without any hostile intent in his speech. It was like he was totally confident that things would go as he supposed.

“Did you use magic on me? Are you manipulating my mind right now?”

“You see, God resides within the hearts of people. As his servants, it is our duty not to soil the place where he resides.”

''What the hell, what gives him so much confidence to believe that he can persuade me?''

''From the beginning, he has been an elusive character; but it seems that every time I see him he becomes more and more mysterious.'' This thought caused a slight tremor to shake Tabitha's body.

The one who waited by the door the moment Vittorio was about to leave Tabitha's room was none other than Julio.

He gave Tabitha a graceful bow before heading to his master.

“His Holiness, a report has come from the observation group that was sent to the Mountain of Fire Dragons.”

“Show me please.”

After receiving the report, Vittorio took time to review it carefully.

“It seems there are no changes from the previous results.”

“That means we only have four days,” Vittorio affirmed.

“So would it be desirable to send an invitation to ''them''? Currently I have someone who closely monitors their actions, but...” Julio said with a straight face; in response Vittorio shook his head.

“I really don’t think that's necessary.”

“So we will still keep it hidden? I don’t think there is a benefit for us to keep it secret.”

“If we could, there’s still a chance. But I can only hope they will still believe us; otherwise there is no choice but to dispose of them.”

“Hmm..”

“There is something I want to show, and although it reveals the unforgiving truth ... Do you think they are still suspicious of us?” Vittorio said in a tired voice,
which was something really unusual as this Pope rarely showed a face full of concern and regret as he did right now.

“Who knows, it may still be the case...”

Julio also showed an attitude full of concern.

“Leaving this issue aside, it is certain that they will at least chase us to rescue their friend whom we've replaced."

“I think they still haven’t realized that we have replaced their friend.”

“They have realized it, and that is because they are our "brothers". And if they are not capable of seeing through a ploy at this level, then we are in trouble."

At that moment a servant came hurriedly with a plate of food in her hands. She gave a bow to the Pope, then after Julio opened the little door found at the base of the heavy door she placed the plate of food inside the room.

The young servant then bowed again to the pair and made her way back from where she came.

While the girl left out of sight in the corridors, something was hanging around her waist; the brightness of a small knife that one might believe she used for self-protection.

A report was sent by Isabella reporting that she had finally figured out the whereabouts of Tabitha; it arrived four days after the beginning of the garden party. It was a letter of a single sheet, which had been delivered to Henrietta’s room in the evening.

The letter had no sender written on it, and its contents consisted of long lists of seemingly meaningless numbers. Using the sheet with the code provided by Isabella, Henrietta began to decipher the message.

''Her Majesty Queen Charlotte remains captured in the mansion of the Romalian minister Barberini. Tonight at 8 I would like to have a conference in order to plan a rescue mission.''

At the end of the report, Isabella's initials were written on it. Henrietta’s mood turned foul upon receiving this news. ''She had to inform the organizers of Gallia, and she would have to apologize for being unable to attend the night of the great banquet. She also has to gather all her trusted men in her room; and so, expect a visit from Isabella.''

Those invited to Henrietta's room were: Louise, Saito, Guiche, the friend of Tabitha: Kirche, and Agnes.

“Did they find the place where Tabitha is?" Saito asked upon entering the room; and Henrietta nodded to his question.

“Yes, that’s what it seems.”

Soon after hearing the message, Guiche knelt with one knee on the floor next to Henrietta.[[File:ZnT18-085.jpg|thumb]]

“Let me take care of this matter; no, let me correct: Please allow this brigade commander of the Ondine Knights to be in charge of executing the rescue mission to safely return Her Majesty Queen Charlotte!”

Because of such a statement, Saito tried to stop Guiche.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Could you tell me how you plan to accomplish that? Keep in mind that we are talking about the mansion of a minister. Besides, once we go inside we'll be in the territory of the Romalian Embassy. It would be crazy to try to enter through the front door and try to confront them.”

“Yes, Saito is correct,” Kirche said nodding to Saito's statement. “We have to infiltrate stealthily and quietly rescue Tabitha ... And if I remember, that's not how you work, right?”

''*Gulp*'' Guiche could not remain silent upon hearing Kirche.

“Ehhhh... Fighting clean and fair, defeating your enemy by fighting him face to face. This is the correct way an order of knights performs their duty.”

“No! Do not even compare this to what we did last time in Alhambra. You have to take into account that we are now at the center of a city. If you do something that catches their attention, you will be captured immediately.”

Henrietta also showed approval of Kirche's warnings.

“And that's because we cannot consider all authorities in Gallia our allies.”

At that moment they heard a voice echoing from behind the door.

“Your humble servant, Isabella Martel, asks for your audience.”

Upon opening the door, Isabella came into view wearing an evening dress. The first thing she did was to approach Henrietta and offer a respectful bow.

“Is it really alright to come and visit us this way?" Henrietta asked. After finishing her greetings, Isabella nodded indicating that there was no problem.

“In fact, I was assigned by the government of Romalia a task to keep an eye on you all.”

A sudden tension began to flow throughout the room; Guiche reacted first, holding his wand in his hand.

“I wish you did not misunderstand. I’m still one of your allies. I can assure you that any form of cooperation to help Romalia was only for the sole purpose of saving my cover. And so, because Romalia wished to keep an eye on you, I used that excuse so that I could visit you openly without arousing suspicion.”

From that moment, Isabella began to explain the situation to all those present.

“To put it plainly, the possibility to rescue Her Majesty from the Embassy is almost zero. We studied hard but still ... the level of security that is held in the Prime Minister's mansion is almost ridiculously high. Magical barriers and several traps have been prepared to guard the place; and at all times a company of Templar Knights is responsible for securing the perimeter of the mansion. The only way to make a successful frontal attack is having a force three times greater than what we have at this time.”

After hearing this, the faces of everyone present were filled with dismay. If they were to unleash a scandal of this magnitude right in the middle of the city, it would be catastrophic. Everything, including the odds, was against them.

“And perhaps the most important consideration of all: it is known that the Pope himself is constantly seen going in and out of that mansion.”

“As a result, more stringent measures than normal must have been assigned to the mansion. Surely there will be a much larger amount of soldiers if you count all his escorts,” Henrietta muttered while her eyebrows furrowed.

“What if we infiltrate secretly and rescue her?" asked Kirche.

“Taking into consideration the strict security and the number of soldiers at our disposal, quite frankly, it would be impossible. One of my most loyal soldiers, Chikasui, could infiltrate the mansion but that would be the limit. Also taking that into account, it would be impossible for Chikasui to rescue Her Majesty alone.

“.............”

Then came a sudden silence in the room.

Saito, briefly considering the options, lifted his head and began to say:

“We can only rescue her in the instant they decide to transport Tabitha to another location.”

Isabella nodded at Saito's proposition.

“That's right, it would be illogical to think that they can keep Her Majesty locked up in that mansion forever. Surely there must come a time when they plan to move her to a different location. And we have to aim at that time to rescue her; that's the only option left!”

At that moment ... From behind the door a resonating voice was heard again, belonging to one who seemed a lady of the court.

“I come to deliver a message.”

“What could it be?”

Louise quickly opened the door and met the courtier. In a hurry, the lady started to convey the message.

“Apparently, tomorrow morning His Holiness the Pope has to make a sudden return to Romalia. In consequence a farewell ceremony has been planned for him. Therefore, we cordially invite Her Majesty, Henrietta, to attend as a guest of honor at the ceremony tomorrow.”

Louise then went to Henrietta; her face reflected the tension she felt. Henrietta then gave a positive response to the invitation offered only a moment ago.

Along with the sound of the door closing, Kirche's voice was heard:

“Though we are still celebrating the feast in the garden, it is quite strange that the Pope decided to return to his country at this time.”

At that moment, Isabella realized something and immediately informed everyone:

“Will it be ... Did the Pope intend to take Her Majesty along with him to Romalia ...?”

At that time all present showed a face of surprise.

“If the Pope intended to take her with him, it is certain that Tabitha will be with him at the ceremony tomorrow,” Kirche said in an overwhelmed voice.

“He knows that it would be dangerous to keep her for a long time even within Gallia,” Guiche replied.

In the current situation, Isabella immediately set out to make a decision.

“I will prepare some clothes, so I would like you all to make a change of clothes."

“Huh?”

“Tomorrow morning, we will split into two groups. One group will be among the crowd bidding farewell to the Pope, the other will be waiting near the mansion of Minister Barberini. In case Her Majesty were to be found in the Pope's group, and if we have the opportunity, we will rescue her. This plan is our best possible chance. I will also use the full strength of my squadron of knights.”

“Whaaat? We alone are enough to handle this!“ As usual, Guiche blustered while failing to consider the difficulties that surrounded this mission.

“That would be impossible! You as a foreigner have the disadvantage of not knowing the terrain layout. Do not worry! For us to act cooperatively, I'll be sending an emissary of my highest confidence to report the conditions clearly and concisely. Also, please be so kind to follow their directions” Isabella said, ending their conversation.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18_Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18_Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter3

2017-08-06T23:49:53Z

Txtracer: fix more typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 3 - Josette's Garden Party===

Three days after the the garden party to commemorate the coronation of the new Queen...

In the courtyard of the palace of Versailles, a huge stage was built for the planned dance party to celebrate the ‘The Advent of the Founder’.

All the nobles who would participate in this event were gaily dressed as the party was about to begin.

This party was some kind of an opera that represented the advent of the Founder, Brimir. On stage there were already dancing nobles representing the Founder and people welcoming his arrival.

Upon hearing the musicians as they played a piece of lively music, Josette became nervous in her private tent (which also served as her dressing room) and was located right next to the stage.

“I cannot, I cannot dan ... I cannot dance in that place! All of them are watching me!“ The role of Josette in that scene was... the main character in this colorful musical drama, the role of a female saint.

Beside her was a handsome priest; wanting to see Josette’s dress, he approached her and patted her head.

“It's all right, just remember what we practiced last night.”

“You're right, but ...”

“At this moment, all of them are waiting to see the new Queen dancing. We must do everything in our power not to betray their expectations.”

Then gradually they could hear the "tempo" of the music rising; this was the sign that it was about time to leave her tent. Right now, Josette was unable to take a single step; she just began to look at the blue dress she was wearing, which she had chosen for this occasion.

It was a dress with a bold emphasis, with a gorgeous neckline both in front and back; it was really a good dress, highlighting the elegance of her childish slender figure. But she did not see it that way, however; for her, this dress helped strengthen the only reason that prevented her taking one step.

Those noble ladies who were dancing at the moment all possessed a graceful femininity, such that if Josette was to dance in the same place with them the differences between her and these nobles would emerge. ''I will be embarrassed...''

“You have nothing to worry about, as there is no one in this country who would be able to tease the Queen's dance.”

“I don’t care what they think about me right now...” Josette said without reservation.

“Well then, everything is ready.”

“But... I don’t want you to see me... cause they will try to make a fool of me. All of them are very good, they are all so beautiful! If I have to dance in that place, they will probably think that I’m only a little girl.”

“Never mind that! In this world, you are the most wonderful girl!”

Julio said this to Josette while stroking her head; for her it was enough to fill her heart with joy.

“Well, then I'll dance with you.”

“Huh?” There was no time to wonder; Julio took her hand, and together they went to the stage and immediately danced at its center.

The nobles that were already dancing immediately stepped backward to open the way for the Queen, as they welcomed her with spirited cheers and applause. Those shouts of encouragement and joy might have been enough for Josette to stay frozen in the middle of the stage. But...

Right in front of her eyes, Julio continued dancing; the cheering stopped due to the strong impression that was caused by his fabulous dance form. Josette had also been astonished by such a display of skill, as if hypnotized by his light steps. Julio took her hand and began to guide her, and they started their dance.

Being able to witness the dance of Julio, from Josette’s heart a warm feeling rose and invaded her whole being. She had realized that this made her heart thrill for the first time.

Josette took the opportunity to bring one of her flushed cheeks together with Julio and mutter: “This is wonderful!”

''This is it.'' Josette finally realized.

The true nature of those little bursts waving her chest. The mysterious anxiety that beat her down violently every 5 seconds.

''I don’t want to lose him.'' She thought at that moment.

The ballad music was starting to play around her, along with the cries of greetings and applause. But before her, for her eyes, all she could see right now was the man who smiled along with the magnificent blue stone castle behind him; she could only see her beloved Julio and nothing more.

Then she felt a strange warmth of the tears running down her cheeks. This feeling was a totally new experience she had never felt before in her life. Lately all kinds of emotions similar to this, which until then she had not understood, had begun to invade more and more frequently.

But now, finally, she could clearly identify the name of this emotion.

"I'm so happy!"

A thunderous storm of applause was dropped on them; then Josette returned to her tent.

Sweat ran down her face, which caused her a nice feeling; but she wondered, ''when was the last time I was moved this much?''.

“You're pretty good.” Julio said this praise; Josette replied in a timid voice:

“That's because you were by my side, all I did was to be guided as we danced.”

“It seems that you weren’t satisfied; well, it was the least that could be expected.”

“What's the next thing I have to do?”

“The following: give a rest to Her Majesty the Queen who has worked hard in her role in the dance, and then continue with the celebration of the great feast.”

Apparently all that Josette could do right now was rest.

“Julio, tell me, will you stay with me?”

As if to say "of course" Julio nodded to her question.

Upon leaving her tent, Josette met a group of followers of the Queen; those nobles loudly and eagerly began to encircle her.

Within that group of nobles were some who looked reluctant upon seeing Julio who had become a frequent companion of the Queen; however, none of them dared to raise such complaints against him for there could be consequences for what they might say.

After all, they knew very well he had been attending their Queen who possessed the crown at this very moment.

Still, they knew that this young girl carrying the crown was nothing more than a puppet controlled by Romalia. They and the former supporters of Orleans' faction still believed that the course of things right now would lead towards a bright and new age.

Although the Queen was in her best disposition to help continue the Crusade, they did not pay attention to the issue of imminent danger of those actions; they knew that in the end, the bloodshed on the battlefield would not be theirs.

Just as they arrived at the gates of the palace, the group following her finally dissolved. In the palace, when Josette finally got to her room the first thing she set out to do was to immediately get on the bed.

After the sudden outburst, Josette slowly gathered herself and sat on her bed; Julio went to her and extended his arms. In response, Josette took his arms gently and gave him a hug.

As if encouraged by him Josette bowed her head and then kissed his lips. After finishing with her kiss, without thinking Josette muttered "This happiness..."

''I wonder if there is any girl happier than me?''

With this in mind, the next thing she did was to observe her room; it was a beautiful room with a lot of fine furniture. It immediately provoked a comparison between this and the bedroom she shared with all other nuns while living in Saint Margarita; there was really a huge difference.

Also in her mind was the idea of what she had obtained so far when she followed Julio; all these valuable items belonged to her now, the palace and even the whole kingdom of Gallia ...

At that moment ...

In the mind of Josette the memories of three days ago were revived. She was reminded of who was standing in this room, that little girl who had the same face ... her twin sister.

''The happiness that I'm enjoying right now ...''

This idea was in her mind: a sense of something dark creeping into her being and disturbing precisely the current Josette. She was aware that this darkness was in amount equal to that of the happiness that dwelt in her heart. ''I was blaming her.''

''Yes, that is, the happiness I feel right now ...''

Seeing Josette's face suddenly clouded by grief intrigued Julio as he tilted his head.

“What’s the matter?”

“I... The happiness that I'm enjoying right now, I stole it from my sister.”

After hearing, this Julio nodded to what Josette said.

“Yes you did.”

Josette could only sit staring at Julio while he was saying this.

“You stole the crown that belonged to your sister, all in order to achieve your own happiness.”

“It hurts...”

“Do you want me to tell you a lie? or perhaps, some beautiful words ... how about this: Happiness is something you cannot achieve if it is founded on the sufferings of others; do you really want me to lie to you by saying this kind of nonsense? Do you want me to comfort you?”

Josette bit her lip; then her eyes filled with tears, and she then stated:

“I know that I'm nothing but a dirty thief; no matter how many sins I made, I promised myself never to hate you. So long as I had decided, no matter what ever happens I will not regret my actions.”

Julio for a moment just kept silent while watching Josette; then he murmured softly:

“Well said.”

“I know that, I know you do not love me even a little; you’re only using me, but ... to be with you, kissing your lips ... that's enough for me, that is my happiness.”

Julio screwed his eyes shut. This was a rare gesture for him, like the slight tremor that shook his shoulders.

After leaving Josette asleep, Julio started to leave the room. For a moment he stared at the runes inscribed on the back of his right hand as he watched them flicker; then he continued walking while frowning, evincing the confusion that was in his mind.

As he walked down the hall, Julio saw a young woman came walking towards him; he decided to stop this young woman with long blue hair.

With a simple outfit that covered her body, she looked like a housekeeper. The young woman realized the presence of Julio and offered him a bow. She began to continue walking; just when she had passed him, a voice from Julio was heard:

“Aren’t you her highness? Princess Isabella?”

Hearing this, Isabella stopped and then turned back.

“Excuse me, do you have business to discuss with me?”

“My name is Julio Chesaré; and if you may, it would be so kind of you to lend me a few minutes of your time to chat.”

“It would certainly be my honor to exchange words with the eminent priest of Romalia.”

That said, after accepting the cordial greeting from Isabella, Julio started to openly explain his true intentions.

“If I remember correctly, I heard you are in control of an order of knights, aren’t you?

“Order of knights? You’re just teasing me!” Isabella laughed as she said this; however, Julio did not laugh at all.

“The Order of the Chevalier of the Northern Parterre. The Parterre Knights of Gallia as I have understood them, each Parterre is named in accordance with the direction of a cardinal compass point; however ... apparently there is a parterre that corresponds to the north, and even then among people, the name for the order there... perhaps you are aware of these famous rumors.”

“And so, do you intend to say that I'm the leader of this order?”

“Precisely.”

After that statement, Julio remained staring at Isabella as if daring her to say something; any attempt to hide anything or to try to run away from this conversation would be useless. Isabella, knowing fully well that this was a trap, tried to devise a way to get out of the complicated situation she had gotten into.

''How did you know? How did you discover my true identity? Or is it maybe...''

''Did he know that I’m aware about the impersonation of the Queen?''

Isabella was dubious about how well she actually knew Julio; this had turned into a situation that was not foreseen in her plans.

Then Isabella came to a conclusion; however the risk of the bet was making her lips numb, almost preventing her from speaking.

''If I say this, there might be complications for my actions; but right now I do not think there is another option that allows me to earn his trust.''

Isabella felt her mouth dry and her chest heaving; for a moment she thought about stopping, but eventually reconsidered. ''Everything will be fine.''[[File:ZnT18-057.jpg|thumb|]]

''He thinks "She's easy to deal with" and that is an advantage that I can use.''

Then Isabella showed a forced smile; this was almost too obvious but she knew this would not interfere with her plans.

“In that case, will you let me ask you a question?”

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

Ignoring Julio's statement, Isabella then said:

“Would you kindly tell me, who is the person currently using the crown?”

That direct question had served at the same time to respond to the question of Julio. He, after hearing this, smiled broadly.

“I knew from the beginning that you were the only one who couldn’t be deceived.”

“You’re mistaken. Never has it been my intention to condemn you for what you have done; instead, I would like to thank you for the great favor that you have done.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“As you might be aware, I am the daughter of Joseph the former King; or rather, I am his daughter whose duty is to take revenge on Queen Charlotte ... No, maybe it was before that, when Queen Charlotte was a member of my brigade of knights. I always desired her death, consciously designating the most dangerous missions for her; but yet countless times she proved to be a formidable adversary.”

What she just said was an undeniable truth. Isabella didn’t know how far Julio had knowledge about her; however, there was no reason not to believe her story.

“All this time, I've been wondering when my execution would take place. So it's fair to say that I consider you my savior.”

“Well, I guess with this in mind our talk will be quick. The point is, we want you to become our ally. Of course, a vast reward and high office is what we offer in exchange for your services.”

“That is an intriguing offer.”

“Well, then will you become our ally?”

Isabella seemed to assent to the proposition of Julio, but she resisted the pressure.

“Before I decide, I have a condition.”

“Please tell me.”

“I would like to know specifically what will be the reward being offered.”

“Of course; well then, how about we offer the double amount of whatever the Queen has?”

Isabella shook her head giving a negative answer.

“Make it three times. That's the price to pay for me to betray my country.”

Isabella stared at Julio silently while watching him doing some calculations. In the end, he ended up nodding at her request.

“All right, so be it.”

“Please, would you not think of me as a greedy woman. Well then as the daughter of "the mad king", it is impossible to think that this palace is a good place to reside.”

“No; if I may put it bluntly, I would like you to stay here as this would greatly facilitate our work. And I will give you your first mission.”

“And what would that be?”

“I'd like you to keep an eye on the guests who belong to the nation of Tristain, all without exception from the Queen to the lowest-ranking soldier; and especially I want to you guard both Chevalier Hiraga Saito and Miss Vallière. You mustn’t take your eyes off those two even for a second.”

“It seems just the other day a group of people from Tristain was attacked by a murderer; it was my surprise to learn that the attacker was a gentleman formerly from my brigade. Apparently he has become a member of a group of mercenaries.”

The one who had attacked Saito was one of the ‘Brothers of the Elements’(Elemental Siblings). Remembering what had happened, Isabella used this event to build the credibility of her words.

“So it was, the world is a small place after all; then you should also keep me updated of the developments in this matter. “However, it could be perceived in Julio's tone that this issue was not really his interest. This seemed a proof that the Elemental Siblings and Julio, together with his master, were unrelated.

Isabella nodded.

“Leave it in my hands; we established our efficiency that far exceeds the amount of money wasted by you gentlemen representing the church.”

“Very well, I look forward to seeing the results; then if I may, have a nice day!”

After saying goodbye to Isabella, Julio was ready to continue on his way; when Isabella was no longer able to see the figure of his back, she exhaled a huge sigh of relief.

That priest named Julio may look stylish and handsome on the outside, but inside he hides a dangerous mind as sharp as a blade. ''Now I get it, how it's possible that this reckless conspiracy to impersonate the queen has succeeded and who was its Machiavellian author.''

Then Isabella muttered as if whispering:

“I wonder if this was the right thing to do, Chikasui.”

She heard the voice of the intelligent knife at her waist.

“I'm not impressed that much, but I must admit that your performance was passable, Your Highness.”

“Well, after all, I guess this was the quickest way to find the location of Her Majesty.”

While being escorted by Agnes, Henrietta was in a bad mood; mainly because of Romalia’s conspiracy to impersonate Queen Charlotte and make this impostor commit Gallia to continuing the Crusade. These thoughts assailed her head as she took a walk in the courtyard of the palace of Versailles.

She knew that now there was nothing she and her friends could do to improve the situation.

Isabella had made it clear that she was the one responsible for investigating the whereabouts of Tabitha. As for them, they had no choice but to keep waiting.

''And if she could not find the whereabouts of Charlotte ...''

''No, I couldn’t even imagine what would happen then. At this rate Gallia will fall under the complete control of Romalia.''

“Ahhh ... almost been a week since the party was held in the garden, eh” said Henrietta; Agnes nodded in response to her statement.

“Right.”

“As long as ... the Order will soon find Queen Charlotte and she will re-take her place on the throne ... I wonder if she can really withdraw the declaration of help to wage the Crusade ...”

“Good question.”

Again, Agnes replied in an almost indifferent voice.

“It seems you are in low spirits, commander” Henrietta said while keeping her eyes fixed on Agnes; but Agnes nevertheless continued to have a blank expression on her face.

“Look here, you should act according to the times of crisis like we’re experiencing; this is serious, maybe even the war against the Elves is an imminent reality. But right now we cannot do anything but wait, right? So don’t worry about things that are beyond our control, for it does nothing to improve our situation.”

“Well, that's true but ...”

“If you keep thinking about the enemy all the time, then you will not be able to fight when you really need to. You as the Queen should always maintain a calm and objective vision. But even having said that, after all, human beings are nothing more than objects that cannot go against their own fate.”

"Haahh" after hearing what Agnes had to say, Henrietta could not help but breathe a small sigh.

“As I thought, is it perhaps that you cannot trust me in these situations?”

''I do not think that's a question that needs to be said to a subordinate.''

The response provoked Agnes and lifted her lips.

“You see, there are times that you need to be yourself and rest from everything. It means, to be the Queen you really need to have a partner to help you bear your sorrows.”

After saying that, Agnes couldn’t help but look away while a complex expression formed on her face. As a vassal, Agnes knew she had to keep a respectful distance from her master, and she was not sure how Henrietta appreciated her opinion.

''Someone, will there be one with whom to share my pain and release my heart ...?''

Suddenly, Henrietta recalled a clue that perhaps could answer her questions.

The one who has come from another world, the Vice Commander of the Ondine Knights. ''From what I know about him, he seems to be totally honest no matter what the subject is.''

''Why is ...''

While questioning she suddenly noticed what that reason was, ''that's why ... maybe it's because he is not a human that belongs to this world ... Currently, he is a gentleman who is at my service; with all his efforts, he achieved a lot of success and confidence from those around him. He has become ‘The Savior’ both in our country and in my own name.''

''But he is not a human that belongs to this world. To this day he still holds the enticing aura typical of a mysterious "stranger". If it comes to him, unlike may happen with other people, I really may be able to find the calmness I need in my heart if I am at his side. Surely that must be the reason why I can talk about anything with him.''

However, ''he ... He is the lover of my best friend Louise. Even though I feel alone and know that he is always willing to listen to my problems, I cannot afford to be naive and think about something else.''

The other day, after the fight she had had with Louise just like when they were children, Henrietta took some time for reflection. She realized unforgivable acts had hurt her most important and beloved friend ...

While Henrietta kept walking and thinking on these matters, they came to an open place in the courtyard adorned by a kiosk. All the clearing was covered with wild roses tangled in its structure; it really was a place to rest her soul.

When Henrietta saw a couple of familiar figures sitting together on a bench in that place, she remained perplexed and provoked.

“Oi, aren’t those two Louise and Saito?” Said Agnes trying to get their attention; however Henrietta held her back to halt her attempt.

“ ... Huh, what's the matter?”

Agnes, with a puzzled face, did not know what was happening. Henrietta guided her and she observed where her finger was pointing.

Louise and Saito were sitting together on a bench, sitting beside each other; what they were doing there was not clear, they were just sitting while watching each other silently. Apparently, the shame that remained in them since the night two days ago was what prevented them from speaking.

Louise stared at Saito, who was sitting right next to her, while she kept her fists resting on her knees. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her mouth drew a small へ. She had finally changed out of the habit which she used for so long, and at this moment she was dressed in clothes that she had borrowed from Agnes’s wardrobe.

A linen shirt that covered her head and a sturdy cotton trousers were specifically what she was wearing.

Beneath that was simple garb that concealed the dazzling beauty of her body; Saito knew these as well.

He imagined the white smooth skin of Louise with that shirt that really favored her. It was like a canvas that had a mysterious purity.

Aaaaah... Saito groaned from the bottom of his heart.

''I saw her skin before but still ... sitting here being so close to her makes me incredibly nervous. Being so close, I cannot think of Louise being as usual. Louise, whose chest I still remember the exact shape and color of. And besides, l, l, I also remember what was below her navel, the shape of her hips, and, and, and ...''

Recalling all the body parts of Louise that had been illuminated by the moonlight before, his breath remained dry even after seeing them.

Saito did not know what he had to say at this moment, and because of that indecision he couldn’t continue watching; he turned his sights away. However, the first thought that assaulted his mind was the refreshing beauty of the naked body of Louise.

Unable to fend off for any reason these thoughts in his mind, Saito began to feel himself as a dirty and degenerate beast; though he could not fight his instincts, he just could not think of anything else.

''I have to do it, this is not the time to think about those things...''

That is, ''I have to concentrate on more important matters, like Tabitha and her supposed twin sister who had replaced her, and those subjects who have followed and attacked me persistently... those criminals who call themselves ‘Elemental Siblings’.''

In fact there was a mountain of priorities which should occupy Saito. And yet the only thing that kept going round and round in his head was: the nudity of Louise.

Then Saito took his head in his hands and began to cry - UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHH!

Seeing Saito doing this, Louise did not hesitate to say in a somewhat irritated voice:

“Hey why are you shouting!?”

“Huh? No this is... nothing!” He said trying to convince Louise.

“.... You, you’re simply comparing right? Comparing 'this' with all those women you've seen so far, do not try to fool me by comparing!”

Saito shook his head immediately trying to calm down Louise who was already clenching her fists as her body began to tremble.

“Huh? No! Of course not!”

“Well, then you should say what you’re thinking, say it immediately!”

While her nose echoed with her heavy breathing, Louise said this to Saito as she watched intently. And because of that tremendous pressure, Saito was left with no choice but to say what he was thinking.

“Eh, this ... the color was beautiful and ...”

“The color? Of what?”

“Your chest, heh, heh ...”

After saying these words, suddenly a small fist lunged at him. Saito attempted to dodge it but ended up on the floor.

“You! Why! Why?!” Saito complained.

“I did it because it's embarrassing! Why are you saying such things!?”

“But you're the one who asked!”

Then Louise calmed down and placed her foot on his head; and then she begin to murmur.

“If it is, I'll ask, but I did it because there is something I wanted to hear from you, very important, extremely important.”

Then, as she looked down Louise started squeezing her fists again.

“But everything went well I guess...” Saito sighed.

“Huh? What went well?”

“No, this ... is that I cannot believe I’m so happy.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, really, at this moment the situation is incredibly complicated; Tabitha has been abducted and war may break out at any time, and yet ...”

Saito was speechless for one second trying to find the words he meant.

“So that was it. They requested us to act as if we knew nothing; we were told "Do not worry, we'll find the whereabouts of her Majesty the Queen" and so, contrary to what should be, we must remain calm and unconcerned until they find the location of Tabitha...” Saito sighed and added:

“But, it's not that; my happiness is really simpler than that, really. I'm happy to be surrounded by moments of happiness.”

“But say, what is it to be happy for? It is obvious that human beings should enjoy happy moments, as they would not survive if they only concentrated on the bad things that happen; but then tell me why are you so happy?”

“That's because you have accepted me; that has caused me unimaginable joy, I'm so happy that I can now stop worrying about everything else.”

After saying this, Louise rushed to answer:

“Accept you? I Did? When?”

“Never mind, I just know it; indeed, when a woman accepts a man, "this" is the only proof you need.”

“So what you're saying is, I let you see my body?”

“Yes, but we haven’t done anything. But you clearly told me that I could do it, right? and that's what has made me so happy, incredibly happy.”

After hearing him say this, Louise's face turned completely red; she did not know what had made Saito happy to such an extent, however at this moment it was inevitable as she really had given permission for Saito to do whatever he wanted ...

“But then I wonder, is it really okay for me to enjoy so much happiness? With so much pain and suffering in the world, do I really deserve this happiness?”

Then Louise took the hand of Saito.

“It’s all right.”

“Huh?”

“You see, I sometimes think about it, and say it's okay, we deserve it, because of all the dangerous situations we've had to pass; but now we're fine, and if tomorrow we die before they can rescue Tabitha, or perhaps maybe lose our lives when faced against Romalian conspiracy...”

It was then that Louise began to approach Saito, and sank her cheek onto his arm; then she said in a small voice:

“And that's why I decided to show you my skin, I wanted to show you that no matter what happens my feelings for you will never change. I want to fully enjoy the moments spent with you, the moments that I want to cherish forever. Something bad may happen; however, I do not want to live with regrets."

At these words Saito felt as if a light was lit inside him; then without thinking, he immediately hugged Louise as hard as he could.

"This, really, stop thinking seriously about death; although in dangerous situations like this we must be very careful. So promise me not to die; think that no matter what happens everything will be fine. Continue to believe this and then, this ...”

“And we should treasure every moment of our lives as if this were the most important of all, is that what you mean?”

Saito nodded his head while Louise was resting on his chest.

“Yeah, that's right.”

Saito slowly began to bring his lips against hers; one soft kiss, mixed with their warm breath caused Louise and Saito to become lost in a dream.

At that moment, full happiness was born when the two held their breath. Then Saito began thinking about his comrades, about all the people around him in his life; he also wanted them to be able to feel the same happiness he felt at this moment, and that is why he would rescue Tabitha no matter what the cost. And that's why he would use all the power he had to stop the Crusade.

But in that moment ... suddenly the same uneasiness that assaulted Saito yesterday was present once again.

''But would I able to do it? Can I do it? I've already been beaten twice by the Elemental Siblings ...?''

Then Saito carefully moved away from Louise.

“What happened? You’re very strange since yesterday.”

“It's nothing ...”

“What is it? Tell me, was it not enough for me to be the only one by your side? As I thought, youuuu ...”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that!”

“Well, then explain!”

“It’s not what you think,” Saito said as he shook his head. ”I was just thinking that I'm too weak ... for I was defeated twice by those guys who call themselves Elemental Siblings ... If only I were a little stronger, if I hadn’t lost Derf, then I wouldn’t have been defeated by Jack and I would not have shown you that pathetic part of me.”

“No matter how strong you are, there are always times when you lose; that's what it means to be human. You should not blame yourself for it.”

Louise said this trying to comfort Saito, to which he replied by shaking his head.

“No! no! no! no, this is not the time to invent excuses. We are at a point where losing means death; I cannot afford it, I have to protect you.”

“If that happens then I will also protect you!” She said trying to convince Saito.

“That’s not the case!” Energetic Saito said.

“B-, but what you’re saying is wrong, that's the way a mage and her familiar should take care of each other, isn’t it?

“That would be pathetic.”

Louise raised her lips as she watched Saito heavily saying this.

How is it that the sweet air of sweetness that had cost so much work to get was so easily lost... They had returned to the days when Saito always inflated Louise’s cheeks because of the anger caused by him.

''You said that even if you’re next to a girl like me? * tch *, and then I would lock you in your own world where no one else can see you.''

However, Louise was not really angry about it; if it had been the Louise from before, a situation like this would have caused blood to be shed from Saito's head. But ...

''Maybe it's because we have already shown our skin to each other'', thought Louise.

It was then Louise realized that once again they had strengthened the ties between herself and Saito ...

And that's why, ''I won’t get mad over something as simple as this ...''

Then Louise put her cheek gently on Saito's shoulder.

Meanwhile, he was still lost in thought.

''I ... I need to get stronger!''

Due to his defeat, all the frustration built up inside Saito caused him to forcefully clench his fists.

Having finished observing what happened between Saito and Louise ... Henrietta got up and then said quietly:

“They seem to be very well.”

Agnes continued her blank expression without saying a word. Then as if to turn around and retrace her steps, Henrietta decided to leave.

Then in a voice slightly rigid, Henrietta asked Agnes:

“We have to do everything at our disposal to stop the Crusade!"

“That's right” Agnes said, showing her full support to what Henrietta said.

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| Back to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter3

2017-08-06T21:13:32Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 3 - Josette's Garden Party===

Three days after the the garden party to commemorate the coronation of the new Queen...

In the courtyard of the palace of Versailles, a huge stage was built for the planned dance party to celebrate the ‘The Advent of the Founder’.

All the nobles who would participate in this event were gaily dressed as the party was about to begin.

This party was some kind of an opera that represented the advent of the Founder, Brimir. On stage there were already dancing nobles representing the Founder and people welcoming his arrival.

Upon hearing the musicians as they played a piece of lively music, Josette became nervous in her private tent (which also served as her dressing room) and was located right next to the stage.

“I cannot, I cannot dan ... I cannot dance in that place! All of them are watching me!“ The role of Josette in that scene was... the main character in this colorful musical drama, the role of a female saint.

Beside her was a handsome priest; wanting to see Josette’s dress, he approached her and patted her head.

“It's all right, just remember what we practiced last night.”

“You're right, but ...”

“At this moment, all of them are waiting to see the new Queen dancing. We must do everything in our power not to betray their expectations.”

Then gradually they could hear the "tempo" of the music rising; this was the sign that it was about time to leave her tent. Right now, Josette was unable to take a single step; she just began to look at the blue dress she was wearing, which she had chosen for this occasion.

It was a dress with a bold emphasis, with a gorgeous neckline both in front and back; it was really a good dress, highlighting the elegance of her childish slender figure. But she did not see it that way, however; for her, this dress helped strengthen the only reason that prevented her taking one step.

Those noble ladies who were dancing at the moment all possessed a graceful femininity, such that if Josette was to dance in the same place with them the differences between her and these nobles would emerge. ''I will be embarrassed...''

“You have nothing to worry about, as there is no one in this country who would be able to tease the Queen's dance.”

“I don’t care what they think about me right now...” Josette said without reservation.

“Well then, everything is ready.”

“But... I don’t want you to see me... cause they will try to make a fool of me. All of them are very good, they are all so beautiful! If I have to dance in that place, they will probably think that I’m only a little girl.”

“Never mind that! In this world, you are the most wonderful girl!”

Julio said this to Josette while stroking her head; for her it was enough to fill her heart with joy.

“Well, then I'll dance with you.”

“Huh?” There was no time to wonder; Julio took her hand, and together they went to the stage and immediately danced at its center.

The nobles that were already dancing immediately stepped backward to open the way for the Queen, as they welcomed her with spirited cheers and applause. Those shouts of encouragement and joy might have been enough for Josette to stay frozen in the middle of the stage. But...

Right in front of her eyes, Julio continued dancing; the cheering stopped due to the strong impression that was caused by his fabulous dance form. Josette had also been astonished by such a display of skill, as if hypnotized by his light steps. Julio took her hand and began to guide her, and they started their dance.

Being able to witness the dance of Julio, from Josette’s heart a warm feeling rose and invaded her whole being. She had realized that this made her heart thrill for the first time.

Josette took the opportunity to bring one of her flushed cheeks together with Julio and mutter: “This is wonderful!”

''This is it.'' Josette finally realized.

The true nature of those little bursts waving her chest. The mysterious anxiety that beat her down violently every 5 seconds.

''I don’t want to lose him.'' She thought at that moment.

The ballad music was starting to play around her, along with the cries of greetings and applause. But before her, for her eyes, all she could see right now was the man who smiled along with the magnificent blue stone castle behind him; she could only see her beloved Julio and nothing more.

Then she felt a strange warmth of the tears running down her cheeks. This feeling was a totally new experience she had never felt before in her life. Lately all kinds of emotions similar to this, which until then she had not understood, had begun to invade more and more frequently.

But now, finally, she could clearly identify the name of this emotion.

"I'm so happy!"

A thunderous storm of applause was dropped on them; then Josette returned to her tent.

Sweat ran down her face, which caused her a nice feeling; but she wondered, ''when was the last time I was moved this much?''.

“You're pretty good.” Julio said this praise; Josette replied in a timid voice:

“That's because you were by my side, all I did was to be guided as we danced.”

“It seems that you weren’t satisfied; well, it was the least that could be expected.”

“What's the next thing I have to do?”

“The following: give a rest to Her Majesty the Queen who has worked hard in her role in the dance, and then continue with the celebration of the great feast.”

Apparently all that Josette could do right now was rest.

“Julio, tell me, will you stay with me?”

As if to say "of course" Julio nodded to her question.

Upon leaving her tent, Josette met a group of followers of the Queen; those nobles loudly and eagerly began to encircle her.

Within that group of nobles were some who looked reluctant upon seeing Julio who had become a frequent companion of the Queen; however, none of them dared to raise such complaints against him for there could be consequences for what they might say.

After all, they knew very well he had been attending their Queen who possessed the crown at this very moment.

Still, they knew that this young girl carrying the crown was nothing more than a puppet controlled by Romalia. They and the former supporters of Orleans' faction still believed that the course of things right now would lead towards a bright and new age.

Although the Queen was in her best disposition to help continue the Crusade, they did not pay attention to the issue of imminent danger of those actions; they knew that in the end, the bloodshed on the battlefield would not be theirs.

Just as they arrived at the gates of the palace, the group following her finally dissolved. In the palace, when Josette finally got to her room the first thing she set out to do was to immediately get on the bed.

After the sudden outburst, Josette slowly gathered herself and sat on her bed; Julio went to her and extended his arms. In response, Josette took his arms gently and gave him a hug.

As if encouraged by him Josette bowed her head and then kissed his lips. After finishing with her kiss, without thinking Josette muttered "This happiness..."

''I wonder if there is any girl happier than me?''

With this in mind, the next thing she did was to observe her room; it was a beautiful room with a lot of fine furniture. It immediately provoked a comparison between this and the bedroom she shared with all other nuns while living in Saint Margarita; there was really a huge difference.

Also in her mind was the idea of what she had obtained so far when she followed Julio; all these valuable items belonged to her now, the palace and even the whole kingdom of Gallia ...

At that moment ...

In the mind of Josette the memories of three days ago were revived. She was reminded of who was standing in this room, that little girl who had the same face ... her twin sister.

''The happiness that I'm enjoying right now ...''

This idea was in her mind: a sense of something dark creeping into her being and disturbing precisely the current Josette. She was aware that this darkness was in amount equal to that of the happiness that dwelt in her heart. ''I was blaming her.''

''Yes, that is, the happiness I feel right now ...''

Seeing Josette's face suddenly clouded by grief intrigued Julio as he tilted his head.

“What’s the matter?”

“I... The happiness that I'm enjoying right now, I stole it from my sister.”

After hearing, this Julio nodded to what Josette said.

“Yes you did.”

Josette could only sit staring at Julio while he was saying this.

“You stole the crown that belonged to your sister, all in order to achieve your own happiness.”

“It hurts...”

“Do you want me to tell you a lie? or perhaps, some beautiful words ... how about this: Happiness is something you cannot achieve if it is founded on the sufferings of others; do you really want me to lie to you by saying this kind of nonsense? Do you want me to comfort you?”

Josette bit her lip; then her eyes filled with tears, and she then stated:

“I know that I'm nothing but a dirty thief; no matter how many sins I made, I promised myself never to hate you. So long as I had decided, no matter what ever happens I will not regret my actions.”

Julio for a moment just kept silent while watching Josette; then he murmured softly:

“Well said.”

“I know that, I know you do not love me even a little; you’re only using me, but ... to be with you, kissing your lips ... that's enough for me, that is my happiness.”

Julio screwed his eyes shut. This was a rare gesture for him, like the slight tremor that shook his shoulders.

After leaving Josette asleep, Julio started to leave the room. For a moment he stared at the runes inscribed on the back of his right hand as he watched them flicker; then he continued walking while frowning, evincing the confusion that was in his mind.

As he walked down the hall, Julio saw a young woman came walking towards him; he decided to stop this young woman with long blue hair.

With a simple outfit that covered her body, she looked like a housekeeper. The young woman realized the presence of Julio and offered him a bow. She began to continue walking; just when she had passed him, a voice from Julio was heard:

“Aren’t you her highness? Princess Isabella?”

Hearing this, Isabella stopped and then turned back.

“Excuse me, do you have business to discuss with me?”

“My name is Julio Chesaré; and if you may, it would be so kind of you to lend me a few minutes of your time to chat.”

“It would certainly be my honor to exchange words with the eminent priest of Romalia.”

That said, after accepting the cordial greeting from Isabella, Julio started to openly explain his true intentions.

“If I remember correctly, I heard you are in control of an order of knights, aren’t you?

“Order of knights? You’re just teasing me!” Isabella laughed as she said this; however, Julio did not laugh at all.

“The Order of the Chevalier of the Northern Parterre. The Parterre Knights of Gallia as I have understood them, each Parterre is named in accordance with the direction of a cardinal compass point; however ... apparently there is a parterre that corresponds to the north, and even then among people, the name for the order there... perhaps you are aware of these famous rumors.”

“And so, do you intend to say that I'm the leader of this order?”

“Precisely.”

After that statement, Julio remained staring at Isabella as if daring her to say something; any attempt to hide anything or to try to run away from this conversation would be useless. Isabella, knowing fully well that this was a trap, tried to devise a way to get out of the complicated situation she had gotten into.

''How did you know? How did you discover my true identity? Or is it maybe...''

''Did he know that I’m aware about the impersonation of the Queen?''

Isabella was dubious about how well she actually knew Julio; this had turned into a situation that was not foreseen in her plans.

Then Isabella came to a conclusion; however the risk of the bet was making her lips numb, almost preventing her from speaking.

''If I say this, there might be complications for my actions; but right now I do not think there is another option that allows me to earn his trust.''

Isabella felt her mouth dry and her chest heaving; for a moment she thought about stopping, but eventually reconsidered. ''Everything will be fine.''[[File:ZnT18-057.jpg|thumb|]]

''He thinks "She's easy to deal with" and that is an advantage that I can use.''

Then Isabella showed a forced smile; this was almost too obvious but she knew this would not interfere with her plans.

“In that case, will you let me ask you a question?”

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

Ignoring Julio's statement, Isabella then said:

“Would you kindly tell me, who is the person currently using the crown?”

That direct question had served at the same time to respond to the question of Julio. He, after hearing this, smiled broadly.

“I knew from the beginning that you were the only one who couldn’t be deceived.”

“You’re mistaken. Never has it been my intention to condemn you for what you have done; instead, I would like to thank you for the great favor that you have done.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“As you might be aware, I am the daughter of Joseph the former King; or rather, I am his daughter whose duty is to take revenge on Queen Charlotte ... No, maybe it was before that, when Queen Charlotte was a member of my brigade of knights. I always desired her death, consciously designating the most dangerous missions for her; but yet countless times she proved to be a formidable adversary.”

What she just said was an undeniable truth. Isabella didn’t know how far Julio had knowledge about her; however, there was no reason not to believe her story.

“All this time, I've been wondering when my execution would take place. So it's fair to say that I consider you my savior.”

“Well, I guess with this in mind our talk will be quick. The point is, we want you to become our ally. Of course, a vast reward and high office is what we offer in exchange for your services.”

“That is an intriguing offer.”

“Well, then will you become our ally?”

Isabella seemed to assent to the proposition of Julio, but she resisted the pressure.

“Before I decide, I have a condition.”

“Please tell me.”

“I would like to know specifically what will be the reward being offered.”

“Of course; well then, how about we offer the double amount of whatever the Queen has?”

Isabella shook her head giving a negative answer.

“Make it three times. That's the price to pay for me to betray my country.”

Isabella stared at Julio silently while watching him doing some calculations. In the end, he ended up nodding at her request.

“All right, so be it.”

“Please, would you not think of me as a greedy woman. Well then as the daughter of "the mad king", it is impossible to think that this palace is a good place to reside.”

“No; if I may put it bluntly, I would like you to stay here as this would greatly facilitate our work. And I will give you your first mission.”

“And what would that be?”

“I'd like you to keep an eye on the guests who belong to the nation of Tristain, all without exception from the Queen to the lowest-ranking soldier; and especially I want to you guard both Chevalier Hiraga Saito and Miss Vallière. You mustn’t take your eyes off those two even for a second.”

“It seems just the other day a group of people from Tristain was attacked by a murderer; it was my surprise to learn that the attacker was a gentleman formerly from my brigade. Apparently he has become a member of a group of mercenaries.”

The one who had attacked Saito was one of the ‘Brothers of the Elements’(Elemental Siblings). Remembering what had happened, Isabella used this event to build the credibility of her words.

“So it was, the world is a small place after all; then you should also keep me updated of the developments in this matter. “However, it could be perceived in Julio's tone that this issue was not really his interest. This seemed a proof that the Elemental Siblings and Julio, together with his master, were unrelated.

Isabella nodded.

“Leave it in my hands; we established our efficiency that far exceeds the amount of money wasted by you gentlemen representing the church.”

“Very well, I look forward to seeing the results; then if I may, have a nice day!”

After saying goodbye to Isabella, Julio was ready to continue on his way; when Isabella was no longer able to see the figure of his back, she exhaled a huge sigh of relief.

That priest named Julio may look stylish and handsome on the outside, but inside he hides a dangerous mind as sharp as a blade. ''Now I get it, how it's possible that this reckless conspiracy to impersonate the queen has succeeded and who was its Machiavellian author.''

Then Isabella muttered as if whispering:

“I wonder if this was the right thing to do, Chikasui.”

She heard the voice of the intelligent knife at her waist.

“I'm not impressed that much, but I must admit that your performance was passable, Your Highness.”

“Well, after all, I guess this was the quickest way to find the location of Her Majesty.”

Being escorted by Agnes, Henrietta was still in a bad spirit mainly because of Romalia’s conspiracy to impersonate the Queen Charlotte and make this impostor participate Gallia in continuing the crusade, these thoughts assailed her head as she took a walk in the courtyard of the palace of Versailles.

She knew that now there was nothing she and her friends could do to improve the situation.

Isabella had made it clear that she was the one responsible for investigating the whereabouts of Tabitha. As for them, they had no choice but to keep waiting.

''And if she could not find the whereabouts of Charlotte ...''

''No, I wouldn’t even imagine what will happen then. At this rate Gallia will fall under the complete control of Romalia.''

“Ahhh ... almost been a week since the party was held in the garden, eh.” Said Henrietta and then Agnes nodded to her statement.

“Right.”

“As long as ... order will soon find Queen Charlotte and re-take her place on the throne ... I wonder if she can really withdraw the declaration of help to wage the crusade ...”

“Good question.”

Again, Agnes replied in an almost indifferent voice.

“It seems you are in low-spirit, commander.” Henrietta said while keeping her eyes fixed on Agnes, but Agnes nevertheless continued with the freshness of her face.

“Look here, you should act according to the times of crisis like we’re experiencing, this is serious, maybe even the war against the elves is an imminent reality. But right now we cannot do anything but wait, right, so don’t worry about things that are beyond our control, for it does nothing to improve our situation.”

“Well, that's true but ...”

“If you keep thinking about the enemy all the time, then you will not be able to fight when you really needed. You as the queen, should always maintain a calm and objective vision. But even having said that, after all, human beings are nothing more than objects that cannot go against their own fate.”

"Haahh" after hearing what Agnes had to say, Henrietta could not help but breathe a small sigh.

“As I thought, is it perhaps that you cannot trust me to these situations?”

''I do not think that's a question that needs to be said to a subordinate.''

The response provoked Agnes and lifted her lips.

“You see, there are times that you need to be yourself and rest from everything. It means, to be the queen, you really need to have a partner to help you bear your sorrows.”

After saying that, Agnes couldn’t help but look away while a compound expression formed on her face. As a vassal, Agnes knew she had to keep a respectful distance from her master, and she was not sure how Henrietta appreciated her opinion.

''Someone, will there be one with whom to share my pain and release my heart ...?''

Suddenly, Henrietta recalled a clue that perhaps could answer her questions.

The one who has come from another world, the vice commander of the Ondine Knights. ''For what I know about him, he seemed to be totally honest no matter what the subject is.''

''Why is ...''

While questioning she suddenly noticed what was that reason, ''that's why ... maybe it's because he is not a human that belongs to this world ... Currently, he is a gentleman who is at my service, with all his efforts, he achieved a lot of success and confidence from those around him. He has become ‘The Savior’ both in our country and in my own name.''

''But he is not a human that belongs to this world. To this day he still holds the enticing aura typical of a mysterious "stranger". If it comes to him, otherwise it may also happen with other people, I really be able to find the calmness I need in my heart if I am at his side. Surely that must be the reason why I can talk about anything with him.
''
However ''he ... He is the lover of my best friend Louise. Even though I feel alone and know that he is always willing to listen to my problems, I cannot afford to be naive and think about something else.
''
The other day, after the fight she had with Louise, Henrietta just like when they were children she took the time for reflection. She realized unforgivable acts that hurt her most important and beloved friend ...

While Henrietta kept walking and thinking on these matters, they came to an open place in the courtyard adorned by a kiosk, all the clearing was covered with wild roses tangled in its structure, it really was a place to rest her soul.

Then the Henrietta see a couple of familiar figures sitting together on a bench in that place, she remained perplexed and provoked.

“Oi, aren’t those two Louise and Saito?” Said Agnes trying to get their attention, however Henrietta held her to cease her attempt.

“ ... Huh, what's the matter?”

Agnes, with a puzzled face, did not know what was happening. Henrietta guided her and observed where her finger was pointing.

Louise and Saito were sitting together on a bench, sitting beside each other, what they’re doing there was not clear, they were just sitting while watching each other silently. Apparently, the shame that remained in them since the night two days ago was what prevented them from speaking.

Louise stared at Saito, who was sitting right next to her, while she kept her fists together with her knees resting on them. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her mouth drew a small へ. She had finally detached from the habit which she used for so long, at this moment she was dressed in clothes that she had borrowed from Agnes’s wardrobe.

A linen shirt that covered her head and a sturdy cotton trousers were specifically what she was wearing.

Below that is simple garb that concealed the dazzling beauty of her body, Saito knew these as well.

He imagined the white smooth skin of Louise with that shirt that really favored him. It was like a canvas that had a mysterious purity.

Aaaaah... Saito groaned from the bottom of his heart.

''I saw her skin before but still ... sitting here being so close to her makes me incredibly nervous. Being so close, I cannot think Louise being as usual. Louise, which I still remember the exact shape and color of her chest. And besides, l, l, I also remember what was below her navel, the shape of her hips, and, and, and ...
''
By recalling all the body parts of Louise that were illuminated by the moonlight before, his breath remained dry even after seeing them.

Saito did not know what he had to say at this moment, and because of that indecision he couldn’t continue watching, then he turned his sights away. However, the first thought that assault his mind was the refreshing beauty of the naked body of Louise.

Unable to fend for any reason for these thoughts of his mind, Saito began to feel himself as a dirty and degenerate beast, though he could not fight his instincts, he just could not think of anything else.

''I have to do it, this is not the time to think about those things...''

That is, ''I have to concentrate on more important matters, like Tabitha and her supposed twin sister who had replaced her, and those subjects who have followed and attacked me persistently... those criminals who call themselves ‘Elemental Siblings’.
''
In fact there was a mountain of priorities which should cater Saito. And yet, the only thing that kept going round and round in his head was: the nudity of Louise.

Then Saito took his hands in his head and began to cry - UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHH!

Seeing this Saito, Louise did not hesitate to tell a somewhat irritated voice:

“Hey why are you shouting!?”

“Huh? Not this is... nothing!” He said trying to convince Louise.

“.... You, you’re simply comparing right? Comparing 'this' with all those women you've seen so far, do not try to fool me by comparing!”

Saito shook his head immediately trying to calm down Louise who was already clenching her fists as her body began to tremble.

“Huh? No! Of course not!”

“Well, then you should say what you’re thinking, say it immediately!”

While her nose echoed by her heavy breathing, Louise said this to Saito as she watched intently. And because of that tremendous pressure, Saito was left with no choice but to say what he was thinking.

“Eh, this ... the color was beautiful and ...”

“The color? Of what?”

“Your chest, heh, heh ...”

After saying these, suddenly a small fist lunged at him. He attempted to dodge it but Saito ended up on the floor.

“You! Why! Why?!” Saito complained.

“I did it because it's embarrassing! Why are you saying such things!?”

“But you're the one who asked!”

Then Louise calm down and placed her foot on his head, and then she begin to murmur.

“If it is, I'll ask, but I did it because there is something I wanted to hear from you, very important, extremely important.”

Then, as she looked down Louise started squeezing her fists again.

“But everything went well I guess...” Saito sighed.

“Huh? What went well?”

“No, this ... is that I cannot believe I’m so happy.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, really, at this moment the situation is incredibly complicated, Tabitha has been abducted and war may break out at any time, and yet ...”

Saito was speechless for one second trying to find the words he meant.

“So that was it. They requested us to act as if we knew nothing, we were told "Do not worry, we'll find the whereabouts of her Majesty the Queen" and so, contrary to what should do, we must remain calm and unconcern, until they found the location of Tabitha...” Saito sighed and added:

“But, it's not that, my happiness is really simpler than that, really, I'm happy to be surrounded by moments of happiness.”

“But say, what is it to be happy for? It is obvious that human beings should enjoy happy moments, as they would not survive if they only concentrate on the bad things that happen, but then tell me why are you so happy?”

“That's because you have accepted me, that has caused me unimaginable joy, I'm so happy that I can now stop worrying about everything else.”

After saying this, Louise rushed to answer:

“Accept you? I Did? When?”

“Never mind, I just know it, indeed, when a woman accepts a man, "this" is the only proof you need.”

“So what you're saying is, I let you saw my body?”

“Yes, but we haven’t done anything. But you clearly told me that I could do it, right? and that's what has made me so happy, incredibly happy.”

After hearing him say this, Louise's face turned completely red, she did not know what had gotten Saito glad to such an extent, however at this moment it was inevitable that she really had given permission for that Saito could do whatever he wanted ...

“But then I wonder, what it really okay for me to enjoy so much happiness? With so much pain and suffering in the world, do I really deserve this happiness?”

Then Louise took the hand of Saito.

“It’s all right.”

“Huh?”

“You see, I sometimes think about it, and say it's okay, we deserve it, because of all the dangerous situations we've had to pass, but now we're fine, and if tomorrow we die before they can rescue Tabitha, or perhaps maybe lose our life when faced against Romalia conspiracy.”

It was then that Louise began to approach Saito, and sink her cheek on his arm, then she said in a small voice:

“And that's why I decided to show you my skin, I wanted to show you that no matter what happened my feelings for you will never change. I want to fully enjoy the moments spending with you, the moments that I want to cherish forever. So if something bad may happen, however, I do not want to live with regrets."

At these words Saito felt as if a light was lit inside him, then without thinking, he immediately hugged Louise as hard as he could.

"This, really, stop thinking seriously about death, although in dangerous situations like this, we must be very careful. So promise me not to die, think that no matter what happens everything will be fine. Continue to believe this and then, this ...”

“And we should treasure every moment of our lives as if this were the most important of all, is this what you mean?”

Saito nodded his head while Louise was resting on his chest.

“Yeah, that's right.”

Saito slowly began to bring his lips against hers, one soft kiss, mixed with the warm breath caused Louise and Saito to lost in a dream.

At that moment, full of happiness was born when the two held their breath. Then, Saito began thinking about his comrades, about all the people around him in his life, he also wanted them to be able to feel the same happiness he felt at this moment, and that is why, he would rescue Tabitha no matter what the cost. And that's why he would use all the power he had to stop the crusade.

But in that moment ... suddenly the same uneasiness that assault Saito yesterday was present once again.

''But would I able to do? Can I do it? I've already been beaten twice by the Elemental Siblings ...?''

Then Saito carefully move away from Louise.

“What happened? You’re very strange since yesterday.”

“It's nothing ...”

“What is it? Tell me, was it not enough for me to be the only one by your side? as I thought, youuuu ...”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that!”

“Well, then explain!”

“It’s not what you think.” Saito said as he shook his head. ”I was just thinking that I'm too weak ... for I was defeated twice by these guys who call themselves Elemental Siblings ... If only I were a little stronger, if I hadn’t lost Derf, then I wouldn’t be defeated by Jack and I would not have shown you that pathetic part of me.”

“No matter how strong you are, there are always times when you lose, that's what it means to be human. You should not blame yourself for it.”

Louise said this trying to comfort Saito, to which he answer by shaking his head.

“No! no! no! no, this is not the time to invent excuses. We are at a point where losing means death, I cannot afford it, I have to protect you.”

“If that happens then I will also protect you!” She said trying to convince Saito.

“That’s not the case!” Energetic Saito said.

“B-, but what you’re saying is wrong, that's the way a mage and her familiar should take care of each other, isn’t it?

“That would be pathetic.”

Louise raised her lips as she watched Saito heavily saying this.

How is it that the sweet air of sweetness that had cost so much work to get was easily gone. They had returned to the days when Saito always inflate Louise’s cheeks because of the anger that caused by him.

''You said that even if you’re next to the girl like me? * tch *, and then I would lock you in your own world where no one else can see you.''

However, Louise was not really angry about it, if it’s Louise before, a situation like this would have caused blood to shed from Saito's head, but ...

''Maybe it's because we have already shown our skin to each other'', thought Louise.

It was when Louise realized once again because they had strengthened the ties between her and Saito ...

And that's why, ''I won’t be mad by something as simple as this ...''

Then Louise put her cheek gently on Saito's shoulder.

Meanwhile, he was still lost in thought.

''I ... I need to get stronger!''

Due to his defeat, all the frustration built up inside Saito caused him to forcefully clench his fists.

Having finished observing what happened between Saito and Louise ... Henrietta got up and then said quietly:

“They seem to be very well.”

Agnes continued her fresh face without saying a word. Then as if to turn around and retrace her steps, Henrietta decided to leave.

Then in a voice slightly rigid, Henrietta asked Agnes:

“We have to do everything at our disposal to stop the crusade!"

“That's right.” Agnes showing her full support to what Henrietta said.

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter2

2017-08-05T08:15:54Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 2 - Fouquet and Wardes===

Location: Capital of the Imperial Alliance, Romalia.

The streets of Romalia were carefully organized, so well-aligned that they resembled a Go Board. A figure of a woman could be seen walking hurriedly through them.

Her long dark-green hair on her forehead was split right down through the middle; behind her glasses was a glimpse of a glimmering intellect, and her serious expression was enough to judge that she was prepared to face the commotion on these streets.

She wore a dark blue blouse accompanied with a white skirt, and in her arms she was carrying a lot of books that came from somewhere. Seeing her at first glance, she looked like a secretary of a local noble.

However, even despite her casual way of walking the woman always kept her guard up while keeping a watchful eye on her surroundings.

Right now the city of Romalia was wrapped in chaos because The Pope, St. Aegis the 32nd, had rallied his people to gather their weapons and continue in their duty to engage in the Crusade.

It was a huge campaign that would not end until the Holy Land was recovered from the hands of the Elves.

Walking through the streets of Romalia one could see, as they were everywhere, posters plastered to the walls that called on people to join voluntarily as soldiers for the Crusade. These panels had the slogan "Your duty is to annihilate the heretics! (Elves)".

The Cavalry of the Church could be seen parading down the main street in long lines, orderly organized with respect to ranks of the troops.

Any priest who saw the parade held by Order of Knights had to stop before them, make the sign of the Cross and offer his blessing.

Inside the big fuss of that place, the woman with casual steps walked for a few moments as tension seemed to start to invade her body; she continued her path until she came to a dead end.

''This is a place where the country of Romalia could not extend its light.''

In the corners, dirty water and food waste accumulated which produced an indescribable stench. Along the street could be seen here and there, with a disheveled and unkempt appearance, child refugees from different nations of Halkeginia. They sat there as if waiting for some uncertain event in this place that seemed to be hidden even in the eyes of God.

As the woman began to walk along this street it created an eerie effect in the children, who suddenly rose after watching this young woman with a twinkle of excitement in their eyes.

“Onee-chan! Onee-chan!”

After hearing this the woman began to pull from her pocket a few copper coins, which she gave to the children who hurriedly approached her. The children came one after another here and there, gathering around about ten of them; they tried to decide the order in which they would receive the coins and started to fight around her.

"...Hey, there's enough for everyone, so do not fight; and do not even try to steal the coins of others.”

With money in hand, the children began to move away happy with the gift; meanwhile the woman watched them from her eyes that remained narrowed.

As the children left, she made sure that no one was left around; then she prepared to enter a collapsed building on which the façade plaster was falling apart.

After entering the lobby of this building she found some stairs leading to the second floor and climbed them.

Arriving on the second floor, the first thing that was obvious was a hallway with lots of doors uniformly arranged one behind the other; when you saw this place it seemed to be an old apartment building.

She went to a room down the hall, opened the door and saw a single room with a very poor interior appearance.

On top of the big bed next to the window she saw a sheet which had various patches across its surface; the wallpaper on the walls was completely faded to the point that she could not figure out what the original color on the paper had been.

However, the room had a feature that was obvious: an oak table with several columns of books stacked on it, plus some books were also scattered across the floor near it.

Truly this room was really like a mini library. And then she saw the figure of a tall man sitting in that room reading a book, surrounded by so many books that almost literally he was buried in them.

“You’re still carefree, Wardes.”[[File:ZnT18-035.jpg|thumb]]

While his gray eyes remained attentive, without taking his eyes off of the book in his hands Wardes said:

“By this point in my life, I doubt that there are still people who have any hostile intent against me or anything like that.”

Compared to the time he was in Albion, participating as a member of RECONQUISTA, she distinguished a slight thinness in his body; leaving that aside there was no other significant change in his manners.

Dressed in the outfit of a simple commoner, however, the presence emanating through his body was that of a noble military veteran who had fought countless battles.

The woman (who had originally been called Fouquet The Crumbling Dirt) suddenly dropped the books in her arms next to where Wardes was.

“Oh God, since the war ended with Albion you just spend your time sitting here reading books; do you want to be an academician or something?”

Wardes did not respond to that.

“Giving money to children again?"

“How did you know?”

“From here, you can hear voices outside. You know, you should not do anything to draw attention. Isn't that what you always say?”

At this Fouquet raised her eyebrows.

“Hey, you know, these children are refugees from Albion; they cannot afford to do whatever they want such as spending their days wasting time like others, ehh.”

After their defeat in Albion, Wardes decided to go to Romalia with Fouquet. But overall, Wardes' actions since then were reduced only to read, read and keep reading books.

He was reading a history book.

Even having said that, it should be stressed that it was not just any history book; it was a book which Fouquet had gone through many problems trying to steal.

It was a secret that to this day had been dormant within the confines of the headquarters of the Holy Church of Romalia. In it, the government of Romalia the Holy Church recorded various past events such as oppression, wars with foreign nations and others that stressed the dictatorial character of Romalia.

''Is this really the time to get lost and engrossed in a book?'' Wardes was really getting on Fouquet's nerves; with an angry voice trying to get his attention she said:

“Hey Wardes, I think it's time that we talk seriously. From the beginning it caught my attention, but what was the real reason we came to Romalia?”

Wardes was expressionless. All he did was turn the page while still reading; seeing him do this irritated Fouquet. She approached Wardes and took the pendant that hung on his chest.

Apparently it was a locket; Fouquet carelessly opened it and saw a portrait of a beautiful woman.

“Do not take the picture of the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with; instead in here you still have the picture of your mother.”

Even after Fouquet said that, Wardes' face seemed not to pay attention.

“Wardes, I'm willing to give you my support no matter what; so tell me, all this has to do with something that happened to your mother? You who abandoned everything and completely surrendered yourself, even your intervention in RECONQUISTA now just heightens the Crusade initiated by Romalia. Tell me: You’ve done all of this because you have one goal in mind, right?”

Despite the words of Fouquet, Wardes continued in silence; which ultimately caused Fouquet to lose her temper.

“Ah! So yeah, if you intend to ignore me completely, it’s fine; but then I’ll make it clear, you have in your hands is the last thing I will do for you: stealing. So I hope you're really enjoying your book for it will be the last.”

Then she pulled his ear and told him:

“Also… forgive me for bringing up your mother.”

Wardes, without looking up from the book, said:

“My mother was a head researcher at the ACADEMY.”

“ACADEMY you say, do not tell me it was in that era where someone spoke of his own research?”

“Yes, something like that. At that time my mother was a researcher of history and earth science; but her mental health reached its limit, and she fell ill. The ACADEMY abandoned her and thereafter gave orders to lock her in the mansion. My father and other relatives said "This is what happens when women try to embark on research too difficult for them." And I thought the same. Oh God, I remember how my mother changed that time: she was delirious, babbling nonsense such as "Jean Jacques has to go to the Holy Land", and repeated it again and again. And in the end, my father ended up confining her to the innermost room of the mansion.”

Hearing this Fouquet started to frown.

“I’m sorry to hear what happened to your mother. However, these delusions you mention, don't tell me you take these seriously? Was that the reason you joined RECONQUISTA?”

“I also thought these were nothing more than hallucinations due her sickness; and because of that the only thing that I felt for my mother was nothing but shame. But still I cannot say that was the worst of it; how many times have I said "stop now", how many ...?”

“So, what was the reason you decided to fulfill the desire of your mother?”

At that moment from his chest Wardes took a small book from a bag; without saying anything he gave it to Fouquet.

“What’s this?”

“It's the diary of my mother.”

“I'm surprised that you still keep things from your parents.”

So, Fouquet began to read that journal. Apparently it was begun at the time of birth of Wardes.

''The joy she felt for her son could be seen in her words written that day; the entries showed how touched she was when Wardes was born.''

After that point, what predominated in that diary were the memories of the days she spent as a researcher at the ACADEMY.

Apparently the research focused on certain wind stones lying along the Halkeginian continent.

The contents of the diary were written in such a way that it was difficult to understand for those who were not familiar with the same research; so it was likely that the mother of Wardes did not plan that someone besides her would read it.

And the truth was that Fouquet really had no desire to read it, but ... Being an earth mage like the diarist she was curious, but somehow she could not understand what was written in it.

“It seems that your mother's research focused on developing more efficient ways to extract wind stones. But how does that relate to you and the Holy Land?” While she murmured this, Fouquet continued reading the diary.

After reading for a while, going over every paragraph of that book with her finger, suddenly something written there made Fouquet stop.

The entry in question was no more than a single sentence:

''I discovered a terrible secret that lies on the border of the continent, a terrible secret ...''

From that point on all journal entries focused on the "terrible secret", which apparently was what caused Wardes' mother to lose her sanity due to fear.

''I cannot tell this to anyone. Oh God, what do I have I to do? Please tell me, God!''

Fouquet swallowed. Why would Wardes' mother not tell that awful secret to anyone else? What could have been the cause? But if she was someone important, a researcher of the ACADEMY ...

''If we cannot get to the Holy Land, none of us will be saved; but first we have to retrieve it from the clutches of the Elves or else face our destruction ...''

Looking, without success, it could be any reference to the true nature of that awful secret. It was just that knowing the "secret" need to find something necessary but keeping it to herself was what apparently caused the disorder in her mind.

''Dear Jean, my precious Jean Jacques, please, you have to recover the Holy Land rather than your mother; surely it is the key to our salvation ...''

So from that day the entries written in the diary were just nonsense annotations constantly repeating...

''Jean Jacques, go to the Holy Land ...'' and so, that's how the diary ended.

“I was 20 when I discovered that diary; I found it while I was busy cleaning my mother's room.”

“You know, I don't mean to speak ill of your mother; but to me this does not seem more than the hallucinations of a patient. No matter what this terrible secret is, believing this diary and deciding to go to the Holy Land is something unlikely, don’t you think?

“There is something more important than believing or not believing.“ Wardes said in a voice that evidenced his weariness.

“What do you mean ‘something’?”

“I was the one who killed my own mother.”

“Huh?”

“I, at that time, had just turned 12. It was the day we had a party at the mansion. For some reason, I know my mother came out of her room right at the moment when the party came to a climax. So when we heard the commotion she was just in the hallway, and again she kept repeating my name. At that moment, from the bottom of my heart I really came to hate my mother. When we were about to take her back to her room, she was already on the edge of the stairs; then when she tried to hug ...”

With a blank expression, Wardes stopped and stared for a moment at his left artificial arm.

“I did not think that I would shove her. I was only 12 years old, I was at "that age"; for me the affection from my mother was so irritating and despicable that I could not stand it, not to mention having what everyone called "a lunatic mom" was more embarrassing than anything else that had happened to me. In truth, I only wanted to give a little push; but then she lost her balance and began falling down the stairs. She broke her neck and though it had been twisted only slightly, even now I still remember it clearly; my mother's neck bent as if the spine ...”

Wardes closed his eyes for a moment.

“They said it was an accident, my father even took it as such. Surely, my father had hard times dealing with the illness of mother. He always tried to comfort me in times when the memories haunted me for my sin. "Your mother is resting in peace, you did not do anything wrong," he said.”

Fouquet at that moment could not do anything but stay attentive to Wardes' story; and so he continued, in a voice completely devoid of intonation:

“After that, those memories haunted me for 8 years. All that time I devoted myself to studying and practicing (magic). I felt that if I didn't I could never atone for the sin of "killing my mother." But when I turned 20, that was when I found that diary and then discovered the cause of my mother's illness. And I couldn’t forgive myself for that time, the time I believed my mother was no more than a weak woman.”

Then Wardes began to plunge his body in the chair as if it swallowed him.

“You need to understand, Matilda! To go to the Holy Land is a must. If there is nothing in that place I don’t care; my sole objective is to fulfill the last will of my mother. I'll go to the Holy Land regardless!”

Fouquet stretched her arms up to Wardes’ neck and embraced him lovingly.

“I finally get it; I will never leave your side. You're an orphan, a poor child who has been abandoned even by yourself.”

''Oh poor orphan, every time I encounter such a child I cannot leave him.''

The sweet embrace of Fouquet really resembled that of a mother. So as part of all the love that emanated from Fouquet, she began to hum a lullaby.

After a few moments, with a face full of concern Fouquet asked Wardes,

“You ... Are you really intending to participate in the Crusade?”

“To get involved in the madness of what Romalia is planning is certainly unwise; however, that would be the fastest way to achieve my goal. Besides, I feel the urge to know what that "terrible secret" was that ended the heart of my mother.”

“So this is the real reason you made me steal all those books. Oh God, sneaking into the Imperial Library was not child's play, you know. So tell me: Was it worth it, did you find out anything?”

“At this moment I haven’t found anything as big as you think. However, it is certain that at this very moment Romalia is doing something but ... After all the dirty deeds this country has done, what was to be expected?”

Then Wardes threw on the table the records of the secret meetings held by the Executive Committee of Romalia:

“Oppression, murder, annihilation ... If they suspect you, they will kill you immediately. If it's for the good of the Founder, it does not matter even if the world is destroyed; that is the level of fanaticism that these types handled. Compared with them, seriously, RECONQUISTA looks as nothing.”

“If we are practical, it's really fair to say it was not much.”

Tock! tock!

Right in the middle of their conversation, someone knocked on the door.

Without wasting a single second Fouquet and Wardes walked away. From her chest, Fouquet took out her wand.

Wardes also took up his military wand which was located right next to him.

Tock! tock!

Once again the door was hit; Wardes glanced at Fouquet, but she shook her head as if to say that she did not have the slightest idea what was going on.

In the end Wardes decided to approach the door and then said:

“Who is it?”

“I am a representative of the Government of Romalia.”

It was the voice of a young girl; Fouquet murmured softly:

“...That is not gonna happen if you don’t do something stupid!”

“But isn’t that what we've been doing since the beginning?”

Determined to find out who it was, Wardes started to open the door while firmly holding his military wand with his right hand.

Seeing the character standing there knocking on the door just a moment ago, Wardes couldn’t help but be surprised as he watched the girl with a skeptical eye.

That "Romalian representative"; in truth she was a peculiar character. Her age was about 10 years old and in her white priestess robes, she really looked like a small deacon of the church.

Intimidated by the brightness, the little girl’s eyes dimmed and she shrugged her body as if trying to hide.

“The government of Romalia? Could you tell us what are the issues they have with us?”

By asking this question, the little girl said with a trembling voice:

“Ah, this ... If I'm not mistaken, you are Viscount Wardes and Miss Sachsen Gotha, right?”

Wardes set out to see if someone was behind the girl; in addition to sharpening his senses he tried to detect if someone was in the hallway or downstairs or even outside the building, but in the end he couldn't feel anyone hiding nearby.

Confirming the identity of that girl, he concluded that apparently she had come to this place alone. Therefore the courage of this girl really amazed him.

Rather than trying to deny it, Wardes seemed to be more interested. He tried to be honest and admitted what they are doing, although he began to think that they would not gain anything if they refused. In the worst case, they must already be surrounded by a battalion of knights.

“Yes, we are; however right now we do not keep any relationship with RECONQUISTA.”

“We were already aware of it.”

“May I ask how you know who we are?”

“That would be because you two are very famous ...”

Wardes then turned around and as if to tell Fouquet "we're going to do nothing" extended both his hands.

“Sorry, but from the moment you entered the country we have been watching you constantly; so we are aware of your actions and ... I apologize.”

A smile appeared on the face of Wardes. As expected of Romalia. Even so it was a bit frustrating knowing they were trapped so easily, even after taking precautions to conceal their identity like dressing and using false passports to enter the country.

“It seems we have been dancing in the palm of your hands from the beginning. So if I have to guess, at this time we are stuck waiting to know what you want from us.”

The girl nodded.

“We will return the book, as I finished reading it completely; and tell me, would it be too much to forgive us this time? The truth is that we do not have anything planned at all that would be against their interests, just did our best to try to conclude some research we are doing; and we are in the best of spirits to accompany Romalia with this Crusade”

Hearing Wardes say this, the little girl sighed as if a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

“I am very glad to hear you say that. To be honest my task was to ask for the cooperation of the two of you, because these are the wishes of my master.”

“I would like know, who is your master?”

After hearing this, the young girl took a letter from her chest after making a respectful bow. Upon reading the sender's name Wardes' expression changed completely.

"From the Servant of the People, Vittorio Severare"

“ ... The Pope, His Holiness Aegis 32nd sacrum, is your master?”

While her little head was still down she informed Wardes:

“My master is waiting right now.”

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| Back to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18_Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18_Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume18 Chapter1

2017-08-04T08:03:13Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors, some clarifications

===Chapter 1 – Lovers===

Location: Capital of Gallia, Lutetia; in the courtyard of the palace of Versailles located in the suburbs of the capital, in a camp where a huge amount of tents were erected.

Inside one of these tents, a small canvas tent with a dark blue peak and three supports, was where Saito and Louise were kissing.

Saito only some few hours ago had been miraculously rescued by the timely intervention of Louise in his battle against Jack, one of the ’Elemental Siblings’; and now he was lost in a dream as his lips lay next to hers, while strongly embracing her sweet little body.

After several weeks of not seeing her, it was expected that the love that radiated from them were to overflow uncontrollably. Yet no matter how strong it was, Louise’s frustration hadn't been dissipated.

In silence, while still wearing the habit that she always wore during her stay in Saint Margarita, Louise offered no resistance as Saito carried her in his arms.

Then without thinking Saito stretched his hand to reach the small chest of Louise; in doing so, Louise caressed his hand gently in response.

“Sorry... for not treating you well, sorry for being so selfish.“ After restraining himself, Saito cleared his mind and finally released her little body.

Apparently the issue in which Louise looked on the scene of Saito and Henrietta kissing had finally disappeared. Although it seemed that Louise was willing to forgive him, it was clear that trying to ignore the issue as if it had never happened was a bad idea.

Louise then just stared at Saito with those beautiful reddish brown eyes...a little embarrassed by what she was doing, thinking her body was little. However, looking at those deep eyes one could not see any anger or reproach.

After watching for a few moments, Louise glanced toward the habit she worn for so long; it had remained on her body from the moment she decided to escape from the convent of Saint Margarita.

Because that was all she had worn throughout her journey and even in her battle against Jack, it was only to be expected that it was already quite dirty.

Then Louise gave a little sigh: "Hauu"; then resolutely said:

“I would like to take a walk.”

At the moment they left the tent they saw the light of the two moons shining in the sky.

The courtyard of the palace of Versailles that Louise and Saito left was dimly lit because of the various campfires burning in that place. The courtyard was flooded with tents as small as that of Saito’s, but these could contain up to 10 people. All the guests that were staying here were from various nations, and whose status was noble or little-renowned soldiers.

The atmosphere was still high because of the party that was still being held in the garden to celebrate the coronation of the new Queen of Gallia. Despite the congestion due to such events, Louise made her way swiftly among that sea of tents with speed and firmness.

But it seemed that Saito did not share her ability to move as he quickly fell behind, unable to keep pace with Louise.

“Where are we going?“ Saito asked, but received no response.

It seemed as if they were taking a walk, but with no particular destination.

The land occupied by the Court of Versailles was broad enough to allow a walk; this was of a size comparable to a large avenue, and they soon realized they had gone some way from the tumult of tents.

The place they arrived was located between a large number of plants with flowering shrubs. Because it was the month of Ansuul (August), the heat had reached its highest point this year.

Despite being at night, the heat in the atmosphere dried the surrounding air. This place, full of boxes, was devoid of any nearby fire to light their way; thus leaving only the moonlight to guide their steps.

Then suddenly the two heard a faint sound of water flowing from somewhere nearby; approaching the source of the sound, they found a great source of water (a fountain).

Immediately, Louise approached and sat right next to it while crossing her legs; then she set her sights on the sky. As if murmuring she said:

“I've been thinking about the past events.”

What could Louise be wanting to say next? ''Perhaps she decided that I can no longer stand by her; really, would she be able to say that?''

An indescribable anxiety invaded Saito. However, it only terrified Saito for a few seconds.

Then from Louise's face came an expression as if at last all the thoughts that filled in her head had been put in order; having done that, the words began to come out from her mouth:

“Um , during the time I spent away from you, I got to think about a lot of things seriously. I thought I could just forget everything by not thinking about it, not thinking about sad and difficult things; but at the end of the day I realized what I was doing was just to escape the unpleasant things that were happening, the difficult things I didn’t want to face...”

At this point, Louise stopped for a moment and stared at her right hand.

“But after all that was just cowardice, even though it was so painful that I felt my heart would break. However, within me there is a great power; and there are people who need that power, however I ... I ran away trying to pretend not knowing it.”

''That is... what I came to think...'' Louise added.

“Right.” Saito nodded.

The instant Louise fled, he had realized it. He realized the cowardice that lay within him. But now his determination was back, Louise had gained strength thanks to it, so he had to give her an answer.

He had lost to his own desires, which caused his betrayal of Louise.

“I ... as I dare to kiss you knowing that I am so unworthy ... I could not help falling into lust and lost control of my actions... forgive me.“ Saito said while bowing his head deeply; this gesture drew Louise's gaze upon him. But all Louise could do was to show her tired face with a bitter smile.

“Yes you did. I thought the same thing many times, "why is it that this person tries so hard to make me suffer forever;" at that time anger fills my head, all I want to do is to throw a punch and then run. But you know, I'm also tired of it; and that's why, from now on you can do whatever you want!”

Those words were her final verdict. Saito felt as if a hammer had hit him directly in his head, and depression now filled his face... he knew that he had disrespected Louise, and he could never escape the doom decided in this tent.

“ ... What I want to do ... is just to be by your side. But I stupidly couldn’t keep my faithfulness to you ... So treat me like a mere familiar, if that's what it takes. That would be enough for me, so ... “ Saito could say no more; the words had stuck in his throat. Seeing that, Louise did not hesitate to push him to finish what he was saying.

“So, ‘and therefore,’ What?”

“If you ever come to have another lover, I'll still protect you as a familiar… I am ... so ... but I'm saying, if from the start I have been more than just your familiar...”

After hearing this, Louise could no longer just listen without saying anything.

“Hey you! Listen, you could stop and stick with that, you; if I were to take a lover, I promise you I would not ask you to risk your life to save me anymore!”

“Huh? That’s silly! I’ll still save you!”

“Yes, I know, you're a man with the pure sense of duty that you are ready to save me if I needed it no matter whether you’re my lover or not.”

“Ce ... Certainly!”

“I do not know if I’ll be able to say this again; but literally, you have always been there to save me no matter how selfish or rude I have been to you. You even risked your life for me, and yet knowing this I have been so abusive to you ... always hitting and punishing you, and worst of all was when I ran away just like that without saying anything ... making everyone worry about me ... and, and, and so ... I think we're even!--”

Louise gave a little sigh, then continued talking.

“--If I’ll have a lover you say? If I wanted to have a lover then I'd have had one a long time ago. But if I did, would you feel painful too? Would it make you angry? Tell me, would you abandon me too?

“...Abandon? You?”

“Yes, really; when you kissed me, my head was totally blank. All the time that I could be with you, all I did was to think of you; also if I am asleep, you always appear in my dreams, why? I have to wonder, is it because you're my familiar? Why are you always there to rescue me? How many times have you told me you loved me? Or all the times you've strongly embraced me? Or all those kisses you gave me?”

The more Louise talked, the more surprised Saito was. He couldn't remain still. Even Louise didn’t want to hear what Saito had to say. So he was only able to continue listening to what she had to say without making any movement.

“There might be something else, or it might be everything; however it's no longer important to me. That's the conclusion I reached after thinking so much; it's so frustrating but ... that's the truth. No matter how angry I was, I still realized that! And that's why I told you to do what you want! I, no matter what you do, how I feel about you will not change at all!”

After she had said that, Louise began to mutter something to Saito that he could barely understand. By listening carefully:

"Oh God, in truth I'm a fool, as you may have come to believe my words... although I cannot deny that everything I said is true ... but as I already said it, I'll finish this well. I admit my defeat so easily; but I think this has nothing to do with winning or losing, so I think you win..."

Seeing Louise watching him with those eyes, muttering, Saito could not help but feel really moved.

''Louise ... Is what you feel for me true...? Ahh ... So this is the result of putting my life in danger ...''

''So what's the next thing I have to say to her? Do I have to look away and run? But that’s nonsense!''

''There is no justification for that pitiful action, I shouldn’t do that to her. I must not make fun of what she said!''

Louise's words sum up in simple but serious words: ''No matter what happens, my feelings for you will never change.''

Overwhelmed by his own weakness, Saito thought about all the times he betrayed this girl.

''How is she lost to all her affection for me? How is it possible that all the feelings that I ever have had for her have not been processed in vain?''

But with the words that Louise said a moment ago, Saito was lost and didn't know what to answer.

''And ... I ...''

He knew he had to say something, but no words came out of his mouth.

''That's it.''

''I have to say clearly the reasons why I love her.''

Saito then took a deep breath and look in the eyes of Louise.

“Um, can I say something?"

“Huh?“ Louise could only return a puzzled look at Saito.

“I will try to be as honest as possible until the end.”

“What's with this "until the end", that's so nasty!”

“Do not say nasty; aren't you the one who still accepted me even after being so nasty?”

“Yes, you're right, especially when you say you're nasty!”

“Sor ... sorry, but could you be quiet while I'm talking, because really, I ... maybe this sounds a little weird but, every time I see you it's like you are transporting me to a different world ... this ... because that's the way you make me feel. To an exciting place, to a distant place that is maybe not here. It is a special place that is beyond all good and evil, that's for sure. You opened my eyes and led me through those places that up till now have been unknown to me. Yes, and they were all equally precious no matter how hard they have been on some occasions nor the sadness that sometimes I feel; even in the times when I truly believed that my life was slipping through my hands, all were equally important. But all the happy times we passed through have been the most precious part you'll ever have in my life, and that's the truth.”

“Hey! Stop talking nonsense! I give you permission to leave aside the compliments!”

“No way they are nonsense! Well, if I were being totally honest, you would have been a little upset.”

“Then I'll punch you!”

“But honestly, the majority of what I felt were funny moments. Yes, those moments that made my heart tremble! And believe me I would never lie about this: the one who is able to trigger these feelings inside me, it's you! I feel like you are able to take me to a special place other than this.”

Then Louise stared Saito and give him a cold stare.

“Surely, the Princess also made your heart tremble right?”

“No, she didn’t...” Said Saito as a cold sweat ran down his body.

“Always telling lies; you know, I still remember that face you made when you kissed her huh?”

Indeed it seemed that Louise was remembering the time she saw them kissing, as her small shoulders began to shake with anger. Also after giving a little "Hoa" she exhaled, almost at the same time one of her legs raised up; which caused Saito to be inclined to protect himself from a possible attack by reflex.

However, the kick that always came flying on these occasions did not land.

Seeing her raised leg in the air, Louise could only think "you're a hopeless swordsman" as she shook her head and then lowered her leg back to its original position.

“Aren’t you going to kick?”

“I'm not going to kick you for being honest; say, were you moved? When you kissed the Princess?”

Saito under her gaze without a second thought raise his head and took a deep breath.

“Uh, a bit.”

Louise's leg rose once again in the air. Seeing this Saito seemed prepared for the consequences of what he said; and before crying, he screamed to answer the question of Louise.

“Ye-, yes, I was moved during the kiss! It was amazing!”

Louise's entire body began to shake as if a wave, then she lifted her other leg and began to move in the air; it was really as if preparing to launch a countless number of kicks, but eventually Louise somehow managed to contain her anger.

“The moment I kicked you, that would be your end!“ While muttering this, Louise set her legs once again on the floor.

“Well, it seems that I cannot blame the Princess, for this useless sensuality is revealed only after becoming an adult, and what it's for...”

“Louise ...” Saito said her name while cold sweat ran down his body; it seemed to never stop. And then Louise looked at him; Saito couldn’t escape from that icy stare.

“Ahhh, I decided I won’t be bothered by that. All those little things will just stack up one after another; being angry about that is just a waste of energy.”

After saying this, Louise then began to approach gradually the place where Saito was; she extended both her hands and with her little palms tried to wrap his face.

“But you’re not going to forget that I am the most important of all.”

“Of course!" Without thinking, Saito approached her face and tried to kiss her; but she promptly did everything possible to get away from those lips.

With a worried face Saito tried to ask what happened:

“Louise? " Then, Louise trying to apologize, issued a few words that left him surprised.

“Um, um, I.. , I would like to take a bath.”

“Huh? Bath??”

As if he did not understand those words, Saito replied to the request from Louise.

Seeing him respond this way, Louise tried to say it again in the most clear way possible.

“I said right now I want to take a bath.” This is what Louise said quietly, but with a strong determination that was evident from her tone.

“A bath... but why now?”

“Well, since I left Saint Margarita I couldn’t bathe even once; and see ... I've sweated and also these are the only clothes I've been wearing ...”

“B-, but ... Taking a bath at this hour? ...?”

In the guest house she could prepare a bath, but at this hour of the morning I see it as being very unlikely; after thinking this, what happened next was a new declaration of Louise that was surprising.

“But here's a place I can take a bath. See? Just look at the shining water as it flows.“ What Louise was pointing at the time was the source of water which was right in front of them.

“Ehh, but we do not know where this water comes from? Really, think about it...?”

“Huh, what's wrong? It's not as if it's dirty water, and we're in summer.” With that, determined, Louise took the bottom of the habit in her hands to start undressing.

“Tsk! Hey! We're practically in the street.”

“It’s alright, as we are totally in the dark and I don’t hear anyone walking around. If anyone is watching us now, it would be the moons.”

The situation had become just as he heard; perhaps the reason that Louise had brought him to this place was precisely for this. That was the idea born in the mind of Saito.

As she walked, she seemed impatient for something as she looked everywhere ... So that's what she was looking for ...It was a fountain!

Still lost in his rambling, Saito did not realize at that time that Louise had completely removed the habit on her shoulders. But then he realized, with eyes wide open, that the habit that until recently he envisioned she was wearing lay thrown at the feet of Louise.

The figure of Louise wearing only her underwear seemed to float while being illuminated by the soft light of the moon; without thinking, Saito quickly looked away from that beautiful vision.

“Eeh, hey you ...”

Immediately and unmistakably a faint sound of clothing rubbing began to resonate. Then at that point he heard the sound of water churning "Chapun" because those little bare feet had entered the water.

“This is cold, but it feels good.”

“As you say, but hurry!” Saito said as he turned his head not to look. He was about to give in to the temptation to peek, but if he were to see that white and smooth skin of hers at this moment he would no longer be able to contain his instincts.

In the past Louise showed no hesitation about changing clothes in front of Saito but ... he rarely got an opportunity like this, a chance to see directly her beautiful skin.

Anxiety grew almost unbearable within Saito; and at that time a new declaration of Louise, a wonderful one in fact, was heard by Saito:

“Could you wash my back?”

“B, b, b but...”

''...really can I? Did you mean it?''

“Bu-, but you are not allowed to touch everywhere except my back, ok?” Louise said with a slight tone of anger in her voice.

At that moment Saito was dumbstruck. Louise came to the fountain's edge, sat there and put her back right in front of him. He could see a little white light glowing on her back because of the moonlight. The beautiful line of her body was seen as a mirage of dreams within the intense summer heat.

Truly tiny; but the uncontrollable heart-throb of Saito proved that he knew very well that this little back was full of a strange and intoxicating sensuality.

Without thinking, Saito suddenly began to gulp. He couldn’t stand it; but he kept it together some way and then went along taking his first step.

At edge of the fountain he took off his shoes and then rolled up his jeans. Then hesitantly he prepared to enter into the water; and there, looking down, he saw that the beautiful back of Louise was finally within the reach of his hand.

Her long pink hair was separated in two at her neck, and then dropped on her shoulders. They were tinged with a lovely hue. Oh, no matter how many times I've hugged Louise, this ... this feeling of touching her skin directly is a rare opportunity.

Saito slowly extended his arm until he finally touched the back of Louise.

[[File:ZnT18-025.jpg|thumbnail]]

The feeling of touching her skin with his hand made his entire body tremble.

It was smooth and warm. The experience of playing with this delicate naked body caused a strong impression in Saito's mind: the certainty of "I am really alive", "This is the person I love." He was experiencing the strongest feelings of love that he had ever felt before.

After letting the water run over the back of Louise, he prepared to wash her back; when Saito began to move his hand, he could not help but feel a small tremor from Louise's body.

Saito felt as if his throat was completely dry; from this point, if he only stretched out his hand, if he only stretched a little more ... that soft part of the body of Louise ... indeed at this time any part of the body of Louise was within the reach of his hand.

But then Saito thought, ''was it worth having this great opportunity?'' He who betrayed Louise, ''Did I really had the right to even touch her, to feel her with my dirty hands and warm her beautiful naked body?'' That's what Saito thought at this time.

''Funnh''. Feeling Saito's hand stop, Louise seemed to have realized the guilt whipping Saito's heart; with a desolate air she managed to whisper a few words:

“Hey Saito!”

“M, m, Ye? Yes?”

“Do, I ... Do I look pretty? “ It was very smooth, a sound so soft that her voice seemed to fade; but still, he could perfectly understand what she said.

“Yes, of course you do!” Saito said almost without thinking; Louise slowly stood up before him.

“Ohh! Ohio! Hey you! Wait!” Saito could not be more confused, but what the hell was Louise thinking? Really it was a mystery that totally exceeded Saito's mind.

But one thing was clear to him: he certainly understood that though the world was crumbling before his eyes, at this very moment, his beloved Louise was right in front of him as God brought her into the world.

“Tell me, do you think I am more beautiful than Princess?" Louise asked in a calm voice.

“Yes... because, I have never seen the princess look this beautiful...”

“Tell me, do you think I am more beautiful than Siesta?”

“Well, I have not been able to see Siesta look this pretty.”

“Is that so, good!”

“Oh, Ohi ...”

Then without Saito having a moment to prepare his heart, he saw Louise suddenly turn around to face him.

''If I see her I’ll die.''

Saito really thought he would die if he did it, but this idea was not enough for him to look away.

What he saw was something that just had appeared in his dreams; he was finally in front of her. The glory to see the beautiful naked body of his beloved Louise.

“...........”

The moonlight was dim, but this was enough to stain an amazing shine to Louise’s naked body. The light illuminating her small chest gently made it appear to be of a volume never seen before. From the delicate curves from which they were born until those delicate points at which they ended, ''I could say that it was the most beautiful sight in the universe.''

And even the body of Louise below her navel, though blurred by a faint shadow, was still a part that had not escaped the view of Saito who at that time could see absolutely everything.

“Louise ... “ Then in a voice that seemed to reveal that a great weight had been taken off her shoulders Louise said:

“Stop, stop thinking things, don't you realize that this is my gift for you, really, really, all I said were things I wanted to say but the truth, what you’re doing is also what I wanted to do, like when you kissed me I also wanted to kiss you, or when you pushed me down, I also wanted you to do it; but I was so embarrassed to ask you, so I did not."

Then Louise lifted her face and stared at Saito.

“You also have to show me....”

Saito nodded at her request while putting a really serious face, and then begin to take off his cloak, his sweatshirt, his pants and finally his underwear: all of which he put aside on the edge of the fountain.

Then they both looked at each other in the same way as they had come into the world; at that time it was a little hard to stretch their arms in order to reach each other, but still they ended up in a hard hug.

“I...”

“What?”

“I, I feel like I was born only for this moment.“ Saito said in the most serious voice he could, yet still a voice full of warmth.

It was something mysterious, as at this time the atmosphere had become calm; then from her breast a feeling of total peace flooded the whole body of Saito.

“I feel the same Saito.” For a brief moment the two held each other in that way, as if murmuring when Louise said:

“Saito, Hey, you know, I have a favor to ask.”

“What?”

“You know, I do not mind you seeing other women, or even doing this with one of them but ...”

“But?”

“Please do not die before me. Please promise me only that; I surely could never endure the fact that you're not by my side.”

“That's just what I would say." Saito also said: “Never mind you kissing other men, no matter what you do to them, but please, never dare to die before me.”

“Well, then when we die, let's be together. “ Saito slowly lifted her chin, and Louise dutifully did it; then as they closed their eyes, the two joined their lips.

After a long kiss, Louise began to feel in her hips an unpleasant feeling; when she looked to see what it was, she could see that thing. Her face flushed completely, but with a face full of commitment she said:

“...Do we have to do it?”

For a moment she saw Saito put on a pained expression as he bit his lip forcefully; but immediately Saito showed a smile on his face.

“No, that's fine.”

“ ... You do not want to do it? But you are a man and ...”

“ ... And, uh, obviously I want to. But it's too soon, at the moment there are lots of things I should do before ... and also ...”

“And also?”

“We will do it... once we're married.”

Then Louise looked away as if embarrassed and then painfully muttered:

“Thank you.”

The two set out to leave the water and dress again. The hot, dry summer weather of Halkeginia almost immediately dried their bodies.

Preparing to return, Saito reached out to Louise and she gladly accepted it.

“Hey Saito, I may have said it just a while ago but I think if I cheat you you’ll be mad too, right?.”

“That's normal, you know; if you were to fool me, I would not forgive you.”

“After everything you've done you dare to say such things“ Louise said in a slightly annoyed tone, but this seemed to be nothing to worry about.

Then Louise moved closer to Saito and as they walked together they finally returned to their tent.

Full happiness invaded Saito as he observed Louise in his arm.

Then at that time.

Suddenly.

Indeed suddenly.

A feeling inside Saito was born.

Louise is back. And told me she trusts me to take care of everything.

''I am extremely happy. But ...''

''Now I have everything I want in the world. This is a feeling I never had before in my life.''

''What is this?''

Louise noticed the strange expression of Saito.

“... Is something wrong?”

“No ... It's just that ... “ As he left his thoughts Saito observed that Louise seemed to have a really worried face.

“But you're all pale.”

“No, really, it's nothing.”

The moonlight illuminated them both gently as his figure mysteriously glowed.

<noinclude>
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|-
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume17_Epilogue|Back to Volume 17]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18_Chapter2|Forward to Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume17 Epilogue

2017-07-23T09:28:12Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors, a couple of clarifications

===Epilogue===

Reynald brought Henrietta and all the members of the Ondine Knights, accompanied by a large number of officers of Gallia, and approached the place. The sudden show of arms caused an uproar in the middle of the night.

Jack, still unconscious, was recognized by the officers of Gallia as a former member of the Chevalier Du Nord Parterre and was immediately taken into custody.

These officers also asked Saito the reason he was there; Saito said was that he was about halfway to meeting Louise and became lost on the way, ending up at that place.

He also added additional information about the incident. He honestly admitted an unknown nobleman in his country had hired a group of murderers to kill him.

Still agitated, Henrietta came running to Saito's location. The first thing she did was look at him; and after confirming he was safe an expression of relief washed over her face.

Finally the issue was resolved, including that of Louise’s; and all decided to return to the guest house.

In Henrietta’s room, Louise and Saito were called inside so the three could be alone. First, they agreed to put in order and reveal all the information they had obtained over the course of time.

Saito and Louise began explaining everything that had happened over the last few weeks; at that time Saito had decided to pursue a group of bandits who called themselves the "Elemental Siblings" going behind his head as he had decided to attack. Derflinger was lost in the first battle against them.

Upon hearing of the death of Derflinger, tears welled up in the eyes of Louise; and for a moment they all kept a respectful silence.

However, Louise knew that now was not the time to mourn; so she continued to listen carefully to what Saito had to tell.

The exchange came to the point where they explained to Louise that the current Tabitha had been replaced by an impostor who had taken her throne in Gallia and how the impostor proclaimed support for the continuation of Romalia's Crusade.

Louise was not aware of what she had missed in her absence. Saito then informed Henrietta about the details of the conversation he had with Isabella before Jack attacked.

After listening to what Saito said, Henrietta gave a deep sigh.

“What a burden ... problems just accumulate one after another...! And worst of all, you were attacked right during our diplomatic visit in Gallia!”

“Looks like it was just coincidence; and having once belonged to the secret squad of knights of Gallia, us being here just gave the Siblings the opportunity to make their job easier.”

After his saying this, Henrietta nodded to Saito's comment.

Now done with speaking, Saito and Henrietta gave a stern look towards Louise.

“If you may, could you explain what you've been doing all this time?”

Louise began to tell Saito and Henrietta what had happened.

After she ran away and spent her days drinking to forget her pain, she encountered a strange girl in the village of Cherphis and the people that this girl called ‘brothers’, who informed her about a hidden monastery ...

“The huge man named Jack; I was very surprised when I recognized him and saw him fighting Saito.”

“So that means you were hiding in the village of Cherphis with them ...?”

“Yes, I asked those guys to help me hide.”

The unexpected connection between all the events so far greatly surprised the three.

Afterwards, Louise started to tell them about the encounters she had in the convent of Saint Margarita.

“Josette is a girl I had befriended there; one day I witnessed Julius taking her somewhere, and I thought that he might want Josette. Thus I conclude that she's likely the new "User of the Void".

As Louise relayed her suspicions, the other two were greatly surprised.

It was inevitable that their anger and despair got them mixed-up; however Henrietta could endure and overcome it somehow.

As pictured ... Romalia had already found a replacement for the missing Void user. The Romalians wanted to continue the Crusade despite the death of Joseph.

“So that means this girl is identical to... Tabitha?”

“Yes, I am almost certain that the impostor is Josette. At the convent, I had to wear a special cross that could magically change my facial features. Surely this girl ... is Tabitha's twin sister.”

Finally, Louise informed them about her return and escape from the convent for the sole purpose of passing this information to them.

After their conversation... Louise stood upright, and her posture changed to match her cold attitude.

“If I may, I believe our conversation is over. Can you tell me which room I should stay in?”

“My private tent is out there, but I hope you do not mind it's a bit cramped,”

Saito said. Louise stared at him heavily.

“Could you explain why I have to stay in your tent?”

“Well, really, is that what we're ...”

What happened was Saito only increased the anger of Louise. ''So that's it... even though Louise returned here, it does not mean she has forgiven me for that incident. Man, I think that it should be pretty obvious...''

After Louise made her sudden declaration, Henrietta coughed to clear her throat and said with an annoyed expression,

“If you ask for a room I regret to inform you there is none available, for you must take into account that we are in a foreign country.”

“Well, if that's the case, I have no choice but to stay at an inn in Lutetia.”

Henrietta had anticipated that Louise would still feel bitter, so she glanced towards Saito.

“Saito-dono, therefore, I wish you will give your tent to Louise.”

“Eh? And if I do that ...”

“Under such circumstances, I have no qualms if you stay in my room for one night,” Henrietta said with a mixed expression.

Louise's shoulders began to shake.

“Eeeeh? But, that's not right!”

“At the moment there is an immense danger that constantly threatens us, so it is essential that the queen of Tristain is protected by her elite escort at all times. So, please let Saito stay here overnight to protect me.”

“B, but ...”

“Is it alright with you, Louise?”

Then Louise nodded with a pained face, like she was suffering from a seizure.

“It doesn't matter how I feel; if that's what your Majesty wants, go ahead. I humbly ask you to accept it as a gift.”

Listening to Louise, Henrietta also started to experience a tick in her eyebrow.
“What you just said ... What does 'it' mean? Eh, Louise?”

“It means that I kindly ask you to please accept this dog that I am offering as a gift. He can be a bit annoying, so try not to hit him too much.”

Henrietta began to move her fingers nervously through her hair as if she had lost her patience; but trying not to break her dignity as queen, she went to Saito and showed a smile.

“You've heard it Saito-dono, we have permission from your master. There is no longer any obstacle. However, because of all the commotion that occurred recently, I think I will have trouble falling asleep. If you are not bothered, please be so kind as to accompany me for a glass of wine.”

Caught between the hostilities of these two women, Saito did not know how to appropriately answer each proposition. He was helplessly, entirely lost within himself. ''Truly, I'm walking among rows of gunpowder-filled barrels and holding a torch. I make the slightest slip, Baaam! Think of a giant explosion.

Then in a voice trembling with anger, Louise said:

“No matter how many years pass Princess never changes, you're just like when we were kids. When I was playing with one of my dolls "''Ah Louise! That was a nice doll you have there, give it to me please!''" and then I had to put on a face as if nothing was wrong and I had to give it to you.”

“That was when we were kids, let us leave things of the past in the past.”

“As if I could! It happens time and again, again and again. Saito, let me warn you, you must be very careful as this princess tends to get bored of the things she asked for very quickly.”

With a completely different voice, and almost shouting, Henrietta replied:

“How dare you compare men to dolls! But that is what you always do, Louise.”

These two were about to explode into brilliant fireworks.

“I, I’ll sleep outside, yes, so the princess can stay in her room and Louise can use my tent.”

“I'm afraid I cannot allow you to do that. If I remember correctly, I gave you an order to be my escort, and you need to be responsible for my safety at all times. Yes, yes, even if you have to sleep in the same bed with me.”

Inevitably Louise exploded; unable to hold her shaking shoulders still, Louise came to brokenly murmur something.

“... Oh God, tell me in truth ... since when did you become an adult?”

Henrietta slowly turned her gaze to Louise's face, her expression now totally expressionless. Saito remembered seeing a face like this when they were in the royal palace. This expression on her face always emerged in critical situations, and Saito could practically smell the fuses burning.

“Did you say something!!?”

“I said I only succeeded in revealing this useless adult sensuality of yours, your Majesty!”
Henrietta started shaking out of anger.

“You perhaps fail to understand the consequences of what you're saying!”

“If only your ability to handle political affairs was as great as your sensuality, we wouldn't have to worry about the security of Tristainia as we do now...!!”

Louise turned around with an arrogant attitude, as if she had launched an unbeatable final attack.

In response Henrietta furiously approached Louise and attempted slap her; however Louise skillfully evaded fire.

“Yes, I would advise you to stop the work of being a Queen. I assure you that you would be much better off if you worked as an actress at the Theatre Royal Tanaijiiru, and at the same time peace will be achieved in the kingdom! Indeed everything comes together PERFECTLY!”

Following Louise's insult Henrietta connected a tripping blow to Louise's legs, with the skill which she remembered from time of her childhood.

Lying on the floor for a moment, Louise recovered from the impact and calmly got off the floor.

For a moment she just glared at Henrietta.

“As you wish Princess, but for the record let me make it clear, so far my record is 27 wins, 25 losses and 2 draws!”

“Not how I remember it; I have 29 wins, 24 losses and 1 draw!”

Then the fight between the two started. Little bitch! Idiot woman! Incompetent Queen! Priestess no breasts! As the insults began to accumulate, it was increasingly evident that the verbal abuse would lead to physical confrontation.

“Stop it! Stop it please!”

Seeing this horrible scene and unable to bear it any longer, Saito tried to come between them and stop their fight; but instead he got a fist in the stomach from Henrietta and a kick in the head from Louise.

Saito ended up launched onto the floor of the rough battlefield.

After his losing consciousness, the fierce war between these two women continued indefinitely; until at some point, the two dropped on the bed next to each other and lay gasping, exhausted and rendered feeble.
Still breathing hard ... but without really having the strength to move yet, they argued:

“27 wins, 25 losses, 3 draws!”

“29 Wins, 24 losses, 2 draws!”

Then Henrietta murmured:

“You say cruel things and really, really know where a strike will hurt most!”

“Princess--You too, you were ruthless to take advantage of my weak points!”

Then sighing Henrietta said:

“Take care of Saito-dono. Bring him to your tent, it's an order.”

“I do not want to.” Louise said stubbornly.

“I ask you, do it as a favor; right now I want to be alone," Henrietta said with a sad solemn voice.

Regaining consciousness, Saito realized that he was in his own tent. At the side of his bed sitting on a folding chair he spotted Louise, distracted, looking at the landscape from the window of the tent.

Saito suddenly felt warmth flowing through the inner edge of her eye.

Her figure was simply an appearance of divine beauty; even while dressed simply like a nun, even this could not hide the incredible charm radiating from Louise.

As her resolution was unshaken, Louise's eyes just turned gently to see the outside from that window; her mouth in a straight line only accentuated the serenity that now dwelt in her face.
The charm possessed by Henrietta was so vast that you could be drowned in it, indeed was disturbingly fascinating; however ...

If the beauty of Henrietta represented the evils of desire, then in contrast, the charm of Louise represented the "divine" blessing. This blessing was truly a sight quite unusual, but Saito really admired it... Like when she was determined to do something, like when she gathered the courage to face her fears, it was on those occasions when Saito was lucky enough to see Louise radiate this divine charm.

''Charming women are very common in this world.''

But only one woman could show this divine expression: Louise.

Then in a voice that was stuck in his throat Saito said:

“Louise...”

Upon hearing this, Louise turned her head towards him.

“Hey, are you crying?”

“No ... Is that ... I'm so glad you're back ...”

Saito had realized that simple truth.

''The reason I had decided to stay in this world.

''Because Louise is here. There was no other reason. And now I've discovered the reason why I'm attracted to Louise.''

''Before, my life had always been gray and boring. When I lived in Tokyo, I had accepted this truth so naturally I had no time to question whether this was meant to be or not.

But the moment he met Louise, he learned a lot of things that until now he didn’t know existed.

Fun times, happy times, sad moments, painful memories ...

The first time he went to a dance ... When he thought "how cute she is" his heart also trembled for the first time. Louise had made his heart dance. And likewise, for the time he was in this world, Saito kept thinking of the possibilities of a "future" for him.

"I get the impression that Louise has transported me somewhere."

''To a place not here, a very exciting place, I was transported to a fantasy world ...''

''Maybe this is all my imagination, or maybe it's all just a misunderstanding, but at some point I actually felt it; I sensed that this moment actually existed.'' And it became the most precious thing he had ever had in his life.

Saito stood up and tried to hug Louise, but Louise quickly stopped him ...

“Don’t be naive. You know, the reason I returned has nothing to do with the fact that I wanted to see you again, it was only because I felt compelled to tell everyone about the appearance of the missing Void user.”

Although she had said this in a cold voice, the joy she felt at being able to see Saito again exceeded everything else. Then Saito embraced Louise with all his might, and of course Louise tried to resist ... for a moment. She threw kicks and punches but Saito only hugged her stronger.

''Seriously, what's the matter with this guy?''

He could have done this with the Princess, how dare he, being a little kind to me and have me dancing in the palm of his hand. In truth it was very painful, ''I will never forgive him.''

But then ... I feel so relieved to embrace Saito again, I feel like a puzzle piece, a piece made exclusively to fit into his arms.

And as if it was an instinct, a thought arose in the mind of Louise, ''I want to kiss him.''

''No! He was just making fun of me.''

''He was unfaithful.''

''And I will never forgive you, you'll see.''

Louise felt a frustration so great that it almost made her cry, that was the truth.

Then Saito began to bring his lips close.

“No, let me go, never!”

''I love you, I could not take it anymore, I love you so much.''

“You did the same with the Princess right? No, never!”

Upon hearing this, the face of Saito changed as if he was about to cry.

''But what is she thinking?''

“Please.”

“No! I’ll never forgive you!”

“I understand.”

“You do not understand! I’ll never forget it, what you and Princess did, never, even if I die, I will not forgive you!”

Saito nodded and then pressed his lips to Louise.

''This guy, as if he'll understand.''

This was her thought, but still she was unable to reject the kiss.

Without the two realizing, the night was coming to an end.

The light of a new dawn was beginning to flood the tent through the window. The glare completely colored Louise’s dress from deep black to bright blue.

<noinclude>
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|-
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume17_Chapter11|Back to Chapter 11]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume18_Chapter1|Forward to Volume 18]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume17 Chapter11

2017-07-23T08:45:14Z

Txtracer:

===Chapter 11 - Bonds===

In the evening of that day ... in the guest house.

Saito, who was an escort in front of where Henrietta was staying, was called for to enter her room.

“... Saito-dono.”

It was a voice that betrayed its announcer’s fatigue. Saito exchanged glances with Gimli, who was standing next to him as another member of the guard in defense of the queen, and then entered the room.

“You called me, Princess?”

Upon entering, he saw Henrietta lying on a couch wearing her pajamas. From the moment she heard the proclamation of Queen Charlotte, she had been in a state of confusion that she still exhibited a few moments ago.

The reason for calling Saito was because she had recovered enough sense to speak to him.

“...What happened at your meeting with Queen Charlotte?”

Saito nodded and then explained what happened to Henrietta; that it was impossible to have a conversation with Queen Charlotte ...

“She really looked like a completely different person.”

“Is that so? Then it seems the situation has become much more worrisome than I imagined.”

“What will happen next?”

Suddenly overcome by grief she could no longer stand, Henrietta put her hands to her face.

“Princess.”

“It's too much, it is the truth too! These Machiavellian snakes! How is it possible that they have tamed Gallia so easily ...!”

“But all is not lost; remember that currently one of the users of Void is missing. It is too early to give up.”

But after all, even with Saito saying these words, he was still doubtful. ''Is it likely that Romalia... already devised a plan to deal with that?''

Then Saito thought, ''if a Void user died, it would only be necessary that the void ability be transferred to another family member, right...?
''
''Even for the Void, it is assumed that at some point a replacement will emerge...''

As Saito was plunged into these thoughts, he suddenly heard someone hit the window. Henrietta, because of the noise, quickly approached Saito while receiving a slight tremor in her body.

''But we are on the second floor ...''

The first thing Saito did was call Gimli quietly. Gimli, concerned about Henrietta’s condition, nodded with a puzzled face.

Then Saito took out his katana and slowly approached the window.

''Tock tock ...''

Again he heard a knock on the window behind the curtain.

“Who is it?” he asked as his voice echoed.

“...I have a delivery for Her Majesty Queen Henrietta; it is a message from my master.”

Judging from her voice, it was a young woman.

“Message? Then why do you come through the window?”

“Because I cannot make it in through the door. Also, the current situation in the government of Gallia and the prevailing chaos prevents me. We plead that Tristain can provide assistance.”

Saito then glanced at Henrietta, and she nodded to Saito. She gave the order and Saito started to open the window.

With a quick and deft movement, a young woman entered through the window. To all appearances, she just seemed to be an ordinary girl from town.

Her eyes were a light brown and she was dressed in a skirt that was colored a pale shade of beige. It was clear she was not a mage, and one could deduce her skills simply by the fact of having gotten there just by climbing up the walls; they were worthy of admiration.

“Let me introduce myself: my name is Chikasui.”

Wow, that is a peculiar name; but nevertheless it was a very common name of this country. After introducing herself, the girl immediately pulled a letter from her chest and respectfully offered it to Henrietta.

After reading the letter, Henrietta, with heaving eyebrows, rescanned its contents; then she gave it to Saito. The contents read:

''Allow me to express my most humble greetings to you Her Majesty the Queen of Tristain. We communicate to you that our next action is to execute a coup against the government of Gallia; so I dare to inform you that the current queen is not actually the real Charlotte-sama. But if I may delve into the details of these events, please be kind enough to accept my offer for my servant to lead you to a private meeting.''

“It is as I thought; that Tabitha... she was not the true Tabitha.”

“But then who sent this message? And why is he asking help from Tristain?”

“If I may, my master will have greater willingness to answer your questions; we have to hurry, servant of the queen.”

The situation was totally dubious, plus there were high chances that it was a trap; however, this was not the time to hesitate. There certainly seemed to be a lack of options. Saito glanced at Henrietta.

“Can you do it for me?”

“As you wish. I will call Gimli and Guiche.”

Saito then quickly explained the unexpected situation to Guiche and others that had arrived on the scene.

“And that's why I have to leave you for the moment; please request the others to protect this place. And Reynald, please come with me.“ Saito called Reynald to accompany him, for he knew it was too dangerous to go alone on a mission like this.

Reynald had demonstrated his skills before on several occasions. In addition to his vast knowledge, he could be useful in overcoming the problems that were waiting.

As expected, although nervous, Reynald accepted Saito’s proposal.

Then Saito informed Chikasui that they were ready to go, and the girl nodded at his words.

Saito and Reynald began following Chikasui, going out through the same window through which she had entered moments ago. Upon leaving, they realized there was little space between the wall and the neighboring building; it was very narrow.

Passing the structures on both sides they could see some large trees blocking the way, which made this location a blind spot for any observers in the vicinity.

''Where will we go next from here?''

If Romalia’s actions were performed in shadow, then it was obvious that their duty was to bring these actions to light.

''Should we go beyond the walls of the castle? Will the guards come immediately to stop us?''

However, Chikasui had no plans to make that happen. She bent down to look for something on the floor, then she accompanied them to an iron gate located on the floor.

Surely, it was a drain entrance that was constructed for maintenance purposes.

Chikasui noiselessly opened up the gate and then entered it naturally. Saito and Reynald hesitantly followed her.

They fell about 5 mails from the stairs. Feeling the cold atmosphere inside, they set foot on the ground where they immediately felt the water around their feet and smelled the stench of sewage.

Chikasui then took a lamp that was in there and recited a very common spell. She had lit that lamp with magic. Having lit the place, they found themselves wondering…

“This way!”

Chikasui unhesitatingly made her way into the labyrinthine drainage system. She was so adept, it was as if this labyrinth were just the streets of the city in which she lived.

Right, left, straight ... They had walked for about an hour until they came to the place where there was an iron ladder.

Then Chikasui began to climb up on that ladder.

Finally, they had reached their destination. Chikasui turned off the lamp and the three were prepared to ascend again.

The moonlight was bright enough to fully illuminate the new place, and from its appearance it was the courtyard of an abandoned church; but certainly this place was in Versailles in the suburbs of Lutetia.

In the distance ... perhaps about 500 mails away from this secluded spot, lights could be distinguished from the palace of Versailles.

Then Chikasui prepared to enter the church. Although it had not been in use for a long time it was still clean inside. Chikasui took the hands of Saito and Reynald in order to guide them.

Their destination was the basement of the chapel, which they went to immediately after finding the stairs; and in the background the three encountered a door. Facing it, Chikasui approached and quietly voiced their arrival.

“I’m Chikasui.”

Then there was the sound of a latch opening. She opened the door. The first thing they saw were lamps that were lit inside the room, and it seemed that the room was once that of the priest of the church.

It was a room with a bed and a small desk.

A young woman with a hood covering her face welcomed the new arrivals. The only thing visible on the face of the figure was her mouth. Saito turned and offered a bow.

“You are the emissaries sent by the kingdom of Tristain, I presume.”

From her speech it was evident that this young woman was a noble, and it seemed certain that this girl was the master of Chikasui.

“I shall introduce myself: My name is Chevalier Hiraga, and I belong to the Ondine Brigade of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Tristain; next to me is a fellow comrade from the same brigade: his name is Reynald.”

Listening to this the girl withdrew her hood; in the light of the lamps the stirrings of her long blue hair were seen, and with a tone of impatience she said:

“I introduce myself: my name is Isabella Martel, the commander of the special forces of the Kingdom of Gallia, the Knights of Northern Parterre.”

“Chevalier of the Northern Parterre you say?”

That was certainly the secret order of knights belonging to Tabitha, who dealt exclusively with the dirty work of the Kingdom of Gallia ...

“Since you aware of our existence, the talk will speed up a bit. It's perfect because we do not have much time, so let me explain the situation: As the report earlier in the letter sent to Queen Henrietta had said, the current queen of Gallia… The letter is not about Charlotte-sama, but about a vile impostor who changed places with her.”

“What does that mean?”

“I'm afraid right now the details are still unknown. Just three days ago, when I was called to audience with the queen, I found myself in front of her and I realized immediately that this person was not Charlotte-sama; and it was not difficult to deduce that this whole scheme was nothing but a conspiracy."

“...It really is.”

“However, I also understand we are in a difficult situation; this girl was certainly a perfect copy of Charlotte-sama both in appearance and in her actions. Because of the lack of certainty in the assumptions I made towards this fact, I tried to seek counsel with Her Highness the Queen’s Mother; yet we were informed that she could not be accessed according to a letter that describes her health condition. So with no other choice, I decided to use the knights to start a thorough investigation. However, until now we have not collected any conclusive information to unravel the mystery; and our methods must be hidden because of the risk that our enemies become aware of our discovery of their schemes. I am quite completely unsure about Romalia's other henchmen.

All that was said seemed to agree with Saito's first assumption.

As I thought ... ''That was not really Tabitha; all her statements to support the crusade were part of the conspiracy of Romalia.''

“Damn ... and I thought this was their fault, they put so much effort into such a stupid idea ... And most importantly ... Where is the real Tabitha?”

“I'm afraid to say that we have not figured it out yet, I can only assure you that this issue is currently the highest priority.”

“I understand that, and what do you want us to do?”

“Frankly, we ask you the favor of not doing anything; making a reckless action would be extremely dangerous. So let us handle this matter, in order to maintain this advantage ... Also, to avoid warning the enemy that we have discovered the change they have made with Her Majesty Queen Charlotte, I ask that you also act as if you were not aware of their actions. If you understand our position, I would like to request a last favor: kindly pass this information to her Majesty Queen Henrietta in the way you feel is best.”

“Roger.”

“If something relevant occurs we will let you know via letter; but due to the risk of enemy interception, it would be very unwise to just send regular letters. I would like you to use this.”

What had been delivered to Saito was a list with a series of numbers that were used to decipher a code.

Saito took the list while nodding, and then saved it in his pocket.

“Well then, I bid thee take care.”

Saito said these words and was prepared to leave the place when...

“Wait! Chikasui! Please lead them to the exit.”

“Oh, right!”

It was true that if they left unattended they would likely lose their way in the drainage system; however, what caused Isabella to stop Saito in his attempt to leave was more evident in her face.

“Is something wrong?”

After hearing this question Isabella went to Saito and bowed her head.

“I am ... the daughter of Joseph, the former king of Gallia. On behalf of my father, I would like to ask for an apology.”

Saito's body became paralyzed; from the color of Isabella’s hair, Saito had assumed she belonged to the royal family, but this... Reynald was also surprised; his face altered and he opened his mouth as if trying to say something, but immediately called Saito to keep his composure.

“Saito.”

Saito thought back for a few seconds to get ready to say something, and his face broke into a solemn expression. As if whispering he said:

“I give my condolences.”

Greatly shocked Isabella opened her eyes and then lowered her head silently.

After leaving that dark place, the moonlight seemed to have become more intense. When they were about to enter the drainage system again, a sudden voice urged them to stop.

“Hey!”

Saito turned to the place where the voice came from.

A man who was watching them and was sitting in the rubble suddenly got up. Saito saw his face lit by the moonlight and was speechless with shock.

“Y.., you ...”

The man's face was the one with which he had faced off in Cherphis, the gigantic man accompanying Bleu...

“You, how this place brings back memories; you know, I used to get frequent long missions out on this place. Do not tell me that you also belong to Chevalier of North Parterre?, Ha, as if that were possible ...”

“Why did you come here?” Saito asked the man ... Jack scratched his head.

“Why do you think of such silly questions, you already know why. We finally reached an agreement for the price of your head.”

“Who is this guy?” Reynald asked, disturbed.

“It is one of the companions of the guys who attacked me.”

“Um, one ... Sicario?”[T/L:Not sure about this]

“Tell me, don't you have a great word to refer to me?”

Reynald turned blue, and then his face turned completely red as he pulled out his wand.

“Hey! hey! You better stop; you know I do not like to kill all witnesses, so I think you would be better if you just stand there and watch.”

Then Saito pulled the code list from his pocket and handed it to Reynald.

“Or, hey ...”

“Please give this information to Her Majesty.”

“B, but ...”

“I am the only target of this man, am I not?” After Saito said that, Jack said while nodding:

“Yes, just as he says. No offense but I have no interest in guys like you, or whatever they put guys like you up to in this place.”

“Saito...”

“Quickly; I leave the rest to you, Chikasui-san.”

Chikasui nodded at Saito's request; Reynald took her arm and the two were out of sight upon entering the drainage system.

Saito turned back to face Jack and beheld an intimidating face... his fear seemed to paralyze his body.

In Cherphis Saito remembered seeing a certain disinterest in his eyes; ''so he was able to follow me? To ambush me in Gallia was ...''

For a second, Saito thought he could escape; however, by what he heard this guy was chasing him because he had acquired a contract with whomever it was who wanted to remove him. Even if he could flee, he knew Jack would continue to chase him in order to achieve this goal.

He also recalled the words of a few moments ago, and remembered that he was familiar with this place.

“Then, as I said, sir, I do not have a grudge against you nor do I intended to follow you even abroad ... however things just turned out to be this way. You see, they called us in for an internal investigation; but I never imagined that I would be coming here to see you! The exact moment I happened to enter the hideout was the exact moment I met you. It's my lucky day, don’t you think?"

''Damn, it doesn't even make sense to flee...''

Due to the circumstances, all that was left for Saito was to fight; but no matter how much he tried to build up the courage to face Jack, his body could not gather any strength. As if it were a shudder, his arms and legs felt stiff.

He was like a toddler who could not contain the anxiety experienced in fighting for the first time.

Seeing Saito in this state, Jack could not help but show a surprised face to him.

“Hey what's wrong? Do you feel bad? The first thing you need to do now is to be brave.”

“Nothing's wrong!”

Jack laughed ...

“Is that so, because what good are you if you cannot even move out of that fear; it's no fun you know! Well, I'm supposed to come here to kill you; but don't blame me, since this is only a job. But the truth is I'm starting to like this! Very well, I promise I will raise a prayer for you when you die, so surrender!”

Saito said, drawing his katana from his waist, the rune on his left hand glowing,

“Hey hey! Hurry up and die! Finish talking already!”

“Stop saying stupid things and get ready to fight!”

Despite wanting to show his strength, Saito noticed the tremor in the tip of the katana he held.

“Well, first I will tell you how much your bounty is. Really, it’s a habit of mine: before I'm going to kill someone, I tell them the price paid for their head. To me, this is the best thing to do. Tell me, knowing it would be somewhat fulfilling don't you think? So, the price they'll pay when we're done with your life is 140,000 Ecu! Quite a fortune; with that you could buy 3 or maybe 4 small castles. I never thought you could be a guy that was worth so much. You should be proud!”

''You bastard; that's his way of making fun of me,'' at this time almost the only thing in Saito's mind was to beat him.

“And tell me, you think you can do that work just by yourself?”

“I suppose. Really, I always knew since the first time we met that I would be enough to kill you. Not that I want to brag but I'm a lot more stronger than Duduu(Bleu). And so, now I promise you for real; this is your last time!”

A cold sweat flowing from his neck, Saito froze.

There must be an opening in Jack.

In truth no matter where he searched he could not find an opening in his defense. The immense pressure exerted by his presence seemed to be winning the battle ...

“If you have any last will, don't hold it. Provided it is something you can write in this place, I’ll let you put the will on that wall; but if you write something problematic I will delete it.”

Wordlessly Saito lunged at him. In a single beat he was beside his opponent, and Saito started to sweep one of the legs of Jack.

“Hell, you’re so impatient!”

But Jack had jumped and easily dodged the attack.

His lightweight and agile movements did not fit with the huge body he possessed.

Yet Saito had foreseen this movement and he quickly jumped up and raised his katana over his head.

“I have you!”

Saito had full confidence in his speed. Those guys had the ability to use "hardening" which gave them the advantage of defense against bullets and knives; but at this speed it would be impossible to have enough time to perform that technique.

“Ooh, what an incredible speed!”

However, despite the attack Jack did not appear to have intentions to dodge it. Unexpectedly he stopped the attack by grabbing the katana with his bare right hand.

RKK!

Then taking a fast turn, Jack softly landed on the floor.

“Well, now it's my turn.”

Jack started to recite a spell, which made Saito take a defensive stance. Saito was ready; he even remembered the spell that Jack had used before: creating walls and throwing rocks were his specialties as an earth mage.

''But ... actually he had an attack that was effective against earth magic.

Yet Saito was confident that he could face the magic attacks.

What‘s his next attack?

A hand from ground to hold my feet?

Or maybe releasing some golems?

There is also the possibility he'll harden his fists and try smash me.''

However, Jack's attack was not anything Saito imagined; he took up a stone and threw it calmly to Saito.

"?"

Although it appeared as a simple attack, the projectile's speed was incredible as the stone seemed to have been launched with the power and precision of a cannon.

In the mind of Saito, Derflinger's words resurfaced.

''"Those guys have magic casted on their joints ..."''

Saito somehow deflected the stone with his katana; but in the next instant, Jack was already on him ready to connect with a new attack.

Then his huge fist implanted itself deep into Saito's stomach.

The impact made Saito drop his katana and sent him flying and crashing into the ground.

“Yo, swordsman you're a tough guy!“ Jack told Saito, who was lying on the floor.

Seeing his katana lying on the floor and completely out of reach, Saito felt helpless and all the strength left his body ...

''I lost.''

It was over in an instant.

''Although I knew that this guy is not only attacking with magic, yet ...

''As expected ... I could not get my heart to shiver.''

In his previous battles, just hearing Louise recite her spells would give him great strength; but knowing how he lost her, nothing would give encouragement to his heart.

''I ... now that Louise is gone I have nothing left to fight for; I knew that from the start.''

Gandálfr is a familiar that only serves to gain time for his master to recite their spells ...

If the familiar loses his master, the whole purpose for which he fights vanishes.

''It's useless.''

Resignation was the only thing left inside his body, as Saito saw the threatening wand pointed to the place where he lay.

“Then ... I'll ask again, do you have any last will?”

Approaching slowly was a terrible reality; he would die. But even more cruel than the terrifying idea of death was, ''If I die I can never see Louise again, I cannot apologize to her.'' These thoughts of despair filled Saito.

“I do not want ..... d-.”

“What did you say? I cannot hear you.”

“ ... I do not want to die!”

Looking quite distressed, Jack shook his head.

“That's impossible, you know that I have to do my job. Think, ask something else.”

“I want to see.”

“See? Who?”

“I want to see.. I want to see Louise.”

“That too is impossible.”

“Louise ...”

Saito began to mourn, which provoked a great anger in Jack.

“Phew, That's wrong!... Do you think to end the fight in tears? Damn ... are you insulting me in our battle?”

“Louise ... Sorry ... I ...”

“Stop it! Weep not, jerk! Prove you're a man! 140,000 Ecu! Prove yourself!”

Hoping and the pain being unbearable made Saito throw a desperate cry.

“LOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUIIISE!”

''But to no avail; sorry that I could not do more than disappear into the darkness of night.''

Jack's face sprouted with more and more veins. His anger was indescribable.

“Bastard ... Not only you dare to insult our fight by screaming, now you're asking help from a woman ... you trash! How you can you be so pathetic? You're weak! You're a coward! You're a disappointment!...”

Jack raised his wand and started to cast a spell. A large landmass rose from the ground and with powerful "alchemy" it turned into gunpowder.

Seeing this, Saito attempted to run by dragging himself; then Jack said to Saito while launching the tremendous amount of gunpowder,

“You will not even leave the dust of what you once were! Ha!”

It was at that moment.

Within the mass of powder that was suspended in the air, suddenly, from its center a small explosion had occurred. That explosion had taken place before the mass reached Saito, and the ignition of gunpowder caused it; which reverberated noise savagely and the angry outburst of impact threw Jack into the air.

The cloud of smoke from the explosion covered the whole area.

“.........”

With time the white smoke began to clear ... Saito was speechless and shocked ...

“And you, what do you think you're doing?”[[File:ZnT17-241.jpg|thumbnail]]

Pink blonde hair glowed under the light of the moon. With wand in hand, raising her arm as she stretched her body, the one that was standing before Saito was the figure of a "Void user".

Louise stood right in front of Saito. He could not believe it; it was truly a miracle, that Louise had appeared in a flash right before his eyes. It was a miracle.

Dressed like a nun and preparing her wand to make an attack, the figure of Louise ... was quite a miraculous divine appearance. It was enough for Saito's eyes to flood with tears.

“Louise ...”

“You’re a pathetic familiar! If possible, I want someone better to accompany me so I can save the world.”

“Louise!”

Without thinking Saito threw himself to embrace her; but what he got was a kick that hit him square in the face.

“If you have time to get sentimental, then go and pick up your sword quickly! The match is not over yet.”

It was just as she said; slowly from within the cloud of smoke a figure rose.

“Grr ... Who the hell are you? ...”

“Who am I, I regret to say that I didn’t give my name to give to a poor soldier like you.”

“Y-, you try to make fun of me ... as you wish, I have no problem in sending one more guest to Valhalla!”

Seeing his face, Louise remembered seeing Jack before. ''What is this guy doing here ...? Is this not the man who taught me in Cherphis about the convent of Saint Margarita?''

''Why is this man attacking Saito? Bah, that doesn’t matter, better ask Saito after.''

Louise picked up the katana of Saito, stopped, then returned it and said:

“Hey you, really, don't tell me you've lost to that man?”

“Only with that ...? He's strong you know.”

At this Louise replied nonchalantly.

“Someone strong, where?”

Then Jack turned to Louise and used "alchemy" to launch countless iron arrows immediately at her. In response, with a wave of her wand Louise confronted the rain of arrows with an explosion.

The powerful blast repelled the arrows onto the ground.

Incredulous, Jack could only watch as his arrows scattered in pieces all over the place.

“Wh-, What kind of spell did you use ...”

Examining in detail, Jack saw the powerful, magical aura emitting from Louise. ''I understand, she is certainly not someone common, but ... This magical power is unnatural; perhaps she managed somehow artificially develop it...''

This kind of magic is very potent.

Still ...

''She’s no match for me.''

She had deduced that truth simultaneously. Louise had now succeeded in developing a totally different level of willpower. The incident between Henrietta and Saito had been the biggest spark of emotion in her life; but because of it, all the vast amount of emotions that accumulated in her had overflowed. What now prevailed inside of her was her pride...

In this moment she felt a tremendous power flowing within her.

Everything started from her escape from the convent of Saint Margarita ...

After all, the nearest land was about 10 kilomails. She had been able to cover this enormous distance in small consecutive sections using "Teleport".

That experience had provided an immense confidence boost to Louise.

''I mastered the Void spell as much as I can.

Nothing will make me hesitate.''

From the bottom of her heart an unknown force began to boil inside her, the willpower that becomes her magical power pervaded everything inside her body.

''Although no one is willing to accept you, I will accept you always Louise Françoise.''

Jack could not help but, perplexed, continue watching this pink-haired girl.

''She is ... of that time ...''

It's definitely the girl who Jeannette sent to the convent of Saint Margarita; her hair is a different color but ... So she never arrived at the convent; or if she did, did she manage to escape from that prison?

Even so, most importantly, she has immense magical power.

Jack was in turn a powerful wizard to have easily noticed that.

''If only I could get my hands on that "magical device with continuous emission of alchemy" everything would be easier, he thought; but then ...''

Anyway, there is something that I can use in a situation like this; since that device is essential to fulfill the dream of Damian-niisan, then ...

''It is very simple, I only have to exchange my life for more power.''

Jack started to recite a spell and numerous golems began to emerge from the earth.

Jack's plan seemed to be assaulting Louise and Saito, using a small army to protect its master.
However, this tactic was intended only to gain time.

Then Jack was prepared to recite a new spell.

Seeing those tens of golems in front of her, Louise decided to give an order to Saito.

“Come on, in front of you are plenty of weaklings. They are your opponents, go do your job!”

Nodding, Saito immediately lunged at them wielding the katana in his hands. There was a huge number of golems and they were worthy creations of Jack; their movements were abnormal and they could almost mimic the agility of their master, who Saito faced with much difficulty.

But ...

''Ur Slisaaz ansuur ken ... (uru-surisaazu-anzuuru-ken)''

Saito could hear Louise from behind intone a spell as she read from her book. In one beat, Saito was filled with an immense amount of strength; and a completely different kind of tears covered his face.

The resonance of the voice of Louise was like a bell, Saito imagined in his heart.

Because of that voice, because of that appearance,

''Louise is beautiful.''

The most beautiful one that can exist in this world; she has completely smitten my heart.

Saito could predict the movements of the golems in advance. Their movements were clear in his mind, his blows done with the katana were incredibly accurate. It would be impossible to imagine that Saito's movements were from the same person who fought Jack earlier.

But ... Upon hearing Louise's chant a mysterious feeling of invincibility invaded Saito's senses. It was truly as if he was born with wings on his back; his mysterious movements were the expression of power flowing in his body.

''What happened? It seems as if the golems were moving slowly!''

Saito precisely cut each of those stone guardians, and he pitched a war cry.

The spell Jack was reciting came to Louise's ears. Upon hearing it she could conclude that it was "alchemy". So the keen senses of Louise immediately planned the course of action to address it.

She made up her mind and drew a spell to counter it.

Immersed in the execution of her spell, Louise seemed disconnected from all the chaos around her at that moment. She could be seen as if she had retired to a world where she lived alone. Yet Louise's mind was working separately from her body; she concentrated while her 5 senses still perceived information from the environment, so she could always be aware of the course of battle.

From a corner of her consciousness, Louise knew of the condition of her familiar.
Before her eyes, Saito was running toward all the golems attacking him, one by one.

''He works so hard to protect…''

Then Louise realized that her bond with Saito was stronger than that of lovers: a chain forged by fate, and no matter how far they were from each other, they could never be separated; no matter how ragged were the links that bound them, they could never break ...

Louise had come to Versailles to inform Henrietta and the others about the existence of Josette, when perhaps coincidentally a cry from Saito reached her ears.

''Within the darkness of the night she had arrived in time... also the fact that she saw the danger Saito was in and reached him with a "Teleport". Was it the work of fate too?''

In the end she asked if he was okay; that was really what I wanted. A whole range of emotions crossed her mind, which combined with a shudder to form a bright aura.

The Void's power emanated stunningly and wrapped Louise's body.

Meanwhile, Jack’s spell was complete.

After refining the power of his "Alchemy", the complex spell started to run on the ground under his feet. Holding him as the epicenter, a set of concentric circles was drawn so as to serve as a catalyst to increase the range and power of his alchemy.

The unique magic power that Jack had obtained with alchemy surely would unleash devastating results.

Then the floor rose, a gigantic circle of land which had about 100 mails in radius and a thickness of 10 mails; this vast amount of land ... instantly became gunpowder. This was the end result of using all of his remaining willpower to magnify his alchemy.

With such a quantity of gunpowder surely the blast radius of a few kilomails would smash into pieces all humans within that range; it would be impossible to escape.

“Onii-san! I leave the rest to you!”

After shouting his spell, the conjured mass of gunpowder made its "ignition"; but at that moment ...

Louise saw Jack lower his wand while swinging, then the soil brightened ... the gunpowder from the land had, in an instant, returned to its original form.

It had been the work of "Dispel".

The "ignition" that Jack launched only managed to spark a little gunpowder. It was an amazing feat of magic that Louise had demonstrated.

Having exhausted his willpower ... Having used his own life as an amplifier to strengthen the effects of alchemy, Jack exceeded the capabilities of his own body ...

Totally exhausted, he rolled his eyes; and without a shred of consciousness fell, lying on the floor.

All finally became calm…

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| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume17 Chapter10|Chapter 10]]
| Return to [[Zero no Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume17 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume17 Chapter11

2017-07-23T08:43:55Z

Txtracer: missed some fixes

===Chapter 11 - Bonds===

In the evening of that day ... in the guest house.

Saito, who was an escort in front of where Henrietta was staying, was called for to enter her room.

“... Saito-dono.”

It was a voice that betrayed its announcer’s fatigue. Saito exchanged glances with Gimli, who was standing next to him as another member of the guard in defense of the queen, and then entered the room.

“You called me, Princess?”

Upon entering, he saw Henrietta lying on a couch wearing her pajamas. From the moment she heard the proclamation of Queen Charlotte, she had been in a state of confusion that she still exhibited a few moments ago.

The reason for calling Saito was because she had recovered enough sense to speak to him.

“...What happened at your meeting with Queen Charlotte?”

Saito nodded and then explained what happened to Henrietta; that it was impossible to have a conversation with Queen Charlotte ...

“She really looked like a completely different person.”

“Is that so? Then it seems the situation has become much more worrisome than I imagined.”

“What will happen next?”

Suddenly overcome by grief she could no longer stand, Henrietta put her hands to her face.

“Princess.”

“It's too much, it is the truth too! These Machiavellian snakes! How is it possible that they have tamed Gallia so easily ...!”

“But all is not lost; remember that currently one of the users of Void is missing. It is too early to give up.”

But after all, even with Saito saying these words, he was still doubtful. ''Is it likely that Romalia... already devised a plan to deal with that?''

Then Saito thought, ''if a Void user died, it would only be necessary that the void ability be transferred to another family member, right...?
''
''Even for the Void, it is assumed that at some point a replacement will emerge...''

As Saito was plunged into these thoughts, he suddenly heard someone hit the window. Henrietta, because of the noise, quickly approached Saito while receiving a slight tremor in her body.

''But we are on the second floor ...''

The first thing Saito did was call Gimli quietly. Gimli, concerned about Henrietta’s condition, nodded with a puzzled face.

Then Saito took out his katana and slowly approached the window.

''Tock tock ...''

Again he heard a knock on the window behind the curtain.

“Who is it?” he asked as his voice echoed.

“...I have a delivery for Her Majesty Queen Henrietta; it is a message from my master.”

Judging from her voice, it was a young woman.

“Message? Then why do you come through the window?”

“Because I cannot make it in through the door. Also, the current situation in the government of Gallia and the prevailing chaos prevents me. We plead that Tristain can provide assistance.”

Saito then glanced at Henrietta, and she nodded to Saito. She gave the order and Saito started to open the window.

With a quick and deft movement, a young woman entered through the window. To all appearances, she just seemed to be an ordinary girl from town.

Her eyes were a light brown and she was dressed in a skirt that was colored a pale shade of beige. It was clear she was not a mage, and one could deduce her skills simply by the fact of having gotten there just by climbing up the walls; they were worthy of admiration.

“Let me introduce myself: my name is Chikasui.”

Wow, that is a peculiar name; but nevertheless it was a very common name of this country. After introducing herself, the girl immediately pulled a letter from her chest and respectfully offered it to Henrietta.

After reading the letter, Henrietta, with heaving eyebrows, rescanned its contents; then she gave it to Saito. The contents read:

''Allow me to express my most humble greetings to you Her Majesty the Queen of Tristain. We communicate to you that our next action is to execute a coup against the government of Gallia; so I dare to inform you that the current queen is not actually the real Charlotte-sama. But if I may delve into the details of these events, please be kind enough to accept my offer for my servant to lead you to a private meeting.''

“It is as I thought; that Tabitha... she was not the true Tabitha.”

“But then who sent this message? And why is he asking help from Tristain?”

“If I may, my master will have greater willingness to answer your questions; we have to hurry, servant of the queen.”

The situation was totally dubious, plus there were high chances that it was a trap; however, this was not the time to hesitate. There certainly seemed to be a lack of options. Saito glanced at Henrietta.

“Can you do it for me?”

“As you wish. I will call Gimli and Guiche.”

Saito then quickly explained the unexpected situation to Guiche and others that had arrived on the scene.

“And that's why I have to leave you for the moment; please request the others to protect this place. And Reynald, please come with me.“ Saito called Reynald to accompany him, for he knew it was too dangerous to go alone on a mission like this.

Reynald had demonstrated his skills before on several occasions. In addition to his vast knowledge, he could be useful in overcoming the problems that were waiting.

As expected, although nervous, Reynald accepted Saito’s proposal.

Then Saito informed Chikasui that they were ready to go, and the girl nodded at his words.

Saito and Reynald began following Chikasui, going out through the same window through which she had entered moments ago. Upon leaving, they realized there was little space between the wall and the neighboring building; it was very narrow.

Passing the structures on both sides they could see some large trees blocking the way, which made this location a blind spot for any observers in the vicinity.

''Where will we go next from here?''

If Romalia’s actions were performed in shadow, then it was obvious that their duty was to bring these actions to light.

''Should we go beyond the walls of the castle? Will the guards come immediately to stop us?''

However, Chikasui had no plans to make that happen. She bent down to look for something on the floor, then she accompanied them to an iron gate located on the floor.

Surely, it was a drain entrance that was constructed for maintenance purposes.

Chikasui noiselessly opened up the gate and then entered it naturally. Saito and Reynald hesitantly followed her.

They fell about 5 mails from the stairs. Feeling the cold atmosphere inside, they set foot on the ground where they immediately felt the water around their feet and smelled the stench of sewage.

Chikasui then took a lamp that was in there and recited a very common spell. She had lit that lamp with magic. Having lit the place, they found themselves wondering…

“This way!”

Chikasui unhesitatingly made her way into the labyrinthine drainage system. She was so adept, it was as if this labyrinth were just the streets of the city in which she lived.

Right, left, straight ... They had walked for about an hour until they came to the place where there was an iron ladder.

Then Chikasui began to climb up on that ladder.

Finally, they had reached their destination. Chikasui turned off the lamp and the three were prepared to ascend again.

The moonlight was bright enough to fully illuminate the new place, and from its appearance it was the courtyard of an abandoned church; but certainly this place was in Versailles in the suburbs of Lutetia.

In the distance ... perhaps about 500 mails away from this secluded spot, lights could be distinguished from the palace of Versailles.

Then Chikasui prepared to enter the church. Although it had not been in use for a long time it was still clean inside. Chikasui took the hands of Saito and Reynald in order to guide them.

Their destination was the basement of the chapel, which they went to immediately after finding the stairs; and in the background the three encountered a door. Facing it, Chikasui approached and quietly voiced their arrival.

“I’m Chikasui.”

Then there was the sound of a latch opening. She opened the door. The first thing they saw were lamps that were lit inside the room, and it seemed that the room was once that of the priest of the church.

It was a room with a bed and a small desk.

A young woman with a hood covering her face welcomed the new arrivals. The only thing visible on the face of the figure was her mouth. Saito turned and offered a bow.

“You are the emissaries sent by the kingdom of Tristain, I presume.”

From her speech it was evident that this young woman was a noble, and it seemed certain that this girl was the master of Chikasui.

“I shall introduce myself: My name is Chevalier Hiraga, and I belong to the Ondine Brigade of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Tristain; next to me is a fellow comrade from the same brigade: his name is Reynald.”

Listening to this the girl withdrew her hood; in the light of the lamps the stirrings of her long blue hair were seen, and with a tone of impatience she said:

“I introduce myself: my name is Isabella Martel, the commander of the special forces of the Kingdom of Gallia, the Knights of Northern Parterre.”

“Chevalier of the Northern Parterre you say?”

That was certainly the secret order of knights belonging to Tabitha, who dealt exclusively with the dirty work of the Kingdom of Gallia ...

“Since you aware of our existence, the talk will speed up a bit. It's perfect because we do not have much time, so let me explain the situation: As the report earlier in the letter sent to Queen Henrietta had said, the current queen of Gallia… The letter is not about Charlotte-sama, but about a vile impostor who changed places with her.”

“What does that mean?”

“I'm afraid right now the details are still unknown. Just three days ago, when I was called to audience with the queen, I found myself in front of her and I realized immediately that this person was not Charlotte-sama; and it was not difficult to deduce that this whole scheme was nothing but a conspiracy."

“...It really is.”

“However, I also understand we are in a difficult situation; this girl was certainly a perfect copy of Charlotte-sama both in appearance and in her actions. Because of the lack of certainty in the assumptions I made towards this fact, I tried to seek counsel with Her Highness the Queen’s Mother; yet we were informed that she could not be accessed according to a letter that describes her health condition. So with no other choice, I decided to use the knights to start a thorough investigation. However, until now we have not collected any conclusive information to unravel the mystery; and our methods must be hidden because of the risk that our enemies become aware of our discovery of their schemes. I am quite completely unsure about Romalia's other henchmen.

All that was said seemed to agree with Saito's first assumption.

As I thought ... ''That was not really Tabitha; all her statements to support the crusade were part of the conspiracy of Romalia.''

“Damn ... and I thought this was their fault, they put so much effort into such a stupid idea ... And most importantly ... Where is the real Tabitha?”

“I'm afraid to say that we have not figured it out yet, I can only assure you that this issue is currently the highest priority.”

“I understand that, and what do you want us to do?”

“Frankly, we ask you the favor of not doing anything; making a reckless action would be extremely dangerous. So let us handle this matter, in order to maintain this advantage ... Also, to avoid warning the enemy that we have discovered the change they have made with Her Majesty Queen Charlotte, I ask that you also act as if you were not aware of their actions. If you understand our position, I would like to request a last favor: kindly pass this information to her Majesty Queen Henrietta in the way you feel is best.”

“Roger.”

“If something relevant occurs we will let you know via letter; but due to the risk of enemy interception, it would be very unwise to just send regular letters. I would like you to use this.”

What had been delivered to Saito was a list with a series of numbers that were used to decipher a code.

Saito took the list while nodding, and then saved it in his pocket.

“Well then, I bid thee take care.”

Saito said these words and was prepared to leave the place when...

“Wait! Chikasui! Please lead them to the exit.”

“Oh, right!”

It was true that if they left unattended they would likely lose their way in the drainage system; however, what caused Isabella to stop Saito in his attempt to leave was more evident in her face.

“Is something wrong?”

After hearing this question Isabella went to Saito and bowed her head.

“I am ... the daughter of Joseph, the former king of Gallia. On behalf of my father, I would like to ask for an apology.”

Saito's body became paralyzed; from the color of Isabella’s hair, Saito had assumed she belonged to the royal family, but this... Reynald was also surprised; his face altered and he opened his mouth as if trying to say something, but immediately called Saito to keep his composure.

“Saito.”

Saito thought back for a few seconds to get ready to say something, and his face broke into a solemn expression. As if whispering he said:

“I give my condolences.”

Greatly shocked Isabella opened her eyes and then lowered her head silently.

After leaving that dark place, the moonlight seemed to have become more intense. When they were about to enter the drainage system again, a sudden voice urged them to stop.

“Hey!”

Saito turned to the place where the voice came from.

A man who was watching them and was sitting in the rubble suddenly got up. Saito saw his face lit by the moonlight and was speechless with shock.

“Y.., you ...”

The man's face was the one with which he had faced off in Cherphis, the gigantic man accompanying Bleu...

“You, how this place brings back memories; you know, I used to get frequent long missions out on this place. Do not tell me that you also belong to Chevalier of North Parterre?, Ha, as if that were possible ...”

“Why did you come here?” Saito asked the man ... Jack scratched his head.

“Why do you think of such silly questions, you already know why. We finally reached an agreement for the price of your head.”

“Who is this guy?” Reynald asked, disturbed.

“It is one of the companions of the guys who attacked me.”

“Um, one ... Sicario?”[T/L:Not sure about this]

“Tell me, don't you have a great word to refer to me?”

Reynald turned blue, and then his face turned completely red as he pulled out his wand.

“Hey! hey! You better stop; you know I do not like to kill all witnesses, so I think you would be better if you just stand there and watch.”

Then Saito pulled the code list from his pocket and handed it to Reynald.

“Or, hey ...”

“Please give this information to Her Majesty.”

“B, but ...”

“I am the only target of this man, am I not?” After Saito said that, Jack said while nodding:

“Yes, just as he says. No offense but I have no interest in guys like you, or whatever they put guys like you up to in this place.”

“Saito...”

“Quickly; I leave the rest to you, Chikasui-san.”

Chikasui nodded at Saito's request; Reynald took her arm and the two were out of sight upon entering the drainage system.

Saito turned back to face Jack and beheld an intimidating face... his fear seemed to paralyze his body.

In Cherphis Saito remembered seeing a certain disinterest in his eyes; ''so he was able to follow me? To ambush me in Gallia was ...''

For a second, Saito thought he could escape; however, by what he heard this guy was chasing him because he had acquired a contract with whomever it was who wanted to remove him. Even if he could flee, he knew Jack would continue to chase him in order to achieve this goal.

He also recalled the words of a few moments ago, and remembered that he was familiar with this place.

“Then, as I said, sir, I do not have a grudge against you nor do I intended to follow you even abroad ... however things just turned out to be this way. You see, they called us in for an internal investigation; but I never imagined that I would be coming here to see you! The exact moment I happened to enter the hideout was the exact moment I met you. It's my lucky day, don’t you think?"

''Damn, it doesn't even make sense to flee...''

Due to the circumstances, all that was left for Saito was to fight; but no matter how much he tried to build up the courage to face Jack, his body could not gather any strength. As if it were a shudder, his arms and legs felt stiff.

He was like a toddler who could not contain the anxiety experienced in fighting for the first time.

Seeing Saito in this state, Jack could not help but show a surprised face to him.

“Hey what's wrong? Do you feel bad? The first thing you need to do now is to be brave.”

“Nothing's wrong!”

Jack laughed ...

“Is that so, because what good are you if you cannot even move out of that fear; it's no fun you know! Well, I'm supposed to come here to kill you; but don't blame me, since this is only a job. But the truth is I'm starting to like this! Very well, I promise I will raise a prayer for you when you die, so surrender!”

Saito said, drawing his katana from his waist, the rune on his left hand glowing,

“Hey hey! Hurry up and die! Finish talking already!”

“Stop saying stupid things and get ready to fight!”

Despite wanting to show his strength, Saito noticed the tremor in the tip of the katana he held.

“Well, first I will tell you how much your bounty is. Really, it’s a habit of mine: before I'm going to kill someone, I tell them the price paid for their head. To me, this is the best thing to do. Tell me, knowing it would be somewhat fulfilling don't you think? So, the price they'll pay when we're done with your life is 140,000 Ecu! Quite a fortune; with that you could buy 3 or maybe 4 small castles. I never thought you could be a guy that was worth so much. You should be proud!”

''You bastard; that's his way of making fun of me,'' at this time almost the only thing in Saito's mind was to beat him.

“And tell me, you think you can do that work just by yourself?”

“I suppose. Really, I always knew since the first time we met that I would be enough to kill you. Not that I want to brag but I'm a lot more stronger than Duduu(Bleu). And so, now I promise you for real; this is your last time!”

A cold sweat flowing from his neck, Saito froze.

There must be an opening in Jack.

In truth no matter where he searched he could not find an opening in his defense. The immense pressure exerted by his presence seemed to be winning the battle ...

“If you have any last will, don't hold it. Provided it is something you can write in this place, I’ll let you put the will on that wall; but if you write something problematic I will delete it.”

Wordlessly Saito lunged at him. In a single beat he was beside his opponent, and Saito started to sweep one of the legs of Jack.

“Hell, you’re so impatient!”

But Jack had jumped and easily dodged the attack.

His lightweight and agile movements did not fit with the huge body he possessed.

Yet Saito had foreseen this movement and he quickly jumped up and raised his katana over his head.

“I have you!”

Saito had full confidence in his speed. Those guys had the ability to use "hardening" which gave them the advantage of defense against bullets and knives; but at this speed it would be impossible to have enough time to perform that technique.

“Ooh, what an incredible speed!”

However, despite the attack Jack did not appear to have intentions to dodge it. Unexpectedly he stopped the attack by grabbing the katana with his bare right hand.

RKK!

Then taking a fast turn, Jack softly landed on the floor.

“Well, now it's my turn.”

Jack started to recite a spell, which made Saito take a defensive stance. Saito was ready; he even remembered the spell that Jack had used before: creating walls and throwing rocks were his specialties as an earth mage.

''But ... actually he had an attack that was effective against earth magic.

Yet Saito was confident that he could face the magic attacks.

What‘s his next attack?

A hand from ground to hold my feet?

Or maybe releasing some golems?

There is also the possibility he'll harden his fists and try smash me.''

However, Jack's attack was not anything Saito imagined; he took up a stone and threw it calmly to Saito.

"?"

Although it appeared as a simple attack, the projectile's speed was incredible as the stone seemed to have been launched with the power and precision of a cannon.

In the mind of Saito, Derflinger's words resurfaced.

''"Those guys have magic casted on their joints ..."''

Saito somehow deflected the stone with his katana; but in the next instant, Jack was already on him ready to connect with a new attack.

Then his huge fist implanted itself deep into Saito's stomach.

The impact made Saito drop his katana and sent him flying and crashing into the ground.

“Yo, swordsman you're a tough guy!“ Jack told Saito, who was lying on the floor.

Seeing his katana lying on the floor and completely out of reach, Saito felt helpless and all the strength left his body ...

''I lost.''

It was over in an instant.

''Although I knew that this guy is not only attacking with magic, yet ...

As expected ... I could not get my heart to shiver.''

In his previous battles, just hearing Louise recite her spells would give him great strength; but knowing how he lost her, nothing would give encouragement to his heart.

''I ... now that Louise is gone I have nothing left to fight for; I knew that from the start.''

Gandálfr is a familiar that only serves to gain time for his master to recite their spells ...

If the familiar loses his master, the whole purpose for which he fights vanishes.

''It's useless.''

Resignation was the only thing left inside his body, as Saito saw the threatening wand pointed to the place where he lay.

“Then ... I'll ask again, do you have any last will?”

Approaching slowly was a terrible reality; he would die. But even more cruel than the terrifying idea of death was, ''If I die I can never see Louise again, I cannot apologize to her.'' These thoughts of despair filled Saito.

“I do not want ..... d-.”

“What did you say? I cannot hear you.”

“ ... I do not want to die!”

Looking quite distressed, Jack shook his head.

“That's impossible, you know that I have to do my job. Think, ask something else.”

“I want to see.”

“See? Who?”

“I want to see.. I want to see Louise.”

“That too is impossible.”

“Louise ...”

Saito began to mourn, which provoked a great anger in Jack.

“Phew, That's wrong!... Do you think to end the fight in tears? Damn ... are you insulting me in our battle?”

“Louise ... Sorry ... I ...”

“Stop it! Weep not, jerk! Prove you're a man! 140,000 Ecu! Prove yourself!”

Hoping and the pain being unbearable made Saito throw a desperate cry.

“LOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUIIISE!”

''But to no avail; sorry that I could not do more than disappear into the darkness of night.''

Jack's face sprouted with more and more veins. His anger was indescribable.

“Bastard ... Not only you dare to insult our fight by screaming, now you're asking help from a woman ... you trash! How you can you be so pathetic? You're weak! You're a coward! You're a disappointment!...”

Jack raised his wand and started to cast a spell. A large landmass rose from the ground and with powerful "alchemy" it turned into gunpowder.

Seeing this, Saito attempted to run by dragging himself; then Jack said to Saito while launching the tremendous amount of gunpowder,

“You will not even leave the dust of what you once were! Ha!”

It was at that moment.

Within the mass of powder that was suspended in the air, suddenly, from its center a small explosion had occurred. That explosion had taken place before the mass reached Saito, and the ignition of gunpowder caused it; which reverberated noise savagely and the angry outburst of impact threw Jack into the air.

The cloud of smoke from the explosion covered the whole area.

“.........”

With time the white smoke began to clear ... Saito was speechless and shocked ...

“And you, what do you think you're doing?”[[File:ZnT17-241.jpg|thumbnail]]

Pink blonde hair glowed under the light of the moon. With wand in hand, raising her arm as she stretched her body, the one that was standing before Saito was the figure of a "Void user".

Louise stood right in front of Saito. He could not believe it; it was truly a miracle, that Louise had appeared in a flash right before his eyes. It was a miracle.

Dressed like a nun and preparing her wand to make an attack, the figure of Louise ... was quite a miraculous divine appearance. It was enough for Saito's eyes to flood with tears.

“Louise ...”

“You’re a pathetic familiar! If possible, I want someone better to accompany me so I can save the world.”

“Louise!”

Without thinking Saito threw himself to embrace her; but what he got was a kick that hit him square in the face.

“If you have time to get sentimental, then go and pick up your sword quickly! The match is not over yet.”

It was just as she said; slowly from within the cloud of smoke a figure rose.

“Grr ... Who the hell are you? ...”

“Who am I, I regret to say that I didn’t give my name to give to a poor soldier like you.”

“Y-, you try to make fun of me ... as you wish, I have no problem in sending one more guest to Valhalla!”

Seeing his face, Louise remembered seeing Jack before. ''What is this guy doing here ...? Is this not the man who taught me in Cherphis about the convent of Saint Margarita?''

''Why is this man attacking Saito? Bah, that doesn’t matter, better ask Saito after.''

Louise picked up the katana of Saito, stopped, then returned it and said:

“Hey you, really, don't tell me you've lost to that man?”

“Only with that ...? He's strong you know.”

At this Louise replied nonchalantly.

“Someone strong, where?”

Then Jack turned to Louise and used "alchemy" to launch countless iron arrows immediately at her. In response, with a wave of her wand Louise confronted the rain of arrows with an explosion.

The powerful blast repelled the arrows onto the ground.

Incredulous, Jack could only watch as his arrows scattered in pieces all over the place.

“Wh-, What kind of spell did you use ...”

Examining in detail, Jack saw the powerful, magical aura emitting from Louise. ''I understand, she is certainly not someone common, but ... This magical power is unnatural; perhaps she managed somehow artificially develop it...''

This kind of magic is very potent.

Still ...

''She’s no match for me.''

She had deduced that truth simultaneously. Louise had now succeeded in developing a totally different level of willpower. The incident between Henrietta and Saito had been the biggest spark of emotion in her life; but because of it, all the vast amount of emotions that accumulated in her had overflowed. What now prevailed inside of her was her pride...

In this moment she felt a tremendous power flowing within her.

Everything started from her escape from the convent of Saint Margarita ...

After all, the nearest land was about 10 kilomails. She had been able to cover this enormous distance in small consecutive sections using "Teleport".

That experience had provided an immense confidence boost to Louise.

''I mastered the Void spell as much as I can.

Nothing will make me hesitate.''

From the bottom of her heart an unknown force began to boil inside her, the willpower that becomes her magical power pervaded everything inside her body.

''Although no one is willing to accept you, I will accept you always Louise Françoise.''

Jack could not help but, perplexed, continue watching this pink-haired girl.

''She is ... of that time ...''

It's definitely the girl who Jeannette sent to the convent of Saint Margarita; her hair is a different color but ... So she never arrived at the convent; or if she did, did she manage to escape from that prison?

Even so, most importantly, she has immense magical power.

Jack was in turn a powerful wizard to have easily noticed that.

''If only I could get my hands on that "magical device with continuous emission of alchemy" everything would be easier, he thought; but then ...''

Anyway, there is something that I can use in a situation like this; since that device is essential to fulfill the dream of Damian-niisan, then ...

''It is very simple, I only have to exchange my life for more power.''

Jack started to recite a spell and numerous golems began to emerge from the earth.

Jack's plan seemed to be assaulting Louise and Saito, using a small army to protect its master.
However, this tactic was intended only to gain time.

Then Jack was prepared to recite a new spell.

Seeing those tens of golems in front of her, Louise decided to give an order to Saito.

“Come on, in front of you are plenty of weaklings. They are your opponents, go do your job!”

Nodding, Saito immediately lunged at them wielding the katana in his hands. There was a huge number of golems and they were worthy creations of Jack; their movements were abnormal and they could almost mimic the agility of their master, who Saito faced with much difficulty.

But ...

''Ur Slisaaz ansuur ken ... (uru-surisaazu-anzuuru-ken)''

Saito could hear Louise from behind intone a spell as she read from her book. In one beat, Saito was filled with an immense amount of strength; and a completely different kind of tears covered his face.

The resonance of the voice of Louise was like a bell, Saito imagined in his heart.

Because of that voice, because of that appearance,

''Louise is beautiful.''

The most beautiful one that can exist in this world; she has completely smitten my heart.

Saito could predict the movements of the golems in advance. Their movements were clear in his mind, his blows done with the katana were incredibly accurate. It would be impossible to imagine that Saito's movements were from the same person who fought Jack earlier.

But ... Upon hearing Louise's chant a mysterious feeling of invincibility invaded Saito's senses. It was truly as if he was born with wings on his back; his mysterious movements were the expression of power flowing in his body.

''What happened? It seems as if the golems were moving slowly!''

Saito precisely cut each of those stone guardians, and he pitched a war cry.

The spell Jack was reciting came to Louise's ears. Upon hearing it she could conclude that it was "alchemy". So the keen senses of Louise immediately planned the course of action to address it.

She made up her mind and drew a spell to counter it.

Immersed in the execution of her spell, Louise seemed disconnected from all the chaos around her at that moment. She could be seen as if she had retired to a world where she lived alone. Yet Louise's mind was working separately from her body; she concentrated while her 5 senses still perceived information from the environment, so she could always be aware of the course of battle.

From a corner of her consciousness, Louise knew of the condition of her familiar.
Before her eyes, Saito was running toward all the golems attacking him, one by one.

''He works so hard to protect…''

Then Louise realized that her bond with Saito was stronger than that of lovers: a chain forged by fate, and no matter how far they were from each other, they could never be separated; no matter how ragged were the links that bound them, they could never break ...

Louise had come to Versailles to inform Henrietta and the others about the existence of Josette, when perhaps coincidentally a cry from Saito reached her ears.

''Within the darkness of the night she had arrived in time... also the fact that she saw the danger Saito was in and reached him with a "Teleport". Was it the work of fate too?''

In the end she asked if he was okay; that was really what I wanted. A whole range of emotions crossed her mind, which combined with a shudder to form a bright aura.

The Void's power emanated stunningly and wrapped Louise's body.

Meanwhile, Jack’s spell was complete.

After refining the power of his "Alchemy", the complex spell started to run on the ground under his feet. Holding him as the epicenter, a set of concentric circles was drawn so as to serve as a catalyst to increase the range and power of his alchemy.

The unique magic power that Jack had obtained with alchemy surely would unleash devastating results.

Then the floor rose, a gigantic circle of land which had about 100 mails in radius and a thickness of 10 mails; this vast amount of land ... instantly became gunpowder. This was the end result of using all of his remaining willpower to magnify his alchemy.

With such a quantity of gunpowder surely the blast radius of a few kilomails would smash into pieces all humans within that range; it would be impossible to escape.

“Onii-san! I leave the rest to you!”

After shouting his spell, the conjured mass of gunpowder made its "ignition"; but at that moment ...

Louise saw Jack lower his wand while swinging, then the soil brightened ... the gunpowder from the land had, in an instant, returned to its original form.

It had been the work of "Dispel".

The "ignition" that Jack launched only managed to spark a little gunpowder. It was an amazing feat of magic that Louise had demonstrated.

Having exhausted his willpower ... Having used his own life as an amplifier to strengthen the effects of alchemy, Jack exceeded the capabilities of his own body ...

Totally exhausted, he rolled his eyes; and without a shred of consciousness fell, lying on the floor.

All finally became calm…

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| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume17 Chapter10|Chapter 10]]
| Return to [[Zero no Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume17 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume17 Chapter11

2017-07-23T08:41:07Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors, a couple of clarifications

===Chapter 11 - Bonds===

In the evening of that day ... in the guest house.

Saito, who was an escort in front of where Henrietta was staying, was called for to enter her room.

“... Saito-dono.”

It was a voice that betrayed its announcer’s fatigue. Saito exchanged glances with Gimli, who was standing next to him as another member of the guard in defense of the queen, and then entered the room.

“You called me, Princess?”

Upon entering, he saw Henrietta lying on a couch wearing her pajamas. From the moment she heard the proclamation of Queen Charlotte, she had been in a state of confusion that she still exhibited a few moments ago.

The reason for calling Saito was because she had recovered enough sense to speak to him.

“...What happened at your meeting with Queen Charlotte?”

Saito nodded and then explained what happened to Henrietta; that it was impossible to have a conversation with Queen Charlotte ...

“She really looked like a completely different person.”

“Is that so? Then it seems the situation has become much more worrisome than I imagined.”

“What will happen next?”

Suddenly overcome by grief she could no longer stand, Henrietta put her hands to her face.

“Princess.”

“It's too much, it is the truth too! These Machiavellian snakes! How is it possible that they have tamed Gallia so easily ...!”

“But all is not lost; remember that currently one of the users of Void is missing. It is too early to give up.”

But after all, even with Saito saying these words, he was still doubtful. ''Is it likely that Romalia... already devised a plan to deal with that?''

Then Saito thought, ''if a Void user died, it would only be necessary that the void ability be transferred to another family member, right...?
''
''Even for the Void, it is assumed that at some point a replacement will emerge...''

As Saito was plunged into these thoughts, he suddenly heard someone hit the window. Henrietta, because of the noise, quickly approached Saito while receiving a slight tremor in her body.

''But we are on the second floor ...''

The first thing Saito did was call Gimli quietly. Gimli, concerned about Henrietta’s condition, nodded with a puzzled face.

Then Saito took out his katana and slowly approached the window.

''Tock tock ...''

Again he heard a knock on the window behind the curtain.

“Who is it?” he asked as his voice echoed.

“...I have a delivery for Her Majesty Queen Henrietta; it is a message from my master.”

Judging from her voice, it was a young woman.

“Message? Then why do you come through the window?”

“Because I cannot make it in through the door. Also, the current situation in the government of Gallia and the prevailing chaos prevents me. We plead that Tristain can provide assistance.”

Saito then glanced at Henrietta, and she nodded to Saito. She gave the order and Saito started to open the window.

With a quick and deft movement, a young woman entered through the window. To all appearances, she just seemed to be an ordinary girl from town.

Her eyes were a light brown and she was dressed in a skirt that was colored a pale shade of beige. It was clear she was not a mage, and one could deduce her skills simply by the fact of having gotten there just by climbing up the walls; they were worthy of admiration.

“Let me introduce myself: my name is Chikasui.”

Wow, that is a peculiar name; but nevertheless it was a very common name of this country. After introducing herself, the girl immediately pulled a letter from her chest and respectfully offered it to Henrietta.

After reading the letter, Henrietta, with heaving eyebrows, rescanned its contents; then she gave it to Saito. The contents read:

''Allow me to express my most humble greetings to you Her Majesty the Queen of Tristain. We communicate to you that our next action is to execute a coup against the government of Gallia; so I dare to inform you that the current queen is not actually the real Charlotte-sama. But if I may delve into the details of these events, please be kind enough to accept my offer for my servant to lead you to a private meeting.''

“It is as I thought; that Tabitha... she was not the true Tabitha.”

“But then who sent this message? And why is he asking help from Tristain?”

“If I may, my master will have greater willingness to answer your questions; we have to hurry, servant of the queen.”

The situation was totally dubious, plus there were high chances that it was a trap; however, this was not the time to hesitate. There certainly seemed to be a lack of options. Saito glanced at Henrietta.

“Can you do it for me?”

“As you wish. I will call Gimli and Guiche.”

Saito then quickly explained the unexpected situation to Guiche and others that had arrived on the scene.

“And that's why I have to leave you for the moment; please request the others to protect this place. And Reynald, please come with me.“ Saito called Reynald to accompany him, for he knew it was too dangerous to go alone on a mission like this.

Reynald had demonstrated his skills before on several occasions. In addition to his vast knowledge, he could be useful in overcoming the problems that were waiting.

As expected, although nervous, Reynald accepted Saito’s proposal.

Then Saito informed Chikasui that they were ready to go, and the girl nodded at his words.

Saito and Reynald began following Chikasui, going out through the same window through which she had entered moments ago. Upon leaving, they realized there was little space between the wall and the neighboring building; it was very narrow.

Passing the structures on both sides they could see some large trees blocking the way, which made this location a blind spot for any observers in the vicinity.

''Where will we go next from here?''

If Romalia’s actions were performed in shadow, then it was obvious that their duty was to bring these actions to light.

''Should we go beyond the walls of the castle? Will the guards come immediately to stop us?''

However, Chikasui had no plans to make that happen. She bent down to look for something on the floor, then she accompanied them to an iron gate located on the floor.

Surely, it was a drain entrance that was constructed for maintenance purposes.

Chikasui noiselessly opened up the gate and then entered it naturally. Saito and Reynald hesitantly followed her.

They fell about 5 mails from the stairs. Feeling the cold atmosphere inside, they set foot on the ground where they immediately felt the water around their feet and smelled the stench of sewage.

Chikasui then took a lamp that was in there and recited a very common spell. She had lit that lamp with magic. Having lit the place, they found themselves wondering…

“This way!”

Chikasui unhesitatingly made her way into the labyrinthine drainage system. She was so adept, it was as if this labyrinth were just the streets of the city in which she lived.

Right, left, straight ... They had walked for about an hour until they came to the place where there was an iron ladder.

Then Chikasui began to climb up on that ladder.

Finally, they had reached their destination. Chikasui turned off the lamp and the three were prepared to ascend again.

The moonlight was bright enough to fully illuminate the new place, and from its appearance it was the courtyard of an abandoned church; but certainly this place was in Versailles in the suburbs of Lutetia.

In the distance ... perhaps about 500 mails away from this secluded spot, lights could be distinguished from the palace of Versailles.

Then Chikasui prepared to enter the church. Although it had not been in use for a long time it was still clean inside. Chikasui took the hands of Saito and Reynald in order to guide them.

Their destination was the basement of the chapel, which they went to immediately after finding the stairs; and in the background the three encountered a door. Facing it, Chikasui approached and quietly voiced their arrival.

“I’m Chikasui.”

Then there was the sound of a latch opening. She opened the door. The first thing they saw were lamps that were lit inside the room, and it seemed that the room was once that of the priest of the church.

It was a room with a bed and a small desk.

A young woman with a hood covering her face welcomed the new arrivals. The only thing visible on the face of the figure was her mouth. Saito turned and offered a bow.

“You are the emissaries sent by the kingdom of Tristain, I presume.”

From her speech it was evident that this young woman was a noble, and it seemed certain that this girl was the master of Chikasui.

“I shall introduce myself: My name is Chevalier Hiraga, and I belong to the Ondine Brigade of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Tristain; next to me is a fellow comrade from the same brigade: his name is Reynald.”

Listening to this the girl withdrew her hood; in the light of the lamps the stirrings of her long blue hair were seen, and with a tone of impatience she said:

“I introduce myself: my name is Isabella Martel, the commander of the special forces of the Kingdom of Gallia, the Knights of Northern Parterre.”

“Chevalier of the Northern Parterre you say?”

That was certainly the secret order of knights belonging to Tabitha, who dealt exclusively with the dirty work of the Kingdom of Gallia ...

“Since you aware of our existence, the talk will speed up a bit. It's perfect because we do not have much time, so let me explain the situation: As the report earlier in the letter sent to Queen Henrietta had said, the current queen of Gallia… The letter is not about Charlotte-sama, but about a vile impostor who changed places with her.”

“What does that mean?”

“I'm afraid right now the details are still unknown. Just three days ago, when I was called to audience with the queen, I found myself in front of her and I realized immediately that this person was not Charlotte-sama; and it was not difficult to deduce that this whole scheme was nothing but a conspiracy."

“...It really is.”

“However, I also understand we are in a difficult situation; this girl was certainly a perfect copy of Charlotte-sama both in appearance and in her actions. Because of the lack of certainty in the assumptions I made towards this fact, I tried to seek counsel with Her Highness the Queen’s Mother; yet we were informed that she could not be accessed according to a letter that describes her health condition. So with no other choice, I decided to use the knights to start a thorough investigation. However, until now we have not collected any conclusive information to unravel the mystery; and our methods must be hidden because of the risk that our enemies become aware of our discovery of their schemes. I am quite completely unsure about Romalia's other henchmen.

All that was said seemed to agree with Saito's first assumption.

As I thought ... ''That was not really Tabitha; all her statements to support the crusade were part of the conspiracy of Romalia.''

“Damn ... and I thought this was their fault, they put so much effort into such a stupid idea ... And most importantly ... Where is the real Tabitha?”

“I'm afraid to say that we have not figured it out yet, I can only assure you that this issue is currently the highest priority.”

“I understand that, and what do you want us to do?”

“Frankly, we ask you the favor of not doing anything; making a reckless action would be extremely dangerous. So let us handle this matter, in order to maintain this advantage ... Also, to avoid warning the enemy that we have discovered the change they have made with Her Majesty Queen Charlotte, I ask that you also act as if you were not aware of their actions. If you understand our position, I would like to request a last favor: kindly pass this information to her Majesty Queen Henrietta in the way you feel is best.”

“Roger.”

“If something relevant occurs we will let you know via letter; but due to the risk of enemy interception, it would be very unwise to just send regular letters. I would like you to use this.”

What had been delivered to Saito was a list with a series of numbers that were used to decipher a code.

Saito took the list while nodding, and then saved it in his pocket.

“Well then, I bid thee take care.”

Saito said these words and was prepared to leave the place when...

“Wait! Chikasui! Please lead them to the exit.”

“Oh, right!”

It was true that if they left unattended they would likely lose their way in the drainage system; however, what caused Isabella to stop Saito in his attempt to leave was more evident in her face.

“Is something wrong?”

After hearing this question Isabella went to Saito and bowed her head.

“I am ... the daughter of Joseph, the former king of Gallia. On behalf of my father, I would like to ask for an apology.”

Saito's body became paralyzed; from the color of Isabella’s hair, Saito had assumed she belonged to the royal family, but this... Reynald was also surprised; his face altered and he opened his mouth as if trying to say something, but immediately called Saito to keep his composure.

“Saito.”

Saito thought back for a few seconds to get ready to say something, and his face broke into a solemn expression. As if whispering he said:

“I give my condolences.”

Greatly shocked Isabella opened her eyes and then lowered her head silently.

After leaving that dark place, the moonlight seemed to have become more intense. When they were about to enter the drainage system again, a sudden voice urged them to stop.

“Hey!”

Saito turned to the place where the voice came from.

A man who was watching them and was sitting in the rubble suddenly got up. Saito saw his face lit by the moonlight and was speechless with shock.

“Y.., you ...”

The man's face was the one with which he had faced off in Cherphis, the gigantic man accompanying Bleu...

“You, how this place brings back memories; you know, I used to get frequent long missions out on this place. Do not tell me that you also belong to Chevalier of North Parterre?, Ha, as if that were possible ...”

“Why did you come here?” Saito asked the man ... Jack scratched his head.

“Why do you think of such silly questions, you already know why. We finally reached an agreement for the price of your head.”

“Who is this guy?” Reynald asked, disturbed.

“It is one of the companions of the guys who attacked me.”

“Um, one ... Sicario?”[T/L:Not sure about this]

“Tell me, don't you have a great word to refer to me?”

Reynald turned blue, and then his face turned completely red as he pulled out his wand.

“Hey! hey! You better stop; you know I do not like to kill all witnesses, so I think you would be better if you just stand there and watch.”

Then Saito pulled the code list from his pocket and handed it to Reynald.

“Or, hey ...”

“Please give this information to Her Majesty.”

“B, but ...”

“I am the only target of this man, am I not?” After Saito said that, Jack said while nodding:

“Yes, just as he says. No offense but I have no interest in guys like you, or whatever they put guys like you up to in this place.”

“Saito...”

“Quickly; I leave the rest to you, Chikasui-san.”

Chikasui nodded at Saito's request; Reynald took her arm and the two were out of sight upon entering the drainage system.

Saito turned back to face Jack and beheld an intimidating face... his fear seemed to paralyze his body.

In Cherphis Saito remembered seeing a certain disinterest in his eyes; ''so he was able to follow me? To ambush me in Gallia was ...''

For a second, Saito thought he could escape; however, by what he heard this guy was chasing him because he had acquired a contract with whomever it was who wanted to remove him. Even if he could flee, he knew Jack would continue to chase him in order to achieve this goal.

He also recalled the words of a few moments ago, and remembered that he was familiar with this place.

“Then, as I said, sir, I do not have a grudge against you nor do I intended to follow you even abroad ... however things just turned out to be this way. You see, they called us in for an internal investigation; but I never imagined that I would be coming here to see you! The exact moment I happened to enter the hideout was the exact moment I met you. It's my lucky day, don’t you think?"

''Damn, it doesn't even make sense to flee...''

Due to the circumstances, all that was left for Saito was to fight; but no matter how much he tried to build up the courage to face Jack, his body could not gather any strength. As if it were a shudder, his arms and legs felt stiff.

He was like a toddler who could not contain the anxiety experienced in fighting for the first time.

Seeing Saito in this state, Jack could not help but show a surprised face to him.

“Hey what's wrong? Do you feel bad? The first thing you need to do now is to be brave.”

“Nothing's wrong!”

Jack laughed ...

“Is that so, because what good are you if you cannot even move out of that fear; it's no fun you know! Well, I'm supposed to come here to kill you; but don't blame me, since this is only a job. But the truth is I'm starting to like this! Very well, I promise I will raise a prayer for you when you die, so surrender!”

Saito said, drawing his katana from his waist, the rune on his left hand glowing,

“Hey hey! Hurry up and die! Finish talking already!”

“Stop saying stupid things and get ready to fight!”

Despite wanting to show his strength, Saito noticed the tremor in the tip of the katana he held.

“Well, first I will tell you how much your bounty is. Really, it’s a habit of mine: before I'm going to kill someone, I tell them the price paid for their head. To me, this is the best thing to do. Tell me, knowing it would be somewhat fulfilling don't you think? So, the price they'll pay when we're done with your life is 140,000 Ecu! Quite a fortune; with that you could buy 3 or maybe 4 small castles. I never thought you could be a guy that was worth so much. You should be proud!”

''You bastard; that's his way of making fun of me,'' at this time almost the only thing in Saito's mind was to beat him.

“And tell me, you think you can do that work just by yourself?”

“I suppose. Really, I always knew since the first time we met that I would be enough to kill you. Not that I want to brag but I'm a lot more stronger than Duduu(Bleu). And so, now I promise you for real; this is your last time!”

A cold sweat flowing from his neck, Saito froze.

There must be an opening in Jack.

In truth no matter where he searched he could not find an opening in his defense. The immense pressure exerted by his presence seemed to be winning the battle ...

“If you have any last will, don't hold it. Provided it is something you can write in this place, I’ll let you put the will on that wall; but if you write something problematic I will delete it.”

Wordlessly Saito lunged at him. In a single beat he was beside his opponent, and Saito started to sweep one of the legs of Jack.

“Hell, you’re so impatient!”

But Jack had jumped and easily dodged the attack.

His lightweight and agile movements did not fit with the huge body he possessed.

Yet Saito had foreseen this movement and he quickly jumped up and raised his katana over his head.

“I have you!”

Saito had full confidence in his speed. Those guys had the ability to use "hardening" which gave them the advantage of defense against bullets and knives; but at this speed it would be impossible to have enough time to perform that technique.

“Ooh, what an incredible speed!”

However, despite the attack Jack did not appear to have intentions to dodge it. Unexpectedly he stopped the attack by grabbing the katana with his bare right hand.

RKK!

Then taking a fast turn, Jack softly landed on the floor.

“Well, now it's my turn.”

Jack started to recite a spell, which made Saito take a defensive stance. Saito was ready; he even remembered the spell that Jack had used before: creating walls and throwing rocks were his specialties as an earth mage.

''But ... actually he had an attack that was effective against earth magic.

Yet Saito was confident that he could face the magic attacks.

What‘s his next attack?

A hand from ground to hold my feet?

Or maybe releasing some golems?

There is also the possibility he'll harden his fists and try smash me.''

However, Jack's attack was not anything Saito imagined; he took up a stone and threw it calmly to Saito.

"?"

Although it appeared as a simple attack, the projectile's speed was incredible as the stone seemed to have been launched with the power and precision of a cannon.

In the mind of Saito, Derflinger's words resurfaced.

''"Those guys have magic casted on their joints ..."''

Saito somehow deflected the stone with his katana; but in the next instant, Jack was already on him ready to connect with a new attack.

Then his huge fist implanted itself deep into Saito's stomach.

The impact made Saito drop his katana and sent him flying and crashing into the ground.

“Yo, swordsman you're a tough guy!“ Jack told Saito, who was lying on the floor.

Seeing his katana lying on the floor and completely out of reach, Saito felt helpless and all the strength left his body ...

''I lost.''

It was over in an instant.

Although I knew that this guy is not only attacking with magic, yet ...

As pictured ... ''I could not get my heart to shiver.''

In his previous battles, just hearing Louise recite her spells would give him great strength; but knowing how he lost her, nothing would give encouragement to his heart.

''I ... now that Louise is gone I have nothing left to fight for; I knew that from the start.''

Gandálfr is a familiar that only serves to gain time for his master to recite their spells ...

If the familiar loses his master, the whole purpose for which he fights vanishes.

''It's useless.''

Resignation was the only thing left inside his body, as Saito saw the threatening wand pointed to the place where he lay.

“Then ... I'll ask again, do you have any last will?”

Approaching slowly was a terrible reality; he would die. But even more cruel than the terrifying idea of death was, ''If I die I can never see Louise again, I cannot apologize to her.'' These thoughts of despair filled Saito.

“I do not want ..... d-.”

“What did you say? I cannot hear you.”

“ ... I do not want to die!”

Looking quite distressed, Jack shook his head.

“That's impossible, you know that I have to do my job. Think, ask something else.”

“I want to see.”

“See? Who?”

“I want to see.. I want to see Louise.”

“That too is impossible.”

“Louise ...”

Saito began to mourn, which provoked a great anger in Jack.

“Phew, That's wrong!... Do you think to end the fight in tears? Damn ... are you insulting me in our battle?”

“Louise ... Sorry ... I ...”

“Stop it! Weep not, jerk! Prove you're a man! 140,000 Ecu! Prove yourself!”

Hoping and the pain being unbearable made Saito throw a desperate cry.

“LOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUIIISE!”

''But to no avail; sorry that I could not do more than disappear into the darkness of night.''

Jack's face sprouted with more and more veins. His anger was indescribable.

“Bastard ... Not only you dare to insult our fight by screaming, now you're asking help from a woman ... you trash! How you can you be so pathetic? You're weak! You're a coward! You're a disappointment!...”

Jack raised his wand and started to cast a spell. A large landmass rose from the ground and with powerful "alchemy" it turned into gunpowder.

Seeing this, Saito attempted to run by dragging himself; then Jack said to Saito while launching the tremendous amount of gunpowder,

“You will not even leave the dust of what you once were! Ha!”

It was at that moment.

Within the mass of powder that was suspended in the air, suddenly, from its center a small explosion had occurred. That explosion had taken place before the mass reached Saito, and the ignition of gunpowder caused it; which reverberated noise savagely and the angry outburst of impact threw Jack into the air.

The cloud of smoke from the explosion covered the whole area.

“.........”

With time the white smoke began to clear ... Saito was speechless and shocked ...

“And you, what do you think you're doing?”[[File:ZnT17-241.jpg|thumbnail]]

Pink blonde hair glowed under the light of the moon. With wand in hand, raising her arm as she stretched her body, the one that was standing before Saito was the figure of a "Void user".

Louise stood right in front of Saito. He could not believe it; it was truly a miracle, that Louise had appeared in a flash right before his eyes. It was a miracle.

Dressed like a nun and preparing her wand to make an attack, the figure of Louise ... was quite a miraculous divine appearance. It was enough for Saito's eyes to flood with tears.

“Louise ...”

“You’re a pathetic familiar! If possible, I want someone better to accompany me so I can save the world.”

“Louise!”

Without thinking Saito threw himself to embrace her; but what he got was a kick that hit him square in the face.

“If you have time to get sentimental, then go and pick up your sword quickly! The match is not over yet.”

It was just as she said; slowly from within the cloud of smoke a figure rose.

“Grr ... Who the hell are you? ...”

“Who am I, I regret to say that I didn’t give my name to give to a poor soldier like you.”

“Y-, you try to make fun of me ... as you wish, I have no problem in sending one more guest to Valhalla!”

Seeing his face, Louise remembered seeing Jack before. ''What is this guy doing here ...? Is this not the man who taught me in Cherphis about the convent of Saint Margarita?''

''Why is this man attacking Saito? Bah, that doesn’t matter, better ask Saito after.''

Louise picked up the katana of Saito, stopped, then returned it and said:

“Hey you, really, don't tell me you've lost to that man?”

“Only with that ...? He's strong you know.”

At this Louise replied nonchalantly.

“Someone strong, where?”

Then Jack turned to Louise and used "alchemy" to launch countless iron arrows immediately at her. In response, with a wave of her wand Louise confronted the rain of arrows with an explosion.

The powerful blast repelled the arrows onto the ground.

Incredulous, Jack could only watch as his arrows scattered in pieces all over the place.

“Wh-, What kind of spell did you use ...”

Examining in detail, Jack saw the powerful, magical aura emitting from Louise. ''I understand, she is certainly not someone common, but ... This magical power is unnatural; perhaps she managed somehow artificially develop it...''

This kind of magic is very potent.

Still ...

''She’s no match for me.''

She had deduced that truth simultaneously. Louise had now succeeded in developing a totally different level of willpower. The incident between Henrietta and Saito had been the biggest spark of emotion in her life; but because of it, all the vast amount of emotions that accumulated in her had overflowed. What now prevailed inside of her was her pride...

In this moment she felt a tremendous power flowing within her.

Everything started from her escape from the convent of Saint Margarita ...

After all, the nearest land was about 10 kilomails. She had been able to cover this enormous distance in small consecutive sections using "Teleport".

That experience had provided an immense confidence boost to Louise.

''I mastered the Void spell as much as I can.

Nothing will make me hesitate.''

From the bottom of her heart an unknown force began to boil inside her, the willpower that becomes her magical power pervaded everything inside her body.

''Although no one is willing to accept you, I will accept you always Louise Françoise.''

Jack could not help but, perplexed, continue watching this pink-haired girl.

''She is ... of that time ...''

It's definitely the girl who Jeannette sent to the convent of Saint Margarita; her hair is a different color but ... So she never arrived at the convent; or if she did, did she manage to escape from that prison?

Even so, most importantly, she has immense magical power.

Jack was in turn a powerful wizard to have easily noticed that.

''If only I could get my hands on that "magical device with continuous emission of alchemy" everything would be easier, he thought; but then ...''

Anyway, there is something that I can use in a situation like this; since that device is essential to fulfill the dream of Damian-niisan, then ...

''It is very simple, I only have to exchange my life for more power.''

Jack started to recite a spell and numerous golems began to emerge from the earth.

Jack's plan seemed to be assaulting Louise and Saito, using a small army to protect its master.
However, this tactic was intended only to gain time.

Then Jack was prepared to recite a new spell.

Seeing those tens of golems in front of her, Louise decided to give an order to Saito.

“Come on, in front of you are plenty of weaklings. They are your opponents, go do your job!”

Nodding, Saito immediately lunged at them wielding the katana in his hands. There was a huge number of golems and they were worthy creations of Jack; their movements were abnormal and they could almost mimic the agility of their master, who Saito faced with much difficulty.

But ...

''Ur Slisaaz ansuur ken ... (uru-surisaazu-anzuuru-ken)''

Saito could hear Louise from behind intone a spell as she read from her book. In one beat, Saito was filled with an immense amount of strength; and a completely different kind of tears covered his face.

The resonance of the voice of Louise was like a bell, Saito imagined in his heart.

Because of that voice, because of that appearance,

''Louise is beautiful.''

The most beautiful one that can exist in this world; she has completely smitten my heart.

Saito could predict the movements of the golems in advance. Their movements were clear in his mind, his blows done with the katana were incredibly accurate. It would be impossible to imagine that Saito's movements were from the same person who fought Jack earlier.

But ... Upon hearing Louise's chant a mysterious feeling of invincibility invaded Saito's senses. It was truly as if he was born with wings on his back; his mysterious movements were the expression of power flowing in his body.

''What happened? It seems as if the golems were moving slowly!''

Saito precisely cut each of those stone guardians, and he pitched a war cry.

The spell Jack was reciting came to Louise's ears. Upon hearing it she could conclude that it was "alchemy". So the keen senses of Louise immediately planned the course of action to address it.

She made up her mind and drew a spell to counter it.

Immersed in the execution of her spell, Louise seemed disconnected from all the chaos around her at that moment. She could be seen as if she had retired to a world where she lived alone. Yet Louise's mind was working separately from her body; she concentrated while her 5 senses still perceived information from the environment, so she could always be aware of the course of battle.

From a corner of her consciousness, Louise knew of the condition of her familiar.
Before her eyes, Saito was running toward all the golems attacking him, one by one.

''He works so hard to protect…''

Then Louise realized that her bond with Saito was stronger than that of lovers: a chain forged by fate, and no matter how far they were from each other, they could never be separated; no matter how ragged were the links that bound them, they could never break ...

Louise had come to Versailles to inform Henrietta and the others about the existence of Josette, when perhaps coincidentally a cry from Saito reached her ears.

''Within the darkness of the night she had arrived in time... also the fact that she saw the danger Saito was in and reached him with a "Teleport". Was it the work of fate too?''

In the end she asked if he was okay; that was really what I wanted. A whole range of emotions crossed her mind, which combined with a shudder to form a bright aura.

The Void's power emanated stunningly and wrapped Louise's body.

Meanwhile, Jack’s spell was complete.

After refining the power of his "Alchemy", the complex spell started to run on the ground under his feet. Holding him as the epicenter, a set of concentric circles was drawn so as to serve as a catalyst to increase the range and power of his alchemy.

The unique magic power that Jack had obtained with alchemy surely would unleash devastating results.

Then the floor rose, a gigantic circle of land which had about 100 mails in radius and a thickness of 10 mails; this vast amount of land ... instantly became gunpowder. This was the end result of using all of his remaining willpower to magnify his alchemy.

With such a quantity of gunpowder surely the blast radius of a few kilomails would smash into pieces all humans within that range; it would be impossible to escape.

“Onii-san! I leave the rest to you!”

After shouting his spell, the conjured mass of gunpowder made its "ignition"; but at that moment ...

Louise saw Jack lower his wand while swinging, then the soil brightened ... the gunpowder from the land had, in an instant, returned to its original form.

It had been the work of "Dispel".

The "ignition" that Jack launched only managed to spark a little gunpowder. It was an amazing feat of magic that Louise had demonstrated.

Having exhausted his willpower ... Having used his own life as an amplifier to strengthen the effects of alchemy, Jack exceeded the capabilities of his own body ...

Totally exhausted, he rolled his eyes; and without a shred of consciousness fell, lying on the floor.

All finally became calm…

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| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume17 Chapter10|Chapter 10]]
| Return to [[Zero no Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume17 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume17 Chapter10

2017-07-06T06:13:53Z

Txtracer: fix typos and grammatical errors, a couple of clarifications

===Chapter 10 - Garden Party to Celebrate the Enthronement===

It happened in the first week of Ansuul, on Hagar the day of Freya.

In order to attend the garden party, the most recognized Tristainian nobles turned their caravans and headed towards Versailles.

Heading towards the territory of Gallia, the main caravan of Tristain finally arrived at the docks of the port city of An-Re.

The view of all the vessels belonging to all nations of Halkeginia stationed in the port of this giant lake was truly admirable.

Once ashore, the main caravan of Queen Henrietta went to "Varsenda"; from there it would take about 4 hours to reach Versailles via wagon. Unfortunately, at the time they were about to leave the harsh summer sun slowed their progress.

Then they decided to take a break someplace after crossing the bridge of La-Vaare. However, if they were to meet with the ambassadors of Gallia on time the caravan would need to continue immediately. Along the main road they could see the growing commotion produced by such movement of people; and throughout the surrounding areas that were without houses, people now crushed as if a festival was happening.

The first thing to consider at that time was the arrangement of Queen Henrietta’s tent.

So the pages and some soldiers started collecting straw bales from the surrounding houses, which were used to construct a couch.

Soon, some farmers at that place had started selling baskets of fresh bread and fruit to the members of the caravan. Some vendors were even able to provide wine. After a while, as could be expected, the sounds of laughter and singing could be heard everywhere.

Among the buyers were the Ondine Knights who had a good supply of wine and snacks, which give them a desire to join the growing commotion. Even for this selected group of the queen, it seemed that the current conditions were nice enough to want the ‘enjoyment‘ provided by this small town.

Besides, it was fair to all those present, both noble and soldiers, to be allowed a little fun after the constant battles they had to fight recently.

Even so, within the happy commotion that had arisen, a face that did not appear anywhere in the festival could be seen.

“Haa……………”

It was Saito.

Over the course of two weeks he had been devoted to a frantic search for Louise; however, after his arrival at the first provincial town all traces of the whereabouts of Louise disappeared.

No matter where he looked, no matter who he asked, he could not find signs of Louise anywhere. So as expected, because of the growing anxiety on the part of parents and sisters of Louise, they themselves organized a search party. That was the information he had obtained from the letter sent by Cattleya.

Saito had planned to make a home visit to La Vallière and report everything so far; however:

"Due to the circumstances, it would be a great inconvenience if my careless father happened to kill you; so I ask you right now to refrain from visiting La Vallière". Saito read the letter.

Ultimately, Saito was convinced to leave the search to them so that he could return to fulfill his obligations. This is the reason why Saito at this time was one of the members of the caravan ambassadors.

He had no choice; he had to fulfill his duty as part of the bureau of negotiations, as the partner he was to Louise ...

But ... after unsuccessfully searching for her relentlessly for two weeks... ''Saito, do you really think you'll be able to see her again?''

While he was lost in these thoughts, Saito had walked away from his official duties.

The crestfallen and heartbroken Saito decided to leave the caravan and go to a place where he could be alone. Then with a stick he picked up off the ground he began to strike the earth.

''I cannot be with Louise.''

When thinking about this, it seemed that he had lost all desire to continue with his life. Nothing mattered. Not the fact that he let the people who attacked him escape, nor the party to celebrate the coronation, nothing in the world seemed real; he came to believe that what he saw with his eyes was seen only as a spectator who was in front of the TV.

Tapping the earth once again, Saito suddenly found himself drawing the figure of Louise in the dirt.

His grief, desperation and pathos gathered everyone in a sad view of how Saito was now.

"Peach hair, oh-so pretty, lit-tle girl, who took you away..."

As Saito sang his version of a kindergarten nursery rhyme, he finished his drawing and looked at it well; and he did not know if what he had drawn was Louise or an alien.

When Saito came to these conditions, Siesta without fail always appeared and tried to encourage him; however at this time she was in Des Ornières. She along with Professor Colbert had decided to stay there in case Louise finally returned to Des Ornières.

“But why put on an ugly face? Now do not worry, just drink!”

Malicorne had come to say this, and put a bottle of wine in Saito’s mouth.

“Gu Fuh gugugugugugugu!”

Malicorne didn't stop until the wine bottle was empty, then detached it from the mouth of Saito with a "PPAH".

“What do you think you're doing?”

“Really, that face you were making ... Like I say, Louise is not coming back, so give up.”

“B, but that would be ...”

“To tell you in the clearest way possible, she does not want to see you anymore; can you even realize the significance of her actions?”

Due to shock Saito dropped to his knees on the floor while a sudden tremor came from his body.

Then Guiche and others who could not let these actions pass unnoticed promptly withdrew Malicorne from Saito’s side.

“Oh, hey, that's wrong, and let me go!”

“But you're saying...”

Then Malicorne addressed them with an emphatic scream and said:

“You see, it has to be now; do not you think this is a critical time to see if Saito may or may not become a man? You know, a man must accept a separation and approach it as an aspect of himself; this is what makes one grow as a person. Now what this guy needs is to face reality." After saying this Malicorne could not stop assenting himself, as if what he had said was the absolute truth.

“Certainly much of your impromptu speech is true, but…” This was added by Kirche (who was very overwhelmed by her desire to return to see her friend Tabitha), who had also appeared on the scene accompanied by Tiffania.

“This is very problematic.” Tiffania said. Malicorne shook his head.

Then with a gentle gaze he began to approach her. Tiffania reacted immediately and placed both of her hands against her chest, as a precaution to what she knew was coming.

“Miss Westwood, actually ...”

In the instant Malicorne said that, Tiffania instinctively shook her head.

“No!”

“But I did not say anything.”

“No matter what you say, I can guarantee those 'things' are unlikely.”

At this point, the only thing Malicorne could do was to show a smile full of sadness on his face.

“Ahh I give up ... I guess that's what I get for doing what I always do, but since ... but this time I swear I was going to say something serious.”

After this strange apology, Tiffania could not help but give it a try.

“Well, you mean.”

“Well, ... Did you not please Saito with those big breasts?”

With an unpleasant feeling, they heard these words arise from a disturbingly eloquent Malicorne; his tone nevertheless actually showed off that he had said it for the sake of his friend. His serene face only further helped convince others of his pure intentions; but in the end everyone was frustrated by his lack of tact, saying the worst possible words.

“I thought, you see, that when one is depressed you must have breasts; and most importantly they gotta be huge, if you think things cannot get any better. And indeed, those breasts ... we have the owner of those breasts; I do not think there is anyone more qualified than you, Miss Westwood.”

As could be expected to happen, Tiffania seemed disposed to use the Void; she was heaving and started waving her wand, but despite this Malicorne did not stop his words.

“Magic? You're thinking of using it? You used that to help Saito before, right? Then use that to help Saito now! Seriously just do it for the good of Saito!”

“Ei.” After reciting a little spell, Tiffania waved her hand.

“I'm a chicken! Pío, pio, pio, pio.”

Then Malicorne left the area while waving his arms like wings.

After that happened, Tiffania glanced toward Saito and then approached him.

What she found was a disabled Saito muttering only nonsense. Seeing him in that state, Tiffania could not help but feel a great sadness.

“Saito, do not worry; I assure you fully that Louise will come back, and when she does be sure to apologize to her properly, do you understand?

“Really? Really she'll come back again...?”

Tiffania nodded sweetly to that question.

“Do not worry, Louise really likes to return to do her job, I guarantee you that she will return home ...”

Tiffania kept saying this over and over again to comfort Saito.

In her tent Queen Henrietta was preparing to hear the report of Agnes, who only a moment ago had just arrived on her horse at full gallop.

“You finally arrived.” Henrietta said, letting out a sigh.

The report was about the discovered information about the criminal group that attacked Saito in the village of Cherphis; then Agnes continued relating the research findings.

However, the information obtained after the completion of the research process was still incomplete.

“We are sure to inspect in detail the entire area where the village Cherphis is located, but ... still we could not find a trace of the criminal group. Also it was reported that investigations were carried out simultaneously on the nobles that you suspect or have motive of some resentment against Chevalier Hiraga-dono; yet ...”

Seeing the difficulty Agnes was having to describe the situation with words, Henrietta deduced the reason for her distress.

“Too many, that's what you're saying, right?”

“It's just as you say. The main reason seems to be his position as a commoner who acquired a peerage; but apart from the above I can not imagine anything more. Plus you have to add the fact that although he is popular with the masses it might arouse jealousy among them for his privileged position.”

Therefore, even apart from the families of the students of the academy of magic, arguably everyone could have a reason to attack; if I may be frank, this is a situation where you will not get anywhere from research only.

Henrietta had no other choice but to assent to the conclusion of Agnes; and then thought to herself: ''What would have happened if he had also been given the title of Baron ...''

“But we also have something good in our behalf; investigations ultimately yielded a significant trail.”

“Please say what you have learned.”

“It's the name of the group that dominates the underworld, perhaps as a result of infiltration of the Tristainian kingdom.”

“The underworld?”

“Yes. Apparently a group specializing in dirty jobs, some individuals with incredible skills, apparently belonging to the army of Gallia; what was the name ...? oh yeah they are members of the Order of Chevalier of North Parterre. As reported in Tristain, they managed to sneak in after the change of government abruptly caused in Gallia.”

The Chevalier of North Parterre, a secret order of knights of Gallia; Henrietta was also aware of the rumors that were said about them. Military intelligence, murders ... an order of chivalry dedicated to shady jobs, gentlemen who were engaged to what a gentleman would not do.

“This so called "group" right?”

“Yes, the 'Elemental Siblings', that's what they call their group.”

Henrietta recalled the words of Saito, when the woman who attacked him called "onii-sama" to her partner ...

“I'm pretty sure they are.”

“In fact, by various rumors circulating in the kingdom, I have heard of them several times. They work like ghosts, they never let their prey escape, and also ... they are known for never having failed in one of their missions.”

“But Saito-dono returned alive. They only knocked him out ...”

“I do not know why, but it may be the case that their mission was only to intimidate.”

“If that was the reason, he was lucky, but…”

“But the next time may not be so good.”

Then with a mortified expression on her face Henrietta shook her head.

“Perhaps we could offer a reward, giving citizens a promotion to give us help with the case.”

“That's an interesting idea; however, it is likely that the whole thing might end up in chaos.”

''As imagined, right now is when I think I should marry an influential nobleman to have their support. How can I even be able to protect one of my knights?!''

Even knowing the cause, Henrietta could not help but feel disappointed in Louise who had just disappeared, leaving her duty; and now she was really needed.

“ ... Oh I envy it, to live only for love!”

“What are you trying to say?”

“No ... It's nothing.”

“Please, I wish you were more considerate and would think of my position; because in reality I have nothing. At least I would like to try comfort you a little, in these times when you really need it ...”

The caravan had finally arrived at Versailles. The members were assigned to a guest house; but even having said that, the truth was that they only prepared rooms for Queen Henrietta and a few members of her cabinet. As for members of her entourage, which included the knights and soldiers, they had been assigned quarters on a field where they had installed hospitality tents.

"As of tomorrow it will be a busy day due to the celebration; so please take the time today to rest calmly." This was the message that the emissaries of Gallia left for the visitors in the guest house. Then they exited the lobby to continue their activities.

After talking to Agnes and the ladies of the court, Henrietta was left alone in her room. She had several things in mind for the long awaited garden party.

But the main reason for her visit was definitely checking the true intentions of the new Queen Charlotte. Queen Charlotte who had decided to join forces with Romalia to achieve her crowning ... ''Could it be that her cooperation with Romalia was because they wanted to continue the crusade?'' That was precisely the matter Henrietta wanted to confirm.

Even knowing they were at critical moments ... the government was fighting to destabilize the kingdom after she allowed knights of plebeian origin, purely out of jealousy; someone out there had even hired a murderer to realize their hatred. And Louise just deciding on her own, without consideration for others, to flee to disappear completely.

“Everyone is so selfish. Is there no one who feels a real desire to help others?”

Henrietta then summoned Saito, thinking at least to take a walk with him to clear her head. She also considered talking to him concerning her meeting with the Queen of Gallia; and also she had to deal with the issue of the group that attacked him. All of this was imperative to relate.

But the main reason for calling him was...

"I want to see him."

She just wanted to be with him and see his face; she had raised a number of reasons, but in the end her desire to meet him was what drove her actions.

Henrietta then rang a bell to call one of her servants.

“At this moment I feel like taking a little ride... then, as I must also discuss official matters with him, please send Chevalier Hiraga-dono of the Ondine Brigade.”

In just a moment the servant had brought Saito into the presence of the queen.

With a face as if experiencing an extreme fatigue and a total lack of strength, Saito said:

“You called me?”

“Yes. I’ll take a walk, and I command you to be my escort.”

Then Saito fully recovered his composure and gave the queen a respectful reverence. Due to the sudden seriousness of Saito, Henrietta could not help but feel a little weird for her actions.

All the way from her room to the exit in the lobby, Henrietta showed the face of a queen of exemplary decency; which not even for a moment showed signs of familiarity with her escort Saito, who was always a step behind her.

But at that very moment, the guest house of Versailles seemed to have become a popular social meeting place. Everywhere eminent nobles were dressed in their most splendid attire; along with the ambassadors, they could be seen happy and enjoying their casual discussions.

As the queen passed by, those nobles noticing her presence recovered their composure and made a bow. However, Henrietta walked past them as if they were just air; ignoring them because this was not an official event and she did not have an obligation to greet them. But although she did ignore them only for practical reasons, she did not seem to dislike their attitude.

When one stopped and looked at her, Henrietta was seen as a magnificent queen despite appearing to forget those who were around her. Her Majesty’s presence was enough for them; and by her side Saito did not seem, at this moment, to hold the slightest interest for Queen Henrietta.

Then Saito thought: could it be possible the Henrietta that he had seen that time in that little inn ... and also at that time in the basement of Des Ornières ... be the same person?

Outside the guest house, the day seemed to be coming to an end in order to give way to night; but they found the large amount of people out there, which was composed of all those invited foreign nations, surpassed by far the fuss found behind them.

Then Henrietta decided to hide beneath the hood of her robe.

The Palace of Versailles was broad, almost the same dimensions as the country through which they passed en route to here.

In their walk they came to a large garden full of flowering shrubs, which by its composition resembled a maze; the shrubs of the place were filled with summer blue flowers, which they did not know the name.

So without a second thought Henrietta set out to explore it, entering the labyrinth ...

In their trek through the maze they found a small bench; Henrietta sat down and removed her hood.

With the flowers' essence combined with the cool dampness from the plants, the rigid presence of Henrietta vanished. Then with an air like a young villager, she stretched her body before turning to Saito.

“You should also sit down,” said Henrietta with a melodious voice.

Saito then sat down beside her.

“I did not want anyone to hear us.”

Hearing this, Henrietta felt a bit of excitement.

“No, actually this isn't anything of such importance,” she said.

Then Saito nodded to her in a crude form.

Lately, this was the condition in which they developed the meetings between them: as an implicit agreement that they avoided each other talking. To break the tension, the first to say something was Henrietta.

“It will be tomorrow . . . how should I explain it . . . about Queen Charlotte. I wonder what are her true intentions; I want to find out what are the circumstances that are still involved with Romalia.”

“Yes.”

Saito's voice sounded as if it came from an empty place, evidenced by his lack of courage.

“Also ... the information concerning the thugs who attacked you; apparently they are known as the "Elemental Siblings" and are a group coming from Gallia which specializes in dirty jobs, a subject quite dangerous ...”

“They really are.“ Saito said without showing any sign of strength.

“You speak as if talking of matters concerning another person. You should get out of that depression, for your sake and that of others.”

“Sorry, but ... as is, there's no more strength left in me; I know that what I say is unacceptable but ..."

Henrietta then furrowed her brows; she felt as if the words of Saito were trying to blame her for something.

“Everything you say, it seems as if everything was my fault!”

“Huh?”

Saito stared at Henrietta for a moment; he could see the anger in her eyes. Then Saito worriedly said,

“E, that is... course not. Here I am the only culprit. I was the one...”

“Tell me, perhaps did we do something wrong?” said Henrietta and then she pursed her lips.

“Well, that would be...”

“Louise is gone; at this time we cannot do anything about it, we can not conclude her true intentions, and yet you aren't able to act according to your own feelings. If so, let me be the only one receiving the consequences of that sin; but then maybe ... you would have not...”

“Huh?”

“You would not have the right to feel so dejected as how you feel now!”

Saito then lowered his head in embarrassment.[[File:ZnT17-207.jpg|thumbnail]]

“ ... Not that I can accept my own feelings!”

After hearing this, Henrietta gave Saito a cold stare.

“ ... You don't look like a man!”

“What did you say?”

“It's not like you lost control of yourself for lust, right? It seems that you're blaming me for having been seduced, that is so dumb!”

“And was it not!?”

“Where did you get that idea, please tell me!”

“Seriously, you're wondering what you've done!? That's what you're saying?”

Upon hearing these mean words, Henrietta looked back at Saito with disdain.

“That was just something you wanted to do on your own, not that I tried to seduce you or something.”

“Well, I, I do not remember it like that! With all the sensuality that I didn't try to hide from for a second.”

“You say that everything was the fault of sensuality, that's all you have to say?”

Defeated, Saito lost his strength again and dropped his shoulders.

“.. . If I had to say it in a way, is that I did not realize what I had until I lost it; I realized that I need Louise at my side, and so I really want it. I did not fight those 70000 soldiers to rescue Tristain, I did it to save Louise. Because Louise was here, I decided to stay in this world.”

“And now that Louise has disappeared, you’re leaving behind everything you just said and want to go back to your world; is that the meaning of your words?”

Saito said, shaking his head.

“No ... What I said was what I considered my reason; but that reason after all is just an excuse. In the end all I'm doing is being irresponsible, so after that moment of weakness let me make amends; forgive me for I have caused concern to all."

Listening to Saito regain his senses, Henrietta's face turned a little surprised; and then she blushed with embarrassment.

“ ... I apologize, apparently for a moment I lost control of myself.”

“... No.”

“Maybe it's because I do not know many reliable people; but over time I have come to depend on you. I can assure you it is the same with her; Louise has come to depend on you as much as you depend on her.”

For a moment both were looking at each other, but ... regaining their senses, they looked away quickly. Then Saito said, almost sighing:

“I ... When I was in my world, my life was quite common; even without actually behaving in a bad way, I cannot say I was a good person. In my world, I never found anything to be able to become passionate about; the days just constantly passed one after another without change, until one day I just became an adult and still nothing major happened. If it was just to pass the time for the sake of time itself then it seemed normal, as things should be, or so I thought.”

“ ........”

“But coming into this world, I found for the first time my reason for living; the meaning of my life lay in this world. And it was pretty simple, it was Louise. Never in my life have I seen a girl so pretty. She may be flippant and selfish, but still that's part of who she is; in my attempts to protect her, little by little I gained achievements, and in the end ... different people started to need me. And then my reason was becoming larger. The fact that all needed me, really made me very happy; because until now it had never been like that in my life.

Henrietta silently listened carefully to what Saito had to say.

“And that's why I, that's why I became lighthearted, leaving and neglecting what was really important; so I ended up losing both Louise and Derf, but it was not until it was too late that I realized that. I really hate myself.”

For a moment Henrietta was silent but ... She closed her eyes slowly.

“ ... seems that now is the time to return.”

“Yes.”

The two got up, then made their way to the guest house. Without realizing when, the two moons in the sky lit up the garden, making all that beautiful glow on the flower bed.

While Saito was watching the brightness of the moon, he failed to avoid himself wondering:

''What is the meaning of me being in this place?''

The meaning of his own existence.

He was 'solo' until he came to this world and noticed that idea ... so far not even going through his head that there was "a meaning".

Probably if he was still in his world, he would not have raised this question and would spend his life without thinking about it; just being born, growing and eventually dying.

Only recently the meaning was very clear to him.

Everything was for Louise.

He did for the welfare of that young girl that made his heart vibrate ... But now she was gone, she had decided to disappear forever from his sight.

After he had reached this world, Saito had discovered endless things that before were unknown to him; things that he would never be able to discover if he had stayed in Tokyo ...

''But right now, I can not find a reason to move forward. Wherever I look the world has turned gray; I have to do something to regain its meaning, but I do not know what.''

However, he knew he had work to do; he knew that an imminent danger was hanging over them.

''Henrietta had said 'I could do it'; however inside me I can not even trust and believe in myself to do it again.''

The next day, a garden party was held to commemorate the coronation of the Queen.

Early on, enormous fireworks could be seen flying through the sky; and cheering the environment, the musicians played continuously from a selected range of musical pieces.

In the front garden of the recently completed Grand Troyes Palace, leaders and renowned personalities of all nations had gathered. They were astonished to learn that the palace of Her Majesty had been built in such a short time; they could not help but praise the incredible potential of the labor force in Gallia.

Afterwards, the palace gates opened and unveiled the figure of Queen Charlotte. The distinguished guests were amazed to see the childlike queen. They had heard that her age was only 16 years; however, one would think it was 2 or maybe 3 years younger.

And they couldn't help but notice: Her attire, for whatever reason, had strongly attracted their eyes.

Though it was normal that during these events one must wear the most dazzling and glorious dresses that one could use, by becoming the ruler of a great nation like Gallia she had the most skilled tailors in the kingdom. It would be weird if she didn't always present her most magnificent clothes possible.

At this time, the ladies in rows closest to the new queen could distinguish the extravagance of the current outfits worn by her Majesty. In truth, one could say that the dress of the queen of Gallia was a trendsetter throughout the fashion world of Halkeginia.

Still... It must be said that her clothes were somewhat rare.

Her enormous dress resembled an outfit of that of a nun, with its white, simple and austere design that was adorned by a jewel in her chest as if it was some kind of pendant; it was stamped with a cross.

To the her right and left stood a group of nobles who offered a bow; then acting as if following the script of a play, they prepared to cast the spell of 'Detect Magic'.

This was a crucial part of the ceremony; they had to prove in front of all present that she was the real Queen Charlotte.

After waiting for a while, not seeing any reaction from the magic launched just a little earlier, the distinguished guests let out a sigh that released the uncertainty that accompanied the ceremony.

Finally, this had proved the true identity of the queen.

Then Queen Charlotte went to the table prepared in her honor, occupying the leading place among the guests. From there she would give her words of greeting as the program planned.

Then everyone present imagined that her next move would be to accompany them in celebration after going downstairs.

Still ... Queen Charlotte stood motionless in the place she had occupied. Then as if ready to report something, she raised her right hand.

The commotion increasingly grew among the guests who waited expectantly.

“As the queen responsible for governing the Kingdom of Gallia, I took the initiative in forming an alliance with the rulers of Romalia; so, with all our power as a nation we will continue our role in the crusade. Halkeginia will always have the divine protection from the Founder!”

For a moment the whole place was silent, then quickly an intense outcry spread as if it were a wave.

As expected, the new government is just a puppet of Romalia; so this was the real intention of why Romalia invaded Gallia. These were the kind of comments that were beginning to be heard from the congregation.

“But you said...”

Upon hearing this statement Henrietta had gone into shock, completely pale and then her body ended up collapsing; only the timely help of Agnes and Guiche prevented her from falling to the ground. Then her two companions were set in place to safeguard the queen.

Just steps away, Saito who had been assigned the task of leading Ondine had turned completely pale.

''But what do those words mean just now?''

''How can Tabitha collaborate with Romalia?''

In truth, it devastatingly shocked all those who were present.

For a moment he thought that perhaps it was not Tabitha, chances are it was someone else; he thought that perhaps she had been hypnotized by some kind of potion ...

But then he remembered, and shook his head.

He had seen only moments ago, they had cast Detect Magic on her. Therefore it was clear that this was the real Tabitha ...

“If you think about it, maybe it means that outfit similar to what a nun wears... We anticipated little on what she had planned to do ..."

“I think this is very strange, as if Romalia had planned everything to ensure this will result in coronation and so . . . Romalia, indeed has some guys who are very skilled.” This was the dialogue that came from Malicorne and Gimli.

“You are wrong,” Saito said.

“In which way we are wrong?” She had just said that she would cooperate for the continuation of the crusade.

“Tabitha cannot say that kind of thing!”

“What? But you heard her just now, didn't you?”

By her saying this, Saito had been shocked; though he had never heard directly from the mouth of Tabitha that she was against continuing the crusade, he thought that because of the close friendship they had their ideals and principles would be the same. Or at least that's what he had always thought ...

“Hey you, let me explain; political beliefs and friendship are two entirely different matters. It may be true that your friendship with her is very close; however, note that it is no wonder that she thinks in a different way than you." Reynald somehow was trying to comfort Saito.

Saito could not help but shake his legs. Tabitha went to her desk to receive the praises of her guests.

Seeing this, Saito started running.

In front of Tabitha’s table a lot of famous people had gathered to give their praises; as expected there was huge line formed. Saito helplessly was trying to break through the line of people, which as a result caused the discontentment of the nobles that were present.

“Hey that's wrong! Go to where you came from peasant!”

Then he had no choice but to go to the end of the line.

Saito could not yet perceive something strange in Tabitha at the distance he saw her; though her aura seemed somehow changed, there was no basis for thinking it was something more than just his imagination.

Then Saito noted that Tabitha had makeup for the occasion. Her lips had red lipstick, her eyelashes were curled and makeup was fairly simple, yet ... Would that change her aura just now, was it because of the makeup?

After waiting an hour, it was finally his turn. Then Saito, opposite to Tabitha, looked into her eyes; she returned his gaze. However, Saito could not find in her eyes any affection or even the feeling of longing to meet an old friend.

“I am an ambassador of the Kingdom of Tristain; my name is Saito Chevalier de Hiraga Des Ornières.”

Not wondering about his greeting, because it was a courtesy that required the label.

“It's been a long time.”

“Do you still remember me? “

Then he thought, "that's obvious isn’t it?" But it was a question that had assaulted his mind after meeting with Tabitha in such strange conditions.

“I remembered you.”

In this strange conversation, nobles surrounding them demonstrated bitter amazement; however the man who was behind Tabitha came to them, and as if by explaining said:

“The Knight Hiraga Chevalier is a friend from the academy of Her Majesty; if we have a cordial meeting, I assure your Highness will be glad for it.”

The man dressed as a priest had such a friendly aura, Saito wondered if he was really that young; but for some strange reason, the calculation of age became elusive. His strong jaw had a strong voice of determination that conveyed his presence.

Noticing the look of Saito, the man offered a bow.

“My name is Barberini and I am the Prime Minister; and if I'm not mistaken you should be the fabled hero who accomplished the feat on the Tiger Highway."

Then Saito also corresponded with a bow, and from that moment,

“Excuse me, but I want to talk to Her Majesty Queen Charlotte ..." Saito said.

Hearing this, Lord Barberini with a polite but firm determination shook his head in denial.

“My sincere apologies, but now Her Majesty is very busy.”

“Um, actually I am not a mere knight; I am an official ambassador of the Kingdom of Tristain and member of the bureau in charge of negotiations with Gallia,” he said, to prove it. Saito was released by the Queen; however Lord Barberini remained firm with his refusal.

“It's really a shame ...”

Seeing that Lord Barberini was inaccessible, Saito decided to go directly to Tabitha.

“I have something to tell you.”

However, all she did was to stare at Saito helplessly.

“Hiraga-dono, being rude...” Lord Barberini interrupted Saito.

“No. I'm not asking you. I'm asking Tabitha ... I'm asking Her Majesty. Please, indeed I have something to ask you.”

However, the answer was harsh and short:

“I'm busy.”

Saito lost his composure.

“Well, tell me are those words true? The words you said just now? You seriously plan to collaborate with the crusade?”

Then Tabitha nodded with an expression on her face as if to say: 'Is there a problem?'

“Your... But what, why? What the hell happened?”

“It's okay.”

Due to the volume reached by the conversation the surrounding nobles grew restless.

“Mr. Ambassador, please leave for later; if you just want to talk, I assure you I will open a space in my schedule to assist you personally.”

“Hey Tabitha! Explain what is going on! Tell me, perhaps you've given in to Romalia?! What happened?”

Then trying to end this once and for all, Lord Barberini pressed Saito.

“That's enough; if you say another word, I'll have no choice but to accuse you of heresy!”

In the time Saito was about to answer, a voice from behind stopped him.

“Hey Saito! Time to go! You've bothered all these gentlemen enough!”

It was Guiche; looking carefully, all the boys that had gathered were Ondine Knights. Then Guiche whispered something in his ear.

“ ... I understand your feelings, but you have to be careful! You have to take account your actions here! We are not in Tristain.”

Because of his words, Saito finally calmed down.

“ ... I'm sorry.”

Then he made a deep bow and Saito started to leave.

Within the celebration it was almost entirely the topic of conversation: the proclamation that only a few moments ago had made by the Queen Charlotte. Nearly all the nobles were present; they were in a state of turmoil and grief.

It was inevitable; in their memories came vividly the image of the entire imperial fleet reduced to ashes at Carcassonne due to the magic created by the previous elf priest, that immense fireball ...

Besides, the fact was that they were raised with the idea that engaging in a fight with the elves was just crazy.

Still ... There was no nobleman that could try to go against the orders of Romalia or the Queen of Gallia.

Indeed it has been decided to battle against the elves, was heard in conversations; as if the matter had nothing to do with them.

<noinclude>
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| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume17_Chapter11|Chapter 11]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume17 Chapter9

2017-07-03T09:01:02Z

Txtracer: fixed a raft of typos and grammatical errors

===Chapter 9 - Two Canes, One Crown===

Two days after Julio brought Josette out of Saint Margerita's Convent......

Charlotte, the Gallian Queen, a.k.a. Tabitha, was looking over the newly constructed palace with her ministers.

The dark evening sky cast a gloomy atmosphere over the majestic palace; but it was not enough to cover the exquisite beauty of the jade noble emblem.

Isabella who was beside Tabitha exclaimed, “The palace looks even more beautiful than before!”

Barberini, the Gallian Prime Minister on the other side of Tabitha said, “That's because the palace will be heralding the coming of the new queen; how could we do that with the old palace!”

Isabella simply shot Barberini a glare and ignored him.

Barberini was extremely familiar with various age-old and modern ceremonies so he was in charge of the garden party four days later to celebrate the coronation of the new Queen of Gallia. The reception party, party seats, dinner menu, and even the schedule of the one week long party and ball was so flawlessly orchestrated by his own hand that even the Gallian nobles who were picky about details were unable to find fault with it.

Even though this person was extremely capable, Isabella did not trust the Prime Minister from Romalia.

His extremely cautious ways of doing things was exactly what made Isabella raise her guard. As his ability was anything but ordinary, she couldn't let her guard down; otherwise this country would be overtaken by him under her nose.

However, if they lost Romalia's aid Tabitha's coronation would be out of their reach; so they could not refuse him. Also, if they really did that the monasteries and disciples of the entire country would revolt against Tabitha.

Now Isabella did not know if Tabitha shared her concerns, as she was simply gazing blankly at the new palace. What the palace looked like was perhaps meaningless to her.

Just then the church bell rang, signalling that it was six o'clock. Isabella sighed and turned to the ministers.

“Everyone, now it is time for Her Majesty to enjoy her dinner!”

Put in other words, they can leave.

Tabitha normally took her dinner with Isabella and her mother. Of course there was also her familiar, Sylphid.

The ministers and nobles looked at Tabitha expectantly, hoping that Her Majesty would entertain their request for a dinner with them that night. However, except for the two persons and one familiar, nobody had the opportunity to eat with the queen.

Seeing the dumb looks on the ministers' faces, Isabella bowed to Tabitha and left early.

Madame Orleans was waiting for her daughter and her niece in the old dining place. She revealed a smile as she saw Isabella pull Tabitha into the room.

“Come on, sit down, my dear daughter and Isabella. They've prepared mixed fruit salad with beef today. Oh, doesn't that smell great?”

Seeing that Tabitha and Isabella took their places beside Madame Orleans, Percerin immediately poured Happoshu (T/L: Japanese sparkling wine drunk before a meal) into their glasses.

Madame Orleans' past beauty was slowly recovering; even though it was slow, it was undeniable. After drinking Happoshu, the three noble ladies began to chat. The one who started the conversation was always Madame Orleans. The conversations were very simple, like what dramas were popular in the city, without a trace of politics or deep rumors.

Sylphid also joined in frequently with her trademark “Chiu, chiu”......

During these times Isabella would feel herself purged of her wrongdoings and sins; without those, Tabitha felt just like a irreplaceable sister to her.

That was......a feeling she had when she was a child.

Now, Isabella was a secret aide to Tabitha to help consolidate Tabitha's position as the new monarch.

“Hey, Helene.”

Unknowing, Sylphid had already collapsed on the table, snoring in a drunken stupor. Isabella took the opportunity to call out Tabitha's nickname while everyone was quiet. In front of the ministers she called Tabitha “Your Majesty”; but in private she preferred to be more intimate, like their childhood times.

“I don't think letting Barberini take care of so many important things is a good idea.”

Tabitha shook her head.

“It's just the tip of the iceberg.”

In other words, it was a gimmick that would keep him away from the core. Isabella nodded after she heard Tabitha. The garden party arrangement seemed important, but it was nothing of central political importance.

“Okay then. Also, I was thinking of sending the 'knights' to spy on him; what do you think?”

Considering it for a moment, Tabitha nodded her agreement.

“Thank you.”

Actually, Isabella had already placed a few eyes onto Barberini's side. Everyone that had been to his place, every letter, and even the menu of his dinner was at Isabella's fingertips.

Even though there was not any suspicious activity, she could not afford to let him go past her nose easily. As the leader of the North Garden Knights, Isabella was well accustomed to the antics behind the scenes in Romalia. Since they had been ruling the world as the main church of Founder Brimir for thousands of years, their power could not be underestimated.

“Hmm? What are you girls discussing?”

Hearing such care from her aunt, Isabella shook her head.

“Nothing, Auntie.”

Since few weeks before, Isabella had been viewing her aunt as her mother; so Isabella couldn't bear to let her worry.

While Madame Orleans also treated Isabella and Tabitha equally.

“Any way, congratulations on the upcoming garden party.”

Madame Orleans said nonchalantly while quietly stuffing food into Tabitha's mouth.

“Mother, do you still not want to go to the party?”

Madame Orleans shook her head.

“Sorry, but I don't wish to participate in such social activities anymore.”

Tabitha stopped, looking a little disappointed. Tabitha, who was normally expressionless in front of her ministers, would reveal her true feelings in front of her intimate family.

Seeing her daughter like this, Madame Orleans took Tabitha's hand.

“Because, even without me, you can still take care of the visitors perfectly!”

Tabitha nodded her head once. “Un.”

I will protect this mother and daughter— Every time she was touched by such a heart-warming scene during dinner, Isabella would swear in her heart.

After dinner, Tabitha came to the newly built Grand Troyes Palace and entered her quarters.

“Fuuaah....my stomach's so full, Sylphid will go to bed now!”

Sylphid reached a corner of the room, laid down on a pile of clothes and slept soundly.

On the bed, the gown brought by the maid servants during the day was strewn across the bed.

During the garden party, Tabitha would have to change a set of clothes every morning, afternoon and night. Made by professional tailors of the country, the beautiful gown laid out for the queen was waiting to be worn.

Tabitha took one of the clothes and held it before herself. It was a lacy dress, covered in infinite minuscule holes, allowing others to take a glimpse of the body underneath. However, important parts were still covered decently.

Tabitha felt a little worried whether her little body would fit the wonderfully designed dress.

“Why would I be worrying about this?”

When she realised the reason, Tabitha's face went red. She picked up the list of delegates from the table. Her eyes stopped at the last name of the delegates from the Tristain empire.

“The Tristain Minister of Diplomatic Relations-cum-Vice Commander of the Knight Corps of the Water Spirit, Saito De Hiraga Des Ornières.

Maybe he was appointed as one of delegates because of his relation with her before in the academy. His name had also become longer so he seemed to have been awarded a land title.

What kind of land was it?

The kind with a mansion?

What kinds of crops do they have there, and what about the people there?”

Also, Louise who has a perpetually sour face was also living with him, right?

Tabitha imagined Saito's new residence, Des Ornières, which she has never seen before.

“I could finally see him again.”

She felt that ages had past since their last meeting at the Lelion river. Then, she had agreed to put on the crown under the urgings of the fake Saito.

Tabitha bore a deep grudge over that incident, so she tried not to think of Saito......

However, the thought of meeting him in a few days time made her uncontrollably happy.

He already had a lover, and her name also appeared on the list. She was Tabitha's friend, also someone she respected deeply, even though she did not approve of the way she treated Saito.

“I could just dance with him for one song.”

Right, a dance.

With him.

Dancing with delegates of other countries is also one of the aspects in diplomatic relations, so it was something extremely ordinary no matter how one sees it.

What should she wear then?

The lace net gown came into her vision again. Tabitha held it up with both of her hands, staring at it.

After making sure that Sylphid was fast asleep, Tabitha soundlessly took off all her clothes and put on the gown.

………

Naturally, as Tabitha had expected, the gown fit her snugly. Her inner clothing were exposed through the minuscule holes.

What kind of underwear did the designer have in mind while he was designing the gown? It probably was not the kind worn in the bedroom.

Bedroom......

Tabitha's cheeks flushed as she sunk deeper into her imagination.

“I've become a strange person.”

Shaking her head, she took up another gown. This was sewn with black glossy cloth with a beautiful dark glow, but it was far more modest.

However, after she put it on Tabitha noticed that the gown fitted her body tightly at the part above her thighs, sketching the curve of her body line, showing her immature figure clearly for all to see. If she were to enter the ballroom like that, any further imagination of her dance partner was sure to be crushed.

But......maybe Saito liked this kind of body shape. After all, just by looking at Louise's body no one would think that she had anything to show off at all.

Either way, she didn't need to care so much about that.

Thinking about this, Tabitha smiled softly.

“Now, I should be.......very happy.”

Even though her position as the queen made her uneasy, the Gallian nobles were capable and powerful; so even though there was an exchange in power, the country had not dissolved into ruin. Also, living here with her family made her feel safe and warm. Tabitha felt that the happy feelings of home were starting to return.

Romalia was still an unknown variable, but currently they had made no obvious moves.

Also she was going to meet her sweetheart, Saito, in a few days time.

She might even get to dance with him.

Just as a smile blossomed on Tabitha's face, her father's face flashed through her mind.

And her uncle's face.

Misscoeur, who tortured her countless times.

And also the generals and soldiers who sacrificed their lives at the Lelion river.

Tabitha also thought of Lieutenant Bart, who always waved at her from the deck after completing his mission, and that commander with a sunburned face; but they were not in this world anymore.

Her calm and happy life was built on the sacrifices of those nobles and soldiers who fought in that war for the throne; and that fact was like a frigid gust sneaking past a crack in the windowpane, chilling her heart.

“Happiness is too much of a luxury to me.”

Tabitha sank into such an emotional mud pit.

Just then a knocking sound came from the window.

The window?

Would it just be a trick of the wind? That thought flashed through Tabitha's mind. The curtains were too thick for her to see what was going on outside. However, the outside of the window was the balcony, so that would not be a problem.

Maybe it was Sylphid? But it was still snoring in the corner of the room.

Bang, bang......

The noise came again. There was unmistakably someone outside banging the window. Tabitha gripped the staff beside her bed.

Tabitha did not arrange for personal guards, because she had something that was more useful than personal guards. Also, the personal guards themselves were something that might threaten her safety.

Sneaking to the window, Tabitha queitly pulled the curtains apart.

At the other side of the window......was herself. [[File:ZnT17-177.jpg|thumb]]

For a moment there, Tabitha thought that it was her reflection; but she immediately noticed something different.

The other her on the other side of the window was wearing different clothes.

The same ice blue hair, the same glasses, the person could have been her own duplicate...... The word “Skirni” flashed through her mind, that was a puppet that could shape shift into a person after sucking their blood.

It could also be a golem......

However, Tabitha understood that the person standing at the other side was a body of human flesh and blood.

…... Who was it?

Me? She thought.

The strong revelation robbed Tabitha of her warrior's intuition. She noticed too late that someone had opened the window beside her and entered the room.

Someone gripped her staff, making Tabitha turn reflexively.

Left and right eyes of different colour respectively— it was Julio.

Tabitha aimed a kick at Julio's abdomen, but Julio twisted his body and dodged. He then used a cloth to cover Tabitha's face.

There was sleeping potion on the cloth, Tabitha noticed before collapsing on the bed.

Hearing that sound, Sylphid finally woke up and saw Julio standing there and Tabitha who had collapsed. She ran hastily to them.

“What happened! What did you do to Onee-sama!”

After that, Sylphid noticed someone else entering the room from the window and stopped.

“Eh? There is another Onee-sama......”

Julio calmly walked towards Sylphid and placed his right hand on its shoulder. Then, the runes on his hand glowed.

Kyui......kyui......

“Anyhow, you're a 'beast', right, Rhyme dragon familiar?
I'm also a familiar, called Wendalfr; I can control 'beasts' like you. So......”

Seeing Julio place the sleeping Tabitha and Sylphid on the bed, the girl who looked like Tabitha said timidly, “Onee-san, what is this......”

“She is the daughter of the person who locked you up in that place.”

Josette looked at the girl who had collapsed.

The face was what she saw in the mirror yesterday.

After Julio brought her outside, Josette followed him into a monastery and obeyed his instructions to take off her necklace.

After that......she felt as if her face was released from some spell; her hair was also glowing. After seeing herself in the mirror, Josette was shocked to see that her face was not the same as before.

A spell was placed on you to change your face and hair— that was what Julio said to her.

The face in the mirror yesterday and the face of the sleeping girl were from the same mould, impossible to differentiate.

“This is what I look like.” However, reality had a severe lack of realism; the iridescent ice blue hair colour made even her uncomfortable.

Also, where was she?

She rode Julio's wind dragon to this place......it was a building encased in moonlight, unimaginably huge, majestic and beautiful.

For Josette who had only known Saint Margarita's Convent, this was like dreamland.

As for the girl who lived here, who had the exact same face as her, who was she......

“I was imprisoned?”

Julio nodded.

“You're royalty of the Gallian Empire......or more correctly, you are the daughter of the deceased Des Orleans Charlotte. And she is...... your twin sister.”

The Gallian Empire?

Royalty?

Twin?

Impossible things continued to tumble out of Julio's mouth. Josette suddenly remembered what the sisters said in the convent.

“I am an abandoned child of a noble......”

“I cannot believe it. I am some royalty of the Gallian Empire.”

The land around Saint Margarita's Convent belonged to this empire called Gallia. There, should be the place where someone called the king or nobles lived......the thing that was downright unbelievable was that she was born into the family that governed the entire empire.

“My twin sister......”

Josette took a glimpse at Tabitha's face. This was the first time she saw her own family......but there was no recollection in her heart.

“Then, what do you want?”

“Actually, it's not much anyway. You, from this day on, will be the ruler of the Gallian Empire.”

His words, like making up a joke, made Josette freeze. However, this was not a joking matter as there was no hint of playfulness in Julio's eyes.

“I am a ruler? Impossible! Anyhow, if I'm Queen, what will happen to that girl? This would be my big sister......”

“Of course, she will return to the convent and become Josette.”

Hearing this made Josette understand.

“You brought me out for this?”

Julio nodded firmly.

Josette's heart was swept by a wave of sadness. Even though she was not to become her real self, but if she was able to stay at Julio's side......did Julio have the same thought as her?

Alas, reality was not so, he just wanted to use her......

Josette did not express her feelings.

She suddenly understood Vanessa's feelings.

“Even though I'm happy, it was built on lies.”

Even though it looked so radiant and beautiful, it was really fading continuously.

Josette pressed her lips together firmly.

If......I escaped from here, I would be the same as Vanessa.

“The feelings I had before were true. That, I will never back down from. Never.”

She has already decided to believe him. No matter what happened......no matter what kind of reality.

“What should I do now?” Josette asked, her eyes becoming as determined as ever.

“Nothing. Just stand there and listen to what I say. I'll tell you what to do or say; just follow what I say.

“And all that, for Onii-san?”

“Not only for me, but also for you......”

Hearing Julio say that, Josette shook her head.

“No, never mind what happens to me. As long as it's for Onii-san, then that's enough.”

Julio's ever-present smile collapsed.

“Ah, if it's for me, then follow what I say.”

“No problem, Onii-san. Let's make a promise to each other. From now on, tell me everything, every thought, the truth behind everything. From now on, never hurt me, or betray me. As long as you do that, I'll listen to what Onii-san says.

“Alright then, that's a promise.” Julio nodded.

“And one more thing.”

“What?”

“Kiss me.”

Staring straight at Julio, Josette spoke her wish. Julio tipped Josette's chin and placed his lips on Josette's. Just as their lips met, Josette closed her eyes.

After their lips parted, Julio looked into Josette's eyes and said, “Be my woman.”

His sincerity was impossible to determine from his voice. It was not the words he usually used, but the meaning behind those words, for Josette, was the best.

Feeling satisfied, Josette said, “That was my plan all along.”

The next day......

While Madame Orleans was eating her breakfast, Barberini said, “Speaking law while eating is quite uncouth, your majesty the queen dowager.” (T/L:「在吃饭中说法可是非常失礼的。太后陛下。」)

“What happened?”

Madame Orleans' tone hid an icy demeanour. This Barberini from Romalia was not exactly someone she liked.

During that time, only Percerin was in the dining room; Barberini's gaze made Madame Orleans extremely uncomfortable, so she urged, “Percerin, why don't you go check on the flowers in the backyard. Hopefully they have not wilted under the summer heat.”

After Percerin left the room, Barberini said something shocking.

“I'm sorry, your majesty, but I'm here today to pardon your majesty.”

“Pardon? What were you thinking from this morning? What sins did I commit? I, who is living here so quietly, everyday?”

“No matter the person, they will commit a sin that they don't want anybody else to know. Even the Gallian empress dowager. Or more accurately, you've forgotten your sin.”

“You're saying that you're sure that I've committed a sin?”

“Yes, and if it were possible, I do hope that you can remember.”

“Oh yeah, such is the power of Romalian Cardinals, you see through everything. That was three days ago, the flowers that I planted wilted. How do you put it, in an enclosed place like this, I'd completely forgotten about the change in the seasons and did not notice about the flowers assaulted by the heat. That is truly a sin.”

“That is the lives of flowers, but I'm talking about a larger sin.”

“Oh yeah, it seems that it's not only the flowers that were sickened by the heat; it seems that you were also affected by it.”

“Your majesty, I'm not joking; this is a serious matter.”

“I'm going to call the guards.”

Hearing her angry words, Barberini shook his head.

“I apologise for just now, one can't help if she doesn't remember at all. After all, the sin that your majesty has committed, is something long ago......or more accurately, it was something that happened during the birth of Queen Charlotte her majesty.”

Barberini's words made Madame Orleans' face go green.

“What are you talking about?”

“Let me sketch it out then. Year 6227, during the month of Teru, the week of Femdar, the day of Eo (T/L: 特鲁之月,斐姆达卢之周,厄奥之日), the room of Duke Orleans was filled with such brilliance; Charlotte, the Duchess of Orleans was waiting for the birth of a child.”

“Er, I remember, that was the day when my daughter was born.”

Feeling something rumble in her heart, Madame Orleans' voice started to shake.

“When Duke Orleans heard the cry of the baby, it was nine o'clock in the morning...”

“It was eight o'clock, five minutes past.”

Madame Orleans' voice shaking was very obvious.

“Is that so. However, during that time there was not only one baby who cried. After a few minutes, another cry was heard.”

Madame Orleans held her face in her hands in anguish, shaking her head vigorously.

“I know the meaning of the Gallian family crest. Two wands intersecting each other, holding a crown, it acts as a warning and to comfort the twin brothers who perished after their fight for the crown......And from that day on, twins are taboo among the Gallian royalty. However, how does one factor in the love of kinship? A taboo among royalty, but sisters of the same blood, sisters who look exactly alike, casting one into hell and the other into heaven; how does this relate to love?”

Madame Orleans barely managed to squeeze out a question.

“......Who are you?”

“Your majesty, everybody then stubbornly held this secret from the world. However, humans will never bring their sins to the grave. Last year, I heard someone's confessing before her death and pardoned her. That person was the midwife who assisted in your majesty's delivery.”

“You, have just lost all credibility as a cleric.”

“The doctrine exists for God. If what one did is for God, then that would not be a sin.”

“So that's it. You're here to pardon me for this. Since you've known everything, then you should have understood. It's true that that day, we had given birth to two lives. But during that time, we only had two choices: one of which was to end her life, and the other was to send her to some unknown place for someone else to raise her. We had no other choice! That was our responsibility as royalty!”

Madame Orleans started to sob.

“God has already forgiven you. I'm not here to ask you about your sins. Don't you want to make up for the abandoned child?”

“......Er?”

The next second......A girl appeared in front of Madame Orleans, with the same hairstyle as Tabitha, and even the same design of glasses.

However, just one glimpse made Madame Orleans understand her identity.

“Oh......How can this be......Can this be......such things......”

She shakily picked herself up, and hugged the dazed young girl.

“......Mother?”

“I hope that you can forgive......forgive mother......no power......your mother who had no power to save you......”

Tears of regret flowed uncontrollably down her face. An unexpected meeting, another Charlotte......she didn't even give her a name.

Josette, dazed, was touched by her mother's affection; and tears also unconsciously ran down her face. Her mother who she never knew of, who she met since she was sensible, but unknowingly; Josette managed to understand the feelings of her mother.

Hugging her daughter, Madame Orleans' tears went on a rampage.

“You've finally come back. Can you forgive your mother?”

“What is there to forgive, for I've never resented anything. I only learned the truth yesterday.”

Hearing Josette's words, Madame Orleans nodded.

“Now, forget royalty and taboos; from now on, your sister, cousin, me, we'll continue to live as a family.”

Madame Orleans' voice was shaking as her heart throbbed.

“Prime Minister, thank you very much. Can you call her majesty down, the three of us will have breakfast together.”

Then, Barberini's expression was as if he heard something strange.

“Prime Minister?”

“Your majesty, I can't do that.”

“You must be joking,” said Madame Orleans. However, Barberini's face was devoid of any hint of jest.

“I'm not joking. Isn't this her majesty herself? I don't see any difference.”

Madame Orleans did not answer, understanding between the lines. Charlotte, and another Charlotte. Even though their birth was separated by but a few seconds, their fates had gone on completely different paths.

“Don't you dare think the royal taboo is anything simple! If this thing gets out, how many nobles of this country will revolt? Not only the royalty; even among those nobles who are loyal to royalty there were more than just one or two children who died because of this taboo!”

Her voice agitated, Madame Orleans looked at her daughter. Josette turned her head away.

“Is that so! I've never thought about this. However, someone I trust told me that I could only be happy this way. Isn't it impossible for me to live with big sister?”

Josette looked at her mother.

“However, if mother insists, I'll go back to the convent.”

This was Josette's real wish......

However, Madame Orleans was unable to ask her to go back to the convent. Something like that day, how could she go through it again? A girl who has lived her life in an unknown convent by herself, with no one to take care of her; how could she ask such a thing from her?

Seeing Madame Orleans who was kneeling in anguish on the bed, Barberini moved closer.

“God has always taught men that all men are created equal. If you can't give your daughter the light, then give her both light and darkness; isn't it so?

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Zero no Tsukaima:Volume17 Chapter8 |Chapter 8]]
| Return to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume17_Chapter10 |Chapter 10]]
|-
|}

Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 04

2017-01-02T04:12:00Z

Txtracer: caps

==Chapter 4: Gatherers in the Dark==
[[Image:Horizon4A_0111.jpg|thumb]]
''Is a kind place

''An insufficient place

''Or a place of rest?

'''Point Allocation (Hoping for too much)

At 8:30 PM, the inside of the Ariake was dimly lit.

Even at night, the lights on the massive dock’s ceiling were on and work was ongoing, but…

“They make sure to turn down all but the overhead lights at night, but then they switch over to a complete lights out, except for the lights at the work sites, to allow for a few hours of night work training and for nighttime inspections.”

Someone spoke within the vertical blowing wind.

The lights on the ceiling illuminated a single figure standing on the corridor built at the edge of Okutama’s stern cargo port. But the shadow they cast on the floor was of uncertain density.

“There’s three of us…four including me.”

“Us” being…

“That’s nearly half the Sanada Ten Braves. Talk about a bargain.”

Four shadows stood in the gentle breeze of the Ariake’s night.

One of them sighed and gave a somewhat self-deprecating comment.

“I guess you could call us Sanada 4/10 Braves. That just sounds numerically ominous to me.”

The small shadow standing next to him asked a question in a female voice.

“Anayama, should you really be showing yourself?”

“It’s fine for me, Isa-kun. But you three need to be careful. You may be disguised, but you can easily gather attention from a careless mistake when you aren’t accustomed to things here. Stay in your hidden form when you’re out and try to do so when you’re asleep too. Yuri-kun and Nezu-kun, you two arrived ahead of us, but could you double check yourselves now since we’re finally getting started? And…Isa-kun.”

“Oh, right, right. I need to look into the Musashi’s remodeling and then sabotage whatever I can, right? So basically I’ve gotta use everything I learned as an engineering student and then add in some sabotage if possible. Our teachers told me to play it by ear.”

“I’ll leave that to you after checking on the state of Musashi’s outer hull and interior. Last time I stayed here, the automatons in charge of each block performed constant scans with their artificial brains.”

“Yup. And that’s why I made sure to bring some powder explosion spells that can be disguised as reinforcing materials. I’ll only think about doing what’s reasonably possible. Also…Yuri and Nezu?”

“Testament. What is it?”

A girl’s voice responded and a boy’s followed.

“What is it? Do you need something with me too?”

“Yeah,” replied Isa’s voice. “Your infiltration went well. I’m glad we sent you on ahead at IZUMO as normal people wanting to assist Musashi. I never thought there’d be three quarantines and then a password.”

“Yes. For the first half of today’s password, you ask ‘you’re not just happy you’re…’ And for the second half, I believe you answer ‘I’ll never forgive that son of a bitch!’ I’m not quite sure how the two are related, so you just have to memorize it. Although I have a feeling that the second half is the same every time.”

“Yeah, a few days ago it was ‘wave that spear around and you get…’ and ‘I’ll never forgive that son of a bitch!’ I almost blew my cover by answering with the name.”

“That’s because you take everything so seriously, Nezu,” said the flat voice of the girl named Yuri. “What are our next instructions, Anayama?”

Nezu replied to that.

“Our superior is Kakei, so I’d rather avoid getting instructions here.”

“You really do take everything too seriously,” said Isa with a bitter smile in her voice.

“I don’t like having to deal with multiple instructions at once because I don’t like making mistakes. So…”

“Yeah,” agreed Anayama. “Kakei-kun is the type to live a life of no mistakes.”

“Testament. After all, it was my mistake that led to us being ‘unneeded’.”

“You don’t have to say that or even think it, Nezu-kun. We’ve found ourselves more than ‘needed’ at Sanada Academy.”

But…

“It’s not you but us that need to never forget that. Partially because we were found unnecessary for the stage and era we were meant for, but also…”

A smiled filled Anayama’s voice.

“We can’t allow any actions based in sympathy like the one that picked us up. As long as losers remain losers and winners remain winners, it is only polite to forever maintain that relationship. I suppose a doll wouldn’t be able to-…”

“Anayama,” said the Yuri’s voice. “You’re losing focus.”

“My apologies.” Anayama took a breath and gave his instructions to the others. “Let’s find a way to show off our skills. I have an idea how to do that and Yuri-kun and Nezu-kun can guide us.”

As soon as he said that, the dock filled with even deeper darkness.

Isa spoke up as the vast space sank into darkness and lights came to life here and there.

“Ohh, check out this atmosphere! This is the kind of nighttime atmosphere everyone loves!!”

“Please don’t get so excited when you see the improvements to our eventual enemy’s ship, Isa. And this isn’t a nighttime atmosphere; it’s the lights out to test the nighttime movement of each component now that the remodeling is about 80% complete. They have lights at the work sites so they don’t have to stop working, but they’re testing the nighttime stealth, checking the ether light visible on the surface of the armor, and looking for any distortions at low temperature. Thanks to that, they’re actually on even higher alert than normal.”

“Oh, sorry, Yuri. My mind started wandering somewhere around ‘please’.”

“It’s a mystery how you can do God of War engineering with a mind like that,” said Yuri with a bitter smile in her voice. “Anyway. From now on, can we make an attack if we see an opening?”

“Yes, Yuri-kun. If you produce any results, make sure to leave a statement at the scene,” said Anayama with a smile. “But make sure you get your job done before leaving. Please don’t flee the Musashi before doing that, okay?”

“In other words, we need to stay hidden and continue with the mission even if they realize we’re here?”

“Testament. That will tell them perfectly well what we’re capable of.”

Anayama looked up from his position on the very back of Okutama.

From that rear cargo port, he could see the stacks of repair materials and a giant wall beyond them.

That wall contained the rooms for corporations and committees, but beyond it…

“Musashi Ariadust Academy,” muttered Anayama. “That’s where our work for a new era begins.”

A few figures stood in front of the back wall that divided the cargo port from the ship proper. The one protected by bodyguards in the center wore a Student Council armband. He was performing a periodic check of different sites.

Yuri spoke his name.

“That’s Musashi Ariadust Academy Student Council Secretary Neshinbara Toussaint, isn’t it?”

She continued from there.

“Interesting. If you ask me, the work, era, and role that lie ahead shouldn’t be too bad.”

With that said, one of the shadows slowly moved forward.

It vanished into the Ariake’s night.

“Oh, it’s gotten dark now. Sorry about all the new jobs I’m giving you this late. I know how much work this must be.”

A boy in glasses spoke within the dim light. He adjusted the position of the armband saying “Secretary: Neshinbara Toussaint” to better show off the writing.

“But these new jobs just keep cropping up, don’t they?”

Neshinbara was glaring at some piles of books and paper in one corner of the port. Some were magazines, some were hardback books, some were paperback books, some were doujinshi, some were newspapers, and some were just piles of documents.

One of the people standing behind him looked in the same direction and started to move. That girl in glasses wore an armband saying “Representative Committee Chairman: Ookubo”.

The two swords hanging from her left hip shook as she checked the piles of books and frowned.

“I’m glad I ain’t on the Public Morals Committee. …That’s a lot of obscene material.”

“With your qualifications, you could easily hold a position on the Public Morals Committee too. …But what do you think?”

“About what exactly?”

“Judge.” Neshinbara turned his smiling gaze toward Ookubo. “If possible, I’d like you to be on the Student Council next year. Not many people in Musashi have a double inherited name and you have the names of two Matsudaira leaders: Ookubo Tadachika and Ookubo Nagayasu.”

Ookubo smiled bitterly at that and touched the two swords at her hip.

“Both of them end up pretty lonely in their final years or after their death.”

“No, no. You can get around that with interpretations and write your own page in history! I know you can do it!”

“Secretary, is this your usual illness?”

“I-it is not an illness! Th-the history recreation is necessary?”

Ookubo nodded as the others in the area whispered “why was that a question?” and then she shrugged.

“I may have inherited the names, but given the fate of those names, it means a lot of future loss. Someone like me only got them because not many other people wanted them.”

“Still, getting two names doesn’t happen every day.”

Ookubo laughed quietly and then sighed.

“In that case, maybe I should eventually go for a name with a better future as a triple inherited name.”

“Milady.”

A flat voice spoke up from behind Ookubo. An automaton in a Far Eastern girl’s summer uniform stood there. As a Middle Eastern automaton, her skin was a little dark.

She bowed when Ookubo looked back.

“I have determined you are bragging too much.”

“Oh, sorry about that, Kanou-kun.”

Ookubo smiled toward Kanou and then Neshinbara spoke up with emotion in his voice.

“Ookubo-kun and Kanou-kun, the Representative Committee chairman and Public Morals Committee chairman. …You two make a good pair.”

[[Image:Horizon4A_0121.jpg|thumb]]
…''They really do make a good pair.

There was a reason Neshinbara thought that.

…''You’ve got the cool Representative Committee chairman and the even cooler Public Morals Committee chairman. Plus, one’s the daughter of an influential family and the other’s her maid automaton. Ahh, could this be any more perfect for a doujinshi!?

After deciding to let Naruze use the girls themselves while he modeled characters after them, Neshinbara began imagining characters resembling them having a swordfight with the full moons in the background.

'''Four Eyes:''' “Just calling to check in on you, but are you imagining anything weird right now? Tell me all about it.”

'''Novice:''' “You’re just assuming I am!? Besides, the things I imagine are perfectly healthy. After all, they’re chock full of dreams!”

'''Four Eyes:''' “Then do you want to hear what I dream about?”

“Eh?” said Neshinbara in reality.

Ookubo and Kanou tilted their heads in front of him, but a cold sweat started pouring down his face while he slowly typed the same question into his sign frame and sent it to the other girl.

'''Novice:''' “Eh?”

'''Four Eyes:''' “Testament.”

She proceeded to ask again.

'''Four Eyes:''' “Do you want to hear what I dream about?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “That’s checkmate for her.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Judge. If he can’t keep up with a leap in logic like that, it really is checkmate.”

'''Asama:''' “Um, yes. This might be an important moment, so I’ll make sure it gets recorded. I never thought Neshinbara-kun would end up becoming English.”

…''Don’t make this more serious than it already is!!

Beyond the cold intensity of the sign frame, Kanou lightly shook her hair.

“Secretary, Shall I handle all this paper media?”

“Eh? Oh, sure.”

After typing that he was trying to work, Neshinbara faced forward again.

The piles of paper media that Kanou had indicated truly had grown into a mountain.

“I never thought there would be so much after adding in what was hidden under beds and tatami mats.”

Neshinbara checked the books and newspapers piled up to his shoulders.

…''This just shows how much everyone was living their lives.

During the remodeling, they had looked back over almost the entirety of each ship and cleaned it all up to lighten everything.

The most work during that lightening cleaning came from the weight of paper items and everyday items like clothing.

A single book weighed three hundred grams and the Musashi’s population was nearly one hundred thousand, so if each person had a single book, that was nearly thirty tons.

Books needed for school or work had been spared, as had ones with sentimental value, but…

“The unnecessary ones will be recycled as materials for internal bulkheads and building materials. And the storage area at the top of the Ariake is also used to host events, so we could even open a used book market.”

But there was so much of it. It was too much to carry it all out at once, so this was their eighth time.

…''“Musashi”-kun and the others are getting strict with their weight sensors, so we keep finding so many books.

The Far East had historically had an active woodblock printing culture. They had also had paper-making technology, so plenty of printed materials filled the cities as entertainment items.

The students who transferred in from the West or Middle East were always surprised by how many books the Far East had and how casually the books were treated.

…''Having books nearby was part of the reason I came to the Far East in the first place.

Shakespeare had instead gone to England for the plays.

As he realized a culture had a way of drawing people in, Neshinbara had his Mouse Michizane inspect the scale of the piles of paper. He also grabbed a few of them.

“Oh, the noble story of Mass Kagami. Isn’t this the one where a shared consciousness has reached universal scale and everyone tells everyone to ‘take a look in the mirror’? I never read the previous book, though.”

Resisting the urge to flip through it took some doing. Not all of the things there were old. Some had been bought at the city below even as the recovery work was underway, some were newly issued newspapers, and some were documents used for meetings about the remodeling or at the work sites themselves.

Deciding whether to use them as materials or to resell them was the Industrial Committee’s job, but the Public Morals Committee also had to inspect them. That was where Kanou came in.

“Please stand back, everyone. I will now inspect and sort them.”

She opened a few management program sign frames.

Once they were sorted, Representative Committee Chairman Ookubo would give her approval and the rest of the work would begin. Finally, the fate of the paper media would be determined.

It was a small job when compared to the enormous task of remodeling the Musashi, but that remodeling work was made up of these smaller jobs. The quicker they could finish these small jobs, the faster the pace of the whole.

…''And that means the Student Council, the committee chairmen, and the committee vice chairmen need to keep active.

Neshinbara looked to Ookubo and Kanou as they picked up one of the items sorted by a sign frame.

“Why do guys like this kind of thing, Kanou-kun?”

“Judge. That is just part of being male.”

…''Sorry, but that one was drawn by our 4th Special Duty Officer. Yeah. Look, it has a lot of material targeted toward girls, doesn’t it?

Once the inspection was complete, he would move to where he needed to be next. And based on the divine chat log from earlier…

'''Me:''' “Hey, everyone, we’ll be meeting up at the Blue Thunder. It’s been a while, so let’s use the one I live at. Be there at eight.”

''Judge, judge,'' silently agreed Neshinbara.

…''It really has been a while since we’ve met there.

He then nodded to Ookubo, Kanou, and the others.

“I’ll be heading to where I’m needed next, so you take care of the rest. There’s a lot I want to ask you next time I see you, so keep that in mind.”

“Testament. Where are you going now, secretary?”

“Well.” He nodded. “For some food plus a meeting.”

[[Image:Horizon4A_0126.jpg|thumb]]
Study

Inside the Ariake

Toori: Sis! Sis! What’s it like inside the Ariake!? I’m inside, but it’s hard to get an idea of the whole thing. Is it actually pretty simple?

Kimi: Heh heh heh. Simple brother, I’d like to bring up the multiple truss frames, split block structure, and support pillars, but you can just think of it like a giant dome.

It’s basically made so Musashi’s deck is at the same height as the Ariake’s floor, but that would hide the central ships behind the others and make transportation difficult. That’s why they’re placed a little higher and transportation is mainly done by bridge and transport ship.

Here’s a key for the above diagram:

Light gray = Storage areas for the Musashi’s ships

Gray = Temporary cities for the remodeling personnel

Dark gray = Main storage areas for materials.

Toori: What’s a temporary city? Does that mean it’s about to be demoted to a village?

Kimi: Stop talking about that game where you can mistakenly stick a Ley Line reactor in the middle of the earth. …The temporary cities are small cities made to replace the contents of the Musashi that were mostly removed at the earliest stages. The city used by the Ariake workers for standard maintenance wasn’t large enough.

Toori: This sure is large-scale and a complete mess, isn’t it?

Kimi: As the interior is built back up, the temporary cities shrink. The remodeling personnel are living inside the Musashi by this point. Even our house has been returned to its normal spot.

Toori: And that means my escape routes are back! I’m back in business!!

Kimi: Hey, hey. Where do you think you’re going?

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 03|Chapter 03]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 05|Chapter 05]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 03

2016-04-10T18:38:51Z

Txtracer: /* Chapter 3: Peeper in a Holey Place */ caps fixes

==Chapter 3: Peeper in a Holey Place==
[[Image:Horizon4A_0095.jpg|thumb]]
''Why hasn’t

''This person been arrested?

'''Point Allocation (Too much work)

An idiot suddenly spoke up in a large space filled with light.

“Hey, Uqui and Noriki. …Oh, Adele’s here too. Virtual night begins at eight and it seems Futayo’ll be fine after some Gold Mar healing, so how ’bout we go peeping?”

The workers stopped when they heard him.

They were on top of the residential district on Musashino’s surface.

Surrounded by the torii-style goliath crane extending from one ship to the other, the Gods of War, and the echoing sounds, Adele was the first to raise her hand.

She put her wrench away in the work vest she wore over her track suit.

“Yeah, Futayo-san is pretty solid. …Now, Chancellor, what’s this about peeping and why are you asking me too?”

“What? It’ll give you something to reference, won’t it?”

“Y-you’re going for the body-type jokes already!? Can’t you show even a little mercy!?”

Adele saw the idiot hold his hands out to calm her down.

“Now, now. The work on the block around the Asama Shrine is finished, so I was thinking it was about time.”

''Are you sure about that?'' thought Adele with a tilt of the head.

…''And isn’t Asama-san’s place hidden?

The Musashi’s remodeling had continued for about three weeks inside the Ariake’s giant dock, but…

“Um, hasn’t the Asama Shrine’s spring been covered by an upper stealth field while it’s in use?”

“Oh, yeah, but we don’t have to worry about that. I asked Asama’s old man to add a small gap in the stealth. He laughed about how great youth is, so it should be fine.”

Noriki glared at the idiot and made a shooing motion.

“Just get to work.”

He gestured to everyone around him with his chin.

The surrounding people did indeed start working and Urquiaga leaned on a large wrench like a staff.

“Honestly, this is no time for peeping. We finally got the Musashi’s external armor reattached and now we’re loading in the internal blocks. Our speed is directly related to the number of people working.”

“What? Don’t be stupid. This is a way to maintain morale as we work!”

“Oh? Then let me ask one thing: are there any elder sister characters in that bath? If you’re planning to maintain everyone’s morale, you had better be catering to everyone’s personal genres.”

''Are you sure about that?'' thought Adele as she brought a hand to her forehead.

“I guess Kimi-san, Mary-san, and the 6th Special Duty Officer would count.”

“All of them have giant breasts. …I am not a fan of large breasts. Oh, but they have to have something. As a Catholic, I prefer everything in moderation. But they have to have something. Remember that, Adele.”

“Excuse meeeee! Someoooone! Someone arrest this half-dragooooon! Please arrest hiiiiimmmm!”

Noriki turned his back and started to leave, but she was not sure whether to ignore it or not. Or should she shift focus to him to protect herself? At any rate…

“But why peeping, Chancellor?”

“Well, I’m crossdressing now, right?”

That was true. The idiot was wearing a work vest over an England girl’s summer uniform. But that did not answer her question.

“But why peeping?”

“What? …Because a girl gets to go in the girl’s bath, right? Don’t you get it?”

“But aren’t you a boy?”

“What? I’ve always had a feminine heart. So I’m innocent.”

“Um, then did you have a feminine heart when you confessed to Vicereine Horizon?”

“What are you talking about, Adele? I’m a guy. Did you hit your head or something?”

“Poliiiiice! There’s a weird person over herrrrre!!”

A few guards from the closest police box ran over asking what had happened, but the instant they spotted the crossdresser, they made a U-turn and ran off as quickly as they had come. They whispered amongst themselves as they did.

“Hey, did you see that?”

“No, I didn’t. I didn’t see a damn thing. What about you?”

“Not a thing here either. I feel sorry for Miss Flat Vassal, though.”

''So you did see it,'' she thought as Urquiaga spoke to the crossdresser.

“Listen, you fool. Only call me once you confirm the presence of an elder sister character.”

“Do you think you can get away with anything if you make it sound dignified?”

“Can you people just get to work?” added Noriki.

The boy was carrying a reinforced wooden screw measuring two meters long and he looked to the worksite, moving Gods of War, and transport ships flying around the dock.

“The view for the past three weeks has been wonderfully diligent. We’re finally approaching the end of the work, so we’re focused on loading on the city blocks.”

''That’s true,'' thought Adele.

''This scene before us is what we need to be doing right now,'' realized Adele.

Three weeks before, they had lost the Battle of Mikatagahara yet been saved by the long-lived forces of Oushuu.

Ever since the Kamakura period, the Oushuu Fujiwara lineage had kept the Shirakawa Mountains as their headquarters and managed Oushuu’s distribution and affairs as mountain people. But according to Masazumi…

“They only barely exist in the Testament Union’s history recreation.”

They had no ability to interfere with history. On Yoshitsune’s instructions, they had temporarily sheltered the Ariake and the people of Edo and Satomi, but…

…''Some of the Oushuu forces don’t want Musashi entering Oushuu, so the Musashi and the refugees moved to Mitotsudaira-san’s land.

Adele suddenly looked down.

About three stories below, Mitotsudaira was reconstructing a park along with Naomasa on Jizuri Suzaku. The half-werewolf wore a track suit and singlehandedly held a garden stone the same size as the God of War held, but then she noticed Adele.

“Do you need something, Adele?”

“No, no. Nothing. Are you planning out the park?”

“Judge. We were thinking of giving it a more Western style, so we’re giving the details a good bit of thought.”

The girl then smiled bitterly.

“I’d like to maintain my land down below too. Far too often, I end up visiting and immediately coming back.”

“I see. Mito down there is your land, isn’t it?”

Mito was the Mito Matsudaira land in northeastern Kantou.

If Shirakawa was seen as the deep entrance to Oushuu, then the open land of Mito to the south was the shallow entrance. It acted as cushioning between Edo and Oushuu, but it bordered the ocean and left nowhere to hide.

There had been arguments for and against evacuating there, but Mitotsudaira had made the final decision:

“Hashiba will do anything it takes to achieve their goal, but there is one rule they will follow: they always act based on the history recreation determined by the Testament Union. The Testament Union said this land is connected to the history recreation of Mito Mitsukuni, which is from the post-Hashiba age, so they cannot attack here. Doing so could be seen as an admission that their time has passed.”

With some help from the Provisional Council, they had used that as a way of holding back and confirming the actions of Hashiba via the Testament Union. So currently…

“Each ship’s residential district was loaded onto transport ships and sent down below…”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “If it’s a political issue, I can handle it. And Adele? If you’re worried about things down below, don’t be. The early confusion has died down.”

“I see,” said Adele before a message from Heidi popped up.

'''Marube-ya:''' “But there is some unrest, so you need to be careful, okay? Any non-fighter VIPs should keep bodyguards with them. …You can hire some through us!”

When she thought about it, Adele realized that was why she and the others had the same shift as the Chancellor.

She sighed and looked back to the crossdresser.

“If only the Chancellor wasn’t our power outlet, we wouldn’t need to keep him around to supply ether everywhere.”

“You can be pretty cruel sometimes, you know that?”

''Can I?'' she wondered, but being on his shift meant she had to move all over the ships. He would almost get away from her sometimes because he knew some weird shortcuts, but that was when the dogs came in handy.

…''I have been learning where some of the mystery dogs live, so that’s a plus.

“But about this peeping business, Chancellor. I don’t think you have to worry about everyone that much.”

“Now, now.” The crossdresser put his hands on his hips and began a mysterious swinging of those hips. “It’s worth risking your life over until Satomi’s Flat Girl shows up.”

“Adele,” said Urquiaga. “Personally, I think the public morals would improve if you invited Yoshiyasu along.”

“I’d just be setting her up for a trap! And I’d be a victim too!”

“Oh, but the wives are off limits since they’ve got husbands. And we’ve got that meeting with Date before long, right? So let’s hurry to the bath and-… Oh, hey, Seijun.”

“What?”

With the surrounding wide blocks missing, Musashino’s surface area was essentially a midair passageway and someone turned back toward them on that passageway.

The uniformed figure was visible across the approximately eighteen meter distance of a wide block.

“Heyyy, Seijun, where are you going?”

Masazumi turned around when her nickname was called.

Atop the floating bridge of the residential district under construction, she saw Adele, Urquiaga, Noriki, and…

“…? What does an English girl want with me?”

“N-no, Vice President! That’s the crossdresser! He’s crossdressing!”

''Not again,'' she thought.

Dealing with him never ended well, so she decided to get through this with only the boilerplate responses.

So she smiled, raised her right hand, and pointed her thumb downwards.

“Bye. I’m busy right now.”

“Oh, sure. …N-no, wait! Is that any way to treat a human being!?”

She certainly had not expected to receive a lecture from the crossdresser, but…

…''He certainly doesn’t change.

She started feeling silly for all the thoughts she had down below earlier in the day, but she also knew he had to have some thoughts of his own. It was commonly said that the human heart was difficult to understand and she agreed.

Did the idiot over there still contain the idiot who had realized she was different at Mikatagahara?

Part of her hoped so, but another part felt things would be harder if that side of him rose to the surface.

So she accepted that the current way of doing things was easier for her.

“Sorry, sorry.”

She smiled and pointed both thumbs downwards.

“I shouldn’t have left it half-done. …Bye.”

“Oh, sure. …No, wait, wait, wait, wait! While I’ll take my hat off to how thorough you are, at least answer my question. Where are you going? Are you getting some food? Let’s go get some food courtesy of Nate!”

In the park three stories below, Mitotsudaira stopped telling Jizuri Suzaku where to place a stone and shouted up at the crossdresser.

“Don’t you think you already got carried away enough when we visited my city last night!?”

Masazumi noticed Naomasa averting her gaze on Jizuri Suzaku’s shoulder.

…''Naomasa ate a lot last night too, didn’t she?

Unlike in Europe, Mito had plenty of vegetables and grains, which meant Far Eastern food. Masazumi had appreciated the great variety of food the night before, but…

“Hey.”

Before she could turn toward the voice behind her, the crossdresser called out.

“Oh, Flat Girl. Where are you headed?”

Satomi Yoshiyasu turned around when her unfortunate nickname was called.

Atop the floating bridge of the residential district under construction, she saw the vassal, the half-dragon 2nd Special Duty Officer, a boy she was fairly certain was a relatively normal classmate of theirs, and…

“…? Why are you naked?”

“Eh!? Ah, the Satomi President is right! When did the Chancellor switch from crossdressing to nudism!?”

''Is that some kind of magic trick?'' wondered Yoshiyasu.

But she knew getting involved here would end badly, so…

“Hey, Musashi Vice President. …You take care of this.”

Musashi’s Vice President slowly turned her way with a wide-eyed look. Yoshiyasu knew she had shoved an awful task onto the girl, but she was still unaccustomed to these things.

After all, she was a refugee now that Satomi had been conquered by Hashiba. She had a number of thoughts about that, but she had been thankful for the busy days Musashi’s remodeling had given her.

…''Even that stupid chancellor is probably trying to help.

Meanwhile, everyone’s attempts at helping were on such a high difficulty setting that she often had no idea how to react. The other day, she had visited the Asama Shrine to change her Shinto divine protection contract and the giant shrine maiden had said the following:

“Um, you’re a God of War pilot, Yoshy-chan, so you’ll definitely need life support divine protection like body temperature regulation. I’ll give you a virtual full stomach so you don’t get hungry as much, but will a sake version work? Or maybe a sweet sake version? Oh, but it can’t be curry. Hassan does that because he likes it, not for anything Shinto related. …Isn’t sake amazing? Ours is really delicious.”

She had ultimately gotten a rice cake version, but the shrine maiden had been persistent.

The Chancellor’s sister had said, “Heh heh heh. You’ve got the makings of a great toy, so I hope you’re ready, Yoshy!”, but she had no idea what that meant. The black-winged 4th Special Duty Officer had taken some notes afterwards, but that too was a mystery.

…''They’re such a strange group. But they are my upperclassmen.

She decided to show her respect, but Musashi’s Vice President glared the idiot’s way and scratched at her head. She opened her mouth to explain where they were going.

“Um…uh…”

''It isn’t often this girl seems so reluctant to say something,'' thought Yoshiyasu as the girl gestured to the left with her chin. That was to the north.

“Tsukinowa.”

“Maa.”

Her words began to appear on the opened sign frame.

'''Vice President:''' “The negotiator for Date will arrive for their unofficial visit in three hours.”

“Ehhh!? You’re negotiating to go on an unofficial date in three minutes!?”

…''What in the world are you talking about? And that clearly said three “hours” not “minutes”.

Yoshiyasu could not believe how calmly Musashi’s Vice President responded to the idiot. Sometimes she began to wonder if bothering her was one of their permanent skills.

''Anyway,'' she thought while facing the sign frame as the other girl typed at it.

'''Vice President:''' “I’m on my way to Asama’s place for a bath. Then I’ll get some food somewhere private so we can work out a plan for the meeting at the same time.”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “Eh!? At Asama-san’s place!? With Satomi’s President!?”

[[Image:Horizon4A_0108.jpg|thumb]][[Image:Horizon4A_0109.jpg|thumb]]

''Why did she latch onto that part?'' wondered Yoshiyasu with a tilt of her head.

'''Righteousness:''' “That’s our plan. What about it?”

Across the way, the vassal smiled and waved hand back and forth.

'''Flat Vassal:''' “Oh, nothing. But this should help preserve the public morals.”

…''Does this mean everything’s normal?

Study:
[[Image:Horizon4A_0110.jpg|thumb]]

Map of the Area around the Ariake

Map:

Far Top Left: North

Top Left: Forest

Top Right: Ariake (With the Musashi inside)

Middle Left: Separated Temporary Land Ports x8

Middle Right: Fields

Bottom Left: Land Port

Bottom Right: Mito City

Toori: Sis! Sis! Can you tell me what it’s like around the Ariake!? Is it full of natto fields, peanut fields, and cattle ranches!?

Kimi: Heh heh heh. Bean brother, it doesn’t really matter, but if tofu is known as the meat of the field, then cows are the beans of the ranches.

Toori: No, um, sis, we don’t have much room this time, so can you keep it short?

Kimi: If you insist. …So it’s pretty much like you see above. Just remember that the scale is arbitrary and the Ariake is using stealth so you can’t actually see it. Also, the Musashi and the Ariake’s presence mean that transport ships full of trade goods and full of materials are flying to and from the land ports and various other areas. The repairs are keeping people busy on the surface too.

Toori: So the city continues on down to the south and eventually becomes more fields. And there’s just the forest to the west, hm?

Kimi: Continue north for a while and you reach the hidden city of the Oushuu Fujiwara long-lived. Of course, you can’t actually see it since it’s hidden, but some historical buildings still exist in the village on the surface.

Toori: I want to visit the ocean to the east, but it’s probably too soon for that! Would a month from now be best!?

Kimi: You need to stop making these outdoor plans. How about you visit the city or the ruins?

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 02|Chapter 02]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 04|Chapter 04]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 46

2016-01-24T11:38:50Z

Txtracer:

==Chapter 46: Storyteller Among Classmates==
[[Image:Horizon3B_0471.jpg|thumb]]
''The depths of the night

''Tend to help people grow

'''Point Allocation (Not referring to their breasts)

The darkness of the night was amplified in the depths of the forest.

When three girls gathered in the faint light of spirits, stories were bound to follow.

…''This feels somewhat nostalgic.

Mary had that thought as she had the light spirits float around them. In England, the children and women would sometimes gather together for a lively night.

“Well, you see,” said Mitotsudaira as she looked at the other two girls. “My mother’s family originally ruled this area. …Or so it seems. But when I say ‘ruled’, I mean as the beast at the top of the food chain. But…”

“But?” asked Mary to urge Mitotsudaira on.

Mary and Naito had already moved up so all three were on the same level with Mitotsudaira in the center.

“Oh, the water has boiled. Have some herb tea.”

“Yay! Made by a real Englishwoman!”

“Thanks,” said Mitotsudaira as she grabbed both ends of the container made from bent leaves.

She blew on the tea to cool it and the aroma filled her surroundings.

“What a calming smell. …Anyway, my mother was from the Reine des Garous' family, but the number of humans outside the forest grew and the forest was divided up by roads and wars. Also, the people began working together to hunt down the Loup-Garous. My mother’s family… Yes, I laughed when she once said she came from an unrivaled family, but I never thought she meant the Reine des Garous' family… Yes…”

“Don’t let it get you down, Mito-tsan! Pretend you’re eating some meat!”

''You can cheer her up like that?'' thought Mary in amazement.

Meanwhile, Mitotsudaira smiled bitterly.

“Um, sorry if I’m not entirely consistent in how I say things. Anyway… Partially due to pressure from the lower Loup-Garous and other races, my…yes, the Reine des Garous' family promised to support the humans in the Hundred Years’ War to ensure the rights and safety of non-humans. But after that, the lifestyle of the non-humans became a lot more like that of humans. It might have been an intentional strategy on the humans’ part. It was a way of acclimating and taming the non-humans.”

What she said sounded harsh to Mary, but that may have been because England was so centered on non-humans. But even if she understood that, stating an objection would not help the situation.

Instead, she urged Mitotsudaira to continue.

“What did you mother do during all that?”

“Eh? Oh. From what I’ve heard, when her mother died, the noble who ruled the area tried to make a name for himself by taking advantage of the situation and hunting her down. My mother apparently purged all of his hunters. From then on, it seems people stopped coming here. But…”

But…

“The humans were pretty clever. They knew they could not stand up to her, so they put a weak noble family in charge of this forest and then sealed it off by dividing it up with roads.”

“They divided up this forest?”

That question filled a room now lit only by a single flickering candle.

A boy asked the question to the Reine des Garous.

His nosebleed had finally stopped, but he had been told not to move from his back and the Reine des Garous lay on her side next to him.

“That’s right.” She nodded. “My family had originally allowed a few roads so that the humans could pass through because some generations preferred to avoid any complications. But they used that permission to expand all of the roads, even the ones that had fallen into disuse, and they started dividing up the forest.”

She thought back to an old memory that was also a regret.

“And, well, the circulation of the ecosystem doesn’t work well when the forest is too small. Once we could no longer secure enough animals for food, we began to weaken as well.”

“Yeah, Nate does eat a lot of meat.”

…''If she has been keeping that up away from me, I must have taught her well when she was younger.

She felt satisfied in her education but brought her thoughts back to the past.

“My fellow Loup-Garous were hunted down or left for human society. Eventually, I was the only Loup-Garou in this area.”

She naturally let out a bitter smile.

“Honestly,” she sighed. “The humans did an excellent job. They knew they couldn’t hope to defeat me directly, so they isolated me and my forest so I might as well not be there at all. And the next noble family to rule the land was too weak to ever defeat me, so they were just telling me to die here all alone.”

“How did that lead to meeting your husband?”

“Well,” she said while looking to the boy.

He lay on his back and turned a look of expectation toward her. ''Not that this is all that interesting a story,'' she thought to herself.

“The head of that noble family died during Hexagone Française’s Reformation and his son became the next ruler of the land. He was small and weak and disliked athletics, but he was a serious boy who loved books.”

She took a breath.

“And he would eventually become my husband.”

“When my father inherited the land, yes, he was a very diligent person. He saw the rulers of other areas hunting down the werewolves for their people, so he decided to do the same. But my mother had already been isolated and what she had done in the past was well-known, so no one would help him.”

Mitotsudaira saw the other two girls nodding eagerly and she took a sip of tea. She quite enjoyed the way they leaned forward and the way their gazes told her to hurry up and continue the story.

“But my father knew fighting was not his thing, so he asked a friend for some advice. That friend… Well, according to my mother, she was a sickly girl and my father’s childhood friend, but in the academy…um, uh, to be blunt, she saved him from being bullied a lot.”

“What kind of advice did that girl give him?”

“Judge.”

Mitotsudaira leaned back and waved a hand to copy the act her father would sometimes make to match her mother’s story.

“ ‘You really are stupid. There’s no way you can win in a fight, so that means you need to lay a trap. Yes, a trap.’ ”

Mary applauded after realizing she was acting out the part. Mitotsudaira was not sure if that was a good or bad thing, but she smiled regardless.

…''I don’t have many opportunities to act like this on the Musashi.

“Anyway, he decided to lay a trap. And then…”

“But when I realized the humans had isolated me, I felt I had finally been freed from all the annoyances of life and decided I could live the rest of my life in quiet solitude.”

The Reine des Garous lay on her side with her back to the wall and Musashi’s chancellor to her left. She gave him a bitter smile.

The werewolf queen placed her cheek on his left shoulder and wrapped her left arm around his head.

She stroked his opposite cheek with her hand and he narrowed his eyes. That reaction removed the bitterness from her smile.

“But my fellow Loup-Garous were gone and my mother had died, so…”

“You weren’t lonely, were you? You are the Reine des Garous, after all.”

Whether he was being considerate or not, she swallowed the weak words she had almost said.

“Testament. That’s right. Royals are always isolated from everyone else. But…”

“But?”

“Testament. When you are alone, you begin to think about the meaning of your own existence. I had books, cooking implements, clothes, and even food in this candy house that any child would be delighted to visit. …But I no longer had anyone to talk to, so there was no meaning in entertaining, protecting, or dressing up. That was when I realized the lifestyle my mother had taught me was a human lifestyle.”

She had realized something then.

…''I put distance between myself and the neighbors who lived the same way as me.

Whenever one of the others had approached the humans, she had laughed and called them dogs, but she had only been able to do that because she had those others there in the first place.

Once she was all alone, even being queen had no meaning.

But at the time, she had thought she was unclean for being so immersed in a human lifestyle.

She had even hated her mother for immersing her in it. She had even wandered naked through the forest to return to being a beast.

But she had been shocked to realize even her appreciation of the beautiful scenery came from a human mindset.

…''And that tree grew in front of the house.

It was a fruit tree. Not only that, it bore a strong-smelling citrus fruit.

When her mother had still been alive, a lost child had apparently reached the house and planted the fruit seeds he had with him. A fruit tree looked perfect with a candy house and her mother had said it would be something for her generation to look after, but she had seen it more as a threat.

The smell reached its peak when spring shifted to summer and the tree began to bear fruit.

The smell seemed to have been telling her to leave the house, so she had stayed out in the forest a lot more.

“Well, a lot happened, but I thought it was all the result of the current age, of destiny, and of what I wanted. …So I decided to throw away everything I had.”

“Throw it away?”

“My first thought was to wander through the forest every day and, if someone had the guts to face me, I would obediently let them kill me. …But I couldn’t find anyone like that. That was when I decided to give in to my lifespan and just let myself rot.”

And then…

“I found a poorly hidden trap set up on the road back to this house. It was a spring-loaded kind that would capture my leg.”

“Did your husband do that?”

“Testament,” she confirmed.

She thought back to that time and did not bother stopping the smile that ran from the corners of her mouth to her cheeks.

“When I saw it, I realized someone would definitely come for me if I was caught in that trap. Yes, and it would be a knight in shining armor who was willing to face the Reine des Garous.”

“Maman, you’re pretty amazing, aren’t you?”

“Any girl would think the same thing.”

She had nothing to be ashamed of as she clenched her right fist and said that.

At any rate, she went on to say what she had done back then.

“So I returned to the house, did the best I could to dress up for my knight, searched through my books to find the perfect way of expressing my thanks…and I intentionally let the trap catch me.”

“Intentionally? I don’t think I would go that far,” said Naito.

“Well, to be blunt, a trap like that can’t even scratch my mother.”

''We really are a strange family,'' realized Mitotsudaira.

…''Yes. Now that I think about it, we weren’t even a normal Loup-Garou family, but she kept it such a secret that I just thought we were an amazing family!

''That overly honest and diligent side must have come from my father,'' she decided with a sigh.

“But anyway,” she said. “After my mother waited for about two days, my father showed up. He was in his first year of high school at the time and he ran over to her when he saw her.”

“Was he excited that he had caught her?” asked Mary.

Mitotsudaira hesitated but finally answered.

“Well, no.”

She hesitated again but made up her mind.

“When he saw her leg in the trap, he started crying and saying ‘I’ve done something awful’, ‘I didn’t think it would do this’, and ‘I’m so sorry’.”

“I wasn’t hurt at all, but he had a weak body, he was bullied at the academy, and he had experienced a lot of… How should I put it? Not so much painful things, but restrictive and hurtful things.”

When setting up the trap, he had likely aspired to be a hero, but then he had seen her caught in the trap.

“He suddenly realized what exactly it was he had done.”

“That’s a lot like Nate.”

She stroked him from the cheek to neck and he acted ticklish.

But anyway, that had surprised her too. She had expected some great hero to appear, but it had been a skinny boy who was short enough to mistake for a girl. And far from wearing shining armor, he had worn an old worn-out school uniform.

“He cried and apologized while trying to remove the trap, but that kind of trap takes a lot of strength to remove. He had a lot of trouble and hurt his hand. As he tried, it even started to rain.”

She had not helped him, but she chose to believe it was out of respect for him.

“After he removed the trap, he put his coat over me so I wouldn’t get wet. At the time, he was a full head shorter than me, but he still tried to carry me.”

“Did you let him?”

“Testament. How could I not after all the effort he put into it?”

But…

“He collapsed once we reached here. …It was because of the rain soaking him without his coat.”

“And because he had to carry such a heavy- ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!!”

“Then I placed him in this very bed and had the spirits heal him. Once he woke, I tried to look frightening and told him I was the Reine des Garous. That name has a lot of power, after all. And then he said, ‘Sorry, but thank you for saving me, Miss Loup-Garou.’ ”

She had spent a busy week after that until he had recovered. She had been so busy because it was filled with things she had not had to do before.

“He was still weak, so I made food for him, did his laundry, and…”

She had felt shy. After all, she had been alone in the house with a boy. That tension and damage to her honor had never before been present in her life. And with all that…

“We talked about so many things. Including why I was here and why I was alone.”

The most interesting part was that he could remove the parts of the candy house.

…''The condition the Technohexen set for removing the candy was to be a child.

The Reine des Garous would not attack children. She had told him that and seen him off after he recovered.

“When we parted, I made sure to tell him never to return.”

“Why?”

She answered the boy’s surprised question.

“That is simple. Because he smelled amazingly good.”

She thought back to that time.

His scent had not changed, but she had never smelled it before back then. It was not the smell of an herbivore or a carnivore. She had assumed it was the human smell of an omnivore, but…

…''I had never smelled it before.

She had only realized the source of the smell later.

At the time, she had simply thought it was a good smell and sent him safely back to his village without eating him.

“Then what happened to him?”

“Apparently, he consulted with a local friend. That person did not believe he had actually met me and assumed he was making an excuse for getting lost, but he asked that friend a certain question. He said he wanted to properly thank and apologize to ‘Miss Loup-Garou’, but he did not know what to do since I had told him to never return.”

“And what did his friend say?”

“Testament.”

The Reine des Garous waved a hand and did an impression of that friend’s voice.

“ ‘You do not need to worry about her telling you not to come back. If she really didn’t want you to come back, she wouldn’t say that the first time around. If she really wanted to keep you away, she would act nice the first time but in a way that made you want to stay away if you wanted to be a good person. She would only reject someone who missed the clues and came back the second time. She kindly nursed you back to health, didn’t she? Then you’ll be fine.’ But…”

“But?”

“Apparently, that friend asked what was so great about me.”

“The boobs, right?”

“No.”

He had apparently answered differently.

“He said he had never seen someone so beautiful, he said I was cool, and he said he wanted to talk with me more.”

“I see,” said the boy. “That must’ve been a shock to the friend. Your husband doesn’t have much tact, does he?”

“No, he doesn’t.” She could not help but smile bitterly. “I think we both realized what we lacked and from there it was an issue of compatibility.”

And then he had arrived.

“Anyway, a few days later, I caught him entering the forest and demanded to know why he had come.”

Looking back, she could tell she had been happy. She had known the only reason he would be there was to see her. She had been proud that he wanted her, but she had tried to reject that feeling back then.

“I came at him a little too harshly.”

“But wasn’t that the perfect attitude for a guy who liked the cool Reine des Garous? Wasn’t it a real thrill for him?”

“Yes… It has always been a mystery just how well we communicated with each other. It feels like we focus so much on the convenient parts of the other.”

But that was likely what compatibility was.

“When I approached him, he got down on one knee and held out a wooden box. He said my clothes had to have been torn by the trap, so he brought me some new clothes. My heart was racing as I opened it on the spot and I found a Hexagone Française uniform of all things.”

“Your husband is into some crazy things.”

She hit him once and then thought back on the past.

…''So much happened back then.

She had refused the uniform and brought him to the house. She chose to believe she had done so out of respect for him.

“By the time I tried on the uniform and showed it off to him to see if he liked it, it was already night.”

Since it was late, she had made him spend the night. She had stood guard over him, he had gone to sleep first, and she had slept in the following morning.

…''But I found something amazing when I woke up.

He had gotten up early and cooked breakfast. And he had made jam using the fruit on the tree outside.

“When staying with my mother before, my father had realized from her cooking that she had trouble with citrus fruits. But the Reine des Garous had to take care of the forest, so she could not let the tree die. So my father decided to use the candy house’s sugar candy to make jam.”

Naito tilted her head.

“That’s citrus marmalade, right? But did your mom really like that? If she was living in the forest cut off from human civilization, she wouldn’t have access to flour and wouldn’t have any bread, right? Even a single fruit tree would make a lot, so how would they use it all?”

“Um, Lady Naito? There are more ways to use jam than putting it on bread.”

After speaking to Naito, Mary turned to Mitotsudaira and said exactly what she expected her to.

“He used it as a sauce for cooking meat, didn’t he?”

“Judge. By mixing it with mustard and other sauces, he could make a salty-sweet sauce a lot like sweet vinegar. And doing that uses quite a lot of the jam. My father belonged to a poor noble family and there were a lot of fruit trees around their house, so he cooked like that a lot for himself too. That was why he thought to do the same for my mother.”

She took a breath.

“When he saw how much she liked it, he taught her how to make the jam and tried to leave. He assumed he would never meet her again. But then…”

“Yes?”

Mitotsudaira smiled as the other two girls asked her to continue.

“My mother said the uniform would no longer fit her after eating so much, so she asked him to bring another one for her.”

That was when she had realized the identity of that unfamiliar scent she had detected on him.

…''Yes, it was citrus.

When a poor noble family was surrounded by a variety of fruit orchards, what would happen as they tried to keep food on the table?

Most of their food would come from those fruits and it would become a part of their scent. The smell of citrus was an irritant to Loup-Garous, but after passing through a human body, it became the smell of meat.

…''The sharp, harsh aroma is sweetened and dissolved inside the meat.

The jam sauce was an artificial reproduction of that.

…''That first jam sauce he made was so very sweet.

She had felt like she was eating his scent.

It had dumbfounded her to the point that she had to look over at him to make sure his body was still intact.

She remembered everything from the days following that. He had visited to teach her how to cook and she had taught him what edible plants he could find in the forest. Their repertoire of jam had increased, they had been able to eat all sorts of things together, and the forest environment may have been good for him because his health had not declined quite as often.

She remembered it all.

Their eating habits had grown more similar, so the citrus smell she had supposedly hated had started coming from her own body and the meat smell she loved so much had started coming from him. This had delighted her and they never had the exact same smell because one of them was a carnivore and the other was an omnivore.

She had wanted to smell like him, so while helping him with his studies or something else, she would pretend to peer down at the textbook while really leaning in from behind and pressing her throat against him. That may have been the reason for something else.

“Helping him study was especially fun. I taught him history, old languages, and war while he taught me about new sciences, politics, and economics. But on occasion, he would mention his friend from back home. To be honest, I did not like that very much.”

“You said she was a sickly girl, right? That’s definitely the heroine type. …And the Reine des Garous is the jealous type, is she? Oh, and does Nate say not to compare girls with other girls because of that?”

“That is simply the nature of women. …But anyway, I didn’t really understand what I was feeling back then. I simply wondered why he was talking about someone else when I was with him. Thinking back, I can tell he saw no problem with bringing her up because he thought nothing of her. But…”

“But?”

“He seemed to have talent at managing his land and did well with that, but he seemed to have trouble getting along with people. Word spread that he was meeting with me or with a Technohexen. Once people realized it was partially true, rumors spread that he was working with me to expand his territory.”

“What did he say about that?

“Oh, I heard about it from the birds because he never said anything. But when I indirectly turned the conversation in that direction, he said not to worry and that he would solve everything once he became a man.”

But would he really?

“I didn’t really understand what he meant by becoming a man. He was short, weak, and looked just like a child, but…”

One day, an incident had occurred.

“Suddenly, my father was no longer able to remove the sugar candy from the candy house.”

“You mean he became an adult?” asked Margot.

Mitotsudaira nodded.

“My mother tried to comfort him, but he only apologized and said it was because he had thought things about her he shouldn’t have.”

“Such as?”

“He had been thinking of confessing to her that he would come for her once he had grown to be her equal and could truly say he loved her. But it seemed the house had seen through it, so he assumed it was rejecting him so he couldn’t take her from it.”

“That wasn’t it, was it?” said Margot. “The candy house was telling your mom to go with him, wasn’t it?”

“I may not be one to talk, but I don’t think either of my parents really understood the other’s feelings or their own feelings. My father thought my mother was someone who protected the forest and my mother thought she would lose her excuse for not eating him once he grew up and was no longer a child.”

The two other girls stiffened at that last part.

…''That’s right.

“My mother hadn’t realized what it meant to have someone she didn’t want to eat. But since my mother didn’t want to eat him and my father was ashamed of what he had thought about her…”

She took a breath and shrugged.

“They stopped seeing each other.”

“I see,” said the boy in the flickering candlelight. “This is starting to get exciting.”

“Y-you sure are taking this lightly! But anyway…”

The Reine des Garous nodded and found the boy had turned to face her at some point. Fortunately, he seemed to have stopped bleeding, so she grabbed the shirt next to the bed and placed it over him.

“Nn. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Well, I was an idiot too. Once I stopped seeing him, I thought I had done a decent job of withdrawing from it all, but it was really just him feeling ashamed. But I was convinced I would have to eat him the next time I saw him because I was the Reine des Garous.”

“Well, there’s no helping that. You lived in two different worlds.”

“Testament. That’s true. He had a good friend back home. …And from what I hear, that friend had feelings for him. I had convinced myself it would be better for him to say he loved her instead of me. I thought that would end that relationship between Loup-Garou and human.”

She smiled bitterly.

“After he left, I even said it. When he was still there, I was too afraid to do so, but I used the words to convince myself.”

“Maman, you shouldn’t bring yourself down like that.”

“I know that,” she said as she stroked his head and gave a genuine smile.

She then continued with the story.

“But I began to hear unpleasant rumors from the birds and some of the spirits. When he entered the third year, classmates from a neighboring area approached him and accused him of taming the Reine des Garous. And if he wanted to prove them wrong, he had to go defeat me. And…”

And…

“They said they would accept him as a man and obey him if he did. It was actually a trick to take control of the land that had developed so well under his management. They wanted him to challenge me and be killed by me. And the council of feudal lords told him he could always run away but gave him these instructions: drive a stake into the Reine des Garous’ body to take her soul. But if you are going to run, we will decide you lack the ability needed to protect your land. …They were worried about the rumors of him conspiring with me. When I heard about it all, I decided I would die for his sake.”

“Wasn’t that a bad idea?”

“It was.”

She smiled and realized it had been a long time since she talked about this. She had not had anyone to tell it to since her daughter had left, so she hid nothing and did not try to make it sound better than it was.

“At the time, I was stupid, inexperienced, and desperate, so I wrote a letter and had the birds take it to him. It said, ‘On the night of the next full moon, come prepared to take my life. I will give you my entire being.’ ”

“The chancellor would definitely lecture her about that.”

“He probably would,” agreed Mitotsudaira.

…''Horizon would too, but hers would be expressionless.

“Judge, but my father was also stupid, inexperienced, and desperate. He thought as much as he could until the day of the full moon, but he apparently decided he wanted to see her and so he went. He also asked his friend for help. He said he had these two letters from the council of feudal lords and from ‘Miss Loup-Garou’ and asked what he should do.”

Mitotsudaira smiled.

“And she said, ‘You really are dumb. If you do what I tell you, the Reine des Garous will be a piece of cake. Did you know you have to use a special weapon for a Loup-Garou?’ ”

''Was that night even quieter than tonight?'' wondered the Reine des Garous.

“I set up the silver chain obelisks in front of the house and wrapped the chains around my arms and legs to…well, to make sure I couldn’t resist. Yes, and I opened the uniform he had given me from the chest to below the navel to make sure he could pierce my heart with a stake or a cross.”

“You’re into some crazy stuff, too.”

She hit him twice and then smiled.

[[Image:Horizon3B_0495.jpg|thumb]]

“C’mon. It set the mood and was perfect for being so full of myself. And halfway through the night when the moon was almost directly overhead, he showed up in front of the house. I was so excited!”

“Ah, wait! If you hold my head like that and rub it with your chin, my face goes right between your breasts and it’s really amazing!”

She laughed and released him.

Noticing heat in her cheeks, she continued to speak.

“I hadn’t seen him in a while, but he had grown a bit and he had brought a large basket with him. Also…he looked extremely uncertain of himself, so I told him to calm down and assured him I would obey him. …I said I would offer everything up to him.”

“And what did he do?”

“Testament. He moved so close I could feel his breath on me, he opened the chest of my uniform even more, and he said he had come here after being told to kill me.”

But he had said more with a serious look on his face.

“He said a friend had told him of a way he could avoid killing me.”

“A way to avoid killing her? Was there a way to do that, Lady Mitotsudaira?”

“Judge,” replied Mitotsudaira with a nod to Mary who was looking sleepy.

…''I can’t believe my parents.

With that thought, she continued the story.

“My father didn’t really know how to kill a Loup-Garou, so his friend had given him instructions. ‘Listen. First, remove her clothes and look closely. Like at her breasts. And then say this.’ ”

“This” being…

“ ‘I heard from a friend that the stake and taking of your soul are metaphorical. So I was told to ask you what to do. I was told you would guide me through it all.’ ”

Her mother had apparently not known what he meant. She had supposedly even asked if there really was a way to do that, but her father had nodded and said what his friend had told him to say.

“ ‘As a man, I apparently already have the stake needed to take everything that you have but also still be with you. …But what is that stake? If I do have it, what am I supposed to do to you? Please tell me.’ ”

Because…

“ ‘I don’t want to kill you and I want to be with you. So teach me what I’m supposed to do.’ ”

''I didn’t know what to do either when he said that,'' thought the Reine des Garous.

She had thought he was there to take her life, but he had no intention of doing that and on his friend’s instructions…

…''He wanted to give me ''his stake''.

That meant for the Reine des Garous to be with a human and a weak one at that.

It was unthinkable. To ensure their lineage remained, each generation of Reine des Garous would devour a powerful male and bear a mixture of their soul and her own soul as her child.

“But being queen had already lost all meaning for me.”

For that reason and because the chains prevented her from moving, she had asked him something.

“I said the clothes he had given me had gotten tight again. So I asked him to remove them since I couldn’t use my hands at the moment.”

When he had moved in close to remove her clothes, she had brought her lips to the corner of his eye.

The first time she had tasted him, it was through his tears.

The Reine des Garous recalled what had happened after that.

She had thought she might resist that first time and she had been afraid of any slight discrepancies in their understanding, so she had remained chained up in the moonlight.

She had then taught him what to do.

“The etiquette of wolves is to start by moving in close and sniffing each other’s scent.”

They had rubbed their cheeks together, brushed their hands through their hair, touched their necks together, and felt each other’s breathing and warmth.

That was the first time she had allowed herself to tell herself she loved that smell.

He smelled nice, he was attached to her, he wanted her, he fed her delicious food, and he thought of her first in everything. She had tried to sacrifice herself, but he had never considered the possibility and insisted on them being together.

If she thought or said she loved him, no one would blame her at that point.

So as they rubbed their bodies together, disturbed their clothing, and became enveloped in each other’s warmth, she gave another instruction.

“Now, please hold me tight.”

…''Thinking back, we had gone a little overboard during our normal study sessions. Bad queen.

But he had awkwardly and hesitantly embraced her.

“Now the lips.”

Their lips had met.

“Um, is your…tongue ready?”

He had answered yes by sticking out his tongue. While they wrapped their tongues around each other, tugged, and licked each other’s tongues, she had realized something.

She was tasting him.

But had he understood that as well? Urgency filled his movements as he embraced her and hers as she pressed against him. Their movements filled the gaps in each other’s skin and pressed them against each other.

“Um, more…”

She had not been drinking his blood, devouring his flesh, or chewing on his bones. They had been smelling him and pressing their skin together, rubbing their tongues across each other’s mucous membranes and soft flesh, tightly embracing as they brought their bodies and minds together, and wiping away or licking up or even rubbing in their saliva and tears.

…''And it was intoxicating.

Loup-Garous were nearly spirits, so they could control others through ether. It was a type of assimilation, so they would even obtain their prey’s thoughts when eating them.

Those thoughts would be submission, fear, and futile resistance. Feeling those ensured their status and the joy of being devoured that some felt was the power and pride of being a predator.

But what if they did not eat the other person and instead wanted to be with them?

…''Our thoughts, movements, and feelings all passed back and forth between us.

As she accepted his feelings, her own feelings reached him via the ether. Not only was it impossible to hide anything, but what he thought about her thoughts and her own thoughts inside him would return to her through the assimilation.

“…”

Simply remembering it was enough to make her shudder. The more they had thought, the more their thoughts had combined. She had lost track of who she was and simply felt good and happy as they intertwined.

“Now, please…”

He had done exactly what she wanted. The feeling would reach her and circulated between them, so…

…''I accepted him as if offering myself up to him.

He had been a different being from herself. She had wanted to be closer to him and his scent resembled hers, but he was definitely a different creature.

But as he had kissed her and attacked where she could not resist, she had spoken up.

“O-okay. Let’s try to go deep in there.”

She could now say they had done a little too much studying then, but that was because she was calmer now. At the time, they had both been very serious. She even had a faint memory of saying “three, two, one, go”, but she hoped she was imagining that one.

But that gathering of his flesh and scent had reached a place she was unable to see.

The empty part of her she could do nothing about was expanded and filled by that flesh and scent of his that she wanted more than anything else. As she had wetly wrapped around it, she had felt a strong pain.

“Ee!”

She had wondered if this was really okay, but had that been due to surprise, fear, or joy? Without finding the answer, his embrace had grown even stronger. Instead of simply bringing their lips together, they had started seeking each other to the point of exchanging breaths or kneading each other.

“…”

The two of them had continued pushing or groping each other’s bodies yet never moving away from each other. As time went on, they fulfilled each other or were fulfilled countless times.

…''But…

After remembering that much, the Reine des Garous sighed.

…''My inexperience took that in an interesting direction.

After desiring each other for a while, the two of them had realized something about their condition.

First of all, they never grew tired.

She was a non-human royal, so she had predicted her own endurance, but he could also continue without end due to receiving her feelings and regenerative ability through the ether.

One could say he had received the protection of the Reine des Garous.

And on top of that…

…''The regenerative ability of the Loup-Garou race kept trying to heal my “wound” right away.

To teach her body it was not a wound, they had needed to keep at it for a very, very long time to make a “mold” of his shape.

…''We really did just keep doing that.

But he had been incredibly worried about her “wound”.

“Um, are you okay? Should we stop?”

“No, no, no, no, no, no! I’m fine! Perfectly fine! I really am, so just a little longer!”

…''Thinking back, if I was, then I could have stopped. Well, I can chalk that up to a discrepancy in our understanding of each other. Yes, that was it.

But as they brought their bodies together, those kinds of words had melted into warm thoughts and circulated between their hearts.

It had all been perfect for desiring each other without end.

For the first three days and three nights, they had continually desired each other and answered that desire while still standing.

She had started off offering herself to him, but because she was sharing her pain with him and receiving his feelings, she soon began to prioritize what she wanted. Worst of all, she was able to request whatever she wanted in the name of “teaching him”.

“N-now, there. Work hard there and keep at it. Don’t give in until I say it’s okay.”

“C-can you be more specific, Miss Loup-Garou? Make your instructions more specific.”

…''How could he ask a girl to say something so embarrassing? …I did tell him, though.

But to be absolutely sure she would not resist, they had only loosened the chains a little and they had remained standing while desiring each other, answering each other’s desires, begging for what they wanted, and responding to those requests.

On the fourth day, she had been relieved to find she still had no desire to resist. They had loosened the chains further so she could get down on her knees and elbows in front of the house. In that position, she could reach any part of his body with her lips and she could finally hold him in her arms.

That was when their mutual desire had truly begun.

Instead of only being on the receiving end, she could directly desire things, wrap around him, and bend her back to offer herself to him since the chains weighed down her arms and legs. She had also answered his desires when he cried out like a child or like he was crying.

She had wanted to pay him back for everything he had done over the past three days, so she had continued doing all sorts of things for him.

…''It was wonderful that my mouth could reach.

She had sent out her tongue and licked over every single part of him. She had trembled as she felt his scent reach her nose from inside her mouth, on her tongue, and in the back of her throat. When she had made him stand with his back pressed up against the pillar and kneeled in front of him, her lips were at the perfect height to reach him.

She had done anything for him in the name of “teaching him”.

“To tame a Loup-Garou, you must stick your spear everywhere you can. And to keep a beast from biting, you can stick something in the back of their throat. That prevents them from closing the base of their jaw and… Well, just stay still.”

“H-huh? I feel like you gave up explaining partway through!”

…''Again, why are you trying to make a girl explain all the details? …I did explain them, though.

She had kissed him, used her tongue to guide him deep into her throat, and slowly moved her head forward and back while sucking and moving him back outside of her lips. She had also used the pressure of her lips to pull his scent from him and savor it. When he could no longer contain himself, she had taken her reward onto her tongue, the backs of her teeth, and the back of her throat before carefully swallowing it. She would also sometimes gently bite him with her back teeth. After repeating this again and again, a new thought had come to her.

…''I’m glad I didn’t eat him.

The flavor that soaked into her mouth, the back of her throat, her skin, and inside her body was the human flavor she had wanted so much.

If she ate him, it was over after the one time.

But by not eating him, she could continue to enjoy this flesh and this scent as she felt it thick on her tongue, sticky in her throat, and resilient against her teeth.

And it went beyond her mouth. She felt it in her skin, in her flesh, in the sensation of being touched, in the sensation of him pressing up against her, in being groped, in being pinched, and in being embraced.

She could stay with him forever because she had not eaten him.

And the grooming and regeneration of a bestial spirit was perfect for refreshing and preparing their bodies. Even after experiencing it countless times, it would quickly fade and leave them wanting more.

So they had both decided to keep going until the other was exhausted and they had continued for another three days and three nights. Only then did they finally remove the chains and fully remove their clothes.

“Now, can you take off my clothes? …Oh, but you can do that without me telling you how, right?’

“Well, um… I’ve imagined doing it for so long.”

He had apologized, so she had no choice but to embrace him and whisper that she had too.

[[Image:Horizon3B_0507.jpg|thumb]]

Newly exposing their naked bodies to each other had been embarrassing, but it was no longer a one-way situation of doing something or having something done. Once they had begun intertwining their bodies, there had been no stopping them. When she had taken his hand, he had pulled her hand to him. When she had moved her body in close, he had moved back toward her and deep inside her. When she had turned her back, he had embraced her and filled her up. Without saying a word, they had known exactly what the other wanted done and they had fulfilled those desires and had their own desires fulfilled.

The biggest change was that she could have him lick her now that she had removed her clothes. His wetness reached the places filled with her scent and he had licked all over every part of her, front and back. She had moved around at the ticklish feeling and done the same to him, but she had grown nearly intoxicated from having his scent washed all over her by his tongue and she had asked one thing. She had gotten on hands and knees in front of him, traced her tongue along him, and spoke.

“Now, will you cover me with your scent?”

She had wanted him to mark her, but he had hesitated. Once she had urged him on with her tongue and gaze, he had granted her desire. That was when she had nearly passed out. While she lay face down and trembling in the puddle of his scent, he had moved up behind her.

“U-um, to tame you, I have to drive my stake everywhere, right?”

“Eh?”

They could not allow a discrepancy in their understanding. She had raised her hips toward him, he had grabbed them, and to tame her, he had “driven his stake” into a place he had not yet done so. But…

“U-um, Miss Loup-Garou, this doesn’t seem to have tamed you at all!”

“W-work harder! Yes, work harder! The Far Eastern character for hard work is a combination of the characters for ‘woman’, ‘crotch’, and ‘strength’, so keeping this up will give you strength!”

…''I really am stupid, aren’t I?

But she had offered him every place she could accept him, received what he gave her when he could not hold it in any longer, was covered by it, licked it up, and swallowed it. They had continued embracing and desiring each other without interruption for another three days and three nights.

…''Yes, we really did. I even used my high-speed techniques to…um…be tamed. Yes, that’s right. I was tamed at high speed.

But eventually, their bodies had begun to lose their strength. Thinking it was finally over, they had moved into the house while still embracing each other.

During this break, she had thought back on the past days and begun to realize just how horribly embarrassing everything they had done was.

But then…

“Ah.”

Right inside the front door, her weak feet had stumbled and she had fallen so her knees and breasts reached the floor. She had tried to get back up and managed to raise her knees, but her arms had been too weak. The next thing she knew…

“Eh?”

She was on the floor with her knees spread wide and her hips sticking up toward him behind her.

It was an embarrassing position and the way she had asked him to hold her up had been a mistake.

“Please.”

Their mutual understanding had failed, so he had come at her with even more desire than before. In truth, she really had cried several times. Because it was so good.

Her carelessness had led to an even more embarrassing time over the next three days and three nights. After the battle, the two of them had ended up collapsed on the floor in each other’s arms. This time, she truly, truly had thought it was time for a ceasefire. Any more education would have definitely been wrong. Not that everything up until then had not been wrong. At any rate, she had not seen how it could get any worse.

But after she got up first, she had seen him next to her covered in sweat, gasping for breath, and red in the cheeks. She had found him incredibly cute and he was amazing no matter what he did.

He had looked up at her with teary eyes and reached out a hand as if asking for help.

“Please…”

A failure in their mutual understanding had suddenly filled her with even more desire than before. In truth, she really had almost cried several times. Because his reactions were so good.

She had been fairly certain that the “teaching him” excuse was still valid. Probably.

“Heh heh. How is it? C’mon, don’t hide your face. I’ll hold both your hands down if I have to. And – heh heh – tell me exactly how good it feels. …Now, begin.”

She had made him say all sorts of things, but she had later “taught him” all sorts of things to balance it out.

…''But even if our understanding could be a little off, our amazing compatibility was the real problem. Yes, that was the problem. A huge problem. And he didn’t help with what he said.

“Wh-what if a lost child shows up?”

…''Of course that was going to fire me up even more.

They had continued for another three days and three nights on the floor, below the table, or next to the chairs. Their movements of desire had formed a slow crawl toward the neighboring room. She had decided that they would surely get some sleep once they were in the bedroom.

But she had been too naïve.

Another problem had arisen because the bedroom had a bookcase and it of course contained a health textbook.

“Y-you need to study before going to bed, don’t you!?”

“Eh? What is this acrobatic position? Can humans really do that? Wow!”

She had been unsure why he was so impressed.

Regardless, they had studied the book on the floor, had a hands-on lesson, and then went over it again just to be sure. They had confirmed their own techniques, blushed as they taught each other just what they should do when they were alone and thinking about the other, and then finally made it onto the bed.

She had exposed her defenseless stomach on the soft sheets, spread her thighs to receive him, had her knees lifted up from below, raised her own hips, looked down on him from above, and embraced him again.

She was no longer “teaching him”. They simply obeyed their circulating thoughts, spent a final three days and three nights as she accepted him in from above countless times, and finally fell gently to sleep while still embracing each other.

Although he had woken up five minutes later as he suffocated in her breasts.

Afterwards, they had slept like a log for three days straight, pecked at each other as they dozed, and repeatedly desired each other and answered the other’s desire to confirm they were there when they woke up.

Their connected and overlapping minds had shared a single thought from the moment they had begun until the very end: I never want to leave this person.

…''Come to think of it, I’ve done just that here.

Remembering it all filled her heart with love instead of embarrassment.

She also remembered what had happened after they had woken from their excessive time together.

They had both gotten up, exchanged a glance, smiled, shared a meal, and played in the water together.

“Let’s go.”

He had then tugged on her hand.

He had been ready then. When seeing his thoughts, she had learned that he knew human society would never allow him to marry the Reine des Garous.

But he had made up his mind, so she had done the same.

“Yes, let’s go.”

She had taken his hand and she had wanted to go with him.

“And when my parents left the forest together…”

Mitotsudaira stopped at that point. Mary was slowly nodding off to her right.

…''Was the story too boring?

But she also remembered the exhaustion from the day.

“Ma-yan must be tired after all the healing and other stuff she did. From what I saw, she fell asleep around the time your mom tied herself up with the chains.”

That would explain why she had never been asked for details about her parents joining together. Tenzou would probably have some difficulties concerning that at some point, but it was not her problem. For now, she supported Mary’s head with her shoulder, but…

…''H-her breasts are pressing against my right elbow!!

She felt some fresh surprise at realizing what it felt like with someone who actually had something there, but she managed to support the girl. Naito opened a new Magie Figur and moved the meter down to zero before speaking.

“Now, get on with the story.”

“Margot, you really like this kind of story, don’t you?”

“It’s called having taste,” she said with a smile and a wave of her bandaged right hand.

But Mitotsudaira raised one corner of her mouth in a smile of her own.

“I say that, but I don’t really know much more. No one would approach my parents after they left the forest and his friend went to Paris where her brother lived. But my parents lived a fulfilling life and they eventually realized my mother was pregnant with me. And…”

“And?”

“Paris…that is, Hexagone Française’s central academy, École de Paris, summoned my parents. They thought the time had finally come to be punished for what they had done, but when they got there…”

She had a feeling they had always be vague about this part of the story.

“According to them, they were given a plea to spare some people’s lives. It had been sent by the classmates and feudal lords who had plotted against my father. They traveled to Paris and they gave their swords to my parents.”

“They…kept their promise?”

“A lot must have happened, but they had the blood of knights in their veins and they had promised to serve my father if he defeated my mother. He had made her his wife, so they kept their promise and my parents have been protected by them ever since.”

Mitotsudaira smiled bitterly.

“And my parents were forgiven. Based on what my mother said, it must have been in exchange for becoming vice chancellor as the Reine des Garous once Louis Exiv took his inherited name. That allowed her to give birth to me in Paris, hide her identity, claim to have ruled a different land, and yet continue to protect this forest. But…”

At that point, she realized something.

“That sickly girl who was my father’s local friend was probably the same one who judged them in Paris.”

She was…

“Anne of Austria. …Louis Exiv’s younger sister by birth and his mother by inherited name.”

“She’s rumored to be in Magdeburg now, right?”

“Judge.” Mitotsudaira nodded and stared into the darkness ahead of her. “She was probably sent to this spirit-filled forest for a restful lifestyle to help with her incurable illness. Her brother Exiv’s abilities were recognized, but the Testament Union’s interference forced her to take the position of provisional chancellor and Student Council president. To her, the Reine des Garous that her local friend had taken as a wife had to have been a reliable existence.”

“Mito-tsan, I’ll erase that last part from the recording.”

Only then did she notice the sharpness of her words.

“Sorry,” she said with a light bow. “From my parents’ perspective, she’s the one that brought them together and then allowed them to remain together.”

“Without her, you never would’ve been born.”

The thought of her own birth got her thinking, but as she thought, she began to wonder what was wrong with her mother for telling her that sexual story when she was so young. She had a feeling she had seen her mother telling it while wiggling back and forth with her hands on her cheeks about once every three days.

She also remembered her mother rejoicing when she copied that action, but she stopped herself because she had a feeling that remembering any more would lead to a fatal dose of painful memories.

…''But I really do owe my life to a lot of different people.

“Then again, I guess the reason my mother is my enemy now is so she can pay back the debt made before I was born and right after I was born.”

“Oh, Mito-tsan, you’re so cool.”

She had recovered enough to reply with “I am a knight, after all.”

…''But that’s thanks to the others.

She had still not fully recovered, but she was not wrong to think that.

“How about we get some sleep? I’m sure we’ll be moving before the sun is up tomorrow morning.”

“What about Ma-yan?”

“You can just leave her next to me.”

''I sure have gotten lenient,'' she thought while supporting the girl’s back and lying down.

She managed to get both her and Mary lying on the slope.

“Nn.”

But Mary fell toward her and gently clung to her.

''Eh?'' she thought, but Mary’s arms were already wrapped around her back and chest and were even approaching her waist. The girl’s head and floral-smelling hair rested on her chest and held her in place.

“Nnn…”

…''Ehh!? Does she like to hold something when she sleeps!?

“Wait, um… Margot! Why are you recording this!?”

“Tenzou! Tenzou! Is she like this with you too!?”

“W-well, I’m always on the top bunk, so…”

Mitotsudaira and Margot exchanged a serious glance.

“Mito-tsan, why don’t we take a major step in your father’s footsteps and teach her some things here?”

“No matter how I look at this, I have to agree with you.”

“Y-you two don’t understand the beauty of conflicting feelings, do you!?”

As they argued back and forth, Mitotsudaira placed her chin on Mary’s head.

Since Mary had not said anything more, she could assume the chancellor was still safe.

…''But what are he and my mother doing right now?

After telling her long story and taking a break, the Reine des Garous looked to the boy who was embracing her left arm.

He was asleep. He was curled up next to her and gently breathing.

…''Honestly, how defenseless can you be?

This was not a kind place where she would not eat him simply because he did not oppose her, but…

…''He really is entrusting everything to me.

This was just like a child feeling safe in his parent’s arms and falling asleep. He was lost in the relief of leaving his safety up to someone else. And if he was doing that, she could do whatever she wanted. Thinking this would be her last chance, she opened her mouth and brought her lips to his forehead.

“…?”

She smelled something there. She smelled the nostalgic scent of her daughter, the scent of bread, the scent of the incense used at Shinto shrines, a dog-like scent, and…

…''Oh?

Curious, she licked him and detected a flavor rising from her tongue to her nose.

…''This is…?

She knew it but at the same time did not. Frustrated, she licked him a second and third time to check.

But she really could not place the flavor.

Whatever it was, it was saying “I’m here”. She did not know what was saying “I’m here”, but she had a feeling the words “I’m here” could describe this boy. Wanting to know what it was, she prepared to move from licking to just about sucking on him, but…

“…”

She suddenly remembered something she had forgotten for a long, long time.

“It can’t be.”

At the same time, a ''Signe Cadre'' appeared next to her face. It was a Catholic type, but…

“Hm? Didn’t I temporarily block any from the Student Council or chancellor’s officers?”

She checked and saw this one was not from either group. It had arrived via her home, so her husband had forwarded it to her and it was originally from…

“Anne, of course.”

She looked to the boy next to her.

“My. Does everyone find this boy to be that important?”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 45|Chapter 45]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 47|Chapter 47]]
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</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 02

2016-01-24T09:04:14Z

Txtracer:

==Chapter 2: Hidden One in the Hidden Sky==
[[Image:Horizon4A_0077.jpg|thumb]]
''What is neither a gale

''Nor violence?

'''Point Allocation (Dragon)

Night covered a forest.

It was a summer forest filled with the cries of insects. The two moons in the sky poured pale light between the trees and to the dewy ground. The areas the light did not reach were filled with dark blue shadows.

Something moved within that dark blue.

It kicked off the tree branches and leaves to move quickly yet steadily.

“What do you think’s going on? Why were we sent out to check on Date airspace tonight?”

“Hard to say. But the Date clan has gathered their aerial forces and is doing something in secret. There were also some strange thunder clouds between Date and Kantou earlier. This could be interesting if it’s an experiment for a new kind of stealth or a secret conflict with Mogami. …I just hope it isn’t really just a thunderstorm.”

“Our teachers chose us for this mission, so if it ends up being weather, it’d make the proud historical names of Sasuke and Saizou weep.”

The speaking form was two yet one. It was made up of a short man in mountain gear and a wind spirit woman leaning against his back.

They were Sarutobi Sasuke and Kirigakure Saizou of Sanada Academy.

They would step onto a branch, crouch down, and then leap forward. As they slipped between the shadowy branches, they would land on a higher branch and fly even further forward.

Saizou stared forward.

“You aren’t going to have anywhere else to climb before long. Also, I can see Yonezawa, so…”

“I doubt they’re running a souvenir shop.”

“Will you buy me something if they are?”

“You’re the one carrying the wallet.”

“It’s the thought that counts.”

Saizou patted him on the back of the shoulder and Sasuke smiled bitterly.

“How about we stop for some ramen at Kitakata on the way back?”

He jumped into the trees at the top of the mountain ridge and Saizou moved to a new branch as if supporting him. The forest leading down to Yonezawa lay before them. And behind them…

“From this height, we should be able to see from Shirakawa to Mito back and to the left. The Musashi would be there.”

“The Ariake is using stealth, so we wouldn’t be able to tell.”

“Then look at Mito. Musashi’s general residents were loaded onto transport ships according to their residence blocks and then sent down to Mito’s land ports. They’re filling up the eight land ports separated by the forest so different nations can use them.”

“Are they splitting up the public opinion about their loss?”

“Weren’t you listening to what our teachers said?”

“Was I wrong?”

“No, you were right, but don’t take that to mean you don’t have to listen.”

“Testament. I was probably distracted with how busy we’ve been recently.”

“Yeah.”

Sasuke nodded in agreement and opened a sign frame while jumping through the air. The clock face drawn in the non-illuminated sign frame said it was 7:00 PM, but…

“Can you see them?”

“Oh, do you mean those?”

Saizou tilted her head and looked south.

Eight small lights were visible beyond the lights of cities and villages far to the south. The star-like lights were almost weak enough to overlook and they were flickering in the summer night.

Sasuke spoke after staring at the lights for a few seconds.

“A few of the transport ship groups being used as cities must have had an early lights out. Probably less because it’s wartime and more to create a sense of unity among the residents.”

“They sure are putting a lot of effort into this.”

“It’s a city of normal residents. The ships that actually fight are hidden in the Ariake. The student council and chancellor’s officers are apparently living on the Musashi as it’s worked on inside.”

“I guess we’ll be seeing how true that is before long. I just hope they’re doing this right.”

“Yeah.”

Sasuke nodded and moved his gaze from south to north.

He looked down.

He jumped a few trees over to drop by about thirty meters, but…

“Doesn’t look like there’s anything in the sky.”

“Date has a lot of land, so it has a lot of sky too.”

“The sky visible from between the trees looks small enough.”

As soon as Saizou said that, that sky suddenly grew.

With a series of rumbles and sounds of destruction, the forest before them was mowed down.

…''What?

While pressing against Sasuke’s back, Saizou felt the moonlight more than the blowing wind or scattering leaves.

As a spirit-type nonhuman, the moonlight gave her power. She trembled as something like heat welled up within her.

“Kh.”

Her mouth loosened and her voice almost escaped, but then Sasuke grabbed her left hand as it sat on his shoulder.

He said nothing, but he leaped to the right and she was pulled after him through the blowing wind.

His movement hid her from the moonlight. He had to have noticed her tense up from the sudden exposure to the moonlight.

At the same time, the broken and felled trees broke and felled even more trees.

That secondary destruction caused a wave of snapping and breaking sounds to race through the forest. Finally, cries of birds and beasts came from between the trees and something could be heard slamming against a group of larger trees.

Something had fallen into the forest.

“Looks like that wasn’t meant for us.”

While pulling on her hand, Sasuke jumped behind the trees on the right.

He pulled her along as she trembled from the moonlight and could not move properly.

She was not the type to apologize, but she did feel she had made a mistake. So she breathed in and pressed against Sasuke’s back again before he could ready himself atop the branch. And…

“What was that?”

“It’s definitely hard to tell just by looking at it.”

They both looked up into the forest’s sky where a strip of trees had been torn down from right to left for a few hundred meters. A flying object had torn through the forest on a shallow falling trajectory.

…''Did a ship fall?

As she wondered that, Sasuke circled around the tree so it was positioned between them and the destruction. He stood on the trunk with just his tiptoes and peered out while Saizou held his shoulders from behind.

“Did it crash? Or was it shot down? And what was it that fell anyway?”

“That last one would be the most accurate. Whatever it was simply fell. Most likely anyway. After all…”

Sasuke completely hid behind the tree trunk with her pushing on his back.

Saizou relaxed her body and produced a mist. She turned herself into mist, overlapped her position with Sasuke’s, and placed her hazy hands on his ear and throat.

This let them talk just between the two of them.

“Something’s coming.”

Something did appear in the sky. They were winged Gods of War. There were five in all and each one had the emblem of the Date clan on its shoulder.

But when Sasuke saw the warrior-type God of War with demonic horns in the lead, he frowned.

“Date Academy 2nd Special Duty Officer Oniniwa Tsunamoto’s Sagetsu? I expected someone lower in the pecking order. But we still haven’t found anything worthwhile. …That previous one really must have only fallen.”

Saizou knew why he said that. Sagetsu’s large spear had no shadows or scratches on it.

“He hasn’t been fighting. …And there weren’t any sounds of battle when that previous one fell. But in that case…”

“Date’s 2nd Special Duty Officer drew his spear to face something that simply fell.”

“What does that matter? Musashi’s Vice Chancellor drew her spear against us.”

“Don’t act like you don’t understand. …This means whatever fell is equivalent to an academy’s high ranking officer.”

“I’m starting to wish we weren’t here right now.” Saizou lowered her hazy chin to Sasuke’s shoulder. “What do you think this is?”

“I’m sure you already have the same ridiculous prediction. It’s something that went missing thirty years ago. It feels a little contrived for it to be in the Date clan, but there have been rumors and the connections are definitely there.”

“You mean Catholicism?”

“Testament.”

As soon as Sasuke said that, the sky ahead of them grew once more.

Saizou could only comprehend the color and the speed.

The color was blue and the speed flew left to right above the mown-down forest.

“…!?”

Her eyes could not keep up, but she next heard the sound of clashing metal.

By the time her gaze made it to the right, she saw a blue form colliding with the demonic warrior God of War.

…''A dragon!? No, a God of War!?

The wind arrived a moment later. The rapid movement of the massive object had created a pressurized wall of air. The tree Sasuke clung to shook and the wind carried something their way.

It was a roar.

The God of War cried out like a dragon. And it did not express any clear emotion. It was not anger, sorrow, or frustration.

…''Such negativity!

It was simply a trembling voice.

That negative voice bent into the whipping wind and a pressurized blast of air appeared in midair.

The roaring dragon kicked Oniniwa’s Sagetsu away and flew toward the moon. The wind it blasted downwards swelled up in the forest and Saizou felt like her own body was vanishing. However, Sasuke used the tree trunk to shield against the wind and protect her.

“Did it get away!?” he shouted.

“No!”

Saizou knew that the moonlight gave power to nonhumans.

The closer of the two moons was said to be a giant piece of Orei Metallo. Orei Metallo was concentrated ether, so the moonlight was given the power of ether. Nonhumans were closer to ether in their very existences, so the moonlight had a way of exciting them, but…

“Gods of War use ether fuel to run their various systems.”

So…

“Is Sagetsu going after it!?”

Sagetsu flew. The moonlight poured down on the four wings of its back as chased the dragon up above.

Meanwhile, the dragon-like God of War spread its arms.

“—————!”

And it flew.

A moment later, there was an impact, flying sparks, and roaring wind.

The dragon-like god of war swung its entire body around and used the claws at the end of its arms as weapons.

Its attacks never let up as it persistently pursued and charged at its enemy without falling back. Each claw powerfully yet accurately captured its opponent and the entire machine pushed forward.

Sagetsu reacted by using the tip and bottom of its spear to fight a defensive battle. It repeatedly deflected the claws coming in from the left and right.

“Ohhhhhh!!”

Sparks flew.

They both seemed to slide through the sky as they exchanged blows.

The dragon God of War pushed, but Sagetsu determined their direction with its spear defense and back dashes.

Their movements were as intertwined as a dance, but…

“…!”

The blue dragon suddenly roared and spread its wings. Sagetsu could tell it was going to use its main flight wings in this close-range battle.

“Are you going to make an instantaneous acceleration!?”

And…

“Do you understand what is providing you with that power!?”

The dragon-like God of War answered with its power. It threw all of its speed forward.

Sasuke heard an intense sound in the sky.

The dragon’s acceleration had blasted it toward Sagetsu.

“Look at Sagetsu!” shouted Saizou behind him.

He knew why she was shaking his shoulders.

Sagetsu’s pilot, Oniniwa, was Date’s 2nd Special Duty Officer. If he was being pushed back, this opponent had to be quite powerful. The large God of War named Sagetsu had already been fighting a defensive battle, but…

“But you know what? Look more closely. Humans have these things called techniques.”

Sasuke looked up.

At some point, the flow of ether had formed a blowing wind of light in the night sky.

“For the time being, he’s turned this around on the dragon.”

The dragon-like God of War had been blasted into the sky.

Sagetsu had countered its charge and thrown it.

Oniniwa felt himself sweating even in his God of War body.

When the enemy had accelerated before his eyes, he could only describe it as an explosion.

Staff fighting techniques included many ways of receiving an opponent’s attacks, sweeping them aside, and restraining them. He had tried to use one of those to restrain this enemy’s attack.

But he had failed.

A good chunk of the heavy armor on his God of War’s right shoulder had been torn away and his spear had broken.

As for the enemy…

“—————!”

It was coming.

It collided with him before he could turn around.

He felt the shock, his chest armor bent, and a few layers of the armor burst off, but Oniniwa saw it.

He saw the enemy’s face beyond the blue ether light in front of him. It was surrounded in blue armor, but…

“The Seiryu!”

Once he shouted that name, the Seiryu raised its right arm. It was going to make an extreme close range strike to finish him off, so…

“Fire!”

With that command, he made a certain decision.

He purged all of his armor with spell gunpowder.

Immediately afterwards, an explosion occurred between him and the Seiryu.

“…!?”

The Seiryu shook in confusion. Pushed by the purged armor, it moved away from him, creating a gap between them.

“…!”

He looked back to see four Gods of War with muskets at the ready.

The fireworks of gunfire were already flying and the bullets passed by his side.

“Take this!”

Sasuke saw it happen.

The flying bullets were spell bullets made to pierce ether defenses.

The four attacks of light raced toward the dragon and seemed certain to hit.

“The monster’s going to attack!”

As Saizou said that, she clung to his back. At the same time, he leaped backwards as if trying to kick the tree trunk away.

Before he could take a breath, it came. The dragon’s roar descended from the heavens in which the two moons floated.

Blue lightning struck the forested mountain range south of Yonezawa. And instead of a single bolt, eight struck at once. Then they raced along the mountain range as if to tear it all apart.

With tornadic movements, the pillars of blue light drew arcs as they blew away the trees and smashed the rocks. Sounds of felled trees and other destruction continued without end, the four flying bullets were devoured, and everything else was covered up as well.

“…!!”

The negative roar rang out, guiding the destruction.

The blue light resembled darker moonlight, but something still moved amid its swelling destruction: four Gods of War led by a demonic warrior God of War.

Sagetsu exchanged a few blows amid the racing blue light and swung its arms.

But it was not attacking the enemy.

“Fall back!”

Realizing what that meant, the other Gods of War took defensive stances just in time for Sagetsu to strike them.

The large God of War still had plenty of strength left after losing its armor, so it provided solid strikes to the other four Gods of War and knocked them away. Sagetsu had moved them from the storm of violent light to protect them.

The armor of their defensively raised arms had broken, but…

“Commander!”

One tossed its spear to Sagetsu while all four began to fly away.

Meanwhile, a bolt of blue lightning raced out. This new bolt was meant for Sagetsu.

“Ohhhh!”

As the pillar of light approached, Sagetsu pulled in the spear tossed its way and slammed the tip into the blue light.

It was a forceful and flexible gouge, but it lacked the power to stop the dragon’s lightning. The tip was torn apart starting from the front and the metal shaft immediately split apart.

The spear was destroyed.

But the attack had not been useless. The pillar of light was disturbed for about half a breath, so Sagetsu took its next action.

In the stormy wind, it moved its wings once and hopped on top of the broken spear’s shaft. It stood gently on its toes and swung its main wings upwards in a compact motion.

“Prepare yourself!”

Sagetsu flew vertically in the gap left by the slowed pillar of blue light. It flew toward the form standing in the air with the two moons overhead. It flew toward that which resembled both a God of War and a dragon.

“————!”

And Sagetsu drew a sword from each hip as it did so.

A moment later, the light and wind had vanished.

The violent dance of falling light was torn apart, the forest had been pushed apart by the pressure of the air, and two forms looked into the sky behind the fallen trees.

They were Sasuke and Saizou. Sasuke had turned to the side to hide behind a tree and Saizou frowned while pressing against his back.

“What was that?” she asked to the sky.

In the celestial canopy above the deep darkness of the night, three crescent moons had been added to the two moons already there.

One was formed by the horns on the shoulders of the demonic warrior God of War that flew boldly with its back to the moon. The other two were formed by the silver arcs of the swords in its hands.

But something that had been in the sky was now gone.

“Where did that monster of a God of War go?”

That dragon-like form was nowhere to be seen now. Sasuke and Saizou only saw the demonic warrior’s shoulders rising and falling as it breathed and the four Gods of War lower down looking confused while checking in every direction.

“Did they drive it off?” asked Sasuke.

“No, I doubt that God of War ran off anywhere. What about you?”

“I agree. It was more like it disappeared…or was closed away. I don’t really get it, though.”

His voice sounded rough and he did not turn back toward her, but he was looking up into the sky from the shadows. He then asked himself a question.

“Why was that thing here? If the rumors are accurate…”

Saizou also stared into the night sky as she listened to him speak.

“It’s supposed to ''belong'' to the Date clan.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 01|Chapter 01]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 03|Chapter 03]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 01

2016-01-24T03:14:54Z

Txtracer:

==Chapter 1: Anticipaters of Unseen Footing==
[[Image:Horizon4A_0047.jpg|thumb]]
''Even if your footing is uncertain

''You are fine as long as the horizontal remains level

'''Point Allocation (Restraint)

The afternoon sun was artificially created in a certain place.

That place was the vast interior of the Ariake. The metal space was large enough that the four walls looked hazy in the distance.

It was longer lengthwise than widthwise and eight docks were carved into it. On the docks sat massive Goliath cranes and girders even larger than the cranes; and each one contained a ship bearing the name “Musashi” followed by an individual name.

The Ariake had no windows. Instead, sign frames displaying the view outside were lined up along the ceiling, walls, and around the docks. Artificial environmental light based on the time of day outside was created by lamp spells.

As the Musashi was remodeled within, the Ariake contained the light of an early summer evening.

Most of the sounds inside were from moving cranes, or linked wagons carrying materials, or from the work taking place between the canopies covering parts of the ships or inside the wooden prefab construction buildings.

There were sounds of hammering, welding, saws, drills, and cargo being set down or dragged. There were also the occasional cheers when some piece of work was completed.

But another sound was added in.

It came from the rear of Okutama which had a few wide blocks removed and had holes filling its surface. Musashi Ariadust Academy’s bell was ringing.

It was already past time for school to be let out, so this bell was informing the ship that it was now 5:00 PM.

The artificial light illuminating it from overhead gradually began to dim, but the sounds of work continued. No one went home or even grabbed an early dinner. If anyone did leave, it was to buy some food for the entire group they were working with.

They all stubbornly remained at the work sites.

“Hey, you got a moment?”

A certain conversation would occasionally begin at one of the work sites. Even if no one said “yes”, the person would continue as if asking themselves.

“We can win once we finish this, can’t we?”

They would receive a few different answers, but the most common were the following two:

“Of course we can. What are you talking about?”

“Stop thinking about that and just do your duty.”

Sometimes the other person would reply with a silent bitter smile or try to avoid the issue with a joke, but it always ended in the same way:

“If we don’t do whatever we can, we’ll regret it later.”

“Yeah.”

Then, they would begin to chat. They would distract themselves from what lay ahead and what future awaited them, but they would keep those things in the corner of their vision.

Once a certain place started chatting, people found it hard to leave; so they all ended up chatting cheerfully.

“Hey, did Satomi’s Student Council President end up transferring in?”

“I always thought we had the same taste, but it looks like I was wrong.”

“I-I didn’t mean it like that! Wait, are you making crazy accusations in a plot to steal my AsaShoots collection!?”

“Hey, could you two quit drawing swords on each other and help carry these materials?”

As that conversation played out on Takao’s surface, a light God of War activated.

“Okay, East Ship Team 3B-26. Let’s go!”

They all followed the God of War and climbed from its tail ballast to its head.

“Hey.”

Their conversations always started with that word.

“The Satomi Student Council President sure is great, isn’t she?”

“What!? You aren’t overlooking the perfection in glasses that’s a year older and maybe even flatter, are you!?”

“But Naomasa’s been in the engine division so much lately that my points in the large religion nearly got to the point of a class change. I’ve been playing this minigame in between trips to carry supplies to her unit. This Musashi remodeling minigame sure has a lot to it. You just keep playing and playing, but it never ends.”

“Chief! Everyone but me is dangerous!”

But once they arrived on top of the dock, they all looked around.

The Musashi’s ships rose higher than the dock’s floor, but…

“About twenty percent to go. …We need to hurry up and stuff everything inside.”

They were definitely making progress on the remodeling and they could hear sounds of construction even now, but…

“We’re gradually focusing more on the most important parts. Is this what you call the last spurt?”

So…

“What do we do?”

“Yeah, what do we do once the remodeling is done? We need to figure that out pretty soon.”

As soon as someone said that, two objects passed by far overhead. They were people.

“The Tachibana couple? They go for a run while fighting each other every morning and evening, don’t they?

Recently, Tachibana Muneshige had decided to eat dinner outside.

Their residence in Musashi was on Tama’s second belowground floor. That was a part of the student dorms and the next wide block to the right was an underground nature district. The English Queen and the 1st Special Duty Officer lived nearby, so they got along with the neighbors well enough.

…''It is such a nice place.

But they had something to do besides spend their time there.

This was not training. It was a form of discipline.

They were eighty meters up from the dock’s floor off the starboard side of Musashino, Musashi’s front central ship.

Muneshige was going through rehabilitation with Gin’s help. He checked the feel of his legs as he ran on the reinforced wooden deck, clashed pieces of metal shaped like swords with Gin, and held combat training as sparks flew.

“…”

But as he ran alongside and exchanged attacks with Gin, Muneshige consciously held back his body that wanted to test his full strength.

He had not fully recovered yet. His muscles had not returned to their pre-Mikawa levels. If he tried to use his full strength now, the discrepancy between his memories and the present reality would place an unnecessary burden on him and confuse him. So…

…''I will hold back!

Impatience stewed inside his body, but he tamed it by telling himself he was controlling himself. If he could control himself, recovery would be a simple task.

He ran. He jumped over one of Gin’s attacks, flipped to avoid it, and sent out his own attack.

Even if they were only going for a run, Gin showed no restraint in her attacks. If he let his guard down for even a moment, attacks quick enough to leave him with a new injury would fly accurately into the places where he knew he was weak.

She only did so because she trusted him and because she was trying to rid him of his weaknesses.

…''And because she wants me to…

She wanted to return him to his position as the Peerless in the West.

And because he understood that, he did not go easy on her.

With each and every step, his footsteps traveled up his entire body and he spoke the words that came most naturally to him.

“Gin.”

“What is it, Master Muneshige?”

“Compared to when I could barely move, I am incredibly happy now.”

“You have not recovered yet. You still have a stiffness in your step.”

“Oops.”

He made sure to step rather than just let his foot drop. And as soon as he took a leap, a metal sword pierced the spot in which his foot had been.

“My attack was too slow because I warned you first,” Gin was entirely expressionless. “I have room for improvement too.”

She wore a vermilion track suit and gave a small nod.

“But I agree that this is a happy time.”

“Judge.”

Muneshige nodded in agreement, avoided an attack to his head, and reminded himself that victory was the only option from now on. After all…

…''This is the Far East and Musashi’s last chance.

''Musashi lost so much during the Battle of Mikatagahara three weeks ago,'' thought Muneshige.

Hashiba had sent Azuchi Castle to Kantou and it was still sitting above Edo and Satomi. That giant aerial warship belonged to the same class as the Musashi and it was holding southern Kantou while receiving supplies from Sagami.

…''You could probably say it’s in top form.

Meanwhile, the Musashi sat above the territory belonging to 5th Special Duty Officer Mitotsudaira’s clan. It was inside the Ariake, a giant dock designed specifically for the Musashi that had created a stealth defense barrier around itself.

The residential districts had been rearranged into transport ships and most of Musashi’s residents were living at the land ports in Mito territory. The eight ships had been split up between the eight land ports, so…

…''The people can’t set up a chain of dissatisfaction or plot to rebel.

“But,” muttered Muneshige to no one in particular as he ran and deflected Gin’s jab with the pommel of his sword. “This is their last chance.”

The same could be said of the members of Class Plum. Given the situation, they were all moving around busily, but each one of them would occasionally stare into the south even though there was nothing to see there.

Muneshige had grown accustomed enough to life on these eight ships that he hoped that was a sign of their will to fight Hashiba and not of their fear.

But it was true this was their last chance. And so they kept moving. Gin had only been using one hand before, but she finally moved her second to send out both her metal swords at once. And so Muneshige deflected them with both of his.

The two of them were moving as well.

But even if they were moving, it was not actual movement. Their current movements were preparations to ensure they won once they did take actual movement. That was what they had to do now, so…

“Gin, pour on the killer intent.”

“Judge.”

Gin nodded, narrowed her eyes, and sent out constant attacks.

These were not gentle attacks. They were serious attacks that targeted his legs when he landed or the backs of his joints. Muneshige avoided or dealt with them all.

“Nice killer intent, Gin!”

She smiled. It was a cold smile filled with killer intent.

''Wonderful,'' thought Muneshige. He had not had many chances to see that look on her face since they had started living together, so he was truly glad they had moved to Musashi.

He felt real accomplishment as he ran, leaped, and moved his body. This would continue even after they returned home. They would read books or divine websites on cutting edge combat techniques and check on the most cutting edge weapons.

…''Yes, I am so thankful we have so much to do.

All of them had lots to do. Those repairing the Musashi were pursuing that, those supporting the first group were pursuing that, and those “keeping the Musashi moving” were pursuing that.

It all went back to three weeks prior.

Muneshige had seen something during that loss three weeks ago, although he was not sure if it was a good thing or not.

These were the people who were moving the current world, but he had seen them desire even more and pursue themselves.

Muneshige had once been an inherited name holder like them.

He was not any longer.

Would he be able to become like that again? Would he be able to do something like that or do something even greater? He restrained his doubts with the sensation of his feet pressing against the ground.

He used his mind to restrain his stewing body and he used his body to restrain his stewing mind. And as he repeated that process…

“Gin.”

“What is it?”

“I will grow even stronger than before. Just like when I confessed to you.”

“That was not so much ‘growing strong’ as it was ‘refusing to give up until you won’.”

“That had not occurred to me.”

“You were so strong it did not need to occur to you.”

She nodded, suddenly put away her swords, and lined up alongside him. She then opened the wicker basket attached to her waist hard point and showed him the water bottle and rice balls wrapped in bamboo grass contained inside.

“Master Muneshige, it is about time for dinner.”

Gin picked up the wrapping with her giant false arm.

These were special rice balls. She had not made them with these false arms. Before Muneshige had woken that morning, she had brought out the false arms based on her original arms and made them.

She felt she should not hide those arms from him since he had given them to her and she had used them in her battle with Musashi’s Vice Chancellor. The arms were beginning to feel less special to her, but…

…''Am I being oversensitive when I hesitate to use them in public?

But since they and Musashi were coming up on their last chance, hesitating to use anything available to her would be dangerous. So she was gradually trying to accustom herself to using them in public, but she could not change the part of her that still needed a reason to use them.

…''So it is all for Master Muneshige.

He made for the all-purpose excuse.

…''I would expect no less of Master Muneshige.

Currently, she used those false arms for combat and rice ball making, but she felt that was evidence of the changing nature of all things. All things and people would sometimes do what one expected and other times would not. Her relationship with him was a perfect example. The future destined for her by her inherited name had greatly changed with his interference and Musashi’s interference, but…

“Today, I mostly made the soft-boiled egg and chicken ham rice balls you like so much.”

“Are you sure you should have done that? The egg supply is pretty limited.”

“Please thank me.”

“Judge. Thank you very much. …I can’t wait to try them.”

“Judge.” Gin nodded and glanced around the area. “About what the 1st Special Duty Officer contacted us about…”

“Judge. I wasn’t sure whether he should have told us about that. …It sounds like things are finally beginning to move. A representative of the Date clan will arrive tonight for an unofficial meeting.”

“Judge. And we were all asked to gather tonight in preparation. Master Muneshige, does this mean we are one of them now? I do not recall giving our consent.”

“I have a feeling those people think everyone is one of them.”

“True.”

Gin sighed because she could not understand that way of thinking.

But as she recalled the information on the surrounding nations she and Muneshige had been gathering lately, she raised her head as emotion filled her face.

“Oushuu had its foundation in Qing-Takeda’s power and in the stability Matsudaira will bring in the future, so they had completed their history recreations in a relatively peaceful manner that nearly qualifies as a mere discussion. But…”

“But the Mogami clan in west Oushuu, Date in the east, and Sviet Rus have all stopped everything they were doing.”

That had happened only a few days before. As Gin ran, she looked up at the sign frame reproducing the external light.

“That means Oushuu has cast aside its trust in Matsudaira’s future stability after the loss three weeks ago.”

“It means the real history recreation and the real Warring States era has arrived in Oushuu.” Muneshige smiled. “So now it’s our turn to crush the future someone thought was set in stone.”

He had once done exactly that to her, so she could only trust him when he said that.

Gin took a slow breath and nodded once to convince herself.

“Then let us eat dinner.”

With that, she placed the water bottle and bamboo grass wrapping on her false arm.

“…!”

And she forcefully threw them high into the air ahead of her.

Muneshige saw his dinner hang in the air for an impressively long time.

The throw from Gin’s false arm refused to fall back down. Meanwhile, he nodded her way.

“Please go on ahead, Gin.”

“Judge. I have my own route, so go on without me, Master Muneshige. I need to greet a few people afterwards, though.”

When he spotted some sweat on her brow, he smiled her way.

“I told you to go on without me, Master Muneshige.”

“Oh, I was just realizing how lucky I was to have moved here since it lets me see you so full of life, Gin.”

She wrinkled her brow, but her mouth moved in a slight wave. Her cheeks also flushed.

“I should have thrown it so high and far you couldn’t see it.”

“Not to worry. I have excellent eyesight.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

But then she nodded again and jumped to the right.

She did not hesitate to throw herself into the air at a height of eighty meters.

As she fell, she stretched out and gave a midair bow to the transport Technohexen flying by.

And then…

…''Arcabuz Cruz.

She fired blanks to launch her body through the air. She directed herself to the thick rope passageway leading starboard to Tama.

At the same time, Muneshige began to run.

He did not use his full strength. He focused on the soles of his feet and took each step with care. First, he set his heel down, bent his knee, and pulled his body forward. Then, as he tilted his balance forward, he would use the arch of his sole to stand on his tiptoe. From there, he would place his big toe on the floor and press down like he was tearing into the floor.

“…!”

He filled himself with reliable acceleration.

Without rushing or hurrying, Muneshige simply accelerated forward as if memorizing each and every step.

He could see the transportation district on the port-most long block to his left.

His dinner was falling and…

…''It is falling off the edge of the ship.

That was too far to reach and there were no thick rope passageways in the area.

“I’ll have to go for some interesting footing on this one. I would expect no less of Gin.”

He accelerated and leaped.

He lifted his left leg and jumped.

His initial destination was the first floor roof of a warehouse in the transportation district. First, he placed his left leg on a small wooden box left on the ground and used it as a stepping stone.

“…”

As if stepping over it, he leaped toward the warehouse roof.

He made a midair flip as he passed over the heads of the transportation workers helping with the remodeling.

“Excuse me.”

He raised a hand of greeting as they gave shouts of “Oh!” or “That’s amazing!” and he landed on the rooftop.

He used the motion of his landing to briefly sink forward and used his body like a spring.

He felt the momentum building in his body.

“Toh.”

So he kicked sideways and made another flip in midair. Just as his feet circled downwards again, he leaped toward the third floor rooftop of the warehouse across the way.

He landed, leaned forward, moved his right leg forward, and ran across the roof toward his dinner.

He did not stop and he quickly reached the edge of the roof leading toward the edge of the ship.

“Now, then.”

He jumped from the elevated roof and flung himself into the empty space beyond the ship’s edge.

Everything vanished below his feet and the movement of the wind changed.

This was a dangerous action, but it felt almost nostalgic to him.

…''I helped prepare the Grande y Felicísima Armada after all.”

Knowing how to move between ships in a large fleet and being trained in naval hand-to-hand combat were both necessary for Tres España and their history recreation of the Armada Battle.

He reached a hand out in midair while recalling older times.

The dinner Gin had made was there.

He reached it, grabbed it, opened the bamboo grass wrapping as he pulled it in, grabbed one of the handmade rice balls, and put it in his mouth.

…''Oh, soy sauce tortilla flavor.

''Wonderful,'' he felt while flipping around in midair and pointing his legs downward. He maintained a falling stance as he dropped toward his destination.

“Excuse me.”

A tugboat was there in order to move transport ships alongside the Musashi. Gin had likely thrown his dinner only after noticing the boat’s presence. Muneshige landed on the Shinto rope that provided shock absorption on the sides of the bow and he crouched down to prepare for his next jump.

“Thank you very much.”

He raised a hand in response to the crews’ raised hands and he made his jump.

His target was Musashino’s outer hull.

…''I need to land on the wall and then…

He had to run up it. The 1st Special Duty Officer had taught him this form of training and he had improved enough to pull this off. However…

“Oh?”

He spotted a familiar face on the work scaffolding halfway up Musashino’s hull.

It was Honda Futayo.

Futayo placed a foot on Musashino’s wall-like outer hull.

She was forty meters from the deck at the top, so if she was to climb that height with only her feet…

…''It truly becomes a “wall” at about the ten meter mark.

But…

“That means I cannot actually climb this wall.”

If she could not climb the wall after losing her initial speed, that meant she could not climb or balance on the wall with only her initial kick.

It sounded simple, but it was actually quite difficult. The ninja who had taught it to her had raised his index finger and told her the following:

“Muneshige-dono trains this way every single day.”

It had sounded like something from a bogus mail-order advertisement. But…

“————”

She looked up and really did see Muneshige there.

Futayo watched Muneshige.

…''It looks like he jumped to the wall from that tugboat passing by overhead.

He was approximately fifteen meters above her.

He placed one foot above the other on the wall and stood there. He was looking at her, but he was not looking down on her. He turned his definite gaze in her direction.

Was she being conceited if it looked like he was challenging her to climb up after him?

She had planned to climb the wall regardless.

She wanted to train. She was always completing her own sort of training, but she had recently started wondering if she should try adding on some different or extra training, whatever that might be.

But she was not sure what kind of training she should add on. Part of her felt she could add on a few more programs derived from her normal training, but…

…''Would that really work?

She was not sure how to put it.

…''What can I do to get stronger?
That was a vague question. She did not know what it was she lacked.

She knew she had to avoid any training that had no direct connection to her strength. Her time as the Far East’s Vice Chancellor and the time Musashi would remain safe were both short. So she had asked the ninja. She had asked him to tell her what kind of training Muneshige and Gin did, since she had fought both of them.

“—————”

Futayo looked up. Muneshige stood fifteen meters above her and he was looking at her.

If it was only due to her conceit that he seemed to be challenging her, then why was he looking at her?

She did not know, but…

“Here I come.”

She filled herself with initial speed.

Muneshige saw Futayo coming up.

''She’s serious,'' was his initial impression.

Her acceleration spell, Soaring Wings, purified away everything extraneous to her acceleration, but it was not active at the moment. She intended to make the climb with her pure strength and skill.

And she started up.

She rose with the speed of a fall.

She immediately covered about seven meters. She seemed within arm’s reach, but that was an optical illusion. The speed of her approach had caused an error in his judgment of her position relative to his.

But she was definitely approaching.

She placed her feet on the wall and let her knees sink forwards to press her weight against the wall.

“Hoo.”

With a single breath, she relaxed her strength and pulled her body up with the foot caught on the wall. Instead of kicking down, she needed to pull herself up.

She covered three more meters with a single step, so she would reach Muneshige in another two steps.

So he began as well.

…''Now, then.

He could not just watch. This was his time to train.

When he had noticed her and realized what she was trying to do, he had felt something.

If he had spoken that feeling aloud, it could easily have been viewed as conceit, so he had left it unsaid and sealed it deep in his heart.

He knew what he needed to do now.

“…!”

He began running up the wall as a standard part of his training.

Futayo saw Muneshige start climbing up ahead.

He seemed to be testing her, he seemed to be ignoring her, and he seemed to be telling her to follow him.

…''And…

She did not understand, but she did know that the person running out ahead of her had held an inherited name.

She thought on the term “inherited name”.

She had fought inherited name holders a few times and had barely scraped by with victory. Her father had held an inherited name and he had trained her and taught her quite a bit. But…

…''What does it mean?

She asked herself what meaning an inherited name held.

Until recently, Futayo had thought of inherited names as the textbooks had taught her to.

According to the textbooks, their holders bore the responsibility to move history and the world. Her father had held one, so she had seen that for herself several times. They lived according to the history recorded in the automatically-updated history book known as the Testament.

Recreating the Testament’s history was everything to them.

The Testament’s history was long.

…''Long ago.

When the people had descended to this planet, every part of the world save the Far East where the Environmental Gods were had been given too great a recovery; so the Far East had been the only livable place. So the people had started a war over that land and nearly wiped themselves out again. Having learned their lesson, the people had known they could not leave the state of the world to people and had decided to obey proven history instead. That was what Futayo had been taught in class.

The rules concerning inherited names had been developed back then. And when they had made the Testament to provide instructions, they had made sure it automatically revealed only the next hundred years of history to make sure no one tried to get their hands on too much power.

That way, the people could once more develop to the point of ascending to heaven without destroying themselves.

That was known as the Anti-Decline Pro-Tuning Movement and, due to the environmental issues, another Far East in an alternate space had been created. Everyone but the Far Easterners had moved to that Harmonic World and fulfilled the Testament’s instructions there.

And before history was enclosed within the Testament, the different copies had been distributed to those that were determined to be the ancestors of what would become great nations in the future. That way, the inherited name holders could fulfill their duty to protect the world and to help it redevelop.

Futayo had once asked her father why they even bothered going through with the inherited names and history recreation. She had asked why they didn’t focus on technological development so they could ascend to heaven as soon as possible.

This had been her father’s answer:

“Hey, Kazuno, why is that?”

…''My father truly was honest about the things he did not know.

After Kazuno had given her father a look of pure scorn, she had sat politely down and said the following:

“Any kind of competition brings conflict. And some people were in better positions than others. After all, the Far East was the only safe land. Everywhere else had been so recovered so much that no one could live there anymore.”

“Couldn’t they have all worked together?”

“That’s a good question, Futayo. I was thinking the same thing, Kazuno. …Wait, why are you only glaring at me!?”

“Futayo-sama.” Kazuno had gestured toward Futayo’s father. “Even this house has a head of the household. Technically.”

“Judge. That would be my father.”

“Judge. Now, Futayo-sama. If everyone were to work together in a single group with the fate of the world at stake, how would they select the ‘head of the household’? And even if they found a way, would everyone really be satisfied with that selection? Would everyone feel confident that selection would allow them to ascend into heaven? And…”

And…

“The technological development would surely take many generations of work. But if they had to select a ‘head of the household’ for their group, could they really continue to select a satisfactory individual for generations?”

“They wouldn’t know until they tried…”

At that point, it had hit her.

If they had tried that, it would have caused conflict and they would have wiped each other out. When she had trailed off, Kazuno had given her a rare smile.

“Do you understand now? Out of a sense of responsibility for the future generations, the people back then cast aside their ambitions to name themselves the leader and instead left their fate in the hands of something else. They decided to reference the history of the past age, when the people truly did ascend into heaven.”

That was the basis on which her father and the others had been moving the world.

Her father’s friends in Mikawa, the automatons with inherited names, and everyone else had done so. But…

…''Why?

The destruction of Mikawa that had taken her father away had not been a part of the history recreation. What had they been thinking? And…

“—————”

Futayo thought about her father who had opposed the history recreation and about those who had obeyed it.

…''They’re gone.

Anne and Luynes of Hexagone Française, Matsunaga of P.A. Oda, Yoshitsune of Qing-Takeda, and Yoshiyori of Satomi had either obeyed or disobeyed the history recreation, but their decisions had all led them to disappear as her father had.

…''What does it mean?

Inherited name holders were supposed to have a responsibility to obey the Testament and move both history and the world, but…

“What does it mean?”

Futayo asked a question under her breath as she watched the back of the former inherited name holder moving up ahead.

“When one inherits a name and follows the world and its history,” she asked. “Is their death assumed?”

Futayo accelerated.

She swung her body upwards to run straight up the wall.

She could see Muneshige’s back up ahead.

She could catch up. She only needed to move a little further. But she felt heavy. The object in her right hand felt heavy.

It was not Tonbokiri. It was a spare provided by Kantou IZUMO. It artificially reproduced the weapon’s functions and its artificial intelligence was only based on the original.

However, its weight and the distribution thereof were identical to the real one.

…''Even though it is a fake.

It was a fake, yet the weight alone was real.

…''It’s almost like…

What was it like? The thought reached her for just a moment.

“——————”

And in that moment, her feet failed to grasp the wall.

“…”

Balanced on her heels, her body bent back on the wall.

She could not recover.

She was going to fall with her back pointed down.

“Kh…”

In that instant, Muneshige looked back.

He reached out his hand and she tried to grab it.

…''No.

She did not know what she was rejecting, but that thought definitely reached her.

And a moment later, she fell.

She had failed.

Gin saw it happen from Tama’s port deck after crossing the thick rope passageway.

Futayo fell and her back slammed into the scaffolding below.

The people on the scaffolding turned around and the tugboat stopped moving, but Muneshige stopped on the wall and raised a hand toward them all.

He was telling them this was just a part of their training. That was true and preserving the reputation of their Vice Chancellor was important for Musashi at the moment. But…

“She has seemed somehow exhausted ever since Mikatagahara.”

Gin frowned.

“If this continues, she has no future.”

Futayo lay face-up on the scaffolding of hardened bamboo and wooden boards.

She was out of breath and her pulse was racing. Both were caused by this unexpected mistake and by the fear of falling backwards without being able to see where she was headed.

''I can’t believe this,'' she thought in the back of her mind.

Something seemed to be catching at her heart and it would occasionally take over her entire body. At the most crucial moments or when she was making a decision, something seemed to cut across in front of her, obscuring her vision.

What was it?

She did not know.

As she lay face-up, she could see Musashino’s starboard hull and the Ariake’s ceiling supported by trusses. The boards behind her back swayed with her breathing and the pain gradually reached her as heat.

She belatedly realized her hand was touching something.

It was Tonbokiri’s spare. It contained the extension capability and had an artificial cutting power that used a spell, but she had yet to use the latter. Its OS was made to be compatible with the real one, and…

…''I cannot use this Tonbokiri until it recognizes me as its master.

It was a troublesome authorization function, but restraints like that were necessary for a weapon that could hurt someone. Also, she was currently living in the Ariake rather than facing an enemy.

She intended to eventually have the Tonbo Spare recognize her as its master and then wait for the real one to return. At that point, she had planned to have the spare’s memories transferred to the real one so it would know she had never parted with it.

…''But will that actually work out?

For some reason, she was not so sure since Mikatagahara.

“Am I…?”

Had she become a coward?

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Prologue|Prologue]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 02|Chapter 02]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 4A Prologue

2016-01-22T01:44:50Z

Txtracer:

==Prologue: Those with their Feet in a Winding Stream==
[[Image:Horizon4A_0021.jpg|thumb]]
''Where is the final destination

''Of all those twists and turns?

'''Point Allocation (Liberalism)

Light poured down from high in the sky.

It was the sunlight of an early summer afternoon.

More than warmth, it carried a stabbing heat, and it cast deep shadows across the land.

Those shadows created waves on a three square kilometer grassy field surrounded by forest.

A faint breeze washed across the mown grass, creating waves.

But there was a gap in the waves. A small stream cut south to north across the middle of the field.

Two figures sat on the northern downstream bank on the southern end of that stream of shadowy water. Their legs were cooling off in the water nearly up to the knee, but neither of them had human form.

One was a girl-character bedsheet with legs growing from it and the other was a body pillow.

The body pillow kicked up the water with its normal legs. It was a carefree motion. With the movement of a long acquaintance, it turned its air hole toward the sheet.

“Wow, it’s already the afternoon and the water’s still cold! I feel like a child again, Koni-tan!”

“Yes, it’s a shame no one else could escape the temporary provisional council building, Nobu-tan!”

Still sitting, they both swayed back and forth while singing an anime OP.

“♪Don’t you look down on yourself like that. Overthrow yourself so you have to look up at yourself. You can argue your case with incredible ease. Trust in yourself and your dreams will come true. If you’ve hit a dead end with the lesser cuckoo, just show your purity with a Ha-Ra-Ki-Ri♪”

After singing, the body pillow sighed and the suddenly looked back to the north.

A few white and black forms were visible beyond the tall grass hiding them. They were large transport ships bearing Musashi’s emblem. The body pillow spoke up when he saw them in the sunlight.

“Since the Musashi is being remodeled in the Kantou Izumo’s Ariake dock, the residents, facilities, and companies not needed for the remodeling are being carried out.”

The body pillow continued speaking.

“Even those of us on the Provisional Council are using the temporary Provisional Council building at the first land port along with the Musashino’s ships.”

As he spoke, the wind blew. A few ships measuring a dozen meters were ascending from the ships docked at the land port to north.

But they stopped after reaching a certain height.

As the body pillow and sheet watched, cargo was carried out from the floating ships’ decks and side hatches. The altitude differences were used to send the cargo along the thick rope passageways connecting the ships.

“So the early afternoon cargo transportation has begun. Mito’s land ports were originally divided up so other nations could use them, but now they’re being used by the transport ships providing living spaces for the Musashi’s eight ships. The Musashi’s cities have rearranged their wide blocks into transport ships that have docked at those land ports separated by the forests. As for the Musashi itself…”

The body pillow looked even further north.

Green mountains were visible in the distance and the sky could be seen twenty kilometers away.

“Shirakawa, the entrance to Oushuu. The Ariake is remodeling the Musashi there.”

“Only because Date holds eastern Oushuu and they won’t let us move any further north because they’re ‘busy’. And we can’t move into Siberia in western Oushuu because Mogami and Sviet Rus’s Uesugi are also putting off making a decision. Time passes, but little else happens.”

The sheet sighed, but the body pillow said that was not necessarily a bad thing.

“Time is useful. The Musashi’s remodeling will be complete soon and we can get somewhat used to living in these divided temporary homes. It wasn’t a bad decision by the Student Council after the loss at Mikatagahara.”

“True.” The sheet swayed as it sighed in a different way from before. “They moved the people from the Musashi so they wouldn’t see the damage and split them up into eight groups so they couldn’t form a union of negativity. And by sending them down to the surface and giving them a busy lifestyle they aren’t used to, they get a nice change of pace and can’t lose themselves in their negative emotions.”

“And they were also given the choice to leave the ships and live in Mito’s castle town. …Also, the manufacturing districts are making parts for the Musashi and volunteers can return to the Musashi to help with the remodeling for some bonus pay. They’re given a way out and their overall unity is given a chance to recover.”

“Was that Masazumi-kun’s decision?”

“Mostly,” said the body pillow. “But some of the arrangements were not made by her. That was done by the Student Council’s underclassmen.”

“I see. Do you mean Ookubo and Kanou?”

“Yes.” The body pillow nodded. “That’s Ookubo-kun’s daughter. …She is the daughter of a colleague who inherited the Ookubo name before Mikawa was cleared out. Afterwards, he came to Musashi like I did. I had thought he was living a fairly low-key life, but his daughter has done enough to inherit the names of Ookubo Tadachika and Nagayasu. Add in Kanou, the inherited name automaton that came with them from Mikawa, and they are certainly skilled. …Not as much as Masazumi, but they are some people to watch among the second years.”

“Kh… I can’t stand how you hint at the connections you have there.”

“According to the Testament descriptions, the Honda and Ookubo clans have some political battles. It would help me quite a bit if Masazumi could get along with them. But…politics is more than a domestic affair. Isn’t that right, Koni-tan?”

“Judge. You mean Hashiba’s warriors which have stopped moving north for the history recreation of the Korean invasion in Edo and the reactions from Date, Mogami, Uesugi, and the other Kantou powers?”

“Yes. And do you remember what Lady Yoshitsune said during the Battle of Mikatagahara?”

“Judge.” The sheet nodded and turned its air hole toward the body pillow. “Make allies of Date and Uesugi.”

“That means it would be best to actively try to make allies of Date and Uesugi.”

A boy in glasses drew a map of Oushuu on the blackboard.

The armband on his short sleeve read “Secretary – Neshinbara Toussaint”.

…''Well, they probably already understand all this.

He looked across the sparsely filled classroom. This was Class 3-Plum of Musashi Ariadust Academy at the back of Okutama, Musashi’s rear central ship. He could see all of the Musashi outside the window. He could also see the interior of the Ariake, the specialized dock the Musashi had sunken into.

The Ariake looked like a vast hole from here. Large land bridges passed by on either side and lifts covered the walls and ceiling, but it was mostly an IZUMO land port with a roof.

The Musashi was contained within, but this was different from before. Many objects covered the surface of the eight ships, scaffolding surrounded them, or pieces were missing.

…''It’s being remodeled. And this time, it’s getting weapons.

Below the coverings, it was being remodeled on the pretext of acting as a mercenary for other nations. Some were meant for defense and they had apparently reached the testing phase.

''I wonder how this will turn out. I hope it’s cool. I hope the cannons have names,'' thought Neshinbara as he heard a woman’s voice from the side. It was Oriotorai who had removed her track suit jacket. She was checking over some datasheets on where the restaurants on the Musashi’s surface and interior had moved.

“Okay, okay. Just because you’re using the self-study time for a meeting is no excuse for getting distracted. Asama, Mitotsudaira, Masazumi, and everyone waiting for work may be out, but make sure you do this right. …So Neshinbara, what do you think about joining forces with Sviet Rus’s Uesugi?”

“Oh, judge.” Neshinbara continued speaking. “According to the Testament, Date joins Matsudaira for Sekigahara and Uesugi joins Hashiba, so the standard thinking would be to assume allying with Uesugi will be difficult. The powerful nation of Mogami stands between them, but since it shrinks after Sekigahara, going for time-limited cooperation would be useful.”

Someone spoke up from the back of the classroom. It was Naito, with her six gold wings. She was using a Magie Figur to communicate with Naruze who was helping transport cargo outside.

“Mogami declines and then Date becomes the ruler of Oushuu, right? So would we be getting Date’s support and using their influence to get Uesugi on our side?”

“I doubt it would be that simple. Date, Mogami, and Sviet Rus’s Uesugi have had connections for a long time and they have continued their history recreation through discussions rather than battle.”

That comment came from Crossunite who sat next to Mary, who wore an English summer uniform.

He opened a sign frame by the ceiling so everyone could see. It displayed a bird’s-eye-view map of Oushuu to Jouetsu, but it contained several large red circles and geometric shapes.

“These are the many Harmonic Territories that Oushuu and Sviet Rus are well known for.”

They almost entirely filled Oushuu and Sviet Rus. More of the map was covered in red than was not. Ohiroshiki sighed and spoke up while looking almost straight up at the map.

“Sviet Rus, Mogami, and Date have all fortified themselves behind these natural defenses, haven’t they?”

“Judge. They have techniques for living in the freezing cold that were cultivated in the Harmonic Divine States. And they use them to live in those vast Harmonic Territories. Not even the Musashi can approach without using the safe corridors. When the Harmonic Divine States collapsed, the few regions that collapsed first ended up like this; but Oushuu has more than anywhere else and has become very self-sufficient.”

''Yes, Musashi’s ability to trade is difficult to use here,'' agreed Neshinbara.

…''Oushuu has long been wary of outsiders.

They had historical connections from long ago, so they had been able to handle everything through peaceful discussions.

“In the Age of Dawn before the Testament was made, Oushuu is said to have been the site of the most intense fighting in the war over the Far East’s land. That fighting was treated as an early recreation of the later eastern expeditions of the successive imperial courts, so a relatively peaceful age began on the Far Eastern side of things. But with the confusion of the Kamakura Shogunate’s establishment and the Harmonic Unification War, it became a dangerous region once more. Especially since the collapse of the many Harmonic regions caused a resonance that affected the surrounding Far Eastern ley lines. That attuned the Far Eastern land with the Harmonic regions, making them just as frigid.”

So…

“Because the Musashi would normally have such a hard time getting in, the Provisional Council and the heads of committees will be sent in first. But we can’t spare any time on foreign diplomacy with the remodeling going on, so we can’t send anyone out to the other nations. …Musashi has to effectively cut off all diplomacy at the moment.”

“Isn’t that bad?”

The nudist was sitting in his desk wearing swim trunks.

Neshinbara considered ignoring him.

But the musician of an entertainer god built up internal Blessings by offering up performances, so that was probably what this was. It was not just his personal preference. That had to be it. And so Neshinbara answered the idiot.

“Musashi has not interacted with any other nation for about three weeks now. The Hirazumo hidden city of Oushuu Fujiwara gave us some initial supplies, but they’ve only been watching since.”

“I see.”

Seeing the idiot pout his lips and lose himself in thought, Neshinbara smiled in his heart.

He had shown a lot of interest in these meetings lately.

Of course, he never seemed to actually be listening. It was less about him understanding what was being said and more an interest in what everyone was involved in and what they were doing. But…

…''I wonder.

Long ago, he had said he wanted to create a kingdom to make everyone’s dreams come true. And by rescuing his princess, he had started moving in that direction; but he was watching what the rulers of other nations did, asking the Reine des Garous about it, and had overcome the defeat at Mikatagahara.

…''I really do wonder.

They were acting on the world domination and retrieval of the Logismoi Óplo he had started at Mikawa.

Since they were on the move, in a way, he was not with them. His objective remained unchanged, so he only needed to watch.

''But,'' thought Neshinbara. ''What if he found a way to do more than watch and actually took part? Would we no longer have anything like Mikatagahara happen?

''I do wonder. Am I viewing him as too much of a hero? But he’s still peeping and doing stupid things. When he leaves these meetings, he keeps smiling and doing weird things like he always has.

…''I wonder.

“Yes.”

Neshinbara nodded and spoke. He inhaled, changed his line of thought, and glanced over at the idiot for just a moment.

“This is pretty bad, but we do have an intermediary even with diplomacy cut off. Oushuu has always been a resistant land, but once you get close, they treat you like family. …The merchants on both sides are secretly trading to keep business booming, aren’t they?”

“Judge.”

Heidi nodded from right in front of the teacher’s desk. Shirojiro was out working and she was assisting him via divine transmission.

“We’ve mainly been dealing in food. But the most valuable items are the Oushuu-made Orei Metallo. Konishi-sama of the Provisional Council is handling most of that. We’re doing our best to see if we can steal some of that business from him.”

“I’m not about to lose to the Student Council. This deal is going to make me a lot of money, after all. I can buy the Orei Metallo from Date and Mogami’s ruins and sell them directly to IZUMO. It’s especially profitable with the remodeling going on.”

As the sheet spoke with its legs soaking in the small stream, the body pillow sitting next to it nodded.

“We need to show them that we are still their superiors. …But Koni-tan, you started to say something before we all began dancing in the viewing room, didn’t you? What happened in the Date clan? …Two weeks ago, Hashiba visited Date, Mogami, and Sviet Rus to ‘check on their history recreation’. Sviet Rus is being invaded by P.A. Oda’s Shibata, but Mogami and Date both stopped everything they were doing, didn’t they? Of course, I’m sure that was meant to show that Oushuu couldn’t rely on Musashi and to show what a threat Hashiba is to them.”

“Judge.” The sheet kicked at the water. “The Date clan and Mogami have stopped moving. But based on some observations, there are occasional massive thunder clouds at night so aerial ships cannot pass through. Also…”

“Also?”

“Judge. This is an unrelated matter, but both Date and Mogami sent out a ship bearing signs of mourning. They were both sent south, toward Azuchi Castle.”

“Date and Mogami sent someone who died to Hashiba? Did someone have to take responsibility when faced with the threat of Hashiba?”

“I don’t know.” The sheet swayed gently to the side. “But Hashiba’s forces responded by sending a ship to Kantou. Are you familiar with the Jurakudai? That castle belongs to Hashiba Hidetsugu, Hashiba’s nephew whose name had supposedly not been inherited yet. In other words…”

“Don’t say it all. Someone has inherited the name of Hashiba Hidetsugu.”

The body pillow’s words suddenly grew icy.

“I see,” he said before slowly turning toward the sheet. “You understand, don’t you? Ha ha. This is very dangerous.”

“Yes. This is quite dangerous, but it is also a chance to influence some great historical upheaval.”

“Ha ha ha.” The body pillow bent over in laugher. “Is this Hashiba’s thoughtfulness or thoughtlessness? Either way, history is on the move and Hashiba has a blade against Date and Mogami’s throats. Masazumi and the others have their work cut out for them.”

“Judge. Based on my investigation, if you include that fox woman’s movements, this is actually the opposite-…”

As soon as he said that, something flew their way from the north.

“Oh?”

It was a purifying attack using an exorcism arrow.

The sheet and body pillow rapidly went on the defensive and stomped their feet as the glowing attack arrived.

“Seppuku Barrier!!!”

Then their air holes exchanged a glance.

“Run away!!”

It exploded.

[[Image:Horizon4A_0035.jpg|thumb]]

“Did you get them, Asama?”

After leaving the first land port’s forest on Mito land, Masazumi was blinded by the bright sunlight.

When she called to the archer in a summer uniform who stood on the grass up ahead, that other girl tilted her head while finishing her follow-through. Her Mouse, Hanami, and her own black hair fluttered in the slight breeze.

“Hmm. The homing doesn’t seem to work well when you don’t know their identity. I blew away everything in the area, but it’s hard to say I actually hit them. We need to check the corpses.”

“Judge. Sorry about all the trouble. The residents reported some white figures dancing in the temporary government building. …I assume it’s some new kind of mysterious phenomenon.”

“Agreed. With the remodeling of the Musashi and the cities split up, our shrine’s divine protection is split between them too. We’re managing with some help from the local Kashima Shrine, though.”

Asama nodded, folded up her bow, and stowed it inside her side skirt through the slit.

''We sure have been busy since changing to our summer uniforms,'' thought Masazumi as she watched.

Then again, the only difference for Masazumi was the lack of a coat and the short sleeves.

However, she had worn a boy’s inner suit for previous years, so she had had some extra room around the chest and had worn pants.

…''The boy’s one always felt drafty, but the girl’s one feels chilly in its own more sudden way.

The girl’s suit was fit to her body, so she could feel her sweaty skin cooled by the air. The temperature difference between sun and shade was much more noticeable this way.

…''Mukai can sense the temperature around her as well as the sound, but is that due to this inner suit?

She wondered if it bothered any of the others as she looked over at Asama.

“Now, let’s go check the site of the blast.”

“Yes,” agreed Asama just as someone else stepped between the two of them.

Masazumi voiced her surprise at the sudden appearance, but this new figure only brushed her plentiful silver hair back into place. Then she turned her gold eyes toward Masazumi.

“I, 5th Special Duty Officer Nate Mitotsudaira, am here to protect you, Vice President. …This may be my territory, but aren’t we acting a little too freely?”

Mitotsudaira’s warning was given with a bitter smile in her voice. The chain-supplying obelisks were attached to the hard points on either side of her waist and she shrugged while looking to both Asama and Masazumi.

“Then again, it is important to show off that the Vice President and the Asama Shrine are working to maintain peace. According to Neshinbara, the drop in the Student Council’s approval rating is showing signs of stopping.”

“That’s because everything that’s making it drop is over now. Now it will naturally recover, starting from the areas of economic activity.”

“Heh heh. You learned that from Heidi, didn’t you?”

“I’m busy, so I choose to rely on anyone I can.”

Masazumi took a breath and pointed toward the site of destruction on the southern end of the waterway. Mitotsudaira started forward, Asama followed, and she took the rear.

They began to walk.

The site Masazumi found was less damaged than expected.

“I detonated it in midair, so the stream shouldn’t have been damaged. It only took out some of the grass.”

“There’s only two centimeters of grass on the river bank.”

Masazumi did not entirely understand, but based on Mitotsudaira’s expression that must have been impressive accuracy.

At any rate, Asama covered her right eye and checked around with her false eye while Mitotsudaira began to wiggle her nose. Meanwhile, Masazumi had nothing to do but look around.

…''This is a pretty large area of land.

All of the land, including the land ports, belonged to Mito Matsudaira and thus Mitotsudaira. The land had not been well taken care of since Mitotsudaira lived in Musashi, but they were using it now after maintaining it.

The Testament Union recognized the land as Mito Matsudaira land, so it was actually land from after the Matsudaira clan’s reign began, but…

…''That means Hashiba can’t easily interfere since she’s from a previous era.

That was partially why they had escaped to Mito.

It felt like they were abusing their connections, but Masazumi shuddered when she considered what would have happened without Mitotsudaira. Mitotsudaira simply smiled bitterly, but…

“It’s a pretty good solution for us.”

Masazumi felt like she was doing nothing but rely on others, but her job was to make political decisions and negotiate. With no way to negotiate with Oushuu or Sviet Rus, she was of secondary importance.

She approached enough to catch the scent of Mitotsudaira’s hair.

“By the way, how are the appeals from the different ships going?”

“Eh? Oh, right. Mary and the 1st Special Duty Officer are scheduled to go around this afternoon. Those two should be able to listen to the representatives of the ships’ residents well enough.”

“Judge. If it was me, I’d probably try to dissuade them on the spot.”

Masazumi heard two bitter laughs and felt a slight warmth in her cheeks. She told herself to assume it meant they understood her, but it also felt like they were treating her like a child.

“I wonder if I’m using Mary here. She does seem like the best person for the job, though.”

Asama turned her way.

“I think Mary was delighted to be made the 1st Special Duty Officer’s aide.”

“Judge. I know that, but there’s a subjective and an objective way of looking at it.”

“Then,” said Mitotsudaira. “Stop using a negative subjective way of looking at it, Masazumi.”

Mitotsudaira remained facing forward as she spoke without a smile on her serious expression.

“Leave anything negative to our king.”

''To him?'' thought Masazumi. But at the same time…

“…Our king, huh?”

Aoi seemed the same as always. He was always smiling, doing stupid things, and half-helping half-hindering people’s work. He did have a way of helping people relax, but that was the same as always too. Yet she always thought the same thing when she looked at him.

…''You need to pull yourself together.

She thought that to herself, not to the idiot.

Aoi had admonished her during the Battle of Mikatagahara. He had said she was not her usual self.

Since then, she had not had a chance to test her usual self.

And the fact that they had lost the battle weighed on her heart.

She understood. Everyone was continuing their usual lives by remodeling the Musashi or living at the land ports and there were few complaints, but that was because they had a goal and because they were simply keeping their worries unsaid. So…

“I need to pull myself together.”

She knew she would find herself at the negotiating table or in a meeting once more. And once that happened, she wanted to avoid doing anything like what Aoi had admonished her about.

…''And what about you?

That idiot had supported her and pulled her along at Mikawa, so what did he think about their loss at Mikatagahara?

She wanted to ask if she could, but first…

“I need to do what I can. …First comes the remodeling of the Musashi and the return to the international stage.”

Meanwhile, the wind blew in. It was a slight breeze from the mountains. She felt its chilliness through her hair and summer uniform, but…

…''What is this?

She could not put it in words, but something still seemed different in the bottom of her heart.

She wanted something other than this cool breeze.

She had been busy and had gotten little sleep since Mikatagahara, but this still was not it.

…''What is it?

What should she do about her stewing self and what should she think about the others?

She did not want a cool breeze, so…

“I…”

“Eh?”

Asama turned around in surprise and Masazumi quickly swallowed her words, but Asama simply tilted her head.

“What’s the matter, Masazumi? Did you go crazy again?”

“What do you mean ‘again’!?”

''And don’t look so disturbed, Mitotsudaira.

But before anyone else could react, two forms stepped out from the grass remaining to the south.

“Oh, dad? And Konishi-sama?”

Asama saw Masazumi correct her posture. She placed a hand on her chest and lowered her head.

“We had heard two beings thought to be mysterious phenomena had fled here from the temporary Provisional Council building. Are the two of you all right?”

“Masazumi, use your brain. Why do you think we are here?”

Masazumi’s father grabbed the cigar in his mouth and blew out a sharp line of smoke. Mitotsudaira stepped back a bit from the scent of the smoke and Konishi crossed his arms.

“We were pursuing those very beings.”

“Eh? Th-then you weren’t caught in that blast were you?”

''No, think carefully, Asama Tomo. If they had been, they wouldn’t be speaking with us right now. That’s just how serious I was. Yes. So I need to give them a salesman’s smile.

“Of course you weren’t caught in the blast! Yes, that couldn’t possibly have affected you! I would never carelessly fail to check where I was shooting or anything! Let’s just go with that!”

The two adults gave her expressionless looks.

“…”

''Owwww!! This silence is painful!!!!

As a dangerous sweat poured down Asama’s face, Masazumi’s father suddenly turned toward his daughter.

“Anyway, it seems those mysterious phenomena have vanished. You can exterminate them some other time.”

“Judge.” Masazumi nodded. “The two of you are very important, so please do not push yourselves too hard.”

“Ha ha. No need to worry, Masazumi. We were students once, you know?”

''That’s true,'' thought Asama. One’s student life ended at eighteen in the Far East, but if those two had been in a position to reach the Provisional Council…

…''They must have been plenty powerful as students.

She nodded and spoke her conclusion.

“Yes. So in other words, I don’t have to worry about firing on the two of you in the future.”

''They don’t look happy, but doesn’t that contradict what they just said? Yes. And don’t you give me the same look, Mito and Masazumi.

''I’d better change the subject.

“So you say the mysterious phenomena have vanished? I’ll have to finish them off next time.”

“Um, Tomo? You seem to be in a good mood, but if we’re done here, shouldn’t we head back?”

“Eh? Oh, right, right. Let’s head back.”

The two adults nodded and said “judge”, but Masazumi’s father suddenly spoke up.

“Masazumi, if you tell the people we dealt with the situation on your orders, you can score some points.”

“Judge. I’ll do that. Also…”

Masazumi looked up to the east.

A moment later, a large humanoid form flew by with the wind.

It flew down nearby, so Asama looked up in surprise to see a heavy God of War with a blue dog’s face. The wings on the back remained open and a sign frame appeared next to the face.

The sign frame displayed the virtual cockpit and a long-lived girl. She appeared to be sitting in a small Far Eastern-style room and Masazumi nodded toward her.

“How are you doing, Satomi Student Council President?”

“You can call me Yoshiyasu if you want. …Righteousness is doing really well. Hurry onboard. The Student Council room has apparently been cleaned up, so they want you to check over it during the lunch break.”

''The Student Council room?'' wondered Asama with a tilt of the head, but she quickly remembered where that was.

“Oh, that room right above the academy’s main entrance. That’s where Toori would stand naked in the window drinking milk in the mornings. That probably was pretty filthy.”

“Tomo! Tomo! That’s the room we’re going to be using at school from now on!”

''Yes! A new purification job!'' she celebrated in her heart, but then she looked to Masazumi.

She saw the tension leave the girl’s eyebrows.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Right now, it’s important to have a place of our own. …Now, then.”

Masazumi stepped up onto the outstretched hand of Yoshiyasu’s God of War.

Suddenly, a sign frame appeared next to her face.

'''Marube-ya:''' “Masazumi? It’s Heidi. I just received word through some trade connections that the Date clan wants to hold a secret meeting.”

“What?” said Masazumi while glancing over at her father and Konishi. Her father nodded back and pointed into the sky where the Ariake had to be.

“Hurry on back. We can no longer take things easy. The situation surrounding Oushuu, Russia, Kantou, and most importantly Musashi, has begun to move all at once. First, you must take on Oushuu, the land that experienced the conflict from the Age of Dawn and is now a solid rock of resistance and talking things out.”

“This isn’t going to be easy if we have to deal with Sviet Rus at the same time.”

“Ho ho.” Konishi laughed quietly and placed a hand on the side of his mouth. “To face P.A. Oda, Uesugi has gone through internal reform and placed ‘Man of Love’ Naoe Kanetsugu as their Vice Chancellor and Vice President. …And to face Date and Mogami, they have placed the brave general Honjou Shigenaga as their 2nd Special Duty Officer. But the real problem lies within.”

“You mean…?”

The look in Mitotsudaira’s eyes said “people who talk this much can’t hide anything, can they?”, but Konishi probably knew that perfectly well. He then pointed northwest.

“Listen. Novgorod is a large floating city like IZUMO located in west Sviet Rus. Eight years ago, Sviet Rus Chancellor Ivan the Terrible carried out a great purge there and the Musashi has not visited since. …But that city is clashing with Shibata’s P.A. Oda forces.”

“So if we get involved with Oushuu and Sviet Rus, we might have to deal with Shibata’s forces too?”

“Most likely. I also have word that the Jurakudai, castle of Hashiba Hidetsugu whose name shouldn’t have been inherited yet, has arrived in Edo. …Well, do your best, I suppose.”

“Judge.” Masazumi nodded. “Thank you for all the important information.”

She gave a quick bow, so the other two girls did as well.

“We’ll be going.”

“Yes. This land has a history of resistance. You should proceed carefully.”

Masazumi heard those words from her father.

This was not something he had done in the past, so she wondered if it meant he recognized her skill a little now.

…''No, I still have a long way to go. He might be trying to help me out because of that. After all, Musashi still hasn’t left the shadow of our loss at Mikatagahara.

Once they returned to the Ariake, they would find the Musashi being remodeled, the working people, and their training classmates.

''Let’s get back,'' she thought. She wanted to get back and begin searching for the way to recovery. And she wanted to check on this secret meeting with the Date clan that could help them find that way.

“Let’s go home, Asama, Mitotsudaira, and Satomi President. …And for now, that means the Ariake.”

The idiot would be waiting for them too.

He was their king.

And he was a king who she had worried when she was supposed to be supporting him.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A School Rules|School Rules]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 01|Chapter 01]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 95

2015-10-06T03:23:11Z

Txtracer:

==Last Chapter: Stewers in a Gathering Place==
[[Image:Horizon3C_0885.jpg|thumb]]
''How is

''Everyone doing?

'''Point Allocation (Together)

Suzu hurried.

The fog had cleared and only the chilly night sky was visible up above.

She had heard that the clouds had cleared away and the moon was out. She ran through the chill of that air.

She had left the docking procedure to “Musashino” and she was on her way to the bridge in front of the academy.

Everyone was there and they were not moving.

They may have been so exhausted they had fallen asleep, but she was worried.

…''They’re okay…aren’t they?

A lot had happened, but they would be back on their feet soon, wouldn’t they?

She trusted in that, but worrying about it was a different issue.

So she hurried. Suzu hurried. She took high steps so as not to trip as she ran as quickly as she could manage.

She made her way down the road and arrived at the steps.

“Yes.”

She wanted to climb them quickly, so she used the railing.

She counted the steps so she would not take a step that was not there and she felt herself breathe as she climbed them.

…''We’ll be okay.

The people of Kantou IZUMO had said they would make the Musashi better than new.

“Everyone.”

''It doesn’t have to be long, so bear with it.

“If we do…”

They would be given the power to fight.

They would be given the power to hurry.

They would be given the power to protect.

But the elder representing Oushuu had said that would be useless if the hearts of the ones to use it had died.

They had lost their will to fight.

They had lost their will to hurry.

They had lost their will to protect.

They had lost people important to them, they had been shown their enemy’s power, and they had been hopelessly pursued.

That was why the elder had said the following:

“Hopefully, you do not begin to think that nothing you can do will help.”

Suzu understood what that meant.

Their enemy had the dragon line reactors, a great ship, and a way of negating the power of Horizon’s Logismoi Óplo. On top of that, they had opposed various influential people and been hopelessly outmatched.

There had been nothing for them to do, so…

“If you wish to avoid fighting, you and the Musashi can always live here with us. Of course, I believe they would find you even here.”

Suzu was ashamed that she had thought Oushuu’s offer had sounded somewhat like a good idea.

That was why she had declared so certainly that they would be okay.

She felt like the sentence had come out whole for once. But…

…''We will be okay, won’t we?

She hurried. She pulled herself up by the railing and knew she would be reaching the top soon.

“Eh?”

The railing vanished.

A piece had been torn off by the enemy’s attacks.

''Oh, no,'' thought Suzu.

She had not noticed because it was always there and she had assumed it still would be.

Realizing it was gone after the fact was a hopeless mistake.

It was too late by the time she noticed. She had bent back while pulling herself up the railing and her hands groped through empty air.

“…!”

She let out a voiceless scream.

“C’mon, Bell-san. You’re late.”

Someone pulled on her hand, brought her feet back onto the steps, and then gave a strong tug on her hand.

“Toori…-kun!?”

“That’s right.”

He sounded proud of that fact, but his voice was a bit weaker than usual.

“Everyone’s waiting up top. We’re having a strategy meeting.”

Suzu arrived on the bridge with Toori pulling on her hand and Horizon supporting her.

…''Eh?

She felt heat.

There was nothing strange about the scene she found. They were all sitting or standing while either exchanging glances or a few words. But…

…''What is…this?

She felt like she was standing on the ground when it was heated by the sweltering summer sun.

…''They’re…stewing?

They all wanted to say something or do something, but they were holding back.

“…”

They knew that now was not the time to act, so they held it all inside and let it stew.

They were not all like that. It was true a few of them remained cool.

''But,'' thought Suzu.

…''Some of them are angry, hiding their desire to act, and stewing away.

So…

“Right.”

…''We’ll be okay.

She trusted in that fact and made sure her heart would remember it.

She was certain that they would be okay. She was more certain than she had ever been before.

“…Right.

Suzu wondered what would happen if they were all certain of what would happen.

What if they regained the will to fight?

What if they regained the will to hurry?

What if they regained the will to protect?

…''And…

What if they gained the power to fight?

What if they gained the power to hurry?

What if they gained the power to protect?

…''What would happen then?

“We’re going to…be okay.”

Everyone turned toward her.

Some voiced their surprise, but they would still be okay. They just had not realized it yet.

So…

“Yes!”

Suzu realized she needed to tell the people of Kantou IZUMO and of Oushuu that they were all going to be okay.

And then Toori faced her.

“Hey, Bell-san. Were we worrying you by any chance?”

“No.”

She shook her head.

“You were…but you aren’t.”

''We’re going to be okay,'' she told herself as the others exchanged a glance.

“There’s no helping that.” Naruze stood up and sighed. “Sitting around isn’t going to help anything.”

But Suzu’s senses could tell that there was no heat in that sigh. The girl was simply looking toward the school building and the southern sky.

“Now, we need to finish up the Battle of Mikatagahara.”

“Eh? …You don’t mean the stool sample, do you?”

The nudist pulled his hips back as Horizon silently prepared a bowl and chopsticks.

Naruze ignored the two of them, opened a Magie Figur, and readied her pen.

“The poop doesn’t matter, but there is one thing I have to do: the grimace painting.”

She looked to Horizon and Toori, so the others did as well.

“When Lord Matsudaira lost the Battle of Mikatagahara, he had a painting made of his look of anger upon realizing the magnitude of what he had lost. That way he had a reminder of his mistake.”

“You’re going to draw that?”

“Judge.” The Technohexen nodded. “I’ll draw all of you.”

Yes.

“I’ll draw the looks of people who have realized they we only survived thanks to a group who lived through a lot.”

“Judge.” Mitotsudaira nodded and slowly approached the bridge’s railing. “That’s right. We’re probably not even aware of it all, but we have inherited so very much and that has allowed us to live on.”

Mitotsudaira then turned toward the bow.

The floating dock named Ariake was opening up to envelop and protect the entirety of the Musashi.

She opened her mouth as she watched it move.

She started to say something, but first she ground her teeth and looked up into the sky.

When she spoke toward the moon, her words formed a growl but not a howl.

“We need to make sure we repay them for that one day.”

Naruze breathed in, nodded, raised her pen, and spoke to the others.

“I like the look of those expressions, everyone.”

So…

“We’ll be the next ones to set history in motion.”

[[Image:Horizon_3C_894-895.jpg|thumb]]

''We will not give up.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 94|Chapter 94]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Afterword|Afterword]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 94

2015-10-06T03:10:01Z

Txtracer: consistency fixes

==Chapter 94: Searcher for a Place to Live==
[[Image:Horizon3C_0861.jpg|thumb]]
''What if the location in your dreams

''Is beyond that which you protect?

'''Point Allocation (Leader)

Satomi Yoshiyori was inheriting the name Naruse Masayoshi and making a charge. The first to react to his announcement was Suzu on Musashino’s bridge.

…''I-I knew it!

Something had occurred to her back in IZUMO. On the morning after they had spied on Noriki and Ujinao’s conversation, Yoshiyori had arrived and mentioned the discussions Musashi would eventually have in Kantou.

…''H-he said we would need to speak with “Satomi”.

Not with him, but with someone else. That was what he had meant by “Satomi”.

''In that case,'' she thought. He had to have already predicted this name inheritance.

…''A-and if he’s made up h-his mind…!

She gave a shout to the group on the academy’s roof in the model before her eyes.

“Stop…him!”

…''What?

Yoshiyasu was baffled by the current situation. She had known Yoshiyori had brought Loyalty along as a spare for Yatsufusa, but a sign frame had just appeared by her hand. A great mass of text was scrolling by on it.

“Wh-what is this!? Yoshiyori! What is the meaning of this!?”

Why?

“Why are you sending me the ownership rights and inheritance information for Yatsufusa!?”

She took a step toward him, toward Loyalty which already had light filling its flight devices.

“What are you planning to do, Yoshiyori!?”

She was irritated by the scolding tone of her voice. Why did she always end up like this with him? But he only nodded as if accepting it.

“Yoshiyasu. I am leaving you with Musashi Ariadust Academy. You will be treated as an exchange student, but travel the world with them and observe everything you can. The experience is sure to help Satomi later.”

And…

“Pass on a message to all of Satomi: Anyone who wishes to surrender should surrender to Hashiba and anyone who wishes to fight back should leave Satomi land and begin their fight in Kantou or any other nation. …This is an order from Satomi Chancellor Satomi Yoshiyori.”

Yoshiyasu knew what those words meant. That was why she tried to stop him.

But before she could, the nudist gave a shout.

“You idiot! Weren’t you listening to what we just said!? What the hell are you thinking!?”

Yoshiyori looked to the Musashi chancellor and Student Council president and to their princess.

The former took a few steps toward him and pointed right at his eyes.

“If you’ve inherited the name of Naruse whoever, then you count as an exchange student, right!? Then do what I say! You aren’t going to go off and die to solve this!”

After seeing the princess nod by his side, Yoshiyori decided this was an excellent academy. So…

“Yes, so let me say one thing. It is true I am a temporary transfer student now, but that also means I am still a Satomi student. And…”

He hesitated but finally said it.

“The Bunroku Campaign is my responsibility.”

“What!? The hell’s the Bunroku Campaign? …What’s that look for, you guys!? Fine, I admit it! I’m an idiot! Y-you wanna fight!?”

When the others glared at him, the chancellor and Student Council president hung his head and sat with his arms around his knees. But Musashi’s secretary gave a nod and looked Yoshiyori’s way.

“Your nation uses a God of War fighting force, doesn’t it?”

“Testament. No, I suppose it’s ‘judge’ now. …That is exactly right, Musashi Secretary. To defend ourselves, we amassed more power than we knew what to do with. That is why P.A. Oda once attacked us through Houjou.”

That battle had been Yatsufusa’s first and it had ended in victory. But…

“Then…”

Yoshiyasu’s voice escaped her lips. The sign frame by her hand would be displaying the details. She would be seeing Yatsufusa’s combat records and all the information related to its usage.

Needless to say, that included why her sister had died.

“My sister…”

Her face had grown pale.

“She committed suicide to take responsibility and stop the P.A. Oda invasion that would have come afterwards?”

What the sign frame displayed was something like a memo or journal left by her sister.

The records were automatically created from the thoughts of the individual combined with Yatsufusa and they could help with maintenance and with understanding various other data. But what Yoshiyasu saw there was a little different.

…''My sister…

It recorded what she had thought of Yoshiyasu, of Satomi, and of him.

''“I’m sorry.”

Just before her death, when she had been flying back from crushing the P.A. Oda fleet, she had spoken to him via divine transmission.

''“Suicide would be a disgrace to Satomi. It would mean gaining this strength was a mistake in and of itself. It would mean we could only surrender even after gaining this strength. It would feel like everything we had done was a waste. So I’m sorry, but please shoot me down. And then tell P.A. Oda you decided to do so yourself out of a sense of responsibility.”

With a smile on her lips, Yoshiyasu’s sister had admitted she was afraid to die. And…

''“As I’ve said before…I hope all of this kind of thing is gone by my sister’s generation.”

Yoshiyasu saw Loyalty spread its wings in the night.

The word “loyalty” referred to properly serving one’s master or nation, so…

“Why didn’t you tell me!?”

She knew why. He had needed the people to feel anger and doubt toward him for killing her sister.

And that had indeed happened. But…

…''If I had known why, I wouldn’t have been able to blame you!

By not telling her, he had given her the same anger and doubt as the people living in Satomi.

“Did you do it to protect me!?”

He did not respond. She knew he would not. Keeping this truth hidden had been his form of loyalty.

He then nodded toward Musashi’s chancellor and Student Council president and their princess.

“P.A. Oda saw our power as a threat to their control of Kantou. Musashi, that is why I needed to meet with you in a hurry now that their aerial forces have expanded to the point of making an invasion of Kantou a reality. Even if doing so required abandoning the nation of Satomi itself…it was worth it to be able to leave Satomi’s successors – that is, Yatsufusa and Yoshiyasu – with you.”

His God of War crouched down. He was preparing to take flight and Yoshiyasu had seen the movement countless times before.

She had seen it whenever he stood before her in Yatsufusa and prepared to race ahead at the front of the vanguard.

She had always wondered why he stood out front and did not seem to care when it led to injuries.

“I am Satomi Chancellor Satomi Yoshiyori. …Musashi Chancellor and Student Council President, this is my academy’s problem, so I will solve it using our methods.”

So…

“I will strike down Hashiba here.”

And he had one more thing to say.

“If I fail, take care of Satomi’s future and of Yoshiyasu.”

With that said, he fully opened the flight device wings.

He was about to leave.

“Someone stop that idiot!”

Hearing Toori’s cry, Tenzou ran after Loyalty.

Futayo, Muneshige, Mitotsudaira, Urquiaga, Hassan with his curry, and even Nenji responded and hurried toward the crouched God of War.

They did not know if they could stop him or not, but…

“Please.”

Pushed on by Horizon’s word, they continued forward.

But someone else weakly followed them, one step behind.

It was Yoshiyasu. She bent forward, reached out her hand, and contorted her face.

“No!” she shouted. “Wait!!”

Loyalty opened its wings wide as if acknowledging her plea.

A moment later, a giant form dropped down from above Loyalty.

The red humanoid figure was Jizuri Suzaku.

While the others drew his attention by running along the rooftop, the God of War had moved to stop him from above. On its shoulder, Naomasa clenched her false arm’s fist.

“I’ll stop him!”

With only a brief moment before the Gods of War collided, Naomasa heard Yoshiyori speak.

“If the worst happens, take care of Yatsufusa and Yoshiyasu. Yatsufusa is sure to help with your research. After all…”

After all…

“The flight devices, engines, and OSs our Gods of War use are based on the plans and data a previous generation received when battling the Ming remnants in Takeda. Most likely…it was based on the flight devices from the Suzaku of the Four Sacred Beasts.”

…''What!?

In that instant, sign frames bearing the Suzaku emblem opened across Jizuri Suzaku’s body.

The OS was activating by resonating with a fellow Sacred Beast, but it was not resonating with Loyalty.

…''It came in contact with the ether information for the Yatsufusa’s transfer of ownership. Is that why it’s booting up!?

The incomplete OS resonation expanded the virtual lake behind Jizuri Suzaku.

“!?”

The course of her fall was diverted, but Yoshiyori’s response made it sound like that did not even matter.

“Thank you.”

Light exploded below Naomasa.

Loyalty had taken off. The pursuing Technohexen were blown away and the God of War flew straight toward the Azuchi.

In the instant he took flight, Yoshiyori heard Yoshiyasu’s voice.

“Don’t go!!”

She was crying, she was yelling, and she reached her hand out toward him.

And that was what solidified his resolve.

…''Oh, I see.

He realized that the misunderstanding he had given her was now gone.

That was for the best. He also knew very well what her shouts and pleas meant. She had been the kind of person who did not want him to go.

He had a number of thoughts about the matter, but he knew holding just that one in his heart was the right thing for him to do.

…''So I need to fulfill my promise.

He recalled the final words he had exchanged with her sister. She had spoken to him as he had held her limp body in his arms. And she had smiled as she did so.

…''“Smile. It doesn’t have to be today. But someday.”

His current God of War face had no expressions, so he could not form a smile.

But he believed in his heart that he was smiling.

He had left behind no more misunderstandings, he had passed on what was to be inherited, and…

…''Yes!

He had seen a place where the people would and could say they refused to let someone die.

…''That is what I couldn’t do and what I couldn’t have!!

So he was certain that this place called Musashi was even greater than they had been. That was why he smiled. He loosened his body and breathed in.

“Don’t worry. I am not heading out to die.”

He said it.

“I am finally heading out to not give up on anything and to live.”

As he formed the words, he flew full speed toward the battlefield.

“Can you hear me, Musashi Chancellor?”

As everyone came to a speechless stop, the light of flight flew quickly through the distant battlefield sky. That light trailed behind Loyalty’s wings and the explosions of combat followed it around.

Loyalty was paving a path of blossoming explosions through the sky, but his voice was calm as it reached them.

“There is one thing you once said. Do you remember it? I certainly do. You said your princess isn’t someone who can only die. You said she isn’t someone who has no option besides being killed,” he said. “You were exactly right and even we had other options.”

When he had heard the PR committee’s broadcast of Mikawa, Yoshiyori had felt he understood that selfish thought. The boy who had tried to rescue his princess had not just wanted to get people to fight alongside him.

…''He wanted to see whether it was possible for him to save his princess or not.

No one was destined to die. It was only an issue of whether they could be saved or not.

And that boy had people to fight by his side.

What about for Yoshiyori and for her? He felt there had been a possibility not requiring her death.

But that incident in Mikawa had given him a certain thought.

''If no one is destined to die, then we too could have lived.

…''So Yoshiyasu, nothing like what happened to us will happen again.

''Where you are now, you won’t need to lose anything like we did.

So…

“Musashi Chancellor and Student Council President!”

Yoshiyori stated his desire.

“Let me say this: when faced with the coming battles, you must smile!”

“Listen,” said Satomi’s chancellor. “No matter what you might lose from here on out and even if you feel moved to tears, all of you must smile. Even if you end up smiling at someone like me and everyone but you is crying, you need to smile as long as you can keep fighting! No matter what might happen, you absolutely must smile!”

Loyalty completely broke through the wind.

It flew straight ahead while wrapped in a shaking of the air. Its target was the Azuchi’s deck.

“And make sure to save anyone trying to do what she and I did!!”

The density of anti-air fire grew.

Loyalty’s right shoulder and left thigh had been broken, but its speed only trembled and did not drop.

“Here goes!”

But something moved in front of it.

It was the Nagahama.

The two kilometer warship used itself as a shield to protect Hashiba.

Loyalty drew the large sword from its back as it accelerated through the sky. It was a gunblade. It was not as powerful as Murasamemaru, but that meant its strength could vary greatly depending on its wielder’s skill.

Loyalty attacked.

The Orei Metallo blade manifested the strength poured into the blow more than the physical slash itself. The spell carved into Loyalty’s blade based its power on the word “loyalty”.

Loyalty meant to support from the background and to set the stage. So…

“Break!!”

A massive surface-wide strike slammed into the Nagahama.

It was destroyed.

The Nagahama had originally been a transport ship, so once cracks formed in the original interior, it completely broke apart.

It was sliced through.

A hundred meter hammer had struck the giant ship, destroying two rows of its interior sections.

The cries of strain and roars of wind provided background music as the Nagahama broke down the center after having its interior torn away.

Loyalty flew through there with a shockwave enveloping its body. As it passed through the central slice taken from the Nagahama, the shockwave slammed into the front and back halves on either side.

Warships were built to endure external attack, but that was why they were weak to shocks from within. The frames and interior hull were built to jut outward, which only helped the power trying to push them out from within.

And that was exactly what happened.

As if struck by a wave on the inside, the Nagahama burst apart, starting from the hole and spreading both to the bow and stern. That destruction bent the internal hull and armor panels, slammed into them from within, and blasted them off the ship. And after the shockwave passed through, air began to rush inside.

“…!!”

The Nagahama quickly swelled out and exploded.

Pushed on by the Nagahama’s destruction, Loyalty moved closer to the Azuchi.

It was not unharmed.

The shockwave produced by its high-speed sword strike had damaged its entire body. It had lost most of its armor and its wings were broken, but…

“…!”

Loyalty charged toward Hashiba on the Azuchi’s deck.

But then Loyalty broke apart.

The Azuchi’s main cannons had fired.

A defense barrier above the Azuchi’s deck buffered against the shockwave.

Above that, the three-stage matchlock-style main cannons tore into Loyalty.

The God of War’s right half vanished in an instant and the impact propagated across its entire body.

“—————!!”

Its armor burst from within and most of the facial devices scattered into the air.

But everyone saw what the dog did next.

“Ohhh!!”

It roared and let light explode from the destroyed wings remaining on its back.

Yoshiyori continued on.

He had already lost his right arm and leg, but the enemy shellfire had only grown.

As his consciousness faded, he simply willed himself onward.

…''Yes.

He used his broken gunblade and his entire body to stab and break through the gravity barrier opened before his eyes.

The sword vanished and so did his left arm up to the elbow, but…

…''Rise, my knee!

He used his remaining left knee to break through the next gravity barrier.

The great noise reverberated through his entire body and he felt like the very core of that body had vanished.

And in exchange, he could see Hashiba down below.

He had no more weapons, arms, or legs, but the wings on his back still functioned.

…''That’s right.

He realized that they had once chosen to be lost.

But in so choosing…

…''We were not trying to give up, die, and disappear!

He understood now why she had told him to smile and why she had hidden the meaning of her death.

…''She wanted to protect a place where we would always want to keep living!!

Confident that they had not chosen death because they had given up, Yoshiyori continued on.

“Ohhhhh!”

He charged toward Hashiba head-first as if trying to devour her with the fangs of the canine head armor.

He felt everything grow clear as he broke through the air and he realized something.

Even now, his mind was still smiling.

And he had another thought while moving toward Hashiba.

…''If I manage to survive this, I need to live without fear.

He would no longer hide that he was alive. He would smile and live such that death was placed behind him in the past.

''But,'' he thought as something entered his view.

He had seen the shape of what Hashiba held in her raised right arm.

“Do you really think…”

He faced forward and roared while accelerating in as straight a line as possible.

“…that’s enough for me to give up!?”

A moment later, an exploding flower blossomed in the sky.

After lowering her right arm, Hashiba saw something in the wind directly before her.

It was a giant fang.

The metal fang had stabbed at and torn deeply into her left arm from the shoulder to the upper arm.

Looking at its base was enough to know who it belonged to. That owner was directly in front of her.

“Loyalty’s head armor.”

The armor was mostly broken, but its mouth was opened wide.

However, what lay beyond the head could only be called wreckage.

So she nodded and…

“Nn…”

She removed the bitten left arm at the base.

It was a mechanical false arm.

Shaking her lightened body, she saw what stood before her.

The flag of Ariadust Academy stood tall from within the wreckage.

After a moment, she lowered her head deeply at this result.

“The Satomi Chancellor has, u-um, fulfilled the requirement.”

She breathed in, trembled once, and continued speaking.

“On our side, the N-Nagahama was destroyed, eighteen small ships were destroyed, and twenty-one small ships were damaged. …That is light damage. So, um, I now declare the Battle of Mikatagahara…complete.”

She raised her head and saw the Musashi growing smaller to the north.

She breathed out and spoke toward the Musashi’s back.

“Until we…um…meet again somewhere.”

Masazumi felt in a complete daze.

…''What am I supposed to make of this?

They had left the rooftop and gathered on the academy bridge. If they had remained on the rooftop, it had felt like they would have fallen to their knees right then and there; so Asama and Kimi had supported Yoshiyasu as she cried.

“I guess we’re finally in the clear.”

“Judge. Far too much has happened today.”

Mitotsudaira’s shoulders drooped and her comment had to be especially true for her.

The school building blocked their view, but based on Suzu’s report from the Musashino’s bridge, they could no longer detect any enemy ships in the southern sky.

…''I guess Hashiba has left now that Mikatagahara is over.

“But this means the Edo region has fallen under Hashiba’s control.”

A great number of problems had presented themselves all at once: Hashiba’s invasion, the Musashi’s damage, their fuel, and most importantly…

“What do you think, Neshinbara?”

“This is the reverse of before. …That changes my assessment, so are you sure you want to hear it?”

“Tell me.”

Everyone on the bridge looked to him, but he continued typing records into his sign frame as he spoke.

“We lost. I can’t put it any other way.”

No one said a thing, but they could hear Yoshiyasu’s sobs as she tried to hold them back. Kimi gave her a light hug and tried to comfort her with a bitter smile of resignation.

“Heh heh. It’s best to cry when you feel like it. C’mon, Asama, let’s completely surround her in breasts for double the calming! …Oh? What are you looking at, flat politician and flat knight!? Do you want to be surrounded, too!?”

Figuring the crazy person’s consolation would at least distract the girl, Masazumi decided to ignore them. But…

“Where’s Aoi?”

She found the naked boy at the very back of the group.

He seemed to be silently contemplating something as he stood perfectly still behind them all.

“Hey…”

Just as she started to tell him not to feel sad, Horizon made a sudden move.

She walked over next to him and made a horizontal chop to the back of his neck.

Everyone looked puzzled as a harsh sound of struck flesh filled the air.

“Owww! Wh-what was that for, Horizon!?”

“Judge. Before you feel sad and croak, I thought I would knock you out the way Futayo-sama taught me.”

“Oh… Sorry, was I worrying- owwww! H-how do you make it hurt that bad!?”

“Oh? How very strange. But anyway…”

Horizon asked him a question.

“Are you okay?”

“Eh?”

The naked idiot looked at them all, at Masazumi, and at everything.

He then let out a slow breath and spoke in a tone of resignation.

“He told us to smile when he went out to defeat that monkey girl.”

“I see.”

Masazumi nodded, decided he would be fine, and still lowered her shoulders.

“Anyway, we have quite a few problems to deal with now.”

Just as she was going to ask what to do now, a sudden chill seemed to surround her body and it quickly transformed into fog.

“Everyone!”

A sign frame opened and emitted Suzu’s voice.

“Th-there’s something in…stealth u-up ahead!!”

“Is it the enemy!?”

Futayo took a defensive stance despite being unarmed, but she saw something else up ahead.

“Fog!?”

They were enveloped by a horizontal drift of fog that almost looked like a body of water.

The fog looked white even at night as it covered the Musashi, leaving only the elevated places visible.

The bridge in front of the academy was one such place.

But the fog flowing by up to their feet was so deep they could not see the bottom.

“Is this…?”

Yoshiyasu spoke in a weak and confused voice, but she did indeed recognize what she saw around her.

“A hidden village!?”

“What?”

Adele tilted her head, but Neshinbara was excitedly looking around.

“Now this is rare! It’s Oushuu. This is the land of the Fujiwara clan that once sheltered Lady Yoshitsune! The direct line of long-lived who live here have hidden in Oushuu ever since they parted with the Kamakura Shogunate! That’s why they always had a subordinate group use transport ships to trade with Musashi.”

Neshinbara received a response.

Countless forms floated up from the depths of the fog.

They lifted the fog like a cascade.

“Is this a city made up of aerial ships!?”

They were all old models of transport ships. None of them reached even one hundred meters and there were only a few dozen of them, but they spread out to meet the Musashi with the fog spilling from them like waterfalls.

That was not all. Something else arrived from beyond them.

It resembled a giant piece of land and it bore the emblem of IZUMO on the front.

It was a huge floating dock.

Floodlights activated and the Oushuu ships followed them toward the floating dock.

“Isn’t that the Musashi’s floating dock from Kantou IZUMO!?”

As if to answer Mitotsudaira, figures appeared on all of the ships.

Direct-line long-lived appeared on the Oushuu ships while students in Far Eastern uniforms and adults in lab coats appeared on the floating dock. Then, a voice was broadcasted.

“Musashi, this is the Ariake, Kantou IZUMO’s floating dock for the Musashi. I’m Mishina Shouichi, the supervisor here.”

Hiro looked up and said “oh, it’s dad”, but the man continued speaking.

“Satomi’s chancellor had already given us his opinion and IZUMO HQ sent us information from Hexagone Française concerning the enemy’s approach. After evacuating the people of Edo and Satomi, we came here. We didn’t expect for Oushuu to shelter us and it seems to have been Lady Yoshitsune’s doing, but…”

He said “but” again.

“You did a good job making it this far. We’ll do our very best to give the Musashi the best modifications we can.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 93|Chapter 93]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 95|Last Chapter]]
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</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 93

2015-09-12T07:26:17Z

Txtracer: minor fixes

==Chapter 93: Traveler in a Sky of No Return==
[[Image:Horizon3C_0835.jpg|thumb]]
''Where should we go?

''Where can we go?

'''Point Allocation (Flee)

Beyond the wind blowing in from the east, Houjou Ujinao sensed a giant ship moving north.

“It bears the name Azuchi, doesn’t it?”

It would technically be Azuchi Castle. That was Oda Nobunaga’s castle on Lake Biwa and it had been the largest castle of the historical warring states period.

While the Musashi represented several cities as “the land of Musashi”, the Azuchi was a single castle.

…''Was it built inside the giant stealth space surrounding Lake Biwa?

She knew why it had been brought here and launched a dragon line reactor.

“Did you want a test flight? Now, then.”

Ujinao faced her opponent.

In the magnified visual information she was receiving, several figures stood on the Azuchi’s central bow.

She brightened and further magnified the image.

The P.A. Oda maid automaton in the very back was likely the Azuchi’s captain automaton.

A group of ten and a single individual stood in front of that captain.

[[Image:Horizon3C_0837.jpg|thumb]]

“Is that Hashiba and the Ten Spears?”

They were a mix of genders and not all were human, but their most noticeable feature was how young they all were. They already had skilled leaders, so these roles may have been filled with promising younger individuals.

Then there was Hashiba.

“A girl?”

The short girl wore her M.H.R.R. uniform impeccably.

However, she had two noticeable features besides her small build.

First, she had mechanical wings that resembled folded fans.

And second, she wore a hood and the kind of monkey mask used in stage performances.

The monkey-masked girl seemed to breathe in a bit and a wide-area divine transmission was sent out.

“I am M.H.R.R. Vice President Hashiba Toukichirou Hideyoshi of P.A. Oda and M.H.R.R. I am performing a test flight of the P.A. Oda flagship Azuchi as well as assisting M.H.R.R. Treasurer Maeda Toshiie,” she said. “We will be providing support for the Battle of Mikatagahara and performing an early history recreation of the Bunroku Campaign.”

“Impossible!!”

That shout from the stairs in front of Musashi Ariadust Academy came from Satomi Yoshiyasu. She stared into the distance from the stairs, as if looking up at the unseen Azuchi.

“They’re doing Hashiba’s first Korean expedition now!?”

It sounded ridiculous to Satomi Yoshiyasu. The Bunroku Campaign was an expedition to the Korean Peninsula carried out after Hashiba Hideyoshi unified Japan. The invasion had been meant to gain a foothold from which to invade Ming China, so…

…''I thought this was going to happen a lot later!

They could only recreate it so early because they could control the Testament Union. And…

“Ah…”

The southern sky grew bright and a great noise supported that brightness.

This was the roar of exploding shellfire.

“————!!”

Yoshiyasu moved on reflex. She ran down the stairs on her way to Righteousness.

“Ohhhh!?”

But a naked idiot ran up the stairs and slammed into her.

Yoshiyasu was almost floating in midair.

Just as she had tried to descend the stairs, the idiot’s face had slammed into her chest from below, pushing her upwards.

The idiot had been trying to ascend the stairs, but his upper body was knocked backwards.

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no!”

They managed not to fall by moving down a single step as a compromise. Yoshiyasu then peeled herself away from the idiot.

“Wh-what do you think you’re doing!?”

But the idiot was not listening. He placed a hand on his forehead and then touched her chest.

“You sure you’re okay being like this?”

She threw a hook at the idiot, so he made a full rotation and rolled down seven more steps.

Allies immediately lined up alongside her and spoke up before the idiot could get back on his feet.

“Why would you say something like that, Toori-kun!? Of course Yoshiyasu-san isn’t okay with being like that! She tried her very best and this was all it got her! This is just who she is, so you have to accept it!”

“Heh heh heh. That’s right, foolish brother. This flat girl has unbelievable talent at being flat!”

…''Wait. I’m the one being attacked here, aren’t I? That’s definitely a look of sympathy in their vice president’s eyes. And isn’t anyone going to ask why that idiot is naked all of a sudden?

As she wondered what to do, Yoshiyasu looked to the sky behind her. She saw the Bousou Peninsula burning and returning fire.

“Look! My nation is under attack! I have to go save them!”

“C’mon, Yoshy. What could you do if you went there?”

“You have to ask?” she shouted while turning around.

She found the idiot wearing the blonde wig on his crotch after getting it back from the vice president. Yoshiyasu stared blankly at the scene for a moment, but finally came back to her senses.

“Take this seriously!”

The idiot looked taken aback.

His expression grew serious as he made some quick movements to adjust the blonde wig’s position on his crotch.

“Sorry about that! Is this better!?”

She threw another hook, he rolled some more, and he hopped back up and faced her.

“Y’know,” he began. “If you can make it in time and come back alive, then go. But if not, don’t go.”

“You idiot! I’m the Student Council president! It’s my duty to go!”

“Don’t change the subject.” The naked idiot struck a pose and pointed at her. “Can you make it in time and come back alive? Who can you save? Answer that first.”

“Well…”

She did not stand a chance. She knew that all too well.

Crushing Satomi was not Hashiba’s only reason for beginning this Korean expedition.

…''They’re here to hold Kantou in check.

Since Musashi was on its way to Kantou, they had eliminated Edo and begun their Korean expedition to give themselves a foothold in Kantou. And once that happened, there was nothing Satomi could do.

Hashiba would have brought more than just the Azuchi, so if Yoshiyasu tried to fly over with Righteousness, she would be shot down before she even reached Satomi.

“Satomi Yoshiyasu.”

She heard Masazumi’s voice. The other girl brought a hand to her forehead as if searching for the right words.

“Duty under impossible circumstances is not duty. It is an imposition. In my opinion, at least.”

“Then…”

As she wondered what she was supposed to do, she heard a great noise in the sky behind them.

The rumbling of wind was a greatly amplified version of a very familiar sound. It was something accelerating through the air.

The Azuchi had accelerated after the Musashi.

“———!!”

She looked back, but the school building blocked her view. However, she did see someone standing on the rooftop.

The girl’s silver hair blew in the wind and she held a gunblade in her right arm.

“Ariadust Horizon!!”

The enemy was coming. The enemy tore through the wind in pursuit of the Musashi.

The ship was firing and several gravity barriers broke before her eyes, but Horizon did not take a single step back. After all…

“The enemy is coming.”

The enemy was slowly catching up, unbothered by how much time it was taking.

The enemy’s was a cutting-edge warship. The Musashi had been remodeled ten years before, but it was only a trade ship and the Azuchi’s existence meant it was an outdated model.

The first to reach the rooftop were the white and black Technohexen.

Mitotsudaira came next, the Tachibana couple soon followed, and then the idiot burst through the door to the roof running in a girlish way.

“Horizon!”

He came to hug her, so she stepped out of the way.

The idiot spinning around and falling down seemed to be the cue for the enemy to enter attack range.

Several sign frames appeared with crosses combined in a torii-shape and Horizon fired Lypē Katathlipsē straight at the Azuchi.

She targeted the bridge of the Azuchi’s front central ship. That location was a lot like the ship’s face.

The thick black line produced screams of tearing as it flew in a downwards angle.

But just before the blackness hit, color appeared on the Azuchi.

A white breath burst widely out from the ship’s bow.

It was an ocean barrier. The Azuchi suddenly used the same braking method the Musashi had used.

The wind roared backwards and the creaking of the Azuchi filled the sky.

However, its speed dropped.

The path of the black cannon blast had shifted. By increasing the distance between them, it was falling on the bow instead of the bridge.

Still, the black tearing was going to reach the ship.

“It’s going to hit!!”

Twelve figures stood on the deck there. They seemed unconcerned as the deck shook below their feet and the black attack vanished when it struck them from above.

“…?”

It had been erased.

“What was that?”

Nothing remained except for the Azuchi’s pursuit of the Musashi and the wind blowing between them.

The Logismoi Óplo’s strike had been completely eliminated.

Horizon had lost her attack power.

As the wind blew around her, she looked down at the gunblade in her hand.

She finally faced forward, but everything aboard the slowed Azuchi remained entirely unscathed. She frowned and tilted her head.

“…???”

“Don’t look down the barrel!!”

But then they all saw movement on the Azuchi’s deck.

It came from Hashiba, the foremost of the twelve.

She lowered her raised hand and Asama commented on the action.

“Did she have some kind of weapon?”

“I see.” Horizon nodded and looked at the gunblade in her own hands. “This truly is a useless weapon. And after it was introduced with such fanfare.”

“M-Master Muneshige! Why did you fall to your knees!? A-are you okay!?”

But as they watched the Azuchi and Hashiba, Hashiba did something else.

She pulled a microphone from her pocket, held it up in both hands, and tilted her monkey mask up so it would not get in the way.

“G-good evening. …I am Hashiba Hideyoshi. I am technically under Master Maeda Toshiie’s command here.”

A voice reached them as they moved away and that voice contained a slight tremor.

“Um… Please make up your mind before the Azuchi accelerates again and catches up. Make up your mind about surrendering to us, that is. But…i-if you don’t surrender, um…”

She hesitated.

“On Master Maeda Toshiie’s orders, I will shoot down the Musashi for the Battle of Mikatagahara. …The Musashi has not arrived at its headquarters yet, so, um, sinking it will…end this.”

No one on the Musashi knew how to respond, but…

“What!?”

The naked idiot stepped out onto the edge of the roof. After performing a full spin, he pointed at Hideyoshi with both hands.

“Who do you think you are!? Who says you get to act so self-important!?”

“Eek. Um, uh, well… Aren’t you…cold?”

“That’s a good point!” muttered the others, but the idiot only tilted his head.

“Let me ask something.” He crossed his arms with his head still tilted. “Why are you asking us to surrender? Have we done anything wrong?”

''That’s very true,'' thought Tenzou as he pulled Mary’s hand on the way up to the roof.

…''For one thing, the Battle of Mikatagahara does not end with Matsudaira’s surrender.

“And we are guaranteed to become her enemy, so why would she ask us to surrender when she could destroy us?”

''Also,'' he thought just before Horizon spoke.

“Why? Why are you asking us to surrender after using a weapon of mass destruction like the dragon line reactor? That is contradictory. Why are you forcing loss onto others while giving us a choice?”

“Well…”

Hashiba was growing more distant and her voice grew weaker, but her trembling voice still reached them through the shared wide-range divine network.

“That is…my duty.”

“Your duty?” asked Horizon.

“Testament,” replied Hashiba. “E-even if it is contradictory, even if it has to be by force, even if it is unfair, and even if it is done through fear, I-I will rule the Far East. And to accomplish that, um, I-I will take away anything that opposes me.”

“Oh, is that what they call a terrible rain?” asked the idiot.

“Do you mean a reign of terror?”

“Wow!”

When everyone expressed their amazement that Hashiba could figure out what the idiot meant, she tensed her shoulders a bit and laughed proudly.

But…

“N-no, that isn’t it. Or rather, um, y-you can call it a reign of terror, but…the warring states period and the Thirty Years’ War will be over before long,” she explained. “So how about it? If it will end this sooner, I am willing to use a dragon line reactor and…to show you what happens when you oppose me. If anyone is lost, I can do the math and show that it was the smallest possible sacrifice and that it shortened the war by as much as possible. And once all of that is settled…Master Nobunaga and I will deal with the Apocalypse.”

“————”

Tenzou noticed Mary squeezing his hand when she heard that.

…''That’s right.

Hashiba was arguing from an idealistic standpoint. Even if she did show off her dragon line reactor and tried to crush Satomi for the history recreation, she could not eliminate all desire to oppose her. Yoshiyasu’s desire to rush in and fight was the perfect example.

But to keep the rebels to a minimum, she could have her opponent surrender by using the dragon line reactor as a negotiation tool.

…''That previous dragon line reactor may have destroyed Edo Bay, but it didn’t directly hit the land.

She had used the blast to preemptively break their defenses and demonstrate her power. It would have caused a lot of damage, but she could still claim it was only a warning.

She had likely concluded that would reduce the number of victims in the long run. So…

“This is one form of a war economy. And it is one way for a leader to build her resolve.”

He understood all too well why Mary nodded at his comment.

Their methods were different from Hashiba’s and they probably had different visions of the future, but there was a time when a leader needed to resolve him or herself to accept everything that came with fulfilling their dream.

Mary had done so and so had Horizon.

…''I’m not so sure about that idiot, though. Well, he probably has. Maybe. No, wait. I need to question him about that.

“…Master Tenzou? Why do you look so serious?”

“Oh, um, I was just thinking about how wonderful you are, Mary-dono.”

“Oh, my.”

Gin looked over at them with a look of disbelief, but Tenzou felt that was unfair given how those two acted from time to time.

At any rate, he heard a voice. It was Hashiba’s trembling voice and she started by breathing in.

“I believe that…that the world will need you afterwards. So I want to…keep you alive. But…”

But…

“You are not needed yet. We will unify the Far East and deal with the Apocalypse.”

She gave her ultimatum.

“So p-please surrender.”

Masazumi gasped as she wondered what to do.

The decision fell to her, but…

…''Ahh! I’m so useless!

She could only think of things that did not matter in the slightest here: the procedures of negotiating, how to get the best deal, how to find common ground, and how to choose the best person to negotiate with.

…''Why am I so pathetic? Hm?

But no matter how much she judged herself while mimicking the Pope-Chancellor, it was still her duty to actually do something here.

…''Whose decision do I need to act on?

Her eyes found the naked idiot first, so she ignored him.

“Horizon.”

“Wait, wait, wait! Seijun, you just looked right past me, didn’t you!?”

“I’ll look at you once you put on some clothes. …Anyway, can you make a decision here, Horizon?”

The naked idiot kept complaining, but he quieted down when Horizon glared at him. After that, Horizon sighed and spoke to him.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“Eh? Oh, yeah.”

The idiot casually raised a hand toward Hashiba.

“Hey, monkey girl, how are you gonna deal with the Apocalypse? If it’s a secret, I promise I won’t tell anyone else.”

“Waaahhh!!”

Everyone shouted at him.

“He just asked what I decided I probably shouldn’t!!”

Masazumi saw the idiot pout his lips.

“Ehh? Why shouldn’t I ask? If their way is something we can do, then why not do it?”

“Y-y-y-y-y-y’know? You’re pretty much telling everyone that we have no idea how to do it. You’re killing our credibility for Westphalia.”

“Hold on, Seijun. You’re the one that’s doing everything you can to tell them we don’t have a real plan. And if you think about it, they claim they’re on a test flight, but while we were having fun in Europe, they were flying around in stealth mode saying, ‘Eh heh heh. Let’s sneak over to Kantou. Everyone there’s gonna have a heart attack when we pop up out of nowhere.’ They’re clearly gung-ho about all this.”

“W-we were thinking nothing of the sort.”

Everyone nodded at Hashiba’s denial.

“Aoi, don’t assume everyone’s on your level. Everyone else is much higher than you.”

“Y-you really can be cruel sometimes!! …Anyway, um, Hashiba?”

“Y-yes?” replied the divine transmission.

Then the idiot asked his question.

“What are you going to do once you deal with the Apocalypse?”

Hashiba paused for a moment.

She was at a loss for words, but then a smile appeared on her lips.

“————”

She muttered something under her breath and then lifted her mask which had started to slip down.

“I can’t say.”

She told them she was unable to tell them that, so…

“I see.”

He looked to Matsudaira’s princess, they nodded to each other, and he smiled.

“Then we can’t surrender at the moment.”

He brought a hand to his chin, leaned forward, and placed one foot on the rooftop railing.

“We’ll have to be your enemy.”

“That settles it.”

The Reine des Garous heard the boy’s voice coming from a ''signe cadre''.

“I need to take this more seriously. And…”

“And?”

The Reine des Garous urged him on with a smile and the ''signe cadre'' continued.

“I’ll make sure to give you a proper response so I won’t bring any shame on you.”

“Oh, my.” The Reine des Garous’ smile deepened and she placed a hand on her cheek. “Can I brag that I was the first one you told that to?”

Hashiba gave her response.

She lowered her head toward the boy and the girl.

“I-I look f-forward to, um, being your enemy.”

She breathed in and took a step back toward the others behind her.

“I-I will conquer the Far East and…deal with the Apocalypse. If that comes to a fight, then…um…I will be the one to win. After all, uh, I come first. My rule comes first in history, so…”

So…

“I will teach you that, um, there is nothing you can do…at the moment.”

Tenzou saw their distance from Hashiba growing. The Musashi was accelerating, but it could not use its full power at the moment. They seemed to be pulling away from the Azuchi, but it would close in as soon as it accelerated again.

However…

“…?”

Something moved in between the Azuchi and the Musashi.

“The P.A. Oda fleet.”

That fleet had arrived here after finishing the battle with Qing-Takeda. Most of the ships were damaged, but there were enough of them to change the color of the sky. They had circled in from Edo to the south and they surrounded the Azuchi, but…

…''Doesn’t this mean the Azuchi can’t speed up?

The Nagahama and Sunomata also hung in midair as if protecting the Azuchi. The Shirasagi Mk. II was as well.

Tenzou thought about what this formation meant and came to a sudden realization.

“Neshinbara-dono, is this what I think it is?”

“Judge,” replied the boy who had arrived on the rooftop. “This is the Battle of Mikatagahara.”

“Um, are you listening?” Hashiba’s voice reached them again. “I-I will teach you what a sacrifice is. And, um, to do that…well, uh, I have an idea of how we can end the Battle of Mikatagahara.”

Namely…

“We will end M-Mikatagahara with the, um, charge and death of Naruse…Masayoshi.”

And if they did not want that…

“Please…surrender.”

Naruze saw the others turn toward her.

…''What is it now?

Margot was still looking at Hashiba, but she was squeezing Naruze’s hand. That definite strength said she was not letting go.

…''But Margot can’t say no if I ask her.

Margot knew that and that was why she did not turn toward Naruze. She only stared at Hashiba as if ignoring Naruze.

But even an idiot could understand the situation. Even if they tried to run, the enemy would continue pursuing them no matter where they went.

The chancellor’s officers had been sent data on the Musashi’s status, so Naruze knew they were almost out of fuel. But despite that, something else filled her heart.

“All I can think about are ideas for doujinshi about running away!!”

“I can’t believe you can say that out loud.”

'''Four Eyes:''' “I just hope the event hall in Edo wasn’t destroyed.”

When she saw those words on her sign frame, Naruze looked around and found Neshinbara.

“Come here a moment. I have something important to discuss with you. Yes, stand next to me like that.”

She wrapped an arm around Neshinbara’s neck, pulled him close, and opened a sign frame.

“Say cheese. Aaaaand sent to Shakespeare. …Oh, you can go now. I need to put on some perfume to cover up the nerd-stench on my arm.”

“Wh-what have you done!? Did you really have to make my life more dangerous than it already is!?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Naruze took a deep breath, and…

“Margot, will you go with me?”

“Eh?”

Margot must not have expected that because she turned around. Naruze was glad to finally look her in the eye.

“Weiss Fräulein won’t be fixed until tomorrow, so can I ride on the back of Schwarz Fräulein?”

Margot fully turned her way at that question.

“Y-you can’t, Ga-chan! Aren’t we always saying we’re going to keep living together!”

“That’s true and that’s why I’m prepared to drag you into this by saying this: let’s keep living together.”

She faced Margot as she continued.

“I have no intention of dying. I’m just bad at living on my own and I’m not sure I can do it.”

If she needed to apologize to anyone, it was to all of them, but she said what she did to make sure she did not have to apologize.

“Let’s charge in, attack Hashiba, and end their invasion. This is the perfect opportunity. …Isn’t that a positive way of looking at this?”

“You cannot,” said Horizon. “We know we are outnumbered and we do not know what exactly the enemy can do, so if the alternative is giving them you, then I will order the Musashi as a whole to attack.”

“You really are stupid. …If we do that when we’re this outnumbered, we’ll lose a whole lot more. Listen. When it’s just the two of us, we can make a run for it and escape if it comes to it.”

“I-if you do that, we will demand a substitute,” cut in Hashiba.

“She sure is thorough!!” complained the others.

“Umm,” thought Naruze. “If a substitute will do, is there anyone in Musashi we’d be fine with losing?”

“Wait, Naruze!” shouted Urquiaga. “In self-defense, let me make one thing very clear! We must not allow anyone on the Musashi to be lost. Isn’t that right, Ohiroshiki!? All life is valuable! You pedo!”

“Ha ha ha. I agree! We shouldn’t accept anyone’s death! Isn’t that right, you elder sister loving nonhuman!”

A few of them started heating up, but it never spread to Tenzou because he had Mary with him.

Naruze watched the others loudly attack each other.

…''Well, whatever. It’s always like this.

She smiled a little and shrugged.

“We just have to win is all. …And Horizon, covering for us by sending out the Musashi and all these horrible people would be an awful plan, so be careful.”

After all…

“That’s exactly what they want. They knew how you would react, so they set this up to have you say this. They don’t want us to surrender. They want to defeat and conquer Musashi. So we can’t let them use you. Your ideals are your own, so we can’t let someone else abuse them. …And that’s the job of those of us who follow you and that idiot.”

“Hold on, Black Mal. If we let you do that, Horizon’s and my policy will fall apart. No one will be able to trust Musashi anymore.”

“And,” said Naruze. “That’s why we’re planning to live. We aren’t heading out to die or to be killed. So order us to hunt down Hashiba. Tell us we can pull it off. Isn’t that enough?”

She wrapped her arms around Margot’s arm as she asked. And…

“Yes. Planning to live. That’s exactly what this is.”

A voice reached them from above.

…''Eh?

Naruze looked up and saw a giant figure standing on the roof of the rooftop’s entranceway.

The God of War had its flight devices on its back opened and it was facing the Azuchi.

It had canine head armor, but unlike the blue Righteousness it was green.

The word Loyalty was written in white on its waist armor, so that had to be the God of War’s name.

It raised a pole bearing the emblem of Musashi Ariadust Academy and the individual waving that school flag spoke.

“I, Satomi Yoshiyori, have temporarily inherited the name Naruse Masayoshi, so I will be going.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 92|Chapter 92]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 94|Chapter 94]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 92

2015-09-08T08:56:34Z

Txtracer: fixes

==Chapter 92: Condemner in a Place of Parting==
[[Image:Horizon3C_0801.jpg|thumb]]
''Now

''Where is there a nice breeze?

'''Point Allocation (An Elevated Place)

To the west of the Musashi, several beams of light flew even further into the west.

Two people were rushing toward the stern of Musahino’s surface area as if to see those lights off. One wore a Qing-Takeda coat as a vest and the other wore a Qing-Takeda girl’s uniform and a skirt.

“Hurry up!”

“Sure thing, Saizou. What about the others?”

To answer him, five sign frames appeared next to his face. The covert sign frames produced no light and drew their images with shadow. One of those shadow-drawn people was a woman with heavy makeup and a metal fan sword resting on her shoulder.

“#7, Riichi. I’m on my way there. I found a safe spot on the outer edge, so I can jump down at any time.”

A demonic giant priest shrugged in the next sign frame over. He scratched his cheek with a bitter smile.

“#3, Miyoshi Seikai. Diving really isn’t my thing.”

“#4, Isa. And you call yourself a ninja, Seikai? Oh, but I guess it’s about time to go home. And I was just getting used to getting three Western meals a day.”

After the short girl’s comment, a young man with closed eyes spoke from the next sign frame.

“#5, Anayama. Leader Sarutobi, I can meet up with you, but do you need any help?”

“Not from anyone who let the Reine des Garous treat them like a child.”

“Understandable.” Anayama nodded. “But that would be #10, Kakei, not me.”

They all laughed as a slender man shouted “No fair!”

“Anyway, don’t overreach, okay?” said Anayama.

“We won’t. …Oh, I think this is about far enough for you.”

With that comment, Saizou wrapped her arms around Sasuke’s back.

They jumped into the wind.

The two of them hopped up to the roofs of the surface business district.

Mist trailed after Sasuke as Saizou, a wind spirit, protected him, but he did not actually set foot on the roof. The two of them pulled up their knees and gently flew over the roof. A road came into view diagonally below them.

On that road, two people were rushing sternward, toward Okutama. One was a girl in a lab coat and the other was a man in a work outfit.

Sasuke nodded toward the man’s back.

“There you are, Musashi King.”

Sasuke rode Saizou’s wind silently down to the road.

Musashi King Yoshinao was positioned behind the lab coat girl to protect her, but he did not turn back toward Sasuke. He was too focused on the out-of-breath girl.

Aiming for the man’s neck, Sasuke drew a short sword and rode down on Kirigakure’s wind.

“————”

But a sudden kick flew up toward him from below.

“————!?”

Sasuke did not have time to catch it on the short sword, so he twisted his body around instead.

He held Saizou’s shoulders as she held him from behind and he sank down toward the ground.

He dodged by slipping below the upwards kick.

It all happened in silence.

The kicking foot flew over his lowered head and then leaped quickly into the air.

…''Whose attack was that!?

As a ninja, he memorized the movements of every opponent’s weapon and body, but this kick was both familiar and unfamiliar. He had seen it before, but it felt somehow off.

So as he moved back and straightened up, he checked who it was from the corner of his eye.

He identified the individual who had leaped without making a noise and landed on a nearby roof.

…''The inheritor of the Mito Matsudaira name!

Yoshinao continued running while returning his sword to his hip.

…''So they got here in time.

Mishina Hiro must have noticed his action because she looked back at him.

“What is it, vice principal? Are you worried about the solitaire game you left running on your PC?”

“No,” Yoshinao replied without looking back. “I realized I needed to rethink a number of things after this battle.”

“That was a close one. We were so distracted by the sabotage that we left our VIPs unguarded. We need to be more careful.”

Sasuke saw the silver-haired girl standing on a rectangular wooden structure in the business district.

By that time, he was already jumping to the next building over, but…

…''The Reine des Garous’s daughter sure has changed.

Back in IZUMO, she had seemed somehow restless, but…

“She has guts for this not to faze her.”

As soon as he landed on the roof, his comrades surrounded him.

Including him, this was seven of the Sanada Ten Braves.

But the Reine des Garous’s daughter only smiled at him.

“Is this your way of saying goodbye? If so…”

Her own comrades surrounded her: Musashi’s 1st special duty officer, Mary Stuart, the Tachibana couple, the half-dragon 2nd special duty officer, and an Indian holding a pot of curry.

The last one was a bit of an enigma, but he was probably some kind of secret weapon. A secret ingredient was an important part of curry, after all. Those not here were presumably protecting the other VIPs, but…

“Thank for your hospitality.”

The half-dragon replied with a nod.

“Noriki will be disappointed. You helped him repair the ships quite a bit. …Of course, then you destroyed all that.”

“Yes,” agreed Tachibana Muneshige while looking to Miyoshi Seikai. “Nyuudou, you played with the children a lot, so this is a difficult situation.”

“I also wish that could have lasted longer, but…”

“Sorry.” Saizou removed herself from Sasuke’s back and smiled bitterly. “We have to do our duty, so the next time we meet, we’ll be enemies from the start. I don’t want to hear any complaints if we kill you without warning, okay?”

“I don’t think they can complain if they’re dead.”

“Pipe down, you.”

Mary smiled at Saizou’s comment and then bowed their way.

“Take care.”

As soon she said that, Musashi’s 1st special duty officer launched an attack.

He threw Ex. Collbrande as a projectile.

The goodbyes were over, so they would always face each other as enemies from here on out. This attack signaled the beginning of that, so Sasuke purposefully chose to block it.

He used a shallow strike of his short sword to produce sparks without breaking his weapon.

“See ya.”

He had already leaped into the sky behind him.

He jumped and ran toward the outer edge of the ship.

“Honestly, this is not going to be an easy enemy to deal with.”

He jumped from the deck and into empty air. Sanada territory waited below, west of Kantou.

He spoke to himself as he fell into the dark mountains and to the depths of the forest and valley.

“What am I supposed to tell the young master and our teachers?”

Mitotsudaira sighed and lowered her shoulders.

They had driven off an enemy faction, but another faction was still attacking from the sky.

“Still, one of our enemies has left. We need to make repairs and fight back!”

She understood the situation, so she made instructions through a sign frame.

She checked the course information “Musashi” had sent the student council and chancellor’s officers.

…''Currently, the Musashi is heading east while turning a bit north from Suruga Bay.

Instead of traveling along the coast as a provisional border, they were going to head straight to Edo.

…''We’re recreating history, so we don’t need to worry about the provisional borders.

They did not have to follow the marker points, so they had an easier time of evading the Nagahama’s attacks.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “What will we be doing now?”

'''Novice:''' “The Battle of Mikatagahara ends when the Matsudaira side loses its pursuers and escapes to its castle, so we need to lose the enemy before reaching Edo and fly into our specialized dock at Kantou IZUMO.”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “The Musashi’s land port at Kantou IZUMO is the floating kind, so we can dock more quickly than when it’s on the surface. It’ll still be pretty rough, though.”

'''Me:''' “Um, does anyone need a joke somewhere? Anyone? Please?”

Even through the sign frame, Mitotsudaira could tell everyone was ignoring him, so she did the same.

At any rate, losing the enemy would be easier said than done. The large Nagahama was one thing, but…

“The Sunomata!”

That ship was following them using the ghost ship.

…''But we have a way of dealing with that!

First…

“All ships, begin gravitational cruising. Over.”

After the ship-wide announcement, ether light reached them from the outer hull.

The expanding components had been left idling so they could use gravitational cruising at a moment’s notice. Given the durability of the parts and the remaining fuel, they had to settle this soon.

“Sink the Sunomata before we reach Edo!”

Mitotsudaira’s words were accompanied by a great wind blowing across the Musashi.

They had accelerated toward Edo.

Toshiie saw the Musashi move forward.

Due to its great size, it creaked as if shrinking down and then shot forward.

No matter how many times he saw it, it seemed to have the strength of the crashing waves.

But if that great speed was viewed as a wave, then the Sunomata was a small boat riding that wave. Its small size let it ride above the wave without being caught in the middle.

And so it did just that. It was pulled forward by the Musashi, it circled above like a kite, and it borrowed the Musashi’s acceleration while looking down on it.

It rode that speed. The Nagahama was left behind as it flew to the north on their left, but the Sunomata only had to attack and force the Musashi to use the power of its gravitational cruising on defense. That would lower the Musashi’s speed and allow the Nagahama to catch up.

But something unexpected happened.

The Musashi gained a new color: white.

The color spread from the bow like a flower or sparks.

It was an ocean. The Musashi had created its ocean in front of it in the instant it accelerated.

The water seemed to be set thickly, so a massive amount of spray collided with the air the Musashi was carrying with it and it burst apart in the shape of a spindle. However, the Musashi itself was stopped by the water, erasing its acceleration.

“Oh, no!”

The Sunomata danced.

The ghost ship’s speed had dropped in response to the Musashi’s actions, but the same could not be said of the Sunomata that had the ghost ship attached to the back as a source of thrust. As light as it was, it still had enough weight to create a tug-of-war between the stopping ghost ship and the coasting Sunomata.

As a result, the Sunomata was pulled back by the ghost ship and pitched forward.

“…!”

It was forced into a midair dance that created a fatal opening.

Asama did not overlook that instant of opportunity.

Below Musashi Ariadust Academy’s bridge, she fired an arrow from the landing partway up the stairs. Her binder skirt was already holding her in place and Kimi was getting in the way by hiding behind her.

“Hit!”

“Clap!!”

She had cast several ghost purification spells on the arrow and provided no homing reinforcements to focus on acceleration.

The Sunomata was trying to temporarily purge the ghost ship to stabilize itself, but it was too late.

Asama had abandoned her attack’s homing properties to focus on speed, so it transformed into a spear of light and scored a direct hit on the ghost ship.

The ship was broken. Its light scattered everywhere and the ghosts ascended toward heaven as glowing mist, but…

“Please!!”

A moment later, the ocean in front of Musashi’s bow vanished.

Immediate reacceleration was launched backwards from the opened portions on the ships’ side hulls. The Musashi almost seemed to have grown wings as the most acceleration light that day was blasted into the sky to send them away from the Sunomata.

“…!!”

The Musashi used everything it had built up to push itself forward, and…

“————!!”

After passing a certain point, the eight ships raced forward.

The Musashi poured on speed as it flew alone to the east.

White mist exploded and trailed from every corner and point as the Musashi continued onward. It seemed to bend in agony as it slipped through the wind and dropped far down in the sky to pick up even more speed.

The Nagahama could not keep up and neither could the Sunomata now that it had lost the ghost ship. The Musashi simply headed east, leaving behind the roar of the air it broke through and split apart.

Qing-Takeda’s warriors looked up at that roar as they began exchanging fire with the enemy fleet arriving overhead.

“So they’ve gone.”

Yoshitsune had finished riding Shizuka up to Benkei’s lowered shoulder and she watched the leaving ship through the descending noise, scattering flames, and shrapnel.

…''Okay, what to do now?

The Battle of Nagashino had already begun.

Takeda’s heavy mechanical horse cannons were exchanging artillery fire with P.A. Oda’s aerial fleet.

She was surrounded by light and noise. The fleet overhead was large enough to hit without really aiming and they sent a downpour of shells back their way.

Gravity barriers, defense barriers, personal barriers, large barriers, and countless other defensive spells scattered light as the exchange of cannon fire pierced up and down through the night sky.

But despite the shockwaves, explosions of light, and falling shrapnel, Yoshitsune asked a question.

“I’d like to know what you think, since you’re crazy enough to contact someone who’s supposed to be ‘dead’.”

She looked to the sign frame “Shizuka” had opened on top of Shizuka’s tank.

“Your ‘sweetheart’ is on there, isn’t he? You thought you could guide them, but it looks like they rejected you, Houjou Ujinao.”

“Qing-Takeda’s ruler keeps sticking her nose into other people’s business even after she is dead? I can see your nation is going to have an irritating future, Lady Yoshitsune.”

“You always have to have the last word, don’t you? …Hey! You over there! Show more care when you shoot those! The Satou Brothers put a lot of work into gathering all the catalyst material for the shells! You’re supposed to ignore that fact and fire them completely carelessly!!”

“Are they supposed to show more care or be careless?”

''Only kids care about those little details,'' thought Yoshitsune as she moved Shizuka to the right.

In the spot she had vacated, a five meter square piece of armor dropped down, was knocked back up, and then dropped back down. She watched it fall and saw the Satou Brothers scramble out of the way below.

“Now, what do you want, Houjou? I’m busy being destroyed, so make it quick.”

“Testament,” replied Ujinao.

The Association of Indian States belonged to the Mlasi religion and was provisionally ruled by the Mughal Empire which belonged to P.A. Oda, so she normally would have used “shaja”.

“What’s got you using the Testament Union’s method? …Hey! Anti-air unit over there! Don’t let any of the ships fly above me!”

“You seem otherwise occupied, so should I wait until later?”

“What? I’ll be destroyed before long, so better do it now.”

“In that case,” said Ujinao as she sent some data over.

It was a map of the ocean near Mikawa and near the Sagami region.

“This is the course predicted by the Fuuma.”

“Oh?”

When she saw the indicated course, Yoshitsune scratched her head and bared her teeth in a smile.

“Ujinao, of all the things you’ve said to me, shown me, and done around me, this is far and away the best! Did Satomi’s chancellor stay on the Musashi because he predicted this!? I can’t believe it…”

Yes.

“I’ve been waiting so long to see the moment the world is set into motion! Well done!”

“Thank you very much. I will tell my subordinates you said so.”

“That’s the problem with you. You need to have more pride in yourself. More like me.”

“You just like to take credit for everything. I heard about the time you were woken up and were crazy enough to say, ‘Good job waking me up. You couldn’t have done it without my help.’ ”

“Honesty is the best policy, so can’t you be more honest with yourself? Life will be pretty boring otherwise.”

“Being honest is not always a good thing. It lets people deceive you again and again.”

“For example?”

Ujinao placed a hand on the side of her mouth and answered the question.

“Topknot.”

“Damn you!!”

The people running around attacking the fleet above looked back and Mobile City Benkei’s sight devices turned their light Yoshitsune’s way, but she waved a hand outward to drive away their gazes.

“So are you saying we’ve already lost?”

“I don’t know how it will happen, but let’s just say this will not be our loss.”

“What has you so confident?”

“Testament,” said the demonic princess with an automaton body. “A loss due to the history recreation and a true loss are two very different things.”

“Agreed. And in that case…”

Yoshitsune crossed her arms behind her head.

“We’ll do whatever we can. C’mon, Benkei, get up. The enemy’s main fleet is here, so let’s show them what we can do.”

Houjou Ujinao sensed it from the roof of the Odawara school building she used as a castle.

With Mt. Hakone to the west, she could not see the battlefield plain, but with her automaton eyes closed, she gathered the visual data sent in from the watchtowers scattered throughout Odawara. What she “saw” like that was the movement of the P.A. Oda fleet as it hung in the sky like dark clouds.

…''The fleet is split into three rows to fire in three stages.

The ships of the front row fired in unison and used the recoil to fall back. While those ships loaded their next shells and cleaned the cannons, the next row of ships moved forward and fired.

With two rows, they would have had a firing row and a standby row, but they had three. By the time the front row fired, the second row had nearly finished its preparations, so it could fire almost immediately afterwards.

The barrage itself was bad enough, but that attack had an even more frightening aspect.

…''The other side can’t tell when a gap is coming.

The other side was also attacking with cannons, but no matter how powerful those cannons were, they never had a chance to fire when the enemy was firing so constantly.

They might as well have been focused entirely on defense. And…

“The three-stage firing of main cannons is from Nobunaga’s history recreation, so the other nations can’t use it against them.”

Yoshitsune’s unit seemed to be falling back and firing as a countermeasure. The Fuuma ninja unit observing from the peak of Mt. Hakone said Yoshitsune’s heavy cavalry unit was running back to open enough of a gap to negate the enemy’s shellfire.

The enemy had to move forward to pursue them, but moving forward left them unable to fire or at least to fire properly.

In the gap that created, Yoshitsune’s forces would fire their large anti-air cannons.

That had crushed the enemy’s front line and was working on the next line, but the enemy was still numerous and Yoshitsune’s forces were clearly being worn down. The ships that had been modified for higher altitudes were staying in those relatively safe altitudes as they fired.

Qing-Takeda was at a disadvantage.

Yoshitsune had not actually been preparing for the Battle of Nagashino, yet she had agreed to P.A. Oda’s request.

“You wanted to show off your ruler’s pride by protecting the Musashi and keeping Kantou from being conquered,” muttered Ujinao. “But I know the other reason. Mikatagahara is a smaller battle than Nagashino. If you complete Nagashino with the smaller unit you have here, you can leave behind even more forces despite the fall of Takeda.”

She could keep the loss of personnel to a minimum and that personnel would remain in Kantou as an anti-Hashiba force.

The nations protected by Qing-Takeda would not forget that.

“Honestly. And after all that talk about not caring if you lost your people.”

Ujinao clenched her fists as she realized something. If the Musashi traveled through northern Houjou land to Edo and Qing-Takeda was destroyed to the west, Houjou of Odawara would have been protected by both of them.

She made sure to keep that in her heart as she spoke.

“Lady Yoshitsune, you truly were fit to be a ruler. But…”

She could perceive the aerial battlefield, but the ground was harder to “see”.

She continued speaking without looking up at Mt. Hakone’s peak which rose into the night sky.

“But…you are still an idiot.”

As soon as she said that, a massive form rose above Mt. Hakone’s silhouette

The great form was tall enough to reach the fleet in the sky, yet it still looked short.

“That is Qing-Takeda’s striking-style anti-air weapon, Mobile City Benkei!”

The falling shells stabbed into Benkei as he used his backwards motion to stand up.

When standing upright, he was about three kilometers tall and at least two kilometers wide and long.

Gravity barriers opened below his feet to keep him from sinking into the crust.

“Stand!” he shouted.

“Hi there!!”

On his vast shoulder, Yoshitsune raised a hand toward the P.A. Oda fleet that was now at about the same height as her.

A moment later, they fired.

“Ah! You intolerant fools!!”

Benkei’s armor was thick, but that was why almost all of the three-stage firing was aimed at his upright form. Countless armor panels broke and sparks flew, but he finished standing regardless.

“Get! Ready!”

“Face forward, Benkei! Isn’t that big one the Kiyosu!?”

Benkei answered Yoshitsune’s question.

As she rode Shizuka, he appeared in her hand as a warrior monk Mouse and stared into the distance.

“Correct!”

The Kiyosu was a two kilometer striking ship in charge of the left wing of P.A. Oda’s fleet. It must have sensed danger in Benkei’s focus because it frantically tried to move back as it fired. But…

“Pull them in, Benkei!!”

As soon as Yoshitsune swung her left arm outwards, Benkei’s left arm – the front left fork normally used to keep him afloat – moved unbelievably fast.

It was controlled using Qing-Takeda’s Oat. This was an application of Oat’s thousand ''li'' travel spell.

The spell was said to let someone run one thousand ''li'' in a single night, but a great number of the spells were used to send the giant armored doll’s left arm forward.

Several circular emblems appeared on the outside of the arm. Instead of using internal motors, spells on the outside moved the giant arm around. The arm groaned under the strain, but…

“…! …! …!”

The two kilometer arm flew rapidly through a space of less than one thousand ''li''.

The movement did not hit a single enemy ship. It missed, but the arm’s speed instantly broke the sound barrier.

“We’ve got you know, you fools!!”

An overwhelming amount of air was pushed out of the way and a vacuum was created in front of the P.A. Oda fleet. It initially struck the fleet as a shockwave, but then a pocket of air started to fill the vacuum.

“Pull them in close. Try not to make it too painful for them.”

An explosion of wind and a long trail of white water vapor appeared and the enemy fleet’s front line literally fell into them.

The small and even mid-sized ships were pulled into a gap or drop in the air.

A few of the ships collided and even the Kiyosu was sucked in as it tried to move away.

After judging the Kiyosu’s movement and distance, Yoshitsune swung her right hand from atop Shizuka and raised an over-the-top voice.

“Go for a punch☆, Benkei!!”

“Punch☆!”

Copying her movement, Benkei made a horizontal chop with an over-the-top movement.

With a gravity barrier knuckle guard attached, the metal blow drew an arc with a two kilometer radius.

The small ships were mowed down, the midsized ships were knocked away, and…

“Direct hit!!”

The Kiyosu was struck.

“Hit!”

A splendid sound of impact rang out.

A great noise and an intense noise blended together to send a single tremor through the sky.

The ships whose armor had been torn away during the battle were blown away by the shockwave and Benkei’s surface was also blown away like stains on its paint.

A moment later, the Kiyosu was destroyed as if it had been hit by all the forces built up inside it.

The front half was compressed to a third of its size from left to right and the entire ship tilted.

“Hey, support that thing.”

“Support!”

Benkei reached out both arms and supported the tilting ship. The crew cried out and jumped off, but Yoshitsune still pointed to the left and spoke.

“Go for another hit.”

Benkei responded by swinging the Kiyosu like a baseball bat.

He targeted the right side of the enemy fleet. They were still dancing about from being sucked in and then hit by the second vacuum created by the horizontal chop, so Benkei got a clean hit with the Kiyosu.

After innumerable sounds of destruction, the Kiyosu bent and the enemy fleet broke and scattered, especially the small ships.

“Strike!”

“That was really more of a hit.”

“Don’t! Worry! About! It!”

As the wind blew in after the fact, Benkei’s Mouse tilted his head and Shizuka’s Mouse stroked his head. After seeing that, Yoshitsune faced forward.

The enemy’s left wing had been crushed, but…

“There’s still more?”

The enemy fleet was still plenty thick, so…

“Let’s go, Benkei.”

“Let’s! Go!”

As soon as Benkei took a large step forward, their surroundings grew dark.

It was night, and yet darkness suddenly surrounded Yoshitsune.

“…!?”

The only light was her own sign frame and Benkei’s glowing sight devices.

…''The fleet around us has vanished!?

''No,'' she realized. ''They haven’t vanished.

“We just can’t see them!?”

She suddenly realized there was no noise either. Only one thing surrounded them.

…''Dark clouds!?

Something swirled around her with occasional lightning racing along its surface.

The wind blew in.

“What is this?”

She did not know, so the corner of her mouth naturally rose.

“Interesting!”

She had no idea what had happened, but she knew what was here. The surrounding dark clouds were growing thicker and the wind wrapped forcefully around her.

“…! …! …!”

Benkei’s entire body shook. He corrected his posture and took a defensive stance while Yoshitsune sensed a presence around her.

…''This was earlier than expected, but there’s no helping that!

“Listen!”

She sent out her words.

“Listen, fools of Musashi!”

As the Musashi accelerated, Masazumi listened to the staticky voice coming from a sign frame.

“Head north! Make allies of Date and Sviet Rus!”

And…

“Masazumi! I don’t know if this has anything to do with the Princess Disappearances, but there is one thing I can tell you.”

“…What!?”

“Won’t you answer me!?”

She had, but it did not seem to have reached her. Even so, Yoshitsune sent out her words.

“The Princess presumably belongs to some kind of organization, so let’s assume that organization is an academy. But I’ve never heard of an academy with someone known as the Princess. However…”

However…

“When the people descended to this planet long ago, they decided how they would keep the world moving. The old stories say the leaders gathered and created an ‘academy’ to guide the people. That must have been the beginning of the modern academies. And after the world was split between the real world and the harmonic world, the Emperor built academies across the Far East as places of guidance. Those academies no longer exist, but I do know what they were called.”

That being…

“The Divinely Ordained Prayer Academies. I believe they were the locations of rituals meant to pray to the environmental gods for rain in the harsh environment of early history. I’ve never seen one of them, but rumor has it they existed up to the Harmonic Unification War.”

Yoshitsune continued.

“Go there. It may have nothing to do with the Princess, but if you’re searching out some hidden group, then searching out a hidden organization wouldn’t be a bad way to start. The lands up north have existed for a long time and the imperial army conquered the non-humans there in the past. There must have been a place of guidance there. I had no interest in it, but there must be traces of the past there.”

So go.

“Go children of Musashi Ariadust Academy, the newest of the Far Eastern academies. Challenge this oldest of academies and-…”

The divine transmission was cut off by static and Masazumi shouted a single name.

“Lady Yoshitsune!”

Yoshitsune thought she heard someone calling her name, but she was already preparing to fight.

She felt a power straight ahead in the darkness surrounding her. She sensed something approaching, so…

“There, Benkei! That’s it! That’s the enemy that crushed K.P.A. Italia…that crushed Itsukushima!”

She gave a smile of anticipation.

“Go! Benkei Throat Thrust!”

“Throat! ☆! Thrust!”

Benkei stomped forward with a rumbling roar and threw the strike.

As the tremor roared through the sky, something could be heard breaking.

Benkei’s outstretched arm was split into a top and bottom half, gravity barrier knuckle guard and all.

“!?”

…''What!?

Benkei had been the one to attack, but something had torn into his arm even more quickly and powerfully.

Just as Yoshitsune wondered what it was, Benkei was sent flying backwards by an impact across his entire body.

…''Well, this is simple!

Yoshitsune felt a tremor assault her body from the enemy’s attack. Benkei’s defense system had protected her as his master, protected Shizuka, and even cast defense spells on himself.

“…!”

But Yoshitsune was still sent flying through the air with Shizuka’s broken pieces.

Everything on top of Benkei’s giant shoulder was knocked into the sky.

She was falling, but she managed to open a sign frame with a trembling hand even as the dark clouds swallowed her up.

Also, Benkei’s giant form appeared before her. He intended to protect her from the enemy, but…

“…! …! …!”

The giant armored doll’s body suddenly exploded.

He had been destroyed.

Benkei broke apart and even the fragments came apart in midair as if being devoured.

“Ha ha!”

Yoshitsune laughed as she fell into the darkness.

“It’s been far too long since this world of mine was so interesting!!”

Masazumi looked at the sign frame sitting motionless in front of her.

It was filled with static and shook a little.

“Maa?”

It broke into fragments of light and vanished.

…''Ah.

As soon as she realized the divine transmission had been completely cut off on the other end, she heard a distant noise.

Beyond the darkness to the west, she heard a brief but distinct sound of shattering metal.

It almost sounded like something was breaking.

“Lady Yoshitsune…”

She spoke aloud without thinking, and…

“Masazumi! Up ahead!”

Mitotsudaira instantly ran up next to her.

“You can see Edo!”

The beginnings of cheers rose from the Musashi. It was a surge of hopeful doubt from the people moving and working on the surface of the ship. They had seen lights in the form of a bay far to the east.

“…!”

They could not let their guard down yet, but the confirmation of their hopes coming true helped raise everyone’s morale.

Masazumi realized they were all reacting with relief and expectation.

…''Honestly.

Did it mean she was a worrier if she was already thinking about what came next? She also had to think about what had happened to Yoshitsune and Matsunaga, but…

…''If the vice president starts getting depressed, so will everyone else.

She decided to steel herself for the time being, so she breathed in and corrected her posture.

But then she looked around.

“You…?”

She noticed the tense atmosphere of the others. She distinctly saw it on Asama, Mitotsudaira, Kimi, and the others.

“Ohhhh! Edo! It’s Edo! Akihabara! We’ve gotta go to Akihabara!!”

The idiot aside, no one had relaxed their expression.

Among them, Asama spoke as she looked east.

“Masazumi, I overheard what Lady Yoshitsune told you.”

Masazumi knew more or less what the girl wanted to say, but she asked to help with her own concerns.

“That’s fine. …Did anything stand out to you?”

“Yes. Why did she…?”

Asama hesitantly tilted her head, so Mitotsudaira nodded to urge her on.

“Right.” Asama faced Masazumi again. “Why did she start by telling us to head north?”

…''You wondered that, too?

Masazumi realized she was thinking the same thing as Asama.

They probably all were and Asama looked around seeking confirmation.

“Isn’t that right? Wouldn’t she normally tell us to do that after the Battle of Mikatagahara? And Edo isn’t to the north. It’s to the east.”

Just as she started to ask why again, a sun blossomed above Edo Bay in the east.

It was a dragon line reactor.

It was the light of an explosion.

The ball of light was ten kilometers across. It turned to darkness as if peeling away from within, created a massive empty space, and swallowed up everything.

The air was consumed and erased, causing the sky to move.

The Musashi was heading east toward the Edo region and it was rapidly pulled eastward, but…

“Releasing upper power limits and turning to the north! Over!!”

As they made their forceful turn, all eight ships were thrown northward at full speed. However…

“Some of the accelerators have exceeded their load limit! Over!”

On Tama and Takao’s starboard side, the accelerators in the opened outer hull burst. Light scattered and the ships shook, but…

“We have broken away!! Over!!”

The air was thrown about seven hundred meters to the east as the Musashi flew in a sharp arc to accelerate north.

The wind blew in from behind. The air was sucked in to fill the ten kilometer gap, but that air collided as it filled the vacuum and ultimately slammed into the Musashi from behind.

That windy impact struck their stern after they had already finished their turn to the north.

The windows on the stern all shattered, the doors inside were broken, and the contents of the rooms were thrown violently about.

The stern of Takao, Okutama, and Oume hopped upwards.

“Everyone, brace for impact! Over!!”

The vertical movement as it fell back down was greater than fifteen meters.

To prevent an impact with those rearmost ships, the other ships moved forward.

The towing belts were removed so the front five ships and rear three ships could move into intersecting positions.

Okutama very nearly moved past Musashino, but…

“We rode it out! Over!!”

The ships caught up to the wind that had blown past them and they broke through it.

They broke through an explosion of mist and a great noise sounded out.

As the Musashi returned to its normal formation and continued north, the crew realized three things.

First, the great volume of water in Edo Bay had indeed been annihilated.

Second, the Sunomata and Nagahama were still pursuing them, so the Battle of Mikatagahara was not yet over.

And third, a new form had appeared in the windy sky above Edo Bay behind them. It was…

“The Musashi!?”

A giant ship had appeared there.

After breaking free of a primary stealth space, six linked ships came into view. Overall, it had a triple fuselage structure and it was a quasi-Bahamut class at just below seven kilometers long.

The red and black ship was equipped with cannons and its bow bore the emblem of P.A. Oda and a ship name: Azuchi.

Light raced across the entirety of the massive Azuchi. Some of it was meant to illuminate, some it was decorative, and some of it took the form of pulsing veins of energy, but it all throbbed in waves of bright and dim.

“The Azuchi will now open its outer hull. Shaja.”

After a ship-wide communication, sounds of splitting and of air rushing in accompanied the outer hull sliding apart.

Glowing mist escaped the gap between the outer hull and the inner hull.

That was the light of gravitational accelerators charging up.

The Azuchi began its preparations to head north after the Musashi.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 91|Chapter 91]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 93|Chapter 93]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 91

2015-09-08T06:03:05Z

Txtracer: minor fixes

==Chapter 91: Negotiators at the Crossroads==
[[Image:Horizon3C_0763.jpg|thumb]]
''Do you desire chaos?

''Or a monopoly?

'''Point Allocation (Setup)

An aerial ship continued to evade and attack as it remained above the Musashi, never moving further or closer.

The ship constantly firing homing shells and using the attached ghost ship for speed was the Sunomata, a P.A. Oda high-speed striking ship.

Toshiie thought about his enemy as he stood on the front deck.

“Are you going to cut in, Musashi Vice President?”

…''This is the second time.

He had already spoken with her in England once before.

His enemy was located directly below. No, since the Sunomata was in constant motion, he could only say she was somewhere on the Musashi. She was somewhere within the physical blows he fired and they deflected.

Where was she?

If not for the exchange of attacks, he would be able to see her and speak directly to her, yet the attacks were precisely what gave them a chance to exchange words.

“This is very strange, Ma-chan. Distance is meaningless.”

“What a pain.”

Then, the enemy’s voice reached him via Qing-Takeda’s divine transmission network.

“M.H.R.R. Treasurer, I believe the Musashi’s movement within M.H.R.R. never left the categories of ‘firing’ and ‘towing’. We simply traveled in a shallow parabolic arc.”

“It looked to us like a long horizontal course. That is well within the range of interpretation.”

“Precisely,” declared his enemy.

…''Is she going to force this through?

As soon as he thought that, the enemy said more.

“Anyway, M.H.R.R. Treasurer, as a representative of Musashi, I, Vice President Honda Masazumi, would like to clear up a misunderstanding M.H.R.R. and the Hashiba forces seem to have.”

Toshiie chose not to play along and ask what that was.

What mattered here was asserting that he was not interested.

But after a pause, Musashi’s vice president resumed speaking.

“In the early morning two days ago, you sent scouts to test our strength, but according to the history recreation, Hashiba and Matsudaira do not become enemies until after Nobunaga’s assassination. For that reason,” said the enemy, “Musashi Ariadust Academy wants it to be known that we have no intention of opposing M.H.R.R.”

“Oh?”

Yoshitsune created a blank space in her mouth.

…''Since Maeda’s using the history recreation here, she’s using it against him.

Maeda was using the history recreation to punish Musashi, but Musashi had countered that Hashiba and Matsudaira’s histories contained no battles needing recreating at this point.

Musashi had accepted that their invasion of M.H.R.R. airspace fell within the range of interpretation and then changed the subject. Now, they were using the history recreation as a shield.

…''But…

The Satou Brothers spoke up behind her.

“She’s rushing this.”

“If you two can tell, then she’s still got a long way to go.”

Yoshitsune crossed her arms and looked to the sign frame.

“You’re going too far on the offensive to defend yourself. Everyone can tell, Masazumi.”

Masazumi faced forward at the bottom of the stairs.

Light scattered through the sky and sound reached her ears. Instantaneous flashes of light cast her shadow on the stone pavement ahead of her.

This was Remorse Way.

With that name in mind, she filled her lungs with air to cool her body. And…

…''How about that?

She had reversed the argument. She knew that was dangerous. Her opponent could grow stubborn and he could also give up on her and reach his conclusion with no further argument.

Was she a coward or was she rushing this due to inexperience?

“————?”

She saw some people up ahead.

''That’s two people with large breasts and one with none. No, wait. That’s Asama, Kimi, and Yoshiyasu. And there’s Adele and Mitotsudaira approaching from the left. Including me, that’s four with flat chests and two with large ones. The fraction reduces to 1/2.

…''Calm down!!

''Don’t distract yourself. I need to think about what the enemy will do here.

“!?”

Light continuously exploded to port which was north and a ship-wide announcement was made.

“P.A. Oda’s Nagahama is pursuing us from behind and port! They are firing! Over.”

Another ship had caught up. And before they began Mikatagahara.

Just as the others stopped their running feet and turned to port, the enemy spoke.

“The Nagahama is an armed trade ship. It has been made quite fast, but its weaponry is light. Still, its toughness is its selling point. It will take time to take it down.”

The intangible pressure weighing down on Masazumi aligned with this visible threat.

“I have command here and I will continue to pursue you at this rate.”

She listened to the enemy.

“So what will you do now, Musashi Vice President?”

“What do you mean?” She raised her eyebrows. “The Musashi has no intention of opposing you!!”

“Then let me say this,” continued the enemy. “I can only conclude that you ''do'' intend to oppose us.”

Toshiie spoke slowly as he instructed the Nagahama to fly alongside the Sunomata and to continue firing.

“Listen.”

He was speaking more to Yoshitsune than Musashi.

“You invaded our airspace, you actively assisted the Protestants, and you are currently fleeing. How is any of that in accordance with the history recreation? Musashi Vice President, you greatly assisted the Protestants in the Sack of Magdeburg which will determine the course of the Thirty Years’ War between the M.H.R.R. Catholics and Protestants.”

Therefore…

“Not many died in Magdeburg and, even though the city was flooded, the damages were far less than expected. The M.H.R.R. Catholics are requesting an investigation by a representative of the Testament Union.”

He said “listen” once more.

“Depending on that investigation’s findings, it is entirely possible the Sack of Magdeburg could be redone.”

“Impossible!” shouted Mitotsudaira. “The city and its walls were destroyed! Do you have any idea how much preparation would be needed to redo it all!?”

That was exactly right. Masazumi knew this had to be no more than a bluff, but…

…''It’s enough to hold off the M.H.R.R. Protestants.

The negotiation was being held over Qing-Takeda’s divine transmission network, so only Toshiie, Masazumi, and Yoshitsune could listen in. Still, they would all be recording it, so even if it was a bluff…

…''If I ignore this bluff, he can release the records to make it look like I abandoned the Protestants.

And without Guericke and the Protestants here, she could not check with them what to do about the bluff. She was forced to treat Toshiie’s bluff as legitimate.

“Then what would you have us do?” she asked.

“I would like for Musashi to prove it has no intention of opposing us. …Oh, I know,” said Toshiie. “If you truly think that we will not be enemies as long as Nobunaga lives, then disarm the Musashi once more and, to ensure you never arm yourselves or begin any more conflicts, I would like to place a Testament Union inspector on the Musashi. One from M.H.R.R., of course.”

''That’s not possible,'' thought Masazumi. ''We’re on the way to Kantou to do exactly those things.

They would gain the strength they needed, work with Europe, and head to Westphalia. That was the entire point of their eastward journey.

…''Hashiba knows exactly what we’re doing.

She pretty much knew who would have leaked the contents of that secret meeting in Magdeburg. This meant Toshiie was here now to hold them in check.

But…

“This is…odd.”

The one frowning at Toshiie’s words was Adele.

She walked up to Masazumi’s side and tilted her head.

“…? What does this mean? Hashiba may have joined with the M.H.R.R. Catholics, but why is he assuming the Testament Union will do exactly what they want?”

…''Well…

Masazumi thought about that and reached a certain idea.

“Kh.”

''It’s hopeless,'' she thought. ''I screwed up,'' she added.

…''I shouldn’t have used the history recreation as a shield!

A groan worked its way up from the bottom of her gut. She managed to force it back down and opened her mouth to release some words from her stiff throat.

“Have the M.H.R.R. Catholics and Hashiba taken control of the Pope-Chancellor who you could call the representative of the Testament Union!?”

“What? How would they do that?”

Terumoto sat on the tatami mats laid out on the deck of the Pension Versailles, Hexagone Française’s flagship. Louis Exiv was resting his head on her lap.

“That’s impossible, isn’t it!? How would the M.H.R.R. Catholics take control of the Pope-Chancellor!?”

After realizing how loudly she was speaking, Terumoto opened a ''signe cadre''.

It was a Shinto version and she typed on the simple keyboard.

'''Former Delinquent:''' “The pope is elected by the cardinals, so how did Hashiba do that?”

'''Still Got It:''' “But the cardinals themselves can’t do anything. In fact, most of them are missing, given the state of K.P.A. Italia. In that case, who represents the Catholics? No, who is their defender?”

'''Former Delinquent:''' “What? Wouldn’t their defender be the Holy Roman Emperor?”

'''Still Got It:''' “Sorry. I’m going to apologize in advance on this one.”

“What?”

Terumoto tilted her head at the Reine des Garous’ post.

…''Why is she apologizing to me?

''Did she do something?'' she wondered as she thought about the conversation.

“Wait, the Holy Roman Emperor? Don’t tell me…”

Mouri-01 responded from where she stood to the side.

“Testament. Chancellor Rudolf II held the position.”

It all clicked into place and the man lying in her lap slowly explained.

“Heh. I see. I only heard bits and pieces of that, but I think I get it. After his battle with the Reine des Garous’ daughter, Rudolf II used the Sack of Magdeburg to disappear. Therefore, Student Council President Matthias became the provisional chancellor and thus the provisional Holy Roman Emperor. As the cardinals could not be gathered, he designated the new Pope-Chancellor in their place.”

Exiv gave a quiet laugh.

“They’re placing provisional positions on top of provisional positions to create nothing but fakes.”

“Don’t steal my lines.” Terumoto sighed. “But anyway, that means this isn’t a joke. It’s for real.”

She looked back to a certain ''signe cadre'' sent from K.P.A. Italia. It informed them of the new provisional Pope-Chancellor and it was signed by a certain individual.

“Olimpia. Historically, she was Pope-Chancellor Innocentius’ older sister-in-law. Currently, I believe she is actually his younger step-sister, but did they place her in the position?”

“Are you comparing her to yourself, Terumoto?”

“I took my position for myself, but I’m not so sure about this woman.”

After grabbing his head and correcting its position, Terumoto pulled the ''signe cadre'' in close.

“Sleep some more. Don’t force yourself to wake up. We’ll probably be busy starting tomorrow and the Roi Soleil needs to sleep at night. As Mouri of the setting sun, I’ll have things ready by then.”

“Heh. I think you are the one forcing yourself, Terumoto.”

“Not as much as you.”

She let her shoulders droop and looked east.

“Now, what will Musashi do? It’s possible they’ll be forced to do what Hashiba wants.”

“I see.”

Yoshitsune’s eyebrows moved as she thought.

…''So Hashiba defeated K.P.A. Italia and set up a puppet in the position of Pope-Chancellor.

She had heard Pope-Chancellor Innocentius was missing, so they must have placed someone else in that spot.

…''They’ll probably claim this is only a temporary Pope-Chancellor meant to keep the Testament Union from falling into chaos.

That would probably last until the Peace of Westphalia. Until then, they could still use the “chaos” excuse due to Europe’s Thirty Years’ War.

''In that case,'' thought Yoshitsune with a sigh.

“Satou Brothers, this has taken an annoying turn for politicians like you. And…this is a pretty fatal blow for Musashi. Every last one of the Testament Union’s interpretations is going to benefit Hashiba from now on.”

That of course affected Qing-Takeda as well.

…''Trying to make a mockery of us, are you?

The word was out that the Pope-Chancellor was missing, but they had quickly set up a replacement.

…''And then there’s this Toshiie guy.

He had started negotiating without even hinting at that fact in order to trap Musashi’s vice president.

“Satou Brothers, what’s going to happen to Musashi at this rate?”

“Testament. They will be placed under the Testament Union’s control. After all, they claim to show no hostility and yet they have taken actions that can be ‘interpreted’ to be hostile. The Testament Union will make sure that they take no more hostile actions. And since Musashi has declared they will preserve the history recreation and that they will not oppose Hashiba they have no reason to reject.”

“Yeah, they never would have imagined Hashiba was in a position to control the Testament Union.”

If the link between Hashiba and the Testament Union was weak, Musashi could negotiate with the Testament Union and get any inspector kicked out.

But if Hashiba and the Testament Union were close, nothing Musashi said would help.

“They’ve made a Testament Union you can’t negotiate with. That’ll definitely hold the other nations in check. But they’re asking for inspections and disarmament, huh? That’s no different from what the Testament Union did in the past. Pathetic.”

Yoshitsune smiled bitterly, but…

“Then I guess we need to get moving, Satou Brothers. Let’s go take control of Maeda’s plan. And…”

She corrected her posture.

“Tell all of our men to stay carefree as we do this.”

Masazumi tried to speak.

…''What do I do?

To keep Toshiie away, she had said they had taken no hostile action against M.H.R.R. and Hashiba.

And she had claimed they would not oppose Hashiba because of the history recreation.

But…

…''He refuses to believe our intentions.

So he was asking them to convince him by taking on an inspector and disarming.

However, the inspections and disarmament would be carried out by the Hashiba-led Testament Union. If they accepted, there would be no compromise or reduction.

Musashi’s power and freedom would be suppressed by Hashiba.

She could not allow that.

After all, they were on their way to Kantou in order to gain more power.

“I see.”

As everyone watched her and shells landed on the port side, Masazumi spoke quietly.

“I understand one thing now.”

“What might that be?”

She nodded and answered him.

“Our negotiations have broken down.”

“Eh?”

Masazumi heard confused voices around her, but she shook her head.

…''I screwed up at the very beginning.

To avoid Hashiba’s pursuit, she had tried to demonstrate their lack of hostility toward Hashiba.

That had been wrong.

Hashiba was trying to crush them, so they had taken advantage of that.

…''No, they were trying to trap me like that from the beginning.

And they had gotten her.

Given the urgency of the situation, she had leaped at the enemy’s bait.

She should have behaved differently. Instead of only trying to escape the current situation, she should have fought them head on. So…

“These negotiations have broken down.”

“This will leave a blemish on your record.”

“As long as it’s only on my record. I lost here. You can rejoice.”

This was far better than having them take control of the Musashi due to her mistake.

And with that in mind, there was something she had to say.

…''You are our enemy.

That was why she would reject their inspector and their disarmament.

…''But…

That would truly mean making an enemy of Hashiba. Nobunaga had not yet been lost, so she would be ignoring the history recreation. It was her own mistake that had led to this, but…

…''Can I?

Could she declare their hostile intentions toward Hashiba?

Could she really reject the history recreation and make an enemy of the Testament Union?

“—————”

She closed her eyes and breathed in.

“Okay.”

She had built up her resolve.

Everyone was looking her way and she knew what she had to ask them.

“Is it possible to lose the Sunomata and Nagahama here?”

If they brought a Hashiba force with them to Kantou, Matsudaira would be neither a protector nor a barrier for the cautious Kantou forces. That meant they had to shake off those two ships here.

“It wouldn’t be impossible.”

Neshinbara walked up from the road on the right.

He then turned to look toward the bow where two people were walking down Remorse Way.

“Aoi and Horizon?”

“Hey, I don’t know what’s going on, but it sure is exciting. Can’t you do something about those noisy guys flying above us?”

''Don’t sound so carefree,'' thought Masazumi, but she was pretty sure all would truly be lost if he was ever anything but carefree. So she turned to Neshinbara who nodded.

“We can use Ariadust-kun’s Logismoi Óplo on the Nagahama and Asama-kun’s arrows on the Sunomata. That just leaves how we fly. The Sunomata is staying in motion so we can’t aim at it and the Nagahama is keeping its distance. The Musashi will have to be prepared to run into them a little.”

“Heh heh. You can only choose to be so rough because you know you can fix everything at Kantou IZUMO later. Choosing to put up with some pain now for what comes later is an important decision for a girl, you know?”

“I suppose,” agreed Masazumi.

But then…

“You can’t,” cut in the idiot. “Seijun, what are you freaking out about?”

He hit the bull’s-eye.

…''I can’t believe him.

Not only because of how well he observed people but also because he had no reservations about saying it.

''He’s pretty dangerous even as an ally,'' thought Masazumi with a bitter smile in her heart.

Still, she gave a large tilt of her head.

“What? Me? Freaking out? What are you talking about?”

''I really am bad at lying,'' she realized.

The others were watching her and the situation was still underway.

The Musashi was already flying above the ground and about to enter Qing-Takeda.

She needed to make a decision in order to maintain Qing-Takeda’s trust.

…''I need to say we’re their enemy.

They would ignore the history recreation and oppose Hashiba. Then, they had to enter Kantou after losing the Sunomata and Nagahama.

Of course, if they created a hostile situation with Hashiba and then went to Kantou, the Kantou forces would accuse them of bringing trouble with them, but she could bear that responsibility alone. So she hurriedly spoke up.

“Look at the situation here. We need to break out of this, so…”

“I said you can’t.”

Aoi stepped in front of her and said “listen”. He then pulled the pads out from his chest.

“Put these in for a sec.”

Silence reigned for about three seconds. Afterwards, Masazumi quietly breathed in and glared at the idiot.

“What are you trying to say?”

“What?”

The idiot tilted his head and held the objects out toward her again with an entirely serious expression.

“It only has to be for a sec, okay? Just a quick sec, okay?”

“I’m serious. What are you trying to say, you idiot?”

As soon as she said that, he removed his wig and placed it over her head without bothering to turn it around.

The back of the long hair hid her face entirely.

“Ah.”

Surprised, she saw golden locks swaying in front of her. She frantically reached up, but found it was a tight fit. It latched onto her real hair and would not come off easily. But…

“Hey, anteater, are you sending that divine transmission to Yoshitsune? I saw her a moment ago.”

“Maa.”

“What is it, you fool? Do you need something?”

“Hey, that you, Yoshitsune?”

“Stop that,” muttered Masazumi, but the idiot grabbed her head and pushed her away from the sign frame.

He then completely ignored her as he spoke.

“Can you hear this, Yoshitsune? We’ll have to wait until later to play with my dick. I’m cross-dressing right now.”

“What the hell are you trying to say!?”

“L-Lady Yoshitsune! Tolerance! You need to demonstrate tolerance!” shouted the Satou Brothers.

“I don’t envy your job, you two. …Now, Yoshitsune, can you see this right here? It’s not my dick, so actually look, okay? This girl’s a blonde, right? That’s because she isn’t Seijun.”

“…What?”

Masazumi wanted to protest, but the idiot said more to Yoshitsune before she could.

“Some idiot disguised herself to trick you. That’s gotta be what happened. After all…”

After all…

“Our vice president always grins like an idiot when she negotiates. Whenever things seem so bad you don’t think anyone could enjoy it, she’s got the most satisfied look you’ve ever seen. So…”

So…

“If this girl can’t do that, she’s clearly not Seijun. You saw me reveal her disguise, didn’t you?”

“Wait, Aoi!”

What was he doing? How was he planning to do this?

…''How is he planning to escape my mistake here!?

“Yoshitsune,” said the idiot. “Shoot everyone, even us.”

Yoshitsune clearly heard what the idiot said.

“I heard a bit about that Battle of Mikatagahara stuff earlier. We get beat up pretty bad in that, right? So…that’s the normal outcome here. I dunno what’ll happen to the Musashi and I do know Seijun was doing everything she could to avoid it, but…”

But…

“That means not avoiding it is just the normal outcome. So…”

Outside the frame, the idiot shook the hand holding Masazumi’s head. He seemed to be sending strength to her.

“So shoot us, Yoshitsune! We’ll do something about it, so don’t worry about us!”

“Waaaaait!”

The new shout came from Toshiie.

“Are you going to drag us into this, too!? That is an undeniably hostile act!”

“Eh? What’re you talking about? Hashiba and Matsudaira are best buddies right now, aren’t we? But I was thinking. We keep saying how good friends we are to you, but you keep saying we’re not. I’m finding that a little hard to believe, so how about we test our power of friendship?”

The idiot scratched his head as he continued.

“You’ll stay by our side and get shot up during the Battle of Mikatagahara, won’t you?”

“Waaaait!”

“Matsuuu!”

''Oh, Ma-chan made a joke!'' noted Toshiie in a corner of his mind.<ref>Matsu means wait in Japanese.</ref>

…''This is insane!

He was saying he could not trust Musashi’s claims of non-hostility, so now they wanted to test their friendship in the same way. And…

“Why do we have to join you in the Battle of Mikatagahara!?”

“Hey, Shiro!”

“What?”

Toshiie tilted his head at the unexpected name and the idiot looked to the left of the screen.

“Shiro, this guy’s a mercenary, so let’s hire him. We’ll buy his friendship and then use him as a shield as much as we can. Isn’t that a great plan?”

“Wait, are you a complete moron!? What are you talking about!?”

Toshiie nodded several times at what the merchant shouted from out of frame. That plan was simply ridiculous.

Musashi’s treasurer stepped in from the left of the screen. The tall boy gave Toshiie an expressionless look before turning back to the idiot.

“Listen, idiot. Listen very carefully. I cannot believe you would suggest we buy friendship.”

''Yes! That’s right! It’s wrong, isn’t it!?

“That trash is not worth a single yen.”

“Ehhhhhhh!?” shouted Toshiie.

“Could you quit taking my shtick in an entirely different direction like that?”

Ignoring the idiot’s head tilt and complaint, the merchant faced Toshiie once more.

“Now then, M.H.R.R. Treasurer. Friendship is a form of free service. Did you hear that? Free. It comes with no future obligations, so it allows you to rip someone off without giving them any way to track you down! …On that note, go die for us and do it for free.”

“Wait, wait, wait!!”

Something had gone wrong at some point and a certain thought came to mind. He was pursuing the Musashi because they had violated the history recreation, so…

…''Our history recreation takes priority over Mikatagahara since that battle hasn’t even started yet!

That meant they could not begin that battle.

…''It comes after us.

He had tried to use that reasoning to ignore what they said, but then he heard a sudden voice.

It was the idiot again.

“Hey, Maeda whatever-your-name-is? Yeah, you in the red. You’re about to enter Qing-Takeda.”

The boy asked a single question.

“But did you get Yoshitsune’s permission?”

Toshiie sucked in an icy gasp.

…''Oh, no!

When entering Qing-Takeda he had meant to first get permission by stating his need to punish Musashi, but as Yoshitsune pointed out…

“I’ve heard a lot here, but I haven’t actually given permission yet.”

…''They got me…

Normally, he would have gotten permission from Yoshitsune at the beginning of the discussion.

In fact, he had started the discussion toward that end.

But as he was negotiating for that permission, someone had interrupted.

“Musashi Vice President!!”

Masazumi was hanging her head with the wig forced on her head by the idiot, but the discussion over the sign frame made her realize what she had done.

…''Thank goodness.

Interrupting at that crucial point had been an elementary trick, but it had paid off.

Preventing Yoshitsune and Toshiie’s discussion from continuing had been fortunate in and of itself, but…

…''Can I really be proud of drawing Maeda’s attention to me?

Suddenly, the hand shaking her head lifted her head instead.

“I don’t really get it.”

The idiot tilted his head and asked a question.

“But can you smile now?”

“I’m a fake, aren’t I?”

That was all they had accomplished, so Masazumi let her shoulders droop again.

…''From here on, the harsh results are going to be forced onto both of us equally!

Toshiie looked at the course Matsu displayed on a map.

They were about a minute away from Qing-Takeda territory and the anti-air cannons there.

Even if they were punishing someone for violating the history recreation, the Sunomata would be violating someone’s airspace without permission. He could not complain if they fired on him then.

…''But if we leave the Musashi, they’ll negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Battle of Mikatagahara.

The Musashi would not be damaged and would slip from his fingers.

“Okay.”

Toshiie made up his mind.

He opened his mouth as he looked to Yoshitsune and the idiot visible on the ''lernen figur''.

“I am sure you already understand this, but I will say it anyway.”

He spoke to Qing-Takeda.

“My ship and its partner ship are pursuing the Musashi on the orders of the Testament Union. Any hindrance to our mission will be deemed a hindrance to the Testament Union and the history
recreation, so you will be deemed an enemy. And if you are deemed an enemy of the Testament Union…”

''I’m essentially making a gamble without thinking of the consequences,'' he thought as he continued.

“The Testament Union will conquer your academy’s territory, disarm you, and set up a provisional rule.”

“That is an abuse of power! Are you trying to use the Testament Union’s name to conquer the world!?”

Yoshitsune heard one of the Satou Brothers shouting, but she lightly raised her right hand and waved backwards.

“Don’t worry about it. He probably thinks that’s actually a threat. Even if he did conquer the world, he’s probably only got about fifty years of life left.”

But…

…''Honestly. He thinks forcing troubles onto us counts as a threat.

If they tried to protect Musashi, the Testament Union would attack Qing-Takeda.

Qing-Takeda was a powerful nation, but she doubted it would last if it made an enemy of every Testament Union nation plus P.A. Oda.

The real problem was what happened after it was destroyed.

…''So P.A. Oda would set up a provisional rule in Qing-Takeda’s territory, would it?

The ruler that had protected Kantou from P.A. Oda would have destroyed itself protecting Musashi and also summoned P.A. Oda into Kantou.

That was why Maeda was asking her to compromise with him. He wanted her to allow his pursuit of the Musashi.

“Don’t take me so lightly.”

As long as she did not protect Musashi, Takeda would not be destroyed and Takeda land would not be placed under the Testament Union’s provisional rule.

Most of the Kantou and Tohoku academies would want that. Most of them, including the Date clan, were struggling for supremacy and would want to avoid allowing the future rulers of Matsudaira into Kantou.

What was she supposed to choose as the empress who ruled over most of Kantou?

“I see.”

''Interesting,'' she thought.

Musashi was certainly interesting, but so was their enemy, Hashiba. It took some guts to use the situation in Qing-Takeda as a bargaining chip. So…

“Maeda, I think I’m going to play along with your little threat there.”

“Then will you allow us to pursue the Musashi in accordance with the Testament Union’s orders?”

Yoshitsune gave a smile that did not reach her eyes.

“Why would I do that? I don’t give a damn about the Testament Union or P.A. Oda.”

“Eh!? So Yoshitsune really is on my side!? Is it because I put it on her head!? Does that mean- gfh!”

The idiot was sent rolling along the ground by a short hook to the side from Horizon.

Everyone shrieked and backed away, but Horizon asked Masazumi something with the light of cannon fire washing over her.

“What is the meaning of this, Masazumi-sama? Did she really fall for him because he placed his penis on her head? Is such a frightening thing really possible?”

“That’s how you want to start this discussion!?”

“Calm down, calm down.”

Horizon held out her hands and faced Masazumi who had parted the wig’s hair to either side.

“Masazumi-sama, we can assume Yoshitsune-sama’s decision was the best possible decision for the Kantou nations, correct?”

“Most likely. She definitely chose the course of history that would give people the least to accuse her of.”

“Really?” asked Asama as she looked back and forth between Horizon and Masazumi. “If she lets the Musashi through, won’t the Testament Union and P.A. Oda set up a provisional rule in Qing-Takeda? Isn’t that the worst possible outcome for the Kantou nations?”

“There’s a way of preventing that. She can protect the Musashi and let us through to Kantou while also preventing the Testament Union and P.A. Oda from setting up a provisional rule in Kantou. Of course, it’s going to force a pretty heavy burden on us.”

Just as Masazumi was preparing to explain, Yoshitsune’s voice reached her from the sign frame.

“Maeda Toshiie, I will allow you to pass through Qing-Takeda territory on one condition: become our mercenary.”

And…

“I grant you the right to carry out the Battle of Mikatagahara. Your employment lasts until…well, since Matsudaira lost their headquarters at Mikawa, let’s say it lasts until they reach their next headquarters. The two of you will carry out the Battle of Mikatagahara until then. The Testament Union can judge Musashi based on how well they complete this. You can see here whether they intend to uphold the history recreation or not. …And since the Testament Union vows to strictly uphold the history recreation, you don’t have any reason to refuse, do you?”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “So we have to fight the Battle of Mikatagahara until the Musashi arrives in Edo!?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Um, but what happens with Ga-chan’s death as Naruse Masayoshi?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Margot, are you worried about-… Crap, I imagined it for a second and got a bloody nose!”

'''Worshipper:''' “Is it just me or are you getting more and more fast-paced, Naruze-kun?”

“Anyway,” typed in Neshinbara.

'''Novice:''' “This actually helps us a lot with the history recreation of Naruse Masayoshi. After all, Lady Yoshitsune has hired Maeda as a mercenary for their side of the history recreation.”

Do you understand?

'''Novice:''' “There’s no way the Sunomata alone can pursue the Matsudaira clan as Mikatagahara requires. Since Maeda is accusing the Musashi of interfering with the history recreation, Lady Yoshitsune is making him fail to recreate Mikatagahara properly so he too can be accused of failing in the history recreation.”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “That means we win if we reach Edo, right? Naruze, don’t get so excited you go flying ahead of us.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “I know that. How rude. I just have to stay put and draw up some storyboards, right?”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “I’m not sure I like the sound of that either.”

That was when the Musashi passed by the cannons on the ground below.

They all used sign frames to check the footage recorded by the bottom of the ships.

“Ah,” said Asama. “The Qing-Takeda people are waving toward us.”

Yoshitsune looked up at the massive form passing by overhead.

She had no intention of waving. A ruler did not see people off. So instead…

“Satou Brothers, wave to them.”

That was all she said before facing west again.

Maeda was dutiful. He had stopped firing on the Musashi and would only begin again after passing by.

The sign frame footage was still coming in even as the Musashi and Sunomata grew more distant. Musashi’s vice president and Maeda must have both known what was about to happen.

“What are those stiff looks for?”

They did not respond. A slight period of silence was all that followed.

And that was why Yoshitsune opened her mouth as the fires and sign frame illuminated her below the darkness and rumbling of the Musashi’s passage.

“That ends my role as Takeda Shingen.”

Shingen died of illness during the Battle of Mikatagahara, so…

“Now that Mikatagahara has started, I’ve lost my right to command. And…”

She narrowed her eyes to stare far into the western sky. She could see something like dark clouds slowly approaching in the dark sky. When she saw them, the corner of her mouth rose in a smile.

“Maeda, if I’d shot you down, you would’ve attacked me with the P.A. Oda fleet waiting behind you and with Kuki’s ships that survived the battle with Matsunaga, isn’t that right?”

She looked at Toshiie on the screen and spoke to his stiff expression while maintaining her own smile that did not reach her eyes.

“But Maeda.”

“What?”

Yes.

“I’m guessing you had already decided what to do if I set up Mikatagahara like this. Now, what history recreation are you planning to begin with the fleet you brought?”

“What history recreation do you think we might be planning?”

''Don’t pretend you don’t know,'' she thought with a smile. After all, the distant fleet was growing larger even now.

It looked like the entirety of P.A. Oda’s existing Ottoman fleet had to have been mobilized.

Some ships were large and some were small, but they were all old models. They wanted to attack with all of their forces from the Lepanto or earlier, just like Tres España had.

What was worth going that far?

“I’ll take you on. This is the decisive battle between Oda and Takeda that began after Shingen’s death. This begins the fall of the Takeda clan.”

The time had finally come.

“Yes, this is the Battle of Nagashino.”

Masazumi heard Yoshitsune’s determination over the divine transmission.

“Listen.” Yoshitsune raised her eyebrows in a smile while looking to the left, toward Maeda’s sign frame. “Hashiba, Maeda. You’ve lost this confrontation and I’ve won. You prepared your strategy, set up your tricks, and tried to steal this nation I’ve made. But I’m just going to obey the history recreation and let this Qing-Takeda land follow the course of history.”

At that point, she turned toward Masazumi.

“Masazumi.”

She said “listen” again.

Then, her smile deepened as she looked up toward the Musashi in the sky.

“Do you know what happens to Takeda territory after the fall of Takeda? The land and the remnants of Takeda all eventually end up under Matsudaira’s rule. That might not be possible yet, but there are two ways I can support you now, fools of Musashi.”

One.

“Go east and grow strong. If you can do that, it will be our strength too.”

And two.

“Finishing Nagashino will be a large step forward in the history recreation concerning Nobunaga. I can more or less guess what you’re trying to do, so this should help you a lot.”

She said “listen” yet again.

“Heaven and earth belong to the gods. While the clever tricks of men might steal what belongs to a seemingly divine ruler, the world belongs to that ruler. As a ruler, I will not be swayed by anything you do. You can live however you like and advance the current age however you like. So let me say one thing, fools of Musashi.”

That being…

“While I will not be swayed by anyone, I will give this age to you, Musashi.”

…''Is she telling us to advance the age?

She had called them Musashi instead of the Far East or anyone’s name in particular. Masazumi carved that into her heart and saw Yoshitsune looking up on the sign frame. She was looking up at the Musashi.

And suddenly, she looked to the idiot standing next to Masazumi.

Her mouth spread in a smile.

“Live a free life like I do. That’s the one lesson I have for the one who called my name, nudist.”

“Well… I’m a little more into cross-dressing than nudism right now.”

“You damn fool.”

After a single bitter laugh, the sign frame vanished.

As if to say a ruler did not see anyone off, she had ended the divine transmission.

The sudden parting left everyone speechless and motionless.

“————”

In that instant of silence, the Musashi began to shake.

“…!?”

It was not an attack from outside and it was not due to acceleration. The shaking was coming from within.

“Emergency! Saboteurs are destroying the interior of the ships! There are seven in all!”

The warning was from “Musashi” and everyone remembered the number she mentioned.

“The seven are from Sanada Academy! They are fleeing while destroying the interior of the ships! Over.”

“Given how much pressure they’re under every day, I guess it isn’t surprising Sanada got to work so fast. They need to teach those complacent kids that this is the age of the warring states.”

Smoke rose from the Musashi as it was pursued by the Sunomata and Nagahama in the eastern sky.

The Sanada forces on board had sabotaged it.

…''After Takeda’s fall, Sanada joins Hashiba.

They were a small power, but they were still useful as a watchful eye on Kantou, as messengers, and as guards. Here, they had gone ahead and started fulfilling their role.

“But they sure are naïve. They were given a place to stay and this is how they repay Musashi? They might as well be telling them not to hold back next time they see each other.”

They were useless.

“They’re supposed to be ninja, but they don’t put any emotion into their plans and end up starting an attack they can’t complete. That would be why everyone calls you ‘unneeded’.”

As she spoke, she heard another explosion and the Musashi grew more distant.

The eight giant ships grew smaller in the east as they received a variety of damage.

But Yoshitsune moved them from her gaze to look to the western sky.

A massive fleet was coming her way.

“Satou Brothers, you two take command.”

“Testament. But what about you!?”

“With Nagashino beginning, I can’t take command. Command goes to the next generation, so Katsuyori’s name will go to…”

The Satou Brothers both nodded.

“Due to your emergency retirement as Shingen, we split the name between the two of us. We have already begun dealing with everything from the rebellion of the Kokujin to Takeda’s destruction.”

“That’s a lot of responsibility. Make sure to lament that we have to recreate Nagashino. And as for Katsuyori’s suicide, try to use the split name inheritance so you only have to beat each other half to death. Also…”

Yoshitsune looked up at the Benkei, the large floating city in the east. The sight devices on its bow glowed and turned their red light her way.

“Just like old times, do whatever you want.”

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 90|Chapter 90]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 92|Chapter 92]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 90

2015-09-08T05:32:32Z

Txtracer:

==Chapter 90: Mercenary of the Nostalgic Sky==
[[Image:Horizon3C_0749.jpg|thumb]]
''Now

''What to do?

'''Point Allocation (Come)

''This really takes me back,'' thought Toshiie as he commanded the Sunomata in the sky above Mikawa’s bay.

He never fought in aerial battles, but he was still quite attached to this ship. He had helped build the ship in enemy territory for the history recreation to make a name for Hashiba.

…''Wasn’t that because our enemy, Saitou, had set up a barrier for anti-air defense?

As a part of the history recreation an actual castle on the ground would have worked just as well.

By using prefabricated parts, they could have had giants and demonic long lived carry in the pieces and set it up in only four hours.

But either due to the Musashi’s influence on the current age or to show off the Far East’s aerial ship technology, having an aerial ship for a castle was a sort of status symbol in the Far East.

So as rare as it was for her to do so, Hashiba had insisted on building a ship.

And she had been the one to put in the most effort.

She had worked hard to gather the personnel and materials needed to build Sunomata Castle quickly enough to warrant the name “One Night Castle”.

At the time, aerial ships had taken months to build, but she had used cloth-covered logs to build something that would at least float.

…''That was really more of an aerial raft than a ship.

But she had indeed built it in a single day.

When it had appeared floating above enemy territory, most of the enemy had laughed and called it a piece of junk, but no one in the Oda clan had laughed. Building an aerial ship in a night meant they could immediately send a surprise attack fleet into enemy territory as long as they had the personnel and supplies needed to surpass the enemy’s anti-air barriers.

“Ever since then, Shibata took a real liking to Hashiba.”

The Sunomata had bordered the Nagara River, so Toshiie himself had sent supplies downstream on rafts for Hashiba to collect.

There had been weak points in Hashiba’s design, so he and Narimasa had guided the reinforcing parts down the river.

Hashiba still talked about it and tried to repay them even though she had already helped them countless times. Still, she insisted that she could never fully repay them because they had supported her when a single mistake would have ended everything for her.

It was all so nostalgic.

This ship had been the starting point for the Oda clan’s current cooperative spirit.

The exterior had completely changed and it was now a proper high-speed striking ship instead of a mere raft, but it still contained traces of its original form.

“Now, fire.”

It had not originally had cannons, so they had used personal anti-air cannons and spells. At the time, they had laughed at how they were all commanders and yet were stuck acting like common soldiers on that ship.

“How about we circle around above them?”

It would have stalled out back then, but…

“Let’s go!”

Those two words alone were the same.

“It’s so light!”

From Okutama’s surface, Yoshiyasu watched the enemy flip through the sky.

The Sunomata seemed to fly freely around the Musashi rather than through the sky. It was powered by the ghost ship which borrowed the Musashi’s speed, so it could fly up, down, far, close, front, or back.

Its cannons fired homing shots. That homing ability was weakened by their speedy flight, so its aim was careless.

But few of the shells missed. Because the careless trajectories were hard to predict, they struck the Musashi and sent gravity barrier light scattering everywhere.

…''If only I could send out Righteousness!

She could not because the Musashi was flying so quickly. She technically could send it out, but a God of War could not sustain this speed as long as the massive ship. Flying alongside the Musashi would drain her fuel and send her crashing to the ground in just a few minutes. Righteousness also needed some repairs, so she had left it in Musashino’s maintenance hangar and made her way up to Okutama’s surface.

“I thought I could get some information if I visited the academy.”

On the way, she had spotted a few people on the floor. They had not fainted from injuries. Most of them were ether-related non-humans who had grown faint from the strange ether disturbance.

…''Is that the tingling I felt when we passed over Mikawa’s bay?

The ether disturbance caused by the loss of Mikawa was still strong. It had even delayed and slowed down the Musashi.

The shellfire had not let up.

A gravity barrier shattered overhead and shell shrapnel fell on the city with dry metallic sounds.

“Is there any anti-air equipment around here?”

She looked around and spotted two people approaching. Looking back, she saw a pure pair of huge breasts and a wicked pair of huge breasts.

“The shrine maiden and the dancer?”

“Eh? Oh, um, yes, I suppose you could say that.”

“Where are you two going?”

“Heh heh. Long-eared flat girl, do you really not know? Now, tell me the answer!”

“You can ignore that idiot, okay? We’re on our way to the academy. What about you?”

“I was headed to the academy too. I wanted some information and I’d heard your vice president had gone there.”

“Then let’s hurry.”

The shrine maiden pointed forward, so the three of them started jogging.

The shellfire continued and light was shattering in the sky both horizontally and vertically from them. Those fragments illuminated Yoshiyasu as she ran.

“About this shellfire… There’s an enemy fleet pursuing us from behind, isn’t there?”

“Yes, but the enemy is out of time. After all…”

Once the shrine maiden said that, a massive amount of light rose from the earth far beyond the opposite coast and stabbed into the sky.

“…!?”

The light was as bright as midday and it revealed the shape of the landscape.

More than one pillar of light rose toward the heavens. Several dozen of them surged upwards like a reverse waterfall.

“That’s about thirty kilometers away… Is that anti-air fire from Qing-Takeda and Lady Yoshitsune’s heavy mechanical cavalry unit!?”

The shrine maiden explained what was about to happen.

“If we reach that point, the Battle of Mikatagahara begins. Everyone else will be kept out, so what will the Sunomata do? After all,” she said. “I’m sure P.A. Oda will do something about it.”

Toshiie gave a single instruction from the Sunomata’s deck.

“Continue firing. Use the cannons more than the ghost ship and continue targeting the opened hull instead of the surface area.”

He opened a ''lernen figur'' and faced forward.

The light rising toward the heavens from far beyond the opposite coast of Mikawa’s bay was already vanishing.

But Qing-Takeda’s main fighting force was definitely there.

That anti-air fire had been enough to pierce the sky and light up the earth. Toshiie knew perfectly well why they had shown off that firepower.

…''They’re warning away P.A. Oda for the history recreation of the Battle of Mikatagahara.

“And also warning us about the Battle of Nagashino which begins the fall of the Takeda clan.”

Oda’s musket unit was supposed to destroy Takeda’s cavalry force and P.A. Oda intended to recreate that using the shellfire of an aerial fleet. That was why they had strengthened their aerial forces and used Lake Biwa’s stealth dock to its fullest. But…

“It’s true Takeda’s cavalry soldiers were armed with guns, but turning that into anti-air cannons is quite the interpretation.”

Qing-Takeda was not going to go down easily.

Just in case, Toshiie positioned the Sunomata above the Musashi to use it as a shield.

Below, the ocean was coming to an end as they moved from Mikawa to Suruga.

There was land below, more ocean to the right, and…

…''Qing-Takeda straight ahead.

Massive bonfires and countless giant figures were visible in the depths of the distant darkness. Those heavy mechanical horse gunners were the history recreation of Takeda’s gun-wielding cavalry.

They were definitely intended for the Battle of Nagashino.

“And they’re starting by seeing how I will react.”

Toshiie spoke into his ''lernen figur''.

“Qing-Takeda! This is M.H.R.R Treasurer Maeda Toshiie aka Wallenstein representing both P.A. Oda and M.H.R.R.! I am currently pursuing the Musashi in the Sunomata, so cease your attack!”

“He wants us to stop? Who does that kid Maeda think he’s talking to?”

Yoshitsune looked up at the silhouette of the Musashi visible in the western sky.

The right of the Satou Brothers behind her called the Sunomata with a sign frame.

“P.A Oda ship, you are about to interfere in Qing-Takeda’s Far Eastern history recreation. In other words…”

“Satou, send this to Musashi too. …Oh, and show a little more spirit when you tell him.”

On Yoshitsune’s instructions, the Satou Brothers exchanged a glance and began anew.

“Aiyaaaaahhhh! P.! A.! Odaaaaaa! Ship! You arrrrrrrrrrrrreeee! Hiyaaaahhhhh!”

“You’ll burst a blood vessel if you force yourself.”

The Satou Brothers clearly wanted to say something, but Yoshitsune ignored them and crossed her legs on top of Shizuka’s fuel tank. She then looked low in the sky ahead.

“Hey, Maeda. You’re getting in the way of the history recreation, so get lost.”

She received a response via the Satou Brothers.

“But Lady Yoshitsune…”

“What kind of fool speaks to me without introducing himself?”

“My apologies. I am honored to you would speak with me. I am M.H.R.R. Treas-…”

“I hate long introductions.”

“Then I will send it all to one of your people afterwards.”

“Very good.”

Yoshitsune smiled a little.

“I’ll hear you out since you went along with that,” she said. “Do you want the Musashi that badly?”

Her question received an immediate response.

“No,” he denied. “The Musashi has threatened M.H.R.R.’s history recreation. We wanted to avoid any external influences when M.H.R.R. is in such a complicated situation, but they went against our wishes by traveling through our territory. Therefore,” said Toshiie. “We will punish the Musashi for interfering with the history recreation.”

Toshiie said more from the Sunomata.

“The M.H.R.R. Catholics would like temporary permission to enter Qing-Takeda’s airspace to punish the Musashi. This is to settle the history recreation of Magdeburg, so it has higher priority than the Battle of Mikatagahara.”

“And if I say no?”

“Then…the Testament Union will likely punish Qing-Takeda.”

“I see,” said Yoshitsune with a hand on her chin.

She thought to herself with a nasal “hmm”, and…

“Well, in that case…”

At that point, the Satou Brothers held out a new sign frame from behind her. This one displayed Musashi’s vice president.

“Wait! This is Musashi Vice President Honda Masazumi! I would like to say something concerning that reasoning!”

The night wind washed across a hill.

It was a rough, stormy wind. It heavily shook the tree branches and blew the clouds through the sky.

The clouds covering the night sky had opened, bringing the moon into view and covering the hill in clear light.

Several large ships and countless figures could be seen on the moonlit hill.

They were Hexagone Française’s aerial fleet, the Magdeburg transport ship, and their crews.

But another figure stood on the hill’s slope some distance away from them all.

It was the Reine des Garous.

She was looking at two ''signe cadre'' displaying the information Mouri-01 had sent her from Hexagone Française’s flagship, the Pension Versailles. The larger one was a map containing the positions of the Hashiba and M.H.R.R Catholic ships in M.H.R.R. or the Seto Inland Sea plus some other predictions.

“This is the predicted distribution of the P.A. Oda aerial forces within P.A. Oda territory. There are a lot of unobservable regions inside P.A. Oda, so we can only predict based on the information gathered elsewhere.”

“They really have moved toward Qing-Takeda, haven’t they?”

“I would like your opinion. Especially concerning this document sent from K.P.A. Italia.”

“Yes.”

The Reine des Garous looked to the other ''signe cadre'' which displayed a document signed by a woman.

“They must be plotting something to send a secret letter only to the Tsirhc Testament Union nations.”

With that said, the Reine des Garous looked eastward. She narrowed her eyes into the dark night.

“The Musashi is in trouble.”

“You think so too?”

A voice reached her from the top of the hill. She turned around and found Tomoe Gozen standing in the windy grass. The woman’s arms were crossed as she too faced east.

“That idiot Yoshitsune is in trouble too…but this isn’t easy. This is going to demonstrate that siding with the Musashi will make an enemy of someone truly formidable.”

“Testament.”

The Reine des Garous nodded and gave a few instructions while noting how little practice she had typing on a keyboard.

“Mouri-01, I think we will soon need a signed document from Louis Exiv and Mouri Terumoto. There’s somewhere I want to contact in a hurry.”

“Testament. Where is that?”

“Somewhere that used to be your enemy.”

After sending a quick write-up of her plan, the Reine des Garous looked east again.

“I just hope we make it in time!”

Masazumi began her negotiations on the bridge in front of the academy.

Based on what she had heard from the divine transmission relayed by Yoshitsune, Maeda Toshiie was trying to demonstrate his justification for attacking them.

…''If I don’t interfere, our position will only grow worse!

Shells dropped, impacts rang out, and countless lights scattered through the sky. They were not up against a large-scale fleet or a large ship, but the Sunomata was using a ghost ship to constantly pursue them.

The attacks themselves were not the biggest problem.

…''As long as we’re under attack, Hashiba still has us caught in a state of combat!

Masazumi knew that, as long as this battle continued, the Hashiba forces would continue pursuing the Musashi even if they escaped to Kantou. It would all be in the name of an “unavoidable movement of the battlefield” while punishing them for interfering with Magdeburg’s history recreation.

They could even accuse Musashi of dragging other nations into the battle to assist their escape.

Masazumi needed to avoid that.

After all, Toshiie had claimed Musashi was threatening M.H.R.R.’s history recreation, but…

“Hashiba is trying to blame us for their attack and pursuit! And all while completely disregarding our point of view!”

She could not let them use the history recreation as a shield.

If the history recreation was threatened, all of the Testament Union nations would join M.H.R.R. and Hashiba in opposing them. So…

“I insist you hear me out!”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 89|Chapter 89]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 91|Chapter 91]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 89

2015-09-07T19:33:34Z

Txtracer: typo, clarity

==Chapter 89: Underclassman at the Destination==
[[Image:Horizon3C_0733.jpg|thumb]]
''What am I supposed to do about this?

''What am I supposed to hope for?

'''Point Allocation (Achievement)

The flames of war blazed in an exchange of light and sound.

The provider of those flames was a fleet of three hundred ships. The receiver was a large circular ship with eight attached ships. But the Hiragumo-style Shigisan did more than receive the attacks. It rearranged and redirected its eight attached ships to destroy the enemy formation by concentrating its fire and defenses.

Matsunaga instructed each ship from the roof while protected by a defense barrier.

He fought back, but far more attacks were sent his way. The Shigisan was damaged, beginning with the outer spider legs, and five of those attached ships were already trailing smoke.

Still, he did not fall back.

“Don’t fall back, men!”

“Shaja!”

There was strength in that reply. He had personally selected every one of them.

They all loved new things and excitement almost too much. He had also selected extra carefully for this particular occasion.

And he had made it clear this would happen.

The ones who had wished to come with him had smiled and said the following:

“We’ve pretty much died a few times already working under you.”

''I put them through a lot,'' he belatedly realized.

And so he did not fall back.

He believed there was something like a path behind them.

…''I will create that path.

The way he saw it, he was here to change the current age and create a new one. He was the reformer of this age.

That was why he had travelled down that path, so falling back was unthinkable.

On his command, the Shigisan fired and destroyed, but Kuki’s formation was flexible. If they tore into it, it would fill back in. If they sliced it apart, it would sew itself back together. So…

“Devour it from the edges!”

If they crushed the edges of the formation, it could not be filled in or sewn together. A normal ship would be relentlessly hammered if it tried that, but the Shigisan had its attached ships. The central ship solidified its central defenses and the others formed pairs, one attacking and one defending, to wear down the fan-shaped enemy formation from four different sides.

They crushed and struck but were destroyed and pounded in exchange.

How many did they bring down? Matsunaga lost count after twenty, but…

“——————”

As the Shigisan’s first attached ship fired on the enemy’s upper left side, fire spewed from it.

Matsunaga looked up as the first ship burst into flames.

The captain of the blazing ship sent him an ''insha kotob''. An old man with a white Far East boy’s uniform coat worn over a P.A. Oda uniform stood on the already burning bridge.

“Do you need a shield, Lord Matsunaga?”

“That you, Oka? Don’t worry about it. I’m already holed up in my castle. Go make a name for yourself.”

“Sha-…”

The man trailed off and used a different word with a smile.

“Judge. So I’m being kicked out of this losing battle? Finally.”

The burning ship separated, the captain and crew saluted, and the ''insha kotob'' vanished.

The blazing ship moved forward. It cut into and crushed the enemy formation, but was also crushed itself.

Similarly…

“We’ll be going on ahead.”

Others continued forward.

“We’ll stay here by your side.”

Others stayed in place as a shield even as the flames tore them apart.

But they still had cannons and defenses left, so…

“Okay.”

As they continued to attack, Matsunaga viewed the enemy.

“Okay!”

Their wearing down of the enemy formation and the attacks by the attached ships had left the fan shape much smaller. That meant the enemy was packed closer together and they were moving in toward the Shigisan.

After confirming the enemy’s approach, Matsunaga inhaled.

The enemy was drawing close. Their shells were landing quite near him and tearing into his central ship.

He suddenly realized all of the attached ships had grown silent.

“Thank you.”

Matsunaga thought on the meaning of him being the last one left.

…''Even if none of them understood me, they didn’t misunderstand me either.

So he slowly opened a certain ''insha kotob''.

It was used to approve the Shigisan’s self-destruct.

This would fulfill the history recreation and his hand moved toward the signature made of light.

“…?”

But another ''insha kotob'' appeared next to it.

The sender field contained the name of the individual he had recognized as his superior.

“Present the Hiragumo tea kettle to me and I will forgive you of this rebellion.”

He laughed at those words. He laughed out loud.

“You…”

He slowly lowered his hand.

“Thank you.”

He made his decision.

Matsunaga thought amid the shaking and light of the Shigisan exploding below his feet.

…''What’s going to happen!?

''There are some real idiots out there. On one side, there are the idiots who outdo even me. On the other side, there are the idiots who have my approval.

''That first group was always forgiving me.

''But that second group was a little different. In Magdeburg, one of them asked if I’d like to go to Musashi after I retired.

''That wasn’t a decision based on forgiveness, blame, killing, or being killed.

''She just told me to go there and do as I liked.

…''That’s the idea of ‘not losing anything’ that the naked idiot kid and his princess were talking about.

''But I’m the one that destroys. Whenever something happens, I’m the one that brings destruction. That’s why I’m known as a destroyer.

''I create a new age by destroying whatever it is that lies up ahead. That’s what I do.

''And that’s why I approved of those idiots back then.

''I decided that, led by that nudist and his princess, those idiots could do what we can’t.

''They’re sure to create something. Even if they have nothing to begin with, they’ll approve of everything, accept it in, and create something.

''We’re different. We approve of things, accept them in, and yet destroy them for what comes next.

''We destroy to gain more. So…

…''What’s going to happen!?

''What will happen when the ultimate destroyer clashes with the ultimate creator?

''We’re the ones that destroy this chaotic age, so what will happen when we clash with those who are creating a new age?

And…

…''This is what you call history, isn’t it!?

''On the one hand, you have the victors who will accept history and create more. On the other, you have the losers who accept history and then destroy it. What will happen when they collide, no holds barred?

''What if the destroyer wins?

''What if the creator wins?

''I don’t know what will happen then, but…

“Yes.”

''Both sides have my approval, so I’ll win no matter what.

“It’s time to destroy yet another age.”

With those words, the destruction of the Shigisan was completed.

“That kid left it all unfinished!”

On the nighttime plain, Yoshitsune’s eyebrows rose as she viewed the sign frame map made by the Satou Brothers.

“Honestly!”

She revved Shizuka’s accelerator full blast. The engine roared into the night and all of the mechanical horses around her produced similar roaring whinnies from their engines.

“—————!!”

After waiting for the noise to come to a natural stop, Yoshitsune spoke quietly.

“Farewell, Matsunaga. Keep on destroying things in hell. I’m sure that’s what you’ll do.”

Just as she adjusted her position in Shizuka’s seat, the Satou Brothers held out a new sign frame. This one displayed a map of the Mikawa region, but something was crossing over the Musashi’s route forward.

One of the Satou Brothers explained.

“Three aerial warships are leaving P.A. Oda territory and circling west toward the Musashi along the Sagarmatha to Tian Shan corridor. They will most likely make contact within three minutes.”

“Which ships?”

“Testament,” said one of the Satou Brothers.

“Based on the acoustic signature,” said the other one, “the Kiyosu, the Sunomata, and the Nagahama. The Kiyosu is from the main force directly under Nobunaga’s command, the Sunomata is a high-speed ship, and the Nagahama is a transport ship modified into a light striking ship. And…about one hundred high-speed ships are following them.”

“What, are they trying to do the Lepanto again? Anyway, who’s the commander?”

“Most likely Maeda Toshiie as he is on the front lines closest to the Musashi.”

“I see,” muttered Yoshitsune as she straightened up.

She could hear the shellfire of the distant battle and she raised her right hand toward the rumbling.

“Prepare to fire. We need to give the Musashi a nice welcome.”

The Musashi was being pursued from the north.

They were currently flying through the sky halfway across the Kii Peninsula.

Mikawa’s bay was coming into view in the distance and they could see red ether light occasionally rising from the bay.

Nothing had changed since the loss of Mikawa three months prior. The abandoned land was being left to naturally recover from the ether disturbance.

They raced through the night sky on a straight shot back to their starting point.

Masazumi explained to the others what course they would take from there.

'''Vice President:''' “Our course will continue east to the land port where we fought the Pope-Chancellor. From there, we’ll cut east across the bay that was Mikawa for the shortest path to the opposite bank! The route we’ve chosen was used to pass above the old city of Mikawa and New Nagoya Castle to deliver supplies. …Once we reach the opposite bank, it’s only thirty kilometers east to Mikatagahara. We’ll join Qing-Takeda there and ensure our safety by beginning the history recreation of the Battle of Mikatagahara!!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Is Mikawa’s neutrality still in effect? Mikawa was annexed by Musashi, after all.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Abandoning its neutrality would have introduced a risk of P.A. Oda taking over, so the Testament Union preserved it ‘to monitor a possible spread of the disaster and to help Mikawa recover’.”

'''Vice President:''' “Honestly. To think we’d be thanking the Pope-Chancellor now.”

But as the Musashi hurried across the Kii Peninsula to Mikawa, a pursuer approached on a sharp trajectory from the north.

The high-speed ship was a galley-style Kraken-class. It had removed a few of its side cannons and replaced them with accelerators to catch up to the Musashi.

“I have determined that is the Sunomata, a Hashiba high-speed ship. Over!”

As Suzu detected its form from Musashino’s bridge, she stroked the model with her fingers and had a thought.

…''It’s…light?

She thought it was a simply designed ship.

It was mostly made of wood and seemed to have residential areas, but it felt handmade. Neshinbara explained over the divine chat and her sign frame spoke it aloud for her.

'''Novice:''' “When Hashiba was still a newcomer, Sunomata Castle was the ‘One Night Castle’ he built as a foothold in the impregnable territory of his enemy. They called it a castle, but it was really just a large-scale formation. Hashiba simplified it all down to the point that it was a castle in name only but still had the bare minimum of functionality. He used it to outwit his enemy who was trapped by tradition and format and that led Nobunaga to recognize his skill.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh heh. Enough commentary on history, nerd. Can you tell us anything about the cheap galley that’s actually approaching us?”

'''Novice:''' “It was simply made, so it was used as a training ship after the battle. But that also means it would have been easy to modify. That’s why they added on the accelerators and…some cannons I’m guessing. But…”

Neshinbara continued his explanation.

'''Novice:''' “Even with the extra accelerators, it’s going to have difficulty catching up to the Musashi. If it wants to sink the Musashi on its first pass, it would probably have to ram us, but its current trajectory isn’t right for that, is it?”

'''Musashino:''' “Based on our predictions, it will likely join with the ghost ship and fly alongside us. Over.”

As Suzu listened to their discussion, she sensed a certain movement.

It was Toshiie.

His ghost ship swung below the Musashi like a pendulum and flew toward the port side. It was flying over to the rapidly approaching Sunomata. The Sunomata’s path was straight to fly parallel to the Musashi, but…

…''They’re…going to hit?

As if to answer her question, Toshiie’s ghost ship flew toward the Sunomata’s stern. The ghost ship attached to the Sunomata where the oar-shaped accelerators were installed pointing backwards.

A moment later, the Sunomata sped up.

It had accelerated using the ghost ship’s ability to borrow its opponent ship’s speed.

“They’re…coming!”

Suzu knew the enemy was approaching.

Her hand moved the model of the Sunomata so it tilted and rushed toward the Musashi.

It was using the ghost ship as an accelerator, so the Sunomata’s speed equaled the Musashi’s. That allowed the Kraken-class galley to race around the Musashi and begin firing.

In an instant, fragments of gravity barriers scattered from various points on the Musashi.

But the Musashi could see the Kii Peninsula’s exit. Its course took it a bit to the northeast where something had come into view.

“Mikawa’s…land port!”

That was where they had fought a battle and rescued Horizon.

'''Me:''' “Hey, look! That’s where I managed to touch Horizon’s boob and save her life!”

'''Righteousness:''' “How can you people stand to have him lead you?”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “Well…”

They passed over it as they spoke, but…

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Most of the land port has collapsed as well. Natural erosion has caused the land to collapse over a wide area around the bay.”

Suzu’s senses perceived the same thing. From the surface to deep down in the earth, the land port had slid in toward the bay. The area around the bay had collapsed into a mortar-like depression.

'''Asama:''' “Once the ley lines have calmed down, I think the environmental gods will increase the protection of this land to help it recover. I’m recording data and sending it to IZUMO. They’ll probably send it up to Kyou.”

Suzu could only nod.

But just as they started across the bay, her senses picked up something.

The ocean below had been destroyed by the out-of-control ley line reactors three months before. Almost the entirety of the former city of Mikawa had been gouged out to make room for this water, but…

…''This is where…New Nagoya Castle was.

At the very moment Musashi passed over the center of the blast zone, she felt a shaking below her feet.

…''Eh?

There was only seawater below and further measurement showed there was a mud ocean floor beneath it.

But the ley lines here were badly disturbed and anyone with sight would be seeing occasional ether light rising toward the sky a bit to the north.

Suzu was currently receiving sensory information from the Musashi’s sense devices.

At the bottom of her senses, she perceived something suddenly welling up from the center of the blast.

“…!?”

Suzu felt shaking, but she did not know why.

…''H-huh!?

Something was wrong with Musashino’s bridge. No…

…''What…is this!?

She felt what seemed like several objects, figures, voices, or bodies of heat. Someone was there.

“————”

She was falling over. Her body had reacted to something moving out of place, but…

…''Nothing has…moved!?

''It was me that moved,'' she realized without knowing what it meant. But when she reached a hand out into empty space seeking assistance, she definitely felt something there. Someone had taken her hand.

And…

“…!?”

She woke up.

Her mind grew clear. The sounds of everything around her grew more distinct as if she had surfaced from some deep water.

…''Wh-what!?

She realized she was standing on the bridge. She was sweating, she breathed a sigh of relief, and she worked to perceive her surroundings.

“ ‘Musashi…no’-san…!?”

Everyone had collapsed or fallen to the floor. They had all fallen to port which was north and some had apparently been lightly thrown through the air.

“Musashino” gave a quiet groan and quickly fixed her lifted skirt and corrected her collar.

“It seems the motor for the base of my left leg has bent somewhat. Over.”

“O-okay. What…was that?”

“Judge. I detected a powerful ether disturbance, but I did not expect it to have such strong directionality. I can predict that the damage to the ley line was different than expected. And…”

She stood up and walked over while dragging her left leg a little. She spoke without waiting for the others to stand back up.

“The Musashi’s acceleration has been disturbed! Everyone, please recover from our lowered speed as quickly as possible. Suzu-sama, please locate the enemy ship. Over.”

Once “Musashino” finished speaking, a sudden tremor filled the Musashi.

While flying alongside them, the Sunomata had used their lowered speed to quickly fill the gap between them.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 88|Chapter 88]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 90|Chapter 90]]
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</noinclude>