Editing Zero no Tsukaima:Volume12 Story3 Chapter1

===Chapter 7, Right to Use Saito for a Day ===

====Part 1====

Tristania, the capital city of Tristain.

In the ‘Charming Faeries Inn’ facing Chicton Street, two black-haired girls were chatting.

“Hey Siesta, isn’t it about time you make Saito yours?”

The question was posed by Jessica, a hostess of the Charming Faeries Inn.  Being asked that by her cousin, Siesta blushed.

Yesterday, Siesta had stopped by the Charming Faeries Inn to bring some springtime veggies from her parent’s home.  Scarron, who ran the bar, was Siesta’s uncle from her mother’s side.

“Making him mine…that way of putting it is bad, Jessica.  First of all, Saito-san is not that kind of person to me.  He is bound to me as my master."

Siesta was not wearing her usual maid attire from the magic academy.  Her body wrapped in a light-green, one piece and wearing a straw hat with a white ribbon, Siesta fidgeted around embarrassedly.

“What are you saying?  If he saw the Siesta back in Albion, it would become clear.  Anyways, it looks like that’s not the case yet.”

Jessica grinned as she spoke.

“Really, I can’t believe that you are my cousin, seeing that you can’t even make the one guy you like turn towards you.”

Siesta gazed forward with a troubled look.  Her cousin, being only a year younger, was by far the veteran, compared with herself, when it came to love issues.

“…but Saito-san already has someone he likes.”

Siesta said while fidgeting.  In front of her relatives, her usual boldness was overshadowed by a neat and proper mannerism.

“Louise, right?”

Siesta’s eyebrows shot up.  With a slightly stiff expression, Siesta drank her tea.  Jessica stared up and down at Siesta’s present state.

“I’m not saying this as a favor to my cousin, but you haven’t lost yet.”

Having it said like that, a grin floated on Siesta’s face.

“But…Miss Vallière and Saito-san have a really strong bond connecting them together…it’s alright.”

“What’s alright?”

“Me being second place…”

At that statement, Jessica’s eyes widened.

“Wait a minute!  Sie Sie!  What are you saying?!”

“Sie?”

“That kind of thing is a no-no!  Ahhhhh!  What did this turn into!  To think that my cousin turning out to be such a loser…it’s shameful!”

As if it were her that was in Siesta’s situation, Jessica stomped around with frustration.

“But, I have been fairly bold…, and uh…nevermind.”

Although she wanted to get it across that she was not a loser, Siesta started to blush with embarrassment.  Although Siesta had been trying hard to be bold, her original personality was more restrained.  Jessica got right in her face at that moment.

“Though Louise is an acquaintance, I am going to help you out today.  You are my precious cousin, after all.”

“O-Ok…”

Siesta nodded, being completely drawn into her pace.  Coming by just to bring some veggies, she didn’t think that she would be lectured like this.

“Well, Saito is certainly absent-minded and has a one-track mind…and he jokes around and meddles in other’s business.  Still, you want him that much…”

At that time, Siesta shot a glare at her.

“Jessica?”

Leaning over, Siesta pinched her cousin’s ear.

“It-It was a joke!  A joke!”

“You’re the one that I trust the least.”

Being glared at my such an expression, Jessica stuck her tongue out.

“But at that time, I didn’t know that you two were acquainted.  Well, I said that I would cooperate with you now, so don’t get so angry.”

Jessica said this as she left and returned with something.

“What is this?”

It was a purple bottle in the shape of a heart.  In any case, it looked suspicious.

“Yesterday, some idiot, noble customer said that he would let me take this.  It looked suspicious, so when I asked him, he said it was a love potion.  I laughed at that.”

“Ehhhh!  That’s illegal, isn’t it!”

As Siesta shouted out, Jessica reached over and clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Shh!  Don’t shout!  In any case, this love potion is special.  It only works for one day, so you don’t have to worry about being found out.  But, isn’t one day enough to establish him as yours?”

Jessica’s teasing tone made Siesta cheeks red.

“But…this kind of thing is unfair, after all.”

“It’s fine!  You are competing with a mage, so you can’t say that using a potion isn’t fair.  Don’t hold back and use it.”

Jessica slipped the love potion into Siesta’s bag.


The next evening…

Arriving back at Louise’s room at the Academy of Magic, Siesta was sitting at the desk with her elbows propped on it and staring intently at the love potion.

In her mind, two ideas were being tossed around.

‘Should she go ahead and use it?’

Siesta shook her head, as if clearing the thought.

‘You can’t, Siesta! You definitely can’t!’

‘Using this kind of magic to ensnare the heart of a person is an underhanded tactic!’

She remembered the Louise from a while back.  The time that Montmorency prepared a love potion, Louise had become completely nuts for Saito when she took it.

‘Magic is really frightening!’

‘To think that Miss Vallière could show her repressed love in such a manner!  Her feelings would be clear to anyone!  Anyone but Saito that is!  Wait, even Saito seemed to start noticing it lately…Ah, whatever!’

Siesta’s intuition told her just how much Louise was in love with Saito.  She believed that it was quite considerable.  Although Siesta loved him, it was possible that Louise loved him even more.  However, Louise’s demonic sense of pride would never allow her to admit it in front of Saito.   This much she knew.  Magic that was able to overcome Louise’s pride in that way was truly amazing.

‘A Saito-san changed by a love potion would not be Saito-san at all…’

‘But having him proclaiming his love for her that fervently would feel good after all…’ Siesta was enchanted for a moment.

‘If it was only for a day…’ as her hand inched towards the bottle, she retracted it, thinking ‘No!’

That repeated several times.

On top of that, fantasies started floating around her mind.

Tactic number one: Using it during the time when Miss Vallière was asleep.

As Siesta imagined several situations of what would happen next, she began to squeal excitedly.

But Miss Vallière was right next to them!  That would be too bold!  Extremely bold!

As she flailed her head around, Siesta’s entire body shook with excitement.

Her right hand reached for the love potion as her left hand shot out at the same time to hold it back.

Tactic number two:  Chapter 2 of ‘Count Butterfly’s Elegant Day’.

Siesta covered her face as she roared out her excitement.

“That is…bad.  No, bad is too simply minor.  It is scandalous!  Extremely scandalous!”

As Siesta hugged herself, writhing in agony at her indecent thoughts, the door banged open and a stern-faced Louise entered.  Holding onto a leash, she was dragging something that looked like a bunch of tattered rags.

“Miss Vallière!  What is that?”

“The familiar.”

Looking closely, it was in fact what used to be Saito.

Saito had turned into a tattered mess that occasionally twitched.

“Oh my!  What has he done now?”

Siesta crouched down and coldly poked at Saito as she said that.

Louise crossed her arms, not holding back her anger.

“The day before yesterday, when you were gone, he was peeping at the baths.”

“Oh.”

“On top of that, a s-s-small girl, smaller than me…”

“Oh my.”

As Siesta looked at the crumpled Saito, she started pitying him.  Saito was always putting his life on the line for Louise’s sake…It wouldn’t hurt to look the other way once in a while…

She also had been acting more like Louise lately, so the both of them inflicting pain on him was just…Well, it would only be for a little longer.  Siesta crossed her arms and nodded.

With all the things that she had done to him, there was no way that she could entrust Saito to Louise, right?

Clearing her throat, Siesta turned to Louise with a serious face.

“Miss Vallière.”

“What?”

“It is about time that you give me the right to use Saito-san for a day.”

Louise looked at Siesta and then Saito before saying ‘do whatever’ and turning around.

Siesta started untying the rope that bound Saito.