Zero no Tsukaima:Volume14 Chapter4

Status: Incomplete

60% completed (estimated)

   

Part 1

As the days for the third annual coronation ceremony starts, Guiche and the Ondine Water Spirit Knights were ordered to maintain order in the alleys around the city. Aquileia's narrow alleys were mapped with complicated waterway patterns. Besides, Romalia Pilgrims from all over Halkenia congregate right here. Being ordered to prevent chaos is deemed as an inevitable part of their jobs.

Packed like sardines in an alley less than 2 metres wide, the flow of traffic becomes dead slow. Louise and the others, who has to dress up as a nun and start praying from 5 a.m. in the morning in front of St. Lucia Aquileia's Cathedral, are like in the middle of a battlefield everyday.

Guiche and the boys are armed with (杌孀虐諮俸嫌朧テ韉那嗟抓旦`コート Unknown clothing here) and bears the responsibility of keeping visitor flow in order. But in fact, it's like going to war. Romalia Pilgrims push and shove each other aggressively to "line up" at the gate of St Lucia Aquileia Cathedral. With the crowd's irratic motion, most of the pilgrims end up outside the Cathedral despite their efforts made in "lining up".

Therefore, Guiche and the Ondine Knights are stuck in this position, where they have to fight with the desperate pilgrims on the verge of a brawl.

"C-Curse you! You shall not pass this line! Stop pushing!"

"Oi, oi, we came here all the way from Romalia! Making an exception here won't kill you!"

"If this calf does not recieve the blessings of the Pope, I'm not going back home!"

"Let us catch a glimpse of the Holiness!"

The Ondine Water Spirit Knights took out their wands, using their only body to control the masses gave them quite a bit of hardship.

"Hey! Scutter off! If you don't want to get hurt then stand back!"

"That's a no-no! You better queue up honestly! Don't you understand speech?"

The pleasents unable to follow orders started to turn their fury at the patrolling knights instead.

"Kill them!"

"Y-You bastard!"

Because of the surrounding magic detectors, although Guiche is sweating like a waterfall, he still issued a ban on using magic to his teammates.

"Everyone! Put down your wands! We can handle them! Therefore don't use magic!"

Except that using the wands to beat the furious pleasants only further enrages them.

Soon Malicorne's wand was stolen in a tug-of-war, and was engulfed by the furious surrounding pleasants.

"Waah! Waaaah! Stop that! You plebians! How dare you!"

"Arrogant aristobrat! Go to hell!"

Guiche and the team were trying to reach Malicorne to help, but were easily swept away by the rioting crowds to taken aside be beaten in one corner.

"These people! They just won't listen!"

Gimili blinded by anger, has activated killing spree mode. It wasn't very long before he started chanting the spells. Guiche, who had his head lifted by someone and was frantically beaten, was in a state of high tension.

"No, stop! I tell you, do not use magic!"

Just at this moment, a group of people wraped in white cloth flew out from the Cathedral.

"Crusaders!"

No one does not know of legends of how aggressive these Crusaders, claiming the title as Guardians of the Ancestors, could get if you were in their way. Waving the staffs made out of imitated holy objects, the Crusaders gathered together and rammed into the crowd.

"An enemy of ours is the enemy of God!"

Hearing this, in addition to the fear stroke in the hearts when facing these knights of pure white garments, the rioters all fell back and retreated. One of the Crusaders took off his helmet and smiled at the boys.

"Your Majesty Carlo!"

Saving Guiche and the others is none other than the Carolo Mariano De l'Thrombosine? who went into a conflict with the Ondine Water Spirit Knights at a tavern at Romalia previously, leading Crusaders of the Aliesta monastery.

"Whoa, whoa, aren't all of you student knights? Didn't your academy teach you about suppressing rioters?"

All the Crusaders laughed in unison, making Guiche and their ashamed to death.

"Where's your vice-captain? The one with a weird name, what, Hiragana Cratos I recall?"

"It's Hiraga Saito!"

"Ohh, yes, that name. And, where did he go? I don't seem to see him here..."

All of the Ondine Knights darkened their faces. Malicorne replied with a small voice

"R-re-returned to home."

"What did you say? Abandoning his duties to flee cowardly? As expected from a plebian born!"

Carlo laughed with a big mouth. The rest of the Crusaders imitated their leader and laughed as well.

"Don't make things up! Our enemy is a large country!"

"That's must be one brave, brave vice-captain."

As soon as his words ended, Gimili stood forward. In case Gimili did something rash, Guiche and Reinard held him back. Guiche said with a low voice

"Carlo, your highness. Have you ever tried facing an army of 10,000 alone?"

"10,000? Don't joke with me. No matter how much more powerful I am, what I can do is limited."

"Our vice-captain did. Not only against 10,000, but against 70,000. At least stop an army of 10,000 before you question his bravery."

Carlo started laughing again. But as soon as he sees Guiche's serious attitude, his laughter soon turned into a bored snicker.

"Huh, just hurry up leave this place. We're in charge now."

Carlo, seeing the exhausted boys leave without another word, continued

"Oh, and from tomorrow onwards, you are in charge of patrolling the streets. Remember to report in any suspicious people."

The boys felt blood boiling, but were incapable of complaining. Patrolling was their job now. To them, the harsh words sounded like

"you're supposed to 'patrol', but eventually you'll end up interfering with our jobs. Why don't you go over there and play by yourselves?"

Afterall, the streets are jammed with people here and there. There was absolutely no space for patrol.

Guiche and the team came to a corner on the centre beside the Cathedral, staring blankly at the excited crowds. A few ventors grouped together to sell alcoholics and snacks.

"Turns out, we can't do anything without Saito..."

Listening to the shouts of the hawkers, Malicorne sighed. It chimed in resonnance with what the other boys had in mind. If they had to rely on Saito no matter wherever they are, the emptyness created by sudden disappearance just can't be filled by anything else.

"Damn Louise, always so full of herself!"

Gimili made a fist and vented his depression on the ground.

"...But, her feelings I can also understand. Although I am not clear, but that guy probably came from somewhere far away? I remember he came from the east? I'm sure he'd wanted to see his family as much as we did. Besides, Louise, eventually, is a girl. One day she'd be tired of his fighting, I guess."

Reinard stood up and laid out his hands.

"Oi, Oi, how long are we planning to get depressed here? Even if Saito isn't here, shouldn't we device some plan to make ourselves useful? We should make some achievements to prove that we derserve the title 'Heros of Albion'!"

A few of the boys nodded in agreement.

"But they won't let us maintain order anymore. We have no more chance to stand out."

Silence fell around them yet again.

Out of the Ondine Knights, Guiche was the only still cheerfully whistling, as if a plan has been deviced. On closer look, right next to him is a wineglass bought from some unknown place.

"Why the hell are you drinking, Guiche"

"Eh? Because if this turns for the worse, we'll probably end up in a war. Here, take a cup and drink to your spirit. Here, you try it as well. this is called Helptakis?' cocktail. It's made from mixing ginger and sugar into red wine... and the taste is very concentrated, tastes very good!"

Reinard let his jaw fall to the ground.

"How would there be a war! Even Gallia knows the consequences of having a war in this city filled with Romalia Pilgrims. They could become the world's public enemy!"

Guiche slightly frowned

"Ah, yes, that is what a King with common sense would think.... However, the King of Gallia isn't just anyone. At least that's what I, who have sneaked inside the borders of Gallia, believe. He would never use just any plain, normal tatics.... Arg! I ruined her face!"

"Guiche..., what were you doing all along?"

"Hmm?"

Guiche raised his head, and Malicorne was able to catch a glimpse of what he held in his hands. It was a surprising white seashell with the face of a girl carved on it.

"I'm making a necklace. In Romalia, it is very popular to gift females with this time of seashell carving. Since Montmorency is still angry with me, I have to cheer her up no matter what! Bwa-ha-ha!"

Even Malicorne, frowned this time.

"Seriously, even right now, you still have the time to carve seashells? I thought a war is coming? Or do you plan to rely on this and make our companion Saito come back? No?"

"This isn't as worse as how you described it. Although at first notice, all of us were stunned in shock, even if you keep on emphasising it right now, it won't help the fact that Saito won't come back. You know, the meaning of being alive, is to enjoy ourselves!"

Guiche responded like he didn't care.

"I really admire you. Such bravery."

Malicorne sad sacarastically.

"No... how should I put it?"

"Mhm?"

"To look for answers, yes, excatly."

"Answers?"

"Uh-huh. If I had to face that kind of nightmare like guy, to be honest even thinking of it makes me shudden. That's why I have to do this, to list down all the reasons why I must live on. I must hand this to Montmorency myself. Therefore I mustn't die, ahh-- that emotion excatly!"

Smiling, Guiche gulped down the rest of the wine in his glass in one glup. Malicorne shook his head as if he couldn't stand it anymore.

Watching those two, a sense of uneasiness arose.

"The enemies inside Gallia...I'm not sure myself, but is there such a horrendous guy?"

Reinard involuntarily gulped. Asked, Guiche nodded his head in a exaggerating way.

"Very fearsome."

"Powerful?"

Guiche crossed his arms as he thinks in pain, then nodded his head in the same way.

Little by little, the boys were all around Guiche now, eyes fixed on his face.

"How powerful?"

Guiche and Malicorne exchanged expressions, then Malicorne put up a stand, hinting Guiche should start replying honestly, and kept nudging Guiche.

"Make it clear! Spit it out!"

At last, Guiche answered objectively.

"They have elves."

Elves... to the nobles of Halkenia, elves are undoubtly a signature of inducing immense fear.

The faces on the boys changed drastically. Looked at each other, then used feeble laughs to break the awkward silence. Gimili tapped Malicorne's shoulders and ask with doubting eyes.

"That, is it true?"

"You're annoying, that, uh, is really real. We were really defeated by him." Thinking of the battle they had to go through when saving Tabitha, cold sweats burst out from his forehead.

The boys around them stood up in unison, and ran away at great speeds, that only trails of dust clouds could be seen. Guiche was the only one left running behind them yelling

"Waaait! Everyone! Calm down!"

Hearing Guiche's call, some of the boys turned their heads back.

"I'll be here with you all!"

Pointing at his own chest, a cheerful Guiche without a hint of fear puffed out his chest. The rest of the Ondine Knights rolled their eyes in desperation, and started fleeing again.

"Wait up! How do you call yourselves aristocrats!"

Because of this sentence, the runaways finally came back, knelt down and looked up in the sky.

"Forget it..., my last words..."

"So what, it's not like losing is our only choice. Besides..."

"We should stop praying for Saito to come back. For some reason I just know that in the near future he will appear before us again. Right, just when we're desperately fighting. If we gave up right here right now, won't we become a joke? Anyhow I'm not fleeing from this."

Once Guiche puts it this way, the boys started to hesitate. Afterall, they are a bunch of young ignorant teenagers.

Part 2

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