Zero no Tsukaima:Volume6 Chapter1
Chapter One: Homecoming
"Traveling sure is exciting!"
Siesta shouted and pushed her big chest against Saito's arm.
“Rather than “exciting” I'd say it's “touching””
With a flustered head, Saito gave a short nod.
Inside a carriage, Saito and Siesta were sitting next to each other on a small seat.
Siesta was wearing a dark green one-piece dress with high boots.
Also, she had a small straw hat, which altogether made for quite the nice appearance.
When black haired, sweet and innocent Siesta had that appearance, overall she seemed almost too cute.
More than just being cute, it was hard to hold anything back.
Damn you, putting me in this condition.
And the worst part is that, while making such an oddly audacious move, that cute Siesta was still radiating a sweet innocent atmosphere.
As she sat next to Saito, she hugged one of his arms to her and squeezed her breasts against it.
“S-S-S-Siesta, when you get so close to me.. . your breasts are touching my arm, touching me and…and such…like…” Saito said half crying, becoming incomprehensible...
“Ah, I meant to do it!”
Siesta said with a totally carefree, smiling face.
“L…Like that, on purpose, That is… At a place there is a person, like that, hey, you…”
Saito who couldn’t stop talking, in order to sooth his own conscience, just protested like this.
“You don’t have to worry about the coachman. He’s a golem.”
The young man sitting on the coachman stand was a puppet(Golem) which moved somehow or other with the use of magical power.
Now that you mention it, its eyes are like glass beads emitting light.
Consequently, this made Siesta even bolder. She placed her cheek on Saito’s shoulder and her mouth near his ear, mixing sighs with her voice.
“…doing it like this, just the two of us…it’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
“Y…Yeah”
“I think I heard it sometime, but during summer break, what did you do with Miss Valliere?”
I can’t tell her that.
I can’t say that Henrietta requested a shinobi mission from us.
Though it was mostly washing dishes and stuff, it's a secret.
“Uh, umm, that is…, I worked at a bar. Louise worked in the castle so….what she did, I don’t know,” Saito lied about Louise. Saying the truth about himself is probably alright, he decided.
“Oh! A bar! Saito did! Why again?”
“Eh, uh, that is…I don’t have any money”
“If it’s something like that, a money thing, just tell me and I would be happy to help!"
“You would?”
“Yes, it isn’t much but, I scraped some wages and saved.
As expected of a reliable village girl. Instead of squandering money, she is quite frugal.
Siesta’s kind proposal made Saito glad.
“It’s alright. Somehow, I managed!”
“Really? But, if at times you are in need, please tell me without holding back."
There is no way I can borrow even a little bit of money from this admirable girl who has scrimped and saved like this.
“I can't borrow money from Siesta-san!”
“Aye! Why? As long as it's for Saito-san, money isn't important to me!” When she finished speaking, the girl lowered her shoulders.
“Ah, right, you mean you are really not interested in using my money right?”
“That's not the reason why!”
“You must hate me!”
”No, it's nothing like that!”
“Really? But Saito-san is always so cold to me”
“I am? How so?”
“I am sitting next to you, and you aren't making a move.”
While Saito moved around hastily, Siesta hmmed a little and moved her lips to his neck. This kind of feelings that can make a person melt surprised Saito to no end.
Siesta moved her lips upwards, finally nibbling Saito’s ear.
While feeling as if his brain is about to melt, the air seemed to grow cold and as a shivering sensation went down his spine, he shakily squeaked "Si-Si-Sieasta-san.."
In the instant he said that, something blew the top of the carriage away.
Well, blown is not the right word, it appeared more like some hidden explosive sent the whole thing flying. In that moment Saito and Siesta’s carriage suddenly changed from an enclosed carriage to an Sky-light carriage.
Trembling from fear Saito turned around slowly.
Only to see a carriage nearly twice the size and far more luxurious, pulled by two horses.
Sensing a killing intend emulating from the carriage, Saito became not simply afraid, but extremely afraid. It look like I'm going to die, when we arrive at the destination.
The luxurious carriage released an overwhelming Aura of death.
“Wa…Wa…the roof of the carriage!” Siesta wailed while latching on to Saito.
“Si-Siesta-san!”
“What, What is happening?”
“If you don’t want to die, I think we should sit apart.”
But that only made Siesta cling on to Saito even tighter.
“I don’t know what's going on, but my heart is pure!”
She screamed and pushed Saito down. On one side, Saito is very happy and excited about her feelings, while another kind of messages flashed through his mind, “Haha, this is the end of my life, It really was too short, I hope I'll at least get to return to Japanese soil..”
Now then, from the carriage that was running behind Saito’s, from the window of that splendid carriage…
Louise was sticking out her head, holding a light brown cane in her hand, shaking in anger and breathing heavily.
The roof of Saito and Siesta’s carriage was blown up by Louise with her Void magic “Explosion.”
Because of the window on the back of the carriage, Louise could see everything going on inside.
Louise was shaking while watching them as they hugged each other inside their coach and Siesta kissed Saito’s neck.
Finally, as the maid’s lips came up to her familiar’s ear, Louise’s anger exploded. She wouldn’t let her own familiar get kissed.
However, as the roof was being blown off, she noticed that Siesta embraced Saito even tighter.
Louise’s eyebrow went up instantly and just as she was about to spell the happy couple’s doom, someone pulled her legs.
“Kya!”
As she yelled that, her cheeks were stretched
“Id hurds! Yan! Au! Funya! Ahh! Id hurds!”
The prideful and haughty Louise getting her face pulled in such a manner and unable to raise a single complaint. If Saito was able to see this scene, his eyes would most likely pop out in shock.
The one pulling Louise’s cheeks like that was… …, a beautiful blond woman. She was about twenty-five years old. Vaguely, her face resembled Louise’s. If she cooled down her hot blood and grew up a bit, would she look like that as well? To cut it short, there was a beautiful woman.
“Little Louise. My talk hasn’t finished yet, has it?”
“Auu..., I’b sowwy..., Abe-saba, I’b sowwy...”
As her cheeks were being stretched, Louise shouted with a teary voice. There was a total of four absolute existences in Louise’s life. Henrietta, her parents and this bossy old sister, Eleanor. Eleven years older than Louise, the eldest daughter of the la Vallière house is known to be the most excellent researcher in the Royal Magic Research Institute "Academia".
“Even though it is a long-awaited conversation with me, why do you restlessly keep looking somewhere else? Moreover, you blew up the attendants’ carriages’ roof!”
“That’s, um… I wanted to, um, separate my familiar from the maid, that’s why… …”
Like that, Louise very hesitantly informed her older sister.
As Eleanor curled up her hair, she sharply stared at Louise. Like a frog targeted by a snake Louise curled herself up.
“Let the attendants do whatever they want! As always, you’re a restless kid, aren’t you?! You are a daughter of the la Vallière house, you know?! Be more self-concious!”
“O-Okay…” Louise quietly drooped her shoulders.
“B-But… … Whatever you say, being taken by the academy’s maid is…”
“Shrimp. Listening? The la Vallière house is not simply Tristain’s noble family, it is our noble family. Even you should understand that, right?”
“Yes, Onee-sama”
“You can’t use only your familiar as an attendant, right? Louise, a lady, you know, is a person that must always have one, at worst, female attendant to take care of her when traveling.”
Eleanor, serving at Tristain’s Academia, came this morning to the Academy of Magic in order to take Louise home with her. She caught Siesta that was passing by with the laundry basket in her hands, said “This girl will be good enough as a female attendant during the journey” and after getting a nearby aristocrat teacher’s consent, she was taken for the sake of looking after Louise.
Siesta and Saito boarded the carriage for attendants, after it was forcibly prepared by the academy’s employees. Louise and Eleanor boarded their own coach that was used to come to the academy.
There were practically no stops so there really wasn’t any need of help along the way. Siesta was simply a decoration. However, to nobles that ornament was very important.
As for that Louise’s innermost thoughts, they weren’t calm at all.
That’s because this homecoming wasn’t a part of the plan at all.
The military operation to invade Albion was proclaimed at the school after the summer break ended, approximately at the time the two moons overlapped…
It’s been many decades since the last time the king’s troops had insufficient officers in order to organize an expeditionary force. It was decided that in order to do that aristocrat students were to be assigned as officers. One of the teachers and the academy’s chief Osman were against that, but Henrietta, the Cardinal and the queen’s army’s generals ignored that objection. The academy was closed down until the end of the war.
The bearer of the “Void”, the court lady under Henrietta’s direct supervision, Louise, in order for the invasion strategies to succeed, was to be given special missions.
However… after Louise reported to her parents that “For the fatherland’s sake, I will join the queen’s army in order to take part in Albion’s invasion” it ended up becoming a huge ruckus.
Joining the campaign wasn’t allowed and, even though a letter arrived, ignoring it, Eleanor came.
Naturally, Louise was very angry. What will happen of going to the front? Even now all across the country, at our parade grounds and garrisons, a lot of students are training to become temporary officers. Most of them are male students that have chosen to enter the war.
I am a girl, but I have to protect Her Majesty’s honor as her court lady. Moreover, in this invasion plan, the airplane of my familiar is supposed to play a key role.
There are a lot of expectations placed upon my Void as well. Henrietta and the Cardinal consider me the queen’s army’s trump card. As a Tristainian noble, there is no greater honor than that.
Well, I definitely don’t like war. But, for the princess’ and the fatherland’s sake I’d like to offer my poor ability. Since the Void was given to me I have a duty to be zealous in my loyalty to the fatherland. Isn’t the loyalty to the fatherland one of the things the noble family of the la Vallière house is boastful? And yet my own house opposed my firm resolution to join the front.
“Really, you’re doing such selfish things! War? What would you do there?! Good things? Get ready to get scolded by Mother and Father when we get home!”
“B-But… …”
Just as she was about to answer back, her cheeks got pinched. Eleanor was completely treating Louise as a kid, just like in the old days. Just like when she answered back during studies, she called her a shrimp over and over again.
“But? “Yes “, you mean, shrimp?! Little Louise!
As expected of sisters. Eleanor had the same expression as Louise at the times at which she trained her familiar. Louise couldn’t do anything to oppose her.
“Fue, Au, Ouch, Ane-sama, my cheeks au au… …”
She said with a pathetic voice.
As the incantation never flew over no matter how long he waited, Saito let out a sigh of relief. It seems like for some reason Louise wasn’t able to complete her incantation.
It seems that while she was sticking to him, Siesta became happy, so perhaps she had forgotten that there is no roof.
“Hey, hey, Saito-san”
“Hm? W-What?”
“Traveling sure is enjoyable!”
“Y-Yeah… …”
He nodded. Saito hadn’t become that optimistic.
When he thought about the things that are to come, he realized that the problems were piling up.
Henrietta and the others were making war plans. What was going to happen from now on was an assault war. Of course, Louise is going to participate. As things are now I have no choice, but to follow and participate no matter what as well. Most likely for the bearer of Zero there is some kind of war campaign. Probably, we’ll have to do something dangerous.
I can’t get into a cheerful mood.
Damn it, as soon as this war is over this time I’ll search for a way to return to my original world, to Japan, that’s what Saito decided. Until then no matter what happens I can’t allow myself to die.
Seeing Saito with the face of a person thinking about a lot of things, Siesta’s face clouded up.
“I don’t want that”
”Hm?”
“Saito-san, will go to Albion as well, right?”
“Y-Yeah…”
It seems like Siesta’s cheerful attitude until now was just a performance to cheer up Saito.
“I, hate the nobles”
“Siesta…”
“It would be fine if they simply killed each other… but they involve us commoners as well…”
“Even if it’s for the sake of ending the war… they’re just saying that”
Remembering Henrietta’s words, Saito muttered
“Doesn’t matter if it’s for the sake of ending one or beginning one, war is war.”
Saito became silent.
Before, during the battle at Tarbes, there was a reason to fight. “Help out Siesta and the village’s people”, that kind of just cause.
But, during the invasion of Albion this time, what kind of reason is there?
I don’t want to fight, is there even a reason behind this fight?
Louise is in high spirits… but I have no interest in this.
But at the time I touched Henrietta I felt an “I want to help such a poor princess’ hand.” kind of feeling, Saito cheered up a bit.
“Why does Saito-san have to go? You have no relation, right?”
“Well, it may be so, but…” his elbow was caught
Siesta buried his face into her breasts.
“Don’t die… Don’t die no matter what…”
Saito felt that such a Siesta is lovely.
To be cried for in such a way by such a cute maid… that alone was a reason enough for Saito to keep living on… As I thought, I’m and idiot, right.
But, Louise’s house huh…
Louise’s big sister that I met earlier was a beautiful woman, but she had a hard expression, didn’t she... , he thought. Splendidly, Saito saw with only a glimpse. At the time they met he noticed that even though her eyes were different from Louise’s she had the same high attitude. Will Louise give off the same feeling when she grows a bit older? That would be painful.
Also, there was a kind of suspicious feeling in the air. It seemed that Louise and everyone in that house had a bit of a difference in opinions.
This time, we’re going towards the home of that Louise.
Saito looked up at the sky, sighed, and thought with an attitude lacking spirit... what’s going to happen from now on?
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