Zero no Tsukaima:Volume7 Chapter2 - MTL

Chapter 2: Fairies

Today is the third day of the miraculous return of the dragon knights. Rene and Saito, along with the rest, were partying in the tent all this while.

Ever since that party, Rene and the other members of the 2nd Dragon Cavalry Company had been making a fool of themselves at Louise's tent everyday. Them being so-called "guards" were merely excuese; in reality, they were there for other reasons.

"Cheers! To our miraculous survival!"

That, was the 17th "Cheers!" of the day, delivered in a half-druken stupor.

"Cheers! Cheers!"

answered the knights, whose words were slurred due to their drunkness. Again, the lot emptied their cups, filled to the brim with grape wine, in one gulp.

"It's great to be alive. You could still drink like this!"

said Rene's deputy, a crimson-haired youth named Matthew Pennterdon, as he casually waved his wand, creating a mini whirlwind to stir the wind. As the third son of a petty noble family, he always drank in a miserly manner - diluting the wine with water before drinking it. So, he would occasionally use magic in this manner to stir his cup.

That pair of attention-grabbing twin dragon knights, were called Gilbert and Siegfried. With soft, pale golden hair and cute maiden-like faces, these two came from a noble family which had fallen into ill times. They helped each other to fill up the cups with wine, while grinning away.

Besides Louise, the rest were already dead drunk. No.... one of them seemed to have some sort of troubles, and was in deep thought. He's the somewhat taciturn Fernan. When Saito toasted him, he merely shook his head. Looks like he has some kind of worry in his mind.

At this point, the plump Rene showed up, hugging a sack full of stuff.

"Captain of the 2nd Dragon Cavalry Company, Rene Vonke, has returned!"

"It's been hard on you." said Saito pompously. Sitting right in the center, he even straightened himself. The knights, as if finding it funny, immediatly burst into laughter.

Louise, who was sitting at the corner of the tent hugging her knees, could only stare at the scene in frustration.

What is it with this bunch?

Simply put, they are treating the place as if it's their room. "Guards" are merely excuses; they're probably here for the drinking. Here, they won't be seen by their superiors, and they could do whatever they wanted.

Louise bit her lip in hatred. Of course, it wasn't easy for them to escape death, a little wine for celebration would still be tolerable.

But...

They were doing this every day! EVERY DAY! And it was from dawn to dusk!

And these fellows have absolutely no idea on how to keep a room clean! Louise's grinding of her teeth became very audible. Bottles, bones of fowl and leftover scraps were scattered everywhere; the sight of it all was unbearable.

If she warned them, she'll get a chirpy "Understood!" in reply, but that was all. No one cleaned up the mess. As a result, the rubbish grew by theday, along with Louise's frustration.