Kingdom of Magic
Chapter One: I'm a Familiar
“Who are you?” asked the girl intently. She was examining Saito's face. The sky was a clear blue behind her.
She seemed to be close to Saito's age. Underneath a black cloak, she wore a white blouse and a gray pleated skirt. She knelt down and looked, shocked, at his face.
Her face is… cute. Reddish-brown eyes danced upon the stage of her flawless, white skin and strawberry blonde hair. She looks kind of like a foreigner. In fact, the girl must have been a foreigner. A cute, doll-like foreigner. Maybe she’s half-Japanese?
Still, that's some kind of weird school uniform she's wearing isn’t it?I don't recognize it .
Saito was lying on the ground, face up, though he was unsure of how he had got there. He raised his head to take a look around. A crowd of people in black cloaks were curiously examining him. In the distance, on an endlessly rich grassy plain, he saw a huge castle with stone walls, just like the ones in those European tour photographs.
It's just like a fantasy.
My head is killing me. Giving his head a shake, he answered, “Who am I…? I'm Hiraga Saito.”
“Where are you from, commoner?”
Commoner? What does she mean by that? Everyone around him had some sort of stick in their hand and wore the same uniform as that girl's. Did I wander into an American school or something?
“Louise, what were you thinking, calling a commoner with 'Summon Servant'?” someone asked, and everyone but the girl who was looking at his face started to laugh.
“I… I just made a little mistake!” The girl in front of Saito shouted in a refined voice that carried like a bell.
“What mistake are you talking about? Nothing unusual happened.”
“Of course! After all, she's Louise the Zero!” someone else said, and the crowd burst into laughter again.
It appeared the girl looking into Saito's face was named Louise.
Either way, this is no American school. You won't see those kinds of buildings just anywhere.
Could it be a movie set? Are they filming something? But then Saito thought all of a sudden. But it's too big to be a movie set. Could this kind of scenery really exist somewhere in Japan?Maybe it's a new theme park? But then why was I sleeping here?
“Mr. Colbert!” The girl, Louise, shouted.
The crowd parted, revealing a middle-aged man. Saito thought it was funny because the man looked ridiculous. He carried a big wooden staff and was covered in a black robe.
What is he playing at? He's dressed like a wizard. Is he even sane? Oh, I've got it, this must be a cosplay gathering. But it doesn't seem to have that kind of atmosphere. Suddenly, Saito was gripped with fear. What am I going to do if this is a religious sect? It's possible. They could have put me to sleep somehow and brought me here while I was taking a walk in town. That mirror must have been a trap. If not, I have no other explanation for this.
Saito decided that he ought to stay quiet until he understood what was going on.
The girl named Louise seemed to be in a panic, begging to redo something and gesticulating frantically.
I feel sorry for her, being stuck in this weird religious group, since she's so cute.
“What is it that you want from me, Miss Vallière?”
“Please! Let me try the summoning one more time!”
Summoning? What's that? They mentioned it earlier.
Mr. Colbert, the man wearing the black robe, shook his head. “I cannot allow that, Miss Vallière.”
“Why not?”
“It is strictly forbidden. When you are promoted to a second year student, you must summon a familiar, which is what you just did.”
A familiar? What's that?
“Your elemental specialty is decided by the familiar that you summon. It enables you to advance to the appropriate courses for that element. You cannot change the familiar once you have summoned it because the 'Springtime Familiar Summoning' is a sacred rite. Whether you like it or not, you have no choice but to take him.”
“But… I've never heard of having a commoner as a familiar!”
Everyone around laughed. Louise scowled at them, but the laughter did not stop.
'Springtime Familiar Summoning'? What's that?I don't understand. What are they talking about? How did I end up in a place like this? It has to be one of those New Religions[1]. The safest thing to do is to take the first opportunity to run away.I mean really, where is this place?Was I taken to a foreign country?A kidnapping! I've been kidnapped!I'm in real trouble,thought Saito.
“This is a tradition, Miss Vallière. I cannot allow any exceptions; he,” The middle-aged wizard cosplayer pointed at Saito. “He may be a commoner, but as long as he was summoned by you, he must be your familiar. Never in history has a human been summoned as a familiar, but the Springtime Familiar Summoning takes precedence over every rule. In other words, there is no other way around it; he must become your familiar.”
“You have got to be joking…” Louise drooped her shoulders in disappointment.
“Well then, continue with the ceremony.”
“With him?”
“Yes, with him. Hurry. The next class will begin any minute. How much more time is this summoning going to take? After mistake upon mistake, you have finally managed to summon him. Hurry and form a contract.” Everyone voiced their agreement and began jeering.
Louise stared at Saito's face as if troubled.
What is it? What's she going to do to me?
“Hey,” Louise addressed Saito.
“Yes?”
“You should count yourself lucky. Normally, you'd go your whole life without a noble doing this to you.”
Noble? How stupid. What nobles are you talking about?Aren't you just a bunch of twisted cosplaying new-religion freaks?
Louise closed her eyes with an air of resignation. She waved around the wooden stick in her hand.
“My name is Louise Franзoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being and make him my familiar.”
She chanted those words over and over, like a magic spell, and touched Saito's forehead with the stick. Her lips then slowly drew closer.
What… What are you doing?!
“Just stay still.” Louise said, a touch of irritation in her voice. Her face got closer.
“Oi, wait a second. I'm… Well, I'm not… ready for this…”
His face twisted in panic.
“Ah, geez! I told you to stay still!” Louise grabbed Saito's face roughly with her left hand.
“Huh?”
“Mmm…”
Louise's lips touched Saito's.
What is happening?! What kind of contract is this?! The touch of her soft lips confounded Saito even more. My first kiss! Stolen in this weird place by this weird girl whose motives I don't understand! Saito remained frozen, paralyzed.
Louise removed her lips. “It is done.”
Her face is all red. Is this idiot embarrassed by her boldness? Saito thought.
“I should be the one embarrassed, not you! It was me who was kissed all of a sudden!”
But Louise ignored Saito completely.
You kissed me and now dismiss me? If this isn't rude, I don't know what is.Really, who are they?! I'm scared. I want to go home right this minute. I just want to go home and go on the computer. Saito thought. He had just registered with a dating site, so he wanted to check his e-mail.
“You have failed 'Summon Servant' many times, but you have managed to succeed with 'Contract Servant' in one try.” Colbert said happily.
“It's just because he's only a commoner.”
“If he was a powerful magical beast, she wouldn't have been able to make a contract.”
Some of the students laughed.
Louise scowled at them. “Don't make fun of me! Even I do things right once in a while!”
“Truly 'once in a while', Louise the Zero.” Laughed a girl with gorgeous curly hair and freckles on her face.
“Mr. Colbert! Montmorency The Flood just insulted me!”
“Who are you calling 'The Flood'? I'm Montmorency the Fragrance!”
“I heard that you used to wet the bed like a flood, didn't you? 'The Flood' suits you better!”
“I hadn't expected better manners from Louise the Zero.”
“Watch it! Nobles ought to show each other the proper respect.” The middle-aged wizard cosplayer interjected.
What are they talking about? What contract? Who are they calling a servant?
Suddenly, Saito's body started to heat up.
“Aaah!” Saito stood up. “I'm burning up!”
“It will be over soon; just wait. The Familiar's Runes are being inscribed.” Louise said, irritated.
“Stop it! What are you doing to me?!”
There is nothing I can do, but I can't just lie around quietly. It is unbelievably hot!
“By the way.”
“What?”
“Why do you allow yourself, a commoner, to use that kind of language in front of nobles?”
The burning sensation lasted only for a second. His body rapidly cooled down.
“That was quick…” The middle-aged cosplay wizard, known as Colbert, approached the kneeling Saito and checked the back of his left hand. There, jumping out at him, were unfamiliar letters.
Are those runes? It looks like a wriggling snake in some strange pattern. Saito stared at it and thought, If this isn't a trick, then what is it?
“Hmmm… These are very unusual Runes,” said the middle-aged wizard impersonator.
At this point, Saito suddenly lost it. “Who are you people?!” he yelled out, but no one reacted.
“Well, let's go back to class, everyone.”
The middle-aged cosplay wizard turned on his heel, then rose gently into the air. Saito gaped after him. Is… Is he really flying? Is he floating in the air?Unbelievable! The other people who looked like students also floated up.
It can't be! The whole lot of them? One person could rise up into the air by some trick, but so many? Saito looked for wires or even a crane, but the surrounding area was just a large grassy plain. There was nothing to suggest that any tricks or setups were used.
Everyone who was floating quietly moved towards the stone walls of the castle in the distance.
“Louise, you'd better walk back!”
“She shouldn't try to fly. She can't even manage levitation.”
“A commoner is perfect as your familiar!” the students jeered as they flew away.
The only ones left behind were Saito and the girl named Louise.
As soon as it was only the two of them, Louise took a deep breath, turned toward Saito, and yelled, “Who are you?!”
That made Saito mad. That's my line! he thought.
“Who are you ? Where is this place?! Who were all those people?! Why can they fly ?! What did you do to my body?!”
“I don't know what backwoods you came from, but all right, I will explain it to you.”
“Backwoods? This is the backwoods! Tokyo is nothing like this!”
“Tokyo? What is that? What country is it in?”
“Japan.”
“Never heard of it.”
“Oh please! But why are they flying?! You saw it too! They flew! They all did!”
But Louise took no notice of it at all, as if to say, “What's wrong with flying?”
“Of course they flew. What would we do if mages couldn't fly?”
Saito grabbed Louise's shoulders and yelled, “Mages? Where the hell am I?!”
“This is Tristain! And this is the renowned Tristain Academy of Magic!”
“Academy of Magic?”
“I'm a second year student, Louise de La Vallière. I am your master from now on. Remember that!”
All of Saito's fire suddenly disappeared. He was starting to get a really bad feeling about the situation. “Uh… Miss Louise…”
“What?”
“Did you really summon me here?”
“That's what I've been telling you over and over again. I can't believe you're that dense. Why does my familiar have to be so uncool… I wanted to have something wicked like a dragon or a griffin or a manticore. At least an eagle or an owl.”
“A dragon or a griffin? Really?”
“Yeah, those would be totally cool familiars.”
“Do they actually exist?”
“They do. Why?”
“You've gotta be kidding me,” Saito said, laughing. But Louise didn't seem to be joking.
“Well, you've probably never seen them before,” Louise said seriously, pity in her voice.
The mages who had flown away and the fantasy words they used suddenly connected.
He felt a chill run down his spine, and broke out in a cold sweat. “Maybe… These people, they really flew, didn't they? Are you really witches and wizards?”
“Of course we are! Now, let go of my shoulders! You shouldn't even be talking to me!”
“A dream… This has to be a dream…” Slowly, his strength left him, and Saito fell to his knees.
“Louise,” he said with a weak voice.
“Don't call me directly by name.”
“Hit me.”
“What did you say?”
“Please, hit me in the head as hard as you can.”
“Why?”
“I want to wake up from this dream. I'm gonna wake up and go on the computer. Tonight's dinner is hamburger steak[2]. My mom said so this morning.”
“Computer?”
“No, it's nothing. After all, you're just a part of my dream, so you don't need to worry about it. Now just let me escape this dream already.”
“I don't know what you're talking about, but you want me to hit you, right?” Louise clenched her hands into fists.
“Yes, please.”
Her fists began to tremble. Louise's expression became unreadable, but it seemed a lot of thoughts were going through her head. “Aren't you concerned at all about being summoned?”
“How should I know?”
“How could I, the third daughter of the Vallière family… a noble who takes pride in her proper pedigree and ancient lineage, end up having to make someone like you my familiar?”
“How should I know?” Saito repeated.
“…And just who decided that the contract had to be sealed by a kiss?”
“How should I know? Look, will you just get it over and done with? I hate nightmares.”
“Nightmares? That's my line!” Louise clobbered Saito in the head with all her strength. “That was my first kiss!”
Perhaps she was a bit too forceful… “Mine too,” thought Saito, losing consciousness.
Hiraga Saito. Seventeen years of age and in his second year of high school.
Athletic ability: normal. Grades: average. Duration without a girlfriend: seventeen years. Overall: no positives or negatives.
Teachers' evaluation: “Ah, Hiraga-kun. He refuses to give up, and he has a strong sense of curiosity, but he's a little slow.”
Parents' evaluation: “You should study more. You're on the slow side.”
Being slow, he was rarely bothered by accidents, and accepted pretty much anything — relative to most people, at least. Earlier, when he saw people flying, he made a commotion, but given that an ordinary person would have been so shocked as to be brought to their knees, he owed much to his disposition.
To put it plainly, he just didn't think too deeply about things before acting.
Also, he had a fiercely competitive spirit. In that sense, he might have been quite similar to Louise in personality.
Anyway, a mere thirty minutes ago, Saito had been walking down a street in Tokyo, Japan; on Earth.
He was on his way home after having his notebook computer repaired. He was quite happy, in fact, since he could go on the internet once more. He'd recently registered at an online dating site and had a chance to finally find himself a girlfriend.
Though what he really wanted was something to spice up his otherwise monotonous daily life. However, instead of discovering it on the internet, he found it in the middle of the street.
He was walking past the train station on his way home when suddenly a shining mirror-like object appeared in front of him. Saito stopped to take a good long look at it. Remember, his curiosity was about twice that of a normal person.
It was a large ellipse, about two meters high and one meter wide, with no substantial thickness. Then he noticed it was actually floating a little above the ground.
This piqued his interest. “What kind of natural phenomenon is this?” he wondered, scrutinizing the sparkling mirror-like object. “This is beyond odd, I've never seen or heard of any kind of phenomenon like this.” He considered sidestepping it, but his curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to see if he could walk through it.
No, maybe I shouldn't, he told himself. But it's just a couple of steps, he reasoned. He really did have a hopeless personality.
But first, he picked up a pebble and threw it experimentally at the disk. The pebble disappeared into the middle of the mirror-like object.
Oho, he thought. When he checked the other side, the pebble was nowhere to be seen. Next he pulled his house key out of his pocket. He poked the mirror-like object with the tip of the key.
Nothing happened.
Withdrawing the key, he examined it, but nothing about it had changed. Saito judged that there wouldn't be any immediate danger if he walked through, which only tempted him further to do it.
In the end, even though he knew he shouldn't, he stepped forward. It was much like opening up a manga just after deciding you were going to do nothing but study from now on.
He immediately regretted it, as an intense shock assailed his senses. He suddenly remembered back to when he was a child, when his mother had bought him a strange machine that supposedly made a person smarter by running an electric current through their body. It felt a lot like that. Saito fainted.
When he opened his eyes…
He was in a strange world as if out of a fantasy book.
“Is that true?” asked Louise, looking at Saito with an expression of disbelief. In her hand, she held bread from tonight's dinner.
They were in Louise's room. It looked about 12 tatami mats[3]in size. If you treated the window as south, the bed would be situated on the west side, the door would be to the north, and a big wardrobe would stand to the east. All the furniture looked like valuable antiques. Louise had brought Saito here once he had regained consciousness.
Saito, trying to ignore the ache from the blow earlier, answered her, “So what if it wasn't?”
Saito had never felt the slightest bit resentful of his own curiosity until today. I never should've walked through that stupid thing…This isn't Japan. It isn't even Earth.
If there were a nation with wizards who flew through the sky, even only a few, he certainly hadn't learned about it in middle school geography. And even if there were, what about those huge moons floating in the sky? They were easily twice the size of Earth's. Their huge size was not the issue; it was entirely possible that in some countries there were nights like that. However, that there were two of them was strange. Could the moon have multiplied into two without Saito noticing?
No. It couldn't. In other words, this was definitely not Earth.
It was dark now… Night had already fallen. I guess my family is worrying about me right now, he concluded sadly.
From the window, he could see the grassy plains where he'd been lying. Across the plains, illuminated by moonlight, he could also see a tall mountain range. Over to his right was a vast expanse of dense forest. Saito let out a sigh.
Evergreen forests like this one simply should not exist. It's totally different from what you'd see in Japan.
The castle and the grounds he had passed on his way looked very much like something directly out of the Middle Ages. It had been a breathtaking spectacle that would've amazed him if he'd come here on a trip.
An entrance arch and a sturdy staircase, both made of stone… This was the Tristain Academy of Magic, Louise had explained. All the Academy students lived in dormitories on the school grounds.
Academy of Magic? Wonderful! Dormitories? Splendid! It's just like a movie!
But this isn't Earth…!
“I can't believe it.”
“Look, neither can I.”
“By another world, what do you mean?”
“There aren't any magicians. And there's only one moon.”
“There's such a world like that?”
“I'm telling you, it's where I came from!” Saito shouted.
“Don't yell at me, you commoner.”
“Who are you calling a commoner?!”
“Well, you're not a mage, right? So you're a commoner.”
“Why does it matter if I'm a mage or not?”
“Look, do you really know nothing about the world?”
“As I've been telling you all this time, I'm not from this one!”
At that, Louise set her elbows on the table with a troubled look.
On the tabletop was a lamp with an art deco style shade. Its flickering light filled the room with a pale glow. It seemed as if electricity wasn't used.
Jeez, electricity isn't that complicated to set up, is it? I feel like I'm back in the old foreign settler's hut that our family went to ages ago.
Wait, 'setup…'Oh, could it be… This is…
“I've got it.”
“What did you get?” Louise asked, looking up.
“This is one of those candid camera programs. It's just a trick everyone is pulling on me, isn't it?”
“What's a 'candid camera'?”
“They stopped airing a while ago after someone got hurt, but you don't have any material so you're resorting back to the same kind of stuff, are you? So where's the camera?”
“What are you talking about?”
Saito sprung upon Louise.
“Kya-! What are you doing?!”
Knocking over a chair, he bore down on her.
“Where's the mike?! Is it here?”
Grabbing her roughly, he started to unbutton her blouse. However, a swift kick to the groin brought that to a halt… This left him on the floor in pain.
“Gaaaaaaaaaarrrgh…”
“H-how dare you… To a noble such as me…” Louise stood up, trembling furiously all over.
Through the intense agony, Saito thought, This is no dream.Plus, this isn't Earth. It's an entirely different world.
“Please…”
“What?!”
“Send me back home…”
“That's impossible.”
“But why…?”
“Because you've been bound by a contract as my familiar; it doesn't matter if you come from the countryside or a completely different world like you've said. Once the bond is established, it can't be undone.”
“You gotta be kidding…”
“Look, I don't like this either! Why do I have to be stuck with a familiar like you?!”
“Well then, send me back.”
“Are you saying you're really from another world?” asked Louise, seemingly still perplexed.
“Yeah.” Saito nodded.
“Show me some proof.”
Still wincing at the pain, Saito stood up and opened his bag.
“What's that?”
“A notebook computer,” replied Saito.
The surface of the recently repaired notebook gleamed with reflected light.
“I've certainly never seen anything like this. What kind of magic artifact is it?”
“It's not magic. It's science.”
Saito pushed the power button, and the computer whirred to life.
“Uwah! What is that?!” Louise gave a surprised yelp as the screen flickered on.
“The notebook screen.”
“It's pretty… What element of magic does it use? Wind? Water?”
“Science.”
Louise stared at Saito blankly. Clearly she didn't get it. “So, what kind of element is this 'science'? Is it different from the four elemental powers?”
“Argh, that's enough! I told you, it's not magic!” Saito waved his hands around wildly.
Louise sat on the edge of her bed and dangled her feet. Then, shrugging, she said with a dispassionate look, “Hmm. But I don't really understand it…”
“Why? Is there anything like this in this world too?”
Louise pouted. “No, but…”
“Then just believe me! There's nothing to understand!”
Clutching her long hair, Louise just shook her head. “All right! I'll believe you!”
“Really?”
Crossing her arms and cocking her head, Louise gave an annoyed growl. “Only because you would've gone on about it if I didn't say so.”
“Well, it doesn't matter, as long as you've got it. Now, send me back.”
“I told you, it's impossible.”
“But why?!”
Louise's face was etched with discomfort as she answered Saito. “That's because there's no spell that can connect this world to your world.”
“Then how did I end up here?”
“I wish I knew!”
Saito and Louise glared at each other.
“Listen, I'm being completely honest when I say there's no such spell. Nobody's even heard of another world.”
“There obviously is one if I'm here!”
“'Summon Servant' is used to call living beings from within Halkeginia. Normally, only animals or magical beasts are summoned. This is actually the first instance that I've seen it work on a person.”
“Stop talking about it like you're not involved. In that case, cast that spell on me one more time.”
“Why?”
“It might return me to my world.”
Looking discernibly perplexed, Louise tilted her head to one side.
“…That won't work. 'Summon Servant' is a strictly one-way spell. No incantation of any kind exists to return a summoned familiar back to where it was brought from.”
“Whatever, just try it.”
“It's impossible. And I can't even cast it now.”
“What? Why?”
“…Using 'Summon Servant' again is…”
“Yeah?”
“…Completely ineffective unless the familiar you first summoned has died.”
“Say what?” Saito froze.
“Would you like to die?”
“Err… Guess I'll pass.” He hung his head. His eyes trailed down to the runes that had been inscribed on his left hand.
“Do you want to know what that is?”
“Yeah.”
“That's like a stamp that says you're my familiar.”
Louise stood up and crossed her arms. This close, she was actually quite cute. Slender and well-proportioned legs, thin ankles. Not very tall, at around 155 cm. Her eyes were like a curious kitten's, and her eyebrows traced a subtle line over them.
If Saito had met her through the message boards of a dating site, he would've hopped and leaped for joy. But alas, this wasn't Earth. No matter how much he wanted to go back, he couldn't. Saito choked up at this thought, and his shoulders sagged.
“…Yeah, all right. For now, I guess I'm really your familiar.”
“Come again?”
“What, you got a problem with that?”
“I see you're still not used to formal speech. It should be, 'Is there something you wish to address, master?'” corrected Louise, one finger raised as if lecturing. The gesture was cute, but the tone was quite strict.
“But, um, what exactly does a familiar do?” asked Saito. Of course, he had seen ravens and owls appear as familiars in anime involving magicians. But mostly they would just sit on their master's shoulder and do nothing particularly relevant.
“Firstly, a familiar is able to grant its master an enhancement in vision and hearing.”
“Like how?”
“That means what the familiar sees, the master can also see.”
“Oh.”
“But it seems that doesn't work with you. I can't see anything.”
“Yeah, but it's not like that matters,” Saito said off-handedly.
“Also, a familiar will retrieve items that its master desires. For instance, reagents.”
“Reagents?”
“They're catalysts used when casting certain spells. Something like sulfur, or moss…”
“Uh-huh…”
“But you won't ever find me stuff like that, will you? Considering you don't even know what kind of reagents there are.”
“Nope.”
Louise frowned irritably, but continued talking. “And this is most important of all… A familiar exists to protect its master! The task of protecting them from any and all enemies is a duty of the highest priority! But that might be a little bit problematic for you…”
“Since I'm human…”
“…A powerful magical beast would almost always defeat its enemies, but I don't think you could even beat a raven.”
“Shut up.”
“That's why I'm only making you do things I'm fairly sure you can do: laundry, cleaning, and other miscellaneous tasks.”
“That's offensive. Just you see, I'm sure I'll find a way to get back home!”
“Sure, sure. In fact, I'll be glad if you do. Because when you return to your world, I'll be able to summon a new familiar.”
“Why you…”
“Right then, all this talking has made me sleepy,” said Louise with a great yawn.
“Where do I sleep?”
Louise pointed to the floor.
“I'm not some dog or cat, you know.”
“But there's nowhere else. And there's only one bed.” She threw him a blanket.
She then brought her hand up to the top button of her blouse.
One by one, the buttons came undone.
Soon she was down to her underwear. Saito blushed. “Wh-wh-what are you doing?!”
Louise answered as if it was the most obvious thing. “I'm going to sleep, so I'm getting changed.”
“Do it somewhere else where I can't see you!”
“Why?”
“Because! It makes the situation awkward! Seriously!”
“It's not awkward at all.”
“Is that because you're a mage? You're okay with doing that in plain sight of a guy?”
“A guy? Who? I don't need to think anything of being watched by my familiar.”
What the heck. That's exactly how you'd treat a dog or cat. Saito grabbed the blanket, threw it over his head, and turned away. He decided to revoke any and all thoughts he'd previously had about her cuteness. She just really got on his nerves. Being that girl's familiar? Yeah right.
“Oh, and these. Wash them for me tomorrow.” Several items came flying over to land softly beside him. He picked them up, wondering what they were.
A lacy camisole and matching panties. White, too. What exquisite and delicate pieces , Saito thought as his face began to flush. He clenched them tightly as a mix of indignation and delight welled up.
“Why do I have to– Your underwear?! Wash them?! Frankly, I'm both flattered and offended!”
He bolted upright, without even realizing he'd done so. Louise was pulling a large nightgown over her head. And in the dim light thrown off by the lamp, he could see the outline of her figure. While he couldn't make out any other details, it didn't seem as though she was embarrassed. It was kind of disappointing. He felt as though his masculinity were being denied.
“Who do you think is going to support you? Who do you think is going to give you food? And just whose room are you going to sleep in?”
“Uhh…”
“You're my familiar, right? Laundry, cleaning, other menial tasks – they're naturally your job.”
Saito pulled the blanket over his head again.
This girl is hopeless, he thought. She just doesn't see me as a guy at all.
I want to go home. I miss my room. I miss my parents.
The feeling of homesickness was overwhelming.
…When will I be able to go back?
Is there even a way to go back?
I wonder if my family is worried about me right now…
I need to find some way of returning…
What should I do? Should I try running away from here? But then what?
Maybe I'll try asking someone. But from what Louise told me earlier, nobody even knows another world exists, so there's no way they'll believe me.
No, I need to think this through rationally. In any case, struggling won't get me anywhere. I don't have any clues, and even if I escaped from here, there's no guarantee that I'll even find a way back.
I don't even have relatives in this world. There's nobody I can rely on besides a conceited girl by the name of Louise.
Guess there's no choice. For now, I'll be her familiar. At least she said she'll keep me fed.It'll be tough, since I'm not much more than a familiar to her.
Sure, she's a bit arrogant, but at least she's fairly cute. I suppose I can just imagine I made a girlfriend. Someone I happened to meet through the dating site. Treat it as if I came overseas just to see her. Or as if I came as a foreign student. Actually, that's better. Yeah, that's what I'll think. Hah, I'm so simple like that. It's great.
Okay, thought Saito. It's not like I've been stranded on a deserted island. Moping will achieve nothing.
I'll live as a familiar, and in the process, I'll look for a way to return home.
Now that his plan was set, he felt noticeably sleepy.
No matter the situation, Saito's amazing adaptability had always saved him. Where anyone else would've panicked and crumbled, Saito came through thanks to his flexible personality.
Louise snapped her fingers, and the glow of the lamp died out.
The lamp is magical too? I guess that means there really is no need for electricity, Saito reasoned.
A shroud of darkness descended upon the room.
Outside the window, the two moons shone down mysteriously.
Mrs. Hiraga, your son Saito has arrived in a world where there are wizards. He will not be able to attend school for quite some time, nor will he be able to study. Please forgive him.
And so began Saito's life as a familiar.
Chapter Two: Louise the Zero
When Saito woke up, the first sight to greet his eyes was the underwear that Louise had stripped off.
It had somehow ended up in his line of sight, having been carelessly tossed away. Louise was still asleep in bed, snoring gently. Her sleeping face was simply cherubic. Now she seemed a lot more childish. She was a loud and annoying girl when she spoke — “noble” this, “magician” that — but, while she slept, she was cute. Saito almost wished that she would stay that way forever.
Then reality sank in. So, last night really wasn't a dream. He had thought he would find himself back in his own room, but, obviously, it hadn't happened. He felt dispirited.
Still, it was a refreshing morning. Dazzling light shone down into the room.
Saito's characteristic curiosity was reawakened. Now that I think about it, this is kinda like a sightseeing tour. I wonder what kind of world this is? While I don't like the idea of being the familiar of a rude magician girl who snores her head off, I should try to make the most of it, in any case.
First things first, he flung the blanket off Louise.
“Wh-What? What's going on!”
“It's morning, Milady.”
“Huh? O-Oh… Wait, who are you!?” Louise yelled in a slurred voice. Her expression was vacant as she trailed off into a pitiful mumble.
Is this girl okay?
“Hiraga Saito.”
“Oh, the familiar. That's right, I summoned you yesterday, didn't I?”
Louise got up and yawned. Then, she ordered Saito:
“Clothes.”
He tossed her the uniform that had been draped over a chair. Louise began to sluggishly undress.
Saito quickly turned the other way to hide his blushing face.
“Underwear.”
“G-Get that yourself.”
“They're in the lowest drawer… Of that closet… Over there.”
It seemed she thoroughly planned to make the most out of Saito.
Holding his tongue, he went and opened the indicated drawer. Lo and behold, it was packed full of underwear. It was the first time he had seen women's underwear, except for his mother's. Grabbing a pair at random, he threw it over his shoulder without looking back.
Once Louise had put them on, she mumbled again.
“Clothes.”
“I just gave them to you.”
“Dress me.”
Don't push it. Saito turned to object angrily, only to find Louise sitting sleepily on the bed wearing nothing but the underwear he had thrown at her. He suddenly didn't know where to look.
Louise pouted in displeasure.
“You must not know because you're a commoner, but nobles will not dress themselves if a servant is available.”
That irked him.
“You can at least dress yourself.”
“Right then. As punishment for being a disrespectful familiar: No breakfast,” Louise declared, raising a finger triumphantly.
Reluctantly, Saito picked up her blouse.
When he left the room with Louise, he saw three identical wooden doors along the wall. One of them opened, and from inside appeared a girl with flaming red hair. She was taller than Louise, roughly the same height as Saito. She gave off a strongly flirtatious aura. Her face was attractive, and she sported a captivating bustline. Her breasts were like melons.
The top two buttons of her blouse were undone, highlighting an impressive cleavage which impulsively drew the eyes in. Her skin was tanned, giving her the look of healthy and natural beauty.
Her height, skin color, bearing, and breast size… It all made for a strong contrast with Louise, who lacked in those charm points.
When she saw Louise, she grinned broadly.
“Good morning, Louise.”
Louise returned the greeting with a frown.
“Good morning… Kirche.”
“That… is your familiar?” Kirche asked somewhat mockingly, pointing at Saito.
“That's right.”
“Ahaha! So it really is a human! That's amazing!”
Saito resented that. Sorry for being a human. What are you then? He stared at Kirche's breasts. You're just a big-breasted alien. Yeah, a big b-b-breasted alien. His stare intensified.
“It's just like you to summon a commoner with 'Summon Servant.' What else to expect from Louise the Zero?”
Louise's white cheeks flushed scarlet.
“Shut up.”
“I summoned a familiar yesterday, too. Unlike a certain somebody, I was successful on my first try.”
“Really.”
“And, if you're going to have a familiar, it should be a good one, like this. Flame!”
Kirche called her familiar triumphantly. From her room, a large, dark-red lizard slithered out. A wave of heat hit Saito.
“Uwah! What the heck is this red thing?”
Kirche smiled.
“Ohoho! Don't tell me this is your first time seeing a fire lizard?”
“Put a chain on it or something! It's dangerous! And just what is a fire lizard?”
“Don't worry. As long as I order it not to, it won't attack. Aren't you the scaredy-cat.”
Kirche put a hand to her chin and tilted her head teasingly.
The creature was at least as big as a tiger. Its tail was tipped with flame, and its mouth emitted sparks and embers.
“Don't you feel hot being near it?” Saito asked. He calmed himself down and looked at it again. “Wow, it's a monster… Fantastic!”
“It's actually fairly cool to me.”
“Is that a salamander?” Louise asked jealously.
“That's right! A fire lizard! See, look at the tail. A flame this vivid and large means it's without a doubt a salamander from the Fire Dragon Mountains! It's like a brand! Collectors can't even put a price on these!”
“That's nice,” Louise said, her voice bitter.
“Isn't it? It matches my affinity perfectly!”
“Your affinity is Fire, isn't it?”
“Of course. After all, I'm Kirche the Ardent. The ardent of gently smoldering passion. Everywhere I go, I have boys falling for me. Unlike you, right?”
Kirche puffed her chest out proudly. Not wanting to lose, Louise did the same, but the difference in volume was just too striking.
Despite this, Louise glared at Kirche. It looked as if she really hated losing.
“I don't have the time to go around flirting with everything I see, unlike you.”
Kirche only smiled calmly. Then, she turned to Saito.
“And what's your name?”
“Hiraga Saito.”
“Hiragasaito? What a strange name.”
“Hey!”
“Well then, I'll be off now.”
She stroked her flaming red hair back and dashed off. The salamander followed her with a cute shuffling movement that looked odd with such a large creature.
As she disappeared, Louise shook a fist in her direction.
“Ooh, that girl gets on my nerves! Just because she summoned a salamander from the Fire Dragon Mountains! Argh!”
“Calm down, it's just a summoning.”
“No, it's not! You can determine a mage's true power just by looking at his/her familiar! Why did that idiot get a salamander, while I got you?”
“Jeez, sorry for being a human. But you're one too, y'know.”
“Comparing mages and commoners is like comparing wolves and dogs!” Louise exclaimed haughtily.
“…Okay, okay. By the way, she just called you 'Louise the Zero', but, what's the 'Zero' stand for? Is it your surname?”
“No way! My name is Louise de La Vallière! 'Zero' is just a nickname.”
“A nickname, huh? I can understand why she's called 'Ardent,' but why are you 'Zero?'”
“You don't need to know,” Louise answered uncomfortably.
“Is it your breasts?” Saito asked, glancing at Louise. Yup. Flat as a board.
Louise's hand flew out. He dodged it.
“Come back here!”
“Don't hit me!”
A slap?
That reminds me… This girl…Yesterday, even when everyone else flew away, she walked.And, last night, when I grabbed her, she kicked me in the groin.
If she really wanted to chastise me, wouldn't it be better to use magic instead of hitting or kicking me?That would be more effective, and more mage-like.Why is that? Saito wondered.
The Academy of Magic's dining hall was the tallest and centermost building on the premises. Inside, three extremely long tables were arranged parallel to each other. Each one looked like it could easily seat a hundred people. The table at which Louise and all the second years sat was the middle table.
It appeared that students could be identified by the color of their cloaks. Viewed from the entrance, everyone sitting on the left-hand table looked a little older and wore purple cloaks — third years.
The students sitting on the right-hand table wore brown cloaks — first years. So they're like year-level jerseys, Saito thought.
Every single mage on the school grounds, students and teachers alike, gathered here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
On an upper level, he could see teachers enjoying pleasant chatter.
All the tables were magnificently decorated.
Numerous candles, bunches of flowers, baskets full of fruit…
Saito's mouth was agape with amazement at the sheer grandeur of the dining hall. Louise raised her head imperiously and began to explain. Her hazel eyes twinkled with mischief.
“Tristain's Academy of Magic doesn't teach just magic, you know.”
“Right…”
“Almost all mages are nobles. The saying 'nobles achieve nobility through the use of magic' is a foundation for the education we receive as nobles. Thus, our dining halls must also be fitting of a noble's status.”
“Okay…”
“Understand? Normally, a commoner like you would never set foot inside the Alvíss[4] Dining Hall. Be grateful.”
“Right… Hey, what's an 'Alvíss'?”
“It's the name for the little people. See all those statues over there?”
Where she pointed, lined along the walls were elaborate sculptures of small people.
“They're well-made. Err, those things don't… like… come alive during the night or anything, do they?”
“Oh, you knew that?”
“So they do?!”
“Well, they dance. Enough of this, pull out my chair, will you? You're not a very competent familiar,” Louise remarked, crossing her arms and tilting her head, which made her strawberry-blonde hair ripple. Oh well, ladies first. Saito pulled Louise's chair out for her.
Louise didn't even thank him as she sat down. Saito also brought over a chair to sit on.
“This is amazing!” Saito cried. It was far too grand for a breakfast. A huge roasted chicken taunted Saito. Other than that, there was also wine and a pie baked in the shape of a trout.
“I can't eat all this! I'll die if I do! Hey, Miss!” He prodded Louise's shoulder, only to find her glaring at him. “What?” Saito asked dubiously. Louise kept her gaze fixed. “Right, I'm getting ahead of myself. I should act more like nobility! Even though I'm not a noble.”
Louise pointed to the floor, where a bowl had been placed.
“It's a bowl.”
“Yes. It is.”
“There's something suspicious in it.”
Louise propped her chin on her hands and spoke.
“You know, familiars are supposed to stay outside. You're only in here on the floor because I especially requested it.”
Thus, Saito found himself sitting dumbly on the floor, staring at the bowl sitting in front of him. In it were some sorry-looking scraps of meat floating around in a thin soup. On the edge was half a loaf of hard-looking bread.
Extending his neck, he peered over the edge of the tabletop.
He could only gaze longingly at the spectacular feast that was laid out on it. It was far beyond comparison with his meager bowl of scraps.
“Oh, Great Founder Brimir, and our lady, the Queen, we thank you for this humble meal that you have graciously provided us this morning,” the harmonious sound of a prayer sounded. Louise joined in as well, closing her eyes.
Just how is that a 'humble meal?' Saito griped, still staring at the food. That's more than a banquet. If anyone's got a 'humble meal,' it'd be me. I mean, just what the heck is in this bowl? This is worse than what you'd feed a pet. He wanted to protest. Even pets in Japan eat better than this!
Irritated at this mistreatment, he laid a hand on the tabletop, only to have it slapped away by Louise.
Saito looked up resentfully at her.
“What are you doing?”
“Give me some chicken. Just a little bit will do.”
“Jeez…” Grumbling, Louise stripped a bit of skin and dropped it into Saito's bowl.
“What about the meat?”
“No, I'm not going to help start a habit.”
Louise herself began digging enthusiastically into the grand feast.
“Ah, it's delicious. Delicious! I think I'm going to cry,” Saito muttered, while he gnawed on his hard bread.
The classrooms in the Academy of Magic were similar to university lecture halls. And like everything else, they were constructed from stone. The lecturing teacher stood at the lowest level, and the seats were arranged upward like stairs. When Saito and Louise entered, every student in the room simultaneously turned their heads towards them.
And then the laughter began. Kirche was there as well, surrounded by a group of boys.
I see, so she really does have them wrapped around her little finger. She's being treated like a queenby all of those guys. Well, it's not surprising with her impressive bust. I guess big breasts are big breasts, no matter where you go.
The familiars that everyone had brought along were a varied bunch.
Kirche's salamander was curled asleep under her chair. There were students with owls resting on their shoulders. From a window, a gigantic snake peered into the class. One boy whistled, and the snake withdrew its head. Other than those, there were also ravens and cats.
But what drew Saito's attention the most were the creatures that would've been considered fantastic monsters back in his world. He was suddenly excited. All sorts of amazing beasts were milling around him.
He spotted a lizard with six legs. That's gotta be… Saito tried to recall what little fantasy lore he knew. A basilisk! I've seen one in a game. There was also a huge eyeball floating gently in midair. What could that be? He decided to ask Louise.
“What's that freaky eye monster?”
“A bugbear.”
“Then what about that octopus thing?”
“A Skua,” Louise answered him in a sullen voice and sat down. Saito sat down beside her. She glared at him.
“What?”
“That's a mage's seat. Familiars aren't permitted to use it.”
Begrudgingly, he lowered himself to the floor. I wasn't allowed to eat breakfast at the table either. And this desk is really getting in the way. I'm not sitting here, he resolved, and sat back on the chair.
Louise glanced at him, but didn't say anything this time.
The door opened, and the teacher entered.
She was a middle-aged woman dressed in a voluminous purple robe and wearing a hat. She had a plump, round face with a friendly expression on it.
“Is that lady a magician too?” Saito whispered to Louise.
“Isn't it obvious?” Louise hissed back.
The woman gazed around the classroom and spoke with a satisfied smile.
“Well, everyone, it seems that the Springtime Familiar Summoning was a great success. I, Chevreuse, always enjoy seeing the new familiars that are summoned each spring.”
Louise cast her eyes downward.
“My, my. You've summoned quite a… peculiar familiar, Miss Vallière,” she remarked as she looked at Saito. The comment was fairly innocent, but the classroom exploded with laughter.
“Louise the Zero! Don't go around grabbing random commoners off the street just because you can't summon anything!”
Louise's long strawberry blonde hair billowed as she stood up. She raised her cute voice in anger.
“No! I did everything properly! He was all that appeared!”
“Don't lie! I bet you couldn't even cast 'Summon Servant' properly, right?”
The other students chuckled.
“Mrs. Chevreuse! I've been insulted! Malicorne the 'Common Cold' just insulted me!”
Louise banged her fist against the tabletop in protest.
“Common cold? I'm Malicorne the Windward! I haven't caught any cold!”
“Well, your hoarse voice sounds exactly like you've caught one!”
The boy called Malicorne stood up and glared at Louise. Chevreuse pointed at them with the wand in her hand. The two suddenly jerked about like puppets on a string and rigidly sat back down.
“Miss Vallière, Mister Malicorne. Please stop this unnecessary argument.”
Louise looked visibly dejected. All the vivacity that she'd shown just earlier seemed to have evaporated.
“Calling friends 'Zero' or 'Common Cold' is not acceptable. Do you understand?”
“Mrs. Chevreuse, I'm only called that as a joke, but for Louise, it's the truth.”
A few giggles broke out from somewhere.
Chevreuse looked around the classroom with a severe expression. She pointed her wand again, and, as if from nowhere, the mouths of the students who'd giggled were suddenly filled with lumps of red clay.
“You people shall continue the lesson in that state.”
This put a firm stopper on any further outbursts.
“Now then, let's begin the lesson.”
Chevreuse coughed heavily and waved her wand. A few pebbles materialized on her desktop.
“My Runic name is 'Red Clay.' Chevreuse the Red Clay. This year, I will be teaching you all the magic of the Earth element. Do you know the four great elements of magic, Mister Malicorne?”
“Y-Yes, Mrs. Chevreuse. They are Fire, Water, Earth and Wind.”
Chevreuse nodded.
“And combined with the now-lost element of 'Void,' there are five elements in total – as everyone should already know. Of the five elements, I believe Earth holds an extremely important position. This isn't just because my affinity is Earth, nor is it simply a personal preference.”
Once again, Chevreuse coughed heavily.
“The magic of Earth is very important magic that governs the creation of all matter. If it wasn't for Earth magic, we wouldn't be able to produce or process necessary metals. Raising buildings from large boulders and harvesting crops would also involve much more work. In this manner, the magic of the Earth element is intimately related to everyone's life.”
Aha, thought Saito. So in this world, magic is the equivalent of science and technology in my world. I think I understand now the reason Louise is so proud to call herself a magician.
“Now, everyone, please recall that the basic magic of the Earth element is 'transmutation'. While there will be people here who have already learned this in their first year, basics build foundations, so let's review it once more.”
Chevreuse turned her attention to the pebbles and twirled her wand over them.
She then whispered a spell, and they began to glow brightly.
When the light dimmed away, the pebbles had been changed into sparkling lumps of metal.
“Is that g-g-gold, Mrs. Chevreuse!?”
Kirche leaned forward over her desk.
“No, it isn't. It's plain brass. Only Square-class mages are able to transmute to gold. I'm just…” Chevreuse gave a self-important cough. “A Triangle mage…”
“Louise.” Saito poked her.
“What? We're in the middle of a lesson here!”
“What's all this about squares and triangles supposed to mean?”
“It's the number of elements that they can add to a spell, which also determines the level of a mage.”
“Huh?”
“See, for example, you can use an Earth spell on its own. But if you add Fire magic to it, the overall power of the spell increases greatly,” Louise explained to Saito quietly.
“Oh, I see.”
“Those who can stack two elements like Fire and Earth together are called Line mages. Mrs. Chevreuse, being able to combine three elements, Earth-Earth-Fire, is a Triangle mage.”
“What happens when you add an element to itself?”
“It reinforces that element and makes it stronger.”
“I see. So in other words, you could say that the teacher over there is a fairly powerful mage, because she's a Triangle?”
“Exactly.”
“How many can you add, Louise?”
She didn't answer.
The teacher noticed them talking.
“Miss Vallière!”
“Y-Yes?”
“Please refrain from private chatter during lessons.”
“I'm sorry…”
“Since you have the time to chatter, perhaps I should have you demonstrate for me?”
“Eh? Me?”
“Yes. Try changing these pebbles here into a metal of your choice.”
Louise didn't stand up. She simply sat there looking troubled and fidgety.
“Hey, come on! She's pointing at you!” Saito nudged her.
“Miss Vallière! Is something the matter?”
Mrs. Chevreuse called for her again, but Kirche raised her voice in concern.
“Umm…”
“Yes?”
“I think it would be better if you didn't let her…”
“And why is that?”
“It's dangerous,” Kirche answered plainly. The majority of the class nodded in agreement.
“Dangerous? How so?”
“This is your first time teaching Louise, right?”
“It is, but I hear she's a hard worker. Now, Miss Vallière. Don't you worry, just try it. You won't be able to do anything if you dread making mistakes.”
“Don't, Louise!” Kirche cried, her face pale.
But Louise stood up.
“I'll do it.”
With a nervous expression, she walked briskly up to the front of the room.
Chevreuse stood next to Louise and smiled.
“Miss Vallière, you have to visualize vividly the metal that you wish to transmute them into.”
Giving a cute little nod, Louise waved her wand. She had never looked as adorable as in that instant when she pursed her lips to begin chanting the incantation – it was almost otherworldly.
Even knowing her true personality, Saito was momentarily enamoured.
In the morning sunshine streaming in from the window, Louise's strawberry-blonde hair sparkled enchantingly. Her hazel eyes shown like jewels, and her skin was a flawless white. Her sculpted nose was befitting of nobility.
If only her breasts were more filled out, she'd be perfect – almost too good. But no matter how cute she is, that personality of hers is a real pitfall, Saito lamented.
But as he sat there pondering, the students sitting in front of him had for some reason hidden under their chairs. Don't they see how cute Louise is? Still, she doesn't seem to be very popular. Rather, she gets called 'the Zero' and made fun of. Just looking around here, there aren't any girls nearly as cute. Only Kirche rivals her in looks.
Closing her eyes, Louise uttered a short rune and flourished her wand.
The pebbles on the desk promptly exploded.
Louise and Chevreuse caught the blast full-on and were thrown against the blackboard, as people screamed. Frightened familiars added to the chaos. Kirche's salamander suddenly woke from its sleep and stood up on its hind legs, breathing a jet of flame. A manticore burst into flight and smashed through a window to escape. Through the hole, the giant snake that had been peeking in earlier slithered in and swallowed someone's raven.
The classroom was in pandemonium.
Kirche stood up and pointed a finger at Louise.
“That's why I told you not to let her do it!”
“Jeez, Vallière! Save us some grief and just quit school already!”
“My Lucky got eaten by a snake! Lucky!”
Saito stared in shock.
Mrs. Chevreuse lay on the floor; judging by her occasional twitching, she wasn't dead.
A soot-blackened Louise rose slowly. She was a miserable sight to behold. Her torn blouse revealed a slender shoulder, and her panties could be seen beneath her ripped skirt.
Still, what an amazing girl. She didn't seem at all fazed by the discord in the room. She pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the soot off her face.
“Looks like I messed up a little…” she said, in a weak voice.
Of course, that elicited a vehement response from the other students.
“That wasn't 'a little!', Louise the Zero!”
“Your success rate is always ZERO!”
Saito finally understood why Louise was called “the Zero.”
Chapter Three: Legend
Mister Colbert, a teacher who had dedicated twenty years to Tristain Magic Academy, was by now a mainstay figure.
His Runic name was “Colbert the Flame Snake,” and, naturally, he was a mage specializing in fire magic.
Since the Springtime Familiar Summoning a few days ago, he'd been concerned about the commoner boy that Louise had summoned. Or more precisely, he'd been concerned with nothing but the runes that had appeared on that boy's left hand. They were rare runes indeed, so for the last few nights, he'd confined himself to the library and had been researching various texts.
Tristain Magic Academy's library was located in the same tower as the dining hall. The bookshelves were unbelievably tall, about thirty mails in height, and the way they were lined up against the walls was a spectacle to behold. And rightly so, since this place was crammed with the history of everything following the creation of the new world in Halkeginia by the Founder Brimir.
Colbert was now in a section called “Fenrir's Library” that only teachers were allowed entry to.
The ordinary bookshelves, to which students had free access, didn't hold any answers that could satisfy him.
He Levitated up to an out-of-reach shelf and scanned it intently for a particular book. His efforts were rewarded as his gaze fell upon the title of the book. It was a very old text which held descriptions of the familiars that had been used by the Founder Brimir.
His attention was focused on one particular paragraph written in it, and as he read on in fascination, his eyes grew wide. He compared the book with the sketch he'd made of the runes on the boy's left hand.
“Ah!” he gasped in surprise. At that moment, he lost the concentration necessary for maintaining his Levitation and almost fell to the floor.
Holding the book in his arms, he hurriedly descended to the floor and ran out of the library.
His destination was the Headmaster's Office.
The Headmaster's Office was located on the topmost floor of the tower. Sir Osmond, the current Headmaster of Tristain Magic Academy, was sitting with his elbows propped on his elegantly built sequoia desk, looking unbearably bored as he shook his white beard and hair.
Idly plucking out nose hairs, he slowly murmured “hrm” and pulled open a desk drawer. From inside he procured a smoking pipe. Miss Longueville, the secretary who had been writing something at the other desk placed to the side of the room, waved her feather quill.
The pipe floated into the air and landed in Miss Longueville's palm. Sir Osmond muttered dejectedly, “Is it fun taking away an old man's little pleasures? Miss, um…”
“Managing your health is also part of my job, Old Osmond.”
Sir Osmond stood up from his chair and walked up to the cool and collected Miss Longueville. Stopping behind the seated lady, he closed his eyes, his expression grave.
“If the days keep passing by so peacefully, figuring out how to spend time is going to become a rather big problem.”
The wrinkles etched deeply on Osmond's face were only hints to the history of his life. People guessed him to be a hundred years old, even three hundred. But his true age no one really knew. It's possible he himself didn't remember anymore either.
“Old Osmond,” Miss Longueville spoke up without taking her eyes off the feather quill that was scribbling away on the parchment.
“What is it? Miss…”
“Please stop saying you have nothing to do as an excuse to touch my bottom.”
Sir Osmond opened his mouth slightly and began walking around in tottering steps.
“Please also refrain from pretending to be senile whenever a situation goes bad,” Longueville added calmly. Sir Osmond sighed deeply. It was the sigh of a man bearing the weight of many troubles.
“Where do you think the ultimate truth may be? Haven't you ever wondered that? Miss…”
“Wherever it is, I assure you, it's not underneath my skirt, so please stop sneaking your mouse under the desk.”
Sir Osmond's face fell, and he murmured sadly, “Mуtsognir.”
From under Miss Longueville's desk scurried out a little mouse. It dashed up Osmond's leg and perched on his shoulder, twitching its tiny head. He fished out some nuts from a pocket and held one out to the mouse.
“Chuchu,” the mouse chittered, apparently pleased.
“You're my only truly trustworthy friend, Mуtsognir.”
The mouse began nibbling on the nut. It disappeared quickly, and the mouse chittered “chuchu” once more.
“Ah, yes, yes. You want more? Very well, I shall give you more. But first, I would ask that you report back, Mуtsognir.”
“Chuchu”
“I see. White and plain white too, hrm. But Miss Longueville should really stick to black. Wouldn't you agree, my cute Mуtsognir?”
Miss Longueville's eyebrows twitched.
“Old Osmond.”
“What is it?”
“The next time you do that, I'm reporting it to the palace.”
“Kah! Do you think I could be Headmaster of this Academy if I was scared of the palace all the time?!”
Sir Osmond flashed his eyes wide and yelled angrily. It was an impressive display, completely unexpected of a frail-looking old man.
“Don't get all prissy just because I peeked at your underwear! At this rate, you'll never get married! Haa~~ To be young again~~ Miss…”
Old Osmond began stroking Miss Longueville's bottom without hesitation.
Miss Longueville stood up and wordlessly kicked her boss around.
“Sorry. Stop. Ow. I won't do it anymore. Really.”
Old Osmond covered his head and cowered. Miss Longueville breathed heavily as she continued kicking Osmond.
“Ack! How can you! Treat a senior! In this way! Hey! Ouch!”
This “peaceful” moment was interrupted by a sudden intrusion.
The door was thrown open with a slam, and Colbert rushed inside.
“Old Osmond!”
“What is it?”
Miss Longueville was back at her desk, sitting there as if nothing had happened. Sir Osmond had his arms behind him, and turned to face the visitor with a serious expression. That was certainly a quick recovery.
“I-I-I have some big news!”
“There is no such thing as big news. Everything is but a collection of small events.”
“P-P-Please take a look at this!”
Colbert handed Osmond the book he had been reading just before.
“This is „The Familiars of the Founder Brimir,“ is it not? Are you still going around digging up old literature like this? If you have time to do that, why don't you think up some better ways of collecting school fees from those slack nobles? Mister, err… What was it again?”
Sir Osmond cocked his head.
“It's Colbert! You forgot?!”
“Right, right. Now I remember. It's just that you talked so fast I never really caught it. So, Colby, what is it about this book?”
“Please take a look at this also!”
Colbert then handed him the sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.
The moment he saw that, Osmond's expression changed. His eyes took on a solemn light.
“Miss Longueville, would you please excuse us?”
Miss Longueville stood up and left the room. Osmond spoke only after he confirmed she was properly outside.
“Explain this to me with every detail, Mister Colbert…”
It was just before lunchtime when they finally finished tidying up the classroom that Louise had made a mess of. As punishment, using magic to clean up had been forbidden, so it had taken considerable time to finish. But then again, Louise couldn't really use most spells anyway, so it hadn't affected her much. Mrs. Chevreuse had regained consciousness two hours after she'd been caught in the explosion, and while she did return to class, she didn't give any more lectures on Transmutation for that entire day. It would seem she had been rather traumatized.
Having finished tidying up, Louise and Saito headed to the dining hall for lunch. Along the way, Saito made fun of Louise over and over. After all, it was Louise's fault that he'd had to do all that manual labor just now. It was Saito who had carried over the new window glass. It was Saito who had moved all the heavy desks. And of course, it was Saito who had wiped the soot-blackened classroom clean with a cloth. All Louise had done was wipe down a few desks, and reluctantly at that.
I have to sleep on the floor. The food sucks. And on top of that, I have to wash underwear. (Not that I've done it yet.)
With all that mistreatment from Louise, there was no way Saito could keep quiet about her new-found weakness. He teased Louise like there was no tomorrow.
“'Louise the Zero.' Now I get it~ That's just perfect~ Rate of success is zero. But a noble despite that… wonderful!”
Louise didn't say a word, which only roused Saito further.
“Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Oh, I screwed up! Only 'the Zero' screws this up!”
Saito danced circles around Louise like this, raising his arms every time he said “kaboom,” mimicking an explosion. It was quite a detailed performance.
“Mistress Louise. This humble familiar has made a song for you.”
Saito said, bowing his head respectfully. Of course, it was an empty gesture, a complete mockery.
Louise's eyebrow was twitching furiously. She was on the verge of blowing her top, but Saito was too absorbed in his excitement to notice that.
“Why don't you go ahead and sing it?”
“'Lou-Lou-Louise is such a hopeless case~ A magician that can't even use magic! But that's all right! Because she's a girl…'”
Saito held his stomach as he burst into laughter.
“Bwahahaha!!”
He was laughing at his own joke. Perhaps he was just as hopeless.
When they arrived at the dining hall, Saito pulled out a chair for Louise.
“Just remember, my lady. Don't cast any spells on the food. Just imagine the mess if it exploded.”
Louise took the seat wordlessly. Saito was feeling thoroughly satisfied, having got one back on the rude and arrogant Louise with his putdowns. Even the usual excuse for a meal didn't bother him as much.
While the meager soup and bread he got served was still painful to behold, it was a pretty even trade-off for getting to laugh so much earlier.
“Right then, Founder someone-or-another. Your Highness the Queen. Thanks a bunch for the crappy food. Itadakimasu.”
As he went to eat, the plate was snatched away.
“What are you doing?!”
“Th-th-th…”
“'Th-th-th'?”
Louise's shoulders shook angrily, as did her voice. Somehow, she'd managed to reign in her overflowing fury until they'd arrived at the dining table. Probably so that she could bestow an appropriate punishment.
“Th-th-th-this familiar, how dare it say s-s-s-such things to its m-m-m-master?”
Saito realized he'd gone too far.
“I'm sorry! I won't say any more, so give me back my food!”
“No! Absolu~~tely not!”
Louise screamed, twisting her cute face in rage.
“One meal cut for every time you've said 'Zero!' And that's final! No exceptions!”
In the end, Saito left the dining hall without having eaten anything.
I shouldn't have been so sarcastic about it… But it was too late to regret.
“Haa, I'm starving… Damn…”
Clutching his stomach, he leaned one hand on a wall.
“Is something the matter?”
He turned around to see a normal-looking girl in a maid's outfit carrying a big silver tray, looking concernedly at him. Her black hair was neatly adorned with a headband, and her freckles were cute.
“It's nothing…” Saito waved his left hand.
“Are you by any chance the one who became Miss Vallière's familiar…?”
It seemed she noticed the runes inscribed on Saito's left hand.
“You know me?”
“A little. It's become quite a rumor, you know, that a commoner was called by the summoning magic.”
The girl smiled sweetly. It was the first carefree smile Saito had seen since he came to this world.
“Are you a mage too?” Saito asked.
“Oh no, not me. I'm a commoner, just like you. I serve the nobility here by doing domestic duties.”
I'm actually from Earth and not a commoner, but it's probably useless to try explain. Saito decided to just introduce himself.
“I see… Well, I'm Hiraga Saito. Nice to meet you.”
“That's quite a strange name… I'm Siesta.”
At that point, Saito's stomach grumbled.
“You must be hungry.”
“Yeah…”
“Please follow me this way.”
Siesta walked off.
Saito was led to the kitchen located at the rear of the dining hall. Lots of large pots and ovens were lined up inside. Cooks and other maids like Siesta were busily preparing food.
“Please wait one moment, okay?”
Siesta had Saito sit on a chair placed in the corner of the kitchen and disappeared hastily into the back.
She soon returned with a bowl full of warm stew in her hands.
“This is some stew made from the leftovers of the nobles' meals. If you don't mind, please eat this.”
“Can I?”
“Yes. It's only the staff meal though…”
Her kindness was touching. This was completely different from the soup that Louise had given him. He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. Delicious. I'm going to cry.
“This is so good~!”
“That's great. There's plenty if you want seconds, so take your time.”
Saito ate the stew as if in a dream. Siesta stood watching him, smiling sweetly all the while.
“Weren't you given anything to eat?”
“That girl went and took my plate away when I called her 'Louise the Zero.'”
“Oh no! You shouldn't say things like that to nobles!”
“Noble schnoble. Getting all high-horsed just because they can use magic.”
“You must have a lot of courage…”
Siesta looked at Saito with an expression of amazement.
Saito gave Siesta back the empty bowl.
“That was really tasty. Thanks.”
“I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to visit whenever you're hungry. If you don't mind having whatever we're having, I'd be happy to share.”
Such a kind offer. Saito was even more touched.
“Thanks…”
Saito suddenly broke out in tears, surprising Siesta.
“Wh-what's the matter?”
“No… It's just that it's the first time anyone's been so nice to me since I came here… I got a bit emotional…”
“Th-that's an exaggeration.”
“It's not. If there's anything I can do for you, just tell me. I'll lend a hand.”
He wasn't particularly interested in something like washing Louise's underwear, and would much rather help this girl instead.
“In that case, please help me serve the desserts.”
Siesta said with a smile.
“Okay,” Saito nodded enthusiastically.
Lots of dessert cakes were arranged on a big silver tray. Saito carried the tray, while Siesta picked up the cakes with tongs and served them one by one to the nobles.
One mage in particular stood out. He had curly blonde hair, wore a frill-trimmed shirt, and looked rather self-important. There was a rose stuck in his shirt pocket too. His friends around him were poking all kinds of fun at him.
“So, Guiche! Who're you going out with now?”
“Who's your lover, Guiche?”
So it seemed the prideful mage was called Guiche. He gently raised a finger to his lips.
“'Go out?' I hold no one woman in such special regard. After all, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many.”
This guy's likening himself to a rose. An egotist like this is far beyond help. He was the kind of narcissist that made onlookers more embarrassed than himself. Saito glared at him, hoping he'd just die.
At that moment, something fell out of Guiche's pocket. It was a small glass bottle with a purple liquid swirling inside it.
I don't really like this guy, but I should still tell him he dropped something.
Saito called out to Guiche.
“Oi, you dropped this bottle from your pocket.”
But Guiche didn't turn around. This guy's ignoring me!
Saito passed the tray to Siesta and bent down to pick up the bottle.
“I said, you dropped something, playboy.”
He placed it on the table. Guiche shot Saito a dirty look, and pushed the bottle away.
“This is not mine. What are you talking about?”
Guiche's friends then realized where the bottle came from and raised a loud commotion.
“Ooh? That perfume, isn't that Montmorency's?”
“Yeah! That vivid purple color is the perfume that Montmorency only mixes for herself!”
“So to have something like that fall out of your pocket, Guiche, means that you're going out with Montmorency now, right?”
“No wait, listen to me. I'm saying this for the sake of her reputation, but…”
As Guiche was about to say more, a girl, who wore a brown cloak and had been sitting at the table behind them, stood up and walked over to Guiche's seat.
She was a cute girl sporting chestnut-colored hair. According to the color of the cloak she wore, she was a first year student.
“Guiche-sama…”
And with that, she started crying uncontrollably.
“I knew it, you and Miss Montmorency are…”
“They’re misunderstanding. Katie, listen. The only person I hold in my heart is you…”
But the girl called Katie slapped Guiche's face as hard as she could.
“That perfume you dropped from your pocket is more than enough proof! Goodbye!”
Guiche rubbed his cheek.
At this point, a girl with tightly rolled hair stood up from a seat further down the table. Saito recognized her as the girl who'd had the argument with Louise when he was first summoned to this world.
Wearing a severe expression, she approached Guiche with quick clipped steps.
“Montmorency. This is a misunderstanding. All I did was accompany her on a long trip to the forests of La Rochelle…” Guiche said, shaking his head. While he was pretending to remain composed, a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead.
“Just as I thought! You've been making moves on that first year, haven't you?!”
“Please, Montmorency the Fragrance. Don't twist your rose-like face in anger like that. It saddens me to see it!”
Montmorency grabbed a bottle of wine that was on the table and poured its contents out audibly on Guiche's head.
And then…
“You liar!”
She yelled and stormed off.
Silence fell upon the hall.
Guiche pulled out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his face. Shaking his head, he spoke dramatically.
“It would seem those ladies do not understand the meaning of a rose's existence.”
Yeah, and you just keep trying that, Saito thought, as he took the tray back from Siesta and began walking off.
Guiche called him to a stop.
“Stop right there.”
“What now?”
Guiche spun his body about on the chair and crossed his legs with a flourish. It gave Saito a headache to see such arrogance exude from every action.
“Thanks to you thoughtlessly picking up some bottle of perfume, the reputation of two ladies has been damaged. How will you take responsibility?”
Saito replied in an exasperated tone.
“Hey, it's your fault for two-timing.”
Guiche's friends burst out laughing.
“Exactly, Guiche! It's your fault!”
Guiche's face flushed crimson.
“Listen, server. When you put the bottle of perfume on the table, I pretended not to know anything, didn't I? Would it have hurt to be a little bit tactful and just go along with it?”
“Whatever. Either way, your two-timing would've been blown anyway. And also, I'm not a server.”
“Hmph… Ah, you are…”
Guiche snorted, as if looking down on Saito.
“You must be the commoner summoned by that „Louise the Zero.“ To have expected a noble's wits from a commoner was completely my mistake. You may leave.”
Saito snapped then. Pretty boy or not, there was no way Saito was just going to stand there quietly taking all this from such a conceited narcissist. He couldn't help but make one inflammatory comment.
“Shut up you over-pretentious bastard. Why don't you go suck on roses for the rest of your life?”
Guiche's eyes narrowed.
“It would seem that you don't know the proper etiquette for addressing a noble.”
“Unfortunately, I come from a world where there are no such people as nobles.”
Saito raised his right hand and spoke imperiously, mimicking Guiche's actions.
“Very well. Then I shall teach you a lesson about respect. A perfect way to relieve some stress.”
Guiche stood up.
“How amusing.”
Saito bared his teeth and growled. First, I didn't like this guy right from the start. Second, he's going out with two fairly cute girls – though neither are as cute as Louise. And last, he made a fool of me.
That's more than enough reason for me to fight. And while I'm at it, I'll hit him a couple more times on Louise's behalf. After all, she's still a girl!
“You wanna do it here?”
Saito said. Despite being taller than Saito, Guiche was the lanky type and looked rather weak. Playboys are said to be lacking both money and power. Saito wasn't particularly strong himself, but he didn't think he'd lose.
Guiche turned in the other direction.
“Are you running away?”
“Don't be stupid. I can't taint the dining table of nobles with the blood of a commoner, can I? I'll be waiting at Vestri[5] Court. Come once you're finished delivering those cakes.”
Looking excited, Guiche's friends stood up and followed him off.
One person remained though, as if to make sure Saito didn't run away himself.
Siesta gazed at Saito, her entire body quivering. Saito spoke with a grin.
“It's all right. There's no way I'll lose to that weakling. Some noble, huh?”
“You… You're going to get killed.”
“What?”
“If you truly anger a noble…”
Siesta dashed off in a hurry.
What was that about? Saito muttered. Is that guy really that strong?
Louise ran up to him from behind.
“Hey! What do you think you're doing?! I saw all that!”
“Yo, Louise.”
“This is no time to be „yo“-ing me! How can you just go promising duels like it's no big deal?!”
“But that guy was really irritating me…”
Saito said indignantly.
Louise sighed and shrugged disappointedly.
“Apologize to him.”
“Why?”
“If you don't want to be hurt, go and apologize. If you do it now, he might forgive you.”
“Are you kidding! Why do I have to apologize?! he insulted me first! And besides, I was only being helpful…”
“Just do it.”
Louise fixed Saito with a firm look.
“No way.”
“So stubborn… But you know what? You can't win. You'll be badly injured. Actually, you'll be lucky to come back alive with just injuries.”
“I won't know that unless I try, right?”
“Listen, a commoner can never beat a mage!”
“So where's this Vestri Court?”
Saito walked off. The friend of Guiche's that had been watching Louise and Saito's exchange pointed with his chin.
“This way, commoner.”
“Aaah, jeez! Really! Why does this familiar keep going off and doing stuff on its own?!”
With that, Louise chased after Saito.
Vestri Court was the central garden situated between the Wind and Fire elemental towers. Being located to the west, the Court didn't receive much sunshine, even in the middle of the day, but it was the perfect place for a duel.
Right now… the place was packed with people who had heard the rumors.
“Gentlemen! It's a duel!”
Guiche lifted his artificial rose high, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd.
“Guiche is going to duel! His opponent is Louise's commoner!”
I have a name too y'know… Saito thought bitterly.
Waving his arms about, Guiche acknowledged the cheering.
And then, as if finally noticing Saito's presence there, he turned to face him.
Saito and Guiche stood in the middle of the Court, glaring intently at each other.
“First of all, I commend you for coming here instead of running away!” Guiche remarked in a sing-song voice, as he twirled his rose.
“Like anyone would run away!”
“Right then, let us begin,” said Guiche.
Less talk, more action. Saito rushed forward. Fights are won by whoever gets in the first strike!
It's roughly ten paces to where Guiche is. I don't care much for nobles or mages; I'm just going to crush that arrogant nose of yours down to size!
Guiche watched Saito with a leisurely smile and flicked his rose.
A petal floated down as if dancing in the air…
And became the armor-clad shape of a female warrior.
Its height was about the same as a person’s, but it appeared to be constructed from some hard metal. Under the pale sunlight, its skin… its armor gleamed.
It stood stoically in Saito's way.
“Wh-what the heck is this?!”
“I am a mage, therefore I fight using magic. Surely you have no complaints?”
“Wh-why you…”
“I guess I forgot to mention earlier. My Runic name is „the Bronze.“ Guiche the Bronze. Accordingly, my bronze golem „Valkyrie“ shall be your real opponent.”
“Eh?”
The warrior-shaped golem charged towards Saito.
Its right fist impacted heavily with Saito's stomach.
“Harg!”
Saito groaned and collapsed to the ground. Not at all surprising, considering he'd been gut-punched by a bronze fist.
The golem looked down on Saito emotionlessly.
He couldn't stand up through the pain. I guess this is what it feels like to be hit by a pro boxer, he thought.
“What, over already?”
Guiche sounded dissatisfied. From the mass of people, Louise burst out.
“Guiche!”
“Oh, Louise! My bad. I'm just borrowing your familiar for a bit.”
Louise shook her long hair and yelled angrily at Guiche.
“That's quite enough! And besides, dueling is strictly forbidden!”
“Only dueling between nobles is forbidden. Nobody has forbidden duels between commoners and nobles.”
Louise was at a momentary loss for words.
“Th-that's because nothing like this has ever happened before…”
“Louise, do you like this commoner?”
Louise's face burned an angry scarlet.
“No! Don't be ridiculous! It's just that I won't put up with having my familiar beaten up before my eyes!”
“…Wh-who's being beaten up? I'm just fine.”
“Saito!”
Seeing Saito was up again, Louise practically screamed out his name.
“…Hehehe, you've finally called me by my name.”
Louise was trembling.
“You understand now, right? A commoner can never beat a mage!”
“…I was a little careless, that's all. I'm all right, so step back.”
Saito pushed Louise back.
“What's this? I didn't think you could stand up again… Maybe I went too easy on you?” said Guiche, provoking Saito further.
Saito walked slowly towards Guiche. Louise followed him and grabbed his shoulder.
“You need to stop! Idiot! Why are you still standing?”
He shook her hand off his shoulder.
“Because he pisses me off.”
“He pisses you off? Look, there's no embarrassment in losing to a mage!”
“Shut up,” Saito muttered as he kept taking unsteady steps forward.
“Eh?”
“Really, you're starting to get on my nerves too… I know next to nothing about mages or nobles, but to me you're all the same bunch of ego-inflated brats. Just what's so brilliant about magic? Idiots.”
Guiche watched Saito with a faint smile painted on his face.
“The more you try, the more pointless this becomes.”
Saito's characteristic fighting spirit flared, and he uttered a short growl.
“That was nothing. Your little statue, it's too weak.”
The smile fell away. The golem's right hand lashed out to strike Saito's face. He caught the blow square on the cheek and was knocked to the ground.
Blood dripped from his broken nose.
Trying to stem the blood flow, Saito was taken aback.
Crap… So this is a mage's power. I've been in a few fights here and there, but that punch was like nothing else I'd received before.
Despite that, he rose shakily to a stand. Guiche's golem mercilessly sent him flying once more with a kick.
He got up again. And was struck down again.
Over and over, the process was repeated.
The eighth punch connected with Saito's right arm. There was a sick snapping noise.
Unable to see out of his swollen shut left eye, he checked his arm with his right eye. It was bent at a wrong angle.
While Saito stared blankly at his arm, the golem came over and planted a foot on his face.
His head hit the earth hard, and he lost consciousness for a moment.
When he came to, he could see Louise's face framed by a backdrop of blue sky.
“Please. Just stop now.”
Louise's hazel eyes were wet with tears.
Saito tried to speak, but the pain in his chest from the repeated blows was hard to overcome.
Regardless, he concentrated his willpower and managed to croak in a hoarse voice.
“…Are you crying?”
“I am not! Who would cry here? Anyway, this is enough. You did very well. I've never seen a commoner like you before.”
His broken arm throbbed with agony. Saito grimaced.
“That… hurts.”
“Of course it hurts! That's obvious! Just what were you thinking?”
Tears ran down Louise's face and fell on Saito's cheek.
“You're my familiar, understand? I'm not going to forgive you for any more stupid acts.”
Guiche's voice called out to the pair.
“Are we quite done yet?”
“…Hold your horses. I'm just catching my breath.”
“Saito!”
Guiche smiled, and flicked his rose. This time, the petal transformed into a sword. Guiche grabbed it and threw it in Saito's direction. The blade point stabbed into the ground not too far from where Saito lay.
“If you're still willing to continue, then take that sword. If not, all you need to say is a simple „I'm sorry.“ Then I can just forgive you and be done with it.”
“Don't insult him!”
Louise yelled, standing up. But Guiche gave no indication that he had heard her and kept talking.
“Understand? The sword. In other words, a weapon. It's the very least you commoners will need if you want to take revenge against us nobles. So as I said, if you're still up for it, take that sword.”
Saito reached out for the blade with his right hand. But with that arm broken, he couldn't put much strength in his fingers.
His hand was stopped by Louise.
“No! There is absolutely no way I'm letting you do this! If you take that sword, Guiche won't show any mercy!”
“I can't go back to my world… Which means I'm stuck living in this one, right?” Saito muttered, almost to himself. He didn't look at Louise.
“That's right. So what about it?! Right now that doesn't matter!!”
Louise held his right hand tightly. Saito declared in a clear strong voice.
“I don't mind being a familiar… I can take sleeping on the floor… I don't care if the food sucks… Washing underwear? I'll do that too. It's not like I really have a choice.”
Saito paused there and curled his left hand into a fist.
“But…”
“„But…“ What?”
“I will not bow to anyone against my will!”
Drawing on his last reserves of strength, Saito forced himself to a stand. Pushing Louise aside, he grabbed the blade stuck in the ground with his left hand.
In that instant…
The runes inscribed on that hand began glowing brightly.
Let us change locations for a moment and return to the Headmaster's Office.
Mister Colbert was fervently explaining everything to Sir Osmond about the commoner boy that was summoned by Louise at the Springtime Familiar Summoning… About how he was concerned about the runes that had appeared on the boy's hand as proof of the contract between him and Louise… And that when he had gone to find out more…
“You reached the Founder Brimir's familiar Gandálfr?”
Osmond intently examined Colbert's sketch of the runes on Saito's left hand.
“Yes! The runes that appeared on that boy's left hand are exactly the same as the runes that were inscribed on the legendary familiar Gandálfr!”
“So, your conclusion?”
“That boy is Gandálfr! If this isn't big news, then what is, Old Osmond?”
Colbert stood up as he wiped his balding head with a handkerchief.
“Hrm… Certainly, the runes are the same. But for an ordinary commoner boy to become Gandálfr just by having the same runes… I wonder how that could've happened.”
“What shall we do?”
“However, it is probably too early to be making definite claims.”
“That's true.”
Sir Osmond drummed his fingers on the desk.
There was a knock on the door.
“Who is it?”
From behind the door came Miss Longueville's voice.
“It's me, Old Osmond.”
“What is it?”
“It seems there are some students dueling at Vestri Courts. It's causing quite a commotion. A few teachers have gone there to try and stop it, but their attempts are being impeded by the sheer number of students.”
“For heaven's sake, there's nothing worse than nobles with too much free time in their hands. So, who's involved?”
“One of them is Guiche de Gramont.”
“Ah, that idiot son of Gramont. Skirt-chasing must run in the family, considering his father's even more of a womanizer. I wouldn't be surprised if the boy knows every girl in school. And his opponent is?”
“…Well, it's not a mage. I've been told it's Miss Vallière's familiar.”
Osmond and Colbert exchanged a look.
“The teachers are requesting to use the „Bell of Sleep“ to stop the duel.”
Osmond's eyes glinted like a hawk's.
“Ridiculous. There's no need to use such an important artifact just to stop a children's fight. Leave them be.”
“Understood.”
Miss Longueville's footsteps disappeared down the hallway.
Colbert swallowed audibly and verbally pressed Osmond.
“Old Osmond.”
“Hrm.”
Sir Osmond waved his staff and a big mirror set in the wall began scrying the situation at Vestri Courts.
Saito was surprised. The moment he grabbed the sword, all the pain in his body disappeared.
He realized the runes on his left hand were glowing.
And then…
My body feels as light as a feather. I could almost take off and fly.
In addition, the blade he held in his left hand felt so familiar that it seemed like an extension of his body.
That's strange. I've never even touched a sword before…
Seeing Saito with the weapon in hand, Guiche smiled coldly.
“Firstly, let me congratulate you. I'm honestly quite impressed that a commoner would come this far against a mage.”
With that, he twirled the rose in his hand.
That artificial rose must be his wand. Really, how vain can you get?
Saito was astonished that he even had the leisure to think such things.
I was beaten up so badly just now. What in the world happened to me?
Guiche's golem attacked again.
Stupid tin can.
The statue modeled in the shape of the mythical Valkyrie came towards Saito in what seemed like slow motion.
What the hell, Saito thought.
I got kicked around like a rag doll by this crawling junk pile?
Saito leapt into action.
At the sight of his golem sliced in two as though it was a lump of clay, Guiche uttered a tormented moan.
The two halves of the golem each struck the ground with a resounding “clang.”
Meanwhile, Saito bolted towards Guiche in a whirlwind of action.
Panicking, Guiche waved his rose wand wildly. Petals danced, and six new golems appeared.
Altogether, seven golems were Guiche's full arsenal. Never had he thought that a mere commoner could be a match for even one.
The golems surrounded Saito and sprang at him all at once.
And just when it looked like they had him, five of them were slashed apart. It had been so fast that nobody even saw the blade, making everyone wonder just what kind of superhuman ability this was.
The remaining golem promptly dashed over to guard Guiche.
But it too was taken down by an unseen sword-stroke.
“Hiii!!”
A kick to the face sent Guiche sprawling to the ground.
He saw Saito leap at him.
I'm gonna die! he thought, as he shielded his head.
Something made a loud “thunk”…
When he timidly opened his eyes again…
Saito had driven the blade into the ground just to the right of Guiche's head.
“You want to continue?”
Saito asked.
Guiche shook his head furiously. He'd totally lost any will to fight.
And in a failing voice he said,
“I… I yield.”
Saito released his hand and walked away.
He could hear rowdy cheering from the audience such as “Whoa, that familiar is awesome!” or “Oh man, Guiche lost!”
I… won?
How?
Saito's thoughts were in a haze.
…Just what happened to me?
I was getting knocked around so mercilessly.
And then, the moment my hand touched that sword, my body felt like a feather. The next thing I knew, all of Guiche's golems were in pieces.
I didn't even know I could use a sword.
I don't quite understand it, but whatever. I won somehow, and that's that. I'll think about it later. Because right now, I feel really really tired. I want to sleep.
He could see Louise running over to him.
'Hey, I won!' he wanted to yell, but his knees buckled.
The feeling of fatigue overwhelmed him, and he could feel his consciousness drift far away. Saito collapsed.
As she saw Saito begin to teeter, Louise ran faster to try and support him, but she didn't quite make it. Saito toppled over onto hard ground with a heavy thud.
“Saito!”
Louise shook him. No, it seemed he wasn't dead.
“Guu…”
She could hear snoring. Instead, he was sleeping.
“He's asleep…”
Louise looked thoroughly relieved as she let out a sigh.
Guiche stood up and shook his head in amazement.
“Louise, just what is this guy? All of my Valkyries were so easily defeated…”
“He's just a commoner.”
“There's no way my golems could have lost to „just a commoner.“”
“Hmph. Wasn't it just because you were weaker?”
Louise went to lift Saito up, but unable to properly support him, ended up falling down with him on top of her.
“Aaah, jeez! You're so heavy! Idiot!”
One of the students amidst the crowd cast a Levitation spell on Saito.
Louise began to gently push Saito's floating body away. She needed to take him back up to her room and patch him up.
With the corner of a sleeve, Louise dabbed at her eyes. He looked so in pain, so pitiful, she couldn't help but cry. He'd become so strong all of a sudden when he grabbed the sword, but if it hadn't been for that, he really might have died.
Right now, that was more important than Saito winning. I bet this idiot thought it probably wouldn't matter if he died. Going around being so headstrong like that, when you're just a commoner…
“You're just a familiar, so why do you keep doing stuff on your own?!”
Louise yelled at the sleeping Saito. Her relief was quickly being replaced by annoyance.
Sir Osmond and Colbert finished watching the entire event via the Mirror of Far-Seeing. They exchanged another look.
“Old Osmond.”
“Hrm.”
“That commoner actually ended up winning…”
“Hrm.”
“Guiche is only a first level Dot mage, but even so, he shouldn't have been beaten by an average commoner. What amazing speed! I've never seen a commoner like him before! There's no doubt that he's Gandálfr!”
“Hrmm…”
Mister Colbert urged Osmond.
“Old Osmond. We should report this to the palace immediately and ask for instructions…”
“There will be no need for that.”
Sir Osmond nodded sternly, ruffling his white beard.
“But sir! This is the biggest discovery of the century! A Gandálfr reborn in the modern world!”
“Mister Colbert. Gandálfr was no ordinary familiar.”
“Exactly! The familiar used by the Founder Brimir, Gandálfr! There was never any description of its appearance, but it's said to have been created specifically for the purpose of protecting the Founder Brimir during his spell incantations.”
“Correct. Founder Brimir's incantations were especially long… However, that made his spells very powerful. And as you know, mages are most vulnerable while spell casting. Gandálfr was the familiar that he used to protect himself in those times of vulnerability. Its strength…”
Colbert eagerly cut in at this point, looking extremely excited.
“It could annihilate an army of one thousand all by itself! Ordinary mages were said to be no match for it!”
“So, Mister Colbert.”
“Yes?”
“That boy, he really is just an average commoner, right?”
“Yes. No matter how I looked, he was just an average commoner. I even confirmed it with a Detect Magic spell when Miss Vallière initially summoned him, but he was still a genuine average commoner.”
“And who was it that turned him into a modern Gandálfr?”
“That would be Miss Vallière, but…”
“She must be a very talented mage, I take it?”
“Not at all. Rather, one might say she's un –talented…”
“A puzzling duo to be sure.”
“Yes.”
“So how did an average boy contracted by an untalented mage become Gandálfr? What an utter paradox. I just can't see where the ends meet.”
“Indeed…”
“In any case, there is no need for us to hand over Gandálfr and its master to those fools at the palace. Give them a toy like this and they'll just cause another unnecessary war. Court advisors have too much free time on their hands and like fighting far too much.”
“O-oh, I see. I apologize for overlooking such important matters.”
“I will take responsibility of this case myself. You will not speak of this to anyone else, Mister Colbert.”
“Y-yes! I understand!”
Sir Osmond took hold of his staff and turned to look out the window. He immersed his thoughts in the far reaches of history.
“The legendary familiar Gandálfr… Just what kind of form had it taken before, I cannot help but wonder.”
Colbert murmured as if dreaming.
“Gandálfr was said to be able to use any weapon to take down its enemies…”
“Hrm.”
“So it must have at least an arm and a hand, I think.”
The morning light woke Saito up. His body was wrapped all over in bandages.
That's right.
I got into a duel with that Guiche and got beaten up really badly…
Then I pulled off some miraculous win using that sword…
And I fainted.
He was in Louise's room. For some reason, he'd been sleeping in Louise's bed too.
Louise herself was sitting at a table and sleeping soundly with her head on it.
His eyes fell upon the runes on his left hand. When those runes had been glowing, his body had felt as light as a feather, a sword he had never held before felt like an extension of his arm, and he had sliced up Guiche's golems like nothing.
Right now, those runes weren't glowing.
What exactly was that, I wonder…
While he stared at his left hand curiously, there was a knock on the door before it opened.
It was Siesta. The commoner girl who had fed him stew at the kitchen. She was in her usual maid outfit, complete with the headband adorning her hair.
She looked at Saito and smiled. On the silver tray she carried was some bread and water.
“Siesta…?”
“So you're awake now, Saito-san?”
“Yeah… I…”
“After all that, Miss Vallière had you brought up here to sleep. She had to get a teacher to cast a spell of healing on you too. It was quite serious.”
“Spell of healing?”
“Yes. It's magic to help treat injuries or illness. You didn't know?”
“No…”
Saito shook his head. It confused Siesta that Saito didn't know some of the basic terminology, but she wouldn't get anywhere by not saying anything.
“Miss Vallière paid for the reagent that was required for the healing spell, so don't be concerned about it.”
His silence was a clear indicator that he was concerned about the money.
“Did that reagent cost a lot?”
“Well, it's certainly not something a commoner could pay.”
Saito made an attempt to get up, but cried out in pain.
“Ouch!”
“Ah, you shouldn't move! Your injuries were so severe even the healing spells couldn't completely fix them! You still need to take it easy!”
Saito nodded and lay back on the bed.
“I brought you some food. Please eat.”
Siesta placed the tray by Saito's bedside.
“Thanks… How long was I asleep for?”
“Three days and nights straight. Everyone was worried you wouldn't wake up.”
“Everyone?”
“All the kitchen staff…”
Siesta cast her eyes down shyly.
“What's the matter?”
“Um… I'm sorry. That I ran away that time.”
She was talking of how she had run away in fright when Saito had gotten Guiche angry at the dining hall.
“Don't worry. It's nothing to apologize about.”
“Nobles were always so scary to us commoners, since we couldn't use magic…”
Siesta suddenly raised her head. Her eyes sparkled brightly.
“But I'm not so scared anymore! I was so inspired, Saito-san! You won against a noble, though you're a commoner!”
“Really… Haha.”
Although I really have no clue how I actually won.
Somewhat embarrassed, Saito just scratched his head. Then he realized he was using his right arm, which had been broken. It looked completely fine. It still ached a bit when he moved it, but it seemed the bones were whole again.
Wow, so this is magic. Saito thought in slight admiration.
…I guess it is something to be proud about.
“By the way, did you tend to me all this time?”
“Oh no, not me. It was actually Miss Vallière…”
“Louise did?”
“Yes. She changed all the bandages and wiped the sweat from your face… She didn't sleep one bit, so she must be exhausted.”
As she slept, Louise's breathing was even and gentle. There were heavy dark circles under her eyes though.
Her sleeping face is always so adorable. It's so doll-like.
So she can be nice sometimes, he thought. Suddenly her side profile looked intensely cuter.
Louise's eyes flickered open.
“Fuaaaaaaaaa~~”
She made a great big yawning stretch, and then her gaze fell upon Saito, who was sitting on the bed blinking in surprise.
“Ara. You're awake.”
“Y-Yeah…”
Saito cast his eyes downward. He figured he should thank her.
“Um, Louise.”
“What?”
“Thanks. And I'm sorry I made you worry.”
Louise stood up.
And drew closer to Saito.
Saito's heartbeat accelerated.
Is she going to say something like “good job, you were really cool out there” and maybe kiss me?
But that was not to be.
Louise pulled away Saito's blanket and grabbed him by the scruff.
“If you're better now, get out of my bed!”
Still holding him by the scruff, Louise pulled Saito out of the bed.
“Wah! Ow!”
Saito tumbled to the floor.
“Hey, I'm still an injured person!”
“If you're well enough to complain, you're well enough for anything else.”
Saito stood up. His body still objected, but it was nothing he couldn't put up with. Still, she could've let him sleep for a little bit longer.
“Uh, in that case, I will take my leave now…”
Siesta left the room wearing a crooked smile. Or more precisely, she fled the room.
Louise threw a mountain of clothes and underwear at Saito.
“Ack!”
“That's the laundry that's piled up while you were asleep. Once you're done with that, clean up the room. Hop to it!”
“Um, you know…”
Louise glared fiercely at Saito.
“What? Just with something like beating Guiche, did you think you'd be treated differently? Did you think you'd be congratulated? Are you an idiot?”
Saito looked resentfully at Louise.
He decided to take back his earlier thought about her being cute.
Still… the way Louise sat on her bed swinging her legs was an undeniable level of cuteness beyond this world.
Her long strawberry blonde hair rippled. Her hazel eyes twinkled with mischief. She was rude, arrogant, and selfish, but try as he might to deny it, her appearance was enchanting.
Raising a finger triumphantly, Louise declared.
“Don't you forget! You're my familiar!”
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