“…Louise.”
“What?”
“Give me a sword. A sword.” Saito wanted to protect himself.
“Don’t you have one?”
“How would I? The one from last time was Guiche’s.”
Louise crossed her arms. “Are you a swordsman?”
“No…I’ve never held one before.”
“But you looked like a natural in that fight.”
“But still…”
“Hmm…” Louise went into deep thought.
“What?”
“I heard familiars get special powers when the contract is made.”
“Special powers?”
“Yeah…like when a black cat became a familiar…” Louise raised a finger in the air and explained.
“Uh-huh…”
“It gets the ability to talk to people.”
“But I’m not a cat.”
“I know. Thing is…a human as a familiar is something totally unheard of, so it’s not impossible that you can just pick up a sword and use it like a natural.”
“Huh…” I didn’t just use it like a natural. My body felt light and fast like a feather. Besides, Guiche’s statues were made of bronze. There’s no way you can cut into metal that easily, no matter how skilled a swordsman you are.
“If it’s that incredible, we should go ask Tristain's Academia.”
“Academia?”
“Yeah. It’s the Royal Court’s magic research agency.”
“What would they do to me for research?”
“Ah… many kinds of experiments. Like… autopsies.”
“You’re kidding me.” Saito stood up. Human experimentation? No, thanks!
“If you think that’s disgusting, then don’t spread that ‘using a sword like a master in an instant’ around for no good reason.”
“I got it. We can keep that quiet.” Saito nodded in fear.
“Ah… I get it now…” Louise nodded in understanding.
“Get what?”
“I’ll buy you a sword.”
“Oh?” Well that was sudden. Louise is always so stingy.
“You never have enough lives if Kirche has her eyes on you. We brought that on ourselves, so we’ll have to take care of it.” Louise weakly said.
“How rare…”
“What?” Louise stared at Saito.
“I thought you’re such a miser. You even freak out about my food.”
“I can’t let a familiar get used to luxury. It makes for bad habits. If it’s absolutely necessary, I’ll buy it. I’m not a stingy person.” Louise said proudly.
“Huh?!”
“Now that you get it, go to sleep. Tomorrow is the Day of Void, so I’ll take you shopping.”
Oh… so this world has Sundays too. Saito thought as he moved towards the hallway.
“Where are you going?”
“Where? To the hallway.”
“It’s all right. You can sleep in my room. If Kirche grabs you again it will be troublesome.”
Saito looked at Louise. “You really are…”
Louise was about to take her whip again when Saito stopped, dove on his straw bed, and wrapped himself in the blanket. He looked at the inscriptions in his left hand.
For lighting up, this thing helped me defeat Guiche, got Kirche head over heels for me, and got Louise to buy a sword for me. What else is this thing going to bring me? As he thought, drowsiness attacked him. What a long day… as he thought it, Saito fell fast asleep.
Chapter Three: Tristain’s Arms Dealer
Kirche woke up before noon. Today is the Day of Void. She looked at her window, and found that all the glass was gone, with burn marks surrounding the frame. Still groggy, she stared at the window for a moment before remembering what happened last night.
“Right… a lot of people came, and I blasted them away.”
She stopped caring about her window entirely after that. She got up and began putting on makeup, while excitedly plotting how she should seduce Saito today. Kirche was a born hunter.
When she was done, she left the room and knocked on Louise’s door. She rested her chin on one hand, hiding her smile. Saito will open the door, and I'll immediately embrace and kiss him. Oh… what will Louise do when she sees that… Kirche thought.
And then, right… I can try to eye him outside the room, and maybe he’ll approach me himself. The thought of rejection never entered her mind.
However there was no answer after she had knocked. She tried to open the door but it was locked. Without a second thought, she used an unlocking spell on Louise’s door, and was rewarded with a click. In reality, unlocking spells were forbidden on campus, but Kirche didn’t care. “Passion above all” was the rule of her house.
But the room was empty. The two weren’t there.
Kirche looked around the room. “Still the same… a tasteless room.”
Louise’s backpack wasn't there. Adding that fact with the Day of Void meant they had gone out somewhere. Kirche looked out the window and saw two people on horseback, ready to depart; it was Saito and Louise.
“What? Going out, huh?” Kirche mumbled in annoyance.
After thinking for a while, she quickly left Louise’s room.
Tabitha was in her room, deep in her sea of books. Under her light blue hair and glasses were bright blue eyes that sparkled like the ocean. Tabitha looked four or five years younger than she actually was. She was even a bit shorter than the already short Louise, and her body was quite slim. However, she didn’t care about these things. She was a girl that would rather not care about what people thought of her.
Tabitha loved Days of Void. They're when she could sink into her favorite worlds. In her eyes, everyone else was an intruder in her own little world, giving a melancholic feel to her.
Before long, strong knocks rocked her door. Without standing up, Tabitha simply picked up and waved her staff, which seemed to exceed her height. She cast “Spell of Tranquility”, a wind-type spell. Tabitha was a mage of the wind affinity. “Spell of Tranquility” effectively blocked out those distracting door knocks. Satisfied, she returned to her reading, her expression remaining unchanged throughout the encounter.
Then somebody forcefully broke the door open. Noticing the intruder, Tabitha moved her eyes from her book. It was Kirche. She began babbling about something, but with the silencing magic, none of her words reached Tabitha.
Kirche took away Tabitha’s book, and then grabbed the little reader’s shoulders to make her look at her. Tabitha blankly looked at Kirche, her face unreadable. However, one could see that she had an unwelcoming gaze.
But Kirche was Tabitha’s friend. She would have blown anyone else away with a cyclone. Seeing no other way, Tabitha canceled her magic. As if a lock was opened, Kirche’s voice instantly emerged. “Tabitha! Get ready, we’re going out!”
Tabitha only softly explained to her friend, “Day of Void.” That explanation was enough for Tabitha, who attempted to take her book back from Kirche’s grasp. Kirche stood up and raised the book high in the air, their height difference barring Tabitha from the book.
“Yes, I know how Days of Void are important to you, I really do. But now’s not the time for this talk! I’m in love! It’s love! Do you get it now?” She didn’t, and shook her head. Kirche was propelled by her emotions, but Tabitha was a calm and collected thinker. One can only wonder how such polarized people could be such good friends.
“Right… you won’t move until I explain. Geez… I. AM. IN. LOVE! But that lad is going out with that damn annoying Louise today! I want to go after them, and find out where they’re going! Do you get it now ?” Tabitha still didn’t, because she still didn’t know why that mattered to her.