That night…
Louise lay in her bed, tightly grasping her pillow. After Saito removed his parka, Louise slipped into it, as though it was a given. She was frantically pretending to read a book. Saito looked around the room which he had been away from for a week or so. Tableware was scattered everywhere.
“So you’ve been absent from lessons?”
Montmorency had mentioned it when they passed by her in the corridor. Montmorency told Louise that she had been absent for too long, but Louise just ignored her and walked off.
Louise glared at Saito, slightly taken aback.
“So what?”
“Are you feeling ok?” asked Saito, who seemed to be worried.
She was about to say “Whose fault do you think it was that I have been skipping lessons?” but her pride got the better of her. Putting the blanket over her head, she snuggled under it. Saito scratched his head and looked at the haystack. So she didn’t throw it out, he thought, warmly glancing at Louise.
Three days passed.
Colbert awoke to the sound of hens. It seemed like he had fallen asleep without realizing. He had been absent from lessons and had shut himself in the laboratory for the past three days. In front of his eyes was a flask placed on top on an alcohol lamp. A glass tube stretched out of this, which let the heated catalyst cool and coagulate in the beaker to the left. This was the final step. Colbert sniffed at the gasoline he received from Saito and started cautiously reciting the alchemy incantation at the substance in the beaker while concentrating on the smell of the gasoline.
A poof of smoke rose from the beaker and the color of substance inside changed to a yellowish brown. He smelt it. The strong smell of gasoline drifted to his nose. Colbert opened the door with a thud and rushed outside.
“Saito! Saito! I’ve made it! I’ve made it! I’ve finished concocting it!”
Out of breath, Colbert approached Saito, who was inspecting the Zero fighter. Within the wine bottle he held out, there was a yellowish brown liquid. Saito opened the cover of the fuel tank, which was in front of the windshield. There was a lock on it, so he had Colbert cast the unlock spell on it. He poured two bottles of the gasoline in to it.
“I analyzed the composition of the oil you gave me,” said Colbert proudly.
“It seemed to be made from microorganisms in fossils, so I searched for something similar. I decided to use the fossils of trees… in other words coal. I soaked that in a special catalyst and extracted a similar composition. After spending days doing that, I cast the alchemy spell on it. And that turned it into…”
“Gasoline, right?”
Colbert nodded and urged Saito “Quickly, turn those windmills for me. I was so excited that I didn’t even sleep.”
After filling the gas tank, Saito returned to the cockpit. Information on how to start the engine and fly the Zero fighter came rushing to his brain. To start the engine, the propeller must first be spun. Saito popped his head from the windshield.
“Mr. Colbert, could you spin the propeller using magic?”
“I thought it turned using the power from burning the oil?”
“To start the engine, the crank inside must be rotated manually first. I don't have a tool to turn the propeller, so if you could use magic please.”
Colbert nodded. Saito began to prepare the plane.
Firstly, he set the fuel source to the tank he had just put the fuel in. Then he set the mixture ratio lever and the propeller pitch lever to their optimum states. Saito’s hands moved by themselves. His Gandálfr power carried out all the operations. He opened the cowl flap and closed the lid of the oil-cooling radiator. The propellers rumbled as Colbert used his magic. With his eyes wide open, Saito pressed the ignition with his right hand at the proper time. His left hand gripping the throttle lever, he tilted it forward slightly.
A sputtering sound was heard and the engine started to run after the spark plug’s ignition. As they ratted, the propellers started to turn. The body of the airplane vibrated. The brake wasn’t on and so the plane started to propel itself forward.
Colbert watched with a moved expression on his face. After checking that the engine gauges were moving, Saito turned the ignition switch off.
Jumping out of the cockpit, he hugged Colbert.
“Mr Colbert, the engine started!”
“Yes, we did it! But why didn’t it fly?”
“There’s not enough gasoline. In order to fly, we would need at least five barrels.”
“That's a lot to make! But since I’ve already done so much, I’ll finish it!”
After Colbert had returned to his laboratory, Saito continued his adjustments. He didn’t have any tools however, so he cleaned the parts. Louise called out to Saito who was seemingly absorbed doing this.
“Hey, it’s time for dinner. What have you been doing? It’s already dark.”
“I started the engine!” yelled Saito happily.
But Louise replied back dully.
“Really now. Good for you. What happens after you get the engine running?”
“It flies! It will fly!”
“What will you do when it flies?” Asked Louise in a lonely voice.
Saito told Louise of the ideas that had gone through his mind in the past two to three days.
“I’m going to try to fly east.”
“East? I can’t believe you. Are you saying you’re heading to Rub' al Khali? I seriously can’t believe you!”
“Why? The owner of this airplane flew from there. I could maybe find some clues on how to return to my own world.” Said Saito feverishly.
Louise didn’t seem to bear any interest however. She replied back in a lonely voice.
“You’re my familiar. You can’t just do what you want. Also, the princess’s wedding is in five days. I have to read an edict then. But I haven’t thought of anything good to say.”
Absorbed by the Zero fighter, Saito nodded as if he were listening. Once he knew that it could fly, he had become mesmerized by it.
Louise pulled his ear. She was bored. He hasn’t paid any attention to me since he’s returned and instead just gazes at this ‘airplane’.
“Listen to me!”
“I’m listening!”
“You’re not. You’re daydreaming. There’s no familiar that listens to its master while looking away!”
Louise dragged Saito back to her room.
Louise opened the Founder’s Prayer book in front of Saito.
“I’ll read out what I’ve thought already for the edict.”
With a cute cough, Louise began to read her edict.
“On this beautiful day, I, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de la Vallière, praying for the holy presence of the Founder, shall read the blessed edict…”
And then, Louise stopped.
“Continue?”
“From here on I have to give thanks to the four branches of magic. It has to be poetic and also in rhyme….”
“Then just make it rhyme.”
Louise pouted her lips as if she were sulking.
“I can’t think of anything. Writing it poetically is a pain in the neck. I’m not a poet or anything.”
“It’s ok, just read what you have written there.”
With a troubled look, she read her ‘poetic’ lines.
“Um, as fire is hot, one needs to be careful.”
“’Needs’ isn’t poetic. You should probably remember that.”
“Shut up. When the wind blows, those who sell barrels prosper.”[1]
“Why would you use that proverb here?”
Louise, who didn’t seem to have any poetic talent, threw herself on the bed as if sulking and whispered, “I’m going to sleep.”
As was now usual, she changed while hiding her body behind her bedsheets. After turning off the lamp she called out to Saito, who had dove onto his haystack already.
1
“When the wind blows, those who sell barrels prosper”: 風が吹けば、桶屋が儲かる, means “Bliss often falls into the hands of an unexpected person. Actually, it's meaning is: When the wind blows (typhoons), the barrel maker (or seller) gets rich. Barrels were used to bury the dead.