The Water Spirit’s expression changed into various forms. After the smile followed anger, and then crying faces. Each time she tried a new expression, the face of the water moved.
Indeed, she looked beautiful. Like a constantly changing jewel.
Then her face became expressionless again as the Water Spirit answered Montmorency’s question.
“I remember, human. I remember the liquid that flows in your body. The moon has changed 52 times since our last meeting.”
“I’m glad. Water Spirit, I need to ask you something. Although it might seem somewhat insensitive, could you give me a piece of your body?”
Part of its body? Saito wondered. What‘s that?
When he poked Montmorency, she turned around annoyed.
“Although it is a tear, it is impossible to make immortal spirits cry. They are... different from us. I do not even know if one can call them living beings. Either way the tear of the Water Spirit is a part of its body.”
“So we have to cut down its body?!”
Saito shouted in surprise.
“Shh! Not so loud! The Water Spirit can get very angry! That’s why it is nearly impossible to obtain the tear. How the people in the city's black market are able to get it… I simply cannot imagine.”
The Water Spirit smiled.
“Oh, it smiled! It must mean it's ok!”
But, the words that came out its mouth... maybe because it still didn‘t understand how to to speak properly, were completely opposite its expression.
“I refuse, human.”
“Is that so? How unfortunate. Oh well, we'll be heading back now.”
Saito was shocked by how easily Montmorency gave up.
“Hey hey! Wait a moment! Don’t give up on Louise so easily! Hey, Water Spirit!”
Saito pushed Montmorency aside and faced the Water Spirit.
“Wait! You! Stop it! Don’t anger the Water Spirit!”
Montmorency tried to thrust Saito aside, but Saito didn’t even flinch. Guiche inclined his head wondering. Louise silently drew closer to Saito. Seeing such a scene, it was hard to tell which one of them was the familiar.
“Great Water Spirit! Please! I will do anything you ask for your tear! A little bit! Only a little bit!”
The Montmorency shaped Water Spirit didn’t answer anything to Saito, who was prostrating on his knees while pressing his head against the ground.
“I beg you! The most important person to me right now is in trouble! Don‘t you have someone important to you as well? My important person right now needs help... and for that, a part of your body is needed! Therefore, please! Look!”
Hearing this Montmorency stopped trying to pull Saito away and let out a deep sigh. Guiche, who was moved to tears already, nodded. Louise, feeling insecure, kept on clinging to Saito.
The Water Spirit changed her appearance few times before taking Montmorency’s shape again, and said to Saito,
“Very well.”
“Yes! Really?”
“But with one condition. As a mere human that doesn’t know the reason of this world, you said that you would do anything?”
“Yes! That's what I said!”
“Then repel those that attack me, your comrades.”
They looked at each other.
“Repel?”
“Yes, I have raised the water level as far as I could. I no longer have the energy to fight them. If you can fight them off, I will bestow unto you my tear.”
“No, I hate fights.”
Saito put his hand on Montmorency's shoulder and patted it.
“You want to eat prison food instead?” Saito once again threatened Montmorency about the forbidden potion and she, like the day before, could not help but to give in.
“I know, alright! I’ll do it!”
So it was decided that they needed to discover the identities of the people attacking the Water Spirit.
The place where the Water Spirit lives was the very bottom of the lake. Someone, using magic, attacked her there in the middle of the night.
Saito and the others hid themselves in the shade of the tree on the shore at Gallia’s side. A place that the Water Spirit showed them and waited quietly for the assailants to come.
Guiche, to cheer himself up before the battle, took a sip of wine that Saito brought. When all of his anxiety was gone he started to sing. Saito pushed his head aside.
Louise was in an extremely bad mood because Saito was only talking to Montmorency.
“Why is he nicer with Montmorency than with me? Does he love her? Or maybe he just hates me? waah waah” This thought came with an angry cry from Louise.
With her roaring around like that Saito was forced to kiss her cheek many times to calm her down and put her to sleep. After that she slept calmly next to him, breathing softly with a blanket wrapped up around her. It was easy to guess that anyone would be like that if a potion made them fall madly in love.
Saito asked Montmorency “The people that attacked the Water Spirit went to the bottom of the lake. How can they breathe under the water?”
Montmorency thought for a while.
“Maybe it’s a water element user? With a ball of air created around the user it’s not that hard to get to the bottom of the lake. At the same time, even if you use water magic and are able to breathe underwater, directly touching the water would be suicidal as the Water Spirit controls it here. So maybe it was an air element mage, that way one can avoid touching the water. According to the Water Spirit, she was attacked every night on a regular basis, having bits of her body cut off.”
“But how could someone wound it and still go unnoticed?”
“The Water Spirit's movements are slow… Besides, if you separate the Water Spirit from her source of water, her magic will eventually wear out. Using a strong flame would make her evaporate gradually as well. It becomes impossible to change it back into a liquid again after being turned into gas.”
“It is impossible to turn back?”
“The Water Spirit's soul is like moss. Even being torn to pieces it can reconnect itself into one again, as long as it has all the pieces. It is a really complicated creature compared to us.”
“Hmmm…” Saito nodded.
“And because the attacker is not touching the water, the Water Spirit cannot reach him.”
“Then it is not that powerful at all.”
“Really… You do not know how scary the Water Spirit can be… Even if for a single moment one lost concentration and the air ball disappeared allowing the water to connect – then it would be dreadful. Water controls the lives of all creatures, if you lose the protection of an air ball, then you would enter the Water Spirit’s territory where challenging her is something that even the greatest daredevil would not do.”
Saito sighed. Really, Halkeginia was filled with creatures that he could not even imagine in the past.
Two moons were shining high above in the sky. It was midnight.
Saito shut his mouth and with one hand withdrew Derflinger, that was hanging on his back , out.
Montmorency, scared by the sudden tension, muttered in a shaky voice.
“Anyhow, because I hate savage fights, I’ll leave it all up to you.”
Guiche, who obviously drank too much wine, started leaning towards Montmorency “Don’t worry Montmorency. I'm here. I will bravely protect the maiden from war and punish the villain.”
“Listen, just go to sleep already. You reek of alcohol.”
“Guiche, be a decoy.” Guiche nodded red-faced.
Saito took a deep breath. The fighter’s intuition that he gained from experiencing many fights was now telling him that someone was near. His mouth was filled with saliva. Guess that someone is an enemy? But, will it be all right. I'm the legendary Gandálfr. I should be able to beat mages up. It mattered a lot against the dragon knights that attacked me before?