Zero no Tsukaima:Volume8 Chapter4 - MTL
On the day when Saito woke, one week ago…
One wind dragon landed on the courtyard of Tristain Academy of Magic.
All students, who were chatting in the courtyard, turned around.
Once seeing the boy on dragon’s back, a sigh escaped from schoolgirls’ chests.
“Look! What beautiful hair!”
“Look there!”
Seeing the boy’s eyes, schoolgirls became frightened in an instant. The color of the right and left eye is different
“The ‘Moon eyes’.”
One girl muttered.
Eyes with different right and left color were called ‘Moon eyes’, following the two moons of Tristain. In the provinces, where the superstitions are strong, it is believed that such person is evil and is despised be everyone too.
However… they still absent-mindedly watched the beautiful boy that got off the dragon.
“Hyaa… is he an noble from some country? He’s like fairy!”
Shinto priest of Romalia - Julio Cesar.
Schoolgirls went on – “Kyaa Kyaa”.
Julio, ignoring such commotion, jumped down to the ground from his wind dragon’s back….
Thump.
He hit the ground with his head.
Schoolgirls, dumbfounded, looked at each other, and ran up to Julio.
“Are you… all right?”
Julio laughed with a smile, while laying on the ground. What a charming smile – all schoolgirls got swayed in an instant.
“The soil is on your face… P-please use this…” one girl gave a handkerchief to Julio, making the other girls stir as well.
“H-here use mine!”
“My handkerchief has a nice smell to it!”
“I’m alright.”
“Haah! The soil doesn’t suit your elegant features!”
“It’s good. Just about.”
“But…”
“I still haven’t washed my face after the war. That’s why it’s dirty.”
Julio waved off.
“For three weeks? Seriously!”
“Do you really hate washing your face that much?”
Laughter echoed.
“That’s not it. I just cannot make a lady's handkerchief dirty.”
He stood up and bowed.
“Nooon! Stop joking!”
Girls shouted joyfully.
From that sort of schoolgirls’ actions, schoolboys were watching unpleasantly. One schoolboy, with a challenging smile, approached Julio.
One girl shouted.
“Pelisson-sama!”
Third grader Pelisson was a ladykiller of Tristain Academy of Magic. Though he had a pretty face like ancient sculptures, he lacked the charm. He was jealous, when a popular person showed up suddenly, and could not stomach it.
Pelisson crossed his arms and glared at Julio and noticed a Holy Saget on his chest.
Fun, he gave a goofy smile.
“Priest, did you come to plead for offerings?”
Without loosing his cool, Julio answered.
“I came here to meet a friend.”
“This is a noble studying building. Go preaching to the streets.”
“I don’t remember asking for your opinion.”
Pelisson’s brow slightly paled. Once understanding that Julio doesn’t have a wand, he pulled out a long, thin wand. It was a brand-new one, one that young knight’s get while joining the army.
“Judging from your words a little while ago, you seem also have participated in the Albion campaign, Priest.”
“Aa.”
“I am a report officer from the Navarre unit. You?”
“Various jobs.”
Julio said, waving it off.
“It must have been taking care of your dragon. Like your follower. Yes.”
“For Shinto priests, any work suits.”
Pellison hit Julio’s head with his wand.
“By beating my head, you are insulting God and Founder Brimir, Officer-san.”
“I am not insulting god. I’m just teaching a cocky Shinto priest, who started acting like a noble, some manners. I’ll show you an insult.”
“So you were a noble? Then why you are so jealous about someone who is outside the noble’s circle?“
Pelisson's face reddened. Schoolgirls, who gathered around, became frightened.
“Then cast your spell!”
He shouted while uttering a spell…
The wind dragon, that was sitting behind Julio, sprang to his feet and jumped at Pelisson. And in one second, Pelisson, unable to resist, is held down by a big wind dragon.
“H-hey! It’s unfair! Don’t use dragon! Guah!”
Pelisson, whose back was trampled down by a big wind dragon, fainted in agony.
“Since I cannot use magic, I use dragons instead.”
Hearing such commotion, teacher Chevreuse ran up in short steps.
“What’s this! What’s this! I think the war is already over, so stop fighting in the courtyard now! I’m serious!”
Chevreuse easy widened upon noticing Julio, who stood up.
“Ara Ara, aren’t you an outsider? Whose permission do you have to enter? Not to mention, bringing such a dragon too!”
Taking the hand of rattling Chevreuse, Julio bowed gracefully.
“…Eh?”
After taking her hand, he looked into Chevreuse's face. Such a handsome face made Chevreuse blush despite her age.
“I am sorry. However, I only came here to meet a friend…”
“A-ara, is that so? Who?
“Yes, Miss Valliere. I want to get permission from your beautiful self, to see her today.”
“Beautiful? What?”
“Yes. In my mother country Romalia, there is an ancient painting of a holy woman. When you appeared, I have mistaken you with that holy woman in the painting.”
“Oh dear! Holy woman! That!”
Chevreuse shouted in a frolicking voice.
“May I enter the school?”
“The said holy woman cannot possibly refuse Shinto priest-sama! P-please take this!”
Chevreuse smoothly wrote down on paper the entrance permission, and with a dreamy face, handed it to Julio.
“Thank you. Ah, if I may, can I ask you to take care of the dragon?”
“Y-yes! Please go!”
Chevreuse stood upright and gave an emphatic salute.
“Azuro! I’m going then.”
Barking, wind dragon Azuro, nodded to his master.
Schoolgirls stared coldly at Chevreuse, who absent-mindedly watched the back of the leaving Julio.
“W-what are you looking at?!”
“Nothing… A teacher is still a woman. Indeed”
“D-don’t make fun of your teacher! Y-you! Stop sleeping forever on the ground! Faster, remove yourself from the foot of Shinto priest-sama’s wind dragon!”
Blushing, Chevreuse shouted at Pelisson who was groaning from being stepped upon by the wind dragon.
-Knock knock knock- someone knocked against the door. Louise absent-mindedly opened her eyes.
“Who?”
She asked.
It was silent for a moment, then,
“It’s me. Me”
Came the answer.
Hearing that voice, Louise instantly jumped up and ran. However… after some thought, she returned back and hid under the blanket.
Must be some kind of hallucination. Because of too much longing, she started hearing voices in her head.
“Please, open up. It’s me.”
The voice sounded again. Louise slowly stuck her head out of the blanket and watched the door.
“Real thing?”
“And why would I be the fake? Hurry up and open it.”
Louise sprang to her feet. Like pink lightening she dashed to the door, dressed only in a thin nightdress, and hastily tore the door open.
The face that she saw many times in her dreams, now stood before her.
“Saito…”
Louise almost crumbled to the floor.
Smiling, Saito held Louise’s shoulders.
“Sorry for taking so long.”
“Ba…”
“Ba?”
“Bakaaa…”
Louise’s eyes were full of tears.
-sob- -sob- ”I was worried so much… I was terribly worried if you were dead or not… waah, hic, waaah.”
Louise sobbed. Saito gently embraced her.
“Sorry… I’m really sorry. I desperately tried to escape, but finding a ship took time.”
Saito said in a very gentle voice.
“Why, why did you leave me and go alone?! Baka. Bakabakabaka!”
Louise started hitting Saito’s chest with her small fists.
Interested, Saito proved.
“Well, I am not dead, am I not?”
“Such ingratitude towards me, abandoning me…”
“That’s not why.”
Saito said.
“Then why?”
Louise asked.
“Because I love you.”
Being told so straightforwardly, Louise’s cheeks blushed.
“D-don’t be silly. No matter what you say, love has nothing to do with it.”
“Your voice is trembling.”
“It’s not trembling.”
“You love me too, right?”
He said with great confidence. Louise sank her eyes down. Louise was weak against such straight words.
“Ba-baka. Why would I be in love with you...”
“Your face gives it out, hey, it’s already red.”
“It’s not giving it out. It’s not red. I’m not in love.”
“You put such clothes on, wanting me to push you down, right? What. So shameless.”
Before noticing, she was wearing black-cat clothes again.
“N-not true. I am just playing a familiar. And I am wearing such black clothes only because that wasted sword said so.”
He grasped her tightly and lied her down on the bed.
“…Ah”
Even though she was complaining, a hot sigh escaped her mouth.
Saito brought his face closer. Though she resisted, she closed her eyes.
“Awah, awah, awah…” Louise haloed, while Saito was kissing the scruff of her neck.
“Fuah, fuah, fuah…” noise escaped through closed lips.
Louise held Saito closer.
What great confidence this guy has.
Did I want him to embrace me tightly like that?
Lies. Lies.
However, my body is not listening at all.
Her arms wrapped tightly around him, clinging as if her life would depend on it, seemingly enjoying the feeling.
For a long time, Louise laid there with her face buried into Saito’s chest.
Then…
“Really, you made these black cat clothes for this?”
Casually, Saito, stripped off Louise’s black cat clothing. The part which covered her breasts.
“S…S!”
In an instant, Louise covered her breasts.
With a shocked face, she looked up at Saito. Usually, it is the place where bickering, hitting, kicking and shouting start, yet now a sweet voice escaped her mouth.
“S-stop…”
She muttered, averting her eyes from Saito.
“Show them.”
Saito blankly said such bold thing.
“S-stupid… that… not. No…”
“Why? Didn’t you change clothes back then without feeling shy at all?”
“B-because…because, familiar during those days…”
“And still a familiar.”
“T-that’s right, but now it’s different.”
“How is it different?”
Uuh… Louise faltered
“A-anyway, it’s no good now.”
“Why?”
“Because, well…”
“Tell me.”
Saito repeated words like a spell. Louise, like bewitched by it, honestly told what she was thinking.
“…little bit.”
“Slightly?”
“L-little bit. Wanted.”
Louise said while blushing.
“I know.”
“…really just a tiny little bit. But not much. Well you see, only because Saito would not hate me.”
“I do not.”
“You do. I know. You always look at other girl’s breasts. Princess-sama, maid, Jessica… when you compare theirs to mine…”
“When Louise shows them to me, I will not look at others.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
He said with passionate eyes. Louise’s arm lost its strength.
Louise said in an embarrassed voice.
“Just watch. Just watch, all right? You won’t do anything else, p-promise?
“Promise.”
Saito gripped Louise’s hand and slowly lifted it up. Louise feeling so embarrassed that she could die, squeezed her eyes shut.
It felt as if eternity passed.
“…h-how are they? Small? Right? Average?
Louise demanded for his impression.
However, there was no answer.
“S-say something. Hey.”
She continued to urge him, yet there is still no answer.
Because Saito didn’t say anything, Louise became insecure. Aah, I shouldn’t have showed him after all!
But in reality, Saito was just amazed.
“Louise.
“W-what… baka… why you haven’t said anything when I asked…”
“Louise.”
He called again. Louise shouted.
“Noisy! Baka! Shut-up!”
Louise shouted, not noticing that it was a dream. Saito and Louise had similar…meeting in a dream.
“They are small anyway! Idiot! I will absolutely not show them anymore!”
In her room, Louise talked in her sleep.
“They are perfect, because I love you.”
Once he said so in her dream, Louise’s body lost the strength completely.
“You really love me?
“Yes.”
He said, smoothly and confidently…
Louise thought.
I should say it.
Say that important word to Saito.
But… even now she cannot say it easily.
She still lacks courage when it comes to that word…
Louise has woke up.
“…that.”
There were no Saito around. And she was clothed in her nightdress.
“A dream…” Louise said in a dull voice.
Even in a dream, she couldn’t say that important word. Saddened, she sunk her face in her palms. Then…
“Louise.”
Her name was called from the corner of the room, startled she turned around.
The beautiful boy with the blond hair stood there leaning against the wall.
“…Julio?”
It was Julio, Shinto priest of Romalia; It was Julio. With a standing out aura, he watched Louise with great interest.
Louise drew the blanket.
“Why are you here?”
“I came to meet you. You seemed to be having a very pleasant dream. I was not looking! Just a little bit! Umm, what on earth were you dreaming about?”
Even Louise’s ears turned crimson.
“Don’t enter without permission. It's not a battlefield tent here.”
Not giving out her emotions, Louise said.
Julio handed Chevreuse’s permit document.
“Is this paper good enough?”
“Still, why did you enter lady’s room without permission?”
“Because we are connected by a strong bond.”
Julio gave Louise his right hand, covered with a white glove.
Louise ignored his hand.
“Stop joking.”
Julio gave a carefree smile.
“Finally, I was released from the dragon knight corps, so I decided to return to Romalia. Tristanians are such hard workers! Writing reports are foreign to me, that‘s why I always stayed with the squad! But I finally made a report.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Before returning home, I decided to drop in and greet you.”
“Well…thank you.” Louise said with a hollow face.
“Low-spirited?”
Louise tightened her lips and buried her face under the blanket.
“I am a person to whom you owe your life. Don’t I deserve at least a little bit of thanks?”
“What do you mean?”
Louise looked up and stared at Julio
“It was me who put you on the ship.”
Instantly, Louise sprang out of the bed to her feet, and urged Julio.
“Where did Saito go to?”
“I will say it clearly. He is surely dead.”
“Stop!
“I won’t stop!”
Julio put on a serious look.
“What are you saying?! Aren’t you a priest? If you knew he was going to die, why didn’t you stop him!?”
“He tried to get his job done. He couldn’t be stopped.”
“What 'Saito’s job?!'”
“He is Gandalfr. Becoming masters' shield – that job.”
Louise gave Julio a long hard look.
“Do you know why? You weren’t listening, Miss ‘Void’. A strange name for a girl. User of the great void.”
“…How do you know?”
I am a Shinto priest of Romalia. I come from the country where the theology research is the most advanced. From Trsitain to Galia.”
Loosing her strength, Louise knelt on the floor. Though she was surprised about Julio knowing details about void, what worried her more now was Saito’s fate. Understanding Louise, and trying to gently admonish her, Julio said.
“Really, you might meet him. But not the otherwise.”
“Keep your theology for the dogs to eat.”
“I do not want to lecture you about theology. Reality, Romalia needs you.”
“Leave me alone.”
“I can not… time is important. Now Louise, you love him - true or false?”
After brief reflection, Louise answered.
“True.”
“Good. Though I am not a mage, I know some spell principles. Could you explain what is a Summon Servant to me?”
“It’s a spell that summons familiar.”
“Is that all?”
He asked
“Ha!” Louise made a sour face.
“Though for mages, a familiar is an important being… it is not irreplaceable. After goodbyes you can always meet someone new. I think that’s what Summon Servant symbolizes.”
“Be silent.”
“I’ll pray for a new meeting. See you.”
With these words, Julio went out of the room.
Louise thought quietly for a while… and began to tremble.
“He is not dead…”
She whispered like a prayer.
“He is alive.”
She hung her head for a while, then…
Louise slowly lifted her head up again.
“Stay strong.”
He’s only missing, not dead yet, she told herself.
The door was knocked at again, Louise jumped and went up.
“Julio? Still have something to say?”
She shouted while opening the door. However, the one that stood there was…
“I do, Louise.”
It was Montmorency with an embarrassed face. She sighed once she saw Louise's face.
“I know you are very depressed. I understand your feelings… Yet you still need to go to class. You can’t rest for too long. The war is already over…”
Guiche, who stood behind, anxiously protruded his face as well. Montmorency squatted down next to Louise and softly said.
“Umm… It is still uncertain if he is dead.”
Louise, who had her face buried in her knees, stood up abruptly. As if desperately getting her courage back, she clenched her hands.
“…I know. He’s still alive.”
“T-that’s right! Saito is not the one to die so easily!”
Guiche’s voice encouraged Louise as well. After that, Montmorency and Guiche, looked at each other looks and nodded.
“That’s right. He is still alive.”
Louise stood up and muttered with a determined expression on her face.
“I’ll confirm it now.”
“Heh?”
Guiche and Montmorency were confused.
“He is absolutely alive. I will confirm it.”
Louise continued to talk in a feverish tone.
“H-how?”
Guiche asked. Montmorency seemed to understand something.
“Summon Servant?”
“Indeed.”
Louise nodded.
“Spell that summons a familiar… If I can cast the Summon Servant again, then my familiar does not exist in this world.”
“I, I see.”
“Therefore… since Saito is alive I will not be able to be complete the spell.”
Guiche hastily said.
“But, what if you complete th-”
Montmorency blocked Guiche’s mouth with her hand.
“Louise…maybe you should prepare yourself a little…”
However, Louise shook her head.
“If I won’t do it now, I’ll never do it.”
With a wand in her hands, Louise raised up her eyes.
Guiche began to tremble. Montmorency closed her eyes.
Silently, Louise began to utter an incantation.
Her hands trembled with tension.
Her heart trembled with fear.
‘Summon Servant’ was not an elemental, and everyone could use it. So Louise didn’t need to read runes to cast it.
“I, Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere, in the name of the great Pentagon power, following my fate, summon a familiar.“
She thrust out the cane towards an open space.
If Saito, who is a familiar bound to Louise, is alive…the summon gate will not open.
A few moments passed.
Montmorency, who did not have the courage to open her eyes, wondered why Guiche and Louise did not dare to open their mouths.
What happened?
“Hey Guiche. How did it go?”
She asked in a tiny voice, he answered.
“Nh!”
Giving up, Montmorency opened her eyes while holding up her breath
And… dazzled, fell to her knees.
In front of Louise, there was a mirror-shaped gate that shone with light. .
Soullessly, Louise kept on blankly staring at the gate.
“Aah, that’s terrible. A great man was lost. A very great man was lost. He…loved you dearly.”
Guiche said in a painful voice.
“Louise…” Montmorency muttered. Many summons could be seen within the gates. By this time, the selected beast or spirit would pass through the shinning gates. The can pass it only on their own free will.
Before that happens…
“Close the gate!”
Louise closed the gate. Due to Montmorency’s scream, she did it without thinking.
Montmorency hugged Louise from behind.
“Louise…Aah, Louise…”
Louise like a rag doll crumbled to the floor.
In the end, with her courage shattered into pieces… Louise was engulfed in despair
At that time, in the Albions South Gotha’s forest village…
Saito, who was sleeping, woke up.
He felt something shining next to him
But…when he opened his eyes, there were nothing there.
“Somehow… Was it a dream? But I already had one dream about light.” Saito said to himself.
Then he watched at his left hand again.
Every night he hoped for them to reappear…
Yet, they were gone for good.
