Zero no Tsukaima:Volume10 Chapter2
Chapter 2 - The Elf
Along the Ragdorian Lake, which was situated along the border between Gallia and Tristain, in front of an old-looking house nearby, a blue-haired girl who was riding a Wind Dragon alighted.
Although the Gallia royal family's crest could be seen at the door of the residence, it was humiliated by an unsightly cross-shaped dent. This was the house of which Tabitha's mother lived quietly...... It was the premise of an ex-Orleans residence.
Tabitha pondered on the contents of the letter which she had torn up completely last night. It was a letter with the Gallia royal family's seal. Something short was written inside:
“Charlotte Hélène Chevalier De Parterre. Deprivation of your title as my right-hand assistant, Chevalier, and your social status. PS: The aforementioned person's mother, ex-Duchess of Orleans, is restrained. For bail negotiations to be approved, within a week, the aforementioned person must be present at the ex-Orleans official residence.”
“Bail negotiations” is an extremely mild expression. Tabitha was certainly not deceived. In other words, it means “Because your mother has been made a hostage, surrender peacefully!” After that, a trial against Tabitha's treachery would probably begin. The result would be...... if she is lucky, the gallows. If not...... she did not really want to think about it.
Together with the refreshing breeze of the morning, the sunlight of spring made fun of her face. In an instant, that refreshing breeze was being a freezing, icy aura, as Tabitha took a step forward into the residence.
Sylphid, who was sitting down, let out a worried sound: ”Kyui!”
“Do you intend to surrender peacefully? Those eyes were asking.
“Chill.”
Facing the front, she told that to her faithful familiar, upon which “Tsush, tsush...”, Sylphid drew nearer to her.
Tabitha turned back, and stopped Sylphid.
“Wait. I'll finish this soon.”
Sylphid shook her head.
This wise dragon understood. Her master obviously did not have any intention to surrender. She intended to fight, and recover her mother. Naturally, Gallia's royal government should not have thought that Tabitha would hand over her wand peacefully. To win over that wind magic, they had definitely prepared many powerful users.
Because of her betrayal, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever for them to continue using Tabitha. Since the start, the royal family had been wanting to dispossess Tabitha of her life. However, if she were to be murdered with her father as well, it would result in the ex-Orleans formal faction being enraged. Consequently, they assigned dangerous tasks to her, thinking that she would be disposed of that way.
Yet, Tabitha managed to accomplished those tasks well. The current king's faction should be certainly impatient now.
This time...... was the chance for them to deliver their full potential to kill her.
Sylphid noticed the unpleasant atmosphere enveloping the house. That air became a chilly sensation as if pricking one's skin, and Sylphid's scales were agitated.
“You understand, don't you? From now on the fight would proceed. In the same, usual way, wait for me in the air.”
Sylphid never joins Tabitha in her battle. “Because I don't have the legs to go back,” with that reason, she usually waits patiently in the air for her master's battle to finish.
However, this time was different.
Tabitha's enemy is the royal family of Gallia.
This is an opponent on a completely different level than the beasts, magi, or demihumans whom she fought against until now.
A kingdom against a person; no matter how she struggles, she has no chance of winning.
This ex-Orleans residence was already not the place of Tabitha's dear memories.
Nor was it the battleground.
It was a place where the executioner, who was dispatched to kill her, was waiting; her coffin, her cemetery.
If it were a “battlefield”, it was still okay; but her beloved master must not venture alone into this “cemetery”.
Tabitha gazed firmly at Sylphid who was staring at her with those brave eyes.
In a soft, instruction-like voice, Tabitha said.
“Because you are waiting, I can fight. Because I have a place to return to, I can fight.”
Although Sylphid was motionless for a while...... her eyes brimmed with tears, she nodded hard.
“Kyui!”
Gently, Tabitha stroked Sylphid's snout. Firmly, Sylphid raised her face, and soared to the sky.
Gazing at Sylphid which was circling the sky above the residence, with the same expression as usual, “Thank you,” she whispered.
The door to the entrance hall was not locked.
Tabitha pushed it, Giiiiiiiiii...Making a heavy sound, the door opened.
Usually, the butler, Percerin, would leap towards her, but......apart from the deadly silent and cold atmosphere, nothing else greeted her. There were supposed to be servants in the residence, but there wasn't the slightest indication of any human's presence.
Taller than her, she casually held her rough and knobby staff, and Tabitha slowly faced the interior of the residence.
Her usual expression, her usual movements, but Tabitha's anger changed the atmosphere around her.
She walked down the long corridor leading to her mother's living room in the interior of the residence, and......the doors at the left and right of the corridor opened simultaneously.
At the same time the doors opened, arrows flew out simultaneously. Unperturbed, Tabitha waved her staff.
Piiiiiinnnngggg!!The sound of water vapor spreading outwards in the air could be heard, as an ice barrier materialized around Tabitha, repelling the arrows.
As if greeting those arrows, subsequently, from the opened doors, soldiers jumped out. Yet......at a closer look, wielding swords, those were not humans.
Granted with a will, they were magic puppets, gargoyles.
Approached at a close range by 10 fearless and firm gargoyles, normal magi were not able to deal with them.
However, Tabitha's magical power right now swelled with anger.
Holding her staff up high, the countless ice arrows at her surrounding just now which shone a pale color, revolved. Her short hair also fluttered intensely due to the tornado which sprang forth, with her as the center.
“Windy Icicle” of speed and power never displayed before this, pierced through the 10 gargoyles at the same time......and blew them away.
Because of the magic contained in the Windy Icicles, the gargoyles which had been pierced through, turned into ice in an instant. This was the result of the surging magical power seeking its destination.
With an intense fury even she did not notice herself, Tabitha's rank went up one level.
The second power of Wind, and second power of Water were residing in her specialty, “Windy Icicle”.
Right now, normal user should not be able to fight her.
With her experience as the secret knight of Gallia, the Knight of North Parterre, and her furious Wind square spell, this petite blue-haired girl had become a prominent warrior even in the whole of Halkeginia.
Tabitha stood in front of her mother's room, and turned the knob.
It was not locked.
The double-sided door swung back casually.
A bed and a small desk could be seen. On top of the bed, her mother's figure was not there.
The window was open, and spring breeze blew in.
There were bookshelves at the surrounding of the wall......A man was standing there.
Clad in a pale, light brown robe, he was a tall and thin man. He was wearing a hat of a foreign country, with a wide flange and a feather on top of it. From the bare parts of his hat, golden hairs hung down until his waist. With his back facing the entrance to the room at which Tabitha was standing, he was facing the bookshelf at the wall, and was apparently doing something enthusiastically.
The sound of pages flipping could be heard. To her astonishment, the man was seemingly reading a book. She had never heard of any assassin who turns his back towards his enemy and reads a book.
Facing that back, Tabitha spoke softly.
“Where did you take my mother to?”
Like a librarian who was called out to, the man turned in a completely ordinary gesture, without the slightest indication of any bloodthirst or hostility.
“Mother?”
Like a glass chime, it was a high-pitched, clear voice.
The pupils of those slit eyes shone in a light blue color. He had extremely lovely, fine features. Nevertheless, his age could not be told at all. Although he appeared to be like a lad, one would still believe him if he said he were 40 years old- he had this sort of mysterious air about him.
“Where did you take my mother to?”
With the exact intonation, Tabitha repeated. Looking troubled, the man gazed at the book, but......opened his mouth again.
“Aah. The woman the Gallian troops took into custody is it? I don't know their destination.”
If that's the case, you are of no use to me, As if saying that, Tabitha waved her staff casually. Windy Icicles attacked the man at his chest.
However, Tabitha's ice arrows stopped exactly in front of the man's chest. There wasn't any sign that he had recited a spell.
The stopped arrows dropped onto the bed, and broke apart into fragments.
It was the feeling that the arrows had lost their force due to a wall. What on earth is the magic power this guy uses?
Tabitha lifted her staff cautiously. She thought of examining the opponent's moves.
“This 'story' is wonderful.”
The man's next move took Tabitha by surprise. Somehow, the man had retrieved the book he was previously reading from the bookshelf.
“As for us, we don't have such culture. “Books” are limited to the recording of accurate phenomena, history, and research contents. Adding up personal interpretation to the history and making it fun ot read, arousing the feelings of the reader, causing him to slip into the author's point of view......Something interesting.”
The man in the robe of a foreign country informed Tabitha in a voice without any implication of hostility.
“This “Hero of Ivaldi” story......have you read it before?”
