4
Celebrity
Time: Moments later
Place: Corner of the courtyard, away from the others
Hiraga pulled the katana from the scabbard after untying it, and set that out of the way. Susan was busy casting Augment Skill: (Sword: (Slashing)) and putting max energy into it. This got her a skill rating of sixteen, almost double what a normal human could achieve. She was about to do the same for Teaching when Hiraga yelled out to her.
"Come and see this!"
She went over to him and he held out his left hand so she could see the rune on the back of it.
It was merrily glowing now with an inner light.
"It's active?" she postulated, doing a Magic Sense on him and getting maximum. Even with the penalty for holding onto Augment Skill, that was enough to tell he was radiating magic much more strongly now than before. "Oh yeah, it's doing something. Do you feel different?"
He took a few swings with the sword. "Actually, I think I know what I'm doing with this now!"
"Care to test that theory?" she asked with a grin.
"I'd be delighted."
Both brought their blades up into a guard position and started circling each other. Susan got the initiative, and slashed at him, quick as she could. She was confident that with a sixteen skill she could stop the blade if he didn't manage to perry it.
It was a good thing she was so confident, he didn't manage it. But then, she had rolled maximum, a twenty-two.
"Okay, still getting the hang of this..." remarked Hiraga, swinging at her and getting under her guard.
"Guess we're even," she said with a grin, blade an inch from her skin. I rolled an 18 to parry that strike, what's his skill rating?
Both then went into a flurry of blows, all of which were blocked by the other. They sprang apart.
"Not bad," said Susan.
"Thanks," responded Hiraga.
"No, I was talking about myself." Hiraga gave her a dirty look and she laughed. "Just kidding. Ready to continue?"
"I was waiting for you."
Again the clash of blades, but despite Susan's rating, it was a stalemate. There were some close calls, but as people gathered around to watch, everyone could tell neither had a clear advantage over the other. Finally they broke apart again and Susan held up a hand.
"This is getting us nowhere, obviously you don't need my help to master that weapon," she panted. "I think we're done here."
"Awwwww," said the crowd, which Susan looked to see surrounding them.
"Go back to your lives, citizens," Hiraga called. "Show's over." He picked up the scabbard and slid the sword back into it. As he let it go the glow subsided and vanished. "Huh. Not exactly worth leaving my entire world behind, but at least we know I'm not helpless."
"That's for sure," remarked Susan, also putting her blade away. "You're above human level, I can tell you that much for sure."
"That was amazing," said a voice, and a golden haired boy carrying a rose stepped up to Susan. "Magnificent," he went on. "Such strength, and form! I am "The Bronze" Guiche, may I have the honor of your name?"
"Susan Felton, nice to meet you."
"Susan? What a strange name, but a beautiful one," he hasted to add. "And your odd clothes... wait, you were the one that appeared alongside this boy when Zero called her Familiar. Little did I see of your beauty then, but now, in the sparkling daytime, how can I resist you?"
He leaned in for a kiss, and Susan stuck her sword in the way, partly drawing it. "Don't even think about it, buster. Anyway, I play for the other team."
"Other... what?" He said, opening his eyes again and looking confused. Then he saw the sword an inch from his neck.
"Guiche, what are you doing?" asked a girl with a red bow in her hair. It was done up in a complicated style, in ringlets, and two separate bangs covered a rather expressive forehead.
"Oh, Montmorency, you came to watch too. What am I doing? Why, whatever do you mean?"
"I think you know. Is he bothering you, miss?" she asked, looking at the bare blade.
"Not at all," answered Susan, sliding the blade back in. "He was just leaving."
"Yes, he was," spat Montmorency, grabbing his ear and stalking off with him.
"He's always getting into trouble," purred a fiery redhead, wearing a gold choker and a modified uniform that left a lot of her ample skin exposed. "Now me, on the other hand..." She grabbed his arm and pressed it to her body, making Hiaga drop the sword he was trying to tie on his waist.
"Leave my familiar alone, Kiche," shouted Louise, trying to yank him away. "He's not another conquest for you!"
"Whatever do you mean, Zero?" she asked, innocently.
"All you people need to go through sensitivity training!" shouted Susan. "Off with you! Go! Go on!"
"I'll be back for you," purred Kirche, blowing Hiraga a kiss and walking away with her salamander or whatever it was.
"Honestly, who does she think she is?" pouted Louise. "Grabbing other people's property like- I mean..." Susan's gaze now turned to her. "Grabbing my... familiar... You know what, forget it! What was all that about, anyway?"
Susan bent down to retrieve Hiraga's sword, and handed it to him. "Given the rune was glowing the whole time, I think it's something similar to the spell I used. He was able to use the sword with magically induced proficiency. Believe me, I doubt any regular swordsman on this planet could match him."
"You really think so?" asked Hiraga.
"I know so. I know my rating at the time. Even with the drag of maintaining my spell, we were even. That's pretty impressive for someone who probably never held a real sword before."
"Guess training is off," he remarked, looking around at the thinning crowd. "Now what?"
The group spent until lunch time testing Hiraga's ability with the (rather poorly maintained, if you wanted Susan's opinion) weapons found around the school. There was a small armory, and they carried out axes, bow and arrow, spears, shields, different types of swords, and even a rusty old mace. As Hiraga touched each one he said he felt he knew how to use it perfectly.
"So that's it," said Hiraga, putting the last arrow into the center of a target they found. "Near enough the center every time as far as I'm concerned."
"Seems that way," Susan replied.
"Excuse me," said someone behind them. They turned. "We're serving lunch, and I brought something for your cat, as well."
"You really did?" asked Susan with a big smile. "That's really thoughtful of you, thanks."
"Oh, it's okay."
"I'm Susan, I never did introduce myself this morning." She stuck out her hand. "Oh, or do you not have this tradition?"
"We shake hands," said the maid, returning the gesture. "I'm Siesta, nice to meet you all."
Louise just snorted like it was beneath her, but Hiraga shook hands with her too. Susan noticed he seemed a bit smitten, and she could understand why. There's a person in an actual maid outfit right in front of me. That's a +2 modifier to LOOks if I ever saw one. And of course she's super cute on her own.
"Please, follow me," said Siesta, "and I'll lead you to your table."
"When you do get off of work?" asked Susan, walking next to her. She realized how that sounded and blushed a little.
"Oh, uh, not until late. Why?"
"Nothing bad," said Susan, waving her hands. "I mean, uh... What I mean to say is, I'd like to talk to you. Both of us are not from around here, so I'd really like your take on this world from your perspective. Louise is a noble, so," she lowered her voice, "I'm not sure she really knows how the world works or not. I'd be interested in what you had to say about life here."
"Is that all?" she said, giving a laugh. "I'd be happy to. Actually, you should go down and see the kitchens. After lunch they won't be busy with dinner for a little while, they might be willing to answer some of your questions."
"Good idea, I'll see about finding my way there. Thanks for the suggestion."
"Sure. Here we are. I'll go get your main course now, while you start on this."
Main course? Man, it's good to be the king, I guess.
The two thanked her, and she gave a curtsey and a smile, then walked off with a little bounce in her step. Both caught the other looking as she retreated and pointed. They laughed at each other.
"What are you two doing now?" asked Louise, exasperated. "You're not flirting with the servants, are you? Because that would really reflect poorly on me."
"Good thing everything isn't about you, then."
"So I take it you're, uh..." he pointed to the disappearing maid. Susan nodded. "That girl I knocked away from you when we collided? Was she your..." He held up his pinky finger, and Susan had watched enough Anime to know what that meant. She nodded again. "Man, that's terrible. You must be worried sick. I'm really sorry about that."
Susan shrugged and started to eat. "I'm not worried about her safety, Luna can take care of herself. She's got strong magic and a good head. Whatever world she finds herself in won't know what hit it. It's just ever finding her again that I despair of. I don't know. Maybe Inari has some kind of magic gizmo she can use to track people. She's super powerful, being what she is, so I wouldn't put it past her. I'm not going to panic until I have all the facts, and that means getting back to her and talking it over."
"Still, I don't think all worlds are as nice as this one. Man, I don't know what I would have done in your place. If you ever feel like talking, I'm here."
"Thanks."
"Just keep, you know, quiet on that subject. You know how people in medieval times would react to learning about that."
"I have to deal with so called modern people's reactions sometimes. Still. So yeah, you don't have to tell me."
"What are you two talking about?" broke in Louise. "And what does it have to do with that maid?"
Both shook their heads. "It's not important. Eat your... whatever this is... before it gets cold."
"It was delicious," said Sparkle, having wolfed it down and licked the plate clean. "I hope I get a main course too!"
That afternoon the group went down to the kitchens, as suggested by Siesta. They were quite honored to have the dimensional travelers around, and were more than willing to talk. It wasn't until Louise got bored and wandered off, saying she would be back, that they got the real story though.
Susan was unsurprised to learn that conditions here were about as bad as she expected. The common people were seen as little better than slaves by those who knew magic, and had little opportunity to make their lives better. Laws were supposedly equal, but with no such thing as a court system or public defenders, they had little recourse when accused by someone with money. Those with magic had magical, political, economic power over everyone else, and they didn't hesitate to use it.
That explains Louise's attitudes somewhat. It's just how she's been raised. Basically she has the weakness Prejudice: Commoner or something. All magic users... I shouldn't think that, there may be magic users hoping for change right now. It would be unfair to lump them all together. But getting through to that girl is going to be difficult.
They thanked the cooks and made their way back up to their rooms when they said they had to get dinner started. Cooking for three hundred people (and their animals) was no small task, so they basically finished serving one meal and then started on the next.
I'm not sure if this is worse than having elves do it, thought Susan as she made her way through the castle. At least they do get paid for their efforts.
It seemed by that evening, word had spread about the pair, and at dinner that evening everyone wanted to sit near them. They were asked about the 'weird' swords they were wearing, and what their worlds were like. Susan was still wearing hers, after all she made the darn thing and couldn't put it into her Pocket Dimension at the moment. It could be useful if that weird guy tries kissing me again, after all.
She also demonstrated her magic, calling upon her Magical Ally and allowing people to hit her with the sword while she was Invulnerable.
I suppose this is as much excitement as they've seen in a while. After all, they don't have the Internet and youTube. Just going to classes, missing their parents, and worrying about grades. They crave the unfamiliar same as I do. Susan didn't mind, and it seemed Hiraga didn't either, but Louise seemed down because everyone called her Zero and spent more time fawning over the visitors than her. Guess we'll have to see if something can be done about that Zero they keep calling her.
That night, Susan made her way to Louise's room after several false starts to properly play her No Sense of Direction weakness. Knocking on the door Sparkle swiveled her ears and said she heard crying on the other side.
Ah, an opportunity for my Poor Sense weakness of hearing to make an appearance. "I don't hear anything," she said.
"Go away," she heard through the door. Louise's voice sounded strained.
"Louise, it's me, Susan. I want to talk to you. Please, can I come in?"
She waited a moment and the door opened a crack. "What do you want?" It was hard to tell in the dim light, but Susan thought her eyes were red and puffy, and her face was streaked with dried tears.
"Can I come in? I'm just here to talk," she said gently.
"Do what you like," she growled, throwing the door open and stomping back to her bed. She threw herself down and glared at Susan, who gently closed the door.
"What's wrong?" she asked, sitting down next to Louise.
"Oh, nothing," she replied. "Just everyone exclaiming over how great Susan is. 'Oh, show me your sword, Susan. Show me your magic, Susan. Tell me about your world, Susan.' And my Familiar is just as bad. Everyone said I couldn't do it, but I did. I summoned a Familiar, and possibly the best one anyone has ever seen. You saw what he did with all those weapons, I doubt stupid Kirche and her stupid lizard could do that. But does even one person come up to me and apologize for doubting me? No! It's all 'Zero sure screwed up didn't she?' and 'What will you blow up next, Zero! My name is Louise!"
"I know. I don't even know why they call you that." Something to do with screwing her magic up all the time? I wonder, does she have any actual friends here? No one really talked to her directly all day that I could see...
"I don't want to talk about it."
They sat in silence for a moment. "There's a story on my world," Susan began at last. "It's told by a mother who has a young daughter. Every night the mother is exasperated because she feels the little girl has been naughty at some point during the day, and tells her about it. But one day the woman says goodnight to her daughter and is about to leave the room when her daughter sobs and starts to cry. The woman is concerned, is her daughter hurt? She turns back to the child, who says though her tears, 'wasn't I even a little bit good today?' Turns out the little girl did everything she could to try and live up to her mother's ideals, and her mother hardly even noticed. And even worse, didn't even think of praising her. That little girl is you, Louise. I can't say you did good, because you've trapped me here, meaning my father and my friend are still out there, lost or trapped on some other world. But I'll still admit you did something extraordinary. You did summon a Familiar Spirit. Not only that, from another world, and just kissing him gave him a fantastic power. I don't know what that means, or why. Did you screw up or was it your destiny to be together? Only time will tell that. But you're not useless, and after a few days people will stop gushing over us because we'll be old news. Just have a little patience, okay?"
She put her arm around Louise's shoulder and hauled her up, giving her a squeeze and holding her tight.
"You mean all that stuff you said?"
"I sure do. And what I said to you yesterday. That's what I came to talk to you about, actually. Maybe with my help we can figure out what's going on with your magic and put it to rights. How does that sound? Hiraga obviously doesn't need my help, so I need a new mission while I'm here. That mission is you!"
"I didn't think you even liked me. Why would you do that for me?"
Susan sighed. "Louise, you can't help the world you live in. I'm seeing you through the lens of my world, which is very different. For all I know, time runs slower here and you're actually in what my world would consider the 'middle ages.' Maybe you haven't had the chance to go through the social reforms my world did. I can't blame you for that. And I don't really know you, so I can't honestly say I dislike or like you. But the one thing I do, my world, this world, any world- that's help people that need it. That's what I'm all about. It's what my magic is all about, why I learned spells like Repair and Alleviation. Why I made a dozen Suppress Curse objects for a pack of werewolves and didn't expect to be paid. If you're willing to work with me and put the time in to figure your magic out, I'm willing to do what I can for you. Maybe with my senses and knowing how magic works and your own world's books about things, we can come up with an answer."
"No jokes? Someone didn't put you up to this?" Susan shook her head. Louise sighed and nodded hers. "Okay. I would be... very grateful for your help."
"Then you have it. I'll sit through your classes tomorrow, get a sense of things, and then after dinner we'll start figuring your magic out, okay?" Susan started to get up, but Louise grabbed her hand.
"Can you stay... just for a little while, I mean? You don't even have to talk, I'm just..." she looked almost ready to cry again. "I'm just so lonely here. You're the first to ever... to ever..."
"Come here," Susan said, holding her close. "You don't have to be alone anymore."
Perhaps an hour later, Susan didn't have Timekeeper and clocks weren't in evidence anywhere she could see, Louise had cried herself to sleep. Susan had tucked her in, kissed her forehead, and slipped out.
It's been really tough for you, hasn't it, she thought on the way back to her room. Because of your backfiring magic, no one wants to be your friend and so you decided you didn't need any. That made you even worse, as now you went out of your way to be nasty to everyone. But I think inside is just a confused little girl, struggling as best she can and not knowing where to turn. At least Neville had me looking out for him, and a physical condition I could easily cure. I don't think it's going to be so easy this time.
