A Deal Struck With Two Devils:
Louise got used to riding the horse pretty fast. She freaked the first time I put the horse into a trot without telling her, but we got to Count Mott Manor faster that way. Around noon, we arrived at the front gates to his estate, and like any paranoid noble, he had two guards posted outside the gate. I just sighed, Mott really wasn't the ideal noble, but because he was a triangle class mage, he had his position over his providence.
"Halt!" One of the guards called out. "State who you are and what business you have with the Count!" I slowed down and pulled up so that the guards could get a clear view of me. Another thing I had learned from my brother Shin was that an impressive figure made for a better impression.
"I am Lord Saito Hiraga of the Hiraga House and Student of the Tristain Academy of Magic. I am here to speak to Count Mott of his recent and ongoing actions at the school." My display must have worked, because one of the two was already running through the gate to report. The other, the one who had called out, obviously had a stronger character.
"That is very well, but I must ask you and your companion to relinquish your weapons and wands before entering the premise."
"That is very well, but I would prefer to keep our equipment. It is not always safe on the road, and I'm sure you are very well trained for your job, but keeping our equipment would put me at a better peace of mind, and make me less irritable when talking to the Count." I knew of how the Count acted when he was insulted, and he didn't keep that temper to just the insulter. The guard must have also known this, because I could see his face fall.
"Very well then." He said as the other guard came running back.
"The Count says he's busy right now with some new personal that was just hired yesterday. He asks that you come back in about two days."
"And that is just rude and unacceptable. Did you tell him who I was, in full?" I asked, trying to lace politeness with intimidation. It worked, because I could see both guards visibly gulp.
"Y-Yes I did Lord Hiraga. The Count still dismisses you." The same guard said.
"Well then, I'll take full responsibility of this action when it reaches his ears." I said as I drew out my wand. From the way I worded it, both guards left their post in a hurry.
"You didn't have to scare them that much." Louise chuckled.
"Actually, they had a right to run." I said as I pulled the horse around and walked a good ten yards away. I pointed my wand at the gate. "Hio."
Like I expected, the two iron gates blew open from the middle. Louise visibly jumped. "W-What did you just do?" She asked.
"I just opened the gate." I said simply as the horse trotted through the blasted gate.
"You didn't have to blow it up!" She exclaimed.
"Well, that just tends to happen with any non lethal spell I cast." I admitted.
"What about the lethal ones?" She asked, very concerned.
"They just peter out." I laughed.
"So when you try to do something innocent, it blows up. And when you try to blow things up on purpose, it doesn't happen?" She asked, thoroughly confused.
"Pretty much." I said. Before she could ask any more, we had come to the front steps of the manor. I got off of the horse and tied the reigns around one of the lion statue legs that adorned the front of the house. After I did, I helped Louise down. And then four guards burst out of the front door and spotted us.
"Halt were you are! In the name of Count Mott, you are to be detained."
"And in the name of Lord Hiraga, I insist on seeing the Count." I replied smoothly. The guards stiffened up.
"Hiraga? L-Like General…"
"General Shin Hiraga of the Royal Guard, yes." I replied. "Now, will you tell Count Mott that I really need to see him?"
"Y-Yes sir!" The lead guard said as the four of them retreated inside. Sometimes it was good to have such a shadow of a brother. I began ascending the stairs.
"Uh, Saito? Shouldn't we wait for an escort?" Louise asked.
"Naw, Mott won't send one anyways. Right now, he's being faced with an irritated and persistent noble. He also knows who I am and why I'm here, so right now he's going to try and stall for as long as he can to come up with a decent argument. Well, I'm not going to give him that opportunity. Now come on." And with that, we both entered through the front door.
I had to say, Count Mott did like his flourish. Everywhere I looked was offensively blinding in color. I stopped at the foot of the grand staircase in the middle of the entrance hall and listened. I could hear faintly the clatter of pots and pans to my lower left, more than likely the kitchen. I could also hear clattering and scuffling of feet to the upper right. I headed up there and listened until I found the door where I could hear hushed whispers coming from. As I knocked, all sounds ceased.
"Come in." I heard an authoritative tone come through. I opened the door and entered with Louise behind me. The Count was sitting behind a desk with one of the guards next to him. "And what can I do for you today, Mister Hiraga?" Count Mott asked, like he had no clue why I was currently in the room.
"You should know very well why I'm here Count. You were the one who sent the guard back to tell me to come back in two days, were you not?" I started what would probably be a battle of wits.
"I wasn't quite listening to the report. I was dealing with a most, temperamental new employee." Count Mott replied.
"Well, I suggest that you pay your guards more heed then. But seeing as I'm here, I'll repeat why I'm here. It has come to my attention that you have been hiring maids from the school for at least five years. Now, this is not very worrisome in of itself, but it has caused unnecessary stress upon the staff. So I am here to ask that you return the maid you have just hired back to the school, and desist hiring again."
"I'm sorry to say this, but I can't do that." Count Mott replied. "You see, I have an agreement with the principle that I would bring one maid here each year so that they have an opportunity to learn to do their jobs. I can't simply just stop."
"And when exactly was this deal made?" I asked. That deal just seemed a bit to convenient.
"Why, I believe that I made that deal not 20 years ago." Mott said after careful thought. I thought for a second, 20 years ago was during the time of our last principle. Very convenient, because Osmond took over because he had died. So there was no way to confirm or deny this claim.
"Then I'll ask you this, how has your work in teaching the maids gone? Has it become easier or harder over the years?" That seemed to throw him off. Having him actually do a job was never one of his strong suits.
"W-Well, I would have to say, they have been easier to deal with over the years." He said nervously.
"But that's not what he asked you." Louise jumped in. "Saito asked how training has gone, not how easily they have been to handle."
Count Mott glared at Louise, but she didn't back down. "I will admit, the work has decreased over the years."
"Then I put to you that your services no longer be required." I said simply. "It is quite simple that your services are no longer needed. If you need your payment back, I'm sure I can arrange for it."
"Oh really?" Mott asked grinning. "You know, out of all the years I've been doing this, not once has there been a report of dissent of the staff of the school. And even if there had been a report, nobles would never report this themselves. I'm sure my newest maid means something to you?"
"And if she were?" I asked straight, trying to hide the discomfort I was feeling.
"Well, I guess I could release her back to you, on a condition."
"What would that condition be?"
"You leave your pink haired companion here."
"What!" Louise shouted, making me wince. "You can't be serious! You can't honestly believe…" Was as far as Louise got before I could cup a hand over her mouth.
"And it looks like she needs the training." Mott continued.
"I'm sorry I can't do that. You see, my companion here is also my familiar. So, the answer is a firm no."
"Well then, it seems like we've come to an impasse." Mott sighed. He didn't seem discontent though.
"I'm sure there is something else you would want." I continued, trying not to seem desperate. Mott thought for a second, and then seemed to have a brilliant idea.
"If I remember correctly, there is a Germanian noble at the school presently, is there not?"
"Her name is Kirche Von Zerbst." I confirmed. That seemed to perk Count Mott right up.
"Well, that can make this deal just that much faster. The Zerbst family has been in possession of the Summoned Book for a long time. I have heard that it gives quite the boost of stamina when read. If you could acquire me this book, I will cease my hiring of the school's personnel. "
"And how long will consider this deal?" The Count was not known for generosity.
"I will consider this as an open deal. But the longer you put off getting that book to me, the longer I keep your maid." He leaned back in his chair, grinning in a way I didn't like. And with a glance, I could see Louise didn't like it either.
"Expect us back, soon." I said. With that, I led Louise back outside. We were already on the horse and trotting down the path back to school when Louise finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"What was all of that!"
"That was politics, Louise."
"If that was politics, we could have won easily with force!"
"But force wouldn't have gotten us this opportunity."
"What opportunity?" Louise asked skeptically.
"The willing stop of Count Mott's actions. If we had just taken Siesta back, Mott would have just come to the school to take another maid. And even with that, he would also make my own life a living hell at school and early in my career. The Hiraga name might be well respected, but I am not. In fact, this might even be better for me. This could be my first outside supporter. Albeit I don't like him, he still has some persuasion."
"There's just one flaw with this plan though." Louise smiled.
"What's that?"
"You have to talk to Kirche, directly."
…
"There you are darling!" Kirche greeted us at the gate. It was now about an hour or so before dusk. Louise and I had stopped at a town near Mott's manor for a simple lunch. But now, before dinner, Kirche was waiting. Someone must have sold me out and she knew that I had to come back. Although, this was a curse and a blessing for me.
"Hello Kirche." I said with a hesitant smile. "I actually need to talk to you about something."
"Excellent!" She brightened up even more. "We can discuss it up in my room and…"
"No!" I burst out before thinking. Kirche looked at me in surprise, so I moved on. "It's just been a long ride and I would like another meal beforehand. Perhaps we could talk over the meal?"
"Of course! I'll meet you inside then. Later~." And with that, she skipped away. Louise looked up at me.
"Why didn't you take her up on her offer? You could have gotten this over much faster and gotten your maid back."
"L-Louise, I already told you that-" But Louise was already laughing.
"Oh come on Saito, I know your not like that. But I just love seeing you look flustered." She continued chuckling.
"Sh-Shut up." I mumbled as I steered the horse towards the stable. We took a while taking care of the setup, I took time to show Louise the ropes of taking care of a horse, and then we set off to dinner, slowly.
Dinner went more or less the way I expected. Kirche kept all of her attention on me during the entire meal. Everything she said either reflected on me or was compared to me. What did surprise me was she restrained herself to her seat. Guiche was giving me a sneaky glance from time to time and Montmorency actually looked like she had pity for me. Tabitha either didn't care or had no reaction to Kirche's actions, and Malicorne seemed completely oblivious. What did surprise me was how Louise kept her temper with every flirtatious comment Kirche made. I did notice, that by the end of the meal, her fork was bent at a neat 90 degrees.
As Louise and I left, I completely had forgotten to bring up the Summoned Book at all. I groaned, now I had to visit her room in the middle of the night. What made it worse was that she had told me to wait half an hour before coming up. That just made me worry more.
"I don't see why you're complaining." Louise commented as we headed over to the girls dorm tower. "Most boy's I knew would have jumped at an opportunity like this, even if it was only for official business."
"The problem again is politics." I sighed as we entered the lobby. "You have noticed how Kirche looks different from other students right?"
"Yeah, she's darker skinned. I think you said Germanian? What about it?" Louise thought out loud as we ascended the stairs.
"Currently, Germania is on unsteady ground with Tristain. Kirche is here as both a show of good faith, and as a test of character. If she were to report anything horrendous about Tristain, no matter how untrue, Germania would take her word over ours."
"Really?" Louise asked surprised. "I would never take her for such a person."
"Trust me, she is." I said as I opened Kirche's door. She was lying on her bed in the most transparent negligee I had ever seen, with her legs kicked up in the air behind her.
"I have yet to have any proof of that." Louise glared up at me.