Zero no Tsukaima: Saito the Onmyoji

by SeerKing

Freshly graduated from the Imperial Academy of Onmyoji, Hiiraga Saito decides to take the longer scenic route on his way to his posting. Then, all of a sudden, he is teleported to a strange country ruled by Western Wizards by a small pink-haired mage. Saito has one question: What the heck is going on here? Harem, M-Rated later on. Cover Image by DARKPHANTOM13. Has TVTropes Page!

10. The Parent Trap

Author's Note: Yo. Chapter 10 here.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Familiar of Zero.

"Saito" -Talking

'Louise' -Thinking/ Human-Human Telepathy

"Explosion!" -Spell

:Master: -Master/Familiar Telepathy

Chapter 10: The Parent Trap

Back with Saito…

"Let's have a look at this bullet then…" Saito muttered as he knelt down next to the remains of the bullet that the assassin had shot at the Crown Princess of Tristain.

"Saito?" Louise said curiously, "What are you doing?"

Next to her, Princess Henrietta also looked at Saito curiously.

"I'm trying to determine if there is anything special about this bullet." Saito replied as he picked the object in question up, walked back over to the table, and deposited the bullet on top of it.

"Special? Special how?" Louise asked.

"First a few general questions." Saito said, "First, how widely available are guns like the Arquebus?"

"Very hard for anyone but wealthy Nobles to get their hands on if not a member of the Musketeers." Henrietta replied as she sat opposite him, "But an Arquebus shouldn't have the range to reach from the curtain wall of the Royal Castle to here."

"A smoothbore Arquebus wouldn't." Saito agreed, "I confess to a bit of surprise that you are so knowledgeable about firearms, Your Highness."

"I help Agnès with ordering the equipment for the Musketeers." Henrietta said with a shrug, "They recently upgraded from Arquebuses to Calivers, with a standard muzzle size so they only need one type of ammunition."

"A logical upgrade." the Onmyōji agreed, "What did you do with the Arquebuses after you issued the Calivers?"

"Agnès ordered them to be stored them in the Castle's secondary armoury." Henrietta replied.

"I'd have the number of stored Arquebuses stored checked, if they're so hard to come by." Saito said with a frown.

"It isn't so much that they're hard to come by, it's that Nobles disdain their use." Louise put in, "They generally refuse to allow someone to create them on their lands, except for a handful of the more forward thinking ones. Even then, no more than a handful per year are created because it is hard to get the correct kind of steel for the barrels, not to mention the kind of springs required for the wheellock firing mechanisms. It's quite expensive."

"I take it that your father is one Noble who is forward thinking then, to judge by your knowledge of the troubles plaguing the gunsmiths?" Saito asked in amusement.

"That and it's a good way to get on the good side of the next person to sit on the throne of Tristain." Louise replied gloomily as she sent an apologetic look at her childhood friend, who nodded knowingly.

"I am aware of your father's reasons for helping my Musketeer Unit, Louise." Henrietta assure the pinkette dryly, "What matters is that I am getting the weapons my guard requires."

"So the Nobles are trying to strangle something that might put commoners on a more level footing to Mages…sounds about right." Saito said with a sigh, "Anyway, you'd better have all firearms checked just to be safe. Also, do you know what the term 'rifling' means?"

"No…I cannot say that I have heard of it." the Princess replied with a frown, "Louise?"

Saito's master shook her head mutely.

"Hmmm…someone's obviously developed it on the sly then." the Onmyōji muttered.

"What is this 'Rifling' that you speak of?" Louise asked impatiently.

"It's when the barrel of a gun has helical grooves cut into it." Saito replied, "This forces the bullet to spin on its long axis, stabilising the shot gyroscopically and increasing rifled weapon's range and accuracy by a considerable margin compared to a musket. It's been a well known technique in my world since the era when the bow and arrow was the common handheld ranged weapon, but it didn't become commonly used in firearms until about a couple of hundred years ago."

"That…does that make any kind of sense to you, Louise?" Henrietta asked her friend.

"Some of it." the pinkette answered her childhood friend, "But…wouldn't the Black Powder foul up the barrel with every shot?"

"Ah, an excellent question." Saito smiled, "In truth, yes it does, especially when you use muzzle-loading rifles. That's why most firearms remained smoothbore until the invention of breech-loading weapons, where you insert the bullets at the base of the barrel, rather than the open muzzle. Of course, sealing the breech became a problem, so the musket balls were done away with and replaced with cartridges that have the gunpowder sealed inside them."

"You…really know a lot about this kind of thing." Louise observed.

"I was always fascinated by history." Saito shrugged, "Plus my history teacher had this odd fascination with old firearms, so they were a common topic on tests."

"So…you're saying that the weapon that was just used to shoot at me was a 'rifle'?" Henrietta asked for clarification.

"To be precise, a 'Rifled Musket', a smoothbore weapon that has had its barrel rifled after initially being manufactured." Saito corrected her, "In this case, an Arquebus that has been rifled. That's the only non-magical explanation for how the sniper was able to shoot well beyond the range of his apparent weapon, with an accuracy that smoothbore muskets cannot match."

"I will have Agnès conduct a personal inspection of the castle armouries." Henrietta said with a frown, "I would be taken aback if the weapon in question was from the castle armouries though. The sheer audacity of converting one of my own Guard unit's weapons in order to assassinate me…"

"An effort to discredit the Musketeers?" Louise suggested.

Henrietta looked startled by this possibility. "You may have something there, Louise. My assassination would make the Nobility try and stamp out any black powder weaponry in existence in their fear…in between fighting over the crown."

"Wouldn't work." Saito shook his head, "Once the gunpowder genie is out of the bottle, it's a massive example of futility to try and put it back in there. If it can be created once, it can be recreated eventually. Moreover, what do you mean, fighting over the crown? I though the de Vallière family was the Royal family's closest living relatives? Shouldn't the crown pass to them by right of succession or something?"

"In an ideal world, perhaps." Henrietta replied with a sad smile, "The truth of the matter is, without the Royal Family to act as a keystone to hold Tristain together, the Nobles will descend into a bloodbath to attempt to become the new Royal Family. Besides, any successful assassination of me would be immediately followed by the attempted assassination of the de Vallière family."

Louise snorted. "Like they could get the drop on my mother. She'd shred them to pieces with her Wind Fang spell."

The two Mages shuddered in unison at some image that they pictured in their minds. Probably the result of that particular spell, Saito supposed.

The conversation drifted into subjects that are more casual between the two friends while Saito examined the bullet both with his eyes and with a muttered series of spells that restored it to how it looked before being shot. Metal Magic wasn't one of his specialties, but he could use it for a minor thing such as this.

'This…is way in advance of anything that the Halkaginian peoples should have at their disposal.' he thought with a frown as he gazed at the reformed projectile, made of lead and only roughly shaped like a bullet, 'This kind of bullet was used in the mid 19th Century at the earliest. It needed a percussion cap in order to be fired, as I recall. Could it be…?'

The Onmyōji shook his head slightly as if to dismiss the possibility that had just occurred to him. Like that would happen. No way.

LSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLS

Two Days Later

Old Osmond's Office

"So…this is what a Master/Apprentice Contract looks like." Saito said in interest. He and Louise were standing in front of Osmond's desk, looking at a large sheet of vellum parchment. The spidery writing of the Headmaster listed all of the guidelines, rules and provisions of the contract, as well as the code of conduct Saito had requested.

Louise nodded silently. She was still apprehensive about this, regardless of her words to Saito last week. All the tales her parents had told her of the Contracts kept rising up in her mind and she kept putting herself in the Apprentice's shoes.

Intellectually, she knew that Saito, who had had Osmond prune back the level of punishments as much as possible and had outright stated that his morals wouldn't let him abuse a situation such as this, was not going to do anything to harm her, unless the contract forced him to.

"Could you cast a Glamour Cancelling spell on it, just in case?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know any." Saito admitted, "Glamour spells are a western spell type, totally different from the Genjutsu spells I know. The way you cancel a Glamour spell and the way you cancel a Genjutsu spell are two very different methods. We'll have to wait for Osmond to come back."

The Headmaster had left earlier to get his hands on something or other. He had been very secretive about it and this made Louise's paranoia and suspicion spike like no ones business.

"By the looks of it, there isn't anything on here that we didn't already know about." Saito said as he scanned the contract, "I don't detect any overly powerful spells other than what Osmond cast on the parchment itself, so I think it's fine. Halkaginian Spell work isn't all that complicated, so I doubt that I've missed anything."

"Complicated and sneaky are two different things." Louise warned him, "If anyone has the skill to cast a Glamour subtle enough to be unnoticed by you, it would be Osmond."

"I know." Saito sighed, "Still, I don't see any merit in doing so for him."

"Other than getting off on seeing you forced to do perverted things to me." the pinkette replied with a blush.

"There is that, but I think he's more the kind of person who prefers to do perverted things than watch other people do perverted things." Saito said as he scratched his cheek nervously.

"Glad to see you figured that out, my boy." Osmond said as he entered the room carrying a wooden box, "And, just for your information Miss Vallière, I am bound not to cause harm to any student of this Academy as a result of a magical oath I swore upon becoming the Headmaster here. The only exceptions are self-defence or in the defence of others, nothing more."

"S-sorry…" Louise said with a bright flush of embarrassment.

"Heh…it isn't like your suspicions don't have a foundation; the tales of the misuse and abuse of Master/Apprentice Contracts is something that all Mage mothers tell their children as bedtime stories." Osmond chuckled as he set the box down next to the contract and turned to face the two teens, "I do give my word as a Noble that I have added nothing we have not already discussed, nor have I omitted anything you asked me to add."

"I think that covers any worries Louise might have." Saito grinned.

"I get it, I'm a paranoid person." Louise grumbled, "Now, what is in that box?"

The box in question was rather plain, the only ornamentation on it being a crudely cut pentagram on the lid. Osmond chuckled again and tapped it with his staff. The lid popped open and revealed…

"…a quill?" Saito asked in confusion. It was indeed a quill, plain black, resting on a golden stand. He looked to the side as Louise gasped in shock.

"A Contract Quill!" she said in shock, "I didn't think there were any left!"

"My ancestors collected rare items and artefacts." Osmond explained, "When most Nobles destroyed their family's Contract Quills, we stored ours instead."

"Care to inform the guy not from this world what you two are gossiping about?" Saito asked irritably.

"Pardon me." Osmond had the grace to look embarrassed, "This is a rare artefact called a Contract Quill. Most of the time, a Master/Apprentice Contract can be signed with just a plain, ordinary quill, but it is more easily broken. The Contract Quills were created by the Founder so all contracts made by Nobles would be binding unto death. A contract signed by one of these special quills is unbreakable, as is the physical contract itself."

This made Saito gape in astonishment. "That sounds a lot like Abe no Seimei's Kyōsei Keiyaku Fūji-sō (Forced Contract Sealing Vessel)." he said in surprise.

"His what?"

"When Abe no Seimei came upon a monster or spirit that wouldn't cease its destructive behaviour, he used these devices to lock them away." Saito explained, "The targeted creature was only ever released when it came to the realisation that it was wrong, and forswore their violent behaviour...aside from two."

"Two?" Louise asked.

"Tamamo-no-Mae and Shuten-dōji." Saito replied, "The first was a trickster spirit, a Kyūbi-no-Kitsune that made the emperor ill. She was discovered and sealed in a rock, eventually passing on a few hundred years later. The second…is still sealed away."

"What? No details?" Osmond asked in amusement.

"He…isn't someone to talk about casually." Saito replied carefully, "He was known as one of the 'Three Great Yōkai', possessing powers far in excess of any other demon, spirit or beast that Abe no Seimei ever came across. He came closer to death during the battle with Shuten-dōji than at any other time in his life. To put it in perspective, the Onmyōji in my world revere Abe no Seimei in a similar to, but far less extreme than, manner that you hold Founder Brimir."

"I see…" Osmond said slowly. If the Founder had come close to dying against someone, then most people would be reluctant to talk about him unless it was absolutely necessary.

Of course, the subject of Brimir's death was something of a taboo subject to the church. Nobody, except perhaps the Council of Archbishops and the Pope Himself, knew how Founder Brimir died. Many tales stated he died fighting against the Elven people, but the Elves themselves refute the accusation. Still other tales expound that he fought a dragon to death, that he died sealing a powerful artefact and many other tales, each as unlikely as the next.

"Well, that's interesting." Osmond said, "I really must sit down with you at some point and have a discussion on the history of your world, young Saito. The value of the history of another world would be priceless for my family."

"In exchange, how about a discussion on the history of Halkaginia?" Saito suggested, "Equivalent exchange sound like a good idea."

"That suggests that you have knowledge of alchemy in your world…" Osmond mused, "Agreed. Now, to business. Please read over the contract before signing it."

The contract was a fairly straightforward one. He, Hiiraga Saito, accepted Louise de Vallière as his Apprentice until either she graduated from the Tristain Academy for Magic or he left the world of Halkaginia. He was to teach her the basic skill set of an Onmyōji, including Meditation, Shikigamijutsu, Kekkai and, if at all possible, help her with her Void Magic.

In exchange for this tuition, Louise would share all she owned with him until the completion of the contract, including any servants, and pay for his upkeep, up to an amount of Écu per year that made Saito internally wince and promise to himself not to spend anywhere near as much as that amount.

Louise also had to obey his instructions in both letter and spirit while he was teaching her or Saito would be required to punish her. Some of the punishments had been both demeaning and barbaric, prompting Saito to have them removed, such as being forced to walk around naked for a day and especially the 'Night Duty' punishment!

The only punishment that Saito had been unable to write out of existence was the Deflowering Punishment, so he had settled for making the circumstances of that punishment pinpoint and then doing everything that he could to make that punishment impossible to occur, such as locking the damn whip and riding crop in a locked box.

The remaining punishments were more reasonable, including spell drills (Saito's personal favourite), writing lines, physical exercise (Louise's least favourite) and corporal punishment.

Short of the Deflowering Punishment, corporal punishment was the most severe punishment Louise could receive, for severe negligence to her studies and/or severe disrespect to Saito during lessons. None of it was too severe, just a light spank on her rear end, and Louise was, from all reports, a diligent student so the likelihood of it actually happening was rather low.

"It looks in order to me." Saito nodded after reading it, "Louise?"

"What about this line here?" Louise pointed it out, "It says that Saito can use his magic to force me to run, even if I'm exhausted!"

"Huh…missed that line." Saito said as he peered at the offending text, "She's right. Forcing her to go beyond her physical limits isn't a good thing. Remove it."

Osmond sighed and tapped the parchment with his staff, erasing the offending line. "There. Anything else?"

After a long moment of scrutiny, Louise shook her head.

"Very good. Saito, as the Master, you must sign first." Osmond told the Onmyōji, "The quill supplies its own ink, so just start writing."

"This…isn't a blood quill, is it?" Saito asked suspiciously.

"No, of course not!" Osmond replied instantly, "Blood quills are highly illegal artefacts. They are one of the few things my family destroys rather than keep. I can assure you that this is not a blood quill."

Reassured that the quill would not bind him to a contract on pain of having his blood boil in his veins, Saito picked up the quill and examined it more closely. It was, as a matter of fact, not black. Rather, it seemed to draw all the light around it into itself, giving ait the appearance of a black feather.

"Void magic was definitely used to create this." Saito breathed, "I've read about such items, but they ceased working in my world centuries ago. To actually hold one that works…"

He shook his head and started to put pen to parchment before a thought occurred to him.

"Should I use your alphabet or my own?" the Japanese boy asked.

"If you can spell you name using our characters, it would be appreciated." Osmond replied after a moment of thought.

"OK. It's been a while since I used Romaji though…" Saito muttered. He pressed the pen to the bottom of the parchment where Osmond indicated he should sign, next to a word that said 'Maître', although he was a bit slow as he was not used to writing in Romaji. The ink that the quill used was a glowing golden colour that shone like the sun.

Once he had finished writing, in the western style, 'Saito Hiiraga', he passed the quill to Louise, who took it with a slight tremble. This was her last chance to back out. If she didn't put quill to parchment in the next five minutes, Saito's signature would vanish, along with the contract, with no penalty to either party.

Louise looked at Saito for a moment. He had done nothing but help her almost since the moment he arrived in this world, despite his fury at being 'shackled like a slave', as he put it. His magic was powerful and utterly unknown to this world, yet he was a relatively humble boy and was nothing like any male -Noble or Commoner- that she had ever met.

'I…trust him. Even after only a week and a bit, I trust him.' she thought with surprise. Normally, she didn't trust anyone without knowing him or her for an while.

Then there were the strange hot-angry possessive feelings she had whenever Siesta started flirting with him or when Saito had complimented Henrietta. She honestly didn't know what to make of them, or even what they were, but she knew that Saito was the source of their creation. This would be a chance to explore them fully.

With that, Louise signed her name in the golden ink, the contract flashed with white light, signalling that it was fully activated and in force. Louise felt a light warmth settle about her and focus on her forehead and she knew, without looking, that the symbol of an Apprentice had settled there, a wand inside a circle, just as the mark of a Master, a pentagram, appeared on Saito's forehead even as she watched.

After a moment, both marks faded. They would reveal themselves only if Saito wished them to from here on out, but they would last as long as the contract did, always present even when hidden. Louise had a sudden understanding of how Saito felt as a Familiar. She was now bound to him, irrevocably, for the next year and a half at least, with the symbol of the Apprentice marking her as Saito's student.

"Not a pleasant feeling, is it?" Saito asked, having observed her reaction and guessed what she was feeling.

"No at all." Louise replied, "But at least I chose this. You had no choice whatsoever in becoming a Familiar. I should have said this a while ago…sorry. Sorry for forcing you into this without at least asking you, even though I had no choice but to do so."

"It's OK." Saito replied, "I've had a talk or two with Professor Colbert and he explained to me why you had to make me your Familiar once you summoned me. He also told me that you only did so under protest, so…it's alright."

"Ahem." Osmond hated to break this up, but there were issues to deal with, "As a result of this Master/Apprentice contract, I am officially adding Mr Saito here to the staff as an auxiliary member until your graduation. The pay isn't much, but I'm certain that it will at least allow you materials for experimentation and for teaching your new student."

"That's a help." Saito nodded, "How long until Princess Henrietta's visit?"

"A mere two days." Osmond replied.

"Until we deal with Louise's family, lessons can wait." Saito said with a frown, "I don't know about Louise, but with that confrontation hanging over our heads, I doubt either of us will be able to concentrate on lessons. Is that permissible?"

"A sensible decision." Osmond replied with a nod, "Miss Vallière, you may now return to class. Mr Saito, there is the paperwork to fill out regarding your new status and position."

"Paperwork!" Saito groaned. He hated paperwork!

Two Days Later

With Duchess Karin and Family

Karin of the Heavy Wind was not used to not knowing what was going on around her, but this was one such situation. She, her husband and her two elder daughters were currently in a carriage en route to the Tristain Academy for Magic for a meeting with Old Osmond regarding her last child, Louise.

The Duchess sighed heavily. She loved all three of her daughters dearly, but Louise was nothing like Éléonore or Cattelya, in body or magic. Her intellect was on par with Éléonore, and her determination was more than that of Cattelya, but she lacked any skill at magic, and Louise's figure was, at best, pathetic by comparison.

'The old family curse comes into play.' Karin thought in dry amusement. An old wives tale passed down in her family -HER family, not House de Vallière- was that should three girls be borne by the same mother, the youngest would be weaker by far than the first two. It was superstitious nonsense of course, but it seemed to have held true here.

Sitting opposite from herself and her husband, Éléonore was having a hard time keeping her smugness in check, the Duchess noted. She likely believed that Louise had finally pushed the Academy staff beyond their tolerance and had summoned them to have the girl returned to the de Vallière family estate in disgrace.

A reasonable conclusion, but the missive that Old Osmond had sent had been very clear on the point that Louise had done nothing, was not at fault for anything and was, if anything, a victim. The wording on that front had made Karin pause. Osmond rarely interfered in the lives of his students unless it was absolutely necessary, so for him to have interfered to this extent…just what had befallen her daughter?

'If she was assaulted and violated by a boy, that boy's blood will decorate the floors of his family's estate once I get through with him!' she swore to herself.

"Dear? Are you alright?" her husband asked. Jacques 'la Trombe' (The Waterspout) de Vallière was very much a Noble's Noble, yet had a gentleness that had made the arranged marriage to him more than slightly tolerable. She did not love him, but he was a good husband and a passable father to their children.

"I'm fine." she replied, "I was merely curious about what exactly we have been called here for."

"Cry-baby Louise has probably blown something up -again- and it was likely something important." Éléonore said with a small sneer.

"If that was the case, big sister, only mother would have been asked to come." Cattelya pointed out softly.

"Quite right." Karin agreed, "Old Osmond's letter implied that something happened to her, rather than her blowing something up. I think we should approach this as if we are defending a family member."

"'Something'?" Cattelya asked sharply, "Did he say what happened? Is Louise alright?"

Karin had to smile. Cattelya had always gotten along well with her little sister and was the most concerned about her, after Karin herself of course.

"No, but the message would have been urgent if it had been anything too serious, so I believe that Louise is physically alright." she replied, "Still, it is curious that Osmond requested all of us to come, especially on the same day Princess Henrietta is scheduled to inspect the Academy."

"The only thing that can stop you is a direct Royal Command, dear." Jacques reminded her, "That's why I suspect that Her Highness will be sitting in with us and making sure that we toe the line. Éléonore, this means you have to watch your tongue."

The only child of the de Vallière family to have inherited his hair colour sniffed haughtily and adjusted her glasses. She was not accustomed to being issued orders, even by her parents.

Karin looked out the window as the carriage approached the Main Gate of the Academy. She would soon find out exactly what had been done to her daughter…

…and if she had to break out her old armour from when she was Captain of the Manticore Knights.

With Saito

As the carriage pulled in to the Academy, the Onmyōji stood observing it. The Princess had arrived a couple of hours ago, with a full contingent of Musketeers in tow and Agnès barking orders in a state of paranoia.

Evidently, the assassination attempt had unnerved her to the point she had tried to dissuade Henrietta from conducting this visit. Henrietta had shot her down at once, of course.

"Getting a look at the opposition, Professor Saito?" Colbert asked. The Fire Mage joined him in observing the de Vallière family dismount from the carriage.

Karin of the Heavy Wind was easily recognisable by the military bearing she held herself with; even while wearing a dress that could feed a commoner family for a year with the proceeds of its sale. Evidently, Louise inherited her pink hair from her mother.

Her husband was a short, stocky man with blond hair, a moustache, a goatee and a monocle. He carried himself with the air of a man who was used to getting his own way and was dressed in the finest cloth money could buy.

"Who are those two?" Saito asked as two women dismounted next. One was blond and wore red glasses that made her look like a strict schoolmistress, while the other looked like a midway point between Louise and her mother.

"The blond lady is Miss Vallière's eldest sister, Éléonore." Colbert replied quietly, "Be cautious around her, as she is far more volatile than your Master. The other one is Cattelya, the middle sister of the family. Miss Vallière is very attached to her."

Abruptly, the Duchess turned her head and looked straight at Saito, who looked back fearlessly. Colbert was amazed that Karin could sense Saito's gaze from this distance; they were over fifty meters apart and the Onmyōji and himself stood a good two stories up.

After a moment, the Duchess looked away and walked towards the entrance to the main Academy building with her family. The Fire mage had to sigh in relief at that.

"She is good." Saito remarked, "She detected my interest in her family and had the best location on the main Academy building for observing the main entrance memorised to the point that she turned to it automatically."

"Karin was the most powerful Captain in the history of the Manticore Knights." Colbert informed him, "Her Magic was only a part of what made her so. Battle sense, tactical prowess, force of will, leadership…in all of these areas, she was superior in every regard. Even now, after bearing three children, there is not a single Knight who would dare to challenge her."

"Huh…well, that just means that explaining all of this will hopefully be easier than I anticipated if she's as sharp as you say she is, Professor Colbert." Saito said with a shrug, "Still, she is a mother. Their first instinct is to hit first and ask questions later when it comes to any perceived threats to their offspring, especially the baby of the family."

The two magic users started to walk towards the room where the meeting was to be held. As they walked, Saito was unsure how this would pan out. If the de Vallière's chose to become violent, he would be up against four powerful mages. Louise wouldn't interfere because they were her family and Henrietta would be removed by Agnès as soon as wands were drawn.

'Still, that doesn't mean it will end up as the result. It's actually the least likely result.' he thought calmly, 'It is against the law to draw wands in anger before the Royal Family, so Henrietta being there will prevent any hasty moves on their part. I'm really glad that Colbert took the time to give me some basic information on the protocol to do with Royalty in this medieval world.'

Whether it was a wand, stave or sword, no weapons were permitted to be drawn in the presence of either the Reigning Monarch of a Kingdom or its Heir Apparent, save in extreme extenuating circumstances. To break this ironclad rule in Halkaginia was tantamount to declaring rebellion or war against that country.

Only the personal guards of the Royal Families of that country were exempt from that rule in its entirety and even then, they had to beg permission to do so, unless they were forced to defend their principal.

Saito was jolted out of his thoughts as he heard a wail of pain from Louise and a strident voice scolding her. The sounds were coming from the room in front of them. He looked at Colbert questioningly.

"Éléonore." the man sighed in response.

"I think I should step in here." Saito said with a frown.

"Step carefully, Professor Hiiraga." Colbert cautioned, "Do not threaten them, regardless of what you feel inclined to do."

"I have no intentions of threatening anyone; I merely plan to demonstrate my magic. Nothing more." Saito replied as he drew a talisman from his pocket and held it before him.

"Talisman of Light and Dark, come to my aid! Kagemusha: Buntai: Kyūtei no Keibiin! (Shadow Warriors: Squad: Guards of the Imperial Court!)" He commanded, throwing the talisman at the doors before him, "Gishiki Tōchaku! (Ceremonial Arrival!)"

Within the room…

"What have you done, Cry-baby Louise?!" Éléonore demanded, pinching her sister's cheek as she harangued her verbally.

"Hive hone honhing!" Louise protested, "Hret hgo!"

"Éléonore, kindly let Louise go." Henrietta said pointedly. The Princess sat on a settee with Agnès shadowing her as always, "Louise is not to be manhandled by you or-"

The talisman phasing through the door caught the attention of the occupants of the room, even more so when it started throwing off a bright white light that made everyone in the room cover their eyes instinctively.

When the light faded, the Nobles in the room were surprised to see the walls of the room lined with faceless soldiers wearing odd diaphanous robes and armed with an unusual curved sword.

"Identify yourselves!" Agnès demanded as she drew her pistol and pointed hit at the nearest figure whilst simultaneously shielding Henrietta with her body.

"You can put the pistol away, Agnès." Louise said dryly. She rubbed her cheek where her eldest sister had been pulling at it as she continued, "This is one of Saito's Onmyōji spells."

"Indeed it is." Saito said as he entered the room, "Hello. Sorry for being late."

"Commoner. Who are you?" Éléonore demanded angrily.

"Hiiraga Saito." the boy replied and held up his left hand, displaying his Familiar Runes for them to see, "And I am Louise's Familiar. Kindly don't lay hands on my Master again. The Kagemusha wouldn't take kindly to it."

"These…soldiers…are your doing?" Agnès asked with a glare, "What trick did you use to get them in here?"

"No trick." Saito replied as he strode over next to Louise, who blushed as he smoothly interposed himself between Éléonore and her, "Mysticism. These soldiers were brought in here by none other than the people in this room. Haven't you noticed that there are an equal number of soldiers to the amount of people present, myself excluded?"

"I see. A sort of Golem that draws their number from the amount of people caught in that explosion of light." the Duchess speculated coolly, "Might I ask where such a spell came from? It does not jibe with my knowledge of any spell form any of the Kingdoms. Is it Elven in origin?"

"You have the amount of Golems correct, but not what they are drawn from, Your Grace." Saito replied with an inclination of his head, "As to the origin, I believe that waiting for the Headmaster to arrive is the best option. He will be able to explain the situation to your satisfaction without me accidentally insulting your sensibilities."

"What kept you?" Louise grumbled as she took a seat next to Henrietta, Agnès still regarding the Kagemusha with suspicion.

"I was talking with Professor Colbert about various matters arising in the near future." Saito replied diplomatically as he sat next to her, "I apologise for my tardiness, Master, but it was unavoidable."

"W-Well…don't make a habit of it!" the petite pinkette said with a light flush.

"By your command." Saito replied with a small bow of his head.

"Cry-baby Louise, who is this boor?" Éléonore demanded.

"I believe I just introduced myself." Saito remarked mildly, "If you are hard of hearing, I can do so again with a louder tone of voice?"

The blond-haired woman went white with rage. She had never been addressed so casually or so insolently in her life. Her hand twitched to where Saito would guess she kept her wand.

"I really wouldn't. You don't possess Royal Privilege." the young Onmyōji remarked in a bored tone of voice, referencing the special right to draw weapons or wands in the presence of Royalty.

"Why you…!" Éléonore seethed.

"Éléonore that is more than enough." Karin said sharply, "Sit down and keep your mouth closed if you can find nothing to say that is fit for polite company."

"Yes, mother." the eldest daughter of the de Vallière Family said through gritted teeth. She stamped over to her other sister and sat down with a huff and a glare at Saito, which was ignored, much to her increasing fury.

"As for you…Saito, is it?" Karin turned her eye to him, "Kindly do not address my daughters in such a manner. Mage or not, you are still a commoner, to judge from your lack of respect."

Saito regarded her with his head cocked to one side. "In regards to your elder daughters, you can command such a thing, but Louise is my Master." he pointed out, "The only person who has the right to command me in such a way regarding herself is her and her alone. Even then, the Runes of a Familiar do not subjugate my mind, so I retain my free will. I can choose to ignore such orders as I see fit."

The room seemed to hold its breath as Karin raised one elegant eyebrow at this display before smiling. The threat behind it was revealed in her next words.

"I see. I concede the point, but do remember to watch your tongue around my other two daughters." she said, "I would hate to deprive my youngest daughter of her Familiar so soon after having summoned you."

Turning to Louise, she smiled warmly. "That reminds me. Congratulations on successfully summoning your Familiar, Louise. I am proud of you."

"Th-thank you, mother." Louise stammered out, her face red at the unexpected praise.

"It is odd that he is a human -and a Mage at that- but still, this just makes it all the sweeter." Karin continued, "When next Duchess von Zerbst crosses my path, we shall see what she makes of that."

The cold smile as she said the last sentence told Saito that the previous generation of the de Vallière and von Zerbst families did not like each other either and he made a note to do evasive manoeuvres if the two family matriarchs ever clashed near him.

It was at that moment that Old Osmond bustled into the room, sounding like he had run a mile to judge from all his panting.

"Sorry for being late." the old man said, "Miss Longville gave me some last minute paperwork to do with funding for our newest Professor."

"Oh?" Karin looked interested at this. The Academy was a highly prestigious institution and new staff were a rarity, having to go through a meticulous background check and skill appraisal for the job they were being hired for. It was a mark of distinction for any Noble to be hired at the Academy, as well as an opportunity to cultivate contacts with scions of powerful families both foreign and domestic.

"We'll get to that part later." Osmond said with a barely-concealed grin, "Now then…Siesta! Refreshments please!"

"Yes Headmaster!" the maid called as she scurried in.

"Old Osmond…why are you giving orders to my maid?" Louise asked with a twitching eyebrow as Siesta handed out flutes of wine to everyone but Saito and Louise, who received some sort of fruit juice.

"Still not fond of wine then, Louise?" Cattelya asked gently.

"It's…just not my kind of drink." Louise replied with a wrinkled nose.

"It's also not good for someone with a volatile magical alignment to drink." Saito added as he looked approvingly at Louise.

"Ahem. Thank you, Siesta. You may return to my suite to continue your duties." Louise said with a blush and a cough.

"As you wish, Mistress." Siesta curtseyed at her before catching Saito's eye and exchanging smiles with him. She left the room quite cheerfully after that.

"He isn't bedding your maid, is he?" Éléonore could not help but ask Louise.

"No, I'm not." Saito sighed in aggravation, "Where I come from, we treat women, Mages or not, with greater respect than that. Even if I do become intimate with her at some point, it would be when we are both comfortable with the idea."

"So you do not deny your attraction to her?" Éléonore pressed.

"Speaking as a normal hot-blooded male, I would have to be both dumb and blind to not be physically attracted to her." Saito replied, "I am certain that she has more than her fair share of swains as well. Should she wish to bestow her affections upon me…well, that's something for us to work out between us."

"It would be highly improper for a Familiar to bed his Master's maid." Éléonore sniffed haughtily.

"I was under the impression that I was the first human to be summoned as a Familiar in the last five millennia." Saito said with a frown.

"That is true." Osmond put in.

"Thank you, Headmaster." Saito nodded, "If that is the case then, if I be so bold, there should be no guidelines, etiquette or traditions forbidding or restricting such a liaison. Correct?"

"Saito cites the law -or lack thereof- correctly." Henrietta remarked, "The summoning of a sentient being is covered, but not a fellow human, leaving his status as a Mage to one side completely."

"A Familiar is usually a beast or spirit." Éléonore protested, "Making exceptions for what they can or cannot do based on a random summon of a human is against tradition!"

"True, but there is a clause for the more sentient Familiars, is there not?" Cattelya countered, much to her sister's surprise, "I see no reason why, now it has been proven that humans can indeed be summoned as Familiars, another clause regarding the treatment of humans cannot be added to that law."

"An excellent suggestion, Cattelya." Henrietta said smoothly, not giving the eldest child of the de Vallière family a chance to refute her younger sister's words, "I'll draft a set of rules that I believe to be fait and consult with the Archbishop about having it approved by the Church in general and His Holiness in particular."

"That would be greatly appreciated, Your Highness, but you do not have to put yourself through the trouble simply for my sake." Saito said in mild shock.

"While that is a good reason, the reality is that another person might be summoned next year, someone without magic." Henrietta replied seriously, "Without a suitable law drafted and circulated, the summoner would be able to do as they pleased with them without fear of retribution, and the summoned person would have no way to fight back…unlike Saito."

The princess gestured airily at the soldiers stationed around the room, ready to move at Saito's command, as if to say, 'Like these guys.'

"…As you say, Your Highness." Éléonore said with a bowed head.

Karin fought down the urge to smirk at her eldest child's submission to the inevitable. She had to applaud the Princess' appeal to both compassion and logic in her argument. Add in to the mix the Princess' natural charisma and even Éléonore had to submit to Henrietta's logic meekly.

"Anyway, I suppose we had better get to the point of this meeting." Osmond said as he sat on a chair, "I am willing to hazard a guess that my somewhat vague missive led to some confusion amongst you all, I am sure."

"Indeed." the Duke said with a frown, "My wife was able to gather that we were called here, not because Louise had blown something up again, but because something had been done to her. My family is curious as to what that might be."

"Mr Saito, kindly explain to the de Vallière family your findings." Osmond directed.

"Of course." Saito nodded before turning to the Duke and his family, "I am from another world entirely, a world that hides magic from the sight of regular people and conceals the monsters of legend from their eyes. When I was summoned here, I was amazed when Osmond told me of Louise's trouble with her magic. It immediately struck me as not only wrong, but highly suspicious."

"How so?" Cattelya asked curiously, "There have been weak Mages in all Noble families down through the generations."

"Weak mages perhaps, but Mages that have only been able cast an explosion spell regardless of what they were actually attempting to cast?" Saito queried, "Even if that was a weak levitation spell turning into an explosion that filled a room twice this size with smoke?"

"…No." Cattelya admitted, "If you put it like that, it is more than slightly odd."

"As did I, which was why I set out to investigate exactly what was causing the explosions." Saito replied, "Meaning no disrespect, but Halkaginian Magic is…unrefined, crude even, compared to my own Mysticism. It is unsuited for subtle investigations such as this, so it is unsurprising that the problem lay unknown as long as it did."

"What was done to my daughter?" Karin demanded.

"Her Magic was bound, roughly a week before she started her first year at this Academy." Saito replied, "The spell used is known as Wisel's Wondrous Cage."

As one, the de Vallière family went white with shock.

"Wait…just…wait…that means that…someone under our roof…" Cattelya trailed off in horror, unable to finish her sentence.

"That someone sneaked into her room while she was asleep, bound her magic and left again without anyone any the wiser?" Saito finished for her, "That would be my guess. Something else came to light when Osmond broke the spell."

"When I attempted to break the binding on your daughter's magic, the amount of effort I had to put in to actually do so was tremendous." the Headmaster said as he drummed his fingers on his stave, "That means that the person who cast the binding was both puissant and powerful, a rare combination. In the four Kingdoms, there are perhaps two dozen such individuals, mostly members of Royal families and High Nobility."

"Prince Wales of Albion, King Joseph of Gallia and the rest of the handful of others in foreign lands are accounted for at that time." Henrietta said firmly, "This limits our search to those of Tristanian origin. I was with my father on his deathbed at the time and I wouldn't hurt Louise like that, so I could not have done it."

"Similarly, I was busy preparing for the new term, so it could not have been me." Osmond said, "That leaves three, perhaps four people that could accomplish this, of which two either lived with Miss Vallière or were staying there temporarily."

Karin narrowed her eyes at Osmond. "You refer to myself and Viscount Wardes." she stated coldly, "Louise's mother and her betrothed."

This made the Duke and his elder daughters gape in astonishment between Osmond and Karin. Henrietta narrowed her eyes at the Duchess intently, clearly ready to read her response to Osmond's next words.

"Yes, I do." Osmond said calmly, "Let us face it, Duchess…no, Karin of the Heavy Wind. You know full well that Wisel's Wondrous Cage is a spell usually used to punish the Nobility, especially used by parents to punish their children when they abuse their powers. You are also known for being strict with your daughters while they reside in your home and you have more than sufficient skill and power to cast it with the strength I previously described. Do you deny my conclusions?"

"I cannot deny that the conclusions are damning." Karin stated in a controlled voice, "Nevertheless, I did not do this. I would not bind my daughters -any of them- with the intent to make them little more than commoners. The ridicule I have received for Louise's lack of skill has been embarrassing to both me as a mother and to the de Vallière family as a whole. Furthermore, I have never had cause or reason to cast that spell on Louise, nor would I cast it without suitable reason."

A sigh from Henrietta drew the attention of the room to her. She gestured at Karin negatively.

"She's being open and not disassembling at all." Henrietta said with a displeased look on her face, "This means that she is telling the truth. She is not the one responsible."

"But…that means…" Éléonore said in disbelief.

"That the most likely suspect is Viscount Wardes." Louise said flatly, "I'm not happy about it, but I think the Princess is even less happy that one of her most trusted agents magically assaulted one of her friends."

"You can be assured that I am not happy about it, Louise." Henrietta said softly, "As soon as I return, I will have Wardes brought before me and I will get to the bottom of this treachery. Nobody harms my friends and family and gets away with it. Duchess de Vallière, would you care to sit in on that interview?"

"Assuredly I would, Your Highness." Karin growled, her fists clenched, "Might I be permitted to send for my armour and sword? I believe that if the Viscount's explanation is not good enough, I may be forced to challenge the man to a duel. And, as of right now, his betrothal to my daughter is null and void!"

"But mother!" Éléonore protested, "We don't even know if it was him or not!"

"It was not me, nor was it any of the other people in this room or any foreigner." Karin replied in a cold, clipped voice that told those who knew her how angry she truly was, "Our estate is secure enough that any trespasser would be exposed as soon as he reached the mansion proper, so whoever it was that cast the spell did so while they were a guest in our house. The only guest we had during the timeframe we are talking about who, as Old Osmond said, was powerful to cast Wisel's Wondrous Cage to the point that he would have difficulty dispelling it was Wardes. I fail to see any way that it cannot be him."

"But…but…why? Why would he do this?" Cattelya asked in distress.

"Power could be a reason." Saito replied darkly, "When Osmond undid the binding on Louise's magic, only fifteen percent of her magic was unblocked. The rest is still locked up tight, and has been ever since she was born."

"Wh-WHAT!?" Karin, uncaring of the presence of the Princess, leapt to her feet in a rage, he mind casting back to the day she had given birth to her youngest daughter. The first time she had held Louise had been awe-inspiring. She had been perfect, absolutely perfect and adorable.

To find out now that somehow, someone had infiltrated the birthing chamber and cast magic on a newborn babe a short while after she had been born sent a dagger of fear through her heart. She and Louise had been helpless, if the caster had wanted to kill them both…

"From my investigation, I have determined that it was an artefact that cast the spell." Saito said, studiously keeping his calm in the face of a powerful Mage mother on hyper-protection mode, "The spell used to bind my Master's magic is called 'Brimir's Alignment Binding', targeted at Louise because she shared the same Elemental Alignment as Founder Brimir."

"A Void Mage?!" the Duke jerked up straight and gaped at his youngest child in astonishment.

"Indeed. Upon a closer investigation, it was determined that the two binding competing with each other, in addition to Louise's Void Alignment, were what caused the explosions. Without Wisel's Wondrous Cage interfering, Louise is now able to use basic non-elemental spells without incident." Saito continued, "Brimir's Alignment Binding is intended to be removed once a series of conditions are met. With the help of Her Highness Princess Henrietta, we can acquire the necessary items. Osmond, Professor Colbert and myself believe that Louise will be able to unlock her magic in its entirety once those conditions are met, although it is doubtful she will be able to learn any Element but Void."

"What items are you referring to?" Karin asked as she calmed down and retook her seat.

"The First is the Ring of Water." Saito said, "As Louise is related to the Royal Family, it is easy to borrow, at least temporarily. Secondly, the Founder's Prayer Book. As a Void Mage of Royal Blood, however distant, it is Louise's by right. Finally, this sword over my shoulder, The Living Blade, Derflinger, Sword of the Gandálfr."

"Wait…Brimir's Familiar was the Gandálfr…are you also a Gandálfr?" asked Éléonore. Saito had to give her credit for piecing it together so quickly in spite of being bombarded with so much information in such a short amount of time.

"Correct. Professor Colbert deciphered these Runes on my hand a day or so after I was summoned." Saito said with a gesture at his left hand, "Anyway, once we get all three items in one place, we'll have to see what happens."

"Why? Wouldn't the binding just fall apart?" Cattelya asked in confusion.

"We're working under the assumption that this is a test, not only for the Void Mage but for the Familiar as well." Saito explained, "For all we know, that involves a certain level of trust and commitment between Louise and I before it could work. In that case, my desire to leave this world and return to my own could stymie the awakening of Louise's Magic."

"You do realise that the likelihood of being able to return is slim to none, Familiar." Agnès spoke up.

"If there is a way to transport me from my world to this one, there is going to be a way to accomplish the reverse." Saito replied determinedly, "Any spell can have its intended purpose reversed, within reason. The summoning spell you use is against the law where I am from, but thankfully, Louise has books regarding all summoning spells used for Familiars in all of the Kingdoms, so once I translate them into my language I'll be able to see exactly what they are designed to do, rather than what they are used for. Then I can set about designing a return spell of some sort."

"Those spells were designed by Founder Brimir, his sons and apprentice." Karin stated, "It is unlikely that a Mage Student, however intelligent, will be able to disassemble and repurpose them for the opposite reason for which they were created."

"Again with the student thing…" Saito grumbled, making Osmond chortle, "I graduated from my country's version of your Academy the day before Louise summoned me! I am a fully-accredited Mage! Onmyōji actually, but whatever."

The look of disbelief on the faces of Cattelya, Éléonore, the Duke and the Duchess were bad enough, but the doubt on Henrietta's face pushed Saito over the edge.

"Upon our pact, I call thee forth!" Saito gritted out as a shimmering glow of magic appeared around him, "Abiding by the ancient compact between Master and Familiar, let thine forms emerge from the ether and materialise in this realm to do my bidding!"

"What's he doing?!" Karin called as wind whipped up around Saito.

"A Familiar Summoning!" Louise shouted back, "You really made him mad!"

"Descend!" Saito commanded, "Protective Demon, Emereldas! Superior Demon, Urajirosatoukaede!"

A pair of pentagrams sketched themselves out of light before him and descended to the ground. Two girls appeared in a flash of light. On the left was Emereldas, fully decked out in the garb of a Succubus and was familiar to Louise.

The other was Saito's other Familiar, the one that Louise had not yet met. She was slightly taller than Louise by no more than half a foot and had pale grey skin. She wore a tiger-striped loincloth and breast-band that barely covered her body at all, showing even more skin than the Succubus did. In one hand, she held a long metal club of some sort that had to weigh more than she did and was longer than she herself was.

Her roughly cut bob of silver hair fluttered in a breeze that no one else could feel, with a single six-inch horn emerging from the centre of the crown of her head. Her agate eyes glared at the occupants of the room as she took a ready stance.

"Master, abiding by your summons and the ancient compact, we have arrived at your side." Emereldas pronounced.

"Aruji, who dares threaten you?" the silver-haired one asked, "My tetsubō shall smite them where they stand!"

"Emereldas. Kaede." Saito welcomed his familiars with a smirk, "These people doubted my credentials and I had to summon you both to prove that I am, in fact, a certified Mystic. Kindly introduce yourselves."

"I am Emereldas, a Succubus of the Eighth Circle." the petite Succubus stated, "Hello, pinkette midget."

"Who's a midget?!" Louise growled.

"Emereldas, I told you before, be nice to my Master." Saito scolded her mildly.

Emereldas pouted. Then Kaede looked over at Louise, who remembered Saito's prediction on what she would say when she heard about him having a Master.

"Aruji, are you certain that I should not simply slay this impudent wench for daring to enslave you?" she asked as she readied her weapon.

"You know the answer to that question, Kaede." Saito replied wearily, "No killing people arbitrarily unless they attack me."

"As you command, Aruji." the silver-haired girl replied before turning to face the rest of the room. "I am my Master's faithful servant, Urajirosatoukaede. Threaten him not or you shall not live to regret your impudence!"

"She kind of reminds me of you, Agnès." Henrietta remarked after a moment.

"I am a trained warrior and soldier." Agnès protested, "Not…whatever she is!"

"Kaede is a two-hundred year old member of the Silver Oni (Ogre) Tribe." Saito informed her, "She has forgotten more about warfare than you have learned in your entire life. In addition, she carries the pure blood of Shuten-dōji in her veins, the greatest Oni to ever have lived. She is a lot more powerful than she looks."

"Well well…this has certainly gotten interesting." Osmond chuckled, "What fun!"

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Next Chapter: Lesson One

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