Quartz:
Glad that you like it. Thanks for the comment.
I finally ended the rewriting and translation of this chapter, just three more to reach the chapter that I want. Anyway…
The characters and the idea of Zero no Tsukaima do not belong to me. They are the property of the author of said work, Yamaguchi Noboru (Rest in peace)
"Fouquet!" Louise shouted.
"Oh! It really is an honor to be remembered."
After looking more closely, we could see that in addition to Fouquet there was someone else on the other shoulder of the golem. That person wore a mask and although he couldn't be identified, his features were enough to know that was a man.
"You should not be rotting in jail?!" Derflinger asked.
"And deprive the world of my beauty? That's unfair. There was someone who thought that and helped me escape." Fouquet answered while pointing her thumb at her companion.
"What do you want?" Asked Louise.
"Nothing important. I just came to give you a small gift as thanks for the vacation you gave me."
As soon as she finished saying that, the golem moved its arm back. After noticing what it was going to do, I immediately grabbed Louise and left the room. Only a couple of seconds later the golem's fist went through the wall.
Louise and I took less than a minute to reach the lower floor, where the situation wasn't much better. Several bandits had entered the hotel to attack. Guiche, Kirche, Tabitha, and Wardes, just as the attack started, flipped a table to its side to use it as a shield. The assailants, acting with caution, decided not to pounce and, instead, use bows and arrows to fight. Therefore, stand up to then counterattack with magic was impossible without a rain of arrows being fired. As soon as we met with the others, Louise and I covered ourselves with them and then told them about Fouquet, something unnecessary since they had already known about it because of the golem's feet that could be seen through the windows.
"They don't seem interested in stealing."
"Surely they were hired by Albion nobles."
"We have to do something, but from this position, we can't counterattack with magic."
"I'm sure my valkyries could do something."
"They seem to have combat experience. I do not think you have enough valkyries." Kirche answered.
"Maybe they can cover us long enough to escape through the back door."
"Guiche the problem isn't to defeat the mercenaries. The real problem is..." I started to say.
"That huge golem. We can escape from the hotel, but with that thing following us, it will be very difficult to get to the port" Louise said.
"Anything is better to stay here without doing anything. I refuse to be defeated by some mercenaries."
Guiche tried to get up, but Wardes acted quickly and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt to keep him from standing up.
"Listen. It's not necessary that we all reach Albion, we only need a group to be able to complete the mission."
As soon as the viscount finished saying those words, Tabitha closed her book and looked at Wardes. Then, she used her staff to point to herself, Kirche and Guiche.
"Decoy."
Lastly, the student pointed us to the rest of us.
"Port."
"I agree. We will take care of them while you escape." Kirche said.
Louise couldn't hide the surprise on her face when she looked at Kirche.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"They can manage it." Wardes said. "We will definitely arrive at the port if we take advantage of the time they will win for us."
I looked for a moment at the three students who would stay as a decoy. There were a couple of things that occurred to me and, in fact, I wanted to tell them, but I was aware that there wasn't time to do it.
"Good luck." I commented.
Without wasting any more time, Louise, Wardes and I got up quickly to later run out of the room. The arrows were soon thrown in our direction, but a gust of wind created by Tabitha was enough to deflect them. Without further intervention, the three of us managed to escape through the back door. Finally, after just over a minute, we heard an explosion inside the hotel.
"Seems like they have started." Louise said.
"The docks are over there." Wardes indicated.
While we continued advancing I couldn't avoid looking back for a few seconds more. A small grimace of discomfort could be seen in my face.
…
"Don't be so arrogant, kids. I'll finish with you right now!" Fouquet shouted from the shoulder of her golem.
The three students had managed to make the mercenaries flee. One spell from Kirche and a pot of oil that Guiche's Valkyries took from the kitchen had been enough to achieve it. However, there was still someone they had to take care of. The three young wizards didn't take long to leave through the front door, as the robbers had done a minute ago. None wanted to risk staying in the building that could be destroyed by the golem at any time.
Guiche's Valkyries, which were the first to leave, were received with a strong kick from the golem. Evidently, no one of them could withstand the attack and were completely destroyed.
"What do we do now?" Kirche asked to then look at Tabitha.
The blue-haired magician just looked at the golem directly. Guiche, on the other hand, unable to stay still anymore, stepped forward.
Attack! Attack, everyone! I will show her the spirit of Tristain's nobility!" Guiche shouted
The magician intended to run towards the golem for a desperate attack, but a blow from Tabitha with her staff caused him to fall to the ground.
"What are you doing? I'll be a man and fight in the name of the Princess."
"It seems that we really have to escape." Kirche said.
"No, I'm not going to run!"
"You know? You would be the first person to die in a battle." The redhead magician commented.
Tabitha watched how the golem began to approach. Then, suddenly, an idea appeared in her head. She pulled Guiche's sleeve, who had already stood up, to get his attention.
"What?"
"Rose. Petals."
Tabitha first pointed out the fake rose that Guiche used as a wand and then aimed at the golem. He evidently tried to think about what she was planning to do.
"Just do what she tells you!" Kirche shouted.
As soon as he heard that shout, Guiche waved his wand and sent a large number of petals in the direction of the golem, petals that stuck to its body. After seeing that, Tabitha spoke again.
"Oil"
Fouquet couldn't help but feel confused by what had just happened.
"Don't even think I'll let you three escape just because you adorned my golem with some petals."
The golem raised its fist to attack the students. However, it was never able to complete the attack. A sudden smell of oil began to be felt in the air and just a few seconds later, Kirche threw a huge ball of fire at the golem. In just an instant Fouquet understood what was about to happen, but it was too late to prevent it. Kirche's spell hit the golem, but unlike what happened during the confrontation in the forest, the flames didn't go out. The oil, which Guiche had generated from the rose petals, caused this effect. Finally, unable to stand the flames anymore, the golem fell.
…
Apparently, I underestimated them.
Louise, Wardes and I were climbing a long ladder to get to the top of a small hill. Instinctively I had been looking at the hotel from time to time and it was a great surprise when I saw a huge figure caught on fire that didn't take long to fall to the ground.
After a few more minutes the three of us reached the top of the hill. From there it was possible to observe a colossal tree with a large number of branches that were scattered in different directions. In each of those branches there were different secured ships.
Even though they told me about this before and I'm seeing it now, it's still hard to believe.
In my world, there were magicians who could levitate large objects. In fact, there were methods to make fly things as big as ships, but magic had never been used to make such objects serve as transports to travel long distances. Once again I could appreciate the difference between the powers of the two magic.
During our journey through the stairs that surrounded the tree, I could notice different signs on each of the branches that we passed. In each signage, there were words that I had never read before, so I imagined that they were the names of the destination of each ship. It was while we ran that I could hear footsteps behind us. When I turned around, the only thing I could appreciate was a person who jumped over me. I quickly turned my head to the front and noticed that this person, who was the same masked man we had seen with Fouquet, had landed behind Louise.
"Louise, behind you!"
Unfortunately, my warning came too late. Louise only had time to turn around before the man grabbed her. Immediately I took out Derflinger, but I could do little with a sword considering the way Louise was being held. The masked man then jumped back with the clear intention of taking Louise with him. I stepped forward to try to follow them, but Wardes grabbed me by the shoulder to prevent me from doing so. Before I could ask him what he was planning, the viscount waved his wand. A powerful wind then hit the mysterious man and caused him to release Louise. He hadn't any problem to hold onto one of the branches of the tree to prevent his fall, but Louise, who didn't have that luck, began to fall.
"Cover me!" I screamed as I ran to the edge of the platform where we were.
Without missing a second I jumped and pushed myself from the edge of the platform to reach Louise. Once I reached her, I grabbed her using my free arm to later use a free spell. After activating Fly, I began to head back to the platform. Upon reaching it, we saw how the masked man threw a spell to the viscount, who was thrown several meters as he only was able to partially block the spell. The attacker wasted no time and turned towards us. Then he recited a spell at full speed. The air above us two began to cool.
"On guard, partner."
After hearing Derflinger I placed myself in front of Louise. The air shuddered and from a cloud that was created from nothing began to generate a light.
"Lightning cloud!" Derflinger exclaimed.
Damn it.
By reflex, I used another free spell, Repulsion. The result after the clash of both spells was immediate. The invisible force I was generating prevented the spell from directly impacting me, but that was all I achieved. I didn't have enough strength to keep me in the same place and I began to lose ground. Also, I could feel how my wrist began to give in. I feared that my bones would be broken by the pressure. Then, from one moment to the next, my body stopped falling back. After turning my head a little I could see Louise, who came up to me to help me.
Again…
One more time she had decided to help me without doubting for even a second. I was barely able to retain the dangerous spell and Louise, ignoring that danger, came up to keep me from falling off the platform. She should be fully aware of the difference in power and what the final result would be. A part of me wanted to keep thinking about that, but it was impossible to do so. I had certainly stopped falling back, but my wrist was already reaching its limit.
This should work.
Knowing that I would be able to withstand the impact for more than a few seconds, I started to duck. Finally, after leaning back I redirected the beam of light above us. The danger had passed, but the power of the spell caused both of us to back up to the edge of the platform. Both Louise and I got up quickly but at the next moment, I felt a strong pain in my right wrist.
Damn, it was a bad idea to try to stop it.
The masked then began reciting another spell. However, he couldn't finish it. Wardes was already standing and after using a wind hammer he hit the assailant, who was threw off the platform.
After seeing that, I gave a slight sigh of relief. Louise and I didn't take long to start walking towards Wardes.
"Are you okay?" Louise asked.
"He caught me off guard. That's all."
She then turned to see me.
"And what about you?"
"It seems I hurt myself by diverting that spell." I answered while holding my wrist. "Derflinger, you said Lightning cloud, right?"
"Yes, very strong Wind magic. That man sure is a professional."
"Oh, an intelligent sword? What a strange thing."
"I don't think it's safe to stay here." I commented. "If he's a Wind mage, it's probably that he won't take long to coming back."
And if we are going to Albion I wouldn't like to use more free spells now.
Louise, with a clear concern on her face, and Wardes nodded.
…
"Hey, who are you and what are you doing here?"
We had reached the last flight of stairs and from there we could appreciate a boat that had just landed. The ship had wings on its sides, from which hung several ropes that held it to the branch that was next to it. We got on board immediately, but after doing that a sailor asked us the most obvious question. Wardes ignored what the sailor said and made himself a question.
"Where is the captain?"
"Is sleeping. Come back in the morning." He answered coldly.
"Do you want a noble to repeat what he just said?" Wardes asked with a menacing tone at the same time he took out his wand.
An evident fear appeared on the sailor's face, who got up and started calling his captain. We only had to wait a couple of minutes for the man we were looking for to appear before us.
"What do you want?"
"Leader of Her Majesty's Magic Guard, Captain Wardes!"
The captain was surprised at those words and changed his way of speaking to a more formal one.
"W-What is your business with this boat?"
"Take us to Albion. Now!"
"That's crazy."
"This is upon order of Her Majesty, do you really plan to oppose?"
"It's just that we can't leave until tomorrow. We don't have enough wind stones to get there, so we must wait for Albion to get closer."
"Don't worry about that. I am a square Wind mage. I can take care of recharging the stones."
Square? That explains how he's so strong.
"That solves one of the problems. However, you still have to pay."
"What is the cargo?"
"We're carrying sulfur. Gunpowder has become a necessity and this made the sulfur worth its price in gold."
"I'll buy all the sulfur."
The captain nodded. Then, he turned around and started giving orders to his men to leave immediately.
"When will we get to Albion?" Wardes asked.
"We'll be at the port of Scarborough tomorrow at noon." The captain replied.
After hearing his response, I approached the railings of the boat to lean on these. From that place I could see how the lights of La Rochelle were quickly dwarfed. I couldn't feel it, I knew that we were traveling at great speed. One second after losing sight of every trace of the harbor, Louise stood beside me.
"Aztor, are you okay?"
After turning, I could see how she looked at my wrist with concern. I couldn't help but felt some gratitude for her worry.
"Don't worry, Miss Louise, I don't think is a serious injury. Although I will need some hours for the pain to pass.
"Why did you try to stop the attack? I thought you would dodge it."
You don't need to tell me that now.
The attempt to retain the spell was by a simple reaction. In hindsight, I would have tried to dodge the Lightning cloud. Although that would stay in a possibility because something generated in me doubts about it.
"I seriously doubt that I could have moved in time to get us both out of the way."
And it probably would have been the same if I were alone.
"And why not use Teleport?"
"That spell is too good to make a surprise attack and I was planning to use it if the battle was prolonged.
Evidently, the surprise would have been practically eliminated if the masked man saw the spell only once.
"Not everyone expects his opponent to disappear from one moment to the next. Not for nothing that is one of the spells that fewer people know."
"Really?"
"Difficult to learn and also to write its rune. It's the last spell I learned and I took a total of three years. In addition, it's even more difficult to learn to use it without needing a rune. I think there were only six or seven people who can use it that way."
"And why use it with Guiche then?"
"There wasn't another spell nearby that he could use."
That and also because I panicked.
"From what I heard from the captain, the Albion Royal Army is completely surrounded near Newcastle"
Both Louise and I turned to see Wardes, who had come to inform us of the situation.
"And prince Wales?" Louise asked.
He seems to be alive. The captain also informed me that the port was taken by the rebels."
"Wait, then how will we get to the Royal Family?"
"The only option is to fight. It will only take a day to get to Newcastle from Scarborough."
"Do you know how many nobles will be in the port?" I asked.
"Not many, most are occupied with the forces of the Royal Family. We must look for an opportunity to escape from the port and go directly to Newcastle."
"As long as we do not have to face someone like that masked one, I think there won't be many complications."
"Leaving that aside, where's your Griffin, Wardes?" Louise asked.
Wardes smiled and after leaning out of railings, he whistled. Just a few seconds later, Wardes's griffin appeared and landed on the deck of the ship.
Well, I guess I'll take the opportunity to rest this last day of tranquility.
That thought really didn't make me happy at all.
"In view of the time we will take to get there I will use this opportunity to rest a little." I informed Louise.
Not wanting to wait for an answer, I turned around and approached the ship's mast. After sitting down and leaning on it, I closed my eyes to finally fall asleep.
…
Ah ... I finally arrived.
It was already night and finally, I had arrived home. The school in which I studied had dormitories where the students could stay and although it wasn't obligatory, for simple practicality I stayed there. Obviously, I went home from time to time, both to visit my parents, as well as to be able to rest properly. That night I had returned for the latter.
Without wasting time I opened the door and entered through it. The place was quite dark, so I assumed immediately that my parents weren't there. My tiredness prevented me from thinking much about it and, instead, I went to my room, upon reaching it, I dropped on the bed. That afternoon my exams had finished and I didn't the energy to do anything other than sleep. Instinctively while I was getting comfortable, I ended up seeing a certain note that was on my night table. After giving a long yawn, I reached out my hand to grasp it so I could read it.
When we were doing the inventory we realized that we didn't have enough products in the warehouse for the following week. We will be back around midnight.
I stared at the note for a few brief seconds.
I see.
Unlike me, my parents weren't magicians. They were just common people who had a small business with which, with some effort, they were able to cover the expenses of my school. They were obviously disappointed to learn that I wouldn't work in the store once I grew up, but they still supported me in my decision to go the way of magic.
Slowly I got up to go to the kitchen.
I wonder what I should prepare.
The expenses for my studies weren't exactly cheap, so during the holidays, I used to help in the store in gratitude. Obviously, I also had the need to replenish the warehouse and had never seen me in the situation of arriving so late.
Once I got to the kitchen I looked at a calendar that was hanging on the wall. Three months had passed since I had last seen them. They had left to prepare something in celebration, so in the end, I considered it appropriate for me to do something similar.
They probably went to get something for dinner so... yeah, I guess I'll take care of making the dessert.
…
"Albion in sight!"
I woke up abruptly because of that shout. It took me a few seconds to remember the situation we were in. After giving a long yawn, I got up and started walking towards Louise, who was near the bow. When I stood by her side I saw in the same direction as her. At first, I couldn't see anything, but after a few moments, a giant floating island could be seen above the clouds.
"It's even more impressive than I imagined." I commented.
"I keep wondering how you are impressed by these things."
"In both world may exist magic but each magic is different from each other, don't you think so?
Albion, the white country, was a huge floating island that normally was on the oceans, but that approached the Halkeginia every so often.
"By the way, there is something that in fact causes me curiosity, why is it known as The White Country?"
"Can you see that fog that covers the bottom of the island? The water of the rivers that fall from Albion forms it. And that's why it was given that name."
Interesting.
At that precise moment, a shout interrupted the thoughts I began to have about the floating island.
"Ship approaching starboard!" The lookout shouted.
Louise and I turned at the same time. After doing so, we both noticed a huge ship with at least a twenty cannons approaching our direction.
"Are they rebels?" Louise asked.
Wardes began to talk to the ship's captain. The viscount advised to ask the ship if it was run by nobles, however, despite sending the message, there wasn't a response. After assuming they were pirates, the capital gave the order to withdraw. However, it was too late, because the other ship began to sail at our side. After advancing a bit, the enemy ship fired a cannonball into a random direction. Seconds later, they displayed a four-color signal on their mast.
"They're ordering us to stop, Captain!"
Since our ship was at a complete disadvantage in terms of armament, the captain looked at Wardes for help.
"I used all my magic to recharge the wind stones. We need to obey." Wardes commented.
The captain, resigned, gave the order to stop the ship. Once the boat we were on lowered its sails, the other ship began to approach. Louise and I didn't take more than a few seconds to put ourselves side by side.
"We are pirates, don't resist!" Shouted one of the men from the other ship.
The pirates then fired hooks to cling to our ship. Moments later, several men began to approach us. I was tempted to take Derflinger out, but hearing Louise mention my name and also seeing how the guns pointed to our ship, I erased that idea from my mind. By that time Wardes had already approached us two.
"It won't do any good to resist, right?" I asked the viscount.
"With the number of men they have and with those cannons pointed at us, I don't see a possible escape. Also, they could have mages on their side." Wardes replied.
Damn it.
That assumption was confirmed seconds later when a smoke covered Wardes' griffin and put it to sleep. A pirate dressed very elegantly, who had cast that spell after boarding, walked to the center of the ship.
"Who is the captain?!"
"It's me." The captain replied with a trembling voice.
The one that seemed to be the leader of the pirates approached him and after being within his reach the pirate took out his saber to later hit the captain's face.
"Name and loading of the ship."
"Tristainia's Marie Galante. We transport sulfur."
"Well, we'll buy everything. And as payment, we will leave you all alive."
Then, the leader of the pirates noticed our presence and the next moment, he began to walk towards us.
"So we have noble guests!"
He moved closer to Louise and used his hand to lift her chin.
"And apparently we have a beauty here."
"Let go of me, you filthy human!" Louise shouted as she slapped his hand.
"She called me filthy! I'm so scared!" The man said.
In response to that, all his subordinates began to laugh.
"Well, guys, take them all."
...
"How is your wrist?"
"Better. I think that in just a couple of hours the pain will disappear completely." I responded while moving my wrist in different ways.
Louise and Wardes' wands had been taken from them. I had been stripped of Derflinger, although, on the other hand, I was able to keep my runic papers, which the pirates considered harmless. Subsequently, we were taken as prisoners. However, unlike the rest of the crew, they let us walk freely through the jail. I imagined that it would be one of the many privileges that used to be given to the nobles.
In the place where they had locked us, there were a lot of sacks of grain or gunpowder, as well as several cannon balls. In addition, there were also some wine barrels. While Wardes was curiously examining the ship's cargo, I was sitting next to Louise. There wasn't much else to do. Escaping would have been quite simple because all I had to do was use Teleport to move out of the ship and then use Fly to avoid the hard fall. However, that would generate two problems. Without a transport, we could spend days roaming Albion until finding somewhere to locate us and also, without the Louise and Wardes's wands we would have a clear disadvantage if we encountered with Albion nobles. After mentioning those two inconveniences to Louise, she considered that the wisest thing to do was wait for an opportunity to recover the wands and then escape. That was a relief for me, because going to Albion in those conditions was too dangerous for my taste.
After hearing my answer to her question, Louise made another comment.
"I wish I could use the Water element."
"Don't blame yourself for that. It's me who didn't learn the spell Healing by my own choice."
"Now that you mention it, there are several spells you can't use, right?"
"There are a total of fifteen spells that I don't know, including Healing."
"Was there any reason why you did not try to learn it?"
"If I got hurt in a duel I would simply go to the infirmary to be cured. There're several spells that no one learns because they aren't necessary or require too much runic energy to be used."
"And among those spells which would be the strongest?"
I was about to answer Louise, but before I could do it the door of the room was opened. Through it walked a man who carried a bowl of soup in his hands.
"We have decided to feed you three, as long as you answer my questions."
Louise stood up.
"What questions?"
"Why did you come to Albion?"
"We wanted to take a trip." Answered she.
"Why Albion, noble of Tristain?"
"I have no obligation to tell you."
"It's no use trying to make yourself tough if your face doesn't hide your nervousness."
She looked away quickly. After seeing that, I started talking to try to convince the pirate.
"Excuse me, but the truth is that we came to Albion for me."
The man lowered his head to see me, because, unlike Louise, I hadn't bothered to get up.
"I'm her familiar. I have been carrying out her orders efficiently, so my master allowed me to visit my family as a reward."
"Oh, and where does your family live?"
I didn't answer. Instead, as Louise did, I turned my gaze away. As I had invented that story from nowhere I wasn't able to answer. I had no idea about the cities or villages' names in Albion. The pirate, after looking at us both for a moment, began to laugh. Moments later, he left the plate on the ground and proceeded to retire. Louise and I stared at the soup plate for a few seconds.
"It's no good to stay hungry. We better eat and our recover strength." Wardes commented after he placed himself beside us.
With still some distrust, the three of us ended up eating the soup that the man had left. After that, Wardes, tired from the time he had stayed awake, leaned against a wall to rest. Silence reigned for several minutes until the door opened again. However, the subject who entered was someone different.
"Good evening, are you the nobles who are heading to Albion?"
There wasn't a response.
"I will judge that silence as a yes. The truth is that we respect the nobles, it's thanks to them that our business prospers."
"But don't you work for the rebels?"
"No, no, we're involved with both sides. Anyway, if you really are nobles, we can leave you free in the nearest port."
I breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems that everything will turn out well in the end.
That was what I thought for a moment. However, unlike me, there was someone who wasn't happy in the least and who, in addition, began to look at the pirate in a threatening way.
"How dare you have business with these dirty rebels? Don't you have respect for the royal family of Albion? I'm an ambassador for Tristain and as one, I have a duty to tell you that your behavior is disgusting."
She...
"Miss Louise, please calm down. This isn't the right time to act that way."
"Don't intervene. You are my familiar and you must obey me." Louise told me without turning to see me.
It was really hard for me to form a solid opinion about Louise. The immediate help she gave me and her occasional concern for me were favorable, but that attitude was something that had bothered me on more than one occasion.
The pirate, like his companion who came earlier, began to laugh.
"Well, I'll go and inform the boss of your situation."
Once the subject withdrew, silence returned to the room. None of us said another word until, minutes later, the door opened a third time.
…
"You're in front of the boss. Show some respect and greet him properly."
They had informed us that the leader of the pirates wanted to see us. Evidently, to our discomfort, we weren't in a position to disobey. Louise, Wardes and I were taken from the room to later be guided to a room finely decorated, in which the pirate chief was. Upon entering, the same person who took us there pushed Louise from behind. However, despite the order she received, she didn't move. Instead, she simply stared at the leader of the pirates, who ended up making some comment due to the attitude of the student.
"I like a strong willed woman."
"I demand the treatment an ambassador deserves!"
"And what exactly does a Tristain ambassador in Albion do? Are you coming from royalty?"
"Precisely."
"You were on your way to Nanishi, right? We will arrive there tomorrow."
"I'm not going to tell you anything else."
You already told them too much when you said you were an ambassador. I thought before looking askance at Louise.
At that moment, my eyes were slightly opened by the impression. Despite the attitude she was showing, Louise was shaking. It made a certain impression on me to see her being able to act as usual despite being scared enough to tremble in that way.
"You really don't think to answer?"
Idiot. I thought.
"She already said she won't talk anymore."
The pirate, hearing my interruption, turned his head to see me. Due to the situation in which we were, I couldn't prevent a drop of sweat to cross my face.
"And you are…"
"The ambassador's familiar."
"Her familiar?"
The leader observed me for a few more seconds, after which he began to laugh out loud.
"I already knew that the nobles of Tristain were rare, but not so much."
We were all surprised by the sudden change of the leader of the pirates, who after stopping laughing began to approach us.
"Oh, I'm sorry. As a noble I am, I think I should introduce myself."
Then, he took off what appeared to be a wig to reveal his blond hair. He also removed the false beard he wore, as well as the patch that covered his eye. In just an instant the person in front of us stopped looking like a pirate.
"I'm the general of the Albion Royal Air Force, as well as the commander of the national fleet. Although our fleet actually has a single ship, the Eagle." The young man introduced himself while he bowed. "My name is Wales, Wales Tudor, the prince of the kingdom of Albion."
Louise opened her mouth in surprise while I was speechless. Wardes, on the other hand, looked at Wales with great interest.
"Welcome to Albion, ambassador. Now, could you tell me the reason for your arrival?"
Louise didn't answer, because the impression of what had just happened prevented her from doing so.
"I guess you must be wondering why I disguised as a pirate. You see, the rich rebels send support to the rebellion and we pretend to be dirty and unworthy pirates in order to cut that supply line without attracting attention. By the way, I would like to apologize for treating an ambassador that way."
Louise still didn't assimilate what he had said. I, on the other hand, went from stupefaction to doubt. We had gone from being prisoners to being in front of the person we had to meet to accomplish the mission. Something like that was really hard to believe.
"We have brought a letter from Her Highness, Princess Henrietta." Wardes said as he bowed in respect.
"So from Her Highness, and you are?"
"Captain of Tristain's Griffin Knights, Viscount Wardes. And she..." Wardes said as he put his hands on Louise's shoulders. "Is the ambassador sent by Her Highness, from the Valliere family."
"We have a splendid noble here and I with my ten bodyguards can only give you a miserable welcome. So, do you have that letter?"
Louise panicked and pulled out the letter. However, she didn't deliver it immediately.
"Are you really the prince?"
Wales laughed at her question.
"It seems you don't believe me even after I show you my true face. Well, I'm going to give you irrefutable proof."
Wales grabbed the hand in which Louise wore the ring Henrietta gave her and held her up. Following that, he brought his own hand, which also had a ring, to hers. Once both rings were close enough, they began to shine.
"This ring belongs to the royal family of Albion, the ruby of the Wind. This other one, to the real family of Tristain, the ruby of the Water. Am I wrong?"
Louise nodded.
"Sorry for my bad manners, prince."
Louise handed the letter to the prince and bowed. Wales looked at the letter for a moment and kissed the signature. After that, he removed the seal and pulled out the paper inside to start reading.
"The princess is getting married? My beloved ... cousin?"
He continued reading and once he finished reading it, a smile formed on his face.
"Well, according to what the princess wrote there is a letter that I must return. More importantly, she expects an answer to this letter. However, I don't have that letter in my possession right now. So if it's not too much trouble, I'd like you to come with me to Newcastle."
My body went into a state of great relief. The mission had been practically accomplished and I imagined that all danger had been left behind.
...
"Why don't we go directly to the castle?"
We had been traveling in the Eagle for three hours. After that time the ship arrived at an irregular coast in which we could observe a great castle in the distance, the Newcastle. However, the Eagle didn't go immediately to the fortress. My curiosity led me to ask the most obvious question.
Before answering me, Wales pointed to the sky. Far above us, I could see a huge ship at least twice as big as the Eagle. That enormous ship, then, out of nowhere, opened fire on the fortress.
"The Royal Sovereign. Once it belonged to the Royal Fleet, but the rebels captured it and then changed its name to Lexington. That ship maintains a permanent blockade to Newcastle and they shoot the castle from time to time just to annoy us. Since we can't face it, we will arrive in a secret port.
The Eagle headed below the continent. Wales explained to me that this route was dangerous and that for that reason the rebels didn't use it, but that crossing through that place wasn't a major problem for the royal navigators. We continue sailing until we reach a hole several with hundreds of meters in diameter. The Eagle, then, entered that cave. After entering enough in it, the ship reached a dock where there were a large number of people waiting. The ship the stopped and several ropes were used to secure it. Finally, Wales gave us the signal to go down
"How about the military results, Your Highness?" Asked a tall old man as soon as we stepped on the dock.
"Rejoice, Paris! We have brought sulfur!" Shouted Wales while numerous soldiers gathered around him, each one of them quite animated.
"Oh, sulfur! I have served the previous king for sixty years and I don't think there will be happy days like this again. Your Highness, after the revolt everything became sadness, even with sulfur we will not succeed."
Wales laughed.
"Even if we are defeated, we will prove to those rebels the courage and honor of the Royal Family."
"My old bones tremble with emotion for a glorious death. It's all or nothing, Your Highness. According to the latest report, the rebels will attack the castle tomorrow."
"We will use our last breath to put their soldiers into shame!"
What is happening to them? I thought.
I didn't understand the behavior they were having. They literally had one more day to live, but they didn't act as if that were the case. I was completely disconcerted by the cheerful way they talked about their situation. I glanced at Louise and I noticed she seemed to be thinking the same as me. A sign of concern and discomfort in her face was what made me suppose it.
"And who are these people?" The old man asked.
"She is an ambassador for Tristain, she came for an important business."
The surprise he felt caused Paris's smile to disappear from his face. However, that lasted only a few moments.
"So an ambassador, right? Paris Chamberlain at your service. Although it may not be much, we will have a little feast tonight, it would be an honor if you attend."
Once Wales and Paris finished speaking, the prince began to go to his room. As was evident, Louise, Wardes and I follow him. We didn't take more than a few minutes to get to the room, where there was only one bed, a desk, a couple of chairs and a picture hanging on the wall. Wales, then, opened a drawer of the desk and proceeded to take out a small box. Afterward, he used a key he had on his necklace to open the lock of the box, inside which was a portrait of Henrietta and a letter, which looked somewhat old, perhaps because of the times it had been fastened to be read. The prince took the letter delicately and read it one last time. Finally, after finishing his reading, Wales folded the load and put it in an envelope that he handed to Louise.
"This is the letter the princess gave me."
"Thank you." Louise said after receiving the envelope.
"Since we won't use it in combat, the Eagle will go tomorrow to Tristain. You can use it to come back."
Louise looked at the envelope for a moment. After that, she raised her head to see Wales again.
"Your Highness ... when you mentioned that glorious defeat ..."
"It's like I said. Our army is composed of three hundred men, while the enemy forces are more than fifty thousand. We don't have any opportunity. So at least we will die with glory."
Louise lowered her head again.
"Do you also refer to yourself when you talk about dying in battle?"
"Of course, I will die too."
Wales' response increased a certain sensation that had appeared recently in me. He knew that he would die the next day and even knowing that he acted totally unconcerned. I kept thinking about how something like that was possible, but I just wasn't able to understand it. I felt uncomfortable just seeing him.
"Your Highness, forgive my discourtesy, but I have a question. What is the content of that letter? When the princess gave me this task she... looked like was worried about her lover and in the box you had just opened there was a portrait of her. Also, that sad face that he put when you read the letter and also that kiss... Maybe I'm wrong, but I think you and the princess are... "
Wales smiled.
"Do you think Henrietta and I have a love relationship?"
Louise nodded. The happiness on Wales's face disappeared and was replaced by worry. He seemed to be debating with himself whether or not he should answer that question. After a few seconds, the prince opened his mouth to speak again.
"You are right, it's a love letter. If that letter of love were to reach Germania, what Henrietta fears would happen. In the letter, she has sworn eternal love on behalf of the Founder Brimir. In the worst case, Tristain could be ignored politically by the noble families of other countries."
"Then His Majesty and the princess are in love."
"It's an old story."
"Your Highness, come back with us! Come with us to Tristain!"
Wardes put his hand on Louise's shoulder, but she continued talking.
"I beg you! Please!"
"I can't do that." Said Wales, whose smile reappeared.
"I'm sure the princess thinks the same! Didn't she write that in the letter? I have known the princess for years and I know what she would write. The princess wouldn't abandon someone she loves. I don't know exactly what the letter says, but I'm sure she wants you to flee."
"There isn't such thing in the letter." Denied Wales.
"Your Highness…"
"I can swear on my honor that in no line of the letter the princess asks me to escape. Henrietta is a princess and as such, she has to give priority to her country."
Wales seemed hurt by the words Louise told him.
"You're an honest girl, but for an ambassador, being honest isn't a good thing." Wales smiled again. "However, you are the perfect ambassador for a ruined country like Albion, because our government, which will be destroyed tomorrow, is the most honest."
The prince then took out a watch from his pocket.
"Well, I have a meeting soon. Since you are the last visitors of our kingdom, I would like you to attend the party tonight."
Louise and I left the room. However, Wales didn't follow us. The viscount stayed behind to talk to Wales.
…
"Your Majesty, it is still too early to fall!"
"That's right, wait for tomorrow, please!"
The party was being held in the castle hall. Everyone present was talking happily. At some point in the party, Prince Wales arrived at the hall and the still king of Albion, James I tried to stand up to welcome him, but due to his advanced age he staggered and almost fell to the ground. In response, some laughter could be heard in the crowd. However, contrary to what one would think, James wasn't offended in the least.
"Don't worry, my legs were just numb from sitting for a long time."
Wales came up to help the king to his feet. Then, James started talking.
"Listen, my brave and loyal vassals! Tomorrow Reconquista is planning to use all his forces to attack this fortress! So I ask you to keep fighting for this incapable old king! But I warn you that what will happen tomorrow won't be considered a battle, it will be a unilateral massacre! Let's show our courage once again!"
The king stopped to cough before continuing talking.
"But it would be too much to ask that everyone die for me, so tomorrow morning, the Eagle will take all those who don' want to die far from this continent!"
"Your Majesty, we're just waiting for your order! Army, attack! We will be so drunk tonight that tomorrow we won't be able to hear any other order!""
Everything nodded before those words.
"Yes! What could we do if we run away anyway?!"
"It's too late to go back!"
"We will continue to serve the king as we have done years ago! The founder has blessed us with this warm night, let's enjoy drinking and dancing!"
After that exclamation, everyone returned to celebrate and laugh, except for three people: Louise, Wardes and I, who just stood in a corner of the room in silence. However, to our displeasure, we ended up attracting the attention of others. Several nobles came to offer us food or wine while showing a smile. There wasn't trace of worry or sadness on their faces.
"Ambassador, try this and tell us which country has the best wine!"
"This is the specialty of Albion, chicken with honey."
The people were very animated. In fact, they were too animated for my taste. My discomfort did nothing but increase. I considered it unnatural for someone to act that way just a few hours before his death. It didn't take long for that situation to end up irritating me. Louise was in a situation very similar to mine. However, unlike me, the student couldn't stand being in that place anymore. She, from one moment to another, turned and ran out of the room.
"One of us should go for her." I told Wardes.
And it would be better if it's you.
I didn't plan to move. Being at the party had already given me a headache and I felt it would be difficult to keep my facade in that condition. Wardes didn't know this last, but he understood that I hadn't the intention of going for her. The viscount left the room in search of Louise. After watching him leave, I sat on the floor and then leaned against the wall.
Maybe I should left too.
"You're Miss Valliere's familiar, right?"
Upon hearing that voice I turned my head. Beside me was Wales, who, because of the noise of the party, managed to get closer without me noticing.
"It's quite rare to see a person as a familiar. Tristain is certainly a strange country."
"Actually, it's also strange in Tristain."
Wales seemed to notice my mood off.
"You feel sad?"
I don't think sad is the correct word.
"With all due respect, I feel uncomfortable with just seeing you all act in this way. Laugh in a situation where you are? I don't imagine myself doing something like that. It is as if everyone here weren't even afraid of death."
Wales smiled at my comment.
"We are scared, I assure you. Each and every one of us is. However, we have something that makes us forget the cold of the grave."
"And what is thing?" I asked with genuine curiosity.
"The aristocratic faction Reconquista tries to unite Halkeginia. I would not mind supporting that aim if it wasn't because they want to achieve that through force and bloodshed. If they continue in this way, everything will end in ruins."
"But this is a lost battle. Why not flee and fight when the situation is more favorable?"
"At least we must show our courage and honor. Even knowing that we can't win, we will prove to Reconquista that the royal families of Halkeginia aren't an enemy they should underestimate."
What kind of motivation is that?
"This is our obligation as one of the royal families. It is our obligation to defend our kingdom until the end."
There was something I couldn't deny, I had a behavior similar to theirs. I was in a situation in which I maintained a facade. Since the day I was summoned, I had pretended to be an obedient familiar, in addition to constantly lying to Louise telling her I wouldn't leave her. However, they took that to an extreme. It would be impossible for me to continue pretending if I were in the same situation as them. In fact, I had once left my facade behind when I shouted to Louise after she tried to stop the golem by herself. The apparent ease with which they could keep calm irritated me. In a way, seeing them made me feel that my problem was insignificant. I was aware that this wasn't the case, but I couldn't help but feeling it that way.
Also, despite not saying it, there was another cause why seeing them made me uncomfortable.
Act that way when you are in a war and hours away from your deaths ... Really, how can that be possible?
After our talk, Wales returned to the center of the room, while I, on the other hand, ended up imitating Louise.
…
At least this will end soon.
I was already walking through the corridors in search of the room that had been assigned to me. I intended to go to sleep as soon as I arrived at my room because the sooner I fell asleep, the time would pass faster from my perspective. One of the things I most wanted at that moment was to leave the fortress.
Besides, I suppose at any moment I should be invoked back.
The memories I had had during the past few days had stoked the nostalgia I felt. It was only a feeling, but I felt that something would soon happen. Obviously, I hoped that something would be my return home.
Lost in my thoughts, I jumped slightly when someone grabbed my shoulder. After turning around, I could see Wardes, who was looking at me with a serious face.
"I have to tell you something."
Couldn't it be tomorrow? I'm already tired.
"What do you need?"
"Louise and I are going to get married here, tomorrow."
I was silent for a moment. Louise had certainly informed me that Wardes had asked her to marry, but in addition to not giving importance to that matter, I never imagined that a wedding would be taken to each the next day.
"But the rebels are going to attack the castle. Why does it have to be tomorrow?"
"We want to ask Wales to act as an intermediary of our marriage. The prince agreed and we will celebrate the ceremony before the battle."
"I see."
"Do you want to come?"
Your wedding couldn't matter less to me.
However, despite my feelings, I imagined that Louise would be angry if I didn't show up.
"Will the ceremony end before the Eagle leaves tomorrow?"
"No. I planned to get out of here with my griffin once the ceremony was over."
Let pass a direct transport to the safety of Tristain? I'm sorry, but I'm sick of this place. I'll think an excuse for when I meet Louise.
"As Miss Louise's familiar, I feel that it's my duty to be present.
I made a small pause.
"However, this is a big castle. Tomorrow I will try to arrive, but if I don't find the wedding's place, then I will go directly to the Eagle. If that is the case, please, I ask you to protect Miss Louise.
Wardes nodded.
Once the viscount told me the wedding place, I began to walk again to my room. I had mentioned it with the idea of using it as an excuse, but it wasn't a lie that Newcastle was huge. I was walking for about ten minutes and still couldn't find the room where I was supposed to sleep. After that time I could see someone walking slowly ahead of me. Upon hearing my steps, that person turned around to see me.
Why I had to meet with...?
My thoughts were interrupted. Seeing the tears that fell from Louise's cheeks I didn't know how to react. She, seeing me, instinctively began to dry her face. After finishing doing so, we both remained motionless for a moment, without saying a single word. After about a minute, I walked towards Louise until I was facing her. Then, she stepped forward and rested her head against my chest. I could see then how she was trembling slightly.
Even with how she irritated me sometimes, even taking into account the danger she had put me into, she was the same person who without hesitation put her life at risk to help me. Ignoring what I had seen was simply impossible. In response to what she did, I simply placed my hand on her head.
"Why did those people choose to die? Why did Prince Wales choose death despite the feelings he shares with the princess?"
I could notice the frustration in her voice. It was obvious that our motives were different, but we both bothered the decision and attitude that the faction of the Albion royal family had taken.
"From what Prince Wales told me, honor is very important to them."
"It's important for every noble, but does he really consider it more important than the person he loves?"
"Maybe there's another reason."
"I'm going to talk to him. I want to convince him to join us."
"Both he and the others seemed totally determined."
New tears ran down Louise's cheeks.
"I want to go back to Tristain. I don't like this country, I don't like those people who pretend to be well and I don't like that unreasonable prince who leaves everything for nothing."
I was sure that was not the case, but I felt as if some of those words had been directed towards me. Maybe because of that and because of the situation in which we were, a certain impulse formed in me. For a brief moment, I felt the need, to tell the truth. I felt the need to deliberate all the stress I had accumulated by continually pretending. However, that sensation vanished in just a second.
I doubt I'll be here much longer. The only thing that would get would make things worse.
Finally, I ended up saying different words than I had planned at first.
"Can you say that you have never pretended? Can you say that you have never acted differently than you felt for whatever reason?"
That same day, even being afraid, Louise, despite her bad performance, pretended to be calm against Wales. She must have remembered that instantly, so her response didn't take long to arrive.
"No."
Slowly I turned away from Louise and then moved to her side.
"Tomorrow we well able to leave and leave this behind. All you have to do is hold on for a few more hours."
Louise, after wiping her tears once again, nodded and started walking towards her room. For my part, I simply turned my head to see her. As I watched her move away, the urge to let go of my frustration appeared again. However, I ended up ignoring this impulse. I thought that I wouldn't gain anything at that point if I did, except to make my last days in Tristain even more annoying. After all, I figured it was a matter of time before I returned to my world.
Return... Now that I think more about it, they are taking too long. Whatever, for the moment, I just don't want to be in this country anymore.
Finally, I set my eyes back to the front to start walking.
1. Well, technically the next is a short chapter but I need to rewrite the whole fight in it since I didn't consider it a good work anymore.
2. After that comes the Volume 3. Finally. I really want to rewrite the chapter 13 and 14 to then translate them. I think I can do it much better now than a year ago.
3. From there I suppose I'll have more motivation to translate since I won't need to deal with Aztor's fake attitude anymore. If you consider him annoying with that facade, then think about me, who need to write it.
4. Thanks as always for the favs and follows.
Thanks for reading.