Autor's Nota:
As always, a big thank you to everyone for dem reveiwses. And... Hey, I can't update any faster. To think that I was originally going to go for a chapter a week, now I'm releasing at least three... Well, this has exceeded my original plans, at any rate.
The Flying Frog: Negi does not just go all out and curbstomp everyone he fights. He actually tries to use adequate force when he fights. Usually, this ends up looking as if he's not even trying to fight, however, which greatly annoys his opponents and himself, since as much as he and his mother deny, they are both blood knights. Finding Karin, who could actually keep up with him, was quite refreshing for him.
Darkest Void
Chapter 25: In Which Many Explosions Ensue (Though I May Be Lying)
Karin watched them leave, as her daughters and husband waved, she instead had a hand still clutching her side. They would have to wait until the healer they sent for could arrive. Such ludicrous power...
"Whatever that thing was, it most decidedly wasn't human." She said, glaring at the retreating carriage.
"Agreed. Eleonore, I must have a chat with you. Now." The Duke said, turning to his eldest daughter.
Without saying another word, Karin the Heavy Wind turned around and headed back to her house. The God Of Lightning, huh? Well, it seemed she might have underestimated her daughter if she had summoned such a powerful magical being. However, it only brought up further questions, since her familiar meant she should have a lightning affinity, and she had never seen Louise use a lightning spell.
There had to be something more to both her daughter and her familiar, but what could it be?
Tabitha thanked fate that Kirche got something to fixate on, while silently praying for Negi's mental health.
At least it'd mean she'd be able to ask Negi about the theory behind Cantus Bellax, because it was proving harder to get right than she'd expected. It turned out being simpler than she'd imagined, but she had to get used to a spell with a matrix that went against everything that she was used to. Particularly because her knowledge of anatomy was rather limited, and Cantus Bellax required knowing how muscles work.
An impromptu anatomy class ensued, and it only helped convince Louise that Negi was, in fact, a walking library. He countered with the fact that his knowledge is rather superficial and that going in depth would reveal fascinating things about how the body works. And also discrepancies with how it works and how it should. It wasn't something simple that just took two seconds, but Tabitha wasn't particularly weak in the academics department.
Sure, nobody could quite boast Louise's dedication to her studies, but Tabitha was no slouch, either. Still, increasing the flexibility of her muscles would likely prove hard, and it was a vital part of the spell. If she didn't, it'd probably end up damaging her muscles instead of empowering them. Of course, it would've helped the learning process if Kirche hadn't considered her lesson a good moment to try and go do... that... with Negi again.
The Vice Captain was feeling like violence. "Repeat this a thousand times!" She yelled, as the morons she was training didn't do absolutely anything right. Sure, one or two of them actually had the faint idea of how you hold a spear, but the rest? They could barely even fight by using them like clubs.
What the hell do they teach in the magic academy? How to make souffle?
At the very least, they seemed inspired by Negi's own dedication, as he seemed to be exercising under Agnes' own directions. Apparently, he was kind of tired of being out of shape, or so he said, and he started to train like he usually did. Meaning, he was doing push ups while Agnes, in full armor, stood on his back and pushed him down.
That familiar just got weirder every second.
However, Agnes then jumped off his back, making it a point to do it as he pushed up, so as to gain more distance with her jump. "Hold!" The Vice Captain cried, letting Agnes take the stage.
"Well, brats, we have decided to listen to your pleas." She said, sounding disgusted with her own words. "Today, we will teach you to use magic in the battlefield."
Louise's blood ran cold. Why must every good thing come to an end? Of course, her luck was never good, and she could never quite run away from her for long. It was just a given that she'd eventually come back to haunt her.
"Therefore, we have a special guest from Oriz Magic Academy, who will guide you."
Said special guest took a few steps forward. "I am Eleonore de la Valliere. Even though we have just met, I hope that we can all learn together, okay?"
Julio took a step closer to Louise. "... That's your sister?" He said, with a hint of trepidation in his voice. He'd seen, firsthand, the fact that Eleonore had a temper that dwarfed Louise's. It probably wouldn't end well for him...
"... Unfortunately, yes."
Julio sighed and wondered why it seemed that he liked psychotic women, re-evaluating his stance on the matter... Sure, he was certain that all crazy women were probably great in bed, but still, sometimes, just that wasn't enough...
"Believe it or not..." I'm walking on air, I never thought I could be so free!.. What? "Her Majesty Henrietta asked the Academy for my transfer." Said an overly proud woman in her newly assigned room. It was the first time Negi saw the staff tower.
"Really, the princess did that?"
It was a wonder that the very queen let that slide. Maybe she just liked the title 'cause it sounded cuter. Whatever, Eleonore had something else to worry about right now. "Her Majesty asked me specifically to help you. Apparently, you had taken some tasks from her." Eleonore said, placing her hands on her hips and turning away from Louise.
The pinkette felt somewhat insulted at her tone, but otherwise remained silent. Best not to provoke crazy women.
"What the hell?" She asked, suddenly turning around again. "You, who can't do anything magical..."
Louise wanted so hard to just explode her right then and there to show that her explosions were, indeed, magic.
"Anyway, couldn't have been anything important. This is a great chance, I will be watching all of your movements here!" the blonde continued. "Just to make sure you don't lose your way before your marriage." She said, giving Negi a pointed look as she did so.
Negi looked at her, deadpan. A gentleman does not call a woman a hypocrite to her face. He does want to do it, however, but must remain polite at all times. Besides, that is not how Negi Springfield rolls.
The sound of a puppy's bark and small paws hitting the ground at great speeds alerted Louise to the fact that there were two animals currently running around and playing in the room.
"Huh... Those are... Big Sis!" Louise cried, just as Cattleya walked into the room, past Negi. "You came to the academy, too?" Well, it had at the very least, raised Louise's spirits, which was something he could be thankful for.
"Of course. I came to help Elder Sister." She said, winking at Louise as she did so. Eleonore, who was not paying the attention she should have, did not see that blatant sign of her being in cahoots with Louise.
"You should have stayed at home with that weak body of yours." It was very damn clear that Eleonore did not only have her bitchy mode. Apparently, she was a great deal softer regarding Cattleya, but then again, it seemed like everyone was that way. "Well, you did want to come here to see Little Louise..."
"Ah! I'm so happy that Big Sis came to see me!"
To be honest, so was Negi. It was kind of heartwarming to see Louise act like the little girl she looked like. It seemed, however, that such a proclamation had actually upset Eleonore, who began to pull on Louise's cheeks. "That should be my two sisters, right?" She yelled.
Both Cattleya and Negi actually burst out laughing at the sight. Then, the redhead turned to the older pinkette. "... Do you need someone to unpack for you? I have this evening free." otherwise, his brain would get fried from too much information at once. Besides, he still hadn't made much progress, mostly because, as it was to be expected, there was nothing about dimensional travel in the academy's library.
"Oh, we wouldn't ask something like that from you..." Cattleya said. Eleonore nodded. He wasn't, after all, a mere servant. No, with what he'd done, she was still wondering whether she should be scared shitless of his very presence or aroused. Stupid dream kept coming back to her every time she looked at him.
It seemed Cattleya didn't really mind the fact that he'd defeated their mother in single combat much. "Oh, but I insist." Any gentleman worth his salt knows that you always offer to do the heavy lifting. Even if the woman you are offering to can kick your ass. Especially if she can kick your ass, as a matter of fact. So Kotaro learned when Negi asked Kaede to help him teach Kotaro etiquette.
After ignoring memories of hilarity for a few seconds, Negi concentrated on the real world instead of on his memories. "Oh, I'd be very thankful for that."
"Very well then..."
And so, Negi escapes from the moment of violent family bonding! Or is it bondage? I don't even know anymore...
There is something that should be known. Negi is someone who can get entertained with anything that makes him think. He's the kind of person who could probably be entertained for hours with a sufficiently complicated puzzle. He is an intellectual man, is what I'm saying.
Therefore, it was clear that he'd get somewhat interested by the logistics of fitting all of Cattleya's underwear in the relatively tiny drawers that he had been given to place them in. He only wished he'd gotten his practice by playing Tetris, at least then he'd have a faint idea on how to go about it. So, as he seemed to be thinking while holding a bag filled with nothing but frilly and sometimes racy unmentionables, Negi was starting to doubt that suggesting himself for such a titanic task was kind of moronic.
But, nothing like a difficult task to keep him entertained and the mind working!
He was so concentrated on that fact that he actually forgot that he was in a room still filled with tripping hazards. Which he tripped on. You see where I'm going with this? He landed, face first, where most of his cargo had fallen. For a minute, he felt very much like an ermine, as he pulled his face back.
"... Negi?"
Oh. Crap. "Siesta?" Negi asked, raising one eyebrow. "I swear this is not what it looks like."
"You mean you didn't trip and fall face first into a pile of panties?" Siesta asked, giggling like mad at the image of the oft inhumanly awesome mage in such a situation.
"... Well, then, it's exactly what it looks like." Negi said, smiling and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
"You thought I would confuse you with a panty thief?"
Negi did not like the fact that he could have accused of being like Chamo. The ermine had been, after all, Negi's main reason for why he had absolutely never strayed from his path as a gentleman intentionally and of his own will before certain events made that pretty much impossible.
"... You did." Siesta said, deadpan.
"Sorry?" He offered, rubbing the back of his neck and grinning like an idiot. Siesta laughed, removed her shoes and sat on the bed, clearly trying her best to begin helping him pick up the panties that had been thrown all over the bed. "Ah, thank you!" He said, as soon as they were all neatly folded together again.
"You should really leave these things to me. You never were good with the underwear." Siesta pointed out, with a sly smile on her face.
"It's just... A gentleman shouldn't be handling a woman's underwear except in... certain occasions..." He said, sheepishly.
"Well, Miss Valliere has really cute underwear!" And she said so while holding a particularly racy piece. Seriously, how come their underwear was so tiny? Hadn't they ever heard of modesty? That seriously couldn't be comfortable, right?
Well, Negi, you'd be surprised.
"It wouldn't fit me, though..."
"Don't say that. You are pretty cute yourself, Siesta, you shouldn't undersell yourself." Negi quickly replied, making her brighten up again, because, well, apparently she was just fishing for a compliment. Negi didn't even realize he'd bitten the bait.
"Then, it should be okay to try it on..." She said, a perverted smirk on her face, as she lifted her maid uniform's long skirt, revealing her more practical white underwear that was probably cheaper to produce than Cattleya's own silky underwear. Could it possibly be cotton? Nah, they didn't seem to know what cotton was...
"I don't know..."
Negi wondered, for a full minute, if all the women he knew were, one way or the other, perverted. It just occurred to him that maybe he was a magnet for perversion or maybe he caused it on people, because Siesta didn't bother even turning around before pulling down her underwear, displaying her naughty bits to Negi who blushed crimson and proceeded to cover his eyes with both hands.
"Negi, Cattleya asked if you are don-" Louise blinked, stopped hitting her wand against her palm in a somewhat catchy tune, and stared, completely dumbfounded, as Siesta herself blushed crimson.
Apparently, Negi hadn't quite noticed her, being too busy being the monkey that didn't see.
"..."
The silence was suffocating.
Negi opened his eyes, and stared at Louise. "Uhm... Hello, master?"
"... Miss Valliere?" Siesta said, waving with more than a bit of embarrassment, falling down to a sitting position, her panties still around her ankles. However, it would only be because of this distraction that she'd even allow herself to suggest something like that, because she remembered a certain, distant event, and the one thing that Negi said could fix such an issue. "Threesome?"
Louise moved her mouth, pointing with one trembling finger at the still red familiar, getting red herself at the mere idea. However, she took a deep breath and steeled herself. Her familiar was free to do that, after all, she couldn't order him around. He was both far more powerful than herself and also above her in the social ladder. At the very least, it wasn't Zerbst... again.
However, reflex still had her pointing her wand at him. She would explode the maid, but unlike her, Negi could actually take it. Hell, he would probably be completely unaffected, or it'd be blocked by a barrier. Then she realized that trying to make an explosion at that point would be pointless. "Just get done with the unpacking." She commanded, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She could already feel a headache coming.
The maid hastily pulled her underwear up and put down Cattleya's, and after a few seconds, they were indeed done with the unpacking (Meaning, Louise told them that Cattleya kept quite a messy room, since her pets liked sleeping on her spare clothes, which explained why she had so many), however, before they could actually go tell Cattleya of this fact, an explosion distracted them.
It meant Siesta would probably have to clean something, so she sighed in annoyance. Really, couldn't nobles ever solve anything by talking? Or at least do it in a way that wouldn't force her to clean debris? Negi wasn't always around to help with the heavy lifting, and given the Head Chef had recently injured his hand (sticking a knife through it was a terrible idea, all things considered), he wouldn't be either.
Negi sighed. "Not a day will go by in which there won't be something exploding, but this time, I'm just glad it's not my fault." He admitted. "Where did it come from?" It was those days that he wondered if Osmond had re-hired Fouquet as his assistant. She tended to go overboard in punishing him for his perversity.
"It came from Old Osmond's office, let's go!" Louise said, for once being the first one to slip into duty mode. So they ran. Well, Negi and Louise. Siesta went to see if anyone else was on duty.
"Mr. Colbert, what is going on?" Louise asked, as she finished climbing the stairs leading to Old Osmond's office.
"I came to learn that, myself." Colbert admitted, before returning to the door... or the hole next to it, in any case. "Apparently, someone might have forced entry into the Headmaster's office." He explained from what he had gathered.
The Osmond, flanked by Agnes and the Vice Captain, turned around. Osmond was, for once, not actually carrying a jovial air around himself. "There is nothing to see here. It was just an accident." He said, though the graveness in his voice said otherwise.
"Everyone return to your rooms calmly." Agnes said, as the musketeers got around to pushing the crowd of students (and Colbert) back.
"But..." Colbert protested.
"Go back to your rooms." Agnes repeated, this time not even bothering with feigned politeness. She really wished that the mages were less self entitled, maybe then they'd understand simple commands.
"This will be investigated by the Musketeers." The Vice Captain clarified, earning an odd look. "Everyone else, please, step out." It seemed that she wasn't much for feigned politeness, but was still better at it than Agnes.
"... I still want an explanation for what I just saw." Louise said. "Now that I have calmed down." She clarified.
"Ah, that. Well, it's kind of a long story, actually..."
"That will have to wait." Agnes interrupted. "Springfield, I need to speak with you. Now." She said, her glare not allowing for anything else to be said as Louise sighed and slumped. Agnes' authority was sanctioned by the princess herself, therefore, she'd have to heed it for the time being.
"I will be expecting you to explain later." She said, taking the stairs down.
Negi's eyes narrowed as he entered serious mode. Apparently, something important had actually happened. "Louise. Go ahead of me." He said, before wandering into the room, only to find Julio leaning against a wall. The blond waved at him briefly. It was kind of odd to see him there already, but Negi only guessed he'd been closer when he heard the commotion.
"The thief broke the safe while I wasn't here." Osmond stated. "However, my familiar caught her in the act. I am fairly certain that she was female and had a rather large chest."
Agnes slapped her forehead. "Of course you would see that, incompetent old man." She said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Were all mages taught to be incompetent as a rule? Seriously, it was starting to get on her nerves.
"She was agile and had good reflexes, so she got away from me. However, I managed to tag her with this." Osmond said, raising a seal with a circled pentagram on it. "This is a special magical symbol that can only used by me. It should glow under the faintest influence of magic."
"So, what are we supposed to recover?" Julio asked, folding his arms over his chest.
"The Ruby of Water and the Ruby of Wind." Osmond explained. Negi narrowed his eyes. That couldn't possibly be. "A few days ago, Her Majesty asked me to store them for her for her own personal reasons." He said, with a heavy voice. "The ones stolen, however, were imitations." He admitted, with a smile on his face.
"Imitations?" the Vice Captain asked, clearly curious.
"Yes. I do not have the genuine rubies." Osmond explained. "The Ruby of Wind is currently in Romalia, I have a friend who is watching it for me." He said, a smirk on his face. "And the Ruby Of Water is within Miss Valliere's possessions."
Negi shook his head. "No. Louise thought it might be dangerous if she kept it herself. She tends to lose little things. The Ruby of Water is here." Negi said, fishing into his coat's pockets to produce said ring. It was, indeed, the genuine article.
"Is it alright to ask two foreigners to watch something so important to Her Majesty?" The Captain mused, looking somewhat surprised.
"They are safer than in the vault or the palace." Osmond said. "The trip to Romalia is long and my friend is trustworthy. And I believe the safety of the Ruby Of Water is guaranteed."
"Indeed, if I'd trust anyone with it, it would be him." Julio admitted. "That goes for both rings, actually."
"There were no tracks of anyone leaving the academy." Agnes stated. "And the only two entrances are the Valliere sisters."
"Hn. A spy amidst our own?" Julio asked, way too pleased with himself.
"Indeed." Agnes finished. "That is why we need you two to help us." The musketeer added, nodding at Julio.
"The culprit most likely uses Earth magic." Osmond stated. "There were no sparks, no wind and no water. Whilst every mage right now is a suspect, our two biggest suspects are..."
"Cattleya and Eleonore." Negi said, closing his eyes. "Louise is not a suspect because she was with me when the thief broke in. And if she had exploded this place, there wouldn't be debris." He said, rubbing his chin.
"Indeed. However, the Valliere Noble Family is not famous for being loyal to the crown." Agnes stated, causing Negi to blink. Sure, the Duke was against war, or at least so sudden a war, but to be against the crown? It appeared that they still weren't completely out of feudalism in favor of absolute monarchies. Well, it didn't matter, either way.
"As a matter of fact, they have been undermining Her Majesty's plans since she assumed the throne." The blue (actually blue instead of cyan) haired captain spoke, taking a step forward. "They could probably use the rubies to have a claim to the throne."
"They are likely suspects." Negi admitted. "However, I do not know their elemental affinities."
"They must be investigated." Agnes finished. "I will go with Chesaré and check the students. Michelle, you will go with Springfield and check the teachers."
"Captain, no offense, but I do believe that Springfield can do such a task on his own." Michelle, the Vice Captain, spoke, taking another step forward. "We would just get in each other's way."
"Springfield is too polite to do it fast." Agnes' commanding tone was a bit frightening for most people, but her subordinates were well used to it. "He'll need you to hurry the process up."
"But..."
"Are you disobeying a direct order?" Agnes said, narrowing her eyes.
Negi looked at Julio, who looked at him. They both shared a knowing look. The Musketeer Vice Captain was acting rather strange there. Normally, she would obey Agnes' orders without making a fuss about pretty much anything. It seemed that Julio knew something Negi didn't, and even though they were somewhat on the same page, that was quite clear.
Julio's eyes went to Michelle, who still seemed to be getting a speech from Agnes about what happened to undisciplined soldiers, and he made quite a clear gesture. He pointed at her and then nodded.
It seemed a bit far fetched, but Negi would give Julio's theory a go.
"Once this seal is used, not even a triangle class mage can remove it." Osmond spoke. It was quite clear that he took some pride in creating that. It did sound awfully convenient to have a magical seal...
"Springfield. The culprit will have the seal here." Agnes said, pointing at the inner side of her right breast. "Find it."
"Hn. How do you suggest we go about this?" Negi asked, walking behind the Vice Captain, who he'd just learned was actually named Michelle. Nice to know, since calling her Vice Captain would've quickly made the conversation awkward.
She stopped suddenly, however. "I will leave the Valliere sisters to you, and I will go check the teachers." She said, turning to face Negi. However, the redhead just smiled.
"We were ordered to do this together, weren't we?" He asked, with that same pleased smile in his face. "Besides, I am not going into Eleonore's room alone ever again. Bad things happen to me when I am alone." He said, his smile faltering a bit.
Michelle blinked. "... We should hurry before the thief has a chance to escape." She said, fully turning around.
"Ah, but if the thief is a spy, they very likely wouldn't want to escape just now, because then they'd make a target of themselves. Surely anyone who would know that the Rubies were being kept in a safe in the Headmaster's office would also know that I live here." Negi said, smiling widely and, if I'm allowed to say it, a bit smugly. "And not to boast, but I am quite fast on my feet." He added.
"Even so, the thief could likely escape by disguising herself as one of the maids running an errand." The musketeer continued, taking a few steps forward.
"You may be right. However, I'd still be thankful if you could at the very least accompany me to Eleonore's room. It's... kind of scary." He admitted, smiling apologetically.
"Urgh, fine. I will accompany you to the Valliere sisters' rooms, but then we will split up." The Vice Captain of the Musketeers spoke, as they just happened to be on the door that lead to Eleonore's room. Negi, ever the gentleman, gently knocked on the door.
Since there was no answer, Michelle just opened it and barged in. Apparently, Eleonore didn't know locking her door was sometimes a good idea.
"Who's there?" She asked, her hand shooting for her wand.
Negi raised a finger to face level. "Lux" he said, as the room lit up from a ball of light being emitted from the tip of his finger. "Hello again." Negi said, waving.
"You... You're Louise's familiar, aren't you?" Eleonore asked. Then she glared at him, and fetched her glasses from her night stand. "Yes. You are. What is it?" She asked, not in the mood for an interruption.
"Nothing much. Just looking for a thief. We need to see your right breast." Negi said, trying his best to be diplomatic.
"What? You're looking for a thief and you come for me? Don't you know who I am?" She asked, her indignation clearly noticeable in that she would even be thought of as a possible suspect. She went for her wand again.
"This is just making you more suspicious." Negi said, sighing. "I can assure you it will be nothing I have not seen before." And that was the absolutely wrongest thing to say, but since Eleonore was pretty much half asleep anyway, she didn't notice.
"Just show us your right breast, woman." Michelle stated, slapping her forehead. "Then we can move on."
Eleonore was about to say something when Negi began shaking his head. "It's not her." He said, before even having to check.
"That is better." Was what came out of Eleonore's mouth, though she still looked pissed.
After narrowly dodging a bullet, Negi and Michelle walked out and Eleonore went back to sleep.
"How did you know?" Michelle asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Well, the thief that Osmond saw had large breasts and Eleonore is quite flatchested." Negi said, smiling. At that moment, Colbert just happened to be walking around. Michelle seemed mighty pissed that the chance meeting evolved into a rather lengthy conversation. However, she still kept her mouth shut.
Mostly because she couldn't quite threaten her companion to hurry it the hell up, not considering he could hand the entire Musketeer Corps their asses on a silver platter. And that fact pissed her off to no end, because then they were in Cattleya's room. The moment they stepped in, small cute and fluffy animals began surrounding them, begging to be held up.
Several piles of clothes rustled. Negi once again pointed his finger to the ceiling. "Lux", he said again. "Hello, Miss Cattleya." The prodigy mage said, waving at Cattleya.
"Hello, Mister Springfield." She replied, giving him a wave in response.
"I am really sorry to bother you at this time of the night, but we are looking for a thief that is hiding amongst the student body. Now, don't believe that I suspect you, however, protocol dictates that we must check everyone."
Negi stole a glance to Michelle as he said that, who seemed nervous. Julio's theory held more weight every second. She had been far too eager to part with Negi, and now she seemed nervous to be in his presence.
It couldn't possibly be a coincidence.
"Certainly." Cattleya said, making a show of her good nature by actually sitting on the bed, removing her covers. "What is it you need to do?"
"We must check your right breast." Negi explained, with a smile on his face. "I am really sorry for the inconvenience." He added.
Cattleya shook her head. "Oh, do not worry about that. You may proceed to clear out my name." She said, pulling down her neckline to expose her right breast. There was, indeed, no mark whatsoever on it. However, before Negi could report his findings, the upper right corner of the wall (if you go from the door), exploded open, revealing the clear midnight sky.
All of Cattleya's animals quickly ran back to their owner, surrounding her as if they were trying to defend her. They were absolutely cute.
A few bits of debris had fallen on Michelle, who just knocked it aside as she stood back up.
"What was that?" said Agnes, as she rushed into the room. "What happened here?" She repeated the question with a different phrasing.
"It seems someone must have attacked us." Cattleya said, turning to Negi, who had actually taken the few hits that would have come in Cattleya's direction. The redhead was smiling graciously, however, and didn't seem to be in pain at all. "Thank you." She said.
"No problem." Negi said, pulling back.
"Michelle, disperse the crowd." Agnes ordered, stepping out so that no little brat tried to go into the room while Michelle herded everyone else away. Eleonore was allowed to get by, however, seeing as she was Cattleya's older sister and all. Louise soon arrived after her, as well. It seemed like the duke and duchess would get there soon, as well, and then it'd be a family reunion party!.. Yeah, no.
After both musketeers were back in, Agnes turned to Cattleya. "You are an earth mage, right?" She asked.
"Yes." Cattleya replied.
"Could it be, an attack on oneself to throw us off her trail?" Julio asked out loud. This caused Negi to put a hand on Louise's head, lest she shoot like a rocket. He winked at her, smiled and silently told her to stay put.
"What do you mean?" She asked, far less excitedly than she would've wanted to. She was actually burning with rage at the possibility that they'd dare to blame Cattleya, but Negi seemed to have discreetly told her that there was something else to all this. Well, she'd trust her familiar not to betray her over something like this.
"The culprit has a mark on her chest. Based on that, we are investigating everyone in the academy." Agnes stated, then she turned Negi's way. "How did investigation with her go?"
"Well, I was interrupted before I could finish." Negi said, smiling slightly.
"Miss Cattleya must have broken down the wall to throw us off her trail." Julio said, leaning against the wall next to the window, being barely illuminated by the moons his eyes imitated. "Maybe she was even hoping to cover the seal with a wound..." He added.
"You really think that Big Sis could attack the headmaster?" Louise asked, insulted that they'd think such a thing.
"Well, we have already checked every student capable of Earth magic." The blond said. "There aren't many choices remaining."
"Captain. I found these two hidden amongst a pile of clothes." Michelle said, offering Agnes a pair of rings. One was blue, the other was purple, it was very clear what they were.
"Those are..." Louise said, blinking as she saw the rings. Then she looked at Negi like he was a traitor.
"The Ruby of Wind and the Ruby of Water. Well, the imitations." She spoke, her voice now calm and collected again. "Captain..." Michelle spoke, as it took her a couple seconds of staring at them before turning to Cattleya.
Louise blinked. There was something odd. When the rings are brought together, they should be producing a rainbow... "Miss Cattleya, will you confess it now?"
Cattleya shook her head. "I do not have anything to do with this. There must be a mistake." She said. Louise looked similarly shocked.
"You know, this little charade is starting to get old." Eleonore said. "It could not have been Cattleya because she was with me when the thief attacked." She said, narrowing her eyes. "And in order to get to the Headmaster's office, she would have had to pass through this room, at which point Louise, the maid and her familiar would have seen her."
Negi nodded. "And even if that weren't so, she does not have the mark." He said, smiling widely. "I wasn't interrupted at all." He added, taking a step back.
"Then, who could it be?" Michelle asked, noticing that she was in the middle of a circle created by powerful individuals.
"Old Osmond recovered a few hairs that fell from the thief's head. He may be an old, incompetent fool, but he does keep an immaculate working place. Therefore, we can safely conclude that these are from the thief. And... they are blue." Agnes stated, holding a few hairs that the headmaster's mouse had gathered for him.
"There are many hair colors in this academy, but... blue still remains a rare color, nonetheless." Julio said, a smile in his face. "... And it seems that they are the same shade as your own, Vice Captain."
"The thief must be using some strange magic to disguise herself." Michelle concluded. "This woman must be her accomplice, she should be arrested." She added, pointing at Cattleya.
"Vice Captain. Expose your right breast." Agnes commanded.
"This can't be..."
"It is an order." Agnes said, her eyes narrowing further. She folded her arms over her chest and dropped any pretense of informal friendship.
"I can't follow such an insulting order." She said, hanging her head.
Negi sighed. Julio was right, after all. "As a matter of fact, Old Osmond knew that the culprit was among us, and lied so we could recover these. The Ruby of Water is indeed fake, but the Ruby Of Wind is real."
Michelle gasped.
"Why so surprised?" Julio asked, nonchalantly.
"It must have really been annoying to know that you went through all of that effort only to learn that they were fake. You were angry and frustrated and it showed." Negi said. "And then, you decided to incriminate Cattleya. Your insistence to get me out of the way so that you could properly set up an incriminating scene was what ended up tipping me off, to be quite honest. Well, that, and Julio telling me you were the prime suspect."
Said Romalian smirked and nodded. "So you weren't..." Louise trailed off.
"I didn't doubt Miss Cattleya's innocence for a second." Julio continued.
"Captain, I am not the thief!" Michelle cried. "If I need to, I will show you..." She ripped her shirt open, exposing her cleavage and a glowing pentagram. However, before Agnes could do anything about it, she got the leather thrown in her face. She heard the sound of a weapon leaving its sheath.
Blood hit Agnes in her face, but the blade never came.
"Not happening." Negi stated, having blocked the blade with his own hand. Michelle leaped back, and Julio's hand went for his own blade.
"Captain, you suspected me from the start, huh?" The revealed thief said, clearly angered.
"You have always done your job without complaining to the point that I admired your dedication. However, your past was unknown." She said, as Michelle backed away against a wall, the window covered by Julio, the door covered by Negi and the semi circle closing in on her. "But with the things that kept happening, it became clear to me that who was hitting the palace had to come from the inside!"
"Fighting is pointless." Negi said. "You may as well surrender."
However, she smirked and lounged for Julio. The blond quickly disarmed her, but had to move away from the window to do so. That was all that she had wanted. In front of her, before she crashed into it, the window exploded, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. Rushing, she continued her run, despite the wound on her arm Julio inflicted when he disarmed her.
She had to leap as far as she could, and when she did she knew that there was no way she would be getting away.
Negi stood in front of her, and before she had time to do much of anything else, he raised his hand. "Aer Capturae", and with those two words, six shining, greenish beams erupted from his hand. The arrowheads at the front of the beams did not cut or pierce her, but they did wrap around her and restrict her movements, then stabbing themselves against the ground.
She did, however, have her right hand, which still held her wand, free. Well, the wrist, anyway. When she tried to cast a spell, however, a loud gunshot snapped her attention to the fact that she was no longer holding it and couldn't nurse her most likely very damaged hand.
"Nice shot." Negi said, looking at Agnes, who was watching from the spot where a window should have been.
"So, if this is done, I am going back to sleep." Eleonore stated. "Cattleya, your room is thrashed. Come sleep with me for the night." She said, taking a few steps forward. "Little Louise, it is quite late, you should go to sleep as well. Now is not the time to play around like children."
Louise sighed, but noticed she'd have to comply. Well, she couldn't sleep with Cattleya, but hey, she had the next best thing, a pretty damn close second...
No omake for this chapter, folks. Couldn't think of anything. Hope ya'll like it.