The next day came by after I managed to get Wales and Louise out of Albion with the help of Kirche and the others. To give a quick recap, Louise and I met Wales, got the letter, got surrounded by Ghoul Phantoms while meeting Cromwell, Wardes, Doppelganger, and Wiseman, the former two escaped, I got Flame Dragon Style, causing Wiseman to retreat and destroy Doppelganger.
It was a long day.
Wales was reluctant to leave, but news quickly reached us that the rebels were already crushing many of the remaining cells of loyalists. It turned out the rebels had already known where those cells existed and were waiting for the death of Wales to make their move. Since that plot failed, they went ahead for a crushing victory. It wouldn't endear them to the people as much as they liked, but at this point Reconquista were more concerned about winning than their political ideals.
Fortunately we had Tabitha who snuck us all out on Sylphid's back. We had returned to Tristain under the cloak of night and just got the hell out of dodge. We weren't sure how many sympathizers were to be found in port cities and we didn't want to make ourselves targets. So we rode all night until we got to the capital where Henrietta was waiting for us. We arrived at dawn and had just come to her throne room to report in.
"Thanks for dropping us off Tabitha…" I sighed as Wales and I got off Sylphid after landing several feet away from the castle.
"You're welcome…" Tabitha nodded.
"I want you girls and Guiche to head back to the Academy. Get Louise's wounds treated there. I'll take Wales to Princess Henrietta." I said as I looked at Louise who was still unconscious.
"Right…" Tabitha nodded before a tap to her familiar's head had them all flying off again.
"Shall we?" I asked Wales. "Henrietta will be thrilled to see you."
"I don't doubt that." Wales smiled. "Lead the way."
(Cue Theme)
After walking to the guards and explaining our situation, the guards immediately let us through and we walked into the castle until we came to the doors of the throne room. "Okay, you stay here for a bit. I wanna surprise Henrietta."
"Must we?" asked Wales.
"After everything, I want to give as much good news as I can," I replied.
"Well, ok. If you say so," Wales said.
"Good." I nodded with a smile before I went into the throne room and closed the door behind me. In front of me, Henrietta was waiting.
"Ah, Sir Kurogasa," Henrietta smiled. "I am glad you returned. Where is Louise Françoise?"
Oh crap… that's not how I wanted to start it off. Oh well, might as well get it over with.
"She's…" I said. "How should I say this? To be blunt, she's in critical condition…"
Henrietta gasped, turning pale, "What?!"
"The leader of the Phantoms is allied with Reconquista," I sighed. "He struck Louise with a spell aimed at me during a fight."
"I–Is she–"
I raised a hand to stop her from speaking before saying, "She's fine… Kirche, Tabitha, and Guiche are taking her back to the Academy for treatment…"
Henrietta slumped in her chair, "Again… my selfishness hurts people. Even my best friend…"
I smirked at that, "Well, on the bright side, your selfishness saved one person."
"Huh?" Henrietta blinked looking up at me.
I smirked wider before I went to the door and opened it. On cue, Wales came right in.
"Wales!" Henrietta gasped, with her hands over her mouth. She looked in disbelief as if he would disappear if she did anything.
"Henrietta…" Wales murmured.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAALES," Henrietta shouted before getting up from her throne and running towards him.
Henrietta grasped Wales desperately, breaking out into open sobs as he held her close. He was whispering something to her, but I couldn't hear what. Deciding to let the pair have their moment, I stepped outside and kept an eye out for anyone who might interrupt them.
But during that, I leaned my back against the door and I felt my heart ache a little bit as I had my hand on my chest. Henrietta now has the love of her life, and now I must forever keep silent. Women like her were one in a million. She wasn't just beautiful with her looks, but also in her heart. I doubt I'd ever meet another girl who was just as driven, honest, and dedicated. I was really hoping I'd get a chance with her but now I know that won't happen. As long as she had Wales I'd never get that chance.
'It hurts doesn't it,' Dragon said in my mind.
'Eh?' I said in my mind too.
'Oh don't be surprised,' Dragon muttered. 'Since delving into my magic to make that Dragon form, you strengthened our link.'
'Well… yeah, I guess…' I said.
'You should've taken that chance.'
'And ruin her relationship with Wales? I don't think so.'
'But your heart says otherwise.'Dragon countered.'You love her.'
'Who wouldn't?' I retorted, 'A woman like her?'
'And now you must forever keep silent.'
'I know… I'll get through it… somehow…'
'Don't tell me you're going to fall into despair like this, are ya?'
'Are you kidding me? Of course not,' I said incredulously. 'Still… It's going to be a while before I heal…'
'Just don't go writing bad poetry and I'll survive.'Dragon commented.
'Oh you won't get arguments from me on that.'
LINEBREAK
After Henrietta thanked me for getting Wales out of Albion, I went out the castle and used my Connect Ring to pull out my Machine Winger and drove all the way back to the Academy.
Coming to a stop at the Academy, I saw Colbert waiting for me. He looked especially worried about something. I really didn't have to guess what when he came running towards me. He wasn't even curious about my machine.
"Kurogasa, what in Founder's name happened to Miss Vallière?" he gasped out. "All the other students would tell us is that the Princess sent you to Albion!"
"It's a long story Professor…" I sighed.
"I think the Headmaster and I will need to hear it, especially if the Princess is involved," Colbert nodded. "But right now Miss Vallière is asking for you."
"Ok, thank you." I nodded back before I went on my way to Louise.
I headed straight to the medical wing where injured students went to get their injuries fixed. Upon arriving, I found Louise sitting up in the bed looking much better than when I left her.
"Kurogasa, you have some explaining to do!" she huffed at me.
"And a hello to you too…" I deadpanned.
Strangely, I missed this.
"I demand an explanation!" Louise repeated.
"…" Well, I may as well make a long story short. "I drove off Wiseman, killed Doppelganger, wiped out the whole mess of Ghouls, and brought Wales back to Tristain."
Louise then asked, "What about Sir Wardes?!"
"Long gone…" I said. "He escaped with Cromwell."
Henrietta did report that she would be confiscating everything of the Wardes Family for his treason. Likely if he ever showed his face again he'd be arrested, tried, and convicted of treason as well. I could only imagine what Louise's family would think once news got back to him over their choice in future husbands for their daughter.
"Mmmmmmmmm…" Louise got out before she looked away with the pain of betrayal on her face. Things were silent for a while before I decided to break the ice.
"Louise, I'm really sorry…" I apologized. "I…"
"Wh–Why should you apologize?" Louise stuttered as he had her head down, the bangs of her hair covering her eyes. "Y–You didn't do anything wrong…"
"Louise…"
"Y–Y–Y–You just wanted to p–p–p–protect m… us…" Louise stuttered, but it was obvious that she was desperately trying not to cry. "Y–Y–Y–Y–You didn't b–b–betray me… w–w–want to use me… see m–m–me as p–p–p–property…*Sniff*"
That's when I went up to her and hugged her, catching her by surprise. "Wh–What are–"
"Let it out…" I muttered.
"Huh…?"
"Let it out Louise… I won't judge…"
Louise trembled. I think she tried to deny it as her noble upbringing demanded, but she couldn't. She broke out into sobs and clutched at my shirt. She let off loud sobs of heartbreak as one of the only people she felt believed in her betrayed her in one of the worst ways.
"What in Founder's name is going on?" A voice asked a bit annoyed as I looked up to see Guiche, Montmorency, Tabitha, and Kirche coming over. They probably wanted to visit Louise. But when they saw me with a crying Louise in my arms, I shook my head.
Surprisingly, Kirche managed to clue in first and she began ushering everyone back out of the room. Tabitha got it a split second later and helped bring out the confused Montmorency and Guiche. Most of them knew Wardes was a traitor, but they didn't know that he and Louise had been engaged.
Wardes… when I see you again, you're a dead man…
LINE BREAK
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, this bleeding won't stop!" Cromwell wailed out girly.
"It is a grievous wound sir." the healer tried to reassure the man. "But we must first stem the bleeding before we can place the digit back on!"
"Well don't just stand there! Do it already!" Cromwell shouted.
"Yes sire." The healer bowed before getting to work.
Meanwhile, Wardes was looking on from outside Cromwell's room and sighed in annoyance. No doubt in his mind that Cromwell was a great ruler, but there are times when Cromwell can get a bit childish over the most trivial things such as having his finger blown off.
Sadly, the mission which would have been the key to cementing the people's loyalty and Reconquista's victory had flubbed. Wales lived, so did the Gandalfr, and they did not have Louise and her Void magic. All of Reconquista's plans were starting to fall apart and it's all thanks to that Gandalfr. For some reason, he was aware of his plans and he somehow managed to counter it. How he was able to obtain such information was beyond him.
"Trouble in Paradise," A voice asked. Wardes looked to his left to see Wiseman walk towards him.
"What do you want?" Wardes frowned.
"Just checking in," Wiseman replied, approaching the traitor. "Is the fool still whining over his finger?"
"More or less," Wardes sighed. "More importantly," He turned to Wiseman, "I find it most difficult as to why you decided to aid our cause?"
"Who can say?" Wiseman shrugged.
"You can hardly expect me to believe that." Wardes frowned.
"Believe what you will." Wiseman shrugged. "As far as your society is concerned, I'm not human therefore everything I do is suspect. As if humans are so trustworthy,"
"Hmph… Then I guess I have to watch my back from now on."
"Men who burn their bridges always do." Wiseman laughed, turning away. "And you burned quite a lot of them, haven't you: The Tristain Royal Family, the Vallière Family, and the Gandalfr of all people. Quite the list of enemies you collected in one day."
"And I'll wipe that list clean once I've dealt with them…" Wardes said.
"I think I'd like to see that," Wiseman left the room. "Don't overestimate yourself though. You know where that will lead."
Wardes glared at Wiseman once more before looking back at Cromwell.
LINE BREAK
For the past few days, Louise has been depressed. She skipped her classes, didn't eat her meals, and foregone sleep. She was a real mess.
I'm trying to help her as best as I could, but I couldn't do anything.
I was hardly an expert on heartbreak. The only kind I knew was letting a chance slip me by. Louise thought she had her prince charming only for him to be the wicked monster in disguise. He didn't care for her at all, he only was nice to her because of her name and then he wanted to use her power to suit his needs. How can someone just get up from that again?
Not only that, Henrietta told me that she got word from the Emperor of Germania that the arranged marriage was null and void due to what he heard on sheer, I repeat, sheer hearsay.
Apparently he heard about how Wales had taken refuge in Tristain with her. Someone kicked up the rumor that the two used to be lovers, which was true but they didn't know that. The Emperor apparently didn't like that and decided that Henrietta was a bit too promiscuous for his tastes. He had no evidence to think that, but he broke the engagement anyway. Now Tristain was hung high and dry.
As of right now, I'm in my house polishing my rings as I thought about those things, however, that and Louise's health has gotten me cranky.
"Gah, this is ridiculous! Why does the world, have to be so crazy?!" I yelled to no one in particular before I lied on the floor, frustrated. What happened to the simple days where I only had to worry about getting along with Louise? To be honest, this world ain't what it's cracked up to be. I mean sure, in my world there were these kinds of things in the past, but this is happening in the here and now! And I don't like every bit of it!
"Kurogasa…?" Siesta's voice asked.
I sat up saying, "Hm?" Dragging myself to the front door, I opened it to find Siesta there. "Oh, hi Siesta," I greeted. Looking at her now, she was wearing a simple white blouse and long brown skirt, with black boots and she was carrying a suitcase for some reason. "Going somewhere?"
"Yes," Siesta nodded. "I have a vacation coming up so I decided to go home and visit my family. It's been a while since I've seen them and I've been missing them."
"I see." I said. Hey… that gives me an idea. "Say Siesta, mind if you bring along two more people with ya?"
"Huh?" Siesta blinked.
"Louise has been… pretty bad ever since her fiancé dumped her," I explained. That was the cover to Louise's current mood which wasn't entirely untrue. "I think some time away from all the nobility would help her express herself as she should instead of bottling it all up. And I need some time off from this academy too. So… do you mind if Louise and I tag along?"
"Oh sure, I don't mind." Siesta smiled. "In fact, I can ask to rent a horse and carriage if you'd like."
"Sure, that'd be great. Thanks." I smiled back.
"Ok, I'll be right back. Please go get Miss Vallière while I do so." Siesta said before running off. Odd, she seemed more excited to have company than before with just the trip.
But I shrugged it off, thinking it was nothing. So with that, I got my rings and went off to Louise's room to check up on her.
When I got there, I opened the door and sighed seeing her still curled up in a corner like she always was, the past few days. "Louise…" I said before going up to her and kneeling down to her level. "What are you doing back in the corner again?"
"I just don't feel like going out," Louise huffed.
I shook my head. Louise was really determined not to go anywhere so she could stew on her hurt feelings, "Louise, I think it's high time that you get out and go somewhere. How about going into the countryside?"
"Why would a noble like me go out there?" Louise frowned, her pride taking the reins again.
"Because no nobles will be out there," I retorted. "No one will recognize you, no one will know your reputation, and you can relax focusing on working out your feelings instead of keeping them bottled up afraid, and people judging you for not acting like a noble."
"I don't–"
"No, you need to relax." I said, immediately getting her up to her feet. "A day at the countryside won't hurt you. Besides, we're going with Siesta on this one."
"The maid," Louise frowned.
"Yes. She's going on vacation to visit her family and this is the perfect time to go."
Louise frowned, looking at me as if I had an ulterior motive? What? So what if Siesta had shown obvious affection to me… and willingly shared a bath with me… and seemed for a while under the impression I proposed to her… It didn't mean anything funny would happen!
"If you're thinking those funny thoughts, nothing is gonna happen between me and Siesta…" I sighed. "Besides, her whole family is gonna be there so most likely, they'll be keeping an eye on me so I don't do any of those things."
Later I would look back on that statement and groan at how naïve I was being.
"So… you are… planning to those things with that maid?" Louise growled, her eye twitching.
Uh–oh…
"No, no, no." I quickly shook my head. "I may be friends with Siesta, but I don't have those kinds of intentions towards her! Honest!"
"Is that right…?" Louise growled. "Then can you explain about the maid joining you in that bath the other day?"
Oh crap! She saw that?! "Uh… that took me by surprise too…" I mumbled.
"YOU BIG, BAD, DOG!" Louise shouted before pulling out her spare wand and–
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
Oh the stars…
LINE BREAK
After a Louise calmed herself down and got ourselves clean, separately mind you, Louise agreed to come with me and Siesta. Although her reason was that so she can relieve some stress from me. I didn't care for her reason so long as she got to relax. So with that, Louise and I got our suitcases of clothes and put them in the back of the carriage before heading inside the coach with Siesta taking the reins before we set off for Siesta's village. "You'll like it at Tarbes Kurogasa," Siesta smiled. "It's a small town, but it's peaceful with lots of friendly people! My family will love you meet you too! I told them about you in my letters!"
"You did?" I laughed sheepishly as I felt Louise's cold hard stare on me.
"Mn," Siesta nodded. "I told them all about how you rescued me from that awful Phantom."
"I see. Is there anything else?"
"Oh just a few stories like how you helped rescue Princess Henrietta and saved the Staff of Destruction," Siesta smiled. "They were so excited to hear the stories."
"I bet they are." I said. I sweated profusely as I felt Louise's stare harden really bad.
"My little brothers and sisters will really be excited to hear I brought you back with me," Siesta continued. "Father says they always want to hear more stories about you. They think you're a magic knight of some sort."
"Well they're not too far off." I said. It was kinda true too. Kamen Rider Wizard is kinda like a magic knight.
"Oh they'll love it!" Siesta smiled.
"I'm sure they would…" I laughed sheepishly before I looked to Louise and she looked really ticked off. "W–What is it Louise?"
"You… You… You slobbering DOG," Louise screamed, going for her wand. I immediately dove to try and keep her from blowing us all up and our luggage.
"No way Louise, you're not blowing all of us up!" I said as I tried to grab for Louise's wand.
"I won't! I'm just going to punish you!" Louise cried back, struggling in my grip.
Thinking quickly, I managed to get a ring from my pocket and placed it in Louise's finger before putting it over my Hand Author buckle.
SLEEP! PLEASE!
"Fuuuu…" Louise conked out immediately, snoozing softly against our luggage.
"Whew," I wiped my brow. "One disaster averted."
"Is everything okay?" Siesta asked, looking behind us.
"U–Uh, yeah everything's fine." I laughed sheepishly with a sweat drop.
"Ok, we'll be in Tarbes very soon. So sit tight okay?" Siesta smiled.
"Sure," I nodded. Louise should be asleep long enough to get there. She wouldn't be happy, but we could work through it once she saw people were around. She wouldn't flip out in public… hopefully.
LINE BREAK
We soon arrived at Tarbes and by the time we arrived, Louise had finally woken up.
It was a humble little town. Seemed like one of those quaint little places you hear about in storybooks. A few people were milling about. Most of the people were working out in the farm fields though. Only women were in town, going through the few businesses in the village to get food and supplies for their families.
"So, how do you like it?" Siesta asked as she, Louise, and I walked with our luggage in tow after dropping off the horse and carriage to a nearby stable in town.
"It's… very quaint." I admitted.
"Thanks. We like it that way," Siesta smiled. "What about you Ms. Vallière?" But Louise didn't respond. "Ms. Vallière?"
"It's… nice." Louise admitted.
She must be still out of it… I went up to her and whispered in her ear, "C'mon Louise, you gotta relax…"
"But… everyone's staring," Louise hissed back, pointing out to a few locals who were gossiping and looking at us.
"Don't worry about it." I whispered. "As long as you don't mind them, you'll be fine and they won't mind you."
"Mnn," Louise mumbled, feeling self–conscious. Likely she was paranoid about her noble status being exposed or news about Wardes reaching even the small town.
"Can you please try? At least do that for me?" I asked.
Louise was silent for a while before nodding small saying, "…I'll try."
"Thank you." I said, before saying to Siesta. "Okay Siesta, lead us to your house."
"My pleasure, this way," Siesta smiled.
We were lead more to the rural portions where the farmhouses were kept. After walking down the road for a while, we came to one of the farmhouses. It was decently sized, likely the family who lived in it were of decent means. Coming closer, we were surprised when a mess of small children came pouring out the front door, all of them cheering for Siesta.
The kids all cheered seeing their big sister come home, "SIESTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"Your siblings I take it?" I asked.
"Yes." Siesta smiled before all of them ran towards Siesta and gave her a tackle hug, sending her to the ground. Meanwhile, two more people came out of the house and I'm about 100% sure that it's her parents. Her father was a tall and rather stout–looking man. Her mother I could have sworn was an older version of Siesta with a different hairstyle.
"Well if it isn't Siesta! She's home!" Her father laughed heartily.
"Hello Father! Hello Mother!" Siesta greeted amid the squirming and cheering bodies of her siblings.
"Hello dear. It's so good to see you home." Her mother smiled as she and her husband approached us. "And I see you've brought some friends."
"Yes, I did." Siesta said as she managed to get up from the sea of siblings. "This is Louise Vallière and Kurogasa." She said gesturing to us.
"Oh, so you're the boy that Siesta talked about huh?" Siesta's father said as he came up to me and placed his big hand on my shoulder.
"Uh… I am sir." I winced as I felt his hand squeeze a bit tight on my shoulder.
Oh boy. Overprotective parent… Joy…
"My, and you're such a handsome boy too." Siesta's mother praised. "I'm sure you and Siesta will make a great couple together."
"M–Mother," Siesta stuttered with a blush and I blushed too. Me and her together…?
"It's a little early for that dear," Siesta's father chuckled, but his grip only got tighter.
"Dear, Siesta's already seventeen. She should seriously consider finding a man instead of slaving away in that school," her mother insisted. "The stories I hear of what some nobles get up to with maids. Brrr,"
"W–Well, i–in any case, let's all go in. I'm actually kinda hungry now that I think about it." I laughed nervously.
"Of course!" the missus beamed. "We can get to know each other!"
"Yes, we can know each other more. A lot more," Siesta's father smiled as his grip got really tight.
I'm starting to think that maybe this wasn't a good idea after all…
LINE BREAK
Back at the academy, spirits were not quite as high. The courtyard had many students lounging about. Since it was a vacation period, there weren't any classes going on. So what students remained didn't have much to do. So Kirche was lying on the grass, poking absently at a flower. Tabitha was lying against Sylphid while reading a book. At another part of the courtyard, Guiche was pleading with Montmorency who was sure that he had gone off philandering with another girl again.
"Ughhhhhh… this is so~ boring." Kirche moaned. "There's nothing to around here."
"Relax…" Tabitha uttered.
"But I need stimulation!" Kirche whined. "Darling isn't even around to take away my tension!"
"You scare him…" Tabitha added.
"Darling's just shy," Kirche huffed.
"Terrified of you…"
"He is not!" Kirche denied.
"That's a lie…"
"Hmph," Kirche huffed.
"Excellent, with the Headmaster's permission I can finally go off on my expedition!" Colbert's voice said.
"Hm…?" Kirche looked up, seeing the bald professor almost skipping in delight, holding what looked like a bunch of official documents in his hands. Now curious, as opposed to doing nothing, Kirche headed out to see what he was up to. Tabitha merely sighed and shut her book before following her friend.
"Oh Professor~" Kirche called out.
"Hm…?" Colbert looked up to see his approaching students. "Oh hello, can I help you?"
"What are you doing?" Kirche asked.
"Ah, I finally received permission to go on an expedition for a rare and supposedly legendary artefact!" Colbert smiled, looking back down at the papers. "I've had to go through dozens of leads, but I finally got a solid lead into the location of the Dragon's Raiment!"
"The Dragon's Raiment, you say?" Kirche raised an eyebrow.
"Machine… Flies like dragon. Breathes fire… Roars," Tabitha interjected.
"Oh, you are aware of this Miss Tabitha?" Colbert asked surprised.
"Nice story," Tabitha nodded. "Real?"
"I'm not sure, that's why I'm going on an expedition to find it."
"Oh, can we come along?" Kirche asked. "It's getting rather bored around here and there's nothing to do."
Colbert blinked, but then pondered the offer, "Well, I could use some extra hands just in case. I could give you all extra credit for helping me if you like."
"Oh thank you Professor!" Kirche cooed.
"My pleasure," Colbert smiled. "Oh, bring Mr. Gramont and Miss Montmorency too. After all, you can never have too many students helping you out."
"Eh?" Guiche and Montmorency looked up from their squabble.
"Would you like to get extra credit by helping me in a little expedition?" Colbert called out.
"Well… I suppose my grades could use the help," Montmorency nodded, but then grabbed Guiche's ear, "And this cheat could use some labor to remind him not to go cheating on me!"
"But Montmorency," Guiche whined. "I really was off in Albion for the monarchy. Ask Sir Kurogasa! Ask Louise! Kirche and Tabitha were there too!"
"That's enough out of you! We will continue this discussion later!" Montmorency huffed.
"Ohhhhh…" Guiche whined.
"Well, now that that's settled, let's get going!" Colbert said enthusiastically.
"Where are we headed?" Kirche asked.
"We are headed to the village of Tarbes." Colbert said.
LINEBREAK
Siesta's parents were welcoming, but they kept their eyes trained on me the whole time and my interaction with Siesta and her siblings. Her father eyed me like I was some kind of predator, getting ready to make off with Siesta the first chance I got. Her mother eyed me like she was the predator, ready to nail me to the wedding altar once she caught sight of me showing more than just friendship to the happy maid. She certainly seemed to get more eager when I proved to be patient and accommodating to the toddlers and small children in the house.
As for the children, Siesta had four sisters and three brothers ranging from four to twelve years of age.
Siesta seemed to have been romanticizing out encounters, especially that incident with the Anansi Phantom. The girls asked me if I was a prince from a foreign country and if I was going to make their big sister a princess. The boys asked me if I really had a pet dragon and if I could do some tricks.
'I am not a pet!' Dragon huffed in my mind.
'Yeah, but the boys say otherwise.' I chuckled in my thoughts.
"So then Kurogasa…" Siesta's father said, making me tense up. "You say you're a commoner and yet you can do magic?"
"Yes," I nodded. "Magic where I come from is almost completely forgotten and it has nothing to do with social status. I was just fortunate enough to activate my magic by accident when Louise summoned me here during her Familiar Summoning Ritual."
"You were… summoned here?" He blinked in confusion.
"Through a Summoning Ritual…?" Siesta's mother added.
"Yeah, very strange, but that's how it happened." I shrugged.
"I see…" Siesta's father nodded.
"So then… how did you get your magic?" Siesta's mother asked.
"I was a Gate that fell close to despair, but held onto my hope," I replied simply.
"You were… a Gate?"
"Huh… looks like I'll have to explain the long version of it." I sighed.
So as the family took seats I decided to explain, "A Gate is a general reference to someone who has the potential for magic. It can also apply to people who already can use magic, but in a different method to mine. Now magic in such a raw state is tricky. If a person falls into despair, the deepest darkest pit of it imaginable, their despair will mix with their magic to create a magical entity called a Phantom," The family 'ooohed' at the description. "Now having a Phantom is deadly because once it manifests, it will want to break out. If it does, it will be capable of taking your identity and will go to try and make more Gates fall into despair."
"How awful…! And such a monster wanted to do this to Siesta?!" her mother gasped.
"Yes, but I destroyed it," I nodded.
"How?" asked one of her brothers.
"Well, that comes to my case," I answered. "You see, once the Phantom is born if you can pull yourself out of that hole of despair then you can trap the Phantom inside of the memory of your hope. There, with the proper equipment, you can draw on its power to cast magic through special gemstones like mine. I don't have to memorize spells or channel magic consciously. The special materials of my belt and rings do it for me. I draw my natural mana through my Phantom to power my spells."
"Can we see it?" One of Siesta's sisters asked excitedly.
"Yeah, please?" One of the brothers asked.
"I wanna see! I wanna see!"
Well, one or two couldn't hurt. I responded, "Sure."
I fitted on one of my Plamonster rings and gave it a swipe.
GARUDA! PLEASE!
At that point, the red tray appeared and the pieces assembled to make Garuda and I slipped the ring in, making him chirp to life.
"UWAAH!" the children gasped in delight.
"And I got three more I can introduce you to." I said before taking out the other PlaMonster Rings and scanned them.
UNICORN! PLEASE!
KRAKEN! PLEASE!
GOLEM! PLEASE!
My three remaining PlaMonsters landed on the table and I brought them to life. The children went into transports of delight over them, wanting to get in close to see what they would do. Unicorn and Kraken were fine with the attention, but Golem squeaked in fright and ran for it. He jumped right off the table and ran over to Siesta's mother and promptly hid under her skirt.
"Oh dear!" the woman gasped.
"He's a little shy," I winced. "I guess it was too many new people for him to feel comfortable."
"I… see…" She said, as Golem poked its head out shyly, but went back in.
The kids didn't seem to mind as they paid attention to my remaining PlaMonsters, utterly amazed by seeing them, move. The three were even making a small performance out of it all to entertain everyone.
"Can we see you in the shiny armor next?!" One of the kids asked me.
I laughed lightly, "How about I save that for a special occasion?"
The kids begged, "Pleeeeeeeeeease?"
"You won't win this battle Kurogasa," Siesta giggled.
"I had a feeling I wouldn't." I chuckled. "Alright kids, you win." I stood up and gestured for the kids to follow me. I didn't want to cause any chaos inside with my transformation. Once a short distance from the house, I activated my Driver.
DRIVER ON! PLEASE!
The WizarDriver materialized around my waist and kids oohed and ahhed at it.
"Well, this should be interesting." Siesta's mother said as she, her husband, Louise, and Siesta watched from outside the door.
"Hmmm…" Siesta's father pondered.
I placed my Flame Style Ring on my finger before saying, "Don't blink." and switched the Hand Author to my left.
SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN!
The WizarDriver repeated the song as I flipped the visor down on my Flame Style Ring. I then shouted, "Henshin!" and scanned the ring on the belt.
FLAME! PLEASE! HII! HII! HII, HII, HII!
My magic circle adorned me in the armor of my Rider form with a flash of flames. The kids were all wide-eyed and gasping over the use of my magic.
"Oh my…" Siesta's mother gasped wide eyed, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Oooooooooh!" the children let out at once. Siesta, she was beaming like she had just gotten a prize of some kind.
"Well I'll be…" Siesta's father said in disbelief.
"Isn't it amazing?" Siesta beamed.
"Yeah, he is…" Louise added.
All I know, is that the kids are gonna be really rowdy for most of the day.
LINE BREAK
"Ughhhhhh… how much longer…?" Kirche groaned. Professor Colbert was driving the wagon with the horses pulling while Kirche, Tabitha, Montmorency, and Guiche sat in the wagon.
"Not far," Colbert replied. "Tarbes isn't very far out so provided the excavation does not take long, we can be there and back within a day!"
"Oh this extra credit better be worth it…" Kirche pouted.
"You need all the help you can get since you can't flirt your way out of a failing grade," Montmorency huffed.
"Quiet… too noisy…" Tabitha muttered.
"Zzzzzzzzz," Guiche had fallen asleep.
"Mmmmmmmmm…" Kirche and Montmorency pouted.
"Not to worry you four. We'll be in Tarbes very soon." Colbert assured.
LINE BREAK
Oh man… I thought I'd never get those kids to take a nap. It was all like they were on a sugar high, and worse they enjoyed poking at my suit asking questions about it. I thought they would never settle down. Fortunately they all settled down, but by then I was ready for a nap myself. "Oh man. What a day…" I sighed heavily as I plopped down on the bed in my guest room.
"How can children hop around so much?" Louise groaned, following me.
"You were probably like that too when you were a kid." I said.
"I wish," Louise huffed.
I winced a bit at that. That's right… noble kids don't get that luxury of running around and playing with other kids. They had nannies and toys, but more often than not once they were old enough to understand it, they were put through lessons so they could be 'proper' nobles.
"Sorry…" I apologized.
Louise waved me off. She knew I didn't mean anything by what I said.
It was a silent for a while before I said, "So… how are you feeling now?"
"Tired, but… relaxed," Louise admitted.
"That's good to hear." I smiled slightly. "At least it got your mind off of things."
"Yes. This place is surprisingly nice," Louise nodded. "I am surprised no other nobles pass through."
"Well, it is a simple village." I said. "They enjoy the peaceful times and live life as best as they could whether it's from good or bad times."
Nobles really wouldn't bother with the place, save for making sure the taxes are paid on time. If one was cynical, it may be considered why the village was so peaceful. With so few nobles running around, the people could relax and work on making a life for themselves instead of kissing someone's butt and worry about everything being taken away on a whim.
"I suppose that's true." Louise shrugged. It was silent for a bit before she said, "Hey… Kurogasa…?"
"Yes?"
"I… want to thank you…"
"Huh? For what, Louise," I asked confused.
"For…" Louise began. "For looking out for me… for being so patient… for just… being my friend when not many would."
"It's no problem." I smiled gently. "Besides, we've been friends the moment I fell into despair and you gave me hope."
"Mm," Louise smiled.
Then all of a sudden, she sat next to me and leaned in close to me. "Louise?" I asked with wide eyes before she planted a kiss to my cheek.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Uh… you're welcome…" I blushed.
Dang it, why do tsundere girls have to be so cute?!
A thumping sound like footsteps came up from behind before the door opened, revealing Siesta in a nightgown, "Kurogasa, my siblings want you to tell them a story!"
"WAH," Louise and I shouted, jumping in surprise.
"Did I interrupt something?" Siesta blinked innocently.
Yes you did. …is what I would've said, but what came out of my mouth was, "Uh… no…"
"Excellent!" Siesta smiled. "My siblings want to hear about the story of how you saved me from that spider Phantom. Would you please tell them?"
"Didn't you already tell the story?" I sweat dropped.
"Well, yes, but they want to hear it from your side of the story," Siesta nodded. "You saw my Underworld and fought the Phantom in there didn't you?"
"That's right." I nodded.
"Then won't you tell them? Please?" asked Siesta sweetly.
"Well…" I said, thinking about it. "I suppose it couldn't hurt."
"Excellent!"
Something tells me this is gonna be an all–nighter on this one…
LINE BREAK
The next had come by and I yawned loudly, sitting up on my bed to stretch out and loosen up. The sun was barely coming up and I just wanted to lie down and sleep some more. But I had a polite obligation to at least offer to help with the morning breakfast chores. So straightening myself out, I got changed into my clothes. I looked to my left, seeing Louise sleeping on another bed, with a peaceful look and smile on her face.
Coming to Tarbes was a good idea. No noble pressures and a friendly family who wanted to befriend her. It was a good vacation which she really needed. I smiled gently at her sleeping form before quietly leaving the room.
I headed to the kitchen and dining area where Siesta and her parents were already awake and preparing breakfast for the children.
"Oh good morning, Kurogasa," Siesta smiled.
"Morning," I waved. "Need help?"
"Sure," Siesta said. "If you don't mind, can you please get chicken eggs from the coop?"
"Sure," I nodded, turning to head for the door. Getting eggs from chickens… How hard could it be?
LINE BREAK
*PECK, PECK, PECK, PECK, PECK, PECK, PECK, PECK, PECK*
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow,"
It's much harder than I thought. Those birds were protective of their eggs even if nothing was going to come out of them!
"Sheesh… Why does everything have to be the hard way?" I groaned.
So after getting my hands mauled by angry chickens, I managed to bring the basket back to the house where the missus of the household was getting ready to use them in that day's breakfast.
"It's not easy huh?" Siesta's mother smirked.
"I don't want to be reminded…" I muttered.
"Good job Kurogasa!" Siesta complimented. "I dropped several eggs when I first tried when I was little!"
"Uh… beginner's luck, I guess…" I laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head.
"Well I'll take these off your hands and get started for breakfast," Siesta's mother smiled, taking the eggs from me. "Siesta, maybe you can wake up Miss Louise and you can get ready."
"Yes Mother." Siesta smiled before going in the house.
"Is there anything else?" I asked.
"No, that's it. Come on in, and we'll cook you a nice breakfast."
I happily complied, sitting down at the table to wait. I needed some good food after that war in the chicken coop.
After a while, Louise and kids were up and did their morning routine of whatever they had to do before they came to the kitchen for breakfast. "Alright you all dig in! You can't start the day on an empty stomach." Siesta's mother smiled before she gave us the breakfast. However what I saw was a bowl of… rice… eggs… and chicken?! No way… This is Oyakodon!"
I said as much, "Oyakodon?"
"Oh?" Siesta's mother blinked. She and her husband stopped in shock. "How did you know the name of my father's special dish?"
"This dish..." I said stunned. No… that's not possible. There's no way these people have ever heard of Oyakodon, it's impossible.
"Kurogasa?" asked Siesta. "You know the name of Grandpa's favorite dish?"
"Uh…" I blinked. This doesn't make sense. Why would they serve me Oyakodon? Just as I was about to answer, there was a knock on the door.
"Now who could that be?" asked Siesta's mother. Reaching the door, she opened it and from where we were, I could see a familiar man with dark robes and a bald head with glasses.
"Ah, pardon my intrusion," Professor Colbert smiled.
"Professor Colbert?" Louise and I asked a bit surprised.
"Oh, Mr. Kururugi and Miss Vallière…?" Colbert looked over the missus' shoulder. "Oh, fancy meeting you all here."
"WHAT? DARLING IS HERE?!"
Oh no…
There she was. Slipping past Siesta's mother was Kirche as she took a flying leap at me. She managed to get some good hang time before she crashed into me, assets first and put us both onto the floor.
"OHO! OW!" I cried out in pain.
"Oooooh!" the children saw the leap and tackle as amazing, but then funny as the broke out in giggles.
"Oh, I missed you so much darling! It was so boring back at the Academy when you weren't around!" Kirche cooed, hugging me tight.
"Kirche… choking… can't breathe… need air…!" I wheezed.
"GET OFF OF KUROGASA THIS INSTANT ZERBST!" Louise demanded with a shriek.
"Oh?" Kirche looked up. "Louise is here too?"
"Good grief Kirche, control yourself,"
"This whole trip better be worth it…"
"Troublesome…"
Huh? Montmorency, Guiche, and Tabitha are here too? What the heck were they all doing here? My mouth uttered the same words, "What the heck are you all doing here?" I managed to get out.
"Oh, some side project the professor wanted," Kirche waved off. "So how about we go off and enjoy the relaxing countryside Darling?"
"I was enjoying the relax countryside… until you came along…" I muttered. "Now get off of me!" Kirche seemed to get the message and got up. I was left grumbling as I got up, rubbing my head. I thought we left the Academy to get away from this sort of thing!
"I'm sorry for the intrusion, but perhaps we can all discuss what I'm here for at breakfast?" Professor Colbert said sheepishly.
"Sure… I'd like to know." I grumbled.
LINE BREAK
"The Dragon's Raiment…?" Louise and I asked confused.
"Yes," Colbert nodded. "I've been researching the legends and believe I have tracked it down to somewhere in Tarbes."
"It's out of the question!" Siesta's father shouted, standing up, slamming his hands on the table, making it shake. "I'm not handing over our family's heirloom!"
Colbert blinked, "Y–You know where it is? You have possession of it?!"
Siesta's father flinched and covered his mouth.
"Oh dear…" Siesta's mother sighed face palming. "Watch what you say next time…"
Colbert looked ready to lunge and get to his knees, "Please! Please let me research it! There's so much we could learn from it!"
Siesta's father roared, "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
Colbert looked like a kicked puppy.
"Is this Dragon's Raiment really that legendary?" I asked.
"Of course it is!" Siesta's father insisted. "My darling wife's father flew through the air on it and put this town on the map! If the magic in the machine didn't run out, he could have gone on to become even more famous!"
"Wait, it's a machine?!" I gawked. "And it flies?!"
"Yes, amazing isn't it?" Siesta's father grinned. "Who would have even imagined such a thing?!"
I looked a bit stunned as I looked down, looking left to right on the floor, thinking about something while I was in this world and putting the pieces together. Siesta's facial appearance, the Oyakodon, and finally this Dragon's Raiment… could it be that–
"Kurogasa…?" Montmorency asked a bit concerned.
"Are you alright?" Guiche questioned.
"Sir…" I said looking up, and being serious, "If it's alright, can I look at it? I need to confirm something."
I fully expected him to deny me, but instead he just grinned, "Anything for my future son–in–law!"
I blinked, "Huh?"
"Daddy," Siesta cried. "You weren't supposed to tell him that yet!"
"Dear. You just can't keep a secret can you?" Siesta's mother frowned with her hands on her hips.
"I can't help it." Siesta's father grinned sheepishly.
"Anyways, do you have a map of where it is?" I asked.
"Well sure," he nodded. "Father–in–law hid it out in the mountains after some stuffy noble tried to demand it as some kind of prize."
"Can you go get it please?"
"Sure, I'll be right back."
LINE BREAK
A while later, Siesta's father gave me the map and after breakfast, Louise and I along with Siesta, Professor Colbert, Kirche, Tabitha, Montmorency, and Guiche set out on our journey to find this Dragon's Raiment. It was hidden up in the hills which were deep in forests. We'd have to go through a cave to get to a certain valley which housed the Dragon's Raiment.
"Are you sure this is the right way to get to this Dragon's Raiment?" Guiche asked.
"According to the map, it is," I nodded, reading over the parchment. "Unless Siesta's family moved it and forgot to mention it."
"No, we didn't move it." Siesta shook her head.
"Darling, I'm tired!" Kirche whined. "Carry me!"
"No." I frowned.
"Stay tough…" Tabitha encouraged her friend.
"Easier said than done…" Kirche pouted.
"Well get used to it Zerbst!" Louise snapped.
We traversed the cavern easily enough, although we almost got turned around when we lost the light for a moment. We managed to get back out into the forests of the valley. So we continued trekking from there.
"Just a little farther according to this," I reported.
"What's that over there?" Montmorency asked, pointing at a direction. I looked up, spying a wooden shed which was pretty big for a hillside retreat.
"That must be it!" Professor Colbert said excitedly, and dashed over to the wooden shed.
"Oi, Professor, wait up!" I shouted, running after him.
The rest of the Academy students followed me and we all managed to catch up with Professor Colbert. We all stood at a very large wooden door, which was pretty huge for a wooden shed. This Dragon Raiment's must be big in order to put it in this wooden shed.
"Hm," Colbert pondered, looking at the lock. It seemed pristine, "Someone must have placed preservation charms on the building and what's inside. This is good! Whatever is inside won't be damaged by time!"
"Preservation charms?" I asked confused as I took a little closer at what he was talking about and suddenly…
I froze.
My eyes were widened in shock. The slips of paper that were on the door… these were… sutras! These kinds of sutras were used by monks during the Feudal Era!
"Oh, you noticed Grandfather's papers?" asked Siesta, seeing me stare at them. "He said they were supposed to ward off evil, but we never understood how that was supposed to work. He was kind of funny that way."
"Not funny," I shook my head. "Religious."
"Religious?" Siesta asked.
"Look here…" Tabitha said, as she stood in front of what appeared to be a tombstone.
I looked over and paled further, it was a memorial stone crafted to the Shinto religion with a name crafted on the surface. "No way…"
"What is it?" Louise asked coming over to me. "It's some form of strange writing."
I slowly walked over to the tombstone and knelt on one knee touching the engraving on the surface.
"Here lies Navy Ensign Takeo Sasaki… he who sleeps from an unknown land…" My voice quivered with shock and surprise.
Siesta gasped quite loudly, "H–How are you able to read that?! No one has been able to read that except Mother and Father and Grandfather taught them!"
"It's because this is Japanese," I replied, feeling like I might hurl. Not from illness, but from the mind–numbing shock I was looking at. "This man… This man came from my country. He came from my world! Heck, he served in our country's navy! Of course I can read it! He's a countryman to me!"
"What?" Everyone but Professor Colbert, who was still too preoccupied with trying to open the door, gasped.
"Aha! Here's the lock." Professor Colbert said. And with a wave of his staff…
*KACHINK!*
"I got it!"
The doors creaked open and we entered to see what was inside. Entering, I gaped and my knees went wobbly. Inside wasn't some kind of dragon or magical machine…
…it was a WWII Zero Fighter!
It was a dark green with yellow on the wings. Red circles decorated the wings and near the tail, marking it as a Japanese plane. The cockpit was canopied and twin machine guns were mounted on either wing.
"No way…" I trembled slowly walking up to it. "It can't be... It's a Zero Fighter!"
"You know what this is?" asked Louise.
"It's a war machine!" I cried. "We used it during the last major war my country got involved in! How the heck, did one end up here in this world!"
"It's a war machine?" Colbert gulped.
"Yes…" I muttered. "This airplane was used more than 70 years ago. Back in its day… it was considered the most feared fighter to anyone who dared cross its path during the Second World War…"
Everyone asked shocked, "A WORLD WAR?!"
"Well, we called it that since almost all of the major powers in the world were involved in some way or another," I shrugged. "My country got whipped by a bomb so powerful we had to back out. We were lucky we didn't get worse. That alone was bad enough."
Rest in peace… victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki…
"Oh my…" Louise gasped.
"This World War you speak of… how much damage did it affect your country?" Colbert asked.
"Too much…" I grimaced, gritting my teeth. "As I said, my country was hit by a powerful bomb that we have to back out. In actuality, two powerful bombs hit my country. One in a city called Hiroshima and another called Nagasaki. Almost 250,000 lives were lost in those bombings…"
"Dear Founder!" Guiche gasped. "That's got to be the same population as Tristain or even more!"
"Yeah… those bombings led to my country surrendering thus ending the World War." I said.
"And they used these to fight it?" asked Kirche.
"Flew through the air and fought in the skies," I nodded. "Sometimes planes such as this would fly into enemy ships to damage them at the cost of the pilot committing suicide in the process. My countrymen call that kamikaze."
"Such a waste…" Colbert grimaced.
"I knew there was something familiar about you Siesta, when I first met you." I said.
"Huh?" Siesta blinked.
"It makes sense now," I explained. "So far you've been the only person I've met who has eastern-like features aside from the rest of your family. It also explains you were a Gate. Your bloodline comes from my country where magic can come from anyone, not just noble bloodlines."
"Is that true?" Siesta asked.
"Yes. Your grandfather and I come from the same country, Japan, and from the same world." I said. "For some unexplained reason, your grandfather who was a World War II Navy Ensign of the Japanese Imperial Navy came to this world."
Siesta's eyes widened before she seemed to ponder something, "People… People said that Grandpa just appeared one day during an eclipse. There was a second Dragon's Raiment with him… but after they flew around, they flew back for the eclipse. One vanished, but the eclipse ended before Grandpa's could pass through. He flew around for a while and then landed."
"The plane must have run out of fuel after flying for so long," I said.
"Fuel…?" Montmorency asked confused.
"Magic is little more than a fairy tale back home," I explained. "So no one relies on it. It's practically extinct. So what the majority of people do is rely on science and use machines instead. They can't run by themselves, so they use something to get the mechanics going. We call it fuel generally, although there are different kinds for different types of machines."
"So Grandfather wasn't making stories up," Siesta nodded. I looked to her. "When people asked him to fly the machine again he said it couldn't. Lots of people just thought he was some kind of performer, making a good show. Magic items don't just run out of power."
"Wait a minute. You said your grandfather came through an eclipse right?" Louise asked.
"Yes." Siesta nodded.
"An eclipse," I blinked.
"A special event which happens semi-regularly," Colbert nodded. "The moons align with the sun and make for a spectacular show. People who study astronomy wait eagerly for the event."
"I see." I said.
"Come to think of it…" Professor Colbert pondered. "The next eclipse is three days from now. And from what Siesta has said thus far, you could probably return home with the Dragon's Raiment!"
I froze… really…?
"I can… get home…?" I asked stunned.
Home… I could go home…
"Yes, you can. All you have to do is go flying into the eclipse."
I almost couldn't breathe, hearing that information. Everyone looked shocked too, but Louise was affected most of all…
Right now, the important decision stands before me in the form of the Zero Fighter.
I either go home or stay…