Zero no Tsukaima: Saito the Onmyōji

by SeerKing

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

29. Flight of the Dragon Raiment

Author's Note: So here we are a week late. Sorry about that. Noticed that I had done a stupid and forgotten to write a very important section out, so derp.

On that subject, this has a lemon in it, or the before and after sections of it anyway, so keep an eye out for descriptions of nudity.

Please read, review and check out my other stories! Also, please check my profile for my writing schedule, BEFORE you ask in a review or PM. Seriously people, I do not abandon stories on a whim!

Beta'd by BigCC

Read, Review and check out my other stories!

Disclaimer: I do not own Familiar of Zero.

"Saito" -Talking

'Louise' -Thinking/ Human-Human Telepathy

"Explosion!" -Spell

:Master: -Master/Familiar Telepathy

Chapter 29: Flight of the Dragon Raiment

Three Days Later

Queen Henrietta's Chambers, Tristain Academy for Magic

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Henrietta Stuart de Tristain, First of Her Name, stared silently out of the window of her temporary quarters. The coronation ceremony had completed mere hours ago, although it had been severely lacking all the pomp and gravitas that such events usually demanded. For the first time, she understood why such occasions were made such large affairs; it felt…wrong to suddenly change from First Princess to Queen of Tristain after such a short and simple ceremony.

And of course, the moment the ceremony had been completed, new headaches had begun to emerge. Her ministers were now insisting that she move back to the Royal Castle post haste to 'ensure her safety.' She knew for a fact that she was far safer in this room than within the castle, but it was, at heart, a matter of public perception. If the commoners and, especially, the nobles under her rule noticed their new monarch was distancing herself from her ancestral seat of power, it could lead to…rather dicey conclusions being made.

And so her newly assigned personal servants were already at work, beginning to pack and prepare her things to for her eventual move back to the castle, with great reluctance it must be said.

"Haaaa…" Henrietta couldn't hold back the world-weary sigh that ghosted past her lips.

"My oh my, that was quite the sigh, Your Highness. An Écu for your thoughts?" a now-familiar voice asked from her side, causing the burgundy-haired royal to turn and come face-to-face with Emereldas the Succubus. The demoness was casually leaning against the wall by the windows, her usual knowing look on her face.

Henrietta merely smiled fondly and shook her head. She would deny that she'd grown to like the demoness since their initial meeting, but the mischievous and sprightly being was certainly a refreshing distraction at times. "How is it that you can slip into my chambers so easily without alerting Agnès or the rest of the guards?" she asked curiously

The demoness merely smirked. "My Master was the one who placed the protections around this room in the first place, and he added a few extra fail-safes into them just in case. One was allowing both myself and Kaede to slip through so that, were some attackers to somehow bypass or overcome the other protections safeguarding you here, either of us would be able to teleport in and quickly remove you from danger."

Henrietta could see the benefits of such a fail-safe, but she doubted her Royal Guard would agree. "Agnès certainly won't appreciate that." she offered with a slight wince.

"Why do you think my Master never informed your ever-loyal watchdog about that particular feature?" Emereldas replied with a snort. "That man-hating knight of yours trusts my Master as far as she could throw a horse without magical or mechanical aid."

Henrietta winced again, but fought down the urge to argue in her loyal guardian's favour. The destruction of D'Angleterre, her hometown, had left far more scars on her loyal knight's heart than it had her body. Because the unit of Fire Mages who'd destroyed her home had been made up entirely of men, her bias against mages was even more apparent when it came to dealing with male mages, and Henrietta had to be particularly careful when her she was forced to deal with male fire mages lest her loyal Musketeer lose her control of her vitriol and do something…regrettable.

Agnès' loyalty to her and ability were without question, but her judgement when dealing with male mages would always be compromised by her own biases.

"Was there a reason you came to see me, Emereldas? I doubt it was simply to poke fun at Agnès." the newly crowned queen asked, deftly avoiding any further discussion on the topic.

"Indeed." the Avanta agreed with a chuckle before her face became pensive. "I have just finished my analysis of that runic shackle that binds my Master and your dear friend. The results of my study on that thrice bedamned thing was quite…surprising, even for me, and I was simply looking for a trusted third party to discuss what I've found with. You were simply the closest that fit the criteria, Your Highness."

"Oh? And what have you found?" Henrietta asked, obviously intrigued. The exact workings of the Familiar Runes of the Gandálfr were both an interesting magical subject and deeply tied to her best friend's health and well-being, so of course she was curious.

"Hmm…when it comes to mind magics designed to affect and influence the behaviour of a target there are several…levels of severity associated with the effects." the succubus answered slowly. "The strongest are mind control and brainwashing, literally suppressing the free will of a subject and installing the caster's commands or even completely rewriting someone's mind and memory with magic. From what we've seen and heard, the magics cast by the Ring of Andvari are likely close to this level. While powerful, these types of magics tend to be quite unsubtle and rely on the equivalent of magical brute force to accomplish. Beneath that level though, there are mind magics that are far more subtle, more…nebulous in their control. Influence, coercion, sublimation, insurrection and so on. The most subtle, and theoretically the weakest, are suggestion and the removal of inhibitions. Nearly any form of advanced mind magic uses those two forms as the basis of their matrix."

Emereldas paused for a moment and waited for Henrietta to nod and show that she was following the impromptu lecture so far. When she did, the demoness continued. "I was expecting to find at least some mid-level mind magics implanted into the runic shackle that binds my Master to your pinkette, but I was surprised to only find the two weakest forms embedded near its very core. Rather than trying to directly coerce or influence either of them, the shackle seems to instead be designed to subtly and slowly remove any mental obstacles that would prevent a full familiar bond from forming, as well as encouraging acceptance of their places as Master and Familiar."

"That…that does not sound like anything I've ever head of involving Familiar Runes." Henrietta offered slowly, not sure what to think for the moment.

"I have yet to have a chance to study a similar set of runes, but I am fairly certain that this is unique to the Familiar Runes branded onto humans summoned by a Void Mage." Emereldas stated confidently. "I've studied the runes binding many of the lesser familiars that your people have summoned via their ritual, and not a single one is anywhere near the same level of complexity as the one on my Master. Most are rather simple things, linking the magics of the two to form a familiar bond and to impress a sense of 'belonging' onto the beast that was summoned."

"That…That would make sense, I suppose…the runes to summon a Gandálfr would undoubtedly be more complex than those of a normal summoning…" Henrietta nodded absently. "But…but this does prove that Saito is being conditioned by the runes…"

"Not…necessarily." the demoness put in, her expression conflicted. "In addition to the Familiar Runes, I also made a point of studying the version of the Summon Servant spell your people use in great detail, and I am a far better spell-smith and analyst than my Master is. It is just as your stories say, the spell is designed to seek out the most compatible Familiar for the Master using it, whether that be the most compatible beast for normal mages or the most suitable person for a Void Mage. My Master is exactly the type of person Louise de Vallière needed: loyal, patient, honourable, kind and willing to help and teach her without judgement. In return, Louise is…the type of person my Master could freely give his loyalty to and not have it abused, someone who cares for him as both a person and ally, who needs and wants him in such a way that the Imperial Ministry never could. Gah, just admitting such things makes me want to punch something, repeatedly."

Henrietta ignored that last comment. "So then, how precisely have the runes been affecting Professor Saito and Louise?" she asked curiously.

"Both of them are the types that would keep their troubles and pains to themselves and who'd lie to themselves about their own desires for the sake of others." the succubus readily admitted to the most…annoying similarities between the midget and her Master. "At worst, the runes have been making it easier for them to admit, to themselves, if no one else, that they want and need each other. It is not forcing any form of romantic attachment, nor a compulsion to bed each other, nor does it coerce or enforce any sense of comradery between them. All the runes are doing is stripping away their ability to lie to themselves about what they want, forcing them to look at themselves and what they desire without any interference from any outside influence. That is likely what has been causing my Master the most disquiet these last few days; as his departure approaches, he's being forced to admit more and more that he does not wish to leave."

"Louise hasn't been particularly thrilled about it either…" the Queen noted absently.

"But because they are both extremely stubborn, noble idiots," Emereldas continued, ignoring the Queen's comment, "they insist on refusing what they desire. My Master gave his oath to serve the Imperial Ministry and he has always held his word in high regard, so his sense of duty and honour prevents him from turning from his path without at least attempting to return home. Louise, by contrast, respects my Master too much to willingly try and convince him to break his oath, and her pride will not allow her to beg him to stay with her or even admit how badly him leaving would hurt her. If my Master is to stay in Halkaginia, then one or the other will need to bend first."

"I thought you wished for him to break the Runes and return home?" Henrietta blinked at the blatant contradiction in what Emereldas was saying now and what she had said in the past.

"Once it became clear the runes were not having an undue influence on my Master my primary concern for them was severely diminished." Emereldas explained. "Neither myself nor the oni are in any way happy about our Master being bound by them, but they are no longer as grave a threat. As for him returning to his homeland…my only desire is my Master's happiness. He will not be happy unless he at least makes an attempt to return home, his honour will demand no less. But he also truly likes Tristain, for all the simplicity of your magic system or the primitive culture. He's made more connections in his brief time here than he did in all his years at the Onmyōji Academy. He has friends here, Henrietta. My Master…he has always been a lonely soul, always keeping others at arm's length out of fear of being hurt or abandoned. He hides it well by burying himself in his studies and duties, something I'm sure you're quite familiar with yourself."

Henrietta's heart was pained, as yes, that was exactly what she had done before things had tumbled down with Wales' death. Aside from the de Vallière family, her mother, the Musketeer Knights and a few trusted members of the Royal Court, Henrietta herself had been very lonely. Even before becoming Queen, she'd had duties of state to attend to, etiquette lessons and deportment, a whole slew of history lessons, and bridal training to boot. With Louise at the Academy and Wales in Albion, she had buried herself in work and training to try and drown out the loneliness that had gnawed at her.

From experience, she knew such an approach was never entirely successful, no matter how hard you tried. Then an idea occurred to her.

"You're worried about Professor Saito doing that again." the Queen realized. "He's been more open and less inclined to overwork himself recently, but..."

"...if he returns to his world, he is likely to revert to that habit, yes." Emereldas said unhappily. "Combined with his steadily growing power…he will likely reach Senior Adept rank far too soon and thus become an open target for the Juxtaposed Black Star."

"You're sincerely worried for him, aren't you? Both you and and Miss Gin'yoku." Henrietta asked softly. It was strange, to see a literal demon so concerned for another soul.

"He is my Master. By our contract, I am required to do all I can to ensure his happiness and well-being." the succubus said softly. "And a Devil will do anything and everything in order to ensure that all terms of a contract that they sign are upheld. It is why we are so sought after as Familiars, Hereditary Servants and Guardians. We are tricky and devious in wording and negotiating our bargains, but once a deal has been struck, our very nature will not allow us to deviate a millimetre from the terms of our bargain."

After pausing for a moment, Emereldas snorted in amusement. "And Mother Lilith help me, never address Kaede with a prefix. Use a suffix. She hates being addressed with Western terms."

"O...kay...?" Henrietta said in confusion.

"Now, I wonder if that maid has propositioned my Master yet?" Emereldas forced a change of subject, suddenly developing a somewhat lascivious smirk. "I've told her to go ahead, but she was so insistent that she had to ask her Mistress' permission first. Is that a thing around here?"

The Queen flushed red at the rather…personal subject matter. "Er...ah...y-yes..." she managed to get out eventually. "It's...considered common courtesy among Noble couples to agree between one another to allow a commoner into their bed. It has been such a commonly known fact that a fair few romance novels, ones that I know Miss Siesta has read, make notable mention of it. She obviously considers Professor Saito and Louise to be a couple regardless of the fact they are currently just platonic, and is following the ascribed and traditional formula so as to prevent hard feelings between her and Louise."

"Hmmm...I wonder how likely the midget will be to say yes?" the succubus mused.

Same Time

Louise and Saito's Room

"You want to WHAT?!"

Louise was gaping in disbelief at her maid as the woman bowed to her submissively. She had been keeping herself occupied by practising her calligraphy and was making reasonable progress when Siesta had came in. Unfortunately, any efforts at concentration had been shot to hell when the one-eighth Japanese maid started propositioning THIS!

"I wish to offer my services to Master Saito in bed before he leaves this world." Siesta repeated, her face flushed at having to repeat herself. "As is the custom, I request my lady's permission to bed her partner."

Yes, that's what she THOUGHT she'd heard, but Louise had honestly been hoping that her ears had betrayed her!

Reaching up and massaging the bridge of her dainty nose, the petite pinkette forced down the whirling chaos in her heart and mind to keep her face blank as she addressed her maid. She was even mostly successful, save for the cherry red blush covering most of her face. "Oh, do stand up straight." she sighed, waving her hand airily. "You do realize that the entire reason why Saito asked me to make you my maid was to shield you from needing to do this sort of thing?"

"I do not need to do this; I merely wish to." Siesta answered as she straightened up, her movements smooth and elegant. "He has saved me from Count Mott and his son, he has protected the Academy, he has even saved Her Majesty the Queen, not to mention aiding the Albion Loyalists, with your own able assistance of course, my lady. I merely wish to repay him for all he has done for both me and my home, and the best way I can think of is with my very body."

One eyebrow twitched as Louise beheld aforementioned body. What in the Founder's Name had the girl eaten growing up to get those kind of curves?! Siesta didn't lose to either of her sisters in breast size, and she was even somewhat perkier than her Big Sister Éléonore!

Quashing her body envy for the moment, the Third Daughter of the de Vallière family eyed Siesta more objectively. The girl had been a loyal and dutiful servant, and was easily the most efficient and well-trained maid Louise had ever come across; even the Head Maid back at the de Vallière Estate wasn't nearly as skilled at housework as Siesta was. She had even been awarded extra pay from the Queen as thanks for her sterling work while Louise had loaned her to Henrietta.

Unfortunately, a small, but vocal, part of Louise was rebelling against the idea of letting Siesta bed Saito. It was practically snarling 'MINE!' at the top of its voice and the Noble girl wasn't disagreeing with that part of herself; Saito was HER Familiar!

But, at the same time, the part of her that she had come to recognize as the dutiful Student to her Master Saito, reminded her that it wasn't her place to decide who her Master slept with. He very well might say 'no', even if she granted Siesta her permission...or so she imagined.

In reality, Louise was well aware that Saito liked Siesta, not just as someone of Japanese descent or because of her appealing body, but because he liked her for who she was. And Siesta was well and truly smitten with Saito as well, even her jealous side could recognize that much.

The petite pinkette prided herself on holding true to the noble ideas of honour, integrity and of fairness, and sadly, denying this request would not be fair to Siesta.

"Very well." she said at last, making Siesta brighten up hopefully. "I give you my permission. There is, however, one caveat to my permission. You are not to become with child. Agree to take all precautions to prevent that eventuality and you can give yourself to Saito as many times as you wish."

"Thank you, mistress!" Siesta bowed deeply.

"Let me know when you'll be making your...attempt so I can use my old room for the night." Louise told her.

"I will. Thank you again, Mistress." Siesta said brightly before bustling out.

Louise sagged down slightly as her mind caught up with what her mouth just said.

"What the hell was I saying?!" she whisper-shouted to herself as she felt jealousy try and melt her stomach into a pit, and promptly buried her face deeply into her hands. "Gaaaaaahhhh! What the heck is going on?!"

"Well now, looks like something's got you all riled up, doesn't it little girl?" Emereldas asked as she appeared in the room.

"What do you want now?" Louise scowled, barely managing to pull her face out of her hands to give the demoness a brief glare.

"I'm glad to see that you did the right thing and gave the maid your permission." the succubus continued, ignoring the pinkette's ire. "Tell me, are you feeling jealous of her right now? That our Master will be making her into a woman soon?"

Louise's brain sputtered to a halt, her face going cherry red in a mix of embarrassment, anger…and a bit of arousal at the thought of being in Siesta's place. Still, her pride would rather she die before admitting such. "Wh-wh-wh-what?! Do-Don't be ridiculous! He's my F-Familiar! A-And I'm a Noble!"

Emereldas merely shrugged. "You're both human. Whatever nominal rules and traditions your society places on how Familiars are treated don't truly apply to Master in any real way." the Avanta noted. "Ah, or perhaps you are more concerned about how the Familiar Runes are influencing the two of you."

The young Void Mage couldn't hide a flinch at that statement.

"Hit the nail on the head, did I?" the succubus smirked. "Well, you needn't worry your pretty little head. I've finished analysing the runic shackle you placed on my Master and I'm relieved to say there are no overt mental influences embedded in it. At worst the Runes are merely forcing you stubborn teenagers to be honest with yourselves about how you feel. You've been forced to change your bedding every single day recently, haven't you? Oh, for such a pure-hearted young noblewoman such as yourself to have such lascivious and depraved dreams, night after night...methinks the lady doth protest too much, no?"

If Louise's face turned any redder, she'd likely collapse from not having enough blood left to support the rest of her body. Honestly, that might have been a blessing at this point.

"I...you...wha...?!" she spluttered unintelligibly.

Emereldas smirked in amusement. Teasing this little girl was so amusing. Still, she supposed that it was time to be a bit serious.

"Allow me to point something out to you, Louise de Vallière." she said softly, using Louise's name for the first time. "My Master will be leaving this world, for good, soon. What would you regret more? Keeping your feelings to yourself? Or never confessing them to him so he has one more reason to remain behind? Whichever path you choose, it would be best to make it soon...only seven days remain till the Dual Eclipse."

With that, she vanished from sight in a flash of teleportation magic, leaving a conflicted and troubled girl behind her.

The Next Day, Evening

Courtyard, Tristain Academy for Magic

Louise sat on the steps of the inner courtyard of the Academy and looked up at the glowing blue and purple forms of the twin moons, drawing ever closer to an eclipse.

Siesta, it seemed, was the type not to waste a moment when something she wanted was on the line. She had told Louise at lunch that she would like to make her attempt to bed Saito tonight.

Well...in all honesty, Louise couldn't blame her. Hell, if Louise had been in the other girl's place, she certainly wouldn't have waited long before making her attempt.

'GAH! What am I thinking?!' the pinkette screamed in her mind, dragging her mind out of the gutter and away from the images her all-too-explicit imagination had just cooked up, images of her and Saito on her bed without any clothing on and that, for some reason, involved warm massage oil.

"You can't sleep, Louise?" a familiar voice asked from behind her, making Louise almost levitate in shock.

"P-Princess?!" she squeaked as she stood up and spun around in one motion. Indeed, standing there in her sleepwear, with a cloak over it to keep her warm in the cool night air, was Queen Henrietta. "Wh...what are you doing out here?"

"I had a feeling I'd find you out here for some reason." her childhood friend said softly before looking at her with a soft smile on her face. "You gave permission to Miss Siesta to attempt to bed Professor Saito, didn't you?"

Swallowing a lump in her throat, Louise nodded silently.

"Do you imagine that he'll accede to her request?" Henrietta asked as she walked over to join her friend.

"I...don't know." Louise admitted hesitantly. "The society he was raised in is so different from Tristain's that I honestly can't say how he'll react to such a…direct proposal. But…Saito is still a man and Siesta…she's a very attractive girl…far prettier than me so I can't imagine him…"

A great deal of damage was dealt to her feminine pride as she begrudgingly admitted that last part.

"You really shouldn't take the words of von Zerbst so seriously." Henrietta laid a comforting hand on her sister-in-all-but-blood's shoulder. "You are very pretty, Louise. Don't doubt that."

"Thank you Anne, but I'm well aware that I'm...lacking...in the physical appeal department." Louise winced as she spoke, striking another self-inflicted blow to her femininity as she placed her hands over her bosom, ever so humble that it was, to illustrate a point.

"Any man who only looks at your breasts and rear doesn't deserve you." the Queen sniffed, thinking of more than a few ministers and courtiers who not-so-subtly leered at her when they thought she wasn't paying attention, and had done so ever since puberty had allowed her to blossom. She and her mother were already quietly arranging for most of those people to be relocated to other positions away from Tristainia...should Tristain survive the upcoming invasion by the Reconquista.

Forcing herself out of her gloomy thoughts, Henrietta noticed that Louise was shivering slightly from the cold. Stepping to the side, she opened her cloak up and swept her friend into a warm hug, making the girl squeak in shock before she relaxed into Henrietta's embrace.

"You're the Queen. You can't be exposing yourself like that!" the pinkette half-heartedly scolded her liege-lady. "Do you have any idea how many boys would love to catch a glimpse of you in your sleepwear?"

"I do have eyes, Louise; the entire courtyard is empty." Henrietta said dryly. "Let's go to my room; it's been years since we had a sleepover, and I'll be heading back to the castle in a couple of days..."

Louise allowed her friend to guide her back to the set of rooms assigned to the Queen, recognizing it as an unspoken plea from her friend, who would never again have such freedom as she had enjoyed until now once she returned to the castle. The least that she could do was to grant her oldest friend that much of a favour, to relive the simpler times when they were children.

Same Time

Saito and Louise's Suite

Leaning back in his chair, Saito absently massaged his eyes with two fingers as he paused for the nth time while writing his report about Halkaginia. Ever since Professor Colbert had encouraged him to think about his own wants and desires, his mind had been caught in turmoil and he'd been fighting to distract himself from it.

The sense of balance and duty that he'd trained so long to master was teetering on the verge of collapse, and there was simply nothing he could do about it.

'What was it that Kawaguchi-sensei called it? 'The Heart of Desire and the Mind of Duty'?' the young Onmyōji thought, remembering one of the many morals and traditions teachers that had taught his small class.

The Mind of Duty was a representation of the Onmyōji's sense of duty, honour, self-respect and integrity. The Heart of Desire, in turn, represented the Onmyōji's personal desires, wants, needs and self. In order to fulfil their duty to their country and do what was necessary to combat Juxtaposed Black Star, all students were taught a meditation technique centred around the two concepts in order to temper their own desires and wants against their senses of duty and responsibility, to lower their importance in their minds whilst simultaneously raising their mental acknowledgement that the needs of Japan surpassed their own.

It was, to put it bluntly, a very unsubtle form of brainwashing, utilizing a type of self-hypnosis, one that any suitably intelligent person would recognize in time. Saito certainly had once he was twelve. He'd asked the teachers about it...and been praised for his insight. He'd then been sent away after being admonished not to tell anyone about it. He had long suspected they'd used an artefact to make him agree to that, as he'd fully intended to disobey them...but hadn't.

Anyway, once the mental ideal had been formed, it had to be constantly maintained in order to remain strong. Onmyōji were encouraged to meditate at least once a day in order to maintain it properly, and Saito…had been far from diligent in that aspect. His responsibilities as Professor of Magical Morals, teaching Louise an abridged form of Mysticism, studying the books Emereldas had provided to improve his own ability to deal with the new dangers that were constantly appearing, etching enchantments into the many swords and halberds that Henrietta had provided him to re-equip her Castle Guard with, reporting to the allied Tristain/Loyalist Albionian army and navy about enchanting their ships hulls with more permanent versions of the spell formation that he'd used to affect the Albionian Royal Guard's flight from Albion, inventing a mass carving spell for that purpose...he'd been spread so thin recently that he was surprised he hadn't turned transparent.

He was so tired lately that he usually just flopped into bed most nights and slept the night through. He simply hadn't had the time to practice his meditations in…several weeks now, at least.

Normally, the mental representation of the Mind of Duty would be visualised as a several-inches-thick, perfectly formed sphere of polished, unblemished steel. Now, his current one would be seen as little more than a thin iron ball, distorted and distended as the Heart of Desire, the representatives of his own wants and desires, hammered and rebelled against the iron grip it had been held in for so long. Even worse, numerous small, hairline cracks and fractures were already forming along it as even his own desire to actually maintain the technique started to waver.

Saito was quite certain that his two ever-loving Familiars were at least partially responsible for this degradation. Both were smart enough to outright state their dislike of the path that Imperial Ministry had set before him, but this method, subtly distracting him in order to wear down and 'accidentally' break his Mind of Duty through inattention and the constant emotional influences from those he had grown close to in the time he had been in Tristain, was the kind of subtle planning he should have expected from five-century-old succubus and a two-and-a-half-century-old Ginki.

He was actually rather impressed that they'd managed to pull it off right under his nose. He'd thought himself smarter than that.

Maybe…maybe a part of him hadn't wanted to notice…

A knock on the door drew him from his musing. "Yes?" he called.

"Master Saito, it's Siesta. Can I come in?" the maid's shy voice came through the door, slightly muffled.

"Of course." Saito said, straightening up. Maybe a nice chat with Siesta would distract him from his mental turmoil enough to concentrate properly on writing his report.

When the door opened and his maid came in, Saito felt his mouth dry suddenly for some reason. Exactly why, he couldn't honestly say. Siesta looked much the same as always; the same maid dress, the same pleasantly flushed skin and pale grey eyes...but there was something different about her demeanour, the way she carried herself, and the way she looked at him that was making him hyper-aware of her for some reason.

"Are you alright, Master Saito?" Siesta asked, jerking him from his thoughts.

"Yes, I'm fine Siesta. Just...well, distracted." he answered, smiling at one of the only other people in Tristain with Japanese blood in them. "How have you been since we came back from Tarbes? I've been a bit distracted with my other projects."

"I've been well, Master Saito. It was nice to see my siblings again after so long away from home." she replied with a fond smile.

That made Saito remember that Siesta was the oldest of eight siblings, which wasn't too uncommon a number of children for a commoner family in this kind of feudal setting. It didn't stop him from pitying her mother; birth was described to him once as trying to force something the size of a watermelon out of an opening the size of a grapefruit. It sounded excruciatingly painful and the woman had gone through that eight times, without even the benefit of modern anaesthetics.

Yes, that woman certainly deserved all the respect he could offer.

Just…ow.

"Master, may I speak bluntly?" Siesta asked as she stood primly in front of him, hands clasped in front of her.

Saito blinked, before shaking his head. "You know you don't have to ask to do that from me Siesta. What do you want to talk about?"

Taking a deep breath to steel herself, Siesta bowed her head to him and said in a rush, "Master, I'd like for you to bed me!"

Had Saito been drinking something at that moment, he would have suffered from a spit-take. As it was, he choked on his spit at the blunt and direct words from his maid.

"Wha-?!" he spluttered. Only now did he notice a couple of different things about Siesta that he had unconsciously ignored before. First, she wasn't wearing her usual solid and sensible boots; instead, she was wearing fairly dainty black flats, the kind one automatically thought of when the word 'maid' came to mind. Second, he could now see that she wore some light makeup. Nothing heavy, just a touch of light lipstick and a dusting of blush on her cheeks. All it did was make her look cuter than normal.

"Siesta...Louise and I didn't have you made our maid because we wanted you for your body; we did it to prevent you have having to do this sort of thing." Saito said once he'd sufficiently recovered from his surprise.

"I don't have to do this, Master Saito, nor is it what I told Mistress Louise, that I wish to repay you for what you've done for this country." the maid said softly. "I'm offering myself to you because I want to. Nothing more, nothing less."

Gulping, the Onmyōji could practically feel his Mind of Duty start to shriek and crack as it began to shatter. "Siesta...I'm going to be returning home to Japan soon...and what was that about Louise?"

"The tradition when it comes to a maid being bedded by her master is that both the husband and the wife have to agree." Siesta replied, a blush on her face. "I asked Mistress Louise for permission first, permission which she obviously gave, although not without reservations."

"Louise gave you permission?" Saito parroted, sounding both disbelieving, and slightly perplexed. "Why would she...?"

"Mistress Louise has a poor image of her own attractiveness, Master Saito." the maid said sadly. "She's convinced that she is not physically attractive due to her lack of womanly features."

Demonstrating, she cupped her breasts slightly.

Flushing at that, Saito nevertheless found himself frowning indignantly on his Master/Student's behalf. "If all that mattered to me was bust size, I'd have allowed Kirche von Zerbst to seduce me weeks ago."

"Of that, I am well aware, Master." Siesta offered with a small smile. "Any other employer would have tried to get me out of my skirts in the first few weeks, at least according to what the other maids working here have said. You seek a personal connection to those you would bed, correct? That's more important to you than physical appearance, if I am not mistaken."

"...you are a very sharp young woman, has anyone ever told you that, Siesta?" the Onmyōji said after a startled moment. He knew very well that he hadn't stated that specific fact to her or when any servants had been around, so either a member of the de Vallière family had treated the servants like furniture as they gossiped while they were at the Academy, or Siesta herself had picked up on that all by herself.

"I could stand to hear it more, Master Saito." Siesta offered jokingly, making both of them chuckle, before silence fell between them for a moment. Eventually, Saito sighed and looked at his faithful maid seriously. She was serious. There was only one way this night was going to end if he didn't at least try to dissuade her.

"Siesta, are you absolutely certain that this is what you want?" he asked. "Just to disabuse you of any preconceptions you might have, I'm just as much a virgin as you are. It might be very awkward for us both. And I am returning to my world soon, as I said."

"If you are concerned about leaving me with child, be at ease." Siesta said with a reassuring smile. "The sole condition that Mistress Louise required me to agree to before granting her permission was that I was not to bear any children for you. I have drunken Moonblight Tea, which leaves its drinker sterile for a month. Old Osmond provides it for free to the servant staff in case any of us end up seduced by Nobles."

Saito took a moment to briefly curse the old man, as that undercut one of his primary methods of dissuading her. Another part of him was appreciative of the old man preventing any unpleasant surprises nine months down the line for his female commoner staff.

"You put a lot of thought into this." he remarked.

"My mother gave me some advice before we left Tarbes with the Dragon Raiment." Siesta answered with a bright smile.

'I should have known!' Saito thought with a mental facepalm. Alice of Tarbes hadn't made any doubts about how she approved of the idea of her daughter sleeping with him, and obviously she'd done what she could to stack the deck in Siesta's favour by giving her a lot of instructions and advice to help support her.

Married women are scary.

"Master Saito, can I ask if there's something about me that you dislike?" Siesta asked, a slight quiver on her lips as she spoke.

"Wha-?! No, Siesta, that isn't it in the least." the Onmyōji said firmly, not wanting to let her get the wrong idea. Finally, he bit the bullet and was honest with both her and himself. "It's...this is going to sound very silly, but it's not you, it's me. My resolve to leave is wavering and if I do sleep with you, I'm not certain that I can manage to keep myself from staying."

Siesta looked at him for a moment, then reached up to her blouse and started to strip herself of her clothing. First came her apron, then her short scarf, then her dress itself, revealing her womanly body and smooth skin,with only her underwear concealing her impressive bust, butt and her womanhood from sight, and it wasn't doing a good job with the first two!

Saito sat frozen as this happened, but that didn't stop him from noticing the bright blush on his maid's face. She was embarrassed, but was doing this regardless.

"...beautiful..." he murmured softly, causing Siesta's blush to increase sharply, but also made her stand straighter in pride. She had always been somewhat proud of her body, and the praise from her Master made her realise it was very much justified pride. She then proceeded to strip off the last items of clothing between her and her Master, the bra and panties falling to the floor with the rest of her clothes, and then she slipped off her shoes. All she wore now was the little maid headpiece, her white stockings and garter belt.

Saito swallowed, trying to wet a suddenly dry mouth. He had spoken the truth with his unconscious compliment earlier; Siesta was a very attractive girl. Her skin was vibrant and smooth, her hourglass figure wasn't any less appealing than what he suspected Queen Henrietta had beneath her clothes and she was very pretty. Combine all of that with her devoted and sincerely nice personality, and Saito could feel his desire rising, and his restraint crumbling.

Standing up, he slowly walked towards Siesta, who licked her lips nervously, but her eyes were shining with a mix of hope and anticipation.

"Are you absolutely certain this is what you want, Siesta?" Saito asked gently, for the last time.

"I'm certain, Master Saito. I'm not giving you anything that isn't yours already." the maid replied as demurely as she could while almost totally naked. "Please...take me..."

With that heartfelt plea, the last remnants of Saito's restraint crumbled. He couldn't resist her any longer, not without being extremely rude, and really, he had to admit that the idea of sleeping with Siesta was something he had entertained before now, at least in his dreams, and he no longer had the will to resist his desires.

Reaching up and cupping Siesta's cheek, Saito leaned in and softly kissed her. It was her first kiss, he knew, mostly because her mother had told him so. Her lips felt soft and he placed his other hand on her bare hip, drawing her closer.

"Mmmm..." the maid hummed as she enjoyed her first kiss, delighting in the fact that her Master was finally seducing her. The advice given to her by her mother on how to break down his resistance had worked!

Parting from her lips, Saito looked at Siesta and idly noted how adorable she looked when she was flushed and panting. Gently, he swept her off her feet and into a bridal carry, making the black-haired maid flush more deeply as she squeaked in surprise.

"M-Master..." she stammered.

"I'll take good care of you, Siesta." the Onmyōji promised softly as he walked towards the bed with her in his arms. "So...trust me?"

"Always, Master..." Siesta replied immediately. "Do...as you wish to me..."

"Only to make you cry my name, Siesta." Saito said as he laid her down on the bed and started to undress himself.

***YOU KNOW THE DRILL BY NOW! GO TO MY AO3 ACCOUNT FOR THE LEMON!***

Siesta moaned as she collapsed onto the surface of the bed one last time, her large breasts squashing into the mattress, all of her strength completely spent. She had masturbated several times before now, but what her Master had just put her through put all her attempts at self-gratification to the lowest depths of shame by comparison.

'I'm his woman now...' she thought with a tired smile. She had never been happier in her life.

Saito collapsed next to her and drew his lover into a cuddle as he looked at her in a kind of surreal amazement. He had known about the mechanics of sex, both from the Sex Ed lessons all Onmyōji received in the Academy and from the usual 'research' that teenagers conducted via porn mags and hentai manga, but the real thing was so, so much better than he had ever imagined.

"Master..." Siesta murmured as she snuggled into him.

"When we're in bed together, just call me Saito, Siesta." the Japanese boy said as he pecked her on the lips again. "You're my woman now, right?"

"Y-Yes..." the maid was happy to hear herself called such a thing. What had once been a fear was now something that made her so happy. Funny how life turned out.

"Umm...are you still going to go back to your world, Master Saito?" she asked.

"I have to try, Siesta. My oath demands it." Saito said with a sigh, drawing Siesta closer to him with one arm. "Even without my sense of duty to the Ministry, my word has always been important to me and I've never willingly broken it before. Although given I'm in another world completely, I think my teachers and superiors would forgive me for not being able to come back if there was no way, but...I have a way to return, one that will only be here for a brief time once every fifty years. Therefore, I must go."

"I understand." Siesta said softly, eyes fluttering shut as she spoke. "I'll respect your will, Master Saito, but I...do wish you would stay..."

Her tired voice trailed off as the night's exertions caught up with her and she drifted off to sleep. Saito spent a few minutes looking at Siesta's sleeping form before he sighed and cuddled into her before falling asleep himself.

Unseen by the pair of new lovers, Emereldas appeared in the room, walking out of the wall as if it was a door. A visible aura of pink light was fading around her.

'Mmmmm~! I do so love that feeling.' the succubus trilled to herself. 'A pair of virgins giving themselves to one another was just the sort of meal that I needed. All this lust and carnal energy...well, I certainly know what I'll be doing with this energy. Hm?'

The succubus noticed a light shining on Saito's forehead, a pentagram. She quickly cast diagnostic charms on it, and her eyes narrowed at what the spells told her.

"Crude...more subtle and sophisticated than most of the other spell-work I've seen in this world, but still, oh-so crude." she muttered softly. "No wonder the progress made to persuading Master to be true to himself is so low. Tch, whoever made this runic schema focused more on the combat applications than the rest of it. Such slapdash craftsmanship…."

While she might have only been five centuries old, barely out of her teens by the standards of a demon, Emereldas was considered a genius at both spell-crafting and spell analysis. There were only so many times you could have sex before it got boring, after all, even for a being that embodied Lust, so most demons had a hobby. Emereldas liked to learn spells, take them apart and improve on them, and the structure of the Gandálfr Runes was solid, unimaginative and lacked most of the 'persuasion' arrays that she would have placed in such runes.

Allowing her scanning spells to fade, Emereldas smiled down softly at the two sleeping teens. As a succubus, she was a creature meant for carnal pleasure, for sex, for lovemaking, but she was also a creature intended to test those whom she seduced, so she was able to sense the emotions of those having sex in her general area.

Saito and Siesta liked and trusted one another, with Siesta almost worshipful of her partner. There was almost nothing he could ask of her that Siesta wouldn't wilfully do. Similarly, Saito liked and respected Siesta a great deal, so he would never do something to the maid that would hurt her.

'If only more mages were like you, my Master...' she thought. Most of the times she had seduced a mage in her lifetime, they had been arrogant, full of themselves and uncaring of her pleasure. The rare good ones had been the only ones to survive her.

"Rest well, my noble Master." she said softly. "Nothing shall disturb your dreams. So swears your Emereldas."

The Day of the Eclipse and the Invasion

Outside of the Curtain Wall of the Tristain Academy for Magic

Smiling at the Zero Fighter as he strode up to it, bag in hand, Saito gave it a comforting pat on the wing once he got close enough. This was it then. He was finally going to go home, back to Earth.

He had bid his farewells to both Louise and the Queen the previous day, as well as presenting the last of his 'punishment' works to Agnès. Her personal blade had been a special project, as she would be the last shield between Henrietta and anyone who sought to attack the newly installed Queen. With that being the case, he had added a restriction to the sword, making it so Agnès would not be able to draw it unless she knew, or at least genuinely believed, that Henrietta's life may be in danger unless she did so, or if Henrietta gave Agnès verbal permission to draw her weapon.

Implanting a restriction on the blade, and thereby placing a 'negative value' on it as his Enchanting teacher had described it, had allowed Saito to use the laws of magic to further enchant and enhance the blade more heavily that what would have otherwise been possible. Not only was the new sword eternally and supernaturally sharp and could bolster the wielder's physical condition (strength, speed, reaction time and other such) while drawn, but the blade itself now had the ability to negate any magic 'cut' by the sword's edge, dispelling and nullifying it instantly.

He'd also bound it to Agnès personally, with a ritual required to 'pass it on' should it be required.

Granted, the additional power potential was not the only reason he'd added the restriction to the blade, though it was the only one he'd informed Agnès about. The other was simply the fact that Agnès was a very…hot-tempered woman with less-than-stellar impulse control, and he was not about to let her go to town on any poor bastard that pissed her off with a sword he'd enchanted.

Taking some inspiration from a videogame franchise, he'd dubbed the blade 'Save the Queen' to suit the sword's primary purpose. The name was engraved in Halkaginian script down the length of the blade's edge, right in the middle of the blood channel, as well as across the crossguard.

While Agnès had been less than pleased about the restriction placed on the blade, she'd at least appreciated the power that the inclusion of the restriction had granted her weapon. She had taken to carrying a second, ordinary, sword along with Save the Queen, wearing them in a way that was oddly similar to a traditional samurai carrying a daishō, save for with European arming swords rather than katana.

His last few days in this world had been far from idle as well; one of the first things he'd done once he had a moment to himself was to engrave a concealment array onto the airframe of the Zero Fighter. It would hide him from radar, sight and sound once activated, ensuring people didn't suddenly see an old Imperial Japanese Navy Zero Fighter appear out of nowhere in the middle of Tokyo. The full tank of fuel that Professor Colbert had refined for him would ensure that he could fly around until he could contact the Imperial Ministry, who would hopefully be able to arrange somewhere for him to land.

And his newfound relationship with Siesta...well, that was also something that had held a good deal of his attention. He hadn't ravished her morning, noon and night, but he had...indulged himself...with her a lot more than he might have otherwise imagined doing. While the act of sex was nice (he now saw why a lot of people became obsessed with it), it was the intimacy of the act, as well as the closeness he shared with his partner that was what Saito liked about taking Siesta as a lover.

Most of the Onmyōji students at the Imperial Academy were the children of Onmyōji themselves, with only a few new students from outside families and orphans such as Saito in every intake. He had seen them with their families, being hugged and holding hands after class, while he...didn't. He was more than a little touch-deprived, as the care-givers hired by the Ministry were competent, but about as maternal as a stone statue.

Being able to hold Siesta almost whenever he wanted was...well, there was nothing quite like it. Propriety was a high requirement in the Imperial Ministry, and avoiding unnecessary body contact in public was a point that was emphasized again and again, at least beyond handshakes and the very occasional hug.

Going back to that would be...difficult, but he had to do it, for his oath's sake.

"I loaded the Dragon's Blood into the tank meant for it, Professor Saito." Colbert said as he came up next to Saito. "It should be working perfectly fine, alongside all that 'maintenance' you've performed."

Pressing his hand flat to the wing, Saito let the power of the shining Gandálfr Runes tell him about the state of the Zero Fighter. "You're right; she's working like a dream. Congratulations, you've managed to make a perfectly synthesized formula of fuel, Professor Colbert."

The mentioned maintenance that Saito had performed was examining every piece of the Zero Fighter with a modern-era spell called Kōzō Kaiseki (Structural Analysis) and determining if any parts of it were in need of repair, then using Metal-aligned spells to fully reinforce and restore the affected areas. Whoever had last put the Zero Fighter through a maintenance check previously, possibly Siesta's Great-Grandfather himself before the noble had cast that preservation spell on it, had done an excellent job in keeping the plane in working order, as only three things had needed reinforcing.

This was something of a surprise, given that the alloy Zero Fighters were built from was far more prone to embrittlement than most regular aluminium alloys. Huzzah for preservation magic, Saito supposed.

"Is Miss Siesta not going to see you off?" Colbert asked.

"We said our goodbyes earlier this morning." Saito replied quietly.

And boy, had that been a tear-filled affair. And yet, despite her sadness, she never voiced the obvious desire she had for him to remain, likely out of respect for his stated desire to return home. What a good girl she was.

As a farewell gift, Saito had given a necklace to Siesta and transferred the magical power used in the spell cast on her by himself shortly after she had been assigned as his maid into it, powering the enchantments he's engraved into it. They were designed to protect Siesta from magic, as well as ensure she lived a long and healthy life. If nothing else, she deserved that. To ensure that no one tried to steal it, he'd gotten Emereldas to enchant it so that the only person who could remove it was the person who had placed it on her.

"I suppose that this is farewell then?" Colbert sighed sadly.

"For every meeting, there is also a parting." Saito said with a quirk of his mouth that you couldn't quite call a smile. "I have never had such an interesting and happy time as I have here in Tristain. Goodbye, Jean."

The two men shook hands solemnly at that.

"Farewell, Saito. May the Founder illuminate your path forward." Colbert offered quietly.

"And may your research help carry Tristain forward into a new and brighter future, my friend." Saito replied just as quietly.

Goodbyes done, the two teachers separated, Saito climbing aboard the Zero Fighter and getting himself settled in the cockpit, while Colbert withdrew several meters to be out of the way.

After quickly storing his bag beneath his seat and pulling the cockpit canopy closed over him, Saito let his hands rest on the steering column in the middle of his knees, as well as the firing control for the guns to his left, and slid his feet into the pedals/footrests. One thing he had done was to revamp the interior somewhat, as the seat that came as standard in the Reisen was simply uncomfortable. It was now a plush seat, enchanted to be as comfortable as possible.

"The man is sincere in wishing you well, but dearly wishes for you to remain here, my Master." Emereldas said softly. She had hidden behind an invisibility spell while in the physical form of a pixie, perched on his shoulder.

"I already guessed that." the Onmyōji replied dryly. "Right, let's get this thing into the air. Contact!"

Holding a talisman up as he pressed a button, the propeller spun as his minor telekinesis spell dictated, the engine coughing, spluttering and then roaring to life for the first time in fifty years. The sense of power he felt as the entire craft shook slightly from the engine's rumbling was quite heady; no wonder pilots were an arrogant sort.

Thankfully, he wasn't deafened by the engine itself; the muffling seals he'd placed around the engine housing were working perfectly. How people hadn't gone deaf from the racket he didn't know.

Taking a firmer hold of the steering column, his Rune blazing with bluish-white light, Saito started to taxi down the makeshift runway that Headmaster Osmond had thoughtfully set up in under five minutes at his request, picking up speed as he went before gently pulling up.

The onlooking Tristainians gaped in awe as the Dragon Raiment took flight, and soared into the sky with a roar. Necks craned up and around as they followed it as the metallic beast lazily and effortlessly flew in a circle around the Academy twice before soaring off towards the open plains of Tristain, swiftly fading into the distance.

Standing stock still where he had remained since he parted with Saito, Jean Colbert felt his scientific desire almost explode in excitement at what he had just witnessed. A craft built by the hands of man, no Windstone or magic needed, had just taken flight before him. Saito had let him examine the Dragon Raiment with his supervision and had done what he could to explain its inner workings with what, admittedly limited, knowledge of engineering he'd possessed. The rest Colbert had been able to deduce and infer by himself.

"Thank you for the priceless gift of knowledge you have given me, Professor Saito." Jean said with a sad smile. "I pray that you fly to where you want to be and are truly needed, rather than where you feel duty-bound to go."

Only once the last sight of the Zero Fighter had disappeared over the horizon did Colbert abandon his vigil, moving with purpose towards the Academy. Groundbreaking techno-magic, as Saito had referred to Colbert's more esoteric plans, did not invent themselves, after all.

With Saito

Skies of Tristain

"Given the times when it was built, I must admit that this mechanical beast is truly a fairly impressive creation." Emereldas noted absently. The pixie-shaped-and-sized succubus was sat daintily on Saito's shoulder as he piloted the Reisen.

"It was the symbol of the Imperial Japanese Navy's air superiority for the first few years of World War Two, Emereldas." Saito replied as he adjusted course slightly. "And Ensign Sasaki's Reisen is a Model 52 Kō variant, which is historically one of the more effective variants of the Zero Fighter."

Quickly peeking at the sky, Saito saw the two moons of Halkaginia closing on the sun; in a short time, the two moons would eclipse the sun, opening the gateway to Earth for the first time in fifty years.

By all rights, he should be feeling vindicated. Everyone had kept saying that there was no way home, that he should give up and settle down in Tristain, but Saito ultimately proved himself right in the end. He was about to go home.

Yet...instead of vindicated, he felt sad. Instead of triumphant, he felt guilty. Instead of joyful, he felt resigned. Instead of longing for his own world, he felt reluctant to leave this one.

'Why is my own heart rebelling?!' the Onmyōji thought in slight petulance. 'My Mind of Duty is in tatters, my Heart of Desire is growing unimpeded, and I'm genuinely torn up about wanting to leave Halkaginia!'

"Your walls are crumbling, are they not, Master?" the succubus asked knowingly.

"I knew you and Kaede had something to do with this." Saito said, half-accusingly, half-exasperatedly. "Tell me why you two have done all you could to tear my Mind of Duty to shreds, Emereldas."

"We are merely fulfilling our contract, oh loving Master, and acting with your best interests at heart." Emereldas replied without a moment's hesitation, even as the dual eclipse began. "Were you to remain in Halkaginia, you would continue to be powerful, respected, and treated as a valuable and treasured ally, rather than simply another pawn in your Ministry's war with the Heichi Kuroboshi. Besides, what of the other mages brought to this world from yours, Master? Johann von Leopold, and the mysterious one that was behind the attempted assassination of Henrietta of Tristain? Leaving without first dealing with them could very well leave your friends open to another attack. You certainly don't want that, now do you?"

The Onmyōji grimaced at the thought. Yes, that was a fairly accurate assessment, spoken by a beguiling silver-tongued demoness who knew exactly how and what to speak in order to press his buttons. To be honest, the thought of leaving Siesta, Louise and Henrietta, among others, open and vulnerable to the attacks and machinations of the powerful mages from his own world left a supremely bitter taste in his mouth.

"And what about my oath to the Ministry, Emereldas?" Saito asked wearily. "If I break my oath, then what manner of man am I?"

"A man who chooses the people who actually need him over those that merely desire him." the Avanta said seriously. "There are over twenty-thousand Onmyōji in the Imperial Ministry, of which there are approximately several hundred people of your level among them, several of them with levels of talent close to your own. You and the knowledge you have accumulated in Halkaginia will be treated as a curiosity, but nothing special, at the Ministry. Here, you are valued and needed. The ruler of Tristain is best friends with that pinkette of a Master of yours and she is always willing to hear your words. With all that you have done, achieving nobility here isn't out of the possibility. You can be far safer, more secure and happier here than in your original world, Master! Please...you have devoted most of your life to the Ministry, despite knowing that they have manipulated and controlled you since the very beginning, all for the sake of a debt that was never yours to carry! I beg of you! Just this once, my dear, dear Master, think of what YOU want!"

Almost as if to mock her words, the convergence of the twin moons and the sun was completed right there and then, an image appearing in the middle of the silver-outlined black shadow that made Saito's heart squeeze.

Tokyo.

He knew it was Tokyo because of the large red Tokyo Tower that was visible, but even if he hadn't spotted it, there was no way he could mistake the bird's eye view of his own country's capital city for anywhere else. It was literally just a ten-second flight through the interdimensional portal.

And yet...

And yet, when he saw the cityscape, he did not automatically associate it with home. There was no automatic sense of warmth, no sense of relief, no strong yearning to return.

'Ah...' Saito realised after a moment. 'You truly cannot return home.'

A basic bit of human psychology, although usually used in reference to your parents' house, is that once you have left your family home, you can never return and see it as a home again. Once you start living alone, you become stifled by being under your parent's roof again for any length of time. Saito had become accustomed to being in Halkaginia, free from the restrictions and orders of the Ministry for the first time since he was a very young child.

Worse, thanks to his Mind of Duty being almost battered into submission, a part of him was verging on being resentful of the Ministry, of their subtle brainwashing of him, even as another part recognized that the Ministry was at least a better choice of employer than the Black Stars, and hadn't tortured him like their criminal rivals would have. The part of him that constantly reminded him of the debt he owed the Ministry for taking him in had been growing quieter and quieter, often after being harshly rebuffed and reminded that his being taken in had never been an act of kindness or charity, but one with costs and conditions that a child could have never understood.

Then the thought of Tristain being conquered by those damned Reconquista bastards, his friends being hurt, killed or worse in the process, flashed through his mind, making a scowl cross his face and a flare of protective anger flare up.

And so, with one final inaudible snap, Hiraga Saito's Mind of Duty completely shattered and crumbled, leaving the path ahead clear for his Heart of Desire to reassume control for the first time in several years.

"Emereldas, send the bag under my seat to the Imperial Academy of Onmyō Arts, specifically to Tsubaki-sensei's office." he said as his resolve hardened. "Now."

"Yes, Master!" the succubus exclaimed immediately, and snapped her fingers. Transforming into a ball of light, the bag beneath Saito's seat flashed out of the Reisen and shot through the portal to Earth, speeding towards Kyoto as fast as Emereldas' spell could take it.

With a sharp shift of the controls, Saito turned the Zero Fighter away from the glimmering portal even as the eclipse started to end and it began to waver and vanish from sight. With a fire in his heart, Saito shifted his plane in the direction of Tarbes and started his journey anew.

It was time to teach those damned Reconquista a lesson in what happens when they angered an Imperial Onmyōji.

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Next Chapter: The Battle of Tarbes Part 1: Reconquista's Fall

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