This is a Familiar of Zero/Konosuba cross requested by Av Latta Meguca.
Summary: Louise dies and is reincarnated to Konosuba 'verse.
Disclaimer: I own neither Familiar of Zero nor Konosuba.
Isekai Zero
The Springtime Summoning Ritual was arguably the most powerful magic any mage would cast during their tutelage at the Tristanian Academy of Magic. The word 'arguably' is applicable because the ritual was a piece of magic dating back 6,000 years to the time of the Founder Brimir, yet thanks to a combination of complexity and religious dogma, no one had ever made a study of exactly how much power the ritual utilized.
One thing was agreed upon, however, among those magical theorists willing to risk the Church of Brimir's censure to consider such matters - the ritual undoubtedly utilized more power than the mages actually put into it. After all, this ritual was used by second year students of the academy. They were either dot or line mages, with the occasional prodigious triangle mage in the mix. Yet, for all of them, the ritual did the same thing - it plucked a living creature from anywhere in the wide world and deposited them in front of the mage, ready to be bound as their Familiar. Teleportation across such distance, if possible at all, would normally fall firmly in the square mage category, yet the Ritual was so reliable any mage could (and did) perform it.
However, this year was different. This year among the participating students was one Louise Francois le Blanc de la Valliere. A mage who, in her one and a half years at the academy, had earned herself the nickname of 'Zero' due to her ability to botch any spell no matter how simple. However - as the later investigation would note - Louise Valliere's failures were not the ordinary fizzles of a weak or incompetent mage. No, any spell cast by Louise would instead destabilize in the most explosive fashion possible. The investigative committee then went on to ask why in Brimir's name the Academy staff - supposedly among the most learned mages in Tristain - would permit a student known for explosively destabilizing her spells to perform something as powerful and poorly understood as the Springtime Summoning Ritual.
The only defense the academy staff could offer was that Louise's magic had always protected her from her own explosions. Her fellow students were more at risk, which is why the presiding faculty, Professor Jean Colbert, had raised a shield between the spell and all the other students, an action that undoubtedly prevented more injuries.
The investigators were unimpressed. One of them pointed out with great acidity that if Colbert had shown the same consideration to poor Louise, then the piece of stone shrapnel accelerated to enormous velocity by the explosion might not have shredded her throat, leaving her to bleed out in front of her entire class.
Louise's death would lead to repercussions throughout Tristain and beyond. The furious investigation launched by Princess Henrietta into the death of her childhood friend, supported by Louise's murderously grieving mother Karin, would eventually turn Tristain upside down, revealing all sorts of conspiracies and traitors and derailing long-running plots left and right.
None of that mattered to Louise though. The pink-haired sixteen-year-old was far more concerned by the fact that instead of facing the judgement of Brimir (who, all records agreed, had definitely been a man), she was looking at a blue-haired daringly dressed teenage girl with an envious figure, who nonetheless radiated an aura that could only be classified as 'divine'.
The blue-haired girl in the dress short enough to give a Zerbst second thoughts continued for a long moment to stare down at Louise from her throne. By this time the normally short-tempered noble would have broken the silence, but Louise unfortunately retained a very clear memory of her final moments, including the feel of her lifeblood pumping out between her fingers as she futilely tried to cover the ragged tear in her neck.
Any attempt to deny or repress her own memories was interrupted when the blue-haired girl with the faintly glowing aura spoke, "Louise Francois le Blanc de la Valliere, welcome to the afterlife. Your life was short, but nonetheless, you are dead."
"Ah... yes." Louise touched her now intact throat and swallowed hard. "Are... are you one of Brimir's angels?"
The girl raised a cool eyebrow, then flipped open a book lying next to her. "Ah, I see. You come from one of those fanatical places that think the god they worship is the be all and end all of divinity. How dreadfully provincial. Still, I suppose that means I can forgive your mistake. So you know who you are addressing, I am Aqua. Goddess of Water, and also the goddess in charge of greeting those who die an early death while fulfilling certain other criteria."
"But... but I've never heard of you! And the Church of Brimir says Brimir is the only God and..."
"Oh, please, spare me. Your Brimir is only worshipped in a handful of countries on one single continent, comprising less than 15% of your world's population. He doesn't even have a presence on any other world. As gods go, he's strictly local. Still, local god or no, it is thanks to his intercession that you stand before me today."
"W-what...?"
"Yes. Whatever his faults, Brimir always did have a soft spot for you Void mages. Something about being his spiritual successors."
"W-wait! I'm a Void mage?!"
Aqua paused to blink at Louise. "You didn't know...?" There was a moment when Aqua rapidly flipped through several pages, before breaking out into a peal of laughter. "You didn't know! That's amazing! No wonder you managed to kill yourself with your own spell! It says here you were attending a magic school... Didn't any of your teachers warn you that a Void mage should only ever try to cast Void-aligned spells? It says here the last spell you cast, the Springtime Summoning Ritual - you actually tried to cast it using every single element other than Void! What in Heaven's name were you thinking?"
Louise could only stare aghast. Even her reflexive anger at being mocked couldn't compete with the confusion and betrayal surging through her soul. "I'm a void mage? But... only the Founder was a void mage. There has been no void mages born in 6,000 years..."
Aqua's mirth cut off. Another quick consult with the book later, she was shaking her head. "Well, now I actually feel sorry for you. It seems your teachers really did tell you that. What arrant nonsense! There has been at least one void mage born every generation to your world."
"WHAT?"
"It's true. In fact, there are three other void mages alive right now in your continent of Halkegenia, and all of them are practicing mages. Since none of them have managed to blow themselves up, I can only assume they had far more competent teachers."
Louise was silent for a long moment. Then she whispered, "All of them... Mother... Eleanor... the Professors... all my tutors... all of them said it must be my fault. That something's wrong with my magic. That I'm not working hard enough, that I'm not paying enough attention or using enough willpower. Not one of them ever suggested I try something other than the usual four elements."
Aqua gave a sigh. "Wow, you really got screwed. I guess that's why Brimir went out of his way to ask for a second chance. Normally he ignores anything to do with the Devil King..."
"Second chance?" Louise perked up. "Devil King?"
"Ah, I guess we should come to the real reason you stand in front of me. Normally you would have already gone on to whatever afterlife was appropriate for the religion you followed, but your god Brimir asked you be given this chance. The chance to be a hero, to perform a great deed that will earn you the gratitude of not just Brimir, but the great Heavens itself! You see, there is a world of great wonder and magic, which is unfortunately under siege by the vile abomination known as the Devil King! An enemy of all gods, an opponent of all that is right and good in the Universe! And you, Louise Francois le Blanc de la Valliere, have the chance! The chance of being transported to this world with your own body and all your memories intact - so that you may join the battle against ultimate evil, and bring an end to Devil King once and for all! This is a mission entrusted to you by Brimir himself! Do you accept?"
Louise didn't even have to think twice about it. Validation was the one thing she had been seeking all her life. To be entrusted a mission by the Founder was a dream come true! However, she was also at heart an honest girl. Thus she was forced to reply, "I would love to! But... what about my magic? I'm a Void mage, but I know nothing about casting Void spells!"
"That's easily solved! As part of our agreement, you will be provided either an artifact of immense power, or a unique skill of great usefulness! Want a wand capable of flawlessly casting Void magic? We have that! Want instant knowledge of every spell a Void mage can cast? We have that too!" Aqua waved her hand, and a deluge of pamphlets descended on Louise. "Here are your choices. Pick one, and let's go!"
Louise frantically started going through her options. Her calm was not at all helped by the impatient noises the goddess was making. As Aqua had promised, she did in fact come across the option to be reborn with immediate perfect knowledge of any one type of magic. She almost accepted it then and there, when another skill caught her eye.
Perfect Magical Control: You have flawless control over your own magic. You can learn any magical skill or spell regardless of class or race restriction as long as you see it demonstrated and have sufficient skill points to purchase it. Any spell you cast will never fail or backfire as long as you have sufficient mana and magic power.
Louise didn't know what a 'skill point' was or what the difference was between mana and magic power. All she knew was that this skill promised she would never blow herself up again.
Aqua seemed surprised at her choice, but declined to comment. Instead, she said, "Very well, you have made you choice! No go forth, O Chosen Hero, and deliver the world from the clutches of the Devil King! And should you succeed in your quest, not only will you have Heaven's gratitude, but one unlimited wish to be spent on anything your heart desires!" As her speech ended, Louise found herself engulfed in a pillar of light, which quickly turned into a tunnel that sent her hurtling through the space between worlds.
Louise quickly found that the quest to defeat the Devil King was a lot more complicated than expected. The world she was in was an extremely strange place where power was held not just by mages, but my mundane warriors as well. That the strength of a person was not measured by magical skill, but by the strange numbers expressed by the Adventurer Card called stat points and levels. Apparently, as a newcomer she started off as level one, which she felt was fair.
What made her nearly tear her hair out though, was that the only combat skill she supposedly knew was called 'Explosion'! Even the Axel City Adventurer's Guild receptionist cooing over how she already knew such an 'Advanced Spell' couldn't blunt the pain of this constant reminder of her own demise. She also had a few other skills like 'Calligraphy' and 'Dancing' which came from her noble upbringing but would be of little use in a fight.
Her stats were also decent - subpar physical abilities, but excellent intelligence, and superb mana and magic power. Apparently intelligence controlled (among other things) the ease with which one learned new spells, magic power dictated how much strength she could put in a single spell, and mana represented her spellcasting stamina. With all three well above the norm, she immediately picked up the Arch Wizard class. This class gave her an enormous boost to arcane magic, which was nice. But Louise did not plan to limit herself just to the arcane. Thanks to her Perfect Control, she had access to every type of magic out there, and after a lifetime of struggling with the simplest cantrip, Louise was determined to learn every spell in existence, and eventually crush the Devil King with her might!
This plan was far easier said than done. Axel was a town that had long since been cleared of monsters, leaving nothing more than menial labor for low level adventurers. No spellcaster was willing to teach her their spells without payment. But Louise persevered. Even if it meant demeaning herself to performing tasks unworthy of a noble, she reminded herself she was on a mission from Brimir himself. She worked herself to the bone during the day gathering money for her magical education and new magic wand. And at night she sent her prayers not just to Brimir, but to Aqua, that cold but just deity that had helped her see the truth of the universe.
At the end of three months, she had achieved much. She had a place to stay, a magic wand with decent bonuses, she had a variety of spells at every level, both Arcane and Divine, and even though she didn't have a fixed party she had developed a reputation in Axel as a reliable wizard that could work in almost any group. Louise felt she was well on track to fulfilling her mission, and she was finally getting the respect she craved. Life was good.
And then, one fine day on the outskirts of Axel, on her way back from an herb-gathering mission, she came across a boy around her age and two women escorting a horse drawn cart holding a sturdy steel cage. And sitting inside that cage, dead eyes staring at the floor, was her goddess Aqua.
Louise had no idea how one could trap a goddess, but she knew what she had to do. Her initial flurry of ice magic immediately scattered two of her enemies, and a quick Paralyze dropped the swordswoman who stood her ground. "Goddess Aqua! Hold on, I will break that cage in an instant!"
"Ah...?" Louise felt her heart twist at the cold dead stare from the goddess. Just what had these vile people done to her?! There was no recognition from the blue-haired being, instead a soft voice that said, "Please go away. I like this cage. I want to stay in here. It's nice and safe in here."
"What are you saying? What did they do to you? Just wait, I'll have you out of there in an instant!"
"NO!" The sudden shriek froze Louise in place. "No! No more adventure! No more alligators! I want to go home! I want to drink a nice bottle of wine and forget this day ever happened! I don't want to leave this cage! Waaahhh!" Then the goddess buried her face in her hands and started bawling like a child.
"Ah, now you've done it," said a bored voice from behind Louise. Turning around, she saw the brown haired youth. He had a sword on his hip, but was yet to draw it. "Now she'll give us all a headache crying all day. Still, I'm surprised Aqua has such a devoted follower."
"Indeed. How unexpected." This came from what was either a mature child or an underdeveloped young woman, holding a mage's staff.
"Wait... what is going on? How is the goddess here? And who are you?"
"I'm Kazuma," replied the boy. "This chibi is Megumin. The one you paralyzed is Darkness, and you already know Aqua. We are an adventuring party. And if you want the details, you might as well accompany us back to town."
Along the way, the story came out. Apparently, Aqua had come to this world and couldn't leave until the death of the Devil King, though Kazuma was a bit vague on exactly how that happened. The reason she was in the cage was because she had decided to purify a corrupted lake single-handed, and the cage was there to protect her from the demonic alligators. Unfortunately, the experience was so terrifying that Aqua was now reluctant to leave the cage.
If Kazuma had just stopped there, Louise would have been satisfied. Instead he kept on going, outlining how the only reason they tried this plan was because Aqua wanted to do the whole quest herself so she wouldn't have to share the reward with the rest of the party. This was followed by a long list of Aqua's wasteful habits that she needed the money for. Then Kazuma, Megumin, and Darkness all started sharing anecdotes on all the other times Aqua did stupid things that ended up endangering everyone and traumatizing her.
Aqua's party members were so busy coming up with a list of all the times Aqua had managed inflict suffering on herself, they never even noticed when they left their new acquaintance behind.
"Is... is this it?" mumbled Louise to herself. She didn't want to believe it, but Kazuma and the others spoke with the ring of truth, and the few responses Aqua had made from within her cage had only served to support their statements. "This is the goddess I so looked up to? This is the person Brimir entrusted my afterlife to? Even Kirche would be more responsible!"
Louise wandered unseeing off the road, mumbling to herself. "This is it then. I thought I was finally being recognized and given a chance. But Brimir doesn't care, or he wouldn't have handed me to someone like her. When she told me all those things about myself, was any of it real? Am I really a chosen Hero, or were they just taking pity on me? Even this wonderful skill, was it given to me out of pity? Poor little Louise, blew herself up, needs literal divine intervention just to cast a spell! Did either of them ever believe I could actually kill the Devil King? The ultimate joke, even in the afterlife I am just a Zero..."
So lost in her woe, Louise didn't realize where she was until a soft young voice called out to her. Turning, Louise saw a young girl in the shade of a tree. Even though the girl seemed frail and injured, she seemed far more concerned for Louise' state. As Louise approached her, a sense of serenity touched her distraught self. Sitting down, she found herself pouring her life story out to the strange girl.
As she spoke, though, Louis found her despair being replaced by a simmering rage. All her life unto her death, she had been belittled and embarrassed by circumstances beyond her control. Even in her afterlife she discovers the very god she had placed her faith in treated her like a joke, leaving her fate in the hands of a second, even stupider Kirche. She had been working herself to the bone for months, and for what?
"It is very sad," sympathized the girl. "But you know, misery is halved when it is shared. You could stay with me here. I will never ask anything of you, and there is even good fruit to eat if you get hungry." So saying, she plucked a sweet-smelling fruit from the tree and offered it to Louise.
Louise stared at the fruit for a long moment, then gave out a broken, bitter laugh. "You know, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Why should I work myself into the ground for an ungrateful Heaven! Why should I follow the tenets of a Church that would have declared my existence heretical! If they keep treating me like a Zero, then zero is exactly what they will get from me! From now one, I will do exactly what I want, and nothing else!"
"Wonderful! So you will stay with me?"
"Unfortunately..." Louise opened her hand, letting the fruit spill to the ground. "To really be able to do whatever I want, I need power. To get power, I need levels, and money. And you can give me both."
The tranquility girl lived up to its reputation for intelligence. Instantly, tentacle-like roots unfurled from the tree, trying to wrap and crush Louise. The pink-haired mage waited a moment - just long enough for the tree to completely surround her. Then she cast a spell.
Perfect Magical Control. Over the months, Louise had learned it didn't just mean the ability to learn and cast any spell. It meant perfect accuracy with a blade of wind. It meant exact control over the voltage and spread of a lightning spell. Now, Louise cast a spell centered on herself, but shaped perfectly to leave her unharmed while striking every bit of the plant monster she could see. It was the second Advanced Magic she had learned in this world.
"INFERNO!"
