Here is Chapter 5.
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Later that night after the banquet. Jinkuro lays awake next to a sleeping Louise, an arm wrapped around her waist holding her close while she uses his chest as a pillow. As he moves his other arm to stroke her sleeping face, Derf the sword decides to speak up at that moment which startles Jinkuro. "What's the matter partner? Can't sleep?" says Derf.
Jinkuro immediately turns to look at Derf, placing a finger on his lips and replies "God damn it Derf, you nearly gave me a heart attack".
Derf chuckles, and says "So partner, what's on your mind?".
"I've just been thinking about whether or not I should pursue a relationship any further with Louise" replies Jinkuro.
"Why would you need to think about that partner" says Derf.
"It's because I am immortal, and me being immortal would mean that while I don't age, Louise would continue to get older and older as years go by resulting in her dying of old age" replies Jinkuro.
Derf then says "Partner, even though you are immortal, I believe you should pursue Louise further. Because wouldn't it be better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all. So what if you're immortal, that shouldn't stop you, but instead strengthen your resolve to hold her tighter, and make lasting memories that you can cherish forever". Jinkuro turns to look at the sleeping Louise after hearing Derf say all that, and he strokes her sleeping face a small smile on his face. Meanwhile, Louise is having a dream of when she was younger.
In Louise's dream, her young self can be seen avoiding the maids that work for her family. As Louise is hiding, she can overhear the maids talking about her. After having heard enough, she goes to the little dock by the lake on her family's property and climbs into the boat tied to the dock. She sits there and says to herself "I…I'm always here alone". She then hears a voice say to her "Louise, is something the matter?". Louise looks up seeing a well-dressed young man and says with a blush on her face "Viscount! I…I didn't know you were coming!".
"Your father wanted to see to discuss that" the viscount replies.
"By 'that' you mean? Not that!" she says.
"My little Louise. Do you dislike me?" he says.
Louise shakes her head with a large blush on her face and says "It's not that. It's just… I'm still young, and don't know anything".
The viscount holds out his gloved hand to Louise and says "Let's go Louise. The banquet is starting. If you're worried about being scolded, I will speak to your mother on your behalf. So hold my hand little lady".
"Yes!" replies Louise, and she reaches out to take his gloved hand, but a gust of wind blows, causing her to look away and blowing the hat off the viscount's head. Once Louise turns back to look at the viscount, she sees that he is not there anymore with Jinkuro now in his place.
She hears him say "Come Louise. Come over to my side".
"Jinkuro, why are you here?" she says.
"What's the matter Louise? Aren't you in love with me" he replies.
Louise blushes and stammers out "L-love you?!".
He knocks her onto her back saying "You still don't want to admit it, my lady" and he leans forward to kiss her. Just as his lips are about to meet her's, the dream ends and she wakes up.
Having woken up from her dream, Louise notices that the thing she is laying against is warm and definitely not her pillow. She opens her eyes, turning her head slightly seeing that she is snuggled against Jinkuro with his arm around her waist, and her head laying on his bare chest. Louise immediately gets up blushing, then remembers her dream as well as the kiss they shared at the banquet, which causes her to blush even more.
She thinks to herself 'I-I'm not in love with Jinkuro am I?'. Louise then thinks about all the time she has spent with him since she summoned him, and how her heart would race whenever she spent time with him. Louise looks at the sleeping Jinkuro next to her. She lays back down, placing her head on his chest snuggling close to him. To her, laying close to him just felt right. Her eyes slowly begin to close as the heat and heartbeat of Jinkuro lulled her back to sleep. Finally, her eyes close, and she falls asleep with a smile on her face.
The next day, Louise and Jinkuro are at the palace in the throne room, having been summoned by the princess. As they stand there in front of the princess, the princess gets up from her throne and walks up to them saying to Louise "Congratulations, Louise Francoise"
"I really am unworthy of such an honorary title as chevalier" says Louise.
"You all achieved something that deserves that title. Capturing the thief that had the entire palace up in arms…" the princess says, then turns to Jinkuro saying "I thank you as well Jinkuro".
Jinkuro does a slight bow and says "It was no problem your highness. I just did what was right, and that was stopping Fouquet".
The princess smiles saying while holding out a hand "I trust that you will continue to take good care of my dear friend".
"Of course" he says, and he takes her outstretched hand and kisses it.
The princess turns to look at Louise and says "Louise, I have a favor to ask of you".
"What is it princess?" replies Louise.
"I would like for you two to live in the village for a while" says the princess.
"In the village?" says Louise.
Princess Henrietta then hands a scroll to Louise and says "This is a warrant issued by the palace".
"You want us to do some spying in the village?" says Louise.
"Lately, I have often been hearing rumors of nobles oppressing the peasants. When I asked those in the area, all of them claimed that such a thing would never happen, as the nobles were good to the peasants. However, seeing the case between you two and Count Mott, I cannot dismiss them as simple rumors. Therefore, I would like you to investigate in the village in secret" says the princess.
"Understood princess!" says Louise.
Later in the village, Louise and Jinkuro can be seen walking out of a clothing store after buying some clothes to look like peasants. "So what next Louise" says Jinkuro.
"Next up is a horse" she replies and they head over to where they can buy a horse. Once they reach their destination, she asks the merchant how much for a horse. Upon hearing the asking price for a horse, they walk away with Louise saying "Really… A horse costs 400 equs? One horse would use up all the money we were given!". They then head to an inn, and she asks how much to stay there. Upon hearing the outrageous amount of 200 equs for a night, Louise shouts out how crazy they are for asking that amount. After walking out, they decide to split up to investigate some more.
After several hours, it is now sunset and Jinkuro is walking looking for Louise and spots her sitting near a fountain. He walks over to her and notices the down look on her face and asks her what's wrong. She tells him what happened causing him to close his eyes and sigh saying "You went and blew all the money the princess gave us gambling".
"They said that I would end up with more money in the end" she says.
"Oh Louise, you should have figured it out that they were just trying to suck you in and get you to gamble till you had nothing left" he replies.
Jinkuro then thinks about what they should do next. A voice then can be heard interrupting Jinkuro's thoughts. Jinkuro and Louise turn to look at where the voice came from, and they see a oddly dressed man. "Tres bien! Such a beautiful face!", From the looks of it, you seem to be in some sort of trouble", "Bonjour! Bon! As you can obviously see, I am nobody suspicious at all" says the man. Both of them sweat drop at the oddly mannered man. The man then says "I am Scarron. I run a tavern just up ahead! Would you like me to furnish you two with one of our rooms?".
"What's the catch?" says Jinkuro.
"Just one condition!" says Scarron, and he points at Louise.
Later at the tavern. Scarron is standing in front of nine girls dressed like maids. "Understood, my fairies?" Scarron says to them.
"Yes, manager Scarron!" reply the girls.
Scarron pouts and says "Not like that! When we're in the shoppe, I've told you to call me "Mi Mademoiselle!"".
The girls all shout "Yes, mi Mademoiselle!".
"Tres bien! Now, good news to all fairies! We have someone new joining us here at the Enchanting Fairy Tavern today!" says Scarron, and he calls for Louise to come into the room. A blushing Louise walks into the room dressed similar what the other girls are wearing. "Louise is a poor little girl who ran away with her older brother right before her father sold her off to pay for his gambling debt!" Scarron says to the girls, and they all respond with sympathy towards her.
"I'm Louise. Nice to meet you" says Louise. All the girls clap.
Meanwhile Jinkuro is behind the bar in the kitchen helping another girl wash dishes in preparation for opening. As he is washing the dishes, the girl says to him while giving him a funny look "You have a very cute younger sister".
"What?" says Jinkuro.
"Nothing. I'm Jessica and you are?" she replies.
"I'm Jinkuro" he says.
"Nice to meet you, Jinkuro. Ask me if you have anything you want to know about this place" says Jessica.
Back in the main room, Scarron is standing in front of a curtain with a rope to his right. "Now that I've introduced our new girl, I'm pleased to announce that this week is the long-awaited tip race!" says Scarron, and all the girls except Louise shout with excitement. Louise thinks to herself 'Tip race?'. "The fairy who earns the biggest tip total gets a special bonus" Scarron says, and he pulls on the rope opening the curtains to reveal a maid uniform that looks different than the ones the girls are currently wearing. "You will have the right for one day to wear the family heirloom that is our namesake, the Enchanting Fairy Bustier!" he says. The girls all look in awe at the uniform.
Scarron goes on to say what is special about it "This bustier is enchanted with magic that charms people, so the day you wear this, you can earn without limit!".
Louise says to herself "Earning without limits?!".
"The girl who won the race last year earned so much, she went back to her hometown! So all of you, do your best, in hopes of being able to wear this bustier!" says Scarron.
"Yes, sir!" replies the girls. Later all the girls can be seen serving customers who have come to the tavern to drink and eat. Louise can be seen having difficulty, as she is not used to doing this kind of work.
After the tavern has closed, Jinkuro and Louise headed into their provided room. Once in the room, Louise shouts "Why do I, a daughter of a duke, have to deal with such a…".
Before she can say any further, Jinkuro places his hands on her shoulders and says "Calm down Louise. At least we have found a place to sleep and some food, as well being able to make some money".
Louise sighs "You're right Jinkuro".
"Well it's getting late, so let's get some rest" he says, and he goes to sit against the wall.
Louise says to him "What are you doing?".
"I'm giving you the bed" he replies.
Louise then gets up, walking over to him and dragging him to the bed. She says to him "I don't mind sharing the bed with you, we already do so back at the academy".
"If you're fine with it, then okay" he says, and he climbs into bed with Louise climbing in right after, and she snuggles close to him laying her head on his chest. Jinkuro wraps his arm around her waist holding her close, and kisses her on the forehead telling her good night. Louise replies good night back and goes falls asleep with a blush on her face from the kiss.
The next evening, Louise is back at it again trying her best to serve the customers. At the current table she is serving, the customer at the table says "What, she's just a kid! I thought this place promised sexy girls…". What the customer says annoys Louise, and she empties the bottle of wine she is holding, over the customers head. At the next table she serves, the customer acts like a creep and reaches out to touch her chest, which results in Louise smacking him across the face. Scarron then has Louise stand in a corner and asks her to watch how the other girls do it. As Louise stands there watching the other girls, she says to herself "Why do I have to dress up in this embarrassing outfit and sell favors to these people?", then she continues talking with a annoyed look on her face "And on top of it, they keep saying I'm so small and flat".
Louise then hears laughter coming from the kitchen, and she looks over and sees Scarron's daughter, Jessica, talking and laughing with Jinkuro. Her gaze then moves over to Jessica's large chest. Louise then becomes really annoyed while thinking 'He's after breasts like the others!', and she grabs a bottle of wine on the floor next her, chucking the bottle at him. As Jinkuro is talking with Jessica, he hears something flying through the air in his direction and turns his head seeing the bottle flying towards him, which he catches before it can hit him. He looks in the direction the bottle came from and sees Louise. He raises an eyebrow wondering why Louise threw the bottle at him, and decides to ask her later.
Louise sees that Jinkuro caught the bottle, and she immediately turns away with a blush on her face. The door to the tavern swing open, with the person who opened the door chuckling which causes everyone to look over at them. Scarron then walks up to them saying "My, my, if it isn't Lord Chelenne. It is nice of you to come all the way out here".
"It looks like you have been quite prosperous" replies the lord.
"Oh, no, today is just coincidence. Usually we're so empty you'd be able to hear a cuckoo cry" says Scarron.
The lord then says "Enough with the excuses! I have come here today as a customer".
"Unfortunately, all the seats are taken right now" replies Scarron.
"It doesn't seem that way" says the lord, and he snaps his finger signaling the men he brought with him to pull out their clubs, which scares everyone into leaving.
Once all the other customers have left, the lord sits down at a table saying "I guess you were right when you said the place was really empty!", and he laughs. The lord continues to talk "Come on, is there no one to serve the royal queen's levy collector?!".
In the kitchen, Jinkuro and Jessica are watching the lord. He says to Jessica "Who is that guy?".
"That's Chelenne, the guy in charge of collecting levy around here. If we stand up against him, he puts a huge levy on us, so no one running a business can stand up against him. He fondles as much as he wants, but doesn't pay any tips at all. No girl that works here would serve him" replies Jessica. Jinkuro then notices Louise going up to the lord to serve him. Louise walks up to the lord not knowing who he is, thinking she'll be able to get a big tip from him because he is a rich-looking noble.
The lord looks at Louise's chest excited, then becomes disappointed due to how flat her chest is and he says "Does this place employ men now?". Louise gets an irritated look on her face at what he says. "Upon closer look, it's just a girl with really small breasts. They're so flat that I thought you were a man! Now, let me take a closer look at exactly how small they really are!" he says and reaches out to grab her chest.
Louise then becomes angered shouting "Don't mess with me!", and kicks the lord in the face sending him onto his butt. Scarron and the girls shout in fear at what Louise just did.
The lord looks at her in anger and says "What?! Damn you!". The lord's men rush up behind the him.
Scarron right away comes up and says "Please forgive her. She just started working here".
The lord gets up shouting "Shut up! How dare you?!", and he flips the table stepping forward towards Louise.
Before the lord can step any further, Jinkuro rushes in front of Louise and Scarron. "Jinkuro!" says Louise. Jinkuro looks at her with a reassuring smile and turns to look at the lord.
"Take another step, and I'll make you regret it" Jinkuro says to the lord.
The lord just says "How dare you kick the face of a noble…".
"Like I just said, take another step and I won't hesitate in kicking your ass even if you're a noble" replies Jinkuro. The lord shouts to his men to capture them, and his men pull out their swords and rush forward. Jinkuro just chuckles aiming his hand at them shouting "Air Burst", and a powerful burst of wind sends the lord and his men flying back. Jinkuro then turns to Louise and says "I believe you have something to say to the lord".
Louise smiles and says to the lord "I went to the trouble of serving you… Why do I have to be insulted like so?!".
"Who do you think you are!"shouts the lord.
Louise just pulls out the scroll the princess had given her, and unrolls it. The lord's eyes go wide, and he bows down saying "A writ from the palace? Please, please forget what just happened. I'll offer this", and he takes out a large bag of coins.
"Forget everything you've seen and heard here today. Understood" Louise says to the lord. The lord nods and him and his men run out of the tavern. After the lord ran out, the other girls start crowding Louise complimenting her on how she handled the lord.
"The winner of the tip race is Louise!" says Scarron. Louise looks confused and asks how. Jessica points at a table, and Louise sees several bags of coins on the table.
Louise asks Jessica "Does that really count?".
"He put it here on his own, so it's a tip" Jessica replies.
Later that evening in their room, Jinkuro is laying there on the bed while Louise is busy changing. He notices that she is taking a long time to change and he says to her "Need help Louise?". She just replies no, and she steps out wearing the special uniform she won the right to wear from the tip race.
Louise looks at Jinkuro with a blush on her face and asks "So how do I look".
"You look amazing in that. You would still look amazing in it even if there was no enchantment on it" Jinkuro replies causing Louise's blush to deepen. "So are you planning on sleeping in that" he asks. She shakes her head no saying that she only wanted to try it on since she won the tip race. Louise then changes out of the uniform, and climbs into bed snuggling close to Jinkuro, laying her head on his chest. They both then fall asleep in each others embrace.
The next day, Louise and Jinkuro arrive back at the academy having finished the mission given by the princess. As they are walking, Jinkuro notices that it is really quiet and he asks Louise "Hey Louise, do you know why it's so quiet".
"We're on the summer holiday right now. So lots of people went home for the holidays, or traveled abroad" she replies. They then see a carriage with Tabitha and Kirche standing next to it, and they walk over.
Kirche sees them and says "Oh, Louise. I haven't seen you around, so I thought you'd already gone home".
"I was just running errands for a bit. You guys are going home?" replies Louise.
"I'm going to visit Tabitha's home" says Kirche, and she climbs into the carriage with Tabitha, and the carriage heads off.
As Kirche and Tabitha sit there in the carriage waiting to reach Tabitha's home, Kirche talks to Tabitha to kill some time. "I didn't know you were studying abroad like me. Why did you decide to study in another country?" Kirche says to Tabitha. Tabitha doesn't say anything in response and continues to read the book in her hands. "In my case, I was sent abroad to study because my family felt like it was doing away with their troubles" says Kirche. Tabitha looks up from her book and looks at Kirche after hearing her say that.
Kirche continues talking "I caused all sorts of trouble, so I was forced to quit my previous school. They started saying that their daughter doing nothing wasn't good for their image, so they tried to force me to into getting married. To an old man no less. An old man!". Then the carriage stops abruptly, and Kirche looks out the window to see what is the problem.
An old farmer walks up to the window and says "Lagdorian Lake up ahead is overflowing. Use the detour up on the high road, please", then he continues on his way.
Back at the academy, Jinkuro had just walked out of the tower that the student rooms were at. Upon stepping out he hears Guiche's voice, and he turns to look in the direction of the voice seeing Guiche talking to Montmorency. "What are you saying? It's all a misunderstanding" Guiche says to Montmorency.
"I've heard that line too many times! Do you understand, Guiche? I don't feel anything for you. I'm only taking the time to see you because you wouldn't stop following me and begging so much" she says.
"Montmorency. In any case, calm down and hear what I have to say" he says. Montmorency just turns her head and walks away with Guiche running after her. Jinkuro just shakes his head chuckling and thinking 'That's what happens when you two time'.
Jinkuro then notices laying against the wall is a large metal pot, and an idea pops into his head. After asking the chef about the pot, the chef lets him know that he can have it since he was going to throw it out. So Jinkuro uses his magic and levitates it over to a spot by the wall. Derf the sword says to Jinkuro "So what are you planning to do with this giant pot".
"You'll have to wait till tonight to see Derf" Jinkuro replies.
Back with Kirche and Tabitha. The carriage is now traveling on the high road, and Kirche, who can now see the lake, says "The old farmer was right, we couldn't have gotten across down there. Even the houses are sunken underwater, too" says Kirche, and she turns to look at Tabitha asking her how much further is her house.
"Almost there" replies Tabitha.
As Kirche looks out the window, she gets a surprised look on her face as they pass a few signs on the road. She notices that on the signs are the emblems of the Galia royal family. Kirche turns to Tabitha and says "Tabitha, are you actually from the royal family of Galia?"
Once the carriage reaches the front entrance of the Tabitha's home, Kirche gets out of the carriage and looks up at the large manor. A butler walks out of the manor to greet them and says "Welcome back. We have been waiting for you, Lady Charlotte".
After entering the manor, Kirche sits down at a sofa saying to Tabitha "First, I'd like to say hello to your father". Tabitha shakes her no in response, telling Kirche to wait here for her. Tabitha then walks out of the room.
As Kirche sits there, the butler walks into the room and places down a cup of tea in front of her. He says to her "My name is Peruculan, and I am the butler for the Orleans family".
"I am a member of the von Zerbst family from Germania. I hope to be under your good care" replies Kirche.
"I had not imagined that Mistress Charlotte would bring a friend back with her" says the butler.
"So Charlotte is that girl's real name?" asks Kirche. The butler has a surprised look on his face hearing Kirche not know Tabitha's real another part of the manor, Tabitha enters the room her mother is in. Upon greeting her mother, her mother has a crazed look and shouts at her. Meanwhile the butler is telling Kirche of Tabitha's past. The butler tells Kirche that Tabitha was ordered to study abroad by her uncle, the king. The butler also tells Kirche that Tabitha's father was murdered as a result in fighting for the throne.
The butler then says "After the death of Lady Charlotte's father, they went after her next. One evening, our Lady and our Mistress were invited to a banquet. They attempted to poison Mistress Charlottle with water magic poison that induces insanity. The Lady sacrificed herself to save our mistress. Tabitha is the name of the doll that the Lady once gave our mistress as a present. From that day, the active and bright Lady Charlotte behaved as if she was someone else". He goes on to tell her how since the incident with the Lady, nobody dared an attempt on the life of the mistress, but in return the palace used the mistress's potent magic powers as reason to force her into difficult tasks.
Back at the academy, Jinkuro is standing in front of the large pot he placed against the wall. He uses his magic to construct a circle from rocks. After constructing the rock circle, he places some of the wood he gathered inside the circle. He then levitates the pot, placing it on top of the circle. He levitates the rest of the wood, using his magic to shape them to the right sizes and lines the bottom of the pot. Jinkuro then aims his hand at the inside of the pot saying "Condense", and water begins to collect in the pot until it is full.
He then aims at the wood under the pot and says "Ignite", and a small flame lights the wood. Derf the sword then speaks up "So you cooking something partner".
"Nope, I'm using this pot as a bath since I can't use the baths at the academy cause I'm considered a familiar. Even though I can clean myself with my magic, nothing beats having a nice hot soak in a bath" replies Jinkuro. Jinkuro removes both Derf and his other sword placing them within arms reach.
He then removes the rest of the stuff he is wearing, and climbs into the pot with a satisfied sigh, loving the feeling of the hot water relaxing his tired muscles. Jinkuro looks up at the night sky as he sits there admiring the sight of the two moons. He then sinks deeper, his head going under the water. As Jinkuro is enjoying his bath, Siesta happens to be walking past the area. Noticing the pot, she walks over wondering what the pot is doing there. Jinkuro notices someone standing in front of the pot and surfaces startling Siesta, causing her to fall back and spill the stuff she was carrying on her clothes. "Siesta?" says Jinkuro.
"Jinkuro?" says Siesta. Siesta looks over at the shattered drink container and says "I'm going to get scolded", then looks at her soaked clothes saying "Oh my, my clothes are soaked…".
Jinkuro says to her "Are you alright Siesta? You're not hurt are you?".
"I'm fine. Though I can't say the same the about my clothes and the container I was carrying" she replies.
"I'm sorry Siesta, I didn't mean to scare you" says Jinkuro.
"It's fine" she says. She then asks "What are you doing in there?".
"Oh, this? This is a pot I'm using as a bath, since I can't use the academy baths" he replies.
"I see. Mind if I join you in the bath, because I'm a bit sticky and dirty from this spill" says Siesta.
"You sure Siesta, I am a man after all. Would you feel comfortable taking a bath with a man" he says to her.
"I'm sure. I know that you wouldn't try anything, Jinkuro" she replies, taking off her clothes and climbs into the pot.
As Siesta is getting into the pot, Jinkuro can't help but stare at her naked form and thinking to himself 'I may be several centuries old, but I'm still a man, and what man wouldn't enjoy the view of a beautiful girl such as Siesta'.
Once Siesta sits down, she says to him "This bath feels quite nice, Jinkuro".
"Yes, I agree. Nothing beats a relaxing hot bath. Having a beautiful girl like you join me makes it even better" he says. Siesta blushes at what he says. As Jinkuro and Siesta enjoy the bath, Louise is standing a short distance away having been looking for Jinkuro, and spotted him in the pot with Siesta. Louise notices that that both of them are talking and laughing together while naked. She immediately becomes upset, and takes a few steps back, then starts running away from there.
After a while, Siesta decides that she has been in the bath long enough, gets out putting on her clothes and says to him "It was very fun, and the bath was lovely".
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself Siesta" he says to her.
Siesta starts to blush and says "The part that I thought most lovely about it was being able to spend some time with you. Good night", then runs off.
After getting far enough, Louise is now walking back towards the tower where her room is. As she is walking, she notices Guiche and Montmorency sitting at a small table about to make a toast. She decides to walk over, and just as Guiche is about to take a sip of his drink, Louise snatches his drink and gulps it down. Meanwhile Montmorency is internally panicking because Louise just drank Guiche's drink which she laced with a love potion. Louise thanks them for the drink, and walks into the tower heading up the stairs to her room.
After finishing his bath, Jinkuro headed up to Louise's room. Once reaching her room, he opens the door entering the room and says to Louise "I'm back Louise!".
"You were out pretty late" she says to him.
"I was just taking a bath for the first time in a while, so I wanted to enjoy myself" he replies.
"I bet you enjoyed it a lot huh" she says with a slightly irritated look on her face. Jinkuro looks at her confused with the way she said that, and notices her face getting red all of a sudden.
He asks her "You feeling okay Louise, your face is all red!".
"My face doesn't matter" she responds, her vision going slightly blurry, then back to normal.
As she is sitting on the bed, Jinkuro notices her wobbling around, then sees her stop moving and facing her head down causing him to rush up to her. "Louise, are you all right?" he says to her. Louise then falls forward while saying his name, and he catches her.
She looks up at him teary eyed and starts weakly hitting his chest while saying "Idiot, idiot, idiot! Jinkuro, you're an idiot! Why did you leave me alone to be with a girl like that?!", then she hugs him and continues talking "Jinkuro, you idiot! Idiot!". Jinkuro looks at her with a worried look on his face at her current behavior. She then starts crying in his shoulder while saying "I love you so much Jinkuro!". Then there is a knock at the door. Jinkuro turns towards the door while holding Louise.
Before he can go answer the door, it opens with Montmorency peeking her head in, and she says "Oh no, just as I thought…".
"Just as you thought?" he says to Montmorency.
Jinkuro looks at Montmorency with a serious look on his face, and asks her "So you know why Louise is acting like this?".
Montmorency says to him "A love potion".
"A love potion! Why the hell did Louise drink a love potion!" he says.
"Louise ended up gulping down the drink meant for Guiche that I laced with a love potion. Louise is attached to you because you were here when the effects kicked in" says Montmorency.
Guiche looks at Montmorency with a surprised look on his face and says to her "You planned to have me drink a love potion? Oh, how touching! To think you would go so far to capture my feelings".
"I just don't like being cheated on!" replies Montmorency.
"There is no way I could cheat on you. I am eternal servant of love" Guiche says to her, and they get closer about to kiss, but are interrupted by the sound of a sword being drawn.
They look over at Jinkuro and see that he drew his sword. Jinkuro points his sword at Guiche and says "It's your two timing that lead to this situation. If you hadn't two timed behind her back, she wouldn't have felt the need to make a love potion". He then turns his sword on Montmorency and says to her "There were better ways to go about this than making a love potion to make him love you only. Also there better be a cure for this love potion Montmorency".
Both Guiche and Montmorency start shivering a little in fear at seeing Jinkuro point his sword at them. Montmorency then says "The effects will wear off in due time".
"When will that be?" Jinkuro asks.
"Maybe a month from now, or a year from now" she replies.
Jinkuro shouts at her "So you're saying you don't know! You better know a cure, because I am not waiting for the effects to wear off. You better tell me what the cure is tomorrow, or there will be hell to pay!".
The next morning, Jinkuro had just stepped out of the tower where the students live, and was going out for a walk around the academy, but is stopped by a teary eyed Louise. She says to him "I don't want you to go!".
"I'm just going for a walk Louise" replies Jinkuro.
"You're lying! You're going to sneak off and go see another girl" she says holding onto him.
Jinkuro turns to look at Louise and places his hands on her shoulders and says "I'm not going to sneak off to see anyone, okay? I'm just going for a walk".
She looks at him with a worried look on her face and says "Really".
"Yes, really" he says, and he kisses her on the forehead.
Feeling his kiss on her forehead, Louise relaxes a bit, her mind at ease for now. Jinkuro begins to walk away, and from behind he can hear her say "I'll be lonely, but I'll be waiting for your return".
Before Jinkuro can walk to far, he hears someone talk to him, and he turns and sees Siesta. "Good morning, Jinkuro" Siesta says to him.
"Ah, Good morning, Siesta" he replies.
Louise then shouts at Jinkuro "You really were waiting for another girl!".
Jinkuro just sighs and says "Louise, Siesta just happened to be passing by".
Louise looks at Siesta then Jinkuro and says "I love you so much, yet you… Jinkuro, you idiot!".
Jinkuro then notices that Siesta is shaking and says to her "This isn't what it looks like".
Before Jinkuro can say any further, Siesta walks away to do her duties. Louise says to him "You really love that woman after all, don't you?", and she runs off to her room before Jinkuro can say anything. Jinkuro sighs in frustration thinking to himself 'This damn love potion problem is becoming a real pain', and he goes off to find Siesta to clear things up.
Spotting Siesta at a small fountain washing clothes, he runs over to her. "Siesta about earlier… Louise ended up accidentally drinking a love potion last night, which is why she is acting the way she is right now" he says to her.
"Love potion? Even us peasants know that drugs to alter people's emotions are banned by law" she says to him.
"Really now? Thank you for the information" he says, grabing her hand kissing it, then walks away leaving a blushing Siesta standing there. Jinkuro heads back to Louise's room, and upon opening the door he notices a bunch of her clothes on the floor leading to the bed. He looks towards the bed and sees Louise there on the bed in a seductive position. Jinkuro closes the door behind him and says to her "Uh Louise, what are you doing? Also please have some decency and put on some panties".
"No, I won't" she replies.
"And why not, Louise" he says.
"Because I have no sex appeal. I know that because I was told that so many times the other day" she says.
'The other day?' Jinkuro thinks to himself, and he remembers hearing what the patrons at the tavern had said to Louise.
"That's why you keep going to other girls, Jinkuro. That's why you won't do anything to me, even though we're always in the same room" she says.
Jinkuro walks over to here, and says to her "Louise, you are only acting like this because of the love potion you drank".
"That's not true. It's not because of a love potion! When I look at you, Jinkuro, my heart aches, and begins to race…" she says to him, and grabs one of his hands, placing it on her left breast.
Jinkuro pulls his hand back, and says to her "I'm sorry Louise, but this isn't how I wanted you to fall in love with me. Maybe the love potion intensified the feelings you already have for me, but to be sure, I have to get you back to normal", then he leaves the room in search of Montmorency.
Upon finding the room that Montmorency is in, Jinkuro kicks the door knocking it off its hinges startling the two occupants in the room. He walks in and sees both Montmorency and Guiche. "You better fix what has happened to Louise, Montmorency" says Jinkuro.
"Didn't I tell you before? Until the effects wear off…" she replies.
"I'm sure that you know of a cure that will fix her. If you don't fix Louise, I'll have to tell the princess that you broke the law by making a emotion altering potion, and drugged her childhood friend with it" he says to her.
"Okay, okay, there is one, but I don't have the potion" she says.
"Where can I get the potion?" Jinkuro asks her.
Guiche then interrupts and says "Jinkuro… Is that how you treat nobility?".
"Ah, so you're looking for a round two with Leviathan, Fafnir and Brynhildr right, Guiche" replies Jinkuro.
Guiche pales at the memory of the three, laughing nervously and says "Well, not really. It's useless to speak of nobility and peasants with you, anyway".
Montmorency sighs at Guiche, and says "You're so pathetic". She then says to Jinkuro "The potion needed is called Spirit Tear, and is extremely difficult to obtain".
"I don't care how difficult it is to obtain, tomorrow we are heading out to get it" says Jinkuro.
"So where is the location of the potion?" Guiche asks Montmorency.
"Lake Lagdorian. Water-based mages bind a pact with the spirit there. Though I've only been there once, as a small child" she replies.
The next morning, Jinkuro, Louise, Guiche, and Montmorency are riding on horseback to Lagdorian Lake. After half a day's time has passed, they arrive at the bottom of a small hill. "Lake Lagdorian is up ahead, past this hill" says Montmorency.
"So we finally get to see Lake Lagdorian, our destination" says Guiche, and he rushes forward on his horse over the hill, and he ends up getting thrown into the water by his horse.
After they climb over the hill following after Guiche, Montmorency has a surprised look on her face and says "What's this?", "Water up to here?".
"Is there water spirit here?" Jinkuro asks her.
"It looks like the Water Spirit is upset. The water level is unusually high" she replies, and they both look out at the lake seeing that the town by the lake has been flooded. "When I came here with my father as a child, it wasn't like this. We'll have to wait a little while. The spirit won't come out until after the sun sets" she says.
After several hours it is now sunset. Montmorency walks to the water's edge, and pulls out her familiar, sending it to out into the lake to find the water spirit after she leaves a drop of her blood on it so that the Water Spirit will recognize her. Moments later a large spout of water sprays out of the lake, and Montmorency begins to speak "I am Montmorency Margarita la Fere de Montmorency… A water user, of a family that has had a lasting pact with you. If you remember anything about my blood, please answer in a way that we can recognize!". The water spout then changes forming the shape of a woman.
The spirit then speaks "I remember, Lonely One. I remember the fluid that runs in your body".
"I'm glad. O Water Spirit, I have a favor to ask. I would like to have a small piece of you" says Montmorency.
"I decline, Lonely One" replies the Water Spirit.
Jinkuro then steps forward and says "Great spirit, surely there is something I can do in return for just a small piece of you".
Montmorency then shouts at Jinkuro "Wait! Knock it off! If she gets in a bad mood…".
"Very well. You would do anything?" the spirit says to Jinkuro.
"Yes, anything" replies Jinkuro.
"We are occupied with increasing the water, and have no time to drive off attackers" says the spirit.
"Attackers?" he says.
"Some of your kind are attacking us. We desire to be rid of them" says the spirit.
Jinkuro draws both Derf and his other sword, then says to the spirit "Very well spirit. If we defeat them, you'll give us a piece of your body, correct?".
"We shall bestow it" replies the spirit.
Montmorency shouts at Jinkuro "I don't want to be involved in a fight!".
"You have two choices Montmorency, you either help, or I alert the princess to what has happened" says Jinkuro.
"Okay, fine I'll help!" she replies. After night has fallen, all three are keeping an eye out for someone to attack the Water Spirit. They then spot two hooded figures at the edge of the lake a few feet ahead of them. One of the hooded figures has a large staff aimed at the lake.
Jinkuro then walks out of their hiding with both swords drawn, and says "So you're the two that are foolish enough to attack the water spirit". The two hooded figures launch a fire and ice spell at him. Jinkuro just chuckles then shouts "Reflection", and a magical mirror forms in front of him. The spells impact the mirror, with the mirror absorbing the spells. Then the mirror shatters and sends the spells back at the hooded figures with twice the power.
The two hood figures jump out of the way to avoid getting hit by their own spells. While they are busy recovering, Jinkuro rushes forwarrd and points his swords at them. "Drop your staff and wand. If you don't I'll paint the ground red with your blood" he says, and the two hood figures drop their wand and staff. He then has them slowly pull back their hoods. Once they pull back their hoods, Jinkuro immediately recognizes them and says "Tabitha? Kirche?". The two figures look up upon hearing their names, and see that the person with his swords pointed at them is Jinkuro. Montmorency, Louise, and Guiche then come out from hiding.
Kirche turns seeing them and says "Why are you all here?". After talking for a bit to clear up the situation, Kirche says "I see, so that's what's going on. But why did you make such a dangerous thing such as a love potion?". Just as Guiche is about to say why Montmorency made the potion, she kicks him in the shin causing him to shut up. Kirche then says "That puts us in trouble. We have to defeat the Water Spirit for Tabitha to keep face".
"Why do you have to defeat the spirt?" asks Jinkuro.
"Tabitha's family asked her to. The water level is rising every day, and their territory is getting damaged" replies Kirche.
"I'll deal with the spirit, and see why it's upset" says Jinkuro. Montmorency calls for the Water Spirit, and moments later the spirit rises out of the water. "Why are you overflowing the lake?" Jinkuro asks the spirit.
"I am doing so, because one of your folk stole the treasure that we were guarding" replies the spirit.
"I will bring your treasure back to you. What is the name of this treasure?" he asks.
"Andvari's Ring. A ring that has spent much time with us" replies the spirit.
"What kind of person stole it?" Kirche asks the spirit.
"One of the individuals was called Cromwell. We know nothing else" replies the spirit.
"All right, I promise that I will find the bastard and bring the ring back!" says Jinkuro.
Guiche places a hand on Jinkuro's should and says "Who would believe the promise of someone who randomly showed up?".
"We believe" says the spirit. Everyone is surprised by the spirits answer. The Water Spirit floats over a vial of Spirit Tear to Jinkuro.
"Why?" asks Guiche.
"Gundolf kept oath with us in the distant past. If it is Gundolf, it is worth believing" replies the spirit. Everyone begins to wonder what is Gundolf.
"I will make sure to fulfill the promise someday" says Jinkuro.
"Someday?" says Montmorency.
"Spirits don't die, correct? Then no matter how many years it takes, it doesn't matter. So spirit, can you put the water levels back to normal" says Jinkuro.
"We shall so promise" replies the spirit, and the spirit sinks back into the lake.
Jinkuto then hears someone get close to him, and he turns his head seeing it is Tabitha. "Owe you" Tabitha says to him.
"You owe me nothing, Tabitha. I was happy to help a beauty like you with her problem" he says to her, and Tabitha blushes at what he says. After getting back to the academy, Jinkuro and Louise are in her room. Once Jinkuro had Louise drink the spirit tear, Louise has a massive blush on her face remembering how she acted. "So you remember everything huh?" he asks her. Louise nods. "What about your feelings towards me? Are they any less now?" he says to her.
"No, in fact I think the love potion made me realize my feelings for you even more now" she says blushing.
"Really now? Then prove it Louise" he says.
"Fine, I will" she says, then goes over to him, but hesitates a bit. Before she knew what was happening Jinkuro pulls her close kissing her. Her surprise is short lived, and she closes her eyes kissing him back.
Jinkuro then says to her "I love you, Louise".
"I love you too, Jinkuro" she replies.
Jinkuro then asks her "Louise, how do you feel about sharing me? Because if you noticed, you can tell Siesta has fallen for me, just like you have".
Louise looks down thinking to herself for a moment, then looks back up "I'm fine with you having multiple lovers, but the rules are, one you must let me and all your current lovers know about anyone you wish to add to the relationship, and two you cannot love anyone more than the rest" she replies.
Jinkuro kisses her again, and says "That sounds fair. And Louise, you don't have to worry about me loving you any less, even if there are more girls added to this relationship". Louise smiles with a blush on her face after he kisses her again and hearing him say that. Just then the window to Louise's room swings open, with the lights going out and a hooded figure floats into the room from the window. Jinkuro immediately jumps in front of Louise to protect her. The hooded figure pulls back their hood revealing them to be the princess.
