"You have some explaining to do, Amos!" Louise screeched. She was still in disbelief at my display and the sight of my armor. I can't blame her since she honestly thought I was just some swordsman she picked up off the street. Anyone who summoned what could be a high ranking soldier would probably go crazy.
"Alright, I'll explain everything. Let's go somewhere else though, I'd rather not let other people know."
Siesta came up to us.
"I'm coming too." she said.
"Who are you?" Louise asked.
"I'm Siesta milady. I work as a maid here."
"It's fine Master, I trust her." I told her. She looked unsure but appeared to be okay with it.
We ended up back in Louise's room with Siesta accompanying us. I was back in my civilian clothes with the Blaster Blade gripped in my right hand with my left arm resting on my leg as I sat.
"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked.
"You know what it is! Why didn't you tell me you were a mage knight?!" Louise yelled.
"I'm not a mage knight. I'm just a swordsman."
"No mere swordsman can use magic! You must be some noble disguised as a commoner!"
"I'm not a noble. As for my magic, I can explain."
It took a while but Louise finally calmed down a bit and sat back in her chair.
"I'll start with who I am and where I am from. My name is Amos and I hail from a kingdom known as the United Sanctuary."
Louise had a puzzled look on her face.
"United Sanctuary? I've never heard of that kingdom before."
"Of course you haven't. It's on another continent." I lied. I thought this through before I decided to tell her about myself. Revealing everything about me and about Cray would be too much for her to handle and would be unbelievable overall.
"The United Sanctuary is a kingdom of light with a monarchical system. The ruler is the King of Knights, Alfred who is also the general of the main army: The Royal Paladins."
The last part of my statement rung a bell in Louise's mind.
"Wait, you said you were a "Royal Paladin"..." she said. I nodded in confirmation.
"That's right. I am a former member of the Royal Paladins and was the most high ranking soldier, second only to Alfred."
"Former?" Siesta asked. I looked down at the floor with my blue hair covering my eyes.
"I... would rather not talk about that." I said grimly.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean too-" I raised my hand and stopped her mid-sentence.
"It's okay, let me continue."
"So you're an elite knight." Louise said. "How is it that you can use magic?"
I held the Blaster Blade forward.
"It's because of my sword, the Blaster Blade. It can turn my courage into power."
"It turns courage into power? I that even possible?" asked Louise.
"The Blaster Blade is a national treasure in the United Sanctuary, wielded only by the greatest heroes in its history. Due to the great amount of courage required to activate, few can ever hope to wield it, much less touch it. I was able to do it."
Siesta recalled something.
"Back at the duel, you called yourself 'Blaster Blade'. Why call yourself your sword's name?"
"Due to the sword's fame, anyone who is able to wield it eventually get tagged with the name 'Blaster Blade' as a title."
"I get it. So you yourself cannot perform magic. Instead, you use a magical weapon in order to perform magical feats." Louise analyzed.
"That is correct. That is why I kept telling you that I am no noble. I am just a swordsman who uses his sword for the weak."
Guilt began to well up in Louise. She had summoned a powerful knight like Amos but she had pulled him away from his homeland and friends. With how unknown the United Sanctuary was who knows if Amos would be able to find his way back.
I stood up from my seat.
"I think that's enough for today. You have class tomorrow and I'm sure you have duties to attend to, Siesta?"
"Yes, I must return to the servants' quarters." said Siesta. "It was an honor to learn so much about you, Sir Amos."
I put a had on her shoulder and gave her a small smile.
"Please, there's no need to do that. Just call me Amos like you've been."
She shook her head.
"But you are such a high ranking soldier! I can't possibly…"
She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the intense glare I gave her.
"Y-Yes! I understand…. Amos." Siesta said before taking her leave. I turned back to Louise.
"Now then, you should get ready for bed. You have class in the morning." Louise broke from her trance and looked up at me. She looked... guilty.
"Amos, um,..." she began before looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" I questioned.
"I took you away from your home and your friends with probably no hope of getting back. If I hadn't summoned you, then you'd still be with them..."
My eyes widened as I absorbed what she had just told me. Images of the battle with my friends flashed again before me. I could see myself cut them down with no remorse up until I had met with the same fate at the hands of my best friend. I believed that my actions were unforgivable and that I deserved to die. But when Louise summoned me, it was like I was given another chance at life. To everyone on Cray, I was dead. Yet, here I am talking about my past deeds of justice when blood is on my hands. My life on Cray was over and now I here am living in another world.
"You don't have to apologize Master." I assured her. "Don't worry about and just go to sleep."
"But-" I glared at her the same way I did with Siesta.
"O-Okay..." Smiling at her, I patted her on the head which made her blush. I turned to go prepare for retiring for the night when she spoke up again.
"Louise." she said. "Call me Louise."
I faced back at her.
"Very well, Louise."
The next day...
That morning, Louise and I were headed over to her classroom. I decided to wear my armor since practically every student knew about it at this point. Plus I figured it would stop any further mockery against Louise. It was tiring to hear and I couldn't stand watching her get picked on.
We entered the classroom and made our way over to her seat. While Louise sat, I stood next to her with the Blaster Blade's tip on the ground, holding both my hands on the end of the hilt. Meanwhile, I could feel the other students' eyes on me.
"Look! It's Louise's familiar!" One boy said.
"Did you hear? He beat Guiche in a duel today. It was completely one-sided." Another said.
"I hear he's a knight from a far-away land!"
"He looks so dashing in that armor!" A girl said.
"Truly a knight in shining armor!"
I had to resist the urge to slap myself in the face at the attention I was getting from the girls. I had enough of that every time I had to go the Angel Feather hospitals for treatment.
"Settle down, class will now begin." said an older woman at the front of the class. She appeared to be middle-aged and was a bit overweight. She wore a pointed cap and a cape that went down to her feet.
I found the class very informative, learning about the different types of mages and the elements. The fifth element, Void, caught me by surprise. I was glad to learn that it wasn't the same Void that had attacked Cray. It appeared to be a powerful type of magic of the people here regarded it highly.
The teacher, Professor Chevreuse, was now showing transmutation. She laid out three pebbles on the desk and with a wave of her wand and an incantation, turned them into bronze.
"Now, I would like someone else to try." She looked around and stopped her gaze onto Louise.
"Ms. Valliere, would you please give us a demonstration?"
The other students panicked at her choice. Kirche spoke up.
"Uh, Professor Chevreuse! You really shouldn't let her do it! She's a-!"
"Not another word! If I hear anyone call her that name again I will turn their teeth into bronze!" the older woman replied sharply. "This spell is extremely simple and I doubt that even Ms. Valliere can fail this, even with her difficulty in casting spells. Now, if you would please then Ms. Valliere?"
Louise nodded as she went to the front of the room. Meanwhile everyone in the class began to chant while others hid under their desks. When Louise reached the front, she took out her wand and began to chant.
I watched her as she chanted. I was well aware of her nickname, "Zero", but I had yet to see exactly why in person. I heard that she makes things explode but isn't that still magic?
A huge spike in magical energy alerted me out of my thoughts. The pebbles began to shake violently like they were about to explode. I braced myself before a huge explosion filled the classroom. Smoke quickly filled the air and debris from the desks flew everywhere. Luckily, I summoned a small barrier to protect myself that also covered some other students. The others weren't so lucky.
The room was in shambles and at the center of it all was Louise who was covered in soot and dust. Her hair was messed up from the explosion as well.
"This always happens," Kirche huffed as she came up to me with the blue haired girl, which I learned was Tabitha, behind her. "No matter what spell she does, it always turns out like this."
Every spell? Isn't that a bit much? Even though Marron had his problems even the simplest of spells were easy to cast.
"I guess I made a little mistake this time." Lousie coughed. Her classmates didn't agree.
"A little?! You call this 'a little?!'"
"Just give up and go home already! Your success rate is zero! That's why you are Louise the Zero!"
"Your familiar was probably summoned to protect us from you, Zero!" I glared at the one who said that.
"I don't protect people like you." I said coldly, making the other students step back in fear. I stepped down to the front and brushed the dust off Louise a bit. I looked at the time which was a quarter til noon.
"Come, let's get you cleaned up. While we're at it, let's get something to eat."
Louise stayed silent and nodded on confirmation. She was shaking slightly and I could tell that she was on the verge of breaking out in tears.
After cleaning her up, we went down to the dining hall. Louise took her seat while I had gone to the kitchen since Siesta called me over. I met with the head chef named Marteau who gladly welcomed me and began serving me several plates of food. I was glad to finally eat some real food, especially after having only that stale piece of bread from yesterday.
"This is very good, thank you." I said. Marteau gave a hearty laugh.
"Only the best for Our Sword!" he grinned. He had gotten word of the way I stood up to Guiche from Siesta. I'm not sure what Siesta told him about me, but it seemed to have gotten me on his good side.
"You should have heard him, chef! 'I am the Sword and Defender of the Weak!'" one of his coworkers acted out.
"Our little Siesta here talks highly of you! Not only that, you knocked off that arrogant blonde brat off his high horse! You're the pride of us commoners: Our Sword!"
Our Sword, huh? It was different to say the least to have a name other than Blaster Blade given to me.
"I only did what was right. Those so called nobles anger me. Someone needed to put them in their place."
"You see? Truly the champion of the people! A master never boasts about his skills!" Marteau said to his coworkers. He turned back to me.
"Anyway, feel free to stop by whenever you're hungry! I'll cook you up something nice! I like to think of it as my magic!"
"Being able to create things that bring a smile to people is magic in of itself. Feel proud that you can do what the nobles here can't."
Marteau blinked a few times at me before he had burst into tears.
"Ooohhh! You are so kind! I'm so happy I could kiss you!"
I shoved him away in disgust.
"Don't please."
The other workers burst into laughter while Marteau sat on the ground now crying from my rejection. I looked over at Siesta who flashed me a smile of appreciation. To be surrounded by so many smiles after all the pain and to be accepted despite what I had done was a new feeling altogether.
This felt... good.