A/N: Wow, this is my longest chapter yet! Hope you guys like it! Make sure to review, it motivates me to keep writing!

Chapter 7

Osmond's Office

Osmond waved his staff over the paper, letters appearing as if he were using a pen. With one last stroke, he completed his signature on the document. He then made the document float to the person in front of his desk to inspect it. He wore colorful clothing underneath a red cape that draped over him. He had purple hair and eyes with his eyebrows and mustache curled at the ends. Satisfied with the document, he nodded in confirmation at Osmond.

"I am grateful for the school's understanding and cooperation." He thanked. Osmond waved this off.

"When receiving an order from the Palace, there is no room for concerns." Said Osmond.

"In that case, I'll be on my way." The man said as he turned to the door. As he exited, Miss Longueville was there bowing. He faced her with lustful eyes peering down at her body.

"Why, hello Miss Longueville. How about a dinner together sometime?" he flirted. Noticing his gaze, Longueville quickly attempted to cover herself with her cape without raising suspicion.

"That would be honor, Count Mott." She replied.

"I will look forward to it…" the man now known as Mott said suggestively. With that, he continued his way out of the school. Behind his back, Longueville glared at him in disgust before going into Osmond's office.

"What did the Palace ask for this time?" Longueville asked Osmond as she picked up some books off her desk to sort out.

"Oh, they just came to warn us about a thief that has been running amok lately." Said Osmond.

"Thief?"

"Lately, a fellow known as Fouquet has been using magic to steal treasures belonging to those of nobility."

A bell rung in Longueville's head.

"Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt?" she said. Osmond nodded.

"Here at the school, there is a sacred treasure we keep called the Staff of Destruction."

As she sorted the books she held, Longueville pondered about the Staff of Destruction for a moment.

"The Staff of Destruction… What a troubling name." she remarked.

"Well, no matter how adept this Fouquet is, there shouldn't be anything to worry about at all. The treasure vault here is layered with many spells by Square-class mages, meaning it's near impossible to break into. Honestly, the Palace is overly anxious about this." Osmond explained. Despite saying this, he couldn't help but feel that it was still possible to steal.

He must be imagining it.

Later that night…

"That's enough for today." I said as I wiped the sweat off of Louise's face with a towel.

"I'm so tired…" she complained. "My arms feel like jelly and my hands are going to get blisters!"

"Well that's what happens when you are not used to do something." I said. "You'll get stronger the more you practice."

When all I got was a pout, I chuckled at her.

After dealing with Kirche last night, I ended up taking the sword she was offering despite Louise's protests. With Derflinger's old body broken, we needed to find a new sword. However, it would be another week before the next Void-Day and I wanted to get started with Louise right away. Seeing Kirche's sword, I had no choice but to take it. It was large for Louise, but a simple shrinking spell by Tabitha did the trick. When she shrunk the sword it was apparently an apology for Kirche bothering us. How did she end up as friends with that girl? The two were polar opposites. Then again, opposites do attract each other. Me accepting the sword also made Kirche more clingy than ever, much to my annoyance. She was persistent that's for sure.

Louise left to go wash herself and retire for the night while I stayed behind to wash some of her laundry. As I did so, I heard someone walking up to me. Looking over my shoulder, I found Siesta standing there.

"Hello Siesta, what brings you here at this hour?" I greeted. She gave me a smile.

"I was watching you and Miss Valliere practice earlier. It was really fun to watch." she said.

"She has a lot to learn. Both in the sword and in discipline." I sighed. Louise complained about her hands losing their softness and how nasty she felt sweating for most of the session. To me, it sounded like she never exercised a day in her life.

"Um, Amos?" Siesta spoke up.

"What is it?"

"Thank you so much." She thanked. Why the sudden gratitude?

"What's this all of a sudden?" I asked.

"You never gave in to the nobles and even stood up against them despite being unable to use magic. Your courage gives me courage as well. That's why I feel like I can continue to do my best because of you, Amos." Siesta said. Now I knew something was off. It almost sounded like she was bidding me farewell.

"Well then, good night Amos." She said.

"Siesta, what's going on with-"

But before I could ask her what's wrong, she quickly took off. I stood there speechless, trying to think of reasons for her confrontation. Nothing I came up with made sense but I knew one thing bothered me.

As she ran past me, I thought I could see tears forming at her eyes.

The next day…

"She thanked you and then left?" Louise asked. "What's with that?"

"I'm not sure, but something is going on." I replied.

"Well, we can look into that later if you want. For now, you'll have to wait for me outside until class is finished."

After Louise left for her class, I sat down on the grass outside with the other familiars. There were many different kinds, some similar to creatures back on Cray and others new to me. One of them was a giant floating eyeball. I believe it was called a Bugbear. It looked nothing like a bug or a bear though, so it made me question who in the world named it that. Other familiars took a liking to me and started licking me and nuzzling up against me.

"If it isn't 'Our Sword'!" said a voice. Looking over at the hallway, I saw the head chef Marteau walking up to me.

"Good morning, Marteau." I greeted.

"Likewise." He replied heartily as he noticed my situation. "These fellows like you a lot, don't they?"

Hearing that made me reminiscence about my time with the Royal Paladins, especially the high dog unit. Two certain dogs came to mind. One was pink and the other blue.

"I've always been an animal person." I said with a sad smile. Marteau chuckled.

"Why don't I whip you up something to eat? We got a lot of leftovers from breakfast."

My stomach growled upon the mentioning of food. I was so deep in thought about Siesta that I forgot to eat this morning. I took up his offer and we made our way to the back of the kitchen. Soon, the table was laid out with food and I wasted no time eating.

I then remembered that Siesta also worked with the kitchen, serving the students.

"Marteau, do you know what's going with Siesta?" I asked. "She was acting strange last night."

Marteau gave me a confused look.

"You mean she didn't tell you?" he said.

"Tell me what?"

"She quit."

That's what was bothering her? It certainly explained why she was bidding me farewell but it still did not explain why she was crying.

"Why did she quit?" I asked.

"She was hired to work at Count Mott's mansion." Marteau said.

I frowned at this.

"You mean she was forced to?"

Marteau nodded.

"In the end, the nobles hold all the power and we peasants have no choice but to obey. I wanted to stop her from being forced to go, but I can't do anything. It pains me greatly because of the things they say about Count Mott."

"What about this Count Mott?" I asked.

"I hear he's a womanizer. He sees a pretty lady and he'll take her for himself." Marteau said in disgust. I slammed my fist down on the table when I realized what this meant.

"The bastard took Siesta to be a mistress…" I snarled. Marteau nodded sadly. I had heard enough as I got up.

"Thank you for the meal, Marteau." I thanked before leaving.

As soon as I got outside, the bell rung and the students began making their way out into the halls. Louise soon followed and found me in the courtyard where she had left me.

As she walked up to me, she noticed my scowl was angrier than usual.

"What wrong with you, Amos?" she asked.

"Louise, what can you tell me about Count Mott?"

She frowned at the mention of his name.

"He's the Royal Messenger for the Palace of Tristain." She said. "I don't like him at all. His womanizing is no secret as well."

"Someone like him is the Royal Messenger?" I said in disbelief and anger. Louise appeared to sympathize with me.

"As long as he does his job, the higher ups don't care. Whenever he takes a woman it's to be his mistress. Since there's no law against this, there's nothing that can be done."

"Like hell there isn't." I growled. Then realization dawned on Louise as she remembered what we talked about this morning.

"Wait, was Siesta taken to be a mistress?" Louise asked.

"Where can I find Mott's mansion?" I demanded.

"Hold it! You're not actually planning on breaking in to take Siesta back, are you?" she asked. "Mott is a Triangle-class water mage! He's nothing like when you fought Guiche!"

Triangle-class… If I recall, the four classes were dot, line, triangle, and square and were in order of weakest to strongest respectively. Dot mages used one magic, line mages used two, triangle used three, and squares used four. The four elements were fire, water, wind, and earth. Void was the fifth lost element but that was of no concern. If he was a triangle-class water mage then he was certainly no push over. However, even that is not nearly enough to dissuade me. I've faced far worse opponents from the Aqua Force army.

"I don't care how strong he is. There's no way I'm going to allow Siesta to be a mistress against her will." I replied angrily.

"I forbid it! Why do you care so much for that maid anyway?!" Louise said with a hint of jealousy.

"Yo, Amos!" Derflinger said as he hung on my back. "I get how you feel, but aren't you in over your head here? You're considered a peasant and if you were to draw your sword against a noble like this Mott guy then there would be no qualms about killing you!"

I flashed a confident smile at Derflinger.

"I'm no mere peasant, Derflinger." I hinted. He hadn't seen what his new body and I are capable of yet.

Louise coughed to bring back my attention.

"Anyway, as your master, I forbid you from going against Count Mott, understand?!" she ordered. "Any actions you take reflect on me as well and I will not have word go around that my familiar broke into Count Mott's mansion!"

She glared at me expectantly for my response. We stared off against each other for a few seconds before I spoke up.

"Very well, I won't cause you any trouble, Louise."

"Hmph, as long as you understand." She huffed.

"Why don't we go continue our sword lessons in the meantime then?" I suggested.

"Already?!" Louise paled. "But my arms are still sore!"

I smiled at her.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." I said before handing her her blade.

"Now draw!"

That night…

Louise went to sleep early after today's session. As she snored tiredly, I got up from my makeshift bed of hay and picked up Derflinger.

"You sure about this, Amos?" he whispered. I nodded.

"Derflinger, it's time I showed you what I and your new body are capable of."

As I made my way out the dormitory, I caught and Guiche talking with that blonde girl Montmorency.

"A mythril brooch? You shouldn't have!" Montmorency squealed in excitement as she held a fancy looking brooch. Guiche smiled in delight.

"Don't you think it will look good on you, Montmorency?" Montmorency then looked at Guiche suspiciously.

"And with this, I'm supposed to pretend that you're two-timing never happened?" she said.

"Don't tell me you believe what that vulgar familiar said…" Guiche replied with a straight face. So I was vulgar huh?

"Who's vulgar?" I called out as I went up to Guiche, towering over him. He paled upon seeing me.

"S-Sir Amos! What are you doing here?!" Guiche asked nervously. Apparently I was 'Sir Amos' to him now. At least he's trying to make up and stick with one girl. I haven't heard anything regarding him lately so he must have learned his lesson.

"Do know where Count Mott's mansion is?" I asked. Guiche blinked in surprise.

"Count Mott's estate? Why do you want to know?"

"Let's just say I'd like to see him in person."

Later…

After an hour's walk, I made it to Mott's mansion. It was plotted on a fairly large stretch of land with a large outer garden with fountains and trimmed bushes and trees. I stood outside the gate, looking through the bars at the mansion.

"The guy's got a nice place here." Derflinger commented.

"He doesn't deserve it." I spat. After saying that, a sentry in standard looking armor came over with his spear pointed at me.

"Who are you?" he questioned. I raised my hands up to show him that I wasn't a threat.

"I'm from the Tristain Academy of Magic. I'm here on official business. I seek audience with Count Mott." I said. I wasn't lying, but there was a whole different meaning to what I said than what the guard is thinking. He lowered his weapon as he deemed me to not non-threatening.

"Very well, follow me."

Meanwhile in the mansion…

In Count Mott's room, Siesta bowed in respect as she finished serving Mott some tea. Instead of the black, long skirted maid uniform she wore back at the Academy, she now wore a red maid uniform with a short skirt with long stockings.

"How's the work? Have you gotten used to it?" Mott asked.

"Yes, for the most part." Siesta replied. Mott then got up from his seat with a lecherous grin on his face.

"I see. Well, don't overexert yourself too much." He said as he got behind Siesta and placed on hand on her shoulder, face close to her ear. Siesta grimaced at this.

"Yes sir…"

"After all, I didn't hire you just for household chores, Siesta…" he suggested as he got too close for comfort. Siesta wanted to push him away but she couldn't in fear of the consequences. A knock was then heard at the door, interrupting them.

"What is it?" Mott asked in irritation.

"A messenger from the Magic Academy called Amos is here to see you, milord!" the sentry outside the room responded. Siesta gasped at the mention of Amos's name.

"Amos? Never heard of him. What could be so important to send a messenger at this hour?"

'It can't be… Why is he here?' Siesta thought.

"No matter, let him in." Mott commanded. The door opened and two guards stood on both sides of Amos as they entered the room. Amos was in his modified Academy uniform with Derflinger slung behind his back.

...

As I entered the room the first thing I saw was how close Mott was with Siesta. My hand itched, resisting the urge to cut him down on the spot. The man looked well past his thirties while Siesta was no older than seventeen.

"Speak, commoner. What message did that old man Osmond give for me?" Mott asked.

"Let Siesta go and no one will get hurt." I said. Mott looked at me in surprise.

"What?"

I drew Derflinger and struck one of the guards in the back of the head with the hilt, knocking him out. Turning around quickly, I swung with the flat edge of the blade, striking the other guard in the stomach, leaving him incapacitated. As the two guards lay helplessly on the ground, I pointed Derflinger at Mott who was in shock at my display.

"You've taken too many women for your own selfish desires. It's time that you paid for your crimes."

"A commoner dares to draw a blade against a noble? You've sealed your fate plebeian!" Mott hissed. Siesta then got in between me and Mott.

"Amos, why did you come for me?" she asked in confusion. "I'm just a commoner! I'm not worth all this trouble…"

"You're wrong Siesta. No one should be forced to do things against their will just because another person said so. You don't have to obey this bastard and I'll make sure he never does anything like this again."

Mott had heard enough.

"How dare you come into my home and claim that I can't do what I wish with my servants!" he snapped. "I am a noble and therefore I am entitled to do what I wish with my property! She should be honored that I chose her to work for me! And you dare say that I have no right?"

I glared at him.

"You're no noble, you're trash."

That seemed to set Mott off.

"That's it, plebeian! You're not leaving this place alive!"

Perfect, he took the bait.

"Then why not have a duel? If I lose, I become your slave and you are free to do what you wish. If I win, then your life is in my hands."

"Very well! Let's take this outside. I'm going to enjoy torturing you once I make you see the difference between us!" Mott accepted the terms without a second thought. He then left, making his way out to the courtyard. Siesta then came up to me in a panic.

"Amos, please! I'm not worth all this!" Tears were beginning to form in her eyes.

I placed a hand on top of her head.

"Stop belittling yourself so much." I said. "You're a human being and no one has to be treated like property, commoner or not."

"But-"

I raised a finger to her lips mid-sentence.

"Just trust me, okay?"

She was hesitant, but eventually she nodded her head. I gave her one last pat on the head before I left for the courtyard. Mott was going to pay for abusing his status and wronging so many young women. It was time to end this sorrowful cycle of fate and karma.

In the courtyard…

I stepped in the makeshift ring that Mott's guards and many maids made from being present to witness their master's duel. I could see that the maids and even the guards were looking at me in worry and also hope. Mott must have abused his guards and maids countless times and now they were looking at me like I was their hope. In that case, I will be that hope and bear that burden. Siesta stood there as well, her hands folded and eyes filled with worry.

Mott and I stood across from each other in the center of the 'ring'.

"My runic name is 'The Wave'! You will now see why!" he raised his scepter and water from the fountain swirled in the air at his command. He must have had the ability to pressurize it. A dangerous ability indeed.

I drew Derflinger.

"I am Amos, and I will bear the burden of every guard and maid you have wronged." I stated before an intense light shone around me, blinding everyone present including Mott.

As they shielded their eyes, my armor began to appear and I gave one last slash across the light, revealing my transformation. The crowd was gaping at me and I could tell that they now had new-found hope at the sight of me, that I would be the one to liberate them from Mott. Siesta smiled upon seeing me in armor again.

"Whoa!" Said Derflinger. His voice was heard in my mind. "You didn't tell me my new body could do this!"

"It's called the Blaster Blade, Derflinger." I responded mentally.

"Blaster Blade, huh? I still think Derflinger is cooler. But I guess I got to bear the new title, huh?"

"Enough, we have more important matters at hand." I replied as I pushed Derflinger out of my thoughts.

Although Mott was surprised, it was not enough to perturb him.

"A mage knight huh? No matter, you're still going to die!" He claimed before sending the pressurized water at me. I jumped high up in the air to avoid it and swung down at him. Mott managed to dodge to the side but was unprepared when I quickly recovered from my landing to follow up with a side slash. I grazed him across the chest, blood seeping into his clothes.

"You cur!" he spat before he conjured more streams of water to send at me. Surprised at his sudden flux of energy, I was struck in the face by the water. My face stinging, I was left to dodge his barrage with some streams still managing to hit me.

One stream of water struck my leg, forcing me on one knee. I grimaced at the pain as I resorted to using Derflinger to support myself up.

"Ha! Not so tough now, are you knight?" Mott mocked. He then raised his staff and gathered all the water he was controlling, forming one large sphere of water.

"Die!" He then hurled it at me. I tried to move but my injury prevented me from moving fast enough. With no other options, I slashed down at the crashing sphere, hoping to mitigate the damage.

[Insert – Pinchi wo Yuuki he!]

When my blade touched the water, something unexpected happened.

Instead of the water sphere getting sliced in half, the water seemed to go into my sword.

Derflinger was absorbing the water.

"What?!" Mott gasped. "A magic canceling sword?!"

As the last of the water disappeared, I looked down at Derflinger in surprise.

"Derflinger?"

"Oh yeah! I can absorb magic to empower myself!" Derflinger realized. I blinked in surprise before smiling. The Blaster Blade originally couldn't do a feat like that. Putting Derflinger in the Blaster Blade was a wise decision.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

Meanwhile, Mott was forming new streams of water to use on me.

"Grr! It's not over yet!" he yelled before changing the water into blades of ice. Mott then sent them flying at me. I parried each one skillfully with Derflinger absorbing some magic with every blade deflected.

"Amos! Use the magic I absorbed against him!" Derflinger suggested.

I closed my eyes and focused. Magic swirled around my blade until it completely enveloped it. It was no different than using my courage as energy.

I opened my green eyes which were glowing in the dark of the night.

"Take this!" I yelled as I swung at Mott, sending a large torrent of energy flying out of my blade at him. My aim was true and Mott took the full force of the attack.

"AAAUUGHH!" Mott screamed in pain as the energy wave sent him crashing into his mansion's wall. The guards and maids were speechless. The man that had abused them for so long, that had gotten away with everything had just been defeated by this unknown person who looked like a mage knight. Soon, they began cheering my name loudly.

I walked up to Mott, the tip of my blade at his throat.

"It's over." I told him. He ground his teeth in anger but could not move. Eventually, he laid his head down in defeat.

"What do you want?" he finally asked.

"First, you will release Siesta and never go after her again."

"All of this for a single commoner?" Mott said in disbelief.

"I'm not done yet." I replied. "You will then release the other maids as well as your guards. You have wronged them for far too long."

Mott looked up at me in shock.

"All of my servants?! But-" he didn't get to finish as I pushed the tip of my sword closer to his neck, drawing blood.

"Okay! Okay! I'll do it!" he gave in.

"Finally, you will stop taking in other women for your own sick desires. If I hear that you take in another helpless girl…" I trailed off as I stabbed Derflinger between his legs. He let out a girlish squeal before nodding his head quickly.

Satisfied, I left him alone and went back to where the crowd was.

"Count Mott has been defeated and has agreed to my terms! You are now free to do as you wish!"

Upon hearing this, the guards threw down their weapons and the maids tore off parts of their uniforms. They chanted my name and came up to thank me. Many of them were crying as they did so but not so much as Siesta, who was bawling out of pure happiness and relief.

After she was done crying, Siesta came up to me and pulled me into a hug, ignoring my armor.

"Thank so much Amos! Thank you!" she thanked. In Siesta's mind, Amos was literally her knight in shining armor.

I placed a hand on her head.

"I told you you could trust me." I said. She looked up at me with a smile.

"Yes! I won't doubt you again!"

I chuckled before rubbing her hair.

"Come on, let's get your stuff and go back to the Academy."