Tsukaima no Chrono

Chapter 6: She sees me as a slave!

We find ourselves looking into a room on the third floor of a round stone building, inside it is furnished with valuable looking antique table, chairs a wardrobe and a four poster bed and a pile of hay. Two figures are also within this room at this time, Louise who is standing next to the bed and Chrono who is sitting facing her cross-legged on the pile of hay with a chain attached to a dog collar around his neck. The other end is attached to the bed.

"Earth?" Louise asks.

"That's right, up until now I was on the planet Earth, in a country called Japan and in Uminari city." Replies Chrono. Well technically I was on the Asura in stationary orbit above Uminari city, but I can't reveal the existence of space travelling technologies to inhabitants of a primitive world like this.

"I was just leaving home when you caught me with a green portal." Chrono explains.

"I can't believe this, that there is another world." says Louise quietly in disbelief.

Keeping up the act in regards to his ignorance of magic, Chrono replies with conviction. "I don't want to believe it either! In any case… return me back!"

With her and this society's limited knowledge, I don't believe that's possible but, it doesn't hurt to ask. Normally in Mid-childa, familiars are created rather than actually summoned from another place. There have been encounters with races of summoners, such as dragon summoners with extremely adaptable linker cores that summon familiars in the same way though. That flexibility in their fields tends to make them much more suitable for teleporting objects as well. I don't believe this is the case here. Chrono thinks as he waits for a reply.

Chrono's suspicions were confirmed when Louise replies with a firm. "Impossible."

Wanting to find out more about Louise and seeing her dismissive expression, he insists. "Don't end the conversation with only one word!"

Louise responds to this request by dumping her jacket onto his head, blocking his view of her and explains. "It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, the contract is absolute."

Having removed the obstruction of Louise's jacket, he finds Louise stripped down to her underwear once again. This girl doesn't see me as a being of the same race, does she?

Voicing out his objection, Chrono asks. "What do you think you are doing?"

Tossing her just discarded clothes in a bundle at Chrono causing him to wonder why she was dumping her clothes on him, Louise answers as if it should've been common sense. "I'm about to sleep so I'm getting changed."

She flicks her hair back over her shoulder then clicks her fingers, turning the table lamp off.

Chrono then acknowledges the action. So, the mages in this world do even the most simple of things with magic. How lazy, Mid-childan mages are taught not to rely on magic for simple tasks and to use it sparingly. It not only develops the mage as a better person overall, but by showing we do not recklessly use our powers it also serves as a diplomatic pacifier for interacting with races that cannot use magic .

In the darkness that prevails with the lamp blown out, Chrono can make out Louise's naked body from the moonlight streaming into the room from its lone window.

Stunned at her boldness and fighting his moral code he suggests. "Can I wait outside the room until you're done?"

Louise replies "Why? Planning to run away again?'

Exasperated, Chrono asks. "Are you really fine with a man seeing you like this? And, I told you before! I wasn't running away!"

He then finds the underwear that Louise had stripped off thrown onto him, joining the pile of clothes that were already on his lap.

"A man? You are just my familiar… and even if you weren't my familiar, you're just a boy at most!" Louise apathetically states.

Insulted Chrono shouts. "What?"

Louise's response was to head towards the wardrobe and pick up what seems to be another set of underwear from the floor next to it. "Ah, I knew I was forgetting something."

Throwing this extra set of underwear at Chrono, which he then realises, had a scent like a dirty wet rag and felt like one too.

Louise commands, indicating the pile of clothing Chrono had gathered. "Go wash those."

Louise then puts on a set of pyjamas, restoring her decency and heads to her bed, tucking herself under her blanket with her back facing towards Chrono.

Holding up the pile of clothes and studying it, Chrono thinks. Eww, how disgusting, what was she doing to get her underwear into this mess?

Out loud he asks in disbelief. "Why do I have to wash your underwear?"

Getting angry at the lack of response from Louise, Chrono raises his voice, it comes out more like a whining child. "Hey! I will never do your…"

Louise interrupts his rant answering him in an annoyed voice. "Who do you think will care for you?"

Chrono is taken aback as he remembers his previous decision as he was returning to the room. That's right! I have no access to food or shelter here without doing something that's illegal on pretty much every civilized world I've seen.

Louise continues to speak in a sleepy tone much like a mother patiently explaining why her child should go to bed early. "You're my familiar, right? Clean, wash, etcetera, it's your natural duty is it not? By the way, prepare my clothes tomorrow morning. Rest assured, if you work properly then you'll be fed…"

Natural duty? I understand putting my life on the line for my master but none of the familiars I've ever met had ever had to do so much to be only fed? Looks like that really confirms it, she doesn't see me as a familiar at all! She sees me as a slave! Chrono notices the slow rhythmic rise and fall of a sleeping person.

Knowing that the conversation was over, Chrono gives up and decides to raise his objections the next morning, leaving Louise to her sleep.

I guess I have to make the most of things. Chrono then curls up on the pile of hay on the floor and goes to sleep, shivering as a cold breeze blows through the room.

-Author's Notes-

Hope you enjoyed TnC Chapter 6. A bit earlier than expected, but that's because since the point where it ended was perfect to make into a chapter it was shorter too. I have given up on getting a beta reader, as I was advised that the pace I intended to release at would give them too much pressure and the fact that all the beta readers I contacted were only familiar with one but not both Zero no Tsukaima and Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha. As such please submit any errors you find, stating both the chapter and the sentence to be corrected as a review. I will fix it within the week. Thank you and see you next chapter.