Familiar, Life is SHOW TIME!

by The Wild Fang

Meet Nozomi Saigo, one of the survivors from the Solar Eclipse ritual, the Sabbath. He also wields the power of hope that protects the people of the city known as Kamen Rider Wizard. When he receives a calling from another place where magic does exists, how would he cope with the situation in an unfamiliar surroundings? Remember this, minna! Life... is SHOW TIME!

3. T3: Sentinent Sword and A Phantom

*Night time*

As of this time, Louise and I are in our room, ready for a little debate, which I already know that she has a LOT of question for me to answer. And for some reason that I don't know, even Kirche and Tabitha was also present in this room, which caught their interest about the earlier battle… well, mostly Kirche and Tabitha only accompanies her since that she is her friend.

"Alright, Saigo! You have to tell me what ARE you, really! There is no way that a peasant has that kind of ability to use magic! I've never heard of a human familiar before and to top it all off, it's a magic bearer!" she exclaimed without stopping asking me for more information as she was pretty curious and annoyed at the same time (I have no idea why… so, don't even bother of asking me about it.) while I just casually sits on a hay while taking off my rings and placed it onto the ground.

"Oh, your battle with Guiche was superb, especially knowing the fact that you are a Flame user as well, just like me!" Kirche compliments me as Louise shoots an angry gaze at her. I just simply continued to take off my belt from my waist and placed it onto the ground.

"And why is it that you're in this room in the first place, Zerbst?! This was supposed to be a private matter between me and my familiar and you're not in it!" she argued with her but Kirche just simply flicks her hair and responds to her normally.

"Does it matter? The fact that he's a flame user got the best of my curiosity. And besides, his appearance with his armor while saying such cool and confident words, it just makes me wanted to know him more than it is…" she compliments at me again while looking at me taking off my belt as I placed it onto the ground as well. Wow, she really does have her way with words.

"Well… thanks. I guess there is someone that likes my show." I said with a smile on my face, but as usual, Louise just getting annoyed by it since that this is my first time reply back happily to someone like Kirche, rather than her since that I'm her familiar.

"Did you see that, Vallière? He doesn't mind at all about me complimenting him…" she said with a sultry smile on her face, which already triggers Louise's anger and as she was about to advanced towards her with a wand on her hand, Tabitha's staff intervenes between them in order to stop them from fighting as her gaze doesn't even leave from her book… wow, she's as cool as cucumber, that's what I can say for sure!

"No fighting. Wizard. Explanation." she said with a normal tone, getting back to the point before pulling her staff back to her.

"Oh, that's right! Thanks, Tabitha!" Kirche thanked her friend before the two of them (three if Tabitha was looking at me… I think) gaze upon me, ready for an answer.

"Well, start explaining, Saigo!" Louise commanded.

"Well… where should I start?" I asked as I scratched at the back of my head, trying to find a starting line for this kind of stuff. You know, this is the first time, other than Tetzu-san, actually asking me about my origins of my powers. "As you guys have already witness this afternoon, I am Kamen Rider Wizard, a superhero of some sort to protect people from losing hope."

"Kamen…rider? A hero?" Kirche said in confusion, which I nodded.

"You? A hero? Don't make me laugh! There's no way someone like you has that kind of capability, even though that it surprises me…" Louise said it in an annoyed tone while looking away.

"Well, how do you explain where did I get this powers, hm?" I asked her, only to lead her to keep quiet. It is then I continued while picking up my belt (civilian mode) and a Flame Ring, showing it to them. "With this belt and ring in my disposal, it allows me to grant access to their powers according to their elements and skills that it applies for my battle. And to make things better, my power isn't just limited to one element. I also have other forms known as Styles, to match up with any situation that I have to face. Even those who don't have magic capabilities can use this belt, just as long as it fulfills its conditions."

Those words alone caught the attention of Louise as she had this idea of wearing it around her waist and thought that any of the Ring Styles might fit with her element. She thought that if she had this belt, there will be no one that will doubt her about not having magic within her and they won't tease her anymore. Without a doubt, she immediately snatches the belt and the Flame ring away from my hands and she immediately wears it around her waist.

"Uh… what are you doing?" I asked.

"What else? For someone that holds greater power than me, I think I should hold onto it more than you!" she said after placing the belt and the Flame Ring onto her right middle finger. She mimicked my gestures from earlier today as she placed it onto the palm on the belt but…

= ERROR! =

"Eh?" she said in confusion as she tried to place it again, and will you look at that?

= ERROR! =

"Saigo, what's the meaning of this?! Why can't I use it? And why is this belt isn't the same one that you use earlier this afternoon?!" she said in anger while still having the belt around her waist and the ring on her finger. To be honest, I was quite amused to see her trying to use the belt and failed continuously, despite that she's my master… for now.

"Well, for starters, you used the wrong ring to start with… why don't you try using this?" I explained to her while I handed her the Driver On ring as she immediately takes it. Kirche just watches Louise's actions as she switches the rings and placed it onto the palm again. And once again—

= ERROR! =

"I guess even the belt knows that you're just nothing more than Louise the Zero…" Kirche added the comment with a slight giggle, seeing Louise frustrated was already entertaining to her before Louise throws back the belt and the ring to me. I still don't get it why they called her Louise the Zero. Maybe I'll try to ask Louise later, if her mood fits the right atmosphere…

"I should tell you that only the chosen Gates can use that belt and I am one of them. Not everyone can use it, y'know…" now it's my turn to chuckles for a bit after seeing her angry as I wear the belt back around my pants, for a reason. This is the only thing from keeping my loose pants from falling down from its place.

"Gates?" Kirche asked in confusion.

"It is someone who has the potential to use magic, which they are quite oblivious to it since that from where I came from, magic is nothing more than a fairy tale or a hoax. Most of them are driven by advanced technology and modern lives and magic just extinct from their existence… hence, monsters called themselves Phantoms start hunting them down to put them into despair, so that the host reborn as Phantoms and the hunt continues on… it was my duty to hunt them down before they turned the Gates to despair and I shed my hope on them." I explained to them one by one. My hand subconsciously grabbed hold onto one of my arm and grips it tightly.

"And how do you know all of this?" Kirche asked.

"I know this because…" I paused for a moment while looking at my arms that was covered by a yellow sleeve. I pulled one of them up to reveal the scar that was permanently on my arm before I continued, "…I was one of the sacrificial lambs for the ritual…"

Both of them were shocked after seeing my scar as Tabitha was only looking at it normally, which it is still in purple, not to mention that scales are actually still formed on it. I don't know what else I should do if they still don't believe on what I just said, so this is the only option to wake them up.

"Ritual?" Tabitha looks at my arm with just her normal look on her face.

"The Sabbath…" I muttered it under my breath before getting serious with them. "I guess I should tell you a little story on how it all began…" I said to myself as the long explanation begins throughout the night.

---

(The voice is narrated by Kirche)

The powerful magic, the Wizard Rings

(The magic circle appears as the four rings floats out from it.)

The power dwells upon a man with such capabilities.

(An image of a hand appears as the Flame rings slides into his left middle finger and the Driver On ring is on his right middle finger.)

Now… will he change my desire… into hope?

(The figure, Nozomi Saigo who was hovering right between the magic circle and makes a glance towards the viewers as a quick flash of Wizard can be seen.)

(Cue in Life is SHOW TIME!)

(Maji ka?! Maji de?! Maji da! Show Time~!) The montage starts with Kamen Rider Wizard twirls around a few times with a magic circle on a background and he opens up a magic circle to the sky, letting the Wyvern Phantom soar the sky, above the academy and it spews out flames to make the title appears and the Wyvern flew away from the screen to shift to the next screen.

(Maru de tsuki to taiyou) At the backstage of the magic theatre, Saigo was resting his head on the table as his arms covers his face while his hand grips hard onto his sleeves as a quick montage shows the solar eclipse and the purple cracks on his arms that resembles scales.
(kasanaru toki no shougeki!) Louise was walking all alone at the corridor of the academy as Siesta is serving another student their food as both of them stopped and looks up at the sky to see the solar eclipse is happening.
(Dare datte kiseki wo shinjitemitai) During this time, Saigo was trying to take Louise's hand, but they kept passing though each other and froze in place as the background shatters away into pieces.

(Kitto hitsuyou~ fukaketsu no) Kirche was doing her usual dating with other boys and they passed by Tabitha, who was walking while reading her book on her hands.
(ENAJII~ kokoro tame) Guiche was trying to seduce another girl from the academy, only to realize the furious Montmorency behind him, leaving him sweatdrop.
(Yume to yosou ii ima de uragitte kureru mono~) A quick montage on other characters in order such as Forquet the Crumbling Earth with a huge golem at the background, Old Osmond with the "Staff of Destruction", Jessica and her father, Scarron in a pub, Princess Henrietta with Prince Wales on the background of the lake, Wardes wielding his sword-wand and his air dragon by his side, Cromwell with an evil smile with the Ring of Andavari and it switches to Saigo preparing his henshin stance and placing the Flame Ring onto his belt and his body glows radiantly.
(3! 2! 1! Show Time!) Guiche and Montmorency counts 3 with their fingers, Kirche and Tabitha does the 2 with their finger while Tabitha still reading her book and at 1, Louise casts a spell, which only ends up in explosion.

(Magic time~! trick janai!) Saigo changes into Kamen Rider Wizard and he spins around while showing his Flame Ring on his left hand.
(Mahou wo hero hanpa nee zo [Mahaluto Hallelujah!]) Three PlaMonsters, a golden Kitsune (fox), indigo Roc/Rukh and green Hydra, floats away from Wizard as he cast a spell to make some fireworks behind him.
(Kioku no roots moguri-konde) In a fast forward montage, Kirche tried to hug Wizard in Flame Style but he immediately entered the magic circle and he accidentally splashes the water that he skids onto Montmorency in Water Styles. Another magic circle appears above his head and he immediately jumps high to change into Hurricane Styles as Tabitha was riding her dragon.
(Kibou wo tsukui dasou~) When he passed through the magic circle on the ground, he transformed again into Land Styles, creating a crater that makes Guiche ended up sits on his butt. Louise extends her hand as Saigo manages to grab her hand.
(Show Time!) Professor Colbert, Siesta and Princess Henrietta shouted "Show Time!" with smile on their faces.

(Life is Show Time! tobikkiri no) Saigo rides on his Wyvern, with Louise at his side as both of them soar to the sky.
(Unmei DORAIVU mucha shitemo [Mahaluto Hallelujah!]) He wears the Cross Ring on Louise's finger, where he just smiles at her while she blushes a little bit.
(Kinou, kyou, ashita, mirai) He got pulled back by Kirche as she wanted to hug him, followed by Siesta.
(Subete no namida wo~) Both of them tried to pull him to their side, only to have Louise getting angry with her horse whip on her hands, making him gulp.
(Show Time!) Derflinger appears out of nowhere while shouting "Show Time!"

(Houseki ni kaette yaru ze) All of the shattered pieces are formed back as one and three other Styles are entering his Flame Style.
(Maji ka?! Maji de?! Maji da! Show Time~!) The montage ends with Guiche and Montmorency showing the Land and Water Ring respectively on their finger, Tabitha looks at the screen while showing the Hurricane Ring that she wears, Kirche shows the Flame Ring on her and Louise readied with her wand in her hand and Saito showing the Driver On Ring with a confident smile on their faces.

---

Disclaimer: I do not own both Kamen Rider Wizard and Familiar of Zero. All credits goes to respective owners.

---

Trick no.3: Sentinent Sword & A Phantom.

It has been a few days since my arrival onto this place. I was summoned out by Louise to be her familiar so that I could serve her in any way that she wanted me to be and at that time, I was pretty much confused and trying to find my way back home. Things weren't working out between the two of us on the very first day, which I ended up getting exploded by her magic but to both of our surprise, we understand both of our languages and manages to clear some of the misunderstandings between us.

On the next day, an earth mage named Guiche challenged me onto a duel because of his claim that I hurt the feelings of the two roses, which in fact that he's the cause of it all but wouldn't took the blame. In the end, I revealed myself as Kamen Rider Wizard and manages to defeat him, which surprised all of the students, including Louise herself not to mention manage to get a person's attention, Kirche. On that night, I explained to them about my origins and the merciless ritual that caused the Phantoms to awaken from their shell and began to spread out to create more of them. Of course, seeing that other than Tabitha, both of the girls seems to be in shock to know that I have a Phantom living inside of me, and that only makes Louise more proud than ever.

When everyone inside the room is empty, leaving both Louise and I in it, on that night…

---

*flashback*

"Look, I know that you still surprised after listening to my ridiculous story, but I can tell you this… I am only telling you the truth and that's it. I ain't hiding anything from you now, in order to make it clear and our misunderstandings would be moved out of the way."

"*sigh* Fine… I guess I should believe you, for now. But you have to remember, you're my familiar and I'm your master." she reminded me quite a few times, which I just replied with a nonchalant tone when agreeing with her.

"Oh yeah, there's one thing that I want you to hold onto…" I remembered about the Cross Ring that I received from him on our first encounter and showed it to her, much to her confusion. "…I still have no idea why would he tell me to do so, but… I want you to wear it… it's kinda like a contract between the two of us…"

"Contract?" she said as she looks at it and wears it onto her right middle finger. "What does it do?"

"To be honest… I don't know…"

"Huh?" she was about to throw away the ring right outside of the window, which I managed to stop her right on time before it is too late.

"I tried to use it on the Driver, but all I get is an error. Oh, and just to be clear, it's not broken or anything… it is kind of sealed up at the moment."

She glared at me before looking back at the Cross Ring before making up her mind.

"Fine. As long as I wear this ring, you WILL obey my words and protect me from harm! Do you understand?"

Man, things I do for love… I just simply nodded in agreement before she began her lecture once again.

"Taking care of their familiar is the duty of their master. Besides, you should always act grateful towards your master. If you slack up one bit, it shows that you really don't have the self-awareness that you're only a familiar." She added her comment before getting to sleep. "And Saigo, don't forget to wash those clothes in that basket."

*end of flashback*

---

At least for the time being, both of us seem to be on good terms with each other for the time being. I still don't get it. Why would White Wizard told me to give it to her? I better leave it aside for the time being, where eventually I will find out the answer to that mystery and better do her laundry at this time. She can be pushy at times, y'know?

During that time, as the students passed by with their familiars, they have whispered to each other about the duel on that day whenever they saw me in my Water Styles, washing her clothes via water control ability. I took a glance at them and before I knew it, they immediately went towards their class without looking back. That duel really gives an impact to them, huh?

"Alright, all I need to do now is just dry these up and it'll be all done." I said to myself after looking at the clothes inside the basket, all washed up. "If I have to use my hands, it might be hard to wash, especially the ones with frilly things on them. Good thing I have back-up…" at this point, I stared up at the blue sky blankly, worried about someone.

"I just hope that Tetzu-san is okay. He must be worried about me." Despite that he can be annoying when it comes to magic stuff and for my future, so to speak, he's the only family I got and I don't want him to get worried about my sudden disappearance. I just wish I could go back home and be prepared to face the consequences on ditching out the Talent Show.

It was at that time, a certain girl pulls my ear, which breaks away my worried thoughts. At this point, I even fling my arms up and down while she's doing that so that she would let me go.

"Not even walking me to class? How much time do you need to do the laundry? You can be useless at times…"

She lets go of my ear and I rubbed it immediately, to lessen the pain. Man, her pride as an aristocrat is even bigger than I thought.

"Look, I was just about to hang up your laundry after washing them, until you showed up…"

All she gives me is an angry glare and crossed her arms, in annoyance. "You were just staring at the sky and slacking off! *sigh* In any case, you better do that and come to the classroom immediately! Got it?!"

"Yeah, yeah… I get the gist of it…" I simply carried the basket and head towards the place where I could hang them up under the bright sun, so that I can conserve my mana for the time being. Even after telling her my story, she still treats me the same like the very first day we met.

---

*Normal Point of View*

Unknown to him, Kirche and Tabitha walks outside of the door entrance. As Tabitha making her way to class while reading her book, Kirche looked at me with interest as she had that a smile on her face.

"You truly are interesting…" she said to herself before heading towards her class.

---

*inside the class, Saigo's*

The class here really reminds me of one of those lecture halls from those universities that I've used to watch on TV. The flare that it gives still really reminds me of that movie that I've mentioned quite a few times already. During this time, I am listening on the lecture about learning the basic elements, from a female lecturer named Mrs. Chevreuse. I feel like this lesson might be useful for me, considering the fact that I need to know more about how this magic stuff in this world really works. Besides, this kind of stuff could put me to an advantage whenever I need to know something about this world.

"The elements such as fire, water, earth and wind can be combined in order to create stronger and more diverse effects in our magic. And our levels as mages are determined by how many elements we can combine." That's truly a fact, teacher. It's a good thing that I'm quite versatile when it comes to using these sorts of stuff, since that I am also applying the same rules for my Styles as well, if you think about it. "Now, can anyone tell me what those levels are?"

To be honest, this lesson did catch my attention as I tried to think of the answer that she was looking for. Just then, a voice was heard right behind me as Montmo— just forget it, I better call her Momo for easy access… as I was saying, Momo raised her hand and caught the attention of the teacher.

"Yes, Montmorency?"

"If you can combine two, it's a Line. Three will form a Triangle and four makes up a square."

"That's correct." Mrs. Chevreuse said in agreement as Momo just flicks her hair before taking a seat and my attention focused back to the front. Is that how it works, huh? Since that I can control 4 elements, does that make me a Square mage? And that's just the basic Styles, no less. I wonder what do they called it if I have been level up from my base forms? And at this time, Louise glares at me from the side without turning her head much, knowing that she was annoyed by the fact that even a person like me is even better than hers in terms of magic capability.

"And I assume that most of you can only use one elements at one ti—" Mrs. Chevreuse continued on her lecture until…

"Mrs. Chevreuse, pardon for the interruption…" she was intervened by Kirche and by the looks of it, she seems really happy for a reason… "…but there's one person who can't even use one element with zero percent chance of success at all." She sums it up and slowly one by one, all glares focused onto a familiar person that was right next to me… that is when it hits me.

'Ah, NOW I can see why that she was called Louise the Zero… and not to mention that she wanted to use the belt in the first place without any hesitation but ended up getting an error from it…' I smirked while Louise's attention is not on me at this point. This is where I began to plan to get her back for the way she treated me as Mrs. Chevreuse coughs up to get their attention back before continuing on with the lesson.

---

*after a while*

The class is over and it is now just both of us at the corridor as we headed back to her room. At this point, I just smiled happily while she just continues to ignore me.

"It seems like I've cracked the code, knowing why they called you Louise the Zero. To be honest, it is funny, considering the fact that it really fits the bill for you. I mean, come on, no set element, 0% accuracy and yet, you're an aristocrat. Man, for someone like you, it really reminds me of an anime that I've used to watch back from my world, with similar characteristics but on different background of the story. What a nostalgic feeling that is…" while I was chirping happily, she, on the other hand, just trying to hold her temper as I began to walk right in front of her, facing her with a smile on my face.

"Y'know, during the class, you did ask me what I was writing on a piece of paper just now, right?" I asked her, since that she does understand the writing style of Japanese, she thought that I was just fooling around and does scribbles on it.

"Yes… and…?" she looks at me with an annoyed tone but she tried to hold down her temper as I took out the paper that was right at my pocket and folds it out.

"I was actually writing a poem that describes my mistress and I bet that you're going to like it." I said it to her as I was getting ready to read it.

In a land at a faraway hills,
There was once a caster with no set of skills,
For every spell that she tried to cast,
A disaster strikes and creates a mess,
Despite all that, she tried to control her flames,
Louise the Zero is the title she ever claims.

Just as I finished reading the poem, I can see that she was getting agitated and the flame within her is about to burst at any moment.

"Th-th-th…"

"Uh… are you… ok?"

Bad move that I've just did there as I just heard a bomb ticking in… shouldn't ask a girl who's quite pissed or even the fact that I shouldn't read the poem to her as well. At least that there's someone that was willing to listen to it.

"Th-th-this… familiar is-is-is… sa-saying that to his ma-master…"

Oh crap, she's really in for it right now… and she's pointing her wand at me…

"YOU IDIOT!"

Meep!

*KABOOM!*

That HUGE explosion was supposedly enough to kill a person, knocked me down and I am now once again covered in soot. As my eyes are spiraling around in a dazed, despite that fact that I was miraculously alive from that fatal blast, she walk towards me, taking my right hand and takes off my Connect Ring.

"You will get no food for every "zero" that you said! And as an additional punishment, I'll be holding onto this particular ring until your punishment is over! And I won't change it one bit! And there will be NO exceptions whatsoever!"

She was in a fury as she continues to walk to her room, leaving me alone at the ground, covered in soot. Damn, is every aristocrat ALWAYS act so high and mighty?

---

*night time*

I was at her room, starving to death at this time and she was facing away from me, looking at the mirror while wearing the Connect Ring, my usual getaway and instant access ring, on her other hand. Of all time, why did I have to do that?

"I could really go for a doughnut right now…" I mumble in hunger as I tried to ask her—

"No." –well, that was quick.

"I haven't asked yet…"

"I already know what you're about to say and my answer stands strong. You've only skipped lunch and dinner. You're still not getting any for two more meals and this ring is something that I will hold onto for two more days. You've already told me that your mana can be replenished by just sleeping and having enough rest." She sums it all up in a nutshell. Why did I told her my story in the first place… that, I never know.

"But what if something comes up and I really need to use it?" I asked her.

"You have other rings that you can use. Be grateful that I only took away this ring." She explains to me, despite the fact that the ring she holds is an important item in my disposal. Taking that ring away from me is just like riding on a boat with no row to paddle. WizarSwordGun is the only weapon that I already used to it and other than that, even a simple rapier or a broadsword could cause me a little bit of trouble due to their weight and how should I wield it since that slashing around wildly without knowing the weapon beforehand could only cause more problems than ever. It might take some time to get used to it for other swords. I just hope that it doesn't affect my fighting style if there's an enemy up ahead coming around the corner. I always rely on my instincts when it comes to battle, despite not having any proper training but watching from movies and imitates it for a bit. Half the time it works, and the other half fail miserably with wounds all over my body. It is essential in order to attack Phantoms in different directions.

"Pajamas…" she commanded me as I just have to do what she was told, where I am lacking in energy at this point.

After finished wearing her pajamas onto her, she turns off the light from the lamp and walking towards the window as she looks up at the sky, to see the moon.

"You really don't care if I ended up starved to death? Isn't taking care of their familiar is one main role from their master? What do you think about that, 'mistress'?"

She turned around to see me across her bed, standing there as she just looked at me with an annoyed look on her face, "Fine, I'll let you off this one time, but I still keep holding onto your ring, just in case that you try to do anything stupid again."

Like that'll happen, but on the upside, at least she forgives me. "Anything for you, mistress! I promise that I won't say Zero in front of you again, despite the fact that your magic is zero and zero sexual appeal—"

"WHAT did you say about my sexual appeal? Are you referring to my breast size?!" she shots a killer stare right at me.

"…whoops… oh wait, that's not what I meant!" I tried to cover up my mistake, but nothing comes out from it.

She walks right in front of me and shouted the words that crumbles my world… "YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY FOOD AT ALL! And plus, you're sleeping outside tonight!"

She immediately pushes me towards the door and shoves me right out from it. With a chance to turn around but unable to explain, she slams it right in front of my face, which fortunately it didn't hit my face.

"Geez, she really needs to cool down her temperature or else, she might not be able to find suitable candidate to be her husband. Sucks to be that kind of guy if you have a partner with short fuse and always think of her noble status…" I said to myself while placing my right hand onto my face, covering my right eye.

She really reminds me of myself about my youth where Tetzu-san teaches me about magic. At that time, I wasn't very good at it, hence that's where I began to rebel at him when it comes to that matter. Despite all that, even claiming the fact that this is where technology has taken over and magic is just for kids, he still teaches me and let's not forget that he can be really strict. When I say strict, I mean REALLY strict, up to the point of hitting my head really hard with his magician wand for every mistake that I made. In the end, I really did learn magic right before Solar Eclipse event occurs. And why did I even bring that up in the first place?

As I was thinking about it, while ignoring how cold it is at the corridor, I can feel a soft tap on my shoulder and when I turn around, Siesta-chan was right behind me and it seems like she was looking concern over me.

"Saigo-san, why are you outside?" she asked me.

"Ah, Siesta-chan! Well, she kicked me out from her room for tonight." I said it with a sweatdrop. And out of the blue, a grumbling sound coming from my stomach, which makes me embarrassed since that there's a girl right in front of me. "…a-and I'm actually starving, which is one of the punishments that I received from her just because I teased her for a bit."

"Oh dear… well, we might as well go to the kitchen to see if there's some food left from dinner." She said it with kind tone and a smile on her face. She's my lifesaver and I owe her one.

"Lead the way, then."

---

At the kitchen, my mouth is now filled with breads and the soup made from the head chef, Marteau. Let's not forget to mention that he also made two HUGE doughnuts especially for me, all due to Siesta-chan tells him that how much that I really loves doughnuts, plain sugar no less.

"I'm sorry if it's all leftovers from the earlier dinner, but you can eat as much as you want, Our Sword. I've even made this doughnut for you with my bare hands, just to show you my appreciation!" he exclaims to me happily as I continued to chow down the food.

I paused down for a bit with a doughnut on my mouth as I looked at him with a confused look on my face, "'Our Sword'?"

He nodded in agreement without leaving his smile from his face, "That's right! You're just a peasant just like all of us, yet you manage to beat that aristocrat kid like it was nothing. Heck, you even proved them wrong that even you can use magic, but for good purposes! That's why you're the pride of us peasants, Our Sword!"

I was touched by his words, a little smile appears on my face as the praises that I received are truly sincere from these guys, which I feel like I'm belong with them. I take a look on my Flame Ring on my left hand and said, "If it wasn't for these rings or knowing the fact that I can use magic, I guess… I'll still continue to fight, even if I have to use my bare hands. Magic isn't the solution to all of your problems. With some dedication and hard work, anything can happen."

Yeah, this is one of those rare times where Tetzu-san's teaching really starts to pay off. Just as his quote stated before, 'Life is SHOW TIME!'.

"You all hear that? A true mage never boasts of his skills! That's why you're different from the rest of those stupid aristocrats! You truly are impressive!" he added while thinking about as he placed his hand on his beard and the rest of the waiters and chefs also said "Impressive!" at the same time while looking among them.

After taking another sip on the stew, I continued to speak, "In any case, they always eat something THIS good? Wow, that's just—" I was interrupted by the pat at my back from Marteau, which makes me stumble forward a bit before he speaks.

"With my hands, I, the head cook, Marteau, can give any cuisine with such a magnificent taste. It's my own form of magic."

"You got that right! And let me tell you this, Marteau-san. This is one good stew I had ever since I've arrived in this world." I praised him for his hard work for the students at this academy. He was so touched by my words, he simply gets close to me while placing his arm around my shoulder as he pulled me close to him.

"Boy, you sure are a great guy, Saigo! You truly are an amazing guy! I love you, Our Sword!" he confessed it to me and oh wait, it gets better… "To show my appreciation to a guy like you, please let me kiss you!"

…wait, what did he just said? I didn't mishear on that last part of the sentence…

Before I knew it, he was getting closer to my face, while his lips are already taken its form, I immediately placing my hand onto his face to avoid the inevitable. Even though that he's a good guy, there is NO WAY I'll ever kiss a guy.

"U-uh, sorry if I had to do this on you, b-but you'll have to excuse me with the name AND the kiss!" I continue to push his face away from me. It took a while before I manage to avoid it and by instinct, rubbing my left palm on my lap as Marteau-san still have his smile on his face, despite the actions that I've made on him.

"How modest of you, Our Sword! It's very impressive!" he compliments me some more before walking away to his place, which I was able to sigh in relief that one problem is solved. I think I knew where France get the 'French Kiss' come from… hey, I could be wrong.

As the other chefs and waiters were murmuring about how impressive I am, I glanced over to Siesta-chan so see her smiling face at me. The surrounding area was quite calm, warm and friendly and I guess it's my turn to return the favor back to those who help me out in my dire situation.

"To show you guys MY appreciation for such wonderful late night snack, I guess I should show you all some magic tricks that I've learned from my place." I said it with a smile on my face and everyone around the kitchen was really anticipated to see what kind of magic can I perform and how does my world's magic looks like.

I simply took out a small box from my back pocket and open it up to take out a deck of cards. You guys might ask when did I have a deck of cards in the first place, right? You see, Tetzu-san always told me that you can perform street magic in order to get used to the crowds and always prepare a deck of cards, just in case that you wanted to perform in order to improve your tricks, despite that I rarely does it whenever I'm alone and not under his supervision at the streets. That's the reason why I always prepared a deck of cards with me.

On my first trick, I told one of the waiters to select one of the cards by random and while I was looking away, the waiter shows his selected cards to the rest, including Marteau-san and Siesta-chan. He followed my instructions clearly as I told him to put the card in any place on the deck of cards, face down. After a while, I turned around and shuffle the card. I may not know which card did he selected, but I do know is that once I flipped the top card on the deck, everyone was surprised to see the waiter's selected card was popped out at that time. I reminded them that I didn't know what the card that they have chosen was but that doesn't mean I can't find it. I placed that same card at the middle section of the deck and I told the waiter to flip the top card and as it turns out, they were surprised to see that same card appears right back at the top, Ace of Spades.

On my second trick, I asked permission to borrow Marteau-san's hat, which he delightedly lends it, and placed it onto the table. When I shuffled the cards on my hands, I told Marteau-san to think of a card that only he knows and no one else. After a few times of shuffling the cards with a little bit of style, I aim it right at the hat and just letting the cards flew out of my hand and towards the hat, hitting it each time but not enough force to tilt it down.

"You guys might ask yourselves, why is it that I aimed the cards at the hat? To sum it up in a nutshell, among all of those cards that I shot at it, only one card was managed to pass it through it and that card was the very card that Marteau-san thought of it."

Murmurs began to spread around among them as they thought that it was impossible to do so since that there is no tear on the hat and there's no way a solid, plain card manages to get through it. To clear those assumptions up, I simply told Marteau-san to lift his hat up and tell us what he thinks. He does so as he took his hat back and everyone was surprised to see there was a card that was from that hat's position earlier, face down. Anticipation was something on their mind at this point and as Marteau-san flips the card on the table, which turns out to be Jack of Diamonds, he simply laughs happily and claimed that the card that he thought of was the same as the one on the table. Applause can be heard around me right after that and seeing their happy faces was enough to give me energy to do one last trick up on my sleeve to end the show.

On this last trick, this might be a little bit tricky to pull it off. I told them that one of the cards that Siesta-chan is going to choose is gonna be missing from this deck of cards. At first, I told Siesta-chan to select one card from a deck of cards and I looked away as she shows it to them. After that, I told her to put it on top of the deck and with just a wave on my hand, I simply flips the top card once again, only to show Four of Cloves. This alone was enough to give them a little bit surprised, which I assumed that the card that she chose disappears out of thin air. I show it to her two more cards and she just shakes her head in disagreement. In the end, I simply placed the deck of cards on the table and spread it out in a neat order. After examining it, I noticed that one card was missing, the Queen of Hearts. Questions began to pop up on where did that missing card goes and I got the answer for it. I told her to check her pocket on her apron and when she does that, here eyes were wide open as she took out the card from the pocket and shows it to them, to reveal that missing card from the table. Thus, ending the show with an applause from them. It's good to see their happy faces, and I can see why Tetzu-san was so passionate about his job.

After taking my leave from the kitchen, I was heading my way back to Louise's place, accompanied by Siesta-chan and a full belly from those delicious meals that I had. Both of us stopped from our tracks as we glanced at the two moons that shine brightly, without any clouds to cover it up, followed by a soft blew of wind that hits my face. That REALLY puts me in ease since that the city life is really different and always on the go.

"Please come again at the kitchen. Because of what you did on the other day and even the little show that you made, they're all Saigo-san's fans now." She said it with a happy tone. Even she was enjoyed by it earlier tonight.

It's good to hear there are some people who had good hearts and treats you equally, hence I give them a little show to show them my appreciation about it.

"Yeah… with that in mind, now I have the confidence to live in this place for the time being." I added as I looked at the Flame Ring on my hand. "If it wasn't for the power that I attained, I could've got injured pretty bad…"

"Saigo-san, I guess that you didn't know this but during the duel on the other day, Miss Vallière was actually very worried about you getting injured when Guiche-sama was getting serious about it. She thought about you weren't able to handle those Valkryies on your own and yet, you've managed to prove her wrong that you were able to handle it on your own. She was really in relief to see you were alright."

Is that so? Heh, and I thought that she only thinks of her pride as an aristocrat, which it is as big as the Great Wall of China, but she really DOES care for my well being after all. When you think about what Guiche comments on her behavior before the duel starts, she really did care about it, even though that she won't admit it.

"U-um… Saigo-san?" my thoughts were interrupted by her voice as I casually turn to her side.

"Yes?"

"I-I'd live to sit down and talk to you more next time." She said it with a smile and now, I can feel some heat on my head, indicating that a small blush appears on my face. "Is something wrong?"

I quickly shrugged it off before replying back to her in my casual tone," No, ah… sure, I'd love to, Siesta-chan. W-well, I better head back to her room then. I'll see you tomorrow." I stuttered for a bit before gaining control of my situation and taking my leave.

"Alright. Good night, then." She bows politely before she went off as well, as both of us are heading towards different directions. Even though that we had a short and simple conversations with each other, her polite tone and innocent look on her face was enough to tell me that she had a good heart and if there's any man that wanted her to be their wife, I can see good future up ahead.

---

I have no idea what time it is, but I can assure you that I am pretty much sleepy. *sigh* Even though that it really is cold sleeping in the corridor, but I think one night wouldn't be that hard. I could just laid back flatly and just use my imagination to think that I'm in tropical paradise, fooling my brain to think that it is actually warm and a good place to—

"A salamander? Wait, you're Kirche's familiar…" I said to myself as my thoughts were interrupted when I saw a huge salamander right at the end of a hall, as if it was anticipate my arrival. Without any hesitation, it quickens its pace towards me for no reason and tackles me down to the ground, which I still have no clue why in the world would it do that to me. Not to mention that it also body slams me flat on the ground as well, making me immobilized temporarily. After that tackle, it flips me to the back side and grabbing onto my T-shirt, lifting me up from the ground.

"A-are you out of your mind?! I'm not that edible, you stupid lizard! Let me down this instant before I upgraded you into a roasted lizard!" I tried to threaten it but it doesn't seem to work at all. On its two hind legs, it made its way towards Kirche's room and throws me right in it, leaving me slump on the ground before moving to a corner.

"Geez, why do weird things happen to me most of the time?" I mumbled to myself before I realized that my nose picks up a strong, sharp scent. So sharp, that I have to cover my sensitive nose. "Ugh, what's with the lavender smell in this room? It's really a pain for my nose and why there are candles all over the place?" I kept asking myself but I was quite oblivious that Kirche was on the bed… in her night garment.

"Welcome…" she stood from her bed and stands right in front of me, revealing her figure under her purple night garment. The light from the moon really shows her figure, which is far more superior than Louise. And I thought that I was dreaming, that isn't happening at this time… "Welcome to my sweet room, Nosomi Saiko… or was it pronounced Nozomi Saigo?" she asked me with that sweet tone of her, as if she was trying to seduce me. And believe me, I was quite speechless after seeing her first handed before I regain my senses.

"Well… I did tell you to just call me Saigo on the other night." I explained to her.

"I understand, Saigo~." She agreed as she strike a pose that makes her look sexy and leaving me more dumbfounded than ever as she continues to speak, "I know that it's dirty but my nickname is The Ardent and like a torch, I'm easy to turn on." She continued as her eyes sparkles brightly like how the moons illuminate the room.

"You sure did turn me on, that's for certain…" I replied it back to her without noticing what I just said to her.

As she continues to strike different poses, she continues to speak from where she left off, "Don't you get it, I'm in love. With you!"

Excuse me?

"Love always starts unannounced." She said while looking away from my shyly.

"W-well, it really does, but I don't think I'm ready for that kind of stuff just yet…" I tried to decline her offer as she puts me to an awkward situation that I don't know how to handle. It's all due to the fact that I rarely talk to other people, mostly girls, when it comes to romance and stuff, not my kind of flavor that I would add in my recipe just yet.

She was on all four and looking at me with those puppy eyes as our face was getting closer than before, "The way you faced and defeated Guiche, and wielding the power of flames within you, you looked so fantastic, especially in that red armor of yours. After you have told me your story, I was so touched by it, even knowing that you had led such hardship and lives on with it, I couldn't help it but to have fallen for you. Ever since then, I've changed my title into The Passionate Kirche, just so that I can get closer to you." She immediately confessed to me while holding my left hand that has Flame Ring on it. She wanted to get closer to my face by kissing, and I tried to get away from her by backing off. If it wasn't for Louise took away my Connect Ring, I could've escape from this mess instantly and get some shut eye already.

She was closing in… 1 meter… 50 cm… 25cm… just a little bit more before—

"Kirche!" a voice was heard from the outside, as at the open window, there's a man who floats high from the ground. Since her room was really high up, that's what I can assume from it and she was surprised to see him.

"Ah, Sticks!"

Saved by the bell. Wait, that's the guy that she went on the date when I first tried to run away from Louise at the first night.

"You didn't show up on time, so I came here and—" he elaborates the situation until she intervened.

"Then, let's change it to two hours from now." She tried to make excuse for wanting to have a private time with me, which he immediately rejected.

"That isn't what you said!"

Annoyed, she picks up her wand and waves it a little bit to make the nearby candle's flame to rise high, forming a flaming serpent. The serpent hits him right on the mark, knocking him down in the process, leaving me sweatdrop after seeing that.

"Y'know… you could've just go with him… whoever he is…" now it's MY turn to find an excuse to avoid this matter.

"Ah, don't worry about it, he's just a friend of mine…" she replied back to me while holding my hand. She looks at me in the eyes and continues to seduce me with her sweet tone. "Anyways, the person that I love the most right now is—"

"Kirche!"

Saved by the bell once again… that's a strike two. And this time, it's a different guy who had blonde hair, floating right outside of her window and he seems not pleased with it.

"Who is that guy? I thought that we were going to have a hot night toge—" he asked her, only to have her cast the same flame serpent, hitting his face as he falls down to the ground.

"Yeouch, that's gotta hurt for him… friends of yours?" I added with a sweatdrop.

"That's right. Anyway, the night is short and I don't want to waste my time with you." She quickly replied as she tries to go for the kiss once again.

"KIRCHE!"

Strike three and you're out.

"What are you doing?! You said you didn't have a boyfriend!" this time, there are three different boys who were at her window, pushing away from each other while trying to get the explaination from her. Man, just how many did she date out with?

"Manica! Ajax! Gimly!" she was surprised by their unexpected appearance and her time that she wanted to spend it on me is getting shorter by the minute. "Ahh, then in six hours—"

"That'd be morning!" the three of them replied to her simultaneously. Seriously, where did she get all the time that she needs to date with multiple guys?

In the end, she had no choice but to use one last secret weapon that she had under her sleeve. "Flame!"

The salamander rise up on its two hind legs and spewed a fireball aiming at them, which causes them to fall down to the ground instantly. That's gotta hurt for those guys since there aren't any safe landings on the ground, other than those grasses.

"Now that's what I called a homerun…" I simply muttered to myself. I wonder who's gonna popped out from that window next? And please that it doesn't get any more than the last one.

The next thing I knew, I was pinned down on the ground and she was on top of me, as she held onto my arms and clenches it tightly, making me winches in pain due to the scars of the past and she had that seductive look on her face. Maybe this view isn't so bad after all… what am I saying?!

"P-please, just let me go! Maybe you're taking this WAY too far? W-what would happen if Louise sees this scene?" I said it with a slight blush and tried to talk my way out of here but it doesn't seem like she's gonna let me go anytime soon, despite that I give my best of trying to get out from her grip… truth to be told, this is the first time where I actually face-to-face with a girl up close and personal, and it's in her undergarments nonetheless… I don't know whether I'm a lucky guy or this is just plain awkward for me?

"Saigo… I love you." She confessed it to me as the gap is just getting closer and closer in every second. "…even if you want to get out from this room, you might as well forget it. Unlike Louise the Zero, I'm much more… 'mature' than hers… and we are meant to be together since you and I have the same elements…" she added it with a sweet talk as she jiggles around her boobs, making me think twice about it.

'It's true if I think about it… she does have her point when it comes to Louise's zeroes…' I thought about it and before I knew it, both of us were in a VERY intimate kiss. I tried to struggle for a bit and at the same time, my body feels hot all of the sudden. Eventually, despite the hard struggle that I tried to escape from her grip and the kiss, in the end, she's the more dominate one on this case and I accept it like a man. Man, her lips is really soft, I feel like I'm in heaven… well, until a certain someone ruins this kind of moment by opening the door and both of us breaks off from our kiss.

And boy, does she looks pissed already…

"L-Louise! I-it's not what you think!" I tried to explain the situation as both of us are now in sitting position.

"Kirche!" she exclaims.

"Ara, Vallière. We're quite "busy" at this moment." Kirche commented as she latches onto my arm in order not letting me escape from her grasp as Louise are now stepping into this mess and threw her two cents in.

"Zerbst, just whose familiar do you think you're laying your hands on?" Louise asked her in an annoyed tone as Kirche just shrugs it with a smile on her face.

"What can I say? Love and flame are von Zerbst's destinies. Burning our bodies in the flames of love is what we live for. And besides, Saigo here doesn't seem mind about it at all…" she added.

Louise turns her glare at me and just give out a simple command, "Come with me."

After hearing it, Kirche quickly intervened from Louise's words and started to explain to her, "Wait! He may be your familiar, but he's a human! It's tyrannical for you to get in the way of others' affairs." Kirche defended me from her, which leaves me in thought for a moment. Other than Siesta-chan who sees me just a person rather than a familiar, Kirche is actually the first aristocrat who actually thinks and talk to me as a human being than just some familiar that can just do whatever she says, unlike certain someone that I know. During this train of thoughts passing by, Kirche hugged me and planted my side of the head onto her soft 'pillows' while continue to talk to me with her soft, seductive tone, "Right, Saito?"

"S-she's right, y'know?" I replied back to her with a slight blush on my face while stutters for a bit.

Louise's anger seems to risen up even more as her left eye twitches but still trying to keep her cool in check. "Oh really? But when tomorrow comes, you'll get speared by over ten aristocrats and plus, I will continue to keep your ring in my possession until I feel like returning it back to you. Or better yet, I might as well sell your ring since that I can't use it whatsoever." She threatens me with those cold words coming out from her mouth.

As annoying as it is, without my Connect Ring, there's no way that I can conjure my WizarSwordGun from it and what's worse, facing those angry aristocrats after seeing this event can be troublesome as well. I can beat them to a pulp with my powers in my possession, but it'll only lead Louise to more trouble than ever since that my actions can cause her to expulsion from this academy. In the end, I have no other choice but to follow her command for the sake of the ring that she confiscates from my disposal and the Cross Ring the White Mage entrusted it to her. I simply stood up from my ground, making Kirche sad for a moment.

"Ara~, leaving already?" she groans for a bit while looking at me with those eyes that can melt down an iceberg. I stared at them for a few moments, until I got pulled back in the ear by Louise as she drags me out of Kirche's room.

"Don't fall for her usual trick. Get it to your senses already!"

"Alright! Alright! I get it already! Just let go of my ear before it literally rips out from its place!" I followed her back to her room, leaving Kirche all alone with her familiar in the well scented room.

Kirche simply crossed her arms with an annoyed look on her face. "Hmph, I haven't given up just yet… just you wait."

---

Back in our room, she locks the door behind her and simply unleashes her fury by shouting at my face… literally…

"What kind of a hero are you if you're like a dog in heat?!" she argued with me, leaving me face palmed from her comment.

"Why is it that whenever the innocent one tries to explain the situation that he really in, the angry ones always jump to conclusion without thinking about it properly?" I mumbled to myself as her footsteps can be heard from my back. I can hear one of her drawers slide open and when I turn around—

—why does she have a horse whip in there?

"It was wrong of me to treat you like a human in the first place…"

"You haven't treated me LIKE one in the beginning…" I replied back to her, only making her grip on her whip tightens stronger.

"Of all the girls that you've seen, you wag your tail towards that Zerbst… you dog!" she shouted in anger as a whiplash can be heard onto the ground, startled me for a moment but keeping my ground firm.

"So? Of all the aristocrats that I've met, she's the one that treats me AS human. Yeah, she might have been as seductive as a succubus, but at least that when it comes down to me, both of us reaches on equal terms." I explained to her, just to point out the obvious. I'm just speaking from my heart for once and it makes me regret about one thing… I should've entrusted that ring to Kirche instead of Louise.

And the reply that I got from her? She unleashes a few whips on me, mostly on my covered arms that I used as a defense. The pain from the scar is already hurt enough and those whips isn't helping it either. That was then I've lost my cool. As she was about to unleash another whip, my right arm immediately grabbed her wrist and grips it really tight.

"Let go of me, you idiot!" she exclaimed, to which I retaliate by giving her a glare that all of this time where I have to put up with her antics.

"You whip on my arm one more time, I'll make sure I'll lead you to your despair…" I threatened her, not knowing what I've just said. The grip on her wrist doesn't show any sign of loosen it up anytime soon as she tried to free her arm from my grasp.

If all of those things failed for her, there was only one attack and a quote from a ridiculously funny movie that I've used to watch, 'For this attack, there is no defense.'

If you guys still don't get it, let me bold it up for you guys… it's the kick to the balls… seriously, even with her short structure, she really packs a strike with her knee. That's a total knock out for me.

"How dare of you laying your hands on me, hurting me no less!" she said in anger while rubbing her wounded wrist. "How could you do that to me? And what does she have that I don't?!"

"I-it's just… a misunder…standing…" I stuttered in pain while wincing in pain. At this point, I don't have the energy to argue with her anymore and just keeping my face on the floor to ease up the pain while trying not to look at her with a painful look on my face.

"Hmph, I don't care who you go out with, but it has to be someone other than her!"

"A-anyone?" I pondered for a bit while still trying to rub off the pain that I had.

"Our family, the Valliere and Kirche's Zerbst have been enemies for generations. It's a humiliation to have even a single piece of thread of string or a dog stolen away by them! Got it?!"

I just simply stay in silence for a moment and eventually, the pain goes away and I slowly kneel up and look at her.

"It must have been pretty bad… somehow…" I said while looking away for a moment. Geez, why don't they just make up already? Just because their ancestors have a fight with each other, that doesn't mean you younger generations just follow the flow as well… fates are meant to be changed with a single action of the new generations.

Anyways, I've explained to her a bit about the real situation that I was in and she seem to have taken note about it. It was really out of my control since that I don't react fast enough to understand what was that lizard doing in the first place and I don't anticipate what happens right after that. It was really out of the blue and no matter how much I tried to avoid from Kirche's grasp, she overpowers me with her own and that's how it happens.

"For a 'wizard', you really are pathetic. And I've never heard a wizard that even uses a weapon like yours before…" Louise added after taking a sip.

"Yeah… temporarily…" I muttered to the side.

"Temporarily?"

"Once I've used it, it diminishes instantly and rarely an object or two regains its original form. I don't have a permanent weapon that I can wield or better yet, a material that can withstand more than just a Strike or two…" I explained to her some more about the weapon.

She ponders down for a bit before noticing the engraved mark at the back of my left hand. "What about that?"

"This? I have no idea. Maybe this is one of our contracts?" I asked her.

She rested her head on her hand while her elbow rested on the table. "Hmm… whenever a familiar makes a contract, they sometimes gain special abilities. For example, a black cat becomes capable of speaking."

"Well, I don't feel any different with this mark, compared to the rings that I always use in my disposal… and don't compared me to a cat."

She can only sigh from my words before she made up her mind, "Since that tomorrow is Voidday (I guess that must be Sunday), you're coming with me to get yourself a sword."

"I guess I couldn't complain for it since that I need a weapon of my own rather than keep pulling out a quick expired sword…" I concluded to her suggestion before standing up from my position before heading out. But honestly, I really need a permanent material instead of another sword so that I can swing around without reaching its expired date.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"What? I'm gonna sleep outside, like you said."

"Just stay inside for tonight. You don't want Kirche to come and do weird things on you again…" she told me, which surprises me for a moment.

"So… you really do ca—"

"JUST SHUT UP AND GET TO SLEEP ALREADY!"

"Can I at least have my Connect Ring back?"

"ABSOLUTELY NO!"

Damn…

---

*Normal Point of View*

Inside Kirche's room, she sits in front of the mirror, using her lipstick on her lips to make her beauty shines from within her. She had that smile on her face since last night but just as things are about to get intimate, Louise shows up and took him away from her.

"Hm, how should I get close to Saigo today?" she asked herself in front of her mirror, planning on how to seduce him so that he would be hers.

A neigh of a horse can be heard from outside, as she takes a look and saw Louise and Saigo on a horse, heading out from the academy.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm about to fall here!" Saigo shouted in surprise.

"Just hold on tight!" Louise retorted back.

"You know that I'm not used to these horse riding stuff! If you can just give me my ri—"

"No! I have already made it absolute! So, stop whining and get used to it!" she scolded him as both of them are headed out.

Kirche witnessed this moment and just saw them riding away toward somewhere. "What, they're going out?" it was then she began to get an idea out of the blue with a smile on her face. "I guess a situation where you meet outside by coincidence works too…"

Without further delay, she heads down towards her friend's room, Tabitha. In Voidday, Tabitha spends most of her time reading her book on her bed. Her leisure time was interrupted when a knock was heard from the door and instead of answering it, she took her staff and waves it around while chanting out, "Ansul bel an."

The magic does it thing as soon as Kirche enters the room, she tried to explain the situation to her friend, but unknown to her, Tabitha didn't hear what she was saying. After a while, she took back her staff and casts off the Silence spell, allowing sound can be heard to her once again.

"—Tabitha! We're leaving! Get ready!" Kirche said in an urgent tone.

"It's Voidday." Tabitha replied with a calm tone without leaving her eyes from the book.

Kirche was annoyed about it as she rested her right arm on her hips. "I know how important Voidday is to you. You see, I fell in love with that Wizard! But he went out with that damn Valliere! I have to find out what those two are going. You understand, right?" she added the details to her friend.

Tabitha's only reply was a shake in disagreement. Kirche realized that Tabitha won't do anything without an explanation that makes sense. Kirche takes a breather before continuing on with her talk.

"I want to chase after the two who went out, but I can't catch up without your familiar! Please help me!" she practically begged for help as Tabitha closes her book and nodded in agreement to help her friend in need. At this point, Kirche couldn't help it but to be grateful for her friend. "You understood me? Thank you!"

Tabitha stood up from her bed and made her way towards the window nearby. She pushes the window to open up before whistling to call her familiar. After a moment of silence, a dragon's roar can be heard from afar as the purple dragon soars to the sky and headed towards them. Not before long, both of them are riding behind it before took off to the open blue sky once again, heading towards their destination.

"Your Sylphid always look magnificent no matter how many times I've seen it." Kirche praised her friend's dragon.

"Which way?" Tabitha asked.

"Um… I was in a hurry, so…" Kirche tried to explain to her but Tabitha already get the gist of it as she leans forward and told her dragon some important info.

"Horse. Two on top. You can't eat them." With those commands, Sylphid look around before begin to locate the specific characters and changes its direction towards their destination.

---

*Saigo's Point of View*

After a few hours of riding on a horse and still having a pain on my back, we have reached our destination for our shopping spree. This city sure has numerous shops whenever I look at both sides that are working to sell their stuff to the customers. Meanwhile, I still complaint to Louise about my experiences with a horse.

"You didn't tell me that it would take three hours on a horse! It's killing my back…" I told her. She could have just give me my Connect Ring so that I can conjure out my own ride from the magic circle and that ride doesn't even need a material since that I have my own ride that has been prepared for this kind of stuff.

"Just be quiet already. You really complain a lot for a familiar…" Louise said in an annoyed tone before both of us turn to a corner to the left.

"If memory serves, it should be next to the potion shop…" she tried to remember until she saw a sign of a hammer, which indicates the shop that she was looking for, a blacksmith shop. "There it is!"

Both of us enters the shop and was greeted by the shopkeeper and pardon me for being rude, but his face has a resemblance of a rat for some reason and if that's the case, he is a person that I shouldn't let my guard down. Who knows what kind of trick he tried to pull…

"Welcome to my shop! How can I help you?" the shopkeeper asked.

"I wanted to buy a sword." Louise told him, which he puts a grin on his face.

"Recently, even in the castle, it's a trend to let servants carry weapons on their back." He elaborates as Louise checks on one of the weapons that she sees, a rapier. She inspects it while trying to swing around the weapon for a bit.

"Saigo, your sword that you always wield is bigger than this, right?"

"I guess so. But—" she cuts off from our conversation as she looks upon the shopkeeper to demand something.

"Get me a bigger and broader one." She demands it from the shopkeeper.

"I'm sorry, but that size matches the person even more." He replied it back about the recommended sword that he presented to her but she doesn't took his words as she continues to demand for bigger and broader sword.

---

*Normal Point of View*

Seeing that she was a bit pushy, the shopkeeper had no other choice but to do so as he goes to the back of the shop with a smirk on his face.

"You amateur aristocrat. It'll be easy to rip her off." he added before began to get the sword that she wanted.

---

*Return to Saigo's*

"Look, I know that you're looking for a sword, but you don't have to buy something which might not be suitable for me to wield. I'm fine with this sword, even if it took some time for me to get used to it…" I replied back to her after taking a few swing of the rapier before putting it back onto the table.

"It's all for the sake of protecting yourself from Kirche the next time she tries to attack you. You should be grateful for me to get yourself a sword and I'm the one that buys it for you so that you don't have to rely on your weapon that often." Louise reminded me.

"For a master like you, this is quite a rare chance from your stinginess…" I commented back to her.

Louise was annoyed by it and replied back with an angry tone, "Who are you calling stingy? It would be a habit if I give too many luxuries to my familiar. I will only give you what you need."

"Would that include returning my Co—" I tried to ask her again, which she only replies with a glare, which is already enough to understand her answer.

While waiting for the shopkeeper to come out with the requested sword and Louise waited patiently for it, I continued to look around and noticed there are a few swords inside the barrel. Curiosity gets the best of me as I walk towards it. After glancing around for a bit, there's that one sword that gains my attention. For no reason, my left hand moved on its own without me noticing as I tried to grab its handle. I was in a trance as well just to grab that sword.

When I was just inches away from it—

"I'm back with the sword that you requested, milady!" with the shout of the happy shopkeeper, it suddenly breaks my trance before realized the call that he made and made my way towards the table.

On the table, there was a large broad golden sword and man, it's really sparkly. From the looks of it, it nearly resembles the famous legendary sword known as Excalibur, only the difference is that this one is made of gold. I grabbed the sword and looks at it while trying to swing around for a while.

"For such a big sword, it's really light compared to other swords and I got no problem swinging it around…" I examined the sword as the shopkeeper knows that I was interested about it.

"My boy, this is one of the best swords in the store! It was made by Germania's alchemist, Sir Spee. It will slice steel right in half with just a swing of this sword!" he lectured about the sword, which leading me to doubts about this stuff.

"Gold that cut through metals, huh? That's really impossible, even if you manage to sharp its edges… I bet this sword wouldn't last long even before a Strike can be commenced…" I muttered to myself as Louise asked the price of the sword.

"The price isn't that much. It only costs 3000 Écu."

"You can buy a well-made house with a forest for a yard at that price!" Louise was shocked to hear the price that he placed on it

"A true sword has the worth of a castle. If it's only a house, it's a good deal." He explains to her with a smile on his face, which he has fixed his eyes on her large rings. "Or you could just give that lovely ring of yours as a fair trade."

After he pointed out the rings as a fair trade, I immediately reject it and place it back onto the table.

"Sorry, I don't plan on risking a lot of money or her rings for a sword that won't last very long…" I made my mark about it before walking back to the barrel and picks up the sword that caught my interest earlier. "Say, how much is this sword anyways?"

"Oh, that sword? It's just 100 Écu. It's a little old, but if you take care of it, it can still be useful."

"We'll take it." Louise said without hesitation.

"Eh?"

"That's the amount that I have at this time…"

"It's better than nothing, so I can't complain about it…"

After we purchased the sword that she bought it for me, I took out from its sheath to examine it a little bit. Other than just being plain rusty, there's nothing much different about other swords. But… why did I want to pick up this sword in the first place? Is it because of my instinct or is it has something to do with the mark behind my left hand? Well, whatever the reason, at least that I have my own sword to use for the time being.

While we're heading our way to our horse, I didn't notice that Kirche and Tabitha were right behind us at this time, which she felt annoyed for some reason.

"So, that girl came to get a present to buy Saigo's affection! And what's worse, it's a rusty sword for him to use! How arrogant, that Louise the Zero!" Kirche said in frustration. In the end, she did something that would every woman would do to gain a person's attention, and that is—

---

*back at the academy dorms, night time, normal point of view*

A blue portal opens up right at the middle of the courtyard and right at the moment, a brunette, tall man, wearing a three piece suit falls from the portal before it closes up, leaving him all alone.

"Gr… where the heck am I now? And what is this place?" he asked himself as he stood from where he fell. "What am I supposed to do here? And I don't sense Medusa-sama or Phoenix-sama at all… am I alone?" the man is in confusion as he tried to understand the situation that he is in.

He turns around to see a maid that was walking towards the kitchen, which caught his attention.

"If I need a companion, I might as well bring them to despair…" he said with a smirk as the marks on his face began to reveal his true form.

---

*at the same time, Saigo's Point of View*

—she bought me the golden sword… at this time, I was sitting on my 'bed', looking at the sword, Louise crossed her arms while leaning against the wall, keeping her glare at Kirche, Tabitha sits on her bed and continues to read her book and Kirche was standing right in front of the table, as she was proud of herself for getting my attention.

"Do you like it, Saigo?" Kirche said with a happy tone, knowing that Louise was agitated at this time.

"What's this about, Zerbst?" Louise asked her, which Kirche just shrugs it like it was nothing.

"By coincidence, I found a sword that matches Saigo very well. So, I decided to buy it for him as a present."

"This must be cost a fortune to get this kind of sword…" I said with a surprise.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I have my ways to get it cheap…" Kirche reminded me, which I can tell how. With that kind of figure, what else can it be to get this expensive sword?

"I was told that this sword is from Germania. Germania is known for its swords and women, isn't it? There's no way a Tristain girl like you could ever win." Kirche began to boast towards Louise.

"W-what?! You played around too much with guys in Germania and couldn't get any more attention, so you had to come here to study abroad, right?" Louise tried to counter her words with one of her own.

As the room began to heat up, both girls aimed their wands at each other, as if trying to unleash a spell.

"Uh… are you sure that you want to do this duel inside the room?" I asked them but they seem to ignore me.

Luckily for me, Tabitha waves her staff around, which causes the wind to take their wands from their hands and placed it right in front of me.

"We are indoors…" Tabitha reminded them.

Knowing the duel won't happen, both of them went towards me, which I feel like I'm stuck right at the middle of their mess…

"Saigo, you have to decide which sword does he prefers best!" Kirche commented with s a mile on her face.

"Hurry up and make up your mind!" Louise added with an annoyed look on her face.

"Uh… the truth is, I—"

It was then I heard a scream coming from outside of the room. The scream caught the rest of our attention as I quicken my pace towards the window. With the help of the moons that brightens the area, I manage to spot where the scream comes from and it was Siesta-chan. It seems like she was in trouble. What surprises me is the one that attacks her was—

"Phantom? Here?"

"Saigo, what's wrong?" Louise tried to ask but without hesitation, I immediately leaped off from the window with both swords on each hand, ignoring the fact which the height from here to the ground is 3 storeys high. If it wasn't for Tabitha's wind magic, there's no way that I landed safely on the ground.

"Oi, Phantom!" I shouted at it, gaining its attention. The Phantom that I am facing at this time had a humanoid body of a fish, green scales that covers its whole body, yellow fins and not to mention a fish tail to sum it up. He had a trident that he had on his right hand as the other hand was holding Siesta-chan down on the ground. The Phantom that I am facing at this time was a Merman Phantom.

"Saigo-san!" Siesta-chan cried.

"Oh? What do we have here? A human tries to save this maiden in distress?" the Merman mocks me while letting her go. "There will be no one to back you up, human!"

"I don't have to…" I said it with confidence before stabs both of the swords onto the ground and placed my right hand onto the belt.

=Doraibā On, Pureezu! =

"What? A magic user?! But, I thought he isn't existed in this world!" the Merman Phantom was in shock.

"Even I don't believe it myself, but since this world has so many magic users, it's my duty to protect them, whether you like it or not!" I shouted to it as I pressed down the lever to switch the Hand Author to the left and it lets out the ringtone for initiation.

= Shabadoobi Touch to Henshin~, Shabadoobi Touch to Henshin~ =

"Henshin…" I flipped the goggles of the Flame Ring before placing it onto the driver to commence the transformation.

= Fureimu~ ...Pureezu! HI… HI… HI! HI! HI! =

"Remember this, Phantom! Life… is SHOW TIME!" I reminded him after doing my usual trademark. Now I need to do now is use the Connect Ring and conjure out my usual blade as one of these would become a material…

…oh yeah, I forgot. Louise still holds my ring.

"You're a nuisance, Wizard! I'll finish you off!" the Phantom declared before twirls around his trident a few times before goes for the thrust on me.

I guess I don't have much choice but to use both of these swords for self defense. The golden sword on my right and the rusty sword on the other. I blocked one of his thrust with my left sword and swings my right sword at it, but due to the fact that I'm not mastered in dual blades, it manages to fend off the attack before the golden sword was jammed right between the gaps of the trident and pulled it out from my grasp before delivering one of its own slash at my chest. Right after that, it opens up its mouth to shoot out some water spits aiming at me and I was able to avoid them by jumping to the side. I took a glance from the spit and it seems like those aren't just normal spit coming out from its mouth. The nearby pillar was dissolved so fast, imagine if it got hit onto someone who was passing by.

"Siesta-chan! Run, now!" I shouted at her, who was in shock before she snaps out from it and ran away from the scene.

"Tch, if there's one thing that I would like to complaint, I REALLY need my WizarSwordGun for this kind of mess…"

"Oh? Does that make me not good enough for you?"

Eh? Where did that voice come from?

"Down here, kid!"

I just followed the instruction what the voice said and—

"What's with the noise all of the sudden? I was having some goodnight sleep, until this happens!"

"Uh… are you talking to me?" I asked the talking sword.

"Who else do you think you're talking to?"

I tried to reply it back to this... sword before I realized that I was still in the midst of battle with a Phantom.

"Talk later, strike first!" I told it before dashes forward before making a horizontal slash at it.

For some reason that I don't know, when I wield this talking sword, the marks that was engraved at the back of my left hand began to glow radiantly and my whole body was as light as a feather. Even my swings are too fast for it to block, hence taking most of the damage.

The Merman Phantom tries to do its assault on me by making a slash but I swiftly blocked the incoming attack before returns it back with a vertical slash of my own, followed by an uppercut slash, forming a 'V' strike on it. Dissatisfied with the attack, it tries again but this time, it plays smart by instead of a slash, he kicked me at the gut before using the end of his trident to hit on my head. From there, I stumble back for a bit to regroup. As the battle continues on, both of us receive and counter every single blow that we had to each other and none of us seems to be given up anytime soon.

"Boy, you're not bad in swordsmanship! I think I'm gonna like you and you're my new user!"

"User?" I asked him before the Phantom unleashes its fury of spits aiming right at me and I managed to block a few shots with this sword. For some reason, this one didn't melt like the rest of the place that was hit by it.

"What are you?" I asked it.

"The name's Derflinger, and I'm a Sentinent Sword!" the blade introduces itself.

"I'm Saigo and I'm a Kamen Rider Wizard."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, we gotta stop that thing first." I told Derf as that thing continues to spit at my direction. Annoyed by the fact that I am out of range to attack it, I took a ring from my ring holders and switches the rings on my right hand. The image of this ring consists of dragon's head in dark colour and the image of a larger dragon in white colour. I shifts the lever to make the Hand Author to the right and it lets out another ringtone.

= Lupachi Magic, Touch to Go! Lupachi Magic, Touch to Go! =

By placing my hand onto the driver…

= Biggu! (Big!) …Pureezu! =

A magic circle appears right in front of me and as I delivered a side kick through it, the kick suddenly grow large and hits the Merman Phantom to the walls, leaving its mark like how those cartoon characters does it before it lies flat onto the ground.

"Now, time to pull down the curtain on you…" I declared before I take out a ring that has a picture of a foot and a flaming bird on it. This is the finishing touch for a Phantom called Kick Strike ring as I switched rings once again. I shift the lever on the belt twice before placing the said ring on it.

= Chou iine! Kikku Sutoraiku! (Very nice! Kick Strike!) …SAIKOOO! (THE BEST!) =

After the declaration, the magic circle appears right below my foot and it was engulfed in flames. Taking my stance for the kick, my right leg began to absorb the flames before I made a few step forward to get the momentum going.

I started off with a cartwheel, followed by a back handspring before launching myself up to the sky and adjusting my kick towards the Phantom. Before the kick can even be connected, the Merman Phantom immediately jumps to the water fountain nearby and manages to escape via the tube that the water flows. How does it manage to fit itself, that's another mystery that I have to figure it out on my own… as for me? Since that my target is off the mark, I ended up landing my kick onto the ground, creating a crater which still burns due to my element.

"You missed it!" Derflinger complained while I was standing from my position.

"I know… and it got escaped from my view…" I added before I return back to my civilian form and the girls are rushing towards me while Tabitha casually walk towards the scene.

"Saigo, are you alright?" Kirche asked me, hoping that I wasn't hurt too bad.

"Where is it? Where's the Phantom?" Louise asked.

"It got away." Derflinger replied, surprising both Kirche and Louise.

"Isn't that a Sentinent Sword, the one that has the mind of its own?" Kirche ponders while not leaving the gaze upon it before looks at Louise. "You really bought a strange thing, for sure!"

"I didn't know about it! It was Saigo that chooses the sword, not me! Anyways, I'll return that sword back to that shopkeeper if I have to!" Louise replied back to her as I picked up the golden sword and puts it back to its sheath.

"You don't have to, Louise. I already made up my mind. I'm gonna use this sword instead of the shiny one." I made up my mind before handing out the golden sword back to Kirche. "As much as I would like to accept it, I think I need someone or some THING that I can talk with whenever I feel bored. Thanks anyway, Kirche." I added before she took the blade off from my hand.

"Phantom?" Tabitha asked without leaving her gaze upon the book.

"I got that part covered." I told her as I took out two rings which it has silver background on it and there's a picture of a nine tails fox in golden colour and an indigo large bird on the other. I wear them on my finger before placing it onto the palm of the belt.

= Kitsune! (Fox) …Pureezu! =

= Rokku~! (Roc/Rukh) …Pureezu! =

With that declaration, two trays of assorted pieces of plastic models appeared right in front of me and they put themselves together in order to take a shape of a nine tailed fox and a big bird. After the figure has been complete, I simply placed the rings onto each of them and from once an unanimated object, now comes to life as both of them are screeching out.

"E-Eh?! What is that?!" Louise said in surprise.

"PlaMonsters, kinda like my own familiars but with limited energy…" I explained to her before shifting my focus onto my familiars. "Kit-chan, Rukh-chan. I want you to locate the Phantom that was escaping. I'm counting on you two."

With a screech from both of them, they headed out to locate the runaway Phantom.

"What are we supposed to do now?" she asked me.

"What else? Going to sleep."

"The mess?" Tabitha asks me, which I sweatdropped for a moment as seeing the crime scene is in BIG mess.

"If I can explain this matter to the headmaster, maybe there's something that can be worked out…" I told her but I wasn't sure if he's gonna believe me. But one thing I do know… since the Phantom has made their way here, I have to protect the innocent from losing hope at all cost.

"Saigo... you truly are interesting..." Kirche said to herself with a smile as I was heading my way back to Louise's room for some shut eye.