[Bishop-chan's notes: The following chapter has spoilers concerning my true nature. Unless you want your eyes poked out- I mean, if you don't want to be spoiled, go read the next chapter or something. I'm not doing this to preserve your dignity or something, baka~]
Borrowing Cardinal's Toys
by Draggon73
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Kathy von Blücher wasn't an exceptional Mage. She was a shy, slightly mousy girl with some talent for earth magic and alchemy. She had been a first year student at the Tristain Academy of Magic during the Transition, the event that brought the Faeries to Halkegenia and changed everything. She had been sent to the Academy by her father for the prestige and opportunities that the oldest standing magic school in northern Halkegenia presented.
The upcoming unification between Tristain and Germania was also a factor, her family anticipated that marital unions between their aristocracies would become common soon after. As the youngest daughter of a wealthy, if rather low stationed family, she hoped for good match.
When the marriage union failed and the danger of Reconquista's invasion became more imminent, she and most of the other Germanian students would have normally withdrawn from Academy, but the Transition changed that. The students were in fact encouraged to remain and send any useful information home.
That had been a year ago. She had witnessed many wonderful and strange things throughout the year. Now she was a second year, and the time of the sacred familiar summoning ritual had come.
Normally only the students and their assigned teacher, professor Colbert, would be out in the field, but this year there were others too. Faeries from Arrun has come, as well as Queen Henrietta's representative Bishop Rubeis, representing the Church. Others guests had also attended, so the yard was rather full.
Most summoned familiars has been rather normal so far. Cats, dogs, rabbits, even a baby manticore. Of course, then came the stranger cases. One delighted Gallian girl summoned golden Feathered Dragon, a boisterous boy ended with giant flaming cockroach identified by faeries as starting Goubniu mob, and a small quiet girl summoned a rather loud animal identified as Chime Civet.
Then it was Kathy's turn. She hoped for some cute animal like the Civet, but feared that she would end up with a cockroach or some sort of spider. She despised them. Instead, there was explosion of colors and all the students and guests stared with her at her supposed familiar.
It was a dog, no a pup, but with three heads and already as large as calf.
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In the Arrun Central Library Bishop was *not* sulking. Cardinal really wasn't opposed to people borrowing her toys, but it would be polite to ask first.