-Training Grounds-
"Hmph." Faye huffs as a circle of icicles form in front of her. Pointing a finger out in front of her, the icicles shoot towards Kirche.
"Ah, crap! Fireball!" She points her wand out and a huge fireball is summoned, consuming all of the icicles at once. No wand AND no chanting?! This girl is no joke! What the heck?
"Hm. Not enough firepower? I'll fix that." Raising both of her arms into the air, a bunch of mana begins to accumulate right above Faye's hands. In a matter of a few seconds, a giant spear of ice forms and is aimed at Kirche. She fires.
Kirche responds by summoning three fire serpents to wrap around the icicle and stop its movement. The very next moment she barely notices Faye's presence right beside her and manages to jump away before she is able to land a hit on her.
"Flame encirclement!" She shouts. A ring of fire surrounds itself around Faye, forcing her to stop from advancing. The fire reaches at least 10 feet into the air. "Consume!" The ring slowly begins to shrink. If she is unable to escape, then she'll get severe burns at best.
"Please be careful Faye!" Anthony shouts in concern seeing the flames close in.
"She has really good healing abilities, right? I don't think we need to worry about her too much." Siesta responds to his concerns.
Unfortunately for Kirche, her flames only last for a few seconds. Suddenly, a giant water ball bursts, spreading tons of water everywhere and putting out the fire.
Raising her palm, Faye walks a few feet toward Kirche and manages to encase her in a sphere of ice. The inside is hollow, so she is not completely frozen in. Kirche summons a small scale fireball to break free and immediately cracks some of the ice, only for Faye to reinforce the ice cage with brand new ice.
The maid then attempts to summon water inside of the ice cage. However, she fails and instead summons it right above the cage.
"Hmm. Looks like I've not quite mastered this water and ice magic yet. I'll need to work on this." She tries again, and this time manages to summon water inside of the cage, instantly drenching the busty red-head.
She attempts to summon fireballs, fire rings, and any other fire-related magic she can think of. Unfortunately for her, the water quickly building up prevents her from effectively casting any of it.
"I…I yield! I can't go on!" She says with a tone of defeat.
Faye does nothing in response. The sphere continues to fill with water, slowly submerging Kirche.
"Hey! Let me out! I said I yield!" She yells, her voice highly suppressed to the outside world. After a few seconds, she is fully submerged.
"Faye! Let her out. What did she do to deserve this?" Anthony orders.
"Yes, I apologize master. I just wanted to pay her back for harming you."
"Well, with mock battles like this, avoiding harm to one another is nearly impossible. It's not like she wants to kill me or see me suffer or anything."
"I see." Tapping the ice sphere with her index finger, Faye causes it to completely collapse, spilling all of the water and letting out a very drenched mage.
Thankfully, she held her breath long enough to avoid swallowing in any water. Still, that didn't prevent her from giving Faye a stink eye.
"We won, so uphold your end of the bargain." Faye says indifferently.
She deeply frowns, "Wow, rude. Can I expect this sort of treatment if I join your little group?"
Anthony gets up and walks over towards her. Siesta does so as well. The former says with an apologetic tone, "Sorry about her, it just takes some effort to get on her good side. I promise this isn't the overall mood of our group. Thanks for upholding your end of the deal." He puts out a hand.
She smirks and shakes it, "Don't forget the other little part of our agreement."
He blushes a little upon recalling the other half of the agreement to join their party. "Right. Erm…the date. When do you want to do that?" She's admittedly really attractive. Her gorgeous long red hair, her ample bosom, and her long curvy legs. But her overall flirtatious and carefree personality…can't say I dig it that much. I'm sure some man would love her, presuming she'd stick with him, but I don't think that person is me.
"Let's see…" She thinks for a moment, "Oh! I got it. I presume you've heard about the upcoming ball this weekend, right? Let's do it that day. We can end it spectacularly with a dance in the main hall!"
"A-Alright. Sounds good to me!" He gives a nervous smile.
"Now then, we all have something important to discuss with you. Let's head to me and master's bedroom so we have proper privacy. Presuming, of course, master is alright with this."
He nods and everyone leaves the training grounds.
-Anthony and Faye's Room-
"Alright, so here's the deal." Anthony leans forward on the bed and interlocks his fingers, "I'm going to explain something really bizarre and you're going to follow along as best as you can."
"Very well, I'll try."
He proceeds to explain how from his world there is an anime of their world and that he essentially knows the future of some of the events that occur.
"Woah hold up, back up." Kirche waves her hands. "So you're essentially saying there's this sort of technology back in your world that allows for drawings to be displayed at a rapid pace, creating a moving picture? And with this technology, they took a book someone wrote about our world and made an anime with it? I'm sorry, you lost me. Why would I believe anything you're saying here? Are you trying to make fun of me?"
"No! That's not my intention at all. I'm really telling the truth here. Want proof?"
"Yes."
"I know you and Tabitha went and fought Saito and Guich without knowing their identities once."
"Ok, and? Either Saito or Louise could've told you that story. I'm glad nothing serious happened that day. I would've felt guilty otherwise."
A story neither Saito or Louise know, huh? Alrighty then. "I know of the time you and Tabitha went to her kingdom, Gallia. There you learned about her real name, Charlotte, and her past from her family butler. Her father was murdered, and her mother took a poisoned drink that was meant for her. She became insane due to the poison and has remained that way ever since. Since then, Tabitha's personality changed to be a pretty reclusive and non-talkative person."
Kirche's eyes widen considerably upon hearing all of this. "H-How do you…how do you know all of this?! There's no way Tabitha would've told you all of this. Are you a spy from Gallia or something?!"
"We were summoned here, remember? And only a few days ago at that. There's no way I could be a spy. The reason I know all of this is because of that anime I told you about. It recounts many of the adventures you, Saito, Louise, Tabitha, Siesta, and many others went on."
"I met him the day after they were summoned. Louise confirmed that she summoned them, Saito as well. I don't believe there's any way he could be a spy." Siesta says.
"I see…that makes sense. Even if you aren't a spy from Gallia, you still spied on us from your own world. How disgusting…"
"Can't disagree with you there." Siesta says, mimicking her disgusted face.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know you two or anyone else in this world actually existed or anything."
They sigh.
"So…despite all of…that. Why did you decide to tell me this? These are all past events that you've mentioned." Her eyes widen at a realization, "Wait a minute…don't tell me…you actually know about future events?!"
"Wow, you catch on quick. Only to a certain extent, but yes, I am aware of some things that will likely happen in the future, unless the timeline changes too much."
"Oh ho ho! Tell me then! Do I get married to a rich, handsome dude in the future?!"
"Um…I frankly have no idea. Though you seem to be getting pretty chubby with Mr. Colbert, so…perhaps you'll be with him? You guys seem to be awfully different in age though."
Her jaw drops, "You…you know?"
"That he's alive?" He finishes for her. "Yes, I know he's alive. Actually, this ties nicely into the main reason I'm even bringing any of this up with you."
"Please don't tell anyone about this! We've been wanting to stay in hiding for a while until there was a good opportunity to reintroduce him. Especially since that knight who is always around the queen is bent on killing him. Me, Louise, and Saito were all barely able to fake his death before she was going to kill him for real."
He smiles, "Don't worry. I won't tell a soul. I don't really have a reason to. Now, the reason I bring him up is because you and him have been working on a giant airship sort of thing, right?"
She frowns, "I guess there's no point in lying about it. And it was supposed to be a giant surprise too!"
"Sorry…but look on the bright side! Only us three know about it, so it'll still be a massive surprise when you end up revealing it."
She gives a small smile, "True enough. Look at you, always looking on the bright side of things."
Anthony explains about Joseph's plans and how she and Colbert can help in preventing the attack from succeeding.
"Of course I'll assist! That bastard thinks he can get away with what he did to Tabitha?! Not on my watch! She's my best friend and she deserves to live a happy and healthy life. We'll help stop the attack and then go after him. If only we could do something about her poor mother."
"That's where I come in." Faye speaks up for the first time in a while. "My powers in healing allow me to undo severe illnesses, which is what Tabitha's mother has."
"Brilliant!" She claps her hands once in awe.
The group of four continue to talk for a while longer, chatting, laughing, and overall getting to know each other better as they plan out what they will do on the night of the ball. Anthony and Kirche also decide to cancel the date after it was revealed that the latter has taken a liking to Cobalt. The former tells her that if she's serious about dating him, she needs to remain faithful to him and not to go after any other boys at all. She responds saying she'll think about it.
Two Days Before the Ball
-Saito and Louise's Room-
"Ready?" Anthony asks.
Louise slowly nods, "Yeah…I'm ready."
"I hope this works." Saito says.
"Don't underestimate my healing capabilities." Faye says while placing her hands on her right arm.
To Anthony's utter amazement, Louise actually agreed to his conditions to heal her a few days before. She was certainly not all too happy with having to wait this long to be healed, but she was surprised that he was willing to have her healed at all.
She easily apologized to him and even agreed to have her behavior reported to Henrietta. She believes that the queen will pretty much overlook what she's done. However, after her talk with Tabitha she does know that what she did was wrong and promises to not be so harsh anymore.
Anthony and even Saito are quite doubtful at her words and don't believe she could change like that that quickly. Even so, they decide to give her a chance to prove her words true. Perhaps her fight with Faye humbled her more than they thought it would.
A few minutes later Faye finishes up with healing her right arm, right leg, and her stomach. She flexes her limbs out for a few moments to see if she really did regain all movement. To her amazement and joy, she finds that they work perfectly normal again!
"Thanks. My limbs have never felt so free before. I feel like I can do anything now!" She looks towards her nightstand and finds her broken wand. "Except for magic…"
"I cannot do anything about your wand. My healing magic is ineffective against inorganic objects." Faye says. Not like I want to restore that stupid stick anyway.
"Saito, you plan on going to the ball, right?" Louise asks him.
He nods, "Yes, as far as I know."
Louise looks at Anthony and Faye. "Actually, can you two leave? I want to talk to Saito alone for a minute."
"Um…" Anthony looks at all three of them. Saito gives a reassuring nod. "Fine. Let's go Faye."
"Right behind you master."
They exit the room, however they do not go very far. He whispers to Faye. "Let's stay for a moment, in case things get heated between them."
She nods. They decide to go a decent way down the hall so that they don't eavsdrop on their conversation. Anthony wouldn't appreciate them doing it to him, so he won't do it to them. However, they are still near enough that they can see the door and will be able to hear any yelling.
Back in the room:
"So…" Louise twiddles her fingers, "Um…would…would you like to d-dance with me at the ball? We…we haven't been able to do too much together recently, so…"
He smiles, "I'd really like to!"
"G-Great! Don't be late now! Make sure you find me no matter what! I have something I'd like to talk about with you then."
Day of the Ball
-Ballroom-
In the giant ballroom, there are a hundred or so students that have arrived to participate in the nightly festivities. Many are excited to dance with their boyfriend or girlfriend but others are very nervous about being there.
"Oh man, this is going to be an exciting night!" Anthony exclaims. Despite being such a special night, he opted to wear his standard clothing. The reason? Well, he wouldn't be wearing these clothes much longer.
"You've mentioned that you're really excited for this day all week, but what exactly are you so excited about if I may ask?" Faye says.
"He's looking forward to-" Siesta begins as she makes her way over to the two of them.
"Shhhh! Don't spoil it!" He aggressively puts a finger to his mouth.
"Oh! Sorry."
"Hey!" Louise shouts as she approaches them. "Have any of you seen Saito?"
"Nope, can't say I have." Anthony replies.
"He told me that he is going to be running a little late as he has to do some last minute preparations with Guiche and the other knights." Siesta explains.
"Oh…" She frowns, "If you see him, tell him to look for me!" She runs off to meet with some other students.
A few moments later, a voice booms in front of a gigantic silver curtain. There stands Professor Chevreuse.
"Welcome everyone! I'm so glad so many of you could attend such a special occasion this evening. As you all know, our balls are different from the sort of balls you see in other kingdoms." Opening the curtain slightly, the students gasp slightly upon seeing it. "The Mirror of Truth. This object will guide you into the world of fantasy. Whatever ideal body you wish to have, this mirror will permit it! You simply have to envision your ideal body, and the mirror will look deep into your soul and grant that ideal body to you. The only thing it cannot do is transform your voice. Now, form a line and go in one at a time."
As the students begin to file in, Osmond says to everyone. "The whole idea with the Mirror of Truth is that we should be able to enjoy one another's company and have fun without regards to one's family, position, nationality, or court rank. Everyone at this institute is equal. In addition, for a bit of extra fun, Queen Henrietta is amongst us tonight transformed. See if you can identify her!"
Many students go and over the course of half an hour, everyone is transformed.
Siesta is among the very first people to enter and when she comes out:
"Woah! Siesta, you look just like Saito!" Anthony says in shock.
"I-I-I-I know that! Oh my gosh, this is so embarrassing…" She puts her hands to her cheeks, which are flushing beet red. "Also, I feel something weird down here…" She guides a hand down to her crotch.
"Uh! Erm, that's umm…yeah. That thing."
"Ohhhhh! Oh gosh…don't look at me!" She turns around and hunches down towards the floor in crippling embarrassment.
"L-Listen! It'll be alright. I promise, it shouldn't really bother you too much. Just hope you don't have to go to the bathroom for the next few hours. Though even then, the normal way you go should work just fine."
"S-S-Shut up! Don't talk about such lewd things out here!"
Some other people begin to head out of the mirror area. Tiffania is up next and by all extents and purposes, looks exactly like Siesta.
"What?! Saito?! Don't look at me!" Siesta shields her eyes, though right before she does, she notices something off about him.
"Um…" She peeks through her hands, "Wait, why do you have such a large…chest?"
"Tiffania?" Anthony says. I remember her turning into Saito.
"That's me. Hehe, um…yeah. This happened. For some reason I turned into Saito yet my chest remained the same size."
"Is your bottom the same as well?" He asks.
"Anthony! Don't ask a girl such perverted things!" Siesta scolds him.
"I don't care if he asks perverted things of me." Faye says.
"You're not helping Sensei!"
"Um…yeah. Would my bottom be any different as him?"
Anthony chortles. Oh…oh gosh. This girl is unbelievably pure. I guess all those years in the forest didn't exactly help her learn about the anatomy of human bodies, or elfs, for that matter.
"I have a feeling I know what you're thinking and I'm just going to say, stop. Right now." Siesta frowns. "Still, I'm not sure whether I should be happy or upset that my resemblance to Saito is more accurate than hers."
"I guess we better get in line then." Anthony says. He and Faye proceed to do just that. They have to wait several minutes before being able to get in. Meanwhile, some students Tiffania is classmates with come out, with her only being able to identify them by their voices.
Montmorency comes out looking exactly like Henrietta, stating she wondered what it'd be like to look like her. Malicorne comes out right after her, looking like a girlified version of himself. He states that he knew he'd look super cute as a girl. However, Montmorency and a few other students are instead disgusted by his new look.
That is when Guiche comes out. Tiffania and Montmorency ask him why he doesn't look any different than before.
"Simple. The ideal image of outstanding beauty and talent is obviously none other than myself!"
"Wow…he's even more obnoxious than usual." Montmorency says.
Just then, a beautiful long white haired lady steps out of the curtain wearing a dirty yellow long dress that drops all the way down to the floor and is dragged along a bit.
"H-how beautiful!" Guiche is immediately charmed.
"Hah?!" Montmorency gasps upon yet again seeing Guiche's disloyalty towards her.
He goes even further by bowing down before the lady and kissing the palm of her hand. "May I have the name of the one who has transformed into such a beauty?"
Shutting her eyes and smiling a sweet smile, she replies in a deep, gruff male voice, "Osmond."
Everyone present suddenly felt like they had their world shattered into a million pieces. This beautiful lady is actually just an old sleazy man?!
Four people who have loved Tiffania's beauty all come out looking just like her.
"Oh Saito…where are you?" Louise looks around while waiting in line. She hasn't spotted him at all the whole time she's been there. At least, until now. "Oh! There he is!" She spots him over by a table full of food and drinks. "Hopefully he'll see me soon."
Entering the mirror room, she focuses hard on who she wants to be. Suddenly, she transforms into her elder sister, Cattleya. She has always looked up to her kind and gentle personality and has always strived to be like her, even though she has picked up the violent traits of her eldest sister, Eleonore.
"Oh Cattleya, you really are beautiful." She smiles as walks out of the curtain and begins to mingle among the crowd. Her steps are rather awkward due to Cattleya being at least twice her height. She's not used to being able to see things from so high up.
As she mingles, someone accidentally bumps into her from behind.
"Ow!" She rubs her back as she turns around. "Saito!" She initially says upon seeing the person. However, a closer look reveals a pair of boobs that obviously shouldn't be there.
"Wait…why do you have breasts?!"
"That voice, Miss Louise?" The Saito lookalike says with a questioning voice.
"Yes! And that voice, are you Tiffania?"
"Yes! I was able to transform into Saito, whom I admire a lot, but my boobs remained for some reason. Who do you look like."
"One of my older sisters, Cattleya." Oh no! At this rate, I won't be able to recognize anyone! Oh Saito, I'm right here! Please find me soon! She internally pleads.
"Tiffania? You're here?" A person says as they approach the two.
"Oh! Is that you Katie? I can recognize your voice! Wow, you're really pretty! You're like yourself…but more elegant and mature. It suits you well!"
She nervously smiles, "Hehe, thanks! You certainly um…transformed haha! Still, I think you're pretty cute as a boy! Well, mostly boy anyway. Now, do you want to grab some snacks over there?" She points to a table filled with trays of food. "My mouth is watering just looking at them."
"You're always talking about food." Tiffania shakes her head with amusement. "I'm hungry too though, so let's eat!" The girls head off towards their destination.
"Huh, I didn't know she got along with anyone here. Well, that's neat to see. Hopefully she has a good time, even if she seduces Saito half the time…hmph."
Meanwhile, Saito finally arrives at the ball.
"Man! Guiche and the others are horrible for arriving here without waiting for me to finish up the last few duties for the knights. Don't they have any shame?" He growls a little upon entering. Unfortunately for him, during his worry about Louise, he has completely forgotten about the theme for the ball and immediately finds who he presumes is Louise standing on a balcony overlooking the courtyard.
"Louise! I found you. That was easier than I thought it would be, considering the large crowd."
She looks at him worriedly, "Who are you?"
"Huh? I'm Saito, obviously! Are you alright?"
She breathes a sigh of relief, "So you're the real Saito. That's a relief."
"Huh? Anyway, you said there was something you wanted to say to me tonight, what was it?"
"There's something I wanted to say to you?"
"Um, yeah. I think so, didn't you say so earlier?" At this point, he is quite confused. As he's about to ask if she's really alright a spider comes in between them, freaking Louise out.
"AH!" She clings onto his cloak and trembles.
"Are…you actually that afraid of a little spider?" He asks innocently, despite his choice of words.
She looks at him with a slightly fearful look and slowly nods. Her small face, looking all cute and innocent while also slightly scared, captivates him. His face also captivates her. They look longingly into one another's eyes, each trying to determine whether this is the right moment. Saito ultimately decides it is the right moment and moves in for the kiss. Louise does the same, until:
"Saito! You jerk!" Comes a shout right outside the balcony. There stands a very tall, and very angry, Cattleya. The two instantly move away from each other.
"Cattleya?! What are you doing here?" Saito immediately asks.
"I'm not Cattleya you jerk! You were supposed to find me! How did you not realize that look-a-like of me isn't me?!" She turns around and runs off, crying. Everyone turns their heads to see what the commotion is all about.
"W-W-What the? What just happened?" He turns to the lookalike Louise, "You aren't Louise?"
"No…I'm not. I'm sorry. Go after her, we can talk about this later. I'm sorry for deceiving you."
"Fine." He turns around and with a determined look on his face, goes after Louise.
Meanwhile, Anthony finally comes out of the curtain after waiting for a very long time to get in.
"Yes!" He pumps a fist into the air. "I've always wanted to try being a girl once!"
Fully female now, his entire body figure, while remaining its same height as before, has thinned out a bit and his overall figure is now more feminine. His arms and legs are thinner. His fingers are more slender and slightly smaller than before. His hair has changed from short brown to long black hair that reaches down to his waist. Finally, he's wearing a pretty frilly purple dress that has many red bows decorated on it. He even has white stockings on.
"Wow, my hair actually feels a little heavy with how long it is." He strokes the black strands with his hands. "Really soft and smooth as well, like silk. It feels so good! This must be a nightmare to maintain."
Inching himself towards a corner of the room, he decides to explore his new body a little bit more.
"Nothing down here obviously." He notes as he puts a hand down there. "Feels more open down here due to that. Interesting."
"Then finally…these things, oh boy." He cups his newly enlarged chest, which has grown into D cup territory. "Wow, they're bouncy! And soft too. A bit heavy too, do all women deal with this sort of heaviness? Still, wow, this softness and elasticity is incredible!" He messes with them for at least another minute, making sure nobody is watching him. As he does so, the only unfortunate thing he notes is that his voice didn't change at all.
After a minute has passed, Faye slowly approaches him with a giant blush on her face. He sees her and thinks, Huh? Why am I over there? Wait a minute…could it be?!
"Faye?!"
"M-M-Mas- I-I mean A-A-Anthony?!" She is currently too embarrassed to get a good look at him, but she does recognize his voice at the least.
"Why…do you look like me?" He asks. She currently looks like a perfect replica of Anthony, all the way down to his clothes.
"Um…I…I really, really admire you. So um, the mirror must've taken that as me wanting to look like you! I'm so sorry! I know I've committed a grave sin for taking on your image like this. I'm such a fraud." This…this body feels nice though. I…I don't know whether that's good or not. It's not as flexible as mine. But, it's master's body! How can I not appreciate it for all that it is?!
"No! I don't mind. It's just…jarring to see myself in an outside point of view like this. Really strange."
At this point, Faye finally notices that her master doesn't exactly look the same as before. She gasps, "You're a woman now! Oh my, you look beautiful! Great clothes! How do you feel?"
He laughs, "Haha! Just now noticed eh? I feel great! A few places have definitely changed but it's fun to be a new body!" He extends his arms out to one again observe just how small, delicate, and smooth they are compared to his regular body. He retracts them and asks, "How do you feel? Sorry that you got embarrassed with my body. It probably sucks, right?"
"No, no, no!" She frantically waves her hands. Anthony finds it really strange that his body can make such intense emotions, and from Faye no less, who's usually pretty emotionless. "Your body is wonderful! I just haven't gotten used to it, that's all. Plus I didn't feel I deserved to have the opportunity to use your body. Or well, a look-a-like anyway. Your look and shape is yours and yours alone."
"Oh, I see. Well, like I said, I don't mind. If anything, I'm the one who should be ashamed. I've been exploring this female body like it's nothing…"
She raises an eyebrow in confusion, "Forgive me for being blunt, but how is that wrong? It's your body. You're free to explore it however you wish."
"Cause…well…my body isn't female to begin with. I feel like I'm doing a terrible deed by exploring the opposite gender and trying to find all of its secrets. Like I'm invading the privacy of every woman alive…oh gosh. And I was so excited about this too. I feel awful now…" He lowers himself to the floor in shame.
"Master!" She says in a hushed whisper so no one hears her. "I obviously cannot speak for every woman out there, but as a female myself, I grant you full permission to explore your body as you wish. Don't feel ashamed. I think it's natural that you wish to explore a body you inhabit that is unfamiliar to you."
"Thanks…I guess that makes me feel a bit better. I'm pretty much done exploring though." He stands up again and gives her a hug.
Wow, these things are twice my size. They feel really soft though. Faye notes about his boobs as she hugs him.
-Forest-
Louise has spent the past few minutes running out of the ballroom, then the academy as a whole, and into the forest.
"That jerk Saito! I give him one chance, and he does this!" She shouts angrily as she runs along. She could understand how he could be fooled at first glance by the Louise look-a-like, but come on. He's been with her so much now that he should know almost immediately that that person isn't her. At the very least, the voice should've given the person away!
"I can't forgive him. I'll never forgive him!" She shouts again as she comes to a stop to catch her breath.
"Then you need to take revenge." A voice resounds all around her.
She looks up, "Revenge?"
"Yes. You're capable of that. You're a great inheritor of the Void, after all."
"Who is that? Who's speaking to me?"
Teleporting into her field of vision, the person reveals herself and Louise shouts, "Sheffield! What are you doing all the way out here? What do you want? How did you recognize me?"
"I'm not your enemy if that is what you are thinking. Also, your voice, duh."
"Like I'd believe that!" Oh this is bad! I don't have my wand! I need to get out of here, NOW!
"Listen, the only one who can truly understand you is another void user like you."
"I'm not trusting anything you say!" Louise retorts.
"Let me ask you this: Who in this world do you believe in?"
"Um…well…"
"Your familiar? Or that person who impersonated you?"
Ringing a bell that sends out sleep waves, she continues, "Do not fear. I am not your enemy. I am on your side."
"Really?" Louise's irises begin to turn to a pale pink, "You won't betray me?"
…
…
"Ever?"
-Tristain Academy Gate-
Having lost a good lead of her, Saito exits the gate and turns in every direction to see where she went. However, the only person he finds is Tabitha guarding the gate.
"Tabitha, have you seen where Louise went? I think she came through here. She looks like her sister Cattleya at the moment."
She doesn't respond, instead she lifts her staff.
"Um, Tabitha? What are you doing?" He asks with a bit of worry.
Pointing the staff at him, dozens of ice shards form and fly towards him.
Quickly pulling out Derflinger, he somehow manages to defend against most of the ice despite not having his rune. However, one pierces his foot, causing it to instantly bleed and for him to scream in pain.
"What the heck was that Tabitha?! Why are you attacking me?!" Quickly running back towards the academy, he has this thought:
I don't know what's going on with her or why she's attacking me, but I need Faye's help! I can't do this by myself!
-Author's Corner-
A/N: I'm aware this is a more fanservice sort of chapter. If that's not your cup of tea, then the next chapter will be more plot-focused.
Also, this is chapter 10! A big thanks to everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed so far! I really appreciate all of the support.
Blue Phantasm: I've thought about doing Infinite Stratos before. I may look into it after this fanfic is done. No promises though.
DungeonMaster: In Saito's defense the subtle mind control magic is affecting his affection towards Louise to some degree. Anthony is aware of this and believes that with the dispelling of the magic due to the master/familiar contract no longer being in place, he'll naturally realize just how much of a jerk she is and fall out of love with her. Of course he also wants to encourage him directly to stop pursuing a relationship with her.
Frequent Reader: It appears she may be starting to realize the error of her ways in this chapter. Though it seems she may have reverted to her old ways at the end of the chapter sadly.