Foreword: I apologize for the massive delay, there was an emergency that I had to attend to. More information after the chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading.
Zeroes of Two Worlds
Chapter 7
Jaune could see that Louise is still haunted by what was revealed about him since they left the headmaster's office. Not that he could blame her. This kingdom of theirs seemed tame compared to his home town, probably as tame as the City of Vale in comparison.
The headmaster had questioned him further about his identity, and shared what he could with his scrollpad and his physical ID cards. The ID cards didn't really help much but the family pictures and videos that are saved in his scrollpad did. He also used some kind of large glass piece, with a slotted remembrance, to record what were being displayed on the scrollpad.
Jaune found that convenient and relieved that at least he didn't have to repeat what he had said any time soon. Though he wondered if he could get something like in the future. But that would mean paying for it, and he doubted anyone would accept Lien here.
Louise had decided to return to the dorms and Jaune followed after her. Dinner won't be served until later anyway so they got time to rest. They climbed up the staircase and entered her room. Louise released a heavy sigh of relief and shiver as she slumped into a seat by the round table while Jaune closed the door behind him.
"Why didn't you tell me what being a Huntsman is?" Louise asked suddenly.
Jaune looked towards her back and sighed, since he was already expecting this to happen. He took a seat across the table as he replied. "It never came up. It didn't seemed important."
"Not important!" Louise shrieked as she jumped to her feet and slammed her hands on the table. "Fighting demons IS an important detail!"
Jaune gave her a helpless shrug and looked at Louise as she continued with her rant.
"I thought you're some kind of beast hunter or slayer. Fighting orcs, trolls or some other beasts. But it turns out you were training to fight Brimir-damned demonic spirits! What kind of a messed up world did come from?!"
"Because it isn't important, Louise." He told her with a tired tone. "From what little I could see, this world doesn't have Grimm or anything equivalent to it. Heck. You have two moons, and none of them are shattered. So I treat that as a good sign."
"What do you mean by none of our moons is shattered?" Louise scrunched her eyebrows, and gave him a suspicious look.
"Well half of our only moon is shattered." Jaune nonchalantly told her. "So it's a good sign that your world is not as messed up as mine."
Louise was slack-jawed when he said that, and could scarcely believe it. "H-how...? How could that even happen?"
Jaune shrugged with raised hands and shoulders as he replied. "Dunno. It's always been that way."
Louise grumbled as she massaged her temples, trying to get her already addled mind to wrap around that detail. "Still... Why didn't you tell me about these... Grimm..." She tested the somewhat familiar word. "And that you were training to hunt these spirits."
"As I've said earlier... It's not really important and it never came up." Jaune replied. "Well...Except for that time with Guiche. But I doubt he even understood what I meant." He sheepishly added.
"No doubt." Louise quipped before releasing a heavy sigh. "Still. As my familiar, you should be telling me these kind of things." She told him. "How sure are you that these Grimm don't exist in our world?"
"Well... First off, you and the others don't seem to be concerned with bringing down any kind of negative emotions." Jaune began, recalling things from his past lessons. "Since the Grimm are attracted to such emotions, the kingdoms back home made efforts to keep the populace happy." Louise raised an eyebrow at that. "This meant alot of festivals, TV shows, and other things."
"Tee-Vee shows?" Louise looked confused at that. "Are they like theater shows?"
"Almost the same actually." Jaune said with a nod, after he gave it some thoughts about it. "But they are broadcasted to the entire populace like my scroll." He pulled out his scroll from his pocket and waved it.
"I see." Louise nodded, getting what he meant, and was curious to know more about it, so she asked. "What kind of shows would be made available to the public?"
"Many things. Drama, Romance, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and many more. Though the most featured shows involved fighting the Grimm, especially the stories from huntsmen and huntresses."
"Is that how you got inspired to become a huntsman?"
"It helps but no." He shook his head. "I got inspired by the tales of our family history from my grandfather."
"Oh. The First Huntsman right?" Louise perked up as she recalled what he had said back in the headmaster's office.
"Yes, him." Jaune smiled, having fond memories of his grandfather. "He told me about how our family had defended the kingdom for generations and there's the stories about his own father."
"Yes. You called him the Lord Commander." Louise noted, remembering the discussion back with the headmaster.
It is quite the prestigious title and a very powerful position in Louise's view, and likely only second to their monarch. If the knights are akin to mages, due to their use of aura, then the Lord Commander supersedes the position of a Marshal.
"Grimm aside, how capable are you against other opponents? I noticed that you began to have trouble when facing multiple Valkyries. Shouldn't those be easier for you to deal with than the Grimm?" Louise asked.
"Fighting Grimm is different from fighting other humans. The Grimm are instinctive while humans, like you and I, have thoughts about their actions." Jaune answered. "Besides, those Valkyries are made of metal, even if they're bronze. I am also still in my early stages of my huntsman training." He defended.
"Could you elaborate more on that?" Louise inquired.
"I got basics from my father and some advanced training from my grandfather. But I'm well enough to defend myself against small packs of Grimm." Jaune answered confidently.
"What about going to these Huntsmen Academies? Are they like this Academy of Magic?" Louise asked, curious about how it would compare to magical institutions of Tristain.
"Not quite sure how to compare it. Huntsmen academies are more like colleges in my world where one can study for a profession like a doctor or an engineer." Jaune told her.
"Ah. So they're like the Institute of Magic." Louise gasped in recognition.
"Institute of Magic? How does it differ from this academy?" Jaune blinked and is confused due to how the name is essentially the same as this school.
"It's the most prestigious posting for many mages to advance their studies and research into the magical arts and constructs. They're responsible for spearheading the recent developments across Tristain." Louise proudly told him. "My older sister, Eleanor, works as a researcher in the institute." She added but she seemed to be not as enthusiastic when she said her sister's name.
"That makes sense." Jaune said with a nod. "But I'm still years away from attending the academy. I'm still in Combat School." Louise had a look of confusion at that, so Jaune clarified. "They're preparatory training schools for those who aspire to become huntsmen. It's more akin to this school actually."
"How so?"
"Well... We have general classes about different subjects thought in civilian schools, and undergo training regimes especially combat classes." Jaune replied.
"I see. So how far along are you in this... Combat School?" Louise asked.
"I am fine with my studies if that's what you're asking." Jaune replied, sounding a little strained when he said that.
"And your combat training?" Louise inquired.
Jaune was hesitant to answer that and it showed on his face, which Louise quickly noticed.
"Is there a problem?" She pressed him, trying to see why Jaune is getting hesitant now. She then recalled what Jaune had confessed when he first woke up. He said something about the two of them having similar struggles. "Is this related to what to said to me after the duel back in the infirmary?"
Jaune sighed, seeing that the jig is up, and told Louise about his actual status. "I'm among the bottom of my class in regards to combat training. My footing and skill in fighting is good but the problem is that everyone else had aura and I don't."
"Your classmates have aura except for you?" Louise was surprised to hear that.
"Not really at first. Prospective students really just need to be physically fit and can pass the Entrance Examination." Jaune told her. "Not everyone has good control of their aura, some don't even have them. I was able to keep up with them for the most part."
He sighed again as he recalled some bitter memories back at Combat School, and continued as Louise patiently listened. "Problems came during the later months when the others got better with their aura, and I started getting left behind." He had a solemn look on his face. "I did everything I can to catch up but I just can't keep up." He said with frustration in his voice.
Louise could sympathize with him and understood his frustration. In her case, most of her spellcasting ended in explosions and she could barely perform cantrips. The feeling of despair where your efforts could not compare to your peers.
"What happened?" Louise asked, but she could already guess what it is.
"It started small with name calling and then they began pushing me around. Telling me how I am a failure of an Arc." Jaune told her, proving her suspicions. "Sparring made things worse since I don't have aura to prevent bruises." He added.
Louise winced at that statement, and is appalled by the thought of being beaten like some ruffian. Though her mother would likely approve of the practice since she was once a Manticore Knight. She understood that the practice due to the nature of the profession they're taking, but this clearly sounded beyond insults.
She was thankful that she didn't have to deal with it as a mage student, even during the worst of her days. She then noticed something missing, and a thought came to her.
"How does one get to access their aura?" Louise asked. "You said that everyone can get access to aura. How come you don't have it?"
"Well the most common way gain access to aura is through training really." Louise looked confused at that so Jaune explained further. "Aspiring huntsmen not only undergo physical and weapons training but also aura training. Aura training basically involved reaching into one's soul through mental and breathing exercises."
"How does one reach into one's soul?" She quoted him as she asked what he meant.
"Hmmm... I'm not sure how it works." Jaune crossed his arms as he thought back on his own training years ago. He recalled the old garden at the back of the estate where his grandfather used to train him. "The best I can describe it is like using your breath feel your body with a clear mind. Since the breath reaches deep inside your body..." He gestured to his nose with a hand and motioned down to his abdomen as he took a deep breath to emphasize the point. "You could feel something there, and that something is what you must essentially tug at."
"Is that all one needs to do?" Louise asked with one arched eyebrow, skeptical at the simplicity of it.
"No. It's not. That's just the start." Jaune replied back with a shake of his head. "Aura exercise is then applied during other parts of the regime especially during sparring." He then explained further. "The idea is since aura's main function is to be a protective barrier, sparring would theoretically trigger your aura especially when you're also tugging at it."
"That makes sense. Being placed under duress, even with a simulated threat, is a good way to coax your aura." Louise remarked with a small nod of understanding. A little barbaric for her taste but reasonable. "I can guess that it didn't worked for you?" She asked, merely for confirmation rather than curiosity.
"Yeah... No." Jaune dejectedly replied. "Which is why I asked my father to undergo Aura Ignition." He said with a hint of bitterness.
"Aura Ignition?"
"It's basically asking a huntsmen to use their own aura to activate your own." Jaune simply said.
Now Louise frowned hard as that doesn't sound like what willpower is capable of doing. She had read plenty of magical treatises for her own pursuit to find a solution to her own problem. None in those treatises and history records had shown a mage using their own willpower to empower another. Well at least not directly.
"That doesn't sound anything like willpower. There are no existing ways for a mage to use their willpower to empower another, even another mage. Let alone a commoner. Even using elemental stones doesn't really add to one's willpower but merely empowers the spell being casted." Louise informed him.
"Well because it's not really empowering but having another to do the reaching for you." Jaune responded. "It also involved their aura to ignite another person's aura in order to activate it. Any power you got out of it is yours."
"That sounds too similar to a spirit pact." Louise remarked darkly.
"A spirit pact?"
"It's a kind of magic that involved making use of spirits to perform magic. It's a forbidden kind of magic due to its use by the heathen elves." Louise made a sign with her hands as she said that.
"Why was it forbidden? It couldn't be just because it's used by another race." Jaune asked, concerned as to why such thing was forbidden.
"It's part history and part ethics." Louise began. "Our peoples were once allies in the past and the Founder forged relations between our people and theirs. But then they betrayed Him and used their magic to hunt down our people. Our ancestors fled the Holy Land and settled in this continent, away from the traitorous elves. Our kingdoms had launched crusades in the past to reclaim the Holy Land but the powerful magics that the elves drew from the spirits had foiled such attempts."
"That sounds like alot of bad blood." Jaune remarked with a grim look on his face.
"That's an understatement. And you know it." Louise said sharply.
"Y-yeah. Sorry." Jaune apologized and Louise nodded back. "And the ethics part?" He asked, changing the subject.
"That's a really delicate subject to say the least, and cruel at the most." Louise warned him. "There have been researchers in the past that experimented with spirit magic in hopes to even the odds. But our innate magic prevented our people from obtaining the powers of a spirit in the same way as that of the elves. So options are explored." Louise stopped right there, with a scowl on her face.
"I guess that these options are not good?" Jaune hesitantly asked, noticing her change of mood.
"Not in the slightest. The mages who performed these tasks were downright atrocious to say the least. Experimentations on captive humans, hunting down spirits, chimera creations..." Louise listed a few more crimes that had been committed in pursuit of spirit magic, and Jaune is reminded of mad scientists who had committed similar crimes in pursuit of science.
"It's why the Holy Church of Romalia had forbidden such research and had sent the Inquisition to hunt down those responsible for those crimes. They had also mandated all kingdoms to crack down on such research, and the kingdoms obliged in earnest." Louise finished her explanation.
"That's... alot of take in to be honest." Jaune remarked hauntingly. "It reminded me of Mantlean scientists who were convicted of crimes against humanity for their research."
"Mantlean? Is that another kingdom? That wasn't in the map you've shown earlier."
"Well it's replaced by the Kingdom of Atlas after the capital is transferred to the city of the same name." Jaune explained.
"Ah. I see." Louise nodded her head.
"Is that why you were terrified when I first explained Aura earlier back at the headmaster's office?" Jaune asked her, referring to her earlier outburst.
"Yes. Though mostly on how similar it sounded to elven spirit magic." Louise admitted.
"I understand. But I can definitely say that Aura or Aura Ignition is not that extreme, and very mundane. Aura came naturally from the soul but not part of it." Jaune assured to her.
Louise sighed in relief, removing a potential problem that might occur. She's aware of the reach of the Church and was worried what they might have done to Jaune, especially if they heard about his Aura.
"Back to our earlier topic." Louise spoke up, steering the conversation back. "I can guess that the Aura Ignition failed as well?"
"I can't even answer that because my dad wouldn't even allow it." Jaune angrily answered, catching Louise by surprise.
"Huh? Why is that?"
"I don't know. He never told me other than I'm not fit to be a huntsman." Jaune told her.
"He must have a good reason to forbid such practice." Louise tried to assure him.
"Fat chance at that." Jaune said heatedly. "He was already opposed to my desire of becoming a huntsman to begin with. After failing to raise my aura, he refused to train me any further with that reason." He clenched a fist and said to her. "Do you know what hurts the most?"
Louise didn't respond, already anticipating some kind of outburst from him, and motioned for him to continue.
"Both my parents didn't believe I have what it takes to be a huntsman. Oh they said it in the most loving way parents do, but that just makes things worse." Jaune ranted.. "It's been frustrating for me to watch my sisters train to become huntresses. Even my younger sister got huntress training despite not having her aura yet."
Jaune felt betrayed when he watched his dad training his sisters who wanted to follow in his footsteps. Those training sessions are a constant reminder of what he was denied, and it stung badly.
For Louise, that was shocking to hear since even her parents tried everything they can to find out about her condition. It is only later, having exhausted all options, that they had told Louise to abandon her magic training, and would instead be training as a noble housewife.
To hear that Jaune's parents had told him to abandon his dreams without reaching for other solutions was appalling for her.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Jaune." Louise said to him, feeling sorrowful for his situation.
"Don't be sorry, Louise. It's not your fault." Jaune gently told her, his anger simmering down. "It's water under the bridge. I'm here now, and none of my past really matter now in this world."
Louise disagreed since she could see that this is something that still affected Jaune, but didn't made a comment about it any further.
"If your parents didn't want you to become a huntsman, then how did you manage to attend Combat School?" Louise questioned him.
"Well..." Jaune looked uncomfortable with this question and is very hesitant to answer.
This made Louise very suspicious and showed it with a heavy frown on her face. Considering what she already had seen about him, this likely involved doing something idiotic.
"What did you do?" Louise pressed him.
Jaune looked very apologetic and said. "Please don't react until I finished."
Louise held her frown but slowly nodded, allowing for Jaune to begin.
"After being constantly rejected by my father, I've decided to prove to him that I have what it takes to be a huntsman. So one day, I packed some gear and took my family sword before I snuck out of the house. I then headed into the forest to fight Grimm." Jaune stated. "I was doing alright at first. I fought off some juvenile Grimm that had wondered close to the forest border. But as I moved deeper... I started getting trouble from the Grimm."
Jaune held back the beowolf over him with his shield as it tried to bite off his head. It roared at him before it was silenced when his sword pierced through the side of its neck. The grimm died and Jaune pushed it off to his side, his heart pumping hard with adrenaline.
He rolled to his left when he saw a claw coming down on him. It missed him and struck the ground he left, and quickly got to his feet with his shield ready. It was another beowolf that then growled at him as soon as it turned his head. He kept up his shield as he rounded around the grimm which did the same.
He observed the grimm and it did the same with its blood red eyes. It growled as it hunched down, rearing its body. Jaune couldn't decide whether to dodge or block it, and his earlier attempt to block had been less than ideal. He didn't have time to decide when the beowolf rushed at him with a roar.
He stepped to the side and raised his shield to block a claw when the grimm swiped at him as it passed by. He turned around to face it with his shield forward, and blocked the multiple rapid claw swipes made against him. He gritted his teeth as he felt his arm ached with each swipe.
He is caught by surprise when the beowolf slammed its shoulder against him, before it swung its arm against his shield. It knocked him off his feet, and threw him back. He hit the ground hard and his shield flew off his hand as he lost grip of it. It rattled across the ground before it came to a stop a short distance from him.
He quickly stood up, and got up just in time to see the beowolf rushing at him. He jumped to the side and rolled across the ground, further separating him from his shield. The beowolf looked at him with its red eyes as it stood over him, letting out a low growl as it did so. Likely trying to intimidate him.
He did feel frightened by it as his breath quickened, but he is mindful enough to not let it control him. The beowolf seemed to delight at his fright as it let out a growl that sounded like a cruel laugh.
He raised his sword and adjusted his footing as he prepared to fight.
"I managed to kill it but I was wounded, and soon enough I could hear more grimm coming from deep in the forest. I recovered my shield and ran as fast as I can. I managed to reach a town and got behind the safety of its walls. I got to a local clinic to get my wounds cleaned up before I searched for a room to rent for the night. I was then put on house arrest in the inn I was staying at, and wasn't allowed to leave." He let out a harsh laugh. "Turns out, my father had sent out alert to the nearby towns for my presence. Should have expected that in hindsight, but I thought he didn't care about me that time."
He let out a deep sigh as he learned back on the chair, thinking about the aftermath of that debacle.
"My father soon came to town and thanked the town guards for their help. He didn't say a word to me while we took a bullhead back home. I was angry... nervous... worried... Honestly I don't know how to feel that time." He sighed again. "We soon got back home, and my parents started shouting at me for running away and for doing something so dangerous."
"As much as I sympathize with you..." Louise interjected, looking incensed with him. "But what you did was incredibly stupid." She sternly told him, making her thoughts known. "I was wondering why you would go to such lengths when you challenged Guiche to a duel. Now I know why." She let a frustrated growl. "You're foolhardy born out of your desperation."
"It's the only way to prove myself." Jaune retorted. "My father wouldn't allow me to train for the Entrance Exam despite my pleas." He crossed his arms and said. "I know what I did was wrong but I can't say that I regret it."
"Clearly." Louise drawled before saying. "Still why did you do it? It couldn't be just to train yourself."
"No. But it's the last option I had to activate my aura." He replied.
Louise frowned in confusion and asked. "What do you mean? And how does it involve fighting the Grimm?"
"The last option doesn't necessarily involve the Grimm but the situation like it." Jaune began. "This option involved being placed in danger in order to invoke emotional stress that may create the conditions enough to awaken one's aura. It's not the most reliable method, but it's been known to happen." He then said to her. "It's why I took my chances with the Grimm. Get my father's approval or awaken my aura."
"I'll say this again since it merited repeating." Louise started. "You're a reckless fool!" She chided him.
"I know. I know." Jaune replied, having heard this before already.
"But that still doesn't explain how you even got to school in the first place. Especially after that stunt of yours." Louise said, not to mention how he even got the trust of his parents to even attend.
"That would be with the intervention from my grandfather. I don't know what exactly they talked about but my parents relented and allowed me to train under his watch. You can imagine my excitement after being told of that news." Jaune remarked to her.
"I can." Louise nodded, remembering her own elation of being allowed to attend the Tristain Academy of Magic. "So you got your training under your grandfather, the First Huntsman?"
"Yup." Jaune replied with a nostalgic smile. "It was hard since I had to cram a year of training within a few months. But it was worth it." He proudly said to her. "I passed the Entrance Exam with flying colors, and was allowed to attend school."
"You're one messed up familiar, you know that?" Louise said to him with a disconcerting look on her face. She could already imagine the trouble her familiar would find himself in, and she would have to keep him under watch.
Jaune didn't reply and merely shrugged his shoulders, much to Louise's irritation who was expecting more from him. Jaune, for his part, couldn't really say anything to help with her situation. He had said his piece, and it's up to Louise to decide what her stance would be.
"Well I've told you my story... Can you tell me yours?" Jaune asked her, hoping to get more insight about her.
Louise felt conflicted about his request but it was only fair that she also shared some things about herself. Besides, he had been honest about himself and more trustworthy than most people she knew, with the sole exception of Cattleya and Henrietta.
She took a deep breath and started sharing her own story.
"My life isn't as dramatic as yours. Or even dangerous." She pointedly added. "But as you already knew, my magic had been abject failure and all my spellcasting usually ended in explosions. This led to me being barred from performing spellcasting in school, and I was limited to potions and other aspects of magic that didn't directly involved casting."
"If that's the case, how come you managed to pull me from my world?" Jaune asked, curious about her thoughts about it. It also caused him some fright that he might have died then and there with the summoning. "Your magic must have been stabilized during that time."
"I don't even know how it happened but I'm grateful that it did." Louise answered, and frustrated at not being able to find why it worked. "Ive been trying to find out how I managed it but I haven't found the slightest clue." She sighed. "It's also not a completely stable summoning since my magic still caused an explosion." She informed him.
"That must be why it felt that I got hit by a truck." Jaune noted absently, thinking back on it. It was a surprising thing that happened to him while he was out in the woods once again.
Louise didn't know what a truck is but she assumed it's some kind of transport like a carriage, but she got what he meant.
"We're your parents against your pursuit to being a mage as well?" Jaune asked.
"No. In fact, it was the opposite." Louise answered. "It is expected for all young nobles to become mages as part of our hertiage since the founding of our kingdoms. They hired the best tutors to teach me magic, and consulted with various healers to find out why my magic kept failing." She paused to gather herself before she told him. "But none of them could find anything wrong with my magic or with my body that may affect it. My parents lost hope after years of failed attempts, and wanted me to stop studying magic."
Jaune felt a little jealous that Louise got more support from her parents than his own, but she can't hold it against her. At least they have more credible reasons to stop unlike his. He kept his emotions vague, as not to betray his own feelings, and merely listened to her.
"I was devastated when they told me of their decision, and my sister Eleanor supported their decision." She sobbed a little as she remembered that day. "Since I couldn't be a proper mages, I should instead learn to become a proper wife to a noble. I refused despite having nothing to prove to them."
"That's rough." Jaune guessed this must be related to being nobles in this kingdom. He definitely disagreed with her parents' decision but at least he could see their point. "How did you manage to convince them to allow you to pursue your magic studies?"
"I didn't do it alone. My sister Cattleya supported my choice to continue studying and helped convinced my parents to attend the academy. It took some convincing but they agreed with a few conditions of their own." Louise told him.
That reminded Jaune of his grandfather Meri, and was glad to hear that she got someone to support her.
"I see. Glad to hear that someone still has your back." Jaune remarked to her.
The two looked on in silence for a few seconds, uncertain how to continue, as they digested what they had said to one another.
For Louise, she is glad that it was Jaune that got summoned as her familiar. While he's definitely not a dragon or a manticore, but she could rely on him to protect her. His lineage definitely helped change her view of him. It also helped that he's a kind of demon slayer, even if just a trainee, but he had proven himself against Guiche.
To Jaune, he could understand Louise's situation and he would be happy to help however he can. He also hoped that he could find some answers regarding his aura here.
The meeting earlier had shown that he clearly used aura, but he couldn't find out how. He tried performing the aura exercises earlier while Louise was still in class. But his aura won't budge but something clearly changed.
He lightly scratched the itch on his chest, as he thought about it, and his eyes widened. He placed the palm of his hand over his chest, and remembered the familiar runes that are on him.
"What are you doing, Jaune?" Louise asked, and Jaune looked at her to see the confused look on her face. "We're you thinking of something?"
"Uhhh... Louise, can you tell me more about what these familiar runes actually do?" Jaune asked as he he patted his chest, indicating his runes there.
"The familiar runes doesn't really do much other than binding a familiar to their summoner, and it doesn't do anything else." Louise answered while looking confused about his question. "What made you ask that question?"
"I was thinking back on my duel with Guiche that the headmaster showed earlier, and how I seemed to have access to my aura." Jaune said to her.
Louise nodded but she couldn't see where he was going with this.
"i told you that I couldn't access my aura before I got here, and still couldn't." Jaune continued. "I tried activating my aura while I was waiting for our meeting with the headmaster." He informed her.
"I see.. Did you made any progress with it?" Louise looked intrigued.
Jaune shook his head and said. "No, I didn't. But.." He added. "I think it's related to my familiar runes on my chest."
"What brought you to that conclusion?" Louise raised one eyebrow at him, uncertain about his findings.
"It's the only thing that I could think of that was different when I got here." Jaune said to her.
"Hmmm..." Louise thought about it and it seemed to make sense. She thought back on the day of the Summoning Ritual, and then remembered the reaction he had as soon as he had been summoned. She vividly remembered how his eyes glowed in the same way as shown on the scrying mirror. "I think it does..."
"Did you know something I didn't?"
"You remember that you had quite a reaction to getting the familiar runes right?" Louise asked him.
"How can I not? I still remember the burn from that day." Jaune remarked stiffly.
Louise ignored his comment and explained. "I remembered your eyes glowing with the same bluish light as you did when you were facing Guiche when the headmaster showed you his point of view."
"I did?" Jaune blinked at her statement. "Why didn't you told me about that?" He questioned.
"It didn't seemed important at the time, and I don't even know what to make of it until you spoke about Aura." Louise responded calmly. "So it might be possible that the familiar runes must have been tied with your aura. Though I am still skeptical about that since familiar runes doesn't work like that."
"But it does make sense." Jaune remarked as he rubbed his chin as he thought about it. "It's the only thing different about me after being summoned here." He looked at Louise and inquired. "Do you think I could ask the headmaster about these runes?"
Louise shook his head and quickly said. "Let's not bother the headmaster with this matter until we could find more evidence to support this claim."
"Then how can we do that?" Jaune pressed as he frowned. "I don't even know about magic, let alone to research about it."
"We'll get to that. But I'll see what I can find in the library." Louise assured him. "In the meantime, you could start training with your aura again. You did managed to access your aura during your duel with Guiche. Maybe you could start there." She suggested to him.
Jaune sighed in disappointment but agreed with her. He did managed to access his aura's abilities but he couldn't recall how he did it This warranted more testing on his part. "I guess I could start tomorrow, and see if I could replicate the effect."
"That would be a wise path to take." Louise agreed.
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and the two looked at each other in confusion since they weren't expecting any visitor. The person on the other side knocked again, and Jaune got up from his seat this time.
"I'll get it."
Jaune opened the door and is surprised to see Siesta outside the room, who looked surprised as well and quickly looked down.
"Oh! Hello, Miss Siesta." He happily greeted her, thinking that she was merely shy. "What brought you here?"
"I'm just here to bring dinner for you and Miss Valliere, milord." Siesta said a little hastily, much to his confusion. She also gestured to the cart of prepared food and drinks.
"Wait... Did we miss dinner?" Jaune asked with surprise, which also elicited a surprised cry from Louise.
"How did we missed dinner!? We couldn't have been talking for that long." Louise ranted.
Siesta nodded without looking up to him, and said. "Yes, milord. The headmaster informed us that you and Miss Valliere were exhausted from your meeting with him earlier and instructed us to prepare a meal for you in the lady's dormitory."
Jaune sighed in relief and replied. "That's nice of him." He then moved aside and wave her in. "Please come in."
Siesta quietly nodded and pushed the cart into the room before she began setting up their dinner. Jaune moved to help but she waved him away, and then took his seat.
He watched Siesta worked, thinking what he might have done wrong to offend her. Louise seemed oblivious over Siesta's demeanor but he chalked that up to her being used to it.
"Enjoy your meal, milord and milady. We'll collect the cart later in the hour." Siesta informed them after she finished setting up their dinner. Louise nodded while Jaune continued to look at her quizically. The maid quickly made herself scarce as she left the room and closed the door behind her.
Louise performed a quick prayer of thanks before she began to eat her meal, while Jaune stared at the door with confusion. Louise noticed his strange look along with the way he stared the doorway.
"Is there a problem, Jaune?" Louise asked her strange familiar's behavior.
"Did you noticed Siesta acting strange earlier?" Jaune asked back.
"Strange? I didn't noticed anything different with her." Louise replied.
"Well... It's just that..." Jaune sighed as he turned to Louise and said. "She seemed to be acting strange around me and not wanting to talk with me."
"It must be the duel. You did defend her honor, and she must be uncertain how to deal with it." Louise suggested to him. "She also didn't seem to be under duress, so she doesn't seem to be in trouble." She added.
"Well. It must be nothing." Jaune shook his head slowly, reasoning that he must be overthinking things, and picked up a spoon and fork before digging in. "Bon Appetit."
A/N: Finally got this done after such a long delay. Sorry for that, I was in the hospital to look after my mother after she lost consciousness repeatedly. They finally found the cause and got her a pacemaker. She's doing alright and recovering back home, which is why I am able to return to working on this story.
Tried working on this chapter while in the hospital but couldn't due to lack of sleep and kept busy with caregiving. Thank God the worst is over.
Well now that's out of the way, back to the chapter. And it isn't much but it's the two talking about each other's background. Jaune seemed quite adventurous here but I reasoned that him running away isn't the first time he did. He did managed to get to Vale, got a fake transcript and got to the Beacon Initiation on his own.
Here, we saw a glimpse of his first impromptu adventure which isn't much. But the stakes were high.
Also highlighted how the two differed with how their parents treated them. I can say Louise got the good deal despite the strict rules, since they canonically did everything they can to help Louise with her magic. Jaune's parents didn't but not as cruel as it may seemed, not that it's apparent to young Jaune.
As usual, leave a review and share your thoughts as I liked to read them. I'll be working on the next chapter and finally getting back into the action, and a legend is going to make an appearance soon.
See you next chapter.
Sigma of Prisium