4 – Negotiations

After Louise was escorted away by Miss Longueville to get a change of clothes, it was Osmond and myself left in the room.

"I understand if the school cannot compensate me directly from a legal perspective, but surely there is something you can do to help? You are the headmaster of the most prestigious school in Tristain, after all, and you seem like an honourable sort. Whatever the courts may say, the reality is that I was summoned under the supervision of this school. No one benefits when a man is forced to resort to desperate measures."

"Desperate measure, hmm? I suppose you're right. But what is that you would like help with? As I said, returning you to your world is not within my power, and if you need money, Louise seemed fairly willing."

Although I didn't care about reversing the summoning, negotiations were often about perception and bias than about quantitative or rational exchange. By setting a high or impossible opening demand, the other party is faced with a psychological threshold to negotiate down from. A terrible and insulting tactic when market prices are well known, but effective when dealing with things difficult to value or when there is a significant information advantage.

"Your people's magic may not be capable of returning me, but it may become possible by combining it with my own magic. I don't expect you to spend the resources to research this for years, but it's something I would want to pursue for myself. I imagine the school must have a library worthy of its prestige, and access to the library would be very helpful in this research."

"If you were Miss Vallière's familiar, there would be no problem. However, the library at the Academy is not open to the public, I'm afraid. You'd have to be a student, part of the staff, or given Crown permission. Still, if your magic is truly different…I imagine that might be of interest to the Crown, or to various mages on a personal level. A scholarly exchange wouldn't be out of the question."

I expected as much, but this wasn't something I needed to pursue aggressively right now. I could just as easily access the library by convincing a student to borrow some books on my behalf, and I could easily ask Louise to read her course textbooks. The problem with the other options Osmond mentioned was that there would be long-term obligations, and I didn't want to commit to anything yet.

"What about food and shelter in the short-term?"

I didn't actually need food or shelter to survive. I was fully capable of subsisting on a combination of sunlight, grass, leaves, animals, and soil, thanks to the power of my Bionanite Swarm enhanced digestive capabilities. My living armor could similarly feed on a huge variety of organic materials, and sleeping in the wilderness was easy with the comfort provided by my armor. Still, I had to act like a normal person, and get an excuse to hang around the school.

"Ah, that's an easier one. We have plenty of unused rooms you can stay in, and you can partake in the communal meals in the dining hall with the staff and students. I will make the arrangements for you, and you can stay for a month without any trouble. Any longer than that, and I'd have to file a request with the Crown, but I don't think they'd have any problem with you being a guest for a full term if necessary. I imagine four months would be sufficient to get your bearings."

"Thank you. That would be most helpful. Earlier, you mentioned the idea of citizenship, in regards to any lawsuits I might file. Nevermind the lawsuit, I don't plan on filing any—but how might one go about acquiring citizenship in Tristain? What restrictions on travel or work are there for foreigners?"

"Actually, there are really no restrictions on travel, other than paying the tolls, or if you're recognized as a known criminal. As far as I know, you don't need any sort of identification for travel purposes in Tristain or the nearby kingdoms, except in specific restricted areas. In regards to citizenship, there are many kinds of legal statuses in the kingdom. A noble is recognized by the Crown through letters patent, and this is not a simple matter. These days, almost all nobles derive nobility from birth. The vast majority of nobles do not have actual titles of peerage, but are noble simply by having a lineage traced to someone that did. However, for someone who was not born into Tristainian nobility to acquire the status is actually quite difficult and rare. It can only be acquired through marriage into a noble family, or by receiving a title of peerage from a higher ranked lord with the approval of the Crown. Simply having magic is not enough, though many jobs don't need or care about your actual noble status, or if they do, they don't bother checking. The main limitation is when you want to work for the Crown or the Church."

"So you're saying I don't really need to have any sort of legal status to live here. But there must be significant disadvantages?"

"Yes. As I said earlier, the courts will treat you differently. Simply put, if you are not a legal noble, and get into a conflict with an actual noble, it will not go well for you. The courts may not require any evidence except your accuser's word to convict you of a crime. Additionally, you would not enjoy the other privileges of nobility, such as exemptions from taxation, or the right to own most kinds of land. If you want to learn more about the specifics, I can pick out some books to loan to you on related topics."

"Please do. I would also be interested in anything you have that can help me understand what life is like in Tristain, the society, culture, economy, politics and international relations."

Osmond nodded and stood up, walking to a nearby bookshelf. "I have some useful books here with me…"

O O O

When Louise returned to the headmaster's office, Osmond suggested that she finish the rest of her classes for the day before returning to see him about the matter of her familiar, and he asked me to wait until her classes were over before discussing the matter of compensation with her.

After the meeting, a servant showed me the way to my guest room at the school. I spent some time reviewing the information Osmond provided me, and deliberating over my next course of action.

Over the long-term, gaining a proper noble title in Tristain would only be marginally useful to my plans. It simply didn't have many unique privileges relevant for a wanderer like me.

Most privileges weren't codified into a single law. The Crown could grant or revoke various privileges on an individual basis, and nobles who ruled over counties and duchies had significant power over their own domains.

Towns and cities had their own municipal laws and citizenships unrelated to nobility, for commoners.

There were some hallmarks of the early modern era, such as a standing army and fractional reserve banking, but many other things were very much feudal.

Most of the land in the country could not be purchased, as they were fiefs held by members of the peerage. The only land that could be purchased was land in communal areas such as villages, towns, and cities, which had their own rules.

Joint stock companies did not exist. A corporation was effectively a license, charter, or royal patent that granted some kind of monopoly over a business or area. If it wasn't operated directly by the Crown, it was usually a right given to specific nobles.

In the short-term, I would be fine without any title. Political power would only become relevant if I needed it to achieve some specific purpose, or if I wanted to spend the months and years it would take to build a permanent base of operations on this world.

And if I wanted to do that, there were better, faster ways than to work within the system.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

[Interlude]

"Why do you wear full armour even in your own room?" Louise asked with curiosity in her eyes. "Isn't that uncomfortable?"

She sat facing Sir Axion who was still covered from head to toe in that strange armour of his.

"No. Is armour in Tristain normally uncomfortable?"

"I don't know…I just thought, it's a lot of metal, right? It'd be heavy and cumbersome." She had seen armour worn by the Griffon Knights and Manticore, and especially the armour her mother put on when punishing her. There were smaller pieces of chest armour that exposed the arms and legs which weren't too bad and she knew a lot of knights wore indoors, but the full plate armours didn't look comfortable to be in, with the clanking and awkward joint movements. Though Sir Axion's seemed much more flexible and smooth.

"My armour is unique. It doesn't suffer from such drawbacks. But never mind that, you're here to ask me about being your familiar, aren't you?"

"Yes. What will it take for you to be my familiar?"

"Why do you want a familiar? Isn't it possible to be a mage without having one?"

"But it's a requirement for the Academy! I have to have a familiar to stay enrolled in the school."

"Is that all, then? If it's just having a familiar, why don't you simply form the contract with Saito?"

"He doesn't want to either…" She said dejectedly.

"You've spoken to him already, after the incident earlier today?"

"No, but it's pretty obvious all he cares about is going home."

"You didn't seem concerned about his opinion before. Weren't you going to finish the ritual without asking him, back during the class?"

"Mr. Colbert was telling me to hurry up and finish it, and everyone was watching! I had to do it to prove I'm a mage!"

"So you wouldn't have forced him otherwise?"

"Familiars are supposed to be willing! That's the point of the ritual…it summons the perfect familiar. Nobody else has this problem. Obviously I want a familiar that wants to be my familiar, just like everyone else!"

"But nobody else has a human familiar either. If I were to become your familiar, would you expect to treat me like any other beast?"

Her face turned into a horrified expression. Is that what Sir Axion had been afraid of? She could never do something like that to another noble!

"N-no, of course not! You're a noble!"

"But as your familiar, wouldn't I have to take orders from you? Should I live my whole life according to your whims? Master and servant…it doesn't seem too different from slavery."

"No way! It wouldn't be like that! I wouldn't make you do anything you don't want to."

"But what if I have things I want to do that have nothing to do with you?"

"Then I guess I'd have to go with you." It wouldn't be fair if they only did things she wanted, right? If he was her familiar, she'd have to help him too.

"So in exchange for helping you, you'd help me? Does that sound about right?"

"Yes! We'd be partners, not master and servant! Partners!"

"Unfortunately, even as partners, you are not ready to form that kind of partnership with me."

Her shoulders slouched in defeat as she looked down. "Right. Who'd want to be the familiar of Louise the Zero? I'm useless…"

Suddenly Sir Axion grabbed her chin and lifted her face.

"I didn't say that. I said you're not ready for that kind of partnership. You will grow into a powerful mage in the future, one that might be worthy of being my partner, but right now you're just getting started. I don't think your magic is even strong enough to form the contract with me, and even if you were successful, the ongoing upkeep cost to your willpower reserves might overwhelm you."

"Upkeep? I've never heard of anything like that."

He must have been trying to comfort her with a white lie, she thought. But Sir Axion continued to explain with all seriousness.

"It's a magical bond…there is obviously a cost to maintaining it. On normal familiar beasts, the bond grants the familiar intelligence and additional power, while sharing their senses with the master. All spells have a cost, so why wouldn't the familiar bond have one?"

"Huh…that makes sense. But they never taught us anything about that."

"Because the familiar can also share its strength with the master, and when they are summoned, it's usually a familiar appropriate for the master's capabilities and potential. So normal mages don't feel the burden—the ritual chooses a familiar they are capable of supporting. If you look at the familiars your classmates summoned, aren't they generally quite young? They are intended to grow with the master."

Her eyes brightened. "Now that you mention it, it's true! Nobody summoned anything old!"

"However, you are a special case. You have far more potential than a normal mage and there are not many things capable of matching your potential, so you summoned something exceptionally powerful—me. That doesn't mean your current willpower and skill is sufficient to actually form the bond with me though. Your potential far exceeds your current ability."

"Really?" Did Sir Axion truly believe in her potential? Even though everything he said made sense, she found it hard to believe anyone would really think so highly of her.

"Yes. You have the potential to be one of the strongest mages on the continent."

"How do you know?"

"Because the familiar reflects the summoner's potential, just as it shows the summoner's elemental affinity. In this world, what is the strongest creature?"

"I don't know." She thought back to all the familiars summoned, and the beasts she knew about. What was majestic and mighty, and what did she originally hope for? "Dragons?"

"No. Aren't dragons tamed by the Dragon Knights? Would you consider the dragon stronger or the knight that rides it stronger? Who rules this land?"

"You mean…mages?"

"Yes, you catch on quick. Humans are the strongest. Mages are stronger than commoners, but even commoners are stronger than the vast majority of wild animals by virtue of their intelligence. Commoners are much more useful for things other than simple fighting, wouldn't you agree? They can farm, craft, smith, trade, and so much more. With the right weapons in hand, such as guns and bombs, they can also fight off most animals or even weaker mages."

It sounded strange to think like that, but she saw the logic. Mages were obviously the strongest, aside from maybe the elves and some other firstborn races. Commoners were weak, but they were useful enough that the nobles ruled over commoners instead of just kingdoms of animals. It was hard to see them as better than dragons, but it was true that the Musketeer corps could be a threat even to mages.

"If you put it that way…I guess humans are pretty strong. And I'm the only one who summoned humans, so that means…I have the most potential! I get it!" She smiled widely and nodded to herself. "You know a lot more about magic than the teachers at the school, Sir Axion! You even knew why my spells keep exploding!"

"I wouldn't say I know more about magic than your teachers. I simply know different things, things that are relevant to your own magic. There is much about your land's magic I am unfamiliar with, and I look forward to learning it."

"Do you know what my element is too?!" She asked excitedly.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /