After the fight with the mysterious assassin, everyone rushes back to the Academy and to the Infirmary to treat any wounds they received. Most of them have frostnip which is easy to treat with Water Healing Magic and a hot drink. Zero and Saito, however, have several bruises and possible fractured bones which shows when the former instantly feels internal pain after deactivating her enhancing spell. The two are advised to not participate in any heavy-carrying activities, otherwise they're free to continue their daily routine.
During the time they're fixed up, Kirche starts the obvious question: "Louise, who the heck is that? Why did she look like Tabitha? And why was she trying to kill you and Darling?"
"...She's how I am here." After a few seconds of hesitation, the Other Void Mage replies. "I can't answer the other questions, not when Tabitha in my world still doesn't open up yet and that woman's motivation is still a secret."
"What does she have anything to do with this?" The Fire Mage is not happy that her 'friend' is somewhat accused of doing anything wrong. "What if that woman just wanted us to fight each other so she can pick us off one by one?"
"If it's that simple." Zero's hands shake a bit. "Not once has she approached us with different appearances, not counting when her hood covered her head. For someone who can mimic others' looks, it's unreasonable to keep the same face after every encounter."
The corner of the Wind Mage's left eye twitches slightly. No one notices it, though some turn to her for a second before returning back to the Void Mage.
"She could kill all of us before we could even act, and yet she didn't."
"Then her objective seems to not be to kill any of us." Old Osmond concludes. "But that's just speculation without concrete evidence. One thing is clear that we're going to face her more in the future. We will need to find something to fight against her."
Many nod in agreement, except the Void mage from another world since she knows it's near to impossible to stop the assassin from digging their graves with a flick of her fingers.
"Should we put a bounty on her head?" Julio suggests. "It might slow her down a bit?"
"But that will scare the citizens." Henrietta disagrees. "I fear it would backfire on us even if some would try to fight her."
"...Or maybe I should just leave." That statement instantly causes many to snap their heads from the Royalist to the Void mage with widened eyes.
"You did not just say that, Louise. We're not letting you…"
"It's my world's problem, Big Sis Eleonore. You shouldn't get dragged into this. I will deal with her with my Derf."
"As much as I don't like Blondie…"
"Hey!"
"You ain't going anywhere without allies, Pinkie." Ignoring the eldest sister's angry response, the new Derf states. "Girl, I can tell you that woman is ten steps ahead of everyone here. Whatever you do now is definitely within her grasp, and splitting up endangers not only you but also these guys as well. The only way to at least minimize the damages is that you should group up and find out what her true objective is."
"Isn't that what we have been doing throughout the month?" Zero deadpans. Though she does sigh in defeat, knowing that the others won't agree about her plan. "Any ideas what to do, other than finding the Elf?"
"How about teaching this pinkie here how to use Void magic?" Saito's Derf suggests. "You have no problems using it, don't you?"
"...I guess so." Louise cheers a bit in her mind as Zero replies. "It might be a good thing, too. Maybe I can learn something from her. But I'm not sure if his ways of teaching can apply here."
"Partner ain't exactly a good teacher here." The improved Derf crackles. "But he does get the main principles right."
"You need to rest first." Henrietta, while being relieved and grateful, doesn't want Zero to go anywhere yet. "You and Saito. You two got the worse wounds compared to us."
Seeing that everyone else also agrees with her plan, Zero admits defeat.
"Great! We will leave you for now. We will ask the servants to bring food for you later." With the last statement from the girl who's in control of the country, they leave the Infirmary, letting Zero and Saito rest for now.
The two humans stay silent for a minute before Saito speaks up: "Should I be glad or terrified that the assassin is not our enemy?"
"...The 'our' here doesn't include me, right?" Zero asks back which earns her a nod. "Then yes."
"That's not how you answer that question, Pinkie." Saito's Derf deadpans while his counterpart crackles.
"Nah. That's the exact answer you need for that question!"
Some people like cold weather. I don't. And I never look forward to seeing winter or snow anywhere.
However, the coldness I'm feeling right now is very unique… Unique enough that, the moment I can feel and move my limbs, I immediately jump out of my bed and run out of the Infirmary.
What do I expect to find out? Him standing alone beneath the blood red moon, probably cladding in that demonic armor of him as well. Like before.
What do I get? Almost falling to my own doom if I didn't stop before the opened door and notice that the platform before me is disassembled into stones.
And it's not just the hallway that's in the state. It's the whole academy being in ruins…
I rub my eyes and blink multiple times to make sure that I'm not hallucinating…
Yep, the academy's walls are busted, the windows are cracked… and the rooms are all floating in all directions.
Then I remember about Saito and return back to his bed only to see an empty space. That's when I realize… I hear no screams of surprise. This kind of damage should have alarmed everyone…
*SLAP!*
'Hurt…' I massage my slightly painful swollen cheeks after slapping myself. 'I'm not dreaming… Then…'
Turning back to the broken hallway, I look around to find a solid slate to step on… only for the rubbles to form itself a road in front of me to walk onto. A little baffled, I grab the frame of the door and carefully put my left foot on it to make sure that the way doesn't just collapse suddenly. Once I can feel the firmness of the floor, I put my other feet on… and start walking on the road as it materializes itself and leads me to the tower where my… my other self's room is by the window.
The two moons are surprisingly normal, unlike the last time they're covered by a blood moon.
When I find myself in the room, I see Louise shouting at Saito, while he's holding her underwear for some reason. Although, given that other pieces of clothes are on the bed, I assume that they just have some sort of mis…
Hold on a moment. They are frozen.
'Did someone stop… is she here?' Alarmed, I reach for my wand… only to find it not in my pocket. Setting my mind to a high alert, I slowly and carefully walk past the duo and head out of the room through the exit door.
Walking through the academy for half an hour, I find everyone being frozen in place. Nothing is moving, not even the falling leaves.
Just like…
"You were shocked, weren't you?"
When I reach the field where I summoned Wisdom, a hooded figure appears before me. Steadying my hands…
"My apology that you saw the drama of my… family affairs."
"...Family affairs?"
The hooded figure nods after hearing my question back at him while turning away so that I can only see the right side of his cloak.
"As the older one between the two, my sister should have acted a bit more mature towards our youngest brother."
"...You mean Wisdom and that assassin?"
"Wisdom…" The man chuckles. "Yes, Wisdom, and Charlotte. We know her tendencies to make things go in extreme ways, but to seal her own brother away like that while showing his new master the most gruesome part of the process… and then throw you into a parallel universe…" Another chuckle. "And if you're wondering, no, we're not in a Time Stop spell, we…"
"Hold on a moment." I interrupt his words. "You said 'seal'... not 'kill'."
"Correct." He turns back to me, but with the cloak on, I can't see anything underneath it. "As our Master's personal tools, we can't die, not with conventional ways."
"...Tools? Wisdom is..."
"Not human. I'm sure you are aware of his feats, aren't you? However, if what I just said offended you, my apology. It's one way we see ourselves regarding our relationship with our Master."
Hearing his explanation slightly calms me down, but a part of my mind still doubts about…
"If you want a better answer, I advise you to wait until you break the seal Charlotte put on him."
"...How?"
The man doesn't answer immediately, though he does chuckle slightly. A few seconds later, he says: "My apology, but that's for our next meeting."
"Why are you certain that we will meet again?"
The head part tilts to the left, and I swear I can 'see' the smile on his face.
"You will see."
A memory surfaces, and then I recognize the voice. "You… your name, is it Chris?"
"Ah… *Chuckle* From one of my brother's memories, I presume." The world suddenly rumbles. "My apology, but it's time for you to leave."
"Wait! I still have questions!"
Him shaking his head is the last thing I can see before my vision goes dark, and my consciousness drifts away...
When Zero opens her eyes again, she sees the familiar ceiling of the room she slept in, and when she turns to the side, she sees her other self's Familiar sleeping soundly. Strangely, when she properly sits up, the pain on her body seems to have vanished… and if she remembers correctly, she was already fine while she was in whatever that world was…
"You are awake, miss Valliere." The Water Mage in charge of the faculty notices her movements and heads to her bed. Given her casual reaction, it seems she doesn't get another days-long knock-out. "How do you feel?"
"...Better than yesterday, thank you for asking."
"Still feeling pain, aren't you?"
"No." The mage blinks a couple of times when Zero moves her right arm freely. "I'm not sure how it works, but I'm okay now."
"...Really?" She raises an eyebrow in suspicion.
"You can check me up."
And checked up she is. The mage's eyes turn blank for a moment because she doesn't expect the wounds on the younger girl's body could vanish just over a night. Though she still advises Zero to not do anything extreme before letting her leave the Infirmary while checking up on her next patient.
After thanking the Water mage, she exits the Infirmary, just in time for Eleonore to head to her direction. Upon seeing the younger girl, the blondie frowns and questions: "Why are you already out of bed?"
"My wounds are healed, Big Sis. The Water Mage checked up and let me leave."
"...That kind of wound isn't easy to heal."
"I suppose what I have gone through did something… Was my Derf brought to my room?"
"He is. Do you need help getting to your room?"
"If you are busy, then I can go by myself."
Eleonore nods and interrogates no further as she walks away. Zero takes it as the permission to go and head to the location, given if there's nothing changed between worlds.
And true enough, the room behind the door is exactly the same as she remembers, with Louise and Saito sleeping in the bed. Not wanting to wake them up yet, she looks around and finds the upgraded Derf and brings him out of the room.
Though the moment she's far enough from the room, the sword speaks up: "Yo Pinkie! Already recovered? Those wounds are nasty and you ain't Partner."
"I suppose his 'brother', Chris, did something during our meeting last night."
"Oh, that guy huh?"
"You knew him?"
"Not personally, obviously. Partner respects him given how he talked about him. Heard Partner trying to ask him for ways to help your older version."
"Older… you mean Big Sis Cattleya?"
"Who else… So what did you get from him?"
"Maybe it's better to say it in the group."
…
"...*SLAP!* Either it's a very stupid coincidence, or that guy is purposefully giving me your name just to give you a heart attack."
The morning comes and goes without further issues (except everyone being surprised at Zero's absurd recovery). During lunch, the Outworlder conveyed what she remembered to her inner group. While everyone is marveled and curious at both the world Zero was in and the person 'Chris' she spoke of, they're surprised when Tabitha choked a bit on her drink when the Void mage mentioned the supposed name of the assassin, only to find out it's the actual name of the Wind mage.
And that leads to Zero slapping herself in annoyance, not knowing what's true or not.
"But from the tone of your story, I think that's just people having the same name." Saito doesn't seem to be very concerned. "No offense, but 'Charlotte' doesn't sound very unique to me."
"Darling, that woman wore our friend's face and had the same name. Isn't that creepy?"
"*Head scratching* Eh… if you put it like that…"
"So your familiar is only 'sealed' away?" Louise questions. "So what you saw was false?"
"No. It's more likely that the methods to kill a human can't be applied to them, though they can still be slowed down if they're careless."
"How 'slow' are we talking here, Pinkie?"
"Enough, I would say." Zero has no definite answer for that, knowing what the individuals like her Familiar can do. She then turns to Louise and asks: "So what are you good at?"
"Well… explosions?" Louise replies with a very quiet tone…
"You saved Wales from that controlling spell, remember?" Thankfully Saito remembers. "Was it 'Dispel' or something?"
"A Cleansing spell." Zero nods, remembering the spell being written in the Prayer Book of Brimir. "Alright, I guess it's the start."
Louise's smile gets noticed by everyone.
"...What to use as practice?" Tabitha, after settling down her fear, questions.
"...Ink on paper, I suppose."
"...eh?" Louise's smile turns into a confused flat line.
"Just… sorry, I'm just trying to think the same way he does."
"...Good practice. Ink is similar to stain. 'Cleansing' fits the purpose."
"Old reliable Tabitha~" Kirche nudges on the girl, earning her a flat stare.
As the group chats to each other, Zero starts talking to herself in the mind: 'It's getting complicated… but at least I can use the time I'm stuck here to know what can happen in the future… right?'
The last three days practicing with my other self turned out to be very refreshing.
While looking through the Prayer Book, we found the Dispel spell, along with the proper incantation of a Teleportation spell. Along with Explosions on a larger scale that made my other self grunt a bit.
I never saw the Teleportation spell in my book before getting thrown here, but I guess it's because I already knew the spell so the book didn't show it. And 'Dispel'... Don't mind if I learn it with my other self.
Although, not sure if it's because I had Wisdom to watch over my power's instability back then, but it seems my other self's control over her spells is still lacking despite her being slightly older than me… is she older than me? Did the events in here take longer than mine? Or…
Now I can understand why Wisdom doesn't like the idea of traveling through time unless it's necessary.
At least the days are calm…
"THE RUNE IS GONE!?"
And that's the sign for chaos to unleash that every student in the area starts questioning Louise about the problem.
"Unheard of." During the mess, Tabitha comments on the matter, then she turns to Zero and asks. "Ever heard of it?"
"Eh… Never?" After some thoughts, Zero theorizes: "Maybe it's because Saito died that the contract stopped being in effect?"
"I guess it's the case… Hold on a moment." Guiche questions in surprise. "Shouldn't you know about that, considering your familiar was dead?"
"…I never finished the contract with him, so he never had a mark." Zero sighs, and that earns her looks of disbelief. "What?"
"Yet he still served you?"
"We both had our own problems, Kirche. Helping each other worked for us."
'What… what should I do…' Louise's inner voice accidentally reaches Zero's Telepathy power.
'Try talking with him about it?' Zero just replies casually, although that earns a visible shock from her other self, and her eyes clearly question how Zero did it. "I guess it's the Void thing. Anyway, that's my suggestion."
"But…"
"Believe me, you will regret it if you don't settle the problem with Saito."
"Uh… what did you two talk about?"
"Our current situation, Guiche."
"Sorry for the interruption." Everyone who hears the call turns to Agnes who's focusing on the two Louises. "Her Highness requested both of your presence, along with Saito, to report to the castle at once."
"...Talk with him while we're on the way to the castle. And be straight about it."
"Unnecessary intervention."
"That should be my line, dear sister. While your sentence on our brother does match your personality, what you're doing now is not. What is your plan?"
"...I suppose not."
"...So it was just a random thing… sister, need I remind you about…"
"Not necessary."
"Your blushing says otherwise. Because of this I will have to interfere."
"...This world only?"
"Of course. Unless our brother wants my further help in the future… Although, how are you…"
"Proud."
"Hm… I guess you two know each well enough. Don't play hard on me."
"Deadpan."
"Don't chop off my head."
"Can't, even when trying my best."