Next morning
"Wake up, mistress."
As usual, her familiar calls her up every day as basic routine. Louise slowly wakes up and sits on her bed, and turns to Wisdom and says: "Good morn… you look tired, Wisdom."
While normally she sees his eyes always half-opening only, this time there is a black line under them.
"Don't worry, my mistress. I just woke up earlier than normal, to make sure nothing bad happens." The familiar says so, but he seems to slightly move from left to right, indicating that he's not ready yet for the day.
"…Take a rest today. You have fought well yesterday." She assumes that the fight on the golem has drained most of his strength away. A fight with a thief is already hard enough, fighting on a moving platform is even worse.
"But…"
"No but. As my familiar, you need to recover enough strength before serving me. You serving me under this state would ruin my image." It's not exactly the problem, but if there's one thing she could be certain…
"…Very well, my mistress." Wisdom bows respectfully and heads to the blanket on the floor…
"Get on my bed."
"…That's impossible, my mistress."
"I allow it." She jumps out of her bed and takes the uniform Wisdom has prepared for her before waking her up. "Like I said, you need to recover, and sleeping on the floor won't work."
"…My gratefulness, my mistress."
…
A few hours later
After waking up, Wisdom immediately fixes up Louise's bed and gathers her dirty clothes and puts them into the basket. He then picks up Derflinger and heads towards Headmaster's office.
"Yo, good morning partner!" Derf greets him after he picks the sword up. "Ready to catch a thief?"
"Yes." That's his simple answer.
"…Partner… about, you know… When will you tell your master about it?"
"…Not going to be soon enough."
"…It's your choice." And with that, the sword turns silence. Wisdom pays him no more attentions as he focuses on walking up the stairs…
After knocking on the door, he decides to just open it up without any confirmations… and sees many professors already gathering here, with his mistress and her friends, Kirche and Tabitha, among the group. Louise asks him in worry: "Wisdom, have you rested enough?"
"Yes. I'm ready to serve again." He bows down to her, who nods back before the two return their attentions to the Headmaster.
"You are just in time, mister Wisdom." Old Osmond greets him, then gives him the portrait of the thief drawn by Longueville. Wisdom receives it and takes a quick glance, as the Headmaster continues: "My secretary has managed to sketch out the appearance of the thief. Maybe…"
"Meaningless." The familiar interrupts his words. "This picture serves nothing more than confusing even more about how the thief looks. Anyone with similar appearance can just wear a robe and she would look the same."
That makes the professors start exchanging words with each other, not wanting to admit that they also concluded the same as the Headmaster.
"Well… we only have that much info, I'm afraid." Old Osmond tries to regain some prides with their picture.
The familiar shakes his head and returns the picture back. "I don't blame you. However, I must commend your secretary for her skills in drawing. This is quite accurate for its own."
"Well thanks for the compliment." Longueville replies with a satisfied nod.
"Anyway…" Old Osmond then sums up the situation for the familiar. "Your master and her friends have volunteered themselves to go after the thief." He receives a deadpan glare. "I know what you are thinking, but the professors are currently getting their hands tied on… some problems."
Despite seeing through that, Wisdom decides not to say a word about it.
Seeing that the familiar doesn't react much to it, Old Osmond continues: "The last known location of the thief is four hours away on a carriage. If we start now, we can catch the thief before she could escape."
"…Only four of us?"
"Of course not. Miss Longueville will go with you all, since she's the one doing the investigating." Old Osmond replies.
"...We should go now." That's all the familiar can say for the current situation.
"Splendid! We will be looking forward to your hard work as well as your duties as nobles!"
Well, it's not exactly a carriage, but a cart is fine too.
An hour has passed after we left the Academy. Wisdom has been quiet all the times, as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes, ignoring Kirche who's trying to talk to him. Which, to me, was very satisfied to watch the Zerbst desperately trying to get someone's attentions.
She then asked about why Old Osmond's secretary would bother herself to do this. Miss Longueville replied that she's no longer a Noble, and that the Headmaster doesn't care about a person's status when looking for help.
…Now, thinking back, both Tabitha and Wisdom said next to no words during the whole trip. The former kept reading her book like usual, but the latter… I know that he's not sleeping, because occasionally he would shift his body in a way that no sleeping-while-sitting person could do. But, I noticed his head slightly turned to Longueville once a while. I have wondered what he was thinking…
After another three hours, everyone has reached the abandoned shelter after exiting the forest. The cart has been placed a little further in the forest so if there's any fights, the group would still have a way to return.
Wisdom has volunteered to head to the house first and looks around the area while the others hide behind a bush not far away. Once the familiar has confirmed that there are no traps around, he gestures for the mages to come close. Then, he heads to the main door and gives it a hard kick, causing it to flung open harshly. Drawing Derf, he keeps the sword ready for any suspicious actions while waking inside.
"Where did my wand disappear to?" Longueville mumbles to herself, loud enough for everyone to hear her. During the way, somehow the secretary dropped her wand. They tried to backtrack to find it, but ended up with nothing. Since it's too late, they proceeded to go with the wand lost.
"Don't worry, we can cover you." Kirche says with confidence. Tabitha also waves her staff to further prove it.
"Let's follow Wisdom. We need to stick with each other." Louise urges the others, and they quickly follow the pink-haired mage.
Once they're inside, they see Wisdom starting to look over every object in the room, but purposely leaving an obvious case with the Academy's seal in the middle of the room. Louise plans to ask if he's blind, which is a little rude but true, but then she sees him walking quickly to the case and looks over the case, finding if there's any traps. When he confirms that there's nothing around, he picks up the case…
"Strange." The secretary speaks up. "Why is there no traps around here?"
"Maybe because she left in a hurry…"
"She has a whole night to prepare." Wisdom denies Kirche's theory. "…Whatever the case, if we leave now, we don't need to deal with any unexpected events."
Everyone nods and starts going out, with all the students doing that first. They think that the secretary would follow them quickly, and the familiar going last to make sure nothing could catch them off guard…
Then, they hear something falling to the ground, and they turn back to see Longueville lying unconscious on the ground, and Wisdom who's having the sword raising up high.
Louise is the one most surprised as she shouts up: "Familiar! What are you doing?"
"Knocking her out." He explains as he sheathes Derf into the scabbard and wraps his right arm around Longueville's torso and lifts her up. "My mistress, there's a rope in the house. Can you take it and help me tying her hands please?"
"What are you thinking you're doing?" Louise couldn't believe it. Why would her familiar attack someone on their side?
"I have my reasons. I will explain soon." Wisdom pays no mind to Louise's tone, only the meaning of the question.
Louise wants to tell more, but seeing her familiar's eyes of determination causes her resolve to slightly crumble. She reluctantly follows her familiar's words, not knowing what he's thinking.
…
Longueville wakes up in a daze. "Wh…what happened?" She opens her eyes to see the students sitting on the ground in front of her, and she seems to be in a similar state. She asks again: "Everyone, what hap…"
"I knocked you out." She hears a cold voice replying from behind her, and now she feels something like a cold steel touching her neck. Slowly looking down, she sees a sword at her throat, ready to end her life. "I suggest you behave and answer our questions."
Now the secretary notices how the girls are looking at her, their eyes filled with disbelief. Then, she knows. "You knew that I'm Fouquet, didn't you?" Chuckling to herself, she asks her captor who she is sure to be the familiar.
"Correct. Your own picture has compromised you. Also, you are a Triangle Earth mage, which made you the number one suspect. And, to break into one of the most protected Academies, you have to learn about it in a long time. Your position as the Headmaster's secretary has given you the advantage." Wisdom slowly explains his suspicion on the woman, as the students' heads hang down more in guilt and shame that they didn't think of it soon.
After that, Fouquet laughs, though she makes sure that she wouldn't do anything rash that would cause the over-paranoid familiar to slit her throat. "So you have thrown away my wand while I wasn't looking. Clever."
"No. I still had yours with me. Depending on your next answers, your fate will be decided."
"…And those are?" She's currently at his mercy, so she needs to do as he says or else.
"First. What's your real… no. I shouldn't asked that." She raises her eyebrows in curiosity. That should be the right question to ask first. "Let me change the question. Aside from the Nobles, have you robbed from the poor?"
"…You forgot, didn't you? I have a deep hatred against Nobles."
"Doesn't mean you won't feast on them."
"Hm… you are sharp. Your master has picked a good name for you. But, for your question, no."
"…Why did you keep stealing?"
"Why? Simple, it's to feed myself…"
"No, it's not that simple. If that's really the case, serving someone who doesn't care about nobility would be enough for a living."
That makes Longueville, or Fouquet, bite her lower lip. She knew that the familiar is a troublesome familiar, and she has tried to kill him back when she has taken the Staff of Destruction and run out of the vault. She forgot that this familiar is just a commoner, which means that he won't get any arrogances of a Noble to blind his vision. If he finds that out…
"Hm… Right spot, isn't it?" She flinches. "Don't worry. I won't ask further in that matter. Now… What do you want to do with the weapon you stole?"
"The Staff of Destruction, Wisdom. The name itself has already spelt its usefulness." Kirche adds herself into the conversation.
"You should have connected it, mister Familiar. With the weapon, I could annihilate any Nobles I want." Fouquet chuckles at the person's cluelessness.
"…My apology to you all, but you are all idiots."
"Hey, Familiar!" Louise's cheeks turn red hearing that. "Don't include me with them!"
"My apology, but I have to add you in. You all have no ideas how both useful and useless the weapon is." The blade on her neck retracts, as Fouquet looks back to see Wisdom sheathing the sword. He then stands up and puts the Staff of Destruction on his right shoulder, and aims one of its ends to the house Fouquet has planned to bait the students if the familiar hasn't snatched her wand. A few seconds later, something emits from the staff and flies towards the house, going through the main door to enter the house… and the structure explodes, engulfed in smoke and flame.
While she doesn't change her expression much, Tabitha is as surprised as the others when they see the power of the Staff of Destruction. She then hears Wisdom continue: "This, is the strength of the Staff of Destruction. Capable of blasting anything equal or smaller than your Golem, Fouquet. Emitting heat that burns anything within a close range."
After watching the event, the thief laughs as she says: "Now you see it, everyone would like to have it in their possession…"
"The huge downside, is that you can use it only once." Wisdom drops the truth bomb.
"…Once?" The thief's excitement turns sour. "…So even if I manage to get it, I can only use it once? So much for something called Staff of Destruction."
"Truth hurts." Hanging the weapon on his left shoulder, the familiar slightly kneels down and wraps his left arm around Fouquet's right one. "Time to send you to prison."
…
Time skip
"Only three of us will receive the reward?" Louise asks in surprise after Old Osmond told the trio about the price of capturing the thief. "Wisdom was the one doing everything."
"I know, miss Valliere." The Headmaster nods. "However… mister Wisdom has caused a stir before. It would be better if he didn't receive one. Though, it's more likely because he's a commoner."
"I do not ask for a reward. I do what I believe is right." The familiar replies. "But, I do want to ask you a request."
"Is it about the Staff of Destruction?" Colbert asks curiously.
"No. It's about finding Fouquet's true identity." Wisdom shakes his head. "She didn't just do this for herself. There must be some other motivations for her to commit the sins. How did she lose her Noble status? Why did she seek for specific items instead of just robbing everything? She's no common thief, so applying the normal concepts on her will make our looks on her be incorrect."
"Hm…I will see what I can do. But why do you want to know about it?"
"…Find a reason to sympathize with someone who wanted to take revenge on people who ruined their lives." That's Wisdom's reason. "Unlike Mott, Fouquet still has a heart. It would be unwise to treat her on the same level as the corrupted Noble."
Taking a small moment to think, the Headmaster then nods. "I understand your reasons. However, that would be our side objective. Her fate will be decided by the Palace."
"I know." Wisdom closes his eyes as he answers.
"Nevertheless, congratulations on catching the thief everyone. Enjoy the tonight's banquet."
Everyone nods and exits the office. Kirche starts talking about how she should dress, as she follows the-same-as-ever Tabitha…
"Wisdom…" Before the familiar reaches the first step of the stair, he hears his mistress calling him back. "How did you steal Fouquet's wand? I have never seen you being near her."
"She did actually drop it, but when we're still in the Academy." Wisdom replies. "Of course, my suspicion was already in my head when I fought her on the Golem. The picture was the final nail." He then suggests: "You should return and get yourself dressed up, my mistress. Tonight's banquet would be a good page for your life." With that, he reaches the first step…
"…You can use magic, can't you?" Again, he's stopped by the same person. "…You said to me that you're not a Noble. However, with Fouquet's case, she has been stripped out of her title, so she's no longer one…"
"I didn't lie, my mistress. I was never a Noble from the start."
"But, that doesn't mean you can't use magic. What you told Count Mott might be a lie because you didn't trust him… please, I want to hear the truth. You can use magic, do you?"
I did not shout. Not at all. There's no point doing so at that moment.
My familiar has worn the same face every time he is with me. He always acts with precise decisions, no unnecessary activities. He never lets out anything that would cause confusions or humiliate a specific person. He would encourage me anytime he can, teach me about how real life works, how different in life between the commoners and we prideful Nobles is. From time to time, I have witnessed the dark sides of the Nobles, how we could become if we were too arrogant to what happened around us. Count Mott and Fouquet are both perfect examples.
And he never lies to me.
However… he doesn't say the whole truth either. Many times he doesn't directly answer my questions, only replying with a close answer, but not satisfied enough to sate my real curiosity. He always keeps a small distance between me and him when he can, sometimes doesn't follow a few of my orders. Pride is not the reason here.
There could only one possibility for those things: He's not just a commoner. He could be a Noble in disguise.
I have to find out.
"…" This time, Wisdom shakes his head and continues walking down.
"Wisdom…" Louise calls out for him once more, though the footsteps don't stop this time. She quickly follows him, and once she's next to him, she asks again: "Please, I want…"
Suddenly her mouth's covered by her familiar's left hand. "…Let us return to your room first."
She nods. Finally, she manages to get somewhere.
After a few more walking, the two reach Louise's room. The mistress closes the door, then sees her familiar placing his left hand on it. And, she has witnessed it: Under her familiar's palm, a magical circle appears, and it enlarges to the points it's larger than the door itself. Then, it disappears, and Wisdom retracts his hand then walks to the blanket on the floor, putting Derf out of his back. He crosses his legs and sits still, waiting for his mistress to ask him any questions.
Not going to delay any longer, Louise sits on her bed and immediately asks: "That's magic, isn't it?"
"…You have seen it for yourself, my mistress."
"But, why didn't you just use it from the beginning?"
"Magic is not something you can just freely use. You can't be too dependent on something that breaks the nature." Wisdom replies with his monotone. "It's just a tool to make your life a bit easier, but it could also give you the overconfidence that you're either not aware of, or you are but you choose to ignore it."
"…It's true." Louise can see that. "For a talentless mage like me…"
"You, talentless? Girl, better look again." Derflinger decides to speak up. "Nobody could just make everything explode! And yet you did so with ease every day!"
"That's an insult to my mistress, Derflinger. But, my mistress, he has a point. The power within you is immense. However, because of it, no normal mage's spells could survive it, thus creating explosion all the times. The mages couldn't see the result, so they concluded that your spells failed times to times."
"And I'm so thankful that you saw through that." Louise gives him a small smile. "Thanks to that day, when you pointed out the result, everyone has treated me better than before."
"It's my duty to protect you, both physically and mentally."
"Yes… about the magic you just used. I never saw someone casting spells without saying a word."
"Because I didn't use my magic following any rules that mages, sorcerers or wizards have made."
"Sorcerers, wizards?"
"If I have to guess, they are different brands of mages, right partner?"
"Correct. Wizards usually cast spells with shorter incarnations, and they can use other mediums like spheres or amulets, though their spells are weaker than mages and usually take some times to perfect one. Sorcerers mostly control the environment with their willpower supplying the spell, and the spells are usually based on the user's imagination."
"…About the spell you just used on the door…"
"Not just the door. I have encased your room in a separate dimension, stopping time from moving. Every information exchanged between us can never be leaked out."
"…" Now that makes her feel a little down, as she moves her knees up and places her face into it, hiding her face away.
"…Did I say something that offends you?" He clearly knows why, but to be polite, he asks.
"…I didn't deserve to be served by you. Not just me, every Noble in Halkeginia. No one has ever done any spells that do not relate to the four basic elements…"
"That's not…"
"And I could tell that this is just a corner of your power… *Sigh* You have said that you didn't even bother answering my summoning spell until you heard my plead."
"…"
Suddenly Louise slaps her own cheeks with both her hands, making Wisdom raise his right eyebrow in confusion. She then drops the sad face and smiles up. "At least I know that I have the best familiar ever! Wisdom, can you also teach me how to use magic as well?"
"…I …that is not possible at the moment, my mistress." The familiar sees that his mistress' mood has turned better, but he bows down apologetically when he hears the question. "I have tried to find out how your power works in your magic system, but so far, I found no spells that are comparable with your current affinity."
"Heh?" That makes the mage a little surprise. Why can't he do so? She thinks that a person with such talents like Wisdom could teach her a thing or two. Even if it's about affinity…
"…Unless you want to abandon the way of using the spells like the rest of your friends." The familiar offers. "However… I'm not sure if you want to do so. I heard that not following Brimir's teaching would be… branched heretic…"
"As long as nobody finds out, right?" Louise replies with a smile. "When you could do this, no one will find out what we're doing here, right?"
"…Technically, yes."
"Then there's nothing to be worry about. Also, only Romalia's church would be gone mad about it… And some of my friends too… But, that's why you are here to protect me, right?"
"…I understand." Wisdom then stands up and flicks his fingers once, deactivating the spell. "I believe I should leave you for a moment so you can find a dress without disturbances. I will ask the staff if I could borrow a suit for the banquet."
"…You could just…"
"I need an excuse, my mistress. It would be suspicious if I suddenly pulled out a… strange outfit out of nowhere, correct?"
"Ha! Now that's a good way to cover up, partner!"
…
Time skip. The banquet
"Hey, partner. If you are, well you, then that outfit must be…"
"I do have some friends from higher-ups. Also, there are some codes about wearing when going out with a girl."
"Oh-hoho…"
"In general, Derflinger. I do not see her that way."
"Spoilsport."
The familiar and the sword are standing outside on the balcony, as the ball inside is going on. Wisdom decides to stay out of her to avoid as many glares as possible before her mistress arrives.
"…There is something I still don't understand. Despite your overall knowledge, you seem to be unaware of the current situation in Halkeginia."
"One doesn't need to show everyone everything."
"…I see." The sword immediately understands and drops the topic. "…Well, you don't plan to get a girl for yourself? Those Nobles…"
"Not for a person like me. I… don't have such luxury to find one."
"Hey, partner. Fire mage, Wind mage, that maid you rescued, your master. If everything is…"
"The daughter of Duke Valliere, Miss Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere, has arrived!" Thankfully Wisdom is able to avoid answering it, as he turns his face back to the ballroom to see his mistress walking in, her changes of hairstyle and dress emit an elegant aura wrapping around her beautiful appearance. As soon as she appears, many mages have asked her to have a dance with them. However, she completely ignores them, as she heads to one person…
She then smiles when she reaches the person who just walks in from the balcony. True to his words, he has 'borrowed' a set of clothes for the event. In place of the butler outfit, he now wears a white suit and jeans that fit perfectly to his body frame. A small bow is tied around his collar, and he's also wearing white gloves. Derflinger has been set leaning on a wall in the ballroom so he could watch the event. If anyone else looks at him, they could mistake him as a Noble. "You look very good, Wisdom."
"My gratefulness for your compliment." He slightly bows to her mistress and replies. When he looks up, he then notices the song on the background starting to change. Making the first move, he slightly kneels down and offers his right palm to Louise. "May I have the first dance with you, Young Lady Valliere?"
Every other mage in the room gasps in surprise at how skillfully the familiar does the move, and how he easily gets her attention. Except Tabitha who's focusing on eating, and Kirche who already saw that coming given that Louise heads straight at him.
"With great pleasure, Wisdom." Louise slowly takes his hand, and the familiar gently pulls the girl towards the middle of the ballroom, just in time for the next song to come up. The ones asking the girl before, seeing their opportunity is lost, decide to give up and find the others for a dance.
The couple has started dancing following the music on the background, and Louise can clearly see that Wisdom is way too good at this. "And you said you are bad. Jeez, that is really a lie to me."
"I'm just following the others, my mistress." The familiar whispers back, his voice this time having a cooling tone instead of his usual voice. "Though, it seems that it's enough to satisfy you."
"It is." Louise giggles quietly. She then asks: "Your voice sounds smoother now. Why don't you speak like this normally?"
For a rare moment, she sees a small smile on Wisdom's face, and she blushes up thinking that it looks great on him. "My mistress, it would be a waste for something unique of a person to be shown daily, wouldn't it? And, would you like it to be something only you know, or you want everyone to know it?" Her blush deepens, as she is now seeing a completely different side of her 'unchanged, emotionless' familiar. She almost loses her balance if Wisdom hasn't seen it and quickly pulled her a little closer to him. "Be careful, my mistress."
"T…Thank you…" She starts stammering in nervousness. "W…Wisdom… is that really… you?"
"Mind you, my mistress. This is to make you feel happy for a short moment. I will be your usual, quiet familiar once this is over." The mood slightly turns down for the young girl as Wisdom clarifies.
"…Don't tell me this is one-time thing?" Her smile drops, her eyes turn sad after hearing it.
"Don't worry, my mistress. If I see an event fit, I will smile for you, okay?" With that promise, Louise's mood turns bright. "Now, let us dance till the end of the day."