To find a thief, one must first do some investigation.

It was different, arriving at the Academy by air. The distance seemed so much shorter when soaring over the road compared traveling along it. The high walls of the Academy perimeter were much less imposing, and the star shaped design was much easier to appreciate. The view also made it easier to see the small crowd surrounding the ruined Void Tower, the only one of the five outer towers that did not have a connector to the main building.

"Please land there," Louise said to her escort.

"Of course, my dear Louise," Wardes replied.

The people on the ground noticed the shadow flying overhead and looked up in alarm. Upon seeing a member of the Griffon Knights, they initially relaxed, until they realized that seated in front of him was a small passenger with voluminous pink hair.

"Miss Valliere?!" Professor Colbert exclaimed as the griffon landed on the grass. "What are you doing here?"

"I am here to apprehend Fouquet," Louise replied simply.

"Apprehend…?" the professor echoed dumbly.

"Pardon me, Miss Valliere," another man said. By his uniform, Louise could recognize that he was one of the Royal Investigators. "We have not received word of this."

Louise pulled a letter out of her robe and handed it to Wardes. The Viscount took it, dismounted, and presented it to the Inquisitor. The royal insignia was clearly stamped on the letter's seal.

"Recent changes have been made," Wardes explained verbally to the people nearby as the investigator read the letter. "Louise de la Valliere will be spearheading the effort to capture Fouquet. The Princess requests that all available personnel, including the Royal Investigation Unit and members of the Academy, assist her in whatever way they can."

"So it is," the other man stated. He folded up the letter and handed it back to Wardes, who in turn returned it to Louise. "Very well, Miss Valliere. I am Captain Pierre Delmont, Chief of the Royal Investigations Unit. I can brief you on what our investigation has discovered thus far."

"I appreciate your assistance," Louise replied formally.

Maintaining her image as a dignified noble, she waited until Wardes offered a hand before attempting to dismount the griffon. It would be mortifying if she made a fool of herself trying to slide off the much larger animal, which clearly was only tolerating her presence because of the man at her side.

As Wardes helped Louise down, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "If you need me, I can stay here with you."

"Thank you, Wardes, but we both know that the Griffon Knights will be busy securing the area. You have your duty, and I have mine."

Wardes's expression turned sour, but just as quickly became a pleasant smile. The change happened so fast Louise almost questioned if she had imagined it.

"Very well," he said as he mounted his familiar. "Take care of yourself, my dear Louise."

"You as well, Viscount Wardes."

Louise let out a calming breath as her fiancé's griffon took to the skies. She couldn't deny that Wardes was very helpful. After Louise had made a request to Henrietta to officially give her responsibility to hunt down Fouquet, Wardes had volunteered to fly her to the academy. He had also given her maps of the area and the case files of Fouquet's prior heists. Louise was grateful, and yet, the gestures were soured when his expression and tone constantly betrayed his lack of faith in her abilities.

Captain Delmont led Louise to the scene of the crime, a giant hole smashed out of the side of the Void Tower. "Unlike Fouquet's previous heists, which were typically committed by use of Transmutation to take down fortifications, this time Fouquet used his signature golem to forcibly enter the tower walls."

"Are we certain Fouquet is the culprit?" Louise asked. "I've also heard that one of the faculty is missing, potentially kidnapped. It isn't like Fouquet to deviate from his usual plans."

The captain pointed at a pile of dirt sitting against the base of the tower. At first, Louise had assumed it to be debris from the forced entry, but now that she paid attention, she noticed that had an entirely different composition.

"The remains of Fouquet's clay golem were left here, and Fouquet left his signature inside the Vault," Delmont replied. "While it's still possible that it could be an impersonator, we have more evidence to suggest that Fouquet is the culprit than not."

Louise nodded her head.

"While we have no way of determining if the missing faculty member has any connection to Fouquet, we do have an explanation for why the method of the theft was different," the investigator continued. "The Academy Vault is reinforced with some of the best square class earth magic in the kingdom, second only to the strongholds of the royal family. Fouquet has been noted to be an exceptionally powerful triangle class mage, but not yet a square class. Likely, he has some lesser noble blood and has spurned his duties to turn to crime. His golem had to break through with brute force to compensate for his lack of natural talent."

"But breaking down the vault must have caused a lot of noise. Why did no one notice until morning?" Louise questioned.

"That, we do not know," Delmont replied. "According to the Headmaster, there was supposed to be a faculty member on guard of the Tower every night. However, since he lets them manage that duty amongst themselves, he doesn't know the rotation. None of the faculty have admitted to being on duty last night, nor have information regarding a regular schedule."

"They really were negligent," Louise grumbled under her breath. She shook her head. "What did Fouquet steal from the Vault?"

"We're not certain. The vault has no physical catalog of its contents, likely for security reasons. The place was in complete chaos, so we can assume that Fouquet made a mess of the theft to hide what was stolen."

Louise gave a disappointed hum. "Do we have any idea where Fouquet would go?" she asked.

"He would most likely be fleeing the country, but to where we can't be sure," was the reply. "Galia is a mess right now, a perfect place to lie low. And Germania would welcome trade even with criminals."

"Which doesn't narrow down the potential escapes routes very much," Louise noted. Germania covered the entire north of the continent, and Gallia had a wide border along the southwest. Which meant the only cardinal direction Fouquet was unlikely to head toward was east, which was elf territory.

"That concludes all the information we've gathered so far. We're currently investigating the walls to see if there's any trace of using Transmutation to enter or exit the Academy," said the captain. "I will inform you once we find a lead."

"Thank you, captain."

With a salute, the investigator returned to his duties. Louise bit the bottom of her lip. She had to find Fouquet by sundown, but there was nothing for her to go off on. She didn't know why Fouquet changed his patterns, what he stole, or where he was going. Nor had she managed to confirm whether or not the missing faculty had anything to do with Fouquet in the first place.

The pinkette's discouraging musings were cut off when two soft cushions impacted the back of her head and a pair of large, yet dainty hands covered her eyes. "Guess who~"

Louise could recognize that voice and envy-inducing sensation anywhere. "Unhand me this instant, Zerbst!"

"Mou… I thought you'd be happy to see me again," Kirche pouted as she unwrapped herself from Louise. "Didn't you miss me?"

"Why would I ever miss being around a barbarian cow like you?"

"Ooh, it looks like Little Louise got some of her fire back!" Kirche cheered. "After that golden noble flew away with you, we were all worried about you."

"As if anyone would be worried about what happens to Louise the Zero," Louise scoffed.

Kirche's teasing smile faltered before quickly righting itself. "Well, it's not every day that your classmate summons a foreign mage and gets whisked away in a fancy airship," she tittered. "The professors did say that you were fine and staying over at the castle, but rumors spread faster than truth, you know?"

"Hmph."

"Anyway… how about we all go for lunch? To celebrate your return!"

"I'm not here to stay," Louise quickly corrected Kirche. "My presence at the academy is due to the investigation and apprehension of Fouquet of the Crumbling Earth, nothing more."

The redhead jerked to a stop. "You're here for Fouquet?" she echoed. "Officially, you mean?"

"With letter from the Princess herself," Louise confirmed, not wanting to mention Gilgamesh's involvement in her little mission.

Kirche clapped her hands together. "Then we should definitely have lunch together," she said. "We've done some investigating ourselves, so we can definitely help each other out."

"I have no interest in having lunch—" A growl from Louise's stomach interrupted her protest.

Kirche raised an eyebrow, grinning all the while.

"—with you," Louise finished, flushing red in embarrassment. "And who's this 'we'?"

"Why, Tabitha, of course."

"Hello."

Louise jumped, only now noticing that the petite bluenette who was hovering behind Kirche. "When did you get here?" she asked, putting a hand over her heart.

"With Kirche."

"Tabitha is a master of stealth," Kirche boasted. "With her brains and my charm, we've managed to put together some information that might be very useful. So, how about it? Lunch?"

"…Fine," Louise conceded. As much as she didn't like Kirche, the redhead wasn't stupid, Tabitha even less so. And until the investigators turned up something new, she couldn't think of a better way to spend her time.

"So, what do you have?" Louise asked as the group sat down. They were seated in a corner in the back of the cafeteria. Several students had looked to approach them, but a quick glare from the pinkette was enough to discourage them from asking any questions.

"No need to rush into things," said Kirche lazily. "Eat, relax, take a moment to do anything more than glare at our poor unfortunate peers."

Louise responded by focusing her glare on Kirche, who grinned cheekily in response.

"Soundproof," Tabitha chanted, casting a bubble over their table that muffled sound. "We can speak now."

"You two, Tabitha?" Kirche pouted. Tabitha's silent response was a deadpan stare. "Fine… you go first."

The petite girl nodded. "Fouquet left the Academy from the Void Tower. Dropped into the trees. Went North."

"How did you find that out?" Louise questioned.

"Flew on Sylphid. No magic on the ground. Checked trees next. Broken branches made a path."

"Did you tell the investigators?"

Tabitha shook her head.

"We tried, but they said that they didn't want students interfering with their investigation," Kirche said. "The teachers also weren't very helpful. They didn't want to chase after Fouquet themselves, and they're barely putting any effort into helping the investigation."

"Tch. How disgraceful of them," Louise spat.

Then she noticed that her classmates were looking at her in surprise. "What?" she asked.

"I never thought Little Louise would insult her teachers," Kirche admitted. "You really grew some claws in the week you've been gone."

"The teachers have failed in their duty to secure the vault and have been negligent in their obligation to capture Fouquet and return the stolen artifacts," Louise stated. "Once I've captured Fouquet, I'll make sure to inform Princess Henrietta of everything that has happened and ensure that this won't happen again in the future."

The other two girls exchanged a look.

"You've changed," Tabitha noted.

"N-no, I haven't!" Louise protested.

"You've definitely had a growth spurt," Kirche said with a nod. "Inside you, at least. Maybe someday your body will catch up."

"Do you have anything helpful to add or are you only here to throw insults?"

"I did say we both had intel, didn't I?" The redhead leaned cover the table and whispered conspiratorially, "It appears that Fouquet had a co-conspirator."

"Who?"

"Miss Longueville, Old Osmond's secretary."

"Isn't she the one who went missing?" Louise asked skeptically.

"Yes, but hear this: Professor Colbert was one of the last people to see her, and he mentioned that he ran into her at the Void Tower, and they had been discussing the possible security flaws of the Vault. One of which included using brute force to break open the vault from the outside. Come morning, there's a giant hole in the Void Tower, and Miss Longueville is nowhere to be found."

"Fouquet has a partner in crime?" Louise asked. "That doesn't make sense, he's always worked solo."

"Or has he?" Kirche questioned. "Think about it, a woman gets hired at the start of the school year, and within two months runs away after Fouquet breaks in using knowledge only she and Colbert should know. It's clear that she's fallen smitten to the gentleman thief, and endangered herself to pull off the biggest heist in the century to prove her love to the criminal's jaded heart!"

"What?" Louise deadpanned.

"No longer does she have to stay in the background, praying that he returns safe when the morning dawns. No! Now she can be at his side, the gentle rose to his ensnaring thorns!"

"Seriously, Zerbst, that sounds like a tale out of a trashy romance novel."

"They plot their escape together and disappear into the moonlight! Fleeing to the beautiful country of Germania, where they will settle into a new life, being ordinary nobles by day, and a pair of daring thieves by night! Their passion will reach never-ending heights—ow! Tabitha… why?"

The ice mage pulled her staff away from Kirche's head. "Stick to facts, not fantasies," she said coldly.

"Exactly," Louise agreed. "I'm on a limited time here. I have to catch Fouquet by nightfall."

"He's waiting for night to move?" Tabitha questioned.

"Most likely," Louise replied, unwilling to share further. "The Griffon and Manticore Knights are out in full force patrolling the streets. But under the cover of night, he may be able to slip by."

"No one knows his face," Tabitha pointed out.

"That is a problem," Kirche mused. "He could go out in public once everything calms down and no one would know."

"He wouldn't be able to carry around a treasure from the Vault openly," Louise pointed out. "The Vault doesn't hold mundane items. If we know what he has, then he'll be unable to risk traveling incognito because we'll be able to identify him based on his stolen item."

"You're doing a good job with this detective work," said Kirche. "Next stop, the Vault!"

"The Vault?"

"Of course. The headmaster is there right now, trying to figure out what's missing."

"Then I'll be heading there straight away."

"We'll be heading there."

Louise narrowed her eyes. "This is my investigation. Not yours."

"Didn't we help?" Kirche asked.

"Yes, but—"

"And how do you expect to chase Fouquet?" Kirche kept up her momentum. "On foot? Tabitha's wind dragon—Sylphid, she's such a cutie—was going to give us a ride."

"Why would you need a ride?"

"Oh, because we were planning to chase Fouquet before you got here."

Louise froze. "What?" she asked, her voice disbelieving.

"Wellll… the teachers weren't going to do anything, the army is spread thin, and the investigators wouldn't pay us any mind, so we were going to catch Fouquet on our own," Kirche explained.

"Fouquet is a dangerous triangle class mage!"

"Tabitha and I are both pretty dangerous triangle class mages too," Kirche countered.

"Th-that's not the same!" Louise protested. "We're still in school for a reason. Even our teachers are scared of confronting Fouquet!"

"Well, we can't exactly stay here and cower whenever someone decides to invade our school now, can we?" Kirche snarked. "Besides, there's nothing more enjoyable than showing up people who look down on you. Am I right?"

The way Kirche's warm brown eyes glittered made Louise wary, but she found herself slowly nodding along. "I suppose I could use the help…" she said slowly. "But just to be clear. This is my mission, you're only my assistants, subordinates. Got that?"

"Aww… aren't we peers?"

"I'm in charge," Louise stressed.

"But Tabitha and I are reputed mages."

"And I have got a letter signed by the princess that puts me in charge of everything regarding Fouquet's investigation and capture."

"Well, I can't beat that," Kirche conceded. "I guess we can't use the name 'Kirche and her band of tiny adorable cuties', can we?"

"Zerbst, for the love of the Founder, no."

"Headmaster Osmond?" Louise called out.

The old man jumped, banging his head against an overhanging display stand. Clutching head with a cry of pain, he stepped back, his heel landing atop a fallen amulet. He slipped on the golden ornament and tumbled head over heels. His body did a full rotation in the air before the headmaster came to a stop on his back, hovering roughly two feet of the ground.

Tabitha gently tipped her staff as she slowly relaxed her Levitation spell, allowing the headmaster to right himself onto his feet as he touched the ground.

"Much appreciated, Miss Orleans," said Old Osmond as he dusted off his robes. "Though I must ask, why are you here? This area was supposed to be sectioned off—and Miss Valliere? When did you get here?"

"I arrived at the academy less than an hour ago. The Princess has given me authorization over the investigation and capture of Fouquet of the Crumbling Earth," Louise responded primly.

The headmaster blinked owlishly. "Truly?"

"I have the document right here—" Louise pulled the envelope out of her pocket and moved to hand it to him, but the headmaster waved her off.

"No doubt the investigators already checked your credentials if they let you in here," he said. "And beyond that, you're an honest person, Miss Valliere. You wouldn't lie to my face, especially on a matter on this serious."

"You are correct," Louise replied. On one hand, she appreciated that he believed her so easily, on the other… "However, you are also a very trusting person. Trusting others to be diligent and honest has led to the Vault being unguarded for who knows how long. We also have evidence that suggests Miss Longueville—who has no traceable record outside of the academy—was an accomplice of Fouquet."

'Evidence' was a rather strong word, but the point was delivered. The headmaster's shoulders slumped as he let out a deep sigh.

"The teachers at this school are people I've known for years, some of them decades," Osmond said. "I let my emotions get the best of me. For Miss Longueville especially. I knew that she wasn't all she seemed, but when I saw her, I couldn't help but be drawn by her…" He abruptly coughed.

"Womanly charm?" Kirche guessed.

"Ahem. Well, I suppose it doesn't matter at this point," Osmond none-to-subtly deflected. "You are correct, Miss Valliere. I have failed this school, and I have failed this country. If I was but twenty, no, ten years younger, I would have gone after Fouquet myself. Alas, my age has gotten the best of me, and my duties as Headmaster are never ending. But if there's any way I can help, please, tell me."

The headmaster was old, anyone could tell by taking a single glance at him. He wasn't called Old Osmond for nothing. His long hair and beard were nearly white. He had more wrinkles on his face than he had fingers and toes. Yet, he seemed to age another decade over the course of their conversation. His voice trembled with a melancholic chord of regret.

Louise was still incensed by Osmond's negligence, but her fury was tempered by the headmaster acknowledging his faults. Which was better than what the entirety of his staff was doing…

"There's only one thing we need from you," Louise said. "Information. What did Fouquet steal from the Vault?"

Osmond's eyes brightened and then fell just as quickly. "Excellent timing, I figured it out moments before you, ahem, found me."

"I'm assuming it's bad news?" Louise asked.

Shadows stretched long over Osmond's face. "Fouquet has the Staff of Destruction," he said gravely.

Three pairs of eyes stared blankly at him.

"Never heard of it," said Kirche. "Tabitha?"

The petite girl shook her head.

"I don't recall anything by that name either," said Louise.

The headmaster blinked. He stroked his beard and muttered, "Of course, it's been a long time. The staff is far older than any of you."

He explained wistfully, "I met the owner of the staff when I was but a youth fresh out of the academy. There were actually two staffs, originally. The one he used was buried with him, and the other was brought to the capital in an attempt to unravel its secrets. Unfortunately, no one was ever able to discover how it worked, so it has been left to collect dust in the Vault ever since."

"That… explained absolutely nothing about what it is," Louise stressed.

"Oh? I thought the name made it obvious," said Osmond. "I had the honor of naming it, so I decided to keep it simple."

"Staff of Destruction is a simple name," Kirche agreed. "But it's not the most descriptive."

"How does it work?" Tabitha asked.

"What does it do?" Louise pressed.

The headmaster shrugged. "Who knows? The man pointed the staff at a dragon, there was a loud sound, and then the dragon's head exploded like an overripe melon."

"…what?" Louise deadpanned.

"The Staff of Destruction is a staff that destroys whatever its pointed at," Osmond said simply. "No one in the kingdom could figure out how it works, and no one was willing risk their life conducting more… questionable experiments. But if that thief manages to sell the staff to people can discover its secrets…"

"Then we'll have national disaster on our hands," Louise said with a scowl. "Potentially international, if it ends up being used in another country and traced back to us. Headmaster Osmond, is there anything you can tell us about the staff to help us identify it?"

"Certainly. It's a bit shorter than the one in Miss Orleans's hand. Thick, black, oddly smooth for most of it but uneven in other places. Made of some unknown metal and, curiously enough, has no traceable magic on it."

"A staff with no magic?" Kirche questioned.

"As far as anyone could tell, it was odd staff of an unknown metal. No magic was detected from it, and yet it had destructive power surpassing a triangle class spell."

"It's possible that it functions with runes, or perhaps it requires a specific spell to activate," Louise mused. "Either way, Fouquet is unlikely to be able to use it against us."

"Could attempt anyway, if desperate," Tabitha pointed out.

"So we have to deal with a giant golem and get the staff away from him as quickly as possible. Easy," said Kirche confidently, crossing her arms under her bust.

"Don't underestimate Fouquet," Osmond warned. "While I've never fought him in person, there's a reason he hasn't been caught yet. Underestimating your opponent can spell your defeat."

Louise smirked. "That's exactly what I'm counting on."

"Little Lousie~"

"What, Zerbst?"

"Just curious if you had a plan to fight Fouquet."

Louise glared at the redhead, who smiled innocently in response.

"You waited until after we left the Academy, flying over a forest, on Fouquet's trail, to ask if I had a plan?" Louise asked incredulously. "What were you going to do if I wasn't here?"

"Throw spells at Fouquet, get him off the golem, and punch him into submission," Kirche replied easily.

"…" Louise was briefly stunned by the brutally honest admission. When she found her voice, all she could say was, "How barbaric."

"I think it's brilliant," Kirche boasted. "After all, most mages don't bother to keep in shape."

"Still risky," Tabitha pointed out from her position at the base of Sylphid's neck.

"I highly doubt that a thief wouldn't be physically fit, especially since he escaped the academy by jumping into trees," Louise said.

"I know," Kirche replied. "That's why I asked if you had a plan."

Louise gave the germanian girl a deadpan glare. "I, in fact, do have a better plan," she said. "We bait Fouquet into runic array I can set up, and use it to trap him until the guards arrive."

"Runic array?" Tabitha echoed.

"That's… a pretty strange plan," said Kirche. "Why not just use a spell? Oh wait…"

"Shut up, Zerbst," Louise snapped. "I know what I'm doing. The runes will work."

"But why aren't we beating him up?" Kirche asked.

"Because our goal is to capture him," Louise said as if it was obvious. "We don't need to fight Fouquet, just contain him."

"Trapping will be hard," Tabitha commented.

"Right, Fouquet has escaped every attempt to nab him. Why would he go to some obvious runes?"

"Well…" Louise stalled as she tried to come up with answer. "We could use Miss Longueville as bait."

"No confirmation that they are currently together," said Tabitha. "Evidence suggests collusion on sight of theft, but the trail only has signs of one person."

"Fine, we'll ambush him then," Louise decided. "Hit him before he can react, recover the staff, and trap him for the knights."

"Louise~"

"What, Zerbst?"

"I'm starting to think you also went in this without a plan."

Louise winced. "I know exactly what I'm doing," she declared.

Kirche shook her head. "You're as stubborn as ever, Louise. It's absolutely adorable."

"Zerbst…" Louise growled.

"Building up ahead," Tabitha declared, cutting off the two's argument.

"Where?" Louise asked, trying to peer around Kirche's body. "Move aside, Kirche!"

"And go where?" Kirche asked. "If you wanted a better view, you should have sat up front with Tabitha."

"And have your cow udders touching me? Absolutely not!"

Tabitha narrowed her eyes in a rare show of annoyance. She gently patted Sylphid's neck, sending a silent message to her familiar. The wind dragon suddenly dove into the trees. Kirche and Louise were unable to continue their argument as they struggled to hold their breath and lunches.

Sylphid touched down onto the forest floor with surprising grace and lowered her body to the ground. Tabitha levitated herself off, giving her dragon a rub on the neck for a job well done.

"That was a rush!" Kirche said excitedly. She slid off Sylphid's back with no assistance needed, but she looked unsteady on her feet.

"Tabitha… why…" Louise gasped from atop Sylphid's back. She was too nauseous to even move, so Tabitha took the liberty of levitating the other girl onto the ground. Louise's legs trembled, but she managed to keep herself upright.

"Stop wasting time arguing," Tabitha said sternly. "Fouquet is dangerous. Take this seriously."

Louise barely refrained from snapping at the smaller girl. Of course she was taking this seriously! This was her test to earn King Gilgamesh's approval.

Yet, the young Valliere had to admit, trading barbs with Kirche did not set a good example of professionalism. If anything, Tabitha was the one keeping the group focused on their objective.

Louise took a moment to quell her temper—and nausea—before responding, "You're right. We have enough problems already." She eyed her rival. "I think we can both agree to put our differences aside for now, right, Kirche?"

"Aww… you're so adorable when you're serious."

"Zerbst!"

"Kirche."

The redhead flinched at the matched glares of her two tiny companions. "Fine… I'll save the teasing for later," she acquiesced. Her expression grew serious. "Now, how are we going to catch that thief?"

"I think I have an idea," Louise said.

Kirche and Tabitha have been added to the party.

Louise is learning that one cannot do the impossible without assistance from others. While the help may not be from the... best of sources, 'tis better than nothing. Beggars can't be choosers, even if the beggar is a noble.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

At long last, I'm opening up another poll on my profile (as well as other sites I'm on: Ao3, Spacebattles, Ko-Fi)! This poll will be to determine what one-shot I'll be working on to be released this winter (I've already got a Grim familiar coming this fall). The poll will be running from today (August 5) to Labor Day (September 2). The candidates are:

Ship (Ben 10)
Po (Kung Fu Panda)
Dr. Doofenshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb)
Lelouch vi Britannia (Code Geass)
Genie (Aladdin)
Irisviel von Einzbern (Fate)
Louise de la Valliere (Familiar of Zero)

Have another suggestion? Let me know. I've got a list of Suggested Summons on Spacebattles that's just asking to get bigger. That's where I pulled most of these poll candidates from. Drop me a Ko-Fi if you're feeling in the Pay-To-Win mood.

And most importantly, may the odds be ever in your favor!