III.
Louise started the following morning with a lengthy shower, hoping the solitary time would help her put her tumultuous thoughts in order. Rider's words from the night before still rang in her head. No matter how much it angered her she couldn't stop going over his questioning her motivation for entering the grail war. More infuriating still was the fact that she had yet to find an answer for him. As she stepped out of the washroom, absentmindedly drying her hair, she was startled to hear the voice of the still invisible Rider.
"Madame, though I am hardly one to complain about this particular habit of yours, perhaps it would be more fitting of you as a lady of such high standing, to consider that for the indefinite future I shall be sharing your company and your abode."
Louise immediately turned around, slammed the bathroom door shut, and then swiftly reappeared wearing the white robe provided by the hotel.
"A shame." Rider's tone implied he was tremendously enjoying Louise's embarrassment. "A shame. But understandable."
"Perhaps make yourself visible so that I may be more aware of you in the future? It's rather inconvenient having to guess at where you are when I want to have a conversation." Louise attempted to sway control of the exchange in her favor, hoping to move away from the subject of her embarrassment.
"This form is much less draining on your mana reserves. Wouldn't you prefer to eliminate that extra strain?"
"Paltry strain that it is, I hardly notice it." Louise was not going to be bested so easily.
"Do you desire that I accompany you openly from now on? You are not concerned about an enemy seeing me and recognizing me for what I am?" Rider was just toying with Louise now. Poking and prodding, trying to find his master's limits.
"I will simply introduce you to anyone we encounter as a business associate. I've already used acting as a representative of the family for business purposes as an explanation multiple times. It would be consistent. Also perhaps our enemies would be less likely to recognize you for what you are if you were to dress a little less... outlandishly." Louise emphasized this minor jab with a wave of her hand as she sat down to the newspaper and breakfast the hotel had left outside her door that morning. " Besides, servants are not supposed to fight during the day anyway."
"Would something like this be more appropriate for accompanying you during the day-to-day activities?" Rider materialized across the room wearing a new outfit that was much more in line with modern sensibilities. The white shirt with its puffy sleeves had been replaced by a more fitted button down, the color resembling a dark, aged tannat red wine. The tabard and cloak were gone, and in their place Rider layered his attire with a gray vest that looked well suited to the outfit before one noticed it was the type meant to worn under a suit jacket. Tight slacks that matched the vest and a pair of black dress shoes were a fitting replacement for his breeches and high boots. Louise was almost sad to see the wide-brimmed headpiece go, but the black homburg hat, a small sparrow's feather accenting its purple band, was likely to be less distracting.
"I dare say you look like a responsible member of society now. Very good. Were I not afraid of inflating what seems to be an already overgrown ego I would compliment your ability to so quickly pick up on modern sensibilities."
Rider chuckled a bit at Louise's backhanded endorsement. "Unfortunately it would not be my honor to claim. A servant is summoned with all the knowledge they will need to operate in the era they are called. As such I am familiar enough with things like computers, airplanes, and the contemporary fashions of the region."
Louise was unsure how much mockery was in Rider's tone during his explanation but chose to ignore it for the time being. She was still a little too tired for another argument. "The reasoning aside you will make a fine business associate now."
"You say you have had to use business as an explanation several times. May I ask how many people you have interacted with since arriving in Paris? It could be dangerous to make acquaintances of too many individuals during the war." Rider was worried that Louise had been careless about introductions considering the need for a lower profile.
"No need for so much concern. I've not talked with anyone who I suspect of being particularly dangerous. The owner of the bistro we shall dine at today, a young man whom I shared a meal with, Grimaud who you will meet shortly, and the Juge d'Instructi-" Louise trailed off, suddenly remembering it had been several days and she had not called the Juge as instructed.
"A problem, my Master?" Rider raised an eyebrow and Louise's strange silence, worried she had remembered a dangerous detail.
"Nothing of note. Worry not Rider, I simply need to make a phone call before we set out today."
"Have you though more on your actual strategy at all Master? I cannot help that my concerns are still quite abundant." Rider's tone had dropped once more, the subject of Louise's dedication to the contest always serving to darken his brow.
"I have." Louise paused a moment before continuing. "And though I do not yet have an answer for your most pressing question, I can at least offer my thoughts on what our immediate actions should be."
"Can you now? By all means indulge me." Rider couldn't help the tone of interest that had crept into his voice. Perhaps his master could prove capable yet.
"I know for sure that both the berserker servant and the archer servant- or I suppose servants would be more appropriate in this case, are active in our immediate area. This makes them our most pressing threat."
"What about your sister? Would she not be operating in this vicinity as well?" Rider was concerned about how Louise would handle the matter of Camille. Siblings being forced to fight was never a simple matter.
"Though I have no real proof of it, I believe Camille would likely have moved somewhere further from where her and I started. Like myself she would operate with caution in regard to the opponent who knows her best. She will likely distance herself from me and focus on taking out the other masters first." Louise knew her sister's haughty bravado was mostly a front she used to conceal when she felt insecure. However she knew there was also an extremely capable mage worthy of all that clout.
"Then why did you not distance yourself more from where the two of you started? If you think so much alike?"
"Simple. She made the declaration to part ways. It was her way of saying to me that she would be relocating. If we both attempted to move further out, we run the risk of moving to the same area."
"Siblings are remarkable." Rider was genuinely impressed by Louise's reasoning. She kept leading him back and forth in regards to her capability. He was having a hard time determining how adept his master really was, and was not sure how comfortable he was with that."You are remarkable indeed. With Archer you were able to predict his predilection for surprise attacks, and with your sister you were able to infer from only a few shared words the strategy she had settled on. Yet you are incapable of deciding your own desire for the grail."
"Meditating on the idiosyncrasies of combat, strategy, and psychology are quite different from wasting time ruminating on..." Louise let the words trail off, not wanting to finish the sentence and admit her inability to consider her own interests more often.
"On?" Rider bit at his mustache, his curiosity about what lay at the end of Louise's sentence irritating him slightly.
"On nothing. Now look at the time. I need to finish getting ready and make that call before we have to meet with Grimaud." Louise shoved the conversation away as she discarded her newspaper on top of her half eaten breakfast.