The day continued on as normal, for the most part. Louise and her familiar had to stay behind and clean up the classroom.
That brought up a request from Aselith.
"Tabitha, call for me if you require something. I will be observing those two for a short while."
Perhaps 'request' wasn't the right word, but Tabitha didn't fight it. Not like she could. Besides, she was too focused on why he started calling her by name instead of 'Summoner'. It was something to ponder.
That fight with Malicorne was a simple demonstration of Aselith's abilities. Or, at the very least, one he didn't mention. Tabitha didn't know he could heal himself like that. She assumed he would be able to simply withstand any attack, by the way he described himself.
Regardless, having him not be around her was relaxing in some ways and more nerve wracking in others. She could indeed call for him using their connection through his runes. Since attending her was one of the duties he agreed to, she had no reason to believe he wouldn't come.
But Tabitha didn't call for him. She continued on through her classes until it was time for lunch. Once more, she went to Alviss Hall, Kirche next to her from the start.
"Hey, Tabitha, aren't you going to call for your familiar?" Kirche asked—and not for the first time since he separated from them—once they were seated.
"Busy." She responded.
"He should take a break~. Everyone needs a break." She practically whined, but her intentions were clear to Tabitha.
Kirche wanted to spend time with Aselith.
She could get like that from time to time. Usually, it was whenever some boy did something a little impressive, provided they also gave Kirche plenty of attention. And then she might take whatever boy back to her room…
Tabitha really wished Kirche wouldn't do that. The only good thing was Aselith couldn't actually do that, provided he was honest about that.
"One meal cut for every time you said 'zero'!" A loud screech across the room drew their attention. Louise berated her familiar, leaving him to slump away.
"There she goes again, getting mad over something like that." Kirche sighed, then immediately perked up. "Oh, there he is!" She called out, pointing.
From the same direction, Aselith approached their seats, the servants staying clear of him.
"Come, sit with us, darling!" Kirche waved him over to the seat next to hers.
"Aren't these seats only for nobles?" He asked with a smile. Tabitha could see what he was doing, subtly casting his eyes about. The other students avoided his gaze.
"Oh, don't you worry about that~." She purred, tapping the chair.
Aselith took a seat, leaving Kirche in between him and Tabitha. She would still rather Aselith not be that close to her friend, but at least he's shown not to lash out without reason.
"Where did you run off to?" Kirche asked, head propped up on her folded hands. "Classes are much more enjoyable with you around~."
"I was observing Louise and Saito." He responded. A servant came close with a plate, clearly unsure what to do about the non-noble sitting at the table, but Aselith simply waved her off.
"Eh~? The Zero and her familiar? Whatever for?" Kirche whined.
"They're interesting." Aselith said.
"The familiar, maybe, but Louise? What's so good about her?" Kirche was laying it on a little thick.
"Her magic is strange. Unique. Similar to some who have neared divinity, yet remained mortal."
"Divinity? Like the spirits?" Kirche asked.
Before he could respond, Tabitha shook her head at him. "Perhaps I can explain it in depth to you later." He said instead of whatever he was going to.
"Oh~. I'd love nothing more~." Kirche batted her eyes at him, completely misunderstanding the situation.
While Tabitha did give Aselith some information, she didn't inform him of some of the most pressing topics, or ones that apparently were pressing. That being, how seriously the Church took heresy. Claiming a mage was divine was exactly that. Only Brimir could be considered as such.
Although, once they were alone, Tabitha would be interested in what he had to say.
Everyone's meals were set out. After the prayer, the students began to eat. Food was always something Tabitha looked forward to.
"Are you not hungry?" Kirche asked, holding some food on her fork. "If you ask nicely, perhaps I'll feed you a little."
Aselith just smiled. "Thank you, but I have something of a special diet."
"Boo~." Kirche pouted. Then, her grin grew. "Well then, since you aren't doing anything, why don't you feed me?"
Tabitha wanted to groan. Why did Kirche have to act this way?
"Very well." Aselith took the offered fork.
And why did Aselith play along? Was it because Tabitha stressed Kirche's importance to her? Was there something about Kirche that interested Aselith? He'd shown himself to be observant before. Maybe he realized Kirche was a triangle mage, like herself.
Was he going to do something to her? Was he lying when he talked about giving his word? He's already shown he's not afraid of mages, at least ones as strong as Malicorne. Did he think he could beat Tabitha if he wanted to? Could he beat Tabitha? From what she saw, her initial fears were justified.
Tabitha has had to fight, to kill, before. She's been put in danger. She knew how to handle herself. But Aselith? There wasn't a trace of fear in him. Even if her magic was strong enough, the confidence in him spoke of thousands of battles won. Experience alone made him more formidable, ignoring any potential gap in power.
"Mm~. Delicious!" Kirche gushed as she took a bite of the offered bit of food. As she held her cheek, Aselith leaned slightly forward in his seat and looked right at Tabitha, that near-continuous smile on his face.
"Ah…" Tabitha realized what was happening. He was just messing with her. Maybe she showed too much fear toward him. Not that it was unwarranted, but he was indeed a whimsical person like he claimed. She reined her worry in well enough that Kirche didn't notice it anymore, but Aselith still did.
The rest of the meal passed by peacefully. Kirche continued to flirt with Tabitha's familiar. Whether or not Aselith grew bored of it, Tabitha couldn't say. She just focused on her own food.
It wasn't until dessert was served that a commotion took place. A first-year girl ran past their table and out of the hall. Shortly after, a slap was heard. A glance told Tabitha that it was Montmorency who had slapped Guiche. It wasn't hard to figure out the reason.
She assumed that would be the end of it, turning her attention to the dessert placed before her. Then, there was a voice raised slightly above the conversations of the hall.
"Shut up, you over-pretentious bastard! Why don't you go suck on roses for the rest of your life?"
Tabitha looked over. Louise's familiar just mocked Guiche. Didn't he leave Alvis Dining Hall?
"Hm. Can someone be over-pretentious?" Aselith commented, ready to feed Kirche anew. Did he actually enjoy doing that?
To distract herself from that, and since her dessert—a slice of cheesecake—wasn't helping, Tabitha listened in to Guiche's conversation. He wanted to make an example out of Louise's familiar for being disrespectful.
"I'll be at Vestri Court." He told the familiar. "Come after you've finished playing at being a servant."
"Why not here?" The familiar asked, annoyed. "Didn't your friend get beat up by Aselith here?
Guiche just scoffed. "While Malicorne chose to fight here, I won't dirty the dining hall with your commoner blood."
With that, Guiche walked off, several of his friends right behind him. Tabitha wondered what sparked the confrontation in the first place. Did Louise's familiar get conceited because someone who looked similar to him defeated a noble?
Some of the other children took notice and followed after Guiche.
Louise approached her familiar and started berating him again, ordering him to apologize. The familiar refused. It seemed like there was going to be two fights today.
"Aw!" Kirche's pout caused Tabitha to turn around. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to continue my observations and see if I can draw any more conclusions." Aselith said.
Tabitha was curious. What was so special about that familiar, or Louise? It was true that her classmate had never properly cast a spell before yesterday, as far as Tabitha was aware. Was it really divine, like Aselith said? The only void spell was Summon Servant, but the other mages and familiars didn't interest Aselith; only Louise and her familiar did. It was a heretical notion, but if it was true…the most logical conclusion would be that Louise was a void mage, something that hadn't occurred since the time of Brimir.
"What do you already know?" Tabitha asked, picking up her plate and following after Aselith. Kirche, likewise, followed after them.
"The most obvious?" Aselith looked down at her, smiling. "The boy is an idiot."
Author's Notes:
If anyone's read them, some might notice I lifted a line straight from the light novels. I feel it properly exemplifies Saito's intelligence.