Tired from the long day, the group had decided to rest at the fanciest hotel in La Rochelle, the Goddess' Temple. It was fancy even for a noble. The tables and floor were made from marble so clean, one could see their own face.
Wardes had just come back from the pier. "The ship for Albion leaves the day after tomorrow."
With a worried expression, Louise looked down. "The mission is urgent..."
Kai and the rest let out a sigh of relief. They could relax tomorrow.
Wardes put some keys on the table. "Let's rest for now. Tabitha and Kirche take one room, and Guiche, Saito, and Kai take another."
The three boys stared at each other.
Wardes continued, "Louise and I will share a room."
Hearing that, a tight sensation built up inside Kai's chest.
"It's the obvious arrangement as Louise and I are engaged."
Louise looked at Wardes with shock. "But we can't! We're not even married yet!"
Wardes shook his head. "There is something important that I have to tell you."
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Wardes and Louise stayed in the best room in the entire hotel. Wardes sat down at the table, opened a bottle of wine, and poured himself a cup. He gulped it all down at once and said, "Why don't you sit down and have a glass as well, Louise?"
Louise sat down as well. Wardes quickly poured one for her and refilled his own. He raised his cup and yelled, "Cheers!" Louise just held her cup in her hands and bowed her head.
"Did you keep the princess' letter safe?"
Louise patted her pocket, and sure enough, it was still there. I wonder why it's so important. What's in this letter? I think I know a little, but I'm not sure.
Louise nodded. "The letter is still safe. Are you worried that we might not be able to get the letter from the prince?"
"Yes, I am." Wardes sounded distant.
To change the topic, Louise asked, "Do you still remember the promise back then when we were at the lake?"
He nodded. "In the little boat? You would always go there after being scolded by your parents. You were like an abandoned kitten."
"Really? You remember the weirdest things."
Wardes replied happily, "Of course I do. You were always compared to your sisters."
Louise lowered her head in embarrassment.
"But I think that was wrong to do. You are worthless and a failure, but-"
"That's so mean!" Louise's anger started showing itself.
"You have an incredible power that nobody else has."
"You're lying..."
"I wouldn't. For example whenever you use your magic..."
With a red face, Louise continued for him, "I always mess up like when I summoned Kai and Saito..."
"Yes, when Kai picked up that sword the runes on his left hand began to glow. Those runes are legendary."
"Legendary?"
"Yes, those runes belong to the legendary familiar Gandalfr. The familiar that once belonged to Founder Brimir." Wardes' eyes were shining with admiration.
"Gandalfr?"
"But not just anyone can control Gandalfr. You have the magic to control him."
Thinking back on everything that had happened, not just with Kai, but Saito as well, Louise let out a dry laugh. "That's hard to believe."
Along with not controlling them, legendary was stretching it. Sure, they get stronger when those runes glow, and they know how to use weapons. If they really were legendary then something had to have been wrong.
After all, I am Louise the Zero. I'm just a failure, there is no way I could have the power Wardes mentioned.
"You could become a great mage. Yes, like Founder Brimir, you could leave your name in history." Wardes looked at Louise with a warm gaze. "After this mission, marry me, Louise."
"Ah..." The sudden marriage proposal left Louise speechless.
"I am not satisfied to be just a mage captain... I want to become a noble that will move the whole of Halkeginia someday."
"B-But..."
"But what?"
Wardes got closer to Louise, bringing his face close to hers. "I have to apologize, I never came to look for you. Marriage is not something easily spoken about either. But Louise, to me you are the most important of all."
"Wardes..." Louise thought about it, but... Why did Kai's face keep popping up in her head? After marrying Wardes, would she have to leave him behind?
Why...? Why does this feel wrong? If he were a crow or owl familiar this would be so much easier. If no one takes care of that moron, what would happen?
Maybe Kirche or someone from the kitchen would take care of him... right?
Louise didn't understand it, but for some reason, the thought of him being around others annoyed her to no end. Just like a small girl, she wanted him all to herself.
Even though he's an idiot and makes me mad, I don't want anyone else to have him. He is mine.
Only then did Saito enter her mind. He would be able to be taken care of by someone like Kirche or that maid girl in the kitchen he always went to see. But the confusing, and annoying, part was why Kai invaded her mind so much.
Louise slightly shook her head. "Still..."
"Still?"
"That... I am not a mage of your caliber yet, I still need to study..." Louise lowered her head and started murmuring. "Wardes, when I was young, I always thought that someday I would make everyone recognize me... Becoming a great mage, and making my father and mother proud."
Louise raised her head. "I... I still cannot reach that yet."
"Is it because someone has already stolen your heart?"
"Nothing like that at all! There wouldn't be a chance for that to happen!" Louise denied it in a panic.
"It's not important, I understand, I understand. For now, I won't ask for an answer. But, after this journey is over, I will certainly have your heart."
Louise nodded.
"In that case, let's go to bed, you are tired, aren't you?"
Suddenly, Wardes came close to Louise, wanting to kiss her.
Instantly, Louise's body stiffened and she pushed him away.
"Louise?"
"I-I'm sorry... But, things like that..."
Wardes smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I'm in no hurry."
Louise lowered her head again.
Even though Wardes is so gentle... Even though I longed for him for so long... Why can't I be happy that I was proposed to?
Someone else had already stolen her heart. But Louise's mind refused to even think about the one who caught it.
ㅤ
Outside Louise's window, Kai was floating around with Derfligner in his hand. With his runes active, the drain he felt from flying was a lot lower. Peeking through the curtains, he saw two figures sitting at the table.
What are they talking about? Every time Wardes got closer to Louise, Kai felt his chest tightening and his annoyance rising. Every time they almost kissed, Kai would almost stop breathing, but Louise and Wardes never did.
"Damn it, why can't he just leave?!" Kai whispered.
Derflinger quietly muttered, "Shame. For shame."
"Shut it."
"Partner, you're peeking on the girl you have a crush on having a conversation with her lover. It's so shameful it almost makes me cry!"
"Shut the hell up! I don't have a crush on her! Why would I? She has some good qualities, sure... but that's heavily outweighed by her explosive anger, treating me like an animal, and being completely unfair all the time!"
"Then why are we peeking?"
"I-I'm only worried... that's all." Kai didn't know why he was peeking, but he just had to.
Suddenly the window Kai was in front of slammed open. Louise had her hands on her hips, but her face had twisted into a demonic rage.
"What are you doing next to my window?!"
Frozen mid-air, Kai couldn't think of anything. "Er... I was just..."
Derflinger chimed in. "He was peeking."
Trembling with newfound fury, Louise looked like she was about to explode.
Hurriedly throwing Derf away, Kai tried to salvage the situation. "Y-You know how he is... Haha... Always the kidder... I was just-"
In an instant Louise's shoe connected with Kai's face, sending him crashing into the wall behind him.
Getting over his anxiety, Kai yelled out, "Are you trying to kill me?!"
"Someone like you needs to be taught a lesson!"
"And that lesson involves me dying?!"
"If it comes to it then it comes to it!"
"Oh wow, that's rich coming from you!"
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
From inside Louise's room, Wardes sat down and watched on in amusement. The puzzle started to solve itself in front of him.
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The next day, Kai was the first to wake up of all the boys. Letting out a yawn he started moving around a little. While he was in La Rochelle, he could explore a little.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Wardes getting ready to knock on said door.
With his usual feathered hat on, Wardes looked down at Kai.
"Good morning, familiar."
Hearing Wardes call him a familiar ticked Kai off.
"Mornin', but if you don't have anything important, would you mind leaving me be? I kinda wanna be alone today."
Wardes faintly smiled. "Are you the Gandalfr of legend?"
Kai's eyes widened.
"And that tail... A Saiyan as well?"
Saiyan? That's a new term...
"That fight you had with Fouquet... I'm interested in your power."
"Uh-huh..."
How did he know about Gandalfr anyway? Osmond wouldn't have talked about it, Saito probably didn't mention it, and as far as he knew, Louise didn't know about it at all. Beyond that, what was a Saiyan?
As if reading his mind, Wardes said, "I find history and warfare extremely interesting. When Fouquet was captured, I wanted to know more about those who completed the capture. I did some research in the Imperial Library and that is where I learned about you and the other boy sharing the title of Gandalfr. But interestingly enough, you seem to be a Saiyan with that tail of yours."
"Oh? You seem to read a lot..."
"I want to know how strong the person who captured Fouquet is. Can you show me?"
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Show you?"
"Let me put it this way." Wardes pulled out his wand from his belt.
"A duel?"
"Exactly."
Taking a deep breath in, Kai closed the door, surprising Wardes. He was equally surprised to see the door open again. This time, Kai was equipped with Derflinger on his back.
"Your call. Where do you wanna duel?"
"This hotel used to be a castle designed for repelling Albion invasions, there is a parade ground in the center."
Nodding, Kai started following Wardes. The ancient practice ground was now an abandoned lot, littered with debris and trash. It was hard to believe that this used to be for noble use.
"Before, maybe you don't know, under the reign of Philip III, this place was often the area where nobility hosted duels."
"Right." Kai wasn't paying attention to the history lesson in the slightest. Putting his hand on Derflinger's hilt, the runes on Kai's hand flared to life.
"A long time ago, the king still had the power to duel. Nobles from the king's time... a time when nobles deserved their name. They who risked life for fame and honor... we nobles fought with magic. But it was usually fought over boring problems, such as if the two were fighting over a lover."
Instantly, Kai drew Derflinger out, but Wardes put up a hand.
"What?"
"There are certain rules regarding a duel. We don't have a witness."
"Witness?" How he worded it worried Kai.
"Don't worry, one is coming." Lo and behold, a witness did appear. Louise was dumbfounded to see Kai and Wardes.
"Wardes, you called me over and I came, what are you about to do?"
"I want to test his abilities a little."
"Really, let's stop this nonsense. Now is not the time for-"
Kai butt in. "True, but this guy wants a duel. He wants to know how strong I am."
Louise stared at Kai. "Stop right now. That's an order."
Not replying, Kai simply stared at Wardes.
"Really?" So much for controlling her familiar...
"Since the witness is here, let us begin." Wardes pulled out his wand from his belt, pointing it straight at Kai.
"Let me warn you... Since I am still fairly new to this, I don't know how to hold back."
Wardes let out a laugh. "Don't worry. Hit me with everything."
Kai jumped forward, bringing Derflinger down as hard as he could. The sheer speed of it was enough to create a vacuum in the air, but Wardes was easily able to dodge out of the way.
Slashing over and over, Kai wasn't landing a single hit. Wardes was moving way too fast.
Seeing an opening, Wardes parried one of Kai's attacks. Sparks flew everywhere as steel clashed against steel. The power difference between the two was already grimly apparent. As soon as Kai's core was exposed, Wardes took the opportunity to try to land an attack.
In a panic, a red aura burst around Kai as he used his energy to push himself away from Wardes.
When the red aura disappeared, Wardes smiled. "You sure are fast... But." Wardes seemed to transform into a bolt of lightning as he appeared behind Kai. "You are only an amateur."
"Kaioken!" Kai turned around and barely blocked an attack from Wardes. Once more, he jumped back to gain some distance.
What the hell just happened?
"Partner... he's looking down on you," Derflinger muttered. "He isn't using even a fraction of his power."
Kai knew that, but hearing it just pissed him off. From their brief exchange, he could also see the difference in power, but this wasn't near Kai's full strength.
"You know, us Mage Knights are specially trained to use magic in the midst of combat, as if we were breathing." With a small chant, Wardes' long wand started glowing with magic.
Kaioken was no longer an option, it was a necessity. If he let up, he would lose.
Kai leaped forward with surprising speed, but once again, Wardes was faster. Kai only hit lightning left behind by Wardes. Feeling a boot on his back, Kai was kicked away.
Recovering almost as fast as he was kicked, Kai didn't see Wardes anywhere. He felt another kick to his back.
How the hell was Wardes this fast?!
This time, when Kai recovered, he spun around and swung Derflinger. Before he could see what had happened, he heard the sound of steel clashing.
"Haha! Yes, this is the power of the legendary Gandalfr!" Wardes let out a laugh, much to Kai's annoyance. "But, can you handle this?"
Wardes left behind lightning again, but it didn't stop. It was as if there was a sea of lightning in front of him, and Kai just couldn't follow what was going on.
He felt a small cut on his arm as a lightning trail flew past him. Kai swung to his left, but his right leg was cut. Blocking in front of him, his shoulder and his side were cut. Countless attacks were happening all at once.
Feeling helpless, Kai didn't know what to do.
"Partner! Stop using your eyes! Feel where he is!" Derflinger shouted to snap Kai out of it.
Before Kai could argue or ask anything, he was cut again. The injuries were starting to pile up.
Shaking his head, Kai closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Feel where he is...
Despite still being attacked, Kai focused on his surroundings. He started to understand.
When Wardes came in for another strike, he was instead blocked by Kai's blade.
"Oh? Was that a fluke?"
"Try it again and see." Slowly opening his eyes, Kai smirked.
Wardes disappeared from sight again and was barely parried away by Kai.
Right after parrying Wardes' blow, Kai put Derflinger away and cupped his hands.
"Kamehame..."
Wardes backed away and narrowed his eyes.
"HA!"
The wave of blue energy came straight toward Wardes, but he made no effort to move out of the way. Instead, he chanted a short spell.
With a barrier of wind around him, the Kamehameha started bending around Wardes.
"You've gotta be kidding!" Kai stopped the energy wave, and just as he was about to draw Derflinger, Wardes appeared in front of him and knocked Derflinger away.
Before Wardes' wand could hit him, Kai dropped to the ground and tried to kick Wardes' legs, but he jumped over Kai. Landing behind him, Wardes prepared to strike, but a small ball of energy hit the barrier of wind right in front of his face.
The goal of the blast wasn't to hit him but to give Kai a chance to move. Right before Kai could grab Derflinger, Wardes appeared in front of him. Seeing the wand being swung toward him, Kai had to think fast.
Flattening his hand out, Kai did his best to mimic what Wardes had done with his wand. Energy shot out from Kai's hand to form a makeshift energy blade. Though the two powers clashed, Kai was losing the struggle.
"Kaioken... Times three!" The red aura around him grew and pushed Wardes right off of him. Using that as his chance, Kai reached out and grabbed Derflinger.
Turning around, Kai saw Wardes just standing there. That bastard was toying with him!
"I think it's about time I stopped holding back." Kai rolled his shoulder as he stared down Wardes.
"For your sake, I agree."
Suddenly the ground started shaking. Kai's muscles started bulging out. The rubble and trash in the area started rising in the air. "Rnng...!" Even though he was in pain... Even though this was just a spar... Kai wouldn't hold anything back!
Wardes watched on in what seemed to be amusement.
"Nng... Kaioken... Times... TEN!" Rearing his arms back, power exploded from within the boy. The red aura around him grew significantly and it seemed to have sparkles of white energy floating inside the aura.
Seeing Kai fly toward him, Wardes prepared himself for some sort of attack, but right before Kai collided with him, the boy's body seemingly vibrated and he disappeared from sight. With his eyes opened with mild surprise.
"An afterimage?" Wardes twisted his body around to block an attack from behind.
Before Wardes parried Kai's attack, Kai vanished once more. Before Wardes could block it, Kai landed a solid punch on Wardes' face, sending him skidding a few feet back.
"Gotcha! Hah... Hah..." Despite having various cuts and bruises on his body, Kai felt happy.
Stunned from actually being hit, Wardes touched his face. Looking at his hand, he saw blood.
Out of nowhere, a crushing presence almost suffocated Kai. Wardes had a cold look as if he were about to kill.
"You are fast... and strong. No one could mistake you for just a commoner, truly the familiar of legend."
Kai raised Derflinger up, ready to block an attack, but he was struck from behind.
"But as strong as you are, your movements are those of an amateur. You cannot hope to beat me as you are."
Shaking his head, Kai jumped up and tried to hit Wardes, but he easily sidestepped the assault.
"In other words, you are unable to protect Louise."
For the first time, Wardes entered a stance that befits his status as a captain.
"Dell yill soll la..." Wardes started chanting in a low voice.
"Partner! Bad news! He's using magic!" Derflinger was screaming at Kai, but he already knew.
Before Kai could even try to do anything, Wardes was already done. Wind started rushing together, and an invisible force coalesced, slamming into Kai with a force he hadn't felt before. Kai flew directly into a wall creating a small crater in it.
When Kai fell onto the ground, the red aura around him disappeared, and he dropped Derflinger. As Kai tried to reach out toward Derflinger, Wardes stepped on his right hand and struck him with his wand.
"Gah!"
With an icy cold tone, Wardes spoke. "Do you understand the difference between you and I?"
Kai tried to move, but the pain from the fight caught up to him. Seeing Kai moving, if only a little, made Wardes dig the spur of his boot into Kai's hand.
"Argh!"
Fearfully, Louise walked over.
"Do you understand Louise? He cannot protect you." Wardes' voice was oddly calm.
"But... that's because you're the commander of the Griffin Knights. Isn't it natural for you to be strong?"
"True, but aren't you going to Albion, where you may do battle? When you are surrounded by strong foes, would you say 'We are weak, please put away your wands'?"
With a deathly silence, Louise looked at Kai with worry. All over he was bleeding. There had to have been hundreds of small cuts, but from that latest blow, there was fresh blood pouring from his head. She pulled out a handkerchief in a panic but was stopped by Wardes.
"Leave him, Louise." Wardes grabbed Louise's hand.
"But..."
"Let's leave him there for a bit."
Louise bit her lips in hesitation and, after another tug from Wardes, left.
On the ground, Kai was left behind.
"Total defeat." Derflinger tried to lighten the mood.
Kai didn't respond.
"But that noble was strong! Don't worry about it partner! That guy might even be a Square Mage. Even if you lost, it isn't shameful."
Even if that were true...
Kai didn't respond. The only sign of his consciousness was his hand forming a fist.
"Losing in front of the girl you have a crush on is truly despicable, but don't look so down, or I'll start crying... Hey, I remember something! What was it? It happened a long time ago... Oh ri- Wait!"
Kai put Derflinger back into his sheath. Calmly dusting himself off, fresh blood from his hand stained his clothes.
ㅤ
ㅤ
That night, Kai stared at the two moons from the balcony window. Everyone was downstairs drinking at the bar. They were all having a good time.
Since they were leaving for Albion tomorrow, everyone wanted to enjoy themselves. Saito had invited him, but Kai denied the offer.
Apparently, the group could leave when the two moons eclipsed each other. It was then when Albion was closest to the world.
Looking up at the night sky, the pink moon was somewhat behind the white one, making an oval of peach. It kind of looked like the moon back on Earth.
Kai let out a big sigh. Losing to Wardes in front of Louise like that just made him want to go home. Without even realizing it, a few tears started to roll down his cheek.
"Kai."
Hearing that voice, Kai quickly wiped his face and coughed slightly.
"H-Hey Louise, what's up?" Turning around he saw her standing there with her arms crossed.
"...Just because you lost doesn't mean you should cry."
"Pfft... I would never cry over something like that... I just... wanna go home."
Louise lowered her head. "...I'm sorry. It's my fault."
Trying to lighten the mood, Kai shrugged. "Nothin' you could do. The least you could do is not treat me like a dog."
"I can't do anything about it. I'm a member of nobility, and if I didn't there would be rumors."
"So... you got a way for me to go home? I really don't wanna be in this world anymore..." Kai meant what he said in a sort of joking tone, but it came off as unpleasant.
"...You know you aren't the most pleasant to be near."
"Yeah... Well, will you help me find a way back?"
"...When this mission is over, I will do my best to find you a way home."
"Really?"
Louise put her hands on her hips and cutely nodded her head.
"I am a member of nobility, I will not lie."
"Alright, what if we don't find a way back?"
Her face reddened a little. "...If that happens, I will ask you to continue serving me."
"Even if you get married?"
Louise stared at Kai. "This has nothing to do with marriage."
"You know someone like you, with such an awful personality, got really lucky to have a guy like Wardes willing to marry you."
"A moron like yourself would be lucky to even find a single girl in the world that would love you."
The two of them turned away from each other. Louise closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"In short, during the time you're in Halkeginia, you are my familiar. So regardless of if I get married or not, it is your duty to protect me, and do the laundry, as well as other chores."
Kai chuckled slightly and turned to face Louise.
Under her pink hair, Louise's eyes were lit up with anger. Her usual pale face was also tinted with that same anger, which made her puckered lips cuter.
She was almost enchanting, which was enough to make Kai's heart race.
Louise with a red face. Louise who had cried seeing him get hurt. Louise who had stood up to Fouquet's golem. Louise who cries when she was called a Zero...
Kai's thoughts were plagued by her. Thinking about it more, Kai finally understood why he hadn't thought about going home so desperately until tonight.
But... He didn't want to admit it.
Damn it! Why would I...
Out of nowhere, Kai asked, "Why don't you let Wardes protect you?"
"Amazing... are you still not over losing to him?"
Kai stayed silent.
"You are MY FAMILIAR, right? Just because you lost, you have to stay strong. That defeated look would sully the la Vallière name."
It isn't just being defeated... Losing in front of her was soul-crushing. How could he stand strong? Out of anger, Kai slammed his fist into the balcony frame.
Louise replied angrily, "Okay, I understand. Do what you want, I'll let Wardes protect me."
"Okay, be like that."
"You know, he really is reliable. He wouldn't ever make me worry. I don't have to tell a familiar like you, but I will. I decided that I will marry Wardes."
Louise looked at Kai to see what his reaction would be, but he remained still. What?
"I am going to marry Wardes," Louise repeated herself, but Kai didn't respond. However, he did lower his head.
At first, Louise expected him to stop her, or try to make some sort of stupid joke, or maybe ridicule her in some way... but he didn't say a single word. She had no clue why, but it irritated her.
"Someone like you should just spend the rest of their life staring at the moon!" Louise started to run off.
Just as she opened the door...
"The hell?!" Kai let out a shout. Louise turned around, and to her surprise, something seemed to swallow the moon.
In front of them, the thing that had blocked out the moonlight turned out to be a golem made of stone. On top of it was someone they recognized.
"Fouquet!" Kai and Louise shouted in unison.
Fouquet cheerfully responded, "Oh, it is such an honor to be remembered!"
Derflinger asked, "Shouldn't you be rotting in jail?"
"Somebody had such a kind heart, so they let a beauty like myself escape."
Kai smirked, he was back in his element with Fouquet. "A beauty? That's pushin' it you old hag!"
Unwillingly using his newfound sensing ability, Kai felt someone in the darkness next to Fouquet. Looking up there was hard, considering how dark it was, but there was a figure in a black cape. The masculine figure had a white mask on, and some sort of cape, but that was all Kai could make out.
"Old hag?!" Fouquet didn't take Kai's insult too kindly.
"What are you doing here, Fouquet?!"
Fouquet took a deep breath. "I am here to thank you for the long vacation you gave me!"
Knowing that they didn't have the Staff of Destruction with them, Fouquet howled in laughter.
The golem's fist crashed straight into the balcony.
As the dust started to settle, Fouquet heard that brat's voice.
"Twas' nice chattin' with you Fouquet the Dirt, buuuut I gotta go!" Before he ran off, Kai stuck out his tongue.
"Why you!"
Before a punch from the golem could hit them, Kai grabbed Louise's hand and leaped down the stairs.
ㅤ
The room downstairs wasn't faring much better.
Out of nowhere, a group of soldiers rushed into the building, launching an assault on Saito's group who had been drinking.
Guiche, Kirche, Tabitha, and Wardes were using magic to defend themselves. But, there were too many people. It was almost as if every soldier in La Rochelle came to attack.
It seemed like our group was losing.
Kirche broke a table's legs and used the table as a shield against the foes in front of them. The aggressing group were already used to dealing with magic users.
While they fought, they watched Kirche and her group's range and style of attacking. They then moved out of the magic's range to attack with bows.
Since they were hidden in the dark, the soldiers had the advantage.
If anyone stood up to chant magic, a torrent of arrows met them.
From the stairs, the group heard the end of a phrase. "...Ken!"
A red blur came from the stairs, completely catching everyone off guard, giving Kai the time to slide to the table with Kirche's group. As soon as he got there, the red aura dispersed and he flinched heavily.
"Guys, Fouquet is-" Kai didn't need to finish his sentence. The golem's feet were already visible.
The other nobles and guests were hiding under the counter and shaking in fear. The fat innkeeper tried to yell at the soldiers, but he was shot with an arrow, leaving him slumped on the ground.
"This is troublesome..."
Hearing Wardes, Kirche nodded. "It appears they aren't here for just a robbery."
"Are Fouquet and Albion's nobles behind this?"
Kirche started to mumble, "Those guys are waiting for us to exhaust ourselves of our magic to charge at us, what can we do?"
Guiche raised his wand. "My Valkyries will protect us."
"Guiche, your Valkyries are only a small squad, these are seasoned warriors."
"If we don't try, we will never know."
"Guiche, when it comes to tactical fighting such as this, I'm an expert compared to you."
"But, I am the son of General de Gramont, how could I lose to this band of idiot soldiers?"
Guiche stood up, preparing to cast some magic, but Wardes pulled the boy down by the collar of his shirt.
"Everyone listen carefully," Wardes' voice was only a whisper. "This mission is complete even if only half of us make it."
Tabitha looked around and used her staff to point toward herself, Kirche, and Guiche. "Bait." Tabitha moved her staff and pointed at Saito, Wardes, Louise, and Kai. "Go to the harbor."
Saito shook his head. "I'll stay as well."
"What?" Kai looked at him with surprise.
"These guys are going to need all the help they can get."
Kai nodded, and reached toward his back to give Saito Derflinger, but was stopped by Saito.
"No need. Hey Guiche, can you make me a sword?"
With a short nod, Guiche gave a quick chant, and a sword identical to the one Saito fought Guiche with originally was formed.
Wardes started talking again, snapping Kai out of it.
"They are responsible for holding the situation. We should be able to escape to the harbor during the confusion."
Kai looked toward Kirche. "Bah, can't help it can I? We really didn't want to go to Albion with you guys anyway."
Next was Guiche who took a long sniff of his rose. "Heh, I might die here. What would happen then? I wouldn't be able to meet Princess Henrietta again."
Kai looked over to Saito, whose runes were glowing brightly. "I'll be fine here, but you guys need to go soon."
Tabitha nodded in agreement. "Go."
Louise gave a look toward Kirche. "Ah, Louise, please don't misunderstand, I'm not going to be bait for you."
"I know!" Although there was anger in her voice, Louise lowered her head and gave a salute to Kirche and the others.
"Don't die you guys!" Kai and the others ducked their heads and began to run. Arrows flew toward their direction, but with a wave of Tabitha's staff, the wind protected them from the onslaught.
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As Kai's group ran, the road in front of them was illuminated by the moonlight. Since Wardes was the only one who knew where the harbor was, Kai and Louise were following him.
When Wardes started running up some stairs, Kai asked, "Aren't we going to a harbor? Why are we going up?" Wardes didn't answer.
After climbing the flight of stairs, they reached the top of a small hill. Seeing what was on top, Kai gasped.
It was a huge tree, with gigantic branches going in every direction. It was at least the size of a mountain.
Looking closer, it looked like there was a fruit on one of the branches... No. It was a ship. It looked like a zeppelin.
"This... is the harbor?" Kai was in complete shock.
Louise was surprised to see his reaction. "Yeah... doesn't your world have ships?"
"Yeah, but they don't fly, they just stay on the water."
"If there are ships that sail on water, there are ships that sail in the air."
Wardes ran to the tree's roots.
Between each flight of stairs were metal sheets with some sort of writing.
One flight of wooden stairs was connected to the next. There were supports on them, but they still looked dangerous. The space between each step was illuminated by the lights of La Rochelle.
In a spot between a flight of stairs, Kai felt someone behind them. Turning around he saw a shadow land right behind Louise.
It was the white-masked man who was with Fouquet.
Pulling out Derflinger in an instant, Kai yelled out, "LOUISE!"
Louise turned around and was picked up the moment she did.
Louise screamed, and Kai's body started moving on its own. The man carried Louise around and jumped faster than most people could even think.
Though he couldn't keep up, Kai still pursued the kidnapper. Behind them, Wardes waved his staff. Like what had happened to Kai a while ago, the masked man was blown away by Wardes' spell, letting go of Louise.
The man grabbed onto a support, but Louise started falling straight toward the ground.
Before Kai could even dive for her, Wardes jumped off of his platform and grabbed Louise. With her in his arms, he started floating in the air.
Turning back, Kai saw that the masked man was staring at him. His body was similarly shaped to Wardes', and from his waist, he pulled out a black staff.
Still injured from earlier, Kai readied himself for some sort of attack. Staying defensive was his best bet here.
The man waved his staff, and the air around Kai began to sharply cool down.
If Kai made a move, then that would leave himself open to whatever spell this was...
With the man's chanting continuing, the air only got colder.
"Partner, watch out!" Derflinger yelled out.
As Kai prepared for the spell, the air shook. With a crack in the air, lightning shot out and hit Kai directly.
"Lightning Cloud!" Derflinger recognized the spell. An intense current coursed through Kai's body as a bright light filled the area.
"GRAGHH!" Kai let out a cry of pain. As the light died down, Louise could only see a gigantic gash on his right arm.
"KAI!" Louise struggled in Wardes' grip. "Let me go!"
With Louise struggling so much, Wardes let go of her, but right after he cast another spell that hit the masked man. With another spell hitting him, the masked man fell down the platform.
Somewhat holding Kai up, Louise looked straight into his eyes. "Kai! Get a hold of yourself!"
"I-I'm good..."
Kai's hoodie from his shoulder to his elbow had been blasted open, exposing the burned flesh.
"Kai! That injury is serious! We need to treat it immediately!"
Kai shakily stood up, but after swaying a bit he fell onto the ground.
Frantically, Louise pushed her ear to his chest. Hearing an albeit faint, heartbeat, Louise let out a sigh of relief.
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Only a moment later, Kai opened his eyes. His body was overflowing with pain. The first thing that he saw was Louise's crying face. Even though there were tears in her eyes she looked relieved.
"Nng... Sorry about that... Needed a quick nap." Despite making a stupid joke, the pain in his voice was apparent.
Derflinger spoke with concern in his voice. "Partner, that was Lightning Cloud. Very strong wind magic. That guy looked like an expert."
Moving around a little, Kai's face contorted in pain.
Wardes looked over at Kai. "It's incredible that you survived. That spell usually kills. Hmm... Looks like your sword neutralized some of the magic, but I'm not sure why. Isn't the sword made of metal?"
Derflinger replied, "No idea. I forgot."
"An intelligent sword, huh? Rare stuff."
Straining himself, Kai stood up. He had lost once again, and that reality was just starting to set in.
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After the last flight of stairs, there was a branch with a ship on it... just docked there. On its sides were wings, and too many ropes to count all tied to the branches.
The group stepped on board, and a sailor who had been sleeping climbed up. "Hey, you! What are you doing?!"
"Where's the captain?"
"He's sleeping. Come back in the morning." The man sounded drunk.
Wardes pulled out his wand. "You want a noble to repeat what he just said? I said get the captain!"
"A n-noble?!" The sailor seemed to sober up immediately and ran for the captain's quarters.
After a minute, a sleepy, fifty-something-year-old man stepped out. He was most likely the captain. "What do you want?"
"Leader of Her Majesty's Mage Guard, Captain Wardes."
The captain's eyes bulged, and he straightened up. "Oh, uh... Then, what services may this ship perform for you...?"
"Take us to Albion. Right now."
"Madness!"
"This is Her Majesty's orders. Are you going against the Royal Court?"
"I don't know what you're going to Albion for, but we can't depart until morning!"
"Why?"
"Albion's the closest to Tristain in the morning! We don't have enough wind stones to get there from here right now."
Shakily, Kai cocked his head. "Wind stones?"
The captain gave the boy a look as if he were the stupidest person on the planet. "Stones that store wind magic? This ship can't fly without them." He turned to Wardes. "Your Excellency, this ship only has enough wind stones to travel the shortest distance to Albion. If we had more, we could go earlier, but right now, it isn't possible. We'll drop out of the sky before we get there."
"I'll make up for however much you lack in wind stones. I'm a square wind mage."
The captain looked at his sailors and looked back to Wardes with a nod. "Then that's fine. You will have to pay, though."
"What's the cargo?"
"Sulfur. Right now, it's worth its weight in gold. The nobles have increased the price for security."
"Sell all of that to me at that price."
The captain nodded with a devious smile. With the deal done, the captain made one order after the next. "Leave port! Untie anchors! Set sail!"
The sailors followed orders, all while complaining under their breath.
Soon the ship suddenly sank and floated on the air.
"When should we reach Albion?" Wardes asked.
"We'll arrive at Scarborough Port tomorrow at noon."
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Kai looked toward the ground from the port side of the ship. La Rochelle's lights were starting to fade into darkness. They were moving fast on the ship, and he could fly now... but it was still surreal. He had only been this high up in an airplane before.
Louise approached Kai, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Kai, are you okay?" She had a worried look on her face.
Dismissively Kai shrugged her hand off. "I'm fine."
"What?! I was worried about you!" Seeing him not even look at her infuriated Louise. I went and got all worried about you... What's with that attitude?!
Kai didn't know what to feel. First, it was losing to Wardes, then it was failing to protect Louise and to top it all off he couldn't even defend himself from that masked man. Wardes' words echoed in his mind.
"In other words, you are unable to protect Louise."
Kai let out a deep sigh. I guess so...
Wardes approached the two of them. "From what I heard from the captain, the Albion Royal Army near Newcastle was completely surrounded."
Scared, Louise asked, "What about Prince Wales?"
"I'm not sure. He seems to be alive..."
"Wait... hasn't the harbor been completely taken over by the rebels?"
"Yes."
"Then how do we contact the Royal Family?"
"We'll just have to fight our way out. It only takes a day on horseback from Scarborough to Newcastle."
"Fighting through the rebels?"
"Right. That's our only option. They can't openly attack Tristainian nobility, I think. We'll find a chance to break away and run straight for Newcastle. All we would have to think about then is riding in the dark."
Louise anxiously nodded and asked, "Speaking of which, Wardes, where's your griffin?"
Wardes smiled. He leaned over the side of the ship and whistled. From under the ship, a griffin's wings were heard. It landed on the deck, scaring some of the sailors.
"Can't we just get to Albion on the griffin instead?" Kai asked.
"It's not a dragon. It can't fly that far." Louise still sounded annoyed.
Feeling more down in the dumps, Kai sat next to the mast and closed his eyes. Everything will be fine tomorrow... I won't feel like this anymore. Even though he couldn't hear what they were saying, Louise and Wardes' voices carried him off to sleep.
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Kai woke up to the sailors' shouts and a blinding light. Opening his eyes, he slightly winced from the pain in his arm. In front of him was a bright blue sky. Looking down from the ship there was a sea of clouds.
"Albion in sight!"
Kai rubbed his eyes as he looked down again. No, it's not...
Louise, who seemed to have been sleeping next to him, stood up.
"Hey, Louise, just where is Albion supposed to be?"
"There." She pointed out.
Curiously, Kai followed where she pointed. He gasped as his eyes widened.
From between the clouds, there was a large dark mass. It had mountains carved into the sides, along with rivers flowing down.
With a slight smile, Louise asked, "Did that scare you?"
"N-No... I just... Haven't seen anything like that before..."
"Albion, the floating island. It floats in the air, just like that, usually over oceans. A few times every month, it passes over the Halkeginian continent. It's about the size of Tristain and it's nicknamed 'The White Country'."
"Why's that?"
Louise pointed under the island. "The water from the rivers flows off the island and it becomes a white fog, covering the bottom part of the island."
The lookout started yelling again. "Ship approaching starboard side!"
Kai looked around. A ship was approaching and it was much larger than the one they were on. Looking closer cannons jutted out the side of the ship.
"Ah... crap." Kai made his thoughts very clear.
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"Not good. A rebel... or is that a noble vessel?" Behind deck, Wardes and the captain looked at where the lookout was pointing.
Black paint, along with twenty or so cannons pointed at them, gave the impression that the ship was made for battle.
"Nobility? Tell us if they ship cargo like we do."
The lookout hoisted the signal flags as the captain told. The black ship didn't respond.
A sailor ran in with a pale face. "That ship doesn't have any flags!"
"Then... are they pirates?"
"Possibly! I heard they got really active after the rebellion began..."
"Run! Full speed!" The captain wanted to run as fast as possible, but they were far too late. The black ship was sailing completely parallel to them and fired a shot directly in front of them.
The cannonball disappeared into the clouds. The black ship hoisted up a signal.
"They're ordering us to stop, captain."
The captain didn't want to say anything. They weren't completely unarmed, but all they had were three movable cannons. Comparing the two ships' arsenals was like comparing a kitten to a pit bull. The captain turned to Wardes for help.
"All my magic's used on the ship. We can only do as they say." His answer was calm.
The captain grunted. All of that money was down the drain now. "Wrap sails. Stop the ship."
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Seeing the black ship fire a shot in front of them, and noticing that their ship had completely stopped, Louise held onto Kai, who watched on with unease.
"We are pirates! Do not resist!"
"Pirates?" Louise was shocked.
On the black ship's port, men lined up with bows and rifles. They shot what seemed to be crossbows with ropes onto the ship's side. Men carrying axes and curved swords slid across the ropes.
Kai reached toward his back and held onto the hilt of Derflinger. His runes did flare to life, but he couldn't draw out nearly enough strength to take on even a single pirate, let alone the whole ship. His eyes darted toward his injured arm, and more pain jolted through his body.
"Kai..."
Hearing Louise's soft whisper, Kai tried to hold onto Derflinger harder.
Before he could draw his blade, Wardes walked up and put his hand on Kai's shoulder.
"They're not just armed barbarians, Kai. They have cannons pointed at us. If you want to live on the battlefield, you've got to measure your own strength against the enemies'. They may even have mages with them."
Wardes' griffin, who had been sitting on the deck, growled at the pirates. Soon its head was covered with some smoke, and it fell fast asleep.
"A sleeping spell... so they do have mages."
At an order, the pirates landed on their ship. One of them was dressed quite nicely. He had a shirt that may have been white but had been blackened from sweat and blood. A patch covered his left eye. He had to be the captain.
The pirate captain had a rough tone. "Where's your captain?"
"R-Right here." The captain of the ship tried to keep his composure as he raised his hand.
The pirate captain walked up to him, with his saber drawn and tapped the captain's face with it. "What's the ship's name and what does it carry?"
"Tristain's Marie Galante. The cargo is sulfur."
A gasp came from the pirates. Their leader chuckled, picked up the captain's hat, and put it on. "I'm buying everything on this ship then... the price being your lives!"
The captain shook in shame. The pirate captain looked around and noticed Louise and Wardes.
"Oho, we have noble guests!" Their leader walked up to Louise. "What a beauty here. Would you like to be our dishwasher?"
The man had a rough low laugh. Louise slapped his hand away and glared at him so hard it were as if she were about to explode. "Get away from me, you low-life!"
"Oh, she called us low-lives! I'm so scared!" The pirates laughed loudly.
With his jaw locked, Kai almost drew Derflinger but was stopped by Wardes.
"Hey, familiar. You need to stop."
"But-"
"What use are you when you're injured like that? Their cannons would rip us all apart. Don't you care about Louise's safety one bit?"
Kai's eyes widened. Had he not been considering that? Had he put her in danger before?
"All right, boys, take them away. We can get a hell of a ransom for this!"
