“Why?” Louise asked angrily.
“Hmm… I’d better explain to you all in order for you all to rest in peace.” Fouquet said with a coquettish smile on her face.
“I had gotten hold of the Staff of Destruction, but I did not know how to use it.”
“The way to use it?”
“Yes. No matter how I waved the staff or applied my magic on it, there was no response at all. That frustrated me. After all, if I do not know how to use it, it would be just as useful as a decorative item. Wouldn’t it?”
Louise wanted to dash out towards Fouquet, but was stopped by Saito.
“Saito!”
“Let her finish.”
“How considerate of you, Mr. Familiar. Then I would continue. Since I did not know how to use it, the only way was to let other people show me how to use it.”
“So therefore you brought us here.”
“If it’s the students from the academy, there may be a chance that someone knows how to use the staff.”
“If none of us knew how to use the Staff of Destruction, what would you do?”
“If that was the case, you all would be crushed by my golem. After that I would bring the next group of students here. But thanks to you, I finally know how to use the Staff of Destruction.”
Fouquet smiled and said, “Even though the time spent with you all was short, I’m really happy. Goodbye.”
Kirche feeling hopeless, closed her eyes.
Tabitha and Louise closed their eyes, too.
But Saito did not.
“You’re really brave.”
“Well, actually it’s not bravery.” Saito replied.
Fouquet pressed the trigger as Saito had done before.
But the magic that happened before did not happen again.
“Huh? Why?” Fouquet pressed the trigger again.
“It has only one shot; it won’t be able to fire again.”
“What do you mean one shot?” Fouquet shouted deliriously.
“Even if I explained, you would not be able to understand. That is not a magical staff from your world.”
“What did you say?” Fouquet dropped the Staff of Destruction and took out her own wand.
Saito moved as fast as lightning, delivering a blow to Fouquet’s stomach with the hilt of his sword.
“This is a weapon from my world. Hmm… To be precise, it’s called an M72 rocket launcher (5).”
Fouquet fell onto the ground.
Saito then picked up the Staff of Destruction.
“Saito?” Louise and the other two all stared at Saito.
Saito answered, “We’ve caught Fouquet and retrieved the Staff of Destruction.”
Louise, Kirche and Tabitha looked at each other, and then ran towards Saito.
Saito, with mixed feelings, hugged the three of them together.
Inside the headmaster’s office, Headmaster Osman listened to the group’s account of what happened.
“Hmm… So Miss Longueville is Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt… Because she’s such a beauty I did not think twice about hiring her as my secretary.”
“How did you go about hiring her?” Mr. Colbert who was also present asked.
“In a tavern. I was a customer while she was a waitress there. Where I slowly caressed her from her hands down to her buttocks…”
“Then what happened?” Mr. Colbert asked again.
Headmaster Osman embarrassingly confessed, “Because she wasn’t angry at all after what I did, I asked her whether she wanted to become my secretary or not.”
“Why?” The bewildered Mr. Colbert continued asking.
“Anyways!” Headmaster Osman cried out using vigor unfitting for an old man.
Osman started coughing. And said sedately, “And she could use magic, too.”
“Yeah, magic that could kill.” Mr. Colbert mumbled to himself.
Headmaster Osman coughed again then told Mr. Colbert in a prudent manner, “Come to think of it, the reason that Fouquet allowed me to touch her all over the place, served me wine happily, and praised that I was handsome man, while I was in the tavern, was just to infiltrate the academy. All those praises were most probably just lies…”
Mr. Colbert upon hearing that immediately remembered that he was also bewitched by Fouquet once, and had revealed the weakness of the vault walls to her.
Mr. Colbert decided that he would take that secret with him to his grave.
“Yes. Beautiful women are deadly mages.”
“I couldn’t agree more with you, Colbert.”
Saito, Louise, Kirche and Tabitha stared blankly at the two.
Realizing that the students had given them the cold stare, the embarrassed Osman cleared his throat and regained his solemn composure.
“A job well done for all of you, you have returned the Staff of Destruction and captured Fouquet.”
The three besides Saito acknowledged proudly.
“Fouquet will be handed over to the town guards, and the Staff of Destruction will be returned back to the treasure vault. Finally the case is closed.”
Gently caressing each of the trio's heads, Osman said, “I have requested the imperial court to confer upon you the title of Chevalier, I believe that we should have news of it soon. And since Tabitha already has the title of chevalier, I have requested that she be given the Elven Medallion.”
The trio’s faces brightened up upon hearing the news.
“Really?” Kirche said astoundingly.
“Yes. You have done more than enough to deserve this title. Haven’t you?”
Louise gazed at Saito who was listless since they entered the office.
“Headmaster Osman, Saito… won't get anything?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so. Because he’s not a noble…”
Saito replied, “I don’t need anything.”
Headmaster Osman gently clapped his hands and said, “I almost forgot, Tonight’s Ball of Frigg will resume as planned since we have gotten back the Staff of Destruction.”
Kirche’s face brightened up. “That’s right. Let’s forget about Fouquet and dance all night long!”
“The main attraction of the ball will be you three. So go get ready and dress up!”
The three bowed, and left through the door.
Louise stopped and looked at Saito.
“You go first.” Saito told Louise.
Even though Louise was still worried, she nodded and left the room.
Osman turned to Saito and said, “You have something to ask me?”
Saito nodded.
“Please ask. I’ll try to answer your question to the best of my abilities. Even though I couldn’t confer you a title, this is the least I can do to show my appreciation.”
Immediately after, he asked Mr. Colbert to leave the room. Mr. Colbert, who was waiting for Saito to speak, was expressing displeasure as he exited the room.
After Mr. Colbert left, Saito said, “That, the Staff of Destruction was originally from my world.”
Osman’s eyes gleamed. “Originally from your world?”
“I’m not from this world.”
“Is this true?”
“It’s true. I was transported to this world due to Louise’s summoning.”
“I see. If that’s the case…” Osman squinted his eyes.
“The Staff of Destruction was a weapon from my world. Who was the person who brought it to this world?”
Osman sighed and said, “The one who gave the Staff of Destruction was my savior.”
“Where is the person now? That person is definitely from the same world as me.”
“He died. That was over thirty years ago…”
“What did you say?”
“Thirty years ago, while I was strolling inside the forest, I was attacked by a two headed dragon. The one who saved me was the owner of the Staff of Destruction. He used another Staff of Destruction to kill the two headed dragon and then collapsed. He was already injured at that time. I transported him to the academy and treated his wounds. But to no avail…”