Louise gave a flick of her wand when Saito tried to open the door.
“Huh?” When he tried to turn the knob it wouldn’t turn.
“Strange, huh… seems like I can do common magic with ease now.” Louise said with her back still turned towards him.
“L-Louise?” asked Saito in a trembling voice.
Louise was terrifying. Her voice was normal, but still, she was terrifying.
“I’ve always failed on the spells of the four major branches of magic up until now… perhaps I really am the one chosen to bear the void. And then day after day there’ll be growth. What do you think, dog?”
Saito was now desperately trying to turn the door knob, but it wouldn’t budge.
“It’s useless. I cast a ‘Lock’ spell on it. By the way dog, your master has been very uneasy. I might even be the one chosen to bear the void magic, but I can’t even find anyone to talk over something with. No one knows that I can use void magic at the moment. It seems like my explosion spell has just been treated as a miracle by the people…. But I think the castle will know soon enough. Then what will become of me? In such a dire moment, my ungracious fool of a familiar decides to go on a date with a maid.”
And you even k-k-kissed me – Louise was about to say before she quickly shut her mouth. Taking a deep breath she chose her next words.
Saito’s face had grown pale already as he continued trying to turn the knob. No matter how hard he tried to turn it, the knob wouldn’t turn. The ‘Lock’ spell was very strong.
“A date is alright I guess. But a bath. Now that won’t do at all. That’s the worst of the worst. Ignoring your master and taking a bath with a maid? I’m pretty sure that’s enough for a death sentence. You’re so lucky I’m a kind person.”
Louise started trembling.
You even k-k-k-k-kissed me. A bath. A bath with the maid.
Something was flying towards the window. It was a pelican.
“Ah. That was quick.”
Louise untied the package at the pelican’s feet, placed it on the bed and put some gold coins in its beak. Seems like pelicans are used as the equivalent of home delivery services in this world.
“W-What did you buy?”
“I’ve come to realise that dogs just don’t learn when you use a whip.”
Saito’s face stiffened as he madly tried to turn the door knob.
“H-Help! Help!”
“I told you, it’s useless.”
When he glanced backwards, Louise was standing right behind him. Saito gave a scream at the sight of her face.
Louise was biting her lip with her eyes lit up. She was probably even scarier than Siesta’s father.
Just as usual, Louise aimed a kick at Saito’s nether region, which resulted in Saito collapsing on the floor.
“Aaaaaah… W-Why are you so inhuman to my sensitive parts?”
Louise pressed a foot down on to Saito’s neck.
“Listen up dog. It seems like what you’re lacking is dignity. Always wagging your tail here and there – which is why I’ve bought this.”
Louise started to tie something that seemed like leather ropes on his body. And with a clink, the lock on his chest was locked. It was some kind of body suspender.
“W-What’s this?”
“A magical restraining device used to tame wild creatures.”
“You have to be joking me!” Saito cried as he tried to stand up. Louise muttered a short incantation.
“Vasra.”
With a gasp of pain, Saito fell down onto the ground.
“It’s got water and wind spells on it. At the master’s signal, it will start giving out electric shocks.” Explained Louise, but Saito was already unconscious from the shock.
Louise dragged his body across the floor and tossed him into his haystack.
“You’re a hundred years too early to bathe with a girl!”
Chapter Two: Saito Goes Shopping in the Triumphant Town
Wardes woke up. He tried to get up and frowned. Wondering, he looked at the bandage that was rolled up around his body.
Where am I? I am sure I was hit by the magic from the flying machine that Gandálfr piloted and lost consciousness.
He looked around. It was a plain room with a wooden floor and walls, a bed and one desk. There was a pendant on the desk, which he hung around his neck. Seeing a pitcher, he reached out for it. But he could not reach it, as his body still ached all over. At that moment, the door opened up and he saw a familiar face.
“Oh, you've regained consciousness.”
“Crumbling Dirt? You...”
Fouquet placed the plate of soup on the desk. Wardes tried to get up again and felt a jolt of pain throughout his body.
“Tch..”
“You still cannot move. Your body has been pierced by bullets in numerous places. It took all the water element mages casting the ‘Recovery’ spell for three days and three nights to heal you.”
“Bullets?”
Wardes made a suspicious face.
“Was I shot by a 'Gun'? Is this the power of a ‘Gun’?”
Gun is a weapon that commoners use. The pressure of the gunpowder, ignited by the spark of the flint, pushes a round bullet out of the weapon. Although its power in short distance is superior to the bow's, the need to load the bullet and gunpowder separately makes it hard to fire quickly. In addition, the hit accuracy is not better than a bow’s either. A gun’s great advantage is that you don’t need any additional practice to use it. It isn’t a great weapon for a mage.
“Really? You didn’t even know the weapon that defeated you? What a careless man.”
Saying so, Fouquet scooped soup with the spoon and carried it to Wardes's mouth.
Wardes thought, It must be that strange flying machine that Gandálfr used…
Not only could it fly very quickly, but it also was equipped with a 'Gun' that could fire in rapid succession.
And then, in that instant, a whirlpool of light appeared...
Albion's entire fleet had been destroyed in a moment by that light…
What was the light that I saw?
Something must have happened in Halkeginia.
I could take advantage of the change, because this event might be connected in some way with that...
My desire to get Louise’s abilities.
And Sacred Emperor Cromwell's manipulation of strange magic…
Even if he was going to follow Cromwell and go to the Holy Land, his plan might not work out, remembering that the whole fleet was destroyed by just one person.
“Hey, the soup's getting cold.”
Fouquet, in an exasperated tone, said to Wardes. He was lost in his own thoughts.
“Where is this place?” Wardes inquired, not giving the soup a glance.
“Albion. This is a temple located on the outskirt of Londinium, in which I had been in service in the past. Good thing you were able to return in one piece, you have to thank me for that.”
“Albion? What happened to the military invasion?”
“Aah, I guess you didn't know the circumstances because you were out. It was a complete failure. After the airship fleet's annihilation, Albion’s army was routed. Geez, ‘Sure Victory’ my ass. If you couldn't defeat Tristain, whose numbers you vastly overpowered, you'll probably have a hard time recapturing the Holy Land.”
“I didn't know you joined the invasion troops as well. You should have told me about it.”
Fouquet was amazed.
“I actually informed you! I was dispatched there as a scout unit because Albion's army was unfamiliar about the foreign country's geography! It seems you are the type that forget things which don't interest you!”
“Is that so? Aah, that’s right. Sorry.”