On that day, the stock he said would rise greatly crashed downwards instead.
“Calm down. Let's exchange your chips for money and use it to find a place to stay. Okay?”
“No. If I left while losing, the name of La Vallière would weep.”
“Let something like that weep!”
The moment he yelled that, he was kicked precisely between the legs and rolled onto the floor.
“Hoaaaaaa... do you have some grudge against my miserable area?”
After eliminating her bothersome familiar, Louise turned back toward the roulette disk.
The shooter was about the throw the ball onto the wheel. She could still make the bet.
Louise placed all of her remaining chips onto the number that she had in her head a moment ago.
Then she stared at the wheel and ball with eyes that couldn't be more serious.
Making a clip-clop sound, the ball of fate entered a pocket. Louise's expression glittered with hope for a moment, but it changed into despair right away. The pocket was the one beside the number Louise had bet on.
While rubbing his nether regions, Saito got up and pulled on Louise.
“Let's go.”
“What are you saying?”
“Heh?”
“My neighbor's pocket. Next, it's going to visit my house.”
“We don't have any money left to bet, right?!”
“The money in your pocket will help.”
“Idiot! This is my money!”
Saito covered his pouch. He couldn't have this be gambled. If he did, even he would be broke.
“You know? The familiar's things are the master's things. That's obvious.”
“Don't joke around!”
But compared to Siesta, it didn't reach the ears of Louise, whose brain had been burnt by her fervor for gambling. She tried to kick Saito's nether regions at lightning speed. But Saito was different from usual. He quickly closed his two legs and guarded. Then he grabbed Louise's raised ankle.
“Like I'll let you kick me again!”
Louise muttered in a cold voice
“Vasra.”
The magic restriction tool enveloped Saito's body and let off a electric current.
Convulsing violently, Saito tumbled back onto the floor.
“...I see, I didn't watch out for that.”
Saito said weakly while cursing his curiosity. Aah, if I didn't have interest in this gambling area, something like this wouldn't have...
Louise searched Saito's pouch, took all of the remaining gold coins, and quickly exchanged them for chips. Saito was slightly relieved. Even if it's someone like Louise who has zero talent for gambling, she wouldn't lose all of those chips before his body recovered from the numbness. After the numbness were gone, he'll cover Louise's mouth and leave the place without letting her say anything. That is what Saito decided.
“Betting on one place won't work, it seems. I'll return to the basics.”
“That's right... Red and black. Only a small amount on red and black. At least do that...”
“To show my respect for my loyal familiar, I'll bet on that hair and eye color.”
“Black?”
“That's right.” Nodding, Louise placed coins on black.
All of it... Two-hundred and seventy écus worth of chips, all of it.
Saito almost leaked.
“S! T! O! P!”
Louise smiled brightly at Saito.
“Silly. Even if the payoff is double, money is money. If I win, we'll get back all that we've lost plus more. What's more, just once. We only have to win one time.”
“P! L! E! A! S! E!”
“I should have done this in the first place.”
The shooter spun the roulette. The small ball began to spin, holding the master and familiar's huge fate on it.
Making a dry sound, the ball spun on top of the wheel. The rotation slowly lost speed and, as if to divide fate, aimed for the right pocket. Louise had bet a large sum of money on black, so the other guests had bet on red. The only one betting on black was Louise. It entered red, left it, then it entered black, left it... Louise spoke as if she had caught a fever.
“I'm a legend. I'll never lose, right, at a place like this.”
And then the ball entered a pocket... and stopped.
Louise closed her eyes without thinking.
Around her, sighs of sadness leaked out.
“...Eh?”
Everyone besides Louise had placed on red. The sighs came from them. In other words, the ones that placed on red lost. Which means...
“I really am the user of 'Zero' after all!”
Shouting that, Louise opened her eyes. Right afterwards, her mouth gaped open.
The ball... did not enter black or red, but the single existing green pocket. On the center of the pocket..., as if to give blessing to Louise, the number “0” was glittering there.
Saito and Louise were sitting in a daze at the corner of the sunsetting city's central plaza.
The bell at the church of Saint Rémy rang six at evening.
They were tired and hungry but had no place to go.
Louise was wearing the plain, brown one-piece Saito had bought earlier. On her feet were crude wooden shoes. Her mantle and wand were placed inside the bag Saito was carrying. Just from her clothes, she looked like some country girl, but thanks to her high-class face and her pink-blonde hair, she gave off a mismatched feeling similar to that of a destitute girl in the middle of a play.
Saito was wearing his usual clothes, but because he could not walk around the city with a drawn sword, he wrapped Derflinger in some cloth and carried him on the back. Louise muttered quietly in a way showing that she had realized just how troublesome of a deed she had done.
“Wh-what should we do?”
Saito glared at Louise
“I'll never let you carry money around again.”
“Uuu...”
Louise moaned sadly, hugging her knees.
“Well, what should we do. Money. If we can't find an inn to stay at, we won't be able to eat food. What about the mission? O' mighty, mighty court lady of Her Majesty, please teach this humble familiar. Please?”
Saito said with plenty of spite. Even his money was used. He'll have her pay him back properly someday, but right now was the immediate problem of an inn and food to eat.
“I'm thinking about it right now.”
Louise said with a sullen face.
“Let's obediently lower our heads to Princess-sama and get some more money.”
“That's impossible. Princess-sama gave me this secret mission at her own discretion. The cabinet probably would not let the money pass. She probably can't use more than she freely has. Probably, that was already the best she could do.”
“You threw away that money in thirty minutes. What were you thinking?”
“That's because I can't get satisfying services with just four-hundred!”
“That's because you always want luxuries!”
“They're necessary!”
“Then, how about that? Contact your home. Yeah, hey, Duke-sama.”
“Not possible. It's a secret mission. I can't tell my family either.”
While hugging her knees, Louise rested her chin on it.
She really is a young mistress ignorant of the world's ways... She can't even properly shop for something. Even Saito, who came from another world, could haggle better. Nothing will get done letting her do things.
But he couldn't think of a good idea. He gazed at the plaza's fountain dazedly, but...
“Nn?”
He realized the passing people were gazing impressed at Louise.
Even if she didn't want to, Louise's loveliness and nobleness attracted attention. Especially if she was hugging her knees looking like a village girl. The people stole glances at Louise with a look that said “She probably ran away from some playhouse.” Saito got up in a flash.