Be careful what you wish for [ZnT/Touhou]

[Blackraptor]

...

"Stance! Strike! Stance! Strike! Stance! Strike!" Agnes repeatedly yelled out at the assorted number of 'fresh recruits' that she was assigned to train. Now normally, this wouldn't really much of an issue. The woman was a knight Captain after all. However, her usual routines were out of place at the time considering 'who' she was currently running through those repetitions.

Instead of her fellow knights or even regular soldiers, Agnes was currently barking at the female students of the Tristain Magic Academy. Included amongst them were of course Louise, Kirche, Tabitha, Monmon, and the rest of their peers. The male students were also at a different part of the castle and were apparently being trained by Helgarose and her cohorts. Imagine everyone's surprise when, after the State of Emergency over Tristain was finally lifted and classes finally resumed, what awaited them were not the teaching staff. Instead, they got Agnes and the rest of the Royal Musketeer Squadron.

Apparently, the whispers of war were more real than I had originally expected. The opening acts of the campaign between the allied countries against Albion were already underway and each country seemed to be bent on covering all of their bases. It also seemed that part of that preparation was to make sure that all available combat capable nobles were to be trained to ensure that they can be called upon for military service should the need arise. Hence, the current situation.

I stood a distance away from the students Agnes were drilling with Ruukoto by my side. I had my hat on and my parasol open with it leaning on my right shoulder. I looked on as the knight captain kept barking out the same repetition over and over again. The girls were all wearing their usual uniforms but instead of holding a wand in their hand, they found themselves equipped with simple wooden staves.

Obviously, the whole thing was met with no small amount of protest from the student body. That was until Agnes and the Headmaster informed them that the training was a Royal Mandate and thus mandatory for each and every one of them. They still didn't like it though.

Regardless, none of them really had any means to go against the order and thus all morning classes were converted into training hours under the Royal Musketeer Squadron. They've all been at it for quite a while now with most of the female student population starting to get really tired. In fact, the only ones who weren't showing signs of fatigue were Louise and Tabitha. The Gallian girl continued with the drill with her usual expression of indifference. The only thing that I could imagine that would bother her about this is the fact that she could exactly read a book while performing those drills. On the other hand, my master looked absolutely bored with the whole thing. Her expression showed weariness but it wasn't because of fatigue. Instead, she looked like she found the whole thing tedious but kept going anyway. Understandable, considering her usual training regiment under me.

"Enough!" The knight captain ordered, much to the great relief of the students. Nearly all of them quickly either sat down or collapsed from exhaustion from their drills. The only ones who didn't were Louise, Tabitha, and Kirche. Well, in Kirche's case, she was on her knees and using her staff to support herself. Tabitha was standing at her side with her own staff on one hand and a pocketbook on the other. Louise was standing over a collapsed Monmon and fanning her with a small handkerchief with her staff forgotten on the ground. I glanced back at Agnes and found that she was looking over the students as if she was looking at a bunch of weaklings. I should know, I've had that expression a few times back in the day.

"Stay here and rest. I have something I need to check on. I will return momentarily." She curtly stated before motioning to the other knights she was with to follow her. I waited for them to leave before approaching Louise and her friends with Ruukoto following close behind.

"I'd say something witty right now but I don't think any of you are in any condition to appreciate it." I stated while twirling my parasol. Monmon responded by covering her eyes with her right arm and groaning at me.

"Fuga?" Ruukoto offered I hummed thoughtfully before relaying her words to the others.

"Ruukoto is asking if it should get some servants to get you girls some water." I stated and got groans of assent from Monmon and several others who were too tired to give a coherent vocal response. The gynoid wordlessly walked off in order to do what it said it would.

"I...don't...get...it..." Kirche wheezed out nearby. We all turned to her, except Monmon of course, and found her sitting down on the grass next to Tabitha. The young Chevaliere was now sitting next to her best friend and had her full attention directed to the book she was reading. The redheaded Germanian took another shuddering breath before continuing.

"Now, Tabitha I can understand, but how can Louise still be fine after all that?" The redhead seemed to complain as Louise didn't seem worse for wear despite all the exertion they all did during Agnes' drills.

"What's wrong Zerbst? Can't accept that I just have more endurance than you do?" Louise asked back with no small sense of pride of being able to get one up over her long-time rival.

"Don't get overconfident Valliere. Your family has a very consistent history of falling flat on their faces whenever they underestimate mine." Kirche obviously retaliated in return. My master let out an 'urk' at the insult to her family and was about to respond when someone else beat her to it.

"Hoh? Would you like to repeat that to my face, little Zerbst?" A voice I was sure none of us there expected to hear suddenly asked. We all turned to the source of the voice and found none other than Eleanore wearing the same kind of dress she usually does whenever I see her, that weren't her nightgown of course. I briefly wondered if the Valliere family as a whole had a penchant for having several sets of the same kind of clothing when Louise decided to voice her own surprise.

"Big Sis Eleanore!" That caught everyone else's attention as all the female students there proceeded to look at the new arrival with varying degrees of difficulty due to their apparent exhaustion.

"No need to get up, I understand how tired most of you are after experiencing a basic combat drill." Agnes said after noticing that the girls started groaning and were trying to pick themselves up off the ground.

"As per a direct request to the Oriz Magic Academy in the capital, Professor Eleanore Albertine Le Blanc De La Blois De La Valliere has been sent here to be your instructor in utilizing your magic in more combat oriented situations." Agnes explained while gesturing to the eldest sister who was adjusting her trademark pointy glasses. The news that Louise's sister was to be their apparent combat magic instructor took everyone by surprise, to say nothing about Louise's own shocked expression. I was also mildly surprise by the news since she never said anything that would have hinted such a move back in Mugenkan. The Valliere in question cleared her throat and stepped forward, getting everyone's attention.

"To remove any possible misconceptions any of you may have with this arrangement. Let me first assure you that my dear little sister will not have sort of special treatment." Eleanore stated while giving her youngest sister a rather sweet smile. A smile that made Louise let out a very frightened 'Eep' before scurrying in order to hide behind me. Looking rather pleased with herself, Eleanore then turned her gaze to the rest of the students there.

"Make no mistake. I'm not here to teach you some secret ultimate spell that can rend armies and make you invincible on the battlefield. Get those childish fantasies out of your heads and you just might keep them if you are called to battle." The blonde followed up in all seriousness. Her expression changing instantly from her smile to a hardened expression that made no doubt that she was Karin's eldest child. All the female students there stiffened from her sudden shift and words, aside from Tabitha anyway, while Louise just started trembling behind me.

"I am here to ensure that each and every one of you will have the awareness and critical thinking required to keep yourselves and your allies alive. You will learn how to be able to cast your magic under the most unreasonable of circumstances, both against Might and against Magic." She continued without letting anyone else get a word in. The way she spoke commanded respect and power, certainly among a group of school children. Though, even Agnes and her fellow knights looked to her with interest.

"You will learn to manage your willpower to the drop. You will learn to decide which spell will be the most appropriate to use depending on the circumstance. You will learn how to work in tandem with your fellow nobility on how to effectively use your magic together." Eleanore listed out the things she intended to teach Louise and her peers during her stay. Though she should have already known that Louise's options for spells were limited but the applications of which were no less numerous than regular elemental magic.

"I was personally requested to make sure that all of you learn what it will take to survive a war and come back home. That is exactly what I will do. This will not be easy, I assure you. Of course, nothing worthwhile is ever easy to achieve." The eldest sister concluded while placing her right hand on her hip while adjusting her glasses with her left hand. By the end of it, all the girls were looking at her with no small sense of awe by her words.

"Are there any questions?" Eleanore asked after taking time to look at each of the students there. Hesitantly, one of the girls raised her hand. She was one of Louise's classmates, I remembered her attending the lessons I sat in with before. A rather unremarkable young woman with dark red hair and red eyes but a rather ordinary face.

"You name, girl?" Eleanore asked after nodding toward the girl.

"Marialena Maria Sistina de La Cervantes, Lady Valliere." The girl responded after taking a breath.

"On your feet, girl. I won't dignify a question from a noble flopping around on the ground." Eleanore stated with an edge of tone akin to a sharpened knife. Immediately, the girl who identified herself as Marialena, stood up before dusting herself off. Interestingly, nearly all the other girls quickly followed. The only ones who didn't were Tabitha, Kirche, and Monmon...Louise was already standing, or should I say cowering, behind me at the time anyway. If Eleanore thought the whole thing strange, she did not show it

"And what is your question, Miss Marialena?" Eleanore asked, showing much more respect to the girl than she previously did. It seemed that she noticed it as well if the blush she was showing was any indication.

"Ummm...I...was wondering...if...ummm..." The girl suddenly started mumbling and looked rather unsure of herself. Considering what I knew about the eldest sister, that was a kind of attitude that...

"Speak up, girl! What good is your voice if you don't even use it to get people to listen to you?" ...Eleanore does not really tolerate. The girl in question gasped before nodding furiously and taking a deep breath.

"Would it be fine if I called you Onee-sama, Professor Valliere?" She blurted out in a near-shout with a blush covering her entire face. The entire field was silent for several moments and the girl suddenly looked around like she just did something horrible.

"...what?" Marialena timidly asked again.

"What?" I repeated the word for a different reason.

"WHAT?!" Louise exclaimed with anger in her face, making the other girl give out her own 'eek'.

"For the founder's sake..." Eleanore muttered to herself while rubbing her forehead. I looked around and shook my head at the sight before me. Why? Because it almost seemed like some of the other girls were also interested on what Eleanore would answer.

...

[palver7]

Interesting twist here. I remember in the anime only agnes came to train the students. I wonder what will be different now that Eleanore also come to train them. Keep up the good job!

[Blackraptor]

...

"Interesting that you not once mentioned that you were called on to teach here." I pointed out as we walked with Eleanore to the room she was using for the duration of her stay.

Louise had Ruukoto stay in the field to help the other servants serve water to the students who were still Too tired to move too far under their own power. Guiche showed up some time later and ended up tending to Monmon in place of Louise. Kirche decided to go back to her room to pass out for a while and bodily dragged Tabitha along with her. The quiet girl didn't seem to mind or care as her attention was till glued to her book at the time.

I was actually surprised that Marialena, as well as the other girls who were apparently interested in getting closer to Eleanore, didn't follow us. The poor girl was quickly ushered off by a few other girls into the dormitory tower after Agnes dismissed everyone for the rest of the morning. Hence it was just Eleanore, Louise and myself at that point.

"Obviously, it's because you never asked." The blonde pointed out with a sneer just when we made it to the door to her room.

"Cute." I shot back with my own smirk when I noted that the door seemed to have opened by itself.

"Not even a day in and the two of you are already flirting with one another." The source of the oddly amused voice came from none other than Cattleya, thereby answering the mystery of the alleged sentient wooden door. Both Eleanore and myself automatically frowned at her for what she said but any vocal response from either of us was interrupted by a very predictable reaction from Louise.

"Chii-nee-sama~!" My master launched herself at her beloved older sister in what very nearly looked like a flying tackle. To my surprise, Cattleya actually managed to withstand it with no visible sign of strain or pain. She must either be tougher than she seemed or she must just be used to such greetings from my master.??

"It is wonderful to see you again in the flesh, Louise." Cattleya cooed at my master as Louise immediately proceeded to snuggle against her sister. As much as it warmed my heart to see Louise in such a state to joy and contentment, there was something that I wanted to confirm first before the conversation proceeded anywhere else.

"How are you feeling?" I asked the seemingly innocuous question. The middle sister blinked at me before considering the question for a moment.

"To be honest, it was a bit unnerving the way Lady Yamame's ability worked. There were times when I had to go to sleep and worried that everything was just a very elaborate delusion and I was actually just in my bed...on the very verge of death." The middle sister started with a sad smile. She absentmindedly ran her left hand through Louise's hair and doing her best to return my master's hug with her right arm.

"But every time I woke up, I realize that it wasn't a dream...that I no longer needed to fear a moment of weakness when I would just start coughing up blood. Quite honestly, I can't remember that last time I've felt this healthy." She said with a radiant smile. It was an oddly roundabout way of doing so, but she was able to answer my question.

"Are you sure? Are you sure that you are well enough to travel like this? What are you even doing here anyway? Did Big Sis Eleanore bring you here? For what purpose? How many bodies needed to be disposed of?" And that was apparently enough to set Louise off as she started to ask question after question while looking up worriedly at Cattleya. Well, looking up as best as she could from between the middle sister's breasts. Cattleya was never able to respond though as Louise was suddenly yanked back by Eleanore before spinning her around and pinching her cheeks.

"And just what kind of fantasy is bouncing around in your head that would make you ask those kinds of questions? Huh?" The eldest sister hissed at the youngest.

"Haauuuu! I'm sorry!" Louise pleaded while flailing her arms around. I sighed at how quickly the three of them ended up behaving the way they usually do. The middle sister used the opportunity to walk up to my side before giving out a very demure giggle as she watched the antics of her siblings.

"They really missed each other. Don't you think so?" Cattleya commented before asking me with a small but genuine smile.

"I...I'm not sure we are looking at the same thing." I said with a raised brow since what I was seeing was my master's cheeks getting tested for their elasticity by Eleanore.

"That's just their way of showing affection to each other." The middle sister waved off the implications of my statement. Affections? Taken in strict context, Eleanore's way of showing affection would be by inflicting varying degrees of pain. On the other side of the coin, Louise would have been showing her affection by taking the abuse with only a very feeble token resistance. The implications of which were somewhat unnerving.

"These days have been the most we've been around each other since we were children. They may not look like it but I can clearly see how much those two are cherishing these moments while they can." The middle sister elaborated while nodding to her sisters who were still going at it.

"I'm not going to pretend that I understand how you came to that conclusion or how the relationship between you three works, so I'll just take your word for it." I stated with a shrug before giving out a thoughtful hum.

"Though, Louise did raise a valid point. You are indeed quite a ways away from home, Cattleya." I continued before turning to Cattleya with my inquiry. Instead of the middle sister, Eleanore was the one who ended up responding as she continued her apparent ministrations on Louise.

"That sly little 'Cat' invited herself along after I mistakenly mentioned the academy's request during one of our conversations. It was back when neither of you showed up in your mansion for Cattleya's treatment." The blonde Valliere sister explained with a rather displeased look directed at her sister. I assumed that she was talking about the time when Henrietta summoned us to the capital. A meeting, which resulted in something that became much more troublesome that I had originally expected it to be.

"I see. Although, I'm rather surprised that your parents allowed you to do so. I was certain that at least Karin would be opposed to you travelling around the country." I stated while tilting my head to the side. Cattleya simply gave me a warm smile while Eleanore finally let my master go in order to direct her attention to me. Louise simply remained quiet and started to rub her reddened cheeks with her hands.

"If you think so, then you're a lot more naive than I expected you to be." The blonde said while shaking her head and placing her hands on her hips.

"That 'Cat' can wrap both mother and father around her little finger should she be so inclined to do so. She never does without good cause in order to prevent them from catching on, especially mother." Eleanore elaborated while giving a flat stare at her younger sister. Cattleya on her part, simply blinked at the blonde a few times before placing her right index finger under her chin.

"Why sister, I know not what you mean by your words." Cattleya coyly stated with pursed lips. Now, there are beings in Gensokyo who have turned that kind of attitude into some sort of twisted art...myself included among them. The fact that someone as sharp as Eleanore would say something like that about her sister, a woman who had spent most of her life living with a terrible life threatening condition for a magician, it was enough to make me a bit more cautious when interacting with the middle sister.

"Oh, shut it. I shudder to think what you might have been capable of if you didn't have your illness growing up." The blonde shot back with half-a-glare. More and more, the Valliere sisters continued to show that they were each far more than what they seem to be on the surface.

"We may never know, Big Sister Eleanore." Cattelya said with a helpless shrug. The blonde merely sighed as Louise drifted back to Cattleya's side.

"In any case, Yamame wanted you two to know that she was going to stop Cattleya's treatments for now." Eleanore changed the subject without so much as a segue as she stepped into the room Cattleya came out of. The three of us followed her inside and saw that the two of them seemed to be sharing the room, obvious from the fact that the room was larger than Louise's and that there were two beds.

"What? Why would she stop the treatment?!" Louise asked, her voice rife with worry, while looking between her elder sisters. I raised a brow as well. There were only two possible reasons why the Earth Spider would suddenly stop something she had already put so much work into. Considering Cattleya's disposition at that moment...

"It is finished, Louise." Cattleya answered with a warm smile. It took Louise a moment to finally comprehend what that statement meant. When she did, my master stared long and hard at the middle sister with a searching expression.

"That means...you're...cured?" Louise hesitantly asked in a hushed voice. In response Cattleya simply gave my master a big hug and Louise immediately started sobbing into her sister's bosom.

"The treatment is complete?" I asked Eleanore so as not to disturb the other two sisters in their moment of bonding.

"Yamame sure thinks so. She said she wanted to give Cattleya something called a 'recovery period' to check if she doesn't get a...recoil? Or was it a rebound? Or a...return?" Eleanore explained before she began to seemingly struggle with a word. Considering that Yamame might have been speaking in medical terms...

"Do you mean a 'relapse'?" I provided and was rewarded with a sudden change in Eleanore's expression, one that showed realization and understanding.

"That's it! She said that she wanted to make sure that whatever she did was going to be permanent and won't have any negative effects on Cattleya later on in her life." The eldest sister said while nodding towards Cattleya.

"And what did your parents have to say about it?" I asked another important point. If Cattleya was finally cured of her condition, I can't imagine Karin and Eugene not making a big deal about it.

"We haven't told them yet." Eleanore immediately answered.

"It is to prevent them from getting suspicious about how Cattleya suddenly got cured. We are trying to make it seem like a gradual process of recovery rather than a sudden inexplicable miracle." The blonde added after seeing my raised brow.

"And do you think that they won't catch on to the truth?" I followed up. Eleanore responded with a shrug before turning back to her younger sisters.

"So long as she's careful and doesn't do anything crazy to attract undue attention, she likely has enough skill to make it look like the treatments she was getting from our healers was the cause of her recovery." She answered. It was simple and sound plan with very few things that could go wrong.

"Of course, this comes with her coming up with ridiculous ideas anyway..." Eleanore suddenly added irritably.

"Ideas? What kind?" I asked and was greeted with a big smile from the woman in question.

"I shall have mother and father enroll me into the Tristain Magic Academy once they are satisfied with my health!" Cattleya said with far more enthusiasm that she normally had whenever talking about something. I blinked at her words in mild surprise. Eleanore sighed and shook her head in obvious exasperation. Louise...abruptly stopped sobbing and remained eerily quiet for several moments, her face still buried between the middle sister's breasts. The three of us turned to her with varying degrees of concern. We let out a collective metaphorical breath we were holding when Louise stepped away from Cattleya and stared at her. My master looked like she was at a complete loss for words but managed to say something before any of us did.

"Vhaat?" Louise squawked out after her mind finally caught up with what Cattleya just said.

"Is that even allowed? Cattleya is a bit older than the standard age of students here." I inquired. Eleanore considered the question for a moment while Louise continued to stare at Cattleya in genuine surprise. To her credit, the middle sister simply returned the stare with a warm smile.

"I'm certain that mother and father can make it happen if they really wanted to. Cattleya was never given any structured formal education in magic due to her illness, so learning in the best Magic Academy in Halkeginia would be the best course of action. Even the best home tutors can't compare to an actual school of such reputation." Eleanore answered, once again reminding me of how much influence their family had among the nobility of Tristain. Cattleya decided to pick up the conversation by turning back to her still stunned younger sister.

"If it all goes well, we will finally be able to study magic together like you always wanted." The middle sister beamed, and expression Louise mirrored.

"That would be wonderful!" My master exclaimed so before once again hugging Cattleya. I could not help but smile along with them as they joy seemed mildly infectious in such a closed area.

?Are you sure you don?t want to join in? I?m certain that they would appreciate it.? I pointed out to Eleanore as we both looked on her younger sisters.

"That won't be necessary." The blonde brushed off my words as she continued to watch over her younger sisters. It was barely noticeable, but I was certain that she had a small smile at the time. I supposed that she was happy about the situation in her own way and left it at that. I turned my attention back to the other two sisters and heard Louise list out in rapid succession all the things Cattleya can look forward to once she gets enrolled in the academy. Eveything from lectures, to meals, to practical exercises, to summoning a familiar.

"Cattleya has yet to summon a familiar?" I suddenly cut in because of the last point. All three sisters turned to me at once but once again, Eleanore was the one who answered the question.

"Obviously, summoning a familiar is a taxing thing for any mage. You are basically reaching across the fabric of reality to call upon a familiar you need and would suit you the best. Father and Mother forbade her from even trying because no one knew if Cattleya could survive the ritual with her state of health." The blonde explained. It made sense, I supposed. Such a spell would have gottent Cattleya a familiar but likely at the great personal cost. Though it opened up a rather curious topic...

"More on that though, I don't believe that I have ever seen your familiar, Eleanore." I pointed out. I was certain that one as skilled in Halkeginian magic as Eleanore would have a familiar by now. Even so, not once during our visit to the Valliere manor did I see Eleanore's familiar. Then again, I don't think Matilda had a familiar either...

"I left Stradivarius in the capital when mother ordered me to retrieve the runt back then. He really isn't the kind of familiar that would be practical to bring for that kind of thing." The blonde responded. So her familiar's name is Stradivarius? Oddly, I then noticed Louise start to tremble in Cattleya's arms at the mention of the name.

"Oh, don't be so scared. Stradivarius is a very kind familiar." Cattleya assured her younger sister with a smile.

"Still scary..." Though my master seemed to be unconvinced by even Cattleya's words. Eleanore rolled her eyes at Louise's reaction before sighing.

"Oh, grow up." The blonde voiced her displeasure at her sister's attitude toward her own familiar.

"What manner of creature is your familiar anyway? If your element is Earth then that should narrow down the possibilities." I asked the eldest sister. Eleanore adjusted her glasses before giving out a hum and nodding to me.

"Oh...well, Stradivarius is an adamantine plated Earth Scorpion." Eleanore waved it off as if it wasn't really that big of a deal. Though...

"And how is that different from a regular scorpion?" I continued the line of questioning.

"You mean aside from it being a horrible scary giant bug?" Louise answered incredulously from Cattleya's side. I raised a brow at her description and turned back to Eleanore for a more coherent answer.

"Stradivarius is a giant scorpion the size of a large wolf and its carapace is made up of a metal known as adamantine. Its tail can also inject venom that can paralyze an adult griffin instantly or kill a man in moments with the same dose." Eleanore stated nonchalantly as she described what her summoned familiar was. I blinked at her as I tried to visualize what such a creature would look like.

"That...certainly would be quite a specimen..." I admitted. Indeed, a giant metal plated scorpion that was roughly as large as Guiche's giant mole would have been quite a sight.

"...scary..." Louise repeated from Cattleya side.

...

[Blackraptor]

...

"Woo! That's what I'm talking about!" Cirno cheered as we both just saw Louise successfully blast a perfectly shaped circular hole the size of a Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb clean through a wall of ice that Cirno made.

We were back in Mugenkan for the night after Louise went to sleep. It was just me, Louise, and Cirno there this time like it used to be. Yamame apparently was back in the Underground but was eagerly looking forward to the long-term results of her treatment of Cattleya. Yukari gapped in to deposit Cirno into Mugenkan but left just as quickly saying that she needed to discuss something with Yuyuko. Eleanore had to take care of a few things for her stay at the academy and Cattleya was helping her with it. Because of those circumstances, Mugenkan was a lot less crowded than it was a few days ago.

"I did it! Did you see that Yuka? I finally did it!" Louise cried out in joy as she gave me a bright smile while pointing at the hole she made with her broken spell.

"Indeed I did. Well done, Louise." I responded with my own smile and a nod. Indeed the amount of control Louise had over her broken spells was incomparable from what it was like when she first summoned me. In a matter of months, my little master was able to turn something she considered as her failing quality into an advantage. Turning weakness into a strength she can take advantage of in a number of situations.

"I'll say. I knew that directing all the force of your explosions would pack a serious punch but not this much. At most, I thought that you'd just crack the ice wall. I sure wouldn't want to be on the other end of that kind of explosion." The ice fairy added with a lopsided grin. Louise was blushing and had her own stupid grin on her face as well.

"It seems that making her visualize the flow of the spell was the correct course of action to bring about the desired effect." I recalled Cirno's suggestion after multiple attempts by Louise to create a directed shaped charge explosion were unsuccessful.

At first, Louise simply tried to force her explosion through sheer force of frustration and will. Obviously, it didn't pan out and it just made her tired. After several more experiments on casting time, range, and intensity, my former student decided to have Louise adjust something more internal instead.

So, instead of trying to shape the explosion once it detonates, Cirno had Louise shape the explosion in her mind before she even casts her spell. It also took a while to get her used to the idea but it helped a lot when Cirno suggested that she just visualizes every spell she casts as a drill that pierces her target. This was why the result of her efforts was a clean circular hole whenever she uses a shaped charge broken spell.

"Well, it was either that worked or we seriously had to look into the possibility of getting Louise a new kind of spell focus for that specific purpose." Cirno admitted with a shrug before making the wall of ice Louise just blew through shatter and vanish. I merely hummed in acknowledgement as I conjured up a table with three chairs and a full compliment of tea and snacks.

"A new kind of focus?" Louise perked up at the idea before sitting down on one of the available chairs.

"Yep. Your wand is pretty much a general purpose focus. It's great for casting nearly any kind of spell but it usually sucks if you want a very specific kind of spell or effect that you simply can't cast for one reason or another." Cirno explained before plopping on a chair before swiping an unsuspecting cupcake from the table.

"So what kind of focus did you think would work in case this method didn't work?" I asked while taking a seat on the remaining chair before pouring some tea for myself and Louise. Cirno chewed on the question for a moment while chewing on her cupcake at the same time.

"It would either be a Hakkero or a Dual-Helix shot staff. Though, it would probably take some work to train Louise to be comfortable enough to use either. If it came to that, it probably wouldn't have been worth the trouble anymore." My former student said while gesturing towards Louise with what was left of her cupcake. She then ate what the last bit of her snack and grinned at my master.

"Concept proven though. This now means that Louise could potentially shape her explosions into all kinds of stuff!" The ice fairy exclaimed before pouring herself a cup of tea.

"Stuff? What kind of stuff?" Louise immediately asked, clearly intrigued as to what else her explosive broken spells might be capable of.

"Shotgun spreads. Singularity isolated explosions. Pinpoint sized explosions that heat up to fusion temperatures. A coherent pyroclastic stream of kaboom. Explosions small enough to split a certain kind of atom and cause a chain reaction that would make the hydrogen in the air and--" My former student rattled of as she enumerated the vast number of ways to exploit explosions for varying kinds of collateral damage. However...

"Cirno." I called out to the ice fairy, interrupting her and turning her attention to me.

"What?" She asked with a blink and a tilted head.

"We're not here to turn Louise into a weapon of mass destruction." I stated, making the girl in question give me a searching look. I said nothing more on the matter but I was actually drawing back to my previous resolution of making sure that my master did not turn into some sort of monster.

I was enough of a monster for the both of us.

"That's...as correct as you are, that statement feels so wrong coming from you." Cirno with a stupid grin and a shake of her head.

"Noted. In any case, did you have anything else you want to go over with Louise?" I acknowledged with a shrug, it 'was' a rather odd thing for me to say, before posing my question. Cirno hummed thoughtfully at that as she sipped her drink. Louise stayed quiet but was clearly interested in what Cirno had to say.

"Nothing off the top of my head. Louise actually managed to clear everything I wanted to cover a lot faster than I thought. As far as using her explosions effectively, she already has it down pat. The only thing left is more practice and refinement, maybe even innovation by developing her own kinds of explosions." My former student answered with a smile. So, Louise's foundations were already set in terms of using her broken spells effectively. The only thing that needed to be done would be to build upon what she put so much work into.

"Well, if there wasn't anything you'd like to teach her then I would like to address something instead." I said while taking a sip of my own tea.

"What kind of something?" Louise asked me with a raised brow.

"I would like to call back to when you and Eleanore challenged me." I started by making them remember that match we had back when we visited the Valliere manor.

"An excellent showing from both you and your sister to be sure. However, it also showed that you have absolutely no experience or personal instinct to act in tandem with another." I pointed out to both of them. Louise seemed to be offended by this and proceeded to scowl at me.

"I did just fine when working with Big Sis Eleanore!" My master defended her performance indignantly. I expected as much since she did put in a lot of effort during that match as a pursuer. However...

"That was simply you trying your best to stay out of Eleanore's way while trying to tag me with your own explosions. The two of you weren't really coordinating with one another to defeat me." I clarified before picking up a random biscuit and popping it into my mouth. Louise was about to protest but I held up my right hand to prevent her from doing so.

"Case in point would be the times when you accidentally hit your sister's constructs inadvertently, thus giving me a chance to get away." I pointed out, getting an 'urk' from Louise at the very clear example I gave.

"Not exactly an easy thing to train on considering that there isn't anyone who can tag team with her at will." Cirno stated with a casual shrug. A shrug that she froze in the middle of when she saw the way I was smiling at her.

"Nonsense. We have someone clearly suited for the job right here. I mean, who else would be better as a partner that one who had a hand at training her?" I laid out my proposal to the two of them.

"You mean...working together with Cirno-nee?" Louise asked in clarification. Her voice and expression betrayed anticipation and excitement.

"Are you sure? Wouldn't another human be the best bet? Training on that kind of thing with a fairy would probably have the opposite effect since she'll likely end up working alongside other humans more than youkai. Heck, as far as we know, you're the only youkai there." Cirno asked before giving out a valid point and showing a thoughtful expression.

"Someone like Touya, or Rise, or even Manami could work well enough for that." My former student offered with a wave of her hand.

"Manami?" Louise asked, obviously unfamiliar with the name.

"She's a descendant of Marisa's. A magician with an odd sort of capability, both impractical yet can have infinite potential at the same time." I supplied while rubbing my chin with my right hand before shaking my head and moving on through the list.

"Rise is out of consideration. I mean, do you honestly think that she would willingly take time off her duties to help a magician who isn't even from Gensokyo? To say nothing of where said training would take place and who would be involved in it." I continued by pointing out why the wind priestess was a terrible choice for the matter.

"Point taken. What about Touya then? They already know each other so getting him up to speed shouldn't be a problem. Besides, he's such a nice guy so he'll probably jump at the chance to help out Louise considering he wasn't able to the last few times he wanted to help her." Cirno presented her counter-point. Indeed, Touya would have been the best option because of the points Cirno mentioned. However...

"As much as that choice makes sense, I am hesitant to ask for his help in this matter." I admitted with a sigh.

"How come? Don't tell me that it's because he's a guy." Cirno asked dubiously.

"Of course not. However, I'd like it better if Mugenkan did not become involved with the antics of the boy's day to day life." I explained, hoping that I was giving away enough for my former student to catch on.

"Day to day life? Would going here interfere with his duties then?" Louise picked up the line of conversation with questions of her own. Cirno and I blinked at Louise before glancing at each other and chuckling.

"Not so. Most of the time, barring some sort of incident of course, the boy would simply go about taking care of his chores at the shrine before lazing about for the rest of the day." I answered with a dismissive wave of my hand.

"Yeah. For the most part, being a Hakurei involves a few spots of crazy excitement every now and then but things are usually pretty peaceful otherwise. I'm thinking that Teach here is more worried about the people around Touya rather than the guy himself." Cirno answered before taking a shot at what she thought the reason for my apprehension on involving the boy in Louise's training.

"Indeed. Getting Touya involved would invariably get those three involved as well as that wind priestess at the very least. Worst case would be if Kanako and the others decide to 'intervene' for the 'best interest' of Touya and their respective charges. That kind of situation would blow up, one way or another." I confirmed before elaborating on my point. By now, Louise was already substantially lost and it showed with the way she was looking between the two of us.

"What in the Founder's name are you two even talking about now? I can't follow even half of what you are saying!" Louise let her frustration at being left out of the loop known.

"And if we're lucky, you never will. Believe me when I say that there will be nothing but trouble for everyone involved if we ask Touya Hakurei for help in your training." I answered, fully intending on leaving it at that. Louise seemed to understand and let the matter drop. My master most of all knew that the last thing she needed was even more problems to deal with.

"Dialing back a bit then, you never really said that Manami would be a bad idea. In fact, I'm sure that she and Louise could empathize with one another considering their respective circumstances." My former student immediately backpedalled to a previous suggestion she made. Obviously, what she said perked Louise curiosity.

"What do you mean? Is there something wrong with her?" Louise asked, immediately associating any sort of empathy between her and another magician with her previous failings as a conventional Halkeginian magician.

"Well, I wouldn't really say that. She can 'use' magic...it's just that she just can't cast spells the way everyone else normally can." Cirno started and I could see and hear that she wasn't really certain on how to breach the subject. With that in mind, I decided to do it for her.

"Manami Kirisame's odd limitation is that she cannot craft or cast danmaku or spell cards using her own magical power. For some odd reason, her internal reserves simply refuse to manifest itself for her personal use. Whether her magical energy is sealed or there simply isn't any in the first place, no one knows. In that sense, she is like yourself, unable to use the conventional magic of her realm despite coming from a family made famous because of their magic." I elaborated, each word making Louise eyes grow wider and wider.

"She's...like me..." She muttered to herself.

"In a way. However, Manami found out her limitation at an early age and quickly sought to find a means around it. Hence, she became what she personally coined as a 'Magician in Finding'." I added while doing quotation marks with my hands at the words 'Magician in Finding'. Louise blinked at the term before frowning at me and tilting her head to the side.

"Wait, don't you mean Magician in Training?" She asked with dubious confidence that she simply heard me wrong the first time.

"Nope. Teach is right with the term and it's actually really clever on her part too." Cirno picked up the explanation while snatching another cupcake before continuing.

"Remember, Manami couldn't use magic. At all. She couldn't craft spell cards. She couldn't use spell cards. She couldn't even dispense piddly rice grain danmaku. Even with the help of the original Hakkero, she couldn't get anything going. That's why she stopped trying to force something that clearly didn't work and looked for another way to cast magic. So, the very first thing she did was to look for someone who could help her with it. Hence, Magician in Finding." The ice fairy finished her explanation with a smile before chomping on her snack. Throughout Cirno's words, Louise remained quiet and had a look of deep concentration the whole time. Even after my former student finished, my master continued to remain silent.

"So she sought out a teacher...someone who could help her overcome her weakness. She actively took the matter into her own hands and tried to do something about it. I...never even thought of trying that..." Louise muttered mostly to herself as she stared at her own reflection on her cooling cup of tea.

"Hey, don't feel so bad about it. Especially since your teachers ended up finding you instead." Cirno said with a stupid grin on her face in order to lift Louise's spirits. Her words were true as well. Her improvement, particularly in utilizing her broken spells, grew drastically after we started training her in my border of dreams.

"And if I never summoned Yuka? If I summoned something else entirely? Founder forbid, what would I end up becoming if I ended up summoning a commoner instead?" Louise started rattling off. As she spoke, her face started turning paler and paler. It only stopped when I placed my right hand on her shoulder before giving it a soft squeeze.

"But you did summon me. Not another magical beast. Not another human. Certainly not a commoner. You have me instead. Never forget that fact, Louise." I clearly said in order to assure my little master. It seemed that even with all her emotional progress, hearing about Manami's past dug up some of her old stigma.

"I...did she find her Magician?" Louise started before shaking her head and asking more about the troublesome Kirisame.

"Indeed she did. She went to the usual suspects first of course. Alice, Patchouli, Byakuren, even Ran but none of them could figure out a way around her limitations. However, her salvation and teacher was found in the most unexpected of places." I answered before letting go of Louise's shoulder after I was certain that she had finally calmed down.

"Who became her teacher then?" Louise asked the obvious question.

"Her teacher was a long term resident of the Underground. In hindsight, she was the perfect one to help Manami along. Her teacher is Satori Komeji." I answered with a warm smile.

"Satori...Komeji. She's the youkai that can read minds right?" My master repeated Satori's name before clarifying who she was supposed to be.

"You got it~! One of Satori's trademarks is being able to copy other people's spell cards by taking their memory from the ones who used or encountered them. She calls those cards 'recollection' spell cards. That should clue you in on what Manami ended up learning from her." Cirno confirmed Louise's guess before giving another clue which related to Manami's studies in magic.

"Copying spell cards? I thought that she couldn't make or use them." Louise asked while furrowing her brows at the seemingly conflicting information.

"The only reason why she couldn't was because she didn't have any magical energy to be able to do so. Satori helped her get around that based on a certain concept." I answered before trailing off and sipping my tea.

"And that concept is..." Louise led while gesturing with her hands for either of us to continue.

"If she can't get magical energy from herself, why not get it from the ones she will be facing?" I posed the concept that Satori proposed to Manami. Louise blinked at me a few times before giving me an incredulous expression after she fully understood the implications of the question.

"Danmaku is inherently non-lethal. Even the most intimidating spell cards could do nothing worse than shred someone's clothes off their back. Satori decided to take advantage of that fact and helped Manami develop something that would use her opponents' Danmaku against them. Cirno, could you please show one of your spell cards to Louise?" I explained before asking my former student for a spell card. Cirno raised a brow at me, likely in silent wonder as to why I didn't use one of my own cards, before shrugging and snapping her fingers. A standard spell card appeared an inch above her hand that had a picture of falling icicles on it. She placed it face up on the table and I saw that it was one of her old Icicle Fall cards, the Easy Mode one.

"Thank you. As you can see, the face of the card has a visual representation of what the spell invoked would likely be like. This was to make it easier for the user to distinguish between cards." I started before flipping the card over and showing the intricate magic equation etched at the back. Louise's eyes widened at all the things written on the back of the spell card.

"The values and symbols you see are what actually shapes the spell into what it becomes once it activates. Usually, the caster needs to put in enough magical energy to initiate the spell itself which is why there is often a delay of a few seconds between a spell card's declaration and activation." I continued while tapping on the intricate yet purposeful designs on the back of Cirno's spell card with my right index finger.

"So you have to craft each spell card yourself?" Louise asked before reaching out and touching Cirno's Icicle Fall ~Easy~ spell card.

"Not exactly. The spell cards actually take care of the specifics of embedding the spell into the card automatically. All the user needs to do is to visualize what spell they want to store in the card and what it will end up turning into. One has to provide the magical energy the card needs to craft the spell into itself but, aside from those requirements, the card will take care of the rest from there." I clarified. The simplicity of creating spell cards was important for the less talented youkai to have a chance at making their own cards. This also allowed any newcomer from Gensokyo to be able to start making spell cards relatively quickly. The simplicity backfires of course since this allowed newcomers to the realm to start up incidents almost as soon as they show up.

"So how does any of this explain how Manami could create her own spells despite not having any access to magical energy?" Louise asked while flipping the spell card over to reveal the picture of my former student's icicles.

"Well, Satori taught Manami how to change how the cards worked. Instead of being used to craft and deploy spells, they modified Manami's card to do the opposite. They turned them into Capture Cards." I answered and let Louise comprehend the meaning of those words.

"So instead of making the card automatically craft the spell based on what someone wants...they made it so it will gather a spell instead?" My master ventured with a look of intense concentration.

"Got it in one. Good job~" Cirno praised her with a big grin, making Louise blush, before continuing the train of thought.

"Satori helped Manami develop the first and only Capture Cards in the history of Gensokyo. Since no one else who uses Danmaku has such a limitation, Manami is the only one who ever uses those cards." The ice fairy stated before picking up her spell card and flipping it between her fingers.

"So how does she use them then?" Louise asked the next obvious question.

"Not really sure on the specifics on how they pulled it off, but I do know that the cards themselves are empty. The only thing in there is the command to absorb and store whatever magic it comes in contact with. Obviously, the preferred kind of magic would be from Danmaku or other spell cards." Cirno responded while tapping on the face of her spell card.

"Wait...doesn't that mean that she needs to be in a duel in the first place to be able to gather magic inside those cards?" Louise suddenly exclaimed in realization. I decided to pick up the conversation at that point.

"Correct. That is both Manami's new limitation as well as what gives her great potential at the same time." I affirmed with a nod. Louise gave out a thoughtful hum before taking a cupcake to chew on.

"You see, Manami's Capture Cards do not record the pattern of the danmaku they absorb. The cards don't actually absorb and copy her opponent's spell cards outright. They simply gather the magical energy and record what the source looked like. This continues until the card is 'full'. Once the card is full, she can utilize what was captured as she saw fit. This is where her cards start becoming very interesting." I continued before shaking my head at how innovative yet limited the whole thing was.

"How so? If her cards just absorb the blasts until they fill up, doesn't that mean that the patterns would be random once she uses them?" I couldn't help but smile at how quickly Louise started picking things up.

"Normally yes. But naturally, Satori already put that into consideration when she came up with the Capture Cards. Remember when I said that regular spell cards automatically engrave the spell into themselves based on what the user wanted and how much power they put into it?" I answered before asking my question to make Louise recall a previous point in the conversation. At her nod I continued with the explanation.
 
"Satori removed that function to deal with the issue that you asked about. This meant that Manami had to manually arrange her patterns depending on what she had stored in each card." I explained as best I could based on what I had heard from Patchouli after Manami started using her Capture Cards in duels.

"That...sounds like a lot of work." Louise stated. Based on the pause she made before finishing her statement, she may have tried to visualize trying to manually arrange individual bullets into actual danmaku patterns.

"It probably is. However, this method is a double-edged sword for the girl." I responded with a nod before folding my arms and leaning back into my chair.

"How so?" Came the next obvious question.

"The biggest advantage of her cards is that you will never face the exact same pattern. It will always be different. Always. Her spell card patterns may seem similar but that is how she was able to achieve most of her victories. Her opponent gets hit by a stray bullet or orb or laser or kunai that wasn't there the last time they faced that pattern. Unpredictability is her greatest asset." I explained the strong points of Manami's Capture Cards.

"And the downsides?" Louise followed up by asking about the other side of the coin.

"All of her cards are one time use only." Cirno answered after she finished off yet another cupcake.

"One time use?" My master repeated the term in question form.

"Remember, Louise. Manami's Capture Cards can only absorb magic and bullets. She can also rearrange them the way she wants but they lose their magical energy as soon as she uses them since it was all borrowed energy in the first place. Once she uses a card, that's it. She needs to refill that card and do the whole process all over again." Cirno clarified while emphasizing the major limitation of Manami's developed system.

"Wait...isn't that really wasteful?" Louise reasoned out.

"Of course it is. However that was the only way for her to be able to utilize spell cards. Without her Capture Cards, she wouldn't even be able to participate in danmaku and spell card duels." Cirno countered with the reality that Manami faced if she didn't rely on her Capture Cards. After think about it for a few moments Louise just quietly nodded and looked a bit depressed. I supposed that she could relate to the girl on that level.

"It really isn't as bad as you'd think. She has Haki-chan with her to help her out on refilling her cards with the Kirisame trademark star-shaped bullets and lasers and such." Cirno quickly added after seeing her expression. Louise lifted her gaze to look at my former student and tilted her head to the side.

"Haki-chan?" Louise repeated the obviously unfamiliar name.

"The original Hakkero of Marisa Kirisame. Remember when I first explained how youkai can be created, yes?" I explained before calling back to our discussion way back when I first gave a glance at what I was truly capable of when Guiche challenged me to a duel. Louise looked deep in thought, likely recalling what we talked about at that time.

"You said that youkai are either just born the way they are or are animals or objects that have been around for so long or have been infused by magic that they gain awareness and turn into youkai." Louise stated with her eyes closed as if repeating a previously given lecture. Her eyes immediately shot open after she realized what she just said.

"Wait...you mean that magical focus you said that Marisa Kirisame used to copy your Master Spark became a youkai?" My master asked in surprise.

"Considering how old and how much magic it has been exposed to, I'd be surprised if it didn't. But yeah, Haki-chan is the original Hakkero that Marisa used to use to throw sparks around. In fact I wonder what Haki will think once Haki finds out that Teach is a guy now?" Cirno confirmed before asking her question with a sly smile directed towards me. I made sure to clear my throat to indicate that I did not wish to talk about the Hakkero.

"Huh? Why? And why do you keep regarding Haki by name?" Louise asked a question that I really wasn't really comfortable with.

"Oh~! That's because Haki refuses to confirm what Haki's real gender is. Also, Haki also had a certain 'fixation' towards Teach~" Cirno was having far too much fun milking that fact.

"W-w-w-what?! How can you not tell what a person's gender is?" Louise once again asked the obvious question.

"Well~! Haki-chan can pass as either a male or female and wears a loose kimono that doesn't really reveal much in regards to Haki's gender. As for Haki's 'attraction' towards Teach, I think that just wants to graze Teach's Master Spark with Haki's hitbo--" I didn't let Cirno finish as I immediately dismissed the table and chairs I conjured up as well as the snacks and tea. Both Cirno and Louise fell on the ground with respective yelps and looked at me to complain but stopped when they saw my smile.

"Well, we have plenty of time to discuss that another time. For now, I'm sure Cirno would be more than willing to be your partner tonight." I stated with a beatific smile that both Louise and Cirno trembled under. I maintained my smile even as my sunflowers all turned to the two of them all at once and they immediately started running. Well, Louise ran while Cirno flew.

"Let's begin~"

...

[Blackraptor]

...

It was another beautiful day at the Tristain Magic Academy. The sun was up like a magnificent father, shining down at everyone with its gross incandescence. Everyone was once again out in the large field where the girls had their workouts with Agnes and her knights.

The difference between the last time they were here though was that both the boys and the girls of Louise's class were all there. There were other differences as well. Instead of the students doing repetitions of a basic combat attack under the strict watchful eye of the Musketeer Knight Squadron Captain, they were all sitting comfortably on the soft grass listening to a lecture under the strict watchful eye of Louise's eldest sister.

Much like before though, I was standing a distance away alongside Ruukoto. However, there was someone else standing to my other side as well.

"Big Sister Eleanore really comes into her own whenever she's teaching, doesn't she? Don't you think so, Yuka?" Cattleya asked while nudging my arm with her elbow. The middle sister was wearing a simple yet fine pink dress and saw it fit to 'get some sun' as she termed it and 'just so happened' to come across Eleanore's lecture and decided to observe. Fortunate for her that Ruukoto and I 'coincidentally' were there to keep her company when she decided to do so.

Indeed, Cattleya was proving to be much more than what I had originally thought her to be.

"Well? Don't you think that our sister shines the brightest in this kind of setting?" The middle sister asked again, this time nudging me with her whole shoulder. I sighed and decided to answer her, if only to get her to stop her childishness.

"Well, Eleanore is obviously an intelligent woman and an intellectual given her profession as a researcher. It stands to reason that she would be in her element when giving lectures to students as well. Agnes did refer to her as a Professor after all." I responded while gesturing to the woman in question who was pacing in front of Louise's class as she gave her lecture.

"So, you think that Eleanore is at her most beautiful like this?" Cattleya followed up with another question. I raised a brow at her and saw that she was looking intently at me with an expectant smile. I looked between her and the eldest sister and shrugged.

"I...suppose." I answered with shake of my head. This made Cattleya give me a beaming smile while nodding her head.

"That's wonderful! I look forward to meeting my nieces and nephews in a few years~" The middle sister exclaimed as she placed her hands on her cheeks before giggling to herself. I couldn't help but sigh at her antics. Ruukoto, as usual, simply continued to keep an eye on Louise and the others without providing any sort of comment on Cattleya's words.

"You are really pushing for Eleanore and I to have something happening between us aren't you? All I can ask is why in the Blazing Fires do you think anything could even work between us? Least of all since I'm not really interested in such things." I asked her before pointing out a facet of myself that I've had to reiterate a number of times already.

"Why not? I very much believe that you and Big Sister Eleanore would be a wonderful match for one another." Cattleya stated without any hint of shame or hesitation. She then adopted a thoughtful look before turning back to the class we were watching over. I thought the matter dropped and didn't comment on it any further. It was a clear mistake on my part.

"Well, could it be that you might be interested in Louise..." She started before giving me a sidewards glance and a coy smile.

"...or might you be interested in me instead?" Cattleya asked with an odd glint in her eye. She held her gaze for a moment before...

"Or does Lady Yukari already occupy your heart? She is quite the beauty after all and I can understand if--" Completely changing gears.

"No. Not Yukari. Definitely, not Yukari." I interrupted her speculation with a cold and decisive truth. In fact, I would feel nothing but pity for anyone who would find themselves in a romantic relationship with the border youkai.

"Then is it someone else entirely? Louise did once mention a personal mentor in one of her letters. A female earth mage, I think. Though I have yet to meet the woman personally..." The middle sister pushed on by shifting the focus to our currently absent companion.

"Her name is Matilda. She is currently taking care of a personal matter and Louise and I are waiting for her safe return." I clarified even though my cynical subconscious sneered at my own words.

"Oooohhh...it's 'Matilda' then, is it?" Cattleya said before giving me an odd smile...as if she just found out something important.

"Yes, that is the name of her tutor. Is something wrong?" I asked with my now maintained raised brow. The middle sister maintained her gaze upon me before shrugging her shoulders.

"If you are asking me that question then it would be better if you realize it for yourself. Though I suppose this means that there's still a chance..." Cattleya responded before turning her attention back to the students. I was about to inquire as to what she meant but just decided to drop the subject for the moment when it looked like Eleanore just asked Tabitha to stand for a question.

"You are leading a unit of nobles and commoners in battle but you were routed and are now surrounded with your remaining soldiers. I ask then, Chevalier Tabitha. Do you fight to the last in the name of your King and Country? Or do you surrender to your enemy?" Eleanore asked an oddly serious situational question to the quiet Gallian.

"Immediate surrender. Survive." Tabitha immediately answered without a single moment of hesitation. Eleanore stared at her for several moments and I could tell that Tabitha was meeting her gaze the entire time.

"So you would surrender instead of dying with pride as a noble?" The eldest sister asked with her arms folded.

"Dying accomplishes nothing. Pride would not save me and my men. Surrender. Survive. Wait for an opportunity later on." Tabitha stated, justifying her decision.

"An odd answer. Is there no cause you are willing to die for?" Eleanore followed up with another quick question.

"None." And Tabitha responded at once.

"Your family? Your friends? Your loved ones? You are not willing to die for their sakes?" Eleanore asked, her eyes betraying curiosity rather than anger or irritation due to the sheer conviction Tabitha showed with her answers.

"No. I will not die for their sakes. I will continue to live for their sakes. I will stay alive for their sakes. I will survive for their sakes." The usually quiet Gallian responded with an uncharacteristic amount of volume in her voice. The entire field was silent for several moments, the students looking between Tabitha and Eleanore in rapt anticipation on what would happen next.

"Well said. You may be seated." Eleanore said with a nod of approval. A nod Tabitha returned before sitting back down on the grass next to Kirche.

"I hope that you were all listening to what your peer just said." Eleanore stated while taking the time to look at each student she was giving a lecture to. The blonde narrowed her eyes at the ones who suddenly looked worried, likely they didn't pay attention to Tabitha's answer.

"Some of you may agree to her point she was trying to make. Some of you may not. Some of you may not even care because the situation does not concern you right now." Eleanore continued while pacing around once again.

"Those of you who agree have good reason to do so. Dying like an animal without cause is a disgrace to the nobility, especially if you would have more use alive than dead." The blonde said with a wave of her hand as if to agree to what Tabitha's prior answer.

"Those of you who disagree also have good reason to do so. Surrendering to those who have killed your fellow countrymen would be an insult to any proud member of the Tristain nobility." She then added to give credence to the other side of the argument as well. Obviously, this made the students rather confused. As such they began to glance at each other and mutter amongst themselves. Louise had her back turned to us so I couldn't tell what her expression was. However, by the way she and Kirche were tilting their heads toward each other, the two of them seemed to be talking about something. Guiche and Monmon were doing the same while Tabitha simply started reading a book, satisfied with her own answer and would have likely denied any others that pointed to the contrary.

"A question, professor." Eleanore's 'fangirl' Marialena piped up with a raised hand. She looked a bit nervous with suddenly becoming the center of attention once more but steeled herself after seeing the eldest sister nod to her in a gesture to continue.

"Which would be the correct answer then? Do we surrender or not?" The girl asked the question that must have been burning through most of the minds of the students present. Eleanore adjusted her pointy glasses as she took a moment to look at each student. I wasn't sure why she kept doing that. Was she trying to gauge everyone's attentiveness based on their expressions as the lecture went on? Any possible way to determine an answer to that question simply through idle observation was interrupted when the woman in question finally spoke.

"A fair question. The answer is this. Neither answer is correct. Neither answer is wrong. Both answers have their consequences." Eleanore spoke out in a way that was both logical and yet left no real room for argument. That was because she was correct.

"The scenario I gave was at most a vague and general situation. Aside from the fact that you would be in command of a unit that had lost a battle and was surrounded, no other information was provided. Depending on the situation, either option is viable but both would still have consequences." Eleanore clarified before repeating her earlier point.

"Surrender would give you and your men the best chance of survival. However, you have to take into account if the enemy is even willing to take prisoners and what they would even do once you are in their custody...a very real concern for the women here." She continued, stating the pros and cons of surrendering to an enemy force in the middle of a perceived war. The girls definitely looked uncomfortable at the implication made on what male soldiers would likely do to female prisoners of war.

"Fighting back would give you and your men a chance to either overcome your foes somehow or at least a chance to escape. However, this carries the very real risk of getting all of you killed or those who may survive would either be executed to turned into prisoners anyway." Eleanore continued to do the same with the other side of the argument. To overcome their foes, or die in a final act of glorious defiance, or to suffer an ignoble death through execution or imprisonment.

"If you ever find yourself in the field of battle, such things are a fact of life. Most of you will likely not have a position of command but you are expected to at least have the wisdom to know which choice to make depending on the situation you find yourselves in. It may be correct, it may not. However, you will have a chance. And sometimes, a chance is enough." The blonde continued before talking about other things that I didn't really have much interest in. I eventually just zoned out and relaxed under the rays of the sun as the lecture went on. I wasn't sure how long I was out of things but I finally snapped out of my trance when I felt something poke at my stomach.

"Is he asleep?" I heard Monmon ask. I finally noticed that Louise and her friends were surrounding me. It seemed that Eleanore's lecture had already ended and the students had already dispersed and were preparing for lunch. Both of Louise's elder sisters as well as Agnes' group were already gone too and the only ones left were us. No guesses as to why...

"Yuka does this sometimes whenever he has to wait around with nothing to do." My master helpfully provided from my right side, Ruukoto as always was impassively standing behind her.

"So this is normal?" Guiche asked a bit worriedly. He and Monmon were standing off to my left while Tabitha was a short distance away from the spectacle and was of course reading another book and was seemingly ignoring the proceedings.

"He's just spacing out." Louise waved off their concerns just as I felt something poke my torso again.

"Should we do something?" Monmon asks just as the poking turned into a caress. With everyone else accounted for, it became obvious that the one touching me was Kirche.

"Oh, I'd do something alright~" Came the reply from none other than the redheaded Germanian. She was slightly bending over directly in front of me and was running her hands on my torso as if inspecting it for imperfections.

"Kirche, stop groping Yuka." Louise deadpanned and was absentmindedly waved off by the person in question.

"Do you think he'd notice it if I shoved my tongue down his throat?" Kirche casually asked while peering at my face.

"Kirche! Get away from my familiar! Now!" Louise yelled out at the other girl before she started trying to pull her away from me.

"Awww~! If you wanted me to do you first, all you had to do was ask~" Kirche said to my master in the voice she usually used in order to get what she wanted from males. Louise froze in recognition of the way her friend spoke and started backing away once Kirche started doing grabby motions with her hands.

"It's cuddling time~" Kirche sweetly said while giving Louise a cheshire smile.

"No Kirche! No!" Louise yelled out before going on full retreat with Kirche chasing after her.

"Your resistance will only make me cuddle you harder~" The Germanian gleefully called back as she and my master began chasing each other around the field. Monmon and Guiche looked on with varied degrees of amusement at their antics. Tabitha gave out a barely noticeable sigh before walking up to me. The small girl looked up at me with her deadpan expression before using her pocketbook to bop me on the head. The action was rather impressively done as she had to stand on her tiptoes in order to reach high enough to do so. Both Monmon and Guiche gasped at the seemingly sudden aggression by the Gallian while Louise was still being chased around by Kirche. Satisfied with what she did, Tabitha lowered her 'weapon' and looked into my eyes again.

"Acting. Stop it. Too noisy." The blue haired girl said simply but with a hint of irritation. It seemed that her reading was disturbed by the subsequent antics that occurred because of my spacing out.

"How long?" I asked with equal simplicity at how long she had noticed.

"Wait, you're already conscious? Since when?" Monmon asked the obvious question.

"Since the poking." Tabitha supplied before going back to reading her book.

"Well, now that we have that out of the way, aren't you all going to get ready for lunch?" I asked the three of them.

"We would have already gotten to our seats if a certain someone hadn't gone into a trance because he found Professor Valliere's lecture boring." Monmon deadpanned while giving me a flat look.

"Now now dear Monmon..." Guiche said while holding onto his lover's hand in a bid to calm the girl down.

"Yes, indeed. That is quite the inconvenience for the sake of just one inconsiderate person. Whoever that is should really be ashamed of himself." I agreed with a nod while folding my arms and leaning back.

"Whaaah! She's got me! She's got me! Help!" Louise wailed in the distance. We all turned in her general direction and found that Kirche was cuddling Louise from behind while the smaller girl ineffectively tried to escape from the other's grasp. I glanced at Ruukoto as it approached me from the side.

"Fuga? Fuga." The gynoid asked if it was necessary for it to intervene. It also noted that Louise's safety was not in immediate danger but it was concerned that she might pass out because of all the excitement.

"No...I think Tabitha has this one covered." I responded while nodding towards the blue haired girl as she approached her two friends.

"Unhand me you brute! Gah! Where do you think you're touching?!" My master yelled out as she continued her struggle.

"Nope~! MY cuddly little Valliere~! No one else will have you~" Kirche declared before she started rubbing their cheeks together in an obvious sign of affection.

"Aaah! Someone help me! Yuka! Chii-nee-sama! Big Sis Eleanore! A Zerbst is trying to steal me away!" Louise flailed all she could but Kirche showed a surprising amount of upper body strength. Not only was she restraining my master in the form of of an embrace, she was also holding her up off the ground by several inches. Without any purchase on the ground to get leverage on, Louise simply did not have the mass to free herself from the Germanian's clutches.

"Silly Louise~! You don't have a lover right~? So, I'm not stealing you~! I'm claiming you~" Kirche answered with an incredibly happy smile on her face. Well, that was until Tabitha bopped her and Louise on the head with her pocketbook. Both girls ceased all movement in favor of staring at Tabitha in surprise at the sudden action.

"Hungry. Lunch now. Continue in private later." Tabitha laid out her ultimatum and her two friends could do nothing but nod mutely in agreement. Both of them knew that upsetting their otherwise quiet friend was a bad idea so they just went along with what she wanted. The girl seldom demands anything from anyone after all.

"Well, I suppose I am feeling a bit peckish. How about you Louise?" Kirche stated calmly, if a bit stiffly, before asking for my master's own opinion.

"Indeed. We better get to the Alvis Dining Hall before the servants start serving the food." Louise responded, with equal stiffness in her voice. Satisfied that everyone was on the same page, Tabitha returned to reading her book as she quietly walked off to the where the dining hall was located.

"I suppose we should follow, lest we wish to earn our friend's ire next." Guiche suggested with a smile to Monmon.

"Agreed. We'll meet the rest of you there then." The blonde girl added before she was led by Guiche to the dining hall. Ruukoto and I then approached the remaining two members of our little party, who were still staring in the direction where Tabitha walked off to.

"Well?" I asked the two of them with a raised brow.

"Just making sure she's gone. Tabitha can get really scary when she's mad." Kirche explained with Louise nodding in agreement.

"Well, in any case, we'd better follow them to the dining hall to prevent her from getting upset again." I suggested the obvious.

"Agreed. You can let go now Kirche." Louise responded with a nod before looking up at her captor in request for her freedom. Kirche blinked at my master before that smile of her returned, making Louise flinch.

"Whatever do you mean~? Tabitha said that we can continue this in private later right~? So, we'll eat to get our energy up and we'll pick up where we left off in my room~" The Ardent Flame reminded the Void Magician of the stipulation their friend gave earlier before she left.

"That won't be a problem, will it?" Kirche then asked me with a wink. I considered her question for a moment while glancing at Louise's incredulous expression. The kind of expression that seemed to be saying 'why are you not disagreeing with her yet?'

"Well, I suppose not. Louise should be able to handle most of any situation by now and I'm certain that you won't do anything to harm her." I reasoned out to the beaming smile of the Zerbst and the paling face of the Valliere.

"Wonderful~! Let's go Louise~! I'll be sure to feed you a lot so you'll have enough energy for what I have in store for you in my room later~" Kirche said while waggling her eyebrows at my master who looked as pale as a ghost.

"Yuka! Don't you dare leave me alone with her! Yuka! Yukaaa!" My master's indignant shouts continued as Kirche carried her all the way to the dining hall.

"Fuga?" Ruukoto asked if that whole thing was really necessary as the two of us walked to the dining hall at a far more sedate pace.

"I'm certain that Kirche was simply messing with Louise. At most, she will likely take Louise to her room for more cuddling until the afternoon classes start." I reasoned out with a shrug.

"Fuga?" The gynoid repeated its question, asking if 'that' was really necessary as well.

"Louise's and Kirche's families have been in a long-term feud for generations it seems. It certainly did not help that their family lands were right next to each other in the opposing borders of Tristain and Germania." I started, calling back to when Cirno once asked Louise about the antagonism between the Valliere and the Zerbst during one of Louise's training sessions in Mugenkan. The Ice Fairy wanted the two of them to learn more about each other so they started trading stories and my master eventually touched the subject about their family feud with Kirche's family.

"Fuga Fuga." The gynoid inferred correctly when it said that I was deliberately bringing Kirche and Louise together in order for them to lay the groundwork in ending the feud.

"Kirche and Louise have shown that they can get along and become genuine friends. There is no need for them to be tied down by silly things such as a feud that they never even had a hand in." I explained with a dismissive wave. Ruukoto nodded in agreement and we continued to the Alvis Dining Hall in silence. Hopefully, Kirche didn't embarrass Louise too much that a new feud between their families centered on the two of them would start.

...

[Blackraptor]

Here is a bit of a throwback to the Lunarian Invasion Event that happened around five-hundred years ago. This is also an experiment for me as I wanted to try to write something in nothing but narrative without any dialogue.

...

It was a peaceful night in Gensokyo. None more peaceful than at the shores of the lake of mists from the perspective of a certain ice fairy. The blue haired resident of the lake was finishing up another busy day of trying out several new methods of freezing frogs she found near the shore. The number of frogs that became encased in her ice was a new personal record for her. It was another proud achievement for the self-styled strongest fairy of Gensokyo.

Satisfied with another productive day of hard work, the ice fairy was just about ready to head back to her tree to get some sleep. Tossing back the frogs she froze back into the lake to thaw, she had discovered that doing so would give her a constant supply of the amphibians to freeze the day after, she turned from the shore and started her flight back into the woods.

That was when she heard the boom.

Cirno felt her whole body shake in the wake of the loudness of it all. It took her a moment to get her orientation the way it was supposed to be, quickly reminding herself that the ground should not be floating above her head. She then looked up after noticing the ground become illuminated with a multicolored glow. She knew instinctively what those colors normally represented. With curiosity and excitement, the fairy looked up and was in shock.

The night sky was alight with more colors than she could ever imagine was possible.

She momentarily wondered what was going on. Was someone having a Spell Card Duel? A duel in the middle of the night?

The fairy blinked as several streams of white light fell from the sky, seemingly aimed at the mansion situated in the middle of the lake. The structure known as the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

The lights stopped short of their target though as a very large multi-colored magic circle prevented them from hitting the mansion. A moment later, a very frightening roar of rage came from within the structure, followed by a spear made of red light that shot up into the sky.

Cirno immediately felt that what was happening high in the sky was no ordinary Spell Card Duel. Something was happening, likely another one of those incidents the Shrine Maidens tend to butt into.

As if to punctuate the point, she suddenly heard the sounds of several beams and danmaku being fired from within the woods. The fairy prepared herself for whatever came out of the woodwork as it were. She just didn't expect the thing to come out was her best friend. She opened her mouth to ask what was going on but Daiyousei quickly yelled at her to get down before tackling the fairy into the ground.

Cirno grunted as she landed roughly with her frind on top of her. It wasn't something to cry about as she had experienced far more painful things in the past.

She heared Daiyousei scream in fear as several of the strange white streams of light flew above their prone forms. Cirno didn't know what was happening but she knew that her friend was scared. She immediately rolled the two of them over so she was on top of the frightened fairy before encasing the two of them under the strongest dome of ice she could make in such a situation.

She felt the dome shudder after getting hit over and over again by those white lights. The ice fairy was getting more and more upset at whoever was shooting at them but she still had the sense of mind to prioritize her friend over her own pride. Cirno then noticed a lull in the attack, as if whoever was shooting at them suddenly gave up. That was the impression she got anyway and decided to capitalize on the oppportunity it presented her. She grinned to herself before shattering the dome of ice. Cirno got to her feet and declared her intent to enact cold vengeance upon the one who dared to harm her and her friend.

Her declaration was cut short when she realized a few things...

One: It turned out that there was more than one person shooting at them.

Two: Those 'people' looked oddly like that one wabbit from the bamboo forest who kept flashing her knickers at everyone but they were holding odd looking staves.

Three: Far from running away, the unknown wabbit seemed to be surrounding them in all directions.

She heard Daiyousei call out her name worriedly from the ground. The wabbits pointed the end of their weapons at the two fairies and were telling them to surrender themselves to their custody. Cirno didn't really know what the blazes they were talking about but they certainly did not look very friendly. The ice fairy declared who she and her friend were and laughed at the follishness of the wabbits who dared attack them.

Cirno pulled out a spell card and all the wabbits immediately pointed their weapons solely at her. The green haired fairy immediately started yelling at her, desperately trying to tell her friend something but it was too late.

The simple ice fairy of the Misty Lake couldn't have possibly known who the individuals surrounding her were.

She couldn't have known that the foes she faced were all professional soldiers, trained to kill with the weapons in their hands.

She couldn't have known that the spell card rules were thrown out the window just moments ago.

She couldn't have known that the lights in the sky were signs of a desperate pitched battle.

She couldn't have known that the Lunarians were invading Gensokyo.

Ice Sign ~Icicle Fa--

Light Sign ~Earth Light Ray~

Cirno's spell card declaration was interrupted by a faster one from above. All the wabbits trained their weapons upwards but were too late as each and every one of them go hit by an intense but accurate blast of white light. They all screamed in pain before collapsing on the ground a moment later. Cirno knew that spell, she had been hit by it several times before. That was why she was confused as to why the wabbits weren't getting back up after getting hit. The fairy's thoughts were interrupted when she felt Daiyousei pull at her arm before yelling at her to get away from the wabbits. Surprised at the sudden forcefulness of her friend, Cirno allowed herself to be dragged away from their now motionless foes.

The two fairies then looked up when a frantic voice called out their names. Cirno immediately recognized the newcomer by the black and white witch's outfit and the broom she constantly rode on, even though the fairy knew that she can fly without it when she got older, which confirmed who the spell came from.

The adult, by human standards, Ordinary Witch of Gensokyo landed next to them and quickly asked if they were fine. This prompted the greater fairy to say that she was mostly okay thanks to the efforts of the ice fairy. Surprisingly, Marisa Kirisame smiled at the blue haired fairy before ruffling her hair and congratulating her at a job well done.

However, the smile faded in an instant when she told the two of them to get to somewhere safe like deep inside the Forest of Magic. The ice fairy asked what was going on but the witch had already hopped onto her broom before quickly telling them that there was no time and to get to safety. Neither fairy managed to get another word in edgewise as the witch quickly zoomed off towards the mansion on the lake.

The two fairies looked a each other before quickly deciding to go somewhere else. Cirno suggested to look for the rest of their friends, worried that they might have been attacked in the same way. The two of them looked up when great streams of fire danced across the skies along with the countless bullets and lasers that continued to be fired. Daiyousei said that she was scared. Cirno assured her that they would be safe if they stayed together. The greater fairy remained quiet and simply held on to her friend's hand as they flew into the woods.

...

Ice Sign ~Icicle Machine Gun~

The ice fairy put down more and more of the wabbits that seemed to constantly get in their way. Cirno didn't even have time to notice that her icicles were physically embedding themselves into their targets and drawing blood. She most certainly did not notice that all the wabbits she hit didn't get up anymore. What she did notice was that there were a lot of wabbits and youkai who were lying on the ground everywhere and not moving. Even some of the random fairies looked like they were burned or ripped apart by something. Cirno didn't think anything of it since she had seen worse being done to fairies and they'd just reincarnate good as new. Indeed, even she had been through worse 'deaths' and she reincarnated just fine afterwards.

On the other hand, her best friend was getting more and more worried about the whole situation. She hadn't told Cirno but she passed those fairies and youkai as she tried to escape those wabbits who were trying to shoot her down. The greater fairy knew that the bodies of the fallen fairies at least should have already poofed out of existence to await reincarnation after a time, but none of them were doing that. All the fairies that fell to the weapons of the wabbits were not automatically trying to reincarnate. That fact scared the greater fairy a great deal.

They managed to clear the woods after avoiding what seemed to be more and more of those wabbits before they came up to what should have been the sunflower field. Cirno didn't have the awareness or reflex to cover her ears when Daiyousei decided to scream her lungs out at what they saw. The result was rather painful and mildly disorienting for the ice fairy.

In front of them was the Garden of the Sun. Normally a veritable ocean of yellow with all the giant sunflowers that called it home, it was instead stained all over with red. Chunks of meat that may or may not have been wabbit parts littered all over the sunflower field. Cirno pointed up to the sky where more of those wabbits were descending towards the garden. Daiyousei screamed again and turned her eyes away from the horror as the wabbits were fired upon by the bloody sunflowers below.

The invaders did not seem to know or understand who laid claim to the domain of the sunflowers. For if they knew, they wouldn't have kept throwing more and more of their soldiers at it. Who knew what went on in the mind of the one who caused this clash of power between the Moon and the Eastern Wonderland. It could be that the one in charge knew exactly who it was at the center of that sunflower field but simply did not care or was clearly underestimating the one who had the innate power over flowers.

Cirno was completely mesmerized by the exchange of lights between the sunflowers and the dwindling number of wabbits in the sky. Their previous plan of finding their friends and getting to a safe place was momentarily put to a halt at the sheer facination of the ice fairy. Then, for the second time that night, her found herself tackled to the ground by her friend. Cirno briefly wondered for a split-second if that was going to be a thing between them from then on when she heard the greater fairy scream in pain after a flash of light hit her body.

The ice fairy quickly got Daiyousei off her and saw that the other fairy was bleeding from a wound somewhere on her back. The greater fairy grimaced in pain whenever she tried to move and couldn't coherently respond to her friend's worried calls. Cirno then turned to the source of the lights and saw a few more of those wabbits appearing from within the woods and aiming their strange weapons at them. They were spouting nonsense about not fighting back or else they would be punished in the name of the moon. The ice fairy didn't care what they said even if she could have comprehended their words.

They hurt her friend. She was fully committed to returning the favor.

She quickly flew to the side in order to get the attention of the wabbits on her and away from her wounded friend. She was quickly fired upon by the wabbits and it took everything she had to simply avoid the beams of light for a few scant seconds, enough time to pull out and declare a spell card.

Cold Sign ~Insta-Freeze Beam~

She was not even aiming when she fired the beam of cold. Due to the harried attacks of the wabbits, all she could manage was to point the freeze beam in their general direction. The cries of pain and the lessened number of beams seemed to mean that she found some measure of success in her counter attack. She did not see that she managed to hit several of the wabbits in the face. The freezing beam either preventing them from breathing or simply froze their entire head all the way into their brain. The remaining wabbits began chasing her after she started to get more distance between them.

The ice fairy then heard a strange whisper in the air. She couldn't recognize off the top of her head who the voice belonged to, she was rather busy at the moment, but it tried to compel her to fly into the sunflower field.

Normally, Cirno would have probably stayed away from the sunflower field, especially considering its current state. She had never seen the field of yellow stained red before, not having been present there when the residents of Makai barged into the realm. However, the obvious cover that the bloody giant sunflowers provided quickly convinced the ice fairy to duck into the field anyway.

She weaved through the sunflowers with mild difficulty. It was nothing she hadn't already dealt with in spell card duels but it was still a challenge since she wasn't used to avoiding so many stems. Cirno's concentration was fully committed to not crashing into the sunflowers in her drive to get deeper into the field that she never noticed that the wabbits who were chasing her were already gone.

The wabbits did not get lost in the field of giant sunflowers. Not at all. Instead, the poor Lunar Rabbits were turned into plant food by the flowers themselves. The mistress of the field did not take kindly to the way the wabbits treated her sunflowers when they first arrived and thus provided them the means by which to defend themselves with.

The ice fairy kept flying until she inexplicably managed to get to the middle of the field without getting lost or turned around along the way. In the center of the field, she found the Flower Master of the Four Seasons. The woman was standing in the middle of a clearing at the center of the Garden of the Sun. Her eyes were closed and her parasol was open and was leaning on her right shoulder. She had a refreshed and contented expression, so much so that the ice fairy almost thought that there was glow about her. It was the scene of perfect serenity.

Well, it would have been if her hair, clothing, face, and parasol did not have warm blood everywhere. Mind, the Sleeping Terror was not completely covered in lifeblood, but merely had splotches liberally applied on her person. Puddles of red liquid and chunks of meat were littered on the ground surrounding the ancient monster as well.

The mistress of the sunflower field opened her eyes and turned to the near-haggard ice fairy. She raised a brow in momentary wonder before musing to herself that she never instructed her flowers to devour anything other than Lunar Rabbits that wandered too close to them. She then narrowed her eyes at the ice fairy before dropping the small smile that was on her face.

The youkai known as Yuuka Kazami then stated that she remembered the the blue fairy that floated before her. The fairy that laid claim to a chance victory against her during an incident at the end of the most recent sixty year cycle of the Sanzu. Cirno flinched at her words for she too remembered her previous duel against the plaid-clad youkai. The flower youkai then commented on the foolishness of the fairy, wandering into her domain in the middle of such a situation. This prompted the fairy to belt out question after question from who those wabbits were to what was going on everywhere.

The flower youkai shook her head at the fairy's questions and merely looked up. The ice fairy looked up as well on reflex and saw the continuing massive danmaku battle that was seemingly going on. The fairy then turned back to the old monster when she said one thing without a hint of humor.

The sky is falling

The fairy tilted her head to the side and blinked several times at the elder youkai. Her mind was unable to comprehend why she said those words or why her expression was no longer content or relaxed. The old flower then turned back to her when she suddenly gasped in realization of something important. Before any more words could be exchanged, the fairy suddenly flew back into the mass of sunflowers in an arbitrary direction.

The ice fairy was in a state of panic as she blasted through the field once more. She mentally kicked herself for leaving Dai on her own, injured at that, while she was talking to the old youkai.

The Sleeping Terror of Gensokyo sighed and shrugged at the impulsiveness of the ice fairy. She didn't bother to try to tell blue fairy that she started flying in the wrong direction. It wasn't really her problem anyway. Instead, she turned her attention back to the skies just in time to block another blast from a Lunar Rabbit's beam rifle with her parasol. The smile on Yuuka Kazami's face returned once more a moment before she resumed her favorite pastime.

The ice fairy yelled out her friend's name after she finally managed to get out of the sea of sunflowers. She looked around in alarm when she did not find Dai in the immediate vicinity. It was then that she finally realized that she ended up coming out from a completely different part of the sunflower field. The ice fairy decided to take the advice that the Hakurei Shrine Maiden once gave Cirno and her friends in case they ever get lost.

When in doubt, head left.

Obviously, since the Garden of the Sun was vaguely circular in its coverage of the area, Cirno was eventually able to return to the place where she left Daiyousei. The problem was, she was in the process of being poked at by more of those wabbits. They were speaking to each other while poking at her injured friend with their weapons and the ice fairy was not happy about their treatment of her friend.

She pulled out a spell card and charged in with a mighty battle cry before declaring it.

Ice Cube ~Great Crusher~

A very large crudely shaped hammer made of ice formed in the fairy's hands. She spun around in the air to gain more momentum before slamming the great hammer into the nearest available wabbit. She continued the crazed assault, even using the hammer to block or simply smash through any attempts of defense or counter attack. The fairy grazed several blasts by the weapons of the wabbits, if only barely. It ended up her arms and legs badly burned but she was able to smash every last one of the wabbits that were there.

Cirno let what was left of Great Crusher slip out of her numbing hands before stumbling to her friend. The ice fairy did not even notice the skirmish that just ended back at the center of the Garden of the Sun. Daiyousei was still unconscious and her breathing was shallow. Cirno couldn't have possibly realized that her friend was starting to go into shock due to blood loss. She couldn't have possibly comprehended that Daiyousei would die permanently, without reincarnation, if she died from the wounds she received from Lunarian weapons. However, she knew well enough that she needed to get her friend to a safer place. The ice fairy immediately hefted the injured greater fairy on her back and flew right back into the sunflower field.

The flower youkai blinked when she saw the ice fairy return with yet another fairy on her back. Yuuka noted that they both seemed injured, the green one moreso than the blue one considering she wasn't conscious.

Cirno proceeded to implore the plaid-clad monster for medical assistance for her friend. Yuuka pointed out that the Garden of the Sun wasn't exactly the place to bring the injured for treatment. She added that the only reason why the ice fairy was tolerated in her presence in the first place was because of all the wabbits that kept throwing themselves at her. She waited for a moment before telling the both of them to leave her garden.

The ice fairy winced but merely repeated her request for aid. The flower youkai sighed and shook her head, reasoning out that they would be better off going to Eientei. Cirno quickly countered with the fact that the won't make it with their injuries and all the wabbits everywhere. Yuuka then smiled and suggested that she simply abandon the dying green fairy and seek shelter for herself instead.

That earned her a furious scowl from the ice fairy. Cirno shook her head and emphatically declared that she will never abandon one of her friends who were in need. She ignored the older youkai's taunts that such a belief was stupid before being asked where she got such a silly concept in the first place. The ice fairy declared that her way was not stupid or silly. She stated that it was an important lesson that Letty Whiterock taught her and her friends after their group was formed. She was looking down on the ground while tightened her grip on the girl on her back when she made that statement.

Yuuka Kazami stared at the fairies in front of her and considered the blue one's words. She was not unfamiliar with the name 'Letty Whiterock'. Indeed, she and the youkai of winter have clashed on several occasions back when the realm that would eventually be known as the Eastern Wonderland was still young and hostile. With her being the closest thing to the Embodiment of Summer and the snow woman being the Embodiment of Winter, it would be inevitable for them to battle one another.

The snow woman had the distinct honor of being one of the few beings who have been able to fight her in her garden and hold her ground without breaking under her power. They would usually test each other's mettle near the end of Autumn, when they would be the most equal. Yuuka's power would be slowly waning while Letty's would still be building up, providing a small precious window for them to face one another in battle with no silly advantage over the other.

Unfortunately, that also meant that they have never faced one another at full power. It was a sad byproduct of their respective natures. However, the duels they did have were enjoyable all the same. Though a few of those matches 'may' have gone a 'tad' out of hand, which required direct intervention from a certain youkai of borders. Each time, with the woman expressing her annoyance at them doing so much damage right when she was about to go to sleep for the winter.

Meanwhile, Cirno seriously considered just making a break for Eientei or to the Hakurei Shrine with her injured friend and deal with whatever they might run into. Imagine her surprise when the flower youkai suddenly noted that they would likely be safe in her mansion. The ice fairy blinked at her words before absentmindedly looking around for the aforementioned mansion. Yuuka quickly noticed the confusion and clarified that her mansion was in a pocket realm she had in the border of dreams. In the face of the ice fairy's sheer abject incomprehension to what she was talking about, the green haired woman sighed and merely conjured a door to her realm. She instructed the ice fairy to bring her friend through the door and her gatekeeper should be able to take care of the rest.

The Gatekeeper of Mugenkan had become rather adept when it came to mending injuries, usually her own due to her profession and who she was working for. Granted, things have been significantly quiet for the scythe-wielder for a while...so much so that she was not even aware of the massive battle going on outside.

Cirno beamed at the flower youkai and thanked her over and over again. She then started babbling about her plans once she left her friend in the apparently capable hands of Yuuka's gatekeeper. The core of which was to gather the rest of her friends in the safety of the sunflower field and go from there.

The Flower Master of the Four Seasons enjoyed a moment of mirth at the idea of someone considering her garden a place of 'safety'. She then interrupted the now bouncing blue ball of energy by saying that the invitation was only for her and her injured friend. No other additions. When asked why, the old monster merely smiled and deftly twirled her open parasol in her hands. She stated that the only reason why she was doing this was because of a whim which stemmed from her personal respect for the youkai of winter. Her conditions for taking them in were that the privilage was only restricted to them and they are not to allowed leave her border of dreams until such time that she called for them.

Outraged, the ice fairy demanded to know why she was doing this to them. At those words, Yuuka's smile grew more sinister. She reminded the fairy of her earlier words of not abandoning her friend no matter what. She then asked if that was just a convenient lie if she was so willing to just leave her in the hands of strangers without a second thought. Cirno reasoned that she was going to look for her other friends and see if they were safe. To that, the flower youkai merely laughed at the smaller girl's face before shaking her head. She then reminded the fairy that, regardless of what the condition of her other friends were, the fairy on her back needed her 'now'. And just like that, the smile faded and the monster known as Kazami stated her ultimatum. Either comply to her earlier conditions or leave lest they too became stains on the earth at her feet.

The ice fairy was cornered and she knew it. With much bitter reluctance, she nodded and entered the magically opened door to the border of dreams, the weight of her injured friend seemingly heavier than she remembered.

...

Yuuka Kazami sighed as she saw the two fairies freely enter her realm and wondered just what had gotten into her to allow such a thing. In the end, she decided not to think on it too much, lest she ended up with a headache. She merely chalked it up to all the good feelings she was having after finally being allowed to kill so many after so very long.

She then sighed once more when someone burst into the clearing she was in again. Yuuka idly played with the thought of making her sunflowers simply try to consume anyone who dared to set foot into her garden. She was surprised though when the one before her was no youkai. It wasn't a youkai at all.

Instead, it was a human man...a rather familiar one at that. Imagine her confusion and surprise when none other than Reimu's own husband and sire to the next generation of the Hakurei line appeared before her. The flower youkai blinked at him, pointing out that he should either be in hiding or with his woman and child.

She then put on a sly smile before asking jokingly if he had gotten tired of his nagging wife and decided to try to romance her instead. The still heaving man took a few moments to catch his breath before apologizing to her. He then continued by pointing out that, aside from that one time before he had the courage to speak to the girl who would become his wife, he would never consider being with her or anyone else.

Such words earned him another laugh when the flower youkai mused that he found her less frightening to approach than the Red-White Shrine Maiden. He nonchalantly responded by saying that any man would be wary about trying to approach the woman he loved for the first time. He then took another breath before straightening himself up and looking at the plaid-clad woman right in the eyes. The man then bowed deeply to her before asking for her assistance with something. Just like that, the mirth in her expression vanished before the woman complained about why so many insignificants were asking for her help. She waved off his inquiry on that subject, both of whom should have been in her mansion by now, before asking why she should help him with anything.

He proceeded to rub the back of his head and asked if groveling before her would help his chances. Yuuka snorted with amusement before asking him to simply state his case for her consideration. The man proceeded to explain the plan he and a few other residents of the realm came up with to drive back the invading Lunarians. However, the assistance of one of the most powerful forces in Gensokyo was required for them to be able to accomplish anything. He asked. He begged. He implored. He groveled. He even went so far as telling her that he would do whatever she wished if it would secure her cooperation.

The flower youkai boredly told him to get up off the ground as it was a pain to have to lower her gaze just to talk to him. She then stated that she would assist him in any way possible under a single condition. He smiled before prematurely thanking her and asking for her condition. He started getting nervous when Yuuka Kazami have him a wide smile that showed her pearly white teeth before she told the condition for her cooperation.

For one full night he would be hers, a lover she would bring back to her bedroom in her mansion. All that with the full knowledge of his wife and daughter.

The expression on his face was almost enough payment for the flower youkai. However, the man who had earned the notoriously lazy shrine maiden's heart surprised her when he actually agreed.

He sighed saying that he will probably never live it down, to say nothing of the distinct possibility that his wife was probably going to kill him for promising such a thing, but it merely showed how much they needed her help. The flower youkai shook her head and called him a complete idiot. However, she confirmed his agreement to the terms and promised that she would help him in any way he might need it so long as he would keep the end of his bargain.

In Yuuka's eyes, it was an unexpected outcome to what she had originally only intended as a joke. However, she simply considered it as a chance to be able to experience something new, something she had never once had any real interest in her long life. She was not one to shy away from free opporunities as convenient as what the man in front of her presented. Unexpected, but promised to be a novel experience all the same.

...

The time Cirno and Daiyousei spent in Mugenkan was dedicated to recovery, worry, and reflection. Both the ice fairy and the greater fairy were able to heal from their respective wounds thanks to the quick aid from their new friend, Elly.

The gatekeeper was mildly rude at first considering ice fairy kicked her off the wooden lounge chair she was sleeping on. The gatekeeper was ready to either grovel, if it was her boss catching her sleeping on the job, or to start carving things up with her scythe, if it was intruders.

She was certainly not expecting a pair of injured fairies who were bleeding all over her floor.

The ice fairy was able to get Elly up to speed on the situation outside Mugenkan while the gatekeeper was tending to their wounds. The blonde gatekeeper very nearly flipped out at the information that there was some sort of large scale danmaku battle going on outside. The only reason why she didn't do so was because she was busy patching them up. Once that was done, and once Daiyousei was asleep on a comfy bed inside one of the many vacant rooms of the mansion, ice fairy told her the flower youkai's condition for them to stay in the mansion. Elly didn't seem to have much issue with the arrangement, in fact, the gatekeeper actually welcomed the company.

During their stay there, Cirno thought long and hard about herself and what she was really capable of. She and her best friend were very nearly killed by the wabbits, she understood that fact clearly after much thought. The same wabbits that the Black-White Witch and the Flower Youkai were able to be rid off with apparent ease.

It was an earth-shattering fact for the ice fairy to come to terms with. One such as her who prided herself in her strength finally acknowledging that she was not as strong as she always believed herself to be. She could only go so far with her own pride and her never-give-up attitude.

Now that she fully understood that, the question became: What was she going to do about it?

...

It took a few days, the ice fairy was not sure since the sky was constantly a clear night sky filled with stars but they can somehow see everything clearly as if it was daytime, but Elly finally told them that the flower youkai wanted them outside.

She and her best friend went through another magically conjured door and ended up back in the same clearing as before. This time though, the sun was up and the sunflowers were mysteriously free of any blood or gore. At the very center of the clearing, they once again found the owner of the sunflower field. Like her garden, she was now free of any evidence that she was deeply involved in ending the lives of a very large number of wabbits.

She was looking up at the wide open sky, a thoughtful expression on her face and her open parasol was resting on her right shoulder. She turned to them after the ice fairy called out to her. They both immediately asked what happened to all the wabbits. The flower youkai merely shrugged and vaguely responded that the ones who were still alive all went home. The two fairies then talked between themselves on what they should do, eventually agreeing that finding the rest of their friends would be the best thing to do.

It was then that the plaid-clad youkai mentioned that there were a few youkai who were looking for them after the fighting ended. She counted off the ones who were looking for them with her left hand.

A bug, a bird, and floating blob of darkness.

She quickly found that the two fairies that were recently her mansion's guests were now very close to her face, uncomfortably so. The aforementioned fairies quickly set off question after question to confirm the description of the youkai who were looking for them, where they were, as well as how they were faring at the time when the flower youkai saw them.

The master of the garden the explained that their friends were able to find refuge in the Bamboo Garden of the Lost for a while. After which, they were picked up and 'recruited' by the Moon Rabbit of Eientei with the short skirt and crazy eyes. The crazy eyed rabbit volunteered them to help her organize some form of army against the wabbits.

Amazingly, their combined efforts were enough to assemble a mass of earth rabbits, fairies, and other minor youkai that were somehow able to overwhelm the regular invading wabbits. In fact, it was so effective that they managed to distract the invaders long enough to enact the plan made by Reimu's husband.

Both fairies suddenly wondered why the flower youkai suddenly became quiet. She then sighed and mused to herself that he won't be able to keep his part of their agreement anymore. She shook her head before telling the two fairies that their friends should be in the Eternal Mansion inside the bamboo forest.

The greater fairy immediately set off to where her other friends were but her companion and friend elected to stay and promised that she would catch up. Trusting her friend implicitly, Dai nodded and told the ice fairy to hurry up before flying off.

The manipulator of flowers raised a brow and jokingly asked if the fairy was going to challenge her again. Cirno shook her head and took a deep breath. This was her resolve, the answer she reached. She can't become stronger on her own, not with how she was going about it. She needed help. She needed a teacher. The looking right into the eyes of the strongest youkai in Gensokyo and asked the question that would change both of their lives.

"Will you teach me how to become stronger?"

...

[Blackraptor]

...

"So..." The eldest Valliere sister muttered as she sipped her tea.

"So..." I responded while refilling my own cup. Along with us at the usual table that Louise and her friends frequent were Cattleya and Siesta.

"Thank you very much for taking care of our sister." Cattleya told Siesta with a smile as the maid set down some sweets on the table.

"Not at all, Lady Cattleya. I owe Miss Louise and Mister Yuka a great deal. What service I can provide to them and those close to them is the least I can do to show my gratitude." The maid responded with her own genuine smile. However, I couldn't help but sigh at her words.

"Really now Siesta. Louise and I have told you repeatedly that you don't owe us anything. We did what we did by own volition and not to gain any favors from anyone." I reminded the girl while gesturing to her with my cup while giving her a bored stare.

"And I have responded repeatedly that I am doing what I am doing out of my own volition as well." The stubborn maid responded without any hesitation and backed it up with a bright smile.

"Is this something we should be concerned about?" Eleanore cut into the conversation with a raised brow. Likely suspicious as to why a single maid seemed so loyal to her youngest sister.

"Siesta is from Tarbes." I said simply, relying on Eleanore's intelligence to catch on.

"Oh...I see." And catch on she does considering her words and the expression of realization she showed. We all fell into a comfortable silence afterwards with Siesta standing between Eleanore and Cattleya in case they needed anything. They were the elder sisters of her 'official' boss after all. Cattleya remained silent and did not pry for more information about Tarbes. Perhaps due to elegant politeness.

Though based on the kind of person Eleanore painted Cattleya to be truly like, it may also be because she already knew the truth and did not see the need to bring it up any further.

"Why aren't you with the runt anyway? I thought you would always be there for her." The blonde once again initiated conversation with a fair question and point.

"As you may already know, she is attending afternoon classes with her friends and peers. It really isn't a situation wherein she would require my presence. I did indeed say that I will always be there for her but I do not see the need to coddle or smother her." I responded while savoring the aroma of the contents of my cup.

"Besides, Ruukoto should be with her or at least keeping an eye on her in some way." I added before taking a small sip of my tea and giving out a small sigh of satisfaction. Indeed, the contents of the cup in my hands further enforced my opinion that Siesta was the best brewer of tea in Tristain, possibly even all of Halkeginia.

"But what if something happened to her while you are busy lounging around here?" The eldest sister asked again with a raised brow while gesturing towards me with her own cup of tea.

"Eleanore, if there was something that could be a threat to Louise and could get to her inside the academy be somehow getting past everyone else here, then we would have bigger things to worry about at that point. You don't have to worry so much about her safety. Louise is most certainly neither weak nor helpless, as you should already know." I dismissed her poorly disguised worries for her youngest sister's safety while gesturing to her with my own cup of tea. The blonde Valliere sister let out a rather Louise-like 'urk' before clearing her throat and turning away from me with a huff.

"See, Siesta? Don't they just look like a natural married couple? It's like they've been together for years now. Such an adorable sight, isn't it?" The rather mirthful voice of the middle sister suddenly broke out amidst the lull in the conversation between her elder sister and myself. I turned to the sister in question and saw that she was pointing at us with a cheshire smile on her face with her head slightly tilted in the direction of the maid at her side. In contrast, Siesta herself was looking at us with a rather flat, indeed, even almost disapproving expression.

"Siesta?" Cattleya fully turned to the maid when she did not make any audible response to her words. That was enough to snap the maid out of her apparent trance before she let out a nervous laugh.

"Ummm...yes. Th-they do seem to have a certain...presence...about them...the two of them...together..." The maid stated with obvious strain in her voice, barely even able to put her thoughts to words.

"Cattleya, stop coercing the maid to your twisted point of view." Eleanore deadpanned to her sister while adjusting her glasses. Odd that she wasn't as flustered about the insinuation like she was previously. Then again, if that kind of behavior was something standard to what the middle sister was like when they were growing up, it stood to reason that Eleanore would eventually just get over it at some point.

"Is something the matter Siesta?" I asked the maid when I noted that she still looked rather stressed out. The young woman flinched suddenly when all eyes present at the table focused on her. Two of whom were nobles from a prominent family and the elder sisters of her 'official' employer.

"No, nothing to worry yourself over Mister Yuka. I am well, I assure you." Siesta responded with a warm smile directed at me. It seemed that she had already been able to settle her nerves somewhat. However, she started fidgeting once again after the middle sister regarded her with the intense focus of a hungry-hungry youkai staring at her prey.

"Y-yes? Can I help you, Miss Cattleya?" Siesta asked hesitantly, surprised at the sudden change in demeanor from the normally warm, if sometimes sly and mischievous, Valliere sister.

"In the matter I'm thinking about? Not really. My only advice is to simply do your best. I can't really support you but I can at least wish you luck with it." Cattleya answered with her more familiar sly smile while looking right into Siesta's eyes. Eleanore and I both raised a brow at the oddly vague words from Cattleya. Even Siesta blinked at her a few times in obvious confusion. However, when Cattleya shifted her eyes before waggling her eyebrows at the maid, Siesta immediately went beet red without any warning.

"I-I-I need to take care of something! Please excuse me!" Siesta quickly stammered out in a fit of panic before walking away without waiting for any approval or response from us.

"Cattleya, what did you just do to the poor girl?" I asked as I watched the rapidly retreating form of black haired young woman.

"Just giving a fellow woman a friendly push in the right direction." The middle sister responded with a smile and a wink.

"More like a shove off a cliff from the way she ran away like a small frightened animal." Eleanore countered with a scoff. Any further banter at the table was prevented by the sounds of a pair of heavy metal boots approaching us. The three of us turned to the source of the footfalls and saw none other than the ever slightly-irritated-looking Captain of the Royal Musketeer Squadron.

"Professor Valliere, Lady Valliere, Mister Kazami." The knight captain greeted us in turn while giving each of us a nod respectively.

"Just Yuka is fine, Agnes." I automatically responded without batting an eye.

"You may also just refer to me as Cattleya. It will make it less confusing when I am with my sisters." Cattleya offered with a warm smile.

"I suppose you can also refer to me by my name. However, I do expect you to add my proper title when in front of others as is fitting, Captain Agnes." Eleanore added with a casual wave before regarding the knight with her own proper title to punctuate her point.

"As you wish, Professor Eleanore. Lady Cattleya. Mister Yuka." Agnes responded with the requested revisions on how she was to refer to us.

"And? I highly doubt that it was mere coincidence that you ended up strolling here, Captain." Eleanore asked the knight with a raised brow. At the time I felt that the blonde Valliere was merely giving Agnes the bare-minimum amount of respect due to her status as a Knight Captain under the direct command of Henrietta, who was more or less running the country at that point apparently.

Likely, Eleanore still harbored the general superiority complex that most nobles had over those who did not have the talent for magic. I supposed that it was just one of the byproducts of the social conditioning that members of the nobility went through as they grew up. It says something about her professionalism for her to tolerate Agnes as much as she already had without insulting her in some manner considering her usual outward attitude.

"You are correct, Professor. It may be that I overstepping my bounds as Knight Captain for her highness Princess Henrietta with what I am about to say. Nevertheless, I implore you to hear a personal request of mine." Agnes confirmed with a nod. A request specifically for Eleanore? I was wondering what she would possibly need the eldest sister for when the person in question spoke.

"Well take a seat..." Eleanore stated before putting her right hand up to stop the retort Agnes was about to make.

"...and don't even think about declining because I am not in the mood to look up to a commoner who is 'imploring' me to listen to a personal request. This is not an offer nor a request either. This is a condition that you must heed if you want to continue with this. If you wish to speak to me, then speak to me eye to eye." The eldest sister said in a tone that allowed no room for any argument, even from the equally hardened knight. She gestured to the vacant chair across her for the knight captain to use. Agnes almost didn't look uncomfortable about it when she occupied the vacant seat after unfastening and propping her sword up against the edge of the table.

"Please have some tea, Captain Agnes." Cattleya said while she was already in the middle of pouring a cup of tea for the knight. It wasn't even an offer to serve the knight some tea. It was simply a declaration of Agnes getting a cup of tea from the middle sister without any room for argument.

"M-my thanks, Lady Cattleya." Agnes responded before taking the offered cup. Her inherent discipline was probably the only thing that saved her from stuttering from the admittedly unconventional situation she just walked herself into. Add to that the possibility of Cattleya being the first noble from a high ranking house to ever willingly serve her a cup of tea.

Well, it was also plausible that Henrietta had also done so at some point but that wasn't really any of my concern. Not at all. It was certainly not because I had a personal dislike for the girl because of all the trouble Louise and I had gone through thanks to her. Clearly.

"First, let me give my thanks to you for hearing me out, Professor Eleanore." The knight captain stated before taking a small polite sip of the tea she received from the middle sister. The blonde Valliere sister gave no visible reaction and simply continued to stare at the knight, a silent gesture for her to get on with it.

"The request I have of you has something to do with an old school legend. Are you familiar with the story of the Hidden Underground Archives of the Tristain Magic Academy?" Agnes stated before posing her question to Eleanore. I raised a brow when I saw the eldest sister flinch and the middle sister stifle a giggle.

"Is something the matter?" Agnes asked with a polite amount of concern. Obviously, someone as sharp as her noted the sudden change in both sisters. With how abrupt the display was, most people would have noticed as well.

"Not at all. In fact, you just asked the perfect person in regards to the academy's hidden archives." Cattleya stated with a radiant smile.

"How so? Did you perform research on the validity of the legend?" I asked in curiosity at both how the sisters knew about the underground archives and Agnes' own interest in it.

The first time I had heard about the archives was back when we were still trying to figure out what Louise's magical element was. Louise had originally thought that trying to find out anything about the hidden archives was futile since it seemed to just be an old rumor cycling around the academy. After that, I kind of forgot about it until very recently. I had heard the man named Richmon taunt the knight captain about finding out the truth about something in the secret archives under the Tristain Magic Academy.

"Oh, much more than that, Yuka. Big Sister Eleanore actually actively searched for it while she was attending the academy." Cattleya immediately answered before her elder sister could. That earned the middle sister a glare which was promptly ignored.

"Really now? And did you find it?" I then asked the most obvious question after finding out that piece of information. As expected, Agnes became even more focused on Eleanore as she waited for the other blonde's answer.

"Of course I did! What do you take me for? It took a while for me to discover it due to my own studies as well as other factors. However, I did eventually find it. I also discovered how laughably pathetic the security in the academy was compared to the family mansion." Eleanore answered before insulting the security of the academy. Considering her considerable skill at sneaking around, I had no doubt that the eldest sister would have been able to access any part of the academy should she be so inclined to do so. Another aspect which she shares with Matilda.

"And? What did you discover inside? I would imagine an intellectual type of woman such as yourself would be ecstatic at having a veritable treasure trove of magical knowledge all to yourself." I inferred since it didn't really take a genius to guess what kind of things might be locked away in an archive secreted away under a magic academy. Eleanore blushed and sort of pouted at me before she looked away.

"I'd tell you if I was ever able to get that blasted door open!" The woman suddenly blurted out with obvious embarrassment. We regarded her with varying degrees of surprise due to her outburst, though Cattleya looked like she was just holding in a laugh.

"It had multi-layered triangle and square class earth magic locks okay! They were still beyond my ability to deal with when I was a student! The earth surrounding the archive had even stronger protection from both physical and magical intrusion! The door was the only real viable way in or out of that place." The eldest sister blurted out while her face had yet another prominent blush, another reminder that she was indeed Louise's sister.

"I see. Although I am somewhat intrigued as to why the eldest daughter of the Valliere family would sneak around school like that. Doesn't that violate your mother's Rule of Steel in some way?" I commented before asking Eleanore with a raised brow. I had heard of Karin's little paradigm of following the laws and rules mandated by the country's royal family as if it was an absolute truth of the Universe.

It was a silly rule really. Being unbendable also meant being unable to adapt to changes, particularly abrupt ones. Such a concept being turned into a way of life will eventually be a death knell to those who adopt it. It doesn't matter it if was a Rule, a Mind, or a Body of Steel. Well, I assumed that such a way of life would have allowed Karin to get along swimmingly with a certain Judge of Paradise if she was a resident of Gensokyo.

"Funny. Regardless of our mother's ideal way of life, she also raised us to become capable of standing on our own and fend for ourselves. Besides, a woman is entitled to her secrets." Eleanore answered with a no-quite-deflection of the question, a parry if you would.

"And...are the magical locks still beyond your capabilities even today, Professor Eleanore?" Agnes asked directly, albeit carefully.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. I had come up with a few ways to try to bypass the security after I attained my current station. However, they are all still theoretical solutions I came up with from memory based on a set of high-level Earth Element Locks I had encountered only once. I cannot say for certain unless I actually try." Eleanore admitted without any hint of embarrassment and shame. If she was able to say such things without sentiment, then those magical locks she was talking about must indeed be formidable.

"Now I would like you to indulge me with an answer to a question of my own." The eldest sister continued while placing her cup back on its saucer with a light clink. Agnes' eyes narrowed by a hair but simply nodded in assent.

"Why would a Commoner Knight Captain under the direct command of the crown be interested in a supposedly secret archive somewhere below an academy of magic?" Eleanore asked before placing her elbows on the table while steepling her fingers in front of her and giving Agnes a measuring stare. She wasn't even adverse to referring to the woman as a commoner. Agnes closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them once again and looking at Eleanore straight in the eyes.

"I am not under orders from the Princess, if that is what you are concerned about. No. This is something which I am doing on my own. I wish to know something and the answers I seek are apparently sealed within the academy archives." The steely eyed woman answered. Eleanore raised a brow but did not make any further movements.

"Answers to what?" Eleanore asked the obvious question.

"The truth." Agnes stated simply, not giving anything else away. I could see the woman's eyes start to show more than simple steel. There was something smoldering in there as well. Something that she had locked away for some time.

"In regards to what, Captain Agnes? Do not toy with me, woman. If you wish for my assistance then tell me why I should even consider helping you in the first place." Eleanore asked again, her own eyes betraying the fire that was present in all the members of her family, Cattleya as well I assume under the right circumstances.

"The burning of the village of D'Angleterre." Agnes muttered and one could almost feel the anger radiating from the woman. Eleanore closed her eyes in silent contemplation on the new piece of information.

Agnes had mentioned the name when she stabbed that traitor Richmon with her sword. Only now did I understand that she was referring to a place instead of an individual. Cattleya continued to remain silent but there was obvious concern on her face considering the subtle change that name induced on Agnes.

"D'Angleterre. It was a village that was purged due to an outbreak of the plague. The village was deemed to have been beyond salvation so a detachment of Elite Fire Mages were sent to...remove the threat of the plague spreading to the surrounding villages and settlements." Eleanore finally spoke in a neutral tone of voice, clearly taking no joy in what she was saying. I saw Agnes' hands clenched into fists so tightly that she would have likely bled were it not for her leather gloves. Although...

"That was quite an amount of information. I am curious to know as to why you know so much about that...incident." I commented while refilling my cup of tea, though it seemed that I was the only one left on the table that was in any mood for the lovely brew.

"I am the daughter of a Duke and the head of a Royal Research Department based in the capital itself. I run into that kind of information every now and then, whether I want to or not. The purge of D'Angleterre was simply one of those things I found out about during the course of my career." Eleanore explained, reminding me of the time back in Tarbes when Louise explained to Kirche why she knew so much about the political situation in Gallia.

"There was no Plague!" Agnes suddenly snarled out while slamming her right fist onto the table. Thankfully, she didn't break anything. The most it did was startle both Cattleya and Eleanore because of her sudden aggression. It also reflected Tabitha's reaction when Louise explained what the official word was about the Gallian Royal Family.

Parallels. We draw them with crayons.

"That is quite the claim. How can be so sure of what you say, Captain? You would dare doubt a report officiated by the church? What kind of evidence would you even have to say those words?" Eleanore challenged the knight captain. That may be her own pride as a noble talking but the eldest sister is no fool. She should have already known that someone as serious about her duty as Agnes would not make such a claim likely. That was probably the reason why she asked those questions instead of simply dismissing the other woman's claims. Agnes scowled at Eleanore before looking down at the table. Both of her hands were balled into fists but the knight captain remained quiet. I almost thought that she wasn't going to speak when...

"I was there..." Agnes spoke in a voice so lacking of any power or resolve that I almost had a hard time believing that it came from her.

"The purge of D'Angleterre happened several years ago. You can't have been..." Eleanore's rebuke did not have any power in it either. She wasn't even able to finish her reasoning because of the implication that came with the possibility that Agnes was speaking the truth.

"I was there..." The other woman merely repeated before meeting Eleanore's eyes once again.

"No one in the village had anything close to a plague. No one was even sick at the time. Then, one night. A night like any other...they came." Agnes then went in to explain the events in more detail. Both sisters remained quiet as the knight captain seemed to go into a trance that came with recalling a deeply buried memory.

"I watched my family burn before my eyes. I watched the home I was born in burn before my eyes. I watched as all the people I knew burn before my eyes." She continued without pause, as if forgetting that we were there altogether.

"I walked and tried to find someone. Anyone. I thought I was going to die alone. I only remember one thing before darkness took me." She shook her head as she spoke, her hands trembled from her recollection.

"Then I woke up in an infirmary. A fortunate miracle. The sole survivor of a terrible plague that destroyed an entire village." She gave out a bitter laugh after saying that part. Mocking her apparent good fortune when she awoke and found herself still among the living. That explained those scars I saw on her back from before. A 'reminder that the past was real' indeed.

"That is why I joined the military. Why I worked so hard to become a knight. I owe her highness more than I can ever repay for giving the chance to track down those who were responsible." Her voice regained its confidence and steel as she spoke. Those responsible...

"Richmon..." I muttered out, earning a nod from the woman.

"The minister who was proven to be consorting with Albion." Eleanore added, showing that she knew of that incident and demonstrating how fast news could travel. Then again, she was living at the capital before she moved to the academy with Cattleya. She was probably aware of that whole mess, though hopefully not about our own contributions to it. It was supposed to have been a secret mission after all.

"He was the one who ordered the purge." Agnes added, earning a gasp from Cattleya and a scowl from Eleanore.

"And now I need to know the names of the ones who burned down my village. The answer lies within the hidden archives. That is my reason, Professor Valliere. It will not bring back the dead, but I can at least serve justice." The knight captain concluded. She had laid bare her past and her motivations to Eleanore, and to myself and Cattleya by extension, in hopes that she would get the help she needed to finally finish the vendetta she had started years before.

The middle sister spoke no words but she reached out and placed a hand on Agnes'. The action made the woman blink and confusion before turning to Cattleya. The middle sister merely shook her head and smiled before giving the gloved hand a gentle squeeze. Certainly nothing strong enough to provide any real pressure on the hand sure, but the gesture and Cattleya's expression spoke volumes. Judging from Eleanore's contemplative expression as well, it was clear that Agnes had already secured no small amount of assistance. At the very least, Cattleya, who was also an Earth Mage of no small talent now that she was free of her illness. However, there was one thing about her tale that intrigued me so I decided to voice out my curiosity.

"And what will you do once your vengeance is finally complete?" I asked before leaning back on my seat and raising a brow at the knight.

"My actions are in the name of justice, not vengeance." Agnes growled at me with narrowed eyes without actually answering my question.

"I have seen what Justice is like. I have seen what Vengeance is like as well. I know intimately the difference between them. I do not hold your actions against you, so do not take offense. I myself have killed for much less. I merely wish to know what you plan on doing after you have dealt with those who have wronged you out of curiosity." I corrected her with a casual shrug. I was of course talking about Shikieiki and Mokou respectively. All three women blinked at me, likely wondering about the nature of my curiosity.

"Will you retire as a knight and settle down to start a family? Will you continue to serve Henrietta? Will you become an independent warrior? Will you leave it all behind and go on a journey to start fresh in some far off place? What will you do once your quest is finally over, Agnes Chevalier de Milan? How will you achieve your happily ever after?" I then asked after Agnes did not respond, listing out some of the things she could do once her vengeance was over and done with. The female knight stared at me for a few moments like the way one would stare at some odd looking animal. Then she started laughing, the first time I had ever heard her do so. It was not bitter nor resentful. She was simply laughing at what I said without apparent sentiment.

I wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"I thank you, Mister Yuka. I needed that. There can never be a happily ever after for me I'm afraid. Life is no children's story book. The woman before you is nothing more than cinders who is clinging onto something to continue living." Agnes finally said while shaking her head. She did not sound sad nor angry, she was simply stating a fact. One which Cattleya did not approve of if her sudden frown was to be believed. Eleanore schooled her expression into a neutral mask but her eyes still betrayed the fire of a Valliere.

"I will continue to serve her Highness until my last breath. That is my choice and my way of showing my gratitude for her. I know for certain that I would never have been able to accomplish what I have were it not for the princess. That is my answer. Are you satisfied with it, Mister Yuka?" Agnes continued before asking me to judge her answer. The only remaining evidence of her earlier mirth was a small smile that was still on her face. I found that it was the kind of smile which suited her, not that I told anyone that of course.

"As good an answer as any. It wasn't really a question that had a wrong answer anyway." I admitted before turning to the eldest sister.

"So...about that hidden archive." I reminded Eleanore, who just sighed and nodded.

"I'll see what I can do." She stated to the immediate approval of her younger sister. Agnes on her part, simply gave a look of measured relief. The kind of look that someone gives when they know that they have overcome an obstacle but understood that the ordeal wasn't over yet.

...

[Blackraptor]

...

After explaining the situation to Louise when she got back from afternoon classes, we found ourselves in the company of Agnes, Eleanore, and conspicuously but unsurprisingly, Cattleya inside a nondescript storage room somewhere in the ground level of the Academy. My master insisted in tagging along for the exploration of the archive since she also thought that it was just some sort of old legend and didn't actually exist. The fact that it was very likely that both of her sisters would be there was also a major factor in her decision.

Louise had ordered Ruukoto to keep an eye on the rest of the academy while we were gone. The gynoid complied but gave us each a Hey-Listen just in case communication becomes an issue at some point during our little excursion. When Louise asked it why it thought that we would need the devices when exploring a completely unknown part of the academy that was previously only thought to be a legend, Ruukoto simply stared at its mistress impassively for the next few minutes as if it was observing some insignificant insect. Louise understandably relented after a while and just took the offered earpiece to get it over with. I had left my hat in Louise's room since we were apparently going underground for this. My master shared my sentiment and left both her own hat and the Founder's Prayer Book on her desk next to my straw hat.

"So could you explain to me why my younger sister is here?" Eleanore asked me with a raised brow after we had finished gathering. I blinked at her before looking between Cattleya and Louise, both of whom had opted to start cuddling with each other again. Agnes was doing her best to remain impassive about the whole thing but her anxiety was hard to miss.

"Which one?" I asked with my own raised brow at the obvious fact that she had two younger sisters, both of whom were present in the room at that moment. When I saw her grimace, I quickly realized that Eleanore probably hadn't intended for Cattleya to tag along either.

"Will we be accessing the hidden archives from here then?" Agnes finally voiced out while her eyes darted around the room in a practiced manner, likely trying to find any evidence of false walls and such.

"Don't bother trying to look for it with your eyes. No one has ever been able to find it for a long time for a reason. We'll proceed once the last member of our group arrives." Eleanore pointed out before explaining why we haven't gone anywhere yet.

"Someone else is coming along?" My master asked and on cue, the door opened to reveal Professor Jean Colbert himself.

"Well, this is unexpected." The professor mused out loud after seeing who were present. He then turned to Eleanore with a wondering expression before adjusting the grip he had on his wooden staff.

"I now find myself questioning the wisdom of my decision to accompany you, Professor Valliere." Colbert admitted with a slightly worried expression. He was always a bit protected of his students so he was likely worried about Louise, despite the fact that my master could already take care of herself rather handily.

"Just to make sure no one gets in trouble for what we are about to do, I raised our plan to the Headmaster himself. He agreed to allow us access to the hidden archives so long as we can open the door by ourselves and that a member of the teaching staff comes along as a representative of the Academy." Eleanore quickly explained to get the questions out of the way as to why Colbert was here and seemed to know what we were about it do.

"I'm surprised that Old Osmond would agree so readily all things considered." I pointed out considering the man's position as Headmaster. I would think that a someone like that would try the hardest to keep the academy's secret archives a secret.

"Oh! He was very cooperative after I asked him nicely about it." Cattleya cut in after releasing my master. She then folded her arms under her breasts to emphasize them further.

"This sly little Cat followed me to the Headmaster's office and gave him a very convincing argument." Eleanore grumbled and was followed by the middle sister smiling wide and nodding, the action making her chest bounce slightly. Ah, so that's how they were able to convince that old man so easily.

"So is this everyone?" Agnes cut into the conversation like a knife.

"Well, while the Headmaster did approve access to the archives, I would ask you all to reconsider actually going through with this. After all, we have no idea what could be stored there." The Professor gave out his argument at why it was likely a bad idea to proceed. A fair point since only those who were foolhardy would blindly dive into a magical archive of unknown size and contents.

"I know one thing I want in there." Well, Agnes demonstrated that there wasn't any shortage in foolhardiness in our little party.

"And what would that be Knight Captain Milan?" Colbert asked with a serious expression.

"The truth in regards to a grave injustice perpetrated by those who were supposed to be sworn to protect the innocent." Agnes answered with as much hatred as she did when she told us her story earlier that day. I raised a brow when I thought I saw Colbert tense up at Agnes words but dismissed it as some sort of reflex after hearing something like that.

"Well, getting into that archive has been a long time coming for me. Since I already have full consent from the Headmaster, you can either come along or get out of my way." Eleanore declared before pulling out a wand from her dress pocket. Both Agnes and Colbert relented after the eldest sister made her point. Eleanore then looked around and gave out a thoughtful hum when she walked up to the back wall of the room we were in.

"I need this wall clear of obstructions to access the tunnel that will lead to the archive's doors." The eldest sister said while adjusting her pointy glasses and nodding to a stack of dusty old crates that piled up against the wall. She then made a rather displeased expression while staring at me before folding her arms and tapping her right foot on the floor repeatedly.

"Well?" She asked while narrowing her eyes at me. I blinked at her and tilted my head to the side while using my parasol like a walking stick in my right hand.

"Well?" I repeated with a raised brow.

"Ugh! Men!" She exclaimed while rolling her eyes at me. She then turned back to the stack of old crates before pointing at them with her wand and muttering an incantation. She then pointed her wand upwards and the crates lifted up off the ground as well. Oh, I see.

"You know, you could have just asked me to move those boxes." I pointed out to the eldest sister. Eleanore simply started grumbling to herself while moving the crates in a far corner of the room.

"For shame, Yuka. A wife needs not ask her husband to do such a thing for her. The intent should have been conveyed to you clearly after your eyes met earlier. You are making a rather subpar showing as my precious older sister's husband, you know. You must strive to do better next time." Cattleya scolded me as if I was some child that needed correction. To say nothing of the subject of her scolding in the first place.

"Wife?" I asked the middle sister with a raised brow.

"Husband?!" Eleanore asked in a scandalized voice.

"They're what?!" My master exclaimed in an equally scandalized voice.

"You're married?" Agnes suddenly piped up with a genuinely surprised voice.

"But, what about Miss Matilda?" While Colbert decided to bring up Matilda for some odd reason. I simply gave out a sigh and shook my head before turning back to the eldest sister.

"The kind thing to do at this point is to simply ignore then." I told her while glancing at the others with a blank stare.

"You're right. They're just delaying me from accomplishing what I'm here for." She agreed before turning back to the wall she had just cleared of obstructions. She then pointed her wand at it and muttered another incantation before she pulled her wand hand back swiftly as if pulling at something.

"Whaa!" Louise yelled out understandably after a chunk of the wall Eleanore was facing suddenly seemingly broke off the rest of the structure. Interestingly, the part that was yanked our by the eldest sister then began to sink into the ground as if being dissolved.

"Well, that was certainly impressive." Cattleya commented after seeing the surprisingly violent display.

"Incredible. That was a triangle-class formed Earth Portal Spell that--" Colbert started before he started muttering to himself about jargons and specifics about Halkeginian magic, likely trying to analyze what just happened. Agnes seemed momentarily startled as well but quickly managed to school her herself back to her ever-slightly-irritated self.

"Please. This level of skill is naturally possible for the eldest daughter of the Valliere." Eleanore dismissed everyone's reactions before reminding us whose daughter she was. Of course, the effect was diminished by the fact that half of our group were daughters of the Valliere family.

"I'm actually more interested in the story on how you were able to discover this place and figure out how to open up that wall." I pointed out since that wasn't really the kind of thing a regular student in this place would have randomly stumbled into. As Eleanore herself said, it had been known as a hidden secret archive for a reason.

"Finding it was easy. Developing a means to get past this took me two years." The woman in question clarified with a dismissive wave of her hand before putting her wand back into her pocket.

"Is it safe to proceed then?" Agnes asked while walking up to the newly opened passageway.

"As long as no one reset all the traps I disabled the last time I went through there." Eleanore answered with a thoughtful expression.

"Traps?" Louise asked in clear concern about the possibility of literally walking into a trap.

"Nothing really challenging honestly. Trying to get around the mansion without alerting mother was a far more terrifying experience." The eldest sister said in what I though was a gesture of assurance, though my master did not seem all that relieved by the information.

"Are you all sure you still want to go through with this?" Professor Colbert asked our group one more time. Everyone else turned to him and had expressions that varied from questioning to irritated.

"I suggest that you simply just come along with us professor. It seems that no one will be backing out at this point." I pointed out to him before tilting my head towards the four women who were already heading into the passageway.

"I suppose you're right. However, I'm just worried about--" Colbert conceded before starting on what I thought was another bout of him being overprotective of others again. That said, I decided to just head him off just simply to end that line of thinking.

"Everyone here is more than capable of taking care of themselves. We have three mages of at least Triangle class rank, a capable knight captain, and myself." I pointed out to him in order for the man to realize that our little party was far from helpless.

"Hey!" I heard my master yell out from a short distance away.

"And Louise." I quickly appended my previous statement.

"Well, I suppose that is true. You will forgive me for my attitude, I have quite the paranoia when it comes to these sorts of situations." Colbert stated with a sheepish laugh before we all walked into the passageway that Eleanore opened up. Eleanore was in front of our group since she was the only one who had ever been through this place. Agnes was walking up behind her and was seemingly alert despite her anxiety. Louise and Cattleya walked side by side behind the knight captain. Despite the nature of our little trek, it looked like the two strawberry-blonde sisters were having a leisurely walk. Naturally, that left Colbert and I at the rear of our group.

"Is something the matter, Mister Yuka?" The professor asked after I gave out a thoughtful hum. To his question, I let out another hum while staring up at the ceiling.

"A group of people from a school of magic going through a movable wall that led to an underground Chamber of Secrets under the aforementioned school of magic. The whole situation just reminded me of something I had read a very long time ago." I mused out loud before shrugging at the rather confused expression Professor Colbert gave me.

"Don't think about it too hard, you'll just get a headache." I said with a dismissive wave. It didn't take long for us to finally reach an obstacle that prevented us from proceeding. It was a cave in that blocked the passageway.

"Ugh! I knew I forgot something..." Eleanore muttered before lifting her glasses with her right hand and rubbing her eyes with her left hand.

"I'm assuming that there is a story behind this." I commented, more due to Eleanore's reaction than anything.

"A parting gift this place tried to give me the final time I tried to get into the archives before I graduated." The eldest sister cryptically stated with a sigh.

"Is there a way to proceed?" Agnes immediately asked after walking up to the pile of earth in front of us and placing her hand on it to check how solid it was. Eleanore thought about it for a moment before pulling out her wand again and giving our obstacle a better look.

"This little mess was caused by a trap I had previously overlooked every other time I went here. " The eldest sister admitted with a frown.

"How so? And how did you manage to trip the trap only during your last time here?" Colbert asked his fellow scholar, likely curious as to what exactly transpired at the time.

"Tell me Professor Colbert, when you think of magic-based traps for this kind of situation, what kind of elements do you think of first?" Eleanore answered the Colbert's inquiry with her own question. I decided to take a seat at a conveniently placed rock nearby since the two looked like they were about to go through some sort of thought exercise.

"In order to induce a cave in of this size without collapsing the rest of the tunnel, Earth would be the best candidate." Colbert deduced after a few moments of contemplation.

"That makes sense, but isn't that already a given considering where we are?" Louise piped up with a question of her own.

"Well, while it is true that Earth would be the most likely candidate for some sort of trap in this sort of place, it would also be the very first thing someone who was aiming to disarm those traps would look for." Cattleya pointed out to her little sister. My master hummed while nodding along with her older sister's words.

"That is exactly what happened. This passageway was saturated with overlapping Earth element traps of varying size and levels when I first got in. The amusing thing was that it was almost as if they were supposed to be easy to detect. So easy in fact that someone careless wouldn't notice the kinds of traps that were more cleverly concealed." Eleanore added with a bitter laugh. It seemed that this passageway gave the eldest sister quite a bit of trouble back when she was still a student.

"Your words would imply that other elements could be usable as traps as well." I stated while gesturing to the blonde magician. We apparently weren't going anywhere anytime soon, but at least my master wasn't thinking of simply blasting her way through the offending obstruction that was in our way. I obstinately insist that such a mindset was a by-product of Louise's training with Cirno. It was clearly the only real explanation as to my master's more recent disposition of dealing with most obstructive problems by using well timed and well placed explosions. That was all Cirno. Clearly.

"Fire can be used to either melt the surrounding rocks as well as induce a triggered or timed explosion to trap or bury the one who triggers it. Water can do the same thing but requires a far more creative approach such as destabilizing the rock by forcing a large amount of water through cracks." Surprisingly, the one who answered the question was the only one in our little group who couldn't utilize any magic.

"You seem rather knowledgeable about the more unusual applications of our magic, Captain Agnes." Eleanore pointed out the obvious as she looked at the other blonde with a raised brow. Her tone and expression showed that she was more intrigued rather than offended by such knowledge to be known by what they would consider as a commoner.

"I made it a point to personally make sure that my Musketeer Squadron have ample knowledge and training to deal with any situation. Magical or otherwise, we need to be able to respond to any threat. As the personal unit of her highness, Princess Henrietta, it is not out of the realm of possibility that we will have to eventually deal with issues that would have us face magic." Agnes explained to the eldest sister.

"So what happened to this one then?" Cattleya asked her sister while pointing at the very large pile of earth in our way.

"It was a Wind Elemental Trap, wasn't it?" Agnes added on her own clarifying question. Wind? I then saw that Louise shared my apparent confusion. Only Cattleya and Colbert apparently got it since they both quickly had respective expressions of understanding. Louise and I shared a glance and then quickly shared a shrug at what everyone else seemed to already understand.

"That is correct, Captain. However, I am quite interested as to how you are able to figure it out so quickly despite not even being able to scan for any residual magic." Eleanore confirmed before asking the knight captain how she was able to puzzle the answer out in such a timely manner. Agnes blinked at the eldest sister before shrugging her shoulders.

"Logic, more or less. You already mentioned that you've been in and out of this passageway several times before, disarming the traps along the way. The only way that such a thing would even have a remote chance of happening, especially after you've already thought the passageway safe, was if that particular trap was something you never thought you'd have to deal with. No one ever expects Wind magic to be used as the catalyst for a cave in." Agnes provided a rather well thought out reason for her answer earlier. The knight captain was certainly a sharp woman in more ways than one. Although, her words did make me consider a certain something that hadn't been addressed yet.

"I'm more interested in the story of how you managed to trigger the trap in the first place considering how long you've been able to avoid it prior." I pointed out while gesturing between the cave in and Eleanore in turn. The woman in question gave out an 'urk' before rather deliberately turning away from me and walked up to the obstruction instead.

"Cattleya, I'll need your help for this. Take out your wand." Eleanore then deemed it fair to ignore my statement altogether before calling her sister to her side.

"Of course, sister. I would be happy to assist you." Cattleya responded with a smile before pulling out her own wand from within her dress.

"What? Are you sure it's safe for you to use magic so soon?" Understandably, my master immediately started worrying about her older sister's health considering the apparent task ahead.

"I'll be fine, Louise. I've haven't felt this healthy since I was just a child. Don't worry, Big Sister Eleanore is with me as are you. I could ask for no stronger support than that." Cattleya assured her younger sister while placing her left hand on Louise's cheek.

"I understand. But please don't push yourself, Chii-nee-sama." Louise relented rather reluctantly. Cattleya smiled at her one more time before walking up next to her older sister. I stood up from my seat just as Agnes, Colbert, and Louise wisely backed away from the two Valliere sisters.

"You seem rather worried about Lady Cattleya. Is there something wrong?" Colbert asked as Eleanore and Cattleya started discussing something in front of the cave in.

"Cattleya is apparently an Earth Magician of at least...triangle?" I started before turning to Louise to confirm what rank her sister was supposed to be at.

"Triangle." Confirmed with a nod.

"Triangle class rank. However, she has been plagued by a very crippling illness that she had suffered through since she was a child. A treatment for her illness was recently discovered and she was able to go through it without complications, curing her completely. Louise is simply worried about what Eleanore might want her help with considering what they have to deal with because it hasn't been that long since she was supposed to have been cured.." I repeated more confidently before continuing my explanation for Louise's worry.

"I see. I apologize for not noticing beforehand." Colbert sheepishly said with an awkward laugh.

"While appreciated, your concern is unnecessary. Cattleya had more or less already completed her treatment before she and Eleanore arrived at the academy, so there is really no need for any special treatment." I clarified with the professor. He gave a relieved sigh and a smile after finding out that Cattleya was already past the rough patch in her life.

"So, will she be fine even if she assists Professor Eleanore in moving the debris?" Agnes suddenly asked.

"So long as they don't do something crazy, I would expect that Eleanore would know how far she can push her younger sister. Are you concerned for her as well?" I reasoned out before asking the knight with a raised brow.

"Of course. I refuse to sacrifice any innocent for my sake. I know that there are those who need to burn for what they did but I will never allow the innocent to be harmed because of my search for the truth and justice." She responded hotly as if my question was a personal insult to her.

"Can you truly call it justice if there is a chance for the innocent to be caught in the crossfire?" Colbert countered with his own question to the knight. Agnes glared at him for a moment before responding.

"Those responsible for the deaths I mean to avenge seemed to think so." She said before we all felt the earth shake all around us. We all turned back to where the two sisters were and saw that the cave in that was in our way was not only removed, it was also replaced by a rather intricate and solid looking archway.

"Are you all finished bickering over there? If so, try to keep up or we WILL leave you all here." Eleanore stated before turning to the now accessible passageway with Cattleya following close behind.

?Hey! Wait for me!? Louise quickly got to her feet to try to catch up with her sisters. That left me with Colbert and Agnes who went back to staring at one another.

?There is no value in revenge. The only thing that lies in that path is ruin.? Colbert said in a stern lecturing voice.

?If it means being able to take down the ones I?m after with me. Then I?ll consider that a victory.? Agnes responded before walking off after the three sisters. Colbert gave out a tired sigh before turning his gaze towards me. I gave out a shrug before hefting my parasol on my right shoulder.

?I am really not the person you should be talking about this kind of thing with.? I reminded him before following the others. The professor followed but he seemed rather less enthused than when we even started.

?

[Blackraptor]

?

"So we meet again, my old foe. There is no escape for you this time." Eleanore regarded the very large stone door that was now in our way. It had a rather smooth surface with only a few intricate designs engraved upon it. The seam between the two halves of the door were visible and appeared to be secured by three rotating locks that have some sort of red gemstone at the center of each lock.

"Eleanore, you're threatening a door." I pointed out to the woman on how silly she looked from an outsider's perspective.

"Quiet you. I need some time to analyze this. Cattleya, come over here for a moment. I need some perspective on this." Eldest sister shot back at me before calling her younger sister up again without taking her eyes off the door.

"Of course." The middle sister walked up to her and the two of them started discussing things again.

"I don't understand. Couldn?t you just break it open Yuka?" Louise asked me from my left side. I considered her question before trying to feel out what I could from the magic that radiated from the door itself. Like Eleanore said before, the seal that held the locks in place ties the door to the surrounding earth around it. Not bad.

"I could. In fact, a full force shaped charge explosion from you or a Dispel could work as well." I said with a nod before pointing out that Louise herself should have enough firepower in her to be able to brute force her way in, not to mention that she has a spell that could render the magic securing the door moot.

"She could?" Agnes asked with a raised brow before looking between Louise and the magic door.

"You should do well to know that it is unwise to judge through appearances alone. Some of the strongest beings I know back home are as small as or smaller than Louise." I pointed out, referring of course to the Scarlet Sisters and Suika among others.

"True enough." Agnes acknowledged with a curt nod. Professor Colbert was oddly quiet and just seemed content to watch over us. Although I did notice that he had been sneaking glances at Agnes on more than a few occasions. Hmmm...

"I'm not sure if that was a compliment. Besides, I am getting the feeling that there should be a 'but' somewhere at the end of your last statement." Louise muttered before going back to what I said earlier.

"Indeed. While we can either brute force or bypass the security, we cannot be sure if the ones who made this had not already taken such an approach into account." I reasoned. Considering that someone set up such an elaborate security measures to the passageway that led to the door in question, it was well within the realm of possibility that the door itself held a few surprises of its own.

"That is correct. Trying to force the Archive main doors is a very bad idea." The three of us turned to Colbert who finally decided to speak up.

"Do you know something?" Agnes asked. There was neither warmth nor cold in her voice. She was simply asking as if she was questioning someone for relevant information.

"Indeed. Headmaster Osmond gave me rather pertinent information regarding things we might end up having trouble with in this place." The professor stated with a nod.

"And is there a particularly good reason as to why you withheld such information from us up until now?" The knight captain asked the man, not sounding particularly happy about his previous answer at all.

"Professor Valliere seemed to have a rather good handle on things up to this point so there was no need to raise any of the points I knew at the time. Even more so, since she has already dealt with most of the things I would have warned you about anyway. Most impressive considering she should have been only a little older than Louise when she got this far." Colbert answered before complimenting Eleanore for her skills.

"Point. So why would it be a bad idea to power through the doors?" I acknowledged before asking the man about what he warned us about earlier.

"From what the Headmaster told me. The door has a destruction trigger on it to prevent any unsavory characters to get into the archives. One could possibly get past the illusory wall and the traps through ingenuity and raw power, however such tactics would prove fatal in the face of the main doors of the Archive." He started and made a fair point.

"If someone tries to get the Archive doors open aside from the means it was supposed to be opened, then it would have collapsed everything to ensure secrecy of the contents of the archives." He explained and that earned a gasp from my master. Agnes remained silent but looked rather cross at such a possibility.

"You mean it would have buried the whole passageway?" My master asked in a mildly alarmed manner.

"No. It would have buried everything. The passageway, the door itself, the entire archive, along with anyone else that might still be inside." The professor stated in a rather serious voice. We then heard a loud noise that was akin to a very large boulder being moved. We turned to the source and saw that the main doors were already in the process of opening.

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about that possibility either." I commented before walking up to the two sisters who were smiling at each other.

"I suppose that congratulations are in order?" I asked them with a raised brow. Cattleya smiled at me while her older sister simply settled for a flat look.

"Do you have to sound so sarcastic when you said that?" Eleanore asked in a mildly irritated voice.

"Probably not, it simply turned out that way. Nevertheless, I assume that it comes with great personal satisfaction for you to finally get that thing open. Well done." I said with a shrug before giving her a warm smile and honestly complimenting her for a job well done. Eleanore made a rather bitter expression before looking away while blushing. I made it a point to ignore the rather pleased and approving look that Cattleya was giving me at the time.

"Before we proceed, I would like to discuss something very important to all of you in regards to the security within the Archives itself." Colbert spoke up from the back of the group just as Eleanore was about to proceed.

"And what might that be, Professor Colbert?" Eleanore asked with a raised brow. It seemed that she was about as anxious on finally setting foot in the archives as Agnes was. I decided to give the man a hand lest he end up irritating both Agnes and Eleanore.

"The Headmaster provided the good professor some rather important information pertaining to the security built for the archives." I explained on his behalf. Eleanore raised her other brow at the reveal while Cattleya simply nodded with a smile before giving her attention to the professor.

"Yes. Now, beyond this point I must stress that no one must use any sort of magic. At all." Professor Colbert stated in all seriousness. I blinked at that and everyone seemed to share my apparent confusion at his rather specific instruction.

"Something horrible will happen if we do, won't it?" Louise asked rhetorically.

"Indeed. As a last resort against possible intruders, any magic used within the archive will trigger the final solution and the entire archive will cave in and bury everything that might still be inside." The man stated while adjusting his own glasses.

"Why prevent the use magic though?" I asked with a raised brow since it seemed like a rather odd thing to do.

"Brilliant." Eleanore suddenly muttered from her place ahead of us.

"Excuse me?" I asked the eldest sister, who just deemed to proper to respond by nodding to herself a few times.

"Yes, perfect. I'm not sure whether I want to praise the mage who came up with this security system or to break their face." Eleanore continued to mutter in her own private little world before she actually started snickering to herself.

"I certainly hope that there is some form of a forthcoming explanation some time soon." I commented in behalf of myself and the others who hadn't figured it out yet.

"Think, you fool. The only way past the main doors safely is by using magic in a very very specific manner. Even I needed Cattleya to keep an eye on my progress to make sure I did not accidentally trip some hidden trap." Eleanore said before pointing out how much it took for her to even get the main doors open.

"And what does that have to do with the issue of not using magic within the archive itself?" I asked since she never really addressed the main question in the first place.

"What better way to muck someone over who managed something like that than to utterly punish them for using any sort of magic the moment the stepped into the archives that they used magic to get into in the first place." Eleanore proudly stated with a rather sinister smile on her face.

"That's...actually rather clever." I admitted with a nod. That was usually the kind of devious trap I'd expect from Eirin. Mainly because the Lunarian woman had done something similar when we faced one another one time and she played me like a cheap piano.

"So it is agreed then. No magic once we go into the archives." Colbert stated to confirm that everyone is in the same page.

"Agreed. You two got that? No magic until we get back out here." Eleanore acknowledged with a nod before putting her wand back in her dress pocket and asking her younger sisters if the understood the gravity of the situation.

"Of course, Big Sister Eleanore." Cattleya responded with a nod before tucking her wand back into her dress.

"I understand, Big Sis Eleanore!" My master nodded enthusiasm after responding. While seeing all three sisters coordinating so well with one another was a rather novel experience, I had to make sure for certain that we reduce the chance of anything happening as much as possible.

"And on that line of thought, I would like the three of you to relinquish your wands to me temporarily just in case." The silence that followed my suggestion was not unexpected, nor were the varying looks of incredulity that the three sisters were giving me.

"I'm sorry. I thought I heard you asking me to smash you to pieces using my Juggernaut. Would you like to verify that?" Nor was the open threat from the eldest sister while giving me a warm smile.

"Well, no actually. You see, just to make sure that we won't have to deal with any possible problems, the surest way to do so would be for the three of you to--" I corrected before trying to elaborate as to why I was even asking them to do that. I never managed to finish my argument because Eleanore cut in after nodding along through a small part of my explanation.

"Oh, so you would also like Cattleya to make structural reinforcements to my Juggernaut before I started smashing you to pieces then." She stated with the same smile while indicating to her younger sister. The sister in question actually did not look too happy either and was even pouting at me.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that none of you are in agreement with my suggestion." I dryly said. Eleanore gave out a rather demure giggle before turning to her youngest sister.

"Whatever do you mean, Familiar? Hey, Runt. Say something to your stupid Familiar." She said to my master who was looking at me like I was an idiot. It appeared that none of the sisters were happy with my suggestion. At all.

"Yuka. Do you have any idea what you're asking us to do?" Louise asked me slowly while shaking her head.

"I...think so. I mean, the only reason why I'm--" I responded but I was once again interrupted when Louise put her right hand up to stop me from continuing.

"Yuka, how would you feel if someone just arbitrarily said that they wanted you to relinquish your parasol to them for a while?" My master asked me in all seriousness. I furrowed my brow at her question before leaning on my closed parasol like a walking stick.

"I would be rather cross about it and I would demonstrate my dissatisfaction in a rather direct manner. Flesh eating plants might be involved." I stated flatly and saw that Louise and her sisters were just looking at me with raised brows and their hands on their hips.

"...ah..." I let out after comprehending what they were trying to say.

"Mister Yuka, a mage's wand is the most personal symbol of their nobility. If you take that away, then it would be liken to you taking away a part of their own body." Colbert explained in behalf of the sisters.

"I see." I acknowledged with a nod.

"Why did you even want to take our wands anyway?" Louise suddenly asked.

"A precaution. I wanted to prevent anyone from accidentally casting a spell while we were in there." I explained while gesturing to them with my left hand.

"Do you honestly think that we are that amateurish?" Eleanore asked her own question while looking rather offended.

"No. However accidents happen. I'd rather be sure that there no threat from that possibility, especially when it comes to something so second nature to you." I stated with a shrug. Eleanore merely rolled her eyes at me while Cattleya gave me a smile that one might give to a child who was wrong but was trying to make a point. Louise simply continued to look at me like an idiot.

"Oh please. We are far more capable than--" Eleanore started off but I decided to prove my point right at that moment.

"There is a book on the topmost shelf that you absolutely have to get but is much too high up for you to reach. What do you do?" I quickly asked the eldest sister. Eleanore frowned at me before audibly sighing.

"What are you--! Use levitation to get up to the same height of the bookcase of...course..." Eleanore said before trailing off when she realized what she answered.

"Reflex can be a very annoying thing sometimes." I pointed out with a shrug.

"Fine. But what about Professor Colbert?" Eleanore asked while pointing at the man.

"Him, I actually trust to keep himself in check. After all, have you ever seen him use magic outside of classes?" I said before asking my master my question.

"Now that you mention it..." Louise muttered before trailing off when she started to rub her chin in consideration.

"There really is no need for them to relinquish their wands, Mister Yuka. I'm sure that they can control themselves." Colbert reasoned, more in an effort to help the sisters save face than anything else. After all, he was the one who was opposed to use even being there in the first place.

"How much confidence do you have in your running ability?" I asked the man flatly.

"Let us be honest here. If something goes wrong in there, all of you will likely die. I'd rather not let that happen if I could help it." I pointed out in a mildly irritated voice.

"Ugh! Fine! Here!" Eleanore finally relented and thrust her wand at me. Louise and Cattleya looked at each other before handing me their wands as well.

"Happy?" Louise asked me in an upset manner. I put the three wands in my left pants pocket before holding out my left hand again.

"The spare wands as well please." I stated, knowing very well that they had an extra wand for emergencies. Both Eleanore and Lousie grumbled before pulling out their secondary wands that they had hidden somewhere in their clothing. Louise had hers strapped to her right thigh while Eleanore had hers somehow hidden in her left sleeve. I took the wands before turning to the middle sister.

"But I don't have a spare wand." Cattleya said innocently. If I had not learned what I had about her recently then I would have probably believed her. However, I had acknowledged that Cattleya was far more cunning than she lets on. After all, the best way to keep a secret is to convince everyone that there was no secret to keep. To that end, I simply kept staring at the woman until she pouted at me.

"Meanie." She muttered before reaching into the collar of her dress and pulling out a wand from what seemed to be her ample cleavage. I couldn't be sure since her dress did not show any cleavage like Kirche's did, but there wasn't really any other place she could have kept it. I took the wand and placed all three spares in my other pants pocket while Cattleya ignored the flat looks her sisters were giving her.

"Are we ready to proceed then?" Agnes asked. We all turned to the source of her voice and saw that had already stepped past the main doors. She was simply waiting for us with her left hand resting on her sword's hilt.

"Just one last thing. Please make sure to keep any book, scroll, or parchment you find in the Archive within the bounds of the structure. The same Final Solution will be activated if anything is taken out of there." Colbert answered while looking at each of us, including Agnes. Well, I supposed that made sense when I thought about it.

"I figured as much. Very well, let us proceed." Eleanore mused before we finally stepped passed the main doors of the archive. I had originally expected that we would quickly find ourselves in the archives after a bit of walking. However, I had once again underestimated just how absurd this place was.

"Well...that is certainly something." I muttered as we stepped in front of a stone footbridge which led to an isolated piece of land in the middle of a very large crevice.

It seemed that someone thought it prudent to build a library in the middle of an island underground. Said library was surrounded by nothing but a sheer drop of undeterminable height and its only connection to anywhere else was a single stone footbridge that may or may not be rigged to collapse by triggering some trap.

"Should we expect any more surprises, Professor Eleanore?" Agnes asked the eldest sister. Eleanore considered the question with a hum before turning to Colbert.

"Did the Headmaster give any warning in regards to any actual traps within?" She asked the man. Why Agnes did not simply ask Colbert since he had definite information about the hidden archive, I was not sure at the time.

"No. He said the only things we have to be careful of once we actually get past the main doors are the prevention of use of magic and making sure that everything we find in the archive does not leave it. It is too risky to place actual magical traps inside since there is always a chance that someone who would be accessing the archive might actually have a legitimate reason to do so." The professor clarified to us.

"Well that seems straightforward enough." Eleanore said with a nod before we crossed the bridge and finally managed to get into the library structure on the other side. The structure, which I assumed was the actual archive, was filled to the brim with tomes, scrolls, parchments, and other such things. Everything seemed to be written in one form or another of Halkeginian so I couldn't understand the titles that were printed on the spines of most of the books. The place itself reminded me of a smaller Voile actually, certainly something the Magicians back home would have been interested in going through.

"This doesn't seem daunting at all." Louise commented with a bit of sarcasm.

"Indeed. Do you have any idea where to even begin your search for the truth that you seek?" I asked Agnes and saw that the knight captain did not look very happy either.

"A scrying spell would help out significantly in the task but..." Cattleya trailed off while placing her right hand on her cheek.

"Are the books safe to read through though?" Louise asked while running her hands over a few of the titles that were packed into one of the many bookcases.

"I would assume that so long as the books in question do not have a face on the cover and-or scream at you, they should be safe." I mused while walking up to another bookcase and taking out a random book. I hummed when I realized that I couldn't understand anything written within either.

"I'm not even going to ask why you think that there are books that can do that." My master said while shaking her head. Agnes wordlessly walked off on her own into the depths of the archive without giving any of us a second glance.

"Will the captain be alright?" Cattleya asked worriedly while looking in the direction where Agnes went off to.

"She's a grown woman, she can take care of herself." Eleanore pointed out while scowling at the books that were located high up on the top shelves of the bookcases. It seemed that the scenario I gave out earlier was actually applicable after all. Professor Colbert hummed thoughtfully but decided not to follow after the knight.

"Now, make yourself useful and find me a stepladder." Eleanore declared while pointing at me with her right index finger.

"I..." I started but I felt Louise's hand on my arm.

"Yuka, just do it please. Big Sister Eleanore has wanted to get into this place since she was my age. She probably thought she wouldn't have another chance after she graduated, but here we are. Just humor her for a bit." Louise whispered to me.

"Really? You want me to play along with Eleanore's little power trip because she managed to fulfill a wish from her youth?" I asked my master with a raised brow before glancing at the woman in question. I was wondering why she hadn't called my attention again and I found that Cattleya seemed to be talking to her about something. Eleanore had her back to us while the middle sister was facing us instead. I blinked when I saw Cattleya's eyes turn to me, just as Eleanore turned her attention back to the books on the highest shelves, before giving me a wink and quickly shifting her attention back to Eleanore just as the eldest sister turned back to her. More and more I was finding out that the formerly sickly woman was likely the most dangerous sister of the three.

"Yes. It really isn't that hard of a thing to do you know. It's not like you have anything else to do around here anyway." Louise pointed out while giving me a rather expectant look.

"Now normally here is where I would just turn and walk away." I noted while using my parasol like a walking stick again.

"I can sense a 'but' in there somewhere." Louise added before pulling at my sleeve again.

"Cute. But yes, you are correct. Fine then. She would have pestered me into doing what she wanted anyway." I admitted with a sigh.

"You took away our wands. You should have expected this already." My master pointed out. I supposed that she had a point so I decided to just play along just to get it over with.

...

"Is there something wrong Mister Yuka?" Professor Colbert asked me as I flipped the book in my hands for the fourth time since I started trying to read it. The text written within looked like old English script but the words did not really come together like it did in the language I was familiar with. The letters were there but they didn't form into any English words at all. In the end, I just started turning it in different ways to try to see if I could comprehend 'something'. I was being stubborn about it since it was the first piece of literature in the archive I've seen that had a kind of writing I could at least try to comprehend. Sadly, it was not working out either. That was when the professor happened upon me. Louise and her sisters were at a different part of the archive after Eleanore recruited them to try to find something 'interesting' as the eldest sister termed it. Since I could not understand their written language I excused myself as not to get in their way.

"As much as I would loath to admit it. I have never really gotten around to actually learning the written language in this realm." I stated with a sigh before closing the book in my hands and placing it on a nearby table.

"Indeed? I did not know that. I had thought that you had mastery over our language since you can speak Halkeginian flawlessly after only a day." Colbert said with a bit of surprise in his voice.

"That was mainly due to Louise explosively applying a translation spell upon me during my first day as her familiar." I responded with a smile. To think that it would be a year since that day in a few months.

"Louise performed a successful translation spell? That is actually a rather impressive feat." The man stated with a hint of pride in his voice.

"It was actually on accident. In any case, how are you finding this place? I would assume that an intellectual such as yourself would akin this place to heaven on earth." I corrected before changing the subject. The man blinked at me before taking a seat at a nearby chair.

"It is all a bit overwhelming for me really. Normally, I would agree with you on your point however I strangely find myself without enthusiasm considering the reason why we are all here in the first place. I once thought that the archives only held priceless tomes and scripts of magic that Tristain had treasured enough to warranty preservation and protection from outside influences." The good professor began while looking around the various tomes and such that were placed everywhere. He remained silent for a few moments, the only sounds that could be heard were echoed conversations between the three sisters from another part of the archives.

"However, I did not think that the archive would also play host to information that had nothing to do with magic. Things that certain parties simply did not want others to know." He finally continued. Ah, so that was this was about.

"If you are referring to what Agnes is seeking, then you should already know that answer to that. Convenience." I responded with a shrug. Really though, the hidden archive of the academy provided the best way to hide incriminating evidence about something. It was already had potent security measures against most who would try their luck to access it. On top of that, there was already so much text literally lying around that one would be hard pressed to even find it even purposefully. If all else failed, there was always the chance of someone slipping up and sending the whole place down right on top of them.

Although, I had to wonder why Richmon simply did not destroy any and all evidence about the truth that Agnes so doggedly sought. In fact, I was not even sure 'why' anyone would even document such information in the first place.

"I suppose you have a point. I just wished that she could simply let it go and live her life for herself instead of chasing ghosts." Colbert said with a sad sigh.

"Why do you care so much of what Agnes does with herself? As Eleanore already pointed out, she is a grown woman and can make her own choices in her life." I asked before calling back to what the eldest sister said about the woman earlier.

"It just seems like a waste is all." The professor responded.

"I may very well be wrong here but...have you developed an attraction to the woman?" I asked him with a raised brow. It seemed odd to me since he was rather disproportionately worried about Agnes even though they haven't really interacted that much as far as I remembered. Then again, there was that whole 'Love at First Sight' nonsense that some humans tended to believe sometimes.

"W-w-w-what? I was simply worried that her vendetta would eventually destroy her! Besides, even though the Captain does have great confidence and a certain charm to her, she is far too young for me." Colbert responded in a fluster while standing back up.

"So you are attracted to her enough to worry about her future but you are unsure whether or not to pursue your feelings for her because of your age difference. I see..." I mused before rubbing my chin with my right hand in contemplation. The professor made a rather uncharacteristically embarrassed expression. He began to open his mouth to voice further protests but then blinked as if he realized something very important.

"You are simply getting revenge for how I implied that you had an attraction to Miss Matilda, aren't you?" The professor asked me with narrowed eyes and a bit of a frown.

"And you have proven to be far better at comprehension than most of those I have met in this realm. We will now end this line of conversation and never speak of it again, agreed?" I offered with a nod to the middle aged man.

"Agreed." He immediately responded and an old debt was repaid.

"Professor Colbert!" Louise suddenly called out from somewhere past the shelves to my left.

"Over here, Louise." I called out and my master peeked out from the end of a bookcase nearby. She looked around and went straight to Colbert after she spotted him.

"Professor Colbert. Big Sister Eleanore is looking for you and needs your help with something." My master explained to her teacher.

"Ah, of course." And Colbert, professor that he was, immediately agreed to assist his student.

"Stay out of trouble." Louise said to me before leading the professor to where I assumed the other two sisters were at. Without anything else to do, I picked up my parasol and opted to simply wander around arbitrarily until something interesting happened or until it was time to leave. Cirno once said that random encounters tend to produce interesting results.

A concept proven when I suddenly heard a loud banging noise a short distance away. I approached the source of the noise and inadvertently managed to find the remaining member of our little group. Agnes was on her feet and hunched over a large open book that was on a large desk. Said desk was also littered with several other books and parchment all over the surface.

"Any luck on your search?" I asked the knight captain. In a flurry of sudden motions that would have taken most humans by surprise, Agnes suddenly closed the distance between the two of us while drawing her sword at the same time.

"Should I take that as a 'no'?" I asked while looking at the woman right in her smouldering eyes. She had her sword held in both hands and almost hit me with an overhead slash. Well, she would have if I did block her sword with my parasol which I held with my right hand. She was certainly fast for a human, but she sadly no threat to me in any sense of the word.

"Do. Not. Sneak. Up. On. Me." Agnes spat out at me with a very upset expression. Each word punctuated with an attempt to push her sword down against my parasol.

"I didn't sneak up on you. I casually walked up to you but you seemed rather focused on what you were reading so you did not notice me." I explained with a shrug while gesturing to the table she was previously occupying using my free hand. She glared at me one more time before withdrawing her sword and putting it back in its scabbard in a practiced motion.

"I apologize, I was..." She trailed off and her frown became even deeper than before.

"I assume that you found something related to what you were looking for but you did not like what you saw." I ventured and got a nod from the woman.

"I actually found exactly what I was looking for but I did not like what I learned all the same." Agnes corrected before walking back to the book she was glowering at earlier. She then turned to me and gestured towards the book.

"See for yourself." The knight stated. I hummed thoughtfully before walking up to the book in question. Indeed, I once again confirmed that I could not make heads or tails of their written language. It all seemed Lunarian to me. I gave out a sigh and shook my head after squinting at the open page in front of me.

"So now you understand. The truth I longed to find was so ironic I can barely believe that it is all true, so go ahead and laugh at the fool that is I." Agnes said in a very weary tone of voice.

"Actually, I sighed because I couldn't understand anything written in this book." I casually corrected her with a shrug. Agnes stared at me and made a rather good showing at making an impression of a fish. She then proceeded to imitate a rather irate Mokou minus the immolation of nearby objects.

"Are you making fun of me?" She asked as her hand once again started reaching for her sword.

"No, I was merely stating a fact. I cannot understand the any written form of language in this realm. In fact, I was just telling the same thing to Professor Colbert a little while earlier." I pointed out to the woman. Her face then suddenly went through a number of different expressions. She seemed rather conflicted about something, probably why she was so upset earlier and why she was mocking herself just now.

"Yes. Jean Colbert. Professor of the Tristain Magic Academy, former Lieutenant of the Heavy Wind and member of the Manticore Knight Corps." She then started to dictate. Hmm...Colbert was in the military? Moreover, he served under Karin of all people? I admit that the professor did indeed give off the feeling that there was power behind his unassuming facade. However, I did not think that he would be part of the personal unit of Louise's mother.

"Was assigned to lead a group of hired wands to perform what was officially known as a purge of a reported plague infected village in an isolated province in Tristain. Operation Madder Red. The burning of D'Angleterre." I blinked at what she had just said. I blinked again when I realized the implication of what she was saying.

"Well, that is a rather...complex set of circumstances." I mused out loud. The knight captain gave out a snort before sneering at me.

"Oh, it gets better. It also turns out that he was able to recover a single survivor who was confirmed to be clean of any trace of plague. Out of the hundreds in the village, he rescued a young girl at great personal risk. In addition, he was attacked by his second at the time after trying to protect the girl from the other fire mages. He brought the survivor to an orphanage managed by the church and resigned from service a month afterwards." Agnes stated while shaking her head. She took a seat on a nearby chair before staring at her hands for the next few moments.

"Curiouser and Curiouser. Professor Colbert does not seem like one who would willingly participate in wanton murder of innocents, more so if he personally worked under Karin the Heavy Wind." I mused before pointing out the overall personality of the man in question.

"You are quick to forget one Jean-Jacques Francis de Wardes, Mister Yuka." Agnes stated while giving me a flat stare.

"I concede that one. However, if what you say is true, then he saved your life back then." I nodded in acknowledgement of Wardes' betrayal despite his close personal ties of the Valliere family. I then pointed out that if Agnes was the only survivor in her village and there was a report that Colbert saved a young girl there...

"Nevertheless..." She trailed off, obviously still conflicted about it.

"And you have other targets to kick around as well. Are you certain that the others were not soldiers as well?" I asked the woman. The term she used, sell wands, seem straightforward enough but I just wanted to check with her anyway.

"If they were, I would have found them years ago. Most likely, they are either already dead or are working as mercenaries somewhere." The knight captain responded with a frown. I hummed thoughtfully at her words before glancing at the book that apparently documented the incident that happened to her home village.

"Do you really think that Colbert should die for his participation in the burning of your village?" I asked her after turning my gaze back to her hardened eyes.

"Yes. But I'll make sure to kill him last." She stubbornly answered with a scowl. I then sighed before walking up to the book and running my left hand across the open page. I sighed before giving out a chuckle when I thought about something.

"Humor me for a moment here, Agnes." I started before pulling up another chair and placing it a bit off to her side and taking a seat. The woman gave me a sidewards glance but did not voice out any protests so I simply continued.

"If Colbert's unit had failed or if he called it off, would Richmon have left your village alone?" I asked. Agnes blinked at me before narrowing her eyes at my question.

"No. There were specific instructions to assemble and dispatch another unit in their stead as soon as possible." The woman answered with a shake of her head.

"Colbert was told that the village was plagued and ordered to purge it to prevent it from spreading. I'm assuming that he would have likely initiated the attack from a distance in order to minimize the risk of infection to himself and his men." I started and saw that the knight captain was deep in thought as I wove my interpretation of what likely happened to her village.

"He would have then ordered his men to go into the village to make sure that they did not miss anything. He then later realized that something was very wrong and confirmed that none of the dead had any signs of plague. He then frantically tried to look for any survivors to rescue before it was too late...and he found you. Then he was attacked by his second in command and I assumed that he was able to kill him since both of you survived. And now, here you are." I finished before standing up and closing the book that revealed the truth of what happened in D'Angleterre.

"That sequence of events seems to be rather hard to believe. Are you sure that you are not simply trying to vindicate the Flame Snake?" Agnes asked in a rather skeptical way.

"Flame Snake?" I repeated the rather odd title in question form.

"It was what Professor Colbert was known as during his time in the army. He is a Square-Rank Fire Mage." Agnes clarified with a dismissive wave. I nodded in acknowledgement before answering her previous question.

"I see. Well, to answer your question, I simply threw it out there because it seemed like the kind of irony that might have actually happened." I admitted with a shrug. Agnes stared at me for a long while before narrowing her eyes at me.

"It does not seem like you said those words in jest." She ventured, somewhat unsure of what she herself was saying.

"I've had an interesting life. So, what will you do about the truth you now know?" I stated with a shrug before asking Agnes what her plan was.

"I need to think on it first. I've waited years for this, I can wait a bit longer." The woman said while shaking her head and standing up.

"I got what I wanted here. Let us see if Professor Eleanore is already finished as well." She pointed out and we subsequently went off to look for the others.

"Yuka! Get over here!" Louise waved us over to another open area that had tables for reading purposes. Both of Louise's older sisters as well as Professor Colbert were pouring over a few books and seemed to be taking down notes on parchment. Since Colbert seemed to be okay with it, then I assumed that those were actually brought by one or more of them. I wasn't really sure where they hid the ink bottles and quill pens though.

"Not there! Over here! Quick!" My master yelled in a bit of a panic before pulling me at my right sleeve to a different part of the open area that we were at. I turned back to Agnes and saw that the woman opted to simply lean on one of the bookcases with her arms folded and her eyes closed. It seemed that she was just going to wait for everyone else to finish their business first.

"What's wrong?" I asked Louise after she led me in front of a pile of books that were on the ground. She did not respond and instead opted to simply start rummaging through the pile of books to look for something.

"Louise just what--" I started but was interrupted when Louise suddenly shot back up to her feet. She then raised a red book in her hands above her head before...

"Aha!" Declaring her triumph and turning to me with an oddly intense expression.

"Your enthusiasm concerns me, Louise." I mused as my master started leafing through the book in her hands.

"Quiet you. Aha! Here! Look!" She responded before trying to shove the book in her hands into my face. It wasn't really effective since I was much taller than her but the intent was there. I blinked when I saw what she was trying to show me. It was a drawing.

It was a rather accurate representation of something that shouldn't even be here.

It was a drawing of Evil Eye Sigma.

I had heard of the 'creation' that an odd resident of Gensokyo made one time before she too disappeared after Reimu defeated the creature in the drawing. I never had any direct contact with it or the creator, one known only as Rika, but I had heard that it gave Reimu a harder time than Mima did during the incident when the Hakurei first met one Marisa Kirisame.

"This thing was from Gensokyo right? I remember Yukari telling me a story about how Lady Reimu fought something matching this exact description!" Louise said while practically hopping in place to try to get the drawing closer to my face.

"Indeed. Where did you find this?" I asked before plucking the book from her hands and skimming over the rest of the contents. Oddly, aside from Evil Eye Sigma, there were no other drawings depicted inside...just more Halkeginian I couldn't read.

"I just found that after just randomly going through a few books here when Big Sister Eleanore told me that I would have just gotten in their way. What's going on, Yuka? Why is a drawing of that thing here inside the hidden archives of the academy?" Louise asked in a mix of confusion and worry.

"I'm not actually sure. Does it say anything particular about Evil Eye Sigma?" I admitted before handing the book back to my master.

"Not anything really useful. The book was written around five-hundred years ago and the only information about it aside from the picture is that it was 'very destructive'. I know more about it than the book does." She responded with frowning at the piece of literature.

"Well, the date more or less matches the when Reimu defeated it after she resolved her second incident. The one that was eventually known in the Gensokyo Chronicles as the 'Eastern Recorded Sealing of a Demon'. It's actually rather interesting though..." I mused while rubbing my chin with my right hand.

"What do you mean by that?" Louise asked with a raised brow.

"The Rawket Lawnchair, Ruukoto, maybe Mima's Staff, and now documentation of Evil Eye Sigma. Everything that ended up here that came from Gensokyo was more or less from Reimu's time." I pointed out. Even myself, the biggest incidents I was ever involved in were back during her era...and here I was, familiar to a magician from Halkeginia.

"So something started tossing things from Gensokyo around five-hundred years ago?" My master asked in clarification.

"It certainly seems that way." I answered with a nod.

"That doesn't make any sense." Louise dryly responded with a bitter expression.

"It most certainly does not." I agreed with a thoughtful hum.

"Hey! Yuka! Runt! We're leaving!" We both turned to the sound of Eleanore yelling at us. We saw everyone carrying several leaves of parchment in their hands.

"I see that your time was well spent." I commented with a bit of a smirk. Said smirk faded when Eleanore returned it before gesturing towards the table. There was a stack of parchment on the table that was thicker than the ones they were all carrying combined.

"Oh, I suppose you can say that." The eldest sister stated with an all too pleased smile on her face.

...

"Ugh! Is this seriously what I have to say out loud?" Louise complained as she read through the printouts.

"Actually you apparently have to sing it in some way based on the display." I pointed out while pointing at the holographic display showing directly in front of Ruukoto. The three of us were in Mugenkan to address something we should have dealt with a long while ago.

Nitori's notes on how to unlock some new things for Ruukoto's use.

Blood Dragon Tooth and Overdrive System: NT-D.

Those were the two things the Kappa was able to puzzle out the unlocking systems for. It required direct input for the gynoid's current master at the time so Louise was here in her physical body this time. My master was going to spend the rest of the night in my mansion afterwards so she can get some sleep afterwards.

"But...but...but..." Louise stammered out over and over while blushing.

"It's not like anyone else will hear you. Besides, Eleanore had a rather nice signing voice so I would think that such a talent might run in the family." I pointed out to my shy master. She just frowned at me before fidgeting at the message that was shown as a prompt to begin the unlocking sequence.

<<SING NOW!>>

"Fine! Ugh!" Louise finally conceded before taking a few breaths.

It begins with the first kiss

The story of us two

Casting a spell on this fate

You suddenly appeared

Not yet awake from the sweet kiss

The story of how we met that day

Come on, cast your magic

And the wish will surely come true
 
It begins with the first kiss

The story of us two

Casting a spell on this fate

You suddenly appeared

I was of the opinion that Louise also had a rather lovely singing voice.

"Will it really be okay if I slept here?" Louise asked me just as I conjured a door for Ruukoto.

"Yes. Isn't that why we're sending Ruukoto back in order to watch over the academy for the night?" I answered before pointing out my suggestion to her after we successfully managed to unlock Blood Dragon Tooth and NT-D for the gynoid's future use.

"Still, I have a bad feeling about this." Louise muttered while looking worriedly at the conjured door that led to the academy's flower garden.

"Louise, the academy isn't going to fall apart just because you aren't there. In fact, considering the ones occupying the place right now, it is probably the safest place in Tristain save for your family mansion." I continued. Between the teaching staff, Agnes and her knights, Louise's own sisters, Kirche and Tabitha, as well as Ruukoto, even Louise had to admit that her worries were likely very silly.

I mean, what kind of idiot would attack the Tristain Magic Academy in the middle of the night when the country was in the middle of an allied war against Albion?

...

[Blackraptor]

Well, you can all blame me enjoying Super Robot Wars Original Generations 2nd far too much for this. The last part of this interlude will be posted just as soon as I'm done with my second run...

...

The Night of the Two Moons

...

Burning. All I can remember is burning.

The heat of the flames.

The red-orange glow that dominated my vision.

The odd smell of cooked human flesh.

The screams.

My feet hurt as I walked barefoot through the streets.

My eyes hurt from the smoke.

My nose hurt from the heat.

My skin hurt from the flames.

Then the screaming stopped and all I heard was the crackling of fire.

Then I fell.

And there was darkness. But the burning remained.

"Guh!" I grunted and cursed at myself for having that dream again. I had thought myself better than that. I thought that I have already gotten over that. I lifted my head and noted that I was using my arms as a makeshift pillow. It seemed that I had fallen asleep inside the library of the Tristain Magic Academy. I had more or less set myself up here after I had found out the truth of what happened to my village of D'Angleterre.

Minister Richmon, then a Judge who was snugly settled within the pocket of an unspecified faction of the Church, wanted the village off the map because it was harboring and protecting someone who was advocating a belief that goes against the teachings of Brimir. A so called 'heretic' who taught dark wisdom to the poor commoner fools.

He set up a rather convincing argument that the village was overcome with a plague. He managed to convince a panel of representatives from the Church and the Crown even though the village never had any history of any major pandemic since its founding. I still could not understand why he did not simply have the village searched for the heretic via an official inquisition. There was still a piece missing in the motive, a piece that was not documented in the records and reports I found in the hidden archives of the academy. Was there someone else pulling Richmon's strings? I shook my head to clear it of tangential thoughts. I can look into that once it was time to return to the capital.

He then managed to get a commissioned Square-Class Fire Mage Knight to lead a group of Mercenaries to do the job. Yuka Kazami, the Winged Demon of Tarbes, was likely correct in his assessment. That would give Richmon the deniability to simply say that Jean Colbert was acting on his own in case anything went wrong.

Like if someone managed to expose the truth about the incident.

That fact made me very glad I killed Richmon before I found out the truth.

After we exited the Tristain Magic Academy's Hidden Archive, I once again went through the records of enlistment in the entire Tristain Military for Fire Mages of at least Line Rank that would match what I found in the archives. I just wanted to make sure. I wanted to make sure I had other people to kill before I had to turn my sword to the man who saved my life.

I grit my teeth when I realized that I was just looking for an excuse not to kill Jean Colbert for his involvement in the incident.

I pinched the bridge of my nose when I noted that my vision was starting to get blurry. I stood up before I started to clean up the documents that ended up strewn all over the table because of my unplanned nap.

"Captain!" Helgarose suddenly burst through the doors in a near-frantic manner. I picked up my sword and strapped it to my waist. Her demeanor alone told me that something had happened. Dame Falkenmayer did not panic easily.

"Casualties?" I asked as I strode up to her while she closed the library doors.

"Three of ours are injured. Six fatalities. We lost our patrols around the dormitory tower first, then the teachers' living quarters, and then the servants wing. It was a well planned raid by a group of unknown armed men. They number at least thirty. No evidence of any mages among them." Helgarose gave her report after she managed to catch her breath. A raid at the academy in the middle of the night? What were they after? Why here? Why now?

"Where are the others?" I asked as I led my second-in-command through the academy library to a backdoor that lead to a part of the main hallway. The help were kind enough to inform us about the various passageways and doors that were only just hidden away from obvious view. Those were the means by which the servants were able to get from one point to another in the academy without running into any nobles. They were not secret passages by any means, but they were inconspicuous enough for most to miss.

"What the hell?! He-Guh!" Not inconspicuous enough it seemed. I walked up to the corpse and pulled Helgarose's throwing knife out of his forehead. I wiped the blade clean of blood using the dead man's pants before handing the knife back to my fellow knight.

"I apologize. I reacted on reflex. We could have been able to interrogate this one for some additional information." My second stated with a bow while sheathing her knife.

"What's done is done. Where are we regrouping?" I asked as we dragged the body back into the door we just came out of for some semblance of concealment. I was thankful that Helgarose's aim with a knife was unmatched. Concealing the body would have been problematic if there was blood everywhere.

"Lunateresia and Ilfriede were rallying everyone to one of the classrooms in the fire tower. It was the furthest place from the areas that were hit and is defensible enough should it come down to a battle." I nodded in acknowledgement. It was a good choice. The fire tower was apparently designed to withstand great damage from fire spells in case they went out of control during classes. That was why it was placed so far away from the other buildings and why Helgarose termed it as defensible.

Whoever it was that was attacking was able to get past everyone it seemed. They got past the scant number of token hired guards who looked like they couldn't even catch a death of cold in winter. They got past the teaching staff. They got past the servants. They got past the students. They got past my knights.

Whoever was attacking knew what they were doing. Sad that they did not seem to know who they were dealing with.

I stopped walking when I realized something.

How did they get past Dame Valliere's familiar and maid?

"Captain?" Helgarose called out from a short distance in front of me.

"It is nothing. Let's go. We need to come up with an action plan to deal with these pests." I stated before we started walking again. Those men came at a good time. I felt the need to stab something in the face anyway.

...

Transfer Complete...

Readjusting Sensors...

Visuals Online...

There was something wrong.

That was the immediate conclusion I had made after going through the divide between Mugenkan and the Tristain Magic Academy. My internal sensors counted several human life signs that were not registered as known values.

Situation unknown.

Unable to make contact with Mistress Louise or Yuka Kazami. They had returned the 'Hey-Listen' units I provided to them after they returned safely from their investigations.

More data required. Course of action determined was silent reconnaissance.

Shifting Visual Sensors to thermal...

Unknown human contacts were inbound and will gain visual on me within the next three seconds. I immediately bounded to the rooftop of the nearby building and laid low against the shadows.

"What was that noise?!" Human. Male. Age range between late twenties to early thirties. Three contacts. Armed. Steel swords and rudimentary leather armoring. No signs of magical ability. Marked as potential hostiles until more information is gathered.

"Check out the corners of the building! Quick!" Contact One seemed to be in charge of the squad. Contact Two and Contact Three began to sweep the immediate area. Evidence of training but subpar at best or just a lack of skill. Contacts did not look up. Amateurish.

"Could it be that group of whores trying to get back in?" Contact Three spoke. Signs of stress and anxiety noted. Terminology used noted. The only known female groups at the Academy aside from the students were the resident maids and the Royal Musketeer Squadron. The more probable possibility was the latter. It was a curious situation if true. Finding a member of the Musketeer Squadron for a situation report was added to my list of objectives.

Within the second that it took me to update my assessment of the situation. Contact Three was tasked to check around the building I was on. Alone. Contacts One and Two remained in the garden proper, potentially as reinforcements should Contact Three find any hostiles.

Trained, but poorly so.

I quietly shifted myself to the edge of the roof where Contact Three was apparently poking at some crates. Contact Three did not even have his weapon out.

There was almost no effort expended on my part when I simply dropped down behind him as he was walking by. I had known early on since my activation in my Version-Two frame that snapping the neck of most vertebrate life forms, especially those with actual necks, was the fastest way to kill them without making a mess. There was no struggle. Only a surprised stiffening of his shoulders when I grabbed onto his head before the almost too quiet snap that immediately followed. I did not need all three of them alive. Only the one who was giving the other two orders needed to live long enough to answer my inquiries.

I settled the body down to a sitting position against the wall with his head lolled to the side. In the darkness of the night, it made it look more like Contact Three was asleep or knocked out instead of being already dead. I then turned to the crates he was poking around and knocked one over before bounding back to the rooftop. The way Contact One ordered Contact Two to investigate the noise when Contact Three did not respond to their calls was like clockwork.

Contact Two immediately ran up to Contact Three when he saw his comrade sitting against the wall with evidence of violence in the immediate area. I jumped behind him just as he was crouching down to check on his fallen comrade. And then there was one. I grabbed both bodies and went back up to the rooftop where I deposited them out of sight. The only thing left was to wait for what Contact One would do. Predictably, he chose to follow the other two around the corner where two others have already disappeared without further contact. He really should have known better. At least he made my work easier. He had his sword out and was looking around frantically for any signs of anyone at all.

I jumped down just as he was turning back around and grabbed his head with my right hand. I made sure that my grip was over his eyes in order to prevent positive visual identification of who his assailant was. Better safe than sorry obviously. I then shoved him against the wall in order to restrain any further movements. He grabbed my arm with his free hand and tried to pull it off. When he realized that it wasn't really going to work, he proceeded to try to stab me with the sword in his right hand. It was clearly not working since my uniform was made of material which was far more durable than the weapon in his hand. I took his sword away after his third try because it was getting irritating.

"Who the hell are you?! Do you have any idea who we are?!" Onto the standard questions already? Rather cliche choices as well. The former was a rather loaded question while the latter was something I wanted answered anyway. I blinked at the reasoning Contact One had for asking me for my identity. Was he hoping that he would get some information back to his comrades in case he would be able to escape from be or if I let him go? I discarded the idle thought within the same second it took me to activate White Noise and augment my vocals into something else, something as far from my regular voice as possible. Yes, that would work. Deep, gravelly, and male. I then leaned in closer and answered his question.

"I am the Night." I let him ponder on that for a few seconds before speaking again.

"Who are you and why are you here? What is your command structure? Who is in charge? What are your objectives?" I asked him in the same augmented voice. Oddly, Contact One actually managed a smile at my inquiry.

"Do you honestly think I'll talk? You don't know anything so you can burn with the rest! You will never get anything out of me." It was a rather poor, if predictable, choice on his part really. I grabbed his right wrist, which was now trying to pry my right hand from his face along with his other hand, and forced it to his side.

"Everyone talks." I mused with a small smile while shifting my grip from his wrist to his hand.

"There are two hundred and six bones in an adult human body." I continued to mutter into his ear before quickly snapping both bones that made up his right thumb. I then let go of his hand and clamped my left hand over his mouth to prevent any needless noise.

"Now, you have two hundred and eight. Would you like to find out how many bones you can end up having by the time I'm done with you? Oh, and if you scream, I'll do it anyway." I asked him before slowly letting go of his mouth.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" He was very helpful and informative after that. I made sure to make his death as quick as possible in payment for his assistance.

...

"How many are combat ready?" I immediately asked after I opened the doors to the classroom that served as the temporary rally point of my knights. Lunateresia walked up to me and gave me a salute, which my second and I returned, before giving her report.

"Isara, Juno, and Alvina are wounded and will not be combat ready unless the can get healed by a Water Mage." The green haired knight stated before closing her eyes and taking a breath.

"We...we lost Misha, Salinas, Audrey, Rosina, Camille, and Claudia." She added with a mix of sadness and anger in her voice. Dammit! Three wounded and six dead right at the start. I was sent here by the princess with thirty of my knights, including Helgarose, and now I was down nearly a third of them already.

The rest of us were still in the capital so we could still be on hand should Princess Henrietta need us in any way. My third-in-command, Michelle, should be more than capable of leading them while Helgarose and I were here.

"Do you know how they were killed? We do not die easily." I asked before reminding her just how hard I've trained them all in combat. We were not the types who would fall in such numbers so quickly.

"It was a very well timed strike. Evidence suggest that they hit our active patrols all at once at a very precise moment when they would be the most vulnerable. Misha and Audrey were patrolling the dormitory towers. Salinas and Claudia were supposed to be ending their rounds in the teachers' living quarters. Finally, Camille and Rosina should have been checking up on the servant's wing at the time of attack." Helgarose answered with a frown. The three of us then lapsed into a moment of silence before Lunateresia excused herself to help the others in their preparations.

"How were you alerted of the attack?" I asked my second while watching my remaining knights prepare themselves for the moment when we would strike back. They looked much more heated than usual as they did so. Likely because of how the attackers were able to get past us, even costing us six of our sisters.

Yes, they would pay for spilling the blood of my knights.

"Ilfriede was wandering around on her own again and saw Salinas and Claudia being attacked by several men. She was unable to assist them because she was greatly outnumbered but undetected at the time. She reported what she saw to me and we quickly found the fate of the others. We had lost control of those areas and decided to regroup first before I went off to find you." Helgarose explained. So it was Ilfriede who found out then. She always did have a habit of taking walks at night on her own when not assigned to anything.

"We were lucky to have been able to come to the aid of Isara, Juno, and Alvina before they were overwhelmed. They were eating in the kitchen when they were attacked. Thankfully, we were nearby and were able to dispatch their attackers through a combined effort." Helgarose added, giving the answer to why Isara and the others were only wounded and not dead. We then turned around to the sound of footsteps and saw a very somber looking Ilfriede. She gave us a salute before speaking without prompt.

"I shouldn't have run away. Those men killed Salinas and Claudia. I should have--" I stopped her from continuing with a raised right hand. The doors were still open so it was not unusual for her to have overheard us if she came from the hallway.

"You made the correct decision. If they found and killed you, more of us would have been struck down before we knew what was going on." I pointed out, both as fact and as a way for the woman to stop blaming herself for deaths she was not able to prevent. The woman before us was not stupid, so I attributed her unwillingness to see my point to seeing two of her comrades be cut down without being able to do anything about it.

"I just--" She started but was interrupted, this time by her long-time friend and my second.

"Do you have something to report, Ilfriede?" Helgarose asked with a stern expression. The blonde knight stared at her friend for a moment before nodding.

"I took Alicia, Marina, and Wendy with me for some reconnaissance. The dormitories and the teachers' quarters are completely deserted while there are men posted at the servants wing." Ilfriede answered. I nodded in acknowledgement before noting that both Marina and Wendy did not accompany her back.

"Were there signs of violence?" Helgarose asked.

"Only to property. There were no signs of blood that we noticed." The blonde knight answered with a shake of her head.

"I assume that there is a reason why Marina and Wendy are not here yet." I asked the woman.

"Yes. We found out that the students and the teachers are being held inside the Alviss Hall. They have all the doors and windows secured. It seems that most of the attackers are in there. I had Marina and Wendy keep an eye on the building in case the situation changes." Ilfriede answered. Good. Both of the knights she left behind are skilled at reconnaissance and would be best suited to such a task.

"Good work. At least we know where the teachers and students are." I acknowledged with a nod before turning to Helgarose when she gave out a seemingly deliberate hum.

"None of the men we've encountered so far have used any magic. How were they able to subdue and capture not only the students, but the teachers as well?" Helgarose raised a very interesting and very important point.

"There wasn't any evidence that anyone has used magic either. It would have been rather obvious if they did. It was like no one even fought back." Ilfriede added another piece to the puzzle. I gave the matter a thought before realizing how they likely accomplished what they did.

"They struck under the cover of night when most were already in bed. Even with all of us here, there was no way for us to completely secure the academy at all times. It was not an impossible thing for them to slip through if they are as organized as they seem. Besides, most mages without a wand can do little else." I pointed out. The two of them looked between each other and myself before nodding in understanding.

"Regardless, we need to get ready to move. Helgarose, stay here until everyone if fully ready to be deployed. Once they are, find and rendezvous with Marina and Wendy. Secure the perimeter outside the Alviss Hall but try not to draw attention to yourselves. The last thing we want is for those fools to start panicking." I said to my second. Our priority now was to ensure the safety and freedom of the hostages.

"Understood." Helgarose responded with a nod before walking off to where the others were. I saw that my knights were already preparing the muskets and pistols that they were apparently able to gather before going to the tower. Let no one say that the Royal Musketeer Squadron took threats like this lying down.

"Ilfriede, get me Alicia, Brigitte, and Catherine. The five of us are going hunting." I said to the blonde knight who eagerly nodded before going off to gather the others I asked for. I looked over at the nineteen women who were preparing to risk their lives once more. Along with the two who were keeping watch on the Alviss Hall, I would make sure that we would be able to get through this without losing anyone else. My knights are capable enough to accomplish that much.

...

Mission Log Update...

A raid in the middle of the night on the Tristain Magic Academy by a group of mercenaries who were apparently of no affiliation to one another or to anyone else. It would explain the lack of unit cohesion demonstrated by my first three kills. A weak and risky strategy but one that had the merit of complete plausible deniability for the benefactors. Nothing to trace back to them. Contact One repeatedly confirmed that he was hired through an intermediary at a tavern in Gallia. His companions were also apparently recruited the same way from different parts of the continent. Contact One insisted on that truth even after I was done breaking all the bones in his right hand.

The only thing that he knew was that they were all taking orders from one man, a fire mage of sorts apparently. He would then be very generously compensated for his efforts after everything was over and done with.

I began to question the wisdom of the newly confirmed hostiles when they did not seem to question the terms of the contract provided to them. After all, there was no reason to pay anyone if they cannot trace the contract back to the one who was supposed to pay them. There was also the more practical option of simply disposing of them after they had outlived their usefulness.

I stuck to the rooftops as I moved between buildings until I finally got to the dormitory towers. There were a few guards posted at the entrance but they were as easy to dispatch as the others. I then went into the towers and checked the rooms. Evidence of forced entry and varied degrees of struggle in all the rooms, including Mistress' room. I picked up the discarded Founder's Prayer Book on the floor and placed it inside one of my pockets. While it was doubtful that the attackers knew of the true value of the book, it was better to keep it with me instead of leaving it out in the open.

I then noted that Yuka Kazami's hat now sported several cuts and tears. Unwearable by the terms that the flower youkai normally deemed worthy. He was going to be rather cross once he returns. Thankfully, Mistress Louise's hat only had minor scuffs but was entirely intact.

I placed both hats back on the desk and exiting the room. I then noted a slight oddity in the state the rooms were in. There were varied signs of physical struggle, yes. However, there were no signs of any use of magic anywhere in the immediate vicinity. Not even residual signs of magic was evident anywhere. There were two possibilities for that kind of situation. Either the attackers had a means of neutralizing the use of magic in a large area or they were able to capture everyone before they were able to get to their wands and defend themselves. The latter seemed more plausible, especially after seeing discarded wands in some rooms.

With that in mind, I made sure to pick up Mistress' spare wand back in her room. She had left it there before changing and going into Mugenkan earlier. I was certain that she would not mind lending it to someone who might be able to help considering the situation. I concluded that there was nothing else here and decided to move on to check if Lady Eleanore and Lady Cattleya somehow managed to get away from the chaos and find a safe place to hide.

"Finally managed to slip away from those idiots. Now then, it's time to do some looting~" I ducked into one of the open rooms near the main stairwell after hearing a male voice approaching from below. Voice printing did not match any known values in my records. Considering the nature of his statement and the apparent nature of the attackers, it was obvious that he had come to the dormitory tower in order to take personal valuables owned by the students.

Visual was confirmed after a few more seconds when he took his first step out of the stairwell and into the hallway. Attire of new contact matches that of the previous ones I've already dealt with. This suggests that the mercenaries were given outfitted to a standard before being deployed. Training was also possible if that was the case but it was more likely that the time was just spent to make sure everyone knew who was in charge.

I moved back into the shadows after the new contact took his second step into the hallway. Head movement was rapid but unfocused. Possible indecisiveness on which room to start with. A fortuitous coincidence then that he decided to started with the room that I was hiding in. I pressed myself against the wall and ceased all movement. Human senses are not the sharpest provided by nature. They mainly depend on three things in order to notice something out of place that they could not readily see. Movement, breathing, and heat.

Fortunate that I can neutralize all three. That, coupled with the darkness in the room made sure that the would-be thief did not even turn my way when he entered the room. Instead walked directly up to the desks and cabinets in order to search for anything of value. There was also two factors that certain humans can sense if their skill was high enough, usually through experience in combat or martial training. It was the ability to sense 'intent' and 'life'. I had neither. That was why he did not stand a chance when I quietly walked up behind him before clamping my hand over his mouth and forcing him to his knees.

R-Blade

"I have two questions." I stated in the same augmented voice I used before. His struggling ceased after seeing my left arm be converted into my R-Blade. I had found that the soft blue glow and the low hum generated by the particle edged weapon was oddly mesmerizing to humans once they see it up close. More so if the blade itself was poised to slice out your neck.

"Where are the students of this academy? Who is in command of this attack?" I asked before letting go of his mouth and grabbing his hair instead to keep him in place. The man did not speak but detected vitals suggested that he was very stressed about the current situation.

"Speak while you still have the means to do so. If not, I can simply find someone else who will." I stated after a few seconds of silence. I pulled his head back two centimeters and moved the edge of my R-Blade three centimeters closer to his neck in order to emphasize urgency.

"We're holding all the mages in the Alviss Hall! The man in charge is a crazy blind fire mage called Menvil!" The man immediately stated out in panic. Indeed, the hall used to host meals would be both large enough and defensible enough to be the most effective location to hold several hostages. By his statement of 'all mages', it would be prudent to assume that they had also managed to capture the teaching staff as well. Likely, even both of Mistress' sisters were among the hostages. Though, his last point seemed to be the most interesting one. A blind, and apparently mentally unstable, fire mage was in charge of the assault. More and more, the logic behind the attack seemed to be questionable. Even if they were able to capture all the mages of the academy and make them hostages, what then?

"Are there other mages in your ranks?" I asked after the second it took me to record and analyze the information provided by his previous statement.

"No! He should be the only mage we have! He's supposed to be some sort of veteran merc! That's why he's in charge even though he's blind as a bat and crazy as a loon!" The man answered in a rather timely manner. Experience was always a good way to pick leadership. Although, most would not consider it even then due to his apparent physical disability and mental state.

"Thank you for the information." I stated. The man started squirming in my grasp after I did not do anything afterwards.

"Well? Aren't you going to let me go? I answered your questions!" He demanded from me albeit almost desperately. I tilted my head to the side at his request before responding.

"Hm? I never said that I would release you." I pointed out before quickly snapping his neck with my right hand. I recalled R-Blade while the man's body dropped lifelessly on its side. I flexed the fingers of my left hand after it reverted back to normal. I then picked up the body before exiting the dormitory tower. After making sure there were no other contacts in the vicinity, I deposited the body behind some bushes for concealment. I made it a point to keep track of where I was hiding my kills for proper disposal later. It wouldn't do if they suddenly started giving off a smell as they decomposed simply because I left them somewhere hidden.

I made my way to the room used by Lady Eleanore and Lady Cattleya located in the teachers' quarters. The state of the room mirrored that of my Mistress' in that there was evidence of violence but no traces of magic. I looked down when I noticed something seemingly out of place. It was a discarded wand. I picked it up and confirmed that it was intact. I momentarily wondered why it was left on the floor but dismissed it just as quickly since it mattered little anyway. I secured the wand in my dress before leaving through the nearby window in order to get back to the rooftops. At the very least, I will be able to arm up to two friendly mages should the situation demand it.

The Alviss Hall was my ultimate objective but there was one more place I wanted to check before I moved there. I wanted to confirm that Siesta and the rest of the servants were unharmed at least. With that objective in mind, I silently made my way to the servants wing.

...

"What was that noise?" Ilfriede whispered as we walked through the halls of the teachers' quarters. We made this detour in hopes that some of the attackers were dumber than we had originally anticipated and decided to rob the place. The student dormitory towers were already completely deserted so we quickly proceeded here instead. We were met with absolutely no resistance along the way. It was almost unnerving. It was like the entire academy was suddenly void of any other life at all save for the evidence of violence in the rooms. We had expected at least a few patrols along the way, that was why I brought the others with me on this hunt. I was hoping to catch a few hares unawares in order to interrogate them for more information.

"Where did it come from?" Alicia inquired in an equally hushed tone from the rear of our formation, her oddly styled twin-tailed brown hair swiveling around along with her head. She was standing beside her fellow brunette, formed into twin buns, Brigitte. Ilfriede was in front of them with the oldest member of the squadron, the black haired Catherine. I personally headed the formation as we moved through the hallways.

"Down the hall. It sounded like a door or a window being opened." Catherine answered with narrowed eyes instead. The short haired woman was easily our best reconnaissance specialist and personally trained our second best, Marina. If she says that she saw or heard something, it was usually wise to listen to her.

"Slow and low. Catherine, with me. The rest of you, follow three steps behind. Pistols and knives only for close combat." I ordered before we all pulled out our knives and pistols. Swords and muskets would only be a liability in such a cramped environment, so our only practical option for weapons were knives and the like. Such was the basics of Close Quarters Combat that was taught to me by me old instructor. There was no one else better than she was before she died on a secret mission a year before the Musketeer Squadron was formed. I had hoped to have shared command with her if not for her death.

We advanced through the hallway as quietly as our armor would allow. I then felt a hand tap on my shoulder and I immediately stopped. I turned to Catherine and she pointed to a room in the distance. I remembered that room as the one used by the elder Valliere sisters. I narrowed my eyes and nodded before proceeding. We put our backs to the wall as we got closer to the room in question.

I signaled for the others to hold their positions while I moved in on my own first. It was risky but, if there really were any enemies in there, it would allow the others to get the jump on them while the attacker or attackers were too busy with me. I peered into what was visible through the doorway. The door itself was broken and forgotten on the floor and the room itself was not spared the same fate as the other rooms we have encountered.

None of the magelights survived the attack so the room itself was much darker that I'd like. Nevertheless, I proceeded cautiously in a crouch with my knife in a reverse grip in my right hand as I used both hands to hold my pistol steady in case I needed to shoot something. I only had one shot with my pistol, but that was why I had my knife out already. One of the most important lessons taught to me was to make sure I was always armed and able to fight at any range. Having both my knife and my pistol equipped at the same time allowed me to switch between them in the blink of an eye instead of wasting precious time trying to pull one or the other out. Of course, this was only intended and was most effective to be used for close quarters. Other tactics and techniques were required for different ranges and situations.

Adapt or die, as it were.

There were shadows everywhere but I took advantage of them as well to inch my way through the room. Fine clothing, books, parchments, even some of the notes the professor took when we went into the hidden archive were damaged in some way. The woman would not be happy about this. At all. I idly wondered if those men knew who Professor Eleanore and Lady Cattleya actually were when they attacked. I shook off the unnecessary thoughts and proceeded to check the rest of the room. I eventually found the cause of the sound that Ilfriede and Catherine heard. It was a partially open window that led to a three-story drop. I narrowed my eyes at the possibility that someone just casually jumped out the window before we arrived. In the end, I just dismissed the thought and went back to my knights with a signal to indicate that the room was clear.

"Since I don't see any bodies anywhere, I'm assuming that it was just nothing or whoever it was already escaped." Catherine asked as she and Ilfriede entered the room. Alicia and Brigitte stayed outside to serve as lookouts just in case.

"The former seems more likely since the cause of the noise was an open window." I stated while sheathing my knife and holstering my pistol.

"Aww...what a waste." Ilfriede lamented the clothes that were destroyed and discarded on the floor. I ignored the comment from the blonde and instead inspected the room more thoroughly. There were signs of struggle and even some blood on some cloth. Those two sisters must have given their attackers quite a time before they were subdued.

I silently wished for their safety as it would have been a great waste if they were killed. To say nothing of what the Valliere family would do if they found out that two of their eldest daughters died inside the academy on our watch. And even that was nothing compared to what the youngest sister and her followers would do if that had come to pass.

"This is all wrong." Catherine mused as she closed the window that caused our little jump earlier.

"They were able to get the jump on us at the best possible moment to do so. They took out all the regular guards, took down six of our squadmates, injured three, blocked in all the servants in their own quarters, and captured all of the mages in the academy. Then they hole up in a large building with all the hostages and do nothing else. Do you think they're waiting for something or someone?" Catherine continued before turning to me with a concerned expression.

"Possibly. Transporting that many people, even under the cover of night, would be quite a task and would be laughably easy to track down and intercept. Killing them is also an option but that many nobles are worth far more alive than dead." I reasoned out with a nod. She was right though. As far as their opening move went, it was tactically brilliant. However, the problem stemmed from what would happen afterwards.

"What do we do now? Rendezvous with Helga and the others?" Ilfriede asked while giving a token effort to at least reorganize the books and parchments that were scattered everywhere. She turned back to us for an answer after placing them on the bed.

"If they really are going to just hole up inside the Alviss Hall then we'll make sure that there aren't any other stragglers wandering around. Afterwards, we're going to prevent any chance of escape, rescue the hostages, and make them pay for thinking that they can get away just like that after killing six of our sisters." I stated after deciding our next course of action.

"The servants wing next then." Catherine stated with a nod, which I returned. The three of us left the room and started to make our way to the servants wing. Hopefully, we'd be able to gain more information about the attackers before we made plans on moving in to save the hostages.

...

Mission Log Update...

"Come on! All those maids in their rooms all cold and scared. You can't possibly not want to be able to get your hands on a few of those!" One of the men who were guarding the entrance to the servants wing stated while nudging his companion with his elbow.

"Of course I do! But we'll have a chance eat up those women once we're done with the job. Hell, the boss might even let us sample some of those nobles too. Did you see those two with the red and pink hair? It's like they were born to please men! Gwahahaha!" I blinked as I continued to listen in on the conversation of the two men from the rooftop of another building. The need for guards and the nature of their conversation implied that the servants were safe and were being held inside. Sad that those two would not be able to enact their delusions since I was certain that no one would have approved of the inappropriate talk they were having about Miss Kirche and Lady Cattleya.

Switching Visuals to Thermal...

Confirmed no other contacts in immediate vicinity.

Switching Visuals back to Normal Low-Light Enhancement Mode...

I decided to take a more direct approach in the matter since there was no viable vantage point to be able to dispose of them without detection. I moved across the rooftop of the building I was on and dropped down on the ground behind it. I then calmly walked around the building with my hands behind my back until I was walking up directly at the two men. It took twelve-point-seven more seconds for them to notice me and the two of them looked rather surprised to see a maid walking around freely.

"Hey! How did you get out! Come over here!" One of the two men yelled out before stomping towards me and drawing his sword. The other man simply started laughing and did not seem to see me as a threat. Good.

"Come over here you--" He said while reaching out at my left arm. It was a very poor choice on his part.

Blood Dragon Tooth

"Wha--" He exclaimed as a golden light suddenly flashed behind me. I then pulled out my right hand which held the weapon that Mistress recently unlocked for me.

The red colored handheld weapon was, as its core, a variable energy emitter. The size of the weapon itself was much smaller than the original Dragon Tooth, reduced to a size that was only slightly larger than the G-Revolver. It held the same basic design and was simply made much more compact because of the technological advancements that Professor Uzuki learned from my predecessor and Professor Shirakawa. The Blood Dragon Tooth boasted a more compact frame without any loss in yield and even had improved efficiency in energy consumption and cooling. The weapon's energy emitter could both discharge energy bolts to hit targets at range or create a charged particle blade of adjustable length and intensity. It was originally meant to be a pair to be used in each hand by me. The hope was to replace both the G-Revolver and the R-Blade with a more practical weapon system that can easily be used and maintained. Sadly, time constraints demanded that I kept all three weapons as a second Blood Dragon Tooth was impossible to create at that point due to certain circumstances. The one in my inventory was the only one of its kind ever made.

It was rather obvious that human flesh was far easier to cut than most other things I've used this weapon on in the past. One down.

"Why you little--" The other target was quickly silenced after I switched weapon modes to ranged and relieved him of the need for a head. Two down. Another advantage of the energy weapon at range compared to the G-Revolver was that it was safer to use during situations where high yield armor piercing explosive rounds would cause too much noise or too big a mess.

I moved quickly into the building that held the servants. Stealth was no longer an option after my latest kills so quickly neutralizing all other threats in the area was priority-one to prevent alerting the main enemy force.

R-Blade

"What the hell is with all that noi--" Three down. There seemed to be more men assigned to guard this building than the others. It was likely due to the fact that they needed to make sure that the servants would not cause any problems.

"Please! Don't! Help! Someone please help me!" I moved the the room where the cries for help were coming from and kicked down the door. I then aimed my Blood Dragon Tooth at the obvious target.

"Stop moving you little-whaaaggh!" Four down. I continued my sweep after confirming the death of the assailant. I would have done more to comfort for the now hysterical maid who was almost raped and now had a headless body on top of her, but I needed to make sure that all threats in the servants wing were neutralized first.

"You two! Check the entrance way for any--Look out!" Six down. I dropped the bodies of the two men who were impaled by my blades before jumping back to avoid getting hit by the sword of the one trying to give them orders. The weapon would not have done any damage, but it was more or less a reflex action on my part anyway. I pointed my Blood Dragon Tooth at him the moment I got off the ground and he dropped dead by the time I landed. Seven down.

"Don't even think about it freak!" I turned around and pointed my Blood Dragon Tooth at the source of the voice. Unfortunately, I had to rethink my course of action after I noted that the enemy that yelled at me was holding a human shield.

"Ruukoto!" And of all the people he could have chosen to use, it was Siesta. I lowered my weapons while analyzing for any possible firing solutions or angles of attack I could use without endangering Siesta. It was unfortunate that I was neither designed nor equipped to deal with tense hostage situations. That was the whole reason for my insistence at striking down hostiles before they could use the hostages against me.

"I don't know what the hell you are or where you came from but don't think that you can just get away with killing the others like that! Now don't try anything if you don't want this pretty little face splattered all over the walls!" The man threatened. I noted that both his vitals and Siesta's were almost matching in regards to stress levels. It was clear that he was more frightened than angry. I was unable to make any moves because I did not have the means to be able to neutralize the threat without otherwise harming or killing Siesta in the process. They were four-point-seven-two meters in front of me with most of Siesta's body covering the man behind her. They were both fidgeting around so much that her head would block his at random intervals. The odds were simply too poor to risk even an instant strike. That would have gone against Mistress Louise's direct order to me in regards to protecting the lives of those residing in the academy.

"Here is what's going to happ--UGHH!" Thankfully, It became apparent that did not have to.

"Return that life to God, you scum!" A voice from behind the man stated with authority. Voice imprint indicated that it came from Musketeer Squadron member Brigitte Chevalier de La Stark, otherwise known by close associates as 'Rosie'. Two more members of the Musketeer Squadron grabbed onto each of his arms to prevent him from attempting any harm on Siesta. Confirmed new arrivals as Alicia Chevalier de Melchiott and Ilfriede Chevalier de La Feulner.

I then immediately dismissed both of my weapons and closed in before pulling Siesta away from the hostile. She quickly huddled behind me for protection just as two more friendlies appeared. They were Catherine Chevalier de La O'Hara and Captain Agnes Chevalier de Milan herself. The captain gave be an acknowledging nod before turning to the man who was forced to his knees by the other knights. It appeared that Dame Stark only stabbed him with a knife to the right shoulder and was currently keeping the blade embedded inside him to keep the man from struggling. The reason why she did so instead of outright killing the man became evident once Captain Milan walked up before the kneeling form of the assailant.

"Congratulations. You have been chosen to assist in resolving a hostage incident in the Tristain Magic Academy. All you have to do is provide information as to the command structure, number of men involved, and motive for this unprovoked assault upon Tristainian soil." Captain Milan said to the man in an obviously condescending tone of voice before pulling at his hair so he could look up to meet her eyes.

"I'll never tell you anything you stupid dirty little whor--aaaarrrgh!" The man's defiance was poorly timed and rather pointless considering his current situation. It was demonstrated by Dame Stark by twisting the knife that she stabbed into the man, causing him to groan in pain.

"Language! There are ladies present!" Dame Stark reprimanded the man. It was at this point that I stepped forward and tapped Captain Milan on the shoulder.

"I have already interrogated a few hostiles before clearing this area of enemies. This unit can provide you with all the information about the current situation that I know of. Anything else, you can ask this gentleman." I offered. Instead of being relieved, Captain Milan and the other people there, including the captured hostile, simply looked at me with varying degrees of confusion and concern.

"Why does your voice sound like that?" Captain Milan asked me. I blinked when I realized that I still had my vocals modulated.

...

"I apologize. Please allow me a moment." It was strange enough to see that maid, the so-called Steel Goddess of Tarbes, standing there with a trail of dead men in her wake...but to hear a rough male voice coming from that mouth of hers was very strange.

"Monster! Get that monster away from me! Aaargh!" The fool we've managed to restrain started screaming in panic until Brigitte shut him up with another twist of the knife.

"I had to previously modulate my voice into something different in order to maintain anonymity when I first arrived. This unit noted that something was wrong, but was uncertain as to what the exact cause was. The information that I was able to extract from my first contacts did not inspire confidence in the situation." The maid Ruukoto explained while the other maid, whom I know as Dame Louise's other maid Siesta, was peeking out from behind her. We all knew that she and Yuka Kazami were not human so her demonstrations of power was not as jarring as one would expect. It did not really matter what their nature was anyway. So long as they and their Mistress were loyal to the Tristain Royal Family and are considered as personal allies of Princess Henrietta, then we would accept their assistance without resentment or judgement.

"What do you know?" I asked her with a nod.

"That man is part of a strike force composed of mercenaries gathered from various parts of the continent. The men making up the strike force are of no relation or affiliation to one another. This unit assumes that this was done in order to maintain secrecy for the mastermind or masterminds." I nodded at the new information. Whoever set this whole debacle up did not want anyone finding out who was behind the scenes pulling the strings. That made things more inconvenient.

"Do you know who is in charge of the men here?" I asked and got a nod from the maid.

"One of the men referred to the one in charge as a blind fire mage called Menvil. The one I spoke to did not seem to know anything else about him aside from the fact that he is to be their commander, is a fire mage, is blind, and seems to be mentally unstable." My breath hitched in my throat when I heard that name.

"Ugh! A crazy blind fire mage is in charge? Who was the idiot who though that was a good idea?" Brigitte asked in an overly exasperated tone of voice.

"Wahahaha! The boss might be blind and crazy but he's a freaking triangle fire mage! You are all going to burn before dawn!" I rolled my eyes at the sudden burst bravado from the captured idiot.

"Please shut him up." I requested and Catherine quickly knocked him out with a knife pommel to the side of the head. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind but it did the job. We could always wake him up later anyway.

"Are you sure about that name?" I asked Ruukoto again just to be certain. If she was telling the truth then...

"Positive. Unless I, or the one I was interrogating at the time, was lied to." Ruukoto confirmed with a nod. I see...so the one in charge of the assault was Jean Colbert's second during the purge of my village and was likely keeping his former commander hostage along with all the other nobles. The irony of the situation was almost amusing if it wasn't so twisted. I did note that Menvil had apparently been blinded at some point. Did it happen when he attacked Colbert during the purge? I shook my head and decided that such questions would be better suited to after the current crisis was dealt with and Menvil had at least two feet of steel inserted into his chest or whatever was still left of his face.

"Do you know how many men are part of the attack?" Catherine asked Ruukoto. I blinked and turned to the older woman and saw that she was giving me a look. I ignored it but noted that I must have been lost in thought for a moment too long than was necessary.

"No. However, I do know that the students, and likely the teaching staff as well, are being held inside the Alviss Hall. Considering the number of people they would need to keep track of and the need for a stable defense, I assume that the bulk of their forces are situated there as well. This unit can scan for the definite number of hostile forces and their positions if I can get close enough to the structure." Ruukoto answered and confirmed what Ilfriede and her group encountered when they went to the Alviss Hall. Her admission of being able to tell us exactly how many enemies were inside the hall and where they were inside the building was something I was going to make sure to take advantage of later on.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Alicia asked, looking anxious to finally do something about those men who attacked the academy. I looked around and saw that my other knights also looked eager to finally get the job done.

"Alright then, we'll move in as soon as we're ready. Restrain him for interrogation later in case we have to kill all the other mercenaries in the Alviss Hall. Do you need to be at a specific place to be able to--what's wrong?" I ordered to my knights before turning back to Ruukoto to confirm what she needed in order to accomplish what she said she could. I then asked her if there was something wrong because she had her head turned to the side and was seemingly staring at the wall with great intent.

"No...it is nothing to be concerned about Captain. In regards to your intended question, the most ideal vantage point would be in front of a window that goes into the building itself. This unit can also accomplish the task by forcing a scan through a wall but it will take longer and the results will not be as accurate." She responded after dismissing my prior inquiry. I decided not to push the issue since we had other things to worry about. I then pointed at the maid that was hiding behind Ruukoto to get her attention.

"You there! You are Dame Valliere's maid are you not?" I asked the maid who I remembered having the name Siesta. She cowered behind Ruukoto for a moment before peaking out and nodding in an affirmative.

"Is there anywhere we can keep this fool while we take care of his friends?" I asked Siesta while jerking my right thumb at the now unconscious thug.

"Yes! We have a storage room with no windows and you can bar the door from the outside! I'll show you!" Siesta responded a little bit too enthusiastically before pointing down the hall behind her. Regardless I turned to my knights and both Brigitte and Ilfriede quickly picked up the thug and we were led to the storage room that the maid indicated.

"Allow me." Ruukoto said before effortlessly lifting the heavy wooden bar that was keeping the door barricaded with one hand. We all blinked at the casual feat of strength before Siesta opened the door and we tossed the thug in face first. Siesta was about to close the door again until Brigitte stopped her.

"Sorry!" The brunette said before quickly hopping into the room and pulling her knife out of the back of the thug, eliciting a pained groan from the man.

"Almost forgot this!" She yelled out before cleaning the blade of her knife on the man's shirt before trotting out and helping Siesta close the door. I nodded towards Ruukoto, who replaced the wooden bar to lock the thug inside.

"Alright, now we can deal with those mercenaries in the Alviss Hall." I stated to Ruukoto and my knights before turning back to Siesta.

"Gather all the servants and take them to the library. That's the last place those men will try to look for you. They'll all likely be focused on the hostages and us but don't attract any attention to yourselves anyway." I instructed the maid. She nodded before speaking.

"I understand, Captain. Please be careful, all of you." The maid said before running off to get the other servants.

"Alright, let's get to work." I ordered before the rest of us moved out to rendezvoused with Helgarose and the other knights.

...

Routes merged. Common Route Mission is next.

Also, Ruukoto's Blood Dragon Tooth looks like a red version of KOS-MOS' Dragon Tooth but shrunk down to the size of the Plasma Cutter from the Dead Space Games.

[Blackraptor]

...

 

Mission Log Update...

 

After rendezvousing with the rest of the Musketeer Squadron, I was instructed to go to the vantage point that was used by two recon specialists who were assigned to monitor any changes at the Alviss Hall. The vantage point Marina Chevalier de Wulfstan and Wendy Chevalier de La Cheslock was not the most optimal one available in the area, but was logically the best one to use by human recon specialists. It was situated at a balcony with an overlooking view of the Alviss hall that provided ample overwatch of most of the forward area. A rooftop vantage point would have been better, however the one provided was more than ample to scan the inside of the hall.

 

I blinked when my scanners suddenly detected the same presence that I had noted back in the Servants Wing. It was faint and was originating in the direction of the capital city. However, it was approaching at high speeds and seemed to have the same magical energy signature as Lady Eleanore. I tagged it for monitoring in case it gets any closer for a better scan.

 

I gave my thanks to the two knights after finishing my scan before returning to Captain Milan. She and her second in command were discussing their plan of action in order to rescue the hostages inside the hall. I walked up to them deliberately in order to make my approach known.

 

"Were you successful?" The captain asked immediately. Her expression of anticipation was mirrored by her second, Dame Falkenmayer.

 

"Affirmative. All missing mages accounted for inside the Alviss Hall. I count thirty unknown contacts including one with a magic signature. Due to current circumstances, I have opted to tag all unknowns as hostile forces." I provided and saw the captain's expression tighten when I mentioned that there was a mage amongst the hostiles. I dismissed it as a standard reaction to finding out that her enemy has someone who can pose as a threat to her and her units. Dame Falkenmayer then called out to another one of the knights, identified as Freesia Chevalier de York, who gave her a large parchment that had the floor plan of the hall.

 

"Can you show me where they are located on this?" Captain Milan asked as Dame Falkenmayer spread the floor plan on a nearby table. I nodded and proceeded to point out where all the contacts were located. I had already long since scanned and mapped out the inside of the hall during the times I had accompanied Mistress Louise during mealtime, which was why I was able to pinpoint everyone's locations as quickly as I did.

 

"Damn..." I heard Captain Milan curse out through gritted teeth after I had finished my report.

 

"They have all the entrances covered. There's no way for us to be able to get in without it turning into a big fight. At that point, we might as well have killed the hostages ourselves. The fact that all the nobles are bunched together within that fire mage's striking distance..." Dame Falkenmayer commented after looking across the locations that I pointed out.

 

"A raid will result with a lot of lives lost. That's why they haven't moved despite the fact that they should already know that they're completely surrounded. We can't do anything to them like this." Captain Milan stated with a nod.

 

"A quandary." Dame Falkenmayer added in a displeased voice.

 

"Where are Dame Valliere and Mister Yuka? I highly doubt that he would allow the two of them to be captured just like that." Captain Milan suddenly asked me.

 

"Both Mistress Louise and Yuka Kazami are currently not within the bounds of the academy. I am afraid that I cannot disclose any more information than that under a direct request by Yuka Kazami. Please know that they are both safe but no one has the means to contact or reach them aside from Lady Cattleya and Lady Eleanore, both of whom are counted as hostages." I answered with a shake of my head. Captain Milan sighed before pinching the bridge of her nose and turning back to her second.

 

"Disseminate this information to the others. At the very least, it will keep everyone up to date with accurate information once we decide what to do." The captain ordered and then it was just the two of us.

 

"Do you have any experience in a situation like this that could help us without getting everyone killed?" Captain Milan asked me after she was sure that Dame Falkenmayer was no longer within hearing distance.

 

"I am afraid that my experience with hostage situations is nonexistent. My primary purpose was to combat and destroy non-human entities that cannot be fought effectively by conventional forces without unacceptable casualty rates." I explained to her with a shake of my head.

 

"Then we're stuck. If we wait too long, we risk agitating them and force them to do something stupid." Captain Milan commented while rubbing her forehead with her left hand.

 

"Are you unwell Captain?" I asked and simply received a sigh and a shake of her head.

 

"I don't have time to be unwell." She defiantly responded before turning back in the direction of the Alviss Hall.

 

"If I may..." I trailed off and waited for confirmation that it was fine for me to continue. The nod that was given by the captain was ample affirmation.

 

"While I do not have experience in dealing with such situations, I am not uneducated in the doctrines of such engagements. I have since learned that a sudden, unexpected, and often excessive use of force on a door or wall can be used to great effect in order to distract hostile forces long enough to be neutralized before safely securing hostages. It is a tactic known as Breach and Clear." I explained the concept of a certain tactic used by several armed forces that have adopted the widespread use of firearms and explosives in combat.

 

"And? Can you utilize this concept safely in this situation?" Captain Milan asked me with a raised brow, clearly intrigued with the concept itself.

 

"No. In this situation, we require at least two points of breaching in order to maximize the effect. A single point of entry has the risk of compromising either the strike team or the hostages. A distraction is required to prevent loss of life among friendlies." I clarified with another shake of my head.

 

"Then we still have nothing since we didn't exactly pack any explosives for our assignment here aside from our supply of black powder for our weapons. We certainly don't have enough to blow off a door or a wall." Captain Milan mused to herself in frustration.

 

"That will be unnecessary. I believe that Lady Eleanore is less than pleased with the current situation and has taken measures to deal with it her own way. From what I can tell, it likely involves a great deal of violence. I wish to take advantage of her apparent plan as the distraction we need to breach the hall and secure the hostages." I told the captain while glancing in the direction where my tag indicated that the new contact was moving even faster.

 

"Explain." She prompted in response.

 

"There is a fast mover approaching here from the direction of the capital that has Lady Eleanore's magic signature. Moreover, this contact seems to be moving underground with increasing speed. We have plus-minus eight minutes and twenty-three seconds before it arrives at the given rate of movement." I reported while pointing in the direction where Lady Eleanore's contact was coming from.

 

"I'll gather a strike team." Agnes said simply with a nod.

 

"Then please meet me on the west side of the hall once you are ready." I stated and she went off to gather who she wanted to use for the operation.

 

I waited patiently in front of the west wall of the hall that would best serve as the insertion point for any units. This location allowed us to effectively secure the hostages and deal with any hostiles with the least amount of risk to our side. I turned to the side and saw Captain Milan and eight others with her. Her subordinates were all armed with a musket in their hands and two more strapped on their backs. Each of them also had at two flintlock pistols equipped, one in a holster on their right hip and one strapped to a bandolier across their torso. They also had their swords in their scabbards strapped to their left hip. A heavy anti-personnel loadout for conventional forces in this era by my estimates.

 

In contrast, Captain Milan had a lighter loadout than her subordinates. Her sword was now strapped to her back instead of on her side. Also, instead of wielding a balanced combination of muskets and pistols, she opted to use as many flintlock pistols as she could carry. Two holstered to the back of her hip, two more strapped to each thigh, one strapped on a bandolier across her chest, and two more in each of her hands. It appeared that the captain was sacrificing range for the capability of firing more shots.

 

Identification protocols tagging strike team...

 

Agnes Chevalier de Milan

Alicia Chevalier de Melchiott

Nancy Chevalier de La Dufour

Ramona Chevalier de Linton

Brigitte Chevalier de La Stark

Lynn Chevalier de La Vidan

Jane Chevalier de La Turner

Wendy Chevalier de La Cheslock

Jannette Chevalier de La Walker

 

Logged...

 

The process itself took less time to do than the blink of an eye and I knew the value of identification friend or foe in an operation that involved several participants on all sides.

 

"Well? Where is this distraction you told me about?" Captain Milan asked me impatiently.

 

"T-minus twenty seconds and counting Captain. I would advise you to stay behind me for this initial gambit until we breach the building." I stated before walking up to the wall and feeling it with my left hand. It was not magically reinforced so breaking through should not prove troublesome.

 

"Gambit? What gambit?" Dame Melchiott asked with a tilt of her head. T-minus ten.

 

"It was a something taught to me by an infiltration and stealth specialist I used to work with. He coined this breaching method as..." I started to explain before pulling my right fist back in preparation for the breach. T-minus five. Four. Three. Two.

 

"Sneak Attack." I declared before striking the wall with my fist just as another loud crashing noise could be heard from within the hall.

 

Blood Dragon Tooth

 

I walked in and picked off two situated on the balcony near the windows before immediately moving to the hostages.

 

"Menvil!" I heard the captain roar out before shots erupted from behind me and several more hostiles were neutralized. I then noted that the cause of the other breach and the contact I detected that had Lady Eleanore's magic signature was actually some form of metal plated barbed giant scorpion. It was a scorpion the size of a large wolf which was currently ripping apart a number of hostiles closest to by its barbed metal pincers and tail.

 

"Miss Ruukoto! Please free me at once! Agnes cannot fight that man on her own!" Further observations on the metallic arachnid were interrupted by an urgent call from Professor Colbert. I moved to the bound professor and obliged in his request to be freed.

 

"They took my wand, I need to..." I interrupted him by pulling out Lady Eleanore's wand and offering it to him.

 

"You might need this." I provided with a nod.

 

"Thank you! Please free the students, I'll handle their leader!" The professor stated before getting up and moving towards the fire mage that was currently engaged by Captain Milan and two other members of her strike team. I was about to try for a kill shot with my Blood Dragon Tooth when I heard sounds of manic cackling. Manic cackling that matched vocal identification with Lady Eleanore. I turned in the direction of the cackling and saw Lady Eleanore on her feet and seemingly laughing at the carnage caused by the giant metal scorpion.

 

"Hahahahaha! You maggots honestly think that a daughter of the Valliere will allow herself to remain a hostage! Fools! I was simply biding my time!" Lady Eleanore declared with a vicious smile before noticing me in the immediate vicinity.

 

"Maid! Free me!" She yelled out at me with absolute authority before showing me her hands that were still bound to her back. I moved to her location and confirmed that Lady Cattleya, Sir Guiche, Miss Montmorency, Miss Kirche, and Miss Tabitha were with her. I broke the bonds that were holding Lady Eleanore and moved to offer her the other wand I had but she seemed to have another idea as she turned to Lady Cattleya and...

 

"Kyaa! Not there, Big Sister~" Several of the male students, and even Headmaster Osmond, raised their voices in awe in response to Lady Cattleya's reaction to Lady Eleanore reaching down the front of her dress. Sir Guiche was staring at the spectacle with great interest until Miss Montmorency elbowed his side.

 

"Aha!" Lady Eleanore declared triumphantly before pulling out her hand which was now holding a wand.

 

"Strad!" She then called out to the metal scorpion while pointing her wand in its general direction. The metal arachnid heeded her call and immediately jumped back to disengage itself from five hostiles.

 

"It's running away! Now's our chance!" One of the men declared as all five of them prepared to strike, only to be mocked by more laughter from Lady Eleanore.

 

"Fools!" She taunted the men moments before several large boulders fell from the ceiling and crushed the hostiles.

 

"My tactics are too subtle for you!" Lady Eleanore stated before laughing once more. During that entire time, I had managed to free Lady Cattleya and Mistress' friends. I had given Miss Tabitha Mistress' spare wand, which she took with an appreciative nod.

 

The other members of the strike team used the opportunity given by the timely distraction to open the main doors to the hall to allow access to the other knights. Dame Dufour and Dame Linton used that time to free the teaching staff for extraction.

 

"Maybe we should leave before my sister and Stradivarius brings the whole building down." Lady Cattleya advised as both Lady Eleanore and her scorpion continued to lay waste to the hostiles who got too close.

 

"Too subtle!" Lady Eleanore declared before three more hostiles posted on the upper balcony were launched into the sky by stone pillars that came from the very floor they were standing on. I then blinked when I noticed a spike of magical energy. I turned to the source and saw Professor Colbert and Captain Milan facing the leader of the hostiles. The man was surrounded with magical fire that was quickly growing in intensity.

 

"Get back, Agnes! You cannot fight him like this!" Professor Colbert warned before countering the flame with his own.

 

"How dare you try to--aaagh!" The captain's show of disapproval was cut off when the flames coming from the man known as Menvil grew even more. Upon a quick scan, it appeared that the captain had already used up and discarded her pistols and the sword in her hands was melted down to the hilt. Her armor also showed signs of burns and heat damage. The two other strike team members who initially engaged Menvil were being extracted through the hole in the wall I made to treat their wounds, mostly burns as well.

 

"Die! Everybody!" Menvil declared before his body was surrounded by a rapidly expanding sphere of combustive energy. I moved at the same time as Professor Colbert when he grabbed the captain and bodily threw her in our direction in a feat of strength attributed to a sudden surge of adrenaline.

 

"Colbert! You son of a--" Captain Milan started after landing past me but was unable to finish when she saw the professor be engulfed in the flames. I had detected that Professor Colbert was able to wrap himself in his own fire before the flames reached him so I had hoped that he could withstand the heat. The issue was that the flames were still spreading at great speed. The rate of expansion would have made it impossible for most of the friendlies still inside the hall to evacuate before the flames reached them. Impossible to get all friendlies out in time. Impossible to counter the expansion with another detonation without causing harm to friendlies. There was only one viable option available but it would render me combat ineffective for a time. Internal logic and probability engines debated the matter a total of fifteen-thousand two-hundred times in the span of one-point-seven-six-two seconds before a choice was made.

 

Disabling White Noise...

 

Engaging Overdrive System: NT-D...

 

The term is actually an acronym which means Negation Territory - Development. It was meant to become a system that combat gynoids such as myself could use in order to negate high-yield energy attacks. It would work by breaking down the unifying factor of the energy that comes into contact with the field and neutralizing it before converting the remaining energy into non-lethal formats such as light. The field does not block the energy directly but instead converts it into something that cannot harm me.

 

Due to my newly made fourth frame at the time, I was chosen to become the testbed for the technology in combat situations. The system that was installed into my frame was the development version of the Negation Territory System. It was incomplete and unrefined but I was assured by Professor Uzuki that a fully refined production type would be retrofitted into my frame once they have perfected the technology.

 

However, like the Blood Dragon Tooth, the Negation Territory was never fully completed. The Development version that was currently installed in my frame had complete functionality but was never fine-tuned or adjusted for efficiency. The maximum operation time for NT-D was exactly six-hundred seconds. A kill-switch was installed in order to prevent any and all attempts to exceed that final limit. Exceeding the maximum operation time carries the real risk of permanent damage to the internal components of my frame at best and a complete meltdown and detonation of the Erde Kaiser Sigma Type-Seven Engine at worst. Additionally, any period of use of NT-D requires a cooldown period which was directly proportional to the duration of deployment.

 

"What in the..." I heard Captain Milan mutter from behind me as the panels lining my frame that were meant for the system deployed. The green particle field of the Negation Territory spread out in order to protect her and the others from the flames. All that remained was to see which one could last longer.

 

...

[Blackraptor]

...

 

"What in the..." I muttered in awe as green glowing lines suddenly appeared all over Ruukoto before a literal explosion of green sparkling lights spread out from her body. The wall of fire that was made by that bastard Menvil hit the green sparkling lights before immediately being turned into white motes of light that slowly fell to the ground. It was surreal, like being exposed to a waterfall of lights. I could not even feel the heat of the flames which were less that two feet away from me, and I was one who intimately knew what the heat of open flames felt like.

 

"Captain!" I blinked with a start at hearing Helgarose's voice. I stood up, ignoring the pain I was feeling as I did so, and turned around to see my second with Ilfriede and Lunateresia at her side. They were looking between me and the spectacle happening behind me with concern and awe while clutching their muskets tightly.

 

"This building has become too dangerous to stay inside of! Get everyone out of here!" I commanded while pointing to the main doors where the rest of the squadron was already escorting both hostages and prisoners out of the Alviss Hall.

 

"What about you Captain?" Lunateresia asked with clear concern.

 

"I will remain here with Ruukoto to make sure Menvil is either rendered unable to do anyone any harm or is turned into a corpse. Preferrably the former so I can take my time with him in the dungeons later." I declared while waving what was left of my sword at them idly.

 

"It's too dangerous! Please reconsider!" Ilfriede pleaded while her eyes flitted between me and the raging fires behind me.

 

"This is a direct order! The three of you should know better than any of our sisters why I need to do this." I stepped in to make everything clear to all of them. Aside from Catherine and Michelle, the three knights before me were the only ones in our squadron that knew the truth behind my past and the scars on my body.

 

"This isn't worth your life Agnes!" Helgarose yelled at me using my name instead of my rank. The only times when she does that is when she believes that I was doing something stupid. She was one of the very few people who could do that without fear of retaliation. I chose her as my second over Michelle or even Catherine for good reason. She was one of the very few people in the squadron who would stand up to me if she had too and also had the capacity to lead the others if needed...to replace me if it had to come down to that.

 

"This is my life, Helga. I will choose if something is worth risking it or not. Now get out of here before I throw all three of you out myself." I stated with a shake of my head. Normally, I would have heeded her advice and would have just evacuated and let the Steel Goddess take care of the threat. Normally, I wouldn't have been so stubborn to a point where I wouldn't back down even after being reduced to wielding a sword hilt as my main weapon. This was not one of our normal missions. On the other side of that green wall made of light that Ruukoto made were the two men most directly responsible for the purge of my village. I couldn't back down from this even if I had wanted to, not anymore.

 

"At least take my musket then!" Helgarose said before offering her weapon for my use. I shook my head and pushed the weapon back to her.

 

"If seven pistol shots at close range can't penetrate his flames, then a single musket ball has little chance." I explained before turning my back to them, indicating that the conversation was over.

 

It frustrated me to no end how Menvil was able to burn through everything we shot at him, even reducing my sword to a molten puddle on the floor. That took at least a high triangle, borderline square, rank mage to be able to accomplish that kind of feat. It only meant that the madman became stronger that he was before because the report I read in the hidden archives stated that he shouldn't be anywhere near that powerful.

 

"You better not die on us, Agnes. I am not commanding these girls by myself. I'll drag you back out of this hell if I have to, you hear?" Helgarose stated in voice that held more emotion that what I was used to. I just gave a wave of my left hand to tell them to leave. At the very least, those girls won't be dragged into my personal problems any further.

 

"Fuga." I turned to Ruukoto when the made suddenly started speaking using that odd word again.

 

"Fuga." She repeated but this time her voice was echoing. A few seconds later, the firestorm started to weaken before another loud explosion could be heard deeper inside. Then, as suddenly as it started, the blazing fires receded and all but disappeared aside from small embers and small fires scattered everywhere. More importantly, both Colbert and Menvil were gone but there was a very prominent hole in the wall on the far end of the hall. The streams of fire coming from beyond answered the question of where those two men went. The green sparkles coming from Ruukoto's body slowly dissipated before the maid dropped to one knee.

 

"Are you alright?" I asked in genuine concern. No matter how she did it, she may have just saved everyone's lives just now by using those green sparkles of hers.

 

"Fuga." She responded with a shake of her head while holding up her right hand to keep me from touching her. Her eyes were closed and she looked tired. Before I could say anything else part of her shoulders suddenly popped open before steam started coming out.

 

"Will...will you be alright by yourself? If you think that you will, then I have to leave you to take care of Menvil." I said to the maid while tightening my grip on what was left of my sword. Ruukoto opened her eyes and turned to me and I flinched away for but a moment when I saw that she had green eyes. There was no mistake, they were as clear and hard as emerald. I have seen her eyes before in other occasions. The cold ruby orbs that appear whenever she acts like a lifeless doll and just says that Fuga word over and over again when speaking. I have also seen the warm sapphire jewels that show whenever she speaks perfectly fluent Halkeginian and, dare I say, seemed more open and caring. She glanced between me and my sword before shaking her head again.

 

G-Revolver

 

A large silver colored pistol appeared in her right hand. It had a strange cylindrical attachment near the pistol grip that had what looked like several chambers in it.

 

"Fuga." Ruukoto said before holding the weapon by the barrel and pointing the pistol grip at me.

 

"You want me to use it?" I asked after understanding the implication of the gesture. Ruukoto nodded in response before slightly waving the pistol at me.

 

"I don't even know how to fire it properly." I immediately pointed out that I had no idea how to effectively wield that weapon of hers. Even if it was vaguely in a similar shape as a matchlock pistol, I was no fool to think that it worked or fired the same way. I knew very well how badly things could go if you don't respect and understand firearms.

 

"Fuga." Ruukoto then reached out with her other arm and pulled me closer by my right hand. The action made me drop what was left of my sword and the maid quickly replaced it with her pistol. She then took my other hand and moved it to help my right hand hold the weapon.

 

It was heavy, moreso than the pistols I have used. I could almost feel the power of the weapon be transmitted by the weight I felt in my hands at that moment.

 

"Fuga." The maid guided my hands to lift up the weapon to eye level so I could sight it. With my hands stretched out to hold the weapon properly, the pistol felt even heavier. I doubted that I could keep it leveled for long, maybe just enough to properly aim and fire but not long enough to track or lead a moving target. There were two protrusions at the back end of the barrel near a strange looking lever at the end. I also noted the presence of a standard sighting marker at the tip of the barrel. When I tried to aim the weapon, I found out what the purpose of the other two protrusions was. The protrusions I saw lined up and aided in aiming the pistol, a much more accurate way than what we had on our own firearms. It was definitely something I wanted to talk about with our gunsmiths later on.

 

"Fuga." Ruukoto said while holding up her right index finger.

 

"Fuga." She repeated while emphasizing the finger she was showing me. After a moment, I understood what she was trying to tell me. One shot. I had one chance to be able to use the weapon in my hands.

 

"I understand. I will make that one chance count." I stated with a nod that Ruukoto returned before moving through the burnt part of the Alviss Hall and to that hole in the wall. Once outside I saw that there were small fires and scorch marks all over the field behind the hall.

 

"What's wrong Commander? Is your age starting to get to you?" I turned in the direction of the mocking voice and saw a manic looking Menvil standing a few feet away from Colbert, who was on his back and struggling to stand up. Both men showed signs of burns and singes all over their clothes and bodies but Colbert looked more affected by them than the blind madman.

 

"H-how? That kind...that kind of fire should be impossible to achieve...after only a few years...even with all the training in the world...how did you achieve that flame?" The man once known as the Flame Snake asked the madman in ragged breaths. In response, Menvil started laughing at his face.

 

"I have been blessed, Commander! The Sacred Lady empowered my flames to heights I could not even imagine back then! It is glorious! To think I was able to lay you low so easily! So very easily! Hahahaha!" Menvil stated grandly while spreading his arms wide to his sides. I had enough of this whole mess. I hefted the pistol in my hands and aimed...before freezing.

 

Ruukoto said I had one shot. I had two targets. Both men I had sought to kill since even before I became a knight. I had to kill them both. I had to!

 

They were the ones who took my life away from me!

 

They took my family away from me!

 

They took my childhood away from me!

 

I switched my aim between them over and over again. I only had one shot. I promised Ruukoto I would make this shot count. But...but...

 

"Now then! In order to thank you for what you did to my face that eventually led me to achieve this new power, let me thoroughly show you the glory of my flames! Enjoy it Commander!" Menvil declared before pointing his wand at Colbert and starting an incantation that wrapped his hand and wand in a strange purple flame.

 

"Not today!" Colbert countered before raising his own wand and conjuring a stream of blue flame in the shape of a serpent.

 

"Hahahahaha!" Menvil simply laughed the whole thing off just as the flame snake made contact with his own purple fire.

 

"Impossible...such a thing should not be possible with our magic..." I heard Colbert say after his flame snake was consumed and converted into the same purple flame as what Menvil was wielding.

 

"Nothing is impossible for the power given by the Sacred Lady! Now prepare to be consumed by my flames!" Menvil declared before his purple flames gathered around his wand.

 

"Aaaagh!" I didn't even realize that I had done what I had until I heard the boom. I felt my arms get forcefully swung over my head as my body looked like it was pushed back by an unseen wall of force. I was barely even able to keep my grip on the pistol that felt like it was being wrenched from my hands. Only when I fell on my backside that I had realized what had transpired. I rested the heavy pistol on the grass even as I kept it held fast with both of my hands.

 

In one loud violent instant, everything that was once Menvil was reduced to two stumps of flesh that were his legs. His body above his thighs was gone.

 

"Agnes..." I turned to the source of the voice and saw Colbert staring at me with an expression that was a mixture of fear, relief, and concern. I shook my head at that. He wasn't supposed to have that kind of face. Not the man who took everything from me. Not the man who saved only my life.

 

"No!" I screamed before forcing myself to my feet. My whole body shook despite my efforts to force myself to calm down. My breathing was hard and I could faintly tell that I was shaking my head with each step I took.

 

"Agnes! What is wrong Agnes?" I grit my teeth and ignored the words of that man and continued forward. Slowly. Step by agonizing step. Just like how I had walked the streets of my former home as it burned all around me. I continued forward until I was in front of that man who still looked too hurt to stand up.

 

"No." I muttered again before straddling him and pointing the barrel of Ruukoto's pistol right in the middle of his chest.

 

"Agnes? Why are you..." That man called out my name in a way that twisted my heart and made my breath hitch in my throat.

 

"...no..." I whispered before I felt something wet on my cheeks.

 

"Agn--" I did not let that man finish saying my name.

 

"NO! You're..." I trailed off while pushing the pistol into his chest even more in order to ignore the drops of water that started falling on his face.

 

"You're not supposed to have that kind of face! You're not supposed to be acting this way! You're supposed to be a monster! You're supposed to be something I have to kill! You're supposed to be something that has to be killed! You...you..." I yelled out at him for not acting the way he was supposed to. All I received in return was a look of genuine concern that made my shake my head over and over again.

 

"What are you saying Agnes? What is wrong?" The man asked me worriedly even though I was pushing a weapon, one that could reduce him to nothing like Menvil, at his chest.

 

"Silence! You took my family from me! You took my village and burned it into the ground! Worst of it is that you saved me! Why me?! Why not someone else and let me burn so I didn't have to bear this everyday of my life since then?! I have to kill you! It's the only way for me to be free from this! I have to kill you! I have to! If I don't...I'll..." I screamed at him. I was at the point where I wasn't even certain as to why I was saying all of those things. I could have simply struck him down like any other foe that I needed to kill, like how I ended Menvil's life. The look on that man's face when he started to piece everything together was almost comical if it wasn't so infuriating to see.

 

"No...it...it can't be...you are..." That man stuttered out in his own growing horror.

 

"That's right...I'm the girl you brought out of the flames, the only person who survived the slaughter of D'Angleterre." I said with a twisted sense of glee after seeing his eyes widen at my admission. I wasn't sure if I was smiling or not at that point...if I was, I didn't want to know what kind of smile I was showing to that man.

 

"I...I see...so you know..." He said with a pained wince. He then looked right into my eyes and I saw something in them I wasn't sure that I had wanted to see. Resignation.

 

"Then so be it..." He then stated with a solemn nod.

 

"Wh-what?" I asked him in obvious surprise. After his career as a knight and survived. After refusing to surrender to Menvil even after being struck down. Jean Colbert, I have learned, was not a man who would let himself die easily.

 

"I tried to dissuade you from trying to take revenge for whatever vendetta you had because I knew that it would just destroy you someday. However, I did not know the nature of your desire for vengeance." He continued with a helpless sigh.

 

"If...if what happened has been breaking you this much...if what happened is the cause for the pain you are showing right now then..." He trailed off before taking a deep breath.

 

"If it will finally give you peace, then I would gladly give my life for you." That man said without the fear and hesitation I saw in his face earlier.

 

"Why? You're supposed to fight. You should be struggling to kill me to save your own hide. You're..." I started as more drops of water started appearing on his face. No. No. It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was--

 

"I'm glad..." He then said with the same warm smile that I've seen him give the students he has taught.

 

"Wha--" The question died in my throat even before I could finish it.

 

"I had tried to look for that girl I brought to the church to be healed in order to help her look for a new family. When I was told that she was gone, I had thought the worst...just another life I was not able to save because of my mistakes. But now that I know who you are..." He started to say things that I did not want to hear, things that I did not need to hear. This kind of thing...

 

"I am happy that the girl I was able to pull out of that hell was able to grow up and live her own life..." He can't be saying all that with that smile...he can't...

 

"If this is what it will take to pay back the debt to you that I will never be able to repay then go ahead. My life is yours to take." He finally said before closing his eyes and showing me a contented smile. He can't...He can't do this to me!

 

"Raaaaaaaagh!" I screamed at him before forcing my eyes shut and squeezing the trigger. I grit my teeth when nothing happened so I squeezed it again. The trigger was wouldn't move. Nothing was happening but I kept squeezing the trigger over and over again. I kept screaming and trying to fire the shot that would finally end my suffering even if it meant that it would destroy my own body as well. That was when I felt a firm hand grip my left shoulder.

 

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Dave." A completely cold and slightly distorted feminine voice whispered from behind me. I turned around and saw Ruukoto standing there, once again having blue eyes instead of red or green. I did not know who this 'Dave' she was referring to was but her intent was obvious enough to warrant a direct response.

 

"Don't stop me! I have to do this!" I half-yelled-half-pleaded to the maid. Ruukoto simply tilted her head at me and blinked, her eyes rapidly shifting between blue-to-red-to-green even as streams of light passed across them.

 

"Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" She responded in the same voice that sounded like she was trying to talk in the middle of a storm.

 

"What?" I asked after being caught off guard by her odd question. Ruukoto then closed her eyes for a few more seconds before part of her shoulders popped open again and cool wisps of air blew out from within whatever odd mechanism was inside.

 

"I apologize..." She then said in a much more normal version of her voice before opening her eyes to once again show her warm blue orbs.

 

"...forced cooling after using system NT-D has been known to temporarily leave me with...side-effects. Allow me to clarify my previous statements. I am afraid that I will have to intervene in your current course of action Captain." She explained before saying that she wasn't going to let me kill that man.

 

"You can't do this to me..." I growled at her dangerously.

 

"I had thought that you understood that you only had one shot allowed. A shot that was clearly intended for Menvil, which you were able to accomplish. Was I mistaken in my assumption?" Ruukoto reminded me of the gestures she made at me after she gave me hear weapon.

 

"That's..." I trailed off as my mind started to clear again and I started to understand what she meant.

 

"Additionally, I was ordered to protect the lives of everyone who resides in the Tristain Magic Academy to the best of my ability. This includes you and your fellow knights. Naturally, this also includes Professor Jean Colbert. The weapon in your hands will not fire unless I authorize it to be able to. I am afraid that I cannot allow you to kill this man." She then stated with perfect clarity and without hesitation but still somehow held the sentiment of seeming apologetic. A moment later, I felt the pistol in my hands slowly lose its shape before it was completely gone in a small flash of golden light.

 

"Then what am I supposed to do?!" I yelled at her in both anger and desperation as I started to feel my head throb painfully once more.

 

"Is it not the usual course of action for this kind of situation simple? To apologize and forgive? Depending on the severity of Professor Colbert's transgression to you, it may be more suitable for him to earn your forgiveness through great personal effort." Ruukoto asked me with a blink and a tilted of her head before providing me what I thought was an absurd suggestion.

 

"Do you honestly think that it would be that easy?" I asked her in a mocking tone of voice. The maid merely shook her head in response before speaking.

 

"Allow me to clarify. I stated that the solution it simple. I never implied that it would be easy." She said as if it was just some common fact of life.

 

"I..." I tried to come up with something more to say but I found myself unable to gather my thoughts. It was like my mind was wading through a quagmire.

 

"Please do not force me to have to kill you in order to protect Professor Colbert. Several individuals would not approve of such an action, but I will do so if I must in spite of that in order to fulfill my Mistress' direct order." Ruukoto then said something that cleared my mind in that very moment. The hand on my shoulder felt heavier by the time she finished her statement, showing that she was very serious about what she had said.

 

"No! I will not allow you to harm Agnes! Please, there has to be some other way!" Colbert suddenly yelled out and I felt him try to shift his weight under me. I pushed him down to stop him from moving around while Ruukoto looked between the two of us.

 

"A compromise. Take his life, make it your own, and use it to make the world a better place. That was the term used by another who was in a comparable situation." The maid then decided to pose the most absurd suggestion I have ever heard. I had thought that she had lost her mind.

 

"Agnes, you don't have to force yourself to--" I heard Colbert say in a worried voice before I felt his right hand touch my left arm.

 

"Quiet! You don't get a say in this!" That set me off and I yelled at him while swatting away his hand. I didn't need this right now. I couldn't think straight and anything I say or do here would probably be something I'd regret. With that in mind, I slowly stood up and started to walk back to the hall.

 

"Do you forgive him now?" I heard Ruukoto ask from behind me. It was a very unfair question to ask me at the time and I wasn't sure if the maid knew that or not.

 

There was a part of me that wanted to forgive him. There was another part of me that still wanted him dead. Then there was the part of me that just wanted to give up and collapse.

 

"Agnes!" I barely heard Colbert's fading voice before the darkness took me.

 

That last one was the part that won.

 

...

 

Mission Log Update...

 

"One night! I don't sleep in my room for one night and the whole academy gets taken hostage!" Mistress yelled as she struggled to pull out what was left of the shredded bed sheet that was still clinging onto her mattress.

 

"Fuga." I stated as I reorganized Mistress' clothing, pointing out the probability of such a thing happening again was almost nonexistent. Almost. The wardrobe was still missing one of the doors but it was still more or less intact. I turned to Mistress Louise after hearing her scream out in frustration and falling on her rear when the cloth she was holding onto abruptly ripped away from the rest of the bed sheet.

 

"Argh! Yuka! Stop moping there and help us clean up!" Mistress called out to Yuka Kazami. The flower youkai was sitting on a chair near Mistress' desk and was sighing every six-point-seven-two seconds while sadly looking at what was left of his shredded straw hat.

 

"Such a waste. I barely knew thee, my friend. Goodnight, sweet prince." Yuka Kazami openly lamented with a dejected sigh afterward. Mistress responded with a groan before getting back to her feet. I continued to fold Mistress' clothes and mostly ignored the usual byplay between the two of them but made sure to keep track of the conversation just in case.

 

"It's just a hat!" Mistress yelled at the flower youkai.

 

"It was my hat." He responded pointedly.

 

"It's just a stupid straw hat! Get over it!" Mistress dismissed Yuka Kazami's distress in the matter of his unwearable hat.

 

"You're just saying that because your hat is fine." Yuka Kazami pointed out accusingly while pointing at Mistress' own hat, which now once again had the Founder's Prayer Book hidden underneath.

 

"Oh for the love of...we'll just buy you a new damn hat on the next Day of the Void then!" Mistress Louise offered in exasperation simply in order to put the whole thing to rest. Yuka Kazami gave out a thoughtful him while staring intently at the remains if his straw hat before sighing and giving Mistress a nod.

 

"Very well. I will provide this one a proper burial in the garden later. It would only be proper to give that much respect for an old partner." Yuka Kazami stated solemnly while softly caressing his hat. Mistress simply rolled her eyes and gave a dismissive wave in his direction before turning back to the task of attempting to get her room back in order. The other students were also doing the same in their own rooms as well.

 

Due to the overall property damage all over the academy directly attributed of the incident last night, the cleaning staff as well as other workers and soldiers called in from the Tristain capital were tasked to repair the more damaged areas first as well as taking care of the dead bodies. Of course, I had made sure to add my stealth kills to the pile when they started gathering up the dead for burial.

 

That left the students to mostly try to reorganize their own rooms and belongings on their own. The scene inside Mistress' room was mirrored all throughout the dormitory tower which was why there was a significant increase in overall activity and noise levels in the immediate vicinity. Although, Headmaster Osmond stated that it was a unique opportunity for the students to be able to help one another in a time of great need for everyone. And indeed, several students were helping each other get their rooms back in order through deed and magic.

 

"Excuse me, Dame Valliere?" We all turned and saw Ilfriede Chevalier de La Feulner by the open doorframe.

 

"Yes, can we help you Dame Feulner?" Mistress immediately asked with a welcome, if slightly tired, smile.

 

"Actually, I was wondering if there was anything you needed...aside from a new door of course. Ahaha~" The knight stated before giving out a laugh at the current lack of a door to Mistress' room. The door that the room did have was far too damaged to be used or repaired, like several other rooms in the academy, so it was simply decided that it would be easier to dispose of them and have them replaced as soon as possible.

 

"Aside from the obvious, we're fine here." Mistress responded while gesturing at the current state of her room. Dame Feulner gave out an embarrassed laugh at that before rubbing the back of her head.

 

"I suppose. Well then..." Dame Feulner was about to leave but Mistress stepped forward before speaking.

 

"Wait! There is something...ummm...well...about Dame Milan. I had heard from Ruukoto that she had collapsed after the fighting ended and..." Mistress stated hesitantly and I noticed that Yuka Kazami had also turned to pay attention to the conversation.

 

I had carried both Captain Milan and Professor Colbert to where the members of the Musketeer Squardron were waiting after Captain Milan collapsed. I then assisted in bringing the wounded who needed further treatment, after being given first aid by the knights and available Water Mages, to the infirmary. Afterwhich, I was tasked by Dame Falkenmayer to maintain surveillance on the entirety of the academy until morning when Mistress and Yuka Kazami returned from Mugenkan.

 

"The Captain hasn't woken up yet but the healers said that it was just severe exhaustion that agitated her old scars. In fact, Professor Colbert has been by her side ever since once he was able to recover from his own willpower fatigue." Dame Feulner explained with an odd smile on her face when she reached the last part of her statement.

 

"Professor Colbert? Why would he be watching over her instead of one of the other knights?" Mistress asked with a blink. In response, Dame Feulner simply covered her mouth with her right hand and started trembling in an attempt to suppress what I assumed was amusement.

 

"I see...so that was the kind of resolution that happened. An unexpected but amusingly acceptable one I suppose." Yuka Kazami stated with his own very amused expression.

 

"What are you talking about?" Mistress Louise asked him with an even more confused expression.

 

"Don't think about it too hard, you'll just get a headache." And Yuka Kazami simply dismissed her concerns with a wave.

 

"Just start helping us clean up! I want some of this done by lunch! Thank you for telling us about that, Dame Feulner." And with Mistress' statement and thanks to the knight, we proceeded to try to get her room back to some semblance of order once again.

 

...

[Blackraptor]

...

"--and that is how all religious conflicts in Gensokyo finally ended~" The bubbly pink haired cherryblossom themed ghost princess stated with cheer, concluding her personal experience during the incident known as The Final Masquerade.

"What a wonderfully quaint and creative way of dealing with such a sensitive issue~" The now confirmed fully cured second daughter of the Valliere family responded with as much enthusiasm.

"Remind me again as to why Yuyuko is here." I flatly requested to Yukari, who was seated beside me. We were back in Mugenkan and the feeling of crowdedness was starting to come back. Chief reason was because I had to conjure up two tables for tea and snacks that evening instead of just one. We were situated in front of my mansion there with Louise, Touya, Yukari, and I seated at one table while the other table was occupied by Eleanore, Cattleya, and Yuyuko.

I had originally only expected Louise to appear that night, maybe Cirno and-or Yukari as well. I had certainly not expected the border youkai to appear with the Hakurei priest, and the ghost princess at her side instead of my former student. Even more so, I had not expected both Cattleya and Eleanore to enter my border of dreams through their respective doors at the same time.

Because of what happened in the academy, Cattleya was called back to their family's mansion for her own safety while Eleanore was requested back to the capital by her employers. Agnes and her knights stayed a few more days to ensure security but were eventually called back by Henrietta once the new guards were in place. Additionally, it appeared that both Henrietta and Wales used the attack to push for a more serious effort for their little war against Cromwell and his forces in Albion. Unfortunately for Monmon, this included a call to arms for all able male nobles of acceptable age. Guiche had left yesterday and Louise and her friends made sure to assure Monmon as much as they could that the boy would be fine once everything was over.

In any case, the first meeting between the elder Valliere sisters and Yuyuko Saigyouji was an oddly varied experience. Cattleya and Yuyuko went together and started talking as if they had known each other their entire lives. The middle sister had not even batted an eye after Yuyuko revealed that she was a ghost. Eleanore on the other hand nearly broke down in panic before hiding behind me and fearfully asking why there were two Cattleyas now and why one of them was translucent in certain areas of her body. I was actually surprised that things did not break down any further after that and we all simply sat down for tea and cakes.

"Well, I can assure you that it was all a coincidence. Everything just sort of happened." Yukari responded with a smile as she took a bite of her cake. I just sighed and turned to the only other reasonable person from Gensokyo at the table.

"Touya?" I asked and saw that he and Louise were animatedly conversing about something. Both him and my master turned to me and gave a 'huh' at the same time. It appeared that the two of them were so engrossed in their own talk that they weren't listening to me.

"Ufufufu~" I raised a brow when I heard Yukari suddenly give out a certain kind of subdued laugh. I turned back to the border youkai and saw that she and Yuyuko were exchanging looks, with Yukari looking rather pleased with herself while her best friend looked like she was considering something. The whole thing only lasted for a second before Yuyuko returned to talking with the two other Valliere sisters while Yukari settled with simply winking at me. I just settled to shaking my head and turning back to Louise and Touya, both of whom looked rather puzzled but chose to wait for me to speak.

"Since Yukari is being Yukari, I would like to know how she roped all of you into coming here with her today." I stated and got a look of comprehension from the young man.

"Oh yeah! I'm actually not really sure how it turned out this way too either once I think about it." Touya admitted while looking down at the table in contemplation.

"I was at the shrine, more or less minding my own business. It was a pretty quiet day since Auntie Suika went off to visit Yuugi while everyone else seemed to be busy with their own things. Then Lady Yuyuko flew into the shrine saying that she wanted to check up on me since Youmu couldn't and since we hadn't had a chance to talk in a while." Touya recounted his seemingly quiet day.

"Yes~! I had missed having talks with Touya and felt that it was a wonderful day to do so~" Yuyuko added from the other table. We all looked over and it seemed that the occupants of the adjacent table were listening in as well.

"I actually found it rather bold of you to do so, considering how certain others would react to such a move." Yukari commented with a conspiratory smile that Yuyuko returned before giving out a defiant 'hmph'.

"This and that are different. I was simply talking with him and was in no way violating anything with our agreement. I simply had nothing to do for the day and remembered how much I had missed Touya." Yuyuko calmly stated with a confident smile.

"What are you two talking about?" Touya asked while looking at the two friends in turn.

"Nothing you should concern yourself about, dear!~" Both Yuyuko and Yukari answered at the same time with the same smile. I had known exactly what they were talking about but made sure to keep quiet about it. Yukari was already enough to deal with while Yuyuko was very much pushing it. I did not even want to consider the kind of irritations I would have to deal with if Kanako, Suwako, Remilia, and Eirin decided to have a chat with me because of what I know about their little arrangement with each other.

"I have learned through experience that when someone says that one should not concern themselves about something, it usually turns out to be something they should very much be concerned about." Eleanore chimed in with clear suspicion in her voice. Sharp as she was, I had discovered that the eldest Valliere sister had occasional lapses in wisdom when it came to reading the mood.

"Eleanore." I called out to the woman and simply shook my head quietly after she turned to me. I saw her about to say something else until Cattleya placed her hand on her sister's and just gave her a smile. If Eleanore was smart, then I would consider Cattleya as cunning...at least far more so than both of her sisters. Eleanore frowned at her sister but decided to let the matter drop with a sigh as Cattleya turned to Touya with a warmer smile.

"And then what happened, Master Touya?" The middle sister asked the Shield of the Eastern Wonderland to continue.

"I already told you to just call me Touya, Miss Cattleya. I am nowhere near skilled enough to be called a Master yet. Anyway, Yukari suddenly showed up and told us that she was going to Mugenkan to check on Louise and Yuka and asked if we wanted to come along. I was sort of dragged along for the ride, I suppose." The young man explained while scratching the back of his head.

"I didn't see you complaining about it. Though I would like to point out that you would have already made progress on becoming if you would have just started working harder on your training." Yukari said in a lecturing tone while wagging her right index finger at him like a disappointed teacher.

"Yukari, it just doesn't sound convincing at all if you are the one talking about working hard." I pointed out while gesturing to the woman with my cup of tea. Yukari pouted after seeing both Louise and Touya nod in agreement. Then she turned to me and gave me another one of 'those' smiles whenever she ineffectually attempts to try to seduce me.

"Oh~! I'm sure I have ways of convincing you that I can work hard at something~" Yukari slowly said while leaning towards me while making sure to emphasize her breasts. She also pointedly ignored the annoyed groans that Louise and Touya gave out at her blatant attempts. I sighed and turned to the one person I know who can deliberately motivate Yukari into doing something.

"Can you please do something about this, Yuyuko?" I asked the ghost princess while nodding towards the border youkai.

"Hmmm~?" Yuyuko hummed in bid to feign ignorance to what was happening a couple of feet away from her. The custodian of the Netherworld looked between Yukari and myself before tilting her head to the side and idly gazing up at the sky in apparent contemplation.

"Well, I suppose that I can also join in if you think that Yukari won't be able to satisfy you by herself. Besides, it has been quite a while since I've indulged in that sort of activity...might be fun~" Yuyuko considered out loud and quickly turned to Cattleya and Eleanore before anyone could react to what she had just said.

"The two of you are welcome to join in if you'd like. I'm sure that Yuka can make the bed big enough to accommodate all of us and, from what Yukari tells me, he should also be more than capable of fully satisfying all of us before daybreak in your realm~" Yuyuko offered with a big smile and clap of her hands. Eleanore getting flustered by the offer was a given but even I was surprised to see Cattleya's face light up in a way that would be more suited to her sisters.

"W-w-what are you saying to my sisters?!" Louise yelled out after getting to her feet while her face was about as red as the other two sisters. Yukari looked like she was lost in her own little daydream, no guesses as to what about, while Touya suddenly found his slice of strawberry cake to be a rather fascinating thing to stare at with intensity.

"Oh, don't worry Louise~! I'm sure that we can have room for one more, right Yuka?" Yuyuko said in an attempt to appease my master, if that was what Louise was angry about in the first place.

"No more talk about doing perverted things with my familiar!" My master yelled at the ghost princess. Yuyuko simply put her right hand over her mouth demurely before giving starting to giggle.

"All of that was simply in jest, Louise. Though Yukari was right, the reactions from you girls do get rather animated~" Yuyuko pointed out while fanning her left hand at Louise to dismiss her concerns. I could see what she had meant though, Louise was glaring at Yuyuko while sporting a rather prominent blush on her cheeks. Eleanore, on the other hand, was alternating between glaring at Yuyuko and stealing glances at me while blushing hard. Cattleya was just staring down at her table while also blushing. The middle sister's head was tilted down so her pink hair covered most of her face from visible view, though I noticed that her shoulders trembled every now and then.

"Isn't that right, Yukari~? Oh my~! It looks like the three of you weren't the only ones who took my joke seriously." Yuyuko said after turning to Yukari and seeing the border youkai.

"Guehe~! Guehehehe~!" Yukari was currently staring at nothing while propping up her chin with her right hand. She looked like she was in a daze while giving out that strange laugh. Yuyuko just gave her best friend a small smile before turning back to Louise.

"In any case, I certainly wouldn't actually try to do such a thing without full consent from all parties involved of course." The ghost princess clarified with a warm smile before turning to me.

"Though I certainly would not mind it if Yuka would like to have an intimate moment with Yukari and I~" Yuyuko mused while looking right into my eyes giving me a certain kind of smile.

"Sorry to disappoint then." I responded with a dismissive wave that Yuyuko simply shrugged at.

"Oh well, at least I tried. Though, I would advise that you avoid being seen by Kanako or Yuugi...maybe Eirin as well. I doubt that they would simply take no for an answer if it turns out that your current form suits their fancy." Yuyuko warned with a smile. I simply shrugged before refilling my cup. It was not like I was going to see any of them anytime soon anyway.

"Well, as fun as this whole thing was, I shall be taking my leave for the night." Eleanore announced before standing up, her composure apparently already restored.

"Already leaving?" Cattleya asked her sister with a tilt of her head.

"Well, I AM apparently the only one here with an actual profession it seems. A profession I would very much like to keep so I will at least need a few hours of sleep in order for me to be able to do my job to a competent degree." Eleanore pointed out while placing her hands on her hips and giving each of us there a hard look.

"I have a profession. I'm the Hakurei Shrine Priest." Touya said while raising his right hand.

"And I am the one given charge of Gensokyo's netherworld." Yuyuko added while raising her own right hand.

"Hakurei Border Manager and overall major guardian of Gensokyo." Yukari also stated while raising her right hand as well.

"I meant a real job where you get paid for your work and...why am I even arguing about this with all of you? Just enjoy the rest of the night and don't stay up too late you two." Eleanore started to build steam before deciding better of it and saying the last part to her younger sisters like a proper big sister should.

"Have a good rest, Big Sister Eleanore." Cattleya bid her older sister good night with a smile that the blonde returned.

"Good night, Big Sis Eleanore." Louise followed up.

"Good night, runt." Eleanore returned the greeting before turning to leave. I noticed the tired slump of her shoulders and considered what the woman had been through lately. On a whim, I decided to do a little something about it.

"Eleanore, if I may." I called out to the eldest sister before rising from my seat.

"Yes? What is it Yuka?" Eleanore asked me with a raised brow while putting her right hand on her right hip. I walked up to the eldest sister and pulled out a wooden box from within my vest that had an sunflower engraved on the lid.

"This is a herbal tea that is very effective in helping with fatigue and sleepiness. Put two teaspoons of the herb in your teacup and pour boiling water on it before letting it sit for around ten minutes. It is most effective to drink after a meal or after a bath. I suggest that you drink it three times a day until you use it all up." I stated while offering the box to Eleanore. The blonde blinked at me before eyeing the box in my hand.

"Why?" Eleanore asked the rather obvious question.

"Obviously, it is because of O~!" Yukari suddenly yelled out from the tables while moving her arms to make a vague 'O' shape with them over her head.

"L~!" Yuyuko followed up with her own arm movements to represent an 'L'.

"Hyaa!" Louise yelped out after Yukari grabbed her and made her stand up.

"E~!" Yukari continued while guiding Louise's arms by the wrist to an approximation of the letter intended.

"Kya!" Cattleya then yelped when Yuyuko did the same thing and commandeered the middle sister's use of her arms.

"V~!" Yuyuko said while raising Cattleya's arms up in the air. There was an odd silence that followed after the sudden and rather random display. The silence was eventually broken by Touya who had a look of contemplation on his face.

"Olev?" The Shield of the Eastern Wonderland voiced out loud with a tilt of his head. Eleanore and I stared at the spectacle for a few more moments before glancing back at one another.

"Ignore what just happened?" I suggested and the blonde nodded in agreement.

"Better for us. Thank you for this, by the way." Eleanore said before talking the box of herbal tea.

"Oh! Big Sis Eleanore! We'll be going to the capital tomorrow to do some shopping. Can...can we visit you there?" Louise suddenly called out before meekly voicing her request. To her credit, Eleanore almost did not flinch nor blush at her younger sister's question. I could also see Yukari, Yuyuko, and Cattleya looking on with matching amused expressions. Indeed, the middle sister is likely the most dangerous one among the three. Touya merely looked on with a small smile on his face while observing the proceedings.

"W-w-what are you talking about?! I have a lot of things I need to do once I get back! I'm already behind on my projects because I was called out to teach you and your fellow runts!" Eleanore yelled out at her youngest sister. Louise flinched at her sister's words but Yukari placed a calming hand on her shoulder to soothe her nerves.

"I just...I just wanted to spend more time with you and..." Louise trailed off while looking down on the ground. Both Touya and Cattleya stood up at that point but the middle sister was the one who walked up to Louise and gave her a hug, Touya simply walked up to Louise and gave her an encouraging smile that my master returned. Yuyuko simply chose to stay back and observe.

"Aren't you going there too?" I asked the eldest sister.

"Hmph! Look all the people around her now." Eleanore dismissed my question before nodding towards Louise and the others.

"She doesn't need me to coddle her." The eldest sister pointed out with a shrug.

"Perhaps. However, I am certain that a woman as smart as you can tell that Louise loves you a great deal. Just because she can stand on her own two feet doesn't mean that she has to always do it alone. She just wants you to be part of her life and herself a part of yours." I pointed out to the professor who looked away from me.

"That is not the kind of thing I would expect to hear from someone like you." Eleanore commented with a raised brow.

"You learn a lot once you get my age. Certainly, I've learned more about humans these past several months than I have in centuries. I normally do not spend so much time with humans, nowhere near as much as I have with Louise." I explained with a smile. Eleanore stared at me for a while before shaking her head and grumbling before walking up to Louise.

"Stop whining, runt! There is nothing I can do with the amount of work waiting for me back at the capital. I will most likely be locked in there until I can deal with all of it so that obviously means I will not have time to casually go and entertain guests." Eleanore explained after flicking Louise on her forehead to get her attention.

"Oh...I understand...I'm sorry if I did not consider those--" Louise started but was cut off when she felt a hand on her head. She looked up and saw that it beloned to Eleanore who was pointedly not looking at her youngest sister in the eye.

"Maybe...maybe once my work lightens up...we'll see if I can arrange something--" She mumbled before getting caught in a hug by both of her younger sisters.

Well, so much for getting some training for Louise done that night.

...