章節 2: Servant obligations and stupid decision
Chapter 2: Servant obligations and stupid decision
The crowd watched in amazement as Saito's skin turned red and smoke started rising up from his body. His cries of pain made them shudder as blinding light surged from his hand and carved the runic word, "Gandálfr" in his skin.
— What strange runes... I don't recall anything about them... — Colbert muttered as he watched the process unfold.
Not long after, the smoke stopped and his body went back to normal. Looking at his hand with teary eyes, Saito shuddered at the thought of what had just happened, this situation clearly proved that he was in another world, and one with magic at that...
Angered by their lack of reaction and not even trying to help him, Saito stood up and glared at them as he cried in anger.
— Who the hell are you, people!? Where am I?!
The crowd didn't react to his words, and it was like he had just spoken with a wall.
— Well, let's go back to class.
The middle-aged wizard turned around and started floating in the air, followed by the others, they flew up the stairs, leaving Louise and Saito behind.
On their way out, the students all mocked her for not being able to fly and even told her to not even try. Taking a deep breath, Louise waited for them to be gone before turning to Saito.
— Who are you!?
This infuriated Saito, the man had already asked and he spoke loud and clear, and yet she was there asking again as if she didn't know already.
— Don't play dumb with me! You already heard me saying my name. I should be the one asking questions here! Who are you, people? Where are we and why can they fly?! Besides, what the hell did you do with my body!?
— Humph, I don't know what backwoods you came from, but I shall explain since you ought to know.
— Backwoods?! — Saito laughed at the absurdity of this claim! — You bunch of outdated people are living in dirty and moist castles full of moss and diseases and you dare call my home, Tokyo, backwoods! Look in the mirror before spouting such bullshit! Besides, look at those rags you are all wearing! What? Do you have to sew your clothes manually, do you even know what a factory is? I bet you people don't even know what gunpowder or electricity is! Who the hell still uses torches!?
— What nonsense are you talking about, commoner? Making up words just to try retorting me won't help you, it just makes you look more pathetic! — Louise scowled at him as she lifted one finger. — Listen up because I won't explain twice! I don't know where a savage like you came from, but this is the renowned Tristain Academy of Magic, an academy in the kingdom of Tristain which is in Halkeginia! The ones that are flying are mages, like me, Louise Le Blanc de La Valliére, a second-year student at Tristain Academy of Magic! And don't forget, I'm your master now!
Feeling like this might be the end of his life, Saito calmed down a little, and with a gulp he held Louise by the shoulders, making her flinch and blush.
— W-what? — She asks by reflex.
— Miss Louise... please, send me back!
— I-I can't do that!
— What?! Why not! Just use that spell again!
— That's not how it works! The summoning spell is a one-way thing, it can't send servants back to where they originally were!
...
Saito sighed while leaning on the walls of Louise's room. — Come on... how long will it take?
Just as he was wondering, the door opened with a bang, and Louise marched inside the room with an angry look on her face. She threw a bag with bread to Saito and sat down on her bed.
— Then, explain.
Saito shuddered as rage welled up inside him but he still told her everything. How he was from Earth, a place called Tokyo, how there was no magic where he came from, that people relied on science, how he was sucked into a wall of light... But Louise's answer was disappointing.
— Sorry, I don't understand... — Louise couldn't comprehend a world that functioned with anything but magic.
— Even so, there must be a way to send me back!
Louise shook her head. — Let's say you're telling the truth and there is another world with one moon and no magic, even if that was the case, what do you expect me to do? The only way to cast Summoning Servant again is if the previous Servant dies.
Saito felt his legs becoming weak as he sat down. — I... don't want to die.
— Then be glad and proud that a noble like me will accept you as her servant! — She spoke with a hint of pride in her voice.
— Tsk, what noble? Do you really think I'll serve you or anything? You better jump from that horse because I'm not your slave!
— Humph! How uneducated, I was kind enough to even give you a place to sleep and food and yet you treat me like that.
She had a somber look on her face as she glared at him.
— Food? Sleep? — Saito laughed at her words. — You ditched me here and went to have dinner at that hall, eating all sorts of food, and ordered some staff from the Academy to gather a pile of hay as if that would make it a bed!
— You are my servant now! I don't even know why you complain so much, I'm really being kind compared to what other nobles would do! The minimum you could do was at least serve me like a butler, wake me up in the morning, serve me food when I ask, and clean my clothes! Besides you- — Louise wanted to retort but Saito had already lost all patience and was getting mad with all that was happening.
— You treat me like trash after stealing my first kiss, want me to be your slave, and say I'm uneducated?! Don't make me laugh! What makes you so certain I won't kill you at night?! Who knows, that might just send me back! And it's not like there's much stopping me from doing it! I've lost my family, my friends, my home, and now my freedom! I'm more than willing to start a French Revolution in this world of yours! I'll cut the heads of all nobles and put them in spikes that will be placed in the entrance of every city so that people can marvel at the degenerates that are finally dead just like the French people of my world did!
Louise was so at loss for words that she didn't react as he jumped on her and made her fall on the bed.
She looked at his eyes only to see anger, despair, and sorrow as he held down her hand, stopping her from reaching her wand.
— I hate you! I hate this world! IF HOW YOU TREAT ME IS CONSIDERED KIND, I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO IMAGINE JUST HOW HORRIBLE YOU NOBLES ARE! Give me one reason! Just a single reason not to kill you and test my theory! If I'm sent back home, it will all be worth it!
Louise was shaking with fear, she wanted to cry for help, but before she could even open her eyes, she felt something in her face. Stopping in her tracks, she turned her face towards him only to see tears falling down his face.
Although low, she could hear him muttering...
— Mother... father...
Letting go of her, Saito walked to the window.
She followed his movements and stared as he opened the windows.
— What are you doing? — Louise asked as worry grew in her heart.
Saito didn't answer, he climbed the frame of the window and sat down on it.
With her eyes opened wide, Louise jumped to her feet as she cried. — No! Don't do that!
Before she could do anything, Saito had already jumped. Hurrying to the window she looked down, only to see his solitary and sorrowful outline disappearing in the shadow of the castle.
Saito, broken, had completely lost himself. He wanted to believe that this was a dream, that like when falling from the sky in dreams, he would wake up at home, free of this world, and back to his family.
But halfway down, something happened.
Saito felt like the wind resistance had grown to an unbelievable level as he started floating mid-air.
— W-what?! Why? Let me go! I want to go back home!
Hearing this, the man floating behind him sighed.
— Accept reality, Mister Saito. There's no way of going back, and killing yourself won't help you.
Saito laughed at his words.
— What do you know? Would you even accept to be enslaved and forced to do the biddings of your tyrant of a master? Forever impeded of finding your family, of reuniting with the people you love? She treated me like trash and says that it's already kind compared to other nobles. What a horrible place, who would even want to live in such a hell?
Colbert was stunned. Thinking back, he had to admit that being a commoner wasn't good, but if he who bore the runic name Gandálfr was to die like that, wouldn't a calamity befall their world? He couldn't comfort Saito with empty lies, but even without this, he wouldn't allow a person to throw away their lives like that, no matter their identity.
— Mister Saito, I can't say I know, but you shouldn't give up like that... Magic is a mysterious thing, and the future is unknown. What if there's a way to go back out there, somewhere in this vast world? Wouldn't you be losing your life for nothing? Wouldn't your family lose you for nothing?
Hearing Professor Colbert's words, Saito recovered his mental faculties and held his head with anger in his eyes. "How could I be so stupid... Maybe there's really a way!"
Full of regret, he turned to look at Colber and whispered. — You're a good person.
Colbert smiled hearing that but didn't answer. Dragging Saito with him, they went to the foot of the castle.
— Come, I'll take you back to Louise's room.
On the way there, Saito thought about many things but he couldn't help but question his timely appearance.
— How did you know I was falling?
— Hm? Oh, it was simple, actually, there's a warning spell cast in the Academy's air space, it's designed to warn us Professors of students that failed to use the fly spell properly and have no way to recover in their fall, that way we can help them and prevent the worst.
Saito sighed at the coincidence, how lucky was he?
No. Not just lucky, he was also stupid. Clenching his fist, Saito thought how he had trouble controlling himself when he was angry and started doing things by impulse, this time was the most extreme example of such a situation, but it was also the most extreme situation he had ever been in.
— Mister Colbert, I assure you that I won't do such a thing again, but do not expect me to simply sit and obey.
Colbert was stunned hearing this and turned to look at Saito as they walked past a red-haired girl sitting together with a male student.
— Eh? Was that Louise's familiar? — The man asked.
— Hm... I think so... — Kirche answered.
Going up the stairs, Saito continued. — I don't know much about this world, because I'm not from here, but if I can get any form of power in this world, I won't bow down. As I told Louise, I don't have anything to lose, and I won't hesitate to follow my people's example in dealing with nobles if I'm cornered!
— What do you mean? — He asked, curious, but afraid of the answer.
— In my world, the nobles were a cancer to society, they toyed with the lives of commoners without a care for their life, as if they were animals, we, commoners, did the only thing we could do, vengeance. The noblemen were tortured and beheaded, the noblewomen were r*ped and fed to dogs, and so we drenched the lands with their blood. Without surprise, nobles were indeed causing lots of problems to everyone, and not long after their demise, the world became a much better place.
Colbert stopped in his tracks as he digested the bloody and violent tale of insurrection that Saito had told him. Before he could answer. Louise came running from the stairs that leads up to one of the dormitory towers and bumped at Saito.
— You! Idiot! Stupid! I-Idiot again! — There were tears in her eyes as she hit him with her small and soft fists, failing to hurt him in any way.
— Louise? — Saito asked in confusion.
— Why... Why did you do that! — She fell on her knees with her body shaking as she tried to wipe the tears falling from her face. — I thought had lost you... I'm such a failure! Even my servant hates me... why... why...
Saito tried to calm her down, but she had a complete breakdown and couldn't stop crying, it was only after half an hour that she finally gave in to her drowsiness and fell asleep in Saito's arms.
Looking at the two of them, Colbert lowered his head slightly and spoke with resignation. — She is problematic, Mister Saito, I won't deny that. But you should know that it's also difficult for her. I'm sure that with time, Louise will learn to appreciate you even if you are a commoner, so just give her a chance.
— But I -
— I know the way she treats you isn't appropriate as a human being, but that's the norm in this world, rather than blaming it on her, you should blame it in this world's culture and the people that work to maintain the status quo. If anything, use that determination you showed me earlier to grow stronger and bring change to this world, I believe you can do it, Mister Saito.
Saito was speechless as he carried Louise and watched Colbert leave. Thinking of what he said, he shook his head and with a sigh, carried Louise to her room. There was a long day ahead of him tomorrow...
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