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This is the first fanfic I'm positing on the Nanoha animesuki Fanfic forum. It was proposed on the Crossovers thread.
This is a Nanoha Zero No Tsukaima crossover , based on the very popular crossover asking what happens if Louise summons another , more impressive Familiar instead of the Wish Fulfillment Audience Avatar that's Saito.
In this case , Louise summons a Real Familiar from the Nanoha-verse. None other than Arf , Fate's Testarossa's Familiar.
The second premise of this fic asks: what if Halkagenia lies on the same Dimensional Sea as Mid-Childa?
The third explores what might happen if Arf was suddenly kidnapped into a distant , unknown dimension , back on Mid-Childa.
This fic is set around 25 years after Strikers S , so there's alot of speculation that I've made over the Fates of the Nanoha-cast in 25 years. Especially of the Striker S crew.
Spoiler for The Third Life - Chapter 1: Life Again:
Chapter 1 : Life , Again.
I posted an earlier version of a Nanoha ZnT Crossover on the previous thread , but apparently , it didn't show on the Crossover list. Nevertheless , I have rewritten and expanded on the introduction, and added in a new section.
So , what if Louise got exactly what she wanted? A powerful actual familiar? What if Halkagenia lies in the Nanoha-verse Dimensional Sea?
Altsiem Ravine , Southern Mid-Childa. Some call it a foreboding formation of spiked rocks , and shifting shadows. Others , a place of shaded beauty , dim yet gentle forests and the occasional light bathed meadows , home to a crown like Rock formation with a mysterious rune carved on the central rock Pillar. . For almost four and half decades , the land around the area was called home to four generations on and off . A mansion abandoned was restored , an abode maintained for occasional use resided in permanently by it's heirs. This tale is not about that mansion, even if it was near here that our Protagonist previous life began. It's only a setting , and one we shall soon leave.
Nearly half a century, a certain embittered Scientist , Precia Testarossa had purchased a good chunk the ravine , and built her abode , from which she executed the closing stages of a Project she designed to achieve a most desperately cherished hope and desire. To her , the project was a desperate attempt of necromancy by cloning. In the eyes of her backers , her project formed part of a spear-head towards a new pinnacle of Trans-Dimensional civilization , another land mark the recovery of Dimensional Space from the ravages of the last apocalypse. It's name was project Fate. It's first success was to be the greatest mage . But this tale is not about her , though her legacy makes it possible, in the form of her Familiar.
To this day , the progeny of the project , both persons , and institutions still function on , though on a far more humane , and much less Grey basis. Indeed , the great project , called Infinite Desires never really died , despite all the set-backs , unanticipated betrayals and bouts of mismanagement and disaster the endeavor encountered. It proved resiliently self-sustaining , just like it's creators had intended it to be , it's products fueling the next generation of products , in a march towards Singularity. A single family , connected by a net-work of adoptions and biological descent and close friendships have gradually moved center stage . But this tale is not about the trials that brought them here.
This tale is about a certain red-wolf who saw it all , the rise of that network of Friends and family. They are known by many names . Testarossa. Harlowan . The Takamichis. The Nakajimas. Mondial and Alpine. They are connected by many bonds. And their children all share their relationship with that wolf in common. A long , fulfilling life far beyond the rightful lifespan of the race. That day the touch of magic caressed that dying soul , giving it a Second Life again , the first step on a long road.
Her name was Arf , and looking back , she could safely say that she was truly contented with her life. She could let go now , free of any regrets , liberated of any outstanding responsibilities that she might feel. The youngest of her charges themselves were beginning to venture out of their den. Pups full grown.
So , yes. She could let go now, fulfilling her agreement with her mistress , and the charge laid down on her. To keep living. She could say she already lived , and drunk fully from the fountain of life.
Close in now to the mansion at the base of the Rock formation , extending all the way and built right into the ravine. Ignore the contents within the ravine. They are beyond your classification dear readers , for you have none to begin with.
Around the middle of the Rock formation that the mansion is build against lies a certain , reasonably spacious well appointed room. Lush crimson curtains are drawn back against the window , giving us a peak into a rather private and personal room. There is a desk right in the middle of the room. It's a remnant of it's previous occupant , one that our wolf respects and regards as a role model. Ironic really , that a wolf respects a cat , but that full tale , that beginning of the journey of that family would take 2 Standard Earth Hours and 10 Minutes to tell in it's entirety , and that's in it's abbreviated form. It's first telling apparently took a quarter of a day.
The rest of the room was far better appointed than the nearly half century old desk at the center. Against the wall at the far end of the door is a bed of warm orange , fluffy covers and pillows , too wide and long for the usual form of it's occupant.
That bed was not occupied. A second object sat on the rug covered floor of the room , a pet basket of considerable length , woven out of fine Alzadian Fiber ,and a cushy stack of couches on which a young , small Red Wolf cub rolling around , looking at the walls. An illustrious familiar to a recently deceased living legend , bearing a name that reflected the child-like mind of the prodigy that had named her long ago, giving her a life far beyond anything she could have imagined in her first one
There's are several shelves hanging up against the walls , both on the windowed side of the room , and the side of the door. It's filled with a variety of mementos that reflected that life. Precious gifts and presents . A bow , a well woven collar , a sculpture of a magnificent , huge wolf on all four legs , a hologram with two wolves , one blue and one read standing besides each other. Decorations , awards , legacies.
But most meaningfully are the Holo-photos. There are photos dating back four decades ago , located just besides the door, with a puppy standing besides a small , quiet blond hair girl. There are hugs , and muzzles . One of a certain Cat Familiar that went beyond the call of her duty for them both , called Linith. There are other photos after. Happy moments , the first friends , the girl , now distinguished women which the Wolf , Arf owed much of her life ,as well as that of her mistress too . She refused to consider what might have happened had Fate never known Nanoha. All three of them together, as seen posing on a bridge with a beautiful Earth sunset at the backdrop , smiling . Smiles decorate that wall.
There are pictures of the first true taste of family her mistress experienced. Four people are in the photo – herself , her mistress in her ten year old body , her adoptive brother with his somber face , and most of all , yet another women Arf truly revered. Lindy Harlowan , the person who took in Fate as her own daughter. Who gave both Fate and Arf the beginnings of a true family.
Prominent in the next sequence is a single framed picture , seven persons in all. Two twins , their loving parents behind , their grandmother , that great women , and her mistress , and she besides the twins. Throughout the years , starting from these twins , that cat was her inspiration and goal. If her packmates were still alive , they'd be mocking her for that , she wrly reflected. She hoped that she had at least captured a little bit of what made Linith such a brilliant caregiver , as she reprised the same role several times over the next few decades.
A different girl this time , in the next photo. Hayate , and the Wolkenrittens , most especially than ancient wolf she fondly called , to this day Zaffy. She idly wondered how it would have been like if Linith had met Zafira before.
Then comes Fate herself , and a collection of memories concerning her two adoptive children. An exceptionally powerful Pink Haired Dragon summoner, Caro Le Rushe , and another child just like her , with red hairs and eyes that alternate between gradually attained his adoptive mother's calm , yet never lost it's burning intensity of will. Erio Mondial. Just a little down , though a span of some years had passed was a picture of all three of them together with Arf . Fate finally not only found , but gave others a family. Starting with her , continuing with them. There was another picture of six soon after , this time with Nanoha , Vivio and the other four of them together. And so ,their family grew.
She gave another nostalgic smile as she observed the next shelf of memories. Friends and acquaintances exploded. The Nakajimas . Vivio , her Friends , and the girl called Einhart. Lutecia , Caro and Erio together , some photos with Arf in it , others with only the trio within the picture. There were other collections of that trio , but unfortunately , it was classified.
She sighed , pulled in a slight tendril of magic , and in that well practiced piece of spell casting , turned herself back into the human form of a girl with long flowing reddish orange hair with faintly Wolfish features , clad in a black mourning gown that reached down to her knees.
Speaking of which , she withdrew her Intelligence Device and hung it out from her hands was the device carefully crafted for her a mere half decade ago , a descendant in inspiration and design from her Mistress own device. Corseque Archivist . In it's full form , it would have been a black colored polearm , the glossy ebon handle inscribed with orange runes of varying purposes , ending with a single Orange spike with two other shorter orange blades curving away from the central spike. Or it could have taken the form of black gauntlets with an orange , trident like shape set in between two triangles pointing in the opposite direction from one another to form a star. A seventh generation device personally crafted and designed by one of the best Device Meisters alive in TASB space . She looked up at the picture of Lutecia and her two friends together , Erio leaning to the side while Lutecia clamped her hands on the shoulders on a much shorter Caro and leaning towards the camera.
The device hung out from it's Material-Fibre chain like a pendulum , two similar sized triangles rotating perpendicularly to one another set on a black pedestal rotating back and forth.
It was on that device that she had made her new , provisional contract with Erio a year back. She was yet to announce her decision.
She checked her device chronometer. It was in the wee hours of the early morning.
She rolled off the soft blankets within the litter, got up to her feet , and climbed up to the bed. More memories still laid beyond the wall . But she'd like her dreams to be nostalgically pleasant that night.
That night is the day that this second life ends , and the third begins. It ends and begins with a certain desperate Green Oval portal leading to another , distant world , abruptly opening up in this room. It will trigger a sequence of significant events on both sides of the portal . It begins now.
Arf got up with a start , wth her device issuing multiple warnings of an enormous mana surge in the room , of an unusual signature and configuration. Moments later , that surge resolved itself , a bright green light appeared from somewhere within her room It felt like a Dimensional Transfer was being activated right in the room right there and now.
SS Rank Dimensional Transfer Detected , Mistress! The device spoke in a sharp masculine voice.
Combat instincts rarely used for a long period abruptly swung into action. Mana fuelled Adrenaline filled her,she rolled right out of the sheets , out of the bed , entering a combat ready crouch , facing the source of the magic.
A bright glowing Green Oval shaped portal , a Dimensional Transfer spell of a magnitude befitting one of those newer TASB Battle-cruisers ,or an Over S level summoning. It had formed on the center of the far end of the room , near the door. And it was widening rapidly.
Worryingly the magic signature was bizarre. Alien , unusual , failing to match anything in her recollections or her exposure , which was vast thanks to the decades working at the Infinite Library , and the memories of her now deceased master. The nearest equivalent she could compare it with was with an AMF , or perhaps an Eclipse Driver. Her device made a quick querry to the data-bases of the infinite Library , for information on all magical variants and types in the Infinite Library Date-base.
She also instructed Corseque to quickly calculate the trajectory and likely destination of the portal , and sent another querry to the Infinite Library Dimensionography data-bases.
Most troubling , it felt very enticing. Like it was welcoming her , drawing her in.
Cautiously , she tried to take a step back from the portal. Arf's golden eyes narrowed further when the portal grew even larger seconds later , expanding till it reached the roof of her room. She now sensed desperation laid right on-top of that sense of welcoming. Desperation , and a frighteningly implacable focus that reminded her of a Starlight Breaker being readied....
The portal now expanded to the point that it blocked the door. And then , it slowly advanced , bit by bit.
She clutched Corseque in her fingers , while drawing again from the mana source she was teetered too , readying a Strike-arts punch in case she had to blow her way out of the room. The connection was feeling quite sluggish. She backed up onto the bed , fist leaning against the wall. Still , the portal advanced. And it seemed to be calling out to her softly. Leap in. Leap in , and the portal will close , harming no-one else in the house.
Contact Strada and Asclepius. She telepathically instructed. Both of them should have felt a spell of this magnitude by now. There was a slight pause.
Mistress. The portal is breaking up the signal. Only a partial fragmentary transmission could get through.
Nevermind that. Have we found a match to the portal's destination and magic type?
No conclusive answers.
It was then she picked up the massive AMF that suddenly flared across the room , starting from the portal , engulfing the entire house for a moment , before slowly dissipating. She stumbled down onto her knees , as she realized that her mana connection with Erio was severely constricted by the AMF.
Several more seconds passed. The portal still kept advancing. The AMF within the room was still strong, but rapidly fading. Mana from Erio began flowing back into Arf , and she felt him rapidly closing in on the room , before suddenly halting. There was something preventing entry into the room She could feel a surge of magic right outside her room. A Forced Spatial Transfer spell was being readied. The scent of that magic was unmistakably Lutecia.
Coherent Contact re-established. Data and text only. At least the jamming signature had deteriorated sufficiently for some communication.
It was a race between the portal , and the teleportation spell being prepared outside. She felt another mana surge pour out of the portal. Lutecia's magic faltered for a moment. There was no way now that she was going to make it in time.
The portal was mere centimeters away , and about to close in on her . Corseque informed her of the most likely outcome of that ongoing race.
Lutecia will not make it in time. The AMF and her still partially active limiters , along with the brief mana-burst all meant that she was not going to execute that spell before the portal engulfed her. There was only one last thing Arf could do.
Corseque , forward the destination and magical signature of the portal to you know whom. And tell them -
She paused for a moment .
- I'm going in.
She took a deep breath , and plunged head-first into the portal.
Another explosion filled the Summoning grounds again , for the sixth time. This time , there was only a few scatted chuckles from the easily amused. The vast majority of her peers had long since taken to chatting among themselves as the same sequence of events of Incantation , Explosion and Failure repeated itself again and again. Louise's frustration was close to boiling over , her knuckles turning white from the extremely tight grip over her wand.
To be truthful , she would rather have had the jeers and laughter of her peers , as opposed to being completely ignored , and regarded as of no consequence whatsoever. To be almost completely ignored , treated like some fixture of the background itself was a completely new kind humiliation. An increasingly mortifying , and anger inducing one.
She climbed back to her feet. “ One – more – time.” She muttered over tightly gritted teeth.
The bald headed professor , Colbert hesitated for a moment. For a moment , she thought that he was going to refuse. She waited , the silence accentuating the dread building up in her.
“ One last time then , Ms Valliere .” There was a brief burst of relief spreading throughout her body. But she knew it was only temporary. It was her last chance , and the stakes higher than the tallest tower of the Great Basilica in Romalia.
At stake itself was her right , her pride and her worthiness of being a noble. Everything was invested in that day itself. That day itself was the day she proved all of them wrong , where her magic would finally produce a success. The alternative was worst. Should she fail to summon anything today , she would likely be ejected from the academy. No Second Year would be allowed to continue on without a Familiar.
And what then ? Probably a quick , discrete marriage to her fiancee, a marriage based on family influence , and pity to Wardes , as much as she was fond of him. She had contemplated that scenario in her worst nightmares before. With no magic of her own , even such a marriage was nothing but a condemnation to a long wait for death. Without magic , she was nothing by herself. Even if there was love in such a marriage , it was not enough for her. That life as a mother without any magics or influence , to only spawn children was a living death to her. Besides , she could hardly borne such a disgrace to her family name . She would not fail them. She would not fail herself. She would not fail her mother.Above all , she would not be able to bear failing her beloved Sister's Cattleya's faith in her.
A deep breath of the fresh spring air filled her lungs. She had almost forgotten how refreshing that air was , in the past desperate hour of summoning.
Irrelevant. She shook her head repeatedly , and fixed her eyes firmly in focus on the summoning circle around her. This time , she would succeed. No matter how far her Familiar was , she had to have one. She must. Even if she had to reach beyond the Elven Lands to obtain one , she would do it , with her own might , with her own magic. With every ounce of her soul. Even if she had to blow the entire Academy in one gigantic spherical explosion.
Once more , she drew her wand , whipping it out into drawing a horizontal line , Her arms curled upwards from the far end of the line , arcing upwards to eventually form a full circle. As her arm rose , she begun the incantation again.
“ My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière!” She cried out , willing her voice to carry out , even beyond the stars , even beyond the world if need be . Anywhere . Anytime. Somewhere. There had to be a familiar Her wand begun the orizontal arc upwards.
“ Pentagram of the Five elemental powers!” Why five elements ? Why not more? Why not less ? Why not all at once? Why a Pentagram? She felt something immense surge right through her , pouring through every fibre of her boddy , almost as if she was cut loose from the ground , floating up freely in the skies.
“ Heed my summoning!” Her voice carried through the newly formed ,unseen semicircle , as her wand arced downwards passed the beginning of the previously drawn line. She thought she felt as if she was pressing against something hard.
“ My Servant who exist somewhere in this vast Universe!” This vast Universe ? That was too small . Anywhere . Anything . Anyone. Just to prove she was a mage. Just to make her one. To make her as great as her mother. Greater. It was in her. She just needed a right familiar. She squashed any objections to that potentially heretical line of thought ruthlessly. In doing so , she felt as if something right infront of her , some invisible barrier began to give way , cracks appearing.
Confidence and willpower soaring , she began the next sequence in the Incantation. An Aria to the Dimensions , a shout of every inch of her being and will.
“ My Divine.” She tasted the divine. The first small piece within the barrier shattered . She felt , briefly , a second , far weaker barrier , that felt even more brittle than the first. And then the images begun.
“ Beautiful.” A brief glimpse of a shape of magnificent crimson . The small breach grew.
“Wise” . That prescence. The closest thing she could compare it to was her sister , Catlteya. Yet it felt subtly different. Like her mother in those rare moments of tenderness she so craved. There was more. A magnificent Library the size of the Capital itself , floating in a vast sea. Tomes and Spellbooks , and floating jewels , and pyramid figures. Glowing gaunlets and spears , and more. A Double triangle set opposite each other that could store all the written information on the entire Continent on it. The breach grew wider. A few more pieces fell away from that unseen barrier.
“Powerful.” Glorious golden lightning arced through the air. Beams of glorious light flooded her vision. Claws sharper than steel , speed matching that of her mother's or her fiancee . In service to a state of which Tristian looked like a mite to a giant. More cracks. Her wand almost completed the circuit
“ Heed my call!” That slowly breaking barrier abruptly gave way completely as the wand finished the circle. If her eyes took heed of the world outside , she would have seen an incandescent emerald light consuming her world.
Her arm pointing to the center of the circle , she finished that long aria of summoning . “Heed my summoning... and bring forth...my familiar!!” She began to experience the sensation of crushing pressure. It was an effort , to even maintain the spell.
A roaring sound filled her ears , the same sound as one of her explosions , but distinctly , subtly different.
A mighty wind engulfed and spun around her . The closest she could compare it to was her mother's magics.
The fresh scent of spring on both ends of the portals drifting into her nose , dominating her taste. All five senses seemed as if they merged into one.
And then , she became the spell ,and the spell became her , as all wills involved became one , and the only objective remained , to bring the Familiar into her embrace. Her will shall overcome all before her. There was no choice. Not even the most potent of magics will deny her. She felt a chilling pulse of something she could barely comprehend ringing right out through the portal at that thought.
Inch by inch. She pushed . Forward . Forward. Her familiar was close by. The one intended for her. And there was nothing , neither on this world , nor in any world , nor in any universe that could get in her way .
Slowly. The world around her was like unyielding thick dough. Yielding , but so viscous , so thick , so difficult to move in. But she must. She had too. Forward again. And again.
She was getting close. She could feel a presence on the other side. No. Multiple presence , multiple sources of power. She felt someone on the other side attempting to do something. To summon the creature away from her! To steal her familiar! With a growl made without voice , born out of primeval will , a howl of defiance , she pushed still further , hurling a backlack of her magic. For a moment , she caught a glimpse of the startled face of a tall , dignified women with hair and eyes of purple , a pose of confidence momentarily shaken. She realized that those eyes too saw her face in the brief moment their magics touched. And she felt a strange , alien magic reaching out for her.
An instinctive sense of self-preservation kicked in , as the very transitory connection shattered in mutual surprise. More determination surge into her. She would not be denied! She would not be a Zero! This was the proof of her magics , every inch of her will and soul devoted. Again. Forward. It was a race. Between the other summoner and her. But she would triumph ! She would!
Something fell into the portal , and she abruptly felt all the sensations snapping back into her mind at once. Even the memories of the summoning from the completion of the Aria onwards quickly decayed away , except for the most vivid moments. It was just like all other failed spells , where she felt something snap around her , before an explosion.
The green-light collapsed. Something hit the ground. And the smoke and roar of an explosion followed , throwing her back onto the ground for the seventh time this day.
She felt the dirt beneath her. The rough grainy texture of the soil rubbed against the tightly clenched fists of her hand. She could not feel the wand on her hand.
Even before she opened her eyes once more , she could feel the tears sliding down her cheek. It was over. It was finished. She was done for. She was a failure. Her life … was over. Her eyes opened , and saw the azure blue sky.
Shakily , she sat up , and slowly pulled herself up to her feet as the smoke cleared. Apparently , she had been thrown back by her failed spell , but this time , on her back. She could just make out her wand in the smoke ahead as she tried standing up . It was hard to do so. She felt like her knees could hardly support her , like they would give way at any moment now. She finally managed to get a firm footing , and gingerly walked over to pick up her wand.
The smoke at the center cleared.
And right there and then , she was aware of a complete , absolute dead silence. Gone were the chatting. Gone were the occasional guffaws . Just , complete silence. Like one would expect from a Sermon. Or something wondrous.
Could it be ? A sudden , wild hope seized her , as she approached the circle.
There , she saw a young girl with fairly exotic features, knocked down back-first onto the ground, with long , flowing loose reddish-orange hair extending almost all the way down her back , ending in a very bushy mass of hair sticking out to the right , and a pair of rather unusual reddish protrusions where the ears should have been. Was it some bizzare hair-style? She was clad in a black gown , and hanging on her neck was a strange piece of jewelry involving two triangles set perpendicularly to one another. The girl began to stir as Louise walked closer.
Louise stopped in her tracks as she realized something. Not only did the features of the girl she summoned corresponded to any Halkagenian , but the bushy end of her hair itself was not an unusual hairstyle . It looked like a tail , that looked like either a fox , or wolf tail.
Which meant that those strange protrusions where the ears were , were actually her ears.
She almost dropped her wand in shock.
And then , the girl suddenly shot up, and looked around , eyes darting back and forth. Taking in the sky , the castle , lingering briefly on the dresses and wands of the Students that surrounded her , gave Professor Colbert a strange glance that Louise noticed but could not identify. Settling on her finally. Louise could see both the ears and the tail quite clearly , from the distance she was at from the girl she summoned.
The girl appeared to focus briefly , with scrunched up face, briefly as if she was having a big difficulty in something. But it appeared only momentarily. In the next moment , both the tail and the wolf like ears vanished , as if they never had been.
It's strange. Did I really see a pair of wolf ears and a tail on that girl? Or was I still suffering the effects from the spell? Louise wondered. Briefly , the strange purple haired women she had glimpsed during the spell entered her mind. She dismissed it immediately , though it was a struggle to school her face to maintain composure.
The girl was now talking softly in a very unusual language Louise could not identify – and she knew all Eight languages of Halkagenia , and even some Elvish . It did not correspond to any of the languages she had learned. Even crazier , it sounded like the girl was asking a question – to the strange pendant she had on her , no less!
Louise shook her head in disbelief , as she approached her summon. Collecting herself , she asked“ Where are you from , commoner?” It didn't hurt to try to see whether she understood Halkagenian.
She was denied that answer by a sudden outbreak catcalls and hooting in the air. And a derisive shout from the crowd behind her : “By Brimir , Louise is truly a Zero. She summoned a Commoner!” She could feel heat building up in her face as laughters broke out at that comment.
Her impulse getting the better of her , she turned around to ask whether Professor Colbert could allow her to retry again .
“ No , Louise. This is your last attempt , and the Springtime Familiar Summoning means that you have to bind whatever you summon. Besides , he glanced” Louise could see him frowning in puzzlement for a moment , before drawing his wand in a smooth motion.
“ I saw it” She seemed to hear a brief whisper carried on the wind.
So he saw the tail and the ears too. Did the rest of the school saw it though? Apparently , not , judging my the laughter around her. She decided to bear with it. She would not make a scene of herself infront of those... idiots.
Louise could see the girl make a brief , almost imperceptible nod as she approached the girl. She knelt down to girl.
“ Hey , where is this pla- “ the girl started to ask.
“ Quiet.” The girl suddenly fell silent. She felt as if she was being studied. Somehow.
No matter . She got her familiar , and it appeared to be more than it seemed. She had proven that she was a mage. She closed her eyes , and waved her wand in a well practiced sequence of geometric motions . A pentagram.
"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being, and make him my familiar." She cupped the girl's face with her left hand and quickly closed the distance between her Familiar's lips and her own. She could feel the Familiar's body stiffening in surprise as their lips locked together.
She felt a sharp intake of air from the girl . And then for a moment , it appeared as if her Familiar to be felt extremely insubstantial. As if she was fading away. She felt something drain out of her , much like how she felt her magic when casting a spell. She tensed for a moment, expecting an explosion , and the Familiar to suddenly Fade away. That brief sense of insubtantiality disappeared as quickly as it came , and she felt some kind of vague connection with her Familiar , like a very subtle presence. It was done. Quietly , she pulled away from her familiar , questioning whether that strange sense of insubstantiality was all in her head.
“ It is done. You are now my familiar.” She spoke .
There was a wide eyed look on her familiar's face . A stunned look of utter shock.
"You have failed 'Summon Servant' many times, but you have managed to succeed with 'Contract Servant' in one try," Colbert said happily.
"It's just because she's only a commoner."
"If he was a powerful magical beast, she wouldn't have been able to make a contract."
She gritted her teeth. Her moment of triumph had to be marred by such insults.
The laughter sent her temper over the edge again. "Don't make fun of me! Even I do things right once in a while!" She scowled at the rest of the crowd.
"Truly 'once in a while', Louise the Zero," laughed a girl with gorgeous curly hair and freckles on her face. Again with that insufferable mendicant.
"Mr. Colbert! Montmorency the Flood just insulted me!" Oh yes. It was unforgivable that a nobling from a house as fallen as Montmorency could insult her , a daughter of the duke.
"Who are you calling 'the Flood'? I'm Montmorency the Fragrance!"
"I heard that you used to wet the bed like a flood, didn't you? 'The Flood' suits you better!" Louise was really getting into it. The frustrations of the morning , the repeated humiliations , the difficulty of the summon , and the insults instead of respect she expected to receive upon a successful summoning all got to her. Montmorency was a convenient dumping ground for her fustrations.
"I hadn't expected better manners from Louise the Zero." Manners? That was my pride at stake!
"Watch it! Nobles ought to show each other proper respect," Colbert warned with a slight bit of steel in his voice.
The girl suddenly issued out a brief hiss of pain , as she was brought down to her knees. She swayed for a moment. Louise felt a big surge of something flowing out of her , as she turned her attention on her Familiar. The surge kept continuing , as the runes began writing themselves on the back of the hands of both her familiar.
Louise heard a soft , puppy like whine. And then , her familiar abruptly collapsed.
The brief stir from the crowd was soon replaced by a resumption of jeers. And she was felt like following her Familiar into unconsciousness right there and then.
I admit. It's not the best written fic in here , far from it. I greatly appreciate any comments , and tips for improvement.
Thanks to all.
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