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EPISODE 01: UNWITTING HERO OF SCIENCE
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Yuuno Scrya, 14 years, Occupation: Archaeologist and History Professor
That was him, no more and no less.
He doesn’t like if his reputation is exaggerated, it’s not like his current career is totally unheard of. Still, he was proud of his title now, if a little, and work hard just like always.
His work in the past, he already left it. Well, not like work, just something he involved in. It wasn’t the best situation he could think, his place was in a thousand years old cave scratching and screening the wall for old scribbles, or in a Library reading dozen upon dozen of books, not in a battlefield fighting against criminal or artifact of apocalypse… though the later sometimes happen during a dig gone wrong.
Regardless, here it his, he was in an underground ruins again.
Interestingly, it was not the kind of worlds he usually works in.
It was Earth, officially called Non-administrated World #97.
It’s also knew for notoriously strange phenomenon, being a planet devoid of natural mana, yet is able to gave birth to extremely talented mages, most of which he knew personally since there are so few, however still count.
Minus the usual tales and stories as well as recent founding of potential mages, Earth doesn’t seem to have magic-based civilization at all.
“It’s kinda cold outside” Alph muttered as she rubbed her hand, covered in wet fingerless gloves due to moisture “geh, it’s supposed to be sweat absorbent for comfort”
“Funny thing, this is summer” Yuuno jokingly said, to be precise, the ruin is located in Hokkaido, Japan. Even though it’s summer, the temperature can be as cold as 17 °C. And naturally, summer in Japan are very humid to begin with.
His assistant chuckled at his attempt of delivering a hidden punch line.
As for how he ended up in this place, it was started several days ago.
Sensor reading detected pulses of concentrated mana somewhere in Tokyo and Britain, and Yuuno, who is present, quickly checked it. However, there’s nothing but traces of magic casting. No damage or lasting effect, and the pulses are very brief as well, judging from the record.
After continuous scanning, similar signature, while faint, was found in Hokkaido. Yuuno took no time to assemble a small investigation team of three, him and two familiars which also his friend, while at the same time record everything using the overworld sensor owned by TSAB Patrol Ship.
“Why us, Yuuno, you can ask better people” Alph sighed “My only complain is that you’re being too reckless”
“You know, I’m assembling this team like, in ten minutes tops. Chrono is absolutely furious and is screaming in the phone just now”
“You’ve always been careless nee, no wonder… and I wonder how Zafira can even agree with it” she leered at her white haired, blue furred male counterpart, the dark skinned muscular man just gave her a flat gaze and replied “I do what my Mistress tell me to, and she is greatly concerned about you”
“The signature is getting closer, be careful” he said as they explored the cave, rocks protruding here and there, but they’re not too afraid considering that the light provided by a simple spell will be enough to keep them safe.
The rough surface of the cave wasn’t their biggest problem anyway, Yuuno is very experienced digger, and the other two are humanoid beast with wolf characteristic.
What they’re afraid is magic-related incident, which can range from small mishap to mass-area destruction. That’s the kind of risk when it comes to digging, they knew, but they can’t be too paranoid. This is why Chrono is angry at him.
Yuuno himself continuously scan the entire cave using active and passive sensor, the first one is purely mechanical.
Such as for long distance mapping, they use active acoustic locator. The concept itself might be old, but advanced electronics of the magic device will provide pinpoint analysis. The unit emitted faint but audible ‘ping’ sound, though it wasn’t from the main emitter but pulse indicator.
Again, the reason they don’t use Active detection spell outright is because they afraid of triggering any traps or mechanism that respond to magic stimulus.
After a series of twist and turn, they find a branching path.
“Hmm, the other branch led outside; let’s go for the left one”
The five man team, composed of Yuuno, two assistant, and two escort from the bureau, follow the path which for some reason, getting larger as they go deeper.
Finally, they reach what could be considered a primitive-looking magic altar. Shining, clear crystals protruding in each corner, illuminating the room like giant neon lamps.
On the end of the room, there is a stone plate erected. It was totally blank and smooth, as is the floor, a stark contrast to the jagged wall of rock and soil that form the rest of chamber. It was really a beautiful scene, Yuuno admit. The other four seems to agree, as their gazes are roaming every inch of the room.
There are a single magic circles in the center of the room, of which they’re not familiar with. Even Yuuno, considering he already memorized at least 891 systems, some of which are very obscure to begin with.
“Let’s take some picture and be careful…. Don’t touch the circle or the crystal” Yuuno began to inspect it closely, the letters used in the circle is totally unfamiliar, but the structure looks simple enough that any linguist with half-decent knowledge might be able to transcript it.
The geometry of the circle is complex, and there’s plenty of letters; this is definitely a grand scale spell casting formula.
Which usually means a bad thing.
And when a sudden earthquake happened, all of them struck inside the circle. They disappeared into light, along with the circle. The timeframe which happen only in few second caught everyone off guard.
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When Yuuno regained his composure, he was midair, surrounded by light and magic particles and steadily falling at constant but considerable speed. If he can guess, from outside he would look like a meteor…
But this is not the time to think about that! He pressed himself not to panic and try all sort of countermeasure. Alas, he can’t create his trusty barrier and even protective field.
Few second till impact, he screamed like a girl and slam into what could be considered a bubble made of mana particle. He can feel a slight shock, but there’s no pain or injury.
“What the heck just happened…?”
In front of him is a city ruins covered with slight vegetations. The buildings are made from mudbricks, he realized. What’s left from abandoned civilization span roughly ten kilometers, give or take. He himself is standing on top of pyramid-like building, which he assumed is a shrine of some sort.
The air is fresh, and yet, it reeks of danger. The animals have an erratic pattern of activity, even the insect and the birds. And his premonition was right.
“Be cautious, I sense something” Zafira’s ears twitched, on his arm, Alph was unconscious and in puppy form.
Two columns of armed men and women charged toward each other, the number of people could easily reach hundreds, or maybe a little over a thousand. The harsh terrain of the ruined city doesn’t seems to hinder them too much, it’s 20 or 30 second till they actually met, and Yuuno can feel sense of chill running down his spine.
He ended up transported to somewhere outside a battlefield, a physical battlefield at that.
He already watched the footage of Earth style war, as well as many magically inept worlds.
In anticipation of bloodbath, Yuuno avert his gaze a little. Still, he still caught a glimpse out of curiosity, cursing his ever active mind. Metal clashed with metal, leather, and living flesh.
The land is painted red, limbs chopped and torn apart, scream of agony and rage filled the nasty air filled with cruelty and suffering. To harm each other, such are the nature of war, especially physical one. Domination, proving one’s ideal is the ultimate victory sought up by parties involved.
That’s not the case.
What he saw however, is a big puff of smoke… and people turned into a fur ball. Those living blobs then carried by people which seems to have the role of Red Cross.
“What the heck…?”
To his surprise, two maiden launched themselves from a platform, at such velocity that normally it would be lethal. He grimaced and thought if they use body strengthening technique or superhuman to begin with, and he’s not a stranger to both case, though the former is more common.
Jousting spear and broad sword clashed in the sky… caught everyone watching in awe. Even though both of them steadily falling, that don’t stop them to try to attack each other, before finally landed hard on the ground, leaving a small crater in their wake.
The more he watched it, the more he’s convinced that they are indeed mages - or Knights for that matter. He and Zafira began to walk away from the shrine-like building, closer to the location of battle.
He began to cast [Iron Defense], a basic defensive spell which increase his body durability directly, like having a skin made of steel, and prepare to cast [Protection], a low level spherical semitransparent barrier. Likewise, Zafira did the same thing.
For unknown reason though, TSAB logo appear on the back of their hands. There’s nothing wrong with the Mid-childan formula appeared underneath his feet either, Zafira also retains Belkan Triangle, but he has that.
Strange, what happened with my magic system? Regardless of that…
He preloaded stronger defensive spells so he can cast it in case of normal protection is totally ineffective (which saying a lot, since both guys are notorious for their defense), and a semi transparent TSAB logo appears behind him. What the heck?? This is weird, ah, more than that.
“Scrya, RUN!” Zafira howled “Oh crap” he jumped off the platform and brace for impact.
“EMBLEM CANNON! LEVEL 3”
A pair of beam blast through the void sky and made a contact, resulting in a combined explosion engulfing grounds few decameters around. Such is the power of high level bombardment spell, Yuuno thought, like his best friend’s [Starlight Breaker] for example.
Of course, the run of the mill troops aren’t unsafe like him or Zafira, they all turned into fur balls like others who are injured normally.
I see… if they’re injured, they’ll turn into that. Remind me again of my defense mechanism
However, his survival from the onslaught caught attention of the two outstanding mage/knight, both are female and seems to be slightly older than him. Their expression is screaming surprise, to be exact, but soon, that expression worn off and replaced by excitement.
“A HERO?”
“It’s not a mistake…” one of them grin “It’s a hero!”
Yuuno is not the type that acts stupidly, but regardless, he pointed himself with a questioning look on his face.
“HAI~!”
“… EEEEH?”
Soon, the crowd began to chant and whisper about “hero” and the like, slowly but surely, the murmur replaced by ear-deafening cheer.
“Waaaait a minute, I don’t understand!” Yuuno freaked out in response “I’m not a hero! What’s that supposed to mean?”
Zafira simply dumbfounded, but not because he and Alph is being ignored.
It’s because as far as he can see, they all have ears and tails like him!
“We don’t exactly understand either, but you have strange ears and no tail, that’s the sign of a hero!”
Yuuno stiffened in response, his heart began to calm and his logic work once again. He now realized that all of them have animalistic features typically spotted on a familiar like Alph or Zafira.
Yuuno feel an aneurism realizing that half of those people has ferret characteristic, such as the spear-wielding blond maiden. On the other hand, the red-headed, blade carrying girl and her comrades has the feature of a Minx. Not easy to distinguish them since they are mostly humanoid anyway.
“[Ooooh~! How unexpected! A Hero appeared in the middle of battle!]” A holographic cubical projection appeared in the sky, showing someone that Yuuno recognized as a commentator or something along that line.
… No matter how you look at it, this is not really a war… calm down a little.
He sighed and finally managed to regain his composure. He draws a soft smile and bow his head a little before flip away “Well, I don’t think it’s proper for me to barge in like that, please excuse me”
“Wait a minute” the two female fighters/mages caught him on both of his shoulder and deliver a threatening smile, he stiffened again in response, fearing his safety. Running away would be rude alright…
“Moreover than that…” Zafira nodded at the direction of Alph, Yuuno is worried himself.
“Pardon me for my insolence, milady; can I at least wait outside until this battle end? I sincerely don’t want to be a bother, also, my friend here probably injured” He could keep his expression cool at least, and they seem to be satisfied with that “Then please go to the paramedic there”
He watched from the top of a tower, where the commentators do their job. Indeed, they give commentaries regarding the battle, whether it’s the progress or action of individuals.
Yuuno is not a man of war, but he could see that they use rudimentary strategy rather than randomly moving like before. It was possible that the initial rush is done on purpose, or maybe it’s a blunder due to chaotic situation than anything else.
He went to see the condition of the familiar, the paramedics there claim some sort of fatigue, but they can’t exactly confirm it. Makes sense, Alph is not living in conventional sense.
“…Oh crap, Zafira”
“Yes, I know” Zafira unceremoniously replied, even though his expression said otherwise. Being the only one he can closely relate with aside from the Wolkenritters -the fellow guardian of their Mistress Hayate Yagami- they are on a close terms, at least by Zafira’s own standard.
Both he and Alph are magical construct, or rather, magically resurrected animals. However, the difference between him, a Guardian Beast, and Alph, which is a Familiar, is that he has his own independent linker core.
While for normal living things Linker core is mostly secondary power source and for majority, is negligible, for them it’s the equivalent of a heart. For them, Mana, which is gathered by the Linker Cores, are the source of life.
Alph has been severed from the provider of her mana, Fate Testarssa Harlaown. And now, she’s in the least mana-consumptive form, a puppy, to sustain her life. Zafira told Yuuno that it’ll take 3-4 days until her mana depleted to dangerous level, and right now she’s mostly unconscious from the sudden shock due to the lack of mana transfer.
“That said, we can link her to our core. Won’t be as plenty as what Fate can provide, since she’s both more powerful than us and is the original master, but Alph won’t complain… aside from the fact that I screw up big time”
“……. Then I’ll do it” Zafira said “If Hayate-sama is here, she will be the one to do it”
“Are you sure?” Yuuno asked questioningly, confused with the sudden change of attitude.
To which Zafira simply replied: “I have higher output and reserve than you are” It’s an excuse that Yuuno can’t deny.
After one gratifyingly exhausting sealing ritual (which normally is simple but taking time), they managed to accomplish it. On Zafira and Alph’s back, there’s a small tattoo the size of human palm, a complex combination of Belkan triangle and Mid-Childan circle.
Alph woke up, feeling her head dizzy. Supposedly, that would be similar to how an anemic person will feel. The first thing, or rather, first person she saw is Zafira, next to him is Yuuno.
“Ung, when is the lunch”
One can really see Zafira broke his stoic mask and growled “…Are you for real? You’re almost dead and all you think is taste buds?”
“Hey Yuuno, could I punch you?”
“… Go ahead”
And thus Yuuno was really punched away, breaking through several tents and ended up floating on a lake, unconscious. Thanks to iron Defense, he was unhurt, but no way he didn’t traumatized by that.
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Finally, the battle is coming to an end; the announcer gave a signal and loudly screamed “Finally, this is the very moment you’re waiting for! Let’s count”
Sound of celebration drum echoed throughout the area, the cheer from the spectator area doesn’t seem to be put of with that. The excitement, the happiness clearly drawn in their facial expression, hammers the fact to Yuuno that this battle is not really about hostilities.
The scoreboard shown some numbers, it’s either kill count or overall points gained during battle. Now that he realized, this is not a war, this is a friggin organized event!
“[AND THE WINNER IS PATISSERIE ALLIANCE!]”
The roar is even louder than before, especially from the Ferret-side, that even Yuuno feel moved. Clearly, they love doing this and seem like doing this all the time, if he had to guess, it’s for the country prestige and showing off military power.
Alph don’t know either, but she just cheer along with the flow.
“Too bad for Principality of Andouilette, regardless, today’s war is really intense”
“Sigh, it’s not my lucky day” the Mink swordswoman sighed “Tia, you won this round I guess”
“Thank you, Anty~” the blond ferret knight replied with a wide grin as she put aside her jousting spear and they shook hands “If our war went like this, challenging Pastillage is no longer a dream”
“It’s not like Pastillage is experienced either… though I admit, we’re too short on manpower to challenge them individually”
With two attractive but strong maiden looking at him with intense gaze, Yuuno couldn’t feel nothing but feel threatened.
“[And now, let’s ask the Hero who just arrived here!]” The announcer quickly approached Yuuno “[Ah, before that we might need to introduce ourselves, you’re Highness, pretty please!]”
The swordswoman waste no time but bowed at him with one arm gave him a welcome gesture, her curly reddish brown hair swirl fiercely yet elegantly along her elaborate leather armor “My name is Antoinette, the Prince of Andouilette”
Yuuno wanted to ask because clearly this Prince is a female, but maybe that’s how the title works, since come female ruler, such as in Ancient times, has the title of King or Kaiser.
“I am representative of Pattiserie Alliance, from House of Parfait, Tiara Au Parfait” The blond ferret lady kneeled a little while raising the tip of her battle dress.
From the sound of it, the Alliance is composed of several Noble Houses, each with their own territories but is unified for certain aspect. For him that has to deal with various cultures, it’s a child’s play to figure.
Yuuno figures that since he was introducing himself to nobles and their people, he might as well deliver some courtesy even if he might fail at it. He put a right fist in his left palm and lowered his head “My name is Yuuno Scrya, though I’m mystified regarding the reason of my arrival here, it’s an honor to meet not one, but two beautiful maiden in my wake” he finished his introduction with a radiant smile.
(No thanks to Chrono for teaching him some cheap-ass pick-up lines.)
“Here are my friends”
“……Zafira Yagami”
“I am Alph Testarossa Harlown”
“And I’m here as the main host of this war-game, Louise Camembert, I hereby said, Welcome to Flognarde, Lady Scrya”
And here goes the scream again.
“Uh, Sir Scrya would be the correct term”
The crowd instantly went into total silence.
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Yuuno don’t know the reason, but he was quickly dragged by several people. Not quite understand their intention, he simply release himself and tried to run, it’s kind of late to introduce themselves as palace butlers and they’re tasked to take care of him.
“Ah, forgive me then, but I’m still unaccustomed to this kind of activity”
“We’re the one at fault, honorable Hero, I, as the head of the Butler corps of Parfait Family, truly ashamed”
“No, I was the one that should be ashamed; a stranger stranded in someone’s land and yet received such kindness from her Majesty”
“Even if you are, you are a hero, an imposing figure almost on par with country leaders themselves”
“…… well, Sir”
“Please call me Quiche” the old butler smiled gently, made Yuuno feel truly eased.
“The way I’m called, a Hero, I still haven’t any grasps to its meaning, so please explain that”
“Ah, excuse me if this sound rude but, I can offer you more suitable attire”
Silence, Yuuno now realize that he’s wearing a field boot, and long T-shirt, definitely not the most polite dress ever. Of course, Zafira’s blue ‘tracksuit’ and Alph’s jacket is not much better, simply because they had friggin metal greaves.
Zafira is frowned at the suggestion, and flat out rejected it. Yuuno just sighed at his response.
Zafira treasure his loyalty to Hayate, and him wearing his barrier jacket shown his pride, weather or appearance be damned.
Of course, that assuming Hayate tell him NOT to use it, and then he won’t use it. Alph managed to convince him that Hayate would do just that, Yuuno is tempted to give a jab about his priority, but that would be hypocritical.
Finally, all of them are settled with very simple suit with corresponding color. Green for Yuuno, Blue for Zafira, and Tan for Alph, though she also wore a miniskirt.
After a short session of grooming, they’re gathered in the top of palace. Quiche began to describe the answer to Yuuno’s early question.
A hero is an entity summoned to Flognarde in the dire of need; many records had shown that such event does not happen just once or twice. A hero is indeed a powerful figure, not only has the strength to protect themselves and people around them but also moved the hearts of other, turning it into collective effort that send away suffering and disaster.
Summoning a hero is a valid tactic in war as well, but the risk is sometimes not worth, particularly for the heroes themselves. Since these days, war, while important and affect everything, is part of daily occasion and is far from threatening.
“So you can say that I’m summoned here, though accidentally, as a Hero”
“Correct, until recently, there’s no clear information but now… well, please look at this”
It’s a photo, photo of a boy around Yuuno’s age. He was blond and having clear pair of blue eyes, indeed, from a single glance, Yuuno can feel overwhelming charisma.
“This is the hero of Biscotti Republic, Sir Cinque Izumi”
[I]Izumi, sounds like Japanese name. But it might be simply coincidence unless…/I]
Unless this guy is what caused the magic sensor to bleep, particularly, the teleportation spell used to summon him here.
Does that mean Yuuno can use his teleport as well? He might not know his current position, but he KNEW the dimensional coordinate of Earth. Assuming this world and Earth share the same timeline, there should be no problem… at least, by theory
Alph seems to be having similar conclusion, but Zafira said otherwise. Of course, Yuuno also thinks it’s stupid to experiment with Teleport, they might’ve put into even greater danger than before.
“With three other heroes appears after his arrival we could recognize their common appearance. They don’t have tails like us, and they have hairless ears on the side of their head” Quiche pointed his own fluffy ferret ears “Just like you are, Honorable Hero”
“Please call me Scrya, or Yuuno if you want, Sir Quiche”
“If that’s your wish, so be it, Sir Scrya. It’s seems that you and your friends are summoned accidentally by the Old Shrine in the City of Memories”
“City of Memories?”
“The ruined remnants of the civilization you see in the battlefield” Quiche explained “Long ago, it was capital of a large, prosperous country, following its destruction, this country split into several parts, amongst those parts are Pattiserie and Andouilette”
“I see…”
“We are small country reborn from the ashes of the glorious past, if you wish for the knowledge to return to your own world, I suggest you go to Duchy of Pastillage or Republic or Biscotti, they are well versed in terms of magic and scientific knowledge compared to us”
“Your Majesty” Quiche quickly bow on Tiara’s arrival, who just nod on the chair facing Yuuno. “It would be good if we have some tea while having a little chat, and if Antoinette-sama arrives, please tell her to join us”
The old butler nod and left.
“Is that the name of a neighboring country of sort?” Alph asked.
“Indeed, if we head west past the forest area, well arrive in Duchy of Pastillage”
Tiara’s hair, which is braided back then in the battlefield, was left untouched as of now, its silky texture and beautiful golden color entranced Yuuno for a bit, even though both of them share exact hair tone (not full blond but more like strawberry blond). She is wearing a knee-length green dress with white trimming; it looks casual but not losing the sense of royalty, Yuuno noted.
Yuuno glad that he accept the offering of having to cleaned himself, else he will feel like crap in front of such beauty.
“I can arrange something with the Candidate Duchess, Couvert from the House of Eschenbach-”
If there’s a pin falling, they might’ve heard it, only three second after that Yuuno able to react without broke his expression “I hereby flattered by your offer, Milady, that much… I feel I don’t deserve such kindness”
“N-no, it’s great if we can help. At any rate, it’s because our ancestor’s mistake, we will sought anything if we could fix that”
Yuuno can hold it longer; those people are way too trusting and naïve. He could be a pretending criminal and it would work in his behalf! This is dangerous! They’re staking international business here! If Chrono was here, he would have a field day talking about it behind their back.
Let’s see using their logic then, IF he was indeed a criminal, he will stand out like no one else because he has no tails and no furry ears. Flimsy excuse, but that will be enough for now.
Even then, the tension increased as the silence continues for a good few minutes, until the other princess is arrived.
“If you are worried about feeling overwhelmed I have a suggestion”
“Annie, please be polite”
“Sorry, sorry” the redheaded princess waved her hands casually as she join them circling the table “What I mean is, if you fought as our Hero, then political arrangement is merely trivial things rather than something unbelievable”
In short, nepotism. Yuuno feel an aneurism again, he already experience as much in the case of his employment in TSAB.
“But Annie, we agreed that we will challenge Duchy on our own strength right?!”
“Demon King Valerio Calvados, as well as King of Heroes Adel Gran Mariner, both of them is affiliated with the Duchy of Pastillage now, it’s quite possibly that they’ll join the future battles as well. With their presence alone and their new Hero, Lady Anderson, their military power has been increased magnificently”
“EEEEEHH?! But aren’t their existence merely a folk story?!”
“No longer a legend I’d say, I just receive some news about it moments ago” Antoinette deliver a wry smile, frightened herself “A hero is equal one hundred Warriors: that much almost everyone knew and accepted as a fact. Now, we’re talking about King of Heroes, possibly the strongest Hero ever existed, and his Archenemy the Demon King, who are just as powerful. Can you imagine what happen if we fought them with our own forces as of now? We will be annihilated in less than an hour or two”
“Milady, here the tea as you requested”
“Thank you very much, Quiche. You’re dismissed” Tiara was caught in a deep thought, not only Yuuno was unwillingly summoned here, but now he has to participate as actual Hero. Normally, anyone will refuse. And even in the case that he really has no choice but to do it so he could return; she will feel bad about the whole deal.
Alph and Zafira share a glance, “… You want to participate?”
“I don’t know, it would be bad if I went loose and…” she knew that now she’s borrowing his power, taking Fate’s is bad enough.
“…”
“In short, assuming the coalition force of Patisserie and Andouilette can perform well in the future war game against larger countries, they might be recognized more and thus gaining political power as well” Yuuno muttered.
Showing a hint of sadness in her voice, Antoinette nodded “Our distant relative across the city of memories, we hope that we could unite once again, or at least create a new bond. Our voice can’t reach them by this point, and so, we have to prove ourselves”
“…then it’s up to your choice, Scrya”
“Why me?”
“You are the one they sought for, but we’re put into the same circumstances. I knew you’re proud of your teleportation skill but I also know you don’t want to repeat yet another mistake”
“…even after the stupid things I did?”
“Yeah, I have no choice but to trust you; I’ll punch you twice if you screw up again” Alph assured.
Yuuno smiled.
“A hero, it’s a extravagant title for someone like me but it’d be foolish to refuse” Yuuno clasped his hand “I don’t know how much I can contribute, however, if I could be some use, then I’m honored”
Tiara’s eyes widened and Antoinette’s lips spread widely, and they ask harmoniously “Are you serious?!”
“As a man that sought knowledge, it’s a waste for me not utilize my abilities to gain more of them. It’s a great privilege to serve you, Lady Parfait and Lady Andouilette”
“Besides, comrades of mine, both are stronger and more experienced than I am when it comes to battle” Yuuno honestly said, there’s no need to explain that three of them sorta involved in fighting an abomination capable of crushing an universe after all “They’re also has fighting spirit that I lacked”
Tiara’s face darkened, she’s trembling and gripping the table tightly. Yuuno wonder what’s wrong but kept silent “Excuse for a bit”
“Won’t stop you, Tia” Antoinette replied with a hint of humor in her otherwise calm voice.
As soon as she stood up, Tia began to jump left and right and squeal madly, as if she’s entranced with a dangerous drug or something equivalent. If it wasn’t Yuuno, one might be freaked out by the display.
“Weasel War Dance eh… I’m not a stranger to that” Yuuno chuckled a little, Antoinette raised eyebrow on that statement, Alph simply burst into manic laughter. Four of them continue to watch the excited princess as they enjoy the tasty aromatic tea. Yuuno couldn’t remember if he ever tasted better.
“Do you like it? The tea is indigenous to Biscotti and is considered luxury overseas”
No wonder it’s so delicious. Yuuno wonder if he could brings some home for Nanoha and Harlaown family. Lindy-san will be especially pleased.
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The night has come, Alph stood up on the top of palace roof, in puppy form. She looked at the binary moon (that has a belt circling both) and multicolored sky. This world is really strange indeed, but with the existence of physic bending magic, it’s not inherently impossible anymore.
In Mid Childa, they can see another world since mid Childa itself is a planet fragment floating in the rift of timespace.
Even though it’s just short of a day, Alph feel a nostalgic feeling in her heart. Strange, maybe it’s the lack of link between her and her beloved master, Fate.
“Where is Scrya?”
“Killing himself by over exhaustion and then bury himself in a mountain of books, as expected”
Zafira don’t know if Alph was serious or joking, from what he heard form his mistress, it’s has some truth in it.
However, Yuuno was indeed guilty about what happened. Sometimes, he’s so passionate about his job that he acted like immature child about it. It was miracle that he didn’t get himself killed.
“You know, seeing this all made me missed Home for some reason, and yet feel some sense of comfort I never get, neither in Mid Childa nor Earth. Maybe it’s because the atmosphere - or maybe it’s the protection magic mentioned by Sir Quiche”
Zafira, who is in his wolf form, gazes set across the landscape. He felt a pleasant sensation in his nose; it was because the air was rich of mana, so much power saturated in the air that any lesser magical entity will be set into drunken trance.
In fact, without the existence of that magic field, Alph will dissipate the very instant she severed from her master.
“Yes, I feel the same thing” Zafira lifted his paw and gathered small amount of concentrated mana, and let it dissipate slowly into light “In here, our power will be increased greatly”
Of course, he didn’t need to say that overuse of powerful magic will strain the Linker core at any rate. Plenty of water doesn’t mean the pump won’t break if pressed hard. That much, Alph know already.
And even Zafira that Alph sharing his linker core being too paranoid about it, he also respect her decision, after all, he use human form out of convenience, his most favorite is his wolf form.
“Hey, Zafira, back then when I was unconscious, why did you decide to share it with me rather than letting Yuuno do it”
“…When he and his friends met and saved Hayate-sama from the brink of oblivion, everything has changed bit by bit. The kind of dedication we put is not merely out of duty anymore, but for self-satisfaction as well.”
“Before I knew, my loyalty to her has extend to the people she deemed precious and irreplaceable. As such, I won’t hesitate to protect them, that includes you”
If Alph was in her humanoid form, her skin would be visibly burning out of embarrassment. The seal engraved on her skin of her left shoulder blade, is a testament of Zafira keeping his pledge.
2012-08-14, 07:22
she can bomb my flak gun anytime 
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*mangatron runs off to Eclair and buries his face into her chest and gets pummeled* 
I kept this page open in my browser, and I find myself just staring aimlessly for an undisclosed number of minutes 
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