Zero no Tsukaima Novels Discussion Thread

[longshot]

so i've been wondering from what the forums tell so far ths story seems to have gotten more mysterious for me if anyone can summarize volume 17 on what the "sisters of dawn" mean it could help shed some light on my predicament

so far i take it it has to deal with the aftermath of losing one void user?? and to those who already stated their opinions about Saito heres mine

All balls nearly no brains i guess his teachers were right when they said he was a little slow in the head, hes a man of action no thoughts

[serenade_beta]

Originally Posted by longshot

anyone can summarize volume 17 on what the "sisters of dawn" mean it could help shed some light on my predicament

I haven't even started reading it... For some reason, can't get the motivation to read through the entire thing about the aftermath's of that not-so-great development near the end of 16...

[longshot]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

I haven't even started reading it... For some reason, can't get the motivation to read through the entire thing about the aftermath's of that not-so-great development near the end of 16...

thats understandable i suppose

[azziz]

Originally Posted by longshot

thats understandable i suppose

...but we still must count on you,right Serenade-dono?please?

[digger314]

Originally Posted by tsunade666

then what happen to derf? did they try to repair it? When I looked in the illustration of vol 17. I saw saito fighting someone and cuts it down. Then did he just used a simple sword?

Spoiler for intelligent sword:

still treated as dead as of vol 17 I'm afraid.

Originally Posted by tsunade666

hmm and hope someone enlighten us. Then again another question in the end of vol 16 ( I think ) Their is julio again plotting something with the pope tell a cute nun that she will be the next void. What happened after that?

Spoiler for vol 17 spoilers:

The nun turns out be Tabitha's twin sister who were sent there due to various circumstances. Julio takes out the real Tabitha and her familiar and inserts the fake one in her place. She announces alliance with Romania to everyone's shock. Tabitha's cousin realizes it and passes the information out and Gallia is close to civil war by end of the volume. The real Tabitha is sent to the island and I'm not sure what happened to the dragon.

Originally Posted by longshot

so i've been wondering from what the forums tell so far ths story seems to have gotten more mysterious for me if anyone can summarize volume 17 on what the "sisters of dawn" mean it could help shed some light on my predicament

so far i take it it has to deal with the aftermath of losing one void user?? and to those who already stated their opinions about Saito heres mine

All balls nearly no brains i guess his teachers were right when they said he was a little slow in the head, hes a man of action no thoughts

I think it's referring to the end of the volume where Louise is still dressed in her nun clothing and rays of dawn light falls on her.

Spoiler for spoilers:

while they are making up. actually that's a gross simplificatin.

[digger314]

finally read all the volumes. gotta say the comments in this thread almost discouraged me from reading past vol 8. it actually wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. the characters actually do grow, yes including Saito.

Spoiler for vol 16/17:

I think so far only the Henrietta encounters can be considered real betrayals that go beyond simple instinct and stupidity. But he is really put into his place in volume 17 (turns into a wreck and is saved by a recovered Louise). I don't think Saito is gonna be unfaithful again without undoing a lot of character development. And now that Louise has found her own purpose and confidence, she'll probably act less needy and less unreasonable when it comes to Saito.

Now with the nut job gone and all four void users accessible, looks like the main event will progress.

[fhxc885]

Wait so is still Josette still the candidate for the void and who is still this "janet" and what is her role in the story

[serenade_beta]

...Finished... (´∀｀)zzzzzzzzzzzz...

As always, if you want the full story (and a lot better told that I did), you will have to read it yourself. I tried to outline the parts that need focus, so walls of text that didn't matter in the long run (I think), etc. were cut. Also, the quality of the summarizing seems to waver depending on how I felt after reading the chapter...
Thinking back, it wasn't even that eventful of a volume...

Spoiler for Vol.17 Summary:

Satio’s Despair-

…..
………….
Ah… I remember what happened at the end of the previous volume now. Saito got attacked by two creepy siblings and lost Derf after he chased after Louise running away after she spotted him cheating with Henrietta.
Anyways…
Saito wakes up in bed. Siesta had found him after she got worried about him and brought him back. After remembering everything that had happened, he goes to look for what is left of Derf, but he finds nothing. He goes to Scarron’s Inn, and there is a slightly comedic moment where he and Jessica get fired up over him cheating with the Queen. Saito decides to mail everyone and ask if they had seen Louise. He goes to the Queen himself. She had received a mail from Louise asking her to remove her of her position and asks for an unlimited break.
Saito says he will look for her. It seems that it is likely Louise went to some church/sanctuary type of place. Henrietta asks him to find Louise before a meeting with Gallia.

Saito… Stop thinking about how beautiful and acting heart-struck over Henrietta throughout the chapter… I don’t want you to cheat and cause this whole development again…

…Dame da… I read Namaco as Namco…

--

Flight-

Louise is wondering around, thinking of going somewhere where she wouldn’t meet anyone that knew her. She left her horse, so she’s walking now.
So begins Louise’s adventure~
First she stopped at a really broken down place. Louise, already in a rather… bad condition, spends her time drinking alcohol, but she thought that if she stayed there like the way she is, then rumors will fly and she will be found, so she leaves.
In the next inn, Louise (disguising with stuff she had once used during Tabitha’s rescue) gets into trouble with one of the men that was drinking. Of course, she was pretty drunk herself too… She really angers him and he drags her outside and was about to punch her when he was blown away by magic. A girl dressed in a dress and frills appears (see illustration) and scares him away. She invites Louise to drink with her, so they both go back into the bar. Louise gets interested in her and agrees to wait for her siblings to come in three days after she told her that she might know a place she would like to go to live by herself secretly…
By the way, while drunk and talking to the girl, named Janet, Louise’ rant on Henrietta was so right and funny.

--

Allies and Friends-

One week later, answers to the mail and the Undines began to arrive at the palace.
Guiche arrives and goes to the garden where he heard Saito was. Malicorne, Leinal, and Gimly were also staring at Saito, who had wrapped a white headband on his head and was seiza-sitting with logs around him. Siesta was sitting and looking at him too.

…*shakes head* Hah… For a moment, I tried to picturize the scene, but Siesta looked like Rola…

Anyways, then Saito does one of those things you see in movies. He cuts all of the blocks so fast, no one even saw his arm move.
After that, the boys went up to him and asked some questions over the attack on Saito. When they ask about if it has any relation to Louise’s disappearing, he ends up shutting up, so Siesta ends up answering for him…
She gets angry and grabs Saito’s neck when they asked why Louise ran away… Really, Saito, listen to her and only cheat with her. How many times do I need to tell you that…
Anyways, she doesn’t tell them the name of the person (of course) and Saito remains silent on it too.
As he is thanking them for coming, Tiffania appears. Then Colbert and… what was her name………….. Kirche! Right, and Kirche appears.
They start asking about who Saito cheated with.
Kirche thinks she might know who Saito cheated with and whispers to Colbert. Realizing what a bad thing Saito did, he calms down the guys who were asking and convinces them to focus on finding Louise first.

On Louise’s side, Louise and Janet is waiting for her siblings. Louise is just drinking and rambling on over Saito’s cheating. Faint --> Wakes up --> Rant --> Faint --> Janet pours water on her and she wakes up.
Anyways, some soldiers searching for Louise arrives, but they were told to search for a single girl with pink hair, so they didn’t suspect them and left.
Also, throughout this part, Janet talks about how she’s found a liking for Louise, etc. Kind of yuri, kind of just creepy/sadistic(?).

--

Sulpice-

Saito’s group split into three groups to search for Louise. Kirche to Colbert, Gimly and Leinal, and Saito-Siesta-Guiche-Malicorne-Tiffania. Henrietta wants him to come back in two weeks.
They departed for their search on the 8th morning after Louise left.
They managed to find the poor inn that Louise first visited and Saito managed to gain information that Louise had been there. They mail the other groups and head for Sulpice.
*insert long scene where Malicorne, Guiche, and Saito talk about woman, followed by Tiffania (and Siesta) scolding him. Followed by Saito getting depressed again*
Malicorne! How right you are! Just what is so good about that Louise!?
…Though you yourself have a S girlfriend. Fuh.

As it became morning, two men/boys riding horses appeared. Jack and Dodo, who have come searching for Janet, who was waiting for them. But Dodo forgot the exact name of the place she was staying at.

--

First Battle with Jack

The group split up. Siesta and Saito, and the rest. They went through the inns asking if Louise had been there, but no luck. At their fourth inn, after Saito asked and got a no, another group of guys rushed in and asked for a similar person. The barkeeper remarked on how Saito asked something similar, and when the guys turned and looked at Saito, both of them recognized each other. Saito tells Siesta to run to the others.
He turns to Dodo, but Dodo says he doesn’t want to fight today. The barkeeper tells them to do it somewhere else, so Saito tells Dodo to go outside with him, but Dodo hits him with an Air Hammer and runs off. Saito chases.

Dodo runs up to Jack and tells him about Saito. Jack prepares to attack Saito, but realizes that if he killed them, it’d be like working for free, which would be very problematic, so he tries to stop Saito, but Saito slices through all of his dirt golems, etc. Jack and Dodo run away.

Saito chases after them, but in the end, they manage to run away. Guiche and co. arrive. Saito is angry at himself for feeling thankful he did not have to fight the two, because he had been frightened to fight them (partly because Derf and Louise isn’t with him).

From her window, Janet had watched the fight. Realizing who Louise had run away from, she smiled…
And so, the two brothers finally reached the room Janet was in and was surprised to see Louise also there. It seems that Janet has, in the past, controlled the hearts of people (girls?) and turned them into “dolls”?
Anyways, Janet tells her brothers to tell Louise how to get to the convent they once brought a noble’s hidden child to (this… would be the girl that appeared at the end of the previous volume?). Dodo opposed, but Jack wrote a pass of sorts and gave it to Louise. Janet said she would take Louise there, and gave Jack a kiss on the cheek. She asks if Louise really wants to go there, because she will no longer be able to leave, and Louise says yes.

Saito leaves for Earth with a broken heart and Louise forever lived in the convent.
The end.
…
Which doesn’t happen, moving on…

--

Damian and Lord Gondoran (sp?)

Eleonore received a note to start researching on a magic device that could fire at any time. She was confused as to why they would have her research something like this (recently, there has been quite a bit of strange research --> previous volume’s magic potion, for instance). She goes to the head, Gondoran or whatever, to ask him why. After a rather rough encounter with secretary, she talks to him about the research, but she ends up retreating after he promised to get what she wanted (research material). After she left, a boy around 10 years old appeared from the shadows, calling Gondoran “Lord Grey”(?). They talk about money (Gondoran had to give), and when G asks the boy, Damian, why he wants so much money, he says he has a dream and smiles.

--

Nun Louise-

Louise gets to her destination. The priest Machis gives the two a suspicious look, but he changes his mind after he sees Jack’s note. He warns Louise that the place she is going to is filled with girls that, for some reason, had no other place to live, and to not ask investigate them. She is given an accessory that has a disguise magic (Face Change) casted on it, which changes the way she looked.
She bids farewell to Janet, who says she has a feeling they will meet again soon.

At the monastery, Louise went by Soeur Vanessa. She got to know Josette after Josette appeared to stop a few girls from asking Louise questions about Louise’s life. And for some reason, Josette gets attached to Louise.

…The rest of the chapter just has Louise getting along with the other girls, getting depressed again because she can’t forget Saito, getting cheered up(?)/lectured by Josette, and then it ends with her taking out her Founder’s Prayer Book and the book lighting up with a message that tells her that if a Void user dies, the power goes to someone else. It also shows her a spell…


Eh? Louise took the book with her? First time I heard that…

--

Josette’s Resolution-

Err… Well, that was quick… Louise’s involvement with the monastery…

The next day, Julio appears and takes Josette away from the place. In love with him and trusting him and all, she easily accepts. As suspicious and plotting as ever though, Julio.
Louise, seeing this, finally makes the decision to go back to her real life and stop running after half of the volume, takes the Ruby of Water and the Prayer Book and uses the magic that appeared last night, Teleport, and escapes the monastery.

So much for the place no one could return from… (-_-)

--

Two Staffs, One Crown-

Two days after Julio brought Josette out of the place…
Tabitha, the Romaria Prime Minister (that Isabella didn’t trust, despite, or rather because, of how well he did his job), Isabella, etc. looked up at the new palace that was built, prettier than before.
It seems that Isabella has come to love/like Tabitha and her mom. Her mom is also getting better now. And Tabitha has begun to show more expressions/emotions around her family.

When she gets to her room, we get a scene where she tries on dresses and thinks about Saito. Soon, she hears a knock on her window and when she takes a look, she sees a clone of her staring right back.

!!!
First time this volume brought me back from a monotone feeling…

Anyways, Julio comes in and knocks her out with a sleeping potion. He tells Josette, who had took off her pendant and ended up looking exactly like Tabitha, about how she is Tabitha’s twin sister and tells here to take her place and he will bring the real Tabitha back to the monastery. Then we get one of those moments, you know, that type of girls that will do anything for the person they love. She asks for a kiss and he gives it to her, asking her to be his woman.

The next morning, the Prime Minister arrived and asked Charlotte’s mom to apologize for what she did. She didn’t know what he was talking at first, but he explained it and then she started crying while she explained it/said they had no choice and that many twins died fighting each other over the thrown.

Sorry, not feeling it here…

Anyways, the Prime Minster tells Josette to come in and the two hug and cry over each other. The Prime Minister than reveals what happened to the real Tabitha and shows that there is nothing she could do about the situation, as she could not bear to send her daughter back to the monastery again either.

--

Chapter 10- Garden party to Celebrate the Enthronement

Henrietta arrived from her ship and began the long travel to the party. Saito, depressed that he couldn’t find Louise, is as depressed as ever. Even more depressed than before? Siesta and Colbert stayed behind, just in case Louise returned back there.
Then there is a scene where Agnes explains the results of her search on the people that attacked Saito.
Now now, Henrietta, I understand that you’re a bit ticked off that Louise is so selfish and didn’t think about what happens to you now that she ran away, but if you yourself… Nevermind, hahaha.

Troubling times for Henrietta… Trying to figure out if Charlotte (Gallia) plans to help Romaria with their crusade… The nobles in her own country trying to kill Saito… Louise running away and disappearing.
Everyone’s so selfish… <-- Her words, not mine

Henrietta walks to the garden with Saito and sits down and has a talk with him. Anyways, it pretty much results with him thinking about his reason to live and reason to stay in this world, which is Louise.

The party pretty much starts the next day.
When Tabitha (Josette ver.) appeared, a Detect Magic was cast to make sure she was the real person. After she passed that, everyone knew she was the real Tabitha. She announced to the crowd that Gallia would cooperate with Romalia’s crusade, which startles everyone. Henrietta seemed to have collapsed… Here, come to my room.

Putting that aside, Saito lines up to talk to Tabitha. When he finally gets there, he tries to ask her questions on this decision to cooperate with Romaria, but both the prime minster of Romaria and Tabitha wouldn’t really answer him. Guiche has to drag him away from her.

--

Bond-

At night, Saito was called into Henrietta’s room. She had finally recovered enough from the shock to speak, it seems. She asks what happened when Saito went to talk to Tabitha.
Then someone taps their windows. A girl calling herself “Underground Water” brings out a letter that was from her master, telling Henrietta that the current Tabitha was not the real Tabitha and asks for a messenger from her side. Saito and Reinal decide to follow UW.
UW brings her to her master. It turns out to be Isabella, who has realized that the current Tabitha isn’t the real Tabitha, but is trying to make sure know one knows she knows Tabitha is fake, She asks Saito and co. to make sure not to let the enemy know they know either.
As they left outside, Jack appeared. He had just passed by and thought about going to the old hidden base of his knight squad and conveniently met up with Saito, his target. With the price on his head finally set (Damian and the Lord, I guess), Jack decides to kill Saito. Saito was losing, but as he screams for Louise, she suddenly appears with her Teleport. Together, they fight.
*insert stuff about a bond of destiny, yaddayadda*
Jack uses up all of his power on one final magic, but Louise dispels the entire thing. With all of this magic used up, he collapses.

I’m surprised no one noticed the fight. It should have been loud, in various meanings.

--

Epilogue-

Henrietta-Saito and Louise inform each other on what they know.
Henrietta and Louise gets into a fight.
Louise and Saito makes up. They kiss.

The end.

Tune in to find out when Saito cheats next~

Spoiler for A few other thoughts:

It was an okay volume. To be honest, I read most of it in monotone, because there wasn't really many exciting moments. Most of it was just, for the x amount of time, just Louise and Saito (mainly Louise) thinking about how precious the other person was.
The part with Josette taking Tabitha's place was interesting though, as was the other stuff that involved Romaria's evil schemes.

The illustrations weren't that exciting either...

Also, the boss fight at the end was a bit... Meh. Doesn't help the whole destiny thing that Louise thought about and stuff brought up more "Saito won't go home" flags...
The magic boost the potion gives the siblings feels kind of vague... Dodo uses it and can somehow create a magic enough to shatter Derf, but Jack, who is supposed to be stronger than him, doesn't pose much of a threat and quickly faints.

Also, is it just me, or do I feel the entire Saito cheating on Henrietta incident wasn't really cleared up? H and L got into a fight, Saito goes on about how great Louise is (not denying Henrietta's attractiveness), and then it ends with them kissing.

Anyways, I guess the next volume will focus more on the Romaria story now? I'm sure most people hope something like this and the previous volume happens again...
3 siblings still out on the loose, too, so we have to solve that part too...
I just hope it gets more exciting... Haa, Siesta will be out again for a few volumes, at this rate...

New characters weren't that impressive either. Josette was just one of those girls that will do anything for the person they love, and doesn't really have her own will, doing what she is told. The siblings' don't have noticeable personalities either. At the most, only Janet has a personality, being creepy all the time.

The Pope didn't get any lines this volume, hurrah~ Don't ever come out again.

Henrietta's rather... amusing attitude towards what she did was pretty funny. It left me chuckling, points with me. Though I think it just gives more reason for people that hate her to hate her...?

[tsunade666]

Thank you very much for the summary serenade dono

Spoiler:

Julio is a real sucker and the romalia proves to be the best schemer ( beat jose)
The twin of tabitha is really dumb but can't blame her. Julio is made to attract girls from his first appearance. And his a real player ( Kinda like saito but better )
Its kinda bores me. This volume because of all louise chatter box and saito's depression.
As for the next volume I'm hoping a more action pack. But the teleport really sucks and doesn't fit her. I mean she's more attack type right? its fits more on the pope.

[digger314]

Spoiler for vol 17 spoilers:

Also, the boss fight at the end was a bit... Meh. Doesn't help the whole destiny thing that Louise thought about and stuff brought up more "Saito won't go home" flags...
The magic boost the potion gives the siblings feels kind of vague... Dodo uses it and can somehow create a magic enough to shatter Derf, but Jack, who is supposed to be stronger than him, doesn't pose much of a threat and quickly faints.

Well he's up against a very pissed off void user

Also, is it just me, or do I feel the entire Saito cheating on Henrietta incident wasn't really cleared up? H and L got into a fight, Saito goes on about how great Louise is (not denying Henrietta's attractiveness), and then it ends with them kissing.

I don't think it's over yet. No way Louise would forgive him that easily (even though she thinks she will). They kiss because they still have feelings for each other, but that's not the same as forgiving him for what he did.

But the teleport really sucks and doesn't fit her. I mean she's more attack type right? its fits more on the pope.

Well it's what she needed. Everything happens for a purpose in this series. You are right though it fits more on the pope.

I wonder what the hell the siblings are planning. They are acquiring some powerful stuff. The continuous transmutation device sounds especially suspicious. Josette's lack of personality is understandable considering where she grew up.

As for who Saito will cheat with next... I really think the author is done with that crap. It has never been made more clear to Saito how important Louise is to him and why he thinks that way. This time he shows real remorse. I think the purpose of this whole episode is to create the separation that gives Saito that realization, and forces Louise to find strength in herself rather than depending on Saito all the time, so she becomes a credible void mage for the upcoming conflicts. Little action but significant character development imo. If something similar happens again, it will irredeemably ruin Saito's character and his relationship with Louise (which, whether you like it or not is central to the series). Yes he is perverted and has trouble controlling his lust, but so far he's actually an upstanding guy.

[fhxc885]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

...Finished... (´∀｀)zzzzzzzzzzzz...

As always, if you want the full story (and a lot better told that I did), you will have to read it yourself. I tried to outline the parts that need focus, so walls of text that didn't matter in the long run (I think), etc. were cut. Also, the quality of the summarizing seems to waver depending on how I felt after reading the chapter...
Thinking back, it wasn't even that eventful of a volume...

Spoiler for Vol.17 Summary:

Satio’s Despair-

…..
………….
Ah… I remember what happened at the end of the previous volume now. Saito got attacked by two creepy siblings and lost Derf after he chased after Louise running away after she spotted him cheating with Henrietta.
Anyways…
Saito wakes up in bed. Siesta had found him after she got worried about him and brought him back. After remembering everything that had happened, he goes to look for what is left of Derf, but he finds nothing. He goes to Scarron’s Inn, and there is a slightly comedic moment where he and Jessica get fired up over him cheating with the Queen. Saito decides to mail everyone and ask if they had seen Louise. He goes to the Queen himself. She had received a mail from Louise asking her to remove her of her position and asks for an unlimited break.
Saito says he will look for her. It seems that it is likely Louise went to some church/sanctuary type of place. Henrietta asks him to find Louise before a meeting with Gallia.

Saito… Stop thinking about how beautiful and acting heart-struck over Henrietta throughout the chapter… I don’t want you to cheat and cause this whole development again…

…Dame da… I read Namaco as Namco…

--

Flight-

Louise is wondering around, thinking of going somewhere where she wouldn’t meet anyone that knew her. She left her horse, so she’s walking now.
So begins Louise’s adventure~
First she stopped at a really broken down place. Louise, already in a rather… bad condition, spends her time drinking alcohol, but she thought that if she stayed there like the way she is, then rumors will fly and she will be found, so she leaves.
In the next inn, Louise (disguising with stuff she had once used during Tabitha’s rescue) gets into trouble with one of the men that was drinking. Of course, she was pretty drunk herself too… She really angers him and he drags her outside and was about to punch her when he was blown away by magic. A girl dressed in a dress and frills appears (see illustration) and scares him away. She invites Louise to drink with her, so they both go back into the bar. Louise gets interested in her and agrees to wait for her siblings to come in three days after she told her that she might know a place she would like to go to live by herself secretly…
By the way, while drunk and talking to the girl, named Janet, Louise’ rant on Henrietta was so right and funny.

--

Allies and Friends-

One week later, answers to the mail and the Undines began to arrive at the palace.
Guiche arrives and goes to the garden where he heard Saito was. Malicorne, Leinal, and Gimly were also staring at Saito, who had wrapped a white headband on his head and was seiza-sitting with logs around him. Siesta was sitting and looking at him too.

…*shakes head* Hah… For a moment, I tried to picturize the scene, but Siesta looked like Rola…

Anyways, then Saito does one of those things you see in movies. He cuts all of the blocks so fast, no one even saw his arm move.
After that, the boys went up to him and asked some questions over the attack on Saito. When they ask about if it has any relation to Louise’s disappearing, he ends up shutting up, so Siesta ends up answering for him…
She gets angry and grabs Saito’s neck when they asked why Louise ran away… Really, Saito, listen to her and only cheat with her. How many times do I need to tell you that…
Anyways, she doesn’t tell them the name of the person (of course) and Saito remains silent on it too.
As he is thanking them for coming, Tiffania appears. Then Colbert and… what was her name………….. Kirche! Right, and Kirche appears.
They start asking about who Saito cheated with.
Kirche thinks she might know who Saito cheated with and whispers to Colbert. Realizing what a bad thing Saito did, he calms down the guys who were asking and convinces them to focus on finding Louise first.

On Louise’s side, Louise and Janet is waiting for her siblings. Louise is just drinking and rambling on over Saito’s cheating. Faint --> Wakes up --> Rant --> Faint --> Janet pours water on her and she wakes up.
Anyways, some soldiers searching for Louise arrives, but they were told to search for a single girl with pink hair, so they didn’t suspect them and left.
Also, throughout this part, Janet talks about how she’s found a liking for Louise, etc. Kind of yuri, kind of just creepy/sadistic(?).

--

Sulpice-

Saito’s group split into three groups to search for Louise. Kirche to Colbert, Gimly and Leinal, and Saito-Siesta-Guiche-Malicorne-Tiffania. Henrietta wants him to come back in two weeks.
They departed for their search on the 8th morning after Louise left.
They managed to find the poor inn that Louise first visited and Saito managed to gain information that Louise had been there. They mail the other groups and head for Sulpice.
*insert long scene where Malicorne, Guiche, and Saito talk about woman, followed by Tiffania (and Siesta) scolding him. Followed by Saito getting depressed again*
Malicorne! How right you are! Just what is so good about that Louise!?
…Though you yourself have a S girlfriend. Fuh.

As it became morning, two men/boys riding horses appeared. Jack and Dodo, who have come searching for Janet, who was waiting for them. But Dodo forgot the exact name of the place she was staying at.

--

First Battle with Jack

The group split up. Siesta and Saito, and the rest. They went through the inns asking if Louise had been there, but no luck. At their fourth inn, after Saito asked and got a no, another group of guys rushed in and asked for a similar person. The barkeeper remarked on how Saito asked something similar, and when the guys turned and looked at Saito, both of them recognized each other. Saito tells Siesta to run to the others.
He turns to Dodo, but Dodo says he doesn’t want to fight today. The barkeeper tells them to do it somewhere else, so Saito tells Dodo to go outside with him, but Dodo hits him with an Air Hammer and runs off. Saito chases.

Dodo runs up to Jack and tells him about Saito. Jack prepares to attack Saito, but realizes that if he killed them, it’d be like working for free, which would be very problematic, so he tries to stop Saito, but Saito slices through all of his dirt golems, etc. Jack and Dodo run away.

Saito chases after them, but in the end, they manage to run away. Guiche and co. arrive. Saito is angry at himself for feeling thankful he did not have to fight the two, because he had been frightened to fight them (partly because Derf and Louise isn’t with him).

From her window, Janet had watched the fight. Realizing who Louise had run away from, she smiled…
And so, the two brothers finally reached the room Janet was in and was surprised to see Louise also there. It seems that Janet has, in the past, controlled the hearts of people (girls?) and turned them into “dolls”?
Anyways, Janet tells her brothers to tell Louise how to get to the convent they once brought a noble’s hidden child to (this… would be the girl that appeared at the end of the previous volume?). Dodo opposed, but Jack wrote a pass of sorts and gave it to Louise. Janet said she would take Louise there, and gave Jack a kiss on the cheek. She asks if Louise really wants to go there, because she will no longer be able to leave, and Louise says yes.

Saito leaves for Earth with a broken heart and Louise forever lived in the convent.
The end.
…
Which doesn’t happen, moving on…

--

Damian and Lord Gondoran (sp?)

Eleonore received a note to start researching on a magic device that could fire at any time. She was confused as to why they would have her research something like this (recently, there has been quite a bit of strange research --> previous volume’s magic potion, for instance). She goes to the head, Gondoran or whatever, to ask him why. After a rather rough encounter with secretary, she talks to him about the research, but she ends up retreating after he promised to get what she wanted (research material). After she left, a boy around 10 years old appeared from the shadows, calling Gondoran “Lord Grey”(?). They talk about money (Gondoran had to give), and when G asks the boy, Damian, why he wants so much money, he says he has a dream and smiles.

--

Nun Louise-

Louise gets to her destination. The priest Machis gives the two a suspicious look, but he changes his mind after he sees Jack’s note. He warns Louise that the place she is going to is filled with girls that, for some reason, had no other place to live, and to not ask investigate them. She is given an accessory that has a disguise magic (Face Change) casted on it, which changes the way she looked.
She bids farewell to Janet, who says she has a feeling they will meet again soon.

At the monastery, Louise went by Soeur Vanessa. She got to know Josette after Josette appeared to stop a few girls from asking Louise questions about Louise’s life. And for some reason, Josette gets attached to Louise.

…The rest of the chapter just has Louise getting along with the other girls, getting depressed again because she can’t forget Saito, getting cheered up(?)/lectured by Josette, and then it ends with her taking out her Founder’s Prayer Book and the book lighting up with a message that tells her that if a Void user dies, the power goes to someone else. It also shows her a spell…


Eh? Louise took the book with her? First time I heard that…

--

Josette’s Resolution-

Err… Well, that was quick… Louise’s involvement with the monastery…

The next day, Julio appears and takes Josette away from the place. In love with him and trusting him and all, she easily accepts. As suspicious and plotting as ever though, Julio.
Louise, seeing this, finally makes the decision to go back to her real life and stop running after half of the volume, takes the Ruby of Water and the Prayer Book and uses the magic that appeared last night, Teleport, and escapes the monastery.

So much for the place no one could return from… (-_-)

--

Two Staffs, One Crown-

Two days after Julio brought Josette out of the place…
Tabitha, the Romaria Prime Minister (that Isabella didn’t trust, despite, or rather because, of how well he did his job), Isabella, etc. looked up at the new palace that was built, prettier than before.
It seems that Isabella has come to love/like Tabitha and her mom. Her mom is also getting better now. And Tabitha has begun to show more expressions/emotions around her family.

When she gets to her room, we get a scene where she tries on dresses and thinks about Saito. Soon, she hears a knock on her window and when she takes a look, she sees a clone of her staring right back.

!!!
First time this volume brought me back from a monotone feeling…

Anyways, Julio comes in and knocks her out with a sleeping potion. He tells Josette, who had took off her pendant and ended up looking exactly like Tabitha, about how she is Tabitha’s twin sister and tells here to take her place and he will bring the real Tabitha back to the monastery. Then we get one of those moments, you know, that type of girls that will do anything for the person they love. She asks for a kiss and he gives it to her, asking her to be his woman.

The next morning, the Prime Minister arrived and asked Charlotte’s mom to apologize for what she did. She didn’t know what he was talking at first, but he explained it and then she started crying while she explained it/said they had no choice and that many twins died fighting each other over the thrown.

Sorry, not feeling it here…

Anyways, the Prime Minster tells Josette to come in and the two hug and cry over each other. The Prime Minister than reveals what happened to the real Tabitha and shows that there is nothing she could do about the situation, as she could not bear to send her daughter back to the monastery again either.

--

Chapter 10- Garden party to Celebrate the Enthronement

Henrietta arrived from her ship and began the long travel to the party. Saito, depressed that he couldn’t find Louise, is as depressed as ever. Even more depressed than before? Siesta and Colbert stayed behind, just in case Louise returned back there.
Then there is a scene where Agnes explains the results of her search on the people that attacked Saito.
Now now, Henrietta, I understand that you’re a bit ticked off that Louise is so selfish and didn’t think about what happens to you now that she ran away, but if you yourself… Nevermind, hahaha.

Troubling times for Henrietta… Trying to figure out if Charlotte (Gallia) plans to help Romaria with their crusade… The nobles in her own country trying to kill Saito… Louise running away and disappearing.
Everyone’s so selfish… <-- Her words, not mine

Henrietta walks to the garden with Saito and sits down and has a talk with him. Anyways, it pretty much results with him thinking about his reason to live and reason to stay in this world, which is Louise.

The party pretty much starts the next day.
When Tabitha (Josette ver.) appeared, a Detect Magic was cast to make sure she was the real person. After she passed that, everyone knew she was the real Tabitha. She announced to the crowd that Gallia would cooperate with Romalia’s crusade, which startles everyone. Henrietta seemed to have collapsed… Here, come to my room.

Putting that aside, Saito lines up to talk to Tabitha. When he finally gets there, he tries to ask her questions on this decision to cooperate with Romaria, but both the prime minster of Romaria and Tabitha wouldn’t really answer him. Guiche has to drag him away from her.

--

Bond-

At night, Saito was called into Henrietta’s room. She had finally recovered enough from the shock to speak, it seems. She asks what happened when Saito went to talk to Tabitha.
Then someone taps their windows. A girl calling herself “Underground Water” brings out a letter that was from her master, telling Henrietta that the current Tabitha was not the real Tabitha and asks for a messenger from her side. Saito and Reinal decide to follow UW.
UW brings her to her master. It turns out to be Isabella, who has realized that the current Tabitha isn’t the real Tabitha, but is trying to make sure know one knows she knows Tabitha is fake, She asks Saito and co. to make sure not to let the enemy know they know either.
As they left outside, Jack appeared. He had just passed by and thought about going to the old hidden base of his knight squad and conveniently met up with Saito, his target. With the price on his head finally set (Damian and the Lord, I guess), Jack decides to kill Saito. Saito was losing, but as he screams for Louise, she suddenly appears with her Teleport. Together, they fight.
*insert stuff about a bond of destiny, yaddayadda*
Jack uses up all of his power on one final magic, but Louise dispels the entire thing. With all of this magic used up, he collapses.

I’m surprised no one noticed the fight. It should have been loud, in various meanings.

--

Epilogue-

Henrietta-Saito and Louise inform each other on what they know.
Henrietta and Louise gets into a fight.
Louise and Saito makes up. They kiss.

The end.

Tune in to find out when Saito cheats next~

Spoiler for A few other thoughts:

It was an okay volume. To be honest, I read most of it in monotone, because there wasn't really many exciting moments. Most of it was just, for the x amount of time, just Louise and Saito (mainly Louise) thinking about how precious the other person was.
The part with Josette taking Tabitha's place was interesting though, as was the other stuff that involved Romaria's evil schemes.

The illustrations weren't that exciting either...

Also, the boss fight at the end was a bit... Meh. Doesn't help the whole destiny thing that Louise thought about and stuff brought up more "Saito won't go home" flags...
The magic boost the potion gives the siblings feels kind of vague... Dodo uses it and can somehow create a magic enough to shatter Derf, but Jack, who is supposed to be stronger than him, doesn't pose much of a threat and quickly faints.

Also, is it just me, or do I feel the entire Saito cheating on Henrietta incident wasn't really cleared up? H and L got into a fight, Saito goes on about how great Louise is (not denying Henrietta's attractiveness), and then it ends with them kissing.

Anyways, I guess the next volume will focus more on the Romaria story now? I'm sure most people hope something like this and the previous volume happens again...
3 siblings still out on the loose, too, so we have to solve that part too...
I just hope it gets more exciting... Haa, Siesta will be out again for a few volumes, at this rate...

New characters weren't that impressive either. Josette was just one of those girls that will do anything for the person they love, and doesn't really have her own will, doing what she is told. The siblings' don't have noticeable personalities either. At the most, only Janet has a personality, being creepy all the time.

The Pope didn't get any lines this volume, hurrah~ Don't ever come out again.

Henrietta's rather... amusing attitude towards what she did was pretty funny. It left me chuckling, points with me. Though I think it just gives more reason for people that hate her to hate her...?

Thanks for the summary but now we need to find out what is julio plan, find tabitha, determined josette is the void user and will louise see janet again

[tsunade666]

As for louise getting so pissed of that its one sided. I find it not that big of help. Louise alone is nothing. Her only attack is explosion and her dispel takes time to cast. And then she learns a new one but doesn't really look an attack type for me. As for her illusions. She didn't used it again doesn't she?

Saito is still owning though his bad very bad. As for this volume showing the important of each other I found it rather not true. Their are tons of time saito caught cheating and then louise got mad and all, then run away. I find volume 8 character development more dramatically than this one. I just find it dull as it goes on from never ending loop.

[Darknemo2000]

You say as if Louise's explosion is no big deal while it actually is - after all it was enough to kill one of Wardes/Waldo forms, and he is a strong mage, and was enough to open enchanted barrier in their school.

Be hit by it and you will die.

And I too believe that Saito will cheat on her again. He is Saito, a perverted retard after all so chances of him not cheating on Louise again are very very very low.

[yezhanquan]

Well, the "Will they? Won't they?" is core to the series. Once that is resolved, we can say goodbye really soon.

I think Saito dating other girls is a sign that in the epilogue, he will return to Earth, since he basically trampled on all of them.

[serenade_beta]

Well he's up against a very pissed off void user

The thing is that it isn't about his win or loss that is odd. Just that his MP... He is stronger than Dodo, who created a magic big enough to shatter Derf and still run away without fainting, yet Jack easily faints within a few pages of using magic.

[digger314]

As for louise getting so pissed of that its one sided. I find it not that big of help. Louise alone is nothing. Her only attack is explosion and her dispel takes time to cast. And then she learns a new one but doesn't really look an attack type for me. As for her illusions. She didn't used it again doesn't she?

I kind of meant that in jest. The novel explains that the emotion from the Henrietta incident replenished her MP (I wish she'd find some other way to refill...). And for various reasons (separation from Saito, her repeated use of teleportation to escape the island in baby steps) she is now confident in herself. I think she's changed quite a bit. She's carried an inferiority complex throughout the whole series and we may be seeing the end of that problem.

The thing is that it isn't about his win or loss that is odd. Just that his MP... He is stronger than Dodo, who created a magic big enough to shatter Derf and still run away without fainting, yet Jack easily faints within a few pages of using magic.

Hmm point... but then Jack realizes Louise's threat and decided to do a kamikaze attack, so he probably went all out.

As for whether Saito will cheat again we'll see. If he does I'll be really disappointed in the author (some of you may already be regarding that). Maybe I just read everything in a hurry but the only two times where Louise was really hurt by his "cheating" were both with Henrietta. (Note I didn't read before vol 7). At this point if he cheats again I don't think it'll ever work out. Their relationship is important not just on a romantic level, but a pragmatic one as well because both of their powers depend on their emotional states. Saito's pretty useless without Louise around or if she hates him. It may just be what they need to survive.

Personally I see the relationships being resolved by this point and the series will go in a more serious direction and may be concluding soon. Henrietta - I doubt Saito will try that again. Tifa - never in the competition. Tabitha - I don't think so. Siesta - still in the race at least somewhat but Saito actually resists her seduction attempt in vol 16 - I kinda feel sorry for her though - she actually treats Louise really nicely too and feels content to be second. Reading the volumes together I see Saito's relationship with Louise actually progresses and it's not just a loop. He now understands how she thinks and in vol 16 they actually seriously consider living together and even prepare for future marriage, before of course you know what happened. The separation should enhance his devotion.

Of course I'm not the author so I don't know what he's gonna do for sure. It's perfectly possible if he turns Saito into an irredeemable bastard. Anyway we'll see.

With Johan and his familiar presumably killed, I wonder who Josette will summon. So far it appears all familiars are human/humanoid. Same with Tifa. I wonder if one of them will summon an elf like the founder?! That'd make things interesting.

[tsunade666]

Same with tifa? did tifa already summon her familiar?
as for the explosion spell. I know its strong to the point it wipe out a whole and even dragons will be toasted by it but its incantations takes time and if louise fires it without a long incantation its radius decreases and its potential. The void magic depends on how long its been chanted.
As for saito cheating again I will not be surprise but its really turning into a boring one. If it happen again I will probably stop reading it for a while but still if the volume is about action pack despite saito cheating I will still check it. And they already consider their future way before its just that their is no time for it to consider. The part where saito come back to the school and stop hiding and all raises that flag I WILL NOT GO HOME. Unless his been dragged back to japan.

[digger314]

No I meant same question with Tifa (who is she gonna summon). She hasn't summoned yet. I have a feeling she's gonna summon an elf and it may be the bridge needed for some kind of understanding between the "good" void users and the elves.

In Louise's battle with Jack she didn't use a powerful explosion, just a small one to ignite the mass of black powder meant to vaporize Saito. The main spell she used was a dispel to negate Jack's suicidal attack (massive transmutation spell turning the entire area into black powder), while Saito was taking care of the golems.

I'm sure Saito and Louise have considered their future before, but my point is that their relationship is getting pretty serious and deep now so any cheating is more unforgivable and paints Saito in a worse light. The Heinrietta incident is already a serious blow, any further cheating would completely destroy it. If Louise still forgives him after another one without a VERY good reason, I'd lose any shred of respect for both characters. I think it'd ruin a good thing because the level of devotion they have for each other (always ready to sacrifice everything) is just crazy. Now when I say their relationship is important on a practical level it's not just my own opinion. In vol 14 Shelfield thinks she always loses because her bond with Johan is not strong enough, because Johan is just incapable of any feelings. It's cliche yeah but in a story like this it's only logical.

And seriously I think it's time for other things to start to happen. What is the eastern land. Why did the founder who seemed to be at least on friendly terms with his elf familiar declare war on the elves. What is the devils' gate. What is the pope planning. did all humans originally come from the gate? etc lots of unanswered questions and REAL plot to go.

[tsunade666]

Whats this black powder?
and I agree with that any cheating is bad and its time for the main plot to start. And also the feelings are really the main source of void power. Louise getting angry recharges her MP and saito being happy or love makes him stronger.

Btw why does the emotions involve differ for the two? to make one stronger the one has to suffer. Its kinda lame idea.

[azziz]

i was asking(myself) the same question since at less two book ago,but all we had was the same crap about louise and saito;it would be time for louise to let the founder book in Tiffa hand so she could learn new spell.And charlotte receiving her uncle's power would be a nice surprise(she deserve them after all he had to endure from him):julio and the pope would be screwed.