The Steep Path Ahead [Familiar of Zero AU]

[shadenight123]

Prologue - AN: 'Luise' is aptly written this way as a Germanic similar to Louise.

Hiraga Saito had never liked camping.

"Come on, it's not that difficult-"

Hiraga Saito had never liked boy scouts.

"Even a moron could do it. Are you slow? Did you hit your head when you were young?"

Hiraga Saito bristled at the insult, and looked up to the small figure that was berating him so. He would have said something, but the strange -magical- girl had a 'boomstick'. He couldn't call it anything else. The girl had a boomstick, a fierce right hook, and an even fiercer left kick.

"I'd do it myself, but then, you'd use that as a chance to escape or grab my wand. So, you need to light this fire right now," the magical girl said sharply. "It's getting dark. You want to be eaten by a wolf? Around these parts, wolves aren't fluffy warm story-book material. Around these parts, wolves are mangy scrawny mutts who are hungry for meat, and you and I are meat. Well, I'm stringier meat than you-look at that flub! Is that why you can't light a fire?"

"Why don't you use your wand if you're so much better!?" Saito blurted out, but blanched soon after. The eyes of the dark-haired girl narrowed dangerously as her lips thinned.

Saito swallowed noisily as he watched the tip of the wand slowly lower itself to where his fingers were -already chaffed from trying to rub two thin sticks together to light a fire for the cold night.

"Then maybe I will," the girl said. "After teaching you a lesson."

Saito jumped back abruptly, using his arms to cover his head as he flinched from the upcoming explosion. He didn't know how long he remained in that position, but when he finally cracked open an eye, there was a fire ongoing and the girl had her wand still in hand. The girl was smiling victoriously. "See?" she hummed, "It wasn't that hard. Now get over here or you'll freeze to death, and I didn't summon you just so you could die of cold. Seriously, as a familiar, you're pretty piss-poor."

"You kidnapped me," Saito said. "I was going back home and then this green portal opened up-and you kidnapped me."

The girl rolled her eyes. "You touched it. Didn't anyone ever tell you not to touch green portals?"

Saito didn't reply to that, and merely sulked.

The girl sighed and began rummaging through her bag, before pulling out from it a thin strip of beef jerky from a vase filled with salt. She cleaned the piece of meat with her fingers, and then hummed. "Your name?"

"What do you care," Saito grumbled.

"No name, no dinner," the girl replied. "And you will be regretting this in the morning, because if you want something to cover yourself for the night-well, that's another question you'll need to answer."

Saito looked at the girl as if she were the devil, but in that situation, it wasn't as if he could just stand up and leave. He was in the middle of the wilderness, on a dirt road, with nothing around him for miles. He was starting to feel the cold of the night biting against his skin -even though he had his trustworthy jacket on with a cowl to cover his face. He was not in a happy mood, and his stomach began to grumble to alert him that dinner time was way gone by.

"Saito," he said in the end. The girl nodded, and threw the piece of beef jerky at him, which he hastily caught.

The girl cleaned a second strip, and began to carefully munch down on it very slowly. Saito hesitated for a second, but then did the same. He really should have been prepared for the spices kicking in. He gasped for air as the spicy sensation was ten times worse than that of the Wasabi.

"W-What is this!?"

"The spices will keep you warm, good for blood flow," the girl said. "Well, you're Saito, and I'm Luise," she said.

She then pulled out from her bag a thick wool cloth. "Now for my second question, which might earn you a spot under a warm cover for the night, are you ready to be my familiar?"

"No," Saito said curtly. "I want to go home."

"Well," Luise said. "This means I'll need to sleep with one eye open, and then I'll be grumpy in the morning, and so, I'll be closer to using my wand on you than I should. Do you really wish that? Some people like it-" she had a wistful look on her face, "But I guess normal people don't want to get whipped or shot or blown to bits...you are 'normal people', are you?"

"I want to go home," Saito said once more, stubbornly.

"Know where to go?" Luise said with a smirk.

Saito flinched, and huffed. "Not yet, but if I had a map-"

"Ha! Better luck next time. It's three months by foot to cross the wilderness of Germania before finding an actual city and not a village. And you won't find something as nice as a map of the neighboring countries in any village we'll walk through. So, Saito, even if you wanted to go home, you wouldn't be able to for a long time."

Saito looked down at his feet, his mouth busy gnawing on the strip of jerky which was as tough as cooked leather. "Even if I said yes, it's not like you'd just hand the cloth over. What if I run away with it?"

"I have a spare," Luise replied. "And I need to know where to put your word. Lots of people promise things and then they don't keep their words. I'd rather know now what type of scum you are rather than find out later. Even if you ran away...well, I know the way to the next village, and you don't. I give you three hours before the wolves eat you for dinner, maybe four if you're a fast runner."

In the far off distance, a wolf howled.

Luise smiled, and her face, illuminated by the fire, was utterly merciless.

"So, Saito...what will it be?"

That night, Saito slept warmly.

His bones still ached in the morning, but at least, he now had a sheet. It was progress.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter One - The Pilgrim's Path

Luise simply wanted to go back to the orphanage. The Holy Brimir's priests and nuns would be more than glad to have her back, and if she took her vows, then she'd never have to go hungry again. For an unwanted child who could only make explosions pop out of her wand, this was the most she could aspire to be. She hadn't found a way to wash out the soot and the grime from the Germanian's capitol industries, and there was little hope she'd manage such a feat by merely bringing her hair close to cold water.

She'd need hot water, time and care. Her mood was already ruined due to the condition of her hair -strawberry blond made her stand out, made her different, made her better than her peers. While black didn't make her any different from the familiar she had summoned. She did not know how common it was to summon a commoner -she hadn't even been given permission to study about it.

They had come from the capitol, seeking potential mages among the orphans, and had picked her thanks to the 'Detect Magic' spell. They had given her a wand, told her a very simple spell, and made her practice it.

She had blown their expectations off the roof.

Literally.

They had been so angry about the roof -it wasn't her fault, she had just been nervous- that they had accepted her merely to see if they couldn't get a Fire affinity out of her. It hadn't worked. Hers was an affinity to 'explosions', but past that first accident, she had never again made such a big explosion.

All she got, at most, was dust in the eyes of an enemy.

Thus, she had been gently showed the door with a knapsack. It was a knapsack containing what she'd need to get back to the monastery led by the friendly priests and nuns, and it was along the way that she had decided that if she had to go back 'home', she'd at least bring something as proof that she had tried.

Summoning a Familiar wasn't that hard. At least, not on paper. She had studied harder than anyone else -she had to prove she belonged there, after all.

Of course, she had gotten a commoner. Way to go, Luise.

Then again, she wasn't much better than him, but she'd be damned if she'd let anyone else treat her like dirt for the days to come. She had eaten enough mud having to walk because not a single farmer on the way to the market would give her a lift, no matter how much she pleaded, and she couldn't even get her stupid familiar to carry her stuff, so no, Luise was not in a good mood.

She knew that it really wasn't her familiar's fault, and she didn't really want to blow him up -not that she could, but he didn't know that, and the spell she had used to sting him and then slug him in the nose had worked just great, making him believe she could slug him from a distance- but you couldn't just give a hand to people and not expect some of them to take your arm.

That was how she had lost the money to buy a trip back home after all, swindled by a Germanian pig.

So Luise was bitter, angry, and decisively not in a good mood. Her familiar sulking didn't help. "Look," Luise grumbled. "You just have to carry my stuff. A mule can do it. A donkey can do it. You're a boy and I'm a girl, you should be capable of carrying it."

And finally, there was another part that made her venomous.

Saito gave her a hurt-filled look, but grabbed her bags without another word. He probably was the son of merchants, never having lifted a heavy weight in all his life. And now here he was, far away from his home, having to follow her orders if he ever wanted a chance -not even a certainty- of returning home.

Luise felt guilty.

She would have liked to have a heart of stone that made her feel nothing, but it would be a lie. She would have liked to be a lesser person, and feel spite and jealousy and a sense of twisted pleasure in 'putting to his place' the son of a merchant, but she couldn't, because she wasn't a bad person.

Now, if only her words and her actions and herself could come to an agreement on how to properly act that out, then maybe she'd be able to sooner come to terms with the situation.

But as it was, she merely decided to start walking once more on the dirt path, Saito trudging along with a downcast look.

"Stop doing that," Luise snapped. "It's not the end of the world. Think of it as a trip."

"There are two moons," Saito muttered back.

"Of course there are two moons," Luise said. "There have always been two moons."

"From where I come from, there's only one moon," Saito said.

Luise didn't answer.

"Oh," she said in the end.

She was truly a failure.

She had summoned not just the son of a merchant, but the mad son of a merchant.

Way to go, Luise, way to go.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Two - Long Is The Road

"Can we take a break?" Saito asked.

It was the fifth time in just as many hours that he had asked for a break. Louise could have ended up with a farmer's son as a familiar, or maybe a soldier, or someone with at least a bit of endurance. Instead, it had to be the son of a merchant or something similar.

"Again?" Luise replied.

Saito caught his breath as he wheezed out a small bout of coughing. "I'm carrying the bags," Saito said.

"And they are neatly packed," Luise retorted. "The weight is well-balanced. You could just ditch yours. There's nothing in it but cheap wood anyway."

Saito stared at Luise for a bit. "You-You looked in my bag!?"

"While you were unconscious," Luise replied. "I was looking for some form of identification! If you had died there and then, I was going to at least pray for your soul to reach Brimir's heaven." She huffed, and extended a hand. "As a familiar, you're really useless. Can you at least fight a little?"

"Fighting is bad-"

"Utterly useless," Luise's head dropped down a bit as the girl then proceeded to shake it. "Way to go, Luise," she muttered. "You really should be thankful for my mercy. You know that I can't summon another familiar until you die? Really, try to become useful at least a tiny bit," her extended hand made the universal 'give me' gesture, and as Saito passed over her bag, she slung it around her shoulders.

Saito followed in silence after that, not asking once more for the break. He was wondering how a child like Luise could carry such a heavy backpack anyway. He was way taller than her by at least a head, and yet he couldn't hold on without digging his feet in. He'd end up sprawled on his back if he relented, but the girl didn't seem to have that problem.

She simply powered through.

"Shouldn't we break for lunch?" Saito asked.

"No," Luise replied. "We'll eat it later. Since you had to stop so much, we have to cover more ground before setting up a camp."

A wolf howled in the far off distance, and as Luise's eyes glanced over the horizon of sparse trees and dull brown earth that seemed to make the most of the Germanian countryside, she couldn't help but click her tongue against her teeth. "The wolf pack's got our scent. They must be starving since we're at the end of the Winter month - you don't want to become wolf food now, do you?"

Saito's right foot crunched the snow below his feet. It was hard, and had frozen over the night. He hadn't thought about wearing waterproof shoes, so his feet were now starting to get horribly wet. What if he caught a cold? Would he die out there because of the flu, or because of a wolf? What if he gave a wolf indigestion? Would he kill a poor animal because-

"Oi," Luise snapped her fingers. "It's a simple question."

"No," Saito said. "I don't want to become wolf food."

"Then let's move," Luise said airily, speeding up.

Saito was hard-pressed to follow. It could have been an hour -even though it felt like an eternity- later that they finally came to a stop. The sun was slowly moving into the late afternoon, as if it just couldn't stick around a few more hours to bring the temperature a couple of degrees highers.

"You're lucky, you know that?" Luise said as they set camp up. "Germania's harsh winters are something that kills people even when they've got a fire in the same room as them. It's nearly Spring, so the nights are milder now," she gave a careful glance at his clothes next. "What are those things made of? Silk?"

"Synthetic," Saito replied.

"Synth...etic?" Luise frowned. "Is that the name of an animal from your parts? Germania doesn't have any of those 'Synthetic'."

"My...planet?" Saito hazarded, "Only has one moon."

"You keep saying that, and I keep telling you there have always been two moons up in the sky," Luise bristled. "Seriously, I'm trying to be nice here, and all I'm getting back are these wild tales and lies," she shook her head gingerly. "Why do I even waste time? Is my kindness really such a bitter medicine to swallow?"

Saito bristled. "I'm not mad!"

"Fine, fine, then your place has only one moon, and 'Synthetic' animals going around. What else? Are there plants that grow cheese?"

"Tofu is made from soy beans-" Saito began, but soon stopped talking as he realized Luise wouldn't believe him anyway. He slumped his head between his shoulders and decided to conserve his energies for something more important.

Shivering from the cold breeze that nicely began to blow as soon as the sun died out.

"This time you managed to make smoke," Luise said triumphantly, "It's progress!" as she said that, she threw a strip of jerky his way, which Saito caught.

"I'm treated like a dog," Saito mumbled as he began to chew his dinner.

"Don't overestimate yourself," Luise replied with a scoff. "If you were a Germanian Mastiff, you'd be tons more useful than you are now! They can go head to head with bears, hunt for food, and are some of the warmest pillows you could ever ask for! The monastery I lived in-they had Bucky, Taurus and Bitty, and they were great," Luise nodded vehemently. "Your worth is that of a flea at best. You're just eating my food and drinking my water and doing little more than wasting air and space," she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "There's a lot of room for improvement!"

She shot him a glance, and then sighed. "That is to say -you can improve, I wouldn't have summoned a completely useless familiar after all!"

Huffing, Luise took a sip of her water flask and then passed it over to Saito. "Why don't you try being less useless? You won't know how much useful you can be until you try."

Saito grumbled as he bit harder into the beef jerky, gnawing at it to vent off his frustration.

Louise sighed once more. "Well, you'll see things my way eventually. It's not like I'm spouting meaningless words."

Saito didn't answer. He'd never give the girl the satisfaction.

And if he had to choke on his beef jerky without water, then he would.

He was a Samurai, from proud Japan.

Well, no, not a 'Samurai', but still...he had his pride, and he had no intention of swallowing it because of a flat-chested waterboard!

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Three - Need Makes The Man Wise.

Hiraga Saito couldn't feel his limbs any longer. The first day, he had woken up with aching bones and hurt muscles. The second day, he had barely managed to cover the distance asked, with frequent stops. This was the third day, and he was starting to slow down considerably. He was trying, but he had never gone to the gym, and the most he had done at school had been to boringly follow through the physical education classes.

He wasn't unfit, but he wasn't checked for running a marathon either. Luise was apparently someone highly capable of walking miles and miles per day, but he wasn't. His socks felt humid, his feet hurt, and he was outright miserable. The girl had a pair of leather shoes, and yet she wasn't lamenting the extremely fast speed of the 'march' in question -she was the one setting the pace.

However, Saito had decided not to bother her this time around. They were still in the middle of nowhere, but the closest they got to a city, the sooner he'd be able to at least find some shred of civilization -and maybe an answer to why this place had two moons while his only had one.

It was in his best interests to stay on the good side of the girl, at the very least for the time being.

Thus, he remained quiet, even though he was starting to believe his limbs had been stolen by a very good thief, and each step was a form of agony he hadn't believed possible.

"We can take a break," Luise said, halting her march.

Saito stopped, and then collapsed in a sprawled form of limbs thrown in disarray as he gasped for air, his face on the hard ground and his eyes screwed shut as he took in just how much he was tired.

"Drama queen," Luise rolled her eyes looking at the sprawled form. "We even slept one hour more than yesterday. See? I was kind enough to let you sleep in a bit."

Saito would have loved to scathingly ask on where that 'kindness' was when she had decided to use her wand to wake him up, but he didn't. It was best to save his breath for the very important function of breathing fresh air into his tired lungs.

Luise quietly knelt and began to play with a stick nearby, drawing scribbles on the mud. "Oi," she said, "Can you read?"

Saito's neck moved very slowly in his best interpretation of an earthworm as he stared at the strange chicken marks that had appeared on the ground, courtesy of Luise.

"Yes," he grumbled.

"Try," Luise huffed, pointing at the chicken marks. "Familiars usually get this or that special ability by being summoned by a mage. A raven learns how to talk for example, but you're a human, so I don't know what you get. Maybe the fact you can understand me is your special ability -if that's so, you should definitely use it more and properly follow my orders."

"That's not Japanese," Saito said, and frowned, "It's not...English either."

"Yay Luise, you got an illiterate rich daddy kid as a familiar," Luise muttered under her breath, "I don't know what your 'Japanese' or 'English' is...but this is Halkeginian. It's the language spoken in the continent, brought to us by Founder Brimir. This is the letter 'A', and this is the letter 'B'..."

Saito closed his eyes.

"This is important, Saito," Luise said hotly. "You're going to need it."

"What?" Saito's eyes snapped open. "Why would I?!"

"Because knowing how to read and write will help you go back home, won't they?" Luise huffed. "I was taught by the humble priests of the orphanage of Founder Brimir -I will most graciously teach you during our breaks."

Saito blinked, and frowned. "You're not going to keep me as a saddlebag mule?"

Luise bristled, "Why would I do that? You can't even hold a bag, and I won't be needing a familiar once I take my vows. I am responsible for having brought you here, but the summoning can only be completed if the familiar wishes to go through it, so you are here because you wanted to be here. Too bored with your luxurious life back at home, maybe?" she dryly said. "Well-I don't really care. Once I'm back at the orphanage, I'll take my vows and become a nun. The priests there are kind people. If you work hard, they'll give you some food and clothes and better equipment, and then you'll be able to find your way back home...if you know how to read and write, it will be ten times easier too!"

"Hey!" Saito exclaimed, "Shouldn't you take responsibility until the end!?" he snapped.

Luise froze for a bit, then scoffed, and finally she began to chuckle. "Ah! That was funny!" she laughed, "Look-a familiar is the extension of a mage. You are my responsibility just as much as your actions reflect me. The fact I'm willing to just let you go should speak highly of me, but if you really want me to bring you back to your home, then you'd first need to remember where on Halkeginia a place with a single moon can be."

Saito's eyes narrowed. "You still don't believe me?"

"Oh no, it's not that I don't," Louise retorted dryly. "Maybe you thought you saw the 'moon' but it was just a big white ball hanging from a tall ceiling? Or maybe it was a spell like an illusion, or a trick of sorts. Maybe a very convincing painting could have been it?" she gave him a puzzled look, as if expecting him to admit it was a mistake of his to claim there was only one moon rather than two in the sky.

"No!" Saito snapped back. "I'm sure-"

"Be it as it may be," Luise said curtly, interrupting Saito with firmness, "I have no intention of going around the whole Halkeginia looking for a place with a single moon. You can do that, and I swear on Brimir that if you'll ever need a place to crash, the future nun Luise will gladly give you a cot and a warm meal...as long as you chop the firewood and clean the floors."

Saito's shoulders slumped as he sighed, and a cloud of haze escaped his lips. He had touched the glowing green portal with his own fingers after all, but if it had been out of a mixture of boredom and desire for something new...he couldn't answer that question himself.

He had put himself into this mess with his own hands, so if he wanted to leave it, it was fair that he worked for it.

And it wasn't like learning this language could be that difficult. He was already speaking it, so maybe it wouldn't take a long time to learn it.

"Fine," Saito mumbled. "That's...C, I guess?" he pointed at a random chicken scribble on the dirt, to which Luise replied with a scoff and a whack of his hand with the long stick she had found.

"No! That's F!"

"Ouch! You didn't have to do that!" Saito exclaimed.

Luise clicked her tongue against her teeth and shook her head. "That's how I learned, and I learned it properly! So I won't be remiss by teaching you in a wrong way!"

Saito flinched.

Maybe he really should buckle up and study hard. If he studied hard enough, maybe he could ignore the throbbing pain in his lower limbs.

Yeah.

He'd do just that.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Four - Time And Time Again

It had been a week. It had been a week, and silence had fallen. Well, it was a comfortable silence, and Luise could get used to it. The complains had died out, some form of brain had woken up in Saito's head, and apparently everything was turning out to be on the path of a quick resolution.

While the monastery was still far, the weather was holding up pretty decently and the snow had begun to melt. The wolves hadn't stopped howling, but they hadn't been keen on attacking them at night with a fire ongoing.

"All right," Luise said. "We're making progress."

Saito blinked. "We're nearly there?"

Luise scoffed. "No, but there's a village in that direction. I can see the smoke of the chimneys. And where there's smoke, there's life. Let's go. Maybe we'll be able to sleep in a barn this night."

"After chopping wood and cleaning floors?" Saito hazarded.

"That too," Luise replied. "Or maybe we'll just sneak in through a window and leave at the crack of dawn."

Saito didn't bother pointing out how that was wrong. If he thought about it as a strange form of 'life experience', then he just had to think of it as a 'camping trip in the wilderness' with a 'survival expert' who happened to be a pint-sized girl.

As long as he thought that, he could avoid feeling miserable about the entire situation.

His feet didn't hurt any longer, but if that was due to the general lack of mercy in trudging along the dirt path that had desensitized them or the fact they were too far gone to save, he didn't know.

What he did know was that the howling of the wolves was becoming a bit too loud for his tastes.

"Whatever happens, don't run," Luise said suddenly, stopping her march to stand unnaturally still. Saito halted, mostly out of fear as he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise suddenly as a bead of sweat fell down his forehead, across his cheek, and down his chin. A soft rustling of melted snow being moved reached Saito's ears, and as he turned his neck around, his eyes winced from the sun's rays reverberating on the snow.

And then he saw them.

They weren't like the pictures he had seen in his school books, or the animal documentaries. These wolves were ugly, mangy, hungry and feral. Froth spewed from their mouths, and their eyes were bloodshot yellow things that seemed to harbor a malice of their own.

"In my bag," Luise said very calmly, "There is a dagger. It's right on the top. Get it."

Saito's hand moved slowly towards the bag, the growls of the wolves as they drew near utterly nerve-wracking. His hand fumbled through the top of the bag, and past it. His fingers gripped around a leathery handle, and as he pulled it out, the jagged looking blade came into view. It was a crude dagger, something that would have normally been used to skin pelts, or cut hardened leather straps.

"I can cast a spell," Luise said in a whisper, "But they might jump on me if I turn around quickly. Just push them away-"

A wolf growled, and snarled. The beast was slightly larger than the others, and advanced very slightly past the 'line' of the other beasts. It bent its hind legs, gripped the snow with its claws, and then howled so hard that it made Saito wince and close his eyes in fear.

"Don't close your-" Luise's scream was accompanied with the wolf's charge, the fangs gleaming in the sunlight as they aimed at the neck of the boy. Luise's spell exploded as was usual, but while the cloud of smoke that came from the impact was great, the end result was mere annoyance on the part of the larger wolf, who snarled as he easily stood back up on its paws.

"Keep your eyes open!" Luise snapped as she half-closed her eyes -going against her own words- due to the smoke cloud. The wolves snarled and charged, but as Luise waved her wand around, and a subsequent rocking of explosions echoed, more and more dust lifted up in the air obscuring the pack's view of the prey.

When silence fell, she took a deep lungful of dusty air and coughed. She couldn't see further than her arm's length. "Are you still alive, Saito?!" she asked.

"I-I think so?" Saito hazarded. "I'm not a ghost, right?"

"Are you hurt?" Luise asked next, trying to pinpoint where the boy was. The dust was starting to settle, and as she heard the negative reply from her familiar, she turned to face the direction his voice came from. Saito didn't look any worse for wear, appearing only slightly dirty with the soot from the explosion, but otherwise unscathed.

She had her wand on him, mostly without thinking, but as she saw him tense, she realized a very startling fact. He did have her dagger in his hand. If he suddenly decided to point it at her, her explosions wouldn't hold him off for much longer. Maybe he hadn't noticed the fact, or maybe he wouldn't use it, but she couldn't risk it.

"Good job," Luise said with a strained smile. "Now, let's get going-"

Saito moved towards her, and Luise could only scream wordlessly as she watched him run faster than she had ever seen a horse run towards her. The filthy liar! He had said he was tired and hurt, and here he was, running towards her to gut her, or maybe disarm her, or-or do horrible, unspeakable things to her!

Saito's left arm enveloped her before she could move her arm to cast yet one more 'failed' spell, and as his right one came down, she closed her eyes expecting to be stabbed literally in the back.

There was the sound of the dagger hitting flesh, and as she screamed, she felt Saito's fingers dig into the back of her head.

She remained like that for a few moments, hearing Saito's heavy breathing in her ears. It was only when she realized she wasn't hurting from the wound that she understood she hadn't been wounded at all.

She opened her eyes and carefully turned her head to stare at where Saito's arm finished, merging with what looked like the yellow crooked fangs of a wolf's open maws. Blood dripped down the spot where the fangs met Saito's clothes, ripped by the bite of the creature's death throes. The stupid boy had plunged his arm with the dagger straight into the wolf's open jaws -how stupid could he even be!?

"Missed one," Saito said with a dry and raspy chuckle.

Luise merely nodded, half dumbfounded. As Saito removed his arm from the wolf's dead body, the runes on his hand glinted softly. "Oh," Luise blinked. "Oh!" she clapped her hands. "So you weren't a liar," she mumbled. "It's your familiar's ability!" she added.

"Uh?"

"Yes!" she excitedly cheered. "So it wasn't useless!" she cackled. "I'm not useless!" she puffed her chest up in pride. "I, Luise, am not a worthless mage! Take that, Headmaster Franz! This pathetic failure of a mage has summoned a familiar capable of defending her! I'd make you eat your silly hat if only I wanted to waste time going back! Ah ah ah!" as Luise laughed, Saito didn't understand what was going on, or half of Luise's mad ramblings.

He did understand one thing though.

The world shouldn't be spinning around him like that.

And why was it getting progressively darker now?

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Five - Spoiled Wine Can Still Be Fine Vinegar

The smell of vinegar was thick in the air. Saito pondered if his mother had decided to cook some form of exotic delicacy, but as he tried to move, he found his body was kind-of locked in place.

His muscles refused to obey him, and his fingers twitched from tiny spasms. His right arm felt even heavier than his left one, and his neck had tiny stinging sensations across it. Was his pillow always that uncomfortable? A soft touch caressed his forehead, a cool sensation passing over his sweaty forehead.

"...mom..." he mumbled feverishly, the mere act of trying to open his eyelids unfathomable.

"Seriously," Luise muttered, wiping the sweat off the boy's forehead. They were in the barn of a local farmer, the man being an old and wheezing elderly with twenty to twenty-five family members living nearby and going about their days without a problem in the world. Being faithful followers of Brimir, they hadn't dared refuse to help people in clear need, and she hadn't even needed to wave her wand around.

Having dealt with the wolf pack hunting in the area, the farmer's family had been more than content to strike a deal. They'd keep the meat and the pelts, and they'd give them the use of the barn and a hand until Saito got back on his feet.

It wouldn't take much either way. The wound either went gangrenous and the boy died, or it didn't and he'd live. There wasn't much else to it.

"You can't die and leave me like this," Luise grumbled. "Think about how I'd feel. Really-a familiar is responsibility of the mage. What does it say of me if my familiar dies after only a week?"

Saito's eyes were still closed, but his wound had been cleaned with vinegar and bandaged. It hadn't even been a deep wound, even though it had drawn blood. Yet using the familiar's power had probably exhausted him beyond belief, and that was why he was still down. Taking a rest wasn't a bad idea, and sleeping on a straw pile was way better than the hard road.

Eating warm food -wolf soup- was an added bonus.

"And I have to thank you for saving my life," Luise continued. "How could I face the Founder knowing that someone died for me without even receiving my thanks? What sort of expression would you have on the other side upon meeting me? You can't let me live with the guilt of your death for my whole life."

She stared at the still asleep Saito, and sighed. "Mom..." she heard him groan.

"Fine," Luise murmured. "I did put you in this mess myself, didn't I? If you recover, I promise I'll bring you back home before taking my vows. There, that should be fine, shouldn't it? I can't just leave you alone or you might die, or I might get worried and have sleepless nights," Luise grumbled, and grabbed one of Saito's cheeks to pinch it slightly. "So please-wake up."

Saito groaned, and finally cracked open an eyelid.

"Uh?"

Luise's shoulders slumped down as she exhaled in relief. "What made you think it was a good idea to plunge your arm inside the wolf's throat?" Luise asked, her voice low as she didn't want to burst the boy's eardrums -not yet, at least.

"Hurts."

"You are lucky it was merely a nick," Louise replied with her lips thin. "And that the farmers were followers of Brimir kindhearted enough to let us rest and tend to your wounds. You've been asleep for days."

"W-Water," Saito mumbled, while his stomach decided to growl.

"Yes, yes," Luise said with a huff, rolling her eyes as she grabbed a wet cloth and drew it near his mouth. "Suck on it. No fast gulps or you'll drown. If you can keep the water down, maybe there's hope you can stomach the soup."

Muffled sounds escaped Saito's throat as he avidly tried to sate his thirst, only for it to remain with a vengeance. Luise shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "It's not going anywhere, calm down!"

Her right hand absentmindedly touched the boy's hair. It was black, actually black, and as her fingers played with a stray lock of his, she could feel the grime beneath her fingers. Not that her hair was much better. Using only cold water she could barely rinse them, let alone 'clean' them back to their natural strawberry blond. She missed the hot water the most, but there was barely a scrap of firewood in the farmer's house, and what little they had gifted them had been needed to put the vinegar to boil.

"With your familiar's power," Luise said in a whisper, "We shouldn't have to worry about brigands or beasts any longer. If it makes you able to use daggers proficiently, then we can finally sleep comfortably at night. I'll give you the dagger, you'll definitely use it better than me."

Saito closed his eyes, still nibbling on the wet piece of cloth.

"And...I'm sorry," Luise said.

Saito blinked, staring up at Luise's thoughtful face. "I really am!" Luise added, her hands clenched into fists by her side. She had deep rings around her eyes now that Saito took the time to look at her, and her hair was frazzled and had seen better days.

"I know we didn't start this in the best way, but if possible-if you want-we can start again? I had no control over the summoning spell-I really didn't-so...so what I'm trying to say is...can we become partners rather than mage and familiar?"

Saito blinked once more.

And then he spoke four simple words.

"I would...like that."

No further words were needed. No further words could be spoken even if he wanted to, because he closed his eyes a few seconds later and dropped, once more, asleep. Luise smiled as if a weight had been lifted off her chest, and shoulders, and collapsed shortly after, needing to sleep herself.

Her arms encircled Saito's head out of reflex, and thus that was how the old farmer's son found the duo when dinner came around, and decided most aptly to close the barn's door and leave the two to their sleep.

They'd need their rest.

Especially if the words of the neighbors rang true about the religious turmoils further south near the border. The Reformed and the Non-Reformed faithful were clashing dangerously close to outright rebellion in the point where Halkeginia met with Germania, and there were rumors of the army being sent in to clear the troublemakers.

These were troublesome times.

Truly troublesome times indeed.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Six - The Flight From The Broken Nest

"We'll never speak of this," Luise said firmly as she removed the hay from her hair, giving half a glare to Saito, who didn't move from his resting spot. Saito simply smiled half-dumbly, having slept soundly with a girl hugging his head -his classmates would be so jealous of him!

Saito hummed an agreement with his throat, and as Luise stepped outside for a breath of fresh morning air, he tried -and succeeded- in moving his right arm. His fingers twitched, and the pain had dulled considerably. His legs still hurt a bit, as if he were subjected to cramps, but he was reasonably sure he could stand up if he so wished.

He did just that, and hissed out in pain as his muscles burned from the effort. Clutching his knees, he took a few deep breaths, before wiping the tears away from the corners of his eyes.

His stomach grumbled hungrily, and as his left hand contracted against it, he groaned. He would have eaten a whole cow if only he could sink his teeth into it. The barn's doors opened a moment later, and as a steaming red Luise stepped through with a few mutters of 'uncouth barbaric farmers', she easily pushed into Saito's hands a wooden bowl with some sort of gruel inside it.

It took Saito's self-control not to wince, but as he held the bowl and stared down at the misshaped spoon -made of wood too- he looked at his right hand who was bandaged, and then tried to execute the 'puppy eye' look that made even his mother think twice before sending him to school all the same in a rainy day.

Luise faltered briefly, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You don't need someone to feed you!" she said hotly, "Just put it down by your side and use your left hand!"

"But-"

"We're partners, but I'm not going to feed you unless both of your hands are gone!" Luise exclaimed. "They already think we're together-I'm not going to give a chance for more misunderstandings! I'll never be able to take my vows if these baseless rumors make their way to the priests!" Luise's face was a cute shade of red, but Saito had already begun eating, or at least, trying to.

"The farmers are planning on heading to the nearby village to barter, and I managed to get us a passage. Hope you're up for it, because we're leaving tomorrow early in the morning," Luise said. "Enjoy the hay bed while you can."

Saito would have done just that, if it weren't for his entire body itching from having remained in bed for days. After eating, he tried most valiantly to stand up on both of his feet, and as pain rippled through his spine, he gritted his teeth and clenched his only responsive fist tightly. He took a few steps around the barn, while Luise merely dropped down on a nearby stack of hay and began to watch him walk.

After a short while, his muscles stopped screaming, and he could finally take more than a few steps in rapid succession.

"How does your ability work anyway?" Luise asked.

"You mean...this?" Saito brought up his hand marked with strange symbols. "It just did when you gave me the dagger."

Luise tapped her chin, half lost in thought. Then, she quickly stood up from her hay pile to rush for her bag, pulling out the dagger. "Hold on to this," she said, handing it over carefully. Saito frowned, a puzzled look on his face, but obeyed.

"Well, you're holding on to it. Are you feeling any different?" Luise asked.

"No, not really," Saito replied, "But-" he looked down at the back of his hand. "It feels like now I can do something I couldn't previously do. There's like this switch in my head-"

"A switch? Well," Luise hummed, "It would make sense not to make this thing permanent, or you might collapse after a short while. Even then-yes, it's terrifyingly useful. The problem with being a mage is always about having to chant, but that leaves the mage open to counter-attacks. Normally a familiar can harass the opponent, but a bird or a cat can do little. In that regard, you're already top-notch. Well, if becoming a nun fails, I can always set up shop as a mercenary. What do you say, partner?"

Saito smiled awkwardly, and Luise immediately caught up the reason for the awkward silent. "Of course, I meant while we're looking for your home," she quickly said. "I never go back on my word, what do you think? Brimir and the Gods wouldn't look kindly on me if I wished to become a nun and couldn't even hold my word."

"Thanks," Saito replied. "But I don't know. Mercenaries have to kill people, don't they?"

Luise bristled, and shrugged. "Then we'll become adventurers. We'll go hunting for treasures, kill rats, save damsels in distress-" here she winked at Saito and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, "You scoundrel would probably like that. Maybe one day you'll even save a princess and get yourself a noble title."

Saito laughed. "I don't think so. My mother would have a fit if she heard something like that."

Luise's smile remained, but it was slightly bitter, "Well, aren't parents supposed to be like that? Always needlessly worrying? But, you know, it's not that bad I think." She looked sideways, "Beats not having any to begin with."

"Right-sorry, I didn't think," Saito said hastily.

"Nah, it's fine. If I got pissed off each time somebody mentioned their parents to little pitiful orphan Luise I'd be always pissed off," Luise said, rolling her eyes. "Now get over here-I think the bandage needs to be changed."

Saito walked closer to Luise, who patted the spot next to her. With her hands, she began to carefully pry open the bandage. "You should be thankful the priests taught me the basics. Germania doesn't have much in the form of Water Mages, so we make do." The smell of vinegar was strong, and made Saito's nose twitch, but as Luise wiped at the skin, she gave a satisfactory nod to her work.

"The wound's closed and it doesn't look like it's going to turn gangrenous. Cheer up, Saito. You won't lose your arm!" she smiled. "You can thank me whenever you feel ready." Luise puffed her chest up in pride, and Saito stared at the misshapen scar around his arm, where the wolf's teeth had dug in. There was some nasty red crust, but nothing that seemed dangerous.

"Thank you," Saito said, opening and closing his hand.

"And thank you," Luise replied, "For saving my life."

It was a peaceful silence that settled the reminder of the day, intermixed with meaningless words and naps.

Things really were looking up.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Seven

Saito was in heaven. He was standing on the farmer's cart watching the countryside go by, and not a single part of his body was hurting. The donkey pulling the wooden contraption was a peaceful beast, one hardly scared by the hardship and toil it was subjected to.

They had begun to reach the first true sight of civilization going beyond the sparse farm, and that meant more huts made of wood and mud pushed together one with another.

This was progress. Definitely, if they kept this up, they might finally see a brick house before long.

Maybe in a few months or so, they'd be able to sleep on a comfortable bed.

The village of Frunt -such was its very strange name- held a few families together and a not-so thriving market. The winter months were coming to an end, but the produce available was scarce, if starting to turn for the better. Luise disembarked and Saito swiftly followed her as soon as they reached the village, waving goodbye to the old farmer's son as they went their way across the street made of icy mud and puddles of frozen water.

"It's just a few more days now," Luise said with a happy hum. "We'll reach the monastery, I'll talk with the head priest, and then we'll be off. He might even give us some supplies for the deed!"

"Will they even suffice?" Saito asked as he looked at a group of rowdy children rush across a square with sticks, hitting one another and playing at 'war'.

"If they don't, then we'll do mercenary work. We can handle small stuff, and with myself as a mage, we'll get some comfy job. Mages are viewed highly as mercenaries here in Germania, don't you know? It's a good way to earn enough money to buy a title, and the Zerbst lands are by the corner," here she grinned. "I heard good things happen if you're a pretty man or woman and catch their fancies."

"Good...things?"

Luise shrugged. "They're good honest folks. The church's built on their lands, and the priest used to say that for being old aristocracy, they knew how to enjoy life. They aren't fans of the Reformed Sect to begin with, so we've always had their protection."

She tapped her chin with a thoughtful expression. "Maybe they'll have a job for us, wouldn't you like the sound of that? Working directly for a noble means getting quite the amount of gold for trifle things, like recovering a book, finding a treasure map, escorting some pretty lady to a ball-you probably need to put up some muscles. You're quite wimpy beneath those clothes."

Saito turned scarlet, crossing his arms over his chest. "W-What!? H-How would you even know that!?"

"Who do you think washed you while you were knocked out?" Luise rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, seriously partner, are all sons of merchants prudes where you come from? Water needs to be conserved, never took baths together with your parents?"

"Well-Yeah, but-"

"I'm a priestess in training, there was nothing lewd to it, you pig!" Luise yelled next, her face red. "Seriously! How can you be so devious as to see something erotic in that!? Oh Founder Brimir, forgive this fool partner of mine-"

"Hey, hey, I get it!" Saito hastily moved his arms in the air to make Luise stop. Luise, for her part, simply laughed.

Luise's steps came to a halt in front of a slightly bigger house, where a notice hung pinned to the wall with a dagger. "Why don't you read the sign? Let's see if your knowledge of the language hasn't rusted off yet," Luise said, pointing at the notice. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and waited, a victorious smirk on her face.

Saito sighed and stepped closer, squinting his eyes as he managed to make out a few of the characters. "Notice-people-gold, a word I don't understand-work-estate."

"Looking for people, pay will be handsome, the Zerbst family needs work done, for more information head to the estate," Luise said with a sigh. "It's written in pretty simple terms for everyone to understand it. They might be in need of gardeners, or for the annual harass the Valliere festival."

"The annual...what?"

"Harass the Valliere," Luise replied. "It's a pretty fun game where the Zerbst lead farmers on exciting 'hunts' through the border's contested land. Usually the purpose is to break enough stuff to make it an annoyance, but not enough to warrant a repercussion. Horses plowing through fields, stuff like that. It's all in good fun, and there's rarely anyone who gets hurt."

"I don't think that's...doesn't the police intervene?"

"The police?"

"Guards," Saito said. "That's kind of a crime, isn't it?"

Luise shrugged. "The Valliere just have to post some guards to prevent it, but if they don't, then it's their fault."

That was a type of skewed logic Saito couldn't really understand. "What about their farmers?"

"They'll make due. The festival's annual, so it's not like they don't know when the Zerbst are coming. Fact is, there are usually the pretty boys and girls staying out in the hope of being 'captured' by a Zerbst," Luise grinned. "Did I already mention how much better the Zerbst are than the Vallieres?"

"You did," Saito said with a sigh, "but fine. So...we head to the Zerbst estate?"

"After the monastery," Luise said with a nod. "I did say it was close by, didn't I? Just a day of travel by foot from the monastery to the estate, which borders with the city of Wunderbar. Three days in total from here," she made a victory sign. "We even have-"

"Wait...didn't you say it took three months to leave the wilderness of Germania?!" Saito exclaimed, the thought suddenly striking him.

Luise flinched, and had the decency to look ashamed of herself. "I might have...lied...a tiny bit...hehe...funny how things go, uh?"

Saito's right hand clenched as he grit his teeth. "It won't even take us a full month to reach 'civilization'!"

Luise took a step back. "You wouldn't hit a priestess would you? The Gods wouldn't look kindly on that sort of thing! And I have a wand, and I'm not afraid of using it!"

"We're partners-so share my frustration with me!" Saito snapped, starting to run after Luise who, in turn, screamed as she began to run away. The children playing war stopped and watched the two strange adults playing tag, and with a bright grin, decided to join in on the fun.

It took the better part of the hour before Saito finally calmed down, and yet he had to add one more tiny bit of knowledge concerning 'Luise'.

She was fast.

She was really, really fast.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eight

"The monastery should be just around the corner," Luise said, "Past that hill." They had been walking easily on the ground that was far less icy than before, a few hours having already raised the temperature in the air of a couple of degrees. Apparently, the closer one was to the border, the better the weather turned out to be.

"It was built with quite the beautiful windows, and it's a place of worship for many Germanian. Try to be on your best behavior-" Luise continued talking, even as excitement filled her words. She skipped a few steps, and reached the end of the hill with her breathing hard. Saito was close by, and as he finally reached the summit of the hill himself, he stared ahead.

The monastery was there, and it was an imposing structure of stone with a large tower and a bell on it.

Luise, however, frowned slightly. "There's no one around," she said squinting her eyes. "Maybe they're holding a special mass? Did somebody die?" her face paled, "I hope it's not miss Christine! She's this very sweet old lady that takes care of the orphans-Saito, we have to hurry, come on!" and as she yelled that, she rushed down the hill lifting a small cloud of dust behind her.

"Wait a moment!" Saito yelled back, starting to run to catch up to the bullet that was Luise whenever she fixated herself on rushing ahead. He had learned a nifty trick with his 'familiar powers' which could have helped him to catch up, but he didn't feel like using it. There were no hungry wolves after all -so why did he need to rush?

He stopped running a short while later, and as Luise reached the door of the church and stepped inside with a fretful expression, he simply hung back and took a far calmer pace. When he did reach the church's main entrance, he pushed the large wooden door aside to reveal a normal looking church -complete with an altar of stone. It was a simple thing, and the windows were indeed very pretty.

The wooden benches had been apparently moved to the sides, and a couple had been knocked over to boot.

The church was otherwise silent.

"Miss Christine?" Luise was querying at the back of the altar. "Head Priest? Mister Ralof? Glinda? Beatrice? Thomas? Is there anyone in here!?" as her voice began to grow louder, Saito finally reached her.

"Maybe they've gone to the city?" he hazarded.

"What? Why would they?" Luise turned to look at him sharply. "Someone should have stayed behind anyway! Even if they hide the golden implements to hold a proper service, it's still dangerous to leave the church completely unattended!"

She bristled, and then scratched the side of her head as she began to think. "They might have gone to the city for the market, or maybe to participate in the Zerbst' annual harassing event. I can't believe it, but-but they can't have just disappeared like it was nothing!"

"Then let's go look for them at the Zerbst estate," Saito said. "Did you check the kitchens?" he added offhandedly. "Maybe if they took food with them-"

"That's right!" Luise exclaimed, "Nice idea!" and with that said, she rushed off through a side door. Saito followed her closely, half expecting a random priest to jump at them with a broom. Nothing happened though, and Saito's worries soon began to materialize. He didn't think an entire church filled with people could just disappear, but there were no corpses and there was no blood.

Maybe they had taken a vacation day?

Maybe aliens from another world had kidnapped them? This world had two moons, so it might have had aliens too! The more Saito thought about it, the more it made sense. Aliens could have kidnapped them all with their bright green rays and then experimented on them -he hoped not, but if there was magic, why not aliens?!

"The larder's half-empty," Luise said as she stepped back into view from a small room within a large kitchen. "They must have taken provisions for a trip. Maybe they really all went to the Zerbst estate or to the city. The Harass the Valliere festival might be the reason-well, let's go then."

Saito frowned. "Aren't we supposed to get something from the larder?"

"If we can't get permission, then it would be stealing," Luise replied primly. "And I won't steal from a church!" she said briskly. "I'll just get some stuff from my room. Why don't you wait for me by the altar? Maybe pray for the Founder's attention or the Gods' blessings. We'll need it."

Saito blinked owlishly, but walked back into the main hall of the church, the altar standing alone and without anything on it -not even a piece of fabric. It had a very Christian vibe, but at the same time Luise had spoken of 'Gods'. As his gaze lifted up to the pretty colored windows, he saw scenes that could only be visible on religious motifs.

A man with blond hair guiding people across a lush land, a confrontation with other people that had little black ticks near their ears -kind of like elves and their pointy ears- the lush land turning into a desert, the desert being renounced, and then the man's vow to return to the land and defeat the elves. The last scene saw the man being killed by an elf.

"So elves exist," Saito mumbled. "I must get an elf harem," he said suddenly, raising a fist in the air as fire burned in his eyes. "I'd be the envy of my classmates-elf babes, all for me."

He nodded firmly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Uh-uh, Hiraga Saito's so lucky, he's got an elven bride. They'll say that, and I'll laugh and cheer! Yes-"

"What are you doing?" Luise asked, stepping closer to him from behind and making him jump slightly.

"Gah!" Saito exclaimed, "Nothing! Nothing in particular!"

Luise chuckled softly. "Lost in thoughts on Brimir's martyrdom?"

"Oh," Saito said, his eyes wide as he stared back at the windows. "I see. So that's Brimir, uh."

"Well, of course that's Brimir!" Luise said bristling, "Just because this church is near the border doesn't mean you can't recognize the main characters on the windows!" she brought both hands to her flanks and puffed her chest up in pride. "That's Brimir guiding our people to the promised land, then the elves fighting our people away, turning the land into desert, and Brimir's return with the holy power of the Void to defeat the Elves. Then, his defeat at the hands of a traitorous and vile elf who ripped his heart out and devoured it." Luise nodded. "But the Gods will one day bestow upon us the power of the Void yet again, and on that day we will rise as one to reconquer the land and smite the elves back in oblivion."

She made a small spin on herself. "That's the story anyway. Come on then, hop-hop, we've got to go or we might miss them once more!"

Saito shuddered slightly, and soon found himself engulfed in a heavy wool parka of sorts. "There," Luise said. "I took some of the spare clothes from the dressers. Put those on. I'll be waiting outside-try to be quick about it!"

And with that said, she stepped outside with a chuckle.

Opening the wool parka, Saito watched as clothes fell from within it. Clothes that, even as he stared at them for long, did not seem to become comfortable at all.

He had a really bad feeling about them.

A really, really bad feeling.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Nine

The clothes itched something fierce. Frankly, Saito would have preferred going naked rather than hold on to the clothes Luise had most generously found for him. At least they weren't girl's clothes, but the way each of his steps made him stop to scratch his skin didn't bode well at all.

Would it hurt to wash them, or do something in order to stop them from itching?

In the end, he opted for a solution that would satisfy everyone. He'd wear his normal clothes beneath the 'new' ones. This way, he wouldn't itch, and he wouldn't feel the cold.

It was a win-win situation.

Only, it didn't feel like a victory. Luise hadn't found her friends, nor the priests of her church. They hadn't decided to participate, and nobody had known anything about them -and an entire orphanage didn't just disappear in the middle of the night leaving behind no trace.

As Luise looked kind of defeated at the floor of the cheap inn where they had decided to rest, Saito couldn't help but feel pity for the girl. "Maybe they went to visit another monastery?" Saito hazarded.

"The closest one would be past the border," Luise retorted. "There's no way they'd allow us passage, not with the Zerbst' annual harass-the-Valliere about to start. You'd have to be a merchant or an adventurer."

"Aren't we?" Saito replied. "Adventurers, I mean."

"Killed a couple of wolves and you already think you're an adventurer?" Luise chuckled. "But well, I make things explode and call myself a mage-I guess it fits the bill," she said. "We'll need a certificate at least, and that costs money. Money we can acquire by doing adventurer jobs," Luise looked at Saito up and down. "But you'll need a sword. You can kill rats with daggers, but if we want to go big and kill bugbears or orcs, you'll need a sword."

With a nod, Luise opened her emergency pouch. "There's maybe enough for a cheap short sword, but since it's close to the annual festivity, they might drop the prices. What do you say?"

"Can't we just kill rats?" Saito hazarded, receiving a glare from Luise in turn.

"Look! It's not that I like this situation either, but killing rats would take us month of work just to get by, and rats eventually end, you know?! Orcs are dumb and big, and they're a threat to the countryside. Think of it as doing a bit of vermin control! You kill orcs, they don't kill farmers, farmers produce more food, and everyone is happy!"

Saito nervously chuckled. "But won't that be dangerous?"

Luise rolled her eyes. "Killing rats is even more dangerous. Don't you know how high the risk of catching the plague is? That's why they let adventurers handle the killing. If it was a safe job, they'd do it themselves rather than pay someone to do it for them." Crossing her arms in front of her chest, and tapping her right foot on the floor, she turned sideways. "Look-you don't look much. If you knew how to read and write, maybe we'd find you something, but you can barely read and writing's out of the question. You're a wimp, so working in the fields is out of the question. I could find a job as a barmaid, maybe-I'm hopefully cute enough, but!" she snapped towards Saito, "I'm not going to do all the work! So it's either killing orcs or finding a job in the city!"

It turned out finding a job in the city was not easy at all, especially for a foreigner like Saito. In the end, a compassionate blacksmith threw in a short sword and a cheap shield for the amount of money Luise had, and Saito -looking all the more the part of the adventurer of the typical JRPG, stared at the ever-so-stereotypical board filled with 'quests'.

Maybe if he viewed this as a 'game' he might even go somewhere.

He could imagine it, his class being 'Warrior' and his Hit Points and Stats being at the very start. He'd have to grind a bit, but soon enough-

"Here, we'll take this," Luise said. "Nice and easy, just what we need to get the hang of this," as she removed a parchment from the board, Saito gave a puzzled frown.

"Didn't you say we wouldn't be killing rats?"

"I'm not going to make you kill orcs if you can't even kill a rat!" Luise snapped back. "Who do you take me for? A slave driver?"

Saito merely shrugged. Well, killing rats wouldn't be that hard, would it? Sure, it was a 'colony' of rats, and sure, the place was slightly distant from the city itself, but it could be reached by foot by the end of the day, and anyway, how big could the rats be?

A lot.

When Saito stared at the rat's wide eyes, he stared at a rat that reached his height, with sharp, blood-encrusted fangs and twitching whiskers.

"You know how it is," the nearby mage who had put up the 'quest' explained, "Alchemy experiments-I didn't mean to make them grow that much-it was meant for the crops."

Saito stared at the large rat as it scurried around the hall of the small villa, a simple manor but with all the traces of good decor within it. Well, that had been before the rat army attacked and turned it all into a furious pile of broken furniture and rat excrement. The terrified mage remained out of the door, waving a 'good luck' to Luise and Saito.

"So," Luise said. "You ready?"

In answer, Saito merely stared back at Luise with the giant rat having dug its teeth into his shield. "While you were busy talking, I was busy getting eaten. A hand?"

Luise rolled her eyes, her wand coming up and starting to move in the air. "It's just one lonely giant rat-"

The door nearby swung open as a dozen or more rushed out, forcing Saito to kick the one gnawing on his shield and before rushing to protect Luise. "More like a dozen!" he shrilly screamed.

As Luise finished the chant for 'Fireball', instead of the typical low-level explosion, a shower of rat innards suddenly dropped from the skies, the result of the spell having somehow packed more of a 'punch' than a 'blast'.

"U-U-Urk!" Saito barfed, even as Luise began to tremble and removed 'something best left unmentioned' from her hair.

The nearby rats skittered back to their hiding spots around the mansion.

"C-Come on," Luise said through hissed teeth. "W-What. You d-didn't think I could-could do something l-like this, uh!? A-Are you in a-awe now!?"

In answer, Saito retched once more, holding a hand up for a 'time-out'.

"L-let's," Luise stammered out, "L-let's k-keep going," she added taking a few shaky steps forward. "Th-they're j-just rats!"

Taking a small breath -a big one would just make him retch more- Saito stood up and began to follow next to Luise.

Thus, the tale of the Rat Hunters extraordinaire began in earnest.