Chapter 4: Ticks Away from Midnight

---

Everything is shrouded with mist. Nothing but a thick fog lays before the darkness. In the middle of it all is the pinkette, laying on her back as she wonders why she's here.

"What the…?" She utters to herself, confusion racking her head for answers to her current predicament.

She looks around to see what is there for her to see. But nothing of significant note lays before her eyes. It's nothing but the fog and the darkness. She feels like she's sinking through water as she descends into her dreamscape.

"Zero Louise!"

"Another failure."

"As expected."

These were the words of the voices she hears in this place. It continues on with different variations of insults and such.

"Another nightmare huh?" Louise says to herself, not feeling anything from all of this as this type of dream is not a rare treat for her. It happens all the time.

"Louise-sama~" Someone coos. This makes Louise glance everywhere within the space. She immediately realizes that it is Kurumi who spoke. It is then where she feels like she's on solid ground again. She sits herself on her knees as she looks around to find her new Familiar.

The mere uttering of those words silences all of the other noises. Now though, it seems as if the others are now cowering and whimpering in fear out of the newcomer's presence. They don't dare to speak insults again to Louise.

As Louise raises her head, she sees multiple silhouettes that are sharing the same eyes. Their left eyes are different from their right counterparts. Their left eyes are red as blood, all the while their left eyes are golden as treasure, and it seems that their golden eyes are outfitted with clocks.

As Louise makes eye contact with her Familiar, all of the silhouettes retreat back into the mist. Disappearing like smoke into the fog.

"Kurumi, where are you!?" She demands an answer as she looks around, trying to find her Familiar in the mist. She stands up and begins to wander through the mist.

"Let me handle this, Louise-sama." Kurumi says, all the while Louise still doesn't see the person.

"Kurumi, where are you!?" She yells again as she runs around the plane, still having no success in finding her.

She abruptly stops to catch her breath, panting as she looks at the ground. She raises her head to see if there were any changes, but as soon as she does so, she sees a big golem before her.

"W-Where did that come from!?" She panics as she stumbles onto the ground, creeping back as she tries to gain distance between her and the golem.. She then frantically checks her robes to get her wand.

"Huh?" She looks at the pockets her uniform has and the wand is not in any one of them. She is definitely screwed if she doesn't find that wand of hers now.

"Eh…?" It takes a moment for the information to sink in, and as soon as it does, the clarity in her mind disappears as she continues to panic.

"W-Where is it!?" She says, her voice a little bit shaky. "Where's my wand!?" She now pats every inch of her uniform to check if there was some sort of mistake. But there was no mistake, she does not have a wand.

The golem goes forward towards her, clearly doing its job of eradicating her existence. Louise does not notice this until the golem was a couple of meters away from her.

"Huh? How did this get here?" Louise hears Kurumi, making her glance back. What Kurumi was holding was something she could not make out of as it was completely shrouded with mist.

"Kurumi?" Louise utters as she realizes as she does not hear the stomping the golem makes. She glances back to the golem who is now being held back by the arms appearing from Kurumi's shadows.

Kurumi just sighs in response. "No matter, at least it will prove useful right now." A click rings throughout the plane.

"What-?" Before Louise could even finish her sentence and glance back at Kurumi, she feels a gush of wind pass by her, stopping her from saying anything.

What follows after is an explosion right behind her. She looks behind her, only to see the debris falling towards her. Her eyes widen as her eyes fall upon a huge chunk of rock coming straight at her. There was nothing she could do,

"AHHH" She screams as she shuts her eyes, not bearing to witness her demise.

"AHHH" She shoots up from her bed, panting and sweating at the same time. She looks around to see if she is still in her dream. But she soon confirms that she was back in her room. Standing up and heading towards her window, she sets aside the curtains and she sees the morning sky.

Before she breathes out a sigh of relief though, someone interrupts her thoughts.

"Another nightmare, Louise-sama?" Kurumi asks as she enters the room, a basket of clean laundry in hand.

Louise nods in response, "Yes it was." She sighs, "I wish it would just stop bothering me."

"Well, if you don't pay any attention to any of it, it will surely go away, Louise-sama." Kurumi replies as she places the laundry back into the closet, hanging them on the rack inside of it.

"But this time, it was different." Louise points out.

"Hmm?" One of Kurumi's eyebrows rises as her curiosity is caught with that, "What was different this time, Louise-sama?" She asks.

"Well…" Louise says as she twiddles her thumbs, "This time I heard your voice in my dream, and instead of only one of you, this time you're with your clones…"

"Mhm, mhm, go on~" Kurumi says as she now sits down on the chair near her bed.

"And there was this golem in the dream, trying to kill me." Louise grimley remembers, "And it seemed like you were holding something…"

"I'm holding something?" Kurumi asks her, "What was I holding in your dream?"

"I couldn't tell…" Louise replies, "It was shrouded with mist…"

"I see." Kurumi sighs, "Go on."

"Right. Then I heard a click, then I felt a gush of wind go by me, and what happened next is that the golem exploded." This time, Louise sighs. "It was a weird nightmare, I couldn't tell the last half of the dream."

"What a wild dream you had, Louise-sama." Kurumi comments, "I have to say, it is definitely wilder than the previous ones." she adds.

"I know. It's more of a puzzle than a dream." Louise says as she heads to her dresser.

"I don't think you need to put too much thought into it, Louise-sama." She replies, as two Kurumi clones appear from the shadows, here again to help Louise with dressing up for the day.

"It…Was just an odd dream…" Louise mutters as the clones are dressing her up from her nightgown into her uniform. "I really can't help but put much thought into it…"

"For all we could know Louise-sama, it may be an insight into the future, or just a normal absurd dream." She responds while combing her hair.

"An insight into the future…" Louise utters under her breath, 'It may answer some things…'

"There." Kurumi says, smugly, "All done Louise-sama."

After hearing that, Louise inspects herself in the mirror. She smiles as she's satisfied with her hair for the day. "Nice work once again, Kurumi."

"Thank you for your kind words, Louise-sama." Kurumi bows her head, showing her gratitude.

Louise stands up from her chair and proceeds to walk to the door. "Like always Kurumi, you'll be with me."

"Of course, Louise-sama." She replies, her and the clones bowing. Shortly after, the clones know that they couldn't join them and so they head back into the shadow pocket. The door opens, signaling the start of the start of their new day.

Unlike her first time in this new world, people cowering in fear because of her, and remaining distant from Louise, this time around, people actually greet them.

"Good Morning, Louise-san."

"Good Morning to you too."

"Morning Kurumi-san."

Kurumi flashes a smile then greets them, "Morning."

This was now their new life. It's hard to believe that over time, the students within the academy would develop good relations with the Familiar they feared before. Even the teachers and staff are not skeptical of Kurumi, well not that much anymore at least.

"Today's a pretty lively day again isn't it, Louise-sama?" Kurumi comments as they walk toward Louise's classroom.

"Yes it is. Still it's hard to believe that you are that approachable."

"Hm? Am I that terrifying, Louise-sama?" Kurumi asks, nudging Louise's shoulder.

"Well, if I'm perfectly honest, yes, you are terrifying." Louise lets out a breath, "Knowing what your powers are, the cost of it, and on how you recover from that cost is something I wouldn't want anyone else to know."

Kurumi just giggles in response, "Well, Louise-sama, even though I am a terrifying spirit, I am still a normal girl afterall."

'Normal is an overstatement…' Louise sighs. Once she notices that no one else is around, she can talk about the other side of matters she's concerned with. Matters that only her Familiar could handle. Afterall, she fears that one clone may go rogue and start a massacre just for time.

"Anyways, how's your clones?" She starts off, "What are they up to lately?"

"This again, Louise-sama?" Kurumi deflates, "Did the last incident give you a fright?"

"Of course it did!"

"I'm just messing with you, Louise-sama." Kurumi laughs it off, "I told them to avoid unnecessary bloodshed."

"I see, what a relief."

"Why do you seem so tense about that matter?"

"..." Louise didn't bother to respond, opting to remain silent.

"Well, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask further, Louise-sama."

"Thank you for understanding Ku-" Before she could even finish, someone interrupts her.

"Kurumi-san!" A certain redhead waves her hand. Beside her is Tabitha, emotionless as ever.

"Ah, good morning, Zerbst-san." Kurumi greets, "And to you too, Tabitha-san."

"Morning." Tabitha simply greets her. Not much emotion shown as usual.

"So when are we having our friendly spar, Kurumi-san?" Kirche asks, wanting to have a duel with the familiar who kicked and scared Guiche 'til his pale.

"Can you stop asking my Familiar for a duel, Zerbst." Louise growls.

"What's the matter, Louise?" Kirche teases her, looking down on her thanks to their height difference, "It's not like I'm going to kill Kurumi-san here."

"I am more worried about the damage she could do!"

Kurumi just giggles at the display before her. 'Their dynamics do truly give entertainment to me.'

"What are you laughing for!?" Louise furiously asks her Familiar, looking like she's so full of herself.

"It's just, you and Zerbst-san didn't change one bit ever since I got here." She says while giggling.

"What?" They both ask as they didn't quite understand what she had said as she laughs.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Kurumi says as she stops laughing. "Anyways, we wouldn't want to be late now do we?"

"Why do you talk like you're a student here?" Louise asks her,

"Well, am I not?" Kurumi answers, "I am practically a student of this academy, Louise-sama."

"What do you mean Ku- Ah, right…" Louise stops herself from continuing her words, remembering that she practically acts both like a servant and student.

"Not that I could use your world's magic anyways." She adds. "So, shall we go now?" She asks again.

"Yeah, we shou- Where's Tabitha?" Zerbst asks as she notices that Tabitha was no longer by her side, making everyone look in every direction, to which they find her walking at the end of the hall.

"Hey! Wait for us Tabitha!" Zerbst yells as she chases after her.

"Hey!" Louise follows Kirche, Kurumi in tow.

It is going to be a bright day ahead of them, for all they know. But alas, the world has something else for them to take. And dear Brimir, their wild adventure is just about to start.

---

Outside, on the grassy fields within the academy's walls, is where Colbert is currently holding his lesson. But for today,

"Before I start our lesson for the day, I would like to remind you all that the princess will visit us tomorrow." Says Colbert, "And that she will observe this year's Familiar Exhibition." he adds. And with this new found news, the students can't help but whisper about the Familiar Exhibition.

"The princess is visiting tomorrow?"

"Hmph, I think I will succeed at this year's Familiar Exhibition!"

"The princess will be here tomorrow…"

Some of the students feel anxious about what's to come, some are full of themselves, and some cannot help but think of their fantasies being with the princess, granted, the latter part is from a portion of the male population of the class.

"You will do so well on the Familiar Exhibition, Verdante~" Guiche pampers his spirit.

"Oh Robin, you shall perform well!" Montmorency says, excitedly as she thought of anything that her familiar should do for the event.

"Hmph, I can already foresee that the princess would admire Flame!" Kirche declares proudly.

On the other side of the spectrum, Tabitha is just head patting her familiar, and couldn't help herself but smile for a bit.

"It's such a rare sight for you to smile, Tabitha-san~" Coos Kurumi as she notices them, "Such a treat~"

As usual, Tabitha does not bother to respond, remaining silent once more after receiving that comment.

"So she's visiting huh?" Louise whispers to herself, now deep in her thought. "Eh?"

"What's the matter, Louise-sama?"

"Yeah, what's the matter, Louise?" Asks Kirche, Guiche, Montmorency and Tabitha looking at her with confusion and concern.

"EH!?" Louise yells as the gears on her head start turning as the information finally gets processed within her mind.

Her brain finally shuts down and she faints out of nowhere, luckily for Louise though, Kurumi catches her in time.

"Ara, ara, it seems like that took a toll on Louise-sama." Kurumi comments as she carries Louise, "May I take her to the infirmary, Colbert-sensei?" She asks.

"Oh, sure…" Colbert replies rather awkwardly. To be fair, it is perfectly reasonable to be awkward in that situation, because out of nowhere, Louise suddenly faints. And as such the awkward atmosphere also affects the students.

"Eh?"

"What just happened to her?"

"I don't know man…"

"Alright, that's enough of that." Colbert gathers their attention once more as Kurumi takes Louise to the infirmary, "For today, you shall train your familiars for the upcoming exhibitions…"

Hearing the last bit, Kurumi couldn't help but think to herself, 'I see, an exhibition huh?' walking through the hall with an unconscious Louise in her arms, 'Now, what should I show for that, hm~?'

After a short while, they make it to the infirmary and Kurumi explains to the nurse what had happened to her master in the middle of class. The nurse allows Louise to stay in the infirmary to rest, and that Kurumi could stay beside her. Kurumi does so and she sits on the chair beside the bed. The nurse goes out for a bit as she is called by Osmond to his office.

By the time the nurse is gone, Kurumi finds the timing of it all perfect. Because the nurse is gone for a bit, she calls one of her clones out of the shadows to discuss something.

"Yes, me? Why have you called for me?" The clone asks as she sits in front of Kurumi.

"I'm sure you all heard my thoughts about the upcoming exhibition, hm?" She asks the clone,

"Well of course, why wouldn't we hear it?"

"Well that makes things simpler for me." Kurumi says to her delightment, getting straight into planning.

"So, what are you plotting this time, me?" The clone asks once more, confirming if they should go all out or minimize the show of force they'll do.

"Well, how about we don't cause that much of a panic this time around?" Kurumi suggests,

"So that we wouldn't cause that much of a problem, like last time?"

"Mhm."

"Hm, then we should do something that would not make us look like a joke…"

"But not frightening them like I did when I released a spacequake…"

"And traumatizing Guiche…"

After looking back at the things they've done, both clones and this world's original Kurumi start laughing.

"We were a handful huh?" says the clone in the middle of her giggles.

"Yes we are." Replies Kurumi, shortly after their laughter subsides, "But we have slowly accustomed ourselves in this world."

"Mhm."

"But now, we have to restrain ourselves." Kurumi sighs, "Oh what shall we do?"

"Hm, isn't this more of a show and tell type of activity?" The clone asks.

"Well, it is more of a pageant than a show and tell." Kurumi corrects,

"I see, then we really need to show something…"

After some hard thought, the clone finally has a suggestion, "Why don't you make a new clone then?"

"I could, but wouldn't it startle them?" Asks Kurumi, doubting that it would do any good, well good for her but not them.

"Well, out of all the powers Zafkiel wields, the eighth bullet is really our only shot." sighs the clone.

"Hm" Thinking, Kurumi reviewed the powers of her angel, and the most mundane out of all of it is the eight bullet, het.

"Eight bullet it is then." Kurumi says, making the clone smile, "Thank you for your services."

"Ah, no need for pleasantries, me."

"Ugh-" grunts someone, making both Kurumi's look at the source. As their eyes find the source, they see Louise finally gaining consciousness again.

"Well, it looks like it's my time to retire for the day." Says the clone as she stands up.

Kurumi sees the clone off, descending back into the shadows. By the time the clone is gone, she focuses her sight back to Louise.

"Wha…" Squinting her eyes, Louise utters as she could feel her senses once more. As her eyes are open, what comes into her sight is the smiling face of her Familiar.

"Ohayo, Louise-sama." Kurumi greets her.

"Ah, Kurumi… Where are we?" Louise asks as she surveys the room.

"Well, we're in the infirmary right now." Kurumi answers, "You fainted out of nowhere, Louise-sama." she adds.

"Ah…Right…" Louise is ashamed of her grand act in the middle of her class.

"Why did you even faint, Louise-sama?" Kurumi asks, "You seemed so well earlier. And as far as I know, you're not suffering from a cold or any other illnesses" She points out.

"Ah…Well…" Once again, Louise twiddles with her thumbs as she tries to reason her way out of it, trying to save face while not looking like a total weakling to her Familiar.

"Don't even reason your way out of this, Louise-sama." Kurumi suddenly closes the distance between them.

"Eek!" Louise jumps back from Kurumi's sudden advances.

"I can see through your act, Louise-sama." Kurumi says. Their faces are too close to each other to the point Louise can feel Kurumi's breath, in turn flustering Louise.

"Eh…?" Louise utters out as her face continues to grow red by the second. 'Wh-What's happening?' Her head is on the verge of overheating and making her faint once more.

"Hahaha~" Kurumi quickly pulls away, looking at Louise's reaction to her sudden move, savoring the reaction written all over her face. "Your reactions are priceless, Louise-sama~" She says as she continues giggling.

"Y-You meanie!" Louise stammers out as she tries to get back at her Familiar.

"I'm sorry Louise-sama." She says as she stops laughing, rubbing her right eye. In actuality though, she's still laughing internally. "Back on track, you're concerned about the Familiar Exhibition, are you not, Louise-sama?"

Louise doesn't even try anymore and nods, admitting what's in her mind.

"Are you scared that I might do something to harm the princess?" She asks her again, pinpointing Louise's worries with a single guess.

"Yeah…" Louise admits.

"I see." Kurumi sighs, "Louise-sama-"

"B-But what could we do for the Familiar Exhibition!?" Louise cuts her off, "We can't possibly show the magic and power you hold!"

"Ah, you shouldn't worry about that, Louise-sama." Kurumi responds, confusing Louise.

"Huh?"

"Let's just say I have already thought about what I should do for the exhibition." She declares, making Louise wonder what normal talent Kurumi can show them off without scaring anyone in the process.

"And what have you thought of doing, Kurumi?" Louise asks, "Coming from you, I still doubt it would not cause a commotion…"

"What was that, Louise-sama?"

"Nothing, nothing…"

"Well, if you want to know what I will do, I'll give you a little hint~" Kurumi says,

"What?"

"This is the second thing you've seen after my first night in this world~"

"Second thing? That sounds too…Vague…" 'Wait…' She looks back into the disastrous two days of her life, and thanks to her memory, she has found her answers.

"Y-You mean…" Louise stutters out, realizing what her Familiar will do in front of everyone.

"Hm? What's your guess, Louise-sama?" She asks her again.

"Y-You're gonna make a clone…?"

"Ding ding ding~ We have a winner~" Louise's face turns to that of disbelief as Kurumi confirms her guess.

"A-Are you mad!?" Louise yells at her,

"I'm not, Louise-sama." Kurumi calmly replies. "Making a clone is the closest thing that would not scare their spirits out, Louise-sama." She reasons.

"B-But-!"

"Louise-sama, if you want me to do something else, do you want to go with my regenerative capabilities?" She cuts her off this time, suggesting a substitute to her initial plan.

"We could… We could…" Louise thinks that this may be a more impressive display of her power to manipulate time, "Wait a second…" She finally realizes that one time were Kurumi had a duel with Guiche. "No we should not!"

Kurumi sighs, "Well, Louise-sama, it's either we go for me demonstrating that I make a clone of myself, or I show off how I can easily recover from any physical injuries." For the first time, Kurumi feels annoyed with her master's anxiousness.

"I-" Louise stops herself as she thought about it, looking at Kurumi's facial expression, she can tell that even with her smile on, Kurumi is on the verge.

"Think about it Louise-sama, do you rather let them see me kill off people, or do you want me to show those abilities I just suggested?" Kurumi lets Louise decide on what she should do for the exhibition.

"C-Can't you just… Shoot at normal targets then…?" Louise suggests.

It takes a moment for the suggestion to process in her head, until it finally hits her this time. Feeling dumb as hell, Kurumi hides her face from Louise.

"I should have started off with that…" She repeats over and over again, while sitting in the corner of the room.

"Yeah you should have." Louise scowls.

"But, if I can, can I do what I have suggested, Louise-sama?" Facing Louisem again, Kurumi hopes that she could demonstrate some of her power to them all.

"Hmm," Louise hums to herself, thinking if she should let Kurumi have her way. "I'll think about it, but for now, it's just about shooting targets, okay?"

"Alright then, Louise-sama." Kurumi says.

The door to the infirmary opens, and they see the school's nurse entering. "I see you're doing fine now, Louise-san." The healer comments.

"Y-Yeah I am…" Louise replies back, still ashamed of what had happened.

"Thank you again for immediately bringing her here." She thanks Kurumi,

"Oh, it's simply my duty as a Familiar, ma'am." Kurumi says with courtesy.

"Although she seems fine right now, I still need to examine her to see if you have any illnesses, Louise-san." The nurse explains to them, "Oh, but don't worry. It will not take most of your time so that you could head back to your remaining classes."

"I-I see." Louise replies, "Thank you so much."

The nurse flashes a smile at her in response. "It's simply my job to make sure you're doing fine, Louise-san." She says.

Then she casts magic to see if there was anything wrong, but she finds nothing. "Alright, it seems it was just fatigue that caused it." She tells them, "But rest for a little bit more, just to be sure."

"Okay…" Louise replies.

---

Some time passes by until Louise is finally allowed to join her classmates once more. Bidding goodbye to their nurse and thanking her, they leave the infirmary and make their way to her remaining classes.

"I missed out on so much…" Louise grumbles to herself, "Why did that have to happen…?" she deflates in sheer disappointment in herself.

"Don't worry, Louise-sama." Kurumi tries to lighten up her mood, "I had one of my clones to stay back and listen to class."

"But still… I guess I'd be the laughing stock of the class again." She sighs.

"Want me to handle them, Louise-sama?" Kurumi suggests as she manifests her muskets.

"No, don't!" Louise scrambles towards Kurumi, trying to disarm her from her weapons.

Kurumi laughs at how Louise reacts to her antics. Even though she was bullied before because of her, there are some parts of her that actually care for her classmates.

"I'm just messing with you, Louise-sama." Kurumi giggles, her guns going back into the aether. "But don't be ashamed of one action, Louise-sama." She says.

"Huh?"

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind that that had happened." She adds, "Besides, they were too focused on what they should do for the exhibition as well. I'm sure they had forgotten the whole ordeal."

"I-I see…"

"Ah! Louise-sama! Kurumi-san!" From across the hall, they hear Siesta greeting them.

"Ah, hi Siesta."

"Hello Siesta-san."

"Are you doing alright now, Louise-sama?" She asks them out of worry.

"I'm doing fine now Siesta, thank you for your concern." Louise replies.

"I see, where are you two off to?" Siesta asks them out of curiosity.

"Well, we're heading back to class."

"Class? Isn't it today for you to train your familiar for the upcoming exhibitions?" Siesta asks, checking if her memory is right.

"Ah, right." Kurumi remembers, "One of my clones said that there'd be no classes for the entire day since we're going to practice." She says.

"Why haven't you told me that sooner?" Louise asks in annoyance.

"I forgot to tell you." Kurumi says with a cheeky grin.

"You…" Louise is about to lose her temper, but luckily, she manages to control herself, somehow.

"Fine." She sighs, "Then I guess I would like to see your marksmanship. Let's go." Louise says.

"Alright, Louise-sama." Kurumi says, following Louise back to the courtyard.

But they abruptly stop their tracks as Siesta asks, "Uhm… C-Can I watch?" to which they nod, "Of course you can watch, Siesta-san." Kurumi replies.

"Alright then." Siesta flashes them a smile. In reality though, she is already done with the work she has for the morning and the afternoon. So there is nothing really she can do at the time.

And with that, the trio heads to the courtyard where some of Louise's classmates are also training their familiars.

As soon as they get there, they see multiple masters and familiars practicing. From Guiche sweet talking Verdante, to Kirche commanding Flame to attack targets. Everyone is really trying their best to impress the princess.

"Well, isn't it lively, Louise-sama?" Kurumi comments on the scene before them.

"It definitely is sort of crowded here…" Louise adds.

"Kurumi-san!" Kirche greets them, making her way to them along with Flame.

"Oh great…" Louise rolls her eyes.

"Well, Louise-sama, you wanted to see my marksmanship, right?"

"Yes, I do, why?" Louise asks, "Are you intending to have a spar?" She sighs at the thought of it.

Kurumi nods in response to her question, "No, no spars." Louise says firmly.

"Why not, Louise?" Kirche asks as she closes their distance, "No one is going to get hurt after all."

"How can you guarantee that, Zerbst?" She asks the Germanian redhead.

"Well, since we're training our familiars, why not let them have a friendly spar." She suggests to the pinkette.

"Hmmm." She furrows her brows as she looks at Kurumi then at Flame, wondering if she should let the spar happen, or should she decline the proposition given to her.

"I won't bring out my angel, Louise-sama." Kurumi promises to her, 'I would really like to spread my wings a little' she thinks, it's been a long time since her duel with Guiche after all, and the recent rumors were because of her clone.

"Fine." Louise yields, finally letting her have her spar. "If I see that angel, this spar is not happening." She says, to which Kurumi's face lightens up in delight.

"Thank you, Louise-sama." Kurumi says, "You have my word."

"Alright, alright." Louise says, "Zerbst, better give us some time to prepare."

"Oh sure~" Kirche replies, "As long as I see Kurumi-san in action, I'd gladly wait." she adds, sounding like a fan girl.

'Dear Brimir, please let this be a normal spar…' Louis prays that somehow, no disaster would happen.

Before they could even prepare however, Kurumi suddenly hears one of her clones calling to her.

"I'm sorry Louise-sama, but my clone calls for my presence." Kurumi says, "I'll be back after a short while, don't worry Zerbst-san."

Like before, she suddenly goes into her shadows without anyone saying a single word.

Louise sighs as this always happens, "She always does this…"

"She probably has matters to attend to, don't worry about it." Kirche says, patting Louise's head.

"Who said you could do that!?" Louise yells at the Germanian, feeling uncomfortable because of the sudden action.

"You always have a short temper, Louise." Kirche sighs, "Anyways, if Kurumi-san is back, just find us and we'll have our spar."

"Alright then…" Louise replies, and with that Kirche leaves Louise and Siesta, going back to where she trains Flame at.

Meanwhile on the other side of things, in her shadows, Kurumi is with her clones that she has sent out earlier, discussing the urgent matter that they want to tell her.

"So, what is your report this time, me?" She asks one of the clones.

"Well, for starters, we've encountered multiple groups of bandits of sorts-"

"That is not what I am after." Kurumi cuts them off, "We've always encountered groups of bandits on a daily basis, what's different this time?" She asks them, growing uninterested and annoyed with what is happening.

"I see, impatient as ever, me." The clone jokingly comments, "I digress, it seems like it was the serpertist group we encountered earlier."

"Hm? A sepertist group?" Kurumi asks, wanting to confirm the matter.

"Yes, me." Replies the clone.

"Well then, what is the noteworthy report you have about them?" She asks them again.

"Well most of the groups we encountered today is them, I believe we encountered some of them while they're having a meeting in the nearby forest."

"Most huh?" Kurumi whispers to herself, "What do you mean nearby forest?" She asks them again.

"Well, the one just down the road from this school."

"I see, and you've dealt with them, yes?"

"Yes we have. But sadly, one slipped away."

Kurumi shakes her head, "Shame, but it was just one person, we can possibly deal with them later."

"We definitely would." The clone's smile widens as she says this.

"Hm? Confident, are we?"

"Of course, besides," The clone pauses for a bit, "They ran towards the academy, seeking refuge here."

"Ara, ara, looks like someone has already thrown the wrench into my plans." Kurumi says, "Do you have any idea on who it was?" She asks them,

"Sadly, we only saw one defining feature." Sighs the clone, "They had lime hair."

"Lime hair huh?" Kurumi says, as she tries to look into her memories about someone who could fit that description. "Oooh, looks like I'll be in a treat for this one~" She coos as she realizes who it might be.

"Now that was a very intriguing report." Kurumi comments delightfully.

"What should we do now?"

"What should we do?" Kurumi pauses, tapping her temple. "We simply wait for the perfect time to take them."

"The perfect time?" The clone repeats, "When is that exactly?"

Kurumi's mischievous smile is now making an appearance on her face, "When they expose their true identity of course." She says, "By then we could say our actions are completely justified."

"Looks like I have to return now." She says to the clones, "Continue further surveillance on this sepertist group we keep on encountering." She commands, "I have a feeling this is not the only time they'll be relevant."

"Of course, me." Says the clone as she sees her off the shadows.

And again Kurumi ascends from her shadows to enter back into the surface. 'Afterall, I have a spar to attend to.' She thinks to herself.

On the surface though it is an entirely different story. Most of the students are already done with training their familiars for the day. Louise, Siesta, Kirche, and Tabitha are on one table, Siesta serving them the other side of things Guiche and Montmorency having a little chat, while their familiars rest.

"The sun is about to set." Tabitha comments as she gazes out of the academy's gates, seeing the sun near the horizon.

"Where is she…" Kirche says, rocking the table as she lays her head on it, making the teaspoons clank in the teacup with some tea spilling out.

"Don't be impatient, Zerbst." Louise says.

"But it's been too long." Zerbst whines, losing every bit of her patience.

"That's a Germanian for you." Louise sighs.

"More tea, Louise-sama?" Siesta asks.

"Sure." Louise says, Siesta then pours some tea in her cup.

"I have returned." Kurumi suddenly announces to them.

"W-Where is she!?" Startling Siesta.

Louise sighs, "She's just about to come out of her shadows." she explains.

"Aw, looks like you're used to it, Louise-sama." Kurumi delfates, "I was hoping I'd startle you too." She adds.

"After experiencing that several times now, I'm surely used to it." Louise defends, "So what took you so long?" She asks her as she is coming out of the newly appeared shadow.

"Nothing much, just gathered interesting information." Kurumi replies.

"What information?" Louise sternly asks her.

"What's with the stern tone, Louise-sama?" Kurumi asks, "Either way, I'll tell you when the time is right."

"And why is-" Before asks, Kurumi is inches away from her face, "Shh." Kurumi shushes her, then she moves back.

"Fine, but I'll ask you again soon about this." Louise says, pouting and crossing her arms.

"Of course, Louise-sama." Kurumi giggles.

"Anyways, you still have your spar remember?" Louise asks her.

"Of course I remember, Louise-sama, that's why I'm back here." She replies again.

"Well, there you have it, Zerbst, do you want to start the spar now?" Louise faces Kirche.

"Yes!"

"Well that was a surprisingly fast answer."

"About to be night." Tabitha points out, protesting with the idea that they should have their spar now.

"But we only have the time now to have a spar." Kirche whines again.

Tabitha looks at Louise and Kurumi, then at Kirche and Flame. She sighs, she knows Kirche too well to even stop her at this point.

"Fine." Tabitha says.

"Well that is settled then." Louise says as she stands up, "Let's go Kurumi."

"Alright, Louise-sama." Kurumi says as she follows Louise.

"Alright Flame, let's do this!" Kirche says, determination riling her up.

Flame just gave an inaudible grunt, but it is not a grunt of reluctance but a grunt of excitement and such.

And so, with the spar at hand, Kirche wants to see how Flame would fare in a fight, all the while, Louise still has her doubts with the whole ordeal.

"Are you sure you really want to do this?" Louise asks Kurumi.

"Well of course, Louise-sama." Kurumi replies with a smile, "After all, it would be target practice for me."

"Right…" Louise utters, "But don't kill her familiar, and don't use your angel either." She commands her.

"Hai, hai." Kurumi replies.

On the other side of things, Kirche is encouraging Flame, making sure he wouldn't chicken out in the middle of the spar.

"Alright Flame, just try your best to hit her, okay? But don't kill her."

Flame grunts in response, acknowledging Kirche's orders.

"Show me what you got Flame!"

Flame grunts his war cry in response.

---

In the middle of the night, a robed figure limps their way out of the forest. Arms riddle with scars and cuts, bleeding as they make their way out into the open field of grass, lit by the stars and moon of the night sky.

"Damnit!" They grunt out of pain, "That little devil!" they curse out as they try to stop the furious bleeding on one of their arms.

They still remember the horror they saw just moments ago.

"J-Just how did she know…?" They ask themselves as they gaze up at the night sky, 'How did she know we were there?'

The memory of the massacre is still in their mind. The bloody and gory scene lays fresh in their memory. The scent of blood, and the screams of agony lives on, scarring and haunting their mind.

They then gaze out at the end of the field, where the academy lays in sight. They narrow their eyes as they limp their way to it.

'Just how… am I going to get that staff…?' They think to themselves as they continue making their way to the academy.

It is a rough road now to go through their endeavor as someone is blocking their way of success. Someone that they can probably beat in a fight, but the chances are slim.

"Right…" They whisper to themselves, "I just need to not get into her way…"

While Longueville was thinking of the incident some nights ago, it is actually a miracle that she managed to hide her injuries from everyone within the academy.

'I'm sure she knows…' Longueville sighs, 'Afterall, she was the one who inflicted these damned scars…'

What Longueville didn't notice is that this time, instead of the white mouse, Osmond is personally looking at her in a pervy way as she was fixing documents and storing them into the shelf's cabinet. As her body is positioned in a way that her rear's curvature is clearly shown, Osmond couldn't help but stare at it.

As soon as she is done with storing the documents, she feels like someone is staring at her. Looking back, she sees Osmond being a perverted old man again. Before it even registers in Osmond's mind, Longueville calls him out.

"Osmond-sama." Longueville flashes him with a smile, a smile that Osmond knows that she only makes when she is mad.

"Ah-! L-Longueville-san!-" Taken aback, the old man stutters out, "I-I didn't mean to-" before he could even explain himself, Longueville already makes her move, hitting Osmond in the head again.

A slap is heard throughout the section of the academy. Shortly after, Osmond and Longueville are walking down from Osmond's office, Osmond with a cartoonish bump on his head.

"You didn't need that much force, Longueville-san…" Osmond whines.

"Hmph." Longueville replies in kind, "Anyways, Osmond-sama, where are we off to at this hour?" she asks as she isn't told about their new agenda.

"Well, since the princess is coming over for a visit, I need to check the security of the Staff of Destruction." Osmond answers.

"The Staff of Destruction?" She repeats,

"And since the princess is coming over, it is customary for us to assign protection for her as well." Osmond explains, "We're going to check the security of the staff and see if we could allocate some of our personnel to guard the future queen of this kingdom."

"But isn't that a risky move, Osmond-sama?" Longueville comments, "We couldn't protect both the princess and the staff."

"We couldn't, but the staff is perfectly safe even without the personnel." Osmonds boldly claims as they keep walking until they are now in front of the door to the room that holds the Staff of Destruction.

"Besides, this door is sealed with an enchantment, even a triangle-class mage couldn't break the enchantment that easily." Osmond says with pride.

'So the door is the only one enchanted, and not the entire room huh?' Osmond unknowingly gives the vital information to the enemy right beside him, making her think of several ways to enact her robbery.

"Besides, we could leave two personnel guarding at the front, while the rest escorts the princess throughout her stay here." Osmond says, full of confidence as if he has thought of all of this ahead of time and that there is no failure in the security system.

"Well, if it is that secure, then we should probably go with that then, Osmond-sama." Longueville says, further cementing her success in getting the staff.

"Well with that, I'll just check in with the staff for a bit." Osmond says as he moves closer to the door, "Wait out here, Longueville-san." he says to her.

"Alright then, Osmond-sama." Longueville obeys as she steps back a bit. 'If I act now, I might be kicked out of here.' She thinks, opting to be rational and wait for the perfect time to snatch it from them.

Osmond signals the current guards of the door, making them step back as well. Osmond brings out his wand and whispers a chant, Longueville and the guards not hearing it at all. And with that the door opens automatically and Osmond goes in, leaving Longueville with the guards.

Silence dominated the air. No interaction, no short talk, nothing. It is actually unsettling to the point Longueville and the guards ignore each other's existence. They silently wait for Osmond to be done with his business with the staff.

Shortly after though, the door opens once more and out comes Osmond. "Alright, we can go now, Longueville-san." He says, proceeding to walk towards their next stop.

Longueville nods in response and follows him. "Where are we off to now, Osmond-sama?"

"Hm, I heard that today the second year students are training their familiars for the upcoming exhibitions." Osmond replies, walking through the corridor that is lighted by the sun's light.

"But the sun is already about to set, Osmond-sama." Longueville points out, "I doubt there would be any student still training their familiar at this time."

"Hm? Never doubt the possibility, Longueville-san." Taking a glance out the window, he stops to check who it is that is still outside. Longueville stops as well, taking a glance out the window.

At first, she sees Kirche and her familiar, but as she glances to the other side, she sees the one responsible for the murder and butchering of her comrades. Her eyes widen, some sweat forms on her forehead.

"Hm, looks like this will be an interesting demonstration." Osmonds comments, quietly observing the spar along with Longueville.

On the perspective of the people who are responsible for the spar…

"Are we all set?" Kirche asks, to which both Louise and Kurumi nod in response.

"Alright, Tabitha, can you be the one to oversee the spar?" Tabitha nods and gets in between both sides.

Both Louise and Kirche back away from their familiars as the spar is about to begin.

Flame takes his stance, while Kurumi summons her muskets. Grinning, she can feel her blood rush through her body. 'Finally, another battle for me~' She thinks to herself, her violent persona surfacing as she takes her stance as well.

Tabitha glances at Flame then at Kurumi, closing her eyes she raises her staff. Both parties' attention are caught as they know that the duel is about to begin once she brings down her staff.

'Please let this be a normal spar…' Louise thinks to herself, wishing for some degree of normalcy with Kurumi's spar.

'Show me everything you have, Flame, Kurumi-san.' Kirche's impatience is growing as Tabitha is still seconds away from staring the

Once she does bring down her staff, the signal hits them as if a flash goes through their minds and the spar begins with a bang.

Flame fires off several fireballs at Kurumi, which she dodges every single one of them. Seeing that none of his shots has hit Kurumi, he fires more fireballs at her. She flawlessly dodges every single shot once more, running while her arms are crossed.

Now seeing that his shots are way behind Kurumi's speed, he decides to aim ahead of Kurumi. Firing another fireball, it hits the ground before Kurumi, making her backflip into the air to dodge the dirt, which in turn helps Kurumi dodge the other incoming ball of flame.

"Looks like Kurumi-san is not taking the initiative to attack back." Kirche sighs as she sees Kurumi just dodging every shot fired at her as if it was just an elaborate dance for her.

"Yeah… I was expecting she'd be more aggressive this time…" Louise utters out, expecting Kurumi to go overboard with her powers.

Meanwhile, Siesta is amazed by the sight before her. Kurumi's way of dodging can be described as clean and elegant. It's as if it is refined through countless battles and duels.

Meanwhile on Kurumi's side, she's currently in the air after her last backflip. This time though, she orients her body, so that she could properly look and aim at Flame. Once her body's orientation is right, she pulls the triggers of her guns and since these are muskets made out of a spirit's magic, the natural physical laws of a musket does not apply to them, and she unleashes a volley of magical lead onto Flame. Sensing the incoming danger, it is now Flame's time to dance along with Kurumi's attacks.

"T-That shouldn't work like that!" Louise can't believe her eyes, before she only sees Kurumi firing one shot from her musket. But now, she's rapidly firing her supposedly one-shot weapon that actually shoots projectiles after the first shot.

Kirche, Tabitha and Siesta share the same sentiment as Louise. They believe the fact that musket weaponry is just a one-shot ranged weapon that requires a lengthy time to reload it. But it isn't the case before them.

Kurumi is still busy firing at Flame, and Flame is still busy trying to dodge every shot Kurumi is spraying at him. It is then when he decides to breathe out fire to make a wall to defend himself from the incoming volley.

Kurumi expects that her shots will undoubtedly hit their target, but to her surprise the shots melt as they pass through the wall of flame. Nothing but smoke makes its way to Flame.

"Huh, that was unexpected." Kurumi comments, "I'm impressed, honestly." She adds.

Hearing Kurumi's comment, everyone observing the spar is also amazed by Flame's self defense.

"Well then, let's top it up a notch." Kurumi says as she steals the initiative this time, attacking first and charging at Flame simultaneously.

Seeing Kurumi charging at him, Flame releases another barrage of fireballs at Kurumi. This does not bother Kurumi at all as she just shoots at the fireballs with her own shots, successfully pacifying the threats that are coming towards her, the balls dissipating back into air.

She keeps her momentum, countering every fireball that Flame shoots at her. But after shooting down the last fireball, she is met with a wall of flame, making her jump back to dodge it.

"You're giving me such an entertaining time, Flame-san." She says to the familiar, in turn it gives out a satisfied grunt.

"Shall we finish this?" She asks as he grunts once more, showing agreement with her.

Both familiars charge at each other, firing whatever they can. It becomes a mess, the air is filled with lead and fire. Both familiars intend to end their spar right then and here.

As both of them pass by each other, the dust settles. Both familiar catching their breaths. Or is it just one of them?

"Huh?" Louise is the first one to notice something wrong about Flame. Squinting her eyes, she tries to get a better look at Flame. Shortly after though, she notices that Flame's scales are no longer red, but an inverted color.

"What the…"

"Why is he…"

"Don't worry everyone." Kurumi announces to them, catching their attention. "I just shot him with a bullet that temporarily freezes him." She explains.

"Wait…" Kirche utters, "You mean the one you used against one of Guiche's golems?" She asks Kurumi, to which Kurumi nods.

"I-Is he alright?" Siesta asks, her concern for the other familiar is growing by the second as it seems it is not responsive.

"Don't worry, Zayin is harmless." Kurumi claims, "It just stops the time of whoever got hit. Unless I hurt him now, that is."

"Nope, not happening." Louise immediately says.

"Jeez, Louise-sama, it's not like I'm actually going to do it." Kurumi pouts in response.

After some time, Flame is finally released from the effects of Zayin. He looks around to see his surroundings. When he sees Kurumi right in front of him however, he looks down, conceding from the spar.

Tabitha raises her staff once more, signaling the end of the spar.

Back to Osmond and Longueville…

"Ah, what a show that was!" Osmond comments, "Looks like this year's exhibitions will be interesting."

"Y-Yes it will be, Osmond-sama…"

"Alright then, come along, Longueville-san. We're paying Colby a visit."

"Don't you mean, Colbert, Osmond-sama?"

"Ah yes, him!" Osmond replies as he proceeds to walk towards Colbert's personal study quarters.

Longueville follows suit, 'Hopefully with the princess' visit, my work should be a little bit bearable…'

Meanwhile in the capital…

"Everything is prepared, Henrietta-sama." Says one of Henrietta's attendants.

"Good, hopefully our visit wouldn't be a bother to them." She speaks out her thoughts.

"We shall leave, first thing tomorrow, Henrietta-sama."

"Very well then." And with that, Henrietta walks towards the balcony, staring at the road that they will take towards the academy.

"After a long time, it looks like we'll be meeting again, Louise."

---