Chapter 6: Taking it Back

---

The shock and panic spreads throughout the academy as the Staff of Destruction has been stolen. Everyone is up and wide awake as the stomping of feet can be heard throughout the hallways and staircases as the teachers and some of Henrietta's retainers search around the academy grounds, trying to look for traces left behind by the culprit.

"Find that thief!" Yells one of the teachers as another group walks past them.

"Where is that scoundrel!?" They yell as they rush through the hall and into another section of the building.

The night is hectic as everyone, some of the senior students also helping the search throughout the school. It is going to be a sleepless night for everyone as no one can sleep off the incident, and none of the junior students can sleep through as well as they are constantly awoken by the constant noise and shouts of annoyance at the fact they haven't found any traces of the intruder.

Amidst the panic, Colbert, Kurumi and Louise involve themselves in the matter as they try to find the figure they saw earlier. Henrietta is taken to another room as they suspect that she is also one of the objectives of the intruder, so they leave her with her retainers and continue on with their search, exiting into the courtyard.

"They could be anywhere by now." Louise says, panting as they have been wandering outside, in the courtyard, trying to find any clues that will help them find the thief sooner.

"At this point we might as well search the woods as well." Colbert sighs as they stop for a moment.

"Already ahead of you." Kurumi smirks, before they can even ask as to what she means, one of her clones appears from the shadow.

"There are no signs of them in the forest." The clone says, much to Kurumi and the rest's dismay.

"If that's the case, then by now, they made it far out of here." Kurumi sighs in response, "How about the others?" she asks the clone that's before her.

"The others are still on the search, currently, they're investigating nearby towns." The clone says, to which Louise and Colbert look concerned about the matter.

"Have you been investigating the surrounding area?" Colbert asks, rather skeptical of the idea that she is indeed scouting the area prior to tonight's incident.

"Well, if you're summoned into a new world, of course you have to know your surroundings." She replies and giggles.

"How long have you been investigating the nearby areas?" Colbert asks again, he seems rather calm with the matter and that this possibly dangerous familiar is surveying their homeland.

"Hm, ever since the day after I became Louise's familiar." She replies.

Colbert just gives out a long sigh in response, slightly pinching the bridge of his nose between his eyebrows, "You are really something else." He says as he is partly annoyed, but it can't be helped, she's now in new land and she has every right to know about it.

Kurumi, in response, laughs in satisfaction at Colbert's comment. "Back to the topic at hand." She says, glancing back at her clone, "Continue your search, and if possible take them out and-"

"We would like to have them alive, thank you very much." Louise cuts her off,

"Right." Kurumi then proceeds to correct her orders, "Capture them and retrieve the staff. But do not stand out."

"Alright, me." The clone says, slipping back into the shadows once more.

"Looks like something interesting will happen." Kurumi grins in response, to which Colbert and Louise are just at the side, cartoony sweat forming on their hands.

"But for now, I suggest we head back to our room, Louise." Kurumi suggests, "Let's leave it to my clones." She adds, opting to take the chance and rest and let her clones deal with it.

"But if we stand idle-" Before Louise can even refute, Kurumi giggles.

"I'm sure Colbert-sensei can testify how many clones I have, right, Colbert-sensei?~" She coos as she looks at Colbert, making said teacher feel chills down his spine.

"Y-Yes… I remember…" He says, having goosebumps about the amount of clones there are, the amount fills the hallways instantly.

"Now, Louise." She says, focusing her attention back to Louise, "Shall we head back?" She asks again, gesturing to Louise to go first.

"*Sigh* At this point, I might as well think you have an entire army up your sleeve." She comments before finally relenting to Kurumi, "Fine but we will help with the search tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright then." She gladly takes up the condition, "It was rather a long day." She yawns, stretching her arms in the process. Louise takes the lead and Kurumi follows her back.

"Indeed it was…" Colbert whispers to himself. 'First, that hostage encounter… Now this…' Colbert sighs, 'Just what in Brimir's name is going on?'

He looks back at the duo, 'Just what is ahead all of us…?' The question stuck with him for the rest of the night, wondering why all of this is happening now, thinking it is just a mere coincidence that everything is happening at once.

Meanwhile on the other side of things, the scene goes like this; In the middle of the woods, there a hooded figure rests, recovering from their constant running earlier. It is the very same person who stole the Staff of Destruction. They take off their hood and it reveals their face. Lime hair flows through the wind, and with that, their face reveals itself. Longueville is the perpetrator of the entire thing, and right now, she is panting, desperate for air.

"If I wasn't chased by those damned copies of that familiar!" She curses under their breath, still panting from the exhaustion she's experiencing.

For the most part of her journey escaping out of the academy, it can be summarized as such; trying to weave through countless clones.

"Why were there a lot in this forest anyway!?" She complains, not expecting that the forest she went into is infested with several clones of that familiar.

She regathers her composure as she finally recovers from the exhaustion. "No matter," She utters as she begins to walk to her nearby rundown safehouse, "with this, we can finally get things done." she smirks as the countless thoughts and fulfillment of desires flow through her mind. Looking at the staff at her hands, her mind races to see images of the people in the academy showing faces of fear and despair as everything crumbles before them.

"Finally…" She breathes out, "...soon, I'll be done with this job." she says as she enters her safehouse. Upon entering, she takes a seat and places the staff on the table before her.

She stretches her hands out as she leans on the chair, rocking it back a little bit. "Now, I'll just need to keep my act together to pull this off." she then takes another glance at the staff, "But this is one odd staff…" She comments as she takes a closer inspection of the staff. She continues commenting that it resembles any other box than a staff.

"How does this thing even work…?" She says out of curiosity, wielding the staff and trying to cast a spell. But in the end, no spell comes out of the staff, even with incation, nothing comes out.

"Huh… that's weird…" She utters out, not understanding why it didn't cast any spell even though it is supposed to be one of the most dangerous staffs to get a hold of. "Let me try that again."

And try she did, but to no avail. Every single time, not once does it cast a spell properly. Getting more annoyed at the situation she is currently in, she then thinks of ways on how to properly use the staff.

"Looks like things are not over that easily, huh." She sighs, "No matter, looks like I'll need some outside help." She grins, finding the perfect subjects to help her immediately.

Meanwhile back at Kurumi at Louise, Kurumi sneezes which in turn grabs Louise's attention. "Are you alright, Kurumi?" She asks, "Do you have a cold?"

"No, I'm alright." Kurumi replies as she folds up Louise's used clothes, "Someone is just probably talking about me."

"If you say so." Louise says, fixing her sleeping position.

"Well I'll be off to do laundry again, Louise." Kurumi says before opening the door, "I'll wake you up if something comes up." She adds.

"Alright then." Louise yawns, stretching her arms.

"Good night, Louise."

"You too, Kurumi." And with that, the door closes and Louise goes to sleep. Minutes later, Kurumi is now outside in her usual spot where she does laundry, and Siesta is giving her company. For the most part though, Siesta is the one who is too nervous to talk to Kurumi as she heard what had transpired earlier.

"Uhm, Kurumi-san?"

"Hm, what is it?"

"Is it true that you-"

"Nope." Kurumi quickly shoots down the question, "One of my clones went rogue and decided to do things her way." She lets out a groan as the incident is growing a chip on her shoulder and making her wish that she had disposed of that clone sooner.

"A-Ah, I see."

"Quite unfortunate, really." Kurumi sighs, "So how did your end go?" She asks, wishing to start a normal conversation.

"Well, nothing out of the ordinary happened for me." She says, recounting the things she did earlier.

"You had it lucky, Siesta-san." She says, sounding slightly defeated somehow.

"Huh?"

"You seem to be able to live a normal life as if nothing is happening around you." She says, seeming rather happy about it.

"Well, I can't say that it's affecting me that much…" Siesta shyly replies, "Besides, I feel sorry for Louise-sama and the others…" Sighing, she can't fathom how to deal with all of the previous troubles they got entangled in and the current problem that they are dealing with.

"Thank you for worrying about us that much, Siesta-san." Kurumi flashes her a smile, "But we're kind of handling things well so far." She giggles for a moment, but after looking behind Siesta, she notices someone entering the school ground.

Siesta notices that Kurumi seems to be eyeing something behind her. "Uhm, what are you looking at Kurumi-san?" Siesta asks her,

"Oh, hm, act normal." Kurumi whispers to her, "Looks like the culprit that ruined my night shows themself." She smirks, already wanting to pounce at the opportunity given to her.

But as she takes a closer look, she sees the stranger taking off their hood, and revealing her most defining features. 'Oh, Longueville-san.'Rather disappointed, she feels sorry for Longueville for returning back into the academy after stealing the staff. Moments later, she notices the various damages on her cloak as she enters the grounds, 'Looks like my clones made her run for her money, huh?'

Now rethinking if she should pounce or not, she continues to have a debate with herself for a moment before coming to a decision. 'But alas, I couldn't just whimsically accuse her.'' Knowing basic common sense and logic, if she accuses her without any physical evidence, she will most likely look like an idiot who is possibly not a mentally sane person.

"What is it, Kurumi-san?" Siesta asks, worried as Kurumi seems to be in a trance for quite some time now.

"Oh, uh nothing." Kurumi replies, 'Hello, are you there?' She asks one of her clones that is nearby her.

'Yes, me.'

'Good, can you monitor her from a distance tonight?' Kurumi asks her wanting to gather more information.

The clone chuckles in response, 'Like any other job we've done before, consider it done.' Says the clone. Kurumi glances up at the walls of the academy and on top of it was one of her clones, standing up and then follows Longueville from the walls.

Kurumi then proceeds to laugh at the satisfaction of how things are developing. Siesta then gives a concerned look at Kurumi, and that of not knowing what is happening.

"Oh, sorry about that Siesta-san." Kurumi composes herself.

"No, no, it's fine." Siesta reassures her, "Have you found out who the culprit is?"

"In fact, I did, but for now, I won't tell."

"Huh?" Siesta asks, "Why?"

"Well, I'd rather let it be a surprise later." She smirks, already plotting the different ways to expose her, "Let's just say, she's clearly near the top of the school."

"Eh?"

Kurumi then proceeds to return to her chore as if nothing happened, "Well let's leave it at that." She says, "Let's talk about something else."

Siesta just sighs at Kurumi's antics, not appreciating the fact Kurumi will not even disclose her findings to her. Nevertheless, she opts to follow Kurumi's acting.

"Alright then, Kurumi-san."

"Right." Kurumi replies with a smile.

---

Due to fatigue from the incident last night, most teachers decide that they won't hold their classes. For the students, they are glad that they won't have classes and basically have another break. Same holds true for the teachers as well, but some are frustrated as another session will be canceled.

"I feel like we've been canceling classes so often now." Colbert sighs as he is with Osmond and Longueville.

"Well it can't be helped, Colby!" Osmond replies, rather ecstatic with their current situation.

"For the last time, that is not my name!" Colbert is on the verge of giving up on the old man before him.

"Besides…" Osmond takes his gleeful tone into a more serious tone, "A whole lot had happened when she was summoned." He says, narrowing his eyes.

"I agree with you, Osmond-sama." Longueville says, fixing her glasses.

"But this has to be the most chaotic one to deal with…" Colbert says as he slightly pinches his forehead.

"Although there were no major incidents-"

"There was one." Colbert corrects the grandmaster.

"-was only one major incident, this new problem certainly takes the cake." He finishes, making everyone in the room sigh with him.

"Do you think the thief made it that far from us?" Colbert asks, hoping the old fart would have some sort of detection magic because it would prove useful in their current predicament.

"Considering it's been mere hours since they were seen, they are probably resting in some nearby town." Osmond answers, "But considering the nature of how the thief stole the staff…" Osmond utters, remembering seeing the former ceiling turned into nothing but sand.

"It has to be Fouquet…" Colbert adds.

"We really seem to be in a tricky situation!" Osmond whines, not knowing anymore what to do. "Does anyone have any suggestions?" He asks them, sounding desperate as he wants this issue resolved as soon as possible.

Colbert does have a suggestion, but the problem is that his suggestion is rather a risky one. 'Should I involve them…?' He asks himself, knowing full well the dangers that entails this problem.

As for Longueville, she is hoping that they'd send someone after her. It won't hurt her that much if they figure out how to properly use the staff. 'I can dispose of them later though and act as if we got attacked, and I am the fortunate survivor.' She mentally grins at herself.

As the seconds drag on, the silence remains between the three of them. Colbert is sweating as he still couldn't decide on what he should suggest, Longueville is still relying on that little hope that they will actually send out someone to go retrieve the staff.

He swallows his doubts and gathers his resolve. 'Knowing her, she might actually be the best person to send out…' He has one person in mind. Said person is always the center of things recently and is a headache to figure out as everything she says and what she actually is shrouded, with no information backing whatever she says.

"Osmond-sama," Colbert swallows everything, gulping down any doubts and worries, all the while, a grin forming on Longueville's face. "May I request we include Louise Vallière, and her Familiar with our current situation?" He states, quickly dashing Longueville's expectations and her plans along with it.

"H-Her familiar!?" She stutters out in response, her eyes are rather shaky and sweat is now forming on her forehead.

This action startles both Colbert and Osmond as they are taken aback by Longueville's impulsive reaction to his suggestion. Noticing that she startled the both of them, she quickly composes herself once more as she does not want to raise further suspicions towards her.

"A-Ahem, sorry for my impulsiveness." She apologizes, stealing her nerves as she tries her best to remain calm with what is about to happen. 'Please send someone else. Please someone else!' She prays to Brimir that her worst possible nightmare wouldn't happen, she hopes it doesn't happen.

"Anyways, now that Longueville-san's reaction has passed," Osmond starts, coughing shortly after, "I can see where you are coming from, Colby." He says, much to Colbert's irritation at being called 'Colby', but he keeps his calm. "But are you so sure we should send out Vallière as well?"

"Yes I am." Colbert says, "From what I have gathered, both of them are relatively close. Almost inseparable even." He reasons.

"Well, you do give a fair point." Osmond says, brushing his Gandalf-looking beard, "But we are endangering one of our students…"

"But why don't we send Zerbst and her Familiar with them?" Colbert adds to his suggestion, "We could even send Tabitha with them."

Now looking into it, they are sending two capable mages, a terrifying familiar, and a mage who fails any spells she casts. Now just from that, the mixture of the group is rather unusual. 'But, it may awaken something inside Vallière…' He observed her for too long now and still she fails the spell casting aspect of magic, he thinks that this may be an opportunity for her to possibly find her element for magic.

Furrowing his brows, he reluctantly agrees. "Alright then, we'll be sending the four of them. Longueville-san would accompany them as their designated guardian."

With that said, just like a random application in a computer stops working, Longueville's mind also stops working for a moment, smoke can be seen coming out of her ears. Three of the things they said are actually beneficial for her. One is that they are sending someone out, two is that it's some students from Louise's class, and three is that she'll be accompanying them.

The only thing that destroys those three golden factors for her is the fact Kurumi will be joining them as well. Her entire body shakes, her mouth is slightly open.

"Huh? Is everything alright, Longueville-san?" Colbert asks, but Longueville doesn't respond.

And as per usual, the old man sends out his familiar to scout out any of Longueville's assets. Taking advantage of the fact she is defenseless right now, it is now the perfect time to look at what color her underwear is today.

And with such action, it only takes a few seconds for her to notice that the old man is at it again. Looking beneath her and near her foot, she sees the wretched mouse once more. Finally processing what is currently happening, she finally comes back to her senses.

"Kyah!" She yells at the top of her lungs as she tries to stomp out the pest that is currently peeking beneath her. And because of her flustered state, her actions are more or so intense than they usually are when this happens.

Such stomping causes the dust on the ceiling of the room below them to dust off onto the people below, making them wonder what the hell is happening again up there. They already know the root cause, they just want to know what perverted actions Osmond did to her to make her this mad.

As the whole affair dies out, with the mouse hiding behind Osmond like always and reporting to him on what it saw, Longueville is already prepared to bring down her wrath for one more time against the old man.

"I see…" Osmond utters as he hears what his familiar has to say.

"Osmond-sama…!" Longueville then puts on her murderous smile, and aura forming around her along with it. "I hope you know the consequences of your actions…!" She says, getting closer and closer to Osmond.

"E-Eh Lo-Longueville-san…" Osmond stutters out as he tries to back away from the woman before him, "Th-There is no need to be so violent i-is there…?" He nervously asks her, hoping to get away from her wrath.

Longueville just giggles at the thought and continues her advances. For the meantime though, Colbert sees this as an opportunity to run from the scene and get the students that he mentioned earlier.

"I-I'll be going now Osmond-sama." Colbert says, albeit he is overpowered by the aura Longueville is emitting to the point Osmond thought he is going to help him.

But thanks to Osmond's mistaken perspective, he thinks that he will be given salvation. But as Colbert makes his way out of the room, and shutting the door, it shatters Osmond's any remaining hope and he shrieks and gulps. Looking at Longueville, he is going to accept his fate.

"L-Longueville-san!" He screams once more unto the top of his lungs, the desperate plea escapes his mouth as his fate is enacted upon him by the very woman before him. Shortly after though, Osmond has a cartoonish bump on his head along with a sad and gloomy look of defeat on his face.

Moving away from that matter, Two people who are completely opposite of each other are now trying to craft their own plot to solve their own problems. As time creeps on, both are trying to secretly outdo the other without realizing that they are competing against themselves.

A secretary, who is just an alter ego for the real person, trying her very best to see which are her available options left if they do agree to hunt her down. The teacher who wants nothing more but the protection and safety of the people, trying to see any ways to capture and end this farce and issue immediately.

Two opposite worlds not knowing that they're facing off each other. The pieces of their game are those students that are about to be sent to retrieve the staff, and board is yet to be decided upon.

"I must get out of this alive!/ We must retrieve that staff!" Both simultaneously swear under their breaths, as none are willing to lose this game.

Meanwhile, clones all up and down of the surveillance of the inside works of the school are secretly eavesdropping on every single bit of dialogue given from the grandmaster's room, to the current situation between these two people.

They proceed to relay everything back to the one who is a supposed piece for the upcoming game. Much to her delight, everything is falling into place effortlessly.

"Seems like they're making it easier for me." She smirks as she is returning from a certain inspection of the woods where they previously encountered the thief. "Shame." She adds, and then she goes silent for a bit.

"I shall play your little game then." She starts giggling as she makes her way back to the academy.

---

"Where in the world is she?" Currently, Louise is getting more and more impatient as she expects her Familiar after a short time.

"Where are you going, Kurumi?" Louise asks her as she notices that Kurumi is already heading out before her.

"Oh, I just have matters to tend to, Louise." She says.

"Is that so?" Louise raises a brow, "Alright then, but be back soon." She says in a more commanding tone.

"As you wish." Kurumi says, opening the door, "Now if you excuse me, I'll be off." She says as she steps outside of the room.

"As you wish, she says, be back soon she says." Louise sighs as she slightly shakes her head. Currently accompanying her are both Kirche and Tabitha.

"You're as impatient as ever, Vallière." The redhead bust spats at her as she takes a sip of tea.

"You're one to talk!" Louise hisses at her, "What am I doing here in the first place!?"

"You ran to us…" Tabitha sighs, stereotypical anime sweat on the side of her face.

"Now that's been settled, I have something that I would like to comment about the situation as well." Kirche says as she finishes sipping her tea, "It seems as if Kurumi-san is putting her nose in this incident ever since this morning." She says, and she recounts every single bit of what happened earlier in the morning, from hearing Kurumi converse with her clones about the forest, and to her other clones about eavesdropping in Osmond's meeting with Colbert and Longueville.

"Very unusual…" Tabitha comments in a monotone voice, finding the situation rather strange.

"Well, if what you are saying is true, Zerbst, then what in Brimir's name is she plotting?" Louise sighs, irritated at the fact that her Familiar is already at work to craft another scheme she has in mind.

"I don't know." Zerbst says, and then proceeds to smile, "But I do hope it would be grander than that sparring we had!" She says, rather excited with Kurumi's schemes unfolding before them.

"Have you actually hit your head, Kirche?" Louise sarcastically asks, said redhead does not respond as she is still trapped in her own little world. "Yep, you definitely hit your head." Louise sighs.

While this goes on though, someone approaches them, and sensing this, Louise takes a glance behind her. Seeing the person, she feels relief since it is Kurumi, finally back.

"Took you long enough!" She yells at her, crossing her arms shortly after. "Where have you been!?"

"Ara ara~, looks like someone's a little heated." Kurumi teases her once more, "Don't worry, I've just tended to my clones."

"And ordered them to eavesdrop on the grandmaster of the academy?" Louise says, slightly sounding like she's skeptical about the entire thing.

Kurumi, being slightly taken aback by what Louise said, remains calm as she fixes her demeanor. "I knew you'd eventually find out." Kurumi sighs, "But believe me, it's all falling in place." She grins as she says that.

Clueless with the words that came out of Kurumi, Louise furrows her brows as she wants an explanation on the current situation.

"What do you mean everything is falling into place?" Louise asks, "Are you plotting something?"

"Oh, I am definitely plotting to catch the culprit, Louise." Kurumi says as she quickly leans closer to Louise, and after startling the pinkette, leans back. "But, it looks like they are making it more of a grander plot that I could have imagined." She giggles

"You are not making any sense." Louise nonchalantly says as she is starting to think that something is wrong with Kurumi, "Just to be safe, you're not a rogue clone are you?"

"Oh don't worry about that, Louise~" Kurumi coos, "But let's put that behind us." She pauses for a bit, "Ahem, I suggest you get prepared, Tabitha-san, Zerbst-san, and Louise." She announces to them.

"Huh?" Tabitha makes eye contact with Kurumi.

"What?" Zerbst says getting back into her senses.

"And why should we?" Louise asks once more, still not knowing the context of everything that is about to happen.

"Because Colbert-sensei is about to-"

She gets cut off as the door opens, and Colbert steps in. He looks at the startled group, all looking back at him. "All of you, come with me." Getting straight to the point he looks at Louise.

Noticing his serious tone, everyone obliges and follows Colbert back to the grandmaster's office. Along the way they start making conversations.

"So, what do you need us for, Colbert-sensei?" Kirche asks.

"The grandmaster has called for the three of you, and you." He emphasizes Kurumi.

"Hm~" She muses to herself, "I wonder why~?" She casually humms out.

Colbert just clicks his tongue, 'Looks like she knows already…' He sighs.

"The grandmaster will tell you everything once we get there, but for now I cannot disclose any further information to you." He says firmly, making sure they get the message that they shouldn't ask about this any further.

'Just what is going on here?' Wary of their current predicament, Louise is trying to piece out everything she currently has in mind, but no matter how hard she tries, she still cannot think of anything other than the questions that are in her mind.

The same is true for the redhead and the silent student, but they think they have some sort of grasp with the situation. And as for Kurumi, well she already knows thanks to her information network.

As a matter of fact, she already knows where the staff is, but there is still that problem about suspicion. 'I can't simply waltz back here with the staff.' She thinks to herself, but if they have more trust of her, then she could waltz back in with the staff.

But for now, she opts not to as she is still wanting to see how things play out before her eyes. Besides, it's been some time since her last major problem, and she wants to be entertained more with her current stay within Halkeginia. 'Honestly, what bliss a this is~'

---

"Osmond-sama." Colbert knocks at the door, "I've brought them here." He says as he opens the door, revealing the three people that are about to be sent to retrieve the staff, and the specific familiar that will be accompanying them with their mission.

"Ah, welcome dear students!" Osmond greets them, while Longueville, being Longueville, works on the documents and does not bother to notice their existence.

"So, why have you gathered us?" Kirche asks the old man, she wants to get straight into the point of their ordeal here.

"No need to be hasty, Zerbst-sama." Osmond tells her, "But, I will get straight to the point."

"And that point being?" Louise says in a rather mocking tone.

"I wish for the three of you to recover the staff." Osmond says, to which it breaks something in their minds. "Of course the three of you will be compensated accordingly." He adds.

"Why us?" Tabitha asks, slightly tilting her head.

"Especially me…" Louise says, her mood dropping by the second as she remembers the fact every spell she casts turns into a messy explosion.

"Well you see, the two of you are exceptionally well mages." Osmond compliments them, but for Louise, she took a direct hit to her heart.

"Like I said…" Louise interjects once more, sounding so defeated after a battle. "Why am I here…" She says, her voice having some hints of annoyance and slight anger in them.

"Ohoho, you'll be there as I think it may improve your spell casting, Louise-san." He says, completely ignoring the glare that Louise is giving him. "And I would like your familiar to also assist us in the entire ordeal." He adds.

"Hm? Why am I needed?" Kurumi asks, toying with the grandmaster as she steps closer to him, making the grandmaster further notice her features thanks to her gothic lolita dress.

The grandmaster's face is slowly growing red as blood rushes to his head at the sight. Slowly, Colbert moves behind him and once he is behind Osmond, he smacks the old man making his head fall face first onto the desk of the table.

"This is not the time for your perverted deeds, Osmond-sama." Colbert says, a bump forms where Osmond has been hit by Colbert, all the while Kirche has an awkward smile on her face, while both Tabitha and Louise show disgust on the entire ordeal.

"Ahem." Osmond composes himself after the entire debacle, "As we all know, your prowess in combat is far from ordinary from the rest of the familiars mages made pacts with."

Kurumi giggles in response, enjoying the compliment she's been given, "Thank you for your kind words." She says.

"And that's why I would like you to accompany them, along with Longueville-san with their mission." Hearing this come out of the grandmaster's mouth, Longueville abruptly stops from her work as she processes the things Osmond said.

Meanwhile, from Kurumi's perspective, a small smirk forms as she is even more delighted at the fact the culprit will basically be her hostage at any given time.

"Tell me or not, I will still accompany my master." She says, "After all, Louise's well being and safety are also my concerns." She adds, sounding like a loyal servant.

Hearing the words that have been said, Osmond seems glad to hear those words. 'Looks like you have a well mannered familiar, Vallière'.

"I take it you'll be joining them then?" Osmond asks just to confirm his assumptions.

"Why of course I would." Kurumi replies.

"Very well then." Osmond says, "You shall leave as soon as possible. Who knows how far they are from us by now…"

"I'll get their carriage ready." Colbert says, leaving them to further discuss their task.

"Wait, how will we even catch them if we don't know where they are?" Louise brings up as it seems like they are going into this with little to no information of Foquet's whereabouts.

"Well, witness reports say that she has been spotted entering the forest." Osmond replies, "So we might as well search there first."

"Aren't you really concerned about your students' well being…" Louise asks, shadows forming with her down expression.

"Well, why should I worry!" Osmond once again misses the obvious fact that he is sending second year students after an experienced mage.

"Eh…?" Kirche and Tabitha follow suite with Louise as they just sigh, not complaining either way with their predicament.

Shortly after, they leave the room to prepare for their little trip into the woods. Well to be precise, they're just going to check their rooms then wait for their transport to arrive. Oddly enough, Kirche and Tabitha don't bring their familiars with them on the trip.

"Eh…?" Louise blinks twice as she notices the fact that they're not bringing them along.

"Looks like I'll get to have all the fun, Louise." Kurumi beams a smile at her, knowing that those other familiars wouldn't get in her way of fighting.

"Don't just stand there, Zero and get moving!" Kirche calls her from across the hall, with Tabitha still walking towards the academy's entrance and Kirche following her shortly after.

"You're kidding me right?" Louise asks sarcastically at Kurumi.

In response, Kurumi does not answer and continues beaming her smile at Louise. "Okay, that's creeping me out…" Louise comments as she is disturbed by the constant smiles she's been given so far by her Familiar.

"Alright then." Kurumi says, toning down her facial expressions.

Louise shakes her head as she starts catching up with them. "Looks like this is going to be a long day…" She sighs.

Kurumi just giggles as she follows Louise, 'Let's see how things turn out.' She smirks in content.

Behind them is Longueville, secretly trailing them, hoping to hear any sentiments about not going through with the task given to them. But her feather quill snaps as she is annoyed as everything that's happening is not meeting her expectations at all.

'How…' She thinks to herself, 'How did this happen…?' A sweat trails down from her head and falls onto the floor.

---

Now, they are currently making their way through the small road of the forest. Nothing but the sounds of mother nature, undisturbed, echoes throughout the forest. From the birds chipping, to the rustling of bushes made by the animals who live within. Rays of sunlight punctures through the gaps of the leaves of the trees, giving enough light to be able to see within the forest.

The carriage rocks as the road is uneven within these parts. The uncomfortability of their situation is something they cannot avoid.

"Brimir curses this road!" Kirche hisses as she is the most affected one due to her height.

On the other hand, both Louise and Tabitha do not mind it that much. And as for Kurumi… Well like her master, she is unbothered by the terrain they are currently traversing, remaining silent as their journey continues on.

'Why have I been dragged into this…' Louise thinks to herself as she wears a down and gloomy expression, all the while Tabitha is confused as to why Louise is giving off such an aura.

"Are we approaching the cabin yet?" Kirche asks Longueville, growing more annoyed by the minute as they continue through rough terrain.

"We're nearly there." Longueville replies, much to Kirche's delight.

"Honestly, we could've just flown to get over there." She growls.

"We'd be spotted immediately." Tabitha says in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Either way, we're going to fight them, there's no point whether or not we use a dragon or a carriage." Kirche refutes.

Tabitha just didn't bother to continue the conversation as she knows Kirche would drag it longer than it should.

"So Longueville-sensei, is Foquet a noble?" Louise asks to try to change the current topic and mood of everyone.

"Huh?" Longueville is caught off guard by the sudden question, but she answers shortly after keeping up her act, "She is indeed a noble."

"Then why…" Louise asks, her voice starts to shake a bit.

"Why what, Louise-san?" Longueville tries to make Louise spill the question out.

"...Why is she committing these acts?" She finally spills out, "Aren't we nobles supposed to be the model of chivalry and righteousness?" She adds, believing in a pure mindset that nobles are not stained with any acts, that they are morally good and just.

Before Longueville can even respond to that, Kurumi takes the spotlight, "You're far from wrong, Louise." She says, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Those are just ideals, ideals born from dreams and fantasies." She calmly says, while those around her are ready to criticize her, with the exception of Tabitha.

"What are you saying-"

"Let me finish." Kurumi cuts Louise off, "On the outside, nobles are this shining figure, on the inside, you are all still human like everyone else."

She then gives a sharp look at Louise, "Like they say back from where I came from, 'Your blood is red as mine'." She says, dropping her usual tone into a much more serious one.

She then claps her hands, "On that note," She starts off, returning back to her usual mood, "Foquet may have motives that drove her to take such a path." She says, grinning as she knows she hit right on the mark, a bullseye even at Longueville.

"T-That may be so, Kurumi-san." Longueville chokes out, trying to toughen up her act. As she focuses back to their current task, she sees the cabin they are sent to investigate. "Looks like we're here everyone." She tells them, as she stops the carriage.

They get out of the carriage and walk towards the rundown cabin. Mother nature decorates the entire building, riddling it with moss and some parts of a tree nearby piercing through some parts of the building, claiming it as part of her own domain now.

"Uh, are we sure we're in the right place?" Kirche asks as she observes the building before her, and it's not what she was expecting.

"Well, this is the only cabin we've seen so far." Longueville says, "We might as well check for any traces." She adds, the three girls, with Kirche sighing, obliges and goes up to the cabin, with Kurumi in tow.

Longueville slips away unbeknownst to her companions. They are so focused with the task that they did not bother to make sure Longueville is still with them. And as such, they assume that Longueville is just behind them.

They enter the cabin, and as expected, it is pretty much a mess. Some insects crawl about the interior, birds fly out of the broken windows as they enter the place. It is far from what a cabin's insides should look like.

Some sort of scent roams through the interior. A mix of the scent that plants give off, and mother nature's foulest creation in the cycle, creating an awful odor that pierces their nostrils so badly.

"What the hell is that smell!?" Louise complains as she covers her nose, trying to prevent any more of the foul smell from entering her nostrils, this proves to be futile.

"Whatever that smell is, we need to find any traces of that staff here." Kirche says as she too pinches her nose to shield her nostrils from the stench.

Tabitha meanwhile just gets their attention by tugging Kirche's robes and pointing at a specific direction. "Huh?" Kirche utters before she looks to where Tabitha is currently pointing at. And there on the table, as if some sort of mythical weapon from fairytales, it lays there as the light that manages to pass the cracks decorates it.

"Huh, well that was relatively easy…" Kirche comments, clearly expecting more instead of this mere display before her.

"It's not trapped with some sort of enchantment, isn't it?" Louise asks, cautious as there is the possibility of that being the case.

Before Kurumi can ask one of her clones to be the meat shield and appear from the shadows, Tabitha shakes her head, saying that there are no traps placed on the staff.

"Well, that's that then." Kirche says as she makes her way towards the staff to grab it, "I wasn't expecting it to be this easy…" She utters as she carries the staff.

"Is that really the Staff of Destruction?" Louise asks, not believing that the rectangular figure that Zerbst is currently holding is the staff that they are supposed to bring back.

"None of us had ever seen the staff, Vallière." Kirche points out, "Who knows, this might be it…"

"Odd shape…" Tabitha comments upon closer inspection.

"Well, it looks like our job is done~" Kurumi muses, all happy and sunshine as they are done with the job.

"Let's meet up with Longueville-sensei and tell her about this thing." Kirche says as she heads out of the cabin, with Tabitha and Kurumi in tow, "Hai hai~"

On the other hand, Louise seems to be skeptical about the whole situation. Her guts telling her that something isn't right. 'It seems to be all too easy just to get it back… especially, we're talking about Foquet here…' Something isn't sitting right and Louise knows it, but she decides to set that aside for now as she follows behind them.

As she gets out though, she sees that Kirche and Tabitha are looking for Longueville. "Longueville-sensei!" Kirche screams as she glances from one side to another, "Where are you Longueville-sensei!?"

Tabitha is also looking around for Longueville, and Kurumi, well she is just minding her own business by the carriage, leaning her back on it. She looks pleasantly calm that their guardian is nowhere to be seen.

'Well she is technically a one man army…' Louise comments as she recalls Kurumi's face when fighting Guiche in a duel, and her revealed kill count from her former world.

Then again, it is just concerning as they try in vain to look for Longueville. Except for Kurumi.

'That fool is certainly taking her time.' She sighs, 'Just make your move already~' She coos in her mind in a tempting tone, hoping that her prey takes the bait, which are Louise, Kirche and Tabitha.

Still hearing Kirche yelling for Longueville, she patiently waits for her clone's reports. And she grins as she finally hears the good news. An imaginary clock's minute hand moves, ticking echoes through a dark plane. 'You've finally made your move.'

From a distance, stomping is heard as the leaves of the trees rustle and birds fly out of their humble abodes, escaping the chaos that is about to ensue. Everyone's attention diverts to where the stomping came from.

There, everyone sees a figure slightly taller than the trees covering its form. Everyone is in awe at the thing that is approaching them. Not in awe in a good manner, but because of its size. Even Guiche's golem couldn't compare to the one they are about to face.

Kirche and Tabitha prepare their wands as they know they are about to fight. But unfortunately for them, another stomping is heard from the opposite side, this time coming from their right. They are outflanked by both sides.

This makes it more interesting for Kurumi as she is once more going to have a good fight.

"I'll take on this one." She boldly tells them, summoning her firearms, the three girls just nod and Kurumi makes the first move before the giant golems of soil. Her guns sing as she attacks the giant, making the giant to protect itself with its arm, covering it from the bullet that is heading for it.

On the other end, the golem is the first one to strike, bringing down its hand onto the ground where the three girls stand. The hand crashes down, but luckily for the girls, they manage to get out of the way in time.

Unluckily for them however, in the process of the chaos, Kirche drops the Staff, stumbling on the ground as no one notices this fine detail.

From fireballs to wind magic, they try and throw everything at it. Louise is still contemplating if she should join in the fight and try to assist them. But everyone knows that she can't even cast one spell properly, and might take herself out of the fight, rather than golem that's the one who takes her out of the fight.

So reluctantly, she stays back as Kirche and Tabitha continue to fight. It becomes a messy dance as the girls dodges the incoming attacks, while they counterattack shortly after. Spell after spell, they try to hit it. After being engulfed by Kirche's fireball attack, the flames die and the golem appears unscathed.

"Just how tough are these things!?" She complains as she dodges another incoming attack, answering the attack with a fireball aimed directly at the Golem's face. Tabitha just clicks her teeth in annoyance as she follows Kirche's movements.

Back to Kurumi, she is having fun with the golem for the most part, but the golem is not having fun with her. Every shot she fires, it somehow aggravates the golem even further. Seeing how the golem responds, she is having the time of her life, laughing and giggling like a maniac.

"Let's play for a little bit more." She eagerly says to the golem, firing more shots at it, just testing how durable it really is. To her satisfaction, she sees that her bullets are actually denting the giant, and she continues to fire even more of her magical lead at the damaged and wounded golem.

All the while she is at it, her clones are still on observation duty, not to interfere with any of the fights that's going on, but they are just there in the dark to warn Kurumi if anything comes up. Since she is in pure bliss and pleasure of combat, her senses of anything else, for Louise, are a bit shrouded at the moment.

Seeing the current situation they're in, the clones decide that it's time to end their fun. Seeing how exhausted both Kirche and Tabitha are, they call upon Kurumi and tell her the current situation on the other end.

"Pity." Kurumi utters to herself. "Well then, I guess it's time to take this to its end." She says at the golem, she raises her gun and aims it at the giant who's hand is making its way to Kurumi to hit her.

"Zayin." She simply says and then pulls the trigger. The giant's color becomes inverted and it becomes frozen in place. It's hand, stopping only inches away from her body. The shadows form beneath it and the hands pull it in with them, taking it to the digestion part of her space.

"Well, I won't be getting any time from you so it was kinda pointless." She sighs as she wants to destroy it herself, but it's way quicker when it is absorbed into that particular space.

She then heads back to where she left Louise, Kirche and Tabitha. Once she gets there though, she can see an exhausted Kirche still making her stand while Tabitha is with Louise, recovering her strength.

'It seems their magical attacks are useless against that thing.' She then sees Kurumi pick up the staff to try and desperately protect both Tabitha and Kirche.

"Get out of the way!" She yells at them,

"What are you trying to pull off!?" Kirche yells back at her, seeing that Louise is wielding the Staff of Destruction, "Don't tell me-!?"

"Just get out of the way!" Louise yells at her for one more time.

"Tch!" Kirche bites her lips, but she then relents and she takes Tabitha along with her to cover. Louise chants a magic spell she is training to cast, hoping that this time it wouldn't result in another explosion onto her face. Hoping that this time it would work. She shuts her eyes close as she waits for the reaction.

But instead, nothing comes out of the staff. She opens her eyes in bewilderment, wondering why it is not working as intended to be. "Huh?" She shakes the staff, hoping it would do something.

"Why…" She utters to herself, shaking the staff one more time, "...Why won't you work!?" She shouts at the staff as she now violently shakes it. The golem creeps closer to Louise, until its hand can reach her. The golem commits itself to deal the blow and swings its hands to Louise. Gaining her senses back, she looks at the golem, and its hand making its way to her.

As if it was some sort of miracle, time slows down for only Louise as she could swear that her life is flashing before her. "Huh…?" She utters to herself as the golem's hand is still making its way to her.

Shortly after though, Kurumi sweeps in to save her, "Never lose focus in the middle of a fight, Louise." She says to her as she carries Louise away from danger.

"Kurumi!" Gaining her senses once more, she is internally thanking her Familiar for saving her from the unfortunate fate that was going to befall her earlier.

"Louise, give me that." Kurumi says to her,

"Huh?"

"Just give me that, I know how to use that." Kurumi says as she swipes away the staff from Louise.

"Hey!"

Kurumi does not mind Louise as she opens the "Staff" much to Louise's shock. Kurumi then takes the contraption foreign to Louise and places it on her shoulders. "Cover your ears." She tells her, much to Louise's confusion.

Without warning, Kurumi fires the rocket launcher at the golem, the noise irritating Louise's ears making her cover them. The same is said about Kirche and Tabitha as they too see what Kurumi did.

Shortly after firing the unusual weapon, an explosion occurs on the golem, engulfing it in flames. 'Technology-one, magic-zero.' Kurumi comments as she is delighted with the sight before her.

The flames are not that great but it is awe-spiring as the three girls can't take their eyes off of it. Shortly after though, the golem returns to dirt as the fire dies down.

"W-What did you just do?" Louise asks as she can't take her eyes off the sight she is witnessing.

Kurumi doesn't bother answering the question as she continues to watch the fiery sight before her. Once the flames die down, she responds to Louise. Both Kirche and Tabitha left their cover and goes beside Louise and Kurumi to see the sight much closer.

"This so-called 'Staff of Destruction' is nothing more than a weapon from where I came from." Kurumi replies, dropping the launcher down onto the ground, "It's not even a staff, it's a weapon that can fire tonnes of explosives." She adds.

"And with that out of the way, I guess it's time to reveal yourself, Foquet." Kurumi states, she gives out a sharp glare as she turns her head around to face the approaching person, "Or should I say, Longueville-sensei?"

Longueville halts from her movement, she feels a chill go down her spine. 'So it's now or never huh?' She quickly grabs the weapon from the ground and aims it at the girls.

"So now you've taught me how to use this wonderful weapon." Longueville, or Foquet, says, sounding like a crazed woman, "This will be your undoing!" She declares to them as she presses the trigger of the weapon.

Kirche grits her teeth, Tabitha prepares her wand, Louise shuts her eyes close, and Kurumi just smirks. They are all prepared to accept their fate in one way or another. But in the end, nothing happens. Everyone is confused and surprised that nothing is happening and no explosion comes out of it.

"Huh?" Longueville can't help but be puzzled by the current events that are happening. She presses the trigger again and nothing comes out. "H-How…-" Before Longueville can even finish her question, Kurumi charges her, hitting her stomach with the butt of her musket rifle.

"I forgot to mention," She starts, staring Longueville eye to eye. Kurumi's eyes feel sharper than before, "it is a 'One-Time Use Weapon'." she finishes before Longueville passes out from the hit.

And with her passing out, Kurumi carries her unconscious body and takes it into the carriage. "Looks like we'll be returning with the culprit." She grins at the girls. The three girls are stunned with the events that have occurred up until now. For the whole trip back, nothing but silence follows the group as they are speechless of Kurumi's actions and instincts.

---