Mister Colbert, a teacher who had dedicated twenty years to Tristain Magic Academy, was by now a mainstay figure. His Runic name was "Colbert the Flame Snake," and, naturally, he was a mage specializing in fire magic.

Since the Springtime Familiar Summoning a few days ago, he'd been concerned about the commoner boy that Louise had summoned. Or more precisely, he'd been concerned with nothing but the runes that had appeared on that boy's left hand. They were rare runes indeed, so for the last few nights, he'd confined himself to the library and had been researching various texts.

Tristain Magic Academy's library was located in the same tower as the dining hall. The bookshelves were unbelievably tall, about thirty mails in height, and the way they were lined up against the walls was a spectacle to behold. And rightly so, since this place was crammed with the history of everything following the creation of the new world in Halkeginia by the Founder Brimir.

Colbert was now in a section called "Fenrir's Library" that only teachers were allowed entry to.

The ordinary bookshelves, to which students had free access, didn't hold any answers that could satisfy him.

He Levitated up to an out-of-reach shelf and scanned it intently for a particular book.His efforts were rewarded as his gaze fell upon the title of the book.It was a very old text which held descriptions of the familiars that had been used by the Founder Brimir.

His attention was focused on one particular paragraph written in it, and as he read on in fascination, his eyes grew wide. He compared the book with the sketch he'd made of the runes on the boy's left hand.

"Ah!" he gasped in surprise. At that moment, he lost the concentration necessary for maintaining his Levitation and almost fell to the floor.

Holding the book in his arms, he hurriedly descended to the floor and ran out of the library.

His destination was the Headmaster's Office.

* * *

The Headmaster's Office was located on the topmost floor of the tower. Sir Osmond, the current Headmaster of Tristain Magic Academy, was sitting with his elbows propped on his elegantly built sequoia desk, looking unbearably bored as he shook his white beard and hair.

Idly plucking out nose hairs, he slowly murmured "hrm" and pulled open a desk drawer. From inside he procured a smoking pipe. Miss Longueville, the secretary who had been writing something at the other desk placed to the side of the room, waved her feather quill.

The door was thrown open with a slam, and Colbert rushed inside.

"Old Osmond!"

"What is it?"

Miss Longueville was back at her desk, sitting there as if nothing had happened. Sir Osmond had his arms behind him, and turned to face the visitor with a serious expression. That was certainly a quick recovery.

"I-I-I have some big news!"

"There is no such thing as big news. Everything is but a collection of small events."

"P-P-Please take a look at this!"

Colbert handed Osmond the book he had been reading just before.

"This is "The Familiars of the Founder Brimir," is it not? Are you still going around digging up old literature like this? If you have time to do that, why don't you think up some better ways of collecting school fees from those slack nobles? Mister, err... What was it again?"

Sir Osmond cocked his head.

"It's Colbert! You forgot?!"

"Right, right. Now I remember. It's just that you talked so fast I never really caught it. So, Colby, what is it about this book?"

"Please take a look at this also!"

Colbert then handed him the sketch of the runes on Ren's left hand.

The moment he saw that, Osmond's expression changed. His eyes took on a solemn light.

"Miss Longueville, would you please excuse us?"

Miss Longueville stood up and left the room. Osmond spoke only after he confirmed she was properly outside.

"Explain this to me with every detail, Mister Colbert..."

* * *

Last night, Ren was up messing with the watch on his wrist attempting to take it off in anyway, but nothing worked. 

I wonder why it won't come off. Ren thought to himself.

When Ren and Louise arrived at the dining hall, Ren pulled out a chair for Louise. Louise took the seat wordlessly. Ren sat on the floor in front of his plate, preparing to eat.

"Right then, Founder someone-or-another. Your Highness the Queen. Thanks a bunch for the crappy food. Itadakimasu."

Even when eating one piece of bread with some water, it wasn't as filling as Ren had thought it would be, leaving him still quite hungry afterwards.

* * *

In the end, Ren left the dining hall with a still rumbling stomach.

"Haa, I'm still hungry..."

Clutching his stomach, he leaned one hand on a wall.

"Is something the matter?"

He turned around to see a normal-looking girl in a maid's outfit carrying a big silver tray, looking concernedly at him. Her black hair was neatly adorned with a headband, and her freckles were cute.

"It's nothing..." Ren waved his left hand.

"Are you by any chance the one who became Miss Vallière's familiar...?"

It seemed she noticed the runes inscribed on Ren's left hand.

"You know me?"

"A little. It's become quite a rumor, you know, that a commoner was called by the summoning magic."

"I see... Well, I'm Ren Tennyson. Nice to meet you."

"That's quite a strange name... I'm Siesta."

At that point, Ren's stomach grumbled.

"You must be hungry."

"Yeah..."

"Please follow me this way."

Siesta walked off.

* * *

Ren was led to the kitchen located at the rear of the dining hall. Lots of large pots and ovens were lined up inside. Cooks and other maids like Siesta were busily preparing food.

"Please wait one moment, okay?"

Siesta had Ren sit on a chair placed in the corner of the kitchen and disappeared hastily into the back.

She soon returned with a bowl full of warm stew in her hands.

"This is some stew made from the leftovers of the nobles' meals. If you don't mind, please eat this."

"Can I?"

"Yes. It's only the staff meal though..."

Her kindness was touching. This was completely different from the soup that Louise had given him. He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. Delicious. I'm going to cry.

"This is so good~!"

"That's great. There's plenty if you want seconds, so take your time."

Eating what was in the bowl, Ren gave Siesta back the empty bowl.

"That was really tasty. Thanks."

"I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to visit whenever you're hungry. If you don't mind having whatever we're having, I'd be happy to share."

Such a kind offer. Ren was even more touched.

"Thanks..."

* * *

As a favor for the food, Ren was now helping serve some desserts to the nobles. Lots of dessert cakes were arranged on a big silver tray. Ren carried the tray, while Siesta picked up the cakes with tongs and served them one by one to the nobles.

One mage in particular stood out. He had curly blonde hair, wore a frill-trimmed shirt, and looked rather self-important. There was a rose stuck in his shirt pocket too. His friends around him were poking all kinds of fun at him.

"So, Guiche! Who're you going out with now?"

"Who's your lover, Guiche?"

So it seemed the prideful mage was called Guiche. He gently raised a finger to his lips.

"'Go out?' I hold no one woman in such special regard. After all, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many."

This guy's likening himself to a rose. An egotist like this is far beyond help. He was the kind of narcissist that made onlookers more embarrassed than himself. Ren glared at him, hoping he'd just die.

At that moment, something fell out of Guiche's pocket. It was a small glass bottle with a purple liquid swirling inside it.

I don't really like this guy, but I should still tell him he dropped something.

Ren called out to Guiche.

"Oi, you dropped this bottle from your pocket."

But Guiche didn't turn around. This guy's ignoring me!

Ren passed the tray to Siesta and bent down to pick up the bottle.

"I said, you dropped something, playboy."

He placed it on the table. Guiche shot Ren a dirty look, and pushed the bottle away.

"This is not mine. What are you talking about?"

Guiche's friends then realized where the bottle came from and raised a loud commotion.

"Ooh? That perfume, isn't that Montmorency's?"

"Yeah! That vivid purple color is the perfume that Montmorency only mixes for herself!"

"So to have something like that fall out of your pocket, Guiche, means that you're going out with Montmorency now, right?"

"No wait, listen to me. I'm saying this for the sake of her reputation, but..."

As Guiche was about to say more, a girl, who wore a brown cloak and had been sitting at the table behind them, stood up and walked over to Guiche's seat.

She was a cute girl sporting chestnut-colored hair. According to the color of the cloak she wore, she was a first year student.

"Guiche-sama..."

And with that, she started crying uncontrollably.

"I knew it, you and Miss Montmorency are..."

"They're misunderstanding. Katie, listen. The only person I hold in my heart is you..."

But the girl called Katie slapped Guiche's face as hard as she could.

"That perfume you dropped from your pocket is more than enough proof! Goodbye!"

Guiche rubbed his cheek.

At this point, a girl with tightly rolled hair stood up from a seat further down the table. Ren recognized her as the girl who'd had the argument with Louise when he was first summoned to this world.

Wearing a severe expression, she approached Guiche with quick clipped steps.

"Montmorency. This is a misunderstanding. All I did was accompany her on a long trip to the forests of La Rochelle..." Guiche said, shaking his head. While he was pretending to remain composed, a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead.

"Just as I thought! You've been making moves on that first year, haven't you?!"

"Please, Montmorency the Fragrance. Don't twist your rose-like face in anger like that. It saddens me to see it!"

Montmorency grabbed a bottle of wine that was on the table and poured its contents out audibly on Guiche's head.

And then...

"You liar!"

She yelled and stormed off.

Silence fell upon the hall.

Guiche pulled out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his face. Shaking his head, he spoke dramatically.

"It would seem those ladies do not understand the meaning of a rose's existence."

Yeah, and you just keep trying that, Ren thought, as he took the tray back from Siesta and began walking off.

Guiche called him to a stop.

"Stop right there."

"What now?"

Guiche spun his body about on the chair and crossed his legs with a flourish. It gave Ren a headache to see such arrogance exude from every action.

"Thanks to you thoughtlessly picking up some bottle of perfume, the reputation of two ladies has been damaged. How will you take responsibility?"

Ren replied in an exasperated tone.

"Hey, it's your fault for two-timing."

Guiche's friends burst out laughing.

"Exactly, Guiche! It's your fault!"

Guiche's face flushed crimson.

"Listen, server. When you put the bottle of perfume on the table, I pretended not to know anything, didn't I? Would it have hurt to be a little bit tactful and just go along with it?"

"Whatever. Either way, your two-timing would've been blown anyway. And also, I'm not a server."

"Hmph... Ah, you are..."

Guiche snorted, as if looking down on Ren.

"You must be the commoner summoned by that "Louise the Zero." To have expected a noble's wits from a commoner was completely my mistake. You may leave."

Ren snapped then. Pretty boy or not, there was no way Ren was just going to stand there quietly taking all this from such a conceited narcissist. He couldn't help but make one inflammatory comment.

"You think you're all that, but in reality you're just a little boy scared to face reality so you drown yourself in the love of women, since it's the only love you'll ever receive!"

Guiche's eyes narrowed.

"It would seem that you don't know the proper etiquette for addressing a noble."

"Unfortunately, I come from a world where there are no such people as nobles."

Ren raised his right hand and spoke imperiously, mimicking Guiche's actions.

"Very well. Then I shall teach you a lesson about respect. A perfect way to relieve some stress."

Guiche stood up.

"How amusing."

"You wanna do it here?"

Ren said. Despite being taller than Ren, Guiche was the lanky type and looked rather weak. Playboys are said to be lacking both money and power. Ren wasn't particularly strong himself, but he didn't think he'd lose.

Guiche turned in the other direction.

"Are you running away?"

"Don't be stupid. I can't taint the dining table of nobles with the blood of a commoner, can I? I'll be waiting at Vestri Court. Come once you're finished delivering those cakes."

Looking excited, Guiche's friends stood up and followed him off.

One person remained though, as if to make sure Ren didn't run away himself.

Louise ran up to him from behind.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! I saw all that!"

"Yo, Louise."

"This is no time to be "yo"-ing me! How can you just go promising duels like it's no big deal?!"

"But that guy was really irritating me..."

Ren said indignantly.

Louise sighed and shrugged disappointedly.

"Apologize to him."

"Why?"

"If you don't want to be hurt, go and apologize. If you do it now, he might forgive you."

"Are you kidding! Why do I have to apologize?! He insulted me first! And besides, I was only being helpful..."

"Just do it."

Louise fixed Ren with a firm look.

"No way."

"So stubborn... But you know what? You can't win. You'll be badly injured. Actually, you'll be lucky to come back alive with just injuries."

"I won't know that unless I try, right?"

"Listen, a commoner can never beat a mage!"

"So where's this Vestri Court?"

Ren walked off. The friend of Guiche's that had been watching Louise and Ren's exchange pointed with his chin.

"This way, commoner."

"Aaah, jeez! Really! Why does this familiar keep going off and doing stuff on its own?!"

With that, Louise chased after Ren.

* * *

Vestri Court was the central garden situated between the Wind and Fire elemental towers. Being located to the west, the Court didn't receive much sunshine, even in the middle of the day, but it was the perfect place for a duel.

Right now... the place was packed with people who had heard the rumors.

"Gentlemen! It's a duel!"

Guiche lifted his artificial rose high, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd.

"Guiche is going to duel! His opponent is Louise's commoner!"

I have a name too y'know... Ren thought bitterly.

Waving his arms about, Guiche acknowledged the cheering.

And then, as if finally noticing Ren's presence there, he turned to face him.

Ren and Guiche stood in the middle of the Court, glaring intently at each other.

"First of all, I commend you for coming here instead of running away!" Guiche remarked in a sing-song voice, as he twirled his rose.

"Like anyone would run away!"

"Right then, let us begin," said Guiche.

Less talk, more action. Ren rushed forward. Fights are won by whoever gets in the first strike!

It's roughly ten paces to where Guiche is. I don't care much for nobles or mages; I'm just going to crush that arrogant nose of yours down to size!

Guiche watched Ren with a leisurely smile and flicked his rose.

A petal floated down as if dancing in the air...

And became the armor-clad shape of a female warrior.

Its height was about the same as a person's, but it appeared to be constructed from some hard metal. Under the pale sunlight, its skin... its armor gleamed.

It stood stoically in Ren's way.

"Wh-what the heck is this?!"

"I am a mage, therefore I fight using magic. Surely you have no complaints?"

"Wh-why you..."

"I guess I forgot to mention earlier. My Runic name is "the Bronze." Guiche the Bronze. Accordingly, my bronze golem "Valkyrie" shall be your real opponent."

"Eh?"

The warrior-shaped golem charged towards Ren.

Its right fist impacted heavily with Ren's stomach.

"Harg!"

Ren groaned and collapsed to the ground. Not at all surprising, considering he'd been gut-punched by a bronze fist.

The golem looked down on Ren emotionlessly.

He couldn't stand up through the pain. I guess this is what it feels like to be hit by a pro boxer, he thought.

"What, over already?"

Guiche sounded dissatisfied. From the mass of people, Louise burst out.

"Guiche!"

"Oh, Louise! My bad. I'm just borrowing your familiar for a bit."

Louise shook her long hair and yelled angrily at Guiche.

"That's quite enough! And besides, dueling is strictly forbidden!"

"Only dueling between nobles is forbidden. Nobody has forbidden duels between commoners and nobles."

Louise was at a momentary loss for words.

"Th-that's because nothing like this has ever happened before..."

"Louise, do you like this commoner?"

Louise's face burned an angry scarlet.

"No! Don't be ridiculous! It's just that I won't put up with having my familiar beaten up before my eyes!"

"...Wh-who's being beaten up? I'm just fine."

"Ren!"

Seeing Ren was up again, Louise practically screamed out his name.

"...Hehehe, you've finally called me by my name."

Louise was trembling.

"You understand now, right? A commoner can never beat a mage!"

"...I was a little careless, that's all. I'm all right, so step back."

Ren pushed Louise back.

"What's this? I didn't think you could stand up again... Maybe I went too easy on you?" said Guiche, provoking Ren further.

Ren walked slowly towards Guiche. Louise followed him and grabbed his shoulder.

"You need to stop! Idiot! Why are you still standing?"

He shook her hand off his shoulder.

"Because he pisses me off."

"He pisses you off? Look, there's no embarrassment in losing to a mage!"

"Shut up," Ren muttered as he kept taking unsteady steps forward.

"Eh?"

"Really, you're starting to get on my nerves too... I know next to nothing about mages or nobles, but to me you're all the same bunch of ego-inflated brats. Just what's so brilliant about magic? Idiots."

Guiche watched Ren with a faint smile painted on his face.

"The more you try, the more pointless this becomes."

Ren's characteristic fighting spirit flared, and he uttered a short growl.

"That was nothing. Your little statue, it's too weak."

The smile fell away. The golem's right hand lashed out to strike Ren's face. He caught the blow square on the cheek and was knocked to the ground.

Blood dripped from his broken nose.

Trying to stem the blood flow, Ren was taken aback.

Crap... So this is a mage's power. I've been in a few fights here and there, but that punch was like nothing else I'd received before.

Despite that, he rose shakily to a stand. Guiche's golem mercilessly sent him flying once more with a kick.

He got up again. And was struck down again.

Over and over, the process was repeated.

The eighth punch connected with Ren's right arm. There was a sick snapping noise.

Unable to see out of his swollen shut left eye, he checked his arm with his right eye. It was bent at a wrong angle.

While Ren stared blankly at his arm, the golem came over and planted a foot on his face.

His head hit the earth hard, and he lost consciousness for a moment.

When he came to, he could see Louise's face framed by a backdrop of blue sky.

"Please. Just stop now."

Louise's hazel eyes were wet with tears.

Ren tried to speak, but the pain in his chest from the repeated blows was hard to overcome.

Regardless, he concentrated his willpower and managed to croak in a hoarse voice.

"...Are you crying?"

"I am not! Who would cry here? Anyway, this is enough. You did very well. I've never seen a commoner like you before."

His broken arm throbbed with agony. Ren grimaced.

"That... hurts."

"Of course it hurts! That's obvious! Just what were you thinking?"

Tears ran down Louise's face and fell on Ren's cheek.

"You're my familiar, understand? I'm not going to forgive you for any more stupid acts."

Guiche's voice called out to the pair.

"Are we quite done yet?"

"...Hold your horses. I'm just catching my breath."

"Ren!"

Guiche smiled, and flicked his rose. This time, the petal transformed into a sword. Guiche grabbed it and threw it in Ren's direction. The blade point stabbed into the ground not too far from where Ren lay.

"If you're still willing to continue, then take that sword. If not, all you need to say is a simple "I'm sorry." Then I can just forgive you and be done with it."

"Don't insult him!"

Louise yelled, standing up. But Guiche gave no indication that he had heard her and kept talking.

"Understand? The sword. In other words, a weapon. It's the very least you commoners will need if you want to take revenge against us nobles. So as I said, if you're still up for it, take that sword."

Ren reached out for the blade with his right hand. But with that arm broken, he couldn't put much strength in his fingers.

His hand was stopped by Louise.

"No! There is absolutely no way I'm letting you do this! If you take that sword, Guiche won't show any mercy!"

"I can't go back to my world... Which means I'm stuck living in this one, right?" Ren muttered, almost to himself. He didn't look at Louise.

"That's right. So what about it?! Right now that doesn't matter!!"

Louise held his right hand tightly. Ren declared in a clear strong voice.

"I don't mind being a familiar... I can take sleeping on the floor... I don't care if the food sucks... Washing underwear? I'll do that too. It's not like I really have a choice."

Ren paused there and curled his left hand into a fist.

"But..."

""But..." What?"

"I will not bow to anyone against my will!"

Drawing on his last reserves of strength, Ren forced himself to a stand. Pushing Louise aside, he grabbed the blade stuck in the ground with his left hand.

In that instant...

The runes inscribed on that hand began glowing brightly.

* * *

Mister Colbert was fervently explaining everything to Sir Osmond about the commoner boy that was summoned by Louise at the Springtime Familiar Summoning... About how he was concerned about the runes that had appeared on the boy's hand as proof of the contract between him and Louise... And that when he had gone to find out more...

"You reached the Founder Brimir's familiar Gandálfr?"

Osmond intently examined Colbert's sketch of the runes on Ren's left hand.

"Yes! The runes that appeared on that boy's left hand are exactly the same as the runes that were inscribed on the legendary familiar Gandálfr!"

"So, your conclusion?"

"That boy is Gandálfr! If this isn't big news, then what is, Old Osmond?"

Colbert stood up as he wiped his balding head with a handkerchief.

"Hrm... Certainly, the runes are the same. But for an ordinary commoner boy to become Gandálfr just by having the same runes... I wonder how that could've happened."

"What shall we do?"

"However, it is probably too early to be making definite claims."

"That's true."

Sir Osmond drummed his fingers on the desk.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

From behind the door came Miss Longueville's voice.

"It's me, Old Osmond."

"What is it?"

"It seems there are some students dueling at Vestri Courts. It's causing quite a commotion. A few teachers have gone there to try and stop it, but their attempts are being impeded by the sheer number of students."

"For heaven's sake, there's nothing worse than nobles with too much free time in their hands. So, who's involved?"

"One of them is Guiche de Gramont."

"Ah, that idiot son of Gramont. Skirt-chasing must run in the family, considering his father's even more of a womanizer. I wouldn't be surprised if the boy knows every girl in school. And his opponent is?"

"...Well, it's not a mage. I've been told it's Miss Vallière's familiar."

Osmond and Colbert exchanged a look.

"The teachers are requesting to use the "Bell of Sleep" to stop the duel."

Osmond's eyes glinted like a hawk's.

"Ridiculous. There's no need to use such an important artifact just to stop a children's fight. Leave them be."

"Understood."

Miss Longueville's footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

Colbert swallowed audibly and verbally pressed Osmond.

"Old Osmond."

"Hrm."

Sir Osmond waved his staff and a big mirror set in the wall began scrying the situation at Vestri Courts.

* * *

Ren was surprised. The moment he grabbed the sword, all the pain in his body disappeared.

He realized the runes on his left hand were glowing.

And then...

My body feels as light as a feather. I could almost take off and fly.

In addition, the blade he held in his left hand felt so familiar that it seemed like an extension of his body.

That's strange. I've never even touched a sword before...

Seeing Ren with the weapon in hand, Guiche smiled coldly.

"Firstly, let me congratulate you. I'm honestly quite impressed that a commoner would come this far against a mage."

With that, he twirled the rose in his hand.

That artificial rose must be his wand. Really, how vain can you get?

Ren was astonished that he even had the leisure to think such things.

I was beaten up so badly just now. What in the world happened to me?

Guiche's golem attacked again.

Stupid tin can.

The statue modeled in the shape of the mythical Valkyrie came towards Ren in what seemed like slow motion.

What the hell, Ren thought.

I got kicked around like a rag doll by this crawling junk pile?

Ren leapt into action.

At the sight of his golem sliced in two as though it was a lump of clay, Guiche uttered a tormented moan.

The two halves of the golem each struck the ground with a resounding "clang."

Meanwhile, Ren bolted towards Guiche in a whirlwind of action.

Panicking, Guiche waved his rose wand wildly. Petals danced, and six new golems appeared.

Altogether, seven golems were Guiche's full arsenal. Never had he thought that a mere commoner could be a match for even one.

The golems surrounded Ren and sprang at him all at once.

And just when it looked like they had him, five of them were slashed apart. It had been so fast that nobody even saw the blade, making everyone wonder just what kind of superhuman ability this was.

The remaining golem promptly dashed over to guard Guiche.

But it too was taken down by an unseen sword-stroke.

"Hiii!!"

A kick to the face sent Guiche sprawling to the ground.

He saw Ren leap at him.

I'm gonna die! he thought, as he shielded his head.

Something made a loud "thunk"...

When he timidly opened his eyes again...

Ren had driven the blade into the ground just to the right of Guiche's head.

"You want to continue?"

Ren asked.

Guiche shook his head furiously. He'd totally lost any will to fight.

And in a failing voice he said,

"I... I yield."

Ren released his hand and walked away.

He could hear rowdy cheering from the audience such as "Whoa, that familiar is awesome!" or "Oh man, Guiche lost!"

I... won?

How?

Ren's thoughts were in a haze.

...Just what happened to me?

I was getting knocked around so mercilessly.

And then, the moment my hand touched that sword, my body felt like a feather. The next thing I knew, all of Guiche's golems were in pieces.

I didn't even know I could use a sword.

I don't quite understand it, but whatever. I won somehow, and that's that. I'll think about it later. Because right now, I feel really really tired. I want to sleep.

He could see Louise running over to him.

'Hey, I won!' he wanted to yell, but his knees buckled.

The feeling of fatigue overwhelmed him, and he could feel his consciousness drift far away. Ren collapsed.

As she saw Ren begin to teeter, Louise ran faster to try and support him, but she didn't quite make it. Ren toppled over onto hard ground with a heavy thud.

"Ren!"

Louise shook him. No, it seemed he wasn't dead.

"Guu..."

She could hear snoring. Instead, he was sleeping.

"He's asleep..."

Louise looked thoroughly relieved as she let out a sigh.

Guiche stood up and shook his head in amazement.

"Louise, just what is this guy? All of my Valkyries were so easily defeated..."

"He's just a commoner."

"There's no way my golems could have lost to "just a commoner.""

"Hmph. Wasn't it just because you were weaker?"

Louise went to lift Ren up, but unable to properly support him, ended up falling down with him on top of her.

"Aaah, jeez! You're so heavy! Idiot!"

One of the students amidst the crowd cast a Levitation spell on Ren.

Louise began to gently push Ren's floating body away. She needed to take him back up to her room and patch him up.

With the corner of a sleeve, Louise dabbed at her eyes. He looked so in pain, so pitiful, she couldn't help but cry. He'd become so strong all of a sudden when he grabbed the sword, but if it hadn't been for that, he really might have died.

Right now, that was more important than Ren winning. I bet this idiot thought it probably wouldn't matter if he died. Going around being so headstrong like that, when you're just a commoner...

"You're just a familiar, so why do you keep doing stuff on your own?!"

Louise yelled at the sleeping Ren. Her relief was quickly being replaced by annoyance.

* * *

Sir Osmond and Colbert finished watching the entire event via the Mirror of Far-Seeing. They exchanged another look.

"Old Osmond."

"Hrm."

"That commoner actually ended up winning..."

"Hrm."

"Guiche is only a first level Dot mage, but even so, he shouldn't have been beaten by an average commoner. What amazing speed! I've never seen a commoner like him before! There's no doubt that he's Gandálfr!"

"Hrmm..."

Mister Colbert urged Osmond.

"Old Osmond. We should report this to the palace immediately and ask for instructions..."

"There will be no need for that."

Sir Osmond nodded sternly, ruffling his white beard.

"But sir! This is the biggest discovery of the century! A Gandálfr reborn in the modern world!"

"Mister Colbert. Gandálfr was no ordinary familiar."

"Exactly! The familiar used by the Founder Brimir, Gandálfr! There was never any description of its appearance, but it's said to have been created specifically for the purpose of protecting the Founder Brimir during his spell incantations."

"Correct. Founder Brimir's incantations were especially long... However, that made his spells very powerful. And as you know, mages are most vulnerable while spell casting. Gandálfr was the familiar that he used to protect himself in those times of vulnerability. Its strength..."

Colbert eagerly cut in at this point, looking extremely excited.

"It could annihilate an army of one thousand all by itself! Ordinary mages were said to be no match for it!"

"So, Mister Colbert."

"Yes?"

"That boy, he really is just an average commoner, right?"

"Yes. No matter how I looked, he was just an average commoner. I even confirmed it with a Detect Magic spell when Miss Vallière initially summoned him, but he was still a genuine average commoner."

"And who was it that turned him into a modern Gandálfr?"

"That would be Miss Vallière, but..."

"She must be a very talented mage, I take it?"

"Not at all. Rather, one might say she's un-talented..."

"A puzzling duo to be sure."

"Yes."

"So how did an average boy contracted by an untalented mage become Gandálfr? What an utter paradox. I just can't see where the ends meet."

"Indeed..."

"In any case, there is no need for us to hand over Gandálfr and its master to those fools at the palace. Give them a toy like this and they'll just cause another unnecessary war. Court advisors have too much free time on their hands and like fighting far too much."

"O-oh, I see. I apologize for overlooking such important matters."

"I will take responsibility of this case myself. You will not speak of this to anyone else, Mister Colbert."

"Y-yes! I understand!"

Sir Osmond took hold of his staff and turned to look out the window. He immersed his thoughts in the far reaches of history.

"The legendary familiar Gandálfr... Just what kind of form had it taken before, I cannot help but wonder."

Colbert murmured as if dreaming.

"Gandálfr was said to be able to use any weapon to take down its enemies..."

"Hrm."

"So it must have at least an arm and a hand, I think."

* * *

The morning light woke Ren up. His body was wrapped all over in bandages.

That's right.

I got into a duel with that Guiche and got beaten up really badly...

Then I pulled off some miraculous win using that sword...

And I fainted.

He was in Louise's room. For some reason, he'd been sleeping in Louise's bed too.

Louise herself was sitting at a table and sleeping soundly with her head on it.

His eyes fell upon the runes on his left hand. When those runes had been glowing, his body had felt as light as a feather, a sword he had never held before felt like an extension of his arm, and he had sliced up Guiche's golems like nothing.

Right now, those runes weren't glowing.

What exactly was that, I wonder...

As she slept, Louise's breathing was even and gentle. There were heavy dark circles under her eyes though.

Her sleeping face is always so adorable. It's so doll-like.

Louise's eyes then flickered open.

"Fuaaaaaaaaa~~"

She made a great big yawning stretch, and then her gaze fell upon Ren, who was sitting on the bed blinking in surprise.

"Ara. You're awake."

"Y-Yeah..."

Ren cast his eyes downward. He figured he should thank her.

"Um, Louise."

"What?"

"Thanks. And I'm sorry I made you worry."

Louise stood up.

And drew closer to Ren.

Ren's heartbeat accelerated.

Is she going to say something like "good job, you were really cool out there" and maybe kiss me?

But that was not to be.

Louise pulled away Ren's blanket and grabbed him by the scruff.

"If you're better now, get out of my bed!"

Still holding him by the scruff, Louise pulled Ren out of the bed.

"Wah! Ow!"

Ren tumbled to the floor.

"Hey, I'm still an injured person!"

"If you're well enough to complain, you're well enough for anything else."

Ren stood up. His body still objected, but it was nothing he couldn't put up with. Still, she could've let him sleep for a little bit longer.

Louise threw a mountain of clothes and underwear at Ren.

"Ack!"

"That's the laundry that's piled up while you were asleep. Once you're done with that, clean up the room. Hop to it!"

"Um, you know..."

Louise glared fiercely at Ren.

"What? Just with something like beating Guiche, did you think you'd be treated differently? Did you think you'd be congratulated? Are you an idiot?"

Ren looked resentfully at Louise.

He decided to take back his earlier thought about her being cute.

Still... the way Louise sat on her bed swinging her legs was an undeniable level of cuteness beyond this world.

Her long strawberry blonde hair rippled. Her hazel eyes twinkled with mischief. She was rude, arrogant, and selfish, but try as he might to deny it, her appearance was enchanting.

Raising a finger triumphantly, Louise declared.

"Don't you forget! You're my familiar!"

A/N: Nice! Gandálfr was revealed, but what about the watch? That's still to be determined, and trust me the story will get to it. I have plans for the watch, it just has to unfold in a certain way first.