Zero no Tsukaima

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Story 3: Right to Use Saito for a Day

Chapter 1[]

Tristania, the capital city of Tristain.

In the ‘Charming Faeries Inn’ facing Chicton Street, two black-haired girls were chatting.

“Hey Siesta, isn’t it about time you make Saito yours?”

The question was posed by Jessica, a hostess of the Charming Faeries Inn. Being asked that by her cousin, Siesta blushed.

Yesterday, Siesta had stopped by the Charming Faeries Inn to bring some springtime vegetables from her parent’s home. Scarron, who ran the bar, was Siesta’s uncle from her mother’s side.

“Making him mine... that way of putting it is bad, Jessica. First of all, Saito-san is not that kind of person to me. He is bound to me as my master."

Siesta was not wearing her usual maid attire from the magic academy. Her body wrapped in a light-green, one piece and wearing a straw hat with a white ribbon, Siesta fidgeted around embarrassedly.

“What are you saying? If he saw the Siesta back in Albion, it would become clear. Anyways, it looks like that’s not the case yet.”

Jessica grinned as she spoke.

“Really, I can’t believe that you are my cousin, seeing that you can’t even make the one guy you like turn towards you.”

Siesta gazed forward with a troubled look. Her cousin, being only a year younger, was by far the veteran, compared with herself, when it came to love issues.

“...but Saito-san already has someone he likes.”

Siesta said while fidgeting. In front of her relatives, her usual boldness was overshadowed by a neat and proper mannerism.

“Louise, right?”

Siesta’s eyebrows shot up. With a slightly stiff expression, Siesta drank her tea. Jessica stared up and down at Siesta’s present state.

“I’m not saying this as a favor to my cousin, but you haven’t lost yet.”

Having it said like that, a grin floated on Siesta’s face.

“But... Miss Vallière and Saito-san have a really strong bond connecting them together... it’s alright.”

“What’s alright?”

“Me being second place...”

At that statement, Jessica’s eyes widened.

“Wait a minute! Sie Sie! What are you saying?!”

“Sie?”

“That kind of thing is a no-no! Ahhhhh! What did this turn into! To think that my cousin turned out to be such a loser... it’s shameful!”

As if it were her that was in Siesta’s situation, Jessica stomped around with frustration.

“But, I have been fairly bold..., and uh... nevermind.”

Although she wanted to get it across that she was not a loser, Siesta started to blush with embarrassment. Although Siesta had been trying hard to be bold, her original personality was more restrained. Jessica got right in her face at that moment.

“Though Louise is an acquaintance, I am going to help you out today. You are my precious cousin, after all.”

“O-Ok...”

Siesta nodded, being completely drawn into her pace. Coming by just to bring some veggies, she didn’t think that she would be lectured like this.

“Well, Saito is certainly absent-minded and has a one-track mind... and he jokes around and meddles in other’s business. Still, you want him that much...”

At that time, Siesta shot a glare at her.

“Jessica?”

Leaning over, Siesta pinched her cousin’s ear.

“It-It was a joke! A joke!”

“You’re the one that I trust the least.”

Being glared at by such an expression, Jessica stuck her tongue out.

“But at that time, I didn’t know that you two were acquainted. Well, I said that I would cooperate with you now, so don’t get so angry.”

Jessica said this as she left and returned with something.

“What is this?”

It was a purple bottle in the shape of a heart. In any case, it looked suspicious.

“Yesterday, some idiot, noble customer said that he would let me take this. It looked suspicious, so when I asked him, he said it was a love potion. I laughed at that.”

“Ehhhh! That’s illegal, isn’t it!”

As Siesta shouted out, Jessica reached over and clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Shh! Don’t shout! In any case, this love potion is special. It only works for one day, so you don’t have to worry about being found out. But, isn’t one day enough to establish him as yours?”

Jessica’s teasing tone made Siesta’s cheeks red.

“But... this kind of thing is unfair, after all.”

“It’s fine! You are competing with a mage, so you can’t say that using a potion isn’t fair. Don’t hold back and use it.”

Jessica slipped the love potion into Siesta’s bag.

The next evening...

Arriving back at Louise’s room at the Academy of Magic, Siesta was sitting at the desk with her elbows propped on it and staring intently at the love potion.

In her mind, two ideas were being tossed around.

‘Should she go ahead and use it?’

Siesta shook her head, as if clearing the thought.

‘You can’t, Siesta! You definitely can’t!’

‘Using this kind of magic to ensnare the heart of a person is an underhanded tactic!’

She remembered the Louise from a while back. The time that Montmorency prepared a love potion, Louise had become completely nuts for Saito when she took it.

‘Magic is really frightening!’

‘To think that Miss Vallière could show her repressed love in such a manner! Her feelings would be clear to anyone! Anyone but Saito that is! Wait, even Saito seemed to start noticing it lately... Ah, whatever!’

Siesta’s intuition told her just how much Louise was in love with Saito. She believed that it was quite considerable. Although Siesta loved him, it was possible that Louise loved him even more. However, Louise’s demonic sense of pride would never allow her to admit it in front of Saito. This much she knew. Magic that was able to overcome Louise’s pride in that way was truly amazing.

‘A Saito-san changed by a love potion would not be Saito-san at all...’

‘But having him proclaiming his love for her that fervently would feel good after all...’ Siesta was enchanted for a moment.

‘If it was only for a day...’ as her hand inched towards the bottle, she retracted it, thinking ‘No!’

That repeated several times.

On top of that, fantasies started floating around her mind.

Tactic number one: Using it during the time when Miss Vallière was asleep.

As Siesta imagined several situations of what would happen next, she began to squeal excitedly.

But Miss Vallière was right next to them! That would be too bold! Extremely bold!

As she flailed her head around, Siesta’s entire body shook with excitement.

Her right hand reached for the love potion as her left hand shot out at the same time to hold it back.

Tactic number two: Chapter 2 of ‘Count Butterfly’s Elegant Day’.

Siesta covered her face as she roared out her excitement.

“That is...bad. No, bad is too simply minor. It is scandalous! Extremely scandalous!”

As Siesta hugged herself, writhing in agony at her indecent thoughts, the door banged open and a stern-faced Louise entered. Holding onto a leash, she was dragging something that looked like a bunch of tattered rags.

“Miss Vallière! What is that?”

“The familiar.”

Looking closely, it was in fact what used to be Saito.

Saito had turned into a tattered mess that occasionally twitched.

“Oh my! What has he done now?”

Siesta crouched down and coldly poked at Saito as she said that.

Louise crossed her arms, not holding back her anger.

“The day before yesterday, when you were gone, he was peeping at the baths.”

“Oh.”

“On top of that, a s-s-small girl, smaller than me...”

“Oh my.”

As Siesta looked at the crumpled Saito, she started pitying him. Saito was always putting his life on the line for Louise’s sake... It wouldn’t hurt to look the other way once in a while...

She also had been acting more like Louise lately, so the both of them inflicting pain on him was just... Well, it would only be for a little longer. Siesta crossed her arms and nodded.

With all the things that she had done to him, there was no way that she could entrust Saito to Louise, right?

Clearing her throat, Siesta turned to Louise with a serious face.

“Miss Vallière.”

“What?”

“It is about time that you give me the right to use Saito-san for a day.”

Louise looked at Siesta and then Saito before saying ‘do whatever’ and turned around.

Siesta started untying the rope that bound Saito.

“Ah! Ou-ou-ouch!”

Siesta rubbed some medicine on the wailing Saito who was sitting on a bench in the courtyard.

“Are you okay? Really... as soon as I take my eyes off her, Miss Vallière starts doing whatever she wants.”

“...I’m not fine. What the hell is with that pink squirt and beating on me all the time?”

Saito muttered in an annoyed tone.

“Anyways, thanks for the help.”

Hearing his thanks, Siesta blushed.

“Um... You know about today... Miss Vallière has given me the right for today.”

“The right for today?”

“Ah, yes! Saito does not know about it. At one point, Miss Vallière and I made a wager, which resulted in being able to use Saito for one day however I wish, like going out and such.”

Siesta fidgeted around as she seemed thrilled.

“I see. It must have been quite some bet... If that’s the case, then I will happily go out with you.”

Siesta’s face lit up like the sun.

“Thank you so much!”

“So, what should we do?”

“Good question...”

Siesta started to worry. In this case, it would have been better if she had properly thought of a good plan to execute.

‘What exactly did she want to do?,’ thought Siesta.

Wait..., an idea suddenly flashed amidst her worrying.

“I know! Today, let’s pretend to be newlyweds!”

“Pretend to be newlyweds?”

Saito stared dumbly.

“Yes! That’s it! For today, the two of us are newlyweds!”

Without any warning, Siesta forcefully drew close to Saito. Being drawn into her intensity, Saito simply nodded.

The place in which the now invigorated Siesta was dragging Saito to was the servant’s quarters located in the Suðri courtyard. The building itself was cozy and made of brick. As Siesta dragged Saito inside, the young maids, who had finished their day of work, approached them.

“Oh my! Siesta has brought her lover!”

The girl, presently in the same room, that shouted was called Lola. This girl with dazzling, flowing, blonde hair patted her once roommate’s shoulder.

“So what’s up? What are you here for?”

They noticed that the maids that worked around the academy had clustered around them. These girls could be seen around the dining hall during the day. Their faces showed not the usual fake smiles for their work, but genuine grins. As each of them pointed at Saito in unison, giggles floated around hinting at some rumors.

It was as if Saito had become the main attraction, which made him embarrassed. Being showered with attention in this way was not something he could get used to.

“Hey Lola, I have a request.”

Feeling that this commotion was unnecessary, Siesta covered her cheeks with her hands as she asked Lola for a favor.

“Wha-at?”

“Um..., I want to borrow the room. Just for today is fine...”

“Sure. I’ll take care of it with the head maid for you”

Lola grinned widely, and cheers erupted all around. Siesta’s face was dyed red as she scurried towards the room she used to occupy.

“Is that ok? Having a guy in here...”

Saito inquired with a slightly worried tone. Although Louise’s room was in the girl’s dormitory, Saito was considered a familiar so it was fine. But was that ok here?

Siesta grinned.

“Actually, it’s not.”

“Wha?”

“But everyone does it anyways... bringing their lover and such. The same goes for me, since I’ve been longing for this... I mean...”

Siesta started fidgeting.

Not since that day she left had Siesta made another decision this bold. The decision to leave this place that she used to live in was very rash. She hadn’t thought that she would possibly come back.

Going up to the second floor, there were many doors lined down the hall. The living quarters here was modeled very much like an inn.

“It’s here. This is the room I used to live in.”

Siesta opened the wooden door leading to a small room. It wasn’t even half the size of Louise’s room. Lined up next to the wall was a single bed. Although the bed itself was crude, freshly cleaned white sheets were placed on top. A whiff of incense drifted to their noses, giving the room a girly feel.

“Ah, this feels nostalgic.”

Siesta’s face was bubbly as she opened the window. The evening sun shone around the main building in the distance. Noticing that Saito stood around not knowing what to do, Siesta invited him to sit down.

“Well, please have a seat.”

As Saito sat down, Siesta picked up the water pitcher from the desk and poured him some water.

“Uh, what exactly do newlyweds do?”

At Saito’s question, Siesta turned completely red. Siesta started “kya-kya-ing” in excitement at the thought. Saito thought for a moment until one thing suddenly made his nose bleed. ‘But is that alright? We aren’t even going out...,’ he thought.

The excited Siesta suddenly put on a serious face and walked towards the door. Opening it, some girls spilled into the room with a thud. They had apparently been in the hallway listening in with their ears pressed against the door.

“Hey! What are you doing!”

Placing her hands on her hips, Siesta shouted at them. As Siesta yelled at them, they scattered away like a flock of spiderlings.

“S-sorry.”

“No, it’s okay... I was just surprised. The impressions that I got from everyone while seeing them work around the academy seemed to be rather different...”

Since he was in the girl’s dormitory most of the time, there were not many chances to see them. They were busy taking care of others, so he never got a chance to see this kind of friendly scene between them.

His perception of social interaction was limited to that of the noble girls, who chatted during the day in the hallways or the cafeteria. For that reason, a scenario with everyone in this kind of friendly atmosphere was something new to him.

“Well that’s because we work during the day. At night, we all come out.”

Saito laughed. A single, tomboyish girl was outside the window watching them. How did she get there?

Siesta shouted in frustration as she closed the curtains.

“Uh, about that newlywed thing again...”

Siesta slid into her chair and looked at Saito.

“Y-yes.”

They were both nervous, as she continued to look at him.

“I’m the wife. Saito-san is the husband.”

Siesta stated with a serious look.

“So this is like playing house?”

At that timid statement, Siesta’s blush deepened.

“Y-yes, only it is just me and Saito-san and there is no child...”

“Yeah.”

“Be an adult with a light feel to it.” [Translator’s Note: I think what Siesta wants here is a “gentle, romantic feel” but Saito does not understand the meaning of the phrase.]

What kind of adult is that supposed to be?

Saito started to get incredibly nervous.

“Well for now, I’ll try calling you ‘Honey’.”

“Go ahead.”

“Honey, Welcome home.”

“I’m home.”

Siesta was blushing fiercely as she looked to the side. Then, she let out the breath she had been holding.

“What’s wrong?”

“My-my breath stopped for a moment.”

Siesta acting in that manner seemed to be really cute. Cuter than normal anyways. Saito had no idea what to say, so they both started becoming bashful. S-so this is what being newlyweds is like..., is what drifted across his mind.

“U-uh, how about dinner? Or would you rather take a bath? Afterwards, we can um...., or maybe...”

Siesta squeaked out as she tightly grasped the buttons on her shirt. Saito was thinking, ‘Crap! Next would be ‘Her’?’ He was like a baited fish. Hearing those words, he could in no way get away now.

The two of them swallowed their nervousness. As Siesta stood up, the door opened. A bunch of girls stampeded in. Siesta yelled at them to ‘Get out now!,’ as she kicked her friends out. Then, she approached the wall and banged on it with a broom. On the other side of the thin walls, some girls could be heard tumbling around from the shock of the banging. Lastly, Siesta violently threw a chair in the direction of the window. A scream sounded out, as a girl retreated from the scene.

Like nothing ever happened, Siesta went back to her seat.

“Me?”

Saito then immediately replied to Siesta, who was cutely slanting her head to the side.

“Dinner.”

A smile floated on her lips saying, ‘Right away’, as Siesta left the room. Saito held his head. A bunch of pressure had been weighing him down.

He had passed the ‘right of using him’ off as an easygoing day, but how was he going to endure all these temptations? If he were to get cozy with Siesta, Louise would probably kill him. Why did he take this decision so lightly again?

Was this some kind of punishment?

Maybe? Siesta was difficult to handle today. Out of the blue, she gave out the three choices of dinner, bath, and me... It’s so unfair. Before, he would have gone through anything, like toting around a bomb, for a chance like this.

Saito looked at the darkening scenery outside the window as he held his head in anguish at the thought.