Zero no Tsukaima - Volume 5 - Chapter 1.3

Chapter 3

"Faeries! Finally, the awaited week has come!" 

"Yes, Mi Mademoiselle!" 

"Let's start the tip race with enthusiasm!" 

Applause and cheering resounded through the store. 

"Now then, as everyone knows... The establishment of this 'Charming Faeries' Inn dates back four-hundred years, during the reign of His Majesty, Henry III, also called Tristain Attraction King. His Majesty Henry III, known to be a peerlessly handsome man, was said to be the reincarnation of a fairy." 

Scarron began to speak in an absorbed manner. 

"One day, that king visited the city in secret. And then, amazingly, he set his foot in this unopened bar. At that time, the store's name was 'Eel's Bed' Inn, which didn't have a bit of appeal or anything at all. There, the king, how about it! Fell in love with a waitress girl he met there!" 

Then Scarron shook his head sadly. 

"But... a king should not fall in love with a girl from a bar... In the end, the king gave up on this love. Then... the king prepared a bustier and sent it to the girl as a memento of their love. My ancestors were greatly impressed by that love and changed the store's name, basing it on the bustier. What a beautiful story..." 

"What a beautiful story! Mi mademoiselle!" 

"That is this 'Charming Faeries' Bustier'!" 

Emphatically, Scarron stripped off his outer garments and trousers. This time, Saito, who had been watching distantly, went "Ouue" and vomited. That was because Scarron was wearing a short and sexy, black bustier that fit his body perfectly. 

"This 'Charming Faeries' Bustier' that the king sent to the girl he loved four-hundred years ago is my family's heirloom! This bustier has a magic that allows it to change its size depending on its wearer's constitution as well as the magic "Attraction" cast on it." 

"It's wonderful! Mi mademoiselle!" 

"Nnnn~! Très bien!" 

Scarron posed with an ecstatic voice. 

At that time... Surprisingly, the feeling "It's not too bad" rose up inside Saito. Good will towards Scarron... that type of feeling. Even though his appearance was that disgusting, wasn't it okay in its own way? Saito started feeling. 

Saito then realized it. This was the identity of the "Attraction" magic! But Scarron's appearance in it was so much of a minus, the effect could only get to "It fits so-so". 

I see. Because the wearer is Scarron, I only thought to that level. If a normal girl wore it... I might see her as a peerless beauty. Magic really is scary, Saito nodded. 

Still posing, Scarron continued his speech. 

"The fairy that wins the tip race that starts this week will be given the rights to wear this 'Charming Faeries' Bustier' for a da-y! Geez! I wonder how much tips one would get on the day she wears it! I get excited just thinking about it! And that's why everyone should try her best!" 

"Yes! Mi mademoiselle!" 

"Very good! Well then, everyone! Hold your glass!" 

The girls held up their glasses all at once. 

"To the tip race's success and business, prosperity and..." 

There, Scarron cut off his words and stood up straight with a serious look after clearing his throat. And then, not in his usual feminine language, but in a proper middle-aged man's voice, he said, "a prayer to Her Majesty the Queen's health. Cheers." 

And raised his wine cup. 

 Now then, the tip race started like this, but... 

Because she thought that at this rate, she wouldn't get any tips, Louise decided to stop talking. Louise realized that she would anger the customer whenever she opened her mouth. That's why she decided to be as silent as she could. Deciding that, she was pouring wine for a certain customer when he talked to her. Success. It's a chance to get a tip. 

"Hey, you, just for a bit. Show me your hand." 

Louise put out her hand. 

"I practice divination, so I'll divine for you." 

The customer looked at Louise's palm and said this 

"According to my divination, you... were born as a flour grinder. Am I right?" 

How dare you compare the likes of a flour grinder to a noble like me? What a thing. 

The man divined further. 

"Oh! You're like that right? Got a guy you like?" 

She thought of her familiar's face. She couldn't forgive herself for thinking that. I don't have one. Louise shook her head. 

"No? You do, don't you?! Then I'll divine your compatibility with him... Wah! I'm surprised!" 

The man tragically shook his head. 

"Worst." 

I know that even if you don't tell me. I know it too well. Besides, I don't like him in the first place. 

Offended, Louise gave her thanks for the divination with her foot. To Louise, the person closest to her of the opposite sex was Saito. Her habit of treating Saito accidentally came out. Habits are scary. 

"Wh-what's with you?! You brat!" 

I'm not a brat. I'm sixteen. She wanted to respond, but firmly stayed quiet. I decided to stay quiet just a moment again, didn't I? 

"Say something! You pipsqueak!" 

I'm just slow to grow. What a mean thing to say. 

Thinking to properly tell the customer her age, Louise kicked the customer's face up sixteen times. The guest was flattened. 

Well, it was this way the whole time, so Louise didn't get any tips that day. 

Louise shuddered that as a result of trying to remain silent, the number of times the sole of her foot would fly increased in place of her abusive language. It seemed the feelings she could not express out loud were said by her foot's sole instead. 

On the next morning, Louise consulted with Saito on what to do. Saito proposed that to prevent her foot's sole from flying, Louise should take off her panties and do work, and was hit. 

 The second day. 

Louise was careful to not let her foot fly. 

To keep herself smiling no matter what someone said, she placed wire in her mouth and fixated her face into a smile. The fully prepared waitress Louise never stopped smiling. But... She didn't receive any tips. She held back and kept the bottom of her feet from flying, and she fixated her smile. But even then. 

Wow, the problem came from her hand. 

A customer took interest in the waitering Louise. It seems he liked her face. 

"Oh, you're... a bit cute, aren't ya? Pour for me." 

The man was satisfied with Louise's face, but soon realized a certain fault. Her chest. What's this. Completely flat. Unintentionally, teasing words came spilling out. 

"What's with you? Don't tell me you're a boy? Well, your face is so-so though... Listen, let me teach you a trick. At least round up some cloths and stuff it in there. If you do that, you'll become number one here! Gahaha! Now pour some for me." By that man's words, her face's muscles started twitching, but her smile was safely fixated by the wire. At this rate, it was supposed to go well thanks to the wire. 

But it wasn't so. 

Louise had poured the wine onto the man's head. 

"What are you doin'?!" 

The man stood up. Louise, sensing danger to her body, slammed the wine bottle into his head. 

The man crumbled to the floor so she did not have to pour for him anymore, but she didn't get any tips. 

Like this, Louise was shocked that every time someone made fun of her breasts' size, her hand would move on its own and have the customer's head drink the wine. 

On the next morning, Louise consulted with Saito. Saito proposed that to keep herself from letting the customers' head drink the wine, she should place the wine bottle in-between her breasts and pour. 

The wine bottle will not physically reach the customer's head if her hands are positioned at her breasts. Plus, the pose is very enjoyable to the customer. 

But Louise, thinking that he was saying something bad about her breasts' size, hit Saito. 

 The third day. 

Louise was careful to keep her hands from moving. After she placed the wine on top of the table, she grouped her hands together behind her and smiled brightly. Even if she was told to pour something, all she did was smile. 

"Pour me some." 

She smiled brightly. 

"I said pour me some." 

She smiled brightly. 

"I'm telling you to pour me some!" 

She smiled brightly. 

"What is up with you?!" 

There was no way she would get a tip. When she consulted with Saito, he told her to hold it in her mouth while she poured it. Louise's mouth was small. A wine bottle couldn't fit in there. Looking carefully, Saito looked like he was sleepy. Just because you're sleepy doesn't mean you should say random things. And Louise hit Saito. 

 The fourth day. 

The competition was half-way done. The number of tips so far was zero. As expected, Louise had gotten desperate. Louise waitered while taking caution of the sole of her foot, the position that she poured wine in, and her words. 

"You seem unskilled, but your manners are oddly refined. You can have this." 

Possibly because of her efforts, Louise got a gold coin for a tip from what seemed to be the first noble customer she had served. 

"Re-really? Can I have this?" 

"Aah. Take it." 

"Waai!" 

Jumping up from happiness, she turned over a plate and spilt the food onto the customer's shirt. 

"I-I'm sorry..." 

Louise apologized, but the noble customer did not forgive her. 

"You... This shirt was a gem made from silk that your wages could never pay for. What are you going to do about it?" 

"I'm really sorry... Auu..." 

"Well then, just what will you do about this?" 

"I-I'll pay for it..." 

"Hmph, then let's do this. I'll have you compensate for this with something you can do." 

"What should I do?" 

"Not much, just come to my room in the middle of the night." 

"And then?" 

"You understand what happens after that, right? You're not a child, right? A child." 

"Wh-what does that mean?" 

"I mean that you'll compensate quite a lot with your body. That's what I mean. Muhoho!" 

Blood flew to Louise's head. 

E, e-e, even though you're a noble, what a thing to do! The third daughter of a duke family became enraged. Don't even place the nobles near that lewdness. As Her Majesty's representative, I have to conclude and punish this disgrace of a noble. 

"You disgrace! It's because people like you exist! The kingdom's authority! Authority! And my authority as well!" 

"Wh-what are you doing? Uwah! Stop! Stop, I say!" 

Her foot, words, and the wine flew out all at once. 

"I'm returning this to you!" 

She slapped the tip she finally got on his face. 

Louise was called out by Scarron and was told to wash dishes all day tomorrow as punishment. Louise was very irritated and decided to hit Saito. 

 The fifth day... While Louise was washing dishes with Saito, Jessica came up to them. 

"How are you doing? Ojou-sama, I've collected one-hundred and twenty écus so far." 

"Isn't that amazing?" 

Louise replied sullenly. 

"You won't get any tips while washing dishes." 

"I know that." 

Louise said while washing the dishes amateurishly. 

"Sheesh. You can't even wash a dish properly?" 

Jessica complained while looking at the dish Louise had washed. 

"...I am properly washing the dishes, you know." 

"See, there is still oil remaining. You don't call this washed." 

Jessica took the plate from Louise and cleaned it up with quick hand movements. Louise watched her in an offended way. 

"Hey." 

Jessica glared at Louise. 

"What?" 

"Someone's teaching you. What's with that attitude?" 

"......Uu..." 

Saito watched over the two's exchange with a surprised look. 

"When someone's teaching you something, it's 'thank you' right? It's the basics, the basics." 

"...Th-thank you." 

"Geez, it's because you make that face that you don't get any tips. Tomorrow's the last day, got it? Get it together, Ojou-sama." 

Leaving that said, Jessica disappeared back to the bar. Louise hung her head dejectedly. 

 As the day headed toward morning... 

Louise, after washing dishes through the night, looked at her own hands and sighed. Louise's fingers that had never washed anything before had become bright red due to unaccustomed kitchen work and were hurting thanks to the cold water and soap. 

Why do I have to do something like this? She thought. Even though she herself was a noble, she had to wash dishes... Having to serve all of those commoners... 

Plus, a bar girl talked so impertinently to me...... 

"No more." Louise muttered. Whether it's information gathering or whatever, this isn't my job. I'm a legend. I'm the user of Void, you know. Yet why do I have to be a waitress at a bar? Shouldn't, like, a more showy mission be waiting for me? 

Thinking like that, tears felt like pouring out from the sadness. Opening a board of the floor, Saito poked his head out from downstairs so Louise crawled into the bed. She didn't want him to see her crying. 

"Here, some food." 

Saito called out to Louise, placing a plate filled with stew on the table. But Louise just answered tiredly from inside the bed. 

"I don't need it." 

"There's no way you don't need it. You won't hold up if you don't eat." 

"It's not tasty." 

"Even if you say it's not tasty, there is nothing else to eat so there's no helping it." 

Even then, Louise wrapped herself in the blanket and didn't come out of the bed. Saito approached the bed and pulled off the blanket. Louise was crouching inside the futon in her pajamas. 

"Eat. Your body will break down." 

"My hands hurt. I can't hold up a spoon." 

Louise whined like a child. Seeing that it was no use, Saito scooped up the stew with the spoon and carried it to Louise's mouth. 

"Then, here, I'll feed you. Eat. Okay?" 

Louise finally took a sip. Tears poured out from her eyes. 

"I don't want this anymore. I'm going back to the academy." 

"What about the mission?" 

"Don't care. This isn't my mission." 

Saito withdrew the spoon and looked at Louise. 

"You know." 

"What." 

"Do you have any motivation at all?" 

"I do." 

"Princess-sama entrusted you with this job because she trusted you, right? Blend in with commoners and gather information. Because if she used someone from the royal court, she'd be denied... She couldn't depend on anyone so she depended on you, right?" 

"That's right." 

"Yet what's with you. You lost all of our money in the gambling area because you got pissed off, and you drag along your noble's pride here and can't get a single tip. You also anger the customers. Not even close to information gathering." 

"Just shut up. But what does that mission have to do with stupid dish washing and serving? I want to do bigger jobs. No more of this. Why does a noble like me..." 

Saito grabbed Louise's shoulders and turned her to face him. 

"What?!" 

"Guess what, Ojou-sama? Everyone's working. They're trying their best at this job you call stupid and eating this meal. Only you nobles play around and have people feed you." 

Saito said in a serious voice. Louise, fearing the cold anger in his eyes, looked downwards without thinking. 

"I can't say too many cocky things because I was raised similar to you, but after coming here, I've suffered in many ways and understand. That it is pretty troublesome just to live." 

Somehow not being able to say anything back, Louise remained silent. Saito continued his words. 

"I don't understand too well, but perhaps people that concern themselves about their stupid pride so much can't do big jobs? I think so anyways. Well, if you tell me to quit, I'll quit. I don't really care either way. Because it's not my job after all." Louise closed her mouth quietly. 

"You don't want it anymore?" 

Saito asked, sticking out the spoon. Louise jumped out of bed, took the spoon from Saito, and started devouring the stew. 

Saito spread out his hands, turned his head, and took out something. It was a small ceramics case. 

"....What is that?" 

"Cream that works on water-chapped skin. Jessica gave it to me." 

Then Saito told Louise to extend her hand. Louise did so obediently. 

Louise looked guiltily at Saito's face while he smeared the cream, but... soon muttered in a small voice. 

"Hey..." 

"What?" 

"I'll serve. I'll wash the dishes. Is this fine?" 

"Yeah, that's fine." Saito said in a relieved voice. 

"But, are you okay?" 

"What is?" 

"Is this okay?" 

Louise blushed and said in a displeased voice. 

"Serving is fine. I'll even say a word of courtesy. But..." 

"But what?" 

"I-is it fine if customers touch your master all over?" 

Saito firmly fell silent. 

"Hey. What about it? Don't say such selfish things and properly answer if it is okay or bad." 

Saito began to eat the stew quietly. 

"I said hey. Which one is it? Say it." 

Louise asked while pulling on Saito's ear. Looking heavily at the stew, Saito murmured 

"...I-if you allowed that kind of touching, I'd slap 'em." 

"Who would you slap?" 

"...You." 

Louise looked sharply into Saito's eyes. 

"Why? The master is going to be slapped by the familiar, so explain the reason." 

Silence fell. 

Looking to the side, Saito said dully 

"I-I'll forgive holding hands though." 

"What's with that?" 

Louise sent Saito flying. 

"What's with 'I'll forgive hands'?! I'm asking you for the reason for slapping me! Idiot!" 

"Be-because......" 

"Besides, what do you mean by 'forgive'? Acting so proudly. Whether I hold hands or do whatever isn't decided by you. It's me, me! Hmph!" 

Louise combed up her pink-blond hair and put on a composed expression. She grouped her arms together. 

"Fine. Was it that 'Charming Faeries' Bustier'? I'll wear that and charm all of the customers. Yeah, for the sake of tips. I'll forgive. Not just my hand..." 

Saito jumped up and shouted at Louise. 

"Don't joke around!" 

Louise turned her head around and crawled back into the bed. Right then, Saito managed to get himself back under control and shook his head. 

"Well, the 'Charming Faeries' Bustier' is impossible. It's the victory prize. Right now, you're probably the last place on tips." 

Louise did not reply. 

Becoming worried, Saito asked. 

"...Would you really forgive them? Putting the tip race victory aside, are you that determined? Isn't that a bit extreme? Come on." 

Louise did not answer back. 

"Hey, are you really going to?" 

In an almost crying voice, Saito persistently asked Louise. But, "Shut up! I'm going to sleep!" Louise shouted... and Saito down-heartedly crawled into bed.