Zero no Tsukaima

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Chapter Three: The Golden Elf[]

The first thought that crossed Saito’s mind after seeing the girl was…

Golden light.

During the dream before, he had seen the golden light at the end.

That light became reality, blinding Saito’s eyes.

He hastily squinted. Once he got used to it, he saw that she wasn't really shining. However, the girl's presence was so strong it felt like an illusory light.

The girl who showed up was beautiful. No, the word beautiful was too trite, she had a divine, pretty face. When she moved, one wanted to kneel down and worship her.

“Hada, wada, howada” For the time being Saito had trouble finding any words.

“What's wrong?” The girl was obviously confused enough to need to ask the question.

“No-that-nothing-this.”

The girl looked hesitant for a moment. Then, after deciding something, took a deep breath and approached Saito. She wore a green, crude, short, one-piece dress, but rather than damaging her beauty it complimented her nicely. Slender lovely legs ran down her short skirt with white sandals framing her pretty feet.

That simple attire accentuated her beauty and created a friendly atmosphere.

Upon nearing Saito the girl laughed forcibly. She obviously tried hard to make him comfortable. And her accompanying smile didn't radiated beauty but kindness.

“Thank goodness. Because you slept for two weeks… I was worried that you might not awaken.”

“Did I sleep for that long?” Although he was surprised that he slept for two weeks, the girl’s beauty was even more shocking.

It looked as if she was covered with light since her long golden hair on all sides of her, like a waving golden sea, reflected sunlight falling from the window, and the light danced on her face.

It was like a computer animation showing the face with a perfect outline and silhouette. Beautiful but it made one nervous at the same time. Such a beautiful person without any noticeable flaws.

And pointed ears peeped through crevices of her golden hair.

Ears like that are quite unusual, he thought while trying to move, eliciting an incomparably acute pain through his side. Until now he had never felt such debilitating pain. But that pain made him feel "alive". I am not dead, I feel alive, thought Saito while trembling.

Relief filled Saito the same way wilted flowers absorbed water. He was safe for now and was he swept with a torrent of emotions.

“I see… I'm alive…”

Gradually he was moved to tears. I am alive,. With a thought like that, even the aching wounds on his body felt near and dear.

Teary-eyed Saito muttered. “Ah, if it hurts it means I am alive.”

Seeing that…

“W-well… are the bandages too tight?” Blinking her clear, big, green eyes, the girl reached for Saito.

After confirming his well being, the girl's beauty felt more real and made Saito’s heart tremble.

Oh, if I were to touch someone as beautiful as her, I would certainly receive heaven's punishment.

Saito immediately retracted. He felt like a simpleton .

The girl opened her eyes wide as she noticed that an ear was peeping from the crevice of her hair and hurriedly covered it with both hands. In an instant her cheeks were flushed pink.

“S-sorry.”

“Eh?”

“But don’t worry. I won’t do any harm.”

Saito stared blankly at her. It seemed that Saito’s retreat was mistaken for fright. An unexpected misunderstanding. Saito lost his nerve only because of her beauty, not because of fright.

“No no! That, I am not afraid. But because of your b-b-bb…”

“Bb?”

“Beauty, well…”

Saying that Saito colored up. He was not used to saying "You are beautiful" to a girl.

She made a surprised face.

“Beauty?”

“Y-yes.”

“You think so even after you saw my ears?” She removed her hands from her ears.

“Yes.”

Suspicious, Saito nodded. Certainly, pointed ears were unusual. However, in Halkeginia with its orcs, dragons, water spirits, there lived many strange beings. At this point, pointed ears did not surprise him as much. Well, I guess there are people who would not think so.

“…really, you are not shocked? Not scared?” She watched Saito with a doubtful face.

“Really, I am not shocked nor scared. Why would I be afraid? Why do you need to ask? Besides, there are a lot more scary things. Like dragons and trolls.”

The girl was relieved, “It’s unusual for a human to not be afraid of an elf.”

“Elf?”

Saito had heard the name. He delved to the bottom of his memory and recalled it. Well it was certainly mentioned in some talks. This was the name of those who lived in the "east". According to the rumors they were vicious, and lived on bad terms with humans in a holy land.

He did think them to be terrible, but the girl in front of him was far from that.

“Yes, elf. And I am ‘mixed’ one at that…” This the girl muttered with a touch of self-hatred. Thereupon, a shadow covered her porcelain features and melancholy took over her face.

Confused for a moment… Saito had second thoughts.

Hey Saito, it's not time to appreciate the pretty girl.

Isn't there anything else for you to worry about?

How did I survive?

What happened to the war?

Louise?

Siesta?

Everyone?

However, there was something else to do before that. He’d ask later.

Saito said while pointing at the bandages around his body,“Did you help me?”

“Yes," the girl nodded.

“I see… Thank you. Honestly, thank you.” Saito thanked her many times. Even so, it wasn't enough to express his gratitude.

The girl smiled shyly.

Somehow, she seemed to be embarrassed and dodged Saito’s words. Despite her beauty, she seemed to lose her composure easily.

Though this girl's behavior was naturally cute, Saito endured. Now wasn’t the time to get love-struck. There were a lot of things that he wanted to hear first.

But... something was amiss.

Wasn’t it a little strange?

She helped me?

Hey hey, wasn’t he battling against an army of 70,000?

From the look of it, the girl wore village clothes. So how was she able to help him in the middle of the large army?

Gradually, suspicion built in Saito’s mind.

Then, her beauty, and the atmosphere surrounding her…

What if this elf woman was an enemy?

She tried to make me feel relieved to draw out some information…

When you think about it, this beautiful girl in front of me could really be an enemy’s trap. In movies and anime, the spies were usually beautiful women.

Moreover, after coming to this world and meeting Louise, Saito realized one the truth.

What looks cute may not be so from the inside.

Such was the truth. And from the evidence that his body obtained – it was unshakable truth.

With such a truth, he became more suspicious of the girl.

“Fufufu…”

“What's wrong?”

Saito, cleared his throat, and asked in an calm voice.

“I really want to express my gratitude for helping me, however, there’s one thing I want to know.”

“Please.”

“Where did you find me?”

“You were lying in the forest so I brought you here.”

Lying in the forest?

Didn’t I fall, surrounded by a large army?

What forest?

Saito narrowed his eyes and watched the girl suspiciously.

Due to this, the atmosphere started to feel awkward…

“W-well, I’ll bring you food.”

Saying that, the girl tried to leave. Saito gripped her arm.

“Where have you put my sword?”

“Aah, that sword is yours? I do not know but he was making noise. I thought that it was better to not wake you up, so I placed him in the room on the other side….

Saito puckered up his eyebrows. He recalled words from an old detective drama. The beauty of a rose has thorns. And in the end, the beautiful woman was a criminal. Damn, and said aloud,

“There must be a reason for Derf to be so loud.”

“Even if you say that, there must be a reason…”

She said in an embarrassed voice. Then, seeing Saito clasping her hand, the girl shamefully bit her lip.

“W-well… please, that, hand…”

The girl struggled to shake off Saito's hand. However, Saito didn't let go. Frowning in pain, he drew the girl's slender form to himself. The blush on girl's cheeks increased even more.

“Umm… let go… please.”

“Tell me the truth.”

But Saito was completely lost in the role of the great detective hunting down a criminal. A very bothering character. Even an encounter with death could not fix such a painful personality.

“You are from the Albion army. Say it, A-L-B-I-O-N.”

“N-no. I am not related to Albion nor to an army.”

With frightened face, girl shook her head. However, Saito’s detective feelings sense was completely convinced that she was part of the Albion army.

“Then how I was 'lying in the forest'? I lost consciousness in the middle of an enemy army! So there!”

“I-I do not know how…”

“Spit it out!”

“Ah..”

Saito pulled on the girl making her lose the balance. Then she fell down on Saito’s thigh.

“Spit it out! S-eh?”

In an instant, Saito's face became pale.

Something big and soft crashed against his thigh.

Detective doubts about the girl where blown from his head in an instant, and now other doubt swelled up in his mind.

"Hey", Saito asked.

What object crashed against my thigh just now?

…Breasts?

It should be breasts.

However… it cannot be breasts. Surely, there cannot be such breast size. So, it isn’t.

Yet what would be normal breasts like? Saito imagined cooking. Big, soft bread. Stuffed animal. And yes - rounded square cushion.

Then what.

Still, even if these were breasts, there were physical laws that breasts could not disregard.

By accident he caught her profile with his eyes. She was crimson. From shame and tension she seemed to not to be able to talk any more. Because of Saito’s grip on her arm she could not stand up. Still, bravely, the girl struggled trying to stand up.

Something hard stuck in Saito’s throat.

T-this especially. I, aah, I…

These soft, heavy objects on his thigh changed shape while moving.

Saito, with his mouth agape, watched the girl. Felt like his heart valves were breaking, almost making blood spout from his nose. His heart was beating like a drum, and the enthusiasm of life was coming back to Saito.

As he watched the pointed ear which peeped from the crevice of her thin golden hair… three letters sparked in Saito’s head

T. B. R.

Or in other words…

The Bust Revolution.

Indeed… this was a revolutionary breast size.

When compared to the body lines, the size looked even bigger. This elf girl’s body was slender. He could see that when her body fell. Her ankles and arms were thin. Waist, neck – all were thin…only her breasts were different. Her breasts caused the revolt within this body.

If there was a law concerning breast size, this would earn a life sentence. No, the death penalty. At least if Louise were a judge, it would be the death penalty.

Aaah, because she wore voluminous clothes he had not realized. Aaah, because of her delicate arms, his mind had unconsciously applied that to the whole body. Aah aaah, for me, such a large breast size was all honesty.

“Ah, ya…ha, n.”

The girl let out sounds while struggling. This rascal, though her whole body is slender, why are the breasts so strange? Could it be that her breasts gathered all her nourishment, could it? I learned one day in science class about Mendelian inheritance... this miracle could be explained by the laws of dominant inheritance...

His brains boiled, while thinking.

“Big sister is telling the truth!”

“Don’t do anything to Tiffa nee-chan!”

“Stop doing weird things to big sister!”

Children suddenly rushed into Saito’s room. Seems like the children were watching them from the open door.

“Remove your hands from Tiffania onee-chan!”

Tiffania – seemed to be the name of this beautiful elf girl. Children started hitting Saito, who was grasping her arm.

“Eh! No! This! Different! Children, it’s different!”

Though Saito tried to make excuses… the children's power was too strong, even though these kids a little while ago were frightened by the weird stranger.

With potential of huge breasts that cannot be expressed in a single phrase, this delicate elf girl, seemed to be the children's treasure.

“You don't understand! This person’s breasts are too strange! Therefore I was surprised! It’s different! I was just surprised, that’s why I attacked!”

“Not different! It looked strange no matter what!”

It was justifiable.

“Ruffian! Be gone!”

“Wait! I’m not bad! That! Gyaa!”

“Eat this!” the girl with short blond hair hit his head severely with the frying-pan. Come to think of it, I was hit with the frying-pan in the dream as well, came the trivial thought, before Saito started a journey to the unconscious world again.

While rubbing his aching head, Saito woke up again.

Tiffania opened the door and entered. Even after seeing again, she was beautiful. The color of her hair was bright and sparkling with gold and white, tres bien indeed, he thought.

She was embarrassed.

“Just a while ago, s-sorry for the children… because they believed… that you were doing strange things.”

Tiffania was carrying the heavy Derflinger in her arms. Unsho, yokkorasho – panting, she put strained expression that didn’t suit her face and leaned it against the bed.

“Derf!”

“Yoo, partner… Are you finally awake? I'm so glad, I'm so glad.”

Derflinger explained what happened after Saito fainted.

How he fell immediately before attacking the general.

And how Derflinger using "absorbed amount of magic to move Gandálfr" ability ran away to the forest.

“But, I was at a loss. And sad because you died. Your heart stopped too. I was fed up with making friends and then losing them, what kind of legendary Derf I am.”

“Well, I survived…”

Saito, took a long look at himself again.

“Partner."

“Hold your tongue! Why haven’t you told me that you have such an ability?”

“I had forgotten… I am rather forgetful. But partner’s death made me sad. Partner is partner after all. No, not a legend anymore, but partner is partner…”

He said in an inarticulate way, but Saito was not listening to Derflinger’s whining already.

Ignoring his aching body, he bowed to Tiffania.

“I'm really sorry! I… Though you helped me, I suspected you to take part in an enemy trap...”

“Eh? It’s all right. That, umm, don’t worry.”

Tiffania muttered, looking embarrassed.

“But, to heal such injury…”

Once again, the inborn curiosity raised it’s head. Saito asked anxiously.

“If you can, could you tell me? What magic you used to heal me when I was in a near death state?”

Tiffania, hesitating whether to say or not… revealed a ring.

It was an old ring, only a dull silver plinth.

In that silver base for the fourth finger ring - there must have been a stone before.

“I was cured by this ring?”

Tiffania nodded with a stern face.

“Such an incredible ring! To cure such a severe injury! If you have it, people won‘t die from injuries or diseases!”

Tiffania shook her head.

“That’s impossible.”

“What?” Saito was bewildered. Derflinger explained.

“Ancient Magic. Elf treasure, isn’t it? The girl is half-elf.”

Tiffania was surprised.

“How do I know it? Anyhow, I lived very long, even though my memory is bad.”

“So… I'll tell you. As Sword-san said the 'Ancient Magic' with water power was placed into this ring. However, I do not know the name of it... it was given as keepsake from my dying mother.“

“Your mother was an elf?”

Tiffania nodded.

"I see. You have some hidden reasons of your own, right? Ah, never mind, I don't plan on asking for the details anyway......However, since there is only the bezel of the ring left, does this mean that the 'magical power' within it has been used up?"

"Exactly. There was a magical gem containing 'Water Magic' embedded here before, but as the magic was exhausted, the gem just dissolved......That's why there is only the bezel of the ring left. Anyway, this marks the end of the ring's power here. So, please don't get hurt that seriously again, because I can't heal you anymore."

Saito was touched to the bottom of his heart. Though he didn’t understand well, somehow an important keepsake from her mother was used and he was cured.

“Tiffania-san… right?”

“Tiffania it is. Though, if it is too hard to call me that, you can call me Tifa.”

Tiffania said, giving a smile that was the embodiment of beauty. Hard to call, indeed.

“Tifa then. Really really, that… Let me express my greatest gratitude… Though it was such an important ring, to cure me…”

“Eh? It’s all right, it’s all right! Tools are there to be used after all!”

Tiffania said in panic.

“Indeed…”

Saito looked up.

“I would like to thank you, but I do not have anything to give but the little 'power' I have!”

“Partner.”

In an embarrassed tone, Derflinger muttered. Disregarding him Saito continued.

“I cannot tell the details, but I can use any weapon! Therefore, please tell me when you are in trouble! For instance if a fierce animal or monster attacks the village at night…”

Saito, on the bed, clasped Tiffania's hand.

“F-for now…”

Tiffania muttered, giving a wry smile.

“You’ll see! Weapon! Grab! And the runes on my left hand start to shine! Here!”

Saito reached for Derflinger, who had been leaning against the bed and gripped him.

“Ah, partner…”

For some reason Derflinger’s voice sounded embarrassed.

“Hey! When I grip the sword this way, the runes on my left hand… T-that?”

Saito stared blankly. Though Derflinger was gripped, nothing shone. Usually, the runes on his left hand shined and his body felt light, as if growing a pair of wings… yet, it didn’t lighten.

“W-what’s wrong?”

In panic, Saito watched his left hand, with his mouth widely agape.

“Rururu…”

“See, partner? I told you so. Not legendary anymore, but partner is a partner. But we are still same old, right? Friends, right? Therefore do not worry. Because I am still your partner. Thu-…”

Derflinger’s words were interrupted,

“What’s with the runes?!”

Saito screamed.

And so…

The sign of Gandálfr disappeared without a trace.

1. sounds made during panting