Dialog Types:

"Dialog in Helkigian"

"Dialog in Japanese"

(Louise's thoughts )

(Hambei's thoughts)

Magic/Dreams

"Derf's Dialog"

- Chapter 7 : A proposal -

- Louise's room : late at night -

"Hanbei!" Shouted the pinkette as she woke up from the nightmare about her familiar past.

She frantically looked around until she found a lamp and flicked it on. After the interior of the room was again visible, she quickly noticed the undying was not in his bed.

"Where has he gone now?" she asked herself, annoyed by his absence.

As if to answer her question, a sound of fast steps was heard in the corridor outside before the door was flung open by Hanbei wielding Derflingher.

"Who dares attack my master in her sleep?! Show yourself, fiend!"

The young mage, both because of the sound of the door hitting the wall at full force and the man's loud voice, shrieked with surprise.

"Stop screaming like a mad man! I am alright, nobody is attacking me!"

Taking in his master's words and noting how there wasn't anybody else in the room, the confused soldier demanded, "Then why were you yelling my name like that?"

Louise blushed slightly and admitted, "I-I just had a bad dream and woke up suddenly."

"You, on the other hand," She pointed at him, quickly changing the subject, "Why were you going around at this late hour?"

"Well, I was having difficulty sleeping, so I decided to take a little walk around instead of sitting in bed doing nothing. I actually came across a very peculiar discovery. Perhaps you would like for me to wait and inform you about it in the morning?" Explained the Undying.

"No, if it is really that interesting I would like to hear it now, since I don't feel like going back to sleep immediately."

"As you wish, my lady." Complied Hanbei as he began narrating the events with Siesta.

- some minutes later -

"That is the gist of it." The soldier concluded, ready to answer any questions or be at the receiving end of an explosion.

Instead, the pinkette had a thoughtful expression as she took all the information in.

Seeing this unusual behavior in the girl Hanbei couldn't help it to ask "Is everything ok lady Louise? You seem strangely calm."

"I am simply processing all of it." She breathed in. "It's you being calm that surprises me. I can imagine you going and involving yourself in a fight without telling me, but the maid you befriended ending up being the grandchild of a noble. Not any noble either...Isshin Ashina himself. I would have expected you to tell me you killed the girl as revenge for what the man did to Tamura."

"Now, even if what happened to General Tamura was Isshin's fault, I can't possibly blame Siesta for-" the Undying stopped in the middle of the sentence to look at the pinkette, "Wait, how do you know about that?!"

She ran her hands through her hair and sighed.

"I guess now is as good a time as any." She looked the man in the eyes as she revealed, "I saw it. Everything that happened on the battlefield that day, and the day you met him. I also saw what happened with the Hoshigaki. From the day I first summoned you, I've seen bits and pieces of your past in my dreams."

His eyes widened in realization "So when you screamed before..."

The pinkette was fidgeting "Y-yes, I was having one of those dreams. I saw your fight with Isshin, even if it was too one-sided to be called as such."

The Undying gave her a solemn, sympathetic look.

"Nobody your age should ever see this atrocities." He bowed to her. "I am sorry, Lady Louise."

"Don't be. It was me who peeked into your past without your consent. I wanted to do some research before telling you, but I didn't find anything about shared dreams between familiar and master."

"That's just because nobody ever noticed it, pinky." Interjected Derflingher.

"What do you mean, sword?" Asked the young mage.

"First of all, my name is not 'sword.' I'm Derflingher! Got it? D-e-r-f-l-i-n-g-h-e-r!"

"Please don't start arguing with each other." Pleaded Hanbei before addressing his weapon "And I, too, would like to know what you meant Derf."

"Okay, but only because you asked nicely, partner." He cleared his voice "Simply put, the Master and Familiar sharing dreams actually happens to every mage. It's just that it's usually very difficult to notice."

The two humans looked at the sword with an eyebrow raised.

"Okay, let me ask you this. Did any one of you ever dream that you were relaxing in a grassy plain under the sun? Or that you were flying or swimming on a pleasant summer day? Everyone could say they had one of those in their lives."

"Yes, that is true." Replied the pinkette, still confused.

"There you have it then. Familiars are usually simple-minded creatures. They don't have many memories that really stand out and they usually don't process them in any complicated way. If a mage summons a wolf and dreams for a couple of nights that he is running in a forest, they will just think it's because they are excited about their new partner."

Hanbei scratched his chin, starting to understand Derflingher's argument.

"But with humans, who are more intelligent and complicated beings, things are different. They have many cherished memories that are transmitted to the master."

"You got it, partner! That means there is nothing strange in what the girl is going through. It will go on for a while, but everything should settle down in due time. All's well that ends well!"

"Incredible!" Louise stood up in a flash. "This could be one of the greatest discoveries in the history of magic! We should go to the principal's office and tell him this. It would make me one of the most renowned mages in history. I can't wait to beat it in that Germanian's face and..." She stopped in her tracks "Wait a minute. How do you know all of these things?"

"I have been around for some time, girl. There are a lot of things I don't remember, but of one thing I am certain." He paused to add a dramatic effect. "I have been made to be used by people like a partner, for human familiars."

"Really?!" Exclaimed a surprised Hanbei before remembering. "Oh, right! You called me a 'user' before. So you didn't mean just a swordsman, but a familiar."

"Exactly! Though I am not against fighting with a normal person if I like them enough!"

"Then this means Hanbei is not the first human familiar!" Interrupted Louise before beginning to ask a series of questions.

"What where the others like? What can you tell me about their masters? What elements did they use? How much time has passed since your last 'user?'"

"Wow, calm down pinky! Give me some space, would you? I don't remember much about any of the things you asked anyway."

"Really? You just drop that without notice and then expect us to just believe you just forgot all the details?" Complained the annoyed young mage.

"I don't expect anything. You asked and I answered. That's all." The sword concluded as Hanbei could mentally picture it shrugging as though it had shoulders.

The pinkette crossed her arms and sighed "I have to say, you are one surprise after another, Derflingher."

Both the sword and the man were surprised she actually used the weapon's proper name.

"Fine, I'll pass over that for now, but you better start to try remembering more! Are we clear?"

"Aye aye, ma'am!" Exclaimed Derflingher sarcastically.

Louise nodded with approval before resuming a serious face and addressing her familiar.

"And don't think I forgot about the start of this conversation. I have nothing against that girl. I am just worried that her presence will make unpleasant memories reappear. I saw how mad you were when Isshin killed General Tamura. That is not something you easily forget."

The Undying looked up at the ceiling, thinking deeply about what to say.

"It is true, I harbored only hate for that man and his family in the past. Still, a lot of things happened since then. I have met Lord Minato and Lady Shiro, filling me with happiness once again, before losing them and knowing a different kind of despair. Then I wandered and learned much about the world, meeting so many different people, some of which I came to call friends."

He then lowered his gaze and looked the pinkette in the eyes.

"After all this time, I have accumulated many regrets. At the same time, I also learned not to live in the past. I won't forgive Isshin Ashina, but I also won't condemn Siesta Ashina for actions that are not hers."

Louise smirked at her familiar's determination.

"It seems that, since I summoned you, weird things continue to happen around me. What will be the next thing? Sister Eleonore suddenly showing up, hugging me and telling me I am her favourite sibling? Or maybe Zerbst becoming a nun? I would pay to see that."

She chuckled.

"Fine, I have nothing else to say aside from this: I greatly underestimated you, Hanbei. You don't look the part, but you are quite the honorable knight when you want to be."

The Undying smiled awkwardly at the last part "Thank you for your praise."

The girl yawned "Well, I've had enough revelations for a night. Let's go back to sleep. Tomorrow morning, you'll talk to me and the maid about this 'proposal' of yours and then we will go to the principal's office and tell him what we discovered about the dreams the Master and Familiar share."

"As you wish." Responded Hanbei before the pair laid down on their beds. "Good night, Lady Louise."

"Good night, Hanbei. Don't you dare think about anything violent. I would prefer not to have another nightmare."

The soldier laughed at the last comment, but nonetheless concentrated on pleasant memories before falling asleep.

- Louise's room: morning -

A knock on the door was heard, to which Louise responded, "Yes, come in."

The door opened to reveal a timid Siesta.

"Hi, I came as Hanbei requested."

"Yes, please sit down, Siesta." The Undying gave her a chair and she sat of Louise, who addressed her first, "Ok, now that we are both here and Hanbei already explained your story, I guess we could skip directly to his proposal. There will be time for you to catch up on the rest."

Derflingher, who was leaning on the wall next to Hanbei's bed, decided to speak up, "Yeah partner, quit it with all this suspense and just tell them."

"Well if you are all so curious..." He cleared his throat, "I would like for Lady Louise to hire Siesta as her personal maid."

There was a minute of silence before the pinkette spoke up, confused.

"That's it? It's not inconceivable, but I don't see the difference with how things are now. You can already see her every day when she works here. The only advantage I can see is that working only for me will probably lessen her workload."

The soldier then clarified, "Well, I said she will be your personal maid, but it doesn't end there."

Now it was Siesta's turn to ask, "What do you mean?"

"You see, the maid job will just act as a cover for anyone who wonders what her real job is."

The girls both looked at him with curiosity.

"My idea is for her to act as a second bodyguard to Lady Louise. She will accompany you, offering protection when I am occupied or not available. We will justify her having a weapon by saying she is just carrying my spare sword."

The young mage raised her hand like a student addressing a teacher.

"Are you saying you don't think yourself enough to protect me?"

"If there anything I've learned in my long life, it is that even if I can't die, I can be incapacitated in many ways." Images of the undying's last master flashed in Louise's mind "Having a talented swordswoman like Siesta as a backup could mean the difference between life and death."

His Master scratched her chin in thought before addressing the maid "There is still something I can't understand. Hanbei told me you had to keep your swordsmanship a secret from your family for all your life because they disapprove of it. Why continue to do that now? You have a talent nobody else has! I can't think of why you or your family should be ashamed of that."

Siesta tapped her index fingers together, a sad expression appearing on her face.

"I always wondered how they really felt. At first, I thought they despised my grandfather and that they would feel the same way about me, but every time they looked at me, every time they thought I was disobeying, their eyes didn't have a hint of hatred in them. That's when I understood it. They were worried about me. They only wished for me to live a safe life, the farthest thing possible from the Ashina's way. I don't know what brought them to hate it so much, but I don't want them to worry about me. At the same time, I also don't want to abandon my grandfather's legacy."

(Living up to one's family's Legacy, uhm...) Louise nodded.

"Fine, then I will allow you to keep your secret, even if I still think it shouldn't be such."

Seeing the pinkette finally convinced, Hanbei resumed his explanation.

"Obviously, so far, this seems very beneficial only for us and not so much for Siesta."

The girl in question interrupted him.

"No, you don't need to say anything else. A personal maid for a noble is paid way more that the ones at the school, but I am not too sure I want to risk somebody finding out my secret."

The soldier put his hand on Siesta's head, patting her and making her cheeks flush as red as a tomato.

"Don't think too much of it. Despite what I said earlier, I think of you as more of a backup plan. If everything goes well, you won't have to fight at all! In that case, you'll just be a well paid maid that cannot be fired in the way Guiche attempted."

The man stopped and removed his hand to see the pouting face of the maid, disheartened by the child-like treatment, as he continued.

"And I dueled with you, remember? Even when holding back, I could feel your passion for the sword in every strike. I bet you want to use your talent for something more than cutting wood, perhaps if only on a subconscious level. Consider this a way for me to help a fellow swordsman in need."

The maid was surprised at the man's words. Could she actually be aching to prove herself, despite her insecurities?

"Even so, I think I wouldn't do a very good job protecting her if I can't even hurt her assailant."

Hanbei smiled. (She didn't deny what I said. That's a good start.)

"In the worst case scenario, you showed in our duel that you can stall and tire out your opponent. That could be enough for me to recover and assist or for Lady Louise to run away to a safe place. Anyway, there is also another thing I would like you to do. Test your swordsmanship against me on a daily basis."

The girl gasped loudly at that.

"Why do you keep trying to find ways to fight me?!"

The man couldn't help but chuckle "This time is different. I believe training with a living opponent would surely be a step up from hitting trees in the forest for you. On the other hand, for me, it will be an occasion to face against a capable fighter. And who knows, maybe we could work on getting over your mental block. If we manage to do that, you could probably face even skilled mages."

The swordswoman appeared conflicted "I still am not to sure about it."

"Siesta, the skills you have polished your entire life are meant to hurt people. That doesn't make them bad or evil, since it is your choice as to who to direct them to. Maybe this will help you figure out your path."

The maid looked at the men with thankful eyes as he said "A warm body that can't die might prove useful to you. I volunteer mine."

- HeadMaster's office : The same day -

"Are you sure of what you say, Miss Vallière?" Asked old Osmond to the pinkette.

"Yes, the dreams are too frequent and detailed to be just that. And the sword, despite all its quirky traits, seems convinced about it." Confirmed Louise.

Professor Colbert, who was also present at the meeting, couldn't contain himself.

"That's brilliant! This discovery would bring the study of Familiar Summoning to another level. Considering Sir Hanbei's case, it is possible to assume other familiars could be from different worlds. What else could be discovered by tapping into their dreams?! So many possibilities!"

At the same time, the Undying began wondering how the bald man seemed to spontaneously materialize when they met up with the headmaster.

(Probably some spell or he can move very silently. But, if it is the latter, then it means he can move as swiftly as a shinobi. A rather scary thought.)

The old mage coughed to snap his friend out of his little world.

"Please, Jean, calm down a little. I am as curious as you are, but we will have all the time in the world to investigate it further."

He then faced the Master-familiar pair.

"Now, I seem to remember you saying there was another matter you wanted to ask me about."

Hanbei looked at Louise, who promptly answered, "Yes, Headmaster. I would like to purchase the contract of one of the maids working here at the Academy. To be more precise, I'm talking about a girl named Siesta."

The old man raised an eyebrow at the name.

"Uhm, I remember the girl. I personally hired her after she responded to a notice we put up to find more help. A really sweet girl. Is there a particular reason you are requesting her?"

The young mage momentarily pondered how to address the situation, but the Undying decided for her, opting for a more direct approach.

"Last night, I found out that the girl's family originated from my world. I would like to have more time to converse with her and find out everything I can about the way they arrived. Not that I am desperate to go back, but simply because I am curious and a little nostalgic."

Colbert, hearing that, couldn't help it but interject.

"Is that true? To think you would find somebody from your world without even looking for it! That is quite the accident."

"There are no Accidents, baldy!" Responded Derflingher.

"Wait! Did that sword just talk?" Exclaimed the teacher.

"You heard it! A pleasure to meet you. The name's Derflingher, the legendary sword!" Declared the talking weapon.

"Fascinating! I have heard of enhancing blades with some kind of awareness, but this is the first time I encountered full on sentience. Sir Hanbei, could I borrow it to run some tests?" Asked Colbert with a menacing twinkle in his eyes.

"Hoy-hoy, what's this talk about tests? I am no lab rat, you hear! Tell him, Partner!" Pleaded Derflingher to his wielder, who chuckled at the sword's desperate tone, while Louise facepalmed at the silliness of the situation.

Seeing this scene, the Headmaster finally spoke up in a joking voice, "It seems to me this was quite an interesting week for you two."

He then passed his hand over his long, grey beard a couple of times.

"I suppose I have nothing against your proposal. I'll have the necessary documents ready in a day or two. For now, I suggest both you and Professor Colbert go, as classes will start soon." He smiled at them.

Agreeing on that, everybody left the room, leaving the Headmaster alone. He got up from his chair and walked up to a window, looking up in the sky, reminiscing about old memories.

"So, you were really from another world after all, old friend." A small chuckle escaped his lips. "It seems your grandaughter has the same inclination for finding herself in interesting situations as you did."

- ? -

Louise was again enveloped by darkness, wondering what scene would play out this time. She was also taking advantage of the wait to ponder about the events of the previous night. In one day, she found out about another person from the same world as Hanbei and got herself a personal maid/bodyguard. She still needed to sort out the final details of the contract with the school, but everything should be in order in no time.

She really didn't have much to complain about. Outside of her sword skills, the girl gave her good references when it came to her abilities as a maid, leaving her with nothing to say against this agreement. The young mage could also correlate with the maid's fight to follow her grandfather's Legacy. She, too, wanted to live up her mother's name, Karin the Heavy Wind. Of course, the reason of their struggles were different, but it was something to note.

At that point, a flash of white changed the scene as the girl waited with trepidation. Unfortunately, or maybe luckily, there were only some scenes of her Familiar guarding his old master's daughter while she played in the estate's garden. It was a very peaceful image that reminded the pinkette of her childhood with her old friend, Henrietta.

- end chapter -

So, how was it?

First things first, Yes I reuploaded the previous chapter without changing anything, but there is a reason for it.

I don't pretend to see resposes to every chapter, but both the lack of reviews and the fact that someone posted one asking if Isshin was still alive when I specified that he wasn't and I was going to address how and why in a future chapter made me think that maybe there had been an error or you simply didn't see the update. I tend to be paranoid like that sometimes, that's why I reuploaded it.

I am also sorry for taking this long to upload the chapter. I was buisy with work and other stuff. I know I don't have a definite schedule, but I still felt it was a longer wait compared to my previous updates. Anyway I'll say right now my goal is to update at least once a month, more if I can.

Aside from that I don't really have anything else to say. I hope you enjoyed the chapter expecially Louise hiring Siesta, which means that I'll be skipping the count Mott ark. I always thought it to be just a way for Saito to be the hero and save the damsel in distress, but we know now this Siesta is not as fragile as the canon one. She is still gentle and knows she can't oppose nobles like nothing, but I don't think she would let the count just have his way with her.

Finally I will worn you I'll be focusing on my other fanfiction "Hawkeye of Zero" for another couple of chapters. That means it could be a while untill the next chapter, depending if I find time to write it or not. Please be patient and thank you for all your support.

Untill Next Time! Bye!

Thank you very much to my beta irithyll for editing the chapter