Disclaimer: I do not own Touhou or Familiar of Zero.

.…

The Witch's Zero

Chapter 4: Meetings, Magic and Wands

The Witch

Mr. Colbert led us to the headmaster's office, which was located at the top of the tower. We climbed the spiral stairs, or in my case, floated until we reached the office. The professor knocked the door before a muffle voice from the other side told us to come in. I told Koakuma to stand outside and guard the door before we entered. As we did, I saw a person, presumably the headmaster, sitting behind his desk. He looked old and ancient. He also has, as expected, a long grey beard. I wondered why most of the old male magicians I met have long grey beards. Then again, it was only very few male magicians, and most of them still haven't cast the 'abandon temperament' spell and gone senile. He was no doubt the most powerful mage in the academy, with his magic reserve and experience were higher than the professor's.

"Ah, Mr. Colbert. And Miss Louise," he said before he turned to me. "And you must be Miss Knowledge. I am Osmond, the Headmaster of this academy. But you can call me Old Osmond. Please, have a seat," he said. Louise and I did so, leaving Mr. Colbert to stand beside the headmaster.

"Before we start this, I would like to ask. Why did you attack one of the students?" he asked with a serious tone.

"I believed I was defending myself. The fool blamed a maid, who I wish to purchase her contract from you, and challenged her to a duel. I managed to stop the duel before it begin, of course but he was so self-centred with himself that he accused me of not being a magician and challenged me instead, to which I refused, of course. The fool decided to attack me from behind, an unwise decision from my opinion, and I see fit to defend myself from the attack," I said.

"Yes, that is an acceptable reason. Though I cannot see why that you should 'defend yourself' as you put it until you have to beat him unconscious," he said.

"His discipline as a magician was lacking. I decided to teach him a lesson," I simply stated.

"You said that you would take care of my students, Miss Knowledge," Mr. Colbert said. Judging by his face, he seemed rather angry that I hurt one of his students.

"I said that I would take care of Louise, Mr. Colbert," I corrected him. "Though if you wanted me to not harm your students, then it can be done, unless of course, they decide to attack me foolishly."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Miss Knowledge. Not after what you did to de Gramont," the headmaster laughed. "Now, let start this meeting. I have my own questions to ask, but I would like to hear you first, since you mention it was of importance."

"And I could trust you that you would be discreet about this?" I asked.

"Ohoho, you have nothing to worry, Miss Knowledge. Unless of course, it is a country crisis one," he assured me.

"I see. I own this grimoire. The grimoire was stolen, or summoned, from me and I believe that it was Louise here who summoned it. You wouldn't happen to have it, would you?" I asked

"I'm sorry, Miss Knowledge. But I don't think Louise or anyone summon a grimoire from what I remember," Mr. Colbert said. I sighed. The professor wasn't lying, which mean more bothersome things to do to find it.

"Well, I suppose that it landed somewhere in this land instead," I mused.

"If you don't mind, Miss Knowledge, but why is this grimoire very important to you?" he asked.

"As a magician, you should probably know that knowledge is very important to oneself. In fact, every kind of knowledge is important and should not be given to the unworthy," I said. The headmaster frowned at this.

"Though I agree with that statement, I do not see any wrong with a commoner learning magic, especially when they can benefit us greatly," Osmond said.

"You misunderstand. Not every commoners are unworthy and not every nobles are worthy of the magical knowledge," I clarified. The professor seemed mildly surprised while the headmaster only nodded. Louise, on the other hand, casted her head down. "Aside from that, this grimoire contains dangerous knowledge, that if anyone manages to read it and comprehend the knowledge, that is if anyone mange to open the grimoire in the first place, they will probably use it to do… unpleasant things," I said, though I hesitated to find the right word to describe the actions of an unpleasant person that would use it for.

"Unpleasant things?" Osmond asked with a frown. Maybe I should define it more.

"Kill, destroy, wage wars, genocide. Those kinds of things." I deadpanned. The two faculty members raised an eyebrow while my apprentice looked horrified.

"How do we know that you won't use the knowledge inside that grimoire of yours to cause those… unpleasant things?" the headmaster asked backed.

"Headmaster, if I were interested in those things, I would have done so right about now, even without the knowledge inside the grimoire," I answered him back, hinting him that I was not a magician to be trifled with.

"I see. So you want us to help you find this grimoire then?" he asked. I nodded.

"I can compensate gold for the search if you want," I offered him. The head master rubbed his chin, probably thinking about my offer.

"You do realise that it will be difficult to find it due to the secrecy about your grimoire? And someone else might find it before we do," he stated.

"That, I have no doubt. However, if the spell that I put on it still works, it should be only visible to the ones that know the name of the grimore," I said.

"And what would that name be?" he asked.

"Do you agree to help me find it and return it to me firsthand?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not going to let the fools in the council start a war and send my students to be part of it. So, of course. We will try to help you as best we can," he said. I stared at him for a bit. From reading psychology textbooks and many dealings with demons, devils and shady people, I can evaluate people just by looking at them, and thankfully most of the time, they were correct. From looking at the headmaster, he can be trusted, as well as the professor. I casted an enforced silent barrier to make sure there were no eavesdroppers.

"Its name is Nothingness: the Zero Element," I stated before I gave them a description about the grimoire.

"A strange name. But we will look out for it," he said. "Now that is out of the way, it is time for me to ask you some questions."

"I will try to answer your questions, but please understand that I cannot answer them if they are private," I said. The headmaster seemed to understand since he nodded.

"Earlier, during the summoning ceremony, was that Firstborn magic that you used, Miss Knowledge?" he asked.

"Firstborn magic? I may or may not heard of it or maybe I did but I forgot about it. Perhaps you should define it more," I said. Actually I did not know anything about this Firstborn magic. In fact, that was the first time I heard of it. Of course, I was not going to tell him that.

"The magic that was used by the elves. They do not require wands or focuses to cast spells. Surely you must know these, Miss Knowledge. No humans can cast spells with calibre that high without a wand," the Headmaster said. I felt a bit annoyed at that last statement. Of course no humans without the drive to progress further can cast spells without a focus.

"Maybe I am just talented. Or maybe, I just worked hard enough to get where I am today," I said with a hint of annoyance. He noticed it and gave me an apologetic face. I could only just sigh.

"To answer your question, that was not Firstborn magic. What you saw was the result of many years of dedication and hard work of researching magic," I said with a bit of pride.

"A researcher then? What research branch or academy you work for?" the professor asked.

"I am not from here," I answered.

"Oh. Then are you from Albion, perhaps?" the headmaster asked.

"I am not from here or any of the nearby lands. My home is quite far from here," I gave them a vague answer.

"The Rub al Khali? The place beyond the Elven lands?" a suddenly very enthusiastic Colbert asked. I sighed.

"Tell me. Have you heard of the name Gensokyo before?" I asked.

"I'm afraid I don't, Miss Knowledge. Perhaps it is somewhere far in the east?" Osmond asked. Maybe it was just me, but I thought I saw the professor's eyes shined.

"That… is not a bad assumption," I said, not stating it was correct or not, given that the Eastern Wonderland is another name for Gensokyo.

"Hmm. Perhaps we should move on? We can discuss about this later," Osmond suggested and all of us agreed, though Mr. Colbert seemed disappointed. He began to frown "Now, about Miss Louise. I hope you're not planning anything dangerous for her. Though she is your apprentice now, she is still a student here. As the headmaster of this academy, I cannot let my students fall into danger." At that statement, the professor regained his composure.

"I would not put her in harm's way. Though I must say that the training can be dangerous, but I assure you, Headmaster," I said, adding that last sentence to stop the headmaster's retort. "That it will be a danger I could control. Besides, a magician requires to act and think fast in any situation, be it normal or dangerous." The headmaster sighed.

"Very well. I will trust you for now," the headmaster said. After that, we discussed about other matters, including a request of another pen. It seemed that the pen I gave to Mr. Colbert has attracted some attention. I gave him another pen which I brought from and headmaster seemed delighted and muttered about not getting ink on the robe again. I kept in mind to bring more pens, just in case the faculty start to ask some. During the discussion, I saw a mouse scurrying on the floor and seemed to be heading toward me and Louise. I frowned and secretly created as a spike in front of the mouse. It managed to stop just in time before scurrying back to the desk. I noticed a very small change on the headmaster's expression. Ah, so the mouse was his.

"Another thing I want to discuss. As I said before, I wish to purchase the contract of a particular maid. Her name is Siesta," I said.

"Ah, Siesta. She's a lovely girl. And she has good 'assets' too. Hoho ~" he said with a perverted laugh. I coughed, though not purposely. The headmaster misunderstood my reaction, not that I mind, and cleared his throat "Yes, yes. I think that we can arrange something," he continued before he levitated a bunch of scrolls from the cabinet. He pulled out one of the scrolls with magic and signed it after discussing about payment. I gave him the gold before he gave the contract to me.

"So, I believe that there's nothing else to discuss about?" Osmond asked.

"One more thing. I wish that Louise will be excuse from the classes if I demand her not to go," I demanded. Osmond sighed at this.

"Well, as long as she attends them sometimes, then it is fine," he answered. We got up and said our leaves before we headed to the door.

"Ah another thing, I advise you to keep that rat of yours from me or Louise if you do not want it to be buried thirty feet under the earth," I said. As I closed the door, I heard an indignant professor yelling at the headmaster. With the meeting done, all of us went down the stairs.

…

The Zero

We were back at the courtyard, where we were drinking tea that was provided by the maid that Miss Patchouli just bought, whose name was Siesta, and who was sitting with us.

"Siesta, as of today, you are now under my employ. In matter of payment, thirty gold coins a week would suffice for you," she said. Thirty gold coins a week?! That was a lot for a commoner's job.

"T-thank you, Miss Patchouli," she stammered, genuinely happy that she has a high salary.

"Starting early tomorrow, you will teach Louise how to do chores and behave like a servant," Miss Patchouli said. Wait, what?!

"Wait a minute! Why do I have to learn these?!" I shouted.

"Have you ever serve tea, Louise? Or do laundry?" she asked. I was about to retort but I realised that I never did any of those. Well of course, I don't need to when the servants are around. "No, I do not think so. Do not forget, Louise. You will serve me for a year and a day in exchange for being my apprentice."

"But when will you teach me how to do magic?" I asked solemnly. I really wanted to learn to use magic soon.

"Patience, Louise. We still need to find out what is wrong with your magic before I can teach you. Speaking of magic, you should choose what kind of magic you would like to learn," she said. Well, at least we were getting somewhere. But the part at 'kind of magic' leaved me confused.

"What do you mean? You're an Earth mage, right? So that means I will learn how to do Earth magic." And she was also a diabolist, but I was not going to say that. Miss Patchouli just sighed.

"It is true that Earth magic is within my capability, but that is not the only magic I can do," she said.

"Wha-what do you mean?" I asked.

"Conjurations, summoning, enhancement. Those are a fraction of what I can do. Every magician should know how to do these, at least from my perspective. And most magicians are usually expert at least one field of magic. My specialty is towards elementalism. Specifically, the five Wu Xing elements and the Yin and Yang elements," she said. What? Seven elements?! Impossible!

"Are you telling me that you can cast seven types of elements spells?!" I asked. She nodded.

"Preposterous! There is only five elements! There can be no seven elements," I shouted. My master glared at her, to which I cringed. Her glare was as scary as my mother's.

"Louise, just because you don't know it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. If you want to learn how to do magic, then you must have an open mind and accept new ideas and theories. A closed mind is a fool's mind. And I don't want to waste my time with fools," she said with a stern voice.

"Y-yes, Miss Patchouli," I said meekly. I nodded. "S-so, w-what are these e-elements?"

"The Wu Xing elements are Fire, Water, Wood, Metal and Earth. The Yin and Yang elements are Sun and Moon respectively." She can control fire and water as well?! And what kinds of element were wood, metal, sun and moon anyway?

"Show me proof!" I demanded before I realized that I just yelled at her. "Please," I added. She sighed before she looked around and closed her eyes.

She opened her hand and formed a fireball on her palm, before it changed into a water ball, followed by a small wooden plant with wind swirling around it, a jagged-shape metal, a lump of earth, a small but very bright light and a blue moon covered with mist before it faded away.

I can't believe this. My master was a heptagram mage, which clearly made her the most powerful mage in Halkeginia. And I was her apprentice. I did not know whether to scream in delight or fear of me being her student.

"Now that has been covered, what do you wish to learn then? Choose wisely. You can only learn one type of magic," she said. I thought for a moment about it. Learning all these elements would make me as powerful as her. And with that, I could get mother to be proud of me! That was my chance to get it all right.

"I… want to learn elementalism." I said determinedly.

"Are you sure about it? Have you thought it through?" she asked. I nodded. "Very well. You shall learn the five Wu Xing elements then." Wait, what?

"Wait, what about the Sun and Moon element?" I asked.

"You only state that you want to learn elementalism. Perhaps you should be more specific when you want to ask for something next time," she said. I pouted at this. "Besides, even if you did specifically state that you want to learn the Sun and Moon elements, you cannot learn them. Well, not at your current level and understanding of magic at least. The Sun and Moon are less than simple elements," she said. Well, I guessed that was okay. I mean, I was going to learn five kinds of elements, though I wonder if the church would allow such a thing as a new magic system. Bah! Who cares! It was still magic!

"Anyway, I do believe you should sleep early. Siesta here will be teaching you to do chores in the early morning tomorrow. Oh, try not to be angry at her during the lesson. I do not want you to be like that fool earlier," she said. But I was not even interested in those stupid boys. And I always take responsibility for what I do. "Just because she is a commoner, that does not mean she is not a person like you," she added.

"P-please be nice with me, Miss Louise. I hope we can w-work together," the maid stuttered. I sighed.

…

The next morning came by and Siesta taught me to serve tea. Miss Patchouli said that serving tea was very important to her, since she will always ask for tea and sometimes coffee. I thought it would be easy, since the servants can do it. Apparently I was wrong. The tea pot was quite heavy for its weight and my hands kept shaking when I was holding it. Apparently Miss Patchouli insisted that I must use this tea pot to serve before I serve her using the normal one. Though most of the time I spilled the tea on the floor, I managed to pour the tea into the cup just before breakfast started. After that, we went to class.

"There's no need for you to come with me to class, Miss Patchouli. You probably know more about Earth magic than the teachers here do," I said.

"True. But I want to see the difference between this world's magic system and my own. So far, I have only found out that are five elements, which resemble one of the Eastern elemental system of my world. Besides that, I want to find out how casting system of this world works. Mind you, not all magical system uses the same casting method," she said.

"Wait, Eastern elemental system? And what do you mean by one of them?" I asked.

"In my world, there are many kinds of elemental systems exist. All of these were categorized based on their origins, which are the Eastern elemental system and the Western elemental system. Your world's elemental system resembles that of the Japanese elemental system," she explained. We went into class and the whole looked at us. Some started to gossip while others looked shocked before turning their heads to their table, including Guiche, who was still afraid of my master after that so-called duel. I walked to my seat with Miss Patchouli sitting beside me. The class became quiet when the professor walked in.

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Professor Chevreuse and I will be your Earth instructor. I must congratulate all of you for a job well done in the Springtime Familiar Summoning. I must say that this year's ritual was quite interesting," she said while surveying the familiars until she spotted Miss Patchouli.

"That's a… particular familiar you have there, Miss Louise." Once she said that, the whole class started to gossip. I felt some kind of aura from my master. And I did not think that it was a good one.

"Actually, Professor. She's not my familiar. She's… um… my master," I said, trying to avoid any confusions or incidents that may occur.

"Oh! Forgive me, Miss. I was not aware of this," the teacher apologized, to which Miss Patchouli nodded. The teacher then explained about the basic of the elemental system when my master raised her hand.

"If I may ask, Professor, how long has this system been used?" she asked.

"Why, since the Founder's time, which was six thousand years ago," the teacher said.

"And there hasn't been any improvement on the system or research of a new system?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I'm afraid not. Well, not that I know of," the teacher answered.

"I… see," she said, somewhat bewildered. The professor began to teach the class about the basic of earth element before moving on to transmutation. She took out some pebbles from her robe and transmuted into gold! Or so I thought. It was just brass. The professor told the class that she was a triangle class mage and the whole class was stirred. My master, who was a heptagram mage, just sighed in annoyance.

"Now then. Miss Loiuse, please come here and demonstrate the class on the basic of transmutation," the teacher said. Wait, what?! The whole class started to panicked and hid behind their desks.

"Professor, I don't think you should ask her to do it," the plump boy, Malicorne, said.

"Why is that, Mr. Malicorne? I heard she was a hard worker," the professor said before she turned to me. "Come now, Miss Louise. It won't hurt to try." How wrong that statement was.

"Go on, Louise," my master said. I turned to Miss Patchouli and she nodded me to continue. I walked to the desk while ignoring the others who were busy hiding behind their desks.

"Remember, Miss Louise. Concentrate on what form you wish to transmute," the professor advised. I looked back at my master and she was watching me like a hawk. I shuddered. I took out my wand and chanted the spell. The pebbles glowed for a bit before they exploded and the smoke covered the class. When it faded, the whole classroom was a mess. Desks were flipped down and the students were sprawling on the floor, including the unconscious professor. The only one that did not seem to be affected by the blast was Miss Patchouli, who looked rather… angry. No, no, no! Was she mad about my performance? Is she going to abandon me?! My master stood up and walked to the door. I hastily followed her, ignoring the others' jeers.

…

The Witch

I felt indignant. No, that word was too tame. What was the word…? Ahh, yes. Pissed off. I stomped my way along the halls as my apprentice followed me behind.

"M-miss Patchouli?"

Six thousand years, and they have been using the same system?! And there has been no effort on finding new ways of magic or improving the system?!

"Miss Patchouli, wait…"

These magicians aren't real magicians. They are complete backwater people who wield magic and abuse it over the common folk. This is completely unacceptable! This… is… Arrghh!

"Eeeepp!"

I suddenly noticed that there was a scorch mark at what used to be a potted plant. I sighed. It seemed that my emotions took the better of me. I took several deep breaths before I turned to my apprentice, who was shaking with fright.

"Sorry. It seemed I was a bit… overwhelmed by the information I got," I said, still angry at these so-called 'nobles'.

"I'm sorry! Please don't leave me! I'll do my best to learn from you! " she pleaded.

"Though I appreciate that sentiment, I am not angry at your performance. Rather, I am angry at this land's magicians. I suspect this land's magic system has something to do with your magic," I said. She had a look of confusion on her face, which I merely sighed at it. "The system is too primitive. And there has been no effort of making improvements to the system. Because of this and your magic tied to this land's system, you cannot cast spells correctly. I have some theories of this problem. But we shall examine those later, for we will focus on how you cast spells. If it leads somewhere, then the theories I have will be null." I made sure my apprentice was paying attention. Good, she still was. "Based on my observations, you use your mana to force the magic in the air into the desired spell. It is not exactly an ideal method, as you need more mana to force the magic."

"What's mana?" she asked. I attempted to sigh but I remembered that mana is one of the many names for magical energy.

"Mana is the magical energy that is used to fuel the spell. Of course, there are other names for it, like prana, or... magical points," I said as I cursed the day when the shrine maiden from the mountain introduced Remilia to 'RPG' as green-haired maiden called it. "What do they call it here?"

"We called it willpower," she answered. That was a particular name for it.

"I also sensed another energy that was present along with the mana. Though I do not know what to make of it," I said. This one confused me. This energy was used with their mana or 'willpower' as they called it to fuel their spell. I know nothing of another energy that could substitute mana as I have tested various energies before including the… Willpower…

"If one were to use too much of his or her willpower, would they be very tired to the point of collapse?" I asked.

"Well, of course," she said like it was something obvious.

"And is there any case that if one were to use up all of his or her willpower, they die?" I asked.

"Well, no. But they would be near to point of dying, and they can't use magic for… months, at worst," she said.

I was speechless. I cannot believe this. I cannot really believe at how desperately they were at clinging to their magic. They use their own life energy to ease the use of the casting method. How careless and stupid. Still, this gave me some leads to Louise's inability to cast. Life energy was not a good one to fuel spells as most life energy has its own element affinity. Besides that, using too much of it will lead to a coma or death. Of course, there are some people can recharge their life energy by simply resting. And here, these people are the nobles. I loathed it.

"I have a theory. The reason why you cannot cast magic other than explosion is because you use your willpower, which is actually your life energy, to save, or substitute, your mana," I said.

"What do you mean by life energy?" she asked, suddenly being anxious.

"The energy that kept you and all living beings alive," I stated. She looked flabbergasted. "Do not worry. I can already feel your life energy recharged a bit." This explanation calmed her down.

"So if I just use the mana and not my willpower, I can cast magic?" she said with hopeful eyes.

"It is a possibility. However, this is only a theory. We need to actually test it to prove it. I believe we should end this for now. You have class after this, do you not?" I said. She nodded. "In that case, I shall be off to the library then."

"Um… Mi-miss Patchouli. Can I ask you something?" she said meekly. I turned to her and nodded.

"Do your eyes always gl-glow?"

I responded with a sigh.

…

"Why are we here?" my apprentice asked.

It was evening and we were at the Vestri Court along with Koakuma and the two students I met the yesterday.

"Isn't it obvious? To test the theory we talked about earlier," I said.

"Fine, but why is she here?" she asked with an annoyed tone, pointing her finger at the red-haired student, Kirche, if I was not mistaken.

"That question would probably be referred to Koakuma, as I asked her to bring two competent students who could help with this experiment," I said. Louise turned to Koakuma before Tabitha and Kirche

"Well that explained Tabitha, but I don't see how that Zerbst is going to help," she said.

"Well, she was the only competent student beside her friend here. Plus, we get along," a grinning Koakuma said.

"Maybe for you," Louise muttered.

"Oh hush, Louise. You should be thankful that I'm here to help you. Besides, this looks interesting," said the Koakuma look-a-like. I raised the earth and formed some targets before I coughed to get their attention.

"Now then, as Koakuma said before, we are trying to solve Louise's problem based on a theory," I said to the two girls. "For this experiment, I want both of you to cast a simple spell at those targets. I prefer that both of you cast the same spell, just to have a constant variable. For your cooperation, you will be rewarded, as Koakuma said to you before," I stated.

"Theory?" the blue haired girl, Tabitha, asked. Curious girl.

"Her willpower was not the one she used to fuel the spell. She somehow used her life energy instead," I answered, giving them a bit of truth. Kirche was shocked at this.

"Oh my! Are you okay, Louise? You're not going to die, are you?" a genuinely concerned Kirche asked. Louise was too surprised at this to answer.

"She is fine. Lucky for her, her life energy recharges during her sleep. Now then, can we proceed?" I asked.

The girls nodded and took position before they pointed their wands. It took a second for them to cast small fireballs that hit the targets in the center. From that, I managed to see how actually they cast. It seemed that the theory was correct. I sensed magic energy and life energy being used in the spells. It seemed that Tabitha used more magic reserves and 'willpower' than Kirche. I guessed that this has something to do with their elemental affinity, with Kirche being fire and Tabitha being wind and water.

"Now it is your turn, Louise. Cast the same spell they did at the target," I ordered my apprentice. Louise pointed her wand and shouted 'Fireball'. Three seconds have passed and nothing happened until the area far beside the target exploded, expelling much burnt magic. It seems the girl will need to practice her aim and magic input. I sighed at this bothersome. We performed the experiment again, using different spells. While Kirche and Tabitha managed to cast the intended spells, Louise only managed to cast explosions.

"That is enough. I have collected enough data," I said. The girls, especially Louise, showed some tiredness. Probably from using their life energy. "I like to thank you for your cooperation. As Koakuma said, you will get some recompense for your efforts." Once I said that, Koakuma walked to us with a bag of gold and… a big plate of chicken. She gave the gold to Kirche and the chicken to Tabitha. I wondered how a small girl like her can eat that much.

"So what did you got, Miss Patchouli?" Louise asked with a tired breath.

"It seems that the theory is true. You will need training on how utilize the magical energy first before we can move on," I explained. Louise firmly nodded before became nerveous. "It seems that you have something on your mind. Speak." Louise yelped when I said that.

"Um… Miss Patchouli, t-tomorrow is the Day of Void, which means that there are no classes tomorrow. I need some new wands, since I broke most of them. So, can we please go to the capital tomorrow to b-buy some?" Louise asked. A thought struck me. Perhaps I could get a wand of my own.

"I do not see why not. Get some rest now. I will be heading to the library now," I answered. Louise nodded before her cheeks were pinched by Kirche and Koakuma. I decided to be on my way, ignoring the cries for help from my apprentice.

As I walked to the library, I thought of the data I received from the experiment. It seemed that this applied to all mages in this world. I sighed at this. Really, do all mages here were that lazy? I pushed that thought back as I thought of more important matters. I need to find that tome but I also have to train Louise, both of which require time and effort. Though I have the effort, time was running. It seemed that I have no choice but to do that. This will bring problems, for me and Louise. But if I make my moves carefully and Louise keeps heeding my words, it will go smoothly with little trouble.

…

The next morning came and Louise was pouring me tea with Siesta helping her. She still has problems carrying the heavy tea pot, but so far she managed to pour me some tea with a few spills. It was Saturday, the day of Earth, but in this world, it was the day of Void. I found out something interesting about that day. It seemed that not only I can felt the earth element easily, but the other elements as well. I managed to produce a small mini sun easily like it was on the day of Sun. Koakuma was sent back to the library to resume her duty. After that, we had gotten ready to head to the capital.

"We should get the horses from the stable. We can get to the capital in three hours if we take the new route," Louise said. Horses? How primitive. Can't they fly or teleport? Oh wait. No they cannot because they were too close-minded and to even research new ways of travelling. Well that won't do. Instead, I thought of a better way.

"There will be no need of that," I said before I walked into a seclude area. Once I made sure that there was nobody around and confirmed that nobody was scrying us, I prodded my finger in the air and with difficulties, a portal opened before me.

"W-what is that?!" my apprentice shrieked.

"It is a portal," I said with a deadpan voice.

"H-how did you do that?" she asked. Do I really need to answer that?

"Magic, obliviously," I stated with a sigh before I walked into the portal.

We arrived in an empty alley, fortunately, and went out of it. The street was crowded with little space to go through them, which was not ideal to me. Louise, who was still shocked about the portal and how much time it took to get here, looked around, surveying something.

"This is really Tristania. We just came here in a second," she muttered. I snapped my fingers to get her back to reality. She shook her head and motioned me to follow to the crowded street.

"The shop should be around here... Ah! There it is." Louise pointed out at a building with a sign of two wands crossed together and a crown on top of them. We entered the building and found ourselves in a room filled with many wands and staves. Behind the counter is a man who seemed to be in his fourties and well-dressed. A minor noble if I have to guess.

"Ah, Miss Louise! Come back for more wands I see?" said the man. Louise rubbed her head with embarrassment. The man laughed and noticed me for the first time

"And I see you brought your… sister?" he asked. Do we even look like we were related?

"N-no! She is… umm… my master," she said meekly. The man arched his eyebrow.

"Oh really? Well hello, miss. This looks like your first visit, as I don't remember seeing you here before. Clearly your focus was made by incompetent maker and you realised that it was of poor quality," he stated.

"Such a theory is not outside the realm of possibility," I said, not bothering to confirm or deny anything. The man laughed at this.

"Well then, if you are looking for a focus, then you have come to the right place. My name is Albert de Dreux, the official wand-maker of Tristian, and the finest one in the whole continent," he stated proudly. I gave my name as well.

"Well, Miss Knowledge. Are you interested in buying wands or other kinds of focuses? " he asked.

"I'll see what you have then, though I prefer a versatile wand," I replied. He nodded and began looking through his crates before he took a wand out of a crate.

"Here it is. One of the finest wands I ever made. Here, give it a swing," the man said as he handed me the wand. I tried casting some spells with it. I could only casted two spells before it ignited itself and exploded into splinters. I raised an eyebrow at this while the other two looked shocked.

"My word! That was a rather extreme reaction. Perhaps there was something wrong with the crafting. Anyway, perhaps you should try this one. This one is for the more fiery type if you know what I mean," he said before he handed me another wand. This one was oriented with rubies, presumably it was made for fire mages. I casted a fire spell and indeed it was a bit easier to cast it. Unfortunately it did not survived the third attempt as the rubies suddenly exploded before the wand ignited itself and turned into ashes. The wand-maker arched an eyebrow at this.

"Hmm… I think you overdid your willpower into that one," he explained. I did not even use the normal input for the spells. He then took a wand form one of the shelves and handed to me. "Okay. This will do the trick. This one is filled with the dust of a phoenix feather. Due to its properties, I have to balance it with some minor water and earth enhancers," the man explained. This one was has a ring of small sapphires and emeralds around the middle. I casted some fire spells and fortunately, it survived sevearal attempts. The wand-maker smiled at this, clearly proud of finding the suitable wand for me. "I see we have a winner. Now the price is a bit steep since this one used a rare material. Also with the other's destruction, I'm afraid is going to be expensive. But since you are with the Valliere, I guess I could… " He was cut off by the sound of a broken twig, or in this case, a broken wand, which was crumbling and dripping droplets of water after I tried casting some water and earth spells. "Cut… hmm, you are proving to be rather incompatible so far. Hah! I always love a good challenge."

"The nature of your wands are at fault here. Thus far, I managed to detect at least three elements linked to your wands. I often use a set of seven elements, which are fire, water, wood, metal, earth, sun and moon," I explained.

"That's quite a claim you made there, miss. If I was part of the church, I could arrest you for that. Hehe," he said. I frowned at this. The church of this world does not approve advancement of magic. All the more reason to hate these nobles. "Don't worry though. I respect my customers' privacy. Still though, seven elements… if I were to craft that wand, it will certainly be powerful and diverse, to represent those dots. Hmm… I guessed any kind wood would do. A metallic sheath at the tip could compensate metal or earth. A small set of gems include rubies, sapphires, and emeralds would represent the familiar ones. But I don't think they can withstand your willpower. I can't put more on it as that would make it uncomfortable and impractical. Perhaps you would prefer a staff?" he asked.

"I rather not hold some cumbersome stick," I replied.

"Of course. Hmm… How about a dust of phoenix feather? It can represent fire and sun. And maybe I could add in a crystallized moonlight tear… No, that would clash with the dust. Perhaps a bone of a werewolf? So many combinations, so many possibilities," he mused before he went back to his crates, searching for materials. I continued to listen with interest to his musings, pleased to hear a master plied his trade when an idea struck me. I coughed to get his attention.

"If I was to hold a substance possessing at least five of the elements, would that make the process easier?" I asked.

"That would make my job easier, miss. But certainly I can find the correct materials in no time," he replied dismissively, too occupied finding the materials.

I nodded at this. I concentrated my magic into my hand. Normally, I cannot do this on my bad days or even the usual ones. I usually make the stones contain one main element each to ease the use of them. For this, the stone must contains all five elements, which was even difficult than creating the normal ones. However, today I felt a bit healthier than on my usual days. Plus, the day of Void made it easier for me. It took most of my magic reserves to craft this. Once it was complete, I felt tired but I did not show it. I took several deep breaths before I pulled the stone from my pocket and coughed to get his attention.

"I believe this would suffice," I said, showing him the stone. To say he was shocked was an understatement.

"My word! What kind of gem is that?! I can already feel the aura it gives. So… powerful. It practically dwarves the other rare materials!" he yelled. He held out his trembling hand. "May I see it?" I put the stone on his hand. Once that, his hand stopped trembling and inspected the stone. "Yes. I do believe this wand will be my masterpiece! Haha!" He looked pretty excited about making the wand. Not that I can blame him for. I too can be a bit excited from learning more complex spells and theories.

"In any case, that leaves the… sun and moon, wasn't it? Hmm… I do not know where to begin with. Ah, perhaps the phoenix feather would… no, that would imbalance the entire thing to fire." The man continued to mumble about suitable materials. This went for awhile until he snapped his fingers. "Ah, yes! Gold and silver! I have read up somewhere that these metals represent the sun and moon." I was surprised that I have forgotten about that. Clearly I need to brush up on some things. "For this to be a masterpiece, I should use the highest quality of the metals. I also need to make them into one kind of metal. Maybe I should melt them together."

He continued to ramble idly to himself as he hauled and shifted crates, gathering equipment and ingredients before he put the two metal blocks in a small smelter, heated it up and settled down at what I assumed to be his crafting table. He began sawing a block of wood until it was the appropriate size. From there, he took more delicate work, carving carefully at the remaining wood until it fit the appropriate dimensions before sanded it smooth. He took great effort in properly shaping the handle. With that done, he carefully inspected the wood, and used an odd device to carefully slice out the interior of the handle and the front. He then took a mold casting and shaped it into what look like a measuring device called pipette if I was not mistaken with a hole in the middle before he went back to his smelter and poured the mixed liquid metal into the mold casting. The metal surprisingly dried fast, probably due to a magical property of the mold. I was surprised that he managed to create an alloy, or specifically, an electrum alloy in this backwater land. He began to place the stone inside the hole that fit perfectly before he took some measures to make the stone stay in place. He then slid the thin shaft of the alloy into the base and front of the wand.

"How come you don't use magic to just make the wand?" asked Louise.

"Are not the hands of a master craftsman a magic of their own?" I chided, and she shifted awkwardly as the wand-maker chuckled.

"I cannot use magic to make the wands. My magic will interfere with yours when you try to cast your spells, making a disaster for you. Hmm… if I'm going to make this wand powerful, then maybe I could use that," he mumbled before he searched for… something in one of the crates. "Oh yes. This will do nicely. This should amplify it to be even more powerful." He took out a small purplish black crystal. When I looked it inside, there was nothing. Not nothing like empty, but pure nothingness, as there was nothing but darkness and it seemed to go on for a huge distance.

"What is that?" a curious Louise asked.

"The elves called it a truth crystal. The supplier who heard about this from the elves told me that Brimir caused a huge explosion during an attempt to take back the Elven land. Apparently, it was powerful enough to affect their precious minerals, don't know what that for is, and changed it to this here," he said as he pointed at the crystal. "The elves thought it was of demonic power until one of them discovered that this crystal amplified their magic to become even more powerful. Now I see why a few elves managed to destroy twelve battalions of soldiers and a lot of mages in the last crusade. There were a lot of these in the past, but now, it is very rare," he explained. Louise was gaping, shocked about such a powerful thing exist.

"Albert. Where do you even get this and the other rare materials?" the stunned Louise asked.

"From those dare-devils merchants that explored the Elven land and beyond. Apparently, the elves wouldn't mind the merchants travelling and selling in their land. They even managed to become friends. Heck, I heard that one of my suppliers actually married to one of them," he replied. Apparently, the elves from the east were the long-time enemies of the humans of this world, or just in Halkegania. To hear that the common merchants befriend the elves and one of them married to an elf, Louise was jaw-slacked.

"Wait, why the church doesn't heard about this? The church could use it the get Holy land back!" Louise yelled.

"Well, the merchants don't like the church as they favour the nobles. Plus, they and the elves get along well, despite some human haters. They make sure not to let the crystals become known to the chruch," he said. While Louise muttered something about 'heretics', the wand-maker was doing some finishing touches on the wand.

"And done! Oh yes, I can say that this is the most powerful wand in the whole Halkegania," he said before he handed me the wand. The wand was made by some kind of dark-coloured wood with the crystal attached to the base and the stone was held together by the electrum metal in the middle. There was also an electrum sheath at the tip. I tested out some spells and indeed the magical output is even higher than before. Through such simple means and unusual materials, a powerful and diverse wand was created. The man grinned, probably proud to be the maker of such a wand.

"I believe the matter now is the payment," I said.

'Ha! For giving me the opportunity to build this, I'll give you a discount! I would give you for free but hey, a man have to make a living too you know," he replied. He stated the price and I nodded before giving him the gold.

"Now then, I prefer that you should keep what you hear today to yourself, miss. Except, of course, the one who made that beautiful wand. I can trust Louise here since we are well-acquainted," he said and I agreed with him. I thought I heard an 'urk' form Louise when he mentioned her. After that, we said our leaves and took our time in the town, looking around and bought some magical ingredients and items, including a rusted sword that was bought from an unsavoury merchant. We also bought a couple of tomes that looked interesting

"Why did you buy that sword? It's looked old and rusty," Louise said.

"Appearances can be deceiving. It may look rusty, but it is still in usable condition. Besides that, I sense some magical properties in it. Mind you, this is not the usual enchanted sword if that is what you're thinking." I said. I heard an 'urk' that came from my apprentice. "Anyway, we should head back now. Unless you have other businesses you wish to settle." She shook her head.

We went to an empty alley and I took out my new wand. I examined it before I prodded it at the air and a portal opened. Interesting. I only used about a quarter of the magic required for this spell and I managed to cast it so easily as if I was not sick to begin with. We went in and arrived in Louise's room as Siesta just opened the door and surprised to see us here. Now that the business was settled, it was time.

"Louise, I want you to pack up some of your things.I will explain later. Also, if you have any business or things to do, I suggest you get them done now," I said before I turned to Siesta. "This goes to you too, Siesta." The two looked confused before they did what they told. As they did, I opened a portal back to the library and levitate the things I bought to the other side before closing it. After an hour, Louise and Siesta were standing beside their luggage.

"Now then. We will leave this place for awhile," I said.

"Where are we going, mistress?" Siesta asked.

"Somewhere Louise can practice casting her magic easily," I answered. Louise was surprised and delighted. I took out my wand and prodded at the air before a portal opened.

"Come," I said, before I entered the portal.

…

The Zero

I stared as my master walked into the portal. Siesta was still shocked about the portal. I hesitated and swallowed some air, as if I was feeling something unnatural on the other side of that portal. But I also felt something was becking me to enter the portal and see the wonders waits on the other side. I took a deep breath and before I knew it, I walked into the portal. When I was at the other side, my mind could not comprehend what I was seeing.

Books! Books everywhere! This must be a library. But it was so huge! Huge bookcases were everywhere the eyes can see! This library was even bigger than the Romalian Archives, which was the largest library in the whole Halkegania. Any bookworm or researchers would scream in delight at the sight of this, including myself, but I have to resist it as this was a library. I noticed my master, who was currently sipping tea at a desk with Koakuma standing by her side.

"Took your time to come here," my master said after she finished her tea. By that time, Siesta arrived and was in shock as well, judging by her gaping mouth.

"Where are we?" I asked in awe.

"This is my library, the Voile Archives. And also…" she paused and I noticed that she has a small smile on her face.

"Welcome to Gensokyo."

…

Author's notes: First of all, I like to apologize for the lack of update for almost a year. I got problems here (like motivation, lazy, time, wondering where will the plot goes). Also, I got into a university. Yay. That's mean I get to do assignments that will take time and not focussing on the story. Wait… um…. Anyway, you can expect updates to be slow so again, so again I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I also added some not-so-true facts (in other words, fanon facts! By yours truly) in the wand scene. I hope you don't mind. But then again, so does the magic theory Patchy has here (but it could be true). And other fics do this as well. Besides that, the wand scene was actually inspired by another story in another site (thanks for the reminder Jakker-San ). Don't be surprised if there is some same stuff from there as that will be one of my inspiration/idea sources. Of course, I will try to keep originality to a certain level (I do hope that level will be high though.)

Also, I think I might need a beta reader. I don't know who to choose so if you have any recommendations or you yourself want to beta read (P.S. you must be very good at English…. of course you already know this), then PM me. Do note, I won't need one until June because of university works. (That doesn't mean I won't update till then, if you're wondering.)

Also (again), I updated chapter 3. There have been some corrections and changes around so feel free to check it back and point out more mistakes.

Enjoy.