Among the current students, Guiche—better known by his nickname Kishio—ranked just below Tomoji Ren and Tabasa in magical power. He possessed the strength of a solid Line-level mage, and Tomoji had once predicted he'd advance within six months. Despite his arrogance toward commoners, his skill was undeniable.
Unfortunately, when he'd once faced Sora, the summoned "familiar" of Louise Vallière, his pride had been cut down as easily as his summoned golems. The Sword of Wisdom, Delphlinka, had sheared through his magic puppet with absurd ease. With the cold edge of the blade resting against his throat, Guiche had been forced to surrender.
Now, drugged by the effects of Montmorency's love potion and burning with misguided passion, Guiche was fighting with everything he had.
"Back off now, Sora!" he shouted, face flushed, wand raised. "If you walk away and promise not to bother my Montmorency, I'll pretend this never happened! Otherwise, I won't show mercy!"
Sora met his crazed eyes calmly. "You've lost your senses to a potion. Guess I'll have to knock some clarity into you."
"Then we'll duel properly!" Guiche cried, puffing up his chest. "Let's move to that open space. I don't want my lovely Montmorency to see anything unpleasant."
"Guiche…" Montmorency murmured, caught slightly off guard by the uncharacteristic seriousness in his voice.
Sora turned toward Louise with a look she instantly understood. Grabbing Montmorency's arm, Louise pulled her aside, leaving the men to face each other.
Guiche stepped back several meters, spinning his rose-tipped wand between his fingers. The petals flared open, releasing sparks of magic.
"Grando Earth Hammer!"
A dark magic circle appeared at his feet, and a towering golem of black iron rose from the ground, a twin-bladed halberd gripped in its massive hands.
Sora narrowed his eyes. "A Black Iron Puppet, huh? Let's see how you compare to my sword."
He drew Delphlinka in one smooth motion.
The puppet stomped forward, armor clanking, its weapon raised high.
Sora darted aside as the halberd slammed into the ground, leaving a jagged scar in the dirt. That thing's heavy—but slower than I thought.
When the puppet's blade stuck fast in the earth for a moment too long, Sora moved. He spun around its flank, slashing across its abdomen. The blade bit deep but stopped halfway.
"Tch. Too hard," he muttered, ducking backward. His second strike—aimed at its neck—was blocked by three sudden flashes of light.
Three bronze puppets materialized in unison, interposing themselves with raised spears.
Guiche was pale but grinning. Across the clearing, he raised his wand again. His focus and control were impressive; for a student, he could juggle multiple familiars at once.
Each swing of the black-iron puppet's blade came with brutal force, while the bronze puppets maneuvered into formation, guarding its flanks.
Sora stepped back, assessing the field grimly. Delphlinka couldn't absorb physical constructs, only magical energy. With no spell reserves left in the sword, he could only fight with technique and raw speed.
The four puppets pressed him relentlessly. Guiche, keeping his distance, pulled a small flask from his belt and gulped an ice-blue potion. His skin flushed as his drained magic power surged back.
"Grando Earth Hammer!" he chanted again.
Another bronze puppet burst from the ground, spear gleaming.
Sora's jaw tightened. If this keeps up, he'll swarm me. Even if I win one-on-one, he can replenish them faster than I can kill them.
He ducked a spear thrust, leaped aside, and rolled to avoid the halberd that tore through the air behind him.
For a moment, the black-iron puppet loomed directly overhead. Sora clenched his sword tighter. "No choice, then."
He thrust out his left hand.
"Yah Faile Albrick!"
A fireball burst into life at his palm, swirling with intense heat. It shot forward in a blazing curve—past the bronze puppets—and struck the black-iron giant straight in the chest.
The explosion ripped through the golem's armor with a deafening crack. When the smoke cleared, a gaping hole glowed red-hot at its center.
"Yes!" Sora sprinted forward, his sword flashing once more. The bronze puppets jabbed at him, but he ducked, countered, and slashed the weakened black-iron puppet clean across the breach.
The heavy golem shuddered, then crumbled into dust.
Without their centerpiece, the remaining bronze puppets faltered. Sora dispatched one with a clean horizontal slice, flipped backward, and struck another through its core. Each one disintegrated into sand upon defeat.
Within moments, silence fell over the field.
Sora stood breathing hard, his shirt singed and arms trembling from the effort. But the puppets were gone.
Across from him, Guiche stood frozen, wand shaking. "I… I surrender," he croaked finally. Then, with a miserable groan, he slumped to his knees. "Damn it… you made me look like such a fool in front of Montmorency… Ugh, she'll never love me now!"
Sora exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "Could've fooled me—you fought pretty hard for a lovesick guy."
He sheathed his sword and turned back toward the two girls.
While Sora was fighting, Louise had engaged Montmorency in a "battle" of her own.
Taken off guard by the normally reserved Louise suddenly tackling her to the ground, Montmorency's wand had gone flying within seconds. The pair wrestled across the grass until Louise pinned her and—of all things—started tickling her mercilessly.
"Confess! Where's the antidote?!" Louise demanded, laughing in the chaos.
Panting and red-faced, Montmorency finally squealed, "There isn't one! The love potion's effect wears off in a few months anyway!"
Louise froze mid-tickle. "A few months?!"
"Well, it'll keep him docile for the summer," Montmorency said matter-of-factly. "Just let him be lovesick until it fades."
Sora arrived and crossed his arms. "Seems reasonable to me."
"No, it's not reasonable!" Louise protested. "He's hopeless like this! We have to fix him."
Her wide pink eyes glistened like a pleading puppy's. Sora groaned, defeated instantly. "Fine, fine. We'll fix him. You really can't say no, can you?"
Louise brightened with a small smile.
Sora turned to Montmorency, catching her just as she tried to sneak away. "Not so fast."
"Eh-heh… yes?" she said, giving a guilty laugh.
"You caused this mess," Sora said calmly. "You're coming with us."
"Of course! I'd never abandon my dear Guiche!" Montmorency said—just a bit too quickly.
The three returned to find Guiche still sulking miserably near the courtyard. The moment he saw them, he stiffened—then burst into tears.
"Oh, Montmorency! I've made such a fool of myself! I'll die of shame before facing you again!"
Before Montmorency could answer, he ran straight toward her—throwing his arms around her waist and rubbing his tear-streaked face against her chest.
"Ugh," Montmorency groaned, trying to pry him off. "He's so clingy! I can't take this anymore!"
By the second day, she was nearly screaming every time the lovestruck noble appeared.
Finally, she threw herself toward Sora and Louise. "That's it! I can't stand it anymore. We're finding the Water Fairy and begging for her tears. That's the only reagent that can cure him!"
Sora chuckled. "Then let's waste no time."
Within the hour, the three of them prepared their horses and rode off toward the Water Fairy's lake, following Montmorency's directions.
Of course, before they left, Sora made a quiet detour. He caught Montmorency alone, flashed her a disarming smile, and said in a tone that wasn't quite a request, "You'll give me the rest of that love potion, right?"
After a nervous laugh—and just the faintest look of panic—she handed over a small vial.
Sora tucked it into his coat with an amused grin. You never know when something like this might come in handy, he thought.