Zero no Tsukaima SS: Tabitha's Adventure v2c5

South of Tristain, in the largest nation in Halkeginia, lays Gallia’s capital city Lutèce.

At a corner of the magnificent Versailles Palace, built in the suburbs outside the capital, there was a small, pretty pink-walled palace.

In the palace called Petit Trois, its mistress was extending her neck while waiting for a visitor.

“Has not the puppet girl arrived yet?” Asked a voice that lacked benevolence. It was Isabelle, daughter of King Joseph of Gallia.

She is a beautiful girl with blue eyes and blue hair that extended to her waist, but her beauty was completely cancelled out by the malicious smile on her face.

The young girl-servant was obviously afraid of the bad-tempered princess, but she remained by the bedside, stuttering, “She should be, she’ll be here soon…”

“How boring, let’s gamble.”

The servant who was the target of Isabella’s sentence gasped and edged back a couple of steps.

“If that puppet girl appears in ten minutes, you win. If she doesn’t, I win. How’s that?”

The servant was shaking harder and harder. Isabella’s face showed a careless smile; rubbing the servant’s face with her wand, she said, “If I lose, I’ll make you a noble. I’ll help you get a couple of titles of nobility.”

The girl-servant shook even harder, so that it seemed almost as if she was thrashing about.

“However, if you lose…, I will have your head.”

Right when the servant girl was going to collapse, a guard entered, ran to Isabella, whispered something in her ear, and was rewarded with a disinterested grunt.

From under the shadow of the doorway walked out none other than Tabitha. Seeing the black evening dress on Tabitha, Isabella once again showed a malicious smile.

“I rarely see you wear that.”

Tabitha did not reply. She merely stood there, awaiting her orders. Isabella lazily picked up a scroll of sheepskin from the desk and tossed it to Tabitha.

Tabitha caught the scroll, bowed lightly, and turned to leave the room.

“Wait.”

Isabella got out of bed, and walked up to Tabitha to toy with her evening dress. [TL note: why does the princess always do things that are so easily misunderstood to Tabitha?]

“It’s a pretty decent dress, not the type you can buy on the streets. You didn’t steal it, did you?”

“Was my mother’s.”

Isabella’s face instantly stiffened. But it recovered immediately.

“In order to practice for this assignment, why don’t you play with me first?”

Even though she said that, Tabitha hadn’t yet seen the contents of this time’s assignment. But Isabella disregarded that and took a coin from her pocket.

She tossed it into the air, and then pressed it on the back of her hand.

“Faces or tails? If you guess right, I’ll give you a hundred crowns. If you guess wrong, your dress belongs to me. Do you accept?”

Tabitha was gazing at Isabella’s hand all this time…, but she still shook her head.

“Ahaha! You really are cowardly.”

Isabella started laughing as though she was really happy, pointing her finger at Tabitha’s face.

“I really can’t understand how someone who has so little courage and talent like you could execute the duties of a Knight of the North Flower Garden. Ahaha! Aha…”

In midst of her laughter, Isabella suddenly noticed Tabitha’s eyes. Those extraordinarily cold, ice-like eyes. Eyes so clear that they seemed to be able to suck out the soul of the beholder…Isabella was deeply fascinated by them, and at the same time felt a mysterious pressure; the laughter died in her throat. Obviously, Tabitha’s eyes were the exact same shade of blue as her own…, but then, why would those eyes be as much deeper than hers as the sea is deeper than a drop of water?

Isabella took a deep breath of air, forcefully recovered her majestic façade, and looked at Tabitha in defiance.

“Bah. I’ll directly explain your new assignment this time. Your job is to go to the casino on Belcôté Boulevard, where they are skillfully taking money from the idiot aristocrats. Although sending in gendarmes to directly destroy that place is an option, many nobles would be involved in a scandal if we did so. Therefore, we can’t publicly shut it down. That’s why we need you to do it. Destroy the arrogant casino. Reveal all of their trickeries."

“…”

“This is completely different from fighting monsters and savages. Even if you’re somewhat decent at fighting, there’s nothing you can do this time.”

Isabella finally smiled. Next, she threw a bag of coins at Tabitha’s feet.

“Here, it’s the budget for the assignment.”

Tabitha emotionlessly picked up the bag.

“At the casino, your identity is Margaret, the second daughter of de Shelvon family. Understand?”

Tabitha bowed and left as soon as Isabella was done talking.

* * *

Sylphid, who had been staring at the mountain of tokens all this time, said, “I’ll give it a try,” and picked up a few tokens and left. But she didn’t know the rules at all, and therefore came back after losing all of the tokens in a few moments.

But the loss she incurred was wholly insignificant. The other customers crowded around to see the little girl who won so much money. Every time Tabitha won a bet, cheers would erupt around her.

A young, long-haired handsome young man radiating the smell of cologne sat down besides Tabitha. He gently smiled, “Milady, you’re very good at this. Would you like to drink something?”

The surrounding noblewomen started making disgruntled noises. It seems like this young man was a popular waiter at this casino.

His long, silver hair was slightly parted to show his narrow eyes. Although his gaze was sharp as a dagger, it also contained a very kindly light. This gave him a very charismatic look.

“My name is Toma and I am responsible for serving the customers. Have we met somewhere before…”

Sylphid suspiciously looked at the young man, and quietly said to Tabitha, “sis, this guy, he’s making a move on sis.”

“Why would I make a move on her?” Toma started smiling. “I only felt I was attracted by this lady, so I came over intending to know her better.” [TL note: I don’t get the difference, but maybe it’s because of the translation I translated from.]

“Champagne.”

After nodding in affirmation, Toma walked away.

“Sis!” Sylphid hugged Tabitha’s head and shook it back and forth, “ today I Sylphid must say this. It is true that I have told you, sis, that you should ‘get a boyfriend.’. Therefore, I can understand you becoming interested in men. Rather, I should say I’m glad of it. However, that man isn’t ok! He gives off a strong scent of danger! If you go out with that kind of person, sis, you will meet misfortune. Aye, that is for sure. Gao.”

Was she worried? Wait, probably the bored Sylphid was just getting overexcited. It looks like that this wind rhyme dragon didn’t like members of the opposite gender that she didn’t approve of approaching Tabitha.

As Tabitha ignored Sylphid as always, and was preparing to continue making large bets…, a loud shout was heard from the neighbouring table.

“What is this! Are you making a fool of me?”

The sight of everyone present instantaneously turned toward the scene. The one shouting out was a middle-aged aristocrat.

Judging by the craftsmanship of his cape, he was a low-rank official. His face was white as a sheet, and his whole body was shaking in rage.

“Sir, did something just happen?”

The owner Jeremiah approached the aristocrat with a large smile on his face.

“You dare ask, ‘what happened?’ In this situation, four aces appeared; that would be too much for a coincidence! There was cheating going on.”

“Ah, ah, what are you talking about? As you know, at this casino we put the magic staffs in storage whenever aristocratic customers come. If a customer were to use “magic” here, my place would be annihilated very quickly. However, we ask the same of ourselves. As you can see, there is no staff-wielding dealer. If you don’t believe us, you can use detection magic.”

“Uhhhh…, then, you’re cheating without using magic!”

“Sir, you were the one cutting and dealing out the cards. You are directly gambling with the dealer; that was to show how fair and honest this place is…”

Although the man’s words were humble, his tone was saturated with scorn. The aristocrat disappeared out of the exit with large steps.

“I’m sorry that such a commotion took place.”

Jeremiah bowed low to the customers who were silently watching the scene. However…, the real commotion started in the next moment.

The aristocratic customer just now appeared again, this time with this magic staff. He took back his staff from storage, but returned rather than left.

“You worthless commoner…, you dare to look down on a noble!”

The excitedly gambling customers were screaming, searching desperately for a place to hide.

In front of the staff wielded by the noble, a huge fireball appeared. Just as the fireball was about to swallow Jeremiah…

A shadow streaked across sight, pushed Jeremiah down and rolled on the ground.

“Toma!”

The shocked cry exploded from the spectators. The person that appeared so suddenly was the waiter Toma.

“You!”

The furious noble chanted another spell. In that moment, Toma left Jeremiah’s side.

Forth from the opening of his left sleeve, a lightly flashed.

In the next instant, the noble’s magic staff was cut right in the middle, the front half falling on the ground.

The noble didn’t even have the time to make a sound before Toma quickly caught the noble’s right hand, putting the short sword from inside his sleeve against the noble’s throat. It seems like he’s an experienced short swordsman.

“Milord, it is forbidden to use magic inside the casino.”

“Uaah…, ****…”

Amid anger and shame, the noble groaned while showing the whites of his eyes.

“Please put away…”

“You bastard, you think you’ll go unpunished after doing such a thing to a noble?”

“Even though you say that, your situation will be a bit risky if your higher-ups heard that your magic staff was broken by a mere commoner.”

Toma said with a smile.

The noble was shaking with fury, but he could only lock his jaws and leave the casino. The faces of the other aristocratic customers became eerily pale, but the commoners were applauding enthusiastically. Toma gracefully made a bow in response to the applauses.

“That man is very good. Looks like he’s not all talk. He even defeated a noble! Gao.” Sylphid said with surprise. Tabitha looked at Toma…, but a few moments later she turned her gaze back to the table, and continued betting.

Toma’s expression…, the expression he had when he drew the sword from his sleeve, made a strange impression on Tabitha. It was as though she had seen it somewhere before…, but, she couldn’t remember where.

Tabitha lightly closed her eyes to drive the thought from her mind. Right now, she must concentrate on the table. Else she will lose.

By the time the night had fallen, the mountain of tokens in front of the ever-victorious Tabitha piled even higher. The worth was already about ten and several thousand new gold coins. It was a complete victory.

For some time, she had been completely surrounded by watching customers.

And as Tabitha was about to make her sometieth bet of the day…

She suddenly made a large bet of two thousand new gold coins.

The already pale dealer turned even paler. He shook the dice as cold sweat poured down his back…

Of the three dice, two had the same number. The dealer held his head in his hands. The watching customers, who had even forgotten to breathe, exploded in cheers.

The tokens in front of Tabitha doubled with that throw. The dealer powerlessly hang his shoulders and shook his head.

The masses, who never expected a mere girl like Tabitha to be this talented at gambling, went quiet.

Then, the owner Jeremiah walked over as he clasped his hand.

“Miss…, you won quite a lot there. So, although the night is almost upon us…”

It seems that the amount Tabitha had won was far over what the casino could expect. Voices like, "You can’t escape after winning like that,” were heard in the crowd. Tabitha responded to the meaning of the owner’s words.

“Continue.”

The customers exploded in cheers once again.

Jeremiah narrowed his eyes. He snapped his fingers, and the dealer’s face went expressionless in response, and left the table after nodding.

“I really must apologize, but, because the dealer at this table isn’t feeling well, the table is no longer open. But, I guess Milady is tired of this kind of small bets?

Tabitha nodded her head. Sylphid, who didn’t understand her purpose, started making ‘gao, gao’ sounds.

“Sis! The most important part of winning and losing is to understand when to stop! Gao!”

“Ah, ah, it seems like your servant does not wish to continue… what would you like to do?”

“Ga~o~! Let’s go and buy some rice and meat!”

Tabitha cut across Sylphid, saying, “Continue.”

“Thank you very much. It is an unsurpassable honor for a casino owner like me to have an excellent gambler like Milady playing here. Please, continue your winning streak without any hesitations."

Jeremiah bowed after he finished saying the un-heartfelt words of congratulations.

“Then, let’s prepare a place for you.”

Tabitha shook her head.

“Ah, have you changed your mind?”

“I want to rest for a bit.”

* * *

Tabitha, left alone, turned her eyes back to the book. Cold sweat was dripping down from her forehead. She was reading just now to calm herself down…, but she wasn’t taking in the contents of the book at all.

Find out the rigging method…, when it comes to that, there isn’t a single lead.

She was able to win just now because she saw through the dealer’s habits, and half of it was luck. Although the real thing will begin now that she had collected enough money for gambling, she can’t even imagine what kind of methods the enemy will use.

Will they cheat using magic?

No, the owner already confidently stated that people could use detection magic on the place. That confidence was real. Are they really not using magic?

If that is the case…

Tabitha recalled the waiter, Toma’s speed. The speed with which he drew the sword from his sleeve… Even her, a wind element magic user, could not see through the trick.

Then, are they cheating using slights of hand?

No, it seemed like the noble just now was cutting his own cards.

The more she was thinking, the more her thoughts ran in knots. Now, this assignment is quite difficult. Compared to conflicts with savages and monsters, this is many times more exciting.

“In the end, humans’ greatest foes are humans…”

As Tabitha got entangled in the maze of thoughts, a knock sounded on the door. Had Sylphid returned? No, Sylphid would never knock.

“Who is it?”

“I am the waiter, Toma. Milady, I’m here to deliver drinks.”

It was Toma’s voice. Tabitha narrowed her eyes.

“Enter.”

The door opened, and the handsome Toma walked into the room. He respectfully bowed to Tabitha, then put the bottle of red wine and the glass onto the table.

“Please.”

After putting down the red wine, Toma did not leave the room.

He said to Tabitha, who was wordlessly picking up the bottle, “I know this is very disrespectful…, but, Milady, may I ask to which noble house you were born?”

Tabitha shook her head.

“Since I’ve worked at this job for some time, I can normally see what kind of person someone is with one glance… Milady, your mannerisms have a quality that the average nobles can’t even imitate. I am guessing that you are from one of the top few houses in Gallia?”

“…”

Tabitha stared at Toma.

The narrow eyes…, they were in her memory from before. Toma did not overlook the slight change in Tabitha.

“Long time no see, Miss Charlotte.”

“Thomas.”

Tabitha said this name with some affection in her voice.

“Even so. I am Thomas, son of Denair, who was the head chef at the Orleans Mansion.”

Thomas concisely named himself; the much-missed Thomas bowed his head deeply towards Tabitha.

“To meet at a place like this, it feels as though we are bound by fate. To think that you, Miss Charlotte, would appear through that door, I almost jumped in shock at that time.

In Tabitha’s mind, she finally recalled her memories of the remarkable time she spent with Thomas.

Thomas was the son of the head chef, Denair, at the home she lived in when she was little. He, who was five or six years older than Tabitha, would often play with her when she was very, very small. Even though the steward Bercelon had forbidden her from associating with commoners more than necessary, she found the games Thomas taught her to be as fun as the books she loved to read. So, she always came up with ways to avoid Bercelon’s eyes, and steal into the kitchen.

“You were very clever back then.”

Tabitha remembered the magic tricks that Thomas was very adept at. Even though Thomas didn’t know magic, he could pull out many balls or birds from inside his pockets, and could also guess the suit of a card; he could even make himself disappear by pulling his cape over himself.

Every time she saw him do such things, Tabitha would laugh with all her heart…

“I never saw through your magic, not even once.”

“That was indeed the case,” Thomas smiled.

Then, as he recalled events passed, his handsome face darkened, a sorrowful light appeared in his eyes.

“After that tragic day when the mansion was destroyed, and the servants scattered…, my father sunk completely into depression.”

“What happened to Denair?”

“After that, he quickly passed to the other world. He was worried about Milady’s safety right to the end.”

“Is that so…”

Thomas lifted his head.

“Returning to the present, I must be guided by the founder to be able to meet Milady again. It really is great that you are alright! Servants like myself never heard anything about what happened to you after that, although there were a multitude of rumors. According to some, Milady was sent to another country as a hostage, while others said that you were demoted to a commoner, or that you were secretly imprisoned in El Tiano City, or even that you were forced into a convent, became a nun…, and other rumors like that.” [TL note: I had no idea how to translate the name of the city; please edit it at will.]

Thomas broke into a smile completely void of malice.

“But, now that I see milady before me, I realize that what I imagined before were needless worries. You seem to be very rich. Did the de Shelvon family adopt you as a daughter. Ah, no, I spoke out of place.”

“What about you?”

Thomas was ravished by the question Tabitha asked about himself.

“Are you worrying about me? Milady is just as gentle as she was before. Ah, after my father passed on, I lived as shameless a life as a regular drifter. But then…, the owner of this place, Jeremiah, took me in.”

“…”

“Jeremiah is a very good man. He not only taught me to read, but also gave me a job. That I am here like this is all thanks to Jeremiah.”

Right then, Thomas’s expression became grim.

“Now, let me give my much-missed mistress a word of warning.”

“Warning?”

“Yes. I have already taken ninety percent of the tokens you’ve won and converted them to gold notes. You can change that to hard cash at Seal Bank. Please take them and escape through the back door immediately.”

“Why?”

“Because of certain reasons, I can’t tell you. However, the gambling from now on has been rigged so that it would be impossible for Milady to win.”

Tabitha silently looked at Thomas. There was only concern for Tabitha’s safety in his eyes. It wasn’t a trap. After Tabitha decided that all he said was the truth, she continued by saying, “Tell me the reason.”

Thomas was hesitatingly shaking his head, but, perhaps he thought that Tabitha would not accept the advice without knowing the details. “This casino is actually a charity.”

“Charity?”

“Yes. The casino was set up to bring down the rich and help the poor. Therefore, the rich customers will lose; it is in the design.”

“Who built it?”

“Jeremiah.”

Tabitha recalled the greedy-looking owner. If what Thomas said was true, he wasn’t a man that could be judged by his looks…

“Because of that, I have kept ten percent of what you’ve won as alms for the poor. I’ve decided to return the rest to you after given it some consideration. Please take it go.”

Tabitha did not respond. Thomas looked at the silent Tabitha, thinking, “Now you understand.” Then, he put the gold notes on the table, bowed, and left the room.

* * *

Tabitha started betting like lightening. She used the same method to victory as always: first make a few very small bets while observing the opponent, then suddenly make a large bet once she’s sure of victory.

However, this time, all of the large bets she met were lost.

Tabitha’s large bets always lost to the opponent by a very slight difference in the end. Now she understood why that noble was furious: the losses were too improbable.

Tabitha’s forehead gradually became wet with sweat.

When she had only several hundred gold coins let, Tabitha got a chance. Thirteen of the Wind, twelve, eleven,…,nine…, those cards appeared in her hand consecutively. If she got ten of the Wind next, she would get a royal flush, and she’d have gathered the best hand of cards possible.

And the card she got last…, was none other than ten of the Wind.

The noble Wind run was complete with that.

Tabitha raised incessantly. However, Jeremiah followed suit.

Was he trying to lure her into raising more…, Tabitha pushed all in.

“Ah! This really is a shocking gamble! Then, let us show our hands!”

Tabitha’s normally expressionless face showed nervousness, the hands were shown. Jeremiah raised his eyebrows as he looked at the beautifully laid out royal flush,

“Ah, this is another nearly miraculous game…”

“…”

“There is a proverb saying, ‘It needs the Founder’s will for two miracles to appear consecutively.’ If it’s really so, then maybe this is the will of the Founder.”

Jeremiah showed his hand.

It was…, thirteen to nine of the Fire laid out in a row. According to the rules of the game, the noble Wind lost to the noblest Fire. And the most noble of hands was in Jeremiah’s hand.

It would be too much to say it was a coincidence.

It was certainly rigged. However, whatever the method being used to rig the game was, Tabitha hadn’t found it.

In less than an hour, Tabitha had lost all of the gold she won from before. It was a complete defeat.

Tabitha did not leave her seat even though she was completely broke. She was only thinking about how the game could have been rigged. The single question was very difficult. Furthermore, she could not complete her mission if she doesn’t find the answer.

“Now, Milady, it seems that you’re out of tokens…, if you want to continue, would you please buy some more tokens?”

Tabitha shook her head.

“Ah, ah, then this game can’t continue. Would you like to end it right here…, or, would you like to borrow money in the name of your family?”

Tabitha shook her head again. She was using a pseudonym right now. If she borrowed money under that name, she would cause trouble for herself later on.

There had been customers watching from the window opening to the corridor for some time. It must have been very amusing for them to watch a little girl like Tabitha gambling against the owner of the place. Jeremiah, after noticing the gaze of the customers, suggested a crude idea.

“Milady, how about this? Since you are out of money, why don’t you bet your clothes?”

When the customers watching the game heard this suggestion, they exploded in insults, cheers, and catcalls.

Tabitha nodded her head. She could not see through the trick of the opponent. She could not turn back like this.

The game commenced again.

However…, Tabitha could not find any problem with her opponent.

The cloak was taken off.

The shirt was taken off.

The pants were taken off.

After four games, Tabitha only had a short linen undershirt. Tabitha’s flat chest was puffing in frustration.

A complacent smile appeared on Jeremiah’s face as he watched the noble girl sitting opposite to him. [TL note: why are the side stories so much more disturbing than the main series? And this story much more so than the others?]

Tabitha was very dissatisfied.

If the opponent was gambling using magic, there was no way for her to lose until now. Furthermore…, in the situation where they’d already switched the location and methods, this could only serve to demonstrate her lack of abilities.

The linen undershirt…, if she took that off, there would only been the panties left.

“Milady, do you still want to continue?” Jeremiah asked Tabitha. Tabitha nodded her head. Thomas, who had been standing next to Jeremiah, shivering, now walked to Tabitha’s side.

“Milady, please don’t continue anymore. Even if you keep on with this game of gambling, you won’t gain anything from it! If this continues, Milady would become the ridicule of others! Speaking from what I know of Miss Charlotte…”

Tabitha courtly said, “I am no longer Charlotte.”

“Milady.”

“Ah, ah, so you two know each other!” Jeremiah said as he looked suspiciously at Thomas. From his look, he was probably thinking, “That bastard, did he say something that he shouldn’t have?”

“Then, the pot for the next game will be your linen undershirt.”

Tabitha shuffled the deck as though her life depended on it. She moved slowly, and it was only when she had looked carefully at every detail that she dealt the cards.

There was no suspicious place at all. And she had a decent hand.

Jeremiah, would he win because his hand was slightly better?

She didn’t know.

She could no longer analyze the situation. All she knew right now was that she still couldn’t find the rigging method after so many games. Tabitha tightened her jaws as she thought of her powerlessness.

The hands were shown.

Laid out on the table…, Jeremiah’s cards were again just slightly better than her own. How could he have controlled his and his opponent’s hand like that?

“Then, please taken off that too.”

Tabitha shakily put her hand on her shoulder strap. As she was about to pull it down…”

“Wait!”

An already distorted voice sounded in the corridor.

Tabitha turned her head to look; the one that appeared was her faithful blue-haired familiar, Sylphid. The attention of everyone present converged on Sylphid.

“I will never allow you to shame Sis!”

“Ah, ah, isn’t this the servant who came with Milady? This is an important game, so please, don’t interrupt us.”

Flames of a hitherto unseen intensity burned in Sylphid’s eyes.

“However, what’s more unforgivable, is this!”

Sylphid lifted the cage she was hiding behind her back, causing Jeremiah, who’d kept a poker face all this time, to panic.

“You! Where did you get that!”

“No matter where lowlife humans like you commit evil acts, you can’t hide them from an ancient race like mine…, no, it will be revealed by I, the peerless Sylphid! As I was walking in the corridor, I faintly heard a voice calling for help! Aye, only I Sylphid could hear it, the cry for help passed on by the ‘Great Consciousness!’”

A very small weasel was inside of the cage Sylphid was holding.., it stood up suddenly. It could be distinguished from normal weasels in that it had huge, glowing, blue eyes.

The moment it appeared…, all of the cards in Jeremiah and Tabitha’s hands turned into similar weasel-like animals.

“This is ‘Echo’! A great ancient fantastical beast! You used the ‘Force of Sprites’ that Echoes possessed as a way of making money—that’s an extreme insult to the ‘Great Consciousness’!”

It follows that the creatures called Echoes use ‘Aboriginal Magic’s’ ‘change’ spell to change their appearance. In that case, it was not strange that Tabitha couldn’t feel any magic. That’s because the ‘Force of Sprites’ that some call ‘Aboriginal Magic’ is completely different from the ‘Systematic Magic’ that magician’s use.

The Echoes, who had taken on the appearance of cards earlier, ran to Sylphid after making a few clear, high-pitched calls. Sylphid responded with a couple of calls like the ones they’d just made, and the Echoes ran behind Sylphid.

“You dared to use the child of these cute Echoes to force these adult Echoes to do your will! For a brute like you, I, Sylphid, will teach you a good lesson!”

Just as Sylphid was shouting and about to charge forward…

The customers who had been watching behind her until just now stampeded towards Jeremiah.

“You bastard! You dared to cheat us!”

“Lynch him!”

However…, Thomas set himself in front of the crowd.

In front of the mass of people, Thomas nimbly drew the sword from his sleeve.

“You may not touch Jeremiah.”

The customers, who knew Thomas’s abilities only too well, mostly stopped in their tracks. Using this opportunity, Thomas took something from inside his other sleeve, used his mouth to pull the string on it; it seemed that the substance packed inside was phosphorus, so that thick smoke billowed from it immediately. The customers fell into panic.

By the time the smoke cleared, Thomas and Jeremiah had already disappeared.

* * *

After taking the key to the bank vault from Jeremiah, Tabitha put a sleep spell on Thomas and Jeremiah and took them to an inn far from that street.

She did not receive an order to arrest the two. She did not plan to tell the location to the government. After all, Tabitha did not have the least intention to punish them. One has to win no matter what means are used: that was Tabitha’s understanding of battles, gambling included.

After Tabitha had paid a visit to the little palace, her mission was complete.

Isabella angrily stared at Tabitha, who’d completed the assignment, then left for her bedroom after commenting, “You’re luck wasn’t bad.”

As for Tabitha, she jumped on Sylphid and flew towards the Academy of Magic.

“No matter what, those brutes were unforgivable! They dared to use Sylphid’s companions, who’re like her relatives’ relatives...the most distant relatives possible, as tools! It seems like the man called Jeremiah accidently br

Chapter end