Chapter Five: The Staff of Destruction
The next morning…
At the Tristain Academy of Magic, there was much commotion from last night's events, just as though a wasp’s nest had been stirred.
Why? Because the Staff of Destruction had been stolen.
And it was brazenly stolen by using an Earth Golem to break through the wall of the vault.
The teachers of the Academy of Magic gathered inside the vault were speechless when they saw the gaping hole in the wall.
The inscription on the wall etched by Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt said it all:
[I have the Staff of Destruction. – Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt.]
At this point in time, all the teachers at the academy could do was gripe and whine
“It’s that thief who had looted the nobles clean, Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt! How daring of him (1) to target the academy!”
“What were the guards doing?”
“Even if the guards are around, they’re useless! They’re only commoners! Speaking of which, which noble was supposed to be on duty last night?”
Mrs. Chevreuse felt anxious. She was supposed to be on duty last night. “But who would steal from the academy?” she thought while sleeping soundly in her own room instead of being next to the vault door like all nobles on watch duty must do.
One of the teachers immediately pointed out and said, “Mrs. Chevreuse! You were supposed to be on duty last night! Am I right?”
Mrs. Chevreuse broke into tears, ”I’m very sorry… Very sorry…”
“Even if you cried your heart out, would it come back? Or are you going to pay for it?”
“But… but I just finished paying for my house.” Mrs. Chevreuse knelt down on the floor and wept.
Just then, Old Osman arrived. “Erm… This is not the best time to be hard on the ladies, right?”
The fellow teacher who reprimanded Mrs. Chevreuse retorted, “But Osman, Mrs. Chevreuse failed in her duty! She was sleeping soundly in her bed when she was supposed to be on watch!”
Old Osman gently stroke his long beard while looking at the very shaken and stirred teacher.
“Erm… What’s your name again?”
“It’s Gimli! Have you forgotten?”
“Oh, right! Gimli! Well, Mr. Gimli, don’t get angry. Honestly speaking, how many of you here can say that you’re always vigilant throughout your tour of duty?” Old Osman replied.
The teachers looked at each other and hung their heads in shame. There was silence.
“Well, that’s the situation that we’re in now. Talking about responsibility, I think all of us, including myself, have to be held accountable for this incident. Why did we think that a thief could never infiltrate the academy? Is it because of the number of mages we have in the academy here that gives us the assurance that we won’t be attacked? This type of thinking is wrong from the beginning.”
Old Osman gazed at the hole in the wall and continued, “It’s our complacency that has gave Fouquet the courage to trespass, and steal the Staff of Destruction. We’re all at fault.”
Mrs. Chevreuse looked upon Old Osman with gratitude and said, “Oh! Osman, Mr. Osman! Thank you for your benevolence. From now on I’ll look upon you as though you’re my father.”
YOU ARE READING
Zero no Tsukaima Novel Vol. 1+
RomanceLouise is a noble girl who is terrible at magic, as her attempts usually result in an explosion. She is nicknamed "Louise the Zero" by her classmates, due to the inability to use any of the four magic elements. Early in the school year at the Trista...
