The Great Witch and the Zero

Summoning of the Foul-Mouthed Great Witch

"Who are you?" The words escaped the lips of a girl, her gaze intently fixated on the figure before her. Louise examined her carefully; she was undoubtedly close to Louise's age, though the contrast in their personalities was stark. Underneath a black cloak, the girl sported a white blouse and a gray pleated skirt. She knelt down to inspect Louise's appearance with an astonished expression.
Louise couldn't resist a caustic retort. "Me? Is that the best question you could come up with when summoning a familiar? Are you utterly brain-dead?" Louise had never been one to hold back her abrasive personality, and she relished the opportunity to provoke the girl before her. As expected, her words had the intended effect-the girl's face flushed with anger, her temper flaring like a raging fire.

"H-how dare you!" The girl screeched, her voice trembling with frustration. She turned to her professor, desperation in her eyes as she pleaded, "Professor, please, let me try again!" The man observed the unfolding scene with a bewildered expression before responding.

"I'm sorry, Miss Vallière. You know the rules; you only get one chance to summon a familiar," he gently reminded her. The girl let out a heavy sigh, her gaze falling to the ground in resignation.

But Louise was not one to stay silent. Her eyes narrowed as she fixed her glare on the man. "Hold up," she interjected, her voice dripping with defiance. "Why do you get to decide if I become the familiar of some short-tempered short stack?" She challenged him, her fiery spirit refusing to be extinguished. "This goes against my consent, you jackass!" Gasps of shock rippled through the students at the audacious language.

"What? Like you damn brats have anything to say," Louise continued, her tone unrelenting. "Half of you never even worked a day in your life. So, you can take your pearl clutching and shove it up you a--" Her sentence was abruptly cut short as lips pressed against hers.

As the girl pulled away, an unexpected sensation coursed through her. A sharp, fleeting pain emanated from her naval. It lasted but a few moments, leaving her puzzled. Her gaze dropped, and she beheld an unusual mark etched upon her skin. It resembled a tattoo, an intricate pattern of thorns intersecting, originating from her naval and extending both upward and downward by a few inches. The sight of it left her with a sense of dread-she was now irrevocably bound to this seemingly familiar girl. One she knew all too well.

The girl before her wore a tight smile, though her eyes betrayed a hint of hesitation. "Don't you dare think for a moment that me becoming your gods damned familiar means you'll have the upper hand," she retorted, her tone filled with defiance. "Make one misstep, and I'll have you croaking like a damn toad. Got it?"

The collective gasp of the students filled the air, effectively silencing Louise. She was teetering on the edge of uttering something even more vulgar, but her tirade was interrupted as the middle-aged man raised his hand, demanding decorum.

"That is quite enough, I think. All right, students, head back to your rooms. Meanwhile, Miss..." The man paused, expecting her to supply her name.

"Clean your ears out, you old fart," Louise snapped back, her tone dripping with disdain. "I am the Great Witch of the Swamp, the sole Great Witch of my era. The esteemed daughter of Karin and a loyal subject of Queen Henrietta. You'd best remember that, or I'll knock some sense into that chrome dome of yours. My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière!" Her words left both the man and the girl beside her in a state of shock. The man, for the sheer audacity with which she addressed him, and the girl, because...

"That can't be! I'm Louise!" the girl protested vehemently.

"No, shit," Louise muttered, regarding her younger self with an impatient expression. "I kind of figured that out, you idiot. I mean, look at you; you resemble the younger me. Did it even cross that brain of yours why I look somewhat like Karin, or are you truly such a Zero that you didn't even think of that?" Witch Louise knew precisely which buttons to push when dealing with her younger self. After all, they were the same person, except that her younger self had summoned a familiar. The younger Louise was about to retort, but Louise waved her hand, turning her lips into a zipper effectively sealing her lips shut. "There, now I don't have to listen to your annoying buzzing."

It was at this moment that the middle-aged man finally managed to snap out of the emotional turmoil he had undergone. "I'm sorry, but this is going to be confusing. Do you have another name we can call you by?" he inquired, his gaze shifting between the two Louises. He tried to ignore the fact that Louise seemed to be attempting to say something.

"I suppose you can call me by the name the villagers on the outskirts of my swamp used," she replied, her tone somewhat more cooperative. "Mireille Françoise Le Vert des Marais, a title bestowed upon me by the queen herself." She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Just call me Vert, alright? The name Mireille makes my skin crawl."

"Of course, Vert. Now, I must ask how this situation came to pass, but I believe we can address that tomorrow," the man suggested. Vert nodded in agreement, glancing over at her younger self. "Would you please undo whatever spell you've used?" he requested, his voice tinged with urgency. He didn't need an incident where Louise wrote a letter to her mother, and he had a strange feeling that if Vert and Karin ever crossed paths, the school would not survive their confrontation.

"I suppose I have to," Vert said, her tone laden with disappointment. She turned her attention to Louise, who was still struggling to speak. "Listen up, brat. I don't give a damn that you're my younger self. The moment I release this spell, you'd better keep that trap of yours shut, or I'll curse you." Louise froze, her eyes wide with terror. She nodded rapidly in response. Vert waved her hand once more, and Louise's mouth returned to its normal state. She desperately wanted to unleash a barrage of complaints at her older self, but the threat kept her in check.

"Thank you for that. Now, could you please retire to your room? I'm sure you could use some rest," the professor requested, his tone slightly more composed.

"Witches don't sleep, Colbert, or don't need to. But I suppose my idiotic younger self does," Vert remarked with a sigh. She then raised her hand, and a gentle breeze enveloped Louise, lifting her into the air. "Make one sound of complaint, and I swear I'll drop you down the stairs."

As they departed, Colbert watched them, his face contorted in a mixture of confusion and concern. "This year is going to be chaotic, isn't it?" he muttered to himself, sincerely hoping that the students wouldn't provoke Miss Vallière's peculiar familiar.

When the two finally arrived in the room, Vert released the spell, causing Louise to land unceremoniously on the floor. "I want to make this clear right now; we'll be sharing this room. There's no way I'm sleeping on that pile of whatever you've collected," she declared.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I didn't exactly expect to summon a familiar with such a foul mouth, that was also an arrogant, jackass!" Louise retorted heatedly, her face flushing as she realized she had just sworn at her older self. Panic set in as she awaited the inevitable backlash. 'I'm going to be turned into a toad,' she thought.

However, what followed was unexpected. Vert burst into laughter, nearly losing her balance. Once she regained control, a glint of pride sparkled in her eyes. "So, you do have a spine after all," she remarked with a smirk. "Here I was thinking you were one of those leeches that inhabit my swamp. Maybe this won't be as insufferable as I first thought." Vert then proceeded to pick up Louise and undress her before dressing her again. "Now, go to sleep, brat. I'll be back," she instructed.

Louise, feeling utterly bewildered, complied and climbed into bed. Vert left the room, making her way to the site of the familiar summoning ritual. There, she gazed up at the two moons in the night sky, closed her eyes, and connected with the magic of the land. When she reopened her eyes, they glowed with the eerie blue light of mana. "Damn it all, I knew it was too good to be true," she muttered in frustration. "No connection to my swamp... absolute nonsense!" She shouted angrily, then took a deep breath to regain her composure. "Think, Louise. I don't have an endless supply of magic, and if Colbert didn't react to 'Great Witch,' I might not be in the past but another reality," she reasoned aloud, her frustration mounting. "Ugh, whatever. I'll just have to play it by ear." Just as she said this, she heard a gasp and turned to find a familiar face from her world, albeit much younger.

"I-I apologize for disturbing you, Miss Vallière," the maid stammered nervously. However, the eerie smile on Vert's face and her glowing eyes sent chills down the maid's spine.

"Why, Siesta," Vert crooned in a haunting tone, "didn't you know? Miss Vallière is currently fast asleep." Siesta trembled with fear. "Since you've stumbled upon me, I suppose I'll have to escort you back to her chambers." Vert let out a wicked chuckle, and Siesta's face turned a ghostly shade of white. She quickly turned to flee, but before she could get far, a snap of Vert's fingers summoned a wall of thorns in her path. "No running away, dear. Now, put on a brave face and come with me. I absolutely refuse to be the one to clean that brat's soiled garments. You shall be her personal maid. If you dare to flee, I'll have you grazing in a meadow as a sheep in no time. If anyone hassles you about it, just inform me, and I'll take care of the matter." Her warning was clear.

"B-but, Miss... uh," Siesta stammered.

"It's Vert, Siesta," Vert corrected her.

"B-but, Vert, what about my wages?" Siesta was genuinely concerned; she needed the money to send back to her family.

"I'll handle that. Now," Vert said as a gentle breeze lifted Siesta off her feet, "once you've finished worrying, I'd prefer to have you sleep here in Louise's room. You can assist her with dressing in the morning. I have other matters to attend to, but I'll ensure I'm somewhat nearby." With that, she dragged an unwilling Siesta into her younger self's room and firmly closed the door behind them.