The Thirsty Girl's Guide To Summoning (Fate/Isekai)

Chapter 36

Ren and her companions spent almost an hour wandering around the campus, inspecting the strange and wondrous sites of a magical college, before Astolfo cheerfully admitted he didn't actually know where Jack was and why didn't he ask the Master of Raven Tower?

The summoned ball of foxfire didn't help the atmosphere when Jonathan said, "What? You're all the way over here? No wonder there's—well, come along." They followed the foxfire back to the other side of the sprawling campus to one of the long four-story dormitories, where a loose clump of people had gathered to watch something that clearly concerned them.

The something turned out to be a young man with blond hair and a stressed smile plastered across his face trying to catch Jack with his school jacket. Jack had lost her overcoat somewhere and her underlying garb of vest and panties seemed to worry most of the observers. Murmurs of "That poor child," and "What did he do to her?" and "Should we tell the dean?" and, most curiously, "Oh, Flat, what have you done now?"

Meanwhile, Jack, looking like a confused but desperate cat, darted away from the blond man as he tried to drop the coat over her. She seemed attached to the dormitory, however, because she didn't flee through the observers but only stopped out of the man's reach.

"Come on," said the blond man, speaking through gritted teeth. "You've got to be cold like that, right?"

"Nuh-uh," said Jack, looking around nervously. Her gaze passed over Ren without a flicker of recognition, and Ren's heart sank.

Hyde chortled. "Who's the pretty boy?"

Astolfo only shrugged, putting his hands on his hips, but the ball of foxfire barked, "Flat!" Everybody present reacted as if electrified. The crowd immediately scattered and Flat jumped and then cowered.

"Master! I was just trying to get some clothes on her!"

"Leave the Servant alone, Flat," said Jonathan's voice severely.

Sulkily, Flat said, "Easy for you to say, you're not going to be punished by a swarm of girls if she gets harassed by some pervert."

With a snort of laughter, Hyde said, "What do you think you are, kid?"

Ren crouched down to look at Jack. The child stared back at her uncertainly.

"Where are your knives, Jack?"

"Here," she said, and moved her hand to show one of the four she habitually armed herself with. "Who are you?"

Instinct, and the dreamike memory of what had happened when she'd told an enchanted Cú she was his Master, made Ren hedge around that question. "A friend. Why are you out here all alone?"

Jack scowled and looked away, as if she'd decided to ignore Ren. But then she stole a glance at her and blurted, "Too noisy inside. Too many rich ladies squabbling and we're not supposed to kill them. Ritsu said we could play outside as long as we stayed near the building."

Bitterly, Flat said, "They collared me and told me to keep an eye on her until they were done." He then added, "Which I wouldn't have minded at all except she's practically naked."

"Ritsu?" Ren glanced up at the looming dormitory.

"Ah," said the ball of foxfire softly. "The little one almost instantly rejected her assigned Master, imprinting on Ritsu instead."

Unable to resist indulging a morbid curiousity, Ren asked, "Did anybody die?"

The foxfire bobbed up and down in a shrug-like movement. "The students are volunteers and only their reflections are present within the ritual space."