Tsubaki paused for a moment before he continued. "Your skill in Fire Magic has always been unpredictable and haphazard, Hiiraga-kun, yet you preformed a low-mid ranked spell almost perfectly during your Trial of Fire. After consultation with the Academy Fire Master and the Grandmaster, you have been deemed skilled enough in the Discipline of Fire to pass. It is however recommended that you maintain the somewhat…zealous training regimen that you currently undergo, in order to maintain your control."
A murmur of disbelief ran around the hall at the Ice Master's words and Saito had no illusions as to why. An abrupt gesture from the Grandmaster silenced the chatter, which allowed Tsubaki-sensei to announce Saito's (admittedly mediocre) academic scores and marginally above-average Shikigamijutsu score.
As Tsubaki rejoined the other teachers, The elderly Grandmaster shuffled forward.
"After some debate, the Masters have concluded unanimously that all five Apprentices are to be elevated to the rank of Junior Adept in the Imperial Ministry of Onmyōji!" He announced with a small smile.
He made no effort to try and quell the cheer that filled the hall at his announcement.
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The Room of Louise de la Vallière, Tristain Magic Academy
Louise sat on her bed and glowered at the floor. 'I am not crying, I merely have something in my eyes, that's all!' Is what she would have insisted to anyone who had been present.
Not that anyone was there, or would bother visiting 'The Zero'.
Louise dashed her tears away angrily and thought back to the aftermath of her -latest- magical screw-up. She had not been blamed for it happening, as Miss Chevreuse had been told not to choose her for any magical demonstrations due to the spectacular failures that had happened in the past.
After Old Osmand, the headmaster of the Academy, had once again cautioned her not to use magic around others ('What am I, a pistol?' She thought bitterly) until she didn't blow things up with every spell, she had encountered Kirche, along with two of her friends, Tabitha, a Gallian, and Montmorency Margarita 'La Fère' de Montmorency, as she made her way to her chambers.
Tabitha was a slightly built girl with short blue hair and red-rimmed glasses. She was one of the few girls Louise's age that had a smaller bust than she did. She was very quiet, rarely speaking more words than were necessary to get her point across, and was always reading one book or another. Her mastery of wind and ice magic earned her the runic name 'La Tempête de Neige (The Snowstorm).
Montmorency had long blond hair styled into ringlets. She was an expert when it came to potions, so much so her runic name, La Fère (The Fragrance) alluded to it. Montmorency had a long-term boyfriend, but from what Louise heard, he cheated on her almost religiously. She had often wondered if the blond-haired girl was a sadist as she almost seemed ecstatic whenever she beat her boyfriend up after she discovered his latest girl on the side.
"Yet another trip to detention, Zero?" Kirche had asked archly. She had been on Louise's case from day one because of the rivalry between their families. Things had gotten worse after Louise had shown her magical aptitude or, rather, her lack of thereof.
Louise had, rather calmly, rebuffed the accusation and informed the redhead of the headmaster's ruling on the subject, which had prompted both Kirche and Montmorency to erupt into gales of laughter, followed by more teasing and mocking.
Things had really come to a head when Kirche wondered aloud, "I wonder what kind of Familiar you'll summon tomorrow. Or if you'll even be able to summon one at all!"
That had been the very last straw.
Louise had lost her temper and declared that the spell Summon Servant was the one spell that she had absolute confidence in. In a fit of childish pique, she had further declared that her familiar would far outstrip anything that Kirche or Montmorency could summon. Louise had stomped off, leaving Kirche and Montmorency perturbed and Tabitha indifferent.
'Of all the things to say, just why did I have to say all that?!' Louise thought morosely, 'If things go as they usually do tomorrow, Kirche and Montmorency will never let me live it down!'
Biting her lip, she stood and walked over to her bookcase, which was crammed with various treatises on magical theory and its application from various countries, although a fair number of them were from Tristain. Running her finger across the spines of the books, Louise smiled crookedly. She had bought all of these in an effort to cast a spell without it blowing up on her.
As of yet, it hadn't worked, but she was convinced that the last few explosions had gotten somewhat smaller. Progress was small, but palpable.
Finding the volume she sought, Louise slid the book from the shelf and sat at her desk. Paging through it, she found the page she was looking for…the Summoning Spell: Summon Servant.
All second years are required to summon a Familiar in order to advance to the next stage in their training. In addition, the type of Familiar summoned usually confirmed the Summoner's primary element and thus the element they should focus on learning first.
For those, like Louise, who had no clue as to her primary magic affinity, the Summon Servant spell would confirm it beyond all doubt.
Louise had memorised the spell weeks ago and she was surprised at how simple it was, considering what the spell did. 'Summon Servant' reached across the world and brought forth the one being that was the most suited for the Mage performing the summoning, and bound them together for life.