"Naive Master, Sly Servant"

"How dare you!"

Another ruckus had started, and Sigmund returned the punch to Lucius. Edmond, on the other hand, regretted that he had taken the guy in. He shook his head and facepalmed as plates and cups were thrown here and there. Both men pushed each other on the furniture, stumbling on the wooden chairs. The Vampire lifted a chair and before he could even launch it, the General's son shoved him into the bar, breaking some of the liquor bottles on display, then the door slammed open.

"Halt! What is this commotion about?!" The ongoing chaos alerted some city guards, who were roaming around. Seeing them bring their swords and spears with them made everyone behave.

Lucius, upon seeing the city guards, raised his hand, "We just had some… misunderstanding."

The city guards recognized the General's son in an instant and saluted to him, "Sir Lucius Goldwine!"

He returned the gesture, "I will pay for the damages, but do not list and report them. I'll take all the blame and explain it to my father."

"Yes, sir!" they approached Edmond afterwards and interviewed him for a while.

Lucius and Sigmund cleaned the mess that they made, and Edmond had decided to fire Sigmund because all he did was to cause trouble. Lucius promised the tavern owner that he would return and pay for the damages. However, for Sigmund, instead of earning money, he even doubled his debt.

"You have nowhere to go," Lucius told Sigmund as he placed the cloth with ice on his face. "Don't be stubborn and just go with your Master."

"Why should I? If I go with her, can she feed me well?" Sigmund also placed the cloth with ice on his bruise.

"I… I'll work on an extra job to feed you… I need to win the Servant Competition, so please cooperate with me, Sigmund… Please, I beg you!" Ivory told the Vampire. She thought about the Servant Competition, and she wanted her family to live a better life.

Lucius interrupted them, "Don't believe in this insolent Servant. If you'd do the Contract Ritual, he doesn't have to be fed anymore. Servants do not feel hunger. He's just making excuses."

"You," Sigmund pointed at Lucius, "Take me in. You look rich."

"No way."

"Think about helping your pitiful friend."

Lucius paused for a moment, but when he imagined how his father might scold him for bringing someone else's Servant home, he shook his head, "I don't want to be disowned by my father by taking in a scoundrel like you. You go home with your Master."

"Uhh… Sorry to disturb you all, but..." Ebleu chimed in with utmost respect. "With just one horse and a small carriage, I can only bring two people with me."

"You two go, I'll just stay here," Sigmund said mischievously, making Ivory shake her head in disapproval.

"It will be hard to find you again," Ivory quickly grabbed her Servant's arm. "I'm not going to let go of you! Please! I need you in the Servant Competition!"

"How about… Master Lucius and I will return to Megalia City, while the two of you find a temporary place to stay?" Ebleu suggested.

Lucius almost disagreed, thinking about his distrust in Ivory's Servant, but on the other hand, this will be a good opportunity for them to bond. Hoping Sigmund's stone heart to open up to his Master, Lucius gave them a bag of silver coins for them to spend.

"You can afford two rooms with this amount, Ivory. See you at the academy," he told her before he went off with Ebleu on the carriage.

Ivory bid her goodbye to her friend and to the coachman. The two of them walked around Betania City inquiring in taverns and inns, searching for vacant rooms for them to stay. Unfortunately, in every place where they asked, there were no more available rooms.

Left with nowhere to go, Ivory and Sigmund returned to Edmond's tavern hoping for an accommodation, but there was only one room available. Tired and sleepy, Ivory decided to take the room, while Sigmund had been uttering his concerns when they arrived inside with only one wide bed, obviously for couples.

"You're really stupid," Sigmund hissed as he sat down on the bed. "I don't know if you're stupid or… you just want to take advantage of me."

"Wow, you're so full of yourself," Ivory rolled her eyes. She then looked around the room, searching for something. She noticed the thick rope beside the window, which looked like it was used to escape the tavern. She quickly took it and grabbed Sigmund's arm.

"What are you doing?" the Vampire acted as if he was confused, but basing on how she tied him, he knew he would easily get it off.

"You might escape, so…" she murmured as if she's an expert.

"What a stupid woman. You don't even know how to do a simple knot," Sigmund smirked, shoving her hands away and pushing her onto the bed.

"Sigmund??" she held the rope tightly, but froze as they shared stares in the quiet room; her Servant on top of her.

"How can I have a stupid Master like you?"

"Get off me and stop staring-" she tried to look away, but Sigmund cupped her chin.

"Just because I am your Servant, it doesn't mean that you should lower your guard, lady. I'm still a man. Especially now, without a Contract Ritual, I am only a mortal with fangs."

Ivory was at loss for words as she felt the weight and the warm body of her Servant. She struggled to get off. Her long, silver hair as well as the sheets turned messy on her every motion, but his hands reached for her wrists, pinning both of her hands near her head.

Sigmund gazed at his new Master. She definitely differed from his previous Master, who's a woman of intelligence and knowledge. If it was his previous Master that he had pinned down, she would have already escaped from his grip by kicking his balls. But it seemed like Ivory didn't want to hurt him in any way. He wondered if it was because she needed him to win the Servant Competition.

Ivory still couldn't look straight to him. He finally released his grip and turned to the other side of the bed. "You don't have to tie me up, I'll willingly go with you tomorrow," Sigmund uttered, his back facing her. Since he's a Servant who's currently a mortal, he could still feel the tiredness in his body.

Ivory, still feeling how tight his grip was, couldn't move and stared at the wooden ceiling. With the rope on her hands, she wondered how she could properly tame her Vampire Servant in the following days.

The next day, Ivory went to the Academy wearing the same clothes she wore the previous day while Sigmund was still wearing a tavern server's uniform, turning his mood sour.

"I thought you had extra clothes with you. This doesn't suit my awesomeness you know," Sigmund whispered at his Master. "Tell your friend to switch his clothes with mine."

She shook her head, "Your situation is better than mine. Look, these are the clothes I wore yesterday. Who knows what kind of rumors will circulate again."

Everyone was so shocked to see Ivory going inside the classroom with her Servant. As usual, her classmates talked about her.

"Poor girl, she must have searched all night for him. She looked like she didn't come home."

"Oh my. She's such a country bumpkin. Her style is so bad."

"What's that smell? I'm gonna puke!"

"She smells like booze...did she get drunk last night?"

"What an untidy appearance."

"I pity the Servant, having a loser as his Master."

Nobody talked about Sigmund wearing a server's outfit since their eyes were all on Ivory. When the students heard about Ivory summoning a rare Vampire Servant, she was already the talk of the academy. They all got curious and had high expectations about her, but seeing her from a low-class family, plus her Servant rejecting her on the day of the Summoning ritual, shattered all the good images of her.

Sigmund refused to sit on the wooden chair beside Ivory. Instead, he sat comfortably on the window stool.

"Good Wednesday, students," Educator Alphonse greeted the class. He noticed that Ivory had already gotten back her Servant. He smiled at them before continuing, "Today, I have an activity prepared for everyone. First, look for a pair."

Ivory searched for Lucius, but he was not yet around. She was worried that he might have been scolded by his father after seeing his bruises from last night's brawl.

"Can I pair up with you?" a sweet smile was displayed on her classmate's face. "I am Arcea Knightwing, and this is my Servant, Minxy." Her Servant is a fox golem, which rested on her shoulder. Golems are so heavy that they might break the building's floors, thus when inactive or out of battle, they turn into a tiny version of themselves.

"Ah, I'm Ivory Sprucemint, and he's Sigmund," the two girls shook hands. Sigmund was uninterested in their conversation that he only sat on the window while staring outside.

"Now that everyone had pairs, I will explain what you will all do in today's Tactics Class," Educator Alphonse then dragged a box from his feet and placed it on top of the table. He took out one of the thin boards, with black and white checkered patterns on it,

"You will all play checkers."