r/HFY • u/SharpWatch1014 • 2d ago
OC-Series Reborn as a witch in another world [slice of life, isekai] (ch.142)
Blurb:
What does it take to turn your life around? Death, of course!
I died in this lame ass world of ours and woke up in a completely new one. I had a new name, a new face and a new body. This was my second chance to live a better life than the previous one.
But goddamn it, why did I have to be a witch? Now I don't just have to be on the run from the Inquisition that wants to burn me and my friends. But I also have to earn a living?
Follow Elsa Grimly as she:
--
Chapter 142. Compromise
The bottom nearly fell out of my stomach the moment Lenora uttered those words. I wanted to rush down the stairs but that would've shown them how much their presence bothered me. That was exactly why they were here afterall. To strike some kind of fear into me. I couldn't let them feel like their tactic had worked. So I straightened my back, steadied my breath and walked downstairs.
Anisa and Roderick Malcolm were in my living room. Their jet black hair shined even inside the house with the curtains down and their eyes were alive with mischief and curiosity like a child's eyes. Roderick wore a velvet jacket and leather britches. Anisa was dressed in a white shirt, tucked inside khaki pants with knee length boots that hunters wore and her hands were hidden inside cotton gloves.
They both were kneeling around the coffee table while Eudorn stood and showed them his drawings. The little boy giggled as they praised his art. The sight made me clench my fists.
The Malcolms were exiles of heaven. According to their own story, they had been banished by their father because he didn't want them to have the kind of powers he had. In retaliation, they had decided to open the gates to heaven to mortals. Technically, the gates weren't safe for anyone to enter yet. That was why they had hired me. So I could lift the curses off the gates to every domain in heaven that was connected to my world. So anyone who wanted to enter could enter freely and steal whatever they wanted from the gods.
‘Hired’ was putting it politely though. They had arranged it so that I wouldn't have any other choice but to sign a contract with them, agreeing to do the job for them. I guess it went without saying I didn't exactly have a very pleasant opinion of the angels.
Seeing them in my house, acting friendly with Eudorn boiled my blood in a way few other things did. I still kept my face unreadable. “Good afternoon to you too,” I said loudly, my voice cutting through the manufactured merriness of the room like a saber through silk.
The siblings looked up. The curiosity and mischief from earlier still flickering brightly in their eyes. “Elsa, isn't it nice to see you?” Anisa said.
“You look as lovely as ever,” Roderick said.
“You too,” I answered. I would’ve preferred saying ‘fuck off’ but well, they were in my house with my friends. And I still wasn't completely aware of what they were capable of when it came to blows.
Anisa tilted her head. “You sound stressed, Elsa. Aren’t you sleeping well?”
“Are you prone to obsessive work habits like your Madam?” Roderick said.
“No, I'm good,” I said. “I just didn't…expect to see you here. In my home.”
The siblings rose to their feet together. The movement was so graceful and coordinated they looked almost inhuman. “Didn't mean to catch you off guard,” Roderick said.
Right. I held back a scoff.
“And we wanted to see your new housemates,” Anisa said, idly walking up to a wall and moving her gaze over the generic artwork hanging there. It had come with the house when we registered. “We met Lily last time. Asmod and Smokewell, we already know.”
“But where is the knight who survived the battle against Vargstronds alone?” Roderick said.
“And where is the sweet boy's father?” Anisa strode back to Eudorn, ruffling the child's hair. “The only male witch of Ravenwind.”
“And are the Radcliff's stopping by today?” Roderick said, folding his arms.
“They are your business partners besides being your friends, right?” Anisa said.
“They are just business partners,” I said.
“Oh, right,” Roderick said.
The casualness of his answer made me clench my jaw. He sounded like someone who was only pretending to not see the whole picture.
“So, what brought you here?” I said as I vaguely gestured to Lenora to pull Eudorn aside. She did so without missing a beat.
Anisa shrugged. “Oh, we were out for a ride.”
“And we remembered our friend, Elsa, lives in the Ashmeadows,” Roderick added.
“And the house looked different today,” Anisa said.
I arched an eye brow. “Different?”
“You know, like a big family lived here,” Roderick said, smiling at the coat rack that held double the number of coats it usually did.
“And a house like that only looks a lot more noticeable when so many strong people are living there,” Anisa said.
“Like a bonfire in the forest,” Roderick added.
“But, we'll get going now,” Anisa said.
“We would've liked to stay for tea but we have other business to attend to,” Roderick said.
“Let your friends know we asked about them,” Anisa said.
“Take care, young witch,” they both said in unison. Somehow that made it sound like a threat.
They were just about to step out when Roderick turned around and said, “We also wanted to let you know that the war with the Ordanth Republic has been escalating. We would like you to fulfill the terms of your contract before things get more dire for our little Land of Humans.”
Then they finally walked out. I released the breath that I'd been holding. I turned to Lenora and asked, “What the hell is the Ordash Republic?”
--
The guild members settled around the dining table in the kitchen. Lenora, Caelum (with Eudorn on his lap), Gregory, Lily (with her eyes sleepy), Smokewell at the head and I on the opposite side of her.
“It's the Ordanth Republic,” Lenora said with a sigh. “Not Ordash. Did you sleep through primary geography in school?”
“Lily and I never went to school,” I said. “And I didn’t really memorize the world map I saw in the Noblegate Museum.”
“Either way, why does the Ordart Republish matter now?” Lily said with a sigh.
“And why are we at war with them?” I looked at Gregory.
The old man sighed. “I left the army when humans were still fighting among themselves,” he said. “But as far as I know this particular war wasn't started by humans.”
“And who lives in this Ordart?” Lily said.
“Ordanth, Lily. ‘Anth’ at the end.” Lenora huffed.
“Orcs,” Smokewell said. “The Ordanth Republic is populated by orcs.”
My eyebrows went up. “Wow, so we seem to be in a steadily escalating war against the orcs? Couldn't we find anyone…you know, with less muscles and smaller axes?”
“As Gregory said, the war wasn't started by humans,” Caelum added, idly running his fingers through his son's hair. “It was the orcs who initiated the conflict.”
“Upholding the stereotypes, I see,” I mumbled.
“Pardon?” Gregory said.
“Nothing.” I turned back to Caelum. “And how long has this war been going for?”
The Valish man shrugged. “I believe it was since the Age of Steam Elemental began. When Ravewind opened its doors to the foreign countries.”
“I do know that it was around the same time when humans shook hands with the elves and fairies,” Gregory said, steepling his fingers on the table. “I can't be precise because I wasn't able to get a good newspaper subscription in the forest.”
“It's okay, Mr. Gregory,” Lily said, patting his shoulder. “You don't have to struggle with that here anymore.”
“Okay, can someone who reads the newspaper regularly stand up? Smokewell,” I said.
“Why are you looking at me? I don't read the thing regularly,” the cat said, deadpan.
“I see you taking it to your room everyday.”
“What do you think I wipe my ass with?”
I looked at Lily, “Cats um…do that?”
“Let me just spare you the troubles,” Lenora said, standing up. “Smokewell is a cat sìth. So her habits must be different from regular cats, thus the newspaper.”
“I thought you were volunteering as someone who reads the newspaper regularly,” Gregory said to Lenora.
“Oh, right. Yes, I do that too! I also solve the little puzzles and mazes at the end.” Lenora nodded quickly.
“I want to solve maze too!” Eudorn called out.
“Okay, stop,” I said. “Only one person speaks at a time.” I looked at Lenora. “Tell us what you know about the war?”
“Ordanth has been trying to capture the Karzhaal province since Ravenwind opened the gates to foreign nations in the Age of the Steam Elemental,” she said. “They launched their attack right after the first Peace Summit that Ravenwind hosted to sign peace treaties with other nations while we were advancing.”
“And?” I said. “The orcs didn't appreciate a peace offering?”
“Actually, the news has been quite cagey about why the orcs have it against us,” Lenora said. “Whatever I have read in the papers was just pointing at orcs as prejudiced against us and just…plain barbaric.”
“But are they actually like that?” I asked.
“No way for me to tell since what I know of them is from the papers.” Lenora shrugged. “And our school curriculum didn't focus on foreign nations much. And I have never met an orc in person.”
“Maybe we should visit Ordanth sometime,” Lily said. “I would love to try some orc cuisine.”
“Not a good idea,” Caelum chimed in. “Orcs have banned entry to the human race in their country. The last human who went there never returned.”
“I guess the newspapers calling them prejudiced might have good reasons to say that,” I mused.
“Maybe,” Lenora said. “Ordanth Republic and Veloria had been friendly before the summit but since Veloria and Ravenwind entered a peace treaty, their relationship with Ordanth has become more…ambiguous.”
“Did the Ordanth declare war with them too?” I asked.
“Not yet,” Lenora said.
Silence descended over the room after that and I frowned deeply. So Ravenwind’s war with Ordanth bothered the angels. But why? Me lifting the curses off the dungeons and the war almost had nothing to do with each other. Then why did it matter to them?
I paused. The dungeons and wars being unrelated was only half true. Because I was only seeing the picture from my side. The angels were involved with the war in a way that I wasn't aware of. And with my hands already more than full, I wasn't sure I wanted to dive into figuring out what they were up to just yet.
I looked up. Each pair of eyes in the room was intent upon me. I leaned back in my chair. “So if the curses aren't lifted before the war situation gets more drastic in some way, the angels lose something,” I said.
Smokewell nodded. “Certainly seems like it.”
“That just makes me want to delay the job even more,” I said.
Lily leaned forward and began to speak but I lifted a hand. “I know, I know,” I said. “That's a bad idea because my soul is on the line since I'd signed that stinking contract.”
“But you aren't going to give the angels what they want so easily, are you?” Gregory asked.
“If it was upto me, I wouldn't give them what they want at all,” I said, drumming my fingers on the arm of my chair. “But that's an ideal scenario. We don't live in an ideal world.”
“So? What's your strategy?” Lenora asked.
My hand idly reached for my pentacle amulet. I remained silent for a few seconds as schemes took shape in my mind, weaving and interlocking together like iron chains. Then I looked ahead. “The best strategy is a compromise. We give the angels what they want. But we keep an ace to ourselves. For that, we need to prepare for our dive into the dungeons.” I turned to Lily. “After this meeting is done, you should go with Caelum and see Myrtle and tell her about what happened at the School of Arms. Tell her about your idea of malice transmutation. Ask her if she can whip up something useful for your needs.”
Lily noted the seriousness in my tone and nodded. Then I turned to Lenora, “You'll go and meet Mirabelle at the House of the Rising Sun. Ask her about the list of candidates. How many people she has singled out to recruit into our guild. Gregory, help Lenora and Mira narrow down their list further.”
“Understood,” the knight and Lenora said in unison.
Finally, I turned to Smokewell. “Now that I've reached warlock echelon, I think it's about time you taught me what you were known for.”
The cat stared at me before saying, “You want me to teach you to cleanse a curse?”
I nodded.
“I thought you said you aren't going to give the angels what they want,” the cat said.
“This is the ace I said we will keep to ourselves,” I said.
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