Daily life in another world 「Isekai no Nichijou」

With copious amounts of free time and… dedication?

No, to be honest it was more like I did it because there wasn't anything better to do.

As the days passed I learned more and more from the grimoire Granny gave me.

And with it, came a greatly expanded repertoire of spells, from ordinary but cost-effective cantrips to grand spells that spanned several pages of diagrams.

Whether it was simple or complex ones I learned them all.

…Though actually putting them into practice is a whole other hurdle. At least I got the theory down.

Then after finishing the book I would come back many times to re-read and reminisce on. I started using my free time to practice magic.

Doing so while walking made me hit my face on more than one tree on multiple occasions, but eventually I got around multitasking a little better.

It was a happy coincidence that the hodgepodge of patchwork that I had created with my modified spells actually exist as their own proper versions.

Magic that levitates objects, focused more on weight and precision rather than just propulsion.

Magic that cleans your body with a clever application of other lower level spells I'd known (I was infinitely thankful for Granny and it was the first thing I practiced relentlessly).

Magic that creates a gust of wind, but without the cutting element.

Sadly, there wasn't any fire magic. Most of the spells focused around elemental and practical effects too.

It was around the time after I left the city ruins that I made acquaintances with a pack of wolves.

…

It was during one night when I was just about to go to sleep when I began hearing an odd rustling of grass around me.

Standing up, I saw the glint of eyes in the dark, many of them.

On another time I would be scared shitless, but nothing comes close to the monsters of that forest.

"Hm?" I tilt my head, more curious than anything else.

Danger? Darkness? What are those? Can I eat them?

I can see fine in the dark and even if I'm mauled to near-death I'm pretty sure I won't die horribly.

Maybe something very important inside me broke along the way, but my sense of risk is completely broken. It got worse after training in Daivette, and more so after facing my fears and conquering the damn forest that I never fail to annex a curse word when I refer to it.

"Ooooh!!!"

When I saw the wolves I became elated.

Predators they may be… but—

'They look so fluffy! I never saw a wolf this close before!'

I took a step closer towards them.

The wolves paused, feeling something was deeply off about the creature in front of them.

"Come here! Pspsps…"

It needs to be said: I never had a dog before.

In fact I never formally adopted a pet animal either. Stray cats had a habit of simply showing up one day at my family home and everyone just ended up adopting them because nobody had the heart to kick them out.

I had no idea where to even begin on taming, if that is even possible with wild dogs this size.

But I wouldn't let their ferocious glares and sizes stop me!

Seeing I wasn't doing anything and just crouched there like a dumbass, one wolf lunged forward and bit my hand.

"Ack! No! Bad dog!" I slapped it across the snout and grabbed its jaw firmly.

*whimper*

The same thing happened six more times with different dogs.

"Hm…" I put a finger to my cheek. "They're pretty unruly… I wonder how people even began domesticating dogs in the past?" I wondered out loud.

Around me were the beat and battered forms of the "dogs" in question. Some tried to flee but I dragged them back with a hug.

'It's not animal cruelty… definitely not… I'm just trying to make friends with them!'

"Right! Maybe they'll accept food?"

They did, if only because the terrifying monster kept waving the food on their faces and the wolves were, in fact, hungry.

After a long while, eventually, finally, they were let go and so they fled far away into the darkness.

"Aw… I hoped at least one would stay…"

This cycle repeated itself many times, with other packs of wolves that weren't familiar with her.

One or two even came back for seconds because hey, free food. But then the girl kept touching their fur with obsessive zeal and stared at them for uncomfortable amounts of time unblinking. When they tried to leave she would cling to them annoyingly.

More often than not the encounters ended up with them hurting themselves than anything else. The few that stuck around for longer than usual grew irritated or fled after attempting to eat her more than one time and getting sore bones for it.

The smart ones followed from a long, long distance and ate the leftovers from the girl's own hunts. But otherwise avoided her like plague just like the rest.

——— –– –– -- - -

"Names are labels. Things we give to make the universe small enough to fit in our mouths."

"True Names... They are what a being is, their essence. Birth and death, becoming and unbecoming, beyond the gilded words of the book they are the library itself. Scars, triumphs, sins, virtues. A True Name is past, present, and potential, stacked into a single chant."

…is what Granny warned me of.

Names, whether something borne from their culture or an actual law of the world, hold a special type of meaning.

They are harmless by themselves, but in a sense, they are invocations. They call not to magic or the infinite laws of the world, but to a specific individual being or place.

As such, there are rituals and ways to take advantage of calling forth the abstract weight that a name possesses.

Of course, there are different interpretations of what a true name actually is and whether it is a given name or something one has to discover themselves by coming to an epiphany or exploring the fabrics of reality.

There are names we respond to. Names that encapsulate meaning but don't necessarily hold personal attachment. Names that hold power inside them but don't if you are knowledgeable of its truth.

Just like magic, astrophilosophy, faith, amongst other things. The exact science behind the nature of true names and words of power is as shifting and nebulous as the cited counterparts.

Which is the reason Sedia got berated all the way back then, when she arbitrarily came up with something to call me with neither sense or supervision.

Names aren't just a designation for elves, they are… the ultimate form of expressing self. Like saying "I am—", a name is an anchor, identity, and a large piece of someone's presence. Valued in a way few things are.

Also, It is tenfold more important to elves compared to other races, considering they are much more long lived, and thus a name carries that much more potential, history, and therefore weight.

.

.

.

"..."

"Well, it doesn't really matter if nobody pronounces your name right anyway." I sigh to myself.

——— –– –– -- - -

[Back to the present]

So…

I failed to account for one little detail.

The language I learned was by reading books and practicing with Samyra.

Point number one: The books are four hundred years old.

Point number two: Victorian, the language I learned… Does the country it came from even exist still?

Point number three: Who exactly wrote those books? When in the past is particularly known for its lack of alphabetization?... That's right, nobility and established merchants. Not only does the slang and way of speaking have changed drastically over the time, but the sources I learned from use sophisticated language that is even more far away from what is spoken today.

I groan to myself, covering my face with my hands.

I went in and tried to look cool for my first time meeting new people and…

"Ugh…"

<?> "Miss?... Are you alright?"

It took a moment for me to parse his words. "Yes." I nod.

We went through a troublesome while trying to speak to each other. But eventually after straining my brain I got to understand them… though I can't say that is the same on their side.

Their names are Hobask and Pedle, they were transporting supplies… somewhere I assume is their town, or village… It's where they are living right now. Maybe, probably… I don't know.

I understood maybe three words of what they said, the rest was guesswork and miming.

I… felt it prudent to accompany them.

'It isn't like I'm lonely or anything! They could use my protection!'

——— –– –– -- - -

"So… what'd you say your name is again?" Peddle asks tentatively.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Hark, and lend thine ears unto mine heralding: I am yclept Sყųųʄaཞıŋ"

"...Seyun…fafahrerin?" he coughs out.

"Nay, thou dost falter in thine echoing of mine appellation. 'Tis not as thou didst babble, but rather Sყųųʄaཞıŋ" The woman frowns.

"Seyun…?" Peddle attempts for the nth time.

"Alas…" She sighs. "Very well, let that mangled utterance suffice."

The woman… girl… well she seemed to be of age. But her diminutive stature and soft appearance made her appear much younger than she is.

Hobask wanted to ask how old she was out of curiosity…

He glanced at her staff.

…He could live without knowing that. You don't ask a woman her age after all.

They had gone through a tiring back and forth for the first hour they met, only after lengthy conversation did they only begin to roughly understand what she said.

After deciding to stay the night where they were to make an attempt at repairing their carriage and try and find the horses, she offered to help them with the repairs. The canopy was a lost cause, but a simple cart on wheels is simple enough to make, all they had to do is recover whatever metal components there were and refit pieces of wood where they should go.

A few pieces that not one of them knew where they should fit were left out, but the carriage was standing and could go back and forth, so it would do for now.

"Whoa… Magic sure is amazing."

"Verily, dost thou not concur? The sorceries arcane, I too believe they art wondrous!"

"What are you doing all the way out here in the wilderness? Nobody ever comes around this side of the country."

"Mine heart didst yearn to behold the vast theatre of creation, and thus from the orient's dawn I embarked."

"Ahh..." Pedle made a noise of realization.

"Hmm." Hobask hummed in understanding.

They didn't get it.

At all.

——— –– –– -- - -

[For the author's own sanity. While in Syuufarin's perspective her speech will be normal.]

Being together means spending time with each other.

"Wmphoa! Thish stuff ish sho ghood!" Pedlin exclaimed.

Naturally, I, who was overequipped for this trip, shared.

Hobask had a strangely sour, but pleased face. "I fear for how indebted we will be. This… this is good, but in a city the cost would… be terrifying to say the least."

"Oh… you don't have to worry about it! It's not much, but I'm glad that you enjoyed it." I say timidly.

My presence significantly lifted the comfort of the trip.

Hobask and Pedle, as simple villagers, rarely ever got meat in their diets. Such things are reserved for special occasions and celebrations.

I, who became a moderately skilled hunter that cheats with super senses, am able to sustain a diet with meat in all three meals of the day. It's something I grew to take for granted, though my habits grew healthier after living with elves whether I wanted or not. There was still an abundance of food.

Having such luxurious meals everyday made them question their lives.

I never expected that the first people to taste my cooking would be random strangers. But they were living off these rock hard rations, water, and dried meat… stuff. They aren't that bad but they taste like flavored bricks. On the good side they made for good soup stock.

Pedle points his spoon at me. "I've gotta say, are you suuure you aren't a noble? You eat all prim and proper, speak like that, and are fussy about hygiene."

"...No, I am not." From what they told me nobles aren't far away from the stereotypical image I had. "If I were, I wouldn't be here speaking with you would I?"

"Hah! True, those snobs would never lower themselves to talk with us."

"Pedle… shut your mouth while you eat please." Hobask sighs as he goes for seconds.

——— –– –– -- - -

Fishing is something that I do from time to time. Usually when I have things that there is no way to speed up other than wait, like laundry or making dried meat in the sun.

I don't have a fishing rod, so there isn't really a way to go around it without getting wet.

With magic, I'd tried using water magic to scoop up fish on big scoops of water, but it doesn't work very well. The magic picks up water but doesn't necessarily trap the fish inside a water ball, the fish can swim out and fall back into the river pretty much unimpeded. Since they all get startled by the mass displacement of water they always get away too.

The tried and tested old way of doing it with my own two hands is where I got the best results. You just have to be quick with your hands and get a firm grasp and blam! Fish dinner.

Hobask and Pedle have enough food to last their journey, I catch food more because I'm the one who needs it more than them. I'm not about to mooch off their supplies.

I forage semi-frequently, my luggage can only fit so much stuff inside so I can't do something like stock up for a month's worth of food.

That, and I sort of feel bad for them. I mean, here I am eating scrumptious meals while they only got water and chewy stuff. So we mix and match our things.

I approach Pedle. "Here, fish."

"Oh, thank you! you shouldn't hav— PFFT!!!"

"W-what?!" I jumped, startled.

"I-I-I— Y-Y"

I take a step closer. "Are you okay? What's wrong all of a sudden?"

He brusquely turns around while covering his face. "I can see!"

"See what!?"

"Y-Your clothes!" He gestures widely in my direction.

"What's wrong with my clothes?" I'm very confused. I just went fishing, nothing happened from then to now that is weird. I look at my feet left and right.

Hobask walks towards us "What is all this commotion— *cough* *cough*!!!"

"Huh?... What? you too?" I tilted my head.

"Miss, madam, erm… how should I put this…" Hobask says with a hand covering his eyes while looking skyward. "Your clothes are very wet."

"Yeah? That is what happens when you go inside water."

"By the lords above—" I hear him mutter something through gritted teeth. "Woman! I can see through your clothes! Go get changed for heavens' sake!"

"..." I freeze, mortified, fish still hanging limply on my hands. "E-ehh!!! I-I'll go right away! Sorry!!!" I cover myself, suddenly too self-aware of my own body and blushing hard.

。。。

I avoid eye contact. "I-It's b-been a-a long time since I last was with other people… So I forgot…" I made up an excuse.

The actual truth is that I had completely forgotten that I was a female. It isn't like there's someone to remind you of social norms when you are traveling alone in the middle of the wilderness. So things like that escaped my mind.

Pedle is hiding away somewhere, still embarrassed.

Hobask was still reeling back from how brazen this woman in front of him could be. Granted that she looks very youthful, but with her being a mage and traveling alone he thought she simply looks younger than what she is. Together with her sophisticated speech and manners he estimated that she was some sort of prestigious person from another country.

"You should be more aware of yourself… there are men who would take advantage of this sort of thing you know?" He didn't think that he is in a position to lecture her, they're not that close, but someone has got to say it out loud.

"Ah… I'm strong so you don't need to worry about that!—"

He cuts me off. "I know you're strong! It's a matter of principle!" He covers his face. "Just!— be more mindful, yeah?"

Gods, he didn't have a single clue what to do with this woman— or girl.

——— –– –– -- - -

I sigh "Looks like we won't get the help of a horse after all."

"What?" Pedle asks beside me.

"Ho-r-se. De-a-d." I speak slowly and loudly, spelling my words.

"Oh."

Hobask sighed. "We're going to have to pull the wagon by hand."

"May I help?"

"No, no. I can't possibly demand something like this from our benefactor." He bowed.

Pedle hid a snortle on the side. Seeing him behave so reverently is hilarious. The man is usually a prick to him.

"You sure? I don't mind helping at all, and I'm stronger than I look."

"I insist."

"Okay…"

He and Pedle began slowly pulling the cart by the front.

Sneakily, I cast a small levitation magic just enough to fool them into not thinking anything is wrong while still lessening their burden.

"So…" I begin with hands outstretched behind my back, leaning in beside them. "What are you delivering?"

We warmed up to each other quickly enough, well, at least I did. Being polite, saving their skin, and knowing that should the situation arise I am stronger than then reassured me that I could approach them safely.

I thought that I would take much, much longer to talk to strangers so easily. My social skills have been atrophying for a long time now. (Daivette doesn't count because everyone there acts like one big family.) I know myself, and I am a hopeless anti-social introvert with several issues and low self-esteem… At least I used to be one, nowadays…

'I changed a lot… haven't I?'

I became braver, or maybe I just lack my old inhibitions… either way. I don't shy away from things as much as I used to.

I am curious. Not about them specifically, but their lives, their history, their world, the places they have been to and their country. It's all new and interesting things to me. And I want to get to know their culture too.

So I tried to strike up a conversation.

Hobask and Pedle look at each other for a moment.

"I can't do this anymore!" Pedle half laughed and cried. "Can you translate, please?"

"She… asked what we are transporting…"

"...Oh. Should we?..."

'They are whispering to each other… but I'm right here though? I can hear you, you know?' I tilt my head.

"It's not as if we can hide it… Either way, from what she told us I don't think she is affiliated with anyone."

"Do you think we can bring her in? She's a mage."

"...Maybe, but that's not my call to make."

"But!— You know she…"

They go back and forth, arguing about something in vague terms.

"If telling me will land you in trouble I don't mind." I say.

Though I would try to peek inside later if they didn't.

Hobask grimaces, then shakes his head.

"No?"

"No—"

"Aw…"

"No! I mean— Yes. I'll tell you, but it's… complicated." He offers.

"They are weapons."

"...Huh?" My brain starts rebooting.

"Pedle! I swear I will shove your own foot up your mouth!—" He raises his hand… but stops.

Hobask huffs, lowering his hand. "Well, it wouldn't be a secret for long…"

He turns to me with a grim and serious face.

"Yes, we are delivering a cache of weapons, you don't need to know why, or to whom. We are grateful for your help, truly, but now that you know…" He trails off.

"Wait, wait, wait! Come on man, no need for that!" Peddle pleads.

"We can't have anyone knowing about it. If this spreads, it's our own heads that will be rolling!"

"W-what happened to persuading her to join us?! Why are you jumping to that violent conclusion all of a sudden?"

I look back and forth between them. The atmosphere suddenly turned heavy.

"I have to make this clear…I don't know what you are talking about. I'll admit that I worry. But there is no reason for us to fight right?"

Hobask begins palming the sheath of his blade contemplatively. "We… this…" He sighs. "You're a good person. But what we are doing here… It can't be discovered no matter what."

He looks at me strangely for a moment. Peddle has both hands gripping his arm.

Hobask grimaces. "Tell me. What do you know of the Caseisdo dominion?"

I reply straight faced. "I didn't even know this place was called Caseisdo."

…

He gave a long, blank look.

"I… How…" What— Where in the world was this woman from? Was she living under a rock?! Hobask thought to himself, after deciphering the eccentric speech.

Moreso, what the hell is this woman doing? Walking around not even knowing what damn country she is in?!

A rising headache began to hammer his brain.

"Nevermind I won't ask." He squeezed the brow of his nose. "Well, we are going to need to sit down for this."

…

We all shuffle around to get comfortable.

"We aren't all that special, I was just a village boy. Sometimes I was a farmer, other times I was a shepherd. Nothing too complicated, just simple."

"I used to be a smith's helper… The prick never taught me anything though. But I lived well enough just by ferrying things around."

"But…" Hobask began.

Pedle finished "...yeah." he nodded to Hobask.

They share a moment of silence.

"What happened?"

"Everything happened." Hobask bites out with anger.

"We weren't even from the same town, but the story's the same wherever you go."

"A battalion of men calling themselves "the King's army" invades our homes, and forces the men and young to leave with them. And if we refuse? They call us traitors, and ask for "compensation"." He spits on the ground "No better than bandits."

"If the people went willingly, there would not be enough hands to take care of the pastures, the orchards, not even to defend the village. We needed to stay. Going with them was tantamount to leaving our families to die, either of poverty or by roaming bandits."

"We have been doing just fine without them, they were never there when we needed them. And then now of all times they begin demanding more out of us?!"

Peddle pats his back. "It wasn't the first time, many people believe that joining the army and rising to be a knight are great things to do— and there is some truth to that. But these past years grew more and more rotten, if not for Haldir I fear what fate had in store for us."

。。。

Hobask gave me a long and thorough explanation of the geopolitical climate of the country I find myself in.

As detailed as he could manage as a simple "peasant"… He isn't completely ignorant, but he only knows his side of the story.

He and Pedle are part of a liberation army led by a man known as Haldir.

For long generations, the people of Caseisdo have been mistreated and exploited by their rulers. Political instability, nepotism, abuse of power, amongst other things led to widespread dissatisfaction amongst the populace. But Haldir, leading the liberation army that grows stronger and numerous by the day, promises that if they take down the head of the country, the king, they shall live in poverty no longer.

Their campaign has been going on for two years already, though their own numbers are small in comparison to the enemy forces, they persevered with cunning and pillaging the villages they passed through.

Such a goal however needs time, resources, and men. They built an encampment far outside the borders of the kingdom, which is why the pair of men are transporting weaponry through this place in the middle of nowhere.

Of course, the language Hobask used was much more flowery and his allegiance made his story clearly biased.

I recoil. 'This… ugh… what the hell.' All of this leaves a bitter state in my mouth.

The worst thing is that if I didn't know better, I would be half-convinced that it would be worth it to join their little band. If I were a clueless villager or simple-minded person there would be no telling what the full picture is.

Hobask did not lie. And that is what makes it so much more scary.

From what I understood, yes, there are dangerous things happening and the administration isn't doing very well.

But… this "liberation army" feels fishy. The goals and the doctrine may seem righteous, but from what he told me they don't seem to be anything more than a group of bandits hiding under a fancy cause.

These weapons are going to be used to kill.

This is war. That I stumbled upon.

But… Hobask and Pedle don't look like bad people. Rough around the edges, they are honest, they laugh and have a sense of comradery.

'I… I don't want to think of them like that. They're good people, right?'

I told myself that what I heard was wrong. Surely these people aren't that sort of violent extremists.

Maybe there was something hidden underneath all of this.

——— –– –– -- - -

"Mark well these words: though mine heart holdeth fond regard for thee twain, yet I shall not entwine mine fate within the bloody skein of this war." Her tone was distant and melancholic.

Hobask nodded with a forlorn grin. "No truer words spoken."

The woman tapped her arm, her staff resting between her arm and torso.

"Lo, the truth thou hast unveiled is a visage most unsightly; yet, for this present hour, I shall cast mine allegiance with thee, if but to sate the restless flame of mine own curiosity—and in token of goodwill's noble spirit. So that mine eyes shall discern the verity of this matter."

She sighed. "I do abhor such serpentine dealings. The venomous machinations of polity art so very distasteful."

Pedle slowly with a distant look in his eyes, and then pointedly turned to look at Hobask as if pleading for something.

He gave entirely up on trying to understand this lady.

"She…" He takes a minute. "She says she'll join us, but only because she sees us as friends and wants to see what it is all about. She didn't promise anything though."

"Phew! So… we don't have to try to kill her?"

Both "Seyun" and Hobask turned to Pedle with a stupefied look.

She coughed awkwardly to the side. "Aye, the gravity of this plight is not lost upon mine understanding; yet thou art wondrously forthright in thy heralding of it, I see that subtlety eludes you."

"Pedle! I swear—" Hobask's face angrily contorts into something ugly. "Did your mother jump around whilst pregnant?!"

"Ha! Pay no heed, for I take no umbrage with his jests. Verily, honesty is a virtue." She pauses for a moment. "Also, he amuses me."

Peddle tries to assuage him "Look. Don't get me wrong Hobask, but she's a mage, and you saw that she's got the moves. We don't have a chance against her. Mages pack magic giant punches, and this miss also does that literally. I don't think I ever saw someone jump like that in my life."

"That doesn't mean you can just—!"

"Also, what happened to the respectful way you were talking? Where'd that go huh?" Pedle says with a knowing smirk.

A glint appears on the woman's eyes, she smiles too. "By my troth! For what cause hast thou cast aside the vestments of formality?" She acts like she is shocked about it, but her shoulders are trembling and she is hiding her mouth with her hand.

"You!— She!— Argh!" Hobask lunges for Pedle, who was laughing unguiltily.

Syuufarin arrived during dark times, but maybe even then, there is light to be found.

——— –– –– -- - -