Somehow, Living Life in Another World is Wrong, as I Expected Ch. 12.2 (Patreon)

Forgetfulness is such a human concept that no one is ever immune to it. Some may blame age, some may blame genetics. Neither are completely true, and neither are completely false. The deterioration of one’s mental faculties can very much be attributed to aging, and inbreeding has been shown to produce offspring that are…not all that there to put it mildly.

What people fail to remember, ironically enough, is one other reason: the brain can only retain so much information. You are physically incapable of remembering every moment of your life - bar those with photographic memory, which I’m of the opinion doesn’t actually exist without some magic involved. In this sense, people only truly remember things when they are of grave importance.

Grave importance, of course, is determined by how important they are at that moment.

You forget the contents of dreams because they aren’t important the moment you wake up. They are nothing more than overactive imaginations brought about by your brain during a certain period when you’re asleep.

Similarly, minor things can occur. Have you forgotten that you were holding something in your hand and then started to look around for it? I have. Many times, in fact. And I can tell you why.

In between holding that thing in your hand and when you forgot about it, something else distracted you. Maybe your sister started to talk to you. Maybe your clubmate insulted your reading preferences. Whatever the case, in that single instant, you subconsciously shifted the importance of the thing in your hand to be negligible compared to what distracted you.

For me, this happens all the time, to the point where it doesn’t even phase me.

Normally, at least.

Because holy shit, how the fuck did I manage to forget about that lunatic of a woman named Granhiert?!

…

Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do. Ever since I had punted her down the mansion, she hadn’t shown her face. It was very likely that she had fled, though it was also likely that they were waiting to ambush us. Well, good luck with that! I’m not stepping foot in that place until I was certain I wasn’t going to get stabbed.

Barielle and Aldebaran can take care of her. I’m only going to be helping a loli baba trap one of the Great Mabeasts. 

…I hate the fact that I would rather face an endless tide of carnivorous rabbits than Granhiert.

At any rate, I crossed the portal’s threshold, and was immediately assaulted by the cold. We had arrived at the front of some sort of temple made of stone. Despite the snow, I could clearly see the wear on the stone, as well as clumps of moss that had stubbornly clung to it.

“Right! Looks like we’re still a bit early, so we’ve got time to set up the trap.” Natsuki pumped his fist upward, “Felt, Crusch-san, the Rabbit should be coming in from that-”

His words were cut off as a massive shadow appeared in the distance. My heart hammered in my chest as the thought of maybe, just maybe, the Black Serpent was also here. But no, it wasn’t. Even as I stared at the giant Great Spirit of Fire rubbing his head in embarrassment, I couldn’t help but stare.

“Bubby…?” Indeed, Puck was now the size of a kaiju, and yet still retained the look of a bipedal cat thing. Of course, it only lasted a second. In the middle of Puck speaking words we couldn’t hear over the distance, a massive spear of fire erupted from the ground.

It instantly seared through the Great Spirit of Fire, leading up to the sky above. I swear, the power packed in that thing was enough that I could feel the heat at this distance. The giant body disintegrated, as if it wasn’t there at all.

Besides Puck himself, there was only one other person that could have done that.

Mathers.

“That scared the crap out of me…” Natsuki muttered before shaking his head, “Nevermind! It’s all part of Rem and Ram’s mission, so I’m just gonna ignore it! Like I was saying, the Rabbits should be coming in that direction, so could you guys start checking there?” He said while gesturing towards a section of the forest.

“Should we not assist the maids?” Karsten was as prudent as ever, holding her sword with a frown.

“Ehhh.” Natsuki gestured with a wave of his hand, “We could, but it’s more of a pride thing with them. Besides, I trust that they’ll be able to destroy Roswaal’s Book of Wisdom anyway.”

What do you mean Book of Wisdom?!

Karsten and Romanée-Conti both looked like they wanted to say something, same as me. Both of them kept quiet though, seeing as there were more pressing issues to be dealt with. I suspect that Karsten at the very least was going to interrogate Natsuki after this is all over. 

Seeing no more questions, Natsuki continued.

“You two, get started on the trap.” He nodded to Romanée-Conti and Garf - I really needed to get his actual name, now that I think about it, ”Old Man Rom, you’re with me, we’re gonna need to get the villagers to safety in case some of the Rabbits split off from the horde. Beako, I know you need some time to prepare Al Shamak, so get started. Hikigaya, you know what to do!”

…Well, he at least knows how to delegate tasks. I sighed even as everyone accepted their tasks easily enough. I didn’t have much to do, not until Beatrice needed me. Especially since I wasn’t at full after the fight with Lugunica, I wanted to at least get a minute of respite. To that end, I decided to check out the temple in front of me.

I wasn’t much for history back in my world, but the history of this world may as well be fiction for someone like me.

Still, I have to wonder why I was the only one that-

…

…

…

…

YOU HAVE BEEN CORDIALLY INVITED 

TO A WITCH’S TEA PARTY

…

…

…

…

I found myself under a bright blue sky, an azure so crisp and unblemished it looked entirely synthetic. A soft, temperate breeze tickled my skin, carrying the faint, sweet scent of grass and wildflowers. In front of me stretched rolling green hills that one would only find in a masterpiece oil painting. The blades of grass shifted in perfect, rhythmic synchronization with the wind, swaying like a manicured emerald sea.

Paradise.

A scene straight out of a textbook chivalric romance. A tranquil, endless pasture where a sword-addled fool and the King of Knights would have found each other at the end of a long, bloody dream. A place of absolute peace, completely divorced from the grime, sweat, and terror of the real world. No worries, no rampaging Great Mabeasts, no impending stabs in the back. Only a sickeningly perfect serenity.

And that was exactly why my instincts were screaming at me to run.

My hand instinctively twitched, reaching out to grasp the familiar, invisible fabric of space.

Nothing.

My gate wouldn’t respond. No magical energy flowed through me, try as much as I wanted. I tried earth magic, nothing. Yang, nothing as well.

I was trapped.

“Are you done with that little display of yours?”

The stillness of my thoughts were broken by the sound of an amused voice. I hadn’t turned. Something in my bones told me that turning around would have me met with a sight I would not forget. For ill or not, I didn’t want that.

The female voice sounded once more, “Come now, surely I couldn’t be so hideous that you refuse to look at me? After all the effort I put in to meet you here?”

I stubbornly refused. I needed to figure out how to get out of here. No access to magic means that I wouldn’t be able to fight whoever put me here. Clearly, this place is artificial, so literally running for the hills would probably get me nowhere. Knock myself out by holding my breath? Whoever brought me here - the woman that was talking - wanted me alive, so knocking myself out might give me enough time for Karsten, or Natsuki, or whoever to find and rescue me.

And then I found myself sitting down at a table.

“There! Isn’t this better?”

Right in front of me sat an elegant, pristine tea set. A set of biscuits were laid out along with a steaming cup of tea. I tried to keep my eyes downward, to not see who my ‘host’ was, but it was to no avail. Already, I had instinctively looked up to see the features of the woman that had kidnapped me.

Beautiful.

Otherworldly.

Those were the only words my panicked brain could immediately supply. And yet, even they felt woefully inadequate for the entity sitting across from me.

She was a breathtaking study in absolute, unapologetic contrast.

Her hair was a cascading waterfall of pure, unblemished white, so blindingly pale that it seemed to absorb the artificial sunlight of this synthetic paradise. It fell past her shoulders in a long, elegant mess, framing a face that was impossibly fair. Her skin possessed the flawless, fragile translucency of expensive porcelain, lacking even the faintest hint of a human flush. Her eyes were pitch black. Not the dark brown that people often mistake for black, but a deep, endless obsidian. From them, I could see a bottomless well of intellect and pure want.

Beyond that, her smile reminded me of someone I already knew.

“Now, now. No need to look so terribly on edge.” Her smile never faltered as she spoke, “Why don’t you have a drink? This is a tea party, after all.”

“Let me out of here. Now.” I demanded. There was no hiding the contempt, nor did I put any effort into doing so. 

The woman’s smile continued, “Why would I do that when I can pick apart the brains of such an interesting man like yourself?” 

"I'll pass." I said flatly, crossing my arms, "As a general rule of thumb, I don't consume beverages provided by people who forcibly abduct me. It’s bad for my health. And usually my wallet."

I was forcing myself to relax. I couldn't let her know that she had gotten to me, even if my first response was a pretty clear indicator. The only way out of here was to buy myself enough time.

The woman let out a soft, melodic giggle that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. She wasn't offended. If anything, my refusal only seemed to amuse her more.

"How terribly cautious. But I suppose that deeply ingrained paranoia is precisely how you have managed to survive this long in a world so utterly alien to you, Hachiman Hikigaya."

The only reason I kept a straight face was because I already figured she knew who I was. There would have been no reason to kidnap me if she didn’t. The same can’t be said for me. Who was she? Why would she do this?

I’d probably find out soon enough. People who are smart usually keep their plans close to their chest. The really smart people can’t help but gloat about said plans. This woman struck me as the latter. 

What was an issue was how she knew that I was from another world. I had never outright told anyone of this fact about myself. While yes, I had inadvertently dropped knowledge here and there that would point this out to some, they were vague enough to not be taken seriously.

So how did she know?

“Don’t look at me like that,” She placed her hand on her face and looked away with a look of false bashfulness, “You’re going to make a maiden like myself blush.”

Such an act may have fooled someone like Natsuki, or any other male that thought with their second head. Not me. Not when I had been in a similar scenario as this.

“Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself.” Steepling her hands in front of her, the woman cast a stare that I couldn’t entirely discern, “I am Echidna. Or, as you may know me as, the Witch of Greed.”

…Ha. At least I can now say that Haruno Yukinoshita’s facade really is comparable to that of a Witch.

…