(V1) I Know What You Did Last Isekai - Chapter 4

The confusion lasted for several moments; the children glancing between one another as Viola’s brows scrunched.  Yes, the language barrier was still a problem, but Viola had demonstrated that she was every bit the quick study that Kimberly knew herself to be.  Maybe even better, given that she had at least a few years on her. 

“Help?” Viola asked, picking out the most important word of the statement. 

Nodding, Kimberly took her finger and wrote words out on her palm incorrectly.  Viola frowned, as she did so, then got up.  She took Kimberly’s palm and began correcting each word in order.  Once done, she looked up, expecting the next step.  

Kimberly grinned at that and pointed at her. “Help.  You helped correct me.”  Then pointed at both kids who were eating.  “You helped them too.” 

Each word was accompanied by gestures to help give context and Viola watched each motion with sharp eyes.  Kimberly trusted her to work through the word with context, even if she didn’t know each word.  After a moment, Viola nodded, then took out another coin. 

“Where?” 

Now it was Kimberly’s turn to frown.  Where money was a fairly broad question, one that could have any number of answers.  Again, context played a role.  The kids were poor, and if she wanted to help them the money had to come from somewhere.  Given the kids were running around, there wasn’t likely some government funded option for dealing with them.  Unfortunate, but one that she wasn’t in a position to influence. 

Then again, the house that she stumbled through did appear to belong to Kimbree’s family, which meant it was technically hers?  Well, that assumed Kimbree had no living relatives after the literal bloodbath.  Still, could she make the offer?  With the kids right in front of her, she couldn’t exactly turn them away.  A meal now would be appreciated, but they would be hungry again tomorrow. 

Taking a coin from Viola’s hand, Kimberly held it up and spoke, the words coming out stilted and mangled.  “Home.  Me.  Coin?”

“No,” Viola said immediately, her English rough and accented.  She glanced at the kids, then sighed.  “Me coin.  You here no.” 

Once again, the lack of defining words they both knew was proving to be a challenge with communication.  Still, the fact they were even conveying that much after only a single night of working through things was impressive by any standards.  Whatever money that Kimbree might have been able to access is either back at her manor, or simply not available to her at present.  The specifics didn’t matter as much right then and there.  

“Yes,” Kimberly said, overacting her disappointment to help with context. 

Viola gave her a pat on the back and a soft smile.  “Help.” 

The mage knelt down and began talking with both children and Kimberly focused on finishing her little bowl of cream and fruit before it completely melted.  Whatever questions she had for the children, Viola wasn’t liking the answers.  When she got up, she walked over to a vendor, bought a steaming bowl of meat and rice, then handed it to Kimberly. 

Before she could think of how to ask the question on her lips, Viola was guiding the children away from the market.  Kimberly followed as best she could, making sure not to spill the food she had just been handed.  She also didn’t miss how the guards that had kept out of the situation earlier were now following them. 

“Vi, over there,” Kimberly said. 

Violet glanced back.  “Yes.” 

Then she ignored the guards like they weren’t a problem waiting to happen.  They push through the neighborhood with Viola’s home and into a place that practically screams wealth.  The stone path transitioned from simple stone into polished granite set in sweeping mosaics.  The lamps became works of art.  And the homes… 

Mansions, one and all. 

Yet, Viola pressed on with purpose, striding past all of them despite the glares being given to the children from the local guards.  Even the men trailing behind them seemed to hesitate to follow.  Trees lined the streets, each covered in flowering blossoms not unlike the cherry trees from back home. 

More flowers lined the walkway, set in planters that each looked as though an expert craftsman had hand sculpted the stone.  The detail and precision rivaled anything she had seen in a museum.  Clearly the city took pride in the area, demonstrating wealth at every turn.  It was almost sickening, how much money must have been wasted on this one street alone. 

Then they came upon a home that was all too familiar.  Multiple guards stood out front while robed individuals swept glowing devices through the air and across the grounds.  A crime scene, which was fitting given how many people were dead in the basement.  And she was the sole survivor.  It made the fact that Viola had managed to pull her out of custody even more impressive, and left her wondering once again how much influence this woman held in the city.

One of the figures out front turned as Viola made to march right past, moving quickly as he waved after them.

“Maester Chandler,” he said

Viola eyed the man as she stopped.  “Henry.” 

It was a name that Kimberly recognized from Earth well enough, which was a bit of a surprise.  Then again, Viola wasn’t a completely uncommon name either.  That she said it without honorifics was telling, and likely an insult if they were that familiar with one another.  

The children moved away from Viola as she exchanged words with Henry, coming to stand beside Kimberly.  She took the opportunity to eat the food that Viola had bought for her, and found it to be rather similar to a Japanese dish she had a while back.

Just as she was finishing the last bits of rice and sauce, shouting picked up.  Viola had shifted, preventing the man from advancing on Kimberly.  He sneered at her, then tried to push past only to be launched back by an intense wind coming off the mage.  Kimberly moved, shielding the kids from the blowback as the bowl went flying off and her hair whipped in the near tornadic forces coming off of the Maester.

Was Maester the word for Mage, or was it a specific title?  A question for later.

Viola walked over, the scowl on her face melting as she took in the sight of the trembling children behind Kimberly.  Once again she dropped to one knee and offered words of comfort.  Both children glanced up at Kimberly, and she smiled back.  They didn’t calm completely, but whatever was said did seem to offer them some level of relief.

The man she had sent sailing—Henry—was being tended to by several of the guards.  All of whom were now giving Viola a wide berth.  That they weren’t moving to arrest the woman was more than curious and left Kimberly cursing her lack of knowledge of the language more than ever.

None followed as they departed, though a few glares were sent their way.  Kimberly kept close to the powerful mage, wondering just what the limits of magic might be in this new world she found herself in.  She could control shadows, limited as that power seemed to be.  What else was possible if one devoted themself to that path? 

Damn.  Learning the language couldn’t come soon enough.  She wanted to dive head first into the subject and learn all she could.  Hopefully it was like physics, but with actual, tangible, results.  Could she use that knowledge to craft spells of a level that this world had never seen before?  The prospect was exciting, and horrifying. 

Kimberly did not want to be the person to introduce nuclear level events into a world that was barely on the cusp of an industrial revolution.  Then again, maybe someone already had at some point in the past.  Yet another reason to learn all she could about her new home. 

Following the path led them upward, towards the large domed building.  A massive garden hung from the pillars that lined the path to the great structure.  Flowers blossomed in the colors of a rainbow, the elegant patterns proving that the design was well curated for effect.  Yet, Viola turned away from the hanging gardens and towards another building that was no less impressive. 

Sweeping spires rose from the stone building at each corner where they touched the clouds far above.  Bells chimed softly in those spires, playing a sweet melody that was carried along the breeze.  The gardens were modest, with simple floral arrangements and fruit bearing plants lining the walkway to the double doors that would admit people into what she was quickly realizing was a grand cathedral.

Sculpted pillars and statues depicting various figures lined the path much as they had in the hanging gardens.  Each was painted in striking colors, setting the scenes they depicted in stark clarity.  One such scene stood out among all the others.  A man with a groomed beard stood in defiance with sword in hand against a woman surrounded by tendrils painted a deep black.  It was the first sign of misogyny that she had truly seen since arriving.  Religion loved to paint women as lesser, and it was beginning to look no different.  Yet, that wasn’t what truly grabbed her attention. 

It was the uncanny resemblance this woman had to herself, right down to the mark on her arm that had been there since she was born.  It was a wound in this depiction, having been delivered by the armed man in what appeared to be a battle of some sort.  Even with the stylized workmanship, it was hard to deny that there was a connection.  Especially when her display of power was a near match for what Kimberly had pulled against Viola back in the guardhouse.  

A suspicion wormed its way into her mind; one she hoped wasn’t true.  The ritual she had awoken to must have aimed for some specific result, and it was the leading culprit for what brought her to this world.  Was this woman their goal? 

Commotion stirred up behind them, eliciting a muffled curse of some sort from Viola as she once again put herself between Kimberly and whatever situation had developed.  Several men in robes had moved to the archway at the entrance, blocking the armed guards that had apparently followed them after all. 

Viola said something to the children, then gave Kimberly a significant look.  “Kimbree, here.”

She wasn’t sure what Viola meant by that as she walked off, leaving the two kids clinging to her.  Viola pulled one of the robed individuals aside, and pointed back towards her and the kids.  The person was then moving towards them, and Kimberly was surprised to see that they were a young teen girl.

She said something to the children, who nodded enthusiastically, then gave Kimberly a soft smile.  A hand was offered and the woman gestured towards the building.  Some words followed, but the only one she understood for certain was Viola’s name.  Looking back, Viola was speaking with a burly man with green hair that had to be nearly seven feet tall and built like a wall of muscle shaped into something vaguely human.  His long beard was braided and hung to his belly, which was decidedly large for how fit the man appeared. 

Right, strongmen back on Earth had a similar build.

The mountain nodded, then began to move off, and Viola went to follow.  She spared a glance back, and offered Kimberly a soft smile and wave before leaving her there with people she didn’t know and couldn’t understand.