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Tanya von DegurechaffEmilia (Re:Zero)Reinhard van AstreaFelt (Re:Zero)Roswaal L MathersNatsuki SubaruCrusch KarstenRem (Re:Zero)Petelgeuse Romanée-ContiRegulus CorneasBeing X (Youjo Senki)

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CrossoverOpen for suggestionsOther Additional Tags to Be AddedIllustrationsMild GorePost-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSDPoliticsMagicCross-Posted on FanFiction.NetAuthor Is Sleep DeprivedOne Day I will probably rewrite this but who knowsCanon-Typical ViolenceMysteryMemory Loss

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English

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Part 1 of Isekai Adventures of a Salaryman Next Work →

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Published:2021-04-07Updated:2022-08-24Words:132,758Chapters:67/?Comments:1,654Kudos:1,699Bookmarks:279Hits:99,072

Tanya starts from Zero

A_Morte_Perpetua_Machina_Libera_Nos

Chapter 23: Spiritual acquaintance

Notes:

I feel like I suddenly got ADHD, because I can´t concentrate on writing. Sorry for the later update.

EDIT: 5555 Hits

Chapter Text

Chapter 23

She wanted to immediately go and speak with Beatrice, but she cautiously refrained from doing so. Her urge to finally learn more about elemental magic was strong, but it would be unwise to bother the librarian so soon after they had just met for the first time. The not-quite-human girl seemed to prefer silence and loneliness, as expected from someone who guarded a library without many visitors.

Instead she would use the rest of this day to get closer to Emilia and her servant Subaru. Even though both gave off a naive and immature appearance they were integral to her plans. The half-elf, because she was a rival and ideal scapegoat for Tanya´s future misdeeds and the (probably) japanese boy, because his knowledge could potentially augment her own and was too dangerous to be controlled by anyone else other than her. After sixteen years of steady memory loss she had sadly forgotten many achievements of the modern world and his help would surely prove invaluable in recovering the wisdoms of more enlightened times.

The first on her mental list was Emilia. Consulting with her servant before her could be misunderstood as an affront or even treachery. It would simply not do to speak with Subaru after they had just met at the dining table. The problem was just that she had no clue where the silver-haired half-elf was at the moment. When Tanya left Roswaal´s bureau the whole mansion appeared deserted. Where was everybody?

A partial answer to this question revealed itself when she spotted both people she wanted meet outside on the front lawn. How unbecoming of a royal candidate! Was Emilia not aware of how that looked? Lazing around on the bare ground with peasant no less! Tanya hurried to the front door and didn't even bother to spy on their conversation, because the stupid grin on Subaru´s face told her that it could not possibly be something important.

"How fortunate to find you both here. Am I interrupting something?"

"N-No!" stuttered a faintly red-faced Emilia.

"Yes!" came Subaru´s unsurprisingly shameless reply. His lack of tact did not compel him in the slightest to hide his indignation. He undoubtedly lacked all forms of self-restraint.

Tanya chose to ignore his childish scorn in favour of focusing on the more important member of their little group.

"Very well. I chose this moment to say thank you for your hospitality. We have known each other for little more than a few days and you have already invited me into your home. For that I am grateful and I appreciate the sign of your trust."

"Oh think nothing of it. This alliance could help us both immensely. It is just common decency to show you how I live if you have done so as well."

Wonderful! She had taken the bait again.

"To that I agree. Good friends are far trickier to make than bitter enemies. On a different note... how much do you trust your servant here?"

This was a perfect opportunity to observe how close these two really were. With luck both had feelings to each other that would make them predictable and easier to use. If you knew what somebody wanted and how much they wanted it then you could dictate the prize for the object of their desire confidently.

"Rather well? I mean we met only a few days ago and I don´t know too much about him..."

For a brief instant Subaru's eyes revealed a deep hurt and sorrow within them. Was he delusional and expected Emilia to return his unrealistic feelings of affection after only a few days? Or was there something deeper at play here?

The silver-haired girl continued: "But he has already done a great service to me by protecting the village and I believe that he has a pure and honest heart... even if he is a bit silly at times."

He dramatically gripped his chest and loudly proclaimed: "My heart melts from Emilia-tan´s kindness! It´s just too much. Ahhh!"

Tanya only raised an eyebrow. If her recruits had displayed such behaviour they would gotten latrine duty for a month. How did Emilia expect to be taken seriously with subordinates like that?

"Then I guess he can stay during our little conversation. Although I would advise you to not bring him to our first round of negotiations tomorrow. He would certainly lighten the mood, but his presence would otherwise be unneeded."

"Hey!"

"Of course. What have you come here to talk about?" said Emilia in an amateurish attempt to sound businesslike.

The poor girl had no experience with things at all! She must have had insane luck to be found by Tanya or else even a toddler could have taken advantage of her. Tanya would do that as well, but at least she would do so with both their best interests in mind. Manipulation was only unethical if it benefitted just one party after all.

"I wanted to learn a bit more about you. I showed you some of my memories at the royal selection so I thought it would only be fair if you told me about your past as well."

This was a bold move that unfortunately seemed to leave no positive effect on the girl. A problematic childhood was the likely reason if she interpreted the reluctant dissatisfaction on Emilia´s face correctly. Maybe she could use this trauma against her? Psychological warfare was the best! (Probably because no means of production or infrastructures got damaged by it.)

"You don´t have to go into much detail if you don't want to. Our past is not always pleasant to talk about. I know that better than anyone."

By appearing sympathetic to her tragic backstory she would hopefully appear similar to the naive girl, what in turn would lead her to feel a sense of "camaraderie" at their shared suffering. Pity was not something Tanya usually wanted, but now it would aid her well in acquiring trust.

"Well... I already told you that I come from the Elior forest that was frozen. When I awoke there I remembered only very little of my time before I was frozen so I can´t actually tell you much. But it was at this moment that I met Puck for the first time and we formed a contract."

"Puck?"

"Oh, yes. I forgot that you have not met him already. He is my contracted spirit."

She tapped the gem on her necklace a few times and suddenly a small, grey cat floated out it.

A cat. A spirit cat. What the hell. Magic here was so ludicrous!

"Ah Lia, what is it? I was dreaming so peacefully right now."

"Sorry Puck, but I wanted you to introduce yourself to Tanya here."

"Hi! I'm Puck! Lia´s protector and cutest spirit around. I hope you don´t try anything unsavoury towards her or I will have to intervene." cheered the cat even though his voice took on a more sinister quality at the end.

"Yeah don't even bother to try anything, because he can read your emotions."

She had to suppress a smile. Subaru, the glorious idiot had gifted her with another piece of invaluable information. Had she been left in the dark about Puck´s abilities then she would have made a potentially fatal mistake while negotiating. Now she could plan around that and prepare herself. This guy was helping her more than Emilia it seemed.

Because the mind-reading spirit had gotten in the way of her plans she directed the chat into safer territories. A meaningless conversation of pleasantries and humorous anecdotes ensued which hid her true intentions well. This cat really was a nuisance.

Half an hour later and Tanya excused herself to practice the techniques Reinhard had shown her for her sword training. She had no doubt that she could already kill pretty effectively with her cutlass, but more finesse never hurt. It proved also to be a decent enough method to kill time.

As the evening progressed she made sure to send her driver back home with a message to Reinhard that detailed that she would be returning home in exactly five days. This served as a safety measure to ensure that he knew if something unexpected happened to her. Should she arrive too late then he would with a bit of luck be already on his way to meet her or search for her.

Roswaal was not trustworthy and who knew what he may have planned for her. So she was very happy when one of the maids "accidentally" overheard her conversation with the messenger so that she could report those words back to her master. If Roswaal knew that the Swordsaint awaited her return then he would definitely not dare to ambush her during the journey.

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Tanya von DegurechaffEmilia (Re:Zero)Reinhard van AstreaFelt (Re:Zero)Roswaal L MathersNatsuki SubaruCrusch KarstenRem (Re:Zero)Petelgeuse Romanée-ContiRegulus CorneasBeing X (Youjo Senki)

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Part 1 of Isekai Adventures of a Salaryman Next Work →

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Published:2021-04-07Updated:2022-08-24Words:132,758Chapters:67/?Comments:1,654Kudos:1,699Bookmarks:279Hits:99,072

Tanya starts from Zero

A_Morte_Perpetua_Machina_Libera_Nos

Chapter 24: A maid´s feelings

Notes:

I have discovered the tuba-warrior-verse/ community today and I want to write a story for it so badly, but I resrained myself.

For those who don´t know it´s basically a half shitpost and half souls-like game that sadly doesn´t exist.

I recomend listening to this and reading the comments (tuba high priest boss theme):

Chapter Text

Chapter 24

Rem felt conflicted about the new guest of Lord Roswaal. Tanya von Degurechaff reeked of the unholy witch´s odour that clung to Subaru as well. A week ago she would have tried to kill her for being a follower of the witch´s cult, but the newly appointed butler had shown her that the foul smell alone was no indication of ill will. In fact Rem felt extremely guilty for mistrusting Subaru so much during the first few days even though he obviously just wanted to help.

Now her opinion of the young man had shifted dramatically. Yes, he was weak and reckless and a little bit silly, but that was unimportant to her. She could see deeper than the superficial layers he surrounded himself with. Underneath his sometimes slightly off-putting exterior lay a heart full of courage and love and a fierce protectiveness that reminded her of her sister.

The first thing he had done after pushing her out of harm's way and taking the brunt force of the attack was asking if she was alright. He had dragged one of the children out of the forest while his left arm had nearly been ripped off and had tried to simultaneously put up a smile to tell her that everything was going to be fine even though it clearly wasn´t. (Had Lady Beatrice not extraordinary healing powers then he would have probably lost the appendage for good. He still had to wear bandages after excessive treatment for dragon´s sakes!)

And everything he had done was to protect her and the village children who he had barely known at all. Such compassion and valour had to be admired. The look of pure bliss in his eyes when she had told him that everybody was safe had made her own heart skip a beat. Those scary eyes of his had never looked so inviting. Only sister had ever cared for her that much. For a foolish, undeserving, selfish Rem!

If he knew how inferior to Ram she was then he most likely would never look at her the same way again. She didn't want that though! Actually, she wouldn't mind if he looked more at her... Oh, how selfish she was!

That was at least what she had initially thought, but now she wasn´t so sure anymore. Subaru had explained to her in great detail why he liked her, even preferred her to her sister! How was that possible? She was just a worse version of Ram. But this incredible boy had assured her that that was not the case. For him she was stronger and more capable (and cuter) than sister. Rem couldn't possibly describe the feelings of joy and unexpected relief that flood her being.

In this moment she vowed to pay back her debt to Subaru Natsuki. She would be there for him and stand at his side in every situation. He was the light that lifted the darkness which had suffocated her life until this point. This gift of hope for the future was priceless and could only be repaid with her life. He was her hero.

So, if a unassuming, clumsy boy like him could capture her heart despite his hideous scent then she would give Tanya the same chance. Stupid prejudices would lead her nowhere. Ram would not make this mistake twice!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Puck on the other hand was as tense as when Roswaal had first showed up in the Elior forest. This Tanya girl was up to no good. He could feel it! Something sinister was hidden behind these shining blue eyes and it would affect Emilia. She was dangerous!

Her mind had been confusing to say the least. Unlike most people who felt only one or two emotions at a time she had layers. He didn´t know how to explain it really, but all the normal emotions that filled regular people's heads were somehow dulled or suppressed by a thick, grey blanket of indifference. It appeared like she reacted only inwardly, but smothered these feelings before they could control her thoughts. At least sometimes, because on rare occasions some emotions would slip through the barrier only to be held back mere moments later.

To have such self-control at a lower age than his daughter was impressive and disconcerting. Tanya knew how not to react on impulses and always operate in a way that suited her goals. It was cold and inhuman and Puck didn´t like that. Especially if this person tried to form an alliance with Emilia. She would no doubt use his wonderful Lia to ruthlessly further her own goals while pretending to care for her and that was unacceptable!

The strangeness didn't end there however. When Puck used all his power to look as deep as he could into her soul he found two seemingly foreign powers cling to it. One was the purplish-black miasma of the witch that hung over Subaru as well and the other was... kind of the exact opposite?

It was an aura of blinding gold and white that smelt faintly of burning incense and roses. The scent was not unpleasant, but became quickly overwhelming the longer he examined it. If the theory hadn´t sounded so ludicrous then he could have sworn that the weird light tried to purge all imperfections from what it touched like it represented pure "holiness". Was it a curse? In his four hundred years he had never seen such a curse though. And what did the witch´s scent signify?

Subaru had it on him and he was certainly not a cultist. If Tanya did not come from this world like his daughter had said then she was probably also not one. But two people showing up with the exact same unnatural attribute was highly suspicious.

Wait a minute...

Both the scary-eyed boy and Tanya had show up roughly a week ago and stunk that way. Subaru was surprisingly unknowing about a lot of basic things in Lugnica and he openly admitted to being not from anywhere they would recognize which was a very odd thing to say. Could it be that he was not from this world as well? He talked strange, his mannerisms were even stranger and he was so naive that it was a wonder he had survived thus far. It seemed like a logical conclusion.

If the witch´s miasma was a sign of otherworldly travel then that would explain this phenomenon quite well. But was the witch bringing these people here? For what reason? Nothing good could come of this if the jealous witch wanted them here. Her plans would bring only evil and destruction to the world as they had four hundred years ago. Puck honestly considered if he should kill them both to prevent anything bad from happening to Emilia.

The problem with that would only be that Lia would lose her closest (and only) friend and a valuable ally as well. No other noble or candidate had expressed even the smallest desire to work with her and his unfortunate child would need all the help she could get to achieve her dream. Maybe Tanya truly could help with that.

Nonetheless, he would definitely keep an eye on her!

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Tanya von DegurechaffEmilia (Re:Zero)Reinhard van AstreaFelt (Re:Zero)Roswaal L MathersNatsuki SubaruCrusch KarstenRem (Re:Zero)Petelgeuse Romanée-ContiRegulus CorneasBeing X (Youjo Senki)

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Part 1 of Isekai Adventures of a Salaryman Next Work →

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Published:2021-04-07Updated:2022-08-24Words:132,758Chapters:67/?Comments:1,654Kudos:1,699Bookmarks:279Hits:99,072

Tanya starts from Zero

A_Morte_Perpetua_Machina_Libera_Nos

Chapter 25: Finding a library

Notes:

Do you think my summary at the beginning of the story is good? I think it could use some improvements.

Do you have an idea how to better summerize the plot? Help would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: 6000 Hits!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Chapter 25

Dinner was a rather dull experience for Tanya. Everything had been vastly complicated by the revelation that Emilia´s spirit could read emotions and likely detect lies. This changed her complete approach for subtle information gathering and manipulation. Every word that she uttered and expression that she displayed had to be genuine which made the process so much slower.

Still, not all was lost! Tanya was lucky that sixteen years of Being X´s cruelty had not been able to dull her heart or turn her into a raving fanatic. If anything her many losses and victories had shown her what she had lacked in her first life as a salaryman. The memories were fuzzy and distant, but she remembered that she had no real friends or colleges that she was genuinely proud of. There had been no people she was glad to have met, that she would cherish.

Her first life had also lacked a true fulfilment. Yes, she had worked good and hard and earned a fine pay, but what had she ever truly accomplished? What was left of her after her untimely demise at the hands of a vengeful co-worker?

No, money and status alone did not make happy. Her beloved battalion had brought her no such things and she had still felt content when spending time with them. When it not rained bullets and grenades or the unforgiving weather drenched her to the bones or froze her fingers off then the presence of her comrades had made her feel... cheerful?

She had trained them, moulded them, forged them into unbreakable beasts of flesh and iron and that made her proud. Together they had taken on the impossible and won! They all were connected through a bond that ran deeper than any family ever could. They had bled together! Cried and despaired together and come out on top! In this moment Tanya missed them all so dearly like never before in her life.

True happiness could not be bought with money or riches. It had to be earned by accomplishing the goals that you set out for yourself in the world no matter the cost. And it had to be done together with and for the people that were precious for you. After opening her heart during the fires of war she could never imagine to go back to the narrow-minded, hyper focused state of her initial career. The world was a bigger place than just numbers that dictated the most rational decisions every time, because otherwise there would be no room to simply "live". All her hard work had to amount to something other a nice pension and a paid off house.

So, it was possible to say that the Great War had not killed off Tanya´s compassion, but rather awakened it. She still would not foolishly trust somebody she just met or actively search for a person to form an emotional connection with, but she was no longer opposed to the idea. If it served not only her work, but also her happiness then she would not resist. Her survival was still her utmost priority; her thoughts were not solely controlled by that however.

Allowing herself to care for Emilia for that matter was not that difficult, because it not only felt good but was also a logical decision. The young half-elf had many qualities to be admired like her friendliness and empathy that made her pleasant to talk with and could be guided to produce a more secure and less naive young woman. With enough time Tanya would make a shining star out of the girl; she was sure of it. She had to be sure to convince Puck that she had no ill intentions. Feeling genuine emotions was the only way to deceive him. Damn it, forcing feelings was hard!

After the rather awkward meal she had the goal to find a book about yin magic in the Forbidden Library, but remembered too late that it was apparently protected by a bizarre "door-crossing" spell that switched its placement in the mansion randomly. Seeing as she couldn´t just open every door in the whole building to find the correct one she asked one of the maids for help.

"Excuse me, but would you happen to know a way to access Lady Beatrice´s library?"

"No Milady, I do not. But Subaru has a strange talent of finding her whenever he wishes to. You should ask him for advice."

Asking him led to the boy striking an embarrassing pose and proclaiming that he alone commanded the eldritch power of summoning "Beako". She hoped he was joking.

"Aaaaaand there she is!" screamed the fool while seemingly opening a door at random which indeed revealed the Forbidden Library. His alleged ability appeared to be real which brought Tanya to the dreadful conclusion that she would have to ask Subaru more for his help in the future. Why couldn´t someone competent and professional like these two different coloured maids divine the location of this place? It would make the whole affair that much more bearable.

Beatrice arguably agreed with this sentiment as she asked:

"Why do you disturb Betty again, in fact? Have you made your visit not already this morning? Go and be a nuisance elsewhere, I suppose."

"Actually I was here to bring a guest, but getting to see you pouting like that was really worth it. You are just too cute! Maybe I should come more often?"

"No! Leave now or you will feel the wrath of the great Beatrice! Just visiting once per day is enough, I suppose!"

"Aww, I knew you cared about me! I will definitely come back tomorrow and then we can go to the village. Playing with children your age is healthy for you Beako."

"Enough! I am four hundred years old in fact! Stop treating me like a child!"

"But it´s just too adorable to see you flustered. I will take my leave now and leave you with Tanya here. I bet you two can become friends fast. You know, being blond lolis and all that..."

Tanya wanted nothing more in that moment then to punch him, but reigned her murderous urges in, because one if her punches would have severely injured him and she needed him tomorrow. Nonetheless did she take the time to glare menacingly at him for his insolence. How dare he!

"Excuse this pitiful butler. He seems to have forgotten his place and will need to be taught a lesson."

Subaru paled and visibly shivered under her cold gaze and hastily retreated down the corridor like a wounded dog. Her fierce look was enough for a grown man to piss himself and it was astounding that he hadn´t done so. Maybe fighting the mabeasts in the forest had made him grow a spine.

"Hmmph. He is an annoying pest I suppose."

Tanya allowed a small grin to creep on her face.

"That much is certainly true. Would you mind if we talked about something more enjoyable for the both of us? Because I am sure we will be able to learn much about magic from each other today."

Notes:

What would you write in the summary?

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Tanya von DegurechaffEmilia (Re:Zero)Reinhard van AstreaFelt (Re:Zero)Roswaal L MathersNatsuki SubaruCrusch KarstenRem (Re:Zero)Petelgeuse Romanée-ContiRegulus CorneasBeing X (Youjo Senki)

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English

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Part 1 of Isekai Adventures of a Salaryman Next Work →

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Published:2021-04-07Updated:2022-08-24Words:132,758Chapters:67/?Comments:1,654Kudos:1,699Bookmarks:279Hits:99,072

Tanya starts from Zero

A_Morte_Perpetua_Machina_Libera_Nos

Chapter 26: Learning magic

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Chapter 26

"You wondered earlier what the magic I was using was and I would gladly teach you about its functionality. You may know that I am from beyond the great waterfall and as such possess powers that have never before been seen in this land."

If Tanya wanted to learn shadow magic then she needed to give the librarian girl something in return. Such were the rules of capitalism. She doubted that Beatrice would allow her into the "Forbidden Library" for nothing in exchange. It was forbidden for a reason after all. Telling the seemingly young girl about her own brand of magic was the only thing of equal value for someone who valued knowledge above all else. That was the most effective way to bribe her into giving her access to the thousands of ancient tomes stored in this place. At least that was how she expected Beatrice´s mind to function.

Giving away some of her minor secrets would not hurt Tanya in the slightest, because anybody who practiced formulae based magic needed a computation jewel to do so. The only two existing pieces in this world were in her possession as far as she knew. Mathematic equations would hopefully only confuse the people of this medieval society, because they would be unable to compute them fast enough to be of any real use.

"And what do you want in return, I suppose?"

Beatrice tried to sound bored, but the excited glint in her eyes was hard to miss. She had swallowed the hook. Bingo.

"In return I would be thankful if you could let me borrow some of your books about shadow and light magic."

"That is an agreeable condition, very well. But the day was tiring and Betty wants to be left alone for now. To get you out of here faster Betty will show you some books right now, I suppose."

How thoughtful of her. This girl understood the importance of time management. They would work together well, she could feel it.

A couple of studious hours later Tanya decided to test her newfound knowledge under the cover of night. Ideally nobody would even notice that she trained and she could avoid some uncomfortable questions from the residents of the estate. Basically devouring several thick tomes had left her with many burning questions and theories that needed to be tested after nightfall. Carefully she left the house through her window and made her way to the backside of the mansion where she was least likely to be noticed.

It was time for testing her first elemental spell.

Slowly she imagined pushing mana through her "gate" and visualized it forming into a black cloud around her. She felt the familiar sensation of magical energy singing in her blood and taking form just below her skin, but the feeling was slightly different. There was a pressure building inside her head that grew by the second.

What was she doing wrong? Where was the mistake? Only veteran experience with countless life or death scenarios prevented her from panicking.

"Think Tanya! Think!" she franticly whispered.

In all the books she had read every spell had been named in strange ways. What she was attempting at the moment was called a "Shamak". A cloud of black fog that allegedly not only obscured the opponent´s vision, but robbed them of their other senses as well. This little trick would be supremely useful in ambush situations and to make a safe retreat from the battlefield.

Could it be that she was supposed to say the word out loud like in these ridiculous stories about wizards and witches from her first world? Well, witches existed here so why not give it a try. It was ridiculous and stupid, but she was quickly running out of options.

With slight desperation she loudly chanted: "Shamak!" and the world drowned in pure blackness.

The crushing pressure in her head had gone away, but the result was disconcerting. Tanya had to use a quick flight burst to leave the radius of the massive smoke cloud in order to assess its volume. Unexpectedly nearly half the mansion had been enveloped by the dark mist even though she had performed her little experiment a good fifty meters away from the building.

From what the book had described she had assumed the cloud to be just a few meters in diameter, but this exceeded her every expectation. This artificial shadow could engulf hundreds of people if used correctly. Not to mention that she could just cast it repeatedly to expand the affected area.

The only problem was that it had also taken more energy than anticipated. It was not much for someone with incredibly large mana reserves like her, but it was noticeable. Not to mention that she had likely terrified everybody inside the mansion. Hopefully nobody would think of this as an attack...

"That was quite the powerful Shamak I suppose." said the little librarian floating besides her.

Where had Beatrice come from? It was almost like she just appeared out of thin air. Then again she was not human so it was possible. Tanya managed to show no outwards reaction to her sudden arrival, but was internally frustrated because she had not seen it coming. This could have gotten her killed! She really needed to be more careful.

"I take it that they are normally not that big?"

"Indeed. You lack a proper control of its power. This was your first time using one I suppose?"

"Yes. I am not familiar with yin magic."

"Mmph. You are fairly powerful for a human. I suppose I will have to teach you so you don't accidentally mess up this place. Betty could not care less if you reduced that clown´s house to ashes, but she is sadly bound to protect the library there. This leaves me with no other choice I suppose."

"I am most grateful for your offer and humbly accept."

This was a wonderful opportunity to learn even more. Books could only teach you so much and the knowledge was often incomplete or lacked a practical orientation. Beatrice just offered a perfect way to expand her arsenal in a faster way than expected.

"That was not an offer, but your thanks are noted even though I do not need them. Betty already knows how great she is in fact."

"Then how do you propose I could gain greater control over the spell?"

"Just cast it quicker so that less mana is able to accumulate, in fact."

"Mmm. Sounds easy enough."

It was indeed easy enough. The mass of black fog was far smaller this time and required comparatively no mana at all. But Tanya was still not satisfied.

She decided to try something different this time. Instead of shoving her mana through her gate, she pushed it towards her Type 97 computation jewel; a process which she was intimately familiar with. Feeling silly by speaking the name of the spell out loud she intoned: "Shamak!" and the same result happened.

Quickly measuring it with a volumetric formula revealed that had nearly the same proportions like the last Shamak, but with the difference that it had cost roughly thirty percent less mana to produce. Was computing it properly with a computation jewel really that much more efficient?

Only now did she realize how much magical energy filled the atmosphere of this place. At first she had paid it no mind, because she had not used huge amounts of energy intensive spells in the capital; so she had thought that her mana reserve recovering faster than normal was just a side effect from the good food and the relatively peaceful rest at night. (Not fearing to get shot or bombed during a nap really did wonders for the morale.) But now she finally understood that the energy density in general was larger than in her homeland.

If this observation of needing thirty percent less mana was accurate then that meant all the mages here were wasting unbelievable amounts of energy! Their primitive "just imagine it"-method held them back and weakened them. How fortunate for her! Due to the high energy density of this world´s atmosphere they were able to squander colossal quantities of mana without a care in the world, but that meant only that she would be able to cast far more magic then them because she was resourceful. A third more energy was nothing to trivialize.

It seemed as if her computation jewel served as an artificial gate that was more stable and could focus and distribute the magical energy far more effectively than a normal gate. A machine was apparently better suited for that then a frail, biological organ which made sense to Tanya. Just like a car was superior to a horse (or in this case a ground dragon) a computation jewel was superior to human gate. How fascinating. Such were the wonders of progress and innovation.

That reminded her that she would need to find a way to reliably produce spare parts for both her orbs to sustain them. Every few month they were in need of repair or they would break down which was an unacceptable outcome. Hopefully the smiths of this world would be up to the task or she would have to invent a method to do it herself. Tanya could already feel a headache forming from the mere thought of all the effort she would have to put in.

"Thank you Beatrice. I will visit you tomorrow after breakfast if that is alright with you."

"I suppose..."

Now Tanya needed time to think about what she had learnt. The future was looking bright.

Notes:

I was advised to drop my daily upload schedule in favor of longer chapters. What do you think?

A = Daily updates

B = Longer chapters every few days

EDIT: Option B has unexpectedly won. Uploads will now happen every two days.

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Tanya von DegurechaffEmilia (Re:Zero)Reinhard van AstreaFelt (Re:Zero)Roswaal L MathersNatsuki SubaruCrusch KarstenRem (Re:Zero)Petelgeuse Romanée-ContiRegulus CorneasBeing X (Youjo Senki)

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Part 1 of Isekai Adventures of a Salaryman Next Work →

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Published:2021-04-07Updated:2022-08-24Words:132,758Chapters:67/?Comments:1,654Kudos:1,699Bookmarks:279Hits:99,072

Tanya starts from Zero

A_Morte_Perpetua_Machina_Libera_Nos

Chapter 27: Exchange of the outsiders

Notes:

A longer chapter as promised, but not all that long considering that I had double the amount of time. Oh well...

Motivation for writing at the first day was hard to find. ("I can do that tomorrow"-mentality)

EDIT: 6666 Hits! I feel Demonically Inspired

EDIT2: 7000 Hits

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Chapter 27

Her little magic experiment hadn't gone as unnoticed as she had hoped, because as soon as she flew through her window and got ready for bed the door to her room flew open and a very exasperated maid stormed in.

"My apologies Lady Degurechaff for disturbing you, but is everything alright?"

"Yes, of course. Why should it not be? Has something happened?"

"We feared a possible attack on the mansion. Have you noticed any suspicious activity?"

"You wouldn't possibly refer to the giant cloud of black smoke outside?" she asked hopefully.

"Exactly that."

Damn it!

"Well, then I have to apologize for worrying you and by extension your master as well. The strange happenings outside are my fault. Miss Beatrice graciously offered to teach me magic and I might have gone a little overboard. Please forgive my mistake. I did not intend to disturb your sleep."

"I do not know if Lord Roswaal will forgive you for disturbing his cute maid´s beauty sleep, but I would advise you to properly explain your nightly escapades tomorrow morning." remarked the pink-haired girl with a freezing tone in her voice.

"Of course. It was merely an accident."

"Mmph. We will see about that Lady Degurechaff. We will see."

If that was supposed to intimidate Tanya then it failed miserably. She was not scared in the slightest of the empty threats that Ram seemed so fond of.

After the indignant maid had closed the door behind her Tanya began to trap the room with several motion detecting spells that would run passively while she slept. It was bad enough that she could not lock the door to prevent intruders from suddenly entering like Ram had done, but it would at the very least alert her to their presence.

Her mage shell was also activated in case that someone tried to shoot at her from the doorway or through the annoyingly vulnerable windows. Seriously, how was this place supposed to be defended if all the windows were made from glass and were multiple meters big? Pure foolishness! Everyone could just smash through and would be inside. In a conflict this building would be useless.

After making sure that all her security measures functioned as they should she allowed herself a few hours of restless sleep. Even though the bed was comfortable she was plagued by nightmares.

Morning began with her reading the rest of the books until it was time for breakfast. Due to her bad dreams she had woken early and was extremely sleep deprived which soured her mood. Without Visha´s heavenly coffee this was only worsened. So it was no surprise that she barely spoke a word at the dining table and only stared blankly into her tasteless meal.

Then the stupid maid brought up yesterday´s incident again and made matters even worse. Tanya had secretly hoped that she would forget the whole affair, but of course the pink-haired bitch had not done her that favour.

Now she had to explain the nature of her magic experiments with Beatrice. She made sure to inconspicuously pass as much of the blame as she could onto the other girl, because the petite librarian was not present during the conversation and didn´t seem to be on good terms with Roswaal. This meant that there was only a very small chance that both of them would extensively talk about the whole affair and he would notice the small errors and exaggerations in her story.

Her saving grace was that Roswaal had not been present when it happened, because he was in the forest hunting mabeasts and Emilia and Subaru had been too fast asleep to be aware of what happened outside. In the end it came down to a disagreement between two maids and a royal candidate, so it was clear who won the debate about her innocence.

Unfortunately her magic training was restricted to the daytime hours, but that was only a minor annoyance. A bigger problem was that she needed the help of a strange to find Beatrice´s library again. Well, she just had to make the best out of the situation by interrogating the boy alone.

"Subaru! Do you have a moment to spare?"

"Surely. What you want Lady Degurechaff?"

It would only be a matter of time before the details of her origin spread around if Emilia or Roswaal had not already told him. So to give him this information that was already useless or would soon become common knowledge anyway was an easy decision. She needed to find out more about it him to accurately assess his threat-level or rather usefulness for her plans.

"As you may already know... I was not born in this world. I believe the same applies to you."

His expression turned into one of comical shock. Tanya had to stifle a laugh at his foolishness.

"What... How did you... Are you from Japan as well?"

"Yes and no actually." thought Tanya. That was a predictable, but complicated question that required a small misdirection to be answered. He had also just admitted to hail from Japan which would hopefully make him relate to her a bit more if she phrased her story properly.

"Indeed. I was born in Japan, but I moved to a different country and spent more than a decade there. So I sadly do not remember much of my original homeland."

She needed to speak the truth in the unlikely case that that damned Puck listened in or Emilia decided to question her later in the presence of Subaru. She hated mind reading magic! It violated every sense of privacy and dignity that a person could have. Not even the sanctity of your own thoughts was secured in this land.

"Ah okay..."

He seemed a little put out by this but quickly recovered with a smile.

"But that´s cool! How long do you have been here then? In Lugnica I mean."

"Around nine days maybe. And you?"

"Mmmm... let me think. Also nine days! How is that possible? Although you could say that it was also a hell of a lot longer for me than that."

The last part was muttered so quietly, that she had trouble understanding what he said. What was that about? Judging from the haunted look in his eyes, it must have been something unpleasant.

Also, the coincidence was too big to be random. How could they both appear at roughly the exact time and place? That seemed implausible. Was this Being X´s ploy? It had to be! The idiotic bastard had probably arranged for them both to meet up. But why? What could he gain from this. A terrible suspicion overcame Tanya.

"Are you religious?

"I don´t know... Not really? I mean I am open for other ideas..."

"Do you believe in god?"

"Hey there! No need to look so intense. You´re giving me a fright there. Hehe. No, I don´t think I believe in god. At least I never seen or felt anything that would convince me to believe. You are not a religious extremist, are you?"

"No. Quite the opposite. I just had to make sure you were not one of them. I had bad experience with these types of people in the past."

She pushed the unwanted memory of Mary Sioux´s crazed face down and blocked it with as much will-power as she could muster. Never again! If anyone like that appeared in her life then she would hunt them down and absolutely crush them before they could become a threat. Being X´s puppets would never endanger her ever again!

"Ah... Say, if you are from earth... did you per chance bring a solar-powered powerbank with you? I'm not sure how much longer my mobile phone will last."

What for the empire´s sake was a "powerbank"? Some sort of battery maybe? And "solar-powered"... She had heard that word somewhere. Had it something to do with the sun? Could he mean a battery that recharged in the sun? Had something like that even existed when she died in her first life? So many questions and only one way to find out.

"No, I do not possess such a device. Allow me, which year was it when you were transported here?"

"Eh... 2009."

Wonderful! That meant that he understood how much better a democratic, capitalistic state was compared to this feudal, monarchist society. Science and reason were staples of the modern age that had probably been ingrained into him by savouring the benefits of the post-industrial era. They would work together beautifully when she had hammered a bit more seriousness into his head, for only he would truly understand what she was talking about.

All of that was of course only true if his dimension was like her first life. If his dimension was an alternative reality where intelligent clouds ruled the earth and enslaved humanity then there would be little hope for an intellectual conversation in that regard, but she doubted that. Maybe she should enquire how long he head been in school to discern his state of knowledge.

"How old are you?"

"17. And you?"

Again a tricky question that had no simple answer. On one hand her consciousness had existed for nearly fifty years, but on the other hand her body was only sixteen years old.

"I don´t know exactly, but I have been born around sixteen years ago."

"Cool! Then you are basically my younger sister! I always wanted a cute, little sister to tease. By the way how were you teleported here? I just kind of blinked and in the next moment I was standing in the middle of the capital. Pretty crazy right?"

Tanya´s eyebrow twitched in annoyance. She was nobody´s little sister! And she was above all not cute! As much as she hated her title of "Devil of the Rhine" she had rightfully earned it through struggle and bloodshed. There was nothing cute about her! What was this buffoon thinking how their relationship had progressed during the duration of this conversation? He was still a measly servant and she was a royal candidate. Subaru was lucky that she didn't demand his head for his disrespect.

"I am not you little sister. I have fought in a war and was part of the military when you were still in primary school! Reign in your wild fantasy, because others might not react as well as I to your bad jokes."

Subaru gulped.

"Chill dude. Just saying. Anyway, you were in a war? What war?"

Shit! She hadn´t meant to bring attention to this fact. How could she cover this blunder up?

"A conflict with a few of our neighbouring countries. It went on for a few years, but I doubt you have heard of it."

"But why would you join the army at that age? Isn´t that illegal?"

Ha! If only the command staff had shared his opinion, but the empire was desperate for mages and accepted nearly everybody who displayed enough magical potential. Regardless of age or gender. A fact which had been a lucky strike for her, but was in reality just pure insanity. Why had nobody questioned if it was morally repulsive to send a twelve year old girl to the front lines? She blamed Rudersdorf, the mad dog.

"I had no other choice. Becoming a soldiers was preferable to starving in an orphanage. If I had better parents then my life would have been different."

"For me it´s rather the opposite, I guess. If my parents hadn´t been so good at everything I would not have been crushed under the weight of their expectations."

Pathetic. Such good role models should have motivated him to do better. They would have forced him to greatness! Nonetheless did she refrain from lecturing him about this topic. Tanya tried to quickly change the subject of the conversation before Subaru pestered her with his undoubtedly "tragic" backstory any longer. (As if he would know anything about tragedy. He didn´t have to wake up without Visha´s coffee!)

"You said that you just blinked and landed in capital, right? How interesting. The same thing happened to me."

"Wow. We really have a lot of similarities... Wait. Does that mean....? Do you can do that as well?"

"What? I can do what?"

"Did you... you know... die perhaps?"

Did he figure her out? Had he uncovered the secret of her reincarnation? Maybe he really was an agent sent by Being X. It was best to give a nonverbal answer in case that he could detect lies. So she cocked her head to the side and hummed questioningly.

"Hmm?"

"Can you also return by HHHKKK! Aghhh... Damn that hurt!"

Subaru clutched his heart and grimaced in obvious pain. What was happening right now? Had he gone insane? She needed to distance herself from him before another resident of the mansion could accuse her of poisoning him or something like that. Her reputation was already damaged from the incident last night and she really didn´t need further false evidence to worsen that.

"Ehm, Subaru I think we talked enough for now. I would be very grateful if you could show me the entrance to the Forbidden Library again, please."

"Of course. Follow me." he said with a hollow voice and empty eyes which was quite unnerving, considering that he always seemed so cheerful and carefree.

A few minutes later and they arrived at another random door that he had inexplicably divined to be the right one.

"I have to go. Ram will be angry with me if she thinks I am slacking off."

Tanya just nodded and stepped inside the library without a second glance at the rapidly retreating boy. It was time to teach Beatrice about magic formulae.

Notes:

Btw is it really 2015? I just made the year up, but if canon states otherwise I will correct it.

EDIT: 2009

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Chapter 1648 - 27