Thread 6322099

You are Lorinda de Lindan, Princess, Inquisitor, and soon-to-be Tournament Champion! Well, not really, for you see the Inquisition is sending you into the Grand Tournament of Bloodgrave’s Fall as an agent to see if any otherworldly Strangers from the wicked and barbarous dimension of Earth sneak in to gain lands and glory right from under your father’s nose. Regretfully, the Inquisition has banned you from seeking victory as once your analysis of the competition is complete, it will be time to make a dramatic exit fitting of your desire to be the tournament’s underdog hero. Currently, there is a mere 14 days before the preliminary rounds begin for the duels where you shall compete. Now if only you knew the best way to prepare…

Archive: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=The%20Isekai%20Inquisition

>>6322099 (OP)
The public grounds of Lord Fortuen the Unfortunate are a good place to clear your head, especially after days spent doing nothing but your superior's paperwork. The grounds themselves are comprised of a few acres of preserved gardens and forest that was once the Fortuen estate; however, after the impotent Lord died without children, he organized a knightly order to maintain and defend his lands. Seeing as mere peasants bump into you during your stroll, Fortuen’s Order has not done a very good job of it. Though after a few days of doing nothing but sort through and summarize papers, even relaxing near lowlife refuse is almost an appealing thought. Though that brings you to why you’re here. While you've never been particularly devout other than what is required of your station, as all of noble blood must be Goddess-loving to set an example for the peasantry, the thought of a simple prayer leading to an end of your troubles is an exceptional one—a bargain of which Cathrine would no doubt have taken in a heartbeat. So, as you find a spot near the river, you kneel down, clutch your fingers, and- is that Asher?

Your eyes narrow as you look at your summer mentor sitting on a bench with a well-dressed blonde woman. Your eyes narrow further- no, it's not Alyssa. Also, why is Asher drinking to blazenly in public? At noon no less. Was your impression of him wrong? No, that can't be you, you’re excellent at reading people. You must investigate this.

“You’re drunk.”

“Thanks, detective, you really earn your pay.” Asher’s snidely remarks.

The woman next to him nearly leaps from her seat and between you two, “I'm really sorry about Oliver! We'll move if he's disturbing you.”

“It's barely past noon. Is this any time to be drinking?”

“Come on, Oliver, let’s-”

“And what would you know about day drinking in a public park, kid? Hey wait, you got any cigarettes?”

“You know for a fact I don’t know what that is.”

Asher mock eye rolls, “Worth a shot.”

“Oliver, you can't just-”

“Pah! What's it to ya?!” He overplays his drunkenness as he slaps his girlfriend(?)’s shoulder.

“Why are you here, Asher?”

“Oliver lets- Uh, Wha- do you know each other?”

“Why, I’m just spending some good bonding time with the lads- er, lad.”

“Can't tell me?”

“You know the answer to that, Lorina. Honestly, I should be asking what you’re doing here, Princess.”

“Wait Lorina? You’re a princess?!”

“Wait Lad? You’re a guy?”

“H-huh? W-wait, Y-your Highness, I’m so sorry I didn’t- I should’ve-!” The “lad” says as he stumbles to perform a rather subpar bow.

“Who is this?” You say, completely disregarding his effort at subservience.

“Why, that would be Inquisitor Siegvald you’re pointing at. I’m currently mentoring him, seeing as he’s got quite a bit to learn about working in these areas.”

“I thought you didn't have a habit of taking apprentices.”

>>6322100
“First, he’s not an apprentice. Second, Tell that to the Lord Inquisitor. He said you were such a success, he's going to shackle more unfortunate souls to me.”

“My success was born from my own abilities.” You state that you are not willing to give the current town drunk a compliment.

“That's what I've been telling him!”

“Wait, Sir? You really did teach Her Royal Highness?” Siegvald inquires.

“Huh, wait, dude, you didn't believe me?! Douchebag.

“I would have thought it'd have been a rather large rumor at least.”

“I- er, sorry?” he says with the kind of expression someone in one of Marie’s books would make, “I’m usually not in places where the news or rumors regularly flow.”

“Could’ve at least have taken my word for it..”

You nod you did notice that most reports involving this Inquisitor were from rural parts of the country, “Right, the case of the possessed child was rather recent, and Halfwater is quite away from things.”

Siegvald's eyes widen in shock, “You know about that?”

Again, you nod but don't elaborate. It's better for you if he constructed an elaborate caricature of you in his head than to admit you’ve been reading the Inquisition’s reports as homework. “I've actually been curious about that case. Though I suppose my question applies to Asher as well. How does the Inquisition handle children who are suspected of being Strangers?”

Asher's eyes dart to a far corner of the garden, “Damn, Lorina. Fucked up thing to ask without any warning.”

“Siegvald, your mission involved one, did it not?”

“Y-yeah, but it was pretty obvious she was possessed by the time I got there. By then, the elder in her body turned the house into the scene of a massacre. Some of the local clergy even got caught up in the mess when they tried to perform an exorcism for a ghost instead of a Stranger.” He shudders as he speaks, “I tried not to harm her too much since the Stranger used the fact she was still, well, inside her body against us, but-”

“There’s no need to go any further. That’s all I wanted to know, thank you.” You say, as it is probably best you don’t force a man to relive his recent blood-soaked past. You’ve learned this is a sore topic for some people, though you’re not exactly sure why. You’ve seen people explode in front of your eyes and you have turned out fine.

He takes a deep breath, “No, it's fine. I was able to use some of the scattered blood and parts he left around, along with the pantry's salt, to complete a purifying ritual. But should I not have had the knowledge to- well…” He trails off.

“His next best move would have been to kill the child, taking the Stranger along with her.” Asher finishes. “You've already been told all the freedoms we have with dealing with nobility before, right? The same privileges apply when dealing with all manner of people. Sure, most of us aren't heartless monsters or bloodthirsty maniacs, well, at least one of us isn't.”

“Thank you.”

>>6322101
“Whatever. All of it is up to the Inquisition's own knowledge and initiative. I know of a case where Lord Beneger simply grabbed a child from his home because his parents reported him as ‘too gifted,’ and well, he was never heard from again.” An Ironic example considering you’re hearing this from the child himself. But that's your question answered, more or less.

“One more thing I wish to ask, do you know of an Inquisitor Leontine?”

Asher groans, “I don't want to talk about her. Siegvald, you do it.”

“Um, but I don't know that much? I hear she's a pretty capable Inquisitor and a real ‘old guard’ if you well.”

*Snrk* “Yeah, she’s old all right.”

“She's hunted down quite a few Strangers, so that's a testament to her skills, I think. She's also known as the ‘Lioness’ because of her skills-”

“Because her name sounds like Lion, that's why. Look, Lorina, she's about as pure as a puritan gets. If you think everyone is a Stranger like she does, you’re bound to find at least a few. Been trying to get her off my ass for years. Unluckily, she's spending some leave in the Capital right now, so the chances I bump into her aren't zero.”

“If you try to avoid her so much, then you should at least know where she's staying.”

“Yeah, west side of the city. If you know where the Ravenett Estate is, it’s near there. She lives in the building with the tower. Good luck if you’re trying to find her, though not that I envy you, especially because she no doubt knows your reputation.”

“My reputation?” Is he talking about the results of the Honor Duel?

“Lorina, you were bunkmates with Marie. You can put together the pieces.”

Ah. “Ah.” While you've never officially interacted with the “factions” of the Inquisition, there is no doubt most would label you as a “radical” one who works with Strangers instead of executing them. Though you don't doubt the “puritans” would love a chance to try and convert you to their side, you are, after all, Lorina de Lindan, the Kingdom’s Princess. “I see, thank you both,” you say with a curtsy, causing Siegfried to have another near-panic for courtly manner and Asher to shrug you off and take another gulp from one of these bottles.

>”Though I still wish to discuss…” [Write-in]

>Though you need to finally pray

>Though now you plan to seek out Inquisitor Leontine

>[Write-in]

>>6322102
>Though now you plan to seek out Inquisitor Leontine

>>6322102
>Though you need to finally pray
If we're here anyway

>>6322102
>>Though now you plan to seek out Inquisitor Leontine

>>6322102
>Though you need to finally pray
Might as well if we’re here already

>>6322102
>Though you need to finally pray
Welcome back, OP.

>>6322102
>Though you need to finally pray

4 to Pray

2 to Greet more coworkers

Writing (Well, written).

>>6322456
You bid the Inquisitors adieu before finding yourself a nice and secluded part of the park to kneel and pray. You are very methodical about the process, and there is a decent chance the Lord Inquisitor has some way to tell if you do it properly or not. So why risk your chances of not having to finish the paperwork by slacking off? You’re not that type of person, unlike some you know. So with careful precision, you clasp your hands, close your eyes, and part your lips, “O’ Goddess-”

As you say the prayer, you tune out the world around until you can hear nothing else but the calmly flowing river and rustle of leaves just starting to turn color. Even your own voice is drowned out by the all-consuming void of nothingness, though it is not an unpleasant feeling, as a gentle warmth flows through your mana circuits and you continue to pray. You feel invigorated, powerful, yet not powerful enough to challenge the great being near you. Nor are you powerful enough to escape the cage keeping you contained. Wait, what?

Your body is sent flying back and forth as the birdcage is rocked with extreme malice. The being, Dorothy, isn’t it? Seems to be bearing a grudge, though she says nothing as you send careening from metal bar into metal bar. It is painful, but not. Your bruises are immediately healed, and you find the whole ordeal to be little more than an annoyance. As of this moment, you are powerful, but it is not your power. Someone else is flooding mana through you, keeping you alive and sane, but denying you your right to handle your own problems. Annoying.

You cannot see nor hear the second presence, your benefactor, and no doubt the little girl with blonde hair and an ego the size of the planet. But you can feel her presence, and you can feel her fighting with Dorothy over your cage. Your eyes remain closed; they won’t let you, a mere puppet, even witness them. Annoying. Then, as you're thrown back and forth and back again, something breaks. It’s no surprise that when beings of immense magical power fight, things are bound to break, even if they’re only a singular bar.

“This way, follow me!” A little girl shouts, “Sister, please!”

“Dammit, stay put! If I’m to build Utopia, I need-”

“Just run, Ina!”

The voices demand and plead, though it is not your ears that hear them. Though you know if you’re going to do something, it needs to happen now.

>Follow the voice of Alice to a land far, far away

>Stay in your cage for at least Dorothy is honest in her intentions

But that’s not all, is there? You sit high above the land, floating in a balloon made of hot air. You could always reject them both, refuse their power and their decrees. It would be a hard path, no doubt, one where even answers would be a luxury. But it would be your choice.

>Fall

>>6322457
Alice only barely wins for me, but I’m still not happy that they’re throwing Lorina in this mess with no advice or backstory.

>”No answers, no explanations, just both of you trying to use me as a vessel for what you want for your playroom with no care for how I feel! Sisters or whatever the hell you two are, you both are awful brats and deserve each other! NOW GET OUT OF THIS STORY AND GO BACK TO YOUR OWN!!!”

>>6322474
Oh, and if the vote wasn’t clear, I’m for following Alice for right now, because while she may be a brat, she didn’t stuff us in a cage. So that gives her five minutes to make a pitch.

>>6322457
>Fall

>>6322457
>>Stay in your cage for at least Dorothy is honest in her intentions

>>6322457
>Fall
Solo ending

>>6322457
>Follow the voice of Alice to a land far, far away
I want answers god damn.

>>6323169
I am swapping to Alice, we'll go option 3 later if we can.

>>6322476
>>6323221
>>6323690
Alice

>>6322945
Dorothy

>>6322580
Lorina

Writing

>>6324392
Really, is it even close? When your choices are between a deceitful manipulator, an abusive captor, and falling to an unfortunate doom, you’re going to choose the one who is most likely to keep you alive. So as you feel the barrier surround you, break, you run as you have never run before, towards the power suffused with warmth. It feels as if you’re leaping from the moon towards the sun, and despite the moon's best efforts to hold you back, it cannot compete with the combined force of you and Alice. It’s only natural that the choice you make leads you down the correct path, for it is your choice and you are always right.

Even if it leads to indescribable pain as your body is torn between two entities of monstrous power. It hurts.

It hurts a lot.

Then, the feeling of being torn apart is gone. You feel normal, other than the harsh lights that force your closed eyes open. You make a rather ignoble face as your body adapts to many new sensations. The place you’ve found yourself in is alien, smelly, loud, and quite yellow. A stained, and moist (ew), carpet cradles your back before you stand and look around. As you do so, you notice that something is deeply wrong with this place. Very deeply wrong. A sea of yellow is laid out before your eyes, or well, it would be if not for the mad layout of disjointed walls and doorways. Somehow, you’ve managed to find yourself in a labyrinth that only the most insane of wizards could imagine.

As the fog of your mind vanishes, you begin to process what just happened to you and come to the quick realization that this must be a dream; your body is likely still in the public grounds. Naturally, you pinch yourself. Unnaturally, you don’t wake up. Ah. That is not good. Your next move is to check your gear, and thankfully, not a single one of your hidden weapons has gone missing, so at the very least, no wizard has robbed you during your slumber, nor has Alice or Dorothy disarmed you. Both would have been a shame to your honor, which is currently only slightly, very slightly mind you, tarnished.

Well, whatever it is you need to be is not here, so you pick a direction and walk.

…

How long has it been? Hours? Days? Months? Years?

Well, no. You’ve counted to about 761 in your head, so however long that is. You’re not sure you’ve made much progress, as all the “rooms” and corridors are so strikingly similar, with only a few devices, Strangetech most likely, that are scattered throughout. You turned a dial on one, and it clicked and created a blue fire under some metal bars, most definitely Strangetech. Just where the hell has Alice brought you?

Did she even bring you? Or is this? No, it’s probably best not to ponder that, not while you’re currently in hostile(?) territory. You sniff the air. No, this is definitely hostile territory, at least to your senses. But how is it that you’ll get out of it?

>>6324395
>Keep walking in a random direction

>Call out to Alice

>Try to find a magical signature to follow

>[Write-in]

>>6324398
>Try to find a magical signature to follow

>>6324398
Did she really backrooms us? After we gave her a chance? Wow, see if we do that again.

>Dig through a wall

>>6324398
>Try to find a magical signature to follow

>”Hello? Are there any other protagonists from books written by people from outside my reality out there? Preferably someone that doesn’t speak in riddles or plan to break my reality into pieces to rule it, please!”
>Cthulhu stalks back to his prison grumbling about beggars and choosers

>>6324398
>>Try to find a magical signature to follow

>>6324398
>Try to find a magical signature to follow

>>6324835
>>6324912
>>6324590
>>6324399
Basically, all vote to gaze into the backroom's magic though >>6324419 isn't exactly opposite of that

>>6326058
Despite the minuscule, yet lingering, fear that if you close your eyes, you'll find yourself in an altogether different place, you do so. In the middle of a strange room, you sit cross-legged and perform a motion that is not dissimilar from prayer, only instead, your concentration is on your mana and the magic around you, rather than reciting verses ingrained in your memory. Then your eyes shoot open, and as you fall, you fall with the most outrageous of headaches. Sure, you understood something was wrong here, of course it is, this place looks like where you imagined Asher lived on Earth, but now you understand this place is wrong. The mana scattered through the air resembles more a storm than the tranquil floating dandelion petals that you’re used to. As you work your way through the pain, you try to make sense of the convoluted maze of magic this place has. Maybe that's why you felt ill here, not from the stench or moist air but from your mana interacting with what is floating around.

You stumble to your feet and begin walking. Despite your only brief glimpse into the void, you thought you saw at least something different. And you have the feeling the sooner you’re out of here, the better. Just where the hell even are you? Dammit, if you stumble upon any more critters that speak in nothing but verse, you swear it will be the last rhyme they ever make.

By the time your head is clear, you’re in a completely new place. Not that you can actually tell, seeing as this whole building(?) looks the same, but you are intelligent enough to understand you’re in a new place. It takes about an hour for your head to clear up, right? That's how long it felt like. Has it been an hour? Surely, something would have happened by then, no?

Something is going to happen, right?

Right?

You'll keep walking just in case, keep following the glint of golden mana you glimpsed in the sea of chaos. Surely, this is where you are supposed to go.

Surely, once you get there, something will happen.

Surely, you’re not alone here. Maybe there'll be a big monster you have to fight!

Or a Stranger, that's what you do now, fight Strangers.

Ah, maybe this is a Cheat Skill! Where a Stranger put you in a prison.

Or wouldn't it be that Alice put you in prison?

Surely, she didn't, right?

You have way more use than just being discarded! Everybody knows this! Alice must be watching you right now, toying with you even.

Someone has to be watching you.

You can't be alone here. After all, you've already had to sleep thrice, there's no way a place like this could just be empty.

Oh, you're probably wondering how you haven't had to eat anything, right? Of course, you'd be thinking that. It doesn't make sense to stay alive and not eat, doesn't it? Well, the answer is. Pause for dramatic effect. It is! The answer is!

The paint is peeling on that wall. That's new, right? Isn't that interesting?

>>6326060
Your mace is excellent at smashing through walls. Maybe if you dig through enough of them, you'll find treasure-

*VROOOM*

A thunderous noise snaps your attention to the roof. The fluorescent lights up there hurt your eyes. Thankfully, someone is kind enough to shut them off by driving a vehicle that would only slightly have looked out of place in the Metal Castle through the roof and crashing into the ground. Wait, no. It only blocked the light, seeing as when the vehicle falls to the ground, both the light and the roof it came careening out of are still intact. Damn.

It's an awkwardly long time before you realize you should probably check on what just crashed through the ceiling instead of staring at the ceiling for a minute. It's probably just due to how much time you've spent here. Obviously, you can't be blamed for a slight error of judgment. Surely.

“N-no I- I didn't mean to! No, please!” Frantic sobs resound through the corridor as one of the broken vehicle's doors opens and a small woman falls out. She’s covered in blood as broken glass protrudes from her body, though that doesn't seem to be why she's crying. Perhaps that may be due to the blood that was already on the front of the vehicle when it fell from the ceiling. “No, this can't be happening! This isn't happening! I didn't- I couldn't- Please, forgive me!” The woman shouts to herself and no one else. That is, until she sees you, which is when her horror turns to confusion, “C-cosplay? Wait, no, please, you have to help me! I didn't mean to hit him- I wasn't looking- please, you have to help-” That is, until she is interrupted most coldly.

“You’re not supposed to be here.” An authoritative voice says. “Leave.”

And like that, you get one last look at the pure horror on the woman's face before any evidence she was ever before you vanishes. Instead of looking at a broken hunk of metal and a sobbing wreck, you see a little blond woman wearing a blue dress. Alice stands before you. Your hand moves to grab the hilt of your blade.


>Who are you?

>What are you?

>Where did you send her?

>What do you want from me?

>Go to hell.

>>6326063
“I'm sure you have many questions.”

“A bit of an understatement.”

“Well, before anything else, I'd like to inform you that I've succeeded in hiding you away from that American Harpy.”

>Your Mental Corruption has reset to 0%

“I hardly even know what that means.”

“You know enough, I would think. Though perhaps not as much as I would like. No, definitely not as much as I would like. Do you know where we are?”

You make a face.

“We're at the edge of the world, sis. We used to play here, you know?” She seems sad as she says that.

“Like I would ever believe such an obvious lie.”

“No, perhaps I was wrong to think you were still in there, Lorina.” She sighs before composing herself. “I'm sorry.” Her eyes look moist.

“For what? Exactly?”

“What you've been put through. I thought- I thought a lot of things. Like you'd remember, but now I see I was wrong, and I'm sorry for assuming.”

“Remember what exactly? What are you talking about?”

“Are you sure you even want to know? You have a tournament to prepare for, don't you? There's a lot going on in your life, and all of this,” she gestures around her to the strange world you’re in, “Doesn't- shouldn't need to concern you. You've no attachments to me, Dorothy, anything that would make you need to deal with our old problems. If you want, I can send you back to where you were, and we can depart as nothing but strangers to one another. You'll get to live your life, fulfill your own goals, of which you’re more than capable of, and never need to worry about anything more than that.”

>No, I want- I demand answers

>Send me back, I never wish to gaze upon you again

>>6326064
>No, I want- I demand answers

>>6326064
>>Send me back, I never wish to gaze upon you again

>>6326063
>YES. (Basically everything)

>>6326064
>No, I want- I demand answers
>”You’re from that book I read, that much I know. But you act less like your depiction in it and more like the people you saw there. What happened?”
>”And why be so cruel to whoever that was? I was terrified when I first came here, and I’m closer to your reality than she is to yours. I can’t help but feel bad for her, it’s scary to be whisked away without answers.”
>”Please, at least promise me that you’ll try next time. I have a feeling that I’ll have to deal with her later, and I’d like to not have to hurt her, regardless of what she did.”

>>6326064
>No, I want- I demand answers
No living in ignorance for us.

>>6326064
>No, I want- I demand answers
>You do remember the world I live in has problems with people getting possessed by two types of otherworldly entities, right? I’m literally coworkers with one.
>”You’re from that book I read, that much I know. But you act less like your depiction in it and more like the people you saw there. What happened?”