Chapter Two: A new life, and another war

Where am I? My eyes quickly dart around the room. This room was way too nice to be a prison or torture room. It's nicely painted, features elegant drapes, a large and comfortable bed, and even the blanket is embroidered with a fancy design. There's probably more, but the room was dim, and my body felt sluggish and unresponsive. Speaking of my body, I pushed myself up and moved to the side of the bed.

I feel around my forehead but notice a lack of a gunshot wound, or any wound for that matter. Odd, I could have sworn that I was shot in the head. Looking down at my leg, and sure enough, there was no wound and no broken leg. However, something is off. It seems like my legs are shorter.

How can my legs shrink? Maybe I'm just out of it, or perhaps the room and bed are just too large. Is this some kind of new torture technique? I shook my head. Overthinking things will get me nowhere. It's time to investigate the strangely large room.

I jump down from the bed and quickly realize the height difference between me and the bed. The bed was so large that my shoulders barely peeked over its side. Why did they even make a bed this size? Hell, I can't even imagine how much one would even cost. Looking to my left, I see a nightstand that is shockingly just as large. Alright, I guess I got taken by giants or something.

Whatever, I turn around and start walking towards the other end of the room. At the other end, I see a large object reflecting light around the room. It's a mirror... a large mirror. Though the light is dim, it's enough for me to see my reflection. I look into it, but the person in the mirror doesn't look like me. The face lacks the many scars I had, and the hair is straight and well-kept, and the eyes are blue, not brown. The only thing that seems the same is the cold, soulless gaze that my eyes give off.

Just what in the hell is going on? Would the military go this far to mess with me? The words from my mentor ring in my head again. Stop, Think, Observe, Plan. I took a deep breath and started thinking about all of this out. Let's see, I was shot trying to flee from the military. Then, I woke up in a strangely large room without any injuries. My face and appearance are not mine, and this room is too nice to be a prison.

Okay, I can think of two possible scenarios. Scenario one: I have been captured and turned into a living doll and sold off to some rich pervert as punishment for everything I have done. Scenario two: I have been reborn/reincarnated, like in one of those shows my brother used to watch. The second one is more plausible, considering it would explain the large room because the room isn't bigger, but I have just gotten smaller.

Clap, clap, clap. I quickly turn around and see a tall figure slowly approaching me. "It hasn't even been five minutes, and you have already figured out what happened to you." The tall figure slowly steps into the light. "You know, the last person I reincarnated panicked and cried for almost an hour before I had to step in."

Now that the figure was entirely in the light, I could see her feminine features. I'm not one for fashion, but her clothes seemed to have the impression of the goddess or some divine being, and her ...assets... were very pronounced, and she wanted to emphasize them. "How rude to stare at a goddess's body. To think I summoned another pervert." That kind of sounds like a personal problem. I mean, you're the one who put on that ridiculous outfit.

Whatever, God or not, an enemy is an enemy. "I wasn't staring. I was assessing a potential threat. If you didn't want people to look, then maybe you should have dressed more modestly." She gave me an annoyed glare. "Wow, would it kill you to at least play along? The last one was so much fun to tease, but you showed no emotion whatsoever. Then again, that cold, calculating attitude is the reason why I summoned you." The reason she summoned me? So that means she wants something from me in exchange for a new life.

"Bingo, there is something that I need you to do." Wait, did she just read my thou.. "Yes. I can read your thoughts, even those comments about me being an enemy and how I dress. Well, as long as you are here in your dream." Dream? "Yes, technically, you are dreaming, but I have hijacked it to talk to you. My ability to interact with the world is limited, so this is the best way to talk to you." Great, now my nightmares will be filled with a skimpy so-called goddess.

"Hey, I told you that I could rea..." "You summoned me here to do something. So what is it that you want?" She looked perplexed, almost like no one had ever cut off her useless ramblings before, or maybe she had never been talked to with such a stern tone. "You know you could benefit from not being so serious all the time, but fine, straight to the point, I guess. Well, all of the gods are having a little game to see which of their followers will take over the world. With war being inevitable, I figured someone good at it would be a perfect summon, unlike the last one."

"So you summoned me because you believe I am capable of winning some holy war for you." "Correct, I believe you have the skills necessary to easily defeat the other gods' followers. After all, I'm the goddess of humanity, so you have a pretty big difficulty curve. "That's not something to be proud of.

"You're right, but humans are the weakest and probably won't survive wars that will eventually happen. That's why you're here, little Miss Angel of Death. With your skills as a cold-blooded terrorist that's capable of bringing a large, well-funded army to a grinding halt, you could easily turn our hopeless fight around." "And what makes you think I will help you?" "What do you mean? I brought you back to life." "You're assuming that I want to live and, let alone, be a pawn to some failure of a god who can't even fight her own battles."

"Listen here, you don't have a choice. You're stuck here, and your new home will be engulfed in war whether you help me or not!" "Then the choice is easy. I'm done being other people's pawn." This is my dream, right? So, if I concentrate, I should be able to create a weapon. I focus my thoughts on the handgun that I always carry with me. Sure enough, the gun appears in my hand.

Racking the slide back, I can see that the gun is loaded. I aim the gun directly at her head. "Do you think that's going to work on me? I am a goddess, and you cannot physically hurt me." "Who said it was for you." "Huh?" She had a puzzled look, like she didn't know what I meant. That doesn't surprise me. She doesn't seem to be very bright. I point the gun at my head. "Wait, what are you... "

"I told you I'm done being someone's pawn, especially to someone who robbed me of my well-deserved punishment for my sins." "I didn't rob you of punishment. This is a path for atonement. You see if you win this war, I'll..." "Some kind of goddess you are. You know people pray for peace, not war. War is the embodiment of hell, so it's clear that you're just posing to be some divine being, and too bad for you, I already sold my soul to another devil." Without hesitation, I squeeze the trigger. "WAIT..."

A loud bang echoed within me as a sharp pain emanated from my head. I quickly sat up and gasped for air. Ow, even though that was a dream, it still hurt. Fortunately, I am very accustomed to pain. There was no wound, but the side of my head was in quite a deal of pain. It was a gamble to shoot myself, but for someone like me, a person who can read my thoughts, is the worst type of enemy. Also, I should be a little concerned by the lack of anxiety and hesitation when I pulled the trigger, but I guess it really shows how much war had dehumanised me.

I shook my head, thinking about things like that will get me nowhere. I started looking around, and sure enough, I was in the same room as the dream. I'm curious to see if the mirror shows the same thing. I get down off the tall bed and walk over to the mirror. In the mirror, I saw the same face I saw in the dream, but now that the room is lit by the sunlight coming through the windows, I can see much more in the reflection. I was born into some type of nobility. My clothes were very elegant and frilly, and the room looked well-kept and filled with expensive furniture. Just who am I? Where am I? What kind of world is this?

I let out a sigh. The only way I'm going to get answers is to find the answers. Let's start with what kind of world this is. Judging from the light coming from the windows, it's probably morning. The windows are covered in elegant-looking curtains.

I open the curtains to reveal a bright light that blinds me for a second. My eyes slowly adjust to the blinding morning sunlight. Out the window, I see a sizeable town with buildings that have a late medieval or maybe an early Renaissance look. Judging from the city's size, I would say it probably has a sizable population. Assuming that this might be a large city in this world, it should place my family pretty high in nobility. That would explain the extravagant bedroom.

Knock, knock. Someone was knocking on the door to my room. The door slowly opens. "Pardon me, but breakfast is ready." A lady dressed in a maid's outfit enters the room. She looked to be in her early teens. Her hair was brown and put into a ponytail, and her eyes were a light brown.

"Is there something wrong, Lenka? You look white as a ghost." Wait, she called me Lenka? That was my name before I died. Is it a coincidence or divine intervention? Either way, I should play along and find out more about who I am in this world.

"I'm fine. I just woke up from a nightmare." "Another one? If you would like, I could go ask the physician for some remedies." "No, I'll be fine. You said breakfast was ready?" "Yes." I started walking towards the doorway, but she stepped in front of me. "Lenka, you are old enough to understand that a lady shouldn't go out in her nightgown."

Right... I never really thought about my clothes. Guess I'm used to wearing whatever doesn't have a ton of holes or is covered in blood. It didn't occur to me that people might have clothes just for sleeping in. She let out a sigh.

"Do you need help getting dressed?" "If you don't mind." She walked past me to the dresser and started opening the drawers. "You know your father is worried that his only child is wasting her talents." Well, I just learned that I'm an only child in this world, but I am curious about what she means by talents.

"What do you mean I'm wasting my talents?" She grabs a dress from the dresser and then turns to me. "What I mean is that you are ten years old and have been severely neglecting your studies. You can barely read and write. I understand that you may still be grieving the loss of your mother, but you need to put your cleverness to better use. You are starting to get a reputation for being this house's fool." She spoke quite sternly but also seemed to be trying to hide her annoyance with me.

She handed me the dress and then went back to looking through the drawers. There is quite a bit to unpack there, but now I know that I am ten years old, which would explain my size. If my old memories are anything to go by, it would explain a lot. In my old life, my mom wanted me to learn the violin, but I would always skip practice to visit my dad's shop, so maybe my past self in this life is the same.

I do wonder why my life in this world started at ten. Does it have to do with the fact that my brain isn't fully developed yet? Or maybe that failure of a devil had planned this? The maid grabs a pair of stockings from the dresser and puts them on her shoulder. She then took off my nightgown and put the dress over me, fastening the strings on the back to tighten it. The dress was very nice. It was blue with black embroidered accents. She put on my stockings, then put the boots on my feet and tied the laces.

"Now, Lenka, I do hope next time you will be able to do this yourself. After all, your father would like you to be a little less reliant on me." I'm a little surprised but also quite impressed. I didn't think that a noble's maid could talk down to their masters. Maybe my father allows her to scold me.

"My apologies. I will do it by myself from now on." The maid gives me a very shocked look. "... you are? Well... I guess even a broken clock works sometimes, but let's see how long you will keep dressing yourself."

"Well, come on before breakfast gets cold." She opens the door and walks out of the room. I follow her out into a long hallway. The hallway features nice wood flooring and wooden paneling on the walls, with large windows on one side and a row of doors on the other. There were three rooms on this side of the hallway, and then there was a gap, and what looked like three more rooms.

The room I came out of is the last one at the end of the hallway. The gap in the middle of the hallway is for the staircase that leads downstairs. Downstairs, there is a large foyer with several rooms off the sides. I followed the maid downstairs into the room on the left. Inside was a large rectangular table with five chairs on each of the long sides and one chair at each end. The room is filled with numerous cabinets containing plates and drinking glasses.

The maid pulled out the chair on the end closest to us and then gestured for me to sit. I sat down, and she pushed my chair toward the table. It's an odd feeling to be so small again and to have my feet dangle from the chair. There is also a pillow on the chair to help boost me up so I can see properly over the table.

I would say it is nice to be a kid again, but years of war and suffering don't exactly just disappear. After all, you can leave the war, but it never really leaves you. Another maid enters the room from a door in the back. She is carrying a tray of food to the table. The maid appears to be in her mid-forties, with gray hair in a ponytail, and her eyes are a light brown. Both of the maids look alike, and they are probably mother and daughter.

"Good morning, Lenka. Here is your breakfast. Please enjoy." She puts down a bowl and a plate on the table in front of me. Then she gives a bow, walks to the side of the room, and waits next to the other maid. The bowl looks to contain some kind of oatmeal that smells bland. It's not the extravagant noble meal I was expecting, but it looks a lot better than some of the rations I used to eat.

There is still a lot I need to learn about where I am and who I am. A lack of knowledge and information often leads to dire consequences. I've had many injuries and near-death experiences in my past life from a lack of crucial information. If I can help it, I would prefer not to relive those experiences.

As soon as I finish my meal, a person walks into the room from the foyer. "Good morning, my lord," both maids say in unison as they bow. The man wears elegant clothes, has short salt-and-pepper hair, a small beard, and blue eyes, and appears to be in his mid-to-late thirties. Judging by his looks and the maids' reactions, he's likely my father.

He sits down in the seat to the right of me. "Sorry for my late arrival, Annabelle, but I was busy dealing with a problem that came up. Could you please get me my food?" "Not a problem, my lord; it will only take a minute." The older maid then quickly left through the door in the back of the room. The man looks at me and then at the food I have finished.

"Mary, I see that your plan has started to work. You have my thanks." "You're welcome, my lord; let's hope that it continues to work." Both of them look at me and give a slight chuckle. "Well, Lenka, I hope that you won't cause any more trouble now." I nodded to him even though I was not sure what had happened before I woke up in this world.

"If you may excuse me, my lord. I will be taking Lenka to her lessons." "Okay, but do make sure that she doesn't escape this time." She glares at me with a very hostile intent. "Will do, my lord." She pulls the chair back and then grabs my hand, pulling me along. I'm guessing that the food, as well as Mary's attitude towards me, is some form of discipline for my actions.

Whatever, I don't care; I mean, food is food, and people treating me like crap is nothing new. If anything, this is a vast improvement from my past life. Plus, I got some useful information from this exchange. I learned that the younger maid is named Mary, and the older one is Annabelle. It's a good thing to know. After all, it would be odd for someone you have probably known for your whole life to just completely forget your name.

I'm curious about what these lessons entail. I will admit that I am feeling anxious about not knowing anything about the world that I am in. For all I know, at the moment, this world could be absolute hell. Well, at the very least, I know that Mary has a firm intent to make me learn, judging by how hard she is holding onto my hand and pulling me along with her.

However, midway up the stairs, we were stopped by the sound of the front door opening. A man in armor came through the door. "My apologies, my lord, but an important letter has arrived," he said as he bowed. My father walked over to him and grabbed the letter. After one look at it, he sighed. "The elves are demanding more," he muttered. Wait elves? But before I could investigate more, Mary continued to pull me up the stairs.