Warning, warning... this chapter has not been reviewed by a native english speaker,
I beg you to let me know if you find any outrageous use of the english language...

The order of the Mortal Knights.
By Javier Delgado R.

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

Chapter 40
Galileo 2.0

Amid total darkness there was a man sitting behind a clutched desk, on it there were several computer monitors that occupied almost all available space. Apart from the shine of the screens, there was only a small desk light that illuminated the place, so it could barely penetrate a few meters into the darkness that seemed to stretch to infinity.

The man was absorbed looking at the screens content, there were just rows and rows of numbers, all virtually identical, so that when one was somewhat different it stood out immediately from the other, each time he found a slight anomaly with a quick staccato he typed some instructions until the figure was identical to the others. The man looked diligently for those slight differences. Of course there was software that could do that automatically and efficiently, but doing personally helped him to get a better understating of the idiosyncrasies of the system, after all, the human brain is still the best tool when looking for patterns.

His oriental face looked tired but satisfied. He smiled, at least the system appeared to be completely stable. Still, he spent another a full hour watching the screens until he finally straightened in his seat, took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. He then proceeded to stretch his arms, and could not help to yawn ostentatiously. He reached for a thermos on the desk and lifted it ... only to made a gesture of disgust when he realized it was empty and sighed. Maybe it was time to finally get some rest.

Only then he began to feel the accumulated fatigue after so many hours. He turned around his desk chair and got up slowly and carefully ... he knew his tired muscles could protest after so many hours of immobility.

Finally, he stood up and flexed his arms and legs to ensure that blood circulated normally, he began to walk, slowly and advancing with clumsy steps in the midst of darkness, trying to avoid tripping over some cable still out of place. Meanwhile, he looked around, his eyes were still dazzled by the computer screens but he slowly his was able to see a little better, so the darkness became less absolute. Everywhere, flashing color lights were visible. He smirked at those ordered constellations of light and imagined himself for a moment in the middle of a galaxy, although no one could confuse those perfectly neat and symmetrical lights with stars. The lights stretched in regular lines until they lost in the distance.

Dr. Kawazu, smiled satisfied. He knew that 99.95% of all processing cores were operating perfectly and it was more than they had expected for the first day of operation. He closed his eyes and listened to the soft sound of thousands of small fans and the pumping of the cooling systems, they were not working at full capacity, but he knew that when the system would operate at full power the site could become a bit noisy ...

At that moment he heard footsteps and then, there was the sound of a dozen power switches being turned on in a quick rattle ... he growled at what he knew it was coming, he closed his eyes and protected his face with his arm. And at once there was light...

The lamps in the hallways light suddenly flood the place. Without lowering his arm he attempted open his eyes, but he was completely dazzled, it was almost a full minute before he was able to open his eyes, so he could lower his arm.

Now that he able to see again he looked at his watch and grunted in surprise, it was much later ... or earlier than he expected. He had lost all sense of time and apparently the staff and the guests were already arriving for the big event.

From the entrance he heard a cheerful voice that said ...

- "Dr Izuka! ..." I was sure to find you here ... "- it was his colleague Dr. Nakayama -" We brought some coffee and snacks with us, you may like some. "

Izuka just nodded, yet his salivary glands began to work as he heard the sound of what seemed be a cart with sandwiches and coffee, so he not did not answer to the greeting and instead went directly on the attack, as his nose perceived the delicious aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

On his way to intercept his prey he saw a dozen of people moving and talking. With some envy he realized that they were fresh and rested. Advancing before the group, he saw a man striding, it was obvious that he was heading towards him. He smiled at the man and greet him:

- "Good day Shugahara, have all our guests arrived?... Do they already know what is this all that about?"

- "Dr Izuka!" - the man replied with and exaggerated and false anger - "Again you have stayed working all night! I must remind you that this installation is not your only child "- Shugahara laughed gleefully as he lifted a small suitcase- "Have this, your wife sent you a change of clothes ... but it´s late and you already have no time to change, here, I lend you my lab coat so you will look presentable, it is freshly pressed.

Shugahara offered his clean and meticulously ironed lab coat, but Dr Izuka growled ...

- "I do not use lab coats!, you know in my area they are not nece ..."

But Shugahara interrupted him with a mischievous laugh.

Everybody expects scientists to use lab coats! Specially today when you are the star of this show, so you must appear to be one. Please, take mine and join the group.

- "Dr Izuka growled again, but he accepted the lab coat. The coat hid his worn jeans and his old T-shirt that betrayed him as an otaku. Now, with an immaculate coat he really seemed to be the honorable Dr Izuka Kawazu, Founder of the Fuzzy Logic Institute, specialist in neural networks and artificial intelligence systems."

Shugahara smiled happy at the change, then, recognizing someone who was behind the group, he raised his voice and said, -"Keiichi is over here, we are waiting you."-

Keiichi Morisato was walking slowly looking everywhere, he seemed to be very impressed by the place. He had never seen so much computer equipment together. Aisles and aisles of racks full of what appeared to be very advanced computer servers. He suspected that each of them would be much more powerful than the machine that had been installed in the temple and where Galileo´s conscience resided. Unwittingly he walked to join with Shugahara.

-" Kenji, are you finally going to tell me what is all this about ?, Skuld is very excited, but I could not get anything from her. "- Keiichi however, was not looking at Shugahara but at the immense forest of computers around him, the corridors were so long that seemed they could stretch out of sight. Along those corridors were hundreds and hundreds of cabinets painted in a bright orange color and had a large and elegant kanji symbol in each of them. He opened his mouth surprised at reading it, it was the kanji for "hope".

Shugahara continued talking:

- "Soon you'll know everything, just let us enjoy this a little bit, our other guests have arrived and I want to introduce them to you."

Another group of people was arriving, Keiichi recognized Professor Takashi accompanied by Ghadril. His colorful shirt, jeans and long hair contrasted with the elegant uniform of the Valkyrie, still the affinity between them was evident. There was also that bothersome Italian reporter, along with a young girl that somehow resembled him, she could be his daughter and she held a very professional looking video camera and was already busy recording everything

Behind them came a small group of women led by Urd, who was floating in the air and surprisingly it seemed that no one cared about that.

Keiichi felt surprised by the attitude show by Urd toward the group. Instead of the sly, mocking, arrogant and domineering goddess which he was used to knowing, she was treating the group of women with a mixture of pride and respect. Perhaps even more surprising it is that instead of her usual revealing clothes, she wore elegant and sober clothes that gave her and unusual dignity.

Keiichi examined the group of women. They were women of all ages, some young, others almost elderly, but all walked slowly, as if it they were just recovering from a long illness. One of them even came in a wheelchair and looked extremely weak and emaciated. The women looked around in wonder.

Urd was watching carefully their steps and appeared to be alert to any sign of weakness, so she could offer so magical support immediately, all this while she explained and pointed to them everything around. Helping to take care for the group also were Lind, Professor Shubashini Sripathi and the young Somasindhu, who now was a proud student of medicine at the most prestigious university in Japan.

Walking alongside the group there was a tall, attractive girl that called Keiichi´s attention. Her almost white skin and her beautiful long golden hair stole his breath. For a moment he imagined she was a recently arrived goddess, despite being youth she had the air of one who has a great responsibility.

She met his gaze and in turn she looked at him in amazement and admiration, she moved quickly toward him. Keiichi felt uncomfortable about the reaction of the girl ... then he recognized her, so nervously he pointed to her and said:

- You are Gyrirrr ... Gyri ... - Keiichi stuttered to pronounce her name, although he now dominated a hundred languages, his dealing with beautiful young women had not improved. Finally, got it right - "You are Gyrid" - he corrected himself -" Shugahara and Urd have told me a lot about you. "

She smiled, she had also heard a lot about this young man form Shugahara. A first impression he seemed to be just an ordinary Japanese boy, but Gyrid Admundsen felt a magical aura emanating from him, and also through her own magic she could see the magical marks on his face, clearly he was not an ordinary human being. He was one of the members of the Order of the Mortal Knights.

Keiichi stretched out his hand timidly to greet her, but before he had time to react she crossed her arms over her chest, put one knee on the floor as a sign of respect and bowed to him saying:

- "Keiichi Morisato, member of the Order of Knights and protector of the Tarikihongan temple, I, Gyrid Admundsen greet you in the name of the sisterhood of Urth. I am at your service in gratitude for all you have done. You have given us life and hope."

Keiichi gaped, not only there was an extremely attractive girl kneeling in front of him, but he knew that this young woman was now the virtual, yet hidden, ruler of the world Meanwhile the group of women who came with Urd join them and one by one they all repeated the same gesture.

So Keiichi found himself surrounded by women kneeling around him with an attitude of deep respect. With their attitude and manners they looked as if they belonged to a medieval altarpiece, which contrasted with the high-tech environment around them. And for added embarrassment, the rest of the surrounding people, technicians, scientists, students, and even the Italian girl, came to see what was happening. Many of them pulled out his cellphone to record the scene.

For a few minutes Keiichi was only capable of emitting incoherent words. He looked around for help but felt even confused when he saw Urd and Shugahara engaged into a passionate kiss that seemed to last forever, only after they separated Shugahara paid attention to him. The Doctor laughed softly at Keiichi´s predicament and politely told the group.

- "Please, everyone rise, Keiichi is not used to such ceremonies"- Slowly, but with great dignity all stood, looking at Keiichi like someone very special, Shugahara explained to the confused young man - "They are the survivors the sisterhood of Urth. Thanks to the brilliant way yo used to find me, not only you saved me but all of them and they are deeply grateful to you. When we reviewed the hidden records of that organization Galileo found that some of then were still alive in various secret prisons around thew world, they hope to extract even more of their knowledge. All have suffered cruel tortures, but they have been recovering thanks to the combination of the Urd´s magic and the care joint care of professor Sripathi and the young Parthasarathi. The results are almost miraculous. Parthasarathi has magic hands, someday will be a great doctor. Thank to you the sisterhood will be rebuilt. With them the primates and a bit of Urd´s magic and potions, Gyrid can influence governments around the world. Keiichi, anything you need, they will do their best to get it for you".

Now Keiichi could understand Urd´s attitude to the group. Shugahara had already explained to him the story about the sisterhood and how in the past they had intervened many times in human history for the good of humanity. Urd should have been very happy at discovering that the legacy she had left son many centuries ago still survived. Keiichi then looked at Gyrid and gulped, she was almost his age, yet she had a great burden on her back, fortunately she was not alone, still she was an amazing girl.

At that moment, Shugahara and Urd called Gyrid along with the young Hindu boy, to their side to give them some instructions. Keiichi had heard a lot of them from Shugahara and Urd in the last months, maybe even too much, but now watching the four of them together her understood the reason.

Keiichi almost erupted to laughter at realizing that Shugahara and Urd looked like two proud parents !.

Shugahara and Urd really cared about them, only sharing with them their knowledge about magic, potions, chemistry, herbology, etc, but also their passion for helping others. Of course, Keiichi would never mention a word about that to Urd ... while she seemed to have softened a bit, that had not reduced her indiscriminate use of electric discharges to show her humor. Keiichi scratched his head thinking about it and smiled. He had realized that Urd had never been so happy, still there was someone missing that spoiled their happiness.

- "Your attention please," - his thoughts were interrupted by an amplified voice, Keiichi looked around and saw a man behind podium that had a microphone in his hand, he continued speaking: -"It is time to tell you what is this all about. Come here please, specially our guests. For those who don't know me, let me introduce myself, I'm Dr Izuka Kawazu, Founder of the Fuzzy Logic Institute and currently director of this project. Some of you may know that these facilities originally were part of the High-Performance Computing Infrastructure (HPCI) Initiative from Japan Government. Four years ago this facility should have become the Supercomputer RIKEN B. and thus it was intended to be the fastest supercomputer in the world, but China built a bigger one and some of our bureaucrats decided that it no longer worth finish it to be just in second place, so that the construction was suspended. But a year ago, an unexpected source of money ... "- Dr Izuka bowed his head discreetly toward Gyrid- ".. from several large companies allowed us , not only complete the work, but quintuple its original capacity. And thanks to Miss Skuld, Urd Sama and a group of young geniuses of our university, we finished in one year what we had expected take us over 4 years. When this place began to operate at it´s full capacity this will be by far the most powerful computer system on earth, but the computing capacity is not the only thing that matters and so this center will be much more than that. I confess that a few years ago what I'm going to say I would have considered pure nonsense, but after our alliance with Hell and Heaven, we learned that magic is real and that is what will make this place something unique. Yes!, magic will be incorporated into the operation this site ! "

Keiichi felt about to faint, he was beginning to understand what was that all about. He looked around again, since the beginning he had felt a sense of familiarity that could not identify, now he knew why, it had some resemblance to a large computer system in which I had been INSIDE. As answering his thoughts, a voice spoke behind him, it was Skuld. The little goddess came surrounded by the group of young cybernetics geniuses mentioned by Dr Kawazu had . Keiichi knew most of them by sight , since they had spent many hours in the temple talking with Skuld and Galileo. Now he understood what that they had been planning. So, while Dr Kawazu continued his technical explanations about the advances that involved this place, Skuld said:

- "Of course, this place is still very far from Yggdrasil and Nieghood league , but they gave me permission to do whatever I want. So here I had no limiting rules, nor the need to ask anyone's permission. Because of that, this place will do something neither of those systems can do ... It will be able to think. "

Keiichi's heart began to accelerate. He closed his fist around a crystal that always hung from his neck, he needed to feel it in his hand and then shook with emotion. In that crystal was the goddess Belldandy, goddess among goddesses, she had been sealed in it so that she could survive.

Shortly after the appearance of Belldandy in the European park, an info crystal had materialized and revealed instructions to him. It had a message that told him that Belldandy had little time to live, but explained that she could be sealed temporarily until they had the ability to repair her code, but in order to do it they had to break Kamisama´s encryption keys.

The instructions on the crystal suggested that they should call him Skuld. That has been difficult. Keiichi had to resort to threaten Heavens with the suspension of the delivery of the power bracelets for the gods. The strategy had worked and finally they had agreed to send the young goddess to the mortal world. However, Keiichi had never imagined that her work would be on such a grand scale.

Dr Kawazu had continued talking about the capabilities of the new facilities and all the research they hoped to accomplish. But many of the people around already knew the subject so they took the opportunity to comment. One of the students approached Urd, he saluted her with respect and asked her full of curiosity.

- "If Nieghood is as powerful as Yggdrasil, why did you not tried to use it to break the key?"

Keiichi was alarmed as he saw anger in the goddess face. He was prepared to go the rescue of the young student, but then realized that the young man was not the object of her anger.

- Of course I tried! - She exclaimed in frustration - I didn´t know that Kamisama´s encryption keys were the same level and type than Hild´s. I had barely finished entering the data when Nieghood initiated an Alert Level 6. "- Urd cursed in some unknown language ... although it was obvious she was describing in unflattering words someones lineage -" I didn't even know we had and alert with that level. Nieghood reacted as if it were a coup and I were trying to decrypt some of my mother encryption keys... fortunately she intervened and managed to squelch the alert, but she explained me that an alert that level usually requires the summary and automatic execution of the perpetrator, so I should not try to do it again. If I were not Hild´s daughter, things could have gone very wrong.

Keiichi gasped, it was not only how Urd had put her life in danger to save Belldandy, but also by realizing that just a few years before everything related to Hell and heaven had to be kept absolutely secret, now all present talked about it freely. True that for the outside world it was still a secret, but he knew Shugahara planned that eventually the world would know the whole truth ...!

Keiichi stood for a moment in silence, meditating and thinking about it, but then decided that was for the future, it was the present that mattered. He closed his eyes and a tear ran over her cheek. His hopes of recovering Belldandy had reborn. Without further thoughts, he ripped the string that hold the crystal around his neck, and gave it to Skuld. The little goddess also had moist eyes and with a smile she extended her arm. Gently she took the crystal. Then the goddess threw herself into Keiichi´s arms and said:

- "We will heal Belldandy, no matter how much time it takes. "

Keiichi heard murmurs around him, they were smiling at him, so he understood, all those people were willing to help to heal Belldandy.

Gyrid approached him and said:

- "Will save Megamisama, if necessary we will put the planet's resources at your disposal."

Urd approached, she hugged Keiichi then put his hand on his shoulders and said.

- We are already in the final preparations, and then it will be your turn. - Urd took Shugahara hand and said excitedly, "I'll explain to the sisterhood what they have to do, I will be back in a moment" - Then she floated away.

The goddess called the women towards the center of the complex, where there was an open area with lights around it, several circular marks and a pedestal at its center, as if it were designed for a ritual. Gyrid began to walk after her, but Shugahara whispered to her.

- "Gyrid, do you have a moment?" - The young woman looked puzzled at him and stopped. Shugahara look toward Urd, to make sure she could not listen, then said in low voice ... - "I did not want to ask anything about this to Urd, she still had certain plans, even if she had promised me not to act alone, so I do not want her to remember them. What happened to Mr. Cromwell and that crazy woman? "

Gyrid opened her mouth in surprise at the question, he new here were several painful memories involved... yet finally she smiled, then she pulled out her cell phone and started looking for something while she explained.

- When we discovered that some of my sisters were still alive, Ghadril told me about that communion you had used with the terrorists. Because of that, when Urd returned I convinced her to return the men to their human in order to do that communion. It was wonderful, until that moment all my attempts to do something to help people were accompanied by suggestions of wars, assassinations, political plots, blackmail ... all that was the way they were used to manipulating the world. They changed radically after they did the communion. Ghadril had told me that the procedure would not alter their minds, instead it would offer them the ability to see the world through the eyes and experiences of those who have suffered. So the communion with my sisters changed them completely. As for those two, Urd completely refused to transform them. Urd said she had promised to you no harm them, but still she thought they deserved punishment ... "

- "And then what happened to them?" -Shugahara asked even more intrigued.

Gyrid then lifted her cell phone with an ample smile and offered it to him In the little screen there was the photo of a pair of mice along a litter of small mice with multicolored coat.

- "I discovered that my former boss loved animals and without telling them who they were, she offered to care for them. Some time later she informed me that she let them have two litters and then sterilized the male. She says they are now fat and happy, and there's no way she can separate them, they keep squealing if she tries to do it. She told me they make great company for her and occasionally she sends me pictures. "

Shugahara started laughing, he did not wish to imagine Urd doing something terrible, so probably that was the best solution.

At that moment he heard a whisper beside him a sultry voice saying.

- "Nice picture, should I be jealous?".

If Shugahara had not a long experience as a teacher, and used to some weird irruptions from his students, he would have jumped in the air. He managed to remain calm although his heart skipped a few beats ... Urd had come floating quietly and had her lovely face beside him, she had a sly smile.

Urd took the phone. She slide her hand on it and the photography grew and floated in the air, then Urd spoke with a serious voice.

- Kenji, I have not forgotten about them. I still feel we should have punished them and still I keep imagining some ideas. But I promised you to leave the decision in the hands of Gyrid and I will comply. I recognize that you are right in saying that no torture or punishment can undo the damage they have done, but still justice should be made and they were already beyond redemption. The communion with the sisterhood would not have accomplished much, nor any of my potions. "- Urd floated toward the girl and took her hands. - " Gyrid, when you took them, at first I thought your have serious intention to abandon them somewhere to let be prey to some animal, but despite what they did, you searched for someone to take care of them and that's enough for me. Gyrid, now I know the world is really in good hands. "-

Then Urd floated towards Keiichi and said:

- "Keiichi, I think now you know what you have to do."

The young man looked at the goddess with moist eyes, he slowly nodded and took his cell phone and spoke:

- Galileo, seems you have a new home and now you can take possession of it. Transfer your code and your consciousness to this place ... I am sure Skuld and Urd have everything ready for that. We have a key to break and code to repair.

From the phone came a voice that each day was less impersonal that said:

- "I owe you to be a conscience being and therefore also put all my will to save your goddess.

Then gradually they could see and hear how the place seemed to became alive as Galileo moved his consciousness to this place.

The lights of the network nodes began to blink faster and the fans speed up as the system began to work at full capacity as hundreds of thousands of processing nodes began to manipulate peta-bytes of information, increasing the power consumption mega-watt by mega-watt. At the sight of all that Dr. Izuka began to jump with happiness, doing something that looked like a primitive ritual dance in front of the monitors that show the status of the system, while throwing strange invocations of something that seemed to have some resemblance to English, but it was only understandable to his peers.

Keiichi hear murmurs behind, and saw the sisterhood had gathered and was now singing along with Urd, Skuld, and even Ghadril. He understood that Galileo´s mission was not just a matter only of computing power, it also require magic.

Urd had led the group to the center of the facilities, everything was ready for a magical ritual.

The sisterhood formed a circle, while Urd, Skuld, and Ghadril formed a triangle inside it. With reverence, Gyrid received the crystal from Skuld´s hands and placed it on the central pedestal, then she turned to wait for Dr Kawazu approval, and he nodded. Gyrid typed a few instructions on a small keyboard at the pedestal and then a glass dome descended form the ceiling to protect it. Then she joined the circle formed by the sisterhood, then the ritual began.

The magic of the combined goddesses began to form a great magical symbol, within the circle complex patterns that danced constantly changing were visible.

Urd, with clear and powerful voice said.

- "Galileo. This magical symbol will give you the magic protection from the gods and demons"-. She extender her arms controlling the circle. The magical symbol floating in the air slowly descended until it became engraved on the floor that became incandescent, but more magic was needed.- "Shugahara Kenji, Keiichi Morisato, Sentarō-kun and Lind, as members of the Mortal knights, you also must give protection to this place. Like the Tarikihongan temple, this place should become holy ground."-

Keiichi did not expect this, but understood why. He knew what he had to do and extracted from his memories a magical chant. Slowly the three mortals and the former Valkyrie entered the magic circle, and repeated Keiichi's chant, the new musical them became interwoven with the singing of the sisterhood singing. A now a dark square appeared and also was imprinted on the floor of the facility, finally it was the turn of the mortals' technology. A series of laser units in the roof began to trace and record various symbols on the pedestal base, from the engraved symbols a number of lines of light formed on the pedestal and began to spread to the racks of processors. At first the lines were simple, but gradually began to perform a dance patterns, due to their complexity and beauty they looked like a work of abstract art.

It was so beautiful that all became silent in awe, but it was short-lived. First murmurs of astonishment of those present were heard, then was a big hullabaloo as they realized everything was working. Several of the young people and cameramen around have been taking pictures and videos of both the magical ceremony and the "Dance" of Dr Izuka. Future anthropologists would spend years trying to decipher the hidden meaning of his dance ...

While the women from the sisterhood of Urd have been impressed by the facilities, the ceremony had impressed the students and scientists. As a result the atmosphere was of exhilaration at the wonders to come because if the combination of magic and technology. Some students excitedly began shouting "banzai" while detonations several bottles of champagne being opened was heard. The atmosphere was an exhilarating joy.

For the outside world that day had just a large data center had begun to operate and that would give prestige to Japan, and it would merit a few articles in some specialized magazines, but Dr Izuka´s team knew it was much more. It was an important moment for humanity as important as the first man on the moon or any other similar feat, not only because it was the culmination of more than a year of work, but because everyone knew they were creating the most powerful consciousness of the planet. In order to save a god they had just given the first step in a completely unknown path that would lead humanity to its greatest adventures.

-xxx-

In the gardens of the Tarikihongan temple spring was coming to an end and the life of the garden built by Valkyries radiated a vital and yet tranquilizing feeling. Summer was approaching and the sound of some cicadas began to be heard.

Despite having been completely destroyed during the battle with the demons, the magic of the Valkyrie and time had combined to give that place a magical atmosphere.

There was beautiful plum tree growing on the edge of a small pond, it was only had a few years old yet it had grown exuberantly and its branches provided a friendly shade. Below, sitting in a comfortable wooden chair an elderly woman was looking around here as if it were the first time she were in that place.

The old woman smiled at each little wonder from the garden, no matter if it were a butterfly, a leaf falling or the ripples in the pond produced by one of the small fish that inhabited it. She constantly opened her mouth in a silent dialogue, since she produced no sound, then the old woman look behind her and smiled as if he were overflowing with happiness. She was smiling to a young man that brushed her long white hair and unraveled it with infinite care so that more than brushing, seemed to caress it.

At that time a butterfly flew near Belldandy, she tried to touch it, but the elusive insect move away, yet it did not go very far and stayed flapping in the air. Belldandy looked at her a sadly and raised her hand ... then the butterfly came and landed on it for a few seconds, just to fly away, as if this little creature had felt happy to have touched her, the goddess seemed to be full of joy for that fleeting contact.

Keiichi was sharing the joy of the goddess and thought how lucky he was.

After all, Galileo had done something almost unbelievable, against all calculations in just one year had succeeded in decrypting the Kamisama encryption key to unlock the goddess code and restore Belldandy code so she could safely be unsealed.

The Keiichi had used his powers as mortal knight and now the goddess like Lind, held the magical marks of the mortal knights. Unfortunately that was all they had accomplished.

Belldandy had failed to fully recover, her exhausted powers made her look like an old woman and without her memories she was not able to heal herself. Every day she seemed to forget everything he learned the day before.

Nevertheless, Keiichi was happy to be with her, happy to share those little magic moments again and again. He loved brushing and stroking her hair as the life in the temple began to become a warm and peaceful every day.

Keiichi knew that outside the temple the world was changed rapidly, and he had been part of it. Under careful and gentle guidance, the warlike instincts of humanity were being leaded towards more noble purposes. The old scourges of humanity were being defeated one to one, as a small group of men and women used their wisdom to reform the societies of men, relieving them from the worst demons of the human soul. Yet nothing of that seemed to matter here, in the temple garden where time seemed to flow with a delicious laziness.

Then he heard the sound of a school bus, the tranquility of the temple became altered at the sound of children's voices.

Keiichi could not help laughing, something he did invariably twice a week.

He had to accept it was a story almost unbelievable. As Lind had begun to regain her magic, she had become more and more restless and irritable. Used to a spartan regimen of work directing and training to the fullest the bodies and minds of the best of the Valkyrie, doing nothing more than small domestic work in the temple became intolerable. At first, she and done guided by her Valkyrie discipline. But she was no longer a Valkyrie... she became depressed as she felt her life lacked purpose. Her magic was still limited and in this mortal world she had little use for that. Ghadril and Urd had enough magic power to resolve any problem. Finally, she had possibly decided to seek work in the human world. Her early attempts had been disastrous ... she could not understand the logic and customs of the mortal world specially that she had a rigid mentality

However, Lind's love for Belldandy had been her salvation. Sometimes some children from the vicinity who had befriended Belldandy in the past, have come looking for her, somehow they were not surprised find instead an "old princess", since that what they called.

Lind had noticed how the presence of the children made Belldandy happy, so she decided to find a way to bring more children to the temple.

As a result the strict Lind had found the most demanding job that could exist on earth: preschool care. She became fascinated by these free minds, without fear or vices that were so easily opened to her, and she could see all the potential that the could developed.

Of course It had not been easy, the school authorities at first had felt distrust at the white, tall and mysterious gaijin, no matter that the distinguished professor Kenji Shugahara, the Chiba University and Nekomi Tech would say about her... And who could blame her, the former Valkyrie had a military stance that make her look cold and unfriendly, no exactly what they wished to be in charge of their children. But finally a generous contribution of some corporation, convince those bureaucrats to leave their precious children in the care of the "gaijin". But soon the capacity Lind won them over. The children loved her, and the results of being under her care were beyond any expectations. However, Lind was not satisfied with that, and she got the extraordinary achievement of convincing the authorities to bring twice a week the children visit the temple. The school principal never understood how she had allowed such a thing, but Urd knew ... of course the conspirators at the temple decided that Lind should not know that the credit for that was for Urd´s potions.

It had been a wise decision. Lind was very proud for this achievement, as much as any victory she had in the past. Now for a few hours twice a week, the temple was filled with the sound of children playing there. And Lind knew he had been right, the sound of their voices, their cries and noises filled with happiness the face of the goddess.

Therefore, Keiichi now smiled happily when a little girl approached and took Belldandy´s hand to put a flower on it, then the little girl said to her

- "Good day granny princess." - For that was the title given to her by his children due to her regal yet warm bearing.

The goddess smiled and opened her mouth as if muttering something ... and the girl replied.

- "I am also very well, I have a new toy, do you want to see it?"

The goddess looked at her, smiled and nodded. So the girl ran to get her toy. Keiichi looked amazed at that conversation. He had no doubts that Belldandy could communicate with the children and for him that was more than enough.

Meanwhile, Lind came to meet him. Instead of her Valkyrie uniform she wore the simple dress corresponding to an educator, but with her athletic and slender figure the simple dress emphasized her femininity. Before Belldandy, Lind put a knee on the ground and greet the goddess with a bow. Then he turned toward Keiichi and repeated the same gesture ... He felt a little uncomfortable, but every week was it the same and he could not convince her not to do it. So once again, as he did twice a week, he told the former Valkyrie.

- Please Lind, you know I'm uncomfortable with that, I'm just a mortal. Belldandy is a goddess, I'm not.

Usually Lind never said anything, but this time she seemed in better spirits than usual so she replied with a mischievous smile that left Keiichi breathless. The goddess that once was characterized by her stern face was now illuminated by a beautiful and feminine smile, her eyes had a glint of moisture, as if about to weep from pure happiness. Keiichi felt for some reason this would be a special day. So, Lind spoke with a soft, soulful voice, as if they were friends of a lifetime.

- "Keiichi San, never in my life I had felt so happy, it's like my previous life was just a misty dream. Now I understand why so many gods have lost the meaning of our lives. I have talked to Ghadril and she feels the same as me, here we are alive, my life has a purpose. This is a world that has so much to offer, and also that allow us to share our life and our feelings, that allows us to see ourselves in a completely different way. We owe so much to you. I would never be tired for thanking you ... "- The goddess gave a surprisingly beautiful female laughter -" ... I even enjoy telling this again and again to you. "

Keiichi shyly scratched his head and tried to avoid looking at her. Lind had never before spoken like this, and much less had she laugh like that ... bewildered he decided the only strategy to the unknown situation was to change the subject ... ... but then saw he something that left him frozen In the brush he used with Belldandy, always there were some strands of hair as white as snow, but this time among those strands of silver, there was something different ... there was a strand of hair that shine like gold!

He looked at the goddess, who at that time had been surrounded by children that told her all the great emotions and adventures that every child and at that age has and that are always the biggest the world. Belldandy had a silent conversation with them as usual, but seeing her face, he realized that she seemed to have rejuvenated a bit. Keiichi looked at strand of golden hair and then fell to his knees, after a few seconds he began to weep in happiness.

Lind had seen it. She took the brush and with the tip of a finger lightly touch that golden fiber, she shuddered as he felt it´s magic, then slowly she also fell on her knees, embrace Keiichi and forgetting all her former dignity of Valkyrie, also began to weep with him.

And so, Lind became careless, something that had never happened before ... she failed at taking care of children. Lind heard a loud noise and a cry. The girl who had gone to get her toy had come running and stumbled on a rock. Lind cursed herself, these precious children had been entrusted to her and she (to an astonished director) had promised to give her life for them with all the formality and intensity that could be expected from a warrior goddess ... Now she had failed ... She quickly got up to help the grieving child, but then stopped in surprise.

Belldandy also had risen!

With the smoothness and speed of a summer breeze, she had moved and was now beside the girl, fondling her. The stopped crying and began to laugh. Belldandy delicately helped her to stand up and the girl exclaimed, full of happiness

- "Princess granny, you can and walk!"

Then Belldandy looked at the girl's knees, there was small trickle of blood out of a scrape. She leaned over and put her hand on it, as she whispered a beautiful chant. The wound disappeared ... But then Belldandy's face looked tired and worried girl he said.

- "Grandma, you should have not done that, see, I'll help you sit on your chair ..."

Belldandy tried to walk, but tumbled ... she was about to fall when she was held by some strong arms around her, and she found herself in Keiichi´s arms.

The little girl I looked marveled at his adult strength and asked.

- "Are you her knight? That Is why you're going to protect her forever? "

Keiichi was weeping looking at his goddess, she had closed his eyes and fallen asleep, then said to the little girl.

- "Yes, I am her knight and will protect her with my life. So I promised. "

The girl blushed at these words, then laughed and ran happy ... but this time Lind was behind her to stop her before she would fall again ... once she had held by her the hand, she turned to look at Keiichi... her face was also filled with tears of joy ... Then look at the little girl. She should reprimand her for running so careless ... instead she embraced her. The girl was happy and said:

- "You also promised to take care of her, right? Are you also her knight? I didn't know that a woman could be a knight. "

Lind hugged her and told her.

- "Yes, of course women can be knight and all we want. And she is my goddess. "

The girl smiled excitedly, as if he had been told a fairy tale. Then Lind heard Keiichi´s trembling voice.

- "Finally Belldandy was able to use magic, but still it was too much effort, She is exhausted, she fell asleep and must rest. I will take her to her room, but Belldandy is finally back with us. "

Lind nodded, she looked around and thought that the world of the gods made no sense to her, instead the mortal world was nor her reality. She had finally discovered the power of feelings and what was the true happiness. Unaware she muttered a brief prayer to the mortals who had taught her so much.

-xxx-

The morning sunlight entered Belldandy´s room filling it with reddish hues. The still fresh morning air was filled with birdsong. In the center of the room were two futons, in one of them was Keiichi, he had fallen asleep while still sitting watching for his goddess.

On the other futon lay Belldandy, she was resting with a quiet and calm breathing, but she had changed!.

Her former white hair now shine like gold before the first rays of the sun and her face was no longer wrinkled and withered. Slowly her breathing began to accelerate until she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. As if it were her daily routine, with delicate gesture she raised her arms and threw a long and feminine yawn.

She straightened up on her bed and looked around. She looked confused, as if she could nor recognize where she was. With a flicker from her hand she floated and gently descended on her feet. Then she became aware about the young man still sleeping, with a child like curiosity she leaned over him and touched his cheek. The young man reacted and said something, Belldandy almost jumped in surprise, then decided to leave him alone.

Full of curiosity she began to examine the room. At the sight of her belongings her memories slowly began to awaken, but also there were things that had not been there before. They must belong to that man.

Now she turner her attention toward the wall and saw it was full of photographs. In many of them she was with that man. She approached to the photos and touched them.

She shuddered as the emotions stored in those photographs invaded her, causing a flood of tears. They were so beautiful memories. Then she saw the other photos, she was not in them, only that man. In some of them he was dressed as a motorcycle runner, holding several trophies. In others, he wore a very formal suit and proudly stood in form of several very modern looking vehicles. She looked at the rest of the photos and began to feel a deep pain.

Those photographs spoke of someone who had a life filled with successes. Champion runner and vehicle designer, full of honors and awards.

Then she looked at the man in the room and realized something. The young man who was in the pictures with her, now had become man ! ... and she had not been with him to share his successes ... Lovingly she touched photographs, each one of them captured a valuable memory, and it was a painful reminder that she did have not shared it with him ... then she collapsed to the floor crying and covering her face with her hands.

Then she felt arms around her and a manly voice said. Belldandy, you've been with me all the time, and we can create many more memories together.

Belldandy tried to stop crying but could not ... then she felt lips that joined hers and shivered at the contact. The young Keiichi was not with her, but Keiichi, the man was there. She lifted her hand to touch his face, in this young man saw had the same shy smile she remembered, but also there was maturity that made him more manly. And now, as if trying to recover those years, she hugged, kissed and embraced him again and again. Then she pulled away from him, took his hand and excitedly pointed toward the photos...

- "Are all those your children?"

Keiichi looked at the pictures of the vehicles he had designed after retiring from a brief yet successful career as a runner and nodded, he was very proud of them.

- "All of them have something from you, you taught me to see the world differently, and taught me that all creations are part of our spirit and therefore must be created with respect."

Belldandy looked into the eyes full of pride of the young man, then with one hand I touch the pictures while holding his hand on the other and said.

- "Tell me about them, tell me their stories, I want them to be part of me so I can give them my protection.-"

Then the goddess embraced the man who was at her side and felt a deep peace invaded her. She did not know what the future would hold, but she would make every new moment with him a memory to cherish forever.

End of Chapter 40