Yup, here's another chapter of Tea Time Chat. I felt really bad for taking such a long time to get this up, but over the past few weeks, my mood had been changing drastically. Remember I said that I couldn't find the first series of the manga in my country? Well, more bad news followed. I can't get hold of the OST too… ordered it from a shop, but the shopkeeper said he couldn't find it in Taiwan… only way is to order it from Japan, which costs twice the price in Taiwan. Argh… I was extremely depressed then. But a few days later, my friend who went to Taiwan and Hong Kong for vacation, told me that she has bought the first series of the manga for me!!! Yeah!!! I couldn't stop jumping, cheering and laughing when I heard that. Haha! Ooh… I can't wait for her to be back. She's gonna be back this weekend… I'm praying that she got the right ones though…

SMILE

Japanese notes: [1] Sumimasen: excuse me [2] Uso: lie(s) [3] tantei: detective [4] hai: yes [5] chotto matte: hold on a minute/wait

DISCLAIMER: Matantei Loki Ragnarok and its characters do not belong to me.


TEA TIME CHAT

CHAPTER 7 --- Freya (1)

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"Brisings' necklace is really beautiful… I remember the last time I saw it, it seemed to emit a magical glow…" Mayura ran her fingers across the picture of the necklace on the page in awe.

"Great people possess great tastes!" Freya smiled arrogantly, raised her right arm and snapped her fingers, turning to Yamino at the same time. "Sumimasen[1], boy, would you get me a bottle of red wine?"

"Huh?" Yamino raised his eyebrows at Freya's request

"Red wine?" Loki repeated in surprise.

"Yes! Red wine… it goes with my elegant image!" Freya smiled and clapped her hands together, bringing them up to one side of her face, where she rested her cheek on the back of her palm.

"Yamino-kun…" Loki could not help but give in.

"Hai…" And with that, Yamino strode across the yard, towards the mansion.

"Oh! What's this?" Mayura cried out suddenly, bringing everyone's attention back to her. It appears that Mayura had been attracted by another picture of Freya, one that showed her riding on a chariot valiantly. "Wow… she looks so cool!!! But what's that 2 strange-looking creatures supposed to be? Mystical creatures? Fearsome war monsters?" Mayura couldn't stop squealing in excitement.

"Those are cats, Mayura. Cats." Loki rolled his eyes and waved his left hand, dismissing Mayura's senseless guesses.

"Uso[2]! Cats aren't strong enough to pull such a big chariot!" Mayura asserted confidently, but wavered a moment later. Her face lit up as it dawned on her that… "Unless they're a pair of big monster cats which possess great strength, sharp teeth and a deafening roar! Yes! That must be it!"

"Huh?" Freya stared at Mayura, unable to comprehend any of what she was saying about her 2 cute little cats. The same goes for the other gods.

"Well, creatures of that description DO exist. But they aren't called CATS… they're known as tigers or lions instead…" Loki proceeded to correct Mayura, rolling his eyes again as he speak. However, his words fell on deaf ears as Mayura was so sure of her own deduction and had gone on reading.

"Freya personally rides out onto the battlefield, and splits half of the bravest dead with Odin, bringing her half to Sessrumir. Besides her strength at war, she excels at seidhr too, a form of witchcraft, and taught the gods (even Odin) how to use seidhr." Mayura closed her eyes and nodded appreciatively. "She sounds like a strong, capable and independent woman who doesn't need to depend on men!"

"Strong? Independent?" Narugami snorted in response. "Things like going to war should be left to men! That's a job for us, men, who are much stronger, more decisive and responsible! Women should just stay at home!"

"NANI??!!!!" Mayura and Freya exploded, slamming their hands onto the table, infuriated by Narugami's words.

The guys: Loki, Narugami, Heimdall, Freyr, and even Fenrir, jumped, growing wary of Mayura's and Freya's electric glare. Narugami fumbled and pulled at his collar, trying to come up with something that can save his pride and at the same time, save his skin.

"What he said was absolutely right! Some things should be left solely to men!"

"Huh?" Everybody was taken surprised by that intruding voice, and turned around immediately to locate the source of that voice.

"Koutarou-kun!" Mayura called out in shock. "What are you doing here?"

The wealthy, blonde male dressed in his high school uniform grinned. "I figured that you'll be here with the book, so I came. Sorry that I let myself in without asking, tantei[3]."

"Ah… it's okay," Loki answered, still a little bewildered by Koutarou's surprise entry.

"Are you looking for me? Is anything wrong?" Mayura asked, perplexed.

"Actually, I was looking for the book…" Koutarou closed his eyes and paused for a moment, before sweeping his golden fringe backwards and flashing his pearly white teeth that glinted in the sunlight. "But instead, I found something much more interesting. Prophecy princess… and…" He strode over to Freya, held up her hand, bowed and kissed it lightly. "Goddess of beauty."

Freyr's jaw hung WIDE open in shock.

Freya slipped her slender fingers away from Koutarou's grasp and returned an appreciative smile. "Thank you for your compliment, boy…"

At this moment, Yamino arrived back on the scene with 3 bottles of high grade wine and a tray of sparkling clean and clear glasses. When he noticed that a new guest had arrived, he hurried back into the mansion to get another chair. Meanwhile, Freya had popped open a bottle of red wine and filled each glass equally to a quarter full, handing a glass to Loki.

Mayura frowned. "Loki-kun is still a young kid. Rae you sure he should be drinking that? He's underage!"

"I am NOT A KID!!" Loki snapped in anger. "How many times do I have to say that?! But Mayura, you had better not touch the wine…"

Mayura pouted.

Those who were interested in drinking all reached for a glass of wine: Urd, Verdandi, and Freyr(who was just feeling thirsty at this particular moment). Koutarou reached for one too.

"Koutarou-kun! You can drink?" Mayura blinked in admiration.

"Of course! I have to entertain my father's friends and business partners at times too. So, I'm quite experienced at drinking…" Koutarou gave a smug look. "Back to the topic earlier, I agree that some things can only be done by men…"

"That's being too chauvinistic!!" Mayura argued, pushing the wine back to the back of her mind. "Women can do lots of things too. There are so many successful career women out there!"

Freya nodded in response. "And only I have the strength and talent for war and witchcraft. Besides, who was the one who wanted to use a gorgeous, graceful and delicate lady to retrieve his crude weapon?"

"Mjollner is not a crude weapon!" Narugami shot back, but embarrassment soon took over him. "Well… that was wrong, I know that… but… but…." Words failed him. He glanced at Loki, trying to ask for some help, but only receiving a 'I can't be bothered' look in return.

"That's Thor you're talking about, right?" Mayura turned to confirm with Freya. "He's really incorrigible! If he had lost his weapon, he should ask for help from a detective! A good detective would be able to locate it and get it back for him. Doesn't he even understand this basic knowledge? Doesn't he have a tiniest bit of common sense? (Mayura puts on an incredulous look here. Everyone looks at her in disbelief.) That's why detectives are so cool! And that's why I want to be a famous detective in the future! Solving many fushigi mysteries on my own. I'll be a successful bishoujo detective! YEAH!!!" Mayura sprung up from her seat and shot a fist up into the air.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Hai[4], hai. Hopefully, you don't create more mysteries rather than solve them…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mayura puffed up her cheeks, fuming.

"Yamato Nadeshiko is so COOL!!! She's pretty, kind, helpful, intelligent, diligent and talented!" Freyr's eyes turned into thumping pink hearts, mesmerized with the woman of his dreams.

Heimdall shook his head at Freyr's ridiculous crush. "Honestly, Yamato Nadeshiko = a traditional Japanese woman. And, a traditional Japanese woman is supposed to stay home and do all sorts of household chores instead of dreaming to be a detective. Haven't you thought of that?"

"Hmm?? No matter what, Yamato Nadeshiko is the best. Freyr likes her best…" Freyr continued in his dreamy voice, unable to break out of his trance.

Koutarou, who was seated by now, scanned his eyes around the table for a moment, before shrugging. "I don't understand what you guys are talking about. But, even though men are better at some things, the same goes for women. For example, some women possess such great beauty that words cannot describe them at all. Women have the privilege of embodying such beauty that men, no matter how good, failed to do so…" He flashed yet another grin at Freya and Urd.

"Why, thank you again. Cheers!" Freya brought her glass of wine against Koutarou's.

Meanwhile, Loki was happy to keep out of the conversation, and he was also extremely glad that Freya had shifted her attention away from him. Unfortunately, Mayura had decided to move on to the rest of the description of Goddess Freya, which automatically meant that chaos would be inevitable.

"Freya was often seen to be dripping with gold jewelry, and her prized possession was the Brisings' necklace, which is also gold." Mayura started in a serious tone.

"Brisings' necklace? That one in my family's museum previously?" Koutarou wrenched his attention away from Freya to Mayura.

"Uh-huh. The Brisings' necklace is an emblem of the stars or the fruitfulness of the earth. It was created by four dwarves. Freya loved the necklace very much as it enhances her beauty even more. For this reason, she made up her mind to obtain the necklace at all costs."

"Cho-chotto matte[5]!!! Can we skip that part please?!" Freya was fidgeting in her seat, looking extremely uneasy as she realized where Mayura was headed. When Mayura did not answer, she tried to grab the book by force.

But it was too late.

"Oh! Sick! This is disgusting!!!! Sick! Sick!! SICK!!!!!" Mayura spat, pushing Freya's hands away. "I can't believe all gods are like that! Scandalous!!!!"

Loki slapped a hand to his forehead.

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= tbc =

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Go on to the next chapter!