Interlude 3

What many did not appreciate of a single Familia pretty much being in charge of an entire city was the amount of administration skills they had to learn in order to keep things flowing. Brunhilde groaned as she shook her wrist a few times after putting away the pen. As if she wasn't doing enough jobs, as an idol and protector, she also had to deal with all the paperwork that came with the ludicrous amount of damage done. At the very least the Radiance and the Witch of Flowers did an excellent job guarding the public with the help of the soldiers stationed in here. Still, now that things more or less returned to normal, with resources focused on repairs, the Valkyrie stared at the document in front of her. The document with many, many red colors. Then she looked around her. Just as her, her sisters had bags under their eyes. People like Geir were already snoring away, their head almost hidden behind stacks of paper.

Under normal circumstances Brunhilde would punch them in the face for wasting time. But considering she was this close to dropping unconscious herself, she allowed it. There were only two exceptions in this office room at the large table that were not looking like they were about to die. One was their god, Odin. Heavens knew how he kept up the same speed he had since the start, but papers practically disappeared from his desk as he checked the numbers and letters with high efficiency. She could accept some divine experience in administration helping the god with all nighters. Maybe even that it increased his stamina in that regard. However, the other person, she could not forgive. She wasn't the only one gritting her teeth in annoyance. Even Odin twitched occasionally when the humming entered their ears.

Hrist's face was shining. Glowing, even. She smiled happily, tilting her body back and forth as she eradicated the paperwork in front of her. As if that affront to humanity wasn't bad enough, she was also drawing hearts next to her own signature. The god in the room exhaled slowly, trying his best not to voice it. But everyone knew it. His disapproval. At the fact that Hrist was heads over heels with Sasaki Kojiro, for some forsaken reason.

Now Brunhilde wasn't blind. She recognized the Far Eastern man was handsome. Someone she could see herself date for fun. However, Hrist took it to an entirely new level. She had the hots since their first meeting. When first confronted, the woman gushed over how it was love at first sight, how it was fate that their souls met. It made the woman puke. And she knew what Odin thought of these things. He called love a waste of time and dirt in the face of idol purity. For now he kept his mouth shut, but Brunhilde knew that the moment Kojiro would ever 'do the thing' with HRist, all the Valkyries would be ordered to take him down. And if it meant stopping this giddy face of Hrist, who was ever more sad or pissed off, then sure, she was willing to do so.

Brunhilde thought back to the goodbye as she began to write again, remembering the 'gift' of Hrist. She clicked her tongue in annoyance. Her gift, what a load of bullshit. They were the ones who made that stupid enchantment in the first place! Hlökk using her magic and Brunhilde using her rune bullshit to make it stick! And what did they get?! Being ignored!

Then again, she thought dryly. Maybe if she did the same gift thing, Bell Cranel would've stuck around. She sighed, as she rose up and left the room. In the hallway, she took a few deep breaths as she leaned against the wall. He really was a good kid. Both in personality and potential. It was a shame to see yet another talent being lost to Orario. Still, she found it weirdly endearing. A young soul wanting to chase his dreams. Like a less annoying Geir. Still, he was gone now and crying over spilled soup wouldn't help. By her estimations, they would be halfway to Orario by now with the Night Company.

At the memory of that name, she frowned. Opening the windows, she allowed the cool air to enter through. Though it was certainly warmer now, with spring slowly awakening over the weeks.

"Penny for your thoughts, sister?"

Brunhilde turned her head before smiling slightly.

"Randgriz." She paused before leaning out the window. "Remember your debrief?"

"I wouldn't forget."

She was in charge of investigating the company itself. They screamed fishy. The moment they arrived with Nyx, shit went south everywhere. Not to mention those plant monsters. After investigating the remnants of crime scene, they found splinters of wooden boxes at several spawn locations. Boxes that the Night Company claimed were stolen with Nyx. It painted such a clear picture... yet their situation was anything but clear. They naturally used Odin's abilities as they immediately interrogated each and every single worker. But in the end... nothing came out of it.

None of them could lie to their faces. Yet they all said they were innocent and just victims. The facts didn't lie but they also didn't make any sense.

"Do you know what bothers me?" She glanced at Randgriz "Why didn't those crazy ass fucks take Nyx down?"

"I assume they feared divine retribution," she responded, running her hand through her long brown hair. In response Brunhilde scoffed.

"Bitch please, if they really feared it, they wouldn't have pulled all that shit in the past with the Empire and us."

They both winced at the memories. The pillars of light right after explosions. The screams of terror in the streets of the Empire. Total war with the Night Queen, who they never caught. Not even Artoria. Shaking their heads, they returned to reality. Randgriz bit her lip before shaking her head.

"...I do agree that Nyx is... "

"What did you call it? Fucking scary?"

"It was like looking at a human who clearly wasn't one. The...Uncanny Valley I believe it was called? I know she was most likely traumatized but... I don't understand how Mr. Cranel could keep visiting her. Not even her own company did that." Randgriz glanced to the side. "Not to mention about what Lord Odin said…"

Brunhilde groaned. Right. That part. As the one known as the God of Wisdom, his ability to gather information from others, ignoring the lie detector, was second to none. He could easily tell if other gods would lie, if they tried to hide something from him. It was one of the reasons the noisy god Hermes avoided this city like the plague. Apparently even back in heaven he was called a menace for uprooting secrets with ease.

Yet despite all that experience and personal knowledge... Odin admitted he could not read Nyx whatsoever. Even other gods weren't save from his insightful eye. Yet Nyx was an utter mystery to him. It certainly did not help that the Night Company itself was fishy as well. Oh they were certainly telling the truth about not knowing about the plant monsters. And that was the problem.

Were they that stupid? To allow so many monsters being smuggled in without their knowledge? It could certainly just be an elaborate frame job. Yet it didn't quite sound right. Brunhilde clicked her tongue. Odin mentioned that they weren't lying but that something was clinging to some of their souls. Something... muddled. Either way, they couldn't just keep them in the city any longer without a proper excuse. However, everyone in the Odin Familia agreed to keep an eye out for them as much as they could.

"By the way, what did the Radiance say?" Randgriz asked, causing the elder sister to frown. Brunhilde exhaled, her breath becoming a fine mist as it rose to the sky. Her eyes narrowed at the memories. When Artoria turned to her before leaving the city. Shaking her head, she turned away from the window, her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall.

"She agreed with our lord that the Night Company is fishy as fuck."

And knowing her instincts? It was practically a prophecy. She bit her thumb. She really hoped Bell wasn't too stupid to miss all the big red flags and would stop being close to Nyx... before it was too late.

/

The camp was silent, beyond the few fires flickering for the guards. Most of the camp were asleep, unresponsive to the outside world. The guards casually whispered to each other, not wanting to wake others up. The defense was rather lax. But why shouldn't it? The closer they were to Orario, the smaller the odds of some idiots trying to assault them went. Sure, they were all tense and serious when they left the city. But caution could only maintain such a high level for so long. Now they felt secure and relaxed, letting their minds heal up from the stress from a few weeks ago.

Yet that casualness created gaps. Gaps someone could make use of, may they be of the outside... or the inside. The individual wore the usual suit the Night Company wore. Only a cloak with a hood was used to cover up the body if only a bit. Stepping outside the camp perimeter, she wandered off to a nearby forest. Yawning, she then sat down on a convenient round rock and dangled her feat over the air. Her ears picked up the wind, the leaves fluttering through the air. She closed her eyes with a knowing smirk before turning her head around. Behind her, as if arriving with the gust, stood a hooded woman, a cloak just like hers. The cover settled down as the wind stopped, covering her kimono and hiding the katana, its dark hilt and sheath radiating bloodlust. Clapping her hands together, the suited woman jumped down and smirked with the new arrival who stared at her with a glint in her eyes, the three rings surrounding her pupil glowing with crimson colors.

"Night Queen! Been a while, hehehe."

The voice would be grating to most. It was mostly female, but it had a reverb to it, as if someone gargled glass and spoke inside a cave. But to the Night Queen? It was the sound of a reliable partnership. Twirling her white gloves at the guest she leaned against the rock.

"If-if it isn't m-my favorite d-d-d-dealer!" She stuttered out with a quiet voice. The 'dealer' scoffed, crossing her arms to her flat chest. Tilting their head, they gave the Night Queen an ugly grin.

"Are you serious?"

The Night Queen blinked before playfully hitting her own head. Oh, silly her, she was in roleplay mode! Giggling she cleared her throat, her voice immediately rising in volume before she waved her hand dismissively.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm still in work mode. Gotta practice when you can." She raised an eyebrow under the shadows of her hood. "What do you have for me?"

The Far Eastern woman sighed in frustration. Wiggling her fingers, she gave the Night Queen a pointed look.

"No new consumables sadly. we need some more... experiments."

The entrepreneur frowned at the sound. What a pity. While the last products had a decent performance, they certainly weren't the "breakthrough" they were hoping for. Good for mass production but it wasn't the quality they prided themselves in. Still, she wouldn't be a good merchant if this was enough to ruin sales!

"Well, we had a good haul. Those Violas and that other jewel worked just as intended." She rubbed her hands. "I trust that you brought the... other goods to Orario?"

"A batch of level 1s and 2s. That recent level 5." The 'dealer' smirked, nodding in approval. "We have to admit, those Breakdown Procedures are potent as always."

"I strive for perfection~!" the Night Queen sang, bowing dramatically.

Ah, a job with no end to creativity. Some new torture methods here, emotional scarring and breaking over there and whoopdeedoo, the quality of the new products rose! And people said that only the dungeon could truly build character with despair! It certainly didn't have a monopoly on it, if she had anything to say about that! Market competition was important after all!

"Odin didn't find out at all?"

"If he did, it wasn't remotely enough," the Night Queen declared, puffing out her chest. "The duration works well enough with forewarning, so I will call the spell experiment a resounding success!" She tapped the side of her skull in demonstration. "Even if it makes the head all fuzzy for a while when it goes back to normal." Her grin turned feral. "Orario won't figure us out."

The katana wielder shared the glee, smirking as well as bloodlust oozed out of her. Clearing her throat, she leaned forward.

"What's next?"

"I have to get into contact with Ikelos first. Have to make sure the contract is renewed and what not, hehe." She nodded at the dealer. "Then you can get all sorts of new specimens."

She in turn grabbed the handle of her katana, chuckling in a low tone.

"We cannot wait."

The wind picked up again, rustling the leaves. The Night Queen glanced back towards the camp, noticing the movements. Hm, guards were shifting. Too bad. It was relaxing talking about actual business instead of the boring child's play she was doing. With a sigh, she turned to the dealer with a shrug.

"Well, guess I have to go back now."

"Heh, see you around, oh goddess of the night," the woman rasped before turning her back to the Night Queen. As she did so, the wind raised the cloak, revealing the back of the dealer. On the kimono were bloodied signs, the symbols of the Far East. It was a truly ugly calligraphy, as if a savage beast drew it. Yet its meaning was clear to the Night Queen.

The word for "five". "Go". That was the last she saw before the dealer disappeared in a blink of an eye. The Night Queen chuckled to herself, nodding in approval. Out of everyone, she was her favorite. So dedicated to the craft. The passion for the job. The determination to break new heights.

"Ah, what would I do without you, Gojouno?" She stretched her back with a groan before clasping her hands behind her back. "Ah, so tiring... better get some rest. Can't have a good act going on while tired~!"