Epilogue
Part 1
3rd Person POV
"Gondul, how was it? Any useful information? My brother Frey has already found the few ones tampering with the tournament." Freya sighed. "I would like to put him to do something else so he does not chase me until the party from Nora."
Having noticed the presence of the goddess, Gondul glanced her way before looking back at the calcinated remains of Klaus. However, while she did it naturally, Gondul inwardly sweated at the way the goddess treated her brother. Nonetheless, she also did it to hide the expression she had that could've been noticed when she saw the entranced appearance of the goddess. Stealthy face palming, Gondul prayed that her granddaughter gets the cat already or things might get tricky.
Sighing, she stared one last time at the figure she burned alive while she took her revenge and extracted information.
"I got a few names of people and locations that are worth looking into. However, the most worrying matter is that this man worked for a crime that has been on a rampage but has never been seen before. The mage killer, Crest Robber. From the things I could in his body, this Ex-Einherjer had been granted low grades versions of various crests that many magicians and spell casters who had been missing were said to have. The way they were integrated into his body made it possible to repeat certain crests to increase their utility despite the low quality. Nonetheless, several modifications had been made on this man that he was unaware of, they worked to hide the side effects of carrying crests his body was not compatible with such as the decreasing life force his body presented. I reckon that his life expectancy wouldn't be high, and while I am not a doctor, I would give him a year at most before the crest caused a reaction and his body was not able to withstand them." Gondul calmly explained. "I am afraid that I was not able to dig more into it since they started to self-destruct all of sudden and he lost them completely in a matter of seconds. I would've loved to let masters in magic such as yourself take a look since you would've found more information than me. However, since he became useless in that matter, I killed him for personal reasons, my apologies, I have let my emotions take over for a moment there."
"Don't worry, I am not trying to blame you. It was thanks to you and that boy that we even found out about this so you have done more than enough." Freya replied. "Fumu, I see. Your report would be appreciated if you write a file as detailed as possible so handle that matter."
Staring at the remains with a mix of hostility and pity, Freya lamented that people that would've become warriors of Asgard became their enemies.
"Hmm, I wonder what they planned to do with the knowledge your granddaughter holds, Trihexa is not a topic that many would get interested in, not to mention, know of. I should have my brother speak Odin about it." Freya mumbled. "If they sought the knowledge even though she did not finish her investigation is worth mentioning too."
Snapping her fingers, Freya caused white flames as her hair consume what was left of the remains in front of her.
"Now, then... I have a party to prepare for so I will take my leave. I will pet- Ahem, I will use this opportunity to learn more about the boy who helps you, purely for academic reasons." Freya avoided looking at Gondul's deadpan expression before teleporting away.
Being left alone, Gondul felt troubled over what to retort.
"Nora... what did you do?" Gondul sighed tiredly.
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"AN INCREDIBLE VICTORY! A team that participated for the first time just took first place. Despite all the chaos and unexpected situations, I am pleased to announce Team White Rose as the winner!"
Using a cheery and excited tone, the commentator exclaimed. Trying to divert the public's attention from the gory spectacle caused by Klaus, she tried to hype the mood using the winner team to hype the mood. It was a tactic that worked wonderfully as many people were satisfied with the beating the boy gave to the Einherjer so people cheered despite the complex feelings the male camp had about the child.
Following the commentator's words, the spell that transmitted the tournament in the coliseum was cancelled and in the middle of the coliseum, the figures of Team White Rose were teleported. Being suddenly put in such a situation was something that would surprise anyone, that was what everyone's thought when they saw them appear, however, they did not expect the two female members of the group to stiffen and pass out, making their only active member to frantically catch them using his tails.
"Eh... well, Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems that the award ceremony won't start at once. *Cough* I think we will give the champions a bit of time to rest and sort out their feelings."
A little ashamed by the fed-up stare that the remaining member of Team White Rose was directed directly at her, the commentator exclaimed and the team was sent to rest for a few minutes.
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"Alright, Team White Rose has been revived again, we can proceed with the award ceremony. You guys won't believe it, but there has been a slight modification to the prize this time. Not only the first place will receive the opportunity but the team who got more points by defeating others also can hope to get offers from the various Gods of Asgard. For one reason or another, they seemed to be interested in this time's batch of competitors, starting with Team White Rose. However, given their status as Valkyries and one of the original prizes of the competition, two goddesses will have the privilege over other gods. Everyone, behold, the Goddesses Freya and Skadi!"
Entering the coliseum through different magic circles, the two goddesses made their appearances, wearing long dresses that accentuated their figures and brought out their charm, they showed dignity beyond what regular people could hope to accomplish just by standing there. An uproar among the public broke out, mainly from the male camp, although the female camp also showed signs of fanaticism.
Walking towards Team White Rose, the two goddesses strode slowly until the stiff figures of the female members and the relaxed figure of the male member were standing in front of them by four steps. Sharing a look with the team members one by one and slightly dragging on the boy, Skadi nodded before taking a step forward.
"Little ones, you have done well despite the numerous hardships you faced. I can see that you all are overflowing with talent, but without proper guidance, that talent could rust. Thus I came here to offer you an opportunity never seen before, I am looking for apprentices. Nonetheless, you are not obligated to choose me as a mentor, many gods find you promising so you can choose another one beside me. However, I must make this very clear. I will treat my apprentices very well, it is true you know? I offer many magic books for you to learn, there is a residence prepared in my castle for you to move, a flexible study schedule, and practical magic classes in a special space where you can test any magic you want." Skadi puffed out her rather voluptuous chest proudly.
Leaving speechless not only the commentator but even the public and the Team White Rose members except the boy who had a wry smile, Skadi started to speak in a loud but dignified voice at the beginning, it somehow transformed into some sort of sales pitch at the end. It was like the minds of the spectators became one at that moment and they came to a conclusion based on the rumours about the goddess called Skadi. She had never gotten a disciple so she was not aware of how to entice one to learn under her, not to mention that she was socially awkward. As soon as everyone understood that, they all shared a look and directed a warm look at the goddess who was doing her best but tried to act aloof on most occasions.
Failing to properly answer, the two female members hesitated before Nora lightly patted Rossweisse's back and she walked forward unconsciously.
"Fumu, a wonderful choice!" Skadi spoke proudly.
Everyone in the public wanted to retort that the poor girl did not choose by herself, but no one was heartless enough to point out such a thing when Skadi had a wide grin on her face.
"No, she has not chosen yet. I wanted her to talk to you for a bit before she decides so she does not regret it later. One thing is to have the opportunity to learn from a great master in your favourite field but compatibility is another matter." Nora interrupted.
Skadi's expression looked visibly shocked.
"Ice cream, you..." Skadi mumbled sadly.
Rolling his eyes at the way he was called, the boy glanced at Rossweisse.
"It'll ultimately rest on your shoulders. Don't look around, ignore all the people that are making you nervous. Right now, you only need to focus on Skadi-sama. Your pal Nur-san and I will be here for you, what is it that you seek? Think about it and consider how you might accomplish it." Nora looked at the visibly shocked Skadi and smiled. "That said, I think this gorgeous and dignified goddess is a good match for you. She is known as the Goddess of Winter and a Bow Hunter, a master of Ice magic above all, but that is her preference, she can use uncountable offensive spells as well."
Chuckling slightly when Skadi looked like she couldn't raise her chin proudly any higher, Nora looked at the still hesitating Nur who looked conflicted between Skadi and Freya who stared kindly at her.
No one dared to utter a word among the public, even the commentator looked with wonder at the spectacle in the coliseum. Immense curiosity drove everyone to shut their mouths, the way the boy spoke so easily to the goddesses who were incredibly hard to approach for different reasons made their wild imaginations work nonstop.
"I-I... hmmm, Nora..." Nur called out.
Scratching his head, the boy found it hard to ignore the look she was giving him. For any male, it would tickle their hearts if such a cute girl called out to them with clear expectations, making their minds imagine countless scenarios but the boy looked slight reluctant to answer her, yet he was unable to ignore her when strode closer and lightly pulled his clothes that had seen better days.
"*Sigh* Honestly, I would've loved it if you decided by yourself, but I guess that speaking to your friends can help you conclude." Nora smiled wryly.
Looking at the relieved expression the petite Valkyrie had, the boy pointed at the other goddess in the area.
"Let me introduce you to this alluring goddess behind me, her three sizes are- ouch, I was joking so lower that book. Man, even though I tried to ease the mood, you get violent like that. Be grateful that I am a very forgiving cat." Nora rubbed his head and ignored the few laughs coming from the spectators. "The goddess Freya-sama, she is known as the Goddess of Beauty, Love, and Fertility, but she is also known as a master magician and master of Seidhr, a special magic that can be related to telling and shaping the future," Nora said. "Ah, no, Skadi-sama, don't pout, I only added this much because she asked me too, if you have anything else you are good at, I can announce it."
Mid explanation, the boy had to pacify Skadi whose mood had soured. However, she simply pouted and looked the other way with puffed cheeks. Their familiarity caused several speculations to go around the spectators' minds.
"A super ice cream, a large cone that can easily fit over 10 portions of different flavours..." Nora muttered.
"Our relationship is unbreakable, I was just testing that. I was not angry, not angry at all... that is why... you know... that cone...?" Skadi's attitude did a complete turnover as she fawned on the boy.
Except for the boy and the goddesses, everyone else had their mouths gaping open in surprise.
"I will make you two of those." Nora nodded.
"Fufun." Skadi clenched her fist happily.
"Now now, do leave your mouth open like that, you might look pretty no matter what expression you make, but a fly could fly in." Nora kindly closed his team member's mouths.
Shaking her head to get out of her stupor, Nur glance at Rossweisse who was staring at Skadi with a serious expression and she hesitated. Her eyes would drift over to Freya then back to Rossweisse and even Nora.
"You know you don't have to follow her every step, right? Just like the precious valkyrie want to move forward, you also should do it, but do it with the thing that fits you the most. Even if your paths branch here, it is not like you will never see each other again, Heck, if you guys try to take distance from one another, I will drag you from wherever you are trying to hide and make you meet each other, no matter where you are, no matter what is impeding it. You have my words... ah, that is kind of embarrassing, anyways, just go to that alluring goddess already, you want to go there, aren't you?" Nora gently patted her head.
Nur did as he and parted with his hand to stand beside Freya, much like Rossweisse did with Skadi. Nodding at that, the boy sighed.
"Alright, that is a good ending, now I would like to go and treat the people who got hurt..." Nora looked left and right.
Seeking someone who would teleport him out of the coliseum, he only got blank stares no matter where he looked.
"...Participant Nora, are you saying that you are not choosing any of the goddesses there to teach you?"
The commentator could not help but voice out what everyone was thinking.
"Uh, no?" Nora tilted his head. "Ah, thank you for being understanding before, these children are quite shy. Now that I see you, you look very young and your beauty is easy to notice from my place, to host this tournament you must be quite capable."
The commentator giggled at his words and everyone around her commented about the silly grin that formed on her face so she woke up from her silliness quickly.
Looking extremely disappointed, the goddesses dropped their shoulders, even their new disciples looked visibly disappointed.
"...you have any another God that is not present that you have in mind? Many gods and goddesses have shown a keen interest in you so you have a wide range of options you can choose from."
The commentator added and that caused many to nod in understanding. The boy had shown an incredible display in the tournament but that was physical might, perhaps the goddesses who focused on magic did not interest him.
"...Who dares to take ice cream...? No, if I take that god down I could get ice cream again...?" Skadi mumbled.
"...My fluffy paradise always lacked something... now I found it... who is responsible for this?" Freya murmured.
A scary black aura enveloped the goddesses that sent down a chill to all the gods and goddesses who were watching that.
"Ah, I see. I guess you guys misunderstood. I am not getting a new teacher, yeah, not from these two or any other god. As soon as I finish hosting the party I promised, I will go back home. Yeah." Nora nonchalantly said.
"Eh?" "What?" Huh?" "What did he just say?" "Mom, please don't go to the party." "He is leaving? I need his contact info."
His words caused a myriad of reactions from everyone, but they all were surprised. Nonetheless, it was hard to say who was more surprised, yet one look at Rossweisse and Nora would've given her the number one shocked face spot.
Part 2
MC's POV
Sighing again, I lower my phone, having finished a phone call just now. I had to rent another hall beside the one I had already prepared. For some strange reason, I do not understand, not only the valkyries and einherjar but even their family members will attend. I mean, the lady who was commenting during the tournament self-invited herself and since she reeks like a lonely-woman-who-is-past-her-twenties-because-she-wanted-to-focus-on-her-job-but-now-that-she-is-looking-for-a-man-she-had-difficulties-to-find-one, I thought it was sad so I let her come to see if she can catch a guy. It is strange given that she is a cutie, but I will wholeheartedly support her. That said, those family members that practically forced me to let them attend were the issue, the over-enthusiastic young-looking women who had some guy tearfully apologizing behind them were the most suspicious, but they turned out to be the mother and sister of the valkyries and Einherjer so I simply accepted it. There was no harm for me, right? That is why I agreed to exchange contact information with all of them so they could coordinate their attendance because many offered to show me their culinary skills.
Standing idly in front of the place I originally rented, I had a pair behind me who had complex expressions and a crestfallen mood. After helping their senpais with their wounds and exchanging contact info for some reason, decided to focus on the party, so I had come to take a look around, but I can't ignore the depressing duo any longer.
"Nora-kun... will you leave us?" Rossweisse-san pitifully inquired.
Sighing was the only thing I could do, the tearing pain in my heart was only proof of how attached to these two I got. It could also be a heart attack though.
"You should know that I would have to go back at some point, I had stayed longer than I originally planned already so it is about time I go back, my cats at home might just forget my face if I don't show up soon." I sighed.
While I know that it not going to happen, I can't help but feel guilty over my long absence. I am also worried about the other children, Akiko in particular, she and Artoria wouldn't have started fights of life and death, would they? Alice would've done something since I asked her to watch over her sister.
"But... it is so abrupt..." Nur-san muttered.
Guh, those puppy eyes are a self-taught technique but they are pretty high-levelled, and the way she tugged my clothes was unfair.
"Now, now, I am not going to disappear forever, you guys can come to visit me anytime as well. This is not goodbye so come here and give ol' Nora a hug." I spread my arms wide.
I meant that as a joke, but I did not expect that the two threw themselves at me. I was sincerely shocked, but just hugged them tightly just like they did to me, the softness on my face was a little distracting but I was very happy because I got to make these kinds of friends and they reciprocate my friendship.
"My house is your house, you can stay there whenever you want." I offered.
I failed to get an answer from the two, but the way they hugged me tighter, I knew they had listened to me. My mind had idle thoughts such as how interesting would be if they met my girls at home.
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Until the next day, I had been busy in the evening fixing things in the other hall, bringing people to enhance the place in case a fight broke out, taking the girls home and tugging them into bed not before checking them in case I had not healed something before, certain details that could be seen as minor but took time since they wouldn't fall asleep if I did not stay with them so we all slept in the living room after we brought their mattresses and put them on the floor. At night, I hear some explosions as I received a straight punch from a sleepy Nur-san, I was kind of worried about what happened but being dragged to Rossweisse-san's bosom did not let me much freedom so I drifted to the dreamland in a superb comfortable position.
Waking up early in the morning, I was still in heaven so I thought I could just enjoy myself some more but the deadpan look that Nur-san who had woken up and was staring deeply at me caused me to feel guilty. I tried to offer her my chest so she could rest her head for a while until the precious valkyrie woke up but she refused. With extreme care that I must praise myself for, I parted with the softness after raising my willpower enough to resist the temptation to just lay there again. I tried to deny it, but my mind felt pity, paring with Rossweisse-san's bosom made me feel like I should go down the harem route, but I quickly shook my head. I did consider it a shame that she might end up with someone else but despite the unbound jealousy I felt, I did think she deserved to date whoever she desired instead of being forced to marry a guy like me who is into someone else.
Leaving Rossweisse-san to sleep some more and Nur-san who locked herself in her room, I went outside for some fresh air and-
"So that explosion was caused by you? Are you ok? If you are hurt I can hurry over and..." I spoke in a concerned tone.
After I took a good distance from Rossweisse-san's place, I set s simple barrier to keep any sound from leaking out of it. I contacted Gondul-san, she immediately responded by telling me about the things that were happening on her side.
"No need, it was a little surprising that they chose to blow themselves up after locking themselves in that company for festivities, but no one was hurt. Thanks to you talking to those goddesses, they put more effort into catching the responsible for the whole mess. Among the Einherjers there was quite the number of traitors so they will be under investigation for a while." Gondul-san said from the phone. "It is a shame that many were blinded by jealousy for the valkyries and they had schemed to harm and kidnap them as well. There are more tricky details that I can't speak about given the nature of them but I can at least tell you that no one will target our Rose again for her investigation for the time being, although she mustn't publish it since it could attract uncanny individuals again."
Sighing in relief, I felt gladdened by that news. However, I had a few things I had to retort to.
"Don't feel troubled over telling me that kind of stuff, I am just happy if that klutz can enjoy a peaceful life." I expressed my honest thoughts. "That said, using 'our' Rose, that is not accurate. Rossweisse-san is not mine."
There was a long pause over that side of the call but the conversation soon continued.
"*Sigh* It will be like that after all, huh. You are the perfect husband material for that girl so I was hoping you guys left things vague for a couple of years until you finally couldn't hold back your lust and attacked her then you had no other choice but to marry her." Gondul-san muttered an outrageous thing. "My second plan consisted of having you two start dating on the future and happily marrying, but that girl is a late bloomer so she would not go after you and she might hesitate unless you firmly ask her out. That said, you also seem like you will be plagued by women so it would be difficult to ask her out."
I wonder if Rossweisse-san would get angry if I use Kasen-san's sword to smack some sense into this old lady.
Ah, whatever.
"You should know that the girl does not like me, I am just a guy who appeared out of nowhere for some crazy promise that none of us even made." I sighed deeply. "She deserves to have a choice, from the bottom of my heart, that is what I believe. Please let her choose her partner, that way, she will be the happiest."
Another long silence followed.
"...you might regret it, you know that?" Gondul-san spoke in a serious tone.
"I am well aware of it, yet I won't change my mind. I came here for that reason and I... will not hesitate." I mumbled. "Let her have that paper where the promise was written, I will also speak to her before leaving. She can't deal with that paper later."
"You are one of the biggest fools I have met." Gondul-san's tone seemed to condemn me. "But you truly have that girl's well-being in your heart. Alright, I will let her decide. I had continued with this so she could gain a bit of experience in dealing with males so I guess I got a little too excited when you seemed to suit so well for each other. Nonetheless, Nora... I will give her that paper, the choice of what to do will rest on her shoulders as you asked, however, I will warn you as your senior in life, if you truly want to end a relationship with someone, you shouldn't use excuses... because they will become regrets in the future. Regardless of the choice that girl takes, I will not tell you, you lost that right."
I felt uncomfortable, to be honest, this whole situation made me feel bad. My heart felt like it was squeezed, but I did not back down. That said, I knew I was being a coward, I did not need someone else to tell me that. I was afraid of hurting her in the future, I love Yasaka-san, and despite the common sense of this world is different, would someone as pathetic as me be able to make more than one woman happy? Do I have what it takes? While I had not developed romantic feelings for the valkyrie, I did not doubt I would do so in the future, she is that attractive as an individual, not to mention physically. I am already troubled over the catgirl's ever-growing affection, and I can't forget the pair from the Himejima Clan, Akeno, and Suzaku. I might be a little arrogant for thinking this but none of them is the type to give up easily so I got the feeling that I would hurt them.
"However, Nora... what if acting like this now causes her to act in a way that you can't even imagine?" Gondul-san's tone went from her serious tone to a more laid-back one, slightly mischievous even. "My Rose is an amazing girl, she will surely surprise in you the future, hahaha."
Ending the call unilaterally, the older lady just said some concerning things but I could not ask back anything before she hung up on me.
"She must've been joking, yeah..." I convinced myself of that.
Checking the time, it seemed that I spent a bit more than initially estimated here so I should head back to feed the valkyries.
With naive thoughts, I did not expect that some of the things that the older lady muttered would trouble me so soon.
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...
"Ah, sorry. We arrived too early because we wanted to express our thanks but... huh? Why the long faces?" Eira-san muttered.
Entering the hall in the building where the party was going to be, the voluptuous valkyrie was not alone but she brought her friend, the taciturn Hilda-san. Eira was wearing a black skirt and a white blouse that failed to hide certain things, things that stood proudly, having her long hair tied in a bun. It was a simple choice of clothes but she was charming enough to make it look like a great choice, and she looked like an intellectual beauty. On the other hand, Hilda-san was wearing a pair of tight short pants blue jean style that left a lot of her thighs exposed, but she also had black stocking hanging on her legs, a short-sleeved red crop top that exposed her belly. The colour combination suited her well given the red bang on her hair and blue eyes.
Blankly staring at the two who arrived, I lost myself describing their charming looks to escape reality for a bit.
"There is a bit of an issue and he has been like this for while, jeez, pull yourself together." Rossweisse-san gently shook my shoulders.
The precious valkyrie was wearing some tight-fitting blue jeans along with an aqua-tinged one shoulder long sleeve knit sweeter, none of them could hide the curves on her body and I was sure that if she went out and stood on the sidewalk, she would attract 11 out 10 people passing by.
Sighing again, I dropped my shoulders. How could this be?
The two pretty valkyries walked over to the table I was sitting at along with Rossweisse-san.
"Is there something we can do? We owe you our lives so we will do anything we can if you are facing troubles." Eira-san straightforwardly offered.
Nodding beside her, Hilda-san clenched her fist cutely. It almost made me forget those huge claws she used to fight.
"It is over..." I mumbled.
"Is it that serious?" Eira-san furrowed her eyebrows.
Before Rossweisse-san managed to explain, the doors to the hall opened and Nur-san came in.
"It is no good, just like they told us, the company that was destroyed by an explosion last night, the general public was told that it was a gas leak, but the way things were dealt with indicates the supernatural side. I went personally to check some other companies but they did not dare to take upon that job with such a short time limit." Nur-san dropped her shoulders.
The petite valkyrie was wearing a one-piece light green short dress that adjusted to her petite and lite figure nicely, below she had some black stockings being kept in place by a garter belt of the same colour, I know because I 'accidentally' saw it. I will leave the rest to your imagination, but let me tell you that below that dress is hidden a very adult-like charm. That tsundere valkyrie is quite bold when she tries.
"Ah... Then the party is going to be cancelled or moved to another day?" Eira-san asked.
The look on the valkyries faces looked despondent, they seemed to have been looking forward to this party. It made me shudder in fear, and there must be some guy wondering why but that is because they have failed to understand a fundamental problem. Right now, I have four valkyries lovely valkyries here who look sad, but that number will increase soon, exponentially. The ones I am looking at are very understanding, but what about the others? They are not only waiting for food but the possibility to hook up with some guy. Of course, I am sure someone might just think 'then you just have to hook up with all of them' I have to say... are you insane? I just had an issue while pushing away Rossweisse-san for a serious reason, what about a frivolous one? Besides, I am not to their liking, I don't have anything of the things they are looking for in a guy, heck, I am not even handsome.
"Too bad, if we had known with anticipation, we could've booked with other stores for the food..." Nur-san shook her head regretfully. "Who is paying anyways? Is it Skadi or Freya? It seemed like a lot of money was spent."
"I paid it by myself, I was going to use my money..." I furrowed my eyebrows as I responded half-heartedly.
Wait a moment.
"Eh? Really? I thought it was a joke..." Nur-san widened her eyes.
I also got surprised reactions from the Eira-Hilda duo.
"I might just be able to pull this... Ah! Nur-san! I love you! Haha!" I smiled.
Standing up, I strode right in front of Nur-san and hugged tightly. I ignored the few surprised gasps that for some reason were heard and spun on the stop while lifting the petite valkyrie.
"W-Wait an m-moment, things should be done in order, too soon for this... Ah, don't spin too fast, they are going to see under my dress, Nora, you idiot!" Nur-san soft hands hit my back.
I could've sworn that while I was spinning I saw the other valkyries having mixed emotions on their faces, jealousy, and surprise, low mutterings like 'so bold' or 'that is just a string' tickled my cat ears but I ignored those.
"You are a genius, if I was not certain that I would receive a beating after kissing you, I would do so right now. You just saved my life." I muttered as I pulled away from her. "You know what? Who cares!"
"W-Wait, I-I need to make mental preparations, I wanted a more romantic place..." Nur-san blushed.
"Were those her victory panties?" "Can those even be called that with so little cloth?" "N-Nora-kun is attacking Nur..." Eira-san, Hilda-san and Rossweisse-san spoke in turns.
Not minding that, I snickered and after lifting her chin... I kissed her on her cheek.
"Eh?"
I heard the confusion in the voice of all the girls but I once again I ignored that. I was brimming with fighting spirit, I had this.
Leaving Nur-san who looked strangely at a loss and Rossweisse-san who looked at her friend with a complicated expression, I turned to the two other valkyries in the room. I held their hands brought them closer to me.
"You girls said... that would do 'anything for me', didn't you?" I smiled.
Not sure by they blushed and avoided my eyes. Perhaps it is because holding hands is considered lewd for the valkyries, maybe instead of warrior maidens, I should consider them a whole new species altogether, a shy creature whose life purpose is to find a man, they have high girl power sometimes, they are beautiful but they are too addicted to work that they forget their objectives, they are said to haunt bars and drink until late at night, spending their free times trying to fall in love... I guess warrior maidens does not sound so bad, but why is it that I feel like crying?
"M-Maybe? But, I would like a date first? That is not much to ask... r-right?" Eira-san's collected self was nowhere to be seen.
"..." Hilda-san just scratched her cheek bashfully.
"Please, lend me a hand," I asked. "I want to make all the food, I recall there was a large kitchen in the building, go to this place and rent the whole building while you are there, use this card here, I think it has more than enough money. Take this one if you need more, as soon as you finish with that, you need to make others for this, this, and... this."
Pulling some credit and debit cards from my pouch, I handed them over to the confused pair before I pulled a notepad and began writing whatever I would need.
"My side will buy the rest we might need, I don't have a death wish so non-alcoholic drinks... that's it." I nodded in a satisfied manner.
"Nora-kun, you are not thinking about cooking all that... right?" Rossweisse-san hesitantly asked.
"Lies... there are going to be hundreds of people coming over..." Nur-san who still looked absent-minded mumbled.
"No matter how amazing you are... that is a bit..." Eira-san had a troubled smile on her face.
I guess I need to convince them first.
"If he said he can do it, he will do it. I believe in him, he is a hero." Hilda-san spoke.
Before I could use my BS skills, the taciturn valkyrie spoke on my behalf. Someone that I did not expect to defend me, no, to even speak just said several things that showed her support, don't mention the girls, even I was surprised. She looked resolutely at me until... her eyes landed on our hands held together and she blushed again and looked away.
"I am the one who believes the most in him." Rossweisse-san's voice burned with some fighting spirit. "I was just confirming, just confirming, I am Nora-kun's closest friend so of course, I believe in his words."
After saying that, she pulled the hand I using to hold Hilda-san and dragged me away.
"Of course, I would believe in my team members, Nora is a little cheeky but we are also friends, yes, the three of us are 'friends'." Nur-san tried to hint something before she took my other hand, the one I used to hold Eira-san, and dragged me away along with Rossweisse-san.
What has gotten into these two?
"Hehe, being with you guys sure is fun. I won't lose though, I think we are also his 'friends' already, isn't that right? Hilda." Eira-san stood up and strode our way with swift steps. "Anything my saviour asks, I will fulfil, I repay my debts the double, you know?"
Passing me, she winked at me before striding past us, the following was the silent Hilda who waved at us before passing by.
...
...
...
"I honestly had my doubts despite your confidence and following along you guys, but you truly did it. I can't believe you managed to single-handedly cook so much food." Eira-san was amazed but an exhausted voice came from beside me.
The party had started on time, the schedule did not suffer any delays so my cat lives that magically replenish every day (Otherwise I could not die so many times) will be enough given that I won't be pursued by angry valkyries. Watching with a smile as Rossweisse-san blended into a group of valkyries and chatted happily along with Nur-san.
"I owe it all to you guys, getting the ingredients were of absolute priority along with getting to use the kitchen. Thankfully, I remembered to have that company send the waitresses to help organize things..." I sighed. "So, why are you here? I thought you would be with that group trying to get to know some guys- Ah, it hurts! Don't pinch my back..."
"I feel like you are suggesting things..." Eira-san directed a smile (?) my way.
Fearing for my life, I zipped my mouth.
The place in question could be said an area where Einherjers and Valkyries were hanging around and trying to chat, I must repeat the word 'trying' because it is important. Putting aside the incredibly low number of Einherjers given the ratio of Valkyries, many of those were the fathers and brothers of the already assisting valkyries. It seemed that what Gondul-san words were true, many Einherjers were under investigation. I was sure that not everyone was guilty but there might be quite the number. That said, why are those guys glaring at me like I killed their whole families?
"You joke around too much." Eira-san sighed exasperatedly. "I will take your compliment though... by the way, are you ok like that?"
Moving my hands, I focused on my current task. Around us, there was a space that people did not dare to get close to for a reason.
"These ears... are amazing!" Freya-sama's voice sounded on cloud-nine. "Ah, but the tails are not easy to ignore... hehe."
Behind me, and rubbing my tails and ears in a manner close to sexual harassment, was Freya-sama, the goddess of beauty, who might certainly make others reconsider calling her that. Her presence alone caused people to stay away, and while normally she is extremely friendly, when she find a portable cat she released a 'do not bother me or I will murder you' aura as explained why some people. The only people exception to that rule are my valkyries close friends, Rossweisse-san and Nur-san are rather obvious, but why Eira-san and Hilda-san who just arrived with a plate filled with ingredients? Well, they will learn under Freya too.
"How long will it take? Should I lend you a hand? I freeze using my magic..." Skadi-sama's voice couldn't hide how eager she was.
Glaring at the goddess who cowered and took a step back, I took the milk and strawberries from the plate Hilda-san brought them in and under the curious eyes of the valkyrie, I grabbed all the strawberries and put them on the special plate I carefully prepared using the new inscription magic from the magic book I 'found' in the treasure chest, under the cooling effect of the plate, the strawberries began freezing slowly so I took a pair of palette knives and began using the edges to turn the fruits (which are technically not fruits but explaining would take too long) into a juicy mess, adding milk occasionally, I soon end up with... Ice cream. Taking a cone from the plate of ingredients, I filled it up and before handing it to the drooling Skadi-sama, using a handkerchief to wipe that drool, I stopped her from eating it which earned me a pitiful whine, but when she saw I took some chocolate chips and added it to her ice cream, she smiled so bright I was almost blinded.
"Ah! I can die at peace..." Skadi-sama mumbled after tasting the ice cream.
Please don't, who will teach my girl, urgh, who will teach Rossweisse-san if you do.
"So, why are you guys around here instead of chatting with the others?" I asked.
Idly cleaning Skadi-sama's mouth whenever she made a mess, and preparing the next ice cream, I thought of chatting, while ignoring the touches of the pervert- I mean, goddess behind me.
"We were supposed to be protecting you from them." Eira-san pointed somewhere.
Different from the shy valkyries trying to chat with some Einherjers, there was an area where only women were located and they would glance my way every so often. They were all attractive women and some of them had similarities to the people they were chatting with, if I am not wrong, they were the mothers and sisters of many valkyries, along there were several valkyries who did not seem interested in the einherjers.
"Protect me? From what?" I inquired.
As far as I recall, they were very friendly with me, and it was the father and brothers of the valkyries who showed hostility. Those women even invited me to their homes countless times with text messages to visit their houses to show me their gratitude. I declined given the short window of time I will remain here.
"You have to ask?" Eira-san raised an eyebrow.
"I feel like you are trying to get somewhere." I raised my eyebrow.
Giggling helplessly Eira-san shook her head, I even heard Hilda-san doing that.
"You are the shapest in a fight but I think I found your weakness," Eira-san muttered.
Pulling something from a place I can't mention aloud, she took my hand and handed me a ring.
"Sorry, you are-" I shook my head.
"If you mention something about me asking for marriage, I will get angry." Eira-san smiled coldly. "This is a special ring, if you feed it with magical energy, it will form a small shield of energy. It is probably not much but I hope it helps you if you are in danger."
Widening my eyes, I got surprised by this gift.
"This is from me, this one can help you turn invisible for a short moment by doing the same thing. If you feel like running, it should come in handy." Hilda-san put another ring on my hand.
Red for Eira-san and blue from Hilda-san, following the theme of their eyes, two brand new rings rested on my hands. It left me speechless for a second and I did not know what to say to these two.
"Don't put that face, you saved our lives back there, these are just a small token containing our gratitude," Hilda-san spoke.
These two valkyries seemed shy but looked at me in the eye for a while, I could only smile wryly and accept their gratitude.
"Thanks..." I said.
Smiling back at me, they turned around and left. Soon, Nur-san came and took me away, ignoring Skadi-sama and Freya-sama's complaints, she just took me out of the party hall.
...
...
...
"You are leaving..." Nur-san looked at her feet.
"I have something to do at Rossweisse-san's place before leaving but yeah," I muttered.
Having taken me to a terrace, the girl had to lead me to a secluded area. Wait, could it be that she plans to attack me and take advantage of my young body?
"I wonder why I felt the need to hit your head hard..." Nur-san narrowed her eyes at me.
Sharp.
"Here." Nur-san extended her hand forward.
Standing in front of me, her hands were covered with a small magic circle and a small book rested on top of her hands.
"I can't afford anything expensive like those two, but I wrote this, they are some of my favourites spells, nothing fancy or showy. They are mostly debuff and silly magic spells like Slip, but... hmmm... I thought you might... no, never mind, forget it. It is too lame... forget I said anything." Nur-san tried to hide the book.
Nevertheless, I took it from her shaky hands, it was like she said, debuffs and things that did not deal direct damage, but that did not diminish the value this small book held. Lame? Not at all, there were close to 100 pages here, and they were filled to the brink with the spells and many notes that helped you understand their principle and advice to learn them, everything, was handwritten.
Avoiding my eyes, the petite valkyrie stayed in place.
"Thank you, I will treasure it," I muttered. "I will even make it my family heirloom, this book will come with me everywhere, I will even sleep with it."
"Geeez, idiot." Nur-san smiled. "When you leave, don't be a stranger, do not forget we are friends ok?"
"Yup, we will always be." I nodded. "Although being friend-zoned like this feels sad..."
Nur-san flashed me a bright smile before leaving, it seemed my joke was a good one.
As soon as she left, the last boss made her appearance.
"Hey..." I called out.
"Hey to you too," Rossweisse-san muttered.
Step by step, she walked until she was beside me, in silence we both stared at the sky that had darkened already. I had not even noticed that we spent so much time at the party. Somehow things were getting ready in there, but since I had a more important matter to deal with, I ignored it. A while later, I would come to regret my decision, but it would be too late.
I had to deal with way too much today for a simple party. I have decided, I will goddamn make a company that handles events like this not go through this ordeal again. Having a burning ambition in my heart distracted me enough not to notice when the valkyrie used her captivating aqua orbs to stare at me. I was slight at a loss for words, I must admit that I felt drawn to them, but my mind loves to mess up with me and I imagined Rossweisse-san crying because I end up hurting her because I was not good enough. My heart started to beat faster and my breathing got in disarray for a second, but I pulled myself together. Getting rid of any strange ideas I had when those eyes of her almost made me think of something absurd.
"You ok?" Rossweisse-san asked in concern.
I simply shook my head and looked away.
"You were looking for me?" I inquired.
"Hmm, I was." Rossweisse-san took something from her pocket. "I fixed it for you."
The pendant I had the Magatama attached to had been restored, I recall that the string had been snapped by the bastard Klaus. On a closer look, it seemed the same string, she had truly fixed it.
"Thank you, you did a very good job, if I had not seen when it was torn, I wouldn't even notice it was fixed." I praised.
"Hehe, it was nothing." Rossweisse-san laughed bashfully.
That said, this traitorous magatama had spent since yesterday until today on the precious valkyrie's hands, it suddenly jumped onto her hands and started to shine occasionally during the day and night. I do not know what this thing was up to but it did not seem malicious so I did not interfere.
"Rossweisse-san, we need to talk." I motioned her to a large bench located a few steps away from our position, and she followed me.
Perhaps noticing my serious tone, Rossweisse-san's smile faded, it made me feel bad but-
"Rossweisse-san, you know why I came to meet you and Gondul-can, right?" I took a seat and Rossweisse-san sat at hair length from me, despite the large area she could've rested her buttock on.
"The engagement..." Rossweisse-san responded.
"I want to annul the engagement, I think you deserve something better than a silly promise made by two drunkards," I muttered. "You have a bright future and a girl like you can surely get any man she desires, you just need to have confidence in yourself."
I resisted the impulse to say that everything was a joke when I saw her expression crumble.
"...am I that bad of a choice?" Rossweisse-san sadly said. "Even a child is breaking up with me, we did not even date and..."
Before her eyes got tearier than now, I had to fix this.
"THERE IS NO WAY THAT IS TRUE, ROSSWEISSE-SAN IS ONE OF THE LOVELIEST PEOPLE I KNOW." I raised my voice. "You are a hard worker, always doing your best, you are humble and gentle, I know that you might think it is simply flattery but I guarantee that I am speaking from the bottom of my heart and my words are honest. You also are attractive, you know? Everything about you makes you the dreamed girl."
Take out a handkerchief, a clean one, mind you. I wouldn't use the same I used on Skadi-sama, I wiped the tears that had formed on this poor girl.
"Then... why?" Rossweisse-san timidly asked.
I sighed heavily at this.
"Rossweisse-san, you can't be bound by me," I said. "I don't want you to believe that you have to follow what others tell in regards to the partner of your life. You can decide that, no, it is up to you to do so."
The valkyrie stared at me in silence.
"Nora-kun..." Rossweisse-san eyes held complex feelings. "Did you plan to never see me again?"
"No, I would never do that. I want to continue being friends with you, I want the best for you, but I wish to be part of your future." I replied. "So don't put that abandoned puppy face, you have my contact information, I also told you where I live and how to find me. What else do you want? The GPS location of my room? You perverted girl..."
"Moo, take this seriously, hehe." Rossweisse-san giggled in a good mood.
Sighing in relief, I relaxed a bit more. She is taking this better than I thought.
"That is why, let us cut the engagement, sounds good? We can still be friends, best buddies." I muttered. "Well, the paper containing the signed promise is on Gondul-san's hands so feel free to tear it apart."
"Hmm." Rossweisse-san simply nodded.
"Well, I won't lie to you. It feels like a waste to let such a beautiful maiden go, but since the beautiful maiden does not like me, I can only hope she finds a man worthy of her beauty." I jested.
Using exaggerated movements, I gestured my regret, and that brought a smile to her face.
"Nora-kun, you joke too much." Rossweisse-san reproached me but she seemed to be having fun.
"That's it, a smile suits you better than anything..." I murmured in a low tone of voice.
A loud crash made me put my attention on the party again and I quickly took out some knives while using my ability to check what kind of enemies invaded the party but-
"Who the heck brought alcohol?" I facepalmed. "Rossweisse-san, I am sorry to cut our conversation like this, there is ruckus inside."
Before anything else happened, I went back.
In hindsight, I should've done two things at that instant. One, I should've had seen the expression the valkyrie had when she listened to my murmurs, ones I thought she did not hear, and two, I should've stayed to continue convincing her because, in the future, I came to know that unless I fully convince this girl, she is bound to be a tad bit rebellious.
3rd Person POV
Covering her face with her palms, the valkyrie felt extremely embarrassed, after she heard his murmur, Rossweisse did not pay attention to anything else the boy said.
The words he said were too much, or so she thought, Rossweisse could only think that he was amazing for saying such embarrassing things so easily. Usually, he would say that it was a joke after she became a blushing mess, she knows that he has that kind of hobby, but he never said it was a joke, nonetheless, he had to leave urgently, but... when he spoke, he did it so she could not hear. Speaking in murmurs, it looked like he did it unconsciously and those were his honest thoughts... she could remember the gentle smile he had back then and it gave her strange and foreign feelings that she could not quite understand but-
"'That's it, a smile suits you better than anything, how could you do something like that so easily? Geez, now I feel all strange..." Rossweisse mumbled. "The engagement... will not proceed, it should be what I originally was seeking for. To one day marry my perfect boyfriend after years of dating, have a stable job, and h-have children, finally forming a family."
Resting her hands on her chest, the valkyrie directed her gaze at the moon.
"Yet, there is this tedious feeling plaguing my chest," Rossweisse muttered in a melancholic tone. " Likewise, Nora will also be free from the engagement. With his likeable personality, looks, and high homely skills, girls would go all over him, and eventually, he'll find someone-"
Having these kinds of thoughts made her chest uncomfortable. She didn't know the reason, but it's like someone is squeezing her chest and didn't like it, she did not like it at all. However, Rossweisse could not understand why she felt like that, her actions had been the right thing to do, or so she believes.
"Dear moon, do you know what is bothering me?" Rossweisse spoke.
Chuckling at her actions, she thought that it must've seen silly for anyone who saw her, and luckily she was alone. A shriek that contained blatant fear was heard and Rossweisse cocked her head, clearly confused.
"Just know..." Rossweisse directed her gaze at the hall. "Wasn't that Nora-kun...? No, he is incredibly brave, he wouldn't..."
"NOOOO! THAT PLACE IS OFF LIMITS...! Ah..."
Blinking for a moment, the valkyrie did not know what to think when she heard his voice. She was aware of one thing, if someone else's life was at stake, he would not scream like that, so it must only be him who is in danger, but judging by the giggling that she heard from a large number of women, he should be ok. That said, Rossweisse decided to go and take a look.
Unaware, Rossweisse did not notice that despite being worried, the melancholy she felt had lessened since she was going to meet the cat. The girl would still take a while before she realizes that.
MC's POV
"WE ARE SORRY! PLEASE DON'T HATE US!"
A large chorus reverberated in the hall and the ones who caused this were all sitting in seiza in front of me.
I could only sigh at this view. Teary-eyed, more Valkyries than I would like to admit, were offering me their heartful apologies (?) after I reprimanded them harshly.
Changing to another Haori with a snap of my fingers, I kept the smug smile creeping on my face hidden. I felt unnecessarily proud of using that particular magic spell so easily. However, I still thought it looked cool.
Ignoring the disappointed sighs of regret, I considered leaving those Valkyries in that position for a bit longer so they learn their lesson.
To understand what happened, let us all call Flashback-sensei.
-Flashback Starts
As the chaos took over and I stepped inside the room. I felt a chill run down my back like never before. Every valkyrie's eyes got directed at me.
"He is right there..."
"He looks lovelier..."
"I recalled, back then he was the only one who was brave enough..."
"A brave man..."
"Hehe, he won't get scared like the fools back there..."
What is the name of the heavenly cat is going on?
While I was gone, the number of people here got reduced somewhat. However, what baffled me was something else entirely.
Why are the Einherjer crouching in a corner and crying?
Why are some of those families fighting over things like the money?
That guy over there is even tearing up as he is giving an explanation to his wife over every single cent he has used. The one close to him is telling his wife that he will work harder and won't let some rich kid beat him.
I smell chaos, in a great amount. The valkyries trying to fix their looks and glancing my way are giving an incredible sense of danger.
Just in time when I was wondering what the heck should I do, Eira-san came closer, carrying a sleepy Hilda-san on her back.
They reeked of alcohol, but she looked sober enough.
"Sorry, they learned that you are rich." Eira-sanapologized.
Huh?
"I am not rich," I replied.
Rolling her eyes, Eira-san seemed to not believe me.
"No, you are. Those credit cards were crazy, they never hit the limit." Eira-san said.
Yasaka-san... what did you do? That big breasted and beautiful kitsune, I kept the bank account for my original novels separated from the other ones, but she must've mixed them up again. Damn, those guardianship rights, she is a bully.
No, to begin with, how did those warrior maidens find out? I stared with a scrutinizing look at Eira-san but she hastily shook her head.
"I kept my mouth shut and Hilda as well, although..." Eira-san glanced in a certain direction.
Laying sleeping on a table, all curled up like a cat, using a tablecloth as a sheet to cover herself as she slept, Nur-san was there, and the brazen culprit had a happy smile on her face that soon turned into a blush and she mumbled something.
Face palming, I had the urge to go and force one of Okaa-san's famous bad-tasting pills down her throat as an act of revenge for selling a bro like that, but she looked so goddamn peaceful and even cute for me to go down that route... today.
Glancing around, I once again saw the pitiful spectacle of the fathers of the valkyries trying to win over their wives. It was even sadder the fact that around half were losing. Heck, some are even checking their make-up as they glance my way. I would like to believe that they are trying to make their husbands jealous. It made me wonder about the brothers of the Valkyries, ah, they are also crying bitterly in one corner. Seriously, what happened?
"Give a summary of what happened." I unknowingly ordered.
Strangely enough, Eira-san professionally straightened her posture and began giving a summary. I will ignore how she seemed pleased and amused.
"Some of the Valkyries smuggled alcohol so they could get the Einherjers drunk and *cough* I think Nora is too young to know w-what they wanted *cough* However, the Einherjers thought the same so one thing lead to another and everyone drank. Skadi fainted after a few sips and Freya took her back. Nur got a taste and her mouth got loose and started to brag about you, one of her two besties." Eira-san explained. "Things went wrong after she mentioned your cooking skills, and how you were the one who made all these food, not to mention, buy it. How you rented this place, that is when some jealous guy, brother of a valkyrie started to bad mouth you."
Pointing to a certain guy who was alone and unconscious laying on the floor with a swollen face, Eira-san continued her explanation. I wondered briefly if I should help him or not, but he did not look seriously injured.
"That is when the good mood that had been going around few of Valkyries and Einherjers as they tried to hit on each other broke down. Nur got heated up trying to defend you but the guy did not back down, some of the jealous Einherjers joined the fray and... many of the Valkyries could not tolerate their actions thus the Valkyries got into a fight with the Einherjer, everyone had drunk more than they could handle by that point and it soon escalated again when one guy called you ugly mutt, a Buffon who could only get a girl by tricking her, that is when as the president of your fan club, I could not let it go and we taught them all a lesson." Eira-san looked proud. "Then, the girls noticed that they caused their chances to date one of them to disappear and despair almost swallow them. Yet, a voice gave them an idea. Nur yelled 'Nora is the best before getting sleepy, however, her words caused a stir among the Valkyries, and then you arrived."
IT WAS YOUR FAULT! NUR-SAN!
I wanted to spank that girl to teach her a lesson, I felt oddly amused at the chaos she caused, but know that chaos will bite me in the ass. Please, Eira-san, don't look like that, even if you want me to praise you, I am conflicted over you being the president of my fan club.
"Since when do I have a fan club?" I asked.
"I made one yesterday after you healed me, basically all the female spectators and participants during the tournament joined." Eira-san looked proud.
I thought you were a serious and reliable senior type, what happened to you?
"I have to leave, Hilda needs some rest." Eira-san hastily left.
Baffled, I did not understand her hurry until I saw it.
"I am friend's with Eira, and I would like to be friends with you too..." "I have not introduced myself..." "Can you show us the adult you?" "I am dying to see that version of yours too..." "Let me touch those ears."
Without me noticing, the Valkyries had surrounded me.
Oh uh.
What transpired next was that they went on the offensive, touching here and there. A battle of groping and being groped unfolded.
Yes, groping and being groped, you guys thought I would take it lying down?
-Flashback Ends
After I bonked their heads because they went too far, here we are.
One second later after their apology, Rossweisse-san came in with a bewildered expression.
"Nora-kun, are you ok? I heard a scream..." Rossweisse-san examined me carefully.
Patting me here and there, she did not seem satisfied until I was thoroughly checked. How bold of the precious valkyrie to sexually harass me with a gallery of people watching, she has truly gone a long way beyond her usually shy persona.
"...I am fine, nothing happened. I just need to bonk their heads a few times so they learn their lesson." I glared at the Valkyries.
"Why the long pause? Your eyes lost their shine for a minute, what in the world happened?" Rossweisse-san looked baffled.
Shaking fearfully, the Valkyries exaggerated their reactions.
"...He is doing it again!? I will get more stupid if he knocks my head once more..."
"You were a lost cause so no problems there..."
"There was one time I had to stop a rampaging bear and it hit me, that boy's bonk on the head felt pretty similar..."
"I am surprised you survived..."
"Getting hit by that does not feel that bad, you know? I liked it~"
"Someone call the medics! This one awakened to a new world!"
Now I am getting a little hesitant to impart punishment on these girls.
"Nora-kun, I think you should forgive them... fighting is no good, we are all friends." Rossweisse-san stopped me.
I welcomed it with open arms, but I can't just honestly accept that.
"But... bonking heads is my life calling..." I muttered in a sad tone as I raised my clenched fist.
"No good is no good ok? I think they are regretting what they did, whatever that is. You already hit them once so let it go." Rossweisse-san gently held my raised fist and lowered it slowly.
Sighing with some regret, I felt a little complicated over the fact that I was not the only one acting like that. I think I opened the M door for more people I would like to accept.
"Did you see that? She managed to stop him.
.."
"She is no ordinary woman."
"Our Savior, all hail our Savior."
"Tsk, getting in the way."
Resisting the urge to resort with my expertly trained patience, I wondered if it was true because they reeked of alcohol or they were originally like that.
Some girls are openly looking at Rossweisse-san like she is some kind of goddess, with stars in their eyes, although some weird mutterings were heard as well.
The rest of the party went surprisingly well until Rossweisse-san was given alcohol when I was not watching. I thought she would complain about failing to meet someone at the party but she only because absurdly clingy and kept the housewives that wanted to talk to me away. It was a little funny how she would just hug me, enough to push my head deep into her ballistic weapons, then just run to another direction far from the housewives. It took me a while to detoxify her from her state using my Ki, but she calmed down enough to crouch down to hide her face due to embarrassment. I kept that moment saved with the camera I have. Nonetheless, it was another mayhem because the Valkyries wanted pictures with me as well. Things got even rowdier when Nur-san woke up full of energy and still drunk, joining the fun.
Putting on my three sets of clothes that were sacrificed later that night, I enjoyed the party. Everyone had a bright smile on their faces so I considered that it was worth the trouble.
Politely turning down the invitations from the housewives to spend the night at their houses, I called a certain old lady to help me a bit given that two sleeping beauties did not seem like they would wake up soon.
...
...
...
Dealing with the headache the Valkyries had when they woke up, I prepared them some breakfast and we all ate in silence. I had more or less said my goodbyes the night before so we just calmly and slowly, very slowly ate. It was like we did not want to part ways and we used the food as an excuse, however, it was bound to get eaten no matter how long we delayed the process.
Just when I was mulling over a small trip I had to make before going home, the doorbell rang.
With heavy steps, Nur-san went to check and a few minutes later she came in with a blank expression, followed by someone I was not expecting.
"Master, I have come to pick you up, 'He' is asking for your presence," Marion-san spoke in a serious tone.
Dressed in her usual maid outfit, the girl looked like she went through a lot, but her diligent personality could be seen as she did not let that affect her. I noticed some injuries that had not healed completely despite her attempts to hide them, and I will have to take care of those. Nonetheless, her abrupt appearance regardless of the task I had left her doing and the 'He' she spoke about must be related. No, they are related, although I did not expect him to call me anytime soon.
"W-Who is she?" Rossweisse-san asked with a frown on her face, perhaps uncomfortable with a stranger invading her home.
Without waiting for me to speak, a certain maid spoke on my behalf.
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances, I am called Marion. I am master's maid, tasked with serving and providing help to my master." Marion-san did a courtesy bow.
My maid-meter got filled with that.
"How did you find me?" I asked.
I don't think I told her my exact location.
"A maid always knows where her master is." Marion did not bat an eye as she said this.
As expected, maids are awesome.
"Just kidding, I located your phone master." Marion-san chuckled.
That is still kind of awesome, I do not know how to do that.
Her little joke seemed to only amuse me since my valkyrie friends did not seem comfortable with Marion-san.
"Alright, I guess I have to go. Marion-san, give me a moment with them." I gestured a certain someone and she bowed before going to the front door.
I went to take some of my stuff, like my toothbrush and the like before going to where Rossweisse-san were, I hesitated what to say at last, but I just thought of a simple action that would work better than anything.
"See you." I hugged the Valkyries.
Sharing a short hug, they both said their goodbyes, I simply turned around and left before recalling something.
"Take these, entering Urakyoto should be a lot easier if you have these." I pulled out some tokens.
They are for visitors and they should help them get inside the pocket dimension easier.
"Nora... I will surely visit you again." Nur-san smiled brightly as she took the token.
"Nora-kun..." Rossweisse-san hesitated to take the token but she grabbed it at the end.
Fearing I would keep procrastinating my leave, I just got out of their home. Outside, Marion-san was waiting for me.
"I know he called, but can you let me go somewhere first?" I asked.
"I am the maid, and you are the master, I shall follow your commands." Marion-san smiled.
Thinking that she should be grateful that I am not a pervert that would take advantage of her words, I nodded.
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...
...
It was a small trip to Rossweisse-san's, no, I guess it is more like Gondul-san's villa. On the way, I found a depressive mood in the town, piles of apples could be seen in many places and the adults in town looked bitter. Failing to contain my curiosity, I asked about the details. They seemed troubled because they couldn't sell their apples this year due to a sudden cancel on the order they had so I bought them all, saying it was all because of Rossweisse-san. With that, I hoped she would get more valued in her home town. They were tons of apples but I was sure they wouldn't go to waste with the gluttons at home, and I could also gift some to my friends.
Satisfied with my good actions, I went to deal with what I came to do.
Part 3
MC's POV
I find it hard to describe my mood.
*Boing* *Boing*
It has been over a dozen hours since I parted with the valkyrie. I dealt with what I had to then Marion-san took me to the underworld. I originally believed I would meet the Great King, however, Marion-san teleported to a building where Nil-san was waiting for me. Zekram-sama had in mind the fact that I risked my life before so he wanted me to add some security measures to my surroundings, it would be split into two steps considering my situation as a Youkai, although I was only told that they would increase the people working for me. Thus, I was led to the most wondrous location in the world (from my perspective), the Maid Guild, to find more maids for me. I was on cloud nine, but things were not peaceful at all, meeting several absurd individuals made things lively, along with Grayfia-san who went to get her maid permit renewed. It was pretty absurd but I just shrugged my shoulders at that piece of information, more important matters occurred that left me utterly confused, but things went well in the end, I got some maids after all. Although the ordeal took until now to finish.
*Boing* *Boing*
That said, I find this to be an extremely suspicious situation, nothing can be so good, and the fact that it was prepared by that super dangerous devil, I can only feel like things will take a sudden turn somewhere. My guts are telling me to grab my maids and run, but I had already accepted to sell my soul to that guy in exchange for many benefits, and I must fulfil my part of the deal.
Sighing, I take a look around the carriage we were riding. Sitting beside me on one side of the carriage was Marion-san who was observing the two other passages sitting in front of us.
*Boing* *Boing*
Or that is what I would like to say, she was staring at a certain area that I will shamelessly admit was hard to ignore.
"New maids, more 'gifted' than me, more powerful than me..." Marion-san's mutterings were a bit pitiful.
*Boing* *Boing*
Yet I cannot deny those words. One was at Middle Class (High), and the other one at Middle Class (Mid), above my level, and obviously above the bitter maid who was weaker than me by a good amount. The gifted part is quite true as well since the shaking of the carriage is like a grim reminder from Marion-san. I was honestly trying my best to not fall for my instincts, but the fact they moved in such a synchronization was hard to ignore.
Sitting right in front of me was one of the maid's that came to work under me, Sirius. A girl with high levels of charms, with a height of over 169 cm, she had short white hair in a bob cut that reached her shoulders along with red eyes, she was dressed in a frilly maid uniform that could hardly hide her curves, in particular, the open window of the upper part showed a generous amount of her ample breasts, going down she had a something akin to a mini skirt that barely reached mid-thigh, just slightly below that she wore white stockings, creating what it is known as 'Absolute territory's, and while this might seem unnecessary, every time the carriage shook, a certain part shook as well, drawing the eyes Marion-san and me. Her name was Sirius, just like the star.
Nonetheless, our attention was split with the other person riding the carriage. The other maid that came to work under me, was slightly larger than the first one, in many meanings. She had over 171 cm in height, long white hair with a blueish tint that fell to her hips, an ample chest that rivals or might even be bigger than the silver-haired one. All being tightly wrapped in a frilly maid outfit that could barely keep it inside, with one remarkable trait that was different from the other one, right below her bobs she had a cutout underboob that left too much to the imagination, she was called Alkaid, a star-themed name.
*Boing* *Boing*
I can only say... Impressive.
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...
Getting down the carriage, I could feel the sun rays bathing me, or rather, burning it. That damn fake sun, from all the hours of the day he could've chosen one where the sun did not rain on me so ruthlessly. I dropped some seeds on the ground and soon I caused them to grow. This particular plant created a big leaf where it began growing into a Gigante's tree so I took the lead that was almost as wide as me and passed one to Marion-san who had just gotten down. With calm movements, she took it and... covered me.
This girl-
"This is for you, you know?" I gave it a twirl and it was not covering her.
"Murmur-same, please stop joking." Marion-san turned it over to cover me.
As the other two maids got down I created another two and I handed them some leaves, but they-
"Honorable Master! I understand!" Sirius-san clenched her fist in shaky determination.
Just like that, she also covered me with the leaf.
"I will accomplish your order!" Alkaid-san did not stay behind and did the same.
Face palming, I sighed.
"This is for you guys to cover yourself, the way to the castle is unnecessarily long so we are bound to get quite a bit of sun on our skins," I said. "I can create one for myself, also, Sirius-san, I told you to call me Nora, honorable is not something I should be called."
Ignoring my words, they held the leaves over me.
"It is a maid's job to serve the master!" Marion-san declared.
"I might lack the regular skills of a maid such a cleaning and the like, but I will do my best to service you," Sirius-san muttered.
"I-I have to serve you, or I might get thrown away..." Alkaid-san spoke in a fearful tone.
Ah! What should I do with these people? While I am a huge fan of a maid's way, making three girls use the leaves to cover me from the sun while they are receiving its full might does not sit well with me.
While I was pinching the bridge of my nose in irritation, I caught with eyes the figure of Nil who had gotten down the carriage driving seat. His figure as the three maids fought to cover me looked lonely, and I felt a bit of pity. Old guy, sorry about that, I completely forgot about you.
...
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...
After handing one leaf to Nil, I reached a compromise with the maid's, which came to be a blessing for me. Instead of having them cover me while they remained uncovered, they would use the three leaves to cover the four of us as we walked glued to each other. Sirius-san and Alkaid-san took their positions to my left and right, blessing me with a soft feeling as they stuck close to me, and since they had used the sacred method of rock paper and scissors, they end up taking that spot while Marion-san stayed behind me.
That is why, please stop staring at me with that accusatory look Marion-san, I did not ask for this, you lost, and any possible benefit I am getting from this is just a coincidence. Indeed, just a coincidence that I am enjoying myself.
...
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...
"Did you take a look around the area?" Zekram-sama asked.
After being guided to Zekram-sama's office by Nil, the man in question, or rather, the devil asked me that when I sat in the only chair located on from of his desk. Nil took a position slightly behind Zekram-sama, while the maid group formed a triangle shape around me. Sirius-san and Alkaid-san beside me, and Marion-san behind me.
I nodded at the words spoken to me, I did happen to check the few villages he had close to his castle.
"They looked like rural villages and there was hardly any modern technology but the lifestyle of the people there was not bad. They lived on farming and used the rich land to accomplish that. I did notice that the land was made like that through a lot of effort though, the land on the villages and their surroundings looked rich, yet when we went far enough, the earth looked almost dead, I saw some vegetation growing but those were plants that only grow on hard soil." I explained.
Nodding with a satisfied expression, he seemed pleased by my answer. I went for a detailed explanation of what I saw since I doubted he asked for a simple 'they looked nice'.
"I have considered that it should be time for you to take upon certain responsibilities, but I am still preparing the proper paperwork," Zekram-sama said. "That said, I thought you would need to learn from the basics regarding how to study the land, yet it seems you are more well versed than I considered. That is a good thing."
I knew that getting new maids did not come for free.
"However, I did get you a mansion in the capital so use that as your base of operation when you are there. While you will not use it that much when the paperwork is done, I think you might need it for the time being." Zekram-sama commented. "It is is a bit far from the centre of the city but I consider that something good since you will have some privacy."
New maids and a mansion, is this the famous grandpa in a ring's treatment? The guy takes me under his wing and gives me his treasures little by little. Yeah, no, that is not happening.
"I am surprised that you managed to get maids of this quality though, even I using my influence can't hire them..." Zekram-sama had a thoughtful look on his face.
Nil handed him a file that I am pretty sure he did not have a second ago.
I wonder if getting these two was that much of a feat?
I could feel a complicated mood coming from Marion-san.
"It is ok, regardless of what anyone says, you are my first maid. I will not throw you away." I spoke to the depressed maid.
Her mood got better and her face had a smile hanging on it, until-
"I will make you much stronger, you will become super strong, don't worry, I will raise the training schedule," I reassured.
For some reason though, Marion-san smile froze and tears were gathering at the corners of her eyes. How strange.
"I got a gist of the situation, you made quite a big impact over there," Zekram-sama spoke.
Having finished reading the file Nil handed to him, he looked at me with a hard to read expression.
"Now, let us get to the main point I called you here for?" Zekram-sama muttered.
What? You are saying giving me some cute girls to serve me was not your main goal? Why am I not surprised.
"You are familiar with the Gremory and Sitri, am I corrected?" Zekram-sama asked.
It was not hidden knowledge so I simply nodded.
"They could be said to be the light of the devil's society, always the good guys who attract everyone's attention," Zekram-sama commented. "That said, you should be aware more than anyone that not everyone decides to walk on a path of light. Some are pushed to a dark path or choose it by themselves."
Like it was not his business, Zekram-sama continued.
"Either way, both sides exist despite the fact they clash so often, and neither side can be completely eradicated. It is something I learned from experience." Zekram-sama's glare on me got heavy. "You have been focusing too much on the light, and while you have seen the darkness... you have yet to see a certain thing, and I will show you."
Staring me from his position, I almost felt like his figure became larger, and pressure like I never felt before caused me to stiffen. I had to stop Sirius-san and Alkaid-san who pulled out their weapons when they saw my state.
It is good they want to protect me, but he would probably wipe the floor with them, he is a guy who survived until this point and simply hiding was not the reason.
I did not retort or try to get away from here, I had already accepted a lot of things in exchange for his help. That said, I had the feeling that something I have never faced before will happen, and it will change many things.
...
...
...
Using several teleportation circles, Zekram-sama took the lead of the party this time. It kind of felt like when in an RPG you can't decide what the character you are supposed to control does.
For one reason or another, we also had to wear hooded cloaks and I even had to hide my Youkai traits, my newly added maids had been doing it since the beginning so I was the only one who had to do it, one mask on our faces was added to our equipment, they had many designs and in my hands ended a fox one. The irony was interesting as always but the mood was only good heavier the more places we moved to, I could tell that we were not going to a nice place.
The last place we teleported to was a city, we came out of a four-story building with a simple design, and we had to leave as soon as we teleported. It seemed like a commonly used location since there were multiple teleportation circles and people other than us used them. The city looked unnecessarily grand, almost to the point of being made by someone with bad taste who was hell-bent on making it look luxurious but made it look vulgar. Ostentatious and flashy, with many buildings containing showings, I wouldn't recommend reserved people to come here or they might get headaches just by looking around. The people moving on the streets did not have a good vibe and despite the flashiness of the place, a hard to understand gloominess was hanging around. Some people wore skimpy clothing while others wore hoods and masks, or noble-like garments. The smell of tobacco and other 'less legal' substances drifted in the air, making me feel that law was not very common around here.
As I was walking-
"You must always remember, you must take revenge for what they did to us."
"I don't want to take revenge..."
"Stupid! Have you forgotten what I taught you!?"
A tall and blue-haired man in his thirties was arguing with a girl with similar blue hair, both wore noble-like clothes, and the man seemed angry, enough to be about to hit the girl. Just before he did it, I glared his way and directed my killing intent at him, he froze like a frog facing a snake.
"Stop or else..." I warned.
There are a few things I won't tolerate, and this one was one of them. The girl looked young yet she probably had to face this on daily basis, I could spot a few bruises under her sleeves after I used my ability.
The girl sighed in relief and maybe she was so focused on what she would feel to notice I caused the man to stop, but the man looked scared yet he tried to put on a strong bravado until I raised the amount of killing intent and he hastily grabbed the girl and walked away.
"Your actions might cause him to go harder on her later..." Zekram-sama commented.
Under his mask, he looked indifferent and just observed me.
"I know, but you can't just look away from something like that when it happens in front of you, besides..." I pulled a tiny special needle from my pouch. "I am not much of a nice guy myself and can be quite nasty."
Aiming carefully, I threw it at the guy, he felt it because I saw him touching the area it hit but he failed to find anything so he continued to walk away.
It was the needle that was formed by the substance I prepared, it will dissolve pretty quickly so it is hard to notice, I did not have that much practice making those so the content will only weaken him, make him forgetful and distracted.
"I see." Zekram-sama looked slightly pleased. "Now, then... let's see how you deal with that, your petty tricks won't help you there."
Ominous words left his mouth as he turned around and continued to guide the group until we reached a tall and wide building with no windows and only one large door, it had a dome shape and would easily double in size of the biggest stadium in my past life. The door was being guarded by a pair of gargoyle-like beasts that had over three meters tall and bulky bodies made of stone. Their eyes scanned us for a moment before Zekram-sama pulled a badge and they just ignored us after that, allowing us free entry.
...
...
...
It did not take long for me to learn what kind of place this was and it caused me to feel uncomfortable. I was aware that this sort of thing still existed in modern times, and even in my old world you would hear about it now and then, yet it makes me sick that in this world, something like this exist to this scale.
"Welcome to the slave auction this time around, we have a wide assortment of goods you will certainly enjoy!"
The voice of the host as he walked around the wide stage could be heard clearly despite lacking any sort of microphone so it was probably some magic spell. I was sitting on a chair in a special VIP room, separated from the regular people sitting on chairs near the stage. We were in a higher place and a window I was told only allowed one-sided view protected us from any prying eyes.
Beside me, Zekram-sama looked indifferent, probably used to this kind of thing. Nil was also calmly standing at one side with his eyes closed, waiting for any order his master would say. The girls looked a bit pale and uncomfortable but they remained around me.
"Take this card, it is commonly used by aristocrats around the Underworld no matter where you go, you can only face problems in small and remote villages but it is uncommon for that to happen. I have placed a large amount of money there, you can consider it yours. The number on the left part indicates the remaining money so keep that in mind. Every single digit counts as a gold coin so be aware of that." Zekram-sama said. "You have to be careful since the money I am giving is your starting money, the money you will use to manage a piece of land I will hand to you later. However, it is up to you how you use that money."
My attention was no longer on the stage as I listened to the words of the oldest devil. He spoke suggestively as he handed me a black card but his eyes were on the stage.
"I only wanted you to find a servant with strong fighting capabilities but you got two, that said, I think you might need something else. How about a meat shield? I think you can use one I'm a case of emergencies." Zekram-sama cruelly said.
"I would never-" I was stopped mid retort.
"Have you ever considered that even you wish for something to not happen, it will happen? When you leave this place you will have a slave following after you." Zekram-sama coldly spoke. "Your naivety will cloud your mind one day, get rid of it. Do not try to deny what you see in front of you, or simply try to detach from this situation like it has nothing to do with you. Now that you are here, you can't say you are uninvolved. You are part of the dark side of devil society already."
Using a bone-chilling glare along with some pressure coming from his demonic power, Zekram-samaimpeded me from talking back.
"Nora Shiki, you have to look deep into the abyss to know what you are dealing with. Have you been blinded by being with those peace-loving idiots? You can't neglect darkness." Zekram-sama released the pressure. "Sit there with your mouth shut for the rest of the auction if you truly want to probe you want nothing to do with this place.
Finished saying that, he simply got himself comfortable on the luxurious chair and I kept my mouth shut as he asked.
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...
"Here we have a good specimen for those who like sturdy fellows, a werewolf with an impressive physique."
The host introduced a werewolf of over two meters ripped with muscles, he had a collar on his neck and chains bound on his body despite being on a cage, his eyes were red and filled with vicious rage, and his grey fur looked tough to pierce with ordinary weapons.
"He has a wild nature but as always, with the slave crest, he will follow your commands if you decide to buy him. The starting price is 300 hundred gold coins!"
I was not sure whether that was cheap or expensive for a slave, but many people began biding like crazy after the host said those words.
"That is quite a bargain for a werewolf on his prime, but I can see they used some sort of drug to make him lose his reasoning, he is being made look fiercer than he is," Zekram-sama commented. "You could also bide for him, he would be a good meat shield, after you take that substance off his body, and nurture him correctly."
His words were suggestive, but I ignored them.
"And, sold to the lady over there for 1000 gold coins!"
The werewolf guy end up in the hands of a woman who after seeing behind her mask with my ability, I saw a face full of lust as she licked her lips.
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...
"This time we managed to get a drake, the ones who caught it..."
Another one was introduced and my feelings were getting duller with each passing second. I could feel the worry from my maids, but one glare from Zekram-sama stopped them from talking.
"That one is no good, it is too showy and you would not be able to carry him everywhere, although if you get him, you could use it as a ride," Zekram-sama said.
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...
Gloomy feelings were flooding my mind and I was on the verge of throwing up, disgust was one word I found lacking to describe what I saw.
Elves, dark elves, sirens, harpies, and many other fantasy creatures were shown on stage. Creatures I never had the opportunity to see before were easily displayed on the stage. Being bought like pieces of meat and their futures became uncertain.
Is this some kind of torture? To do something for them seems unlikely for me... no, it might be possible.
"Now now, for the last merchadience, we have an interesting catch."
As those words were said, the figure of a young girl around 15 or 16 years old perhaps as her body had shown signs of development, long black hair and green eyes, she would probably be a beauty if her eyes did not look almost dead and the obvious scar on her neck wasn't there.
"Her strength is around Middle Class so you might wonder why this human girl is a special product, well, it is confirmed that she has an unawakened high-grade sacred gear."
At those words, those who were still sitting around showed clear interest. The girl just looked left and right, some fear showing on her face, but like many others before her, her body was chained down.
"Truthfully, her worth does not end there, she fought bandits attacking her village from an early age and almost wiped out many of those, but an unfortunate incident cause her to fall into the bandits' hands, and you might be wondering what that is."
The girls visage paled and tears threatened to come out of her eyes, she looked like she was pleading for the host to not say anything but while her mouth moved, her voice did not come out.
"It is quite the funny story, to be honest, the people she was protecting with all her heart and soul sold her out to the bandits, they had been told that if they handed her over, they would not attack the village again. The most amusing thing was that her parents drugged her and personally presented her to the bandits. Even they felt disgusted by their actions and cut their heads on the spot before proceeding to slaughter the village. Thus, she was left alone. The scar on her neck was when the bandits got tired of her cries because of her parents' death, despite their betrayal, she still cried for them. Quite the moving story. Oh, but don't worry gentlemen in the public, she is still a virgin, the bandits considered many things and given the dire situation they decided to sell her untouched to raise her worth."
What the f**k?
"She can't talk? Then screaming is impossible for her, that takes all the fun of torturing her."
"The sacred gear sounds attractive and she looks very tasty so she would make a great 'partner'."
"A black-haired human, my son broke the last one we got for him so perhaps getting a Low Class one was a mistake, this one should be about more sturdy, right?"
Words after words kept getting thrown, and they seemed to crush that girl's spirit. With tears spilling down she looked from one place to another, seeking help.
"I can see that she caught your interest, the starting price is... 10000!"
Gasps of surprise and grunting noise could be heard as soon as he said that, but the host did not seem bothered.
"This is the price that the bandits specified so there is not much I can do, feel free to bid for her, unlike our usual rules, we will allow you to bid by units despite the fact we usually do not allow it when the price is this tall, considered it a service on our part."
Grinning wickedly, the host shut his mouth and waited for others to speak.
"Even if it was confirmed to be high grade, it could be a supportive type instead of an offensive one so her worth could be lower..."
"For a Middle Class of another race, it might be worth it..."
"I need to get a new woman for my son or he will get annoying, ah, who cares! 10001!"
"Here we go, the first offer, who offers more?"
"10002!"
"10003"
Like that, the numbers kept increasing and the light was about to disappear from the girl's eyes.
"10100!"
"10100 gold coins, who offers more!? The man over there has is about to get her, anyone else wants to bid before that happens?"
It was probably my imagination because there was no way she could've directly stared at my eyes, but it felt that way, the girl was pleading with me. All the feelings of powerlessness from before pushed me and I spoke aloud.
"15000."
There was silence and many eyes got directed at our VIP room, maybe it was because, during the whole auction, we had not shown interest in any of the 'products', people were surprised but quickly lowered their heads fearfully. It seemed that the VIP room held many meanings.
"Unbelievable, raising the price for so much at once, now then, anyone else who dares to raise the price? I must remind you of the punishment for raising the price for fun!"
Many people who had raised their hands midway immediately lowered them.
"And... sold! This lovely and valiant girl has been sold to the guest on the VIP room."
Along with those words, I felt relief over being able to help that girl, but I also felt like I lost something. I had bought another being.
"...why did you buy her?" Zekram-sama asked.
He who did not try to stop me even if he could simply show no change of expression.
"Do you plan to release her as soon as we leave?" Zekram-sama inquired. "Are you truly that naive? What do you think will happen to her? She will be captured easily, the fate of a runaway slave is no different from a stray devil."
Biting my lips, I could not deny those words, I truly could not accept owing her like that.
"You know what is worse? You are technically abandoning her to her fate. Giving her hope just to crush that hope as you leave her alone." Zekram-sama added.
"Master-" Marion-san tried to speak up for me but-
"Silence, the servant should not get in the way when the master is having a conversation." Zekram-sama raised his voice.
Some irritation rose from me as he spoke to my maids that way so I retorted.
"I am saving her, there is nothing wrong with that!" I said.
"Saving her? Those are some nice words said by a hero of justice, but don't get full of yourself! You planned to abandon her, you think you are saving her just because you helped her for a tiny bit?" Zekram-sama berated me. "You have to think of the consequences of your actions, it is the same as before, that child, you think you did her a favour? While you handled the situation well and made it so the man would not hit her again for while, you can't expect that to never happen again. You did not act simply out of kindness but self-satisfaction!"
Hitting the armrest of his chair, Zekram-sama angrily glared at me.
"Responsibilities, remember that well, as the Murmur's heir, you will need to learn to take full responsibility for everything you get involved with." Zekram-sama shut his mouth.
I was left thinking about my actions, and since the auction was pretty much finished, I stayed quiet. Mulling over what to do about that girl took surprisingly quite a bit of my time.
At the end, I was naive for thinking that.
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...
"As you all know, the main event is finished, and now we have the 'leftovers', they can be used to anything you might like, they are pretty cheap so you can even eat them, no one will worry about them in the real world now that they ended here."
Snapping his finger, the host signalled to the 'leftovers' to enter the stage. Two... children 'came' in.
They were not tied by any chains... because there is no need to.
The first one was a girl with long white and red eyes, she looked like the very description of someone who lost hope in life and her body seemed to have been nurtured.
The second one was a girl whose eyes looked no different than the first one, with no hope in life, with short brown hair and golden eyes. Her arms and legs were in a terrible shape, bent in the wrong direction and from a quick use of my ability, I could tell that her bones were broken and left to heal that way, she was dragged to the stage but she hardly fought back, her face grimaced in pain so she could still react to her injuries.
"Let us start with the brown-haired one! She is genius in anything you put her through, but sports was her was she was known for, she end up here after the jealousy of her friends exploded! Isn't that nice!? 30 Gold coins!"
"She is a cripple, she hardly worths the trouble, and even if she was a sports genius, like that she won't be useful."
"Wouldn't heal her cost more than the actual value she has? Not to mention that you can't guarantee she will show the same skills again..."
People began complaining as soon as the price was given.
"Now now, I told you that she can be used as food too. The other one is pretty cheap! 1 Gold Coin! The value is set because she is useless at everything she does, no matter how much you try to teach her!"
The people began complaining again, but I was focusing on something else, Zekram-sama was staring at me. He knew what I planned to do, but he was waiting for something else.
"I will take responsibility for them," I said as I glared at the oldest devil. "I will make sure they have a bright future and won't certainly abandon them, the same goes for that other girl."
Understanding how serious I was, Zekram-sama just looked away.
"Do as you please, the many are for you to use as you see fit, you might have troubles later, but that will be part of the responsibilities you will have to take care off one way or another," Zekram-sama muttered.
"If no one bid this time, they get disposed-"
"I will take them, 50 gold coins each of them," I spoke.
The price is way higher than what he asked, but I considered that necessary, the attention of both girls was attracted to the room I was and some interest was displayed despite their hopeless expressions.
The moment I decided to take them, I thought it was important that not only I healed their bodies but their mental state needs some care as well.
Nonetheless, I should've paid attention to what the man meant with 'disposed', I wouldn't have been so shocked if I had known.
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...
As the auction finished, we were walking down a hallway that led to the area we would 'get' our merchadience. It led to other auctions taking place, we were on a fairly normal action but there were other ones where you could get more powerful slaves or even monsters.
"Hey, where should I take the disposable goods?"
"Huh? Downstairs, the basement where we keep the monsters..."
I happened to overhear the conversation of two workers, and before my rational mind could stop my body, my eyes pierced through several floors until I saw it. The fate of the disposed of, the unwanted 'goods'... they ended as monster food.
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...
My mind was a mess after that, and I managed to get my act together by the time we met the new girls. They looked at me in fear, and I could not blame them.
After I paid the guy, he left us in the room alone with the girls. I continued to stare at them and they at me, no one spoke and I saw when Zekram-sama restrained my maids, it was like telling them not to interfere with my actions. He probably wanted to see what I would do.
Taking a step forward caused the girls to tremble.
Saying that I came to save them is not correct, I am a scum who bought them like pieces of meat, they won't trust me, and saying it was ok wouldn't put them at ease. However, I could only do that.
"I doubt you will believe me, but I am not here to harm you," I spoke in a kind tone. "I don't want you to trust me because of my words, you don't know me enough for that, but I want you to do it because of my actions. It will be ok, they won't harm you anymore, it is ok."
They must've been pretty desperate since they reacted easily to the part where I reassured them. However, none of them made a move.
I bit my lips at that, I was frustrated.
Perhaps when I tried to reassure them, I was trying to reassure myself.
"You three, listen well, he is your new master, you are obeying his orders from now on," Zekram-sama spoke.
Stepping in, he ignored my glare.
"Regardless of what you were or who you were before, you are now his servants, forget about your past, he will grant you a new life, a new beginning, let him show you what he is capable of and wholeheartedly follow him," Zekram-sama exclaimed.
The eyes of the girls looked about more alive than before as they scanned my figure.
"They have nothing to live for, and the old life is something that torments them in their dreams so you need to choose your words wisely," Zekram-samaadvised. "You decided to take responsibility for them, do not forget that. Oh,they still need that slave crest, the geass."
"Is that necessary?" I asked.
"They are slaves, if they are seen without them when they leave, many will give you unnecessary attention. Trust my word on that." Zekram-sama bitterly said. "Worry not, they are not going to remain visible for a long time, it could be troublesome for devils who get their evil pieces this way if the geass remained visible."
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...
My mood was not the best after the bestowal of the crest, it was a painful process and the begging eyes of the girl's made me want to step in, but Zekram-sama restrained me. There seemed to be a difference between the mind control geass and the slave geass but I could not focus on it at that time, I could only hastily ease their pain when everything was done, their eyes softened somewhat whenever they looked at me after that.
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...
The way back was awkward and my mind was weary, we had some issue moving the brown-haired girl but everything worked out in the end.
I thought I was going to be taken to the castle again, but instead, I was teleported to a large manor big enough to house hundreds of people with ease. The girls looked exhausted so Sirius-san and Alkaid-san took them to a room for them to rest, I had provided basic treatment from them and got rid of several ailments they had so their bodies urged them to rest now that they did not feel that much pain. Only Marion-san remained at my side, along with Zekram-sama and Nil.
"Devil society is much darker than you think, and no one is free from such a thing," Zekram-sama commented.
I could only nod at that, my head was a mess and I honestly just wanted to go home and take a nap, I was tired, not my body, but my mind. I doubted I could take any more shit.
"Even the history of your adored Gremory is not that clean." Zekram-sama nonchalantly said.
"Huh? What are you talking about? They are good people!" I retorted.
I had met them, and along with the Sitri's, they were people who helped to clean the mess I caused at that facility, despite their hiding, I was not so naive to think it all disappeared by some magical spell.
"You did not know? I think it has been a few generations ago since they stopped getting involved in that, but let me tell you something betting my status as the oldest devil. The one who started that auction from before was the first generation Gremory. He sought to get many women so he created a way to get a supply of them. Several generations after him also got involved in that." Zekram-sama spoke.
Eh? No, no, no... no way. It has to be... No, no, no.
No, no, no, it can't. My friend, no, my friend can't relate to-
They are good people... right?
After those words, my mind could not keep up anymore, I heard that Zekram-sama muttered some other things but I was not listening, I did not even notice when he left and the worried stare of Marion-san was on me.
After that, I honestly can't remember what happened. I was told I disappeared for a couple of days.
Part 4
3rd Person POV
"Is there something you want to say, Nil?" Zekram called out.
Calmly sitting in his office, the oldest devil was skimming over some documents when he spoke to the butler standing near him.
"Sir, was it necessary to put him through all that and even tell him such a thing when he was so stressed? I think his mind could be on the verge of breaking... he is only 10 years old..." Nil muttered.
The oldest devil stopped his actions and turned to face Nil.
"He will eventually find out, and it was perfectly fine to push him this far." Zekram seemed unconcerned.
"However, you could've waited until he was more mentally prepared! Even if he overcomes this, won't he simply cut his connections with the Gremory? Were you aiming for that?" Nil raised his voice. "His personality might even become chaotic and he could even decide to join the extremist side from that city!"
Not minding such a thing, Zekram calmly stared back at the butler.
"If that happens then I will erase him with my own hands, it is my responsibility, he can't endanger the Underworld." Zekram coldly said. "I don't care whether he remains allies with them or not. I decided to support him not as the older leader of the King Faction but the individual, ZekramBael."
Nil continued to stare at Zekram for a while before giving up and turning around.
"My apologies, I went too far, Master." Nil apologized.
"It is ok, I do admit I was a bit forceful and hasty, but I wanted to see... what he is made off..." Zekram sighed.
3rd Person POV
In another place, unaware of the fate of the cat.
Gondul and Rossweisse were coming back to the villa of the older lady, they had been too busy until now to come here. While they passed through the village, the young valkyrie kept getting thanked over and over which left her puzzled until she asked for the reason and learned what the boy did. It left her speechless but it sounded like something he would do. So, for every thank you she received, she also thanked him in her heart, making her think about him all the way through until they arrived at the villa.
However, the two were surprised when they found the villa much different than they could remember.
Their housing was completely covered by white roses. They walked closer until they could spot a certain thing attached near the entrance.
As the white roses grew to cover the whole house, Gondul and Rossweisse found a note attached to it.
'This is the proof of your growth, when I arrived here, these roses were a small bud, lacking a lot of things, but now you have grown a lot, however, don't think that you reached your limit, look at this plant, usually, they do not grow this big, but I assure you, you (Rossweisse) can still grow, as much as these white roses.'
The boy was no more, he had left already, but he left an absurd gift. While Rossweisse read the note, she smiled unknowingly while her face turned a few shades of red, however, she did not notice, nonetheless, someone standing beside her reading the note did.
With a knowing smile, Gondul carefully entered their home without damaging the plants, and a minute later she came with a neat piece of paper, titled, engage agreement.
"Rose, I heard you say the boy spoke to you before about this, so here it is." Gondul handed the paper to the girl.
Rossweisse did not immediately take the paper but instead seemed lost as she continued to stare at the note. Sighing with a defeated expression, the older valkyrie thought that her granddaughter was truly a special case.
"Eh? Huh? Ah, that, yes, he spoke to me before..." Rossweisse sadly spoke.
Unaware of her expression, she took the paper and stared at it for minutes.
"Well my dear, there is a slight issue here. You see, he left you will all the power to do as you please with that paper." Gondul raised an eyebrow suggestively. "While you can test it apart, you can also leave it like that, I mean, it is not like it will change anything, right? Before you guys found out, none of them had any issue, did you?"
Confused, Rossweisse nodded, but still tilted her head curiously.
"You don't have to tear it apart, you can even keep it to tease that boy later..." Gondul suggested.
"To tease him? Yes, I should keep it to tease him, yes!" Rossweisse nodded happily.
Hiding the smirk that crept on her face, Gondul morphed it into a gentle smile.
"By the way, I heard you need to find a new subject to make your essay, right?" Gondul nonchalantly commented. "I know about a certain person who has an interesting sealing barrier..."
Those words picked the young valkyrie's interest.
"It is the leader of the youkai's, Yasaka..." Gondul said.
"But... I just broke the engagement with Nora-kun..." Rossweisse lowered her head.
"Now now, it is not like you are on bad terms, are you? Perhaps, you don't want to see him?" Gondul muttered.
Failing to notice that the conversation has shifted slightly, the young one shook her head fervently.
"No, it is not that! I do want to see him! Ah... No, uh, I think seeing him would be nice, I want to check on his studies of Norse magic." Rossweisse shyly looked away.
The older valkyrie was pleased with that reaction, and she inwardly thought that the boy messed up by leaving all the power on her granddaughter's hands. While the innocent girl was unaware of what she was feeling, there was there that pushed her to meet him again, and Gondul would not miss that chance. It was all for her beloved Rose, so she hoped that the boy would forgive her actions.
3rd Person POV
"I managed to meet him like you asked, infiltrating on the Nordic side was a success. However, is he an enemy? While I had not my Deus Ex Machina with me, he saved my life."
A figure could be seen holding a conversation in the middle of the night in an abandoned building.
"He is to be watched, for now, keep an eye on him and act favourably towards him, try to get as close as possible and... no, never mind, focus on what I told you."
Holding a strangely shaped mechanic gadget, the figure heard the voice coming from it cut the conversation.
"*Sigh* But, I wouldn't mind becoming friends with him despite the mission..." The figure sighed. "Heroes are hard to find, I wanted to meet and see what kind of things he will do, just like the person who saved us..."
Slumping her small shoulders, the figure walked away, when she happens to pass by a window, it illuminated her blue eyes.
3rd Person POV
A small figure walked aimlessly on the streets of the underworld at late hours of the night, his blue eyes looked devoid of life as he moved forward.
That figure continued to walk no matter what, even if people tried to talk to him, he just simply ignored them.
He would avoid bumping into people or simply use another street to avoid the agglomeration of people. Such as the situation where he used one to avoid a group of people patiently waiting in front of a bookstore.
"Grayfia-san, thank you for saving my spot while I went to buy some food. I truly wished I could use magic, that way I could keep at I needed with me using space magic."
"Fufu, magic is convenient but that one does not freeze time."
A pair were holding a conversation in front of the store, it was a woman with silver hair and red eyes, Grayfia Lucifuge was standing there while she spoke to another person who was waiting in line just like her, a woman in her early twenties.
"Is that so? However, it would still be convenient..."
Grayfia smiled wryly at those words, but soon felt the need to turn her head to another place, nonetheless, she failed to see anything other than the numerous people going around.
There was this nagging feeling but she could not find what was causing it.
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The small figure continued to aimlessly move around, and once again avoided an agglomeration of people.
"Hehehe, So-tan will look great in this Magical Girl outfit, I can't wait for the store to open up, lining in for days is going to be worth it!"
A short figure jumped happily on her spot in front of a certain store, Serafall Leviathan had a shiny expression when she sharply turned to one side.
Huh? I thought that..." Serafall confusedly titled her head.
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Time went by, and the figure no longer found itself in the Underworld, but rather the Human World. However, he seemed unawares as he continued to walk. The sun and the moon had switched places and the clouds in the sky were ready to make rain. However, nothing changed for that figure, he just continued to walk. Until he came across an event that picked his interest.
A disfigured man, who had arms long enough to reach the ground was chasing after a woman who looked to be in her 40, and her outfit screamed office lady. The disfigured man looked injured but despite that, he could easily follow after the woman, and they soon continued running towards a park, passing by the small figure who went unnoticed by both. The small figure soon went after them as that scene caused something to sparkle in his eyes.
Thunder and lightning made their appearance on the clouds, announcing the rain that began to fall.
The chase did not last long, the heel of the woman broke and despite desperately crawling away, the man caught up with her.
"Hehe, lucky, after that woman disappeared, no devil has taken custody of this town, I can move as I wish, hehe, escaping was a pain, but now I am truly free..."
The man creepy laughed as he got closer to the woman.
"NOOOO! Help! Someone! Help!"
Yelling at full capacity, the woman sought a helping hand as she crawled felt on her backside as tried to crawl away, however, she soon found her back against a tree and had nowhere to run.
Rain furiously fell and lightning illuminated the sky showing the ghastly appearance of the man, and making the woman terrified.
"I bet you will taste very nice... a little old, but you have enough meat..."
The man was about to attack the woman when a small figure approached at full speed and kicked him away, that kick worsened the man's wounds and blood was splattered on the woman and the small figure who kicked the man. The disfigured man rolled on the ground for several meters.
"You... Ok?" The small figure spoke in a hoarse voice.
A pair of cat ears and tails could be seen on him, and the blue-eyed boy tried to put on a harmless smile despite the stiff expression his face had fixed and his eyes that looked like those of a dead fish. Nonetheless, what he received in exchange for his action was not the gratitude from the woman he saved but instead-
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH! HELP! Help! Another monster! He wants to kill me!"
The hysterical screams of the woman who looked even more terrified than when the man was chasing after her.
The already stiff smile on his face froze and his eyes looked worse, his extended hand did not try to reach for the woman to help her stand up.
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"Yukari-san, what is the hurry? I was on an important mission."
A voice asked, he was an aloof man appearing in his mid-twenties, with long hair tied back by a blue ribbon, wearing a white suit with gold buttons and shoulder pads, and a matching hat with a blue band, at his side, he carried a katana and a revolver. Flying beside him was a pale young woman with long, black hair and red eyes. She wore a pitch-black sailor uniform with a pink ribbon around the neck, and a black scarf styled after her dragon form's scales, on her legs she had pink leggings with no shoes.
The person he spoke to had brought him over hastily by using her abilities, even now she was slumped on her couch while staring at a gap she opened, despite the rain that keep entering that gap.
Noticing the mood the woman was in, the man also got closer to the gap and strained his eyes to peer into it.
"Sakamoto, depart at once. He is there, he needs help." Yukari spoke. "You have always been better than me at talking, and right now, his mind is fragile... not to mention, that $##- + dared to say that..."
Focusing further, the man managed to observe what Yukari meant and soon his eyes got serious and he adjusted his hat.
"Oryou-san, let's go... Hmm? No, never mind."
The man, SakamotoRyouma, was about to head out but he stopped in place.
"We are not going anymore, Ryouma?"
The young woman flying beside him asked and she looked ready to go.
"I doubt she schemed to get there, and I suspect she simply got lost, but I believe she would be better for the job than me," Ryouma muttered. "Even I am not so kind to forgive that woman, either..."
Yukari understood his words once she glanced back at the gap and relief filled her heart.
"You were ready to jump in though...?" Yukari teased.
"I would just honestly take him and leave, if I stayed I would probably kill that stray devil... and that woman, after all, that boy..." Ryuoma covered his eyes with his hat. "Besides, wasn't that the case for you? You were afraid of losing control."
"Ara? I would simply destroy everything aside from him in that park." Yukari smiled.
"Ryuoma, Ryouma, Oryou would've eaten the whole park." You seemed to be competing as she said that.
Face palming, Ryouma wishes the boy the best of lucks, because in the future he will have to deal with more people like these two.
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The small figure, Nora, just stood there covered in blood and soaked in water from the rain, the woman kept screaming, and something inside him was breaking.
"He... Hehe... Hehehe... Haaaaaa" Nora cried.
Nonetheless, perhaps because of the rain, the tears spilling from his eyes were not noticeable.
"What is it, boy? Hehehe? Shocked? That is how people usually react to monsters like us, hehe."
The man had stood up and gleefully laughed at the boy's misfortune, even adding more fuel to the fire that was causing his sanity to disappear.
Taking the opportunity when the boy was simply standing there unmoving, the man got closer and using his large hands, lifted the boy by the neck as he began to strangle him.
"You are such an eyesore, getting the way of my dinner... Hehe, and this woman is the most stupid human I have seen, wasting her opportunity to be saved... Hehe."
The man tightened the grip on the boy's neck but he did not react. The woman no longer screamed and fearfully curled in her place.
"Haha, getting lost while looking for the old man's Udon Shop after a mission, if I tell Tomoe about it, she will laugh at me..."
A carefree voice that did not suit the scene was heard, and between the trees, a figure appeared.
Silverfish pink hair in a ponytail held by a fan-like hair ornament, blue eyes, wearing a blue sleeveless kimono with an obi, black detached sleeves, black thigh highs, and sandals on her feet, maple earrings and two katanas were sheathed at her waist.
The man froze, and the woman who shaking felt hopeful after seeing the figure of the girl who appeared.
Blinking in surprise, Musashi rubbed her eyes for a moment to confirm that what was happening in front of her was real.
A woman crying on the ground, a deformed man and held in his hands was-
"I see," Musashi muttered.
She immediately dashed, unfazed by the weather's effect on the ground. Once she was close enough to the man, moving at a speed he could not perceive, she drew her sword and cut off his arm, releasing the boy who fell to the ground. Before the man could scream, she kicked him away.
Sighing, she looked at the boy who was in an abnormal state, and she worried about him before she could check him-
"Oh, thank you, thank you! You are a human, right?"
The crying woman clung to her leg desperately. Musashi was about to reassure her when-
"You will save me from these monsters, right? It was so scary, first, the man chased me out of nowhere and then this small creature suddenly started fighting the man and was about to attack me!"
She heard what the woman said, and immediately, the kind smile she was about to show the woman disappeared and gripped her sword before drawing it. Splitting in half the man who was stealthily trying to attack them.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The woman cried in fear, but soon calmed down and pointed at the boy in the ground.
"That one, there is still one more!"
Like she had done a good job, the woman looked proud to point at the boy.
"Get lost." Musashi coldly said as she sheathed her sword.
"Ah?"
The woman was not sure of what she hears so tilted her head.
"I said... get lost! Didn't you hear me? Do you want to end up like that man over there? Do not test my patience, I am having a hard time not adding your body to the death count! He? A monster? Look yourself in the mirror, you look more like a monster than him." Musashi berated.
Ignoring the shocked woman who began to back away in fear, Musashi gently picked up the boy.
"What happened to you, Nora?" Musashi muttered sadly.
Even now, the boy's eyes were open but he did not seem to be staring at anything. Biting her lips, Musashi shifted him until she was piggy carrying him.
"Haha, what lucky encounter, I happened to find a black cat during this lovely weather, lucky me, lucky me." Musashi merrily spoke. "Oh, don't you think I forgot about it, Musashi-chan will invite you to eat some Udon, but first, let's get you a change of clothes, these are kind of dirty. Geez, I told you to not play in the mud, but you are a kitty who does not listen to reason."
Using an upbeat tone, the girl walked forward as she carried the boy. Musashi considered her options and decided on a store to go and get him some change of clothes.
During the whole way there, she did not stop trying to talk to the boy using a kind but gentle tone full of energy.
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"You will have to forgive Musashi-chan, the size is a bit bigger, but there was nothing on your size," Musashi commented after leaving the store. "Let me get you a nice and warm bath. Oh, what is that? Do you want to bathe with Musashi-chan? Hehe, well, if you insist, she will enter the bath with you."
Despite her words, the boy did not reply, but the girl did look discouraged, she only felt inclined to try harder. The rain had stopped and she felt like the moonlight was a sign of a bright path ahead.
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"Kyaaa! Ecchi! Musashi-chan is in shock!" Musashi blushed.
After arriving at her residence, she undressed the boy to take a bath together and was surprised for a minute. However, she got her act together and undressed as well before she guided him to the bath.
"You look cute but... Ahem, this is nothing for Musashi-chan, now raise your arms like this! Banzai! Yay!" Musashi raised her hands.
Smiling wryly at his lack of responses, she was about to help him do that to wash him with soap but... the boy slowly raised his head, looking at her for a long time, enough to make her feel embarrassed, he tilted his head and copied her. It brought a wide smile to Musashi's face.
"I knew you could do it, you rascal." Musashi happily took the soap.
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"Um, nice and tidy. Let's go and get you some tasty Udon and leave your problems behind!" Musashi spoke.
Dressed in a pair of cheap jerseys, the two looked similar given their colour theme, but it did not seem to bother any of the two.
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"Old man! Gimme two bowls of the usual! I will use the back area today!" Musashi yelled as she entered the shop.
Not minding the response from the owner, she led Nora to the back of the store where there was a small table for two, but she soon noticed fundamental trouble and instead of sitting one on each end of the table, Musashi sat with Nora on her lap.
Soon enough, the owner brought her the two bowls of Udon, and after convincing the guy that she did not kidnap the boy, they were alone.
"Here it is, Musashi-chan's favourite, Udon!" Musashi gleefully smiled.
Despite the lack of response, she could tell that the boy was interested because he was sniffing nonstop.
She was about to help him eat it, but she saw him reach for the bowl and let him do it by himself. He slowly, very slowly brought the bowl to his mouth a drank the broth, it was just a sip, hot enough to burn his cat tongue, but he did not stop. Musashi felt him shaking and noticed that tears were spilling from his eyes. She refrained from saying anything until he lowered the bowl.
"It warms you up, right?" Musashi gently said.
Circling his smaller frame with her arms, she awaited his response.
"Un." Nora nodded.
Despite his lack of words, Musashi still understood what he meant.
"What is hard?" Musashi asked.
"Un." Nora nodded once again.
Tightening her arms, she hugged him.
"Were you lonely?" Musashi asked.
Nora trembled and he began sobbing in silence.
"It is ok... I am here with you, you are not alone..." Musashi gently held him.
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...
In the end, the boy slept after crying his heart out, Musashi was troubled for a while but wolfed down the Udon and took him to her place again. After laying the futon, she put him to sleep beside her as she wrapped him with her arms.
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...
Opening her eyelids thanks to the sunlight, Musashi found a pair of blue eyes staring at her, the face was pretty close and a blush covered his face. It took a second for the girl to react before she backed away with a similar blush.
"I-I just put you in bed to sleep! I did nothing else!" Musashi frantically explained herself.
"I know." Nora calmly said.
Feeling a little awkward, Musashi avoided looking at him in the eyes.
"Thank you," Nora muttered.
Not daring to face him, Musashi lowered her head.
"You have lent me a hand, for that, I am truly thankful, I, Nora Shiki, will surely repay you," Nora spoke again.
Nonetheless, Musashi still kept her head low. It was not until she felt Nora walking her way that she raised her head.
"Thank you, for being the light that guided me during a dark time, keeping me from losing myself. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, I am truly grateful for that, my friend, Musashi-chan."
At those words, Musashi smiled brightly.
"Anytime!" Musashi said.
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Author's Notes
Well guys, there is the epilogue. I originally had planned to deliver it on time, but at 17000 words on Saturday I kept adding things and spent Sunday all the way to Monday morning writing. Thus what you have there. Hope you like it. When my body is better cuz my hand hurt from writing using my phone, will post the images of the characters I added. Feel free to guess who they are.
About the chapter, feel free to post any question you might have. Have a nice day.
