I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series
"Congratulations, Mara-sama!"
The blonde demoness rolled her eyes as her rat minions decided to celebrate her victory. In any other situation she would've been happy, but this time around, it was due to her stupid new job. The rodents who worked as her science team were still in their little white lab uniforms as they showered her with useless compliments.
"As expected from the No. 1 demoness in Niflheim!"
"Oh, enough with that!" shouted the irate blonde, tired of this silly charade. "What's so great about working in a dump like that? The salary sucks too..."
The rat took a nervous gulp as he tried to come up with some viable explanation. "But... Mara-sama... This is the first time in quite a while that we've had any opportunity to celebrate. After all, most of your regular plans end up in failure."
"What did you say?" shouted the demoness as she grabbed the offending rodent and brought him close to her scowling face. While she was normally anything but intimidating, right now, her narrowed eyes and protruding fangs were giving her captured subordinate the shivers.
"F-forgive me, Mara-sama! I-I don't have a good taste!" pleaded the rat as he tried to escape, but failed miserably.
"Who wants to eat you?" asked the blonde as she finally got tired and tossed him towards his two terrified comrades. "But what's with all the party like atmosphere and even that silly banner up there? Are you asking for something, you little fleabags?"
"Eh?" Turning around the trio noticed that there was indeed something off with the hanging banner that they had set up earlier. Instead of 'Congratulations Mara-sama' it read 'We want better wages. Less work hours.'
"Oops... It's a tiny mistake, Mara-sama. We put it in the wrong side, you see... After all we got it from the humans and they've already written that there," apologized the rat.
"Wait! Humans? Did you get it from a strike?" asked the demoness.
"Um... Last month's supplies were really not that great, Mara-sama. Then the Moo-Moo squad wrecked the place as well. So, we had to use whatever we could get our hands on," said the rodent as he scratched his tiny head.
"Fools! If you can't do something properly, then why do you even bother in the first place?" roared the annoyed demoness.
"Because Hild-sama ordered us?" said the rat with a hint of dread in his voice.
"I see..."
"She even gave us some cheese!" added one of the other mice that remained quiet but the others stepped on his tail in order to silence him.
"If that's the case, then go eat your reward," said the disgusted demoness. 'It's so easy to bribe those idiots...'
"Yay! Cheese!" cheered the trio as the rushed out of the room, leaving the blonde alone.
Mara let out a sigh. With such useless assistants, it was no wonder that she hadn't scored any victory against the goddesses. Although she wondered what was going to happen from now on. It's true that she hadn't been all that active lately, but with Hild-sama's attitude towards the couple she wasn't sure what she was supposed to be doing. One might think that her boss wanted Belldandy and Keiichi to end up together, and in that case, she couldn't carry on with her primary goal of splitting them apart.
Maybe that was the reason behind her sudden reassignment to that bike shop. Despite her antics, Hild-sama was the Daimakaicho for a reason and therefore she could already have a plan for her and getting that job was the first phase of it. If that was true, then this could indeed be a high profile mission and not a total joke. Unfortunately with her boss, nobody could ever be sure...
"Senbei!" shouted the demoness.
"Yes, mistress!" replied the miniature genie and self-proclaimed god of misfortune and poverty. "I was summoned and here I am, oh yeah!"
"Cut the intro short, bimbo boy," said Mara, not particularly in a mood to get his corny speeches of causing misfortune to others and how happy that made him. "Have you seen Hild-sama? I could've sworn that she was behind me while we walked back."
"But mistress, Senbei was in his home watching TV before you called. Wasn't mistress the one that was with Hild-sama?" asked the tiny genie.
"You could've just said no," said Mara, unsurprised that her other assistant was not helpful at all. That was before she suddenly realized something. "Hold it! You have a TV in that bottle of yours?"
"Satellite TV, mistress," replied Senbei.
'I hate you so much...' thought Mara, looking around at the almost ruined environment she was currently living in. It did have power and water at the very least, but not much beyond that. "In that case, go back to your bottle; I have things to do."
"Of course, Mara-sama! My favorite show is in a few minutes," said the genie, before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Showoff..."
XXX
Airports were typically busy and today wasn't an exception by the looks of it. Once he had Belldandy return the bags to their original size, they had to go through all the checks before they boarded the actual craft. That's when he suddenly realized something really important.
Belldandy didn't really have an ID. At least he didn't think so and he had never actually thought about it before this moment.
"Belldandy, do you have something to identify yourself with?" asked the panicked man, who suddenly felt that their honeymoon was not going to happen at all.
"Of course, Keiichi." Reaching into her clothes, she retrieved the item that her husband had requested and handed it over.
Taking a closer look, Keiichi felt a wave of dread going down his spine. The transparent business card had Belldandy's face while she was wearing her goddess attire and the inscription read as 'Goddess first class, second category, unlimited license. Belldandy.'
"This simply won't do! We can't use your ID from heaven! It has to be something humans use! Even more, you need a passport." He couldn't believe how he didn't realize that error before they got here. It's not like he had no idea about the legal procedure in order to travel abroad, so that made him feel more dumb.
"Sorry, sir. But you're holding the line, so give me your papers please," said the employee behind the desk.
"M-My papers?" nervously asked Keiichi. 'Now what?'
Turning to Belldandy, the man decided another approach. "Excuse me, but could you give me your husband's papers, please?"
"Yes," said Belldandy with a nod and handed the man the requested papers.
As the clerk got busy, Keiichi was still trying to recover from his shock. 'That's it, he's going to ask for Belldandy's papers next and then it's over.'
"Everything's fine, have a good time and a safe trip."
That wasn't what Keiichi had expected. Reaching to take his passport back, he realized that there was another one as well. As he took a glance at it, he couldn't believe his eyes. It had Belldandy's photo and the same fake information that his sempais had used a couple of years ago to get the goddess into NIT.
"How? Where? Who?"
The employee ignored him and turned to his wife instead. "Have you gotten my gift, Belldandy?"
She did blink once, before she smiled in recognition. "Yes, father."
"Good," said the possessed man, waiving at them. "Have fun you two."
Keiichi didn't have time to reply, before his wife dragged him along and away from the desk, looking back at the employee who blinked and looked around in confusion.
"Was that...?" started Keiichi.
"Yes," replied Belldandy. "Although, he relinquished control of that man and we had to leave before he realized that we had passed the inspection while he had no memory of it. It could draw some unnecessary attention."
"I see," said Keiichi as could finally breathe. It looked like the honeymoon wasn't going to be called off after all.
XXX
Vingolf, Asgard
'For real...' thought Tyr as he walked in the vast corridors of the goddesses' hall. 'That boy is totally hopeless. It's a good thing that I had left a one thousandth part of myself back in my office to keep an eye on things.'
Being the Daitenkaicho was a full time job, requiring attention to every small detail, in an effort to avoid any minor issue from turning into a huge crisis. Like the fact that his son-in-law had forgotten that Belldandy didn't have a passport or any other legal document that humans used. It was mind boggling how both failed to realize something so basic, especially after spending so many years in the mortal realm. Still, as far as he was concerned, it was Keiichi's fault. As a human, it was his job to keep track of such issues and at the very least try to ask for some assistance.
At least everything should be fine now, although it was his turn to get into trouble. Appeasing one's wife wasn't always easy, especially if she happened to be a goddess and a high ranking one as well. Another critical detail was her temper and natural impulse for aggression. His spouse was a former Valkyrie who had even earned the nickname 'Harpy' while she was still serving in the Fighting Wings. The fact she usually had a giant axe by her side, and was more than happy to use it, didn't make others any less nervous either.
Perhaps there was a reason why Hild had insisted he take that particular goddess as his second wife. He had always assumed that she had done that because she was her friend, but maybe she had something else in mind as well. After all, she was a demoness and that was to be expected to a certain degree.
It didn't take him much more to reach his destination. Before him stood the door to Ansuz's office and in all reality, he wasn't looking forward for this meeting, especially if she happened to be in a disagreeable mood. After a long pause, he knocked once before he entered.
"Ah, you finally came. I was wondering what took you so long," said Ansuz, who was currently trying to deal with all the reports from the recent coup in Niflheim.
"You mean aside from the dozen or so gods and goddesses that wanted to tell me something in person?" asked Tyr in an effort to lighten up the mood. "Or the fact that our son-in-law needs to start paying a bit more attention instead of being silly..."
"Dear, you've only been a father-in-law for just over a day and you're already criticizing him. I almost don't want to know what's gonna happen after a few years," replied Ansuz with a sigh. Her husband wasn't the one to be overly protective, but then again, this was the first time that one of their daughters had gotten married.
"I'm not overreacting. I can't just look after them all the time, that's all," said Tyr in his defense. "Do you even know what happened?"
"Yes, I had noticed your little stunt," said Ansuz. "It was a good gesture and I must agree with you to a certain degree; we can't always be there to watch out for them. I'll try to tell Belldandy to be more careful from now on as well, if that makes you feel any better."
'Good luck with that...' thought the leader of Asgard. Out of all his daughters, Belldandy was the least likely to listen to this type of advice. While it was indeed wrong to deceive others, sometimes it was just inevitable, especially if the alternative was a pretty bad one. "Maybe telling Urd would be a better idea."
"No. Having her to lie on their behalf isn't helping anyone. They have to learn how to handle those situations by themselves, instead of letting someone else do the dirty work in their place," said Ansuz with a shake of her head. "Did you notice that Urd even turned down her promotion for a first class license? It doesn't take a genius to realize why and that's just wrong. She's their sister, not their babysitter; not anymore at least."
"Well, it's not that I disagree with you... It's just that she's..." started Tyr.
"Just as stubborn as her mother, I guess. Is that what you were looking for?" asked his wife.
"Yes. But that can wait for another time. I've brought you the data for the Angelic Evolution Project," said Tyr in an effort to change the discussion away from Hild. That whole situation still hurt him and because of that, he found it inappropriate to bring it up in front of Ansuz, despite the fact that he was fairly certain that she knew about it anyway. Intimidating or not, that was one of the things that set her apart from most goddesses in the first place. She did try to understand, unlike others who would simply get offended and become jealous. That was perhaps how she even befriended Hild during a time when their species were more than happy to exterminate each other.
"Hm... let me take a look," said Ansuz, taking the disc and inserting it into her own terminal. Seconds later, once her clearance level was verified by the system, she could finally decrypt the files. Despite the fact that her husband had already made that copy for her, it was still highly encrypted and set to be only accessible by her. Moving classified information around in such a manner was very dangerous given how easy it could to fall in the wrong hands.
Once she could view the actual contents, it was clear that she had to spend several hours to get to the bottom of this, as the documentation was fairly extensive. She did try to find out what she mostly wanted to know first; the number of the produced angels. "It clearly mentions three of them, nothing more than that... Strange..."
"Actually... Why have you gotten interested in these angels all of a sudden?" asked Tyr. "They've been around for a while and Thor actually has one. It's not like anything new..."
"A demon has another one. How do you feel about that?" asked Ansuz, trying her best to avoid sounding too sarcastic.
"Wait... What?!" That was clearly not possible as far as Tyr was concerned. "Who could've possibly done that?"
"Hild's former apprentice or whatever they call them... You know that guy..." answered Ansuz. It was no secret that she had had little love for that nefarious demon, who needed a lesson in manners. She still couldn't believe the nerve of the guy mistaking her for a god when they first met. While it was true that back then she wasn't wearing skin tight clothes to make her build more obvious, anyone should tell that that she was a goddess. Anyone except that brat by the looks of it, who didn't even believe them when they told him the truth. Apparently she lacked a goddess' physique according to him, whatever that meant. The fact that Hild had found that funny didn't make matters any better.
"Surt? That pyromaniac?" asked Tyr. "He's the last demon I'd like to meet, period."
'Wait, how did Surt and Tyr meet...?' wondered Ansuz. She probably shouldn't be asking this but she couldn't help but feel curious about it. "Do you know him as well?"
"Ran into him a long time ago, when my squad was on a reconnaissance mission," said Tyr, not particularly happy to share this. "Sealed three of us and nearly flattened poor Freyr. I... had to... ask Thor to... help... a bit."
"What? A whole squad taken down by a single demon? How did you even manage to fail like that?" In all her centuries of service as a Valkyrie, she had never heard something so ridiculous as this.
"Hey! We were just young cadets back then! It's not like we had that much experience to begin with," protested the ruler of Asgard in an effort to explain what had happened.
"Hold on! If that's the case, then... he should've been... an adolescent?!" asked his stunned wife. "You're telling me that you were beaten by a single kid?"
"Well... you see..."
"Out with it, already!"
"We were caught in our sleep. He had sealed most of us before we even knew what happened." There. He'd said it. Not that it'd made him feel any better, of course.
"That's why someone is usually left on guard duty," said Ansuz with a sigh.
"We had one, he just..."
"Fell asleep," finished his wife for him. "And who was that guard's name?"
Tyr suddenly found a very interesting spot in the ceiling and tried to pretend that he hadn't heard her last question.
"Let me guess... You." Wife or not, she couldn't ignore her own training and shook her head at the thought that he had been like that during his own youth.
"Everyone happens to have a really bad day once in a while. Can we change the subject, please?" asked an embarrassed Tyr. "You said that he had an evolved angel?"
"True. He named it Laevateinn and it takes the alternative form of a flaming sword. I don't think that I have to mention how deadly it is," said Ansuz.
"Yes, it's the same case with all of them. That was the primary reason why we had stopped their development. They could be really dangerous to everyone, including their own hosts." He could see why his wife had been so alarmed with the situation. If the demons had gained the ability to make more of them, that could lead to some serious trouble and greatly destabilize the power balance between their species. "We shouldn't be jumping to conclusions, though. Before we try to do anything drastic, we must make sure to find out where that angel had come from. If the demons weren't the ones that made it, then it may not be as bad as we fear."
"Yes, but what about the one that they already have?" asked Ansuz with a frown. "Are we just going to let them keep it?"
"For the time being, we can't really do anything about it. After all, what are we supposed to do?" asked Tyr. "Send the Fighting Wings after the ruler of Muspelheim? That's an invasion! I won't endanger the peace treaty for such a stupid reason! Unless it becomes a real threat, we'll have to ignore it."
A much as his wife wanted to disagree, he was right. Staring a new war over something like that would've been foolish. "I see... I'll read as much as I can about them and try to figure out where that angel had come from."
"That would be the most prudent course of action." The Daitenkaicho was about to leave, before he suddenly remembered something important. "Oh, Ansuz! I've arranged for you to take a vacation for a while. Don't worry about the paperwork, I can handle that in your place."
Asgard's second in command gave it some thought for a few moments. "I'll take your offer, but not right now. I have to read all the details from the file, and besides, Keiichi and Belldandy are on their honeymoon right now. It would be better to wait until they return, so I could spend time with all of them."
"What about Skuld?"
"She has to realize that she's not going to be able to depend on her sister all the time. There are others around her as well, and until she realizes that, there won't be a point to visit only for that reason if she's going to ignore me as well," said Ansuz with a frown. "You know, I really hate that our jobs consume so much of our time. Maybe if we could've spent more time with them..."
"Indeed... Although..." he trailed for a moment.
"Yes?" asked Ansuz while tilting her head.
"It's nothing... Forget about it..." said her husband dismissively.
His wife wasn't naive, though. She had built up a reputation while she was a Valkyrie and despite the fact that she had considerably calmed down after her marriage, it didn't make much difference as immortals happened to have long memories. "You weren't going to say anything about them being just as... forceful as myself, right"
"Of course not!" objected the leader of Asgard. "Even if the apples hadn't fallen far from the tree in the end."
It took him a full second to realize that he had said that last part aloud and two more to reach for the exit.
XXX
"So, here it is," said Keiichi as they watched at the aircraft that waited for them outside the terminal. Actually, they were about to board it, once the last of the remaining preparations were complete and they were allowed to use the jet bridge to enter it. "A Boeing 747, it's one of the biggest aircraft available, especially for carrying passengers. Since we've got first class tickets, our seats are closer to the front of it."
"I do remember hearing about that, but what are the differences with the rest of the passengers?" asked Belldandy.
"Well... The seats are typically larger, more comfortable and luxurious. There is also more legroom as well as better overall service from what I've heard; like food for example. Of course, it comes at a higher price tag and most passengers can afford only the business and economy class as a result," explained Keiichi. He mostly recalled what he had heard from others, as the most he had ever afford was an economy class ticket once in his life, when his family had decided to go on a trip to Okinawa. "Those ones lack a lot in comparison; especially the last category. Even though I was a kid back then, I found it really boring."
"That's rather sad. Having some passengers enjoy their trip more than others..." mused Belldandy. "But I suppose that it can be expected to some degree... It's a rather small thing and space is probably an issue."
"Right," agreed Keiichi with a nod, before he paused and fully realized what that meant. "Small? That aircraft?"
"Indeed. It's tiny compared to what we have in Asgard. Our military vessels are nearly four to five times larger than the aircraft carries that humans use at sea, while civilian variants are even bigger, since they don't have to be built for combat. They are made from more lightweight materials and lack all the heavy and extremely hard to construct armored components, so they can be as large as this whole airport."
"The whole... You mean..." trailed the amazed mortal as he tried to imagine something like that flying around.
"Yes," said Belldandy, "including the runway as well."
For a moment Keiichi felt a bit disappointed, as he was certain that this wife wouldn't consider something like that even worthy in comparison to what she was probably used to.
Noticing his downcast expression, Belldandy briefly wondered if she had said something wrong. "Keiichi? Is everything alright?"
"Yes, I just thought that you were eager for this, like you said," replied Keiichi as he let out a defeated sigh.
"You should have known better by now, Keiichi," scolded Belldandy. "There is one thing that I cannot say."
"A lie."
"Yes."
"So, you're really looking forward to this? It's probably going to pale in comparison to your past experiences..." said Keiichi.
"I don't recall going on such a trip with you in the past," said the goddess of the present. "So those experiences are irrelevant."
Keiichi couldn't help but smile a bit as he scratched his head in embarrassment. He should've expected that from his wife, but at the same time, he had his own doubts at times. Hearing that was enough to reassure him that she did enjoy the rather humble lifestyle of a mortal, even though she was a goddess.
"Uh, Keiichi..." said Belldandy in an uncertain tone. "Where's everyone? There seem to be a lot less people around us..."
That brought Keiichi's attention from his daydreams, back to his surroundings as he realized that while they were talking, the rest of the passengers were boarding the plane. "Quickly! We have to get inside as well!"
"Yes!" replied Belldandy as she hurried after him.
Outside, a pair of black crows observed the couple as they rushed through the jet bridge to get inside before it was too late.
Shaking his head Muninn turned to Huginn, who was hiding his head beneath his right wing, a gesture that most humans would identify as a facepalm.
"Caw," commented the first of the avian looking spies.
"Caw, caw," agreed the second, before they both took off and prepared to follow the aircraft.
Neither was looking forward to this long flight, especially at subsonic speeds. Maybe they could chase a human fighter jet sometime later for fun. For the moment, duty called.
XXX
Browsing one of her fashion magazines, Urd had to admit that she was currently in a predicament. The goddess couldn't seem to decide which was the best lingerie option for Belldandy's first real wedding night. It was uncertain when exactly that was going to happen, given that even without the limitation on Keiichi's desires, they were still not doing what she had thought that they would.
Then again, it was barely over a day yet and the house was filled with all sorts of visitors that either stayed for a while or simply showed up for a few hours. Given the extremely limited privacy, she didn't blame them for not wanting to be caught by anyone in the act.
The mere thought of Skuld running into a potentially explicit scene gave her the chills. She overreacted back when they were barely even holding hands, but who knows what would happen if the kid saw something like that. Given the explosives she had in her arsenal, it could accidentally end in a mass extinction event.
It was a good sign that her youngest sister didn't throw a fit when the couple departed for their honeymoon, but it could be possible that Skuld hadn't connected all the dots yet. Keeping the young goddess as busy as possible was the best thing to do at the time. If left alone, who knows how long it was going to take her before she went back to her old habits. So getting her something to do in Chihiro's shop was the best idea she had in quite a while. Not only it would leave her with little time on her hands, but it was profitable too.
Still, that wasn't enough. Sweeping a problem under the rug wasn't the way to solve it. She had tried that numerous times with herself, and so far, it had never really worked. Just like when she sealed her angel away, instead of facing reality. It seemed the easiest thing to do back then; yet, something that took her millennia to reverse.
The real problem was that Skuld was far too attached to Belldandy and reluctant to form bonds with others. Maybe it was due to the girl's inability to truly see her peers as equals. Most were already using basic spells and some were even close to acquiring their angels, but Skuld had to rely on her machines for all that.
Thor had even tried to have her spend time with his youngest son, Magni. Unfortunately the young god was the exact opposite of her sister. He was ahead of most other gods that were around his age and while he barely reached Skuld's chin, he was firing lightning bolts already. In the end, she turned to her inventions as a way to find something to do, while the only friends she had were her own sisters. As both of them were much older than her, it was easier for the young Norn's ego to accept that they excelled in magic, way past her own level.
Of course, trying to solve one problem while thinking about another had proven to be waste of time and wasn't any closer to find an answer to either. She still hadn't picked something for her sister to wear, since half of what she was looking at were too plain, while the rest were probably far too racy for Belldandy's tastes. The situation with Skuld was unresolved as well, as she hadn't figured out what her next move should be, after the couple's return from their trip.
The frustrated goddess of the past was almost ready to throw away her magazine until someone took if from her hands.
World of Elegance had decided to step in and attempt to assist her mistress before she gave up. For the most part, Urd usually had good intentions, although she did lack the patience to go through all the available options before she decided that she had enough.
'Somebody's cranky today... Missing them already?' asked the angel over their shared link, before she started to flip through the pages of the confiscated magazine.
"I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much!" answered the annoyed goddess. Angels were a reflection of their master's personality and this one was no different. It wasn't just the fact that her appearance was affected by her goddess' nature, making her a rather unique dichromatic angel, but she also had Urd's attitude. "Why did you even show up? I didn't summon you."
'I thought I could give you a hand. Besides, your frustration was giving me a headache. Now let's see...' said the angel while going through the various images.
"So you're an expert on fashionable lingerie as well? Don't want to sound too rude, but you don't even wear them, Elegance." Technically speaking, angels weren't roaming around naked, but the flimsy bits of fabric they had around them were barely enough to offer them some modesty. Still, those counted only as their regular attire and not as underwear. Therefore Urd couldn't help but feel a bit amused at her angel's attempt to help in a field that she had absolutely no personal experience. Of course the angel could use the knowledge she shared with her goddess, but given the fact that Urd herself was unsure what to do, Elegance was likely to reach the same conclusion.
'I know what you're thinking. Still, having a second opinion isn't a bad idea. You never know, I could come up with something good!' insisted the angel, mostly out of stubbornness.
"Okay, fine! Let's have it your way, then," said the goddess of the past as she crossed her arms. "Which one do you like?"
World of Elegance took a few moments to take a good look at the various designs, but she didn't seem very happy. 'Nothing. Neither one of them is good enough for this job. Well, several actually are, but I doubt that Belldandy would be willing to wear them...'
"And that's what I thought as well..." Letting out a sigh, Urd briefly considered asking the other goddesses for help. The only problem was that neither of them was exactly perfect for the job. Peorth was clearly not an option, given her rather racy tastes in attire. Lind was probably not likely to know either and Laguz had been sealed for far too long to be up to date with what was the latest fashion.
'Why don't we try Skuld?' asked Elegance.
"Are you insane?!" shouted a surprised Urd, who couldn't even believe her own angel's suggestion. Only her... other side could possibly even consider such a thing and that didn't make her feel any better about it.
'Well, not directly. You know, some of the mangas she's reading lately are not as childish as the older ones. They have more... interesting plots and fanservice as well; including girls in their underwear,' said Elegance.
"I know that. But why would that make any real difference?" asked Urd as she couldn't see how it was better than her magazine.
'The rating, really. While they feature flashy things, they're not considered to be for adults only. So a few of the things in there might just do the trick. Not too plain but neither too racy for Belldandy.'
"Hey! It's like that tale with the three bears and that girl..." mused Urd, while her angel waited for her verdict. "We'll use this!"
Both of them shared a grin, before they headed for the younger goddess' room.
XXX
Meanwhile, Skuld was inspecting the batch of bombs that her mechanical assistant had prepared and they all seemed to pass her quality standards.
"Great job, Sigel. That was a very good batch of them."
"Thank you, Skuld-sama!" beamed the gynoid. She was delighted that her creator was praising her work and couldn't wait to get more involved in her future projects. Especially now that she had proven her skills at assembling machines. "Is there anything else you want me to do?"
"No, not at the moment at least," replied the young goddess. "I still have to fix Banpei, but that can wait for now. Why don't you go and have some fun?"
The gynoid gave her creator a polite bow and headed for the door. "I understand, Skuld-sama. I'll go and start patrolling the temple grounds at once."
'Is that what she considers to be fun? Hm... maybe I should see what I can do about her later,' thought Skuld. In the meanwhile, her greatest priority was to carry out Belldandy's request and attach the amulet to Keiichi's watch. The only real problem was how to do it.
Using glue was just a terrible and temporary solution, even if it was the simplest. Welding the metal back plate of the watch together with the amulet was the more sensible thing, although it was tricky. Joining different metals together was troublesome and most methods required the application of high temperatures.
She had no idea how strong her uncle's contraption was and didn't want to risk melting it down by accident. The last solution was ultrasonic welding, a technique that utilized pressure and high frequency vibrations to join items together, without bolts, nails, soldering materials or other types of adhesive.
In fact she used it to bind plastic or even aluminum components for her own contraptions. Especially if she couldn't apply a lot of heat, like in several of the more sensitive components for her bombs.
"Let's see, the amulet is perfectly smooth on one side. So I have to use that facing the clock's steel plate." Minutes later, she was almost ready before she heard someone knocking on her door.
"Yes?"
"Oh, Skuld! It's me! Do you have some time?" That clearly Urd's voice, although the younger goddess had no idea what her sister needed right now. She rarely interrupted her work in the past for just talking to her, which only meant that she wanted something.
"Come on in!" shouted the goddess of the future, knowing that sending the other Norn away was virtually impossible. Urd was rather stubborn and didn't easily take 'no' for an answer.
"Hey there," said the elder goddess as she walked in the room.
"In case you're wondering, I'm almost ready with the watch. Just give me a few more minutes, will you?" said Skuld, assuming that this was the reason behind her sister's sudden visit.
"Really? That was fast," said the goddess of the past. In the meanwhile, a miniature version of her angel was hiding behind her and crept closer to the shelves that Skuld placed all her mangas.
"Oh, give me a break! What were you expecting? It was just a simple task!" Skuld may have downplayed the actual difficulty a bit, but it was the perfect opportunity to boast about her skills. After all, those were the moments where she could prove her usefulness and the young goddess wanted to remind her sister.
"Of course... So, it won't take that long then," said Urd as she tried to buy some extra time for her angel.
"That's what I've said. Now can you let me do my job? I'll bring you the watch as soon as possible, okay?" asked the young Norn, not particularly fond of having an audience when she was working hard.
"Sure thing, sis. I'll be in my room." And with that, the rushed out of the door, leaving the young inventor alone and confused.
"Sure thing, sis?" wondered Skuld aloud. "What was all that about? Did she try one of her weird potions? Or is she up to something?"
As the young goddess stared at the spot that her sister had occupied before, she immediately noticed something wrong. The entire lower shelf, were she stored her latest manga volumes, was completely empty. There was only one possible culprit that could have perpetuated this heinous crime.
"Peorth!"
Meanwhile, outside, Urd and her angel were rushing back to their room, carrying their loot with them.
AN: I would like to offer my thanks to WhoIsAtlas for proofreading this and making the needed corrections.
Additionally I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.
There are several things I'd like to note for this chapter.
The story is mostly based on the manga, so it's probably set in the mid 90's. The first chapter of the series was released in 1989 and it is safe to assume that by the end of it, a few years had already passed. However, it's not like two and a half decades, the amount of time that it took in real time. As a result a lot of the technological aspects here will be set in the standards of that decade and not the current ones. For instance, Keiichi's mention of the Boeing 747 being the largest passenger aircraft in the world should've been valid back then. Today we have even larger ones available. Similar examples will also happen throughout the story.
Ultrasonic welding is indeed a real method of binding various materials together and not something that I came up with. It's true that Skuld can come up with really crazy stuff, but I do like to give them a chance to be remotely based on something that exists, especially before she starts to integrate her magic into them to a much greater extend than she unknowingly does now. I know it may not sound very impressive, but it's better than random techno babble that makes no sense whatsoever.
As mentioned in the story, World of Elegance is a reflection of her mistress and therefore, she's got Urd's character and tendency to argue with herself, and by that I mean her goddess and demon side. Her angel reflects that, although mostly as part of her mannerisms. She is extremely loyal, just like any other angel is supposed to be, especially when the situation demands it.