After finishing the meeting in the orb chamber, Lu and I stepped out of the Great Tower. The morning sunlight wrapped around us, while a fresh spring breeze swept gently across the grounds.
The temple courtyard was wide. Perhaps because of the flowerbeds—or maybe the herb garden behind them—the air carried a faint scent of greenery.
A smile bloomed on Lu’s face.
“It’s such a nice day, Oniichan.”
“Yeah.”
I smiled back at my little sister.
“Why don’t we take a walk along the inside of the wall for a bit?”
“Okay!”
Lu is still not allowed to leave the temple grounds. The power of creation within her was being targeted by slave traders, and if Odin had his eyes on her as well, then it was even more important to keep her somewhere heavily guarded.
But because of that… we had already kept her confined to this small world for nearly two months.
“In the Royal Capital… I bet the flowers at our neighbor’s place are blooming right now.”
She was talking about the house across from our old home in the capital. It had been a poor district, but the people across the street always planted flowers by their doorway.
I hesitated to say something easy like “We’ll be able to go back soon.”
So instead, I changed the subject.
“…Look, flowers are blooming in this flowerbed too.”
Lu had noticed the flowerbed beside the chapel.
“Really! The red bellflowers and white dora are already blooming!”
She tugged my hand. The bed was full of red and white blooms, bursting with color. Lu puffed out her chest and looked up at me, her eyes sparkling.
“How’s it look?”
Her braids swayed proudly as she asked, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Amazing! Did you grow all of these, Lu?”
“Yes! From the far side of the chapel all the way over here.”
Lu had always been diligent, and she had taken on many tasks around the temple.
We walked along the flowerbeds, Lu occasionally crouching to remove pests from the flowers or pull weeds from the soil.
Just as we were thinking it might be time to head back, we froze.
A metallic sound reached our ears.
“…Is that… a blade?”
At my words, a high-pitched sword rang out again.
Lu’s voice trembled as she whispered, clearly uneasy.
“Where’s it coming from?”
With the blessing of the God of Hunting, the ability ‘Wild Heart’, I could easily pinpoint the source of the sound. I relaxed my expression to reassure my sister.
“It’s okay. It’s coming from the training grounds.”
The Raven Warrior Corps had a training facility in their base. The sun hadn’t fully risen yet, but the sounds of combat drills were already sharp and clear.
“Oniichan… can we go see?”
“You can. But that’s where people fight.”
“I just want to watch. I want to get used to it.”
Lu gripped my sleeve tightly, her brow furrowed. Still, her eyes were unwavering, and I could feel her determination.
—If a battle were to break out near her, she’d have to escape on her own.
She wanted to familiarize herself with the atmosphere of combat, just in case.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
We approached the training grounds. The area was enclosed by sturdy stone walls, but it had no roof. That was probably why the sounds carried so clearly.
Every so often, a clatter of chains rang out.
I called through a gap in the wall.
“We’re coming in!”
Peeking inside, I saw exactly who I expected.
Mia-san’s red hair streamed behind her as she crouched low. She manipulated the chains coiled around her right arm, drawing a hand axe toward her with precise control.
Our eyes met.
“Rion!”
The moment Mia spoke, I let out an “Ah—,” and Lu covered her eyes.
Gon!
A block of ice dropped onto Mia’s head with a solid thud.
“Ow…!”
Her training partner—Felix-san—shook his head, clearly exasperated.
“Apologies! But if I may be frank… that was an opening on your part, Mia.”
“…I know.”
Mia-san answered while rubbing her head.
It seemed that she and Felix-san had been sparring seriously, exchanging blows of magic and chain axes from roughly twenty meters apart. Both were breathing hard, clearly exhausted. Their training had clearly been no ordinary exercise—it had been a real duel.
The two of them slipped past us and crouched near the wall, drinking water as if it were the most delicious thing in the world.
Felix-san spoke up.
“Rion. Have you finished your conversation with the commander?”
“Ah… yes.”
We shared what had happened in the Orb Chamber with both of them. There were no restrictions on speaking, and I trusted that they could keep things contained.
Mia-san wiped the sweat from her brow.
“…I see. So we’ve been training for three hours since morning. No wonder I’m exhausted.”
Lu and I widened our eyes in surprise.
“T-three hours?”
“Seems we overdid it. A bit of overwork on our part.”
Both of them were drenched in sweat, their bodies pushed hard—but you couldn’t say their fighting spirit had wavered in the slightest.
It was as if their resolve was radiating out along with their body heat.
Mia-san snapped the lid on her water bottle.
“Rion, how was the battle in Flocia?”
“…Even with Solana’s help, it was close. I hear the city suffered a lot too.”
“It was rough. Honestly… it wasn’t enough. Truth be told, we couldn’t really handle them.”
Then she grinned.
“That’s why we train. So next time, we’ll be stronger.”
Lu hesitated, then asked softly:
“Um… Mia-san… aren’t you scared?”
Mia-san and Felix-san exchanged a glance. Almost wordlessly, they smiled at Lu.
“Little sister… yes, it’s a bit frightening. But to be honest, I’m a little excited too.”
“…Huh?”
Mia-san straightened up, speaking as she went.
“I thought we’d be facing giant snakes or fire giants… but it’s a primordial titan instead. Still, having something like that around… it makes adventuring feel more like an adventure.”
The two of them rose and walked back toward the training area.
“Alright then. Shall we try again before noon?”
“Mia, be careful about the timing when you coordinate.”
“I know.”
They squared off once more, keeping a careful distance, eyes locked in silent challenge.
The gold coin and the horn trembled. Perhaps they were reacting to the nervous energy in my own heart.
『Rion.』
Heimdall’s voice echoed from the horn. I reached first for the gold coin in my pocket, then to the horn in my pouch.
“Wake up!”
From the coin sprang Thor, from the horn came Heimdall.
The two war gods stood before me, bathed in the brilliance of sunlight.
“Shall we lend a hand, boy?”
I nodded, and Thor strode toward Mia-san and the others.
“Then I’ll take care of Mia’s side.”
After seeing the god off, Lu pointed toward a bench near the entrance. Her lips were pressed together tightly, determined.
“…Oniichan. I’ll be over there, practicing how to refine my magic too.”
“You too, Lu?”
“Yeah. I want to practice so I can draw out more of Freyja-sama’s power of creation and my own magic.”
Just then, from Mia-san’s side, the heavy thud of a giant hammer hitting its mark echoed through the air.
Heimdall let out a dry laugh.
“Luisia, that’s a wise idea. You carry Freyja’s power, creation itself, and immense magical energy within you—but…”
He continued.
“Think of it like a spring and its floodgate. If the power is the water, the energy exists inside you, but it cannot reach the outside without passing through the ‘floodgate.’ And… the floodgate you can open right now isn’t very large yet.”
Lu fixed her sky-blue eyes directly on the god.
“I… I want to be strong too.”
“Yes. Practicing how to bring your magic to the surface will help you protect yourself. The floodgate will open wider with time.”
Heimdall handed the horn to Lu.
“I want you to gradually infuse magic into my awakening horn, the Gjallarhorn. To awaken gods across the world, immense power is needed. The vast energy you’ve inherited as Freyja’s reflection should be stored within the horn.”
Lu nodded and dashed toward a bench in the corner.
Heimdall turned to me.
“Then… shall we get to it as well?”
Tomorrow, we would go to the castle and reveal the truth of the myths.
But for today, we spent the hours training, preparing for what was to come.
◆◆◆
Luisia pressed a hand to her chest.
Rion and Heimdall faced each other, crouched low in combat stance.
Her brother’s expression was nothing like the one she remembered from their childhood backyard training sessions. The Rion who once read picture books to her, who had swung wooden sticks alongside her, was gone. This Rion—undaunted in the presence of a god—was a true warrior.
Heimdall’s sword clashed against Rion’s dagger.
Sparks flew.
It was as if the forge itself had been placed on the anvil, and the blade being honed was the Boy with the Horn.
Luisia remained seated on the bench, captivated by her brother’s display.
“Oniichan… you’ve become really strong.”
She pressed her hand to her chest again and spoke softly.
“Freyja-sama…”
—What is it?
“I want to be stronger too… How can I learn to use Freyja-sama’s power?”
As she asked, Luisia poured her magic into the horn, starting with her own method.
The basic approach was the same as when she used her ability, Creation. Drawing the magic from deep within her body, she guided it into her arms and pressed it into the horn she held with both hands.
Gradually, her arms became wrapped in a soft green light.
The power pulsed as it flowed into the horn. The awakening Gjallarhorn seemed to recognize its purpose, swallowing her magic willingly.
—You likely have both talent and the accumulation of all your previous training.
A gentle voice, Freyja’s, echoed from her chest.
—You have been striving to master Creation all this time, haven’t you?
Luisia shook her head.
“…That alone… might not be enough.”
A shadow flickered across Luicia’s heart.
Her brothers were working so hard—for her.
But through Creation, she could feel Ymir’s overwhelming strength. She was the one who had bound that massive being with shackles during the battle in Flocia. At the time, she had been caught up in the fight, but the sheer magnitude of power she felt through her magic had been etched into her memory.
“Freyja-sama… before you dwelled within me… what were you doing?”
There was a hint of hesitation from the goddess. If Luisia were captured, everything would be lost. Freyja was trapped inside her.
—I would reside in bodies that could host a god, from one to the next.
“So… each time the previous host died, you would move to the next body?”
—Yes.
Luisia clutched her chest sharply, then forced a smile and shook her head.
“It’s nothing. Really.”
The training grounds were filled with the sound of effort.
Luisia resumed her practice, choosing to trust her companions—for now.Yet her hands trembled. Bit by bit, she was beginning to fear that everyone around her might get hurt… all to protect her.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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