ACT 2
“Okay, just need to calm down. Calm down.” Yuuto placed his hand on his own chest, and focused on taking deep breaths. In an apt reflection of his current state of mind, Yuuto’s heart was hammering like the bell of an old-fashioned alarm clock.
His hand was trembling with fear.
His mouth was completely dried out from the anxiety.
The nervous fear he felt now made what he had felt when he saw Steinðórr for the first time seem trivial in comparison.
In the darkness, moonlight streaming in from the window danced bewitchingly across the surface of a familiar, round mirror.
Somehow, perhaps due to its being made with the material known as “elven copper” or Álfkipfer, Yuuto could contact his original world while in proximity to this mirror. The only reason he had been able to survive these two years in a land of war and strife had been the various kinds of modern information and knowledge he’d had access to, thanks to that connection. However, all of that had been due to the assistance of one very important person.
“Ughhhhhhhhh, Mitsuki’s definitely gotta be mad at meeeeee...” Whining pathetically, Yuuto crouched down, smartphone in hand.
Upon returning to the Wolf Clan capital Iárnviðr, he had raced over to the Hliðskjálf without a moment’s delay and climbed the stairs, only to find himself struggling to make his finger push the Send Call button.
“I’m not sure. We did just finish a battle. It’s probably nothing dangerous. Just rest easy. Goodnight.”
That was the last time he’d spoken with her, over three weeks ago. Mitsuki was well aware that Yggdrasil was a dangerous and deadly world. It wasn’t hard to imagine how much she must be worrying about him.
That was exactly why he should just hurry up and call her, to put her mind at ease. But the circumstances behind the end of their last conversation having been what they were, he found himself unable to think of the right thing he should say to her first when she answered.
She was definitely going to start crying. Yuuto had a really hard time dealing with a crying girl, and in particular, he never wanted to hear Mitsuki cry. Stuck in a separate world as he was, he wouldn’t even be able to pat her head. He just didn’t know what to do.
“I guess worrying about it endlessly isn’t gonna help anything,” he told himself. He breathed in and out deeply. “Right. Just gotta psych myself up and do it. For starters, hit the button first, then worry about the rest later.”
He screwed up every scrap of courage he had, and then tapped the Send Call icon.
The mechanical dial tone echoed, the signal that there was no turning back. Yuuto gulped anxiously.
“Yuu-kun! Yuu-kun, is that you?! Are you all right?!” Just like always, Mitsuki picked up after only a single ring, before he even had a chance to mentally prepare himself.
That was more than enough proof for Yuuto that Mitsuki had spent more than three weeks almost constantly looking at her phone, and before he knew it, he was unable to make words.
“Ah... Mi-Mitsu... ki... I... I...” Only a faltering stammer managed to escape Yuuto’s lips.
However, for a childhood friend he’d known for 14 years, that was more than enough.
“Y-Yuu-kun, it really is you! I’m so glad... You’re alive. You’re aliiive... Waaaaaaaughhhh!”
“Wh-whoa, n-no! D-don’t cry, Mitsuki—! I’m begging you, I’m begging you, okay?!”
Just like Yuuto had predicted beforehand, Mitsuki broke out into a wail and began crying her eyes out, and all he could do was plead with her.
Meanwhile, Yuuto also felt a heat stirring within his heart.
It was the sense of relief at having survived to hear the voice of his beloved childhood friend once again. Even more than that, it was the happiness of knowing that someone cared enough for him to weep with joy at learning he was alive, guilty pleasure though it might be.
“Mitsuki,” he said soothingly, “I’m still here. I’m still alive. I’m really sorry I haven’t been able to contact you until now. I shouldn’t have worried you like that.”
It was as if all his worrying a minute ago over what to say had been nothing but a charade, and an open-hearted and frank apology just came out naturally.
Even though there was no one there to see it, he bowed his head so forcefully that he banged it against his own knee.
After who knew how long, the sound on the other end of the line changed from loud crying to soft sniffles.
“It’s really... It’s really you. Y-you’re not hurt anywhere, right, Yuu-kun?”
“R-right, I’m fine. I’m in perfect health, actually.”
“You didn’t call me for over three weeks, so what were you doing?”
“Uh... ummm...” Yuuto wavered for a moment on how to answer, but then decided to just confess the truth honestly. “I was... I was at w-war.”
He had considered whether he should tell a white lie to keep her from worrying, but he didn’t want to lie to Mitsuki of all people.
“I see...”
“...!” With just those two words from Mitsuki, Yuuto reflexively snapped to attention, unable to move. Her voice had been as cold as a wind blowing up from a frozen hell.
“Yuu-kun,” she said icily.
“Y-yes!”
“Sit down.”
“Eh?”
“Didn’t you hear me? Sit down where you are. Right now!”
“Y-yes ma’am!” Yuuto hurriedly sat down on his knees in the formal seiza position, as he was told. Just like when he’d apologized earlier, there was no one there to see him, so he could have simply not done it and said that he had, but the thought of what might happen on the off chance he got found out was more than enough to scare him away from that idea. A wise man keeps away from danger, as the saying goes.
“Yuu-kun, I do understand that you have responsibilities as a patriarch, okay?”
“Y-yeah.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve told you this before, but I’m absolutely against it, though. I’d much rather you stay somewhere safe, away from all of that.”
“...I’m sorry. But, a lot’s happened.”
Until very, very recently, the Wolf Clan had been weak and under constant threat from its neighbors, its very existence as fragile as a candle in the wind. There had been no such thing as a safe place. The only way to survive had been for them to fight their way back up.
“Yeah, and I know I can’t just say, ‘I understand what happened,’ but I at least understand that you’ve been through a lot and you’ve got your own reasons.”
“Th-thank you.”
“Yuu-kun, I know there’s burdens you have to carry that I’m sure I could never imagine, living in peaceful Japan. But even so...”
“Y-yeah?”
“Just how the hell much do you think I’ve been worried about you?!!” Mitsuki screamed in an earsplitting voice that was enough to make Yuuto pull away from the phone.
“I-I’m really sorry.”
“Yuu-kun, you’ve done a great job bringing your clan together as a leader, so you should know all about this, right? It’s called ‘the lifeblood of an organization.’ Ho-Ren-So.”
“Uhh, um, it’s that Japanese business slang that means r-reporting, contacting, c-consulting, right?” Even as he was saying the words, Yuuto felt the blood draining from his face.
In the course of his duties as patriarch, he’d become bitterly aware of the importance of these three things. And those vital aspects of communication were exactly what he had neglected in regards to his one and only childhood friend.
“I’ve gotten absolutely nothing from you, you know?” she scolded. “You could’ve at least sent me a text, right?”
“...Yes.” Yuuto nodded, his head drooping lower with each sentence.
He could perhaps think of a few excuses. He’d been swamped with preparing for battle and there’d been no time to spare, for instance; or he’d been too preoccupied with trying to think of how to win and survive. But, faced with the girl who’d spent more than three weeks waiting on him while he failed to contact her, heart aching the whole time, Yuuto felt that telling her excuses like that would just be unmanly.
“Yuu-kun, I really hate the idea of you going into battle, I really, really hate it, but... it’s something you can’t avoid, right?” Mitsuki said. “So, at the very least, tell me about it. If you just cut off contact from me without any warning... my heart won’t be able to take it. It’ll make me worry about you if you tell me, sure, but if you don’t, I’ll just worry even more.”
“...Sorry,” Yuuto said quietly.
“All right. Then I’ll stop lecturing you now.” Mitsuki’s tone changed, and she went back to her usual bright and cheery self. “Can you tell me about what’s happened over the last three weeks?”
“Yeah, I can, but... Since the lecture’s over, does that mean I can stand up again?”
Mitsuki burst into giggles. “Ahaha! Whaaat, did you really take that sitting down part seriously? You wouldn’t have gotten caught even if you didn’t do it. You’re so faithful, Yuu-kun!”
This is coming from the person who talked like there’d be hell to pay if I didn’t do it, Yuuto sighed. He was wise enough not to voice those words out loud.
That said, if I make it back to the modern world, I might well end up wrapped around Mitsuki’s finger. Yuuto smiled wryly. The image of that peaceful future seemed lovely to him... and so far away.
In either case, somehow Yuuto had overcome what had currently been his greatest obstacle.
The summer full of conflict and upheaval had come to an end, and a bountiful autumn was approaching.
“Aaaugh! Give me a break! This is way too muuuch.” Yuuto slumped listlessly face-down onto his desk, which was piled high with documents.
When all things were said and done, Yuuto had a strong sense of responsibility, so it was quite rare for him to complain or whine out loud. In this situation, however, there was nothing else he could do.
Before he’d had a chance to properly deal with the aftermath of the battle with the Horn Clan, he had been rushed into a campaign against the invading Hoof Clan. So now there was a mountain of backlogged issues requiring his judgment as patriarch that needed to be resolved.
In addition, it was just about time for his clan’s annual harvest festival. This year it was also doubling as a celebration of their victory against the Hoof Clan, so they were planning something particularly lavish.
With all the extra preparations, the amount of busywork was enough to make his head spin.
“I am sorry to ask this of you when you are already so tired,” Felicia asked him with a pained expression, “but if nothing else, you must finish memorizing this ritual prayer...” She held out a paper memo for him.
“Ughhhhh...” Yuuto responded with a pathetic groan.
Over the past two years he’d learned to speak the language of Yggdrasil for the most part, but these ritual prayers he had to learn were full of words not used in normal speech, and he was having a hard time with them.
They wouldn’t be so difficult to learn if they were words he knew the meanings of, but to him they seemed like a string of unintelligible sounds, and wouldn’t stick in his head.
“Sorry for making you do this so many times, Felicia,” he moaned. “You’ve gotta be tired, too.”
“Oh, no, it’s quite all right. That means I get more time to have my Big Brother all to myself, after all. Actually, it would be just fine with me if you kept making lots of mistakes.” She said this while giving him a suggestive, sidelong glance.
Ever since their return from Fólkvangr, Felicia had been acting a bit different. She had become even more involved in attending to Yuuto’s needs than she’d used to be, all while smiling and seeming to genuinely enjoy it.
When Yuuto had told her she was his most trusted confidant, it must have really made her happy. That knowledge somehow made Yuuto feel a bit awkward about having done it.
“No thanks,” he said. “Failing that much would just be uncool.”
He frowned in concentration and began trying to recite the prayer once more, then realized that his own mood had become a bit more relaxed, and his head clearer.
Because he had felt bad for making Felicia assist him in practicing, he’d tried too hard to learn the lines quickly and had been rushing himself. With work like this, getting impatient only caused one to fall into a vicious cycle.
Felicia’s words had probably been meant out of consideration for him. As always, Yuuto found her incredible in that regard, better than he deserved in an adjutant.
“Well, you have a point, Felicia,” he said. “A few flubbed lines aren’t going to kill anyone.”
The judgments a patriarch had to make always had serious, life-and-death outcomes for someone, whether it was directly or indirectly so. Messing up a few lines of a prayer recital, however, wasn’t going to cause a big deal by any means. Thinking of it that way, one could say that boring busywork like this was the price of peace, and he’d gratefully accept that.
Just as Yuuto was coming around to those thoughts—
“Father! I beg your pardon, but I must see you!” A hoarse voice called out and the door to the patriarch’s office burst open with great force.
“Mm? Is that you, Second?” Yuuto looked up to see the Wolf Clan’s second-in-command, Jörgen, enter the room, wheezing violently.
Coming from Japan, Yuuto had a lot of trouble addressing someone older than himself by name, without any kind of honorific. For a while he had tried adding “mister,” but it hadn’t gone over well, so lately he had started using an abbreviation of Jörgen’s job title instead.
Jörgen was a fierce-looking man in his early forties, but despite his appearance, he was good at caring for others, and his subordinates were very attached to him. When Yuuto traveled abroad, Jörgen served as the acting patriarch and governed Iárnviðr in his stead. He was a trustworthy and dependable man.
“What is it? What’s happened?!” Yuuto asked, already feeling a sense of foreboding.
In any normal circumstances, Jörgen would have called to him from outside the room, and waited for his permission before entering. He wouldn’t have breached decorum by barging in like this. That meant whatever was going on had to be something terribly important.
Jörgen didn’t pause. His momentum from bursting into the room carried him straight to Yuuto’s side.
“Father! Please help me,” he pleaded in a desperate voice. “My child! My child is going to be killed!”
Led by Jörgen, Yuuto raced toward the castle gate.
As he approached, he could hear some sort of raucous noise coming from outside the gate. It was already getting dark, but there seemed to be a lot of people gathered there.
There was a fervent excitement in the air that somehow reminded Yuuto of the battlefield. It was strangely menacing.
Just as he ran completely out of breath, he passed through the gate, and as he did his eyes met those of a man on the other side.
The man was perhaps around age thirty, and the glint in his eyes was piercing and cold, like that of a bloodthirsty wolf.
He was dressed all in black, with dark brown hair that cascaded down to his shoulders. He was tall and slender of build, but upon a closer look, he was skinny and very pale, almost sickly. Something about him seemed uncanny.
At his feet, a younger man lay bound with rope and gagged with a cloth. The man in black held a sword pressed to the back of the bound young man’s neck, poised silently. It was as if he were the Grim Reaper come to take the man’s soul.
“Skáviðr, wait! I’ve brought Father here!” Jörgen called out, interrupting the scene.
Upon hearing this, the man called Skáviðr looked at his sworn older brother with an air of utter annoyance. “This is my job. I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t interfere. And I cannot believe you went as far as to make our liege lord take the trouble to come all the way down here himself.”
“You think I would just let this happen?!” Jörgen bellowed, burning with rage. “What parent would stand by while his child is killed without trying to protect him?!” He stood protectively in front of the bound youth.
Evidently, this boy had taken the Oath of the Chalice to become Jörgen’s sworn child. In other words, he was a young member of Jörgen’s own faction or “family” within the greater Wolf Clan.
“Hey, Assistant to the Second,” Yuuto said, addressing Skáviðr. “For now, just explain to me what’s going on. Did this guy do something?”
Yuuto already had an idea of what the situation might be, and a strong sense that it wasn’t going to be pleasant, but he asked anyway.
“...So, you brought him here without even an explanation?” Skáviðr asked Jörgen disdainfully.
“And how would I have time for that?” Jörgen responded in turn with a look of plain hatred.
Yuuto gave an exasperated sigh. Looking to his side, he saw that Felicia wore a troubled expression, as well.
Felicia frequently quarreled with Sigrún, but one might describe it as the fighting that occurs between two people who are close. On some level deep down, the two of them acknowledged and accepted each other. The two men glaring at each other in front of Yuuto gave off no such impression. The air between them was thick with a murderous intensity.
Skáviðr’s official title was “the Assistant to the Second-in-Command,” and accordingly, his role was to assist and support the clan’s second-in-command in his duties. And yet, his way of thinking was completely opposite that of Jörgen’s, so the two of them were prone to end up at odds with each other.
As the officers in the clan’s number two and number three positions, with heavy responsibilities, their relationship had only grown more openly hostile over time.
“I said, explain yourself.” Yuuto raised his voice and rephrased his request as a command.
Skáviðr hadn’t lent an ear to the pleas of his sworn brother and superior, but he couldn’t ignore an order from the patriarch. “It was discovered that in the course of his return from battle, this man entered a village of our ally the Horn Clan, where he committed various acts of violent assault.”
“Tch...!” Yuuto clicked his tongue and his face contorted in disgust.
Acts of looting and violence by an army against local residents were an inseparable part of war here.
Obviously, death was final and absolute. Those who were constantly exposed to the threat of death dealt with an incredible amount of stress. Without some way of letting off steam, that stress would build to a breaking point, and the disgruntled troops would be unable to function.
For that reason, from ancient times on up until recent history, acts of pillaging and looting had served in a sense as a reward for those troops who risked their lives in battle. In other words, the soldiers in this ancient world didn’t view such acts as morally wrong.
Once victory was secured, soldiers could enter captured towns and villages and rob and kill the people there, have their way with any women there, and otherwise satisfy their desires to their hearts’ content. This was viewed as their right as soldiers, taken for granted.
Of course, Yuuto couldn’t possibly accept values like that. However, trying to refute them with the common sense of the 21st century would be meaningless. The reality of life here was cruel and heartless. Idealistic arguments and pretty words wouldn’t work at all.
“Therefore, in accordance with the laws of the Wolf Clan, I was about to carry out his execution,” Skáviðr said, his words hinting at the key change Yuuto had made.
The change was this: an absolute, uncompromising law.
Rather than arguing based on his own naive feelings, Yuuto had used his position as patriarch to overcome the harsh reality here.
During China’s Warring States Period, one of the classical schools of thought that emerged was the philosophy that later came to be known as Fa-Jia, or legalism.
Unlike a system where an administrator or official arbitrarily metes out rewards and punishments based on personal morals, legalism advocated for a set of impersonal, strict, and rigid laws that formed a basis for governing society; in other words, a constitutional government.
After Shang Yang, who was practically the embodiment of the ideals of legalism, became prime minister of the state of Qin, what had been a weak and uncivilized country was reborn as a powerful and prosperous state with a centralized system of law and government. It was said that this system of law was the foundation upon which the first Emperor of Qin later unified all of China and began the Qin dynasty.
During this same era, there were many other examples of legalist prime ministers whose leadership and reforms brought their states to their heydays: for instance, Zichan of the state of Zheng, Guan Zhong of Qi, Shen Buhai of Han, and Wu Qi of Chu. But after their deaths, when laws they had enacted began to lose authority or respect, their countries eventually entered into decline once more.
In the 21st century world where Yuuto was from, the most developed nations followed some principle of constitutionalism and rule of law, too. Countries who ignored their own laws and governed by authoritarian fiat became targets of ridicule and scorn.
The fact that the rule of law was superior to the rule of man had long since been plainly borne out by history. In order for a smaller, weaker nation like the Wolf Clan to survive in a world of chaos and war, in order to make their nation prosperous and strong, Yuuto had concluded that government based in the rule of law was indispensable.
“Big Brother, you are the second-in-command of the Wolf Clan,” Skáviðr said, turning to Jörgen, “a man admirable enough to be trusted to act in place of the patriarch. I hope you aren’t telling me you don’t know our laws?”
“Ngh...!” Jörgen gave a low grunt and recoiled slightly from Skáviðr’s sharp gaze. It seemed that remark had cut deep. “A-all right! I’ll make him carry a wooden sword on his back, and make sure he never does something like that again, so please let him off with that!”
Making someone “carry a wooden sword on his back” was a turn of phrase in Yggdrasil, referring to a punishment whereby one struck the criminal’s back with a wooden sword over and over. It was among the more severe punishments a superior could enact against their subordinate.
“Hmph, how soft.” Skáviðr dismissed the idea with a short, scornful laugh. “The law of the Wolf Clan requires capital punishment for those who rape women or children. And it would be one thing in enemy territory, but this was in our sister nation. There are no extenuating circumstances to consider here.”
Yuuto wasn’t an expert in the field of law. He wouldn’t have been able to create a detailed body of laws, nor would a complex and nuanced array of laws have been able to penetrate a populace who wasn’t used to thinking of the rule of law as absolute.
Yuuto had taken inspiration from things like the Code of Ur-Nammu and Code of Hammurabi, which would be more fitting for this era. The laws and punishments he’d established focused mainly on things like murder, theft, assault, sex crimes, destruction of farmland, and compliance with military orders. In particular, the crimes of murder, robbery, rape, and violation of military orders carried the maximum sentence.
“Originally, this should have been your duty to perform, Big Brother,” Skáviðr said coolly. “But as his parent, you would of course have some sentiment for your child. That is why, as the official in charge of carrying out executions, I am offering to do it for you. Now, if you understand, I would have you move aside.”
Skáviðr placed a hand on Jörgen’s shoulder, and forcefully pushed him to one side.
Jörgen hurriedly spun around and grabbed Skáviðr’s shoulder, clinging on in an attempt to hold him back.
“W-wait!” Jörgen cried. “That young man, he’s a top veteran warrior within the Jörgen family, and I’ve judged that in the future he might be worthy of directly exchanging the Oath of the Chalice with our father. If he were to die now, we would be losing someone valuable to the future of the Wolf Clan.”
“Hm. It is true that he has had quite a few military achievements,” Skáviðr mused while staring down coldly at the young man at his feet.
Contrary to the two men’s words of praise, the bound and gagged man looked helpless and pathetic. That said, Yuuto knew that was only because his opponent had been too strong.
In contrast to his sickly appearance, Skáviðr was an Einherjar with a rune called Dáinsleif, “the Bloody Blade,” and he was also the previous Mánagarmr. Last year he had lost the title of strongest in the Wolf Clan to Sigrún, but he was unmistakably still a match for her on the battlefield. Even with some fair measure of skill, the young soldier would have stood no chance against Skáviðr. There had been no other possible outcome for him than swift and effortless capture by his opponent.
“It’s true that this time his behavior might have gotten a bit out of hand, but that happens a lot with the more talented ones, their vigor makes them act rashly,” Jörgen pleaded. “One could say it’s two sides of the same coin. It’s proof that he’s got a promising future ahead of him. And in the most recent fight alone, he brought us significant gains on the battlefield. With that in mind, couldn’t you lighten his sentence?”
“Hm... sufficiently rewarding those who bring success is also the law of the Wolf Clan.” Skáviðr seemed to relent a bit.
No one would serve long under a leader who only doled out the “stick” of harsh punishments. If that was all the leader did, feelings of frustration and discontent would build, and it would eventually lead to animosity towards the leadership. Thus, the Wolf Clan offered rewards to replace the act of looting and pillaging. All who participated in a battle received money or other material goods or supplies. It was a “carrot” made possible by the economic power they had gained through the trade of goods such as milled flour and paper.
If the young warrior had been as successful as the two older men acknowledged, then his pay should be quite sizable. Indeed, in Yggdrasil, where slavery was common practice, it would literally be enough to buy a person’s life several times over.
“Y-yes, it is, isn’t it?” Jörgen, upon getting Skáviðr to agree with him, began to grow hopeful. “So, you’ll... Wha—?!”
Slash!
Skáviðr’s sword fell mercilessly upon the young man’s neck, from which fresh blood burst forth.
“My liege,” he said, turning to Yuuto, “I would ask that this man’s remaining family be given an appropriately generous reward.”
Skáviðr spoke dispassionately, after having killed a man and been sprayed by his blood without the slightest change in his facial expression. He flung the blood from his sword with a quick swing and returned it to its scabbard—
Jörgen, his face dyed red with indignation, had drawn his own sword and was pointing the tip right at Skáviðr.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Skáviðr asked coldly, betraying no emotion.
“I should ask the same of you! We hadn’t even finished talking! Why did you kill him?!”
“Rewards and punishments are separate matters, and I am only the official in charge of executions,” said Skáviðr. “I simply performed the extent of my official duties. Is there some problem with that?”
“You bastard!” Jörgen had thrown away any last remnants of composure and was lost to rage.
No parent would watch their child killed and not be angry. It was even said that one’s most foolish children are the most beloved. And by the customs of Yggdrasil, the bond of the Chalice was stronger than that of blood.
Jörgen had brought up his subordinates within the clan the same as if they were his own flesh and blood children, and doubtless they had also walked the thin line between life and death on the battlefield many a time, becoming comrades as well as family. The depth and strength of that bond was something an outsider could never hope to know.
“H-hey, both of you! Wait!” Yuuto, faced with a situation that suddenly threatened to boil over, panicked and attempted to interrupt the two of them, but—
“Yeah, that’s right, you didn’t have to kill him!” someone in the crowd shouted.
“He was a hero! He showed the strength of the Wolf Clan to our enemies!”
“You go on about law this, law that, but you were just trying to hurt our second-in-command, weren’t you?!”
“Ahh, that’s got to be it. You can’t directly attack the second-in-command, so you were using excuses to find fault with his subordinate. Hey, there’s nothing uglier than a jealous man, you know!”
“Lord Jörgen, teach that bastard a lesson, cut him in half—!”
The jeering shouts from the gathered masses drowned out Yuuto’s voice.
Every one of them expressed sympathy for the slain young man, and hurled abuse at Skáviðr who had conducted his execution. To the people here, there was likely still a lot of deep-seated hatred and fear toward their longtime erstwhile enemy, the Horn Clan.
“Hmph. Well, my work here is done. I suppose I should leave, since I’m not wanted.” With a shrug of his shoulders, Skáviðr abruptly turned on his heel to leave. He deliberately left his back exposed to Jörgen, who still had a blade pointed at him.
The second-in-command was the head of the patriarch’s direct subordinates, and also a candidate to be the next patriarch. With his opponent publicly sheathing his weapon and turning his back to him, if Jörgen attacked him in such a state, it would be an act of ultimate disgrace.
Perhaps Skáviðr did so because he knew this, but it was also true that if he were to be attacked now from behind, he would be cut down with ease. For him to turn his back on Jörgen anyway in this situation, without the slightest change of expression, definitely required a certain level of grit.
“Oh, that’s right.” Just as he was passing through the gate, Skáviðr stopped and looked back over his shoulder for a moment. “I had better say this much for the benefit of all you fools. If any of you do something to catch my eye, don’t think for a moment you’ll get out of it alive, either. If you don’t want your blood to become a stain on my blade, you’d do best to follow the law. Do that, and you won’t have to deal with me. Heh heh...”
As he spoke his face was inscribed with a cruel and callous smile. After a moment, Skáviðr calmly passed through the gate toward the palace grounds.
A rush of fear silenced the crowd’s commotion, and suddenly it was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Once Skáviðr had completely gone out of sight, their complaints burst forth again.
“Did you see that? He laughed like that during a previous execution, too!”
“Well yeah, he’s the ‘Sneering Slaughter’ Níðhǫggr, after all. That bastard loves killin’ people.”
“Not only that— supposedly he walks around in town every day looking for somebody he can kill. Gaaah, gives me the creeps!”
Words of resentment and spite rose from everyone’s lips.
As Yuuto listened, he suppressed the words he had felt himself about to say in response. He had to remember his primary duty. Allowing himself to succumb to his emotions here would be a foolish waste of the sacrifice that had just been made. There was something else he needed to be doing now.
“I’m sorry.” Yuuto knelt down next to the dead youth, placing a hand on the body’s chest, and offered up a silent prayer.
Ordinarily, according to the values of this world, what he had done was perfectly normal and commonplace. Of course there were plenty who expressed disapproval at such acts, but even those people would have eventually rationalized it as something they couldn’t do anything to change.
As someone who had brought in foreign values from another era and forced them on the people here, Yuuto felt that he had the obligation to at the very least offer his condolences to a casualty of that change.
Additionally, this was Jörgen’s sworn child, as Jörgen was to Yuuto. They might not have directly exchanged the Oath of the Chalice, but he still had been something like Yuuto’s grandson.
“Protect your family.” That was supposed to be Yuuto’s personal creed, but far from protecting the boy, it had been the law Yuuto had established which had killed him.
But as long as Yuuto was patriarch, he had to strive for the happiness of the many. He couldn’t allow himself to prioritize his urge to protect his family if it meant innocent citizens would be harmed in the process. For the citizens, too, were Yuuto’s family.
“What aids one may harm the other,” as the old saying went. When two equal duties were in conflict, one had no choice but to pick a side. There was nothing else he could have done. Nothing else he could have done, but still...
The emotions of Yuuto the individual and the rationale of Yuuto the patriarch clashed, leaving a feeling of hopeless contradiction. What am I even doing? Emptiness and self-loathing ran through his heart.
His visible anguish gave a very different impression to the people gathered in front of the castle gate.
“Such kindness! Look how much he grieves even for the death of a single member of his clan.”
“Indeed, that’s exactly why the brave fighters of the Wolf Clan look up to him as father despite his youth. Seriously, he is such a different caliber of man from that Níðhǫggr!”
“We should offer our prayers to that unlucky young man, too.”
“Ohh, you’re right, you’re right!”
Emulating Yuuto, the others each placed a hand on their own chests, and began silently praying. There were a few who were moved to tears.
I’m not some great man of character like you think! Yuuto wanted to shout it aloud. But even if he did, he would have no way to explain himself to them.
Yuuto clenched his teeth hard, unable to resolve his hopeless feelings.
“Well, that man is as terrifying as ever,” Felicia muttered quietly once she and Yuuto were back in the patriarch’s office, and gave a long sigh of relief.
Felicia would normally greet any fellow ranking officer of the Wolf Clan and at least exchange a few words with them. She had instead restrained herself to merely a curt nod of respect, so she must have really had trouble dealing with Skáviðr.
“Pardon me Father, I’m coming in.” As soon as Sigrún’s cool, dignified voice had announced her presence from outside, the office door opened with a ka-chack, and she strode into the room.
Sigrún almost always wore a stern expression, with a cold and blade-like air about her, but it was nothing like Skáviðr’s sinister aura. It was rather more like a kind of cold beauty that inspired both fear and reverence.
“Father, envoys have arrived from the Claw Clan, and they wish for an audience with you,” she said.
“They were sent by Botvid?” Yuuto said with a grimace.
Botvid was the patriarch of their neighboring nation, the Claw Clan. Yuuto had managed to force his allegiance, taking him as a sworn younger brother, but behind that friendly smile of his, one could never tell what the man was really scheming. He was a man Yuuto couldn’t afford to let his guard down around.
“Well, maybe it’ll serve as a good change of pace,” Yuuto said, folding his arms behind his head and stretching his back. After the ordeal from earlier, he still felt a bit depressed. “Are they in the audience chamber?”
“Yes, I’ll fetch a chamberlain and... Ah!” As Sigrún turned back toward the office entrance, she gasped in surprise.
Two girls were peering into the room from the doorway. Once their eyes met Yuuto’s, they popped out and brazenly entered the office without a second thought. They looked to be children of around 12 to 13 in age, and quite adorable in appearance. Yuuto noticed that they had identical facial features.
“Twins, huh?” he said. “Hey, you two, this area’s off limits to kids!”
The central palace was a residence for the sovereign ruler of the Wolf Clan. Naturally, if he or she had spouses or children, they would all be living here, too.
This area was supposed to be off limits so that no one without express permission would be able to enter, so Yuuto figured they must have gotten lost and accidentally wandered in here. However...
“Lady Albertina! Lady Kristina! I thought I told you that you must wait in the audience chamber!” Sigrún politely reprimanded the girls, and Yuuto gave them a second look.
Upon closer inspection, their attire was somewhat different from the style of clothes worn by people of the Wolf Clan. Additionally, the fabric hanging loosely from their shoulders appeared to be made of silk, indicating they were the daughters of someone of high status.
“Eheheheh,” one of the girls giggled. “I— I just wanted to see my husband’s face right away.”
The girl who said this had her hair in a short side tail to the right. She rubbed the back of her head and giggled with a bright, genuine innocence.
“I’m sorry. I tried to stop Al, but she insisted.” The other girl raised a hand daintily to her cheek as she spoke. She had her short side tail on her left side, and also had a more sullen expression, in contrast to her sister’s.
Shocked, Albertina turned to confront her sister. “Whaaat?! But Kris, you’re the one who said we should secretly follow after her!”
“What are you talking about? Al, don’t try to blame your actions on me.” Kristina feigned ignorance, tilting her head slightly as if puzzled. “Weren’t you the one going, ‘I wanna see him, I wanna see him, I wanna see hiiiiim,’ and whining like a spoiled child?”
“That’s not true!! Well, okay, no, I did say something like that, but Kris, you were the one who first suggested it!”
“So the truth comes out,” Kris said triumphantly. “In other words, you did say it, didn’t you?”
“W-well, yes I did, but, but, but...”
“Come on, Al, you need to apologize. You’ve offended the patriarch of the Wolf Clan. Look at what a mess of things you’ve made. Come on now, quickly! Apologize, or do you not care what happens to the people of the Claw Clan?!”
“E-eeeehhhhh?! I-I’m so sorry!” Confused, Albertina apologized profusely.
“Truly, I must also humbly apologize for my no-good sister’s careless blunder,” Kristina followed up without missing a beat.
“Huh? Eh? Huh? Wait, why is everything all my fault now?”
“Oh, Al, you really are hopeless, aren’t you?” Kristina snickered.
Albertina turned her head this way and that, completely lost as to what had just happened, while Kristina seemed to gaze at her sister with an almost rapturous smile.
What the hell is with these two? Yuuto wondered, dumbfounded. Felicia and Sigrún seemed to be thinking the same thing; both of them were also astonished into silence, their mouths agape, which was unusual for the two of them.
At that point, the girl named Kristina gently lifted the hem of her garments, letting them flutter out around her as she gracefully dropped into a kneel, and reverently bowed her head.
“If I may start over formally, I apologize for not properly introducing myself sooner. I am Kristina, daughter by birth of Botvid, patriarch of the Claw Clan. This is my older twin sister, Albertina. By order of Botvid, patriarch of the Claw Clan, we have come here to have the honor of serving as your wives. I hope we will get along well in the many years to come.”
“...What?” Yuuto had just heard something he couldn’t ignore.
“Damn that old fox,” Yuuto uttered with contempt. “So this is the kind of crap he was planning.”
Yuuto leaned over the desk, his chin in his hands. The first thing that came to mind was his conversation with the Claw Clan patriarch after Yuuto and Linnea’s Chalice Ceremony. Botvid had asked him about his marriage prospects, then followed up with a “Well then, how about my daughter?” and tried for the hard sell. He’d even said “Say yes now and I could add a second to sweeten the deal.”
Of course, Yuuto had rejected the offer, which should have put the topic to rest. At the time, he’d found it suspicious that the Claw Clan patriarch had so readily backed down, but he’d never expected an aggressive tactic like this... It was like a bolt from the blue.
“I’m not sure what he expects me to do with the two of you, considering I never agreed to take you in the first place,” said Yuuto. “I’ll need to ask you to go back home.”
“Awwww! After we took the trouble to come all the way here, that’s no faaaair!” Albertina puffed out her cheeks and pouted.
This wasn’t the type of attitude she should be taking with the patriarch of another country, much less the sworn older brother of her own patriarch. But, her completely unrestrained innocence made it easy to think she’s a child after all, what can you do? and overlook it.
Her straight-faced sister, meanwhile, gave a very different impression.
“That’s true,” Kristina said matter-of-factly. “For the whole journey here, Al was saying things like, ‘Apparently he’s an amazing person. I’ve heard he’s also pretty scary, though,’ and, ‘Ohhh, I really hope he’s handsome,’ and even, ‘Albertina, I love you. Now, become my bride!’ ‘Ohh, Lord Yuuto!’ In the end she was putting on a pathetic one-woman show that was painful to watch. I really wish you would take her feelings into consideration.”
“K-Kris, I wish you’d consider how I feel about you t-telling him that!”
“...Snrk. Heh heh.”
“And I wish you wouldn’t snicker like you’re reimagining it and laughing at me!”
“...”
“Don’t just look at me with pity in your eyes without saying anything!”
“Al, you’re annoying. And disgusting.”
“When you say things like that directly, it’s just as hurtful!”
For some reason, Kristina was emotionally driving her sister into a corner.
As Albertina slumped down, half sobbing and dejectedly tracing a circle on the floor with her index finger, Kristina gazed down at her with a look of ecstasy. Her cheeks were flushed red, and she held her own trembling body with both arms, as if trying to suppress shudders of pleasure.
“Oh, Al, you really are completely hopeless. But don’t worry, I would never abandon my sweet, hopeless sister. I will always be there to help you when you need me, now and forever.” Kristina began to pat Albertina on the head, consoling her.
Yuuto rubbed his eyes; for a second he was sure he’d seen a pair of bat-like wings on her back and a pointed tail poking out from under her skirt. As a firsthand witness to their exchange, he could only think, You’ve got a lot of nerve to say that when you’re the one who tormented her. However...
“Kriiis—! Th-thank youuu! Sorry I’m such a terrible sister. Please, I hope you’ll keep looking after me!”
Albertina embraced her sister, choking back sobs and crying tears of gratitude. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that her sister had completely set her up. This girl was so pure and sweet that she lacked the capacity to doubt other people. Or, putting it less kindly, she was a bit of an idiot.
“Hee hee hee. Al, you’re so adorable,” Kristina said, returning the embrace. She tenderly patted Albertina’s back, while wearing an impishly sweet smile that was quite fitting for a little devil.
At first, her behavior had made Yuuto wonder if she hated her twin, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. It seemed that Kristina did have genuine affection for Albertina, perhaps even a little too much affection. It was just an incredibly warped, twisted love.
“Looks like we’ve got some top-class weirdos on our hands,” Yuuto said with a weary sigh, keeping his voice low so the twins wouldn’t hear.
Felicia gave a wry smile and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “It would be tempting to suspect that he offered up his daughters as brides just so he could be rid of their nuisance.”
“I agree,” Yuuto replied, nodding slightly.
“Calling us a nuisance is a remark we cannot ignore!” Kristina exclaimed.
“Yeah, we can’t ignore it!” Albertina added.
Kristina and Albertina suddenly raised their voices in sync, and thrust their right and left palms, respectively, out towards Yuuto. With their respective opposite hands at their hips, they took on a symmetrical pose.
In an about-face from her earlier calm and collected disposition, Kristina suddenly shouted at him with overflowing anger, “Do not put me in the same category as someone like Al!”
“That’s the part you’re angry about?!”
“I have never been so insulted in all my life.”
“I-it’s that bad for you?!” Albertina cried.
“Because Al is, she’s... oh...”
“Why did you just trail off there?! Now I really need to know!”
“...I’m sorry. I could not say it because it would be just too sad for you to hear.”
“Just what is it?!”
As tears began to well up in Albertina’s eyes as she grew more and more panicked, Kristina turned away from her with a sorrowful, pained look. Naturally, once her face was turned away from her sister’s view, Yuuto could see an evil grin spread across it.
“Okaaay...” Yuuto watched with a stiff expression as the conversation ran away from him again.
Talking with these two girls definitely seemed to throw him off. Honestly, he was starting to feel like just leaving them to it, but he was in no position to do that now.
“Did you hear everything we were saying to each other?” he asked. They were, after all, envoys from the Claw Clan, so Yuuto had taken extra care to speak with Felicia quietly so that they wouldn’t hear. The word “nuisance” the twins had quoted had been discreetly whispered directly into his ear. It was a little hard to believe their hearing was good enough to pick that up.
“Heh heh heh, it just so happens that we’re both Einherjar!” Albertina declared this with a look of triumph, puffing out her flat chest with pride.
The phrase that immediately came to Yuuto’s mind was “pearls before swine,” but having just been overheard, he exercised restraint and kept it to himself.
“I bear the rune Veðrfölnir, the Silencer of Winds, and my sister Al bears Hræsvelgr, the Provoker of Winds. Lord Yuuto, please make use of my power in your path of conquest.”
“Right, please use her... wait, Kris, why are we telling him just to use yours?!” Albertina exclaimed.
As for Kristina, the words “a lunatic with a knife” seemed most appropriate to Yuuto, but of course he was wise enough to keep his mouth tightly shut. He preferred to avoid doing anything that would create even a slim chance of being targeted by her verbal assaults.
Yuuto took a long, deep breath and gathered his thoughts.
Listening to the two of them go back and forth was like the conversational equivalent of a cozy field of wildflowers and an eerie hellscape being blended together, and getting drawn into that world was enough to make his head spin.
He recalled what he needed to say the most, and began from there. “I said this at the start, but I never agreed to take you as wives.”
“Hmm, is that because you decided to go forward with the engagement offer from the Horn Clan? I suppose with rule of their entire clan on the table as a prize, even the two of us fail to measure up.”
Yuuto frowned. “Seems like your hearing is quite good indeed.”
In the uncivilized world of Yggdrasil, there were no telephones, internet, or other such convenient tools for transmitting information. The current fastest method in widespread use was a clay tablet carried by a messenger on horseback, which meant it took a number of days to gather intelligence from another country.
Less than ten days had passed since Linnea had proposed marriage to Yuuto.
Taking into account the geographic distance between the Claw and Horn Clans, and the fact that the two girls had been traveling en route to the Wolf Clan capital for some time, this was information that should normally have been physically impossible for them to obtain.
At first he thought it might have been a leading question, but the phrase “rule of their entire clan” was too specific for that.
“I am the daughter of Botvid, after all. I am nothing if not sharp of hearing.” Kristina chuckled quietly and flashed Yuuto a meaningful smile.
Meanwhile, there was another daughter of Botvid present, who let out a surprised, “Ehh?! But I didn’t know that!” and was clearly as shocked as Yuuto had been.
But setting that aside...
“Anyway, that’s a separate issue altogether,” Yuuto said. “What’s important is that for this sort of thing, there are certain proper steps that must be followed and arrangements that must be made, or it’ll cause problems for us. I’m going to draw up a proper letter of objection to the engagement, so for now I’ll have you two leave and wait for—”
“W-wait just a moment, Big Brother!” Felicia suddenly raised her voice to interrupt him. “These two are the daughters by birth of Big Brother Botvid, which makes them children of high status, like princesses. Sending them directly back home as they are now would be, er... It would, um...”
Felicia trailed off with a worried expression, glancing over at the twins. She was clearly wary of the fact that her previous whisper in Yuuto’s ear had been overheard.
“Heh heh, I do not mind if you say it out loud,” Kristina said with another chuckle. “Yes, the two of us are also meant to be hostages, offered to the Wolf Clan as physical proof of our clan’s loyalty to yours.”
“Tch. What the hell does he think his daughters are?!” Yuuto spat out the words, his face twisted in a grimace of blatant resentment.
It was true that in the clan society of Yggdrasil, the bonds formed by the Chalice were given more weight than those of flesh and blood. But that was only one aspect of society here, and a person’s sentiments were not so easy to just divvy up according to rules or customs.
Yuuto and Botvid had exchanged the Oath of the Sibling Chalice and become sworn brothers, but considering their history up until that point, it would be impossible to call theirs a relationship built on real trust.
Botvid surely felt this, as well. And so, as he’d seen the Wolf Clan continue to increase in strength day by day, he’d decided to offer his own daughters up to them as a show of loyalty.
Yuuto understood the logic behind it. It was something that had been practiced the world over, throughout history. Even so, he was nearly overcome by the hate bubbling up in his heart.
“Heh heh, how frightening. So is this the ‘angry lion’ I’ve heard so many rumors about?” Kristina’s words themselves invoked an air of confidence, but for the first time, her smile grew tense.
Albertina was teary-eyed and shaking like a scared puppy.
“Right, sorry,” Yuuto apologized curtly. “I’m not mad at the two of you, okay? I’m just a little pissed off at my brother who decided to use two young girls like yourselves, his own damn daughters, as hostages.”
The image of the man Yuuto hated most, the man who had forsaken his wife for the sake of his own selfish desires, had flashed in the back of his mind for a second. He knew that was making him lash out.
“My, those are surprising words coming from the so-called Infamous Wolf Hróðvitnir, the man who brought about the Vánagandr,” said Kristina. “Oh, that reminds me, your paper production is quite profitable, isn’t it?”
“...You really do have a knack for gathering information, don’t you?” Yuuto spoke in a low, guarded tone, narrowing his eyes.
Inside, he was completely astonished.
This Kristina girl used her silly antics as a mask to hide her true character, a shrewd girl too dangerous for him to let down his guard with. Yuuto had to admit that he’d fallen for the ridiculous conversations from earlier, which had clouded his judgment and caused him to underestimate her.
Back when he had been negotiating to have Botvid swear the Oath of the Chalice to become his sworn younger brother, Yuuto had spread certain information to use as leverage: that he had ordered a Claw Clan village called Van to be burnt to the ground and wiped off the map, and every single resident slaughtered.
Of course, in reality Yuuto could never have brought himself to do such a thing, and had instead had the villagers brought back to Iárnviðr, where they were employed in jobs such as the manufacture of paper. However, the knowledge of these facts was treated as a matter of the most absolute national secrecy, never to be revealed.
It had been meant as a deterrent toward other countries, a threat that any who attacked the Wolf Clan would suffer for it. If it were discovered that Yuuto had actually lacked the resolve to go through with the act in the first place, it would instead be considered a sign of weakness and a source of disrespect.
And this girl knew.
In order to protect his clan, he couldn’t afford to let that go. That said, he didn’t want to act too roughly towards a child, either.
Just as he was puzzling over what exactly to do, Kristina shrugged her shoulders with a sigh and spoke up. “The truth is, I only learned it moments ago. I wield the Silencer of Winds, Veðrfölnir. My specialty is erasing my presence and infiltrating places, or sneaking around. So please, rest assured that my father Botvid doesn’t know anything, yet.”
“Well, there’s no way I can send you home now.” Yuuto shrugged in resignation and gave a bitter laugh.
He was a little less worried, truthfully. If she had really intended to spread the secret elsewhere, she wouldn’t have willingly shown her hand here. Thinking back on it now, it should have been strange to begin with that a seasoned martial artist like Sigrún had been so easily tailed all the way up to his office.
“Geez, you really had me fooled,” said Yuuto. “So this is the real you, then? Was all that from before just an act?”
“Yes. I find that playing the fool encourages people to lower their guard, and they let all sorts of things slip. Well, I won’t deny that teasing my dear, sweet Al is my personal hobby, though.”
“Heh, I see.” Yuuto nodded, impressed.
He recalled an anecdote about a Sengoku Period warlord, Takeda Shingen. There were varied accounts of the matter, but it was said that he had purposefully acted like an utter fool in public, in order to deceive neighboring states and lower their guard.
Despite her childish appearance, this girl was not to be taken lightly.
“Still, didn’t you think it was possible that all of this might anger me enough to do something to you, or to the Claw Clan, in retaliation?” he asked.
“Putting together all of the information I have gathered thus far, I concluded that the chances of that were exceedingly low.”
“Oh, you’re something else, all right!” Yuuto slapped his knee and laughed in amusement.
Yuuto had completely taken a liking to Kristina. Of course, even that might be something she had calculated after investigating his personality, but even that thought was enjoyable, too.
“To be frank, I’d really like to have you as a child subordinate,” he said. “I’m still gonna have to pass on the whole taking you as a wife or concubine thing, though.”
“Heh heh. Lord Yuuto, your ability to say such things is perhaps yet another example of your great capacity as a ruler,” Kristina snickered.
“Hm?” Yuuto glanced left and right at Felicia and Sigrún, and noticed that both of them wore expressions that indicated mixed feelings.
Apparently they didn’t understand why Yuuto had been heaping praise on Kristina. From their perspective, she was an impudent little girl with a troublesome personality to boot, and an unsettling level of knowledge of Wolf Clan affairs. In particular, the first half of that had left quite a bad impression on them.
However, Yuuto had read his way through a slew of books on military strategy and tactics, and there was no way he could overlook her terrifyingly huge value as an asset.
Even his beloved author Sun Tzu had written, “Know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.” And in the 21st century world Yuuto had come from, there was the maxim, “He who controls information, controls the world.”
In the undeveloped world of Yggdrasil, Kristina’s exemplary talent for gathering intelligence was something Yuuto wanted desperately. Most importantly, he could use it to help him look for a way to return home.
“Still, this is a fortunate coincidence,” Kristina added. “The truth is, I had entirely no interest in becoming your wife or concubine. And... I had entirely no intention of letting you lay a hand on a certain someone.”
Glancing over at her sister, Kristina smiled sweetly. She was undoubtedly extraordinarily skilled, but there was no mistaking that she was just as extraordinarily twisted.
Albertina shivered, as if she’d felt a momentary chill, or a bad premonition.
“In that case, why did you come here?” Yuuto went ahead and asked her outright, though he had started to form a guess based on the various hints scattered throughout their discussion.
“While I know it is an act of insolence, I came here to gauge and test your caliber as a leader, Lord Yuuto.”
“You arrogant child! I had restrained myself because of your high status, but to speak of testing Father goes beyond the limits of insolence!” With a voice as sharp and cold as ice, Sigrún started to lay into Kristina.
Sigrún was at heart an extremely serious and sincere person, who in the lingo of 21st century Japan might be called a “sports club type.” It was a stereotype characterized by adherence to strict manners and a reverence for the rules and hierarchy in typical Japanese sports clubs. She likely couldn’t just overlook the blatant disregard for decorum and standing in Kristina’s words and actions. The twins’ earlier ridiculous act had also indubitably grated on her nerves.
Most of all, her loyalty toward Yuuto was on the level of blind faith. Hearing that this had all been some test to make her beloved Father prove himself had been the last straw for her.
“Hey, wait up, Rún,” said Yuuto. “The fact that she’s admitting to that now means that she acknowledged me as worthy, right?”
Gesturing softly with one hand to hold Sigrún back, Yuuto shot a glance at Kristina as he spoke.
Yuuto was the kind of person who hated when others lowered or abased themselves in relation to him. Learning he was being “tested” didn’t exactly feel good, but he would have found it far more unreasonable for someone to trust some punk kid like himself unconditionally. After all, it was said that your body and soul both depended on whom you entrusted them with.
“Lord Yuuto, patriarch of the Wolf Clan.”
With nary a trace of her earlier whimsical expressions, Kristina addressed Yuuto with utter seriousness, gently dropping to one knee. As she looked over to Albertina, her sister hurriedly assumed the same formal posture.
“We sisters are yet without a parent by the Oath of the Chalice. While I do acknowledge my father Botvid as a patriarch of considerable ability in his rule of a clan, I would rather pledge this one and only life of mine in oath to the greatest Chalice in all of Yggdrasil!”
“I appreciate your high opinion of me, but that’s way too much praise,” said Yuuto. “We’re past the need for flattery, you know?”
“No, these are my true feelings. I recognize your ability to see through misleading first impressions, ascertain the truth, and react with flexible judgment. I have also seen your briefly shown but unforgettable aura, the rare aura of a true conqueror. And then there are all of your many accomplishments thus far. Under your leadership, I am convinced that we sisters could use our abilities to their fullest extent. Please, let our names be added into your family! Please, let us sit at the foot of your table!”
“Please!” Albertina chimed in, and with their chorus of pleas, the twins bowed their heads low in unison.
Now what should I do here? wondered Yuuto.
Based on what he’d heard so far, he didn’t feel like this was a lie, but that was still nothing more than a feeling. As patriarch, he couldn’t make his decision so readily based on that alone. He was also concerned about Botvid’s true intentions. Yuuto was sure there was no way the old fox was unaware of his daughter’s true nature. And both of them were incredibly valuable Einherjar. There was likely some sort of catch or ulterior motive.
“Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, as they say,” he said. “All right. Now, I can’t just go recklessly offering my Chalice vow to children from another clan; my clansmen would never have it. So, the two of you are gonna bring me tribute. Some accomplishment suitably worthy of your high opinion of me. Do that, and I’ll let you swear on my Chalice.”
“Tribute, you say?” asked Kristina, raising her head.
“Yeah.” Yuuto grinned at her.
Botvid was, at the least, a sworn brother to Yuuto. Even if he was scheming something, it probably wasn’t anything too harmful to the Wolf Clan.
And Kristina had said “our abilities.” Her sister might seem like an airhead by all appearances, but she was also an Einherjar. She definitely had something good.
If they were going to test him, it was only fair to test them right back.
“Do your best and work hard, yeah?” he said. “The Chalice of the Wolf Clan patriarch doesn’t come cheaply.”
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