ACT 3
“Happy New Year!!” The voices of the assembled crowd rose as one as they shouted the formal greeting.
This was the day on which parties and celebrations were held all throughout Iárnviðr to celebrate the arrival of the new year.
The New Year’s festival was also a religious occasion devoted to praying to the gods for the further prosperity and progress of the Wolf Clan, equally on par with the Fertility Prayer Festival in the spring season and the Harvest Festival in the fall.
Here within the palace grounds, in the religious sanctuary at the top of the Wolf Clan’s sacred tower Hliðskjálf, all of the major ranking clan members were gathered in celebration, with the exception of Skáviðr.
Even people who would normally be posted on assignment elsewhere were present, like Olof, the governor of Gimlé, and Alrekr, commander of Fort Gnipahellir.
Yuuto nodded and returned the formal greeting to his clan. “Thank you, and Happy New Year.”
It should be said, however, that earlier that morning when he’d checked his smartphone, the LCD screen had showed the date was January 31st. He had in fact already exchanged New Year’s greetings with Mitsuki a month ago.
The lunar calendar used in Yggdrasil was about one month off from the solar calendar that was standard in 21st century Japan.
Yuuto continued his greeting into a formal address.
“Thanks to each of the esteemed men and women here, the previous year became a year of great progress forward for our Wolf Clan. As this clan’s lord, as your patriarch, let me tell you that I am proud of you. In the coming year there may be many and varied challenges awaiting us, but I would be glad if you would all continue to lend support to your young and inexperienced ruler as you have in the previous year. In recognition of your daily efforts, and as an expression of my appreciation for your work, I have prepared this humble collection of food and spirits for you. Please, enjoy it to the fullest.”
Yuuto honestly had a hard time when it came to proper, ceremonial addresses like this one. In order to preserve the dignity of his position as patriarch, it meant he had to speak in a self-important manner that he found uncomfortable.
He was, however, completely fine with speaking with authority during battle and other desperate situations, when there was no time for him to afford to such feelings.
Additionally, because this was an important and public ceremony, he could not wear his usual lightweight black outfit, and was dressed in heavier, ceremonial white robes. There were ornamental accessories on his head, neck, arms and the like, all made of pure gold and all pretty heavy.
It was a pain in the neck, but this sort of thing was also part of his job as the patriarch.
Yuuto took a deep breath, in preparation for the final closing line of his speech.
“Now then, raise your cups! Cheers, to the Wolf Clan!”
“Cheers!!”
Yuuto raised his goblet high into the air, and his subordinates all did so as well. They then turned and knocked the rims of their metal cups against those of their brethren, and the high-pitched metallic clinking sound filled the air of the sanctuary.
Everyone finished the toast by downing their drinks all at once, and in the next moment, the sanctuary hall was noisy with the din of celebration.
Yuuto scanned over the crowd, the sight of his sworn children enjoying themselves so bringing a smile to his face...
“Crap. I knew it...” His expression froze as he spotted one person in particular.
Over in a corner, she sat apart, the air seeming to droop depressingly about her. To Yuuto’s eyes, it almost seemed like there was a black aura of despair swirling around her.
“Heh... hee hee hee... hee hee hee hee.” Felicia was muttering and laughing to herself, if one could really call it laughter. “And now, I am at last twenty years of age.”
In the culture of Yggdrasil, everyone advanced in age together on the first day of the new year, rather than on their individual days of birth. In other words, Felicia had entered her twenties today.
The people in her immediate vicinity seemed to grasp the situation, and quietly left their seats, running off to join interesting conversations with friends they suddenly remembered.
Because of that, the girl looked all the more lonely there by herself.
This wasn’t good.
“Felicia!” Yuuto waved to her with his hand, calling her over.
He would actually have preferred to go over to her himself, but during a ceremony like this, the patriarch leaving his seat to go talk directly with one of his subordinates was the kind of action that could cause problems.
“What is it, Big Brother?” Felicia’s voice was normally as warm as a sunny spring day, but today it was sullen and dark.
Yuuto was so familiar with her usual voice that this threw him off a bit.
As of late, the sort of remarks she’d made about the subject had been more resigned and even joking. But in the end, it seemed that actually having the tens digit of her age go up was bringing forth a lot of different feelings that were hard for her to deal with.
That said, even though she was “twenty,” that was just because of the way age was counted in Yggdrasil. In modern day Japan, she would have barely turned eighteen on her day of birth a week earlier.
To Yuuto, it didn’t seem like something she should have to feel so bad about, but here in Yggdrasil it was custom for a woman to be married, perhaps even have her first child, before she finished her teens. He knew it was impossible to just tell her to ignore that part of her world.
“Here, have a drink.” With a consoling smile, Yuuto handed Felicia a cup, and poured her alcohol from a pitcher himself.
“Thank you very much, Big Brother.” She gave a simple thank-you and downed the contents of the cup in one swig.
It was actually quite a sight, the sort of strong drinking that could enchant a man.
“H-here, have another.”
Yuuto had heard once that there were some nights when men just had to drown themselves in drink, and apparently the same was true of women, as well.
When one could not break free of one’s feelings and set them aside, those were the times that called for alcohol. That was why drink had kept its status as a constant companion of humanity since time immemorial.
Sigrún stepped out from behind Yuuto.
“Mm, what’s wrong with you, Felicia?” Sigrún chastised. “You have the honor of having your drink poured by Father himself, yet you still seem so down.”
Sigrún’s tone and expression were a mirror opposite of Felicia’s; she looked excited and happy as a clam. Her good mood was completely evident in her body language, too, which was a rare thing for her.
Then Sigrún casually clapped her hand on Felicia’s shoulder a few times. “Ha ha ha, you won’t be able to serve properly as Father’s adjutant if you’re like that.”
They’d been friends since they were children, so it wasn’t exactly out of place for their relationship, but this was clearly different from usual, an indication of just how high Sigrún’s spirits were right now.
She definitely wasn’t drunk from the alcohol, though. Sigrún could handle her alcohol just fine, but she didn’t like how it took the edge off of her senses, and so she preferred not to drink.
As for why she was actually so cheery, it was because today she had celebrated her birthday.
Naturally, Sigrún was not the type of person who would care about birthdays, much less get excited over one, but this morning, she had received her birthday present from Yuuto, and she’d been in this state ever since.
“Hmph, we’ll see if you are laughing a year from now,” Felicia muttered. “Then you’ll be in the same position as me, you know?”
“Hm? We’re in the same position now. You got that beautiful glass flower vase from Father, didn’t you? I know you’ve been sneaking little moments of free time to gaze at it, grinning to yourself.”
“W-well, of course I am happy to have received a gift from Father, so happy I could dance on air. But that and this are two different things, you understand!” Felicia puffed out her cheek, sulking.
Yuuto, for one, would prefer that they didn’t talk about that subject with him sitting right there. He was glad to hear how much they’d liked his gifts, but it was also more than a bit embarrassing.
He couldn’t exactly join in the conversation, so he just quietly sipped from his cup.
“You have no idea how it is,” Felicia moaned. “How bitter and sad it will feel to finally, finally reach this age!”
“Actually, I for one am looking forward to it. Just the other day I was made to realize just how immature I am, how far I still have to go. I can’t help but respect the cunning of veterans like Jörgen and Skáviðr that comes from their experience. It lets them accomplish so much without relying on simple brute force.”
“Well, it’s good to know that even your brains are made out of iron,” Felicia sneered.
“That’s the best compliment you could give me, Felicia.”
“Even insults don’t work on you?!” Felicia went wide-eyed, and for once her speech broke into something less polite and more frank.
Afterwards the two of them continued their conversation, in their particular brand of argumentative exchange that seemed at once in sync and at odds. And strangely enough, that black aura that had been around Felicia seemed to dissipate.
The two of them had totally opposite personalities, but it seemed that for Felicia, talking with Sigrún was the better refreshment for her heart than the drink in her hand.
Satisfied that he could leave Felicia to Sigrún, and that he’d made it past that imposing obstacle, Yuuto took one swig from his goblet and let out a breath. “Whew...”
There was a saying, back in Japan, that New Year’s Day was the key to the whole year. It was important to him that he do his best to avoid situations or decisions that seemed inauspicious, and to close out the night in a peaceful and harmonious way as best he could.
“Big Brother, Happy New Year!” A voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Ah, Linnea. You, as well. Happy New Year!”
The person approaching Yuuto at his seat was Linnea, patriarch of the Horn Clan.
Yuuto reflexively broke into a wide grin at seeing his adorable sworn younger sister for the first time in a while.
Recently, she had been busy with the recovery and rebuilding of cities like Myrkviðr and Sylgr and their surrounding lands, areas of Horn Clan territory that still had heavy damage and casualties from the Panther Clan’s invasion. As a result, he hadn’t seen her face-to-face in several months.
They sent messages to each other from time to time, so he knew she was doing well, but it was a different matter after all to be able to see her healthy and happy like this with his own two eyes.
With a bashful smile, Linnea took a knee in front of Yuuto and held up a serving pitcher towards him. “If I may...”
It was a fact of life that girls of her tender age tended to grow more charming by the day, but to see it with his own eyes... compared to just a few months ago, it was like the lovely sweetness of her smile was on a completely new level.
It’s too bad that I’m taken, Yuuto thought to himself with a wry smile, and held out his cup.
“Yes, thank you. And allow me, as well.” Once Yuuto’s cup was filled, he reached to take the pitcher from Linnea.
“Of course.” Linnea allowed Yuuto to pour for her.
“I’m counting on you this year, too.”
“Of course! And I hope to rely on you this year as well, Big Brother.”
They clinked their cups together and each took a small drink, enough to wet their lips.
Each of them was fully aware of how many toasts they would be exchanging before the night was over, with drinks poured by their sworn siblings and children. It was important to understand and maintain a proper pace in these situations, that one might avoid becoming drunk and inadvertently making a fool of oneself.
“Thanks again for everything last year,” Yuuto said. “I hear the reconstruction in Myrkviðr and Sylgr is going well.”
“That is all because you were able to take them back for us in the first place, Big Brother,” Linnea said. “And we have been receiving so much assistance in the meantime.”
Over the course of the current winter season, a large volume of food and silver had been sent from the Wolf Clan to the Horn Clan as aid for their recovery. Linnea was likely referring to that.
Yuuto laughed and gave a casual shrug. “That’s just normal. A brother helping out his little sister when she needs it is just the natural thing to do.”
Linnea stared straight into Yuuto’s eyes, then bowed her head to him deeply. “I wish to express the gratitude of my people, on their behalf. Thank you for everything.”
As usual, this girl always had her people at the center of her thoughts. To sincerely lower one’s head in thanks on behalf of someone else, much less a nation, wasn’t exactly something just anyone could do. And of course, this wasn’t some political gesture — it came from her heart.
It was because she was a person of such wonderful and admirable character that Yuuto felt compelled to help her in any way he could.
Of course, it was also a hard fact that the Horn Clan bordered the territories of the Panther, Hoof, and Lightning Clans, so geopolitically speaking, they were also an incredibly important western buffer nation for the Wolf Clan. That reason also factored into things.
Yuuto started to feel awkward having such an earnest and solemn expression of gratitude delivered to him personally like this, so he changed the subject in a pretty unsubtle manner. “Speaking of the work out west, how is Skáviðr? He doing well?”
Skáviðr, the Wolf Clan’s Assistant Second-in-Command, was currently stationed in Myrkviðr, the most strategically important walled city on the western side of the Horn Clan. He was there commanding a force of soldiers trained to use the “wagon fortress” tactic.
The Panther Clan’s large army of fully armed cavalry was the greatest threat of this era, and so Yuuto wanted to assign an experienced and trusted general to secure that location.
On that point, the man who was the former Mánagarmr was just right for the task.
“Yes, he is well,” said Linnea. “His wounds from the previous battles have healed, and he’s quite healthy. He’s also been devoting himself quite a bit to keeping the peace within the city, which has helped us so much. At first, I got the impression that he might be a very frightening person, but he is actually very nice.”
“Yeah, he’s a good man, isn’t he?” Yuuto broke out into a smile.
Skáviðr had a propensity to act the part of the bad guy, taking on jobs and responsibilities that were necessary but put him in an unfavorable light. So it made Yuuto happy that even while the man was working in another clan’s territory, he had someone like Linnea who understood him for who he really was.
Thinking about it, the two of them, Linnea and Skáviðr, both had a nature of self-sacrifice, putting the needs of others before themselves. Perhaps they were the type to unexpectedly get along well with each other.
“He is,” Linnea concurred. “The Panther Clan makes moves against us from time to time, but each time, Skáviðr narrows in on them and drives them back out right away.”
“I see. So they’re still making moves, then...” Nodding, Yuuto placed a hand thoughtfully to his chin.
In the battles at the end of their last war, Yuuto had employed a strange and clever historical tactic known as the “wagon fortress,” making use of wagons with tall carriages that were reinforced with iron plates as armor. Those wagons could travel with an army and then be made to form a linked wall around the soldiers inside, effectively building a makeshift iron-walled fortress on the spot in the field. This tactic had led the Wolf Clan to victory.
Able to do little against the wagon wall, after receiving mostly one-sided attacks and enormous casualties, the Panther Clan forces had been forced to retreat.
Yuuto believed that the impact of this event was enough to make the Panther Clan wary of going into another full-on war with the Wolf Clan. But on the other hand, he also felt strangely certain that things would not simply end there.
He could still remember the sheer hatred and insanity displayed by Hveðrungr, the Panther Clan patriarch, during their last battle.
Yuuto couldn’t believe that that man would be able to just give up on his quest for vengeance against him.
“That reminds me...” Linnea said. “Rasmus has been making moves as well, constantly making remarks about how I should take advantage of this peace and create the next heir to my family.”
“Ahh, it is true that Rasmus is pretty up there in years, so I can see that.”
If Yuuto had been thinking along the lines of common sense from modern Japan, he would have taken “make an heir” to mean giving birth to a child, but things were different in Yggdrasil, and inheritance was not through blood but through the highest-ranked of one’s children as sworn by the Oath of the Chalice.
So if the worst were to happen to a patriarch, then the chosen successor (usually the second-in-command) would inherit the position, but in the case of Linnea and the Horn Clan, her second-in-command Rasmus was already well past fifty.
In a first world country like Japan in the 21st century, one’s fifties were still potentially still a vital part of middle age, but in Yggdrasil, it was quite old.
It wasn’t a good political state of affairs if the assumed successor to the clan was already so old that they might pass away soon after taking the position.
“So he’s saying he’s willing to give up the spot, and wants you to pick a new second, huh?” Yuuto said, nodding to himself with folded arms. “That’s not something that just anyone can do. I’m impressed.”
Status and power were attractive and addictive for most people. It was far more common for old statesmen to refuse to make way for the next generation, and instead try to hold onto power for the rest of their natural lives. It was certainly a phenomenon one could see frequently enough in 21st century Japan.
Advising one’s own removal from power was truly honorable, and gutsy.
“No, that is not what he meant,” Linnea said.
“Huh?”
“He wants me to hurry and give birth to a child.”
“Wha...! A child?! Linnea, you’re still so young, though!”
It would seem that Yuuto had been mistaken, and her words really did carry their more literal meaning.
Yuuto could feel his face starting to turn red. Of course, he was old enough that he already knew the particulars of how babies were made.
“Y-yes, well,” Linnea stammered, “that was his point, that I should hurry and have a child now, while I am still young and healthy, and while we have temporary peace.”
“Oh... uhh...” The only response Yuuto could make was something ambiguous that sounded more akin to a groan.
This was one area where the values he carried from the world he’d been born and raised in differed greatly. In the Japan he came from, it would be unheard of for someone of Linnea’s age to be pressured into having a baby, but in this world, her age bracket was considered the most healthy and fitting for childbearing, both for the mother and baby.
“A-and, well, and so...” Linnea had been speaking with no trouble up until this point, but all of a sudden she began to stammer and push her two index fingers together bashfully, looking up at Yuuto with her red, blushing face.
Yuuto had a real sinking feeling about where this was going, but he couldn’t refuse to listen and let her finish.
“I-if possible, if I could have y-your... your s-seed, Big Brother...”
Yuuto choked, and struggled to keep from spitting out his drink.
He’d been somewhat prepared for her question to be something along those lines, but her wording was above and beyond what he’d been mentally ready for.
“I-in Yggdrasil, one’s abilities determine everything,” she went on. “B-Big Brother, if it’s your child, I’m sure that he or she would grow up to become a splendid patriarch.”
“W-wait, wait wait wait!! In the clan system, inheritance by bloodline isn’t...”
“It isn’t completely impossible,” she said. “I succeeded my father, after all. And besides, think of Felicia, who is the daughter by birth of the Wolf Clan second-in-command from of generations prior. And Kristina and Albertina, birth daughters of Claw Clan patriarch Botvid. It is a fact that incredible people often give birth to and raise children who are exceptional, as well.”
“Y-yeah, but, but, you see...”
As Yuuto leaned away, retreating, Linnea leaned in closer towards him, struggling to finish her argument all at once.
“O-of course, I am not asking for you to marry me. Big Brother, I know and understand that eventually you have to return to the heavenly land from where you came. B-but... I just... if I could, I... just want something to remember you by...”
Yuuto panicked. “B-but I can’t do that!”
To Yuuto’s morals, the act of simply impregnating a woman and leaving her to raise a child alone without taking responsibility was beyond low; it was disgusting and beastly.
But Linnea did not relent.
“This is the best course of action for the future of both of our clans. Perhaps you are not aware of it yourself, Big Brother, but you have already become an enormous figure in this world, far too great in fact. When you eventually return to your heavenly kingdom, the Wolf Clan might very well lose the unifying force that is holding it together, and the nation could suffer a rapid upheaval.”
“Ghh...!”
Linnea’s words struck a direct chord with him, for it had been one of his worst misgivings as of late.
Yuuto didn’t think he was special or outstanding, but the power of his modern knowledge, his “cheats,” was certainly tremendous.
That power had transformed a small, weak nation on the brink of destruction into the unquestionable powerhouse it was today, all in a scant couple of years.
That was exactly why he was trying to introduce widespread schooling and other such projects, in order to bolster the prosperity of the Wolf Clan even after he left. But the truth was, it wasn’t enough to end his worries.
“Certainly, in Yggdrasil today a bloodline does not hold much value, but the blood of one such as you, Big Brother, would be an exception,” Linnea said. “After all, you are the Gleipsieg, the ‘Child of Victory’ who descended into our world from the land beyond the heavens!”
It wasn’t as if Yuuto didn’t understand the point Linnea was making.
Yggdrasil was the kind of world where the suspect of a crime could be judged by throwing them into a river, deemed guilty if they were swept away by the current and innocent if they were not. It was a world ruled by such ancient and unscientific superstitions.
Yuuto had been transported here from another world, and to the people of this world, that meant he was from the land beyond the heavens, where the gods dwelled.
It wouldn’t be odd, given this situation, for his bloodline to be viewed with some sort of special significance. It would be similar to the sacred bloodline which garnered the þjóðann such an exalted status among the people.
If Yuuto had a blood heir, even if his blood heir did not come to hold the reins of actual power, it would be fine as long as he or she were put into a symbolic role which helped unify the nation politically. Doing that would make it much less likely for the nation to lapse into disarray after Yuuto left.
However, this was viewing things from a purely political viewpoint, as a clan patriarch.
“That still doesn’t mean that...” Yuuto struggled to find the words to explain. As an individual, he found it difficult to accept this line of thinking.
If the needs of the vast majority required the sacrifice of a small few, then so be it. One’s own child, one’s flesh and blood, was no exception. Yuuto knew that was how a just ruler and patriarch should think, but he wasn’t able to fully separate himself from things like that.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man’s cheerful voice cut in. “My good Lady Linnea, if you keep Big Brother Yuuto’s company for yourself the whole night, then what are the rest of us to do?”
Yuuto and Linnea turned as one to see an unimpressive-looking man in his late thirties with a portly belly and a jolly smile. However, his eyes were not smiling, and there was something cold about them.
This man with a smile like a Noh mask was Botvid, patriarch of the Claw Clan, and the biological father of the twins Kristina and Albertina.
“Big Brother, I wish you a Happy New Year,” the man said.
Anytime Yuuto saw this man’s face, he was forced into a state of heightened tension, wary not to let his guard down. But in this particular instance, Yuuto found himself breathing a smile of relief as he returned Botvid’s greeting with a smile of his own.
“Oh, hey, Botvid! Happy New Year!”
Waiting behind Botvid were two men Yuuto recognized, and next to them was a middle-aged, strongly-built woman. They were not his subordinates; each of them had that certain presence about them, an air particular to one who rules over others.
As their eyes met his, each of them in turn bowed their heads deeply and offered their greetings.
“Happy New Year, Big Brother!” greeted a male patriarch.
“I humbly wish you a Happy New Year, Big Brother,” the female patriarch intoned. “Thank you very much for inviting me here today.”
“I look forward to good relations with you in the coming year, Big Brother Yuuto!” the second man said.
These were the patriarchs of the Ash, Mountain Dog, and Wheat Clans, each of whom had just recently exchanged the Oath of the Chalice with Yuuto to bring their clans under the Wolf Clan’s protection and jurisdiction.
Today, Yuuto had invited all five other patriarchs here to further strengthen the diplomatic union between their clans by reinforcing everyone’s Chalice bonds with a second Chalice Ceremony later. He planned to have each of them exchange the Oath of the Chalice with Jörgen as well during that ceremony.
For Yuuto, this was his way of trying to be thorough, making things more solid in preparation for after his eventual return to Japan.
However, to the various clans of Yggdrasil, this Chalice Ceremony was largely perceived as the Wolf Clan loudly asserting its dominance over its neighbors.
Regardless of what Yuuto had planned or intended, his presence and influence in that world only continued to grow larger.
“Haaaah, that was a nightmare! Ughhh, I’m so tired...” Yuuto let out a huge sigh and complained into the smartphone pressed against his right cheek.
Yuuto’s voice carried loudly through the sanctuary at the top of the Hliðskjálf. The place was empty and silent now, enough to make it seem unreal how full of noise and celebration the place had been during the previous day’s banquet.
Above him in the star-strewn sky hung the moon, no more than a thin, fragile-looking sliver.
Mitsuki laughed. “Ah ha ha! Good job making it through, Yuu-kun.”
Mitsuki’s kind words coming through the speaker were consoling. That was all it was, a consolation, but he felt a warmth spreading through his heart when he heard them.
They were special after all, the words of the girl he loved. And that was why he found himself leaning on her kindness.
“Seriously, I’m so worn out that my brain’s like mush,” Yuuto complained.
The climax at the end of the New Year’s Festival had been the grand Oath of the Chalice Ceremony involving all six clans, and it had drained every last bit of Yuuto’s mental energy.
Each one of the other participants was a proper ruler of their people, possessing a dignity appropriate to their status and (with the exception of Linnea) to their age. And in their midst, a young man still in his teens had to serve the role of the “eldest” and most senior figure, directing the ritual and mediating between them all.
Yuuto might have been the one to plan the event, but it had felt like torture.
“Well, whatever else, I’m relieved I managed to get all of that out of the way,” he said, yawning.
Yuuto wasn’t just referring to conducting the ceremony itself to its end. More than anything, he was relieved that in doing so, he’d managed to lay a foundation for the Wolf Clan to build upon even after he left this world behind.
In the world of Yggdrasil, the Oath of the Chalice was absolute. The sacred vows Yuuto had exchanged with the other clan patriarchs connected their clans, but those were formed between them as individuals. So once a new patriarch came into power, the power of the old Oath of the Chalice would be lost.
But this time around, Yuuto had managed to have the others also exchange the Oath of the Chalice with his second-in-command Jörgen, the most likely candidate to succeed him.
In other words, even after Yuuto left, the six clans would still be connected by that oath in alliance, and would have to solve their issues together.
One of his greatest anxieties had been dealt with, and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest.
“Uh huh. Now all that’s left is to find someone who can use the Fimbulvetr spell, right?” Mitsuki said. “Though that does seem like it’ll be the hardest part...”
In a quick turnaround from his relief a second ago, Yuuto found himself at a loss. “Yeah, that’s true. It sucks that the only person we actually know about who can cast it is Sigyn of the Panther Clan. And despite calling herself Yggdrasil’s greatest seiðr user or whatever, Rífa’s totally useless on this matter, too.”
Despite being an ultra-rare wielder of two runes, and the (self-proclaimed) greatest wielder of seiðr magic in all Yggdrasil, the undoing of magical bindings was apparently outside Rífa’s area of expertise, and so there was nothing she could do.
“Umm, don’t you think talking like that is being a little hard on her?” Mitsuki asked. “It’s all thanks to Rífa-san that you’ve figured out a way to get home, you know.”
“Yeah, I mean, I guess. But that girl’s supposed to be the ‘Divine Empress,’ and frankly speaking, she’s basically a deadbeat.”
It was pretty rare to hear Yuuto speak so critically of someone.
Upon first meeting her, his first impressions had painted her as someone slightly difficult to approach because of the formality born of her high status, but by now that image had been completely shattered.
For all that Rífa claimed she’d come traveling to broaden her horizons, for the whole month she’d stayed with them so far, she had spent most of the time in the room they’d provided her, eating and sleeping the days away.
From time to time, Yuuto had made the effort to take time out of his busy schedule preparing for the New Year’s Festival to go visit her and talk, only to find she was fast asleep despite it being the middle of the day.
As an invited guest, all of her living expenses were being shouldered by the Wolf Clan. And as she was the þjóðann, she was being given all of the amenities appropriate to her status. Those expenses kept accumulating, and they were anything but cheap.
Still, this was a potential back-channel he could create with the central empire, so he would likely have had no regrets about it if she’d at least been spending her days fruitfully. But faced with seeing her waste away her time and his money in such a slovenly fashion, he felt he had to call her out for it. That was just human nature.
Hastily, Mitsuki began trying to defend Rífa. “B-but she’s really amazingly strong though, isn’t she?”
Perhaps she felt an affinity for the girl who was supposed to look just like her.
But the harsh edge in Yuuto’s tone did not soften. “Well, yeah, she’s amazing, if you want to call it that...”
Given a wooden sword, she had faced off against Sigrún, and though the Mánagarmr had been holding back in order to avoid the risk of injuring her, Rífa had fought on the same level as her.
From astronomy to seiðr rituals and more, she was well-versed in a wide variety of subjects, enough to astonish even Felicia.
As someone who so closely resembled Yuuto’s childhood friend Mitsuki, she was of course also quite beautiful, and her snow-white hair and eyes the color of rubies endowed her with an alluring, mystical air.
On top of that, she was, quite literally, the highest of high-born nobles. On paper, she was superlative in every way — perfect, even.
“But she’s so ridiculously hi-spec, and she doesn’t freaking do anything with it,” Yuuto griped. “Nothing good, anyway...”
“Er, ah ha ha...” Mitsuki could only respond with a polite laugh.
Rífa’s high combat skills had bolstered her into careless overconfidence, which was what had led to the incident at the tavern.
She’d used her preeminent knowledge and power with seiðr magic to disable and leave behind her protectors, and then to force Yuuto into a week’s paralysis on nothing more than a whim.
Her appearance was beautiful and eye-catching, sure, but she seemed to harbor some kind of complex about it, and had a tendency to pick a fight with anyone she felt looked at her the wrong way.
Everything was like this with her; on average, about once every three days she caused some sort of trouble or incident, forcing Yuuto to cover for her and pick up the pieces.
And to top it off, since she was the þjóðann and thus the highest authority in Yggdrasil, no matter what problems she caused him, Yuuto wasn’t allowed to put up any strong protests.
If she stayed shut in her room, that frustrated him, and when she came out, she tended to cause problems. In short, she was a real pain to deal with on the whole as a person.
“Well, it’s all due to the fact that she’s one of those ignorant princess-types who knows nothing of the world, the kind who’d say, ‘Oh, if they have no bread, then let them eat cake.’ So rather than being her fault, I’d say it’s the fault of the people around her who—”
“Out here on such a freezing night, it is quite impressive how you can talk on and on with such energy,” a cold voice said.
“Ah!” Yuuto’s whole body jumped with fright, then went completely rigid. Even back in Japan, there was a popular saying equivalent to “the walls have ears,” and it leapt to his mind now.
Yuuto turned to look behind him, slowly and stiffly, as if he were a door on rusted hinges. As a head of pure-white hair entered his field of vision, he knew he hadn’t been imagining things, and his heart sank.
Standing next to Rífa was her bodyguard, the warrior known as Erna, who gave Yuuto a brief, polite bow.
Face-to-face with the person he’d just been dragging across the coals in absentia, Yuuto had trouble putting his words together. “L-Lady Rífa, wh-what, uh, what brings you here at this hour?”
Thankfully, he’d been speaking in Japanese with Mitsuki, so Rífa shouldn’t have heard the actual contents of his conversation.
“Yes, well, if I were to artfully borrow a phrase of yours, ‘If I am not awake during the day, then let me move about at night.’ Perhaps that would cover it?”
She totally heard everything...! Yuuto found himself wanting to throw his hands up in despair.
Most likely Rífa had used the musical galdr magic Connections, which Felicia was also proficient with. As always, the girl always seemed to put her incredible abilities to use at inconvenient times.
“Mitsuki, sorry, but I’m gonna have to hang up,” Yuuto said. “Talk to you again tomorrow.”
“Ah, okay. I understand. ...Good luck.”
Mitsuki might not have understood Rífa’s language, but she seemed to have grasped the gist of the situation after hearing Yuuto’s gasp over the phone. Just one more way in which Yuuto felt the ease of dealing with his childhood friend.
“Hmmm, so those were the words of the land beyond heaven,” Rífa said. “And then there is that bizarre tool you hold... I see that you really have come here from another world.”
Rífa eyed the smartphone in Yuuto’s hand curiously and nodded to herself, as if impressed.
Going by her expression, she didn’t seem to be angry. Still, Yuuto felt guilty, and bowed his head to her.
“Umm... how should I... I’m really sorry.” His apology was clumsy, and informal at best.
“Oh, there is nothing you have to apologize for,” Rífa replied, and flashed him a bright and cheery smile.
...at least, at first. The next moment, her smile changed to a bitter one, the kind of self-derisive smile Yuuto knew well himself.
“It is quite true that I know nothing of the ways of the world,” Rífa said. “I have continuously caused trouble for you, and for that I should be the one apologizing.”
“Um...”
Now that he was on the receiving end, Yuuto reflexively began to try to say to her out of politeness that what she said wasn’t true at all, but the words stuck in his throat. After all she’d heard him say about her just moments ago, such a denial would just ring hollow.
Seeing Yuuto’s hesitation, Rífa chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. “Since the day I was born, I have spent all my life in Valaskjálf Palace. Others would tell me what a big and grand palace it was, large enough that a small city would fit inside its walls. But I realize now that, in the end, it was still a dreadfully small and limited world to grow up in.”
She paused and closed her eyes, seemingly thinking back on some long-ago memories. When she spoke again, Yuuto could hear deep emotion in her voice.
“That I was even able to see that for myself was enough to make this journey truly worthwhile. There is still one month left until my time is up, but I can already declare it with confidence: The time I have spent here has been the most splendid, the most enjoyable experience in my entire life.”
Yuuto was startled. “How... how can you say that...?”
It was exactly the wrong kind of thing to say in this situation. But the words slipped out before Yuuto could stop them.
He couldn’t accept what he’d just heard.
He couldn’t help how wrong it felt to hear someone who spent her days holed up in her room tell him she’d learned how wide the world was.
He couldn’t help how frustrating, even angry, it made him feel to hear her say that such an empty month had been the most splendid part of her life.
Though he didn’t explain those thoughts out loud, his emotions must have shown clearly on his face, for Rífa gave an amused chuckle.
“Heh heh! It would not seem like much to you and your people, but to me, this has been quite the grand adventure.”
She wore a contented expression, but there was something lonely about it. It was like there was no light in her eyes, no hope; only a heavy resignation.
Yuuto wondered just what could cause this girl to feel that sort of despair. Maybe her resemblance to Mitsuki played a part, but he couldn’t just ignore her now.
“In that case, you should experience much more of what the outside world has to offer,” Yuuto told her. “I can accompany you, whenever I have time.”
“You make a very kind offer, but my body makes that difficult, you know.” Rífa ran a few fingers through her snow-white hair.
“Not to worry,” Yuuto assured her. “I also stand out because of my black hair, but if we use Kristina’s powers, that won’t be an issue!”
“Hm? Oh. Now that I think on it, I never told any of you. Everyone in the palace who has ever dealt with me personally was already aware, so not having to explain it just became normal to me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Take a closer look at my skin, then. Tell me, what are your impressions?” As she said this, Rífa held out her arm to Yuuto, bringing it up close to his eyes.
Yuuto did as he was told and examined her skin closely. “This is something I have thought for a while, but seeing it up close like this, your skin really is pale white and very beautiful. It’s as if you have never once been out in the sun.”
This was not flattery, but Yuuto’s honest assessment.
The people of the lands of Yggdrasil seemed to be related to or at least similar to Caucasians, so their skin tended to be pinker or whiter than an East Asian like Yuuto. But even by that standard, Rífa’s pure white skin stood out to him.
“You have it right,” she replied.
“Huh?” Yuuto reflexively looked up to meet Rífa’s eyes.
She looked back at him with a calm, detached smile that was impossible for him to read. It reminded him of the smile carved onto Buddha statues back in Japan.
“Thanks to an affliction I was born with, I cannot walk under the light of the sun.”
Rífa’s tone and delivery were so indifferent that, for a second, Yuuto didn’t really process what he’d heard.
Even once he grasped what she had said, it was difficult for him to accept as real right away.
He suspected she might be making some sort of joke at first, but Rífa’s expression told him that it had to be the truth. As the realization dawned on Yuuto, his eyes and mouth went wide with surprise.
“Th-that’s...!” The shock left Yuuto speechless.
He could faintly recall having heard that such a congenital disease existed.
But back when he’d heard about it, all the people in his life had been healthy, so it was the kind of thing he never needed to learn about. It was something he had only learned about on the internet or in a book, as if it existed in a distant other world.
“Well, it is not completely impossible for me, as it happens,” Rífa said. “Days in the summer months are too severe, to be sure, but during the winter days like these when the light is weaker, I can be outside a little bit, depending.”
Rífa spoke in such an easygoing and candid manner that it was almost making Yuuto more anxious.
Thinking back, he recalled that the times he had seen her outside, it had been mostly in the evening or night.
He had spotted her during the daytime hours once in a rare while, always during rainy or snowy days when the sky was darkened by clouds.
That was precisely why, even though he had known it wasn’t his business, Yuuto had felt angry at her for wasting of her vacation in the outside world. Now, however, he was furious with himself for having judged her that way.
Outside of those times, Rífa couldn’t venture outdoors.
“Oh, do not make such a sour face,” Rífa said with a chuckle. “I said it myself just a moment ago. ‘If I am not awake during the day, then let me move about at night.’ I am hated by the sun, but I am loved by the moon. The great moon which is the holy source of ásmegin.”
Rífa’s twin runes appeared, golden sword-like crosses that seemed to rise up from within her eyes.
She seemed to truly believe this. And practically speaking, when it came to use of the magical power known as ásmegin, there was likely no one more powerful than her in the world of Yggdrasil.
But to Yuuto, it also seemed like she was forcing herself to act tough. As if holding onto that belief was what allowed her to hold herself together.
Of course, if he were to call her out on that, it wasn’t as if that would do her any good right now. He couldn’t take responsibility for telling her how to follow through on it.
This girl was a stranger to him (“annarr” in the parlance of Yggdrasil), an outsider only visiting Iárnviðr who would return to Glaðsheimr in the spring.
A bizarre coincidence had led to their fates being intertwined for this brief time. As for the rest of her life after returning to Glaðsheimr, he could hope and root for her in his heart, but he wouldn’t be able to help her in any way directly.
There was only one thing Yuuto could do for her here and now.
The best Yuuto could hope for was to help her make as many good memories as he could.
“You are right, Lady Rífa,” he said at last. “Then how about this? Tomorrow, I was planning to hold a New Year’s party with just a few of the people closest to me, like Felicia and Sigrún. It will be taking place after the sun goes down. Would you care to join us?”
Rífa was traveling incognito and needed to stay low-profile, so she hadn’t attended either the New Year’s Festival or the Chalice Ceremony afterward. But it would be far too wretched to let the holiday season pass her by without celebrating it with anyone even once.
“Lord Yuuto...” Rífa’s eyes widened, and she smiled.
Unlike all her other smiles thus far, with the haughtiness or the oppressive grace or the sad depths of her status behind them, this was a bashful smile befitting of a young girl her age.
“All right then, once again: Happy New Year, everyone!”
“Happy New Year!!”
Everyone’s raised cups clinked against each other, and the metallic sounds filled the air of the reception room.
This small party consisted of Yuuto, Felicia, Sigrún, Linnea, Ingrid, Albertina and Kristina, Ephelia, Rífa, and Rífa’s bodyguard Erna. The ten of them were gathered around an extra-large kotatsu, one specially made by Ingrid.
“Ahh, yeah, this is so much better. Cozy parties like this are much more my speed.” Yuuto tilted back his cup, filled with juice made from squeezed apples, and downed it in one gulp. He exhaled with satisfaction.
The formal New Year’s Festival banquet was officially one where people could celebrate together while putting aside rank to a degree. But with over a hundred important people in attendance, and with it being such an important event politically, it had still ended up adhering to formalities in the end. Yuuto had needed to be vigilant and cautious with himself the whole time.
He couldn’t afford to make a fool of himself and disgrace his name as patriarch. That had been even more the case in front of the patriarchs from other clans invited to the event.
In that respect, this party was a total contrast, with all of the girls being people he could think of as close and trusted friends or confidants. None of them were that far apart in age, either. Even if he did something a little foolish or embarrassing here, there was a sense that things would still be all right, and that made him feel secure.
“Oh, yeah, I totally get what you mean,” Ingrid put in. “Back at that formal banquet, it was like torture with all the constant, boring flattery. It really wore me down.”
Ingrid put a hand to her shoulder and cracked her neck, groaning at the remembered experience.
One could not hope to discuss the Wolf Clan’s incredible progress over the past several years without mention of Ingrid’s pivotal role in it, and no one in the Wolf Clan now would fail to recognize that fact.
For Ingrid, it had been an endless stream of people who barely got past exchanging greetings before leaping at the first opportunity to start trying to butter her up and curry favor with her.
Felicia giggled and showed Ingrid a sweet, sisterly smile. “Ingrid, you have already become someone that the Wolf Clan could never do without. Going forward, you are going to need to become at least somewhat used to situations like that, hee hee.”
She was back to acting like her normal self, it seemed.
“Ughh,” Ingrid moaned. “I’d really rather not. Oh, hey, that reminds me. Not a lot of people went over to bother you this year, Felicia. Did you do something? What’s your secret?”
At those innocent words from Ingrid, Felicia’s expression froze solid.
“Ah, crap! You idiot!” Yuuto shouted.
“Huh?”
“Heh... hee hee hee... that’s right... who would bother approaching a woman in her twenties, anyway? Hee hee... heh heh heh heh...” Felicia broke into a dark smile and a disturbing giggle, and once again began to give off a heavy aura of gloom, as if the very air were being pulled down around her.
It seemed that the emotional pain from her birthday hadn’t fully healed, after all.
Ingrid didn’t know how to handle Felicia’s sudden and unexpected change, and started to panic. “Wha— Yuuto, what’s, huh?! Felicia, what’s gotten into you?!”
Ingrid was the type of girl who found fulfillment when she finished a piece of work at a quality she could be satisfied with, so generally speaking, she spent most of her time in her workshops. As such, she was also a little uninformed when it came to the daily affairs of others, or to the gossip one might hear in the palace.
As such, it seemed that she didn’t know anything about what not to talk about around Felicia.
And then the spontaneous little girl who didn’t know fear added fuel to the fire.
“Hey, hey, Auntie Felicia, what’s wrong?” Albertina asked.
“Ghh! A-Auntie...” Felicia moaned.
“A-amazing, Al,” Kristina mused. “Even I, who find my life’s passion in toying with the feelings of others, hesitated to cross that line this time around. Simply impressive!”
“Huuuh?! What did I do?!”
“You said ‘Auntie,’ and that is taboo right now.”
“Wha? But Papa Yuuto’s our sworn father and Auntie Felicia is his younger sister, so that makes her my aunt, and so I’m supposed to call her Auntie. That’s what you said, Kris!”
“Wha?! Do not use your airheaded nature to make me a target as well, Al! And you are repeating ‘Auntie’ over and over again! What did I just tell you?!”
“Wine!” Felicia screamed. “Please bring me a drink! I cannot stand being sober for another minute!”
Frustrated and clearly sulking, Felicia slammed her cup down on the tabletop.
Ephelia was a servant as well as a guest, so she hurried over to pour alcohol into Felicia’s cup. “R-right away. Here you are!”
As soon as the cup was full, Felicia drained its contents all at once, and held it out to Ephelia again.
Looking scared and trembling a bit, Ephelia refilled the cup.
From the looks of things, it would likely be a wise decision for Yuuto to leave that corner of the table well alone.
“Pfft... ha ha ha ha ha! Only the first few minutes, and things are already getting lively.” Rífa’s genuinely happy and cheerful laugh cut through the tension and seemed to buoy the sinking atmosphere of the room. She was tearing up at the corners of her eyes. Apparently she’d really gotten a kick out of that exchange.
Once her laughter finally settled down, Rífa meekly bowed her head to the others.
“I wish to offer my heartfelt thanks to you all, for inviting me to such a fun and happy event.”
“W-wait, please raise your head, Lady Rífa,” Linnea cut in, a bit flustered. “If you bow your head and speak so humbly to us, we will not be able to conduct ourselves properly.”
Linnea had been properly trained in such matters of imperial etiquette from her youngest years by her late father, the previous patriarch of the Horn Clan.
Incidentally, the only ones present who knew Rífa’s true identity were Yuuto and Felicia (and Erna, of course). To everyone else, she was still being passed off as the granddaughter of the head of House Jarl.
It wasn’t like Yuuto didn’t trust the other girls — far from it. But it was just a fact that when keeping a secret, the fewer people who knew, the lower the chances of it leaking out.
If word got out about who Rífa really was, plenty of people would surely come forward to try and use her, or try to compel Yuuto to use her, for political ends.
And although one might be able to accuse him of simply thinking naïvely, Yuuto for his part felt that he wanted to do everything he could to avoid letting a young girl like her end up used like some political pawn.
“Hm, is that how it is?” Rífa seemed unsure of her grasp on the problem.
Linnea gave a humble, but assertive, nod. “Yes, my lady, it is.”
Even though they were both princesses who were now rulers, raised as ladies of high status, Yuuto saw quite a bit of difference between them.
Perhaps this was a result of what was currently most expected from the þjóðann; not the actual skills for administration and rule, but to play the role of unifying symbol and object of reverence.
Yuuto chimed in to follow Linnea. “Well, it’s like this: When someone of higher status lowers themselves too much, it just ends up making the people below them feel embarrassed and apologetic.”
“Pft. Lookit Yuuto here, repeating the same thing people are always lecturing him about,” Ingrid snickered and muttered to herself.
“Hey, I heard that, Ingrid!” Yuuto shouted.
“Aw, crap—” Ingrid moved to cover her mouth with her hand, but of course it was already too late.
Yuuto lined up his hand and hit her with a good (light) forehead flick.
He then turned back to Rífa, and bowed his head to her.
“I’m sorry about this. We’re all acting with pretty bad manners in your presence.”
“You’ve certainly got that right,” Erna snapped. “Do you have any idea just who—”
Rífa waved her hand to silence the woman, who was starting to get worked up. “No, no, I do not mind. Actually, I find this quite comforting.”
It seemed there was something else the highborn girl was much more concerned with.
Rífa’s eyes were practically sparkling. “Hee hee, gathering together with others in a boisterous group around a hot pot like this is quite the first-time experience.”
Her gaze was locked onto the large black iron pot smack in the center of the kotatsu table, resting in an area carved-out of the table top so that it sat right above the heat source for the kotatsu. Inside the pot was a hodgepodge of meats, vegetables, and other ingredients, all cooked together into a piping hot stew.
The stew was bubbling nicely, and a delicious aroma wafted out to spread over the room.
Yuuto audibly gulped as his mouth watered. “Well, as it seems to be just about ready, shall we eat? My subordinate Sigrún here has the ability to detect any dangerous or poisonous ingredients in something on the spot, so please rest assured that you have nothing to worry about on that front.”
Yuuto shot Sigrún a quick glance, and she nodded back.
Sigrún was the one in charge of the pot, and she had been stirring it carefully and silently this whole time.
“Ohh, what a reliable woman.” Rífa gave a delighted nod. “Then let us begin at once.”
She reached out with her wooden skewer towards a cut of pork in the heart of the pot...
And there was a clack! as Sigrún’s large stirring spoon smacked it away.
“That piece was only just placed into the pot, and has not been cooked properly.”
“H-hey! You impudent...!” Erna raised her voice again in rebuke.
“Would you rather I let her eat uncooked meat that was not safe?” Sigrún asked archly.
That cut down Erna’s protest with a single retort, and the imperial bodyguard reluctantly went silent.
“Urgh...”
It seemed that Sigrún cared not one bit who she was dealing with, forgoing all social delicacy even with those from the famous House Jarl.
That would stand to reason, for even with Yuuto, to whom she’d sworn her absolute obedience, she remained pushy and a bit overbearing when it came to food and meals.
According to Felicia, “Even the most loyal guard dog will still growl at its master if he tries to interfere with its meal.”
Perhaps someone like Sigrún, whose life revolved around survival on the fields of war, knew the true importance of proper food through her personal experience, and thus it was one area on which she wouldn’t compromise with anyone.
“These ones are well-cooked and perfect for eating,” Sigrún said, and without waiting for confirmation, she scooped up the ingredients and broth into a small soup bowl.
“Here you are,” she said, politely handing the bowl over.
...to Yuuto.
Apparently her placing Yuuto as the person of highest priority went unchanged, in any situation.
Erna’s eyebrow twitched visibly, and though she said nothing, it was clear that act of ignoring Rífa’s status had stoked her anger further.
Thinking on his feet in that split second, Yuuto passed the bowl along to Rífa in a fluid motion as if that had been the plan all along. “Mm, thanks. Here you are, Lady Rífa.”
A fine play, if I do say so myself. Inwardly, Yuuto gave himself a huge pat on the back.
“...Here you are. Father.” Handing Yuuto a second bowl, Sigrún addressed him directly, with emphasis.
Apparently to her, having the bowl she’d filled first and meant especially for her sworn father given up to someone else had hurt her feelings a bit.
That intense loyalty of hers was starting to seem like it could lay the seeds for trouble, and Yuuto was starting to get a little scared.
“Ohh. So this is the hot pot stew of Iárnviðr.” Rífa took a few bites and chewed thoughtfully. “...Hmm, I would not say it tastes bad, exactly, but the flavor certainly is thinner compared to Glaðsheimr.”
As always, the divine empress was used to having her needs attended to, but she had no idea how to be attentive to the feelings of others.
This time it was Sigrún’s eyebrow that twitched in irritation. Rífa’s remark had clearly struck a nerve.
Sigrún was, as Yuuto was fully aware, a woman who took matters regarding food very seriously and personally. She looked ready to say something horrible, like, “If you’re going to complain, then don’t eat it.”
Rather than give Sigrún the chance to say anything dangerous, Yuuto cut in and began rambling.
“Y-you know, Lady Rífa, Iárnviðr sits in the highlands up in the mountains, and we’re pretty far from the coast, so most of our recipes here use little or no salt. Now that you are visiting our lands, why not make the most of this opportunity, and enjoy savoring a local flavor you might not experience at home? I believe that is one of the secrets to good travel.”
It felt like an errant spark could set things off at any moment, and Yuuto already felt a stomachache coming on. The parties involved likely didn’t have any real intent to start anything with each other, of course.
At times like this, the one Yuuto could most rely on was Felicia, his trusted and skilled adjutant, and also the other person in the room who understood how Rífa’s true identity played into the situation.
Unfortunately...
“You are so lucky, Ephy,” Felicia moaned. “Still only barely over ten...”
“L-Lady Felicia, you are still very young and beautiful!” Ephelia exclaimed.
“‘Still’ beautiful, is it? Still, indeed...”
“Ah, ahhh, n-no! P-please forgive me!”
“It’s quite all right. I am already a twenty-year-old ‘auntie,’ after all.”
Unfortunately, Felicia seemed to be occupied with grumbling at Ephelia as if she was a bartender, and wouldn’t be any use right now.
Yuuto saw this as a really bad sign right off the bat of what was to come.
As it happens, a bad hunch about a situation tends to turn out correct more often than anyone would like.
All of the girls, especially Linnea and Sigrún, were people with good self-control who understood the old maxim, “It’s fine to drink, but not to get too drunk.” But this time, that did not appear to be the case.
As a drunken Felicia led the way with her aggressive tactics, each of them fell, one by one, into the pit with her.
“Whaaat, are you saying you won’t drink when I pour for youuu?!” Felicia hollered.
In the world of 21st century Japan, all of them would be legally underage and forbidden to drink, but in the Wolf Clan, there were no particular laws regarding alcohol. It was simply the general social custom for people to start drinking somewhere around the age of fifteen, when they would be considered adults.
And so thankfully, that meant Yuuto succeeded in getting the twins and Ephelia safely out of this whole situation and off to bed, but that was the limit of what he could do.
“Hee hee hee! Ohhhh, Big Brotherrrr?” Felicia said in a singsong voice. “Are you drinkinggggg?”
She drooped herself over Yuuto while holding out a wine pitcher and tipping it over, and Yuuto wearily held his cup up to catch what poured out.
“Yeah, I’m drinking, Felicia. Thanks to you.”
Judging by the fact that she was filling his cup all the way to the brim, it seemed like his sardonic remark flew right over her head.
“It’s funny, because you do not seem drunk at allllll,” she complained.
“You may be right.”
How much easier would it be if I could be drunk like them right now? Yuuto wondered to himself bitterly.
He could tell that he was indeed a little intoxicated. However, that was all. Maybe it was because Rífa was here, and he felt a strong responsibility not to allow himself to lose control of his faculties... or maybe it was because he just had an incredible tolerance for alcohol to begin with. Either way, for whatever reason, no matter how much he drank, he never seemed to get any more than slightly intoxicated.
Of course, Yuuto found himself questioning whether he was really better off having his proper wits about him in a situation like this.
“Hah hah hah! How delightful, how delightful!” Rífa was laughing from the bottom of her heart, though. Right now for Yuuto, that was the only saving grace here.
Of course, if it weren’t for Rífa being here, Yuuto would have been able to escape this scenario along with the three kids.
He couldn’t exactly leave the þjóðann behind alone drunk at a party, so he had to keep staying here. He kept watching her nervously, worried he or the others might do something to offend her.
Felicia giggled. “Big Brother! ? Please drink more! Tee hee hee!”
“Yeah, yeah.” Yuuto threw back another cup of wine, his heart at least half-wishing that it work this time.
The strange heat particular to alcohol that he had once found unpleasant hardly drew his notice anymore. Perhaps he’d gotten used to drinking.
Once his cup was empty, Felicia happily filled it back up again.
Well, at least Felicia’s having a good time too, and she seems to have forgotten that stuff about her age for the moment. Maybe I can get through this, after all? Starting to feel the first hints of relief from his nerves, Yuuto brought the cup to his lips.
“Ohhh, it is so hot in herrrrre!”
Felicia suddenly began to take off her clothes, causing Yuuto to sputter and spit out his drink.
Of course, in the summer months, Felicia wore pretty skimpy outfits, so it wasn’t as though Yuuto wasn’t used to seeing her show off a lot of skin. Still, the act of a woman undressing contains a certain something that is uniquely tempting to a man.
Furthermore, because of her drinking, Felicia’s skin had a slight red flush to it in certain parts that seemed to bring her sexiness to an even higher level. It was so alluring that Yuuto wished he hadn’t looked.
“Oh my, what is the matter, Big Brother?” Felicia grinned.
“Wh-wh-what’s the... Just because it’s hot, does that make you think you can just take off your clothes all of a sudden?!”
“Hm, I see,” Sigrún piped up. “If it’s too hot, one can simply undress. How perfectly logical.”
“Come on, then, Rún, you too,” Felicia giggled.
“Uwaaagh! No, stop! Rún, stop!” Yuuto cried out in such panic that his voice almost went into falsetto.
Sigrún had begun to pull off her clothes with speed and gusto, but she stopped still at his command.
At least in this sense, no matter how drunk she might be, she was still the Sigrún who had pledged her complete obedience to Yuuto.
“What is it, Father?” she asked.
“Think about it! I’m here, too, a man! You understand the issue, right?”
“Ahh, now I see. Please accept my apologies. I was lacking in consideration.” Sigrún bowed her head to Yuuto once, and continued. “Felicia told me about this. Rather than ripping one’s clothes off all at once, slowly undressing bit by bit in a teasing manner is much more pleasing to a man. In other words, you would rather I do that.”
“No, nooo! That’s not what I meant!”
“Ngh, as the patriarch of the Horn Clan, I cannot allow myself to fall behind the two of them...” Linnea muttered.
“Grr, fine, if everyone’s gonna take their clothes off, then I can, too!” Ingrid cried.
“What?!”
The alcohol seemed to throw momentum behind everything, and now for some reason, the spark had been lit under Linnea’s determination and Ingrid’s stubborn pride. The two of them started taking off their clothes, as well.
It was no longer possible for Yuuto to get control of this situation by himself. He turned to Rífa.
Rífa, however, was watching him with a truly wicked and impish grin. “Hmm, do you think this means I should start undressing, too? What with things flowing in that direction and all...”
She was completely looking at this situation as nothing more than an entertaining show.
“Wha... No, please don’t joke around like that, and help me stop this!”
“I shall decline. This is shaping up to be the perfect spice for my wine.”
“Dammit, I should have known better than to ask another drunk for help with this. E-Erna, please!”
Giving up on Rífa, Yuuto pinned his last hope on the girl’s stern bodyguard, and turned to face her.
Because Erna had a mission to protect Rífa, she hadn’t had a single drop of alcohol tonight. She should be completely sober.
And judging by her earlier reactions, she was the type of person who wouldn’t sit by and allow acts of impropriety in front of the þjóðann. There was no way she would look at this and not rebuke the girls.
“Zzzz...”
“Sh-she’s sleeping?!”
“Ahh, yes, Erna did mention to me that she was no good with alcohol at all,” Rífa said. “I would never have thought she would pass out drunk just from the smell of it in the air, though. But look there, you seem to have a more pressing matter right now...”
Snickering to herself, Rífa gestured towards the space behind Yuuto.
Slowly, fearfully, Yuuto turned around to look...
“Big Brother! ?”
“Father!”
“Yuutoooo!”
“Big Brother Yuuto! ?”
“Gahh!”
The sight of all four girls, half-naked from the waist up and sidling towards him, made Yuuto gasp and reflexively draw backwards.
But the room wasn’t really that big. Yuuto soon found his back against a wall.
“A-all of you, calm down! L-let’s just all calm down, okay?!”
His voice shaking, Yuuto held out his palms towards the girls, but they didn’t take his cue to stop. They moved in closer.
The looks in their drunken, unfocused eyes were strangely erotic, and also more frightening than he could stand.
“Gah... *pant* so... *pant* tired!” Yuuto wheezed, struggling to regain his breath. “Ughh... that wore me out way more than the New Year’s Festival!”
Yuuto practically spat out his complaint in exasperation as he reached down to scoop up some of the piled-up snow, using it to cool the heat from his flushed face.
All of the girls had passed out drunk, and so he’d finally managed to scramble out of there in one piece.
Part of this was his own fault for allowing himself to relax and let his guard down because it was a gathering of the people closest to him, but he’d also never thought that the girls would all turn out to be such bad drunks.
“It’s amazing I kept a handle on myself through all that...” he muttered.
In those frantic moments, he’d felt certain that the dreamy scene unfolding was what the mythical paradise of Valhalla must be like. And that feeling was what had made it hell for him, a sweet nightmare.
There’d been several times when the old saying “A man who does not return a woman’s advances should be ashamed.” had run through his head and nearly broken his resistance.
If he had allowed himself to waver even slightly, with the effects of the alcohol running through him as well, his rational mind would have surely buckled under the pressure.
That was just how close of a battle it had been.
For now, at least, he’d instructed some of the female servants to go in and put blankets on the sleeping girls so they wouldn’t catch cold. (Incidentally, afterward rumors would spread throughout the palace of Yuuto’s supposed wild sexual appetite and prowess, but that is a story for another time.)
“Hm?” Yuuto felt a presence and looked up, as something raced towards him through the dark.
The next instant, something small and grey leapt out at him from the darkness, colliding with his thigh.
“Whoa!” Yuuto said. “Hey there, Hildólfr.”
As soon as it hit the ground, the little wolf pup happily jumped up at him again, over and over. Yuuto broke into a smile, and crouched down to pick it up.
As soon as Hildólfr was in his arms, he began licking at Yuuto’s face. It tickled, and was a bit gross, but was also strangely comforting.
“Heh, at least with you it’s not even an issue, and yet...” Yuuto sighed to himself as he gently stroked the puppy’s back.
Relations between human men and women, on the other hand, were so frustratingly difficult.
A voice came from behind Yuuto, accompanied by a disapproving sigh. “And yet it would be just fine if you did as those girls wished.”
Surprised, Yuuto turned around to find the girl with snow-white hair standing there, looking at him with an expression that suggested she was utterly dumbfounded by his actions.
“Lady Rífa...?” he said. “You were awake?”
“Yes, well. I only woke up a moment ago. I was only lightly asleep, it seems. I do mostly sleep during the middle of the day, after all.” Rífa clasped her hands together and lifted them high over her head, stretching.
Perhaps there was still a bit of alcohol left in her, as her cheeks were faintly red. But she was steady on her feet, and her eyes were clear.
It looked like she was at least coming back to sober again.
“Aha!” she laughed. “But still, what a truly delightful party that was!” Rífa closed her eyes and seem to be replaying scenes from the party in her mind as she spoke.
Yuuto grimaced, and replied in a sulking voice, “Yes, Lady Rífa, I’m sure it was for you, seeing as you had such an entertaining show to watch.”
“Ha ha ha, what’s this? Are you holding a grudge about the fact that I did nothing to help you?”
“Yes, a bit, as a matter of fact.” Yuuto nodded honestly.
He didn’t really care at this point anymore if he was talking to an empress.
He was sure there were few people who would not be angry at someone who had sat back and laughed at them during a moment of terrible struggle and need.
“Dear me,” Rífa said mockingly. “What reason would you even have to be dissatisfied with the adoration of ladies that wonderful? Refusing to respond to them makes you hardly fit to call yourself a man.”
“And I’d say that having one’s way with a drunken girl who has no idea what she’s doing is much more the act of someone unfit to be called a man!” Yuuto snapped.
This uncompromising principle of Yuuto’s had played as big a part as his love for Mitsuki in keeping him from crossing the line earlier.
Those women were all his trusted comrades, his family, with whom he’d exchanged the Oath of the Chalice.
He could never forgive anyone who harmed them or did them wrong. That, of course, included Yuuto himself.
“You... are a much more timid man than I was led to expect,” Rífa said. “After meeting you, it’s as if the things I heard were describing a different person entirely.”
“...And just what sort of rumors did you hear about me, if I may ask?” he demanded.
“That you set your clutches upon any beautiful woman you lay eyes upon, young or old. A veritable demon of lust.”
“That’s complete bullshit! Why would I even get that sort of reputation?!”
“Is it not true that you recently went on holiday to a hot springs, alone except for a retinue of beautiful maidens?”
“Oh, gods, that!” Yuuto cried out and smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand, tilting his head back hopelessly.
Seeing this, Rífa gave another disappointed-sounding sigh, her shoulders drooping. “Judging by that reaction of yours, nothing actually happened then, either.”
“Of course it didn’t!”
“What do you mean, ‘of course’? When a man and woman are together in company, a romantic connection is the more natural outcome. Even you must admit you hold feelings of your own towards those girls.”
“...Well, yeah, I do. They are my precious family, my sworn daughters and little sisters.”
“Don’t play the fool. You know that is not what I meant. I am saying that—”
Yuuto cut Rífa off with a direct statement. “There is a girl I love in the world I came from. I don’t want to betray her.” A forlorn look clouded over his expression.
He didn’t want to betray Mitsuki, who had spent almost three years now supporting him, waiting for him, and holding him in her thoughts the whole time.
“Oh, is that perhaps the ‘Mitsuki’ girl, then?” Rífa asked. “The one who looks just like me... Hmm. Then this Mitsuki is quite blessed to have a man as great as you devote his whole heart only to her. I quite envy her.”
Rífa nodded to herself as she said this, and Yuuto felt strangely uncomfortable, as if he were somehow being criticized.
Of course, Rífa clearly hadn’t spoken with any intent to criticize him; in fact, she was practically complimenting him.
Even so, Yuuto felt a painful tightness deep in his chest.
All of a sudden, he realized what it was.
It was a feeling of intense guilt.
Guilt towards the girl who so closely resembled the one speaking to him now.
“I’m... I’m not a great man at all.” Yuuto grimaced and spat out those words ruefully, tightly clutching at the collar of his shirt.
His feelings for Mitsuki were there in his heart, and they were true. They had never lessened over these past three years, and in fact had only grown stronger.
He had lived this whole time sick of the inconveniences of life in Yggdrasil. There were no heaters or air conditioners, or any of the other blessings of modern civilization, and he felt their absence keenly all the time. He constantly longed for the taste of a proper meal with white rice.
But even so, he was now suddenly forced to come to a new realization about himself.
Part of him didn’t want to go home; part of him wanted to stay living with everyone here.
He had eaten his meals together with them, shared both joyful and painful times with them; he’d struggled with them through several life-or-death battles, and formed strong bonds with every one of them. And on top of that, they all showered him with pure, earnest affection. It would have been nigh impossible for him not to come to feel the same way in return.
“I’ve been here too long,” he muttered to himself. “I’ve got to get home, and fast...”
Indeed, now more than ever Yuuto knew he had to leave as soon as possible. Before it got to the point in which he wouldn’t be able to anymore.
However, in defiance of Yuuto’s anguished conclusion, the hands of time continued to march mercilessly onward.
And so, the long and cold, yet peaceful winter came to its end, and the beginning of a fateful spring visited the Wolf Clan.
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