Episode 31/Chapter 4: Idun’s legion (4)
TL: Tsubak
ED: Julsmul
The biggest difference between Unnir and the inventory saga was the number of actions needed when taking out an item.
One needed three motions to take out something from Unnir.
Firstly, they had to open the pocket. Secondly, they needed to think of or call out the item they wanted, and lastly, they then had to take out the item itself.
The last two weren’t that bad, but the process of opening the pocket unexpectedly took a lot of time. Of course, it could be done in a mere second or two, but those seconds could determine one’s life or death in battle.
In contrast to that, someone only needed two motions to retrieve an item from the inventory saga.
Simply think of the desired item and then take it out.
Then again, Tae Ho couldn’t always maintain the saga, so he would have to activate it beforehand.
As a fix, he could just activate it before a fight.
‘Does it have to develop a bit more for it to get predetermined keys?’
In Dark Age, it was possible to bind a key to each piece of equipment and change one’s weapon and armor in an instant.
It seemed like it wasn’t possible yet, but if it did become so, the utility of the weapons would increase severalfold as Tae Ho would be able to take out a suitable weapon for each situation.
‘Just like Ragnar said, it’s really a cheat. On top of that, the sentence of the Milesians will be added.’
Cuchulainn spoke as if it was absurd. He could merely listen to the stories of the weapons right now as he lacked in training, but if he developed it well, he would be able to handle the weapons freely just like how the Knights of the Round Table could.
In addition, Tae Ho could activate it instantly and even if the comprehension of a weapon reached the peak, he still had the ‘Warrior’s Equipment’. Precisely speaking, the weapons belonging to the Dragon Knight, Kalsted.
‘Won’t you be able to control legendary weapons and fight like it’s nothing?’
Thinking about it, it wasn’t that it was impossible. He already had ten weapons that would appear in legends.
Cuchulainn spoke as if he was rather excited, and then Tae Ho turned back to the conversation with Ragnar once again.
It was because he still had some questions he wanted to ask.
“Master Ragnar, how is the situation in the residence? Nothing bad happened to Idun-nim, right?”
Ragnar was a warrior of Odin instead of Idun, but actually, it wouldn’t be weird to say that he was a member of the residence.
Ragnar tilted his head at his question and answered.
“I didn’t particularly get a call from Heda. Did something happen to Idun-nim?”
“Uh…..I can’t feel Idun-nim well, even when I use ‘Idun’s Warrior’.”
Tae Ho explained the situation in a bit more detail. He could feel the power of Idun when he fought against Balgad, but when he was escaping from the monsters, it became more difficult to sense her even more so than when he was in Midgard behind the Great Barrier.
“Well, she will be fine as Heda didn’t contact us, right?”
As Tae Ho asked as if he wanted Ragnar to agree, the latter nodded slowly.
“….Right, there should be nothing wrong.”
He felt a bit uneasy as Ragnar didn’t answer immediately, but it wasn’t a negative answer either way, so Tae Ho decided to be at ease.
Ragnar spoke again.
“I thought you would be curious, so I will tell you that there isn’t any abnormality in Midgard. They were a bit bewildered after you disappeared suddenly.”
It seemed like Rasgrid had held several ceremonies to ask the situation of Tae Ho’s group.
Tae Ho thought of the deaths of the warriors of Valhalla in the battle against Balgad. They would all become Steel Warriors, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit sad.
“Ah, right.”
Tae Ho organized his thoughts for a moment and then raised his head. As Ragnar asked if something was wrong, Tae Ho took out the fragment of Garmr’s soul from Unnir instead of answering.
“I’ve got this.”
The fragment of Garmr’s soul which he retrieved after defeating Korga.
He had forgotten about it as the battle against Balgad was really big, but looking at the entirety of Asgard, this was also an important thing.
“It becomes even more rewarding for me to have saved you.”
Ragnar smiled with a satisfied face and then extended his hand towards Tae Ho.
“Give it to me for now. I will pass it to the upper ranks.”
“Thank you.”
Because he would be handling all the tedious things.
Ragnar received the soul fragment from Tae Ho and then stood up.
“Good, we have put off the urgent fire for now so rest. You just have to return to the residence now.”
Tae Ho nodded and at the same time, a reply came from his stomach.
..rumble…
Tae Ho blinked at the honest sound, and Ragnar laughed and then pointed outside the room with his chin.
“Let’s go eat.”
He had starved for three days so to say.
Tae Ho hurriedly stood up.
—
“Oh! Tae Ho! Over here!”
A big restaurant appeared as Ragnar led Tae Ho into the unfamiliar hall. The place was almost empty since it wasn’t the usual mealtime, but Bracky, who was seated comfortably in a corner, yelled as soon as Tae Ho entered.
Tae Ho turned to look at him and then spotted Siri and Ingrid with him. It seemed like they were just about to eat, for there was a lot of steaming, hot food placed in the table.
As Tae Ho approached the group, Bracky hit next to his side and Siri moved a bit sideways to make a seat form Ragnar.
“Are you all fine?”
“Somewhat. Are you okay?”
“Somewhat too.”
Tae Ho answered Bracky’s question and then checked on Siri and Ingrid quickly with his ‘Eyes of the Dragon’. There didn’t seem to be any abnormalities on the two of them.
“What about Merlin?”
“He got called by the Valkyries. It seems like they want to discuss Erin’s gate and other things with him.”
Excluding Tae Ho, he was the only one that had witnessed everything from start to end. In addition, Merlin was a great magician that had the ability to interpret what had happened to the group, so there could unavoidably be many things to talk about.
“Warrior Tae Ho, I heard the general story from Merlin. I express respect to your performance.”
Ingrid spoke with her business-like face and then stood up from her seat and approached Tae Ho.
“May Njord’s blessing accompany you.”
She placed her lips on Tae Ho’s forehead and smiled. Tae Ho looked stiffly at Ingrid and then stood up and also placed his lips on her forehead.
“May Idun’s blessing accompany you.”
He had just received the blessings until now.
Tae Ho blessed with good intentions and smiled brightly, but Ingrid put on a dumbfounded face and just blinked. No, it wasn’t just dumbfounded but also quite surprised.
‘It seems like she disliked your blessing.’
Cuchulainn clicked his tongue and said sharply. The flustered Tae Ho was taken aback and hesitantly threw a question.
“Uh, did I make a mistake?”
Asking like this could also be a mistake.
Ingrid blinked a few more times and then shook her head. She then put on a faint smile before responding.
“No, it’s because it was the first time I received a blessing from a warrior. Thinking about it, it’s been a long while since I was blessed by anyone.”
Because it was rare for even the Valkyries to bless themselves.
As Ingrid answered with a soft face, Bracky stood up abruptly from his seat.
“Hmhm. Then I will also.”
Bracky approached Ingrid naturally and she showed some reflexive movements. She took a big step back and then shrank her shoulders.
At the clear rejection, Bracky put on a depressed face and Ingrid then said while gulping dry saliva.
“Ah, it’s nothing. I’m fine. I finished preparing my heart, so come whenever you want.”
Hitting her chest was an attitude a warrior took in the battlefield.
Bracky dropped his shoulders at the more miserable feeling and Siri laughed. She stood up to lighten the atmosphere and then blessed Ingrid in her forehead.
“May Ullr’s blessing accompany you.”
“May Njord’s blessing accompany you.”
It was a really warm exchange of blessings.
Ragnar witnessed that from beginning to end and then feigned laughter and said,
“So, are you done?”
Bracky said that he wasn’t, but his voice just echoed in the air.
Siri laughed and then asked Ragnar,
“Do you also want a blessing teacher?”
“I’m fine, let’s eat.”
Ragnar really wanted his meal, and Siri smiled brightly and sat next to him. Ingrid blessed the depressed Bracky and continued to eat.
And after some time-
After Tae Ho had tried each dish in the table-
“How is it, does the food suit your tastes?”
“Yes, it’s really del….”
Tae Ho answered reflexively but paused in the end. It was because he had heard a voice that shouldn’t be heard in this place.
“Freya-nim.”
The one that called out the owner of the voice was Ragnar. Everyone that was focusing on eating put on surprised faces and looked at the woman sitting next to Tae Ho, and the Goddess of Beauty answered Ragnar with graceful eyes.
“Hi Ragnar. It’s been a while. It’s nice to see that you are healthy.”
Freya’s smile was really fascinating. Even Siri, who was a girl, and Ragnar’s face got loosened for a moment. Bracky had a completely absent minded face.
Freya laughed at their reactions and looked at Tae Ho. She then frowned.
It wasn’t because Tae Ho showed an expression beyond being surprised.
“It makes me really competitive.”
Freya mumbled in a really low voice and then snorted and fixed her sitting posture.
“Well, it’s nice to see that all of you are healthy. It’s enough then.”
She spoke a bit uncomfortably, but even that was beautiful. Could it be said that she had a haughty charm?
Bracky just stared at Freya absent-mindedly, and Ragnar smiled bitterly and took a deep gulp of some alcohol.
As Tae Ho, who was the only one that was fine, asked what was wrong, Freya snorted once again.
“Idun was worried about you. So i just came to check on you as I was just passing by.”
“Did something happen to Idun-nim?”
As he asked as he felt that something wasn’t right, Freya frowned and then sighed.
“She collapsed out of exhaustion because she used too much of her strength. It’s not that it was too much for her body to handle so don’t worry too much.”
Tae Ho opened his eyes widely. For Idun to have collapsed. There was one one reason he could think of right now.
As Tae Ho’s face changed, Freya twisted her eyebrows a bit and then said with sharp eyes.
“Treat her well when you return and don’t always look for that Valkyrie. She’s your one and only Goddess.”
Tae Ho couldn’t answer anything easily at her words. It was because he felt a sudden remorse towards Idun.
Freya looked at the front instead of berrating him. It was because she felt Ragnar’s gaze.
“Freya-nim, what did you mean…..”
“It was the biggest battle in a long time. I also have things to investigate about the gate of Erin.”
However it turned out, the gate was connected to a place outside of Midgard. They had just gotten outside, but they still couldn’t overlook it.
“Do we have to retrieve it and install it anew at a later time? But there are a lot of problems, just like the Great Barrier.”
Freya mumbled by herself and then stood from her seat.
“Listen to the details in the conference. It seems like one great conference will be held tomorrow.”
“Thank you for telling us.”
As Ragnar answered while standing up, Siri and Ingrid also followed suit. Tae Ho did the same but Freya extended her hand and made him sit down again.
“May my blessing accompany you.”
Freya’s lips touched Tae Ho’s forehead, and a strong blessing that couldn’t be compared to those of the Valkyries covered Tae Ho’s body.
‘Is it regretful that it wasn’t elsewhere?’
Freya took her lips off from Tae Ho’s forehead and asked him in his mind, and Tae Ho again grew flustered and bewildered at the same time.
“Mm, I like you a bit now.”
Freya giggled and then blessed Ragnar.
And then, Bracky took a posture with a really excited face. It was just like looking at a kid before he received a present.
However Freya turned around coldly and then left.
“She’s like a storm whenever I see her.”
Ragnar spoke while Bracky was being pressed flat by the disappointment. Siri and Ingrid stood down as if they agreed and let out sighs.
“Anyways, if they open up a great conference…..it seems like you will get to your residence a bit later.”
“Yes? Why?”
Tae Ho wondered aloud at Ragnar’s words. It was because he wanted to return with haste, as he was worried about Idun.
Ragnar laughed as if Tae Ho’s reaction was absurd and then pointed at Tae Ho with a gesture of his chin and said,
“Why do think it is? You should participate in it too, commander of Idun’s legion.”
The Gods weren’t the only ones that participated in conferences. Each commander of every legion also participated in it.
Not every commander participated, although at least the ones currently stationed in the base would undoubtedly show up.
“Warrior Tae Ho, if you are going to participate in a conference, you should contact your residence as soon as possible. The other commanders will all be accompanied by Valkyries.”
Ingrid said hurriedly as if it was a really important thing. Asgard viewed the benefits to be more important than the formalities, but it wasn’t that they didn’t take them.
If Tae Ho went alone when all the other commanders got accompanied by Valkyries, it would obviously be unsightly, and it would also become a problem for the prestige of Idun’s legion.
“I will contact them immediately.”
Even if that wasn’t the case, he was curious about the situation in the residence. In addition, there was no reason not to do it if he could meet Heda.
Tae Ho stood up intently.
—
Tae Ho contacted the residence between lunch and dinner.
As he had spent all the summoning rocks, he wrote a letter and sent it to the residence through Ingrid.
And a few hours later-
It was when the time to sleep was approaching.
“Adenmaha?”
Tae Ho asked with a surprised face and Adenmaha answered with a displeased face.
“Why? I’m not enough for you?”
It seemed like she was sharper than usual.
Tae Ho looked at Adenmaha with the ‘Eyes of the Dragon’ instead of speaking, and a new letterbox that couldn’t be seen before got added.
[Idun’s Valkyrie]
[Adenmaha]
“It’s true…and Heda?”
“She’s out as she had something urgent to take care of. It’s become really busy nowadays so she’s not always in the residence……That’s also one of the reasons why we hurried on turning me into a Valkyrie.”
One wouldn’t know if Tae Ho was the only warrior like before, but there were now warriors that were staying in the residence. They needed a Valkyrie to look over the residence while Heda was out taking care of her business.
“There are no problems in the residence, right?”
“It’s fine. Rolo and McLaren recovered a lot.”
“I’m glad.”
Tae Ho let out a sigh of relief and then checked the ‘Warrior that had a Valkyrie Meet Him’ saga. It was because he thought of something.
‘Indeed.’
The name of Adenmaha was added on the registered Valkyries.
He hadn’t received a blessing from her yet, but the completion was similar to Reginleif perhaps because their connection was deep.
“Did I get added too?”
Tae Ho nodded at the question of the quick-witted Adenmaha, and it was after that-
Tae Ho opened his eyes widely and put a surprised face that shocked Adenmaha.
It was because Adenmaha wasn’t the only one that got added to the list.
[Valkyrie Lord]
[Freya]
The chief of the Valkyries and the Goddess of Magic and Beauty.
Tae Ho looked at his surroundings for a moment and activated his saga.
< Episode 31 – Idun’s legion (4) > End
TL note: Thanks for reading~